It's Complicated || Larry & Ziam [COMPLETED]

twenty

"You're being obvious again."

"Whatever," Liam said, rolling his eyes. Zayn laughed, subtly keeping his and Liam's shoulders brushing against each other's.

Louis smiled. They weren't really being obvious, but it was fun to make Liam mad. Louis wished that he had what his best friends had, but whenever Harry passed and gave the pair a thumbs-up and began a conversation with Louis, he felt like he could pretend that they had what Liam and Zayn had.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked as he approached him.

Louis sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"For what?" Zayn asked curiously.

"There's an exam that's worth fifteen percent of our final grade in history today. We've been preparing for it for a while."

In the time since they'd first been informed about the exam, Louis and Harry had enough time to fit in many tutoring sessions. Louis knew everything he could possibly need and his only problem would be his test anxiety. He might even make a good grade on it. Never before had he felt so prepared for anything academic.

"You'll do great. I know it," Harry said confidently.

"Let's hope. I'll be a failure if I don't."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You won't be a failure."

"You say that like you don't think I'm going to pass."

The slightly flirtatious conversation flowed easily. Louis liked its teasing feel, as if he and Harry were close enough to tease each other all the time. Harry was just so fun to talk to and helpful and pretty. Louis never thought he'd ever call another man pretty, but just one look at Harry told him that he was the prettiest boy he'd ever known. It was possible for boys like Harry to be beautiful.

"Imagine the double dates," Liam murmured into Zayn's ear. Zayn couldn't help but smile a little; he wasn't the only one who noticed the easy chemistry between the two boys. He hadn't been on a real date with Liam yet, but a double date sounded really fun. Not for the first one, though, he told himself. Definitely not for their first date ever.

"Good luck," Harry told Louis with a smile. Harry had come to the conclusion that whether or not Louis liked him, it didn't mean that Harry couldn't like him. So Harry would continue liking Louis, even a little, until he didn't want to anymore. Simple.

Except it wasn't always. Still, Harry managed.

"Thanks. You too, even though I doubt you need it."

Harry gave a dimpled grin. "Maybe it'll help."

I'm sure it will, Louis thought, smiling to himself.

/ / / \ \ \

Louis hated tests.

He'd said that before, though, didn't he? If his teacher put a piece of paper in front of him, all of his previous knowledge seemed to fly out the door. That left him with nothing but confusion and fear of failing.

He needed this to be a good grade. If it wasn't, his entire grade would drop drastically and his parents — who never seemed to care about anything else in his life other than education — would make him do nothing but study in his free time. No going to the bakery. No hanging out with Zayn and Liam on the football field. Nothing but studying.

They hadn't started yet, so Harry tapped on Louis's elbow and gave him a smile that said you can do it. Louis nodded lightly back, hoping that Harry's tutoring and confidence in him would allow his grade to at least be average.

I hate history, Louis thought to himself as he read the first question. Stupid history. Who even cares about the past? Who gives a shit about Alexander the Great and Ancient Rome?

Louis had to admit that he thought of a lot of Harry's learning strategies as he completed the exam — they actually seemed to be working. There were a few, of course, that Louis had no idea about and therefore most likely got incorrect, but he wasn't exactly aiming for a perfect score.

"How do you think you did?" Harry asked him as soon as the bell rang for them to leave.

"I have no idea. Hopefully something like an eighty — but I doubt it. I have no luck on tests like that. What about you? Another one hundred in order?"

Harry blushed and shook his head. "Some of those questions didn't make any sense. We didn't learn about a couple of things that were on there, which is stupid."

"Yeah," Louis mumbled, nervous about the stupid exam. He honestly had no idea what he could've gotten on it. He couldn't bear to glance at Harry, even though he wanted to. Harry was just perfect, and not just in the wow-you're-beautiful way.

He was perfect in the way that Louis would never be able to compare, ever. Harry didn't have to worry about failing the exam. He was probably worrying over whether he got an A or not. Louis desperately wanted to know what he got on the test right then, so he could just kiss Harry and get it over with because he'd never be able to talk to him ever again if he failed, because his parents would never let him out of the house if he did fail. He didn't really want to regret not doing anything about his stupid crush that wasn't a crush, but it was so difficult to convince himself that he might actually like a boy. A pretty, smart, kind boy, but a boy nonetheless.

"Are you still coming to the bakery later?" Harry asked, almost awkwardly. He hoped Louis couldn't hear his desperation to get the boy out of whatever sad mood he was in — it wasn't often he saw a sad Louis. Louis always seemed happier at the bakery, and Harry couldn't help but want to see his smile again. He took a deep breath and exhaled when he realized just how far this crush had come and how he'd take any opportunity to speak to Louis at all. Even if he made a complete fool of himself.

"Yeah," Louis said.

Harry grimaced at Louis's lack of happiness. He was really bummed about this test, and he didn't even know how he'd done yet. Why didn't he have any faith in himself, at all?

"Okay, um..." he stammered, wishing that he could just say something and not feel stupid. "I'll see you then, I guess."

"Alright."

Harry frustratedly walked away. Louis just looked so... sad, and mad at himself, an expression that didn't belong on his face. A boy like Louis deserved to always be nothing but happy. He deserved to feel nothing but pure happiness, with no problems whatsoever. No matter what he'd done in his past, what he'd faced, Louis deserved to be happy.

As Harry glanced back at him, through all the people in the hallway, he frowned and wondered if Louis really would be there.