taming mr.tomlinson [larry stylinson] ✔️

7.

When Harry woke up, he was lying on top of his desk with his arms swinging by his side, and his eyes opened wide like he had been looked in the eye by death. Is he dead? Is that why he's looking at the ceiling of the school with a stiff back and the sound of laughter to keep him company? He thought about going back to sleep again, but then he heard someone clear their throat, and Harry is sure that if he isn't dead yet, he will be now.

"Mr.Styles, by any chance can you explain why you are sleeping on top of your desk during your first period class?" asked Principal Plowser, and Harry became so frantic, leading him to roll off of the desk and land with a heavy thud on his chest. He could hear the familiar sound of laughter from his students and squeezes his eyes shut before standing back up, feeling dizzy and tired.

He hadn't gotten any sleep last night since he had to grade papers and go food shopping for the potential homecoming dance the school was having soon– Harry was in charge of helping the committee and funding. The students loved this part of the month because dances were something that Harry was really good at creating, and it was good for Harry because he'd help raise money just like Mr.Plowser needed.

"I'm sorry, Principal Plowser. I thought that I would wake up before class started. I was up all night." responded Harry shamefully, rubbing the top of his head and yawning. The principal looked sympathetic, so he pat Harry's shoulder with understanding then glanced back at the class, who was staring at them both with their hands folded innocently as if they weren't just giggling seconds ago. "Could you maybe watch the class for a minute or two? I'm gonna go wake myself up."

"Sure, take your time." replied Principal carefully, unsure if staying with a group of kids would be his best bet, but this was his golf buddy so he couldn't tell him no. Harry nodded and ran a hand through his dry hair- he forgot to do his usual routine of shampooing and making it bouncy- walking out of his classroom and shutting the door behind him. Even though he wasn't feeling his best, he greeted the walking students with a smile until he got into the teacher's lounge, his face crumpling into distress.

"Good morning, Harry. Is it me or are you not your usual chipper self today?" asked Louis, who was leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in his hand, but it was too big so he was using both hands. Harry would have cooed from how cute that was if he wasn't in a bad mood, but Mr.Tomlinson would look at him weirdly if he did anyways. Harry didn't reply, instead he let his eyes sweep around the room in search of the coffee maker, squinting when he couldn't find it. "Looking for something?"

"The coffee maker."

"Ah," muttered Louis with a light smile, bringing the cup up to his lips and taking a sip before replying, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. "It broke. What a shame."

"Great." mumbled Harry under his breath, running a hand across his face, feeling like he was about to fall back asleep. He was going to have to wait until lunch to go buy some coffee with Liam, and he doesn't think he'll make it until then. He heard Mr.Tomlinson take another sip of his drink and looked up, sure that he'll regret asking this question, but he needs to wake up. "Do you have...anything to keep someone awake?"

Louis blinked and tapped his finger on his cup, raising his eyebrow while looking Harry in the eye. "Are you asking me if I have drugs?"

"Well– you just seem like– ugh, if you don't–"

"I do, of course, but are you really that desperate to stay awake? You can't handle slacking off at work for one day?" inquired Louis casually, sitting his cup down and looking down at Harry's sloppy appearance. Harry shifted to one foot from the other like he always did when Mr.Tomlinson observed him, not knowing if he did something wrong or the man just had a serious staring problem.