Promising Forever

Chapter 4.

A thought pops into his head midway through the dreaded Monday. The thing is, he's come to be dependent on Louis for a ride to work. Not that it's an unbearably long walk to the library, but now, does he even ask? Does he just assume he's not getting a ride or does he wait for Louis to gather his things before they leave like always? Ugh, this unspoken shit is tiring. Should he ignore Louis, or should he pretend nothing has changed? Nothing is clear.

Harry stresses over how he should act and how it will be to see Louis after everything for the rest of the day. Luckily, he's a great student and his teachers don't feel the need to pick on him for his lack of attention in class. The bell rings for lunch and he tries to gather his excitement to see his best friend after the long weekend. Niall learned long ago that Harry wasn't a fan of texting, so all Harry got from Niall for the whole weekend was "I made it" and "I'm home". He had been looking forward to hearing about what shenanigans Niall had gotten up to while away, but now his mind has been consumed by the awkward scenario he will most certainly be living through shortly.

Right after sitting down he spots Niall waving at him with a bright smile, holding his lunch tray in his free hand. "How goes it, friend?"

"Good, good. Nothing new." Harry lies, speaking quickly, keeping his eyes on his food. "How about you? How was your cousin's birthday?"

"Nothing like ours, but it was fun." Niall answers a bit slower than usual, eyes scanning over Harry suspiciously. "How was your weekend? You sure nothing happened?" He asks.

"Nope, just reading for English class and watching the telly." Harry says finally looking up, shrugging a bit, hoping he's coming off as nonchalant. The thing is, he's never been a good liar.

"You know you're not a good liar, right?" Niall says before taking a bite of his turkey sub, keeping an accusatory glare on Harry as he chews.

"I don't know what you're talking about Niall, I'm as uninteresting as I was when you left." Harry says matter of factly. 

"I'm gonna let it go for now." Niall says after a few minutes, still trying to swallow around the dry sandwich. "But only because you've never lied to me before, so either it's really bad and you need time or it's really good and you want to savor it for a bit." Niall says waggling his brows after the last statement. "However, I do expect to hear about whatever is going on later either way."

They stare at each other for a moment. A kind of standoff as Harry decides whether or not to try and convince Niall there is nothing going on. He decides not to dispute it. Knowing that he clearly can't lie to Niall, nor does he want to. They let the subject drop after that and continue to catch up.

Lunch flies by too quickly, so he and Niall say their goodbyes for now. Classes for the rest of the day are a giant blur, Harry never really being able to focus on the subject at hand. A constant feeling of anticipation for English, for blue eyes and hypnotic voice, for the possible heartbreaking rejection and cold shoulder from his teacher.

The bells rings through the intercom and sends nervous shiver down Harry's spine. He walks the short distance to English through the crowded hallway at a slower pace than normal, hoping to come across as casual, and not like he has been thinking about this all day. That plan is quickly dashed when he stumbles over his own feet through the entryway. He catches himself quickly, but it's enough to warm his face and grab Louis attention from his spot at the whiteboard.

He looks away after making eye contact, deciding his view will be the linoleum floor until class starts and he can safely lift his gaze.

"Good afternoon, Harry." Louis says, startling Harry on his walk to his desk. "Do you mind handing those notebooks out?"