You Think I Hate You? (Larry Stylinson AU) Stepbrothers

Chapter 40

[Harry]

It took me a few minutes until I could feel it. Someone was staring at me. It wasn't one of those stares filled with disgust that I had received the entire day, but more like an intense one. With a frown on my face, I turned to my left, noticing that Niall was sitting in the seat across from me. His eyes were stuck on my figure as his lips were pressed in a thin line.

The second I noticed that he was the one staring at me, I averted my gaze abruptly, looking out the bus window instead. I didn't want anything to do with him right now, not after this morning. I had been avoiding both him and Ed the entire day, and so far, it had worked just fine. Until now.

Thankfully, he didn't say anything. He just kept staring at me as if I was some kind of unsolved puzzle. I wanted nothing but to exit this bus as quickly as possible and get away from him, but unfortunately, there were still a few more minutes until the bus would come to a stop.

Doing my best to ignore him, I fished my phone from my jeans pocket and scrolled through my social media. It wasn't until the bus came to a halt and people started getting ready to stand up that he looked away from me. I mentally let out a sigh of relief and got up myself to exit the bus.

It turned out I wasn't that fortunate, though, and I probably shouldn't even be surprised about that. The second I was out in the cold, I could hear a familiar voice behind me, making my muscles freeze. Against my will, I turned around to face the blonde-haired boy I had once thought I could trust but didn't anymore.

"Niall, what do you want? Honestly, I'm not in the mood to--"

"Harry, please. Just listen to me," he pleaded, looking at me with puppy eyes.

I crossed my arms over my chest, looking at him skeptically. "What do you have to say that could possibly make things better? You and Ed, who I thought were two of my closest friends, have ruined my chance to be with the one I love. There's nothing you can do to make up for it."

He let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry Ed and I outed you and Louis like that, but you have to realize that he is not a good guy, Harry. You're not like him whatsoever. I mean, he smokes and you hate people who smoke. He also acts like some kind of diva who thinks he rules the school. I just... I just don't understand how you can possibly want to be with him," he said helplessly.

A crease formed between my eyebrows. "How can you even say something like that? I thought you were his friend, yet here you are, talking shit about him. If you knew him, you would have known how caring and sweet he can be. He's nothing like you just described. Sure, he smokes, but that doesn't make me love him any less. He's wonderful when he wants to be, and the fact that you're here, talking about him like this makes me sick," I blurted.

He swallowed hard, looking at me nervously. "I didn't... I didn't mean to sound rude or anything. I was just trying to protect you. I care about you, Harry. I want what's best for you, and I know Louis isn't," he said, his eyes pleading.

"Did I hear someone say my name?"

My heart instantly skipped a beat in my chest at the sound of that angelic voice. I would recognize it anywhere, and it always made a smile form on my lips. Turning around, I noticed that Louis was walking up to us, his arms crossed over his chest with an eyebrow raised expectantly.

Niall's eyes widened at the sight of the feathery-haired boy. "I... Hey, Louis," he laughed nervously.

"Don't you dare 'hey' me, Niall. I know very well that it was you and that red-headed bastard who posted all those tweets," he snapped, glaring at the blue-eyed boy.