Summary : The teacher picked Louis , the shy and soft boy , to tutor Harry , the confident and popular boy . Harry enjoys being with Louis , but Harry's boyfriend hates Louis and will do anything to tear them apart .

Before you read - this one is a very , very long one shot , so bear in mind it's going to take quite a while to read (:

Enjoy x

~~

"I'll see you at the parking lot , alright ?" Harry gave Rory a smile , Rory nodded and pecked his cheek , "Don't make me wait for too long ." He squeezed Harry's hip and left the classroom .

Harry walked towards his History teacher , Mr. Williams , who gave him a smile , "Sit down , please ."

Harry sat in front of his desk , Mr. Williams took his glasses off , "I wanted to talk about your grades ."

"Yes , I figured ." Harry gave him a tight smile ; History was quite a boring subject for him , and it was no secret he did bad on tests and during lessons .

"I really want to know , do you want to get better and get higher grades , or are you fine with how you're coping ?"

"I've been trying to study on my own , but I just can't seem to find a way to remember everything ."

Mr. Williams nodded , "I see . How would you feel if I signed you a tutor ?"

Harry nodded , "I could try that ."

"Good . I'll let you know who it would be tomorrow ." Mr. Williams said and stood up , Harry stood up with his bag over his shoulder , "Thanks ." He left the classroom , walking out of the building .

Rory , his boyfriend of over a year , was waiting by his car , looking down at his phone . He looked up when he saw Harry approaching from the corner of his eye , he smiled and put his phone in his pocket , "Are we going to the diner ?"

"Was thinking we could try the new Cafe near the park , what do you think ?" Harry asked as the two got into the car .

~~

"Hey Louis , come in ." Mr. Williams gestured him to walk closer , Louis stood in front of his desk , "You asked to see me , right ?"

"Yes ." Mr. Williams nodded , "I wanted to ask you if you're up for tutoring one of the classmates ."

"Oh . Um . Can I ask who ?" Louis asked ; he was a wallflower , and most of the students in his grade were not the nicest people . So before agreeing to the offer , he wanted to at least know who needed to be tutored .

"Harry Styles , he's struggling with his grades and I offered to sign him a tutor to help him ."

Louis bit his lower lip , "Okay . Sure ."

He felt somewhat lucky that it was Harry - he was one of the very few students who were actually nice and genuinely good people .

"Great , I'll let him know so you two can work it out between the two of you ." Mr. Williams smiled and nodded at him , Louis nodded back and walked out of the classroom .

~

It was the last class of the day , which happened to be History . Louis sat nervously in his seat in the second row by the window ; he had a feeling he was going to have to face Harry after class and he was nervous . He and Harry never talked before , but then again , he never really talked to any of the students in his grade , only fewer of them when he really needed to .

He doodled a bit on the last page of his notebook as he listened to Mr. Williams talking , and shortly after he turned to write something on the board a piece of folded paper landed on his table . He shivered a bit , it could either be a mistake and the note was supposed to be for someone else , or someone wrote mean things to him again thinking it would be funny .

He had no choice but to unfold the paper to find out . He felt his shoulders dropping in relief when he realized the paper was from Harry .

meet me at the front of the school after class?
Harry

He looked up at Mr. Williams to make sure he was busy enough , seeing him trying to open something on his laptop to show the class . He shyly turned his head to the row behind him , blushing soft-pink when he saw that Harry was already looking at him . He gave him a nod , Harry smiled and nodded back .

The class ended , everyone grabbed their belongings and scattered out of the room , Louis took his time to let everyone out before going out himself . He stopped by his locker to place a few notebooks and a textbook inside , taking only the ones he needed for homework , then closed the locker and made his way out of the building .

His heart hammered in his chest as he stepped outside , he saw Harry standing by the sides where the benches were , but he slowly stopped walking as he realized his boyfriend was there aswell , and they were arguing .

