Paper Doll [Larry AU]

Chapter Three: Belle

"Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise..." 

- Belle (Beauty and the Beast) 

"Harry, finally. I thought you'd never show up." 

When Harry walked into his room at his frat house, he smiled tightly at the sight of his roommate Niall sitting on the bed. He tossed his bag to the ground, quickly rushing to the closet to gather his bag for football. 

He glanced to his friend, "Sorry, I um, got caught in traffic." 

Niall rolled his eyes but didn't comment on it. Harry dug around, panicking when he couldn't find his sneakers. There's no way he could go to practice without the proper shoes. That's one of the main things coach gets ticked off about. Missing your team shirt? Horrible but manageable. But shoes? That's a big 'no'. 

He groaned when he realized they were not there. He must have left them at his apartment. He wasn't sure when, but maybe he was running late from practice and happened to leave them on without thinking about it. Regardless, they weren't there and now he was about to get snapped at by their coach. 

"Forgot something?" Niall asked, standing up. 

Harry glanced to him, grumbling, "Forgot my sneakers at my uh, my parents' house." 

"That sucks, you're gonna get chewed out for that," Niall said with a sympathetic expression, patting his arm. "At least you'll be there, though, even if we're gonna be late." 

Harry nodded in agreement. He's been late far too many times. It's not easy driving through London traffic when coming from the work building. He's surprised he even made it. Today was just a lucky day, albeit getting snapped at after the photoshoot. Now it's gonna happen again with his coach. 

When Harry grabbed his bag, he noticed Niall staring at him with this expression he couldn't quite make out. Harry shifted awkwardly, self-conscious, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" 

 "Are you wearing lipstick?" Niall asked, squinting with a grimace. 

Harry blushed, quickly wiping his mouth, "What? No, just, uh, I had a strawberry smoothie." 

"Oh, thought you got laid or something," Niall laughed, but still looked a bit confused. "Whatever, mate, let's just go. I can't afford getting another scolding after last time. I swear, coach hates my guts." 

"No, he hates that you don't do shit except whine about running too much," Harry pointed out, smacking his friend in the back of the head. 

Niall pouted but didn't argue, because he knew it was true. Harry adores his friend, but he's by far one of the laziest people in the world. The only good thing is that he accepts it and doesn't argue, like most lazy people would. He is self-aware. That's by far one of the most attractive traits anyone can have. 

When they arrived to the locker room, Harry went to his locker and grabbed his shirt that he already had in. He glanced around briefly, then slowly made his way to the showers. He went into the stall and took a deep breath, tugging off his hoodie and sports bra. Harry quickly wrapped his binding around his breasts, having done this for years. He's a pro at wrapping his chest by now. 

After he got all changed into his practice uniform, he headed into the locker room and tossed his items in the locker. He saw Liam waiting for him and nodded at him with a small smile. Harry walked over and Liam asked, "How was your meeting?" 

"Great, the launch is soon," Harry said with a soft smile. "I just need to think of names for my shades, they're getting impatient." 

"I would imagine so," Liam chuckled. "It's not exactly easy to make a palette without names for the shades."