fighting love » l.s.

five - bullies

Thursday was Harry's last normal day at school. Or maybe all of the time before that had just been the calm before the storm. He woke up late on Friday and had to run all the way to school. When he walked into the main hallway, it was already empty. He checked his phone and saw that he was already five minutes late to the first class.

"Shit," Harry muttered, hurrying toward their first period to join the other boys. Suddenly, he was slammed against a locker with someone's hot breath right against his face.

"You're the faggot Nick's been telling us about?" a large football player spat in Harry's face. Pain and fear shot through him, but he didn't respond, keeping his eyes trained on the floor. "Hey, look at me, you fucking moron."

Harry cautiously raised his gaze to meet the other boy's and the boy's fist collided with his stomach. Harry doubled over in pain, clamping his lips together to stop himself from crying out. The boy hit Harry over and over again, until he ended up curled up on the floor with his hands wrapped around himself, trying in vain to lessen his blows.

He delivered a final kick to Harry's side before cruel laughter filled his ears. "You're pathetic. See you around, fag," he called out, and Harry heard his footsteps echo down the hallway.

Harry stayed there on the floor, curled up around myself, until he was sure that he was gone. He carefully sat up, wincing as pain shot through his side. With no one around, he dropped his head back against the lockers and let the tears fall. He tucked his knees against his chest and pressed his face against them, trying to muffle the sobs that racked my body.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but at some point, he realized that he didn't want anyone to find him there. He had no idea what time it was and he wasn't prepared for people to come out of class and find him crying in the middle of the hallway. They were already going to find out that he was a freak. He didn't want to give them anything else to use against him.

Harry pushed himself up off the ground, using the lockers to support him as he hobbled down the hallway. Every time he took a step, pain shot through his side. He made it to the bathroom and locked himself in the stall.

And just in time. The bell rang and the bathroom door swung open. Harry's breath caught in his throat as he heard the familiar voices -- it was Louis and Liam.

"I dunno, mate," Louis was saying. "I really don't know how I'm feeling."

"I do, you just don't want to admit it," Liam countered. Harry could hear them scuffling together as Louis probably hit his shoulder playfully.

"I just need some time to figure this out, I guess."

"I think there's something going on with him," Liam replied. "Have you noticed how he reacts whenever someone touches him? You think his mom's hitting him?"

It suddenly dawned on Harry that they were talking about him. His stomach flipped. He thought that he had his reactions to physical contact under control, but apparently not enough to avoid Liam's watchful eye.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Louis admitted. The blood rushed to Harry's face in embarrassment, realizing that even Louis could tell that he was a freak. If he had any chance of Louis wanting to be with him, it was gone now. Their footsteps echoed across the bathroom as they moved toward the door. "I think he'll talk to us when he's ready, though." And with that, the bathroom door slammed shut, leaving Harry alone once again.

He stayed there in the bathroom all morning. He lifted his shirt in the mirror to explore the bruises that were already forming across his ribs and his stomach. Once he stopped crying, he stood up and practiced walking normally with the throbbing pain in his side.

When the bell rang for lunch, Harry walked out of the bathroom like nothing had happened. He headed to the cafeteria and walked over to where his friends were sitting, pasting a smile on his face as he sat down and trying not to wince as his back hit the back of the chair.

"Harry! Where have you been, mate? I've sent you about a hundred messages," Niall said, grinning widely as the taller boy finally joined them.

"Took the morning off. I slept through my alarm and then gave up on making morning classes," Harry lied.

"Lucky bastard," Liam groaned. "I had to sit through an entire morning of Louis wondering and worrying about where you were." Liam's face went red quickly as he glanced at Louis, who shot him a pointed glare.

"Niall's the one who sent you a hundred messages," Louis pointed out quickly, eyes flicking to Harry's face to gauge his reaction.

A smile spread across Harry's face. He couldn't help it -- Louis was worried about him. Warmth spread through his body, but he just grinned and started talking to Niall, trying to pretend that he didn't notice Louis's embarrassment. Liam and Louis joined in and everything was normal. Everything was normal except for the throbbing pain in his side from this morning and the warm feeling in his heart at the thought that Louis might actually care about him, even as a friend.

"I thought we could go out to a party tonight. What do you guys think?" Niall asked excitedly.

"A party?" Liam frowned and turned up his nose.

"Come on, we never go out, lads," Niall whined. "Louis? Back me up."

"A party could be fun," he admitted. "Harry? What do you think?" His eyes locked with Harry's green ones and he looked worried as he assessed the boy's reaction.

Although Harry's stomach was turning violent flips, he reluctantly agreed. "I guess it could be fun." Louis's blue eyes lit up and Harry was immediately happy to have supported him. He would do anything to see the crinkles at the corners of Louis's eyes, even if he had to be uncomfortable for a couple of hours. "Liam? What do you think?" Harry asked, glancing at the quiet boy.

Liam's eyes met Harry's before he rolled his eyes and nodded. "Fine, we can go."

"Wonderful!" Niall exclaimed before turning to Harry. "Harry, you can come over after school and help me get ready. I heard the cute girl from maths is going and I want to impress her."

Harry suddenly realized that he needed to go home and get ice on these bruises before he ended up crippled for weeks. "Actually, I kinda need to get home and do some things. And I don't really have a ride, so I might not even be able to go anywhere tonight," he admitted. He felt surprisingly disappointed not to be able to hang out with his friends.

"I can drive you," Louis offered.

Harry's heart jumped in his chest at the thought of driving with Louis. "Yeah, okay," he said. "I guess I'll be there, then," he said to Niall, who cheered enthusiastically. They all rolled our eyes at the blonde boy's dramatics, but Harry was still caught up in excitement at spending some time alone with Louis. His blue eyes met Harry's and a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, and Harry couldn't help but wonder if he was thinking the same thing.