concealing ➸ tomlinson

iii

"kris, where are you going?"

"...school."

"your school is here. why did you insist on buying a backpack, you don't need it?"

"....."

"kris, i understand you want to go to school, but it's not safe. you can barely eat and open doors."

"....."

"maybe in another year, ok?"

"i signed myself up."

"what?"

"online, there was a registration. i signed myself up."

"kris, you aren't serious-"

"i AM mom. i'm serious as a heart attack, and i'm going to go to school so i can be normal."

"kris, we have said this time and time again. you aren't safe enough to go outside, let alone to a public school. you could hurt someone."

"mom, please. i know i can control it. i want to live like you do."

"you can't. kris, i can't say this any other way: you're dangerous. if we don't keep you away, people will get hurt, and it would be your fault."

"mom, let go of me! i'm going!"

"kris, you can't leave-"

"i said let go!"

"....."

"...mom?"

"....."

"i'm sorry mom. i'll be home soon."

"....."

kris walked into the main office, got her schedule, and was sent on her way without a hitch.

she was, admittedly, surprised at how bold and rude people are. shoving, swearing, yelling at the top of their lungs. it was a miracle that she gets to her first class without having some sort of panic attack. school had technically began three weeks ago. any sort of help would be hard to come by.

one step at a time, though.

quietly, kris stepped into the room. a man with thinning hair stood at the front of the room, writing things on a board. with hesitant steps, she walked up to him.

"e-excuse me?" she managed to stutter out.

the man turned around. "yes?"

"um, i'm new, so i-"

the man cut her off. "ah, yes, yes. i remember getting something about a new student. just take a seat back there," he pointed to the back row, where only one other person sat. "plenty of room there."

kris nodded, forcing her feet to move her back down the aisle. the lone boy in the back corner didn't look up, focused intently on what was in front of him. she picked the seat next to his. the boy had raven black hair and stunning brown eyes.

then the bell rang, and kris stopped observing him as the last few people trailed into the room. the desk to her immediate right was the only desk that remained empty. a large tv was turned on, which broadcasted announcements about a basketball game, gpas, new lunch items, so on and so forth. dull.

once finished, kris waited for class to continue. however, the door then flew open. a boy rushed into the class, panting.

"your excuse today?" the teacher- mr. hill, as kris found out- asked without ever looking up from his computer.

the boy took a breath. "would you believe me if i said my ride broke down and i had to run the rest of the way?"

"or you simply ran up and down the stairs a few times to work up a good sweat with the assumption that i am a complete idiot."

snickers.

the boy rolled his eyes and slumped into the seat on kris's right. after a few moments, he eyed her up and down. he had light blue eyes and brown hair, some of which fell over his eyes.

"kris." she introduced herself quietly.

he nodded slowly, staring at her, still panting. "louis."

--

dedicated to katie, of course (◡‿◡✿)

-k