The days continued as usual, with school, trips to the mall, and trips to the skatepark all featuring heavily on the roster. One day after school Niall, Zayn and Liam, Harry's schoolfriends Tom and Callum and Jamie, Jason and the football gang, and Louis' skateboard friends all turned up at the mall at once. A boisterious group of nearly twenty boys made their way around the mall, several with skateboards. They went into clothes shops, sports shops and department stores, blocking the aisles wherever they went. Harry found a keychain with a minature skateboard on it in one of the gift shops and bought it for Louis while Louis was exploring the rest of the store. He'd give it to him for Christmas. Louis had his key on a standard keyring right now which he kept in his right trouser pocket. Louis didn't like things around his neck the way Harry did.
The security guard who didn't like them was unfortunately on duty. They enountered him whilst they were walking through the mall and he warned them against blocking other shoppers.
"You can't walk around with twenty of you in a gang. Gangs aren't allowed in the mall," he said.
"We're not a gang, we're just friends," Louis told him.
"You're a gathering, therefore a gang. Break it up, or I'll be forced to call backup."
They didn't listen to him. They were having too much fun. Inevitably, they made their way to the food court. Everyone split up to buy food, before reconvening back at a group of empty tables. A large group of St Joseph's students, their rival school, was also there, dressed in their ties and formal blazers and polished shoes. The St Joseph's guys began catcalling to them, calling out the hole in Jason's trousers, the too-small jacket Louis was wearing.
"They're just wankers," said Jason to Louis. "Ignore them."
Louis managed to, until they started picking on Harry, calling him 'girly-hair'. Louis wouldn't stand for anyone picking on Harry. He stood up and presented himself to the chief name-caller, a boy called Clinton. Clinton had beaten Louis by one position in an athletics carnival before, and thought he was superior.
"Take that back," said Louis.
"Oh, if it isn't Louis Tomlinson," said Clinton, as his friends laughed. "Still failing on the athletics track?"
"I prefer football."
"I bet I'd beat you at that, too."
"Take back what you said about Harry."
"About who?" laughed Clinton.
"About my brother, who you called girly-hair."
"You said it yourself, he's got girly hair. Now, I can't take back something you agree with, can I?"
"Take it back, or you'll regret it," said Louis.
"What are you going to do, Tomlinson? Beat me up, like the primate you are?"
"Take it back," said Louis fiercely.
"No. He's got girly hair."
Harry had stood up by this stage. "Please don't fight," he said to Louis.
But several others of their group were backing Louis up. All of his skateboarding friends had stood up, swishing their boards menacingly. They wouldn't allow an insult to the brotherhood.
"Harry, sit down," said Louis.
Harry spoke to Clinton. "Call me girly-hair all you want. I don't care. I've got more friends than you."
"Is that a challenge, girly-hair?"
"No, it's a fact," said Harry honestly. Clinton and his friends, about a dozen of them, were definitely outclassed for sheer numbers compared to Harry's lot.
