The Forgotten [Larry Stylinson]

16

He remembers the chant his mother used to repeat to him. "You need to suck it up, Harry. There's starving kids in Africa, you know." He thinks it was the most powerful wakeup call he had.

-

"I've got to pick up the boys on the way," Louis said as Harry clicked his seatbelt into place. "I forgot it was my day to drive."

"Oh, okay." Harry turned his face to look out of the window, trying to hide the way his face fell.

Of course, Louis noticed. He reached out to take Harry's hand, giving in a squeeze.

"Zayn is going to say anything to you, okay? I'll make sure he keeps all stupid comments to himself," Louis assured him.

"Okay," Harry murmured.

"What's wrong?" Louis asked.

Harry shrugged. "I'm just scared. What's high school like?"

Louis chuckled. "Ah, high school. Lay low, join a club or two, and be nice to everyone in your classes. That way you'll survive."

"I don't want to just 'survive,'" Harry answered. "I want more than that."

"It's high school, Harry. If you set your hopes too high you'll be destroyed," Louis said. "Set the bar low. That way, you'll be impressed."

Harry frowned. "Is it that bad?"

"It's that bad," Louis confirmed. "Like I said, it's a small school. Three hundred kids. I know every single senior. By the end of the year, every freshman is going to know you. Not to mention the whole school. If you really want to make something of yourself, you'll study and blend in."

"Oh," Harry mumbled. "Alright then."

"Don't take it personally, H. It's just the way teens are," Louis said. "No one cares about what you've been through or what you hope to accomplish, not unless they know you."

"I get it," Harry snapped. "You don't have to be such an ass about it."

Louis sighed. "I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention."

"I just want to be quiet for a while," Harry said.

Louis glanced at him and gave a small, sad smile. "Okay, Harry."

The car ride was silent, Niall and Liam joining them along the way. But then they pulled up in front of Zayn's house, and Harry's stomach twisted with nerves as he climbed into the car. He held his breath as Zayn got settled, praying to any form of a higher power that he wouldn't start anything.

He was wrong.

As soon as Louis pulled out of Zayn's driveway, he said, "So, Harry, I see you look relatively normal today."