Wallflower {AU Larry Oneshot - Prompted}

“Hey, Harry, you coming tonight?”

Harry Styles glanced up from his cell to the people surrounding him. All looked at him with earnest expressions, awaiting his answer. Harry knew that whatever he said would determine how many people showed up to Cher Lloyd’s party tonight. He was the jock, the cool kid, the one everyone wished they could be. At times, it was great and he was happy. But moments like the one he was in now were the ones he wished he were someone different.

“Of course,” Harry finally answered, giving a snarky half grin that he knew he was famous for. Cher giggled excitedly and immediately everyone was asking her the details of her party. Harry looked back down at his cell, controlling the sigh he wanted desperately to let free.

“What time will you be there, Harry?” Jade Thirlwall asked, beaming at him.

Harry shrugged and smiled slightly. “Dunno. Depends on some things. But you can count on me being there.”

With that, Harry stood up, immediately followed by one of his closest mates, Ed. Harry tilted his head. “See you tonight,” he said, and he and Ed left. As they walked to the trash, Ed went on about how Demi was supposed to be going tonight. “That’s nice.”

“That’s nice?!” Ed exclaimed. “Shit, Harry! Demi is one of the fittest girls on campus. Just because you have that little thing for Jade - “

Ed yelled as he slammed into someone else. Harry froze and turned back to help Ed up. Food was smeared all down his shirt, and Ed flipped. “Watch where you’re going, fag!” Ed yelled. Harry flinched and turned to apologize to the poor kid who had run into Ed. On the ground, covered in more food than Ed was, was Louis Tomlinson, struggling to get up. Harry tensed. He let go of Ed and offered his hand to help him up. Louis’ blue eyes stared at the hand as though it were rabid, and finally Louis shoved it away.

“Thanks,” he snapped, climbing up on his own and storming away. Harry’s heart fluttered a little bit before he turned back to Ed, who was staring at him in shock.

“What?” Harry said, glancing down to see if he had been hit with food as well.

“You tried to help the fag,” Ed sneered angrily. Harry hit Ed’s chest - hard. “Oi! Grow up, Styles!”

“I’m not the one who needs to grow up,” Harry retorted before leaving Ed alone by the garbage.

***

“Welcome to chemistry,” Ms. Flack droned, looking as bored as the class. “Today, we are watching a film.”

Some of the class moaned while most cheered silently. Harry just rolled his eyes from his seat in the back of the classroom as he pulled out his cell and scrolled through his Twitter. He heard someone enter the room and talk to Ms. Flack before she directed them to the back of the room. Great, Harry thought sarcastically. Someone to sit by me.

He hoped that it wasn’t Ed, or - God forbid - Cher, but the lights were off and it was too dark to tell who was coming towards him until they sat down. Harry put away his cell and waited for his new partner to sit down, and when he did, Harry was stunned.

“Hi, Louis,” Harry blurted.

Louis Tomlinson squinted and then groaned lowly. “Great,” he muttered. “Stuck with you.”

Harry tried not to let Louis’s words bother him, but the truth was that they did. For the longest time, Harry had been crushing on Louis Tomlinson. Harry always had hope that Louis felt the same - especially after Louis was the first boy to ever come out of the closet at their high school - but it seemed Louis hated Harry. Louis was unpopular and people hated him because he was gay. He had dropped out of two other schools because of hate, and as a result had been held back a couple of years. Harry had fancied Louis ever since he had read one of Louis’s poems one year prior. It was dark and it was sad, but it was somehow every emotion Harry was feeling.