Care for me (L. S.)

6

Thursday the 17th of September | Harry

The next two weeks went by achingly slow. Teachers were giving them more homework than last year and scaring them with tests and the thoughts of A-levels. Harry enjoyed joking with his friends in the hallways as usual and felt like himself again: the feeling he got in the park had disappeared the next morning and he was happy again. Although he had this fear of the feeling coming back, which he tried to forget by eating ice cream with the lads and helping Zayn to secretly smoke on the playground.

He also went shopping with Eleanor on Saturday.

She asked him on Friday, explaining that Louis thought shopping was dull and that she didn't want to go alone.

That was also the moment he put two and two together and realized they were... you know... together. He felt like an idiot for not realizing she was Louis' girlfriend, despite the fact that he'd seen them together countlessly at the bakery. It took him a full week to figure it out and Liam had laughed a bit when he finally did.

He didn't ask her why she wasn't going with her friends and just agreed to go with her. Eleanor wasn't the worst company in the world: he liked her, plus she gushed about his fashion sense, which awakened the narcissist in him.

But mostly he noticed how unhappy and stressed she seemed and he really didn't want to let her suffer.

So the two of them went shopping for the day and Harry couldn't say he didn't have fun.

Eleanor was a perfect shopping-buddy, due to their similar styles and her incredible quality to remain patient at all costs. (She even kept her calm when an employee of Starbucks got her drink wrong and didn't want to make her another one.)

They strolled around the streets, drinking coffee, talking about their favourite designer clothes they would want to buy if their bank accounts would let them. They tried on more clothes than they could carry, only to buy the ones that matched their strict criteria. Harry never minded the weird looks he got from looking through the women's selection, but having Eleanor with him made him feel more comfortable.

At the end of the day, they waved goodbye, both taking another bus to go home.

Harry was glad to have her as a friend, although she spent most of her time with Louis, which meant he couldn't hang out with her that often.

At school, Zayn was quieter, less outgoing, although he did have the occasional debate with their teachers. Most of the time he did look like he was paying attention in class and trying to keep up with his homework.

The exact opposite was Niall: shouting, dancing and laughing all day long, and by doing so, annoying his teachers to death.

Alice followed him around, looking timid but happy, holding his hand and kissing him in front of her locker.

Everything about Liam seemed regular. Although he did act a little more absent than usual. The other boys didn't seem to notice he sometimes left during lunch break and was nowhere to be found until next period. When he told Zayn about it, he finally revealed that Liam sometimes had doctor's appointments during school hours, which scared Harry a bit. So he kept a close eye on Liam, waiting for a sign that clearly said things weren't going well. There wasn't any.

Another person Harry found himself watching was Louis.

He saw how he grew closer to Zayn. (Harry could imagine them bonding over cigarettes and sisters.)

He noticed how he sat with Eleanor at lunch and how he always checked his phone secretly in his locker. How he put on a smile when Harry and the boys approached him. And how small he looked, sitting at his desk with his ankles crossed, dressed in skinny jeans and cozy sweaters or shirts.