Walk on Water or Drown

Chapter Two

Today is the day, Louis thought to himself as he rolled out of bed, covers falling haphazardly on the hardwood floor of his room.

Today is the day Harry Styles teaches me to swim. The older boy's mind was a mess of jumbled emotions, thoughts running wild. Would he drown in the pool? Would Harry get him comfortable in the water again? Could he really get over this?

Louis walked into the kitchen silently, not wanting to wake up his grandmother. He boiled some water for a cup of tea and placed the tea bag in a cup so it could brew while he changed. Sifting through a pile of seemingly clean clothes, Louis pulled out a navy and white striped shirt and a pair of tan trousers; he planned on wearing simple clothes that wouldn't wrinkle easily, seeing as he'd be changing half way through the day anyway.

After dressing himself, he took his towel and school issued speedo and stuck them in his gym bag along with a bar of soap and some Lynx spray. He didn't want to smell like pool all day. Picking up his things, Louis walked back to the kitchen and grabbed his tea, putting in sugar and cream to taste. He gulped it down quickly before putting the cup in the sink and rushing out the door to catch the tram to school.

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"Listen, Louis! You'll be fine. Seriously, it's  not like you can't swim, you just need to get reacquainted with water." Louis' best friend Niall whispered  so that their chemistry professor wouldn't hear them. Louis just stared at the front of the room, pretending that he was paying attention to the lecture when in reality, he was freaking out.

"I'm going to die, Niall. What if Harry thinks that I'm a complete wimp because I'm scared of water?" The older boy thought out loud, eyes still trained on the instructor.

"You're not a wimp, Lou. You went through a traumatic experience, its normal to come away with some type of baggage. I'm sure Harry won't judge you at all." the Irish lad comforted, reaching a hand out and rubbing Louis' shoulder.

"Mr. Horan, Mr. Tomlinson, do you have something you would like to share with the class? Are my lectures on stoichiometry not 'cool' enough for you?" Mr. Borque, their chemistry professor, asked. Niall blushed in embarrassment as Louis just looked on, watching the seconds tick by until the bell finally sounded. With a huff, the teacher turned back around and finished his lecture without any further interruptions.

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Harry Styles had been floored, to say the least, when he found out that he would be "tutoring" Louis Tomlinson in swimming. He knew what had happened to the boy's parents, for his mother had served on the PTA board with Jay Tomlinson. He remembered him from gym class all those years ago, all pale and awkward in his small speedo. He hated the way that the older boys in their class had bullied him, pushed him into the pool. It was just downright mean.

He's to beautiful to be bullied, Harry thought to himself, mind consumed with the idea of Louis' existence. How could anyone want to hurt him? He seems to nice… Not to mention any bruises on his perfect face would be like defacing a work of art… Harry stopped, shaking the love struck thoughts from his head before walking in the general direction on the chemistry lab. He was on his way to pick Louis up for their sixth hour "tutoring" lesson.

The bell rang just as Harry was approaching the door, swarms of students suddenly filling the once empty hallway. The Cheshire boy caught sight of a pair of sparkling blue eyes in the distance. Recognizing the owner as Louis, he began his pursuit, legging it down the hall as fast as he could to catch up. He wouldn't admit it, but when he finally caught up, he was out of breath. Harry hadn't known Louis could move so fast.

"Hey!" Harry said, smiling at the slightly shorter boy as they walked towards the pool. "Are you ready for our first lesson?" The curly haired boy was in a good mood, he got to spend time with his crush of three years. He could learn about him, find out his favourite things, his hobbies. They'd build trust, and maybe it'd evolve into a friendship. If he was lucky, maybe something more.

"Hello, Harry." Louis answered, maneuvering himself through the crowd with ease. Harry could hear the unease in the older boy's voice, the slight quiver of nervousness which Louis thought was carefully concealed. Harry could read Louis like an open book with large print, but he didn't say anything. He just smiled and grabbed the Doncaster lad's hand, tugging him into the pool hall.

