"Lovely"

Part Twenty Eight (Harry)

He forgave me.

It was a simple as that.

Louis forgave me and all is well.

After we exchanged silent kisses and said our goodbyes, we headed in different directions for class. Mum tried to cover my black eye the best she could but in all honesty, it didn't phase me too much. I wasn't known as a troublemaker nor was I a pushover but when the glances become full on stares, I started to get a bit self-conscious. And what made it no better was that of all people who commented, Barrett was one of them.

"What the fuck happened to your face, Styles?" He says as I slide into the desk next to his. Groaning in response, I turn and glare at him.

"No need to give me the death stare. I just asked a simple question." He turns in his seat, giving me his full attention.

I can't tell him what really happened because that would ultimately lead to the fact that I'm with Louis. I'm not quite ready to tell anyone yet, let alone him. Also, given the fact that he doesn't look upon "my kind" with too much admiration, telling him would lead to something I'm not ready to deal with right now.

"I got into a fight," I mumble as I play with a loose string hanging on my sleeve.

"You better have gotten a few hits in with an eye like that," he practically yells while pointing to my black eye.

"What do you think?" I spit back.

"I think you lost," he grins while sliding his tongue over his teeth.

"To be honest, I think the other guy is in worse condition. But I'm not trying to sound cocky at all. I swear it." I look at him sincerely as he shrugs it off.

"I know you aren't Harry and I know can you stand up for yourself, but this," he motions to my face again, "is a new low, especially for you. You shouldn't fight unless you without a doubt need to."

Was I actually hearing what I think I'm hearing? Barrett gets angry so easily and has been in plenty of fights that resulted in him being scolded then getting patched up by his grandmother.

"You should be the one to talk! You used to get in fights all the bloody time!"

"Wait a minute.." Barrett pauses as he looks towards the door.

"I saw someone sitting in the nurses office while dropping of the attendance sheet for my Psych class and he was pretty beat up. His face was totally bashed in."

My lungs drop to my stomch as I hear him describe Liam's condition. I didn't get a chance to see him after everything happened. Not like I wanted to see him or anything but I at least wanted to see the damage I had caused that made Louis blow up on me like he did last night.

"You didn't..." he begins staring at me hard. I bow my head, instantly feeling guilty.

"It was you!" He nudges my shoulder, "Harry, that guy is fucking huge. How did you even pull that off?!"

I glance at him from the corner of my eye to see him smiling like he had just won the lottery.

"I..I don't know," I finally say, looking at him fully. "It just happened."

"And all you left with was just black eye and cut lip?"

"That's what it looks like."

"Mate!" he exclaims while clapping me on the back. I give him a small grin, accepting his empty compliment. It felt good to know that someone approved of my actions even if he didn't know exactly why I had done them.

"You have to tell me everything. Why did you two even fight? Isn't he new?" He fires off questions just as the bell rings.

"Thank God," I mumble to myself as a few stragglers fly into the classroom followed by the instructor.