the glass boy || l.s.

CHAPTER ONE

HARRY

The weekend rolled by pretty fast and much to my dismay, I had spent most of it rewriting and doing some touch-ups to Dad's journal which was ruined by Dusty. I also made a point to Dusty by giving her a long lecture about how 'good cats do not urinate on important books'. I also tried my best to give her the silent treatment but --

Meow.

And my walls were already crumbling.

I was in our black Mercedes with Gemma, watching the trees zip by and I tried to stare intently out the window without letting my eyes follow the passing trees. It was a game I always play with myself in the car, as there was nothing else that could entertain me for the time being. I knew the secret to the game would be straining my eyes a little so my lens would actually focus in on the car window, but I liked being frustrated by letting myself lose all the time.

"Are you doing that thing with your eyes again?" Gemma piped up from behind the wheel, giving me a side-glance.

"Perhaps I am. Does it pique your interest? You should try it. It works the same as the focus shift exercise for improving your eye muscle strength though I read that a study disproved the belief it could treat myopia, however-"

"Okay. First off, no. I don't want my eyes to stay like that. Second, you've gotta stop that rambling habit," Gemma said, turning the wheel as we turned at a kerb to my school.

"That myth is full of jabberwocky, Gem. Straining your eyes won't give you strabismus," I furrowed my eyebrows, and pinched my lower lip with my fingers.

Gemma rolled her eyes, but had a teasing smile on her face. I knew Gemma knew that the myth has been proven to be just a myth, and she just enjoyed seeing me worked up over something that 'trivial'. As Niall would say, I had my panties in a bunch.

The car came to a halt and I unbuckled my seatbelt, looking at the side mirror and also turning my head to check the punctum caecum before opening the car door and stepping out. I gripped onto the straps of my schoolbag and waved Gemma goodbye.

Once she had honked and sped off, I turned to the gates and scanned my student card. I sighed, another day of listening to teachers maunder about stuff I already knew from my nightly tutor classes.

•

"Hey, Haz."

I felt a hand ruffle my curly hair, and my Irish friend took a seat opposite of me. Taking one look at him had my jaw dropping, along with my ham and cheese sandwich.

"Niall, Oh mon Dieu, mais que se passe-t-il donc? I-"

"Woah Haz, relax, it's-"

"Relax? Relax? You- You- You.."

I didn't realise how my hands have been thrown up to point at Niall in his face to replace my lack of words. Niall chuckled and placed his hands over mine, lowering them to rest gently on the white marble table.

"Pas de souci," Niall said softly, a playful glint in his eyes.

"I just can't believe it, Niall. And you're supposed to say ne t'inquiète pas!" I frowned. He rolled his eyes.

"Nothing's gonna happen this time, Haz," he reassured me. "I hope."

Niall pulled his hands away from mine to toy idly with the black helix clasped onto his left ear. Any sort of accessory was prohibited in school grounds and Niall could have gotten a second warning slip for that. Once a student gets the third warning slip, an expulsion letter is included. Niall got his first one from dying his hair blonde, which was also against the school rules.