Mr Brightside - L.S

Chapter Four

TW EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL ABUSE

Harry's stomach is in knots. There is a crisp autumnal feel to the air that he wasn't anticipating for today despite it technically being autumn already, perhaps he wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. Growing up he had always been the so-called teacher's pet, had always loved learning and been excited for the new school year; this hadn't changed with age. Yet here he was, in between the two people that love him most in the world, feeling like he's about to have a fucking panic attck.

Vincent had brushed it off this morning by saying that it was the same cold feet that everybody got when trying something new, before he went back to his burnt toast. He had been angry about that when he saw that Harry had burnt his toast, as he apparently took that to mean that the whole day was thrown off course because he started it in a bad mood. Now, Harry was a very open minded and fairly spiritual person, but the so-called oemn that Vincent tried to play this off as sounded like bullshit to him.

The car ride on the way to uni was awkward enough without Vincent angry and Harry stressed and upset.

A gentle wind is blowing through the campus and it seems to have taken an interest in playing gently with Louis' soft hair as the three of them walked up the sandstone steps leading to the entrance. The moment felt surreal and somewhat anticlimactic; years of looking forward to escaping a miserable small town that held nothing but bad memories, all swept away like the air in his lungs as Harry clings to the straps of his rucksack. He is brought back to the present when Vincent squeezes his hand, initially fear rises in his throat before his boyfriend smiles reassuringly.

Louis doesn't seem to notice the small moment between his two friends as he starts descending up the huge steps. Swarms of people are in their way; first-years anxiously looking around at the new people while gossiping girls hang around in bunches and silently judge everyone they see. Hary desperately clings to Vincent, whose arm is snaked around his waist, making it so that even if he wanted to catch up with Louis, he would have to use all of his strength to be freed. He didn't want to cause a scene, and why would he want to escape from his loving boyfriend's clutches?

"Do you guys wanna come back to mine at the end of the day?" Louis asked, waiting patiently by the entrance for the other two. Harry's mind was rushing, because yes he wanted to do that but also no, because what if Vincent had some...plans that they needed to attend to to celebrate university? Knowing him, he probably did. It was always worth it to check though, especially after last week when he threw his plate of food across the apartment because Harry suggested that they start going on dates more often.

"I think that would be okay," Vincent responded for both of them, "Harry, do you want to?" Now, Harry had always been terrible at reading emotions and social queues, and it was even more complicated now because of Vincent's erratic behaviour recently. There was silence when Harry was simply standing and staring into Vincent's eyes, trying to gauge whether it was a rhetorical question or not because he didn't want to be hurt again.

"You couples are fucking weird, man," Louis muttered to himself with a fond smile as he looked at Harry, before he turned away and walked to his Sociology class.

                                                 ***

"You fucking idiot."

Harry's breath caught in his throat, because all lesson Vincent had been talking to him as though nothing was wrong; even going as far as to say he was proud that Harry was answering so many questions on his first day. Though now his beloved boyfriend's energy was suddenly shifted into one of much more anger and unpredictability. All it had taken for him to trip was a shove from Vincent and then he was wincing at the sudden humiliation of being splayed out on the floor while the few students in this lecture waited for him to get up so they could leave.