The One With The Nerd || Larry Stylinson

Chapter 22: Like a Grape

"That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard. And, believe me, we get a shit-tonne of stinkers back at the station."

My shoulders rolled forward as I slouched, defeated. Now what?

I flinched as Louis stood up beside me, hands poised in the same position of surrender as mine. "He's not bullshitting you."

The principal crossed his arms in defiance, dropping his stubbly jaw to argue before was cut off by the authorities.

"Guess I'm Taylor Swift," the blonde officer joked, though the common amusement was lost from her expression.

I could have snorted if I didn't feel so threatened. They need to lower their stupid weapons before I pee my pants. Seriously. "Actually, Taylor Swift is a lot-" nicer. Nope, shouldn't say that to the person pointing a gun at me.

"Not gonna finish that thought?"

I fumbled with my hands, turning my gaze to my desk. No I do not wanna finish that. I'm just going to stop talking, it'd probably be for the best.

"How can I prove it to you?" I asked instead, peeking up from my hands to watch them. I took my glasses off, placing them carefully onto the desk in front of me. "That I'm Harry Styles?"

The class remained dead silent, everyone staring at the scene in earnest and utmost attention. I wished they could go away, disappear as I attempt to handle another embarrassing moment. I'd almost forgotten about them when the officers first drew their guns, but now I seemed to have become hyperaware of everyone in the room.

I could hear Louis' rushed and fearful breathing over my pounding heart beat, I could hear the steady thrum of Zayn tapping his fingers against his desk, a habit that only appears when he's anxious. I didn't turn my head from the people up the front, as I slowly slipped my finger down the front of my collar to stop it from chaffing against my neck. I'm sweating like a pig in here.

"Show us an ID," the male officer demanded, and, oh shit, I really should have brought that.

"I-" can't. I wanted to say, before I was cut off by one of the girls up the back with an exigent personality.

“Well, obviously he can’t do that,” she sneered, eyes glaring with a taunting glimmer of amusement. “That fag could never live up to those standards in his wildest dreams! Don’t tell me you’re actually considering this?”

“Shut your mouth, pal!” I flinched as Louis turned to face the girl and boomed, clearly outraged.

“Tomlinson! And Jacobs, zip it before I send you two out!” Mr. Hay bellowed, face tinged with redness.

This was bad, and before I knew it, everyone was shouting at one another. Seriously, everyone was going at it like at Monica’s first thanksgiving. I’m pretty sure I was the only one not screaming at anyone, just observing the chaos around me and how quickly it had become this extreme. Everyone’s voices were blasting through my eardrums, enough to make my ears ring and give me a headache. 

I wanted it to stop. How could I make it stop? The police were trying to make them stop, by shouting at everyone.

I glanced at Louis, who was still beside me, only head turned to tear into the same girl behind us. He’d managed to bring tears to her eyes by the look of it, as they looked glossy and Louis’ words were harsh. Not that I was paying particular attention to them, there were a lot of demeaning words thrown my way.

Trying my best to ignore my surroundings, I instead pushed my chair under my desk and packed up my books. At this rate, I could probably sneak out unnoticed. But then what? Wait for the police to turn up at my house, consult my parents? Oh no, they don’t need to know about this. I don’t feel like listening to the ‘I told you so’s.

Accepting that this was the end, though it was nothing like how I had planned or hoped for. I was meaning to tell everybody at the graduation party, but I guess that plan was out the window. I just need all this chaos to end. The lies to end.

I jerked to the side the instant I felt a hand resting on my shoulder, sighing in relief when I noticed it was Zayn’s. He could see that I was torn, terrified, and contemplating my options (not that I had many). And despite the ruckus, he seemed calm, his eyes encouraged me to relax, that it’ll all work out.

“Think now’s your time to shine, buddy,” he said. “Everything’s gonna be okay, you know. You just gotta go for it.” He gave me a tentative smile, clapping my shoulder before removing his hand, “Louis and I’ve got your back.”

And with that, I sucked in a deep, shaky breath and began pulling apart the identity I had built up over the school years. I took out my contacts, one by one, placing them back in their case. A few people had stopped bickering to stare, but majority were still oblivious as I scrubbed at my hair with my fingers, trying to loosen it a bit from the gel.

Louis was staring at me. I could feel his eyes burn the side of my face as I stared at the mess on my desk. I glanced up at the officers and teachers at the front of the room, some had crossed arms, some had slack jaws, but all four of them looked too stiff to be real. I slipped out of the sweater vest, and unbuttoned the white shirt a little, wearing it how I normally would if I wasn’t Marcel.

There were several gasps from around the room, and I felt so afraid of what was to come that I could barely comprehend what was happening.

What even was happening?

The police called my manager, who informed them that I had permission to do this, that I’m no harm to anyone, and that was that. I was let off the hook. However, I can’t ever go back to that school, and I was okay with that. I have no reason to, although I would have liked to finish that last year, make it worthwhile. But the thing that shocked me was that it didn’t feel wasted. My time there didn’t feel like wasted time.

And after all, everything had worked out. Zayn was right. Maybe one day, far in the future, we’ll all look back on this and realise it. We’ll reflect on the past moments with fond smiles and adoration, maybe even some teasing at our absurdity, but this is what made us. What brought us together, the most unlikely of people forming to create something great. 

Maybe even further in the future, beyond the greatest days of our lives that are still yet to come with not only our band, but our best friends, we’ll forget what brought us together. Maybe we’ll forget our lives, our memories, those late nights where one another was all we needed. Maybe we’ll disregard all the times we had just doing nothing but talking and laughing, brush it off as an insignificance in our old, deteriorating minds. 

But, let me tell you, Louis Tomlinson, the one thing I could never forget, even when our muscles have forgotten how to walk, is how much I love you.

And as I stepped out of our car, I realised that I looked forward to it. As I locked the door, I realised that I want to experience it all with you by my side. And as I made my way to our studio, I realised that nothing could ever change that. 

No matter what.

~•♡•~

That's the end, I'm sorry it's awful, I might get around to fixing this whole thing sometime, but for now I'm just glad it's over haha.

Thanks for reading xx