Scars & Flowercrowns // l.s AU

|| Chapter 12 ||

**Harry's POV**

The day could not go any slower. Fridays are always slow. It's finally lunch time and I sit in my regular spot on the grass, eating a ham and cheese sandwich, orange and white flowers atop my head. I keep my head down today. Less eye contact with people means less trouble. Just one more class and I am out of this prison.

Unexpectedly a body plonks down beside m, and I jump and lean away instinctively. Talk about PTSD... 

Slowly I turn my head, afraid of who could possibly be next to me and why. I thought I thought I was doing well wit the no eye contact thing. I am shocked and scared to see Louis casually sat beside me with a packet of chips resting on his lap. Not a word has been shared between us since I stormed out of his house - for good reason - on Wednesday. 

"Hi," he says softly, as if the mere sound of his voice could shatter me. I await his gang to join and start cracking jokes about me having no friends, but it never comes. 

"Hi..." I reply still unsure. 

"How are you?" 

"Um, fine thanks." 

"That's good, how has your day been?" 

He looks so out of place and unsure, straining to utter out simple words. Instead of answering his question I ask one myself, "Louis, what are you doing?" 

"What do you mean? I'm sitting here talking to you." 

"Exactly." 

"I'm just...I'm trying, okay? This is me trying." 

"I thought I said baby steps," I repeat his joke from Wednesday. 

"Screw baby steps." 

"Louis..." I warn.

"I've decided it needs to be ripped off like a Band-Aid." 

"This isn't ripping it off like a Band-Aid though, this is going cold-turkey." 

"It works for some." 

"But, for you?" 

"We'll see, wont we?" 

"At my physical and mental health's expense?" 

"I didn't think of that..." 

"Of course you didn't." 

"You know that's not-" 

"I know." 

"I'm trying." 

"I see that." 

He munches on a few chips from his packet, and I go back to eating my sandwich. Although, the smell of salt & vinegar is so strong it's making my mouth water. Bravely I reach over into his lap and steal a chip from the packet, and quickly pop it into my mouth before Louis can say anything. 

His head whips up to look at me, shocked, he laughs, "Hey! Hands of the food you chip thief!" 

"Chip thief? That's the best you could come up with?" I say smiling. It feels weird, but nice to smile at school, and with Louis of all people. 

"Yes it is. I never said I was a master of names, did I?" 

"Well with all the extremely original and witty insults you usually throw at me, I was expecting more," I say sarcastically. 

He sighs, "Yeah... I-I'm sorry, I think." 

"You think?" 

"I'm still struggling, you know? Voices in my head, everything is so twisted. Right and wrong, good and bad. It's like my core and base views on the world from when I was a child have just been twisted and manipulated, and now that all of this is happening, so, so fast, it's hard to untwist it all and decipher a clear image of what I believe now and what I think is right and wrong myself. My own opinions were molded to be the same shape as someone so influential in my life. This probably doesn't even make sense..." Louis rambles staring down at the grass, playing with a few strands absentmindedly.