Unity | Harry Styles AU

XXVIII: cheers

"You can see a clear connection between the painting and the artist's knowledge of the elements and principles of design." Harry said loudly as he looked across us students.

"However, I can guarantee that many of these paintings were created solely with the basic knowledge of realism and proportions." He finished. He sounded very professional.

"Mr. Styles? I have a question." A boy said amongst the group.

"Yes? What is it?" Harry replied with a smirk on his face. He walked closer to him with his hands behind his back. His black boots clinking on the tile of this vast museum.

"The Mona Lisa; it's great and all. But it's so small. And they've even covered it in a glass case so you can't even take decent pictures of the artwork. There are hundreds of huge, amazing paintings in the Louvre that are much more intricate than the Mona Lisa; they don't have a glass case shielding it.. What makes the Mona Lisa so special?" The flamboyant boy asked.

"Well," Harry looked down and walked closer to us- meaning he was also walking a bit closer to the Mona Lisa. "Leonardo Da Vinci created this portrait. It is said that it is the first painting of representational art that featured a smile. Her lips are curved upwards slightly, you see. To different people it may look like she is smiling, and to others she may look as if she is frowning. It depends on your perspective, or as Da Vinci said, Her smile changes depending on where you look." Harry replied.

There was a silence amongst us as we took in what Harry just said. The seriousness was broken when the flamboyant boy from our group said; "That's it?"

We broke out into soft laughter, as did Harry. He grazed his cheek with his finger as he glanced over to the famous painting.

"It was also stolen in 1911 for two years. All of the commotion was built up within those years and it never died down I guess." Harry smiled.

We all looked to the Mona Lisa. There was a humongous group crowding the painting and blocking our field of view. It was beginning to get sweaty in here.

"I think we should spend one last hour here to experience the Egyptian and the Pagan sculptures– we should all call it a day and go for dinner afterwards. Do you agree Professor Golias?" Harry said out loud. Professor Golias nodded approvingly. He didn't say much, he just seemed to be watching Harry intently and judging his teaching abilities. He looked satisfied.. He should be. Harry was pretty great at what he did.

--

We were all spread across a long table at the back of a very dim restaurant. Every single person here was dressed formally, as was I. Harry and I were clearly not allowed to share the same room at the apartment, so he didn't know what I had decided to wear tonight. He was at the other end of our floor where the supervisors and teachers slept. I was stuck with where the rest of the students were.

At night, they would gather into one room or two so they could drink, talk, socialize with one another... And I isolated myself in my suite with my journal.

Everyone seemed to grow closer together as the trip went on, but I did not feel the same. Everyone became friends, but I was not part of it.

Late at night, I could hear their voices through the wall of my room. I could hear them clinking their glasses, I could hear them kissing one another and being public about their relationships to their friends.

It's not that I was lonely. I wasn't. But for some reason, spending my nights alone in this room even while knowing Harry was at the other end of the hall put me under the impression that I was lonely.

Every once in a while I ponder, and this thought crosses my mind.

I always wonder about the 'What If'. What if in a different world I had fallen in love with Harry while he was my own age.. Would I be happier?  Would I feel normal?