Underneath It All {l.s}

I

Sitting alone in his dormitory was what Harry does the majority of his time since he stepped foot onto Southampton University.

It's tedious, mainly because he has heaps of book work to do almost every week. He signed up for it, however. Harry wanted to be a medical caregiver; he planned to be that guardian somebody can depend on with their loved one. He wanted to make the ill feel more comfortable with doctor visits and such; he also wanted a financially stable life ahead of him. So examining and re-composing notes was what he'd been doing, and yes, maybe Harry ought to have set aside time for his mates, but it was hard. Harry was only trying to get comfortable and find a routine that worked, and well, it had been nearly four weeks.

His timetable was all over the place, with morning classes that seem to take up the greater part of the day, to evenings spent preparing for what was to come the next day. He was just mentally fatiguing himself, but it was ok.

On his laptop, Harry was typing away the notes he took amid that morning's lecture. Maybe he shouldn't be so ambitious and re-write his notes two times over, but he signed up for this. Harry knew when he got to university he needed to crack down on everything and focus on bettering his future. Presently, the only thing Harry needed to work on, besides a decent grade point average, was his friendship with Niall and Ed.

Those two boys have been with Harry through thick and thin, since they were just little lads. Honestly, Harry was quite surprised when they both ended up getting accepted into Southampton. It was quite satisfying to his anxieties, because it meant that he would have at least someone he knew among the masses. Harry had never been great with making new friends, since he'd been so centered around his work more so than anything. Always been a good student, and never got sucked into distractions. Ed and Niall seem to know their routes around his homebody lifestyle, however, and were always convincing him to attempt new things. Harry was just glad they've stuck around this long.

The split in halls here at Uni may divide them, but Harry's just glad he can talk to them in person instead of over the phone. You see, Niall and Harry were situated at Bencraft Hall, and Ed was at Highfield Hall. It'd had been tough, especially when Niall tried to drag Harry out to meet up with Ed to hit up some parties, and Harry hadn't been coming with. If anything, Ed was coming to him, and that made Harry feel like a shit friend.

A moment later there was a loud noise coming from his door and an all too familiar Irish accent cursing at someone out in the corridor.

"You can come in, Nialler." Harry shouted, closing his tablet, and concealing it under his bed. Niall came in and let out a huff, crossed his arms, and looked at him.

"You're coming to this party tonight, Harry," Niall remarked. "It's time to break down that barrier and make some friends." No, just no. Niall knew how essential Harry's studies were to him, and, well Harry couldn't bear the cost of going to parties or futile occasions in his first semester. He mentioned both of his mates that the first semester was off limits.

"Again, no," Harry hissed, crossing his arms. "I made it pretty clear this morning where I'm at on the whole, 'illicit party schemes' you attend." Harry didn't want to go hang out with a bunch of stoners and drunks. It wasn't his scene.

"For the love of Pete, Harry. It's not going to kill you to at least try to come out tonight. I mean, I could use a wingman tonight, since Ed won't help for shit." Ah yes, the classic wingman scheme. Niall had this infatuation with a fellow peer that he'd been talking to at these parties, but Harry had yet to meet him. Or see him for the latter. Harry wondered if the guy was even worth it since Niall's priorities with Uni lay elsewhere other than in his books.

"Just try talking to Ed again. Tell him it's a crisis." Harry recommended.

"You're my best mate though, Harry. Can't you at least do this for me?" Niall asked, pleadingly, "Instead of being cooped up in your room studying the night away and driving yourself to mental exhaustion." Well, Niall was making a reasonable point, but either way, Harry just couldn't abandon his studies. It would not be proper.