Do You Realize? |l.s.|

XXVI

Getting home, the boys are sat on the couch playing Mario kart and Harry grabs my hand, pulling me towards them.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"We're playing the next round," he grins at me, and I want to but I know I should be upstairs studying.

"Haz, I can't," I say.

"'Course you can, Lou. Not saying you'll win, but you'll play," he says, causing me to narrow my eyes at him.

"One round," I say, to which he smiles wider. "But you're going down, Styles." And so, I end up winning, naturally. He's actually a shit video game player, and the only reason why he's in 6th place and not last is because he got all 8 powers just before the finish line.

"Rematch," Harry says. He's been complaining and being a baby the whole game. 

"Can't," I shrug. "I have to study for exams."

"Really?" he asks. "You're choosing school over your best friend in the world?"

"Best friend?" Zayn yells. "What the hell about us three?"

"You're my best friends, too," Harry rolls his eyes. "Louis' just my best best friend."

"Fine, you two can have each other," Niall nods. "Boys, looks like we're down to a trio."

"Can I at least go with you while you study, so I'm not fourth-wheeling their 'trio,'" he asks, and I seriously have to think about it before I give in.

"Fine, but you're silent the whole time," I say.

"You got it, munchkin," he puts his hands up in surrender. We head up the stairs before I immediately go to my desk and Harry flops down onto my bed. "How's your eye?" he asks me, referring to the faint black eye I acquired from Nick that day he found me in the bathroom.

"Fine," I shrug, opening to the next page in my textbook, beginning to read.

"You're actually good at Mario kart, you know? I have to admit, you one fair and square," he says, as if he wasn't saying the exact opposite five minutes ago.

"Yeah," I nod, trying to gain my focus back onto my textbook, but sighing in frustration when Harry starts speaking again.

"Hey, did you hear about the new-"

"Harry!"

"Yeah?" he asks me, looking afraid at me snapping.

"Can you just, like, let me study," I say calmly.

"Oh, yeah," he chuckles. "My bad." I grin, shaking my head at him as I turn back and begin to study. He goes on his phone for twenty minutes before I let out a deep sigh, slamming my book shut because I can't remember anything I read. "Alright?"

"Yeah, just, just need a break," I sigh.

"You know you have a long time to study, right? Like, exams aren't for a few months."

"I know," I nod. "But between what I learned this year and last year, I've got to start now if I wanna have enough time to cram it all in."

"Well if you aren't feeling it today, give up and try tomorrow," he says.

"But what if I'm not ever feeling it?" I ask. "Then I'll never get anything done, ever."

"Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem," he grins. "At least ask for help, if you need it. You forget I've already done all the shitty classes you're taking now."

"Yeah, thanks," I say.

"So, how about you take a break for the rest of the night and hang with the rest of the boys, and tomorrow I will personally help you study?"

"Really? You're not just saying that because you wanna go downstairs with the others?"

"Of course not," he scoffs. "If that were the case, I wouldn't have chosen to come upstairs in the first place. Now come on, I hear them starting a movie." So, we go downstairs and ignore their comments about how they don't need Harry to be good friends, and that me and Harry think we're too good for them. They're so childish sometimes, I swear. It ends up being a scary movie, which I could handle if it was just about a serial killer or something, but turns out it's demon shit so I head upstairs and study some more before I head off to bed.