Sweet Pea •Zarry•

1.

Harry was curled up in his bed per usual, holding his favorite stuffed bear tightly in his thin arms. The days events swirled around his head.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but that didn't mean it was a good day. Harry couldn't remember the last time he had come home after school with a smile on his face.

The kids at school were cruel to him. Harry enjoyed wearing pastel colors and feeling pretty, but that came to an end quickly after hearing the same taunts daily from his peers.

Now he dressed in "normal" clothes. Clothes he hated. Plain jeans and t-shirts, nothing pink. But he would do anything to fit in and make a friend.

To his dismay, dressing differently didn't stop the bullying. Now it was his hair, his height, his weight. He came to think that everyone at school just hated his entire being. And then he started to take their words for truth.

He felt alone. His mother was working all the time, and when she came home she barely spoke to him. She had never been the loving, doting mother he dreamed of. She was just the person he lived with.

His sister had moved away years ago, not taking a liking to either of her family members. She never said goodbye and she never calls. That hurt Harry the most.

But every morning he dragged himself out of bed and went to school. He endured the teasing because he wanted good grades. He wanted to graduate highschool, get a job, and move away. He liked to daydream about working in a small local bakery and living in a cute little cottage with a lovely man by his side.

He doubted this would happen, however. He'd never had a boyfriend before, or even kissed someone for that matter. And he knew it would be a struggle to find a job, being as shy as he was.

The boy could always dream, though.

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Harry sat alone on the bus, dreading the day ahead of him. It was Monday, the worst day of the week, and he had stayed up late the night before finishing an essay. It wasn't due until Wednesday, but he liked to get assignments done as soon as possible so he wouldn't be loaded with a bunch of homework on the same night.

He was sleepy, which made him terrified that he would fall asleep in one of his classes. A detention scared him more than anything.

He walked into the school with his head down like he always did, letting his curls fall over his eyes.

When he got to his locker, Liam and Louis, who had lockers beside his, were standing in front if it.

They didn't notice Harry standing there, so he took a moment to build up some courage before speaking.

"Um, excuse me." He said softly. Liam turned and got out of the way, pulling Louis with him. He smiled gently at the boy and apologized.

The two boys had never been mean to Harry like so many other classmates had, and for that Harry appreciated them. Also, when he collected his things from his locker every morning, he got to listen in to the gossip that seemed to be constantly pouring out of Louis' mouth.

"Did you see Niall this morning? Came in here with a nasty black eye and a bloody nose."

Liam nodded. "Yeah, I saw him getting beat up in front of the school when I got out of my car. I've never seen the other kid before- he looked scary."

"I heard there was a new kid. I guess he's already made a reputation for himself, then. I wonder what Niall did to piss him off."

With that Liam and Louis started walking away together, leaving Harry at his locker alone, still trying to find the correct books for his morning classes.

He thought about what Louis said. A new kid? It peaked his interest a bit, but he was more focused on getting to English on time. After all, a new student was not out of the ordinary.

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It was time for lunch, and Harry was starving.

The school cafeteria food was not appetizing, but he took what he could get.

He had to take a deep breath before entering the lunchroom, as that was where the majority of his bullying took place. He prepped himself, already planning out the exact path he would take to get in line and avoid the tables of mean kids.

It wasn't until he was halfway to the lunch line that Harry realized his pockets were empty and he had left his money at home.

He sighed and turned around, ready to leave the cafeteria and head towards the library. He started to panic when he saw Jeremy, a boy who taunted Harry frequently, stand up from his table with a smirk on his face.

Harry walked quicker, knowing that if he started full on running, Jeremy would just chase him.

He had made it into the hallway. His body was shaking, Jeremy never just used words to hurt Harry, he always got physical. He could hear Jeremy's footsteps behind him, and he could hear that he was chuckling, meaning he brought one of his friends with him.

Suddenly Harry felt himself being shoved forward onto the floor, his forehead hitting the linoleum with a harsh smack.

In a daze, he turned himself over. He didn't get a chance to move away before Jeremy had turned over the styrofoam cup in his hands and poured hot tomato soup all over Harry.

Harry yelped and started to cry. He could hear Jeremy talking and laughing at him, but he didn't listen to what he was saying. He knew it was the same things he always said.

The boys stopped talking when someone walked up beside Harry.

Harry was too freaked out to pay attention to what was being said, more focused on his stomach, which was burning from the scorching soup.

He saw out of his peripheral vision that Jeremy and his friend had walked away, but the other person was still standing above Harry.

Harry pushed himself up against the wall, too afraid to look up at the stranger. He was certain they just wanted to take their turn to mess with him.

But when nothing happened, he stole a shy glance up.

His eyes widened at the beautiful dark-haired boy above him. He must've been the most attractive person Harry had ever seen.

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