seasons of love | Narry Storan AU

chapter 8.

2015

"Mr. Horan?" Shawn calls, right before his student leaves the classroom. Almost everyone is out, but Niall took some more time to pack his things in order to make it impossible to fall out of his backpack.

It happens sometimes. He's not exactly a lucky man.

"Yes?" Niall says, without looking back at his teacher at first, only managing to do it a few seconds later.

They're too close. Jesus, help me, his mind screams.

"Was that boy bothering you during class?"

"What boy?"

"The one who came late", Mr. Mendes tilts his head a bit to the side, trying to show attention to the kind of conversation they're having at the moment.

At first Niall wants to scream how much he hates Harry Styles in every single possible way, but a realization comes to his mind the second after that desire explodes inside his thoughts. It's not like he doesn't want to say it — he really does —, but something is not right about it.

It wouldn't be... correct. It wouldn't be... nice. It wouldn't be... appropriate. It's his goddamn personal life, for God's sake.

"Oh. He's just my roommate. It's like a pleasure for us to make each other angry at, literally, anything." The blond dude shrugs, placing a strap of his backpack on his left shoulder. "Nothing you should worry about, Mr. Mendes."

"I probably said it before to everyone, but anyways... you can call me just Shawn. I hate formalities."

They smile at each other, and shake each other's hands. An electric current seems to pass through the skin of both men the moment they greet each other — but Shawn knows it's just a metaphor for when you meet someone new and there's a whole energy about being close to a person you don't know that much. And so does Niall, and so, for three seconds, he wonders about what it would be like to be more than just Shawn's student.

Bad thought, Niall, he shakes the feeling away, after waving goodbye to his professor. Bad thought.

At the classroom's door, Louis is already waiting for him, his feet stomping impatiently against the hallway's door.

"You took long to come out, huh?"

"Don't", Niall glances a deathly look to his best friend, before hugging him and letting out a smile in his lips. "Where's Liam?"

"We're just roommates, not lovers. We don't need to be close to each other all the time." Louis narrows his eyebrows. "What? Do you want him inside you or something like that?"

"It was just a motherfucking question, Lou, don't bother me with that. Harry is already doing this work."

"Hey, what did he do this time?"

"Guess who's my new classmate during music composition!" The irony in Niall's voice makes Lou's jaw drop a bit.

"No way, Heineken. Wish I could protect you from him."

"Don't worry about it. He's going to get what he deserves."

[...]

After having lunch with Louis and attending the rest of the classes for the day, the Irish lad is ready to get himself to bed and take a long nap until dinner time comes. His plans, however, change in the second he opens the door to his bedroom and there is a naked Harry Styles, staring at the wardrobe, trying to store his clothes in it.

"The fuck is that?" Niall blurts out, dropping his backpack on the floor without thinking twice and ruining all the organization he had made inside it when he was leaving the last class.

"You said I could put everything in here when I wanted to", the British man answers Ni's question, "and that's what I'm doing."

"Naked? With the windows open?" Niall just can't believe in the audacity his roommate dares to use while doing that. "What about the chances of someone out there seeing you in that state and reporting to the rectory of the college?"

"Chill out, Horan. No one would ever report my nudity. It's pretty wonderful, I know you like to see it."

"Just because I'm gay, it doesn't mean that I'm desperate for a dick, you asshole."

Harry just laughs.

"So you're gay?"

"Does it matter to you?"

"No, nothing really matters. It's all about love."

"You're pansexual."

"Why do you assume that about me?" Harold crosses his arms above his chest. "I didn't say a word about it."

"Once someone says 'it's all about love' without saying later that it's a quote from the Beatles, I tend to assume they hate the lines between sexes or something like that", Niall's words take Harry by surprise. "What? You thought I wasn't that smart?"

"No, it's not that, I just... never mind. I'm gonna put some clothes, sorry for that." With that said, the taller man walks to the bathroom with a pair of clothes in hands, leaving Niall to think about what just happened.

They didn't slap each other. They had a proper conversation. 

"Styles?" The young Horan says, putting his lips closer to the bathroom so his roommate can hear him."

"Yes?"

"Rule number two: never be naked in front of each other."