"You can go and get changed in the locker room, I'll get things ready out here." Harry told Louis, pointing him in the direction of the boys' locker room. Louis nodded in agreement, turning and walking away. The younger boy sighed forlornly as he watched Louis swagger towards the door, hips sashaying from left to right, ass bouncing lightly with every step. He could feel his mouth watering. It'll be back out here in a speedo in a minute, Styles. Get yourself under control. His conscience scolded him, pushing him to jump into action. He knew Louis knew how to swim, the boy was just afraid of the water. He needed a plan.

As Harry began to strip out of his clothes, tossing them on top of his bag, he conjured up a "lesson plan" for the day. He didn't expect Louis to swan dive directly into the pool, but he wanted at least a tiny bit of progress to be made today. Maybe he'd start them off in the Kiddie pool. The curly haired boy shook his head. No, that'd make him feel like a child, he thought, going back to the drawing board once more. What if I just try and get him to stick his feet in today? Maybe sit on the edge and hang his legs over the side… But Harry's train of thought was interrupted by a cough. The younger boy looked over to find Louis, clad only in his school issue speedo, standing right next to him, blatantly checking him out. Harry looked down self-consciously, making sure that he was properly tucked in to his own speedo. He blushed.

"You ready?" He asked, trying in vain to cover up the fact he was embarrassed. He knew he had nothing to be worried about, years of swim team had toned his body to perfection, but this was Louis Tomlinson.

"No, but it seems as if I have no choice." Louis replied stoically, arms crossed over his chest as if wrapping himself in his own hug. The blue eyed boy scooted himself away from the edge of the pool involuntarily, Harry smiled comfortingly.

"Well, you don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with. But I'm afraid we're on a bit of a time constraint.. So let's get started." The curly haired boy grabbed Louis' hand, reveling in the contact only for a moment before tugging him towards the stairs. Harry left Louis on the edge of the pool, motioning at him to stay there. Turning towards the chlorinated water, Harry stepped in, walking down the stairs until his lower half was fully submerged.

"Its okay. I'm not going to make you get in. I just wanted you to see that its not going to eat me. It's okay. Do you want to try sitting on the edge, maybe putting your feet in the pool?" Harry asked, walking back to where Louis was standing on the side of the pool.

"Umm… Okay." Louis agreed, although he was still  not entirely sure about it. "What if I fall in or have a panic attack?" He worried aloud as he sat down.

"Then I'll be here to catch you. I'm CPR, AED, and first aid certified. I lifeguard at the local Y during the summer. You can trust me." Harry reasoned, placing his hands on Louis' folded legs and urging him to place them in the water. "It'll be okay. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, Lou." the younger boy whispered, looking up into Louis' blue eyes with a smile.

Louis, still unsure, unfolded his legs from his sitting position and moved to place them over the edge. He missed the water, he honestly did, but he had seen what it could do. He'd seen how powerful it was, how it could take away a life, two, in a single moment. Now, the water looked harmless to him. As Harry floated around, majestically gliding as if swimming through air, Louis couldn't help but yearn for the wet touch of the molecules on his skin. He needed to get better, he needed to swim again, he needed the water, and Harry would help. The older boy locked eyes with Harry as he placed the tip of his foot against the glossy surface. Harry's hand suddenly shot out, fingers lacing in between his own. Louis smiled, squeezing the curly haired boy's hand for support.

Louis gasped as his foot submerged in the cool liquid. His mind flooded with memories, but he held them at bay, thoughts of Harry and making him proud overpowering his want to run. He closed his eyes, scrunching his eyelids together tightly so that he could concentrate. He didn't know what possessed him to want to make Harry proud, but he didn't really care at this point. The feel of the water on his skin was terrifying, yet it felt like home. When Louis opened his eyes, both of his legs were dangling in the water, submerged up to the knee. He caught sight of Harry, who was smiling happily. His bright green eyes filled with admiration. Louis smiled back, wondering why those eyes looked so familiar.