Happily

Chapter Ten: We Only Need Love

Marcel had a difficult time walking solus, nearly falling over and using trees as support. No one noticed of course, being in the back and all. I stayed a couple steps behind, just in case he went out cold. There was even a time when he nearly fell over, so he used a tree stump for support. The stump had sap all over it, so he got the sticky substance all over his hand, preventing him from holding onto anything else. That's- incidentally- where I came in, grabbing him despite his protests when he nearly fell into a large region of shrubs. "Marcel," I told him warningly, and he had no choice but to shut up and let me help.

Later on, Niall cracked some joke or another, and the whole class laughed, including Mrs. Sivan. Liam, face crinkling in humour, turned to me and saw me clutching a pale Marcel. He moved back towards us and furrowed his brows, mouthing 'is he okay?' and I had no choice but to shrug my shoulder because really, was Marcel okay?

After a half an hour of walking through shades of green and painted pinks, we reached a clearing with a bed of grass and a couple tree stumps. "This," Mrs. Sivan opened her arms and smiled, "is a place I found. It's great for inspiration I suppose, and well, this will be the first bit of time you can use to write your songs. Take a seat or stand anywhere and get working!

I know, I know," she sighed, "this is not enough time to write a song. However we've got one week including spare time that we will give as your responsibility. Alright, start!" She clapped her hands and stood to the side, leaning on an idle palm tree. A blur of people sat, stood, laughed, and pulled out notebooks from bags. I released Marcel and let him sit on the lush grass, my following suit. "Marcel..." I tangled and untangled my fingers, looking up at him. He cleared his throat.

"Sorry, Louis, about my outburst. I'm not used to people other than my mum caring as such. I'll be right back."

He lifted himself off the ground- nearly falling on the way- and hobbled over to Mrs. Sivan. He bent down to whisper something in her ear and she nodded. Pulling out her backpack, she opened a zipper and Marcel reached in to grab his inhaler. One puff, two puffs, done. Smiling, her gave her a thumbs up and walked over to me. As he made his over, I realized he resembled a large teddy bear- unlike when he dressed like a proper nerd stereotype. His steps were large and he just looked so warm and happy. Besides the pale face that had resulted after his episode, his smile seemed as if it could light up the world.

"All good?" I asked when he sat back down. "All good," he confirmed.

"So," I said.

"So."

"This song?"

"Right, got it. What's it supposed to be about?" He crossed his legs and leaned back on his arms, chest moving up and down.

"Dunno," I shrugged. "Not quite feeling as inspired as the teacher would hope I'm afraid."

Marcel smiled small. "Yeah, me too."

I picked at the grass and looked around. No one was writing or working on songs anyway. It really was like a vacation. Even Mrs. Sivan was chatting herself up with one of the other nerds. "Well then," I said, "let's go join my mates yeah? Unless you want to join your friends?" Marcel looked confused for a moment then blinked.

"Oh no," he laughed nervously, "I don't think my uh, friends- mates, mates, would want me to uhm... Let's go hang out with your friends!"

Narrowing my eyes, I nodded. Something was going on and I wasn't sure what.

Marcel and I joined Niall, Liam, and Zayn a minute later.

"Where's Stan?" I asked. Niall snickered.