Sing Us a Song, You're the Piano Man

Chapter 3

Harry POV:

So, as it turns out, I spent the entire rest of my morning thinking about Louis. OK, no, not the entire morning...just 99% of it. I couldn't get him out of my head. He had been nice, he had helped me when no one else would, and he was really, really attractive. But I wasn't falling for him. No I was not. I talked, or rather, stumbled over my own tongue, to him for a whole ten minutes. Definitely not enough to have feelings for someone. I once again tried forcing the blue eyed boy out of my head as I headed back to my locker before lunch. I shoved my books in and then groaned, realizing that I hadn't packed a lunch and I had no money. I knew that Liam or Niall would pay for me if I asked, but I hated asking people for money. It was just one of those things. That's why I had a job, so that I could provide for myself and not have to ask for help. Sorry, getting off track.

I started heading towards the lunch room, the hallways almost empty since the bell had already rung. I had taken two steps away from my locker when I heard it. The piano again. It was the same piece as yesterday. I hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning on my heel and heading into the music hallway. I settled myself outside the door to the choral room and just listened. The vibe of the music seemed to be more cheerful than yesterday, for some reason, and I was not complaining. It was beautiful. I pulled out a book and began to work on my homework. Maybe, if I got my work done, I would be able to go to the footie scrimmage tonight. As I worked, I heard whomever was playing stop several times and restart, trying to get one part just right. The bell rang and I jumped. I hadn't realized that lunch had gone by so quickly. The piano stopped abruptly and I heard shuffling from inside the room. I didn't want to be caught listening...who knows who was playing...they might even beat me up for listening...you never know with the people in my school. I scrambled to collect my things and walked quickly out of the music hallway, just managing to cross through the door before I heard the chorus room door open. I slid into the large crowds of teens swarming to get to class, breathing out a sigh of relief as I hurried off to class.

That was close...

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Finally, finally, it was the end of the day. My classes hadn't been bad, but people kept looking at me. I guess my face had started to bruise, because people were pointing and whispering as I walked the halls in between classes. It made me very self conscious. I don't like people talking about me. I waited until all of the students had left or gone to clubs, and then emerged and hurried to my locker. I put my books away slowly, trying to take up some time. I hummed to myself as I threw my surprisingly light bag over my shoulder and grabbed my sweatshirt. It was starting to warm up a little bit, but I got cold easily. I decided to go to the pitch early, since practice would only be half as long with the scrimmage tonight.

I walked calmly through the halls, knowing that no one was there to stop me or hurt me, and it felt good...almost like it used to before Nick ruined everything. I pushed any thought of Nick from my mind as I exited the school through the back door and snuck behind the bleachers to the field. I could hear the yells of the team as they did drills and messed around. I almost smiled. I missed playing so much. But I could never go back...they wouldn't accept me, even if I had been one of the best forwards on the team...whatever. I settled in my usual spot behind the center field seats and just watched. I could see Niall's blonde head in the goal, and Liam doing drills with a couple other guys. I just sighed and pulled out more homework.

About twenty minutes later, the whistle blew and the whole team rushed to center field to meet with the coach as they discussed the scrimmage and how practice went and everything. I knew the drill. They would talk for five minutes, then do the team chant, and then Niall and Liam would wait and I would meet them on the edge of the field. I packed up, shouldered my bag, and walked carefully to the edge of the field. Nick saw me and gave me the evil eye, but that was all he could do. He couldn't let Niall and Liam, or more importantly, the coach, know how terrible he was to me. I just kept my head down and kicked at the track with the toe of my shoe until I heard the chant, and then I looked up, pulling my beanie out of my bag and jamming it onto my messy curls.