Nothing without you [L.S] AU

Chapter 5: WTF is happening

(Louis's POV)

Louis was late—again. It was becoming something of a signature move. He didn't rush; in fact, he took his time walking toward the Year 12 math class. It was beneath him to be here, but his attendance record in Year 13 was abysmal, and this was his last shot at not being kicked out. Still, he wasn't going to let that get to him. He was Louis Tomlinson. Troublemaker. The one everyone steered clear of.

He shoved the door open, stepping into the classroom with a kind of careless confidence. Eyes darted his way immediately, but no one dared hold his gaze—except for Harry. Louis's eyes landed on the curly-haired boy sitting in the middle of the room, alone, with an empty seat beside him. Typical.

Mr. Parker glanced up from his notes. "Nice of you to join us, Louis. Take a seat."

Louis scanned the room and then let out a quiet sigh when he saw Harry's pale face staring back at him. The only available seat was next to Harry, who looked like he'd rather sink into the floor than have Louis sit next to him. Not that Louis could blame him—he'd made Harry's life hell more than once.

"Alright," Louis muttered to himself, strolling over and dropping into the chair with a dramatic sigh. He leaned back, his knee bumping Harry's under the table, making the boy flinch. A smirk crept onto Louis's face. This was going to be interesting.

As Mr. Parker droned on about quadratic equations, Louis could feel Harry stiffen beside him. Louis didn't bother paying attention to the lesson; instead, he was more focused on the way Harry tried to shrink into himself, his curls falling over his eyes as if he could hide behind them. Louis let his eyes linger a little longer than usual, noticing the soft rise and fall of Harry's chest, the way his fingers gripped his pen as if it was some kind of lifeline.

He leaned in a little, lowering his voice just enough so that only Harry could hear. "You always this tense?" he asked, his voice teasing, laced with something lighter than his usual edge.

Harry didn't look at him, but his grip on the pen tightened even more. "What do you expect?" he mumbled. "You've only shoved me into lockers about a dozen times."

Louis chuckled softly, surprised by the boy's boldness. There was something almost endearing about the way Harry tried to keep his composure, even when Louis could practically feel the nerves radiating off him. "Locker shoving is my specialty," Louis said, his tone teasing but not quite threatening. "But you're still standing, aren't you?"

Harry finally glanced at him, his green eyes meeting Louis's with a mix of frustration and confusion. "Barely," Harry muttered, though there was a hint of something in his voice—something Louis couldn't quite place. Was it... curiosity?

"Maybe you should work on your dodging skills," Louis replied, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. His knee brushed Harry's again, and this time, he didn't move it away. Harry stiffened, his eyes darting nervously toward Louis.

"Maybe you should stop pushing people around," Harry shot back, his voice just above a whisper, but there was a flicker of defiance in his gaze.

Louis raised an eyebrow. It wasn't often that someone talked back to him, especially not Harry. He liked it. A little spark of something electric passed between them—subtle, almost undetectable, but it was there. Louis leaned in just a bit closer, his voice low, almost a purr. "Where's the fun in that?"

Harry's breath hitched for a split second before he quickly turned back to his worksheet, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly. Louis smirked, satisfied with the reaction. This was... different. He wasn't sure what game they were playing, but for once, it didn't feel like just another round of bully and victim.

"Alright, everyone, pair up," Mr. Parker announced suddenly, oblivious to the tension between them. "Work through these problems together."

Louis's smirk faded as he realized he was stuck working with Harry. He slouched in his chair, not bothering to pretend he cared, but he couldn't deny that there was something entertaining about seeing Harry struggle with his nerves.

Harry turned the paper toward him, hesitantly pointing at the problems they were supposed to work through. "We, um... we should probably start."

Louis glanced at the page lazily, not even pretending to care. "You messed that one up," he said casually, pointing to a wrong answer. Harry's face flushed, and he quickly erased the mistake, his fingers fumbling with the pen.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled, clearly trying to keep his voice steady.

Louis tilted his head, watching the way Harry's cheeks colored under his gaze. He couldn't help himself. "You're cute when you're nervous," he said, his voice soft but with that unmistakable edge of teasing.

Harry's eyes shot up in shock, his face flushing an even deeper shade of red. "What?"

Louis grinned, amused by Harry's reaction. "Nothing," he said, his voice playful. "Just focus, yeah? Wouldn't want you to mess up again."

Harry blinked, still looking flustered, but he didn't say anything more. He just turned back to the worksheet, his hand trembling slightly as he wrote down the next equation. Louis leaned back in his chair, his gaze lingering on Harry for a moment longer.

There was something different about Harry, something that had started to pique Louis's interest in a way he hadn't expected. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but whatever it was, it made this math class a little less boring than usual.

As the bell rang and they both started gathering their things, Louis stood up and cast a quick glance at Harry. "See you around," he said, his voice still laced with that teasing tone, though there was something lighter beneath it this time.

Harry didn't respond—just gave a small, awkward nod before hurrying out of the room.

Louis smirked to himself as he watched Harry leave, a strange warmth settling in his chest. He wasn't sure what had just happened between them, but he knew one thing for certain: Harry was going to be on his mind a lot more than he expected.

A/N Sry im not really good with pov's but im trying