"Can we please talk about this later ?" Harry ran his fingers through his hair , Rory put his hands on his hips , "No . I'm staying right here ."

"Ro , he's only tutoring me , what's the big deal ?" Harry shook his head at him , "I just need to talk to him for a minute ."

"And I'm going to stay right here and make sure he knows you're taken and to not try anything with you ." Rory shot back .

Louis cheeks painted red ; of course he knew Harry was taken , Rory was all over him wherever they went together . He would pull Harry in to make out with him in the middle of the school hallways , constantly call him with pet names , made sure to talk very loudly about going on dates with his very taken boyfriend . It was quite annoying , but there was nothing anybody could do about it .

Even if Harry wasn't taken , there was no way Louis would try anything with him . Not because he didn't want to , because Harry was perfect inside and outside , but because there was no way Louis deserved someone like him .

"Okay , you know what ? Please catch a ride home with one of your mates , I don't want to talk to you right now . You're angry and we both need to cool off , I'll come by in the evening ." Harry said , Rory's jaw dropped , "Excuse me ?"

"Please go , I don't want to argue anymore ." Harry shook his head and took a few steps back away from him , sitting on one of the benches .

Rory huffed but walked away , rolling his eyes as he called out to one of his friends .

Louis hesitantly stood there , lip caught between his teeth . He should just go and get this over with , but seeing Harry with his arms crossed over his chest and knee jumping in annoyance , he was wondering if he should let him cool off for a bit before approaching .

He took a few deep breaths before walking over to him , Harry looked up and smiled , "Hi ."

"Hey ." Louis stretched his lips into a small smile , watching as Harry stood up from the bench . They weren't standing very close to each other , but seeing Harry standing to his full height made Louis blush . Harry was taller than him , the top of his head reaching his shoulder , face leveled with his chest , almost the middle of his torso .

"So , about the tutoring ." Harry started , shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets . "I'm free most afternoons , except for Tuesday and Thursday , and weekends of course . We can do once or twice a week , if that's okay ."

"Yeah . Sure ." Louis nodded , "I-It won't be for the whole afternoon , though , maybe an hour and a half , two hours every time . So you still have the rest of the evening ."

Harry smiled , "Good . Uhm , well , tomorrow is Thursday so I can't , but Friday is a short day , could we maybe meet up for a bit , just for you to realize how shit I am at this subject ?"

Louis chuckled as he nodded , "Okay . Uh , we can - go to the library ? The one across the street from the thrift shop ?"

"Sure . Is One thirty okay with you ?"

"Yeah , it's fine ." Louis nodded , Harry nodded back , "Great . See you tomorrow , then ."

"See you ." Louis said back , watching Harry going in the direction of the parking lot , as he started walking down the street back to his house .

It was a twenty five minutes walk , and when he got to the house he sighed in half-hearted relief . It might be his house , but unfortunately it was no real home . He was still living with his family , kind of , but not in the same space as them . A year and a half ago , when he came out to them as gay , they were not pleased with it at all . Despite them thinking it was not okay , Louis' mother , Flora , decided against letting him go and instead let him stay in the basement . It had a second entrace so Louis wouldn't have to go in the house to get there , he had a bed , a dresser for his clothes , a fridge and a table , a stove , a tiny bathroom and shower . It was almost enough .

He got into the basement and closed the door behind him , placing his bag down . He opened his fridge , taking out a milk carton to eat a bowl of cereal before he had to go to work . His job didn't include much , only washing dishes at a small restaurant , which was okay because it paid him enough to buy himself a bit of food , and he also got one meal for a shift , which was quite enough since he had four shifts during the entire week .

He wanted to try harder to change the way he lived , but at the same time was grateful he had what he had becuase it could easily be worse .

~~

~~

Louis got to the library a bit earlier , mostly to calm down his nervousness . Having a one on one sitdown with Harry made him nervous , he wanted to leave a good impression on him .

Soon enough Harry walked into the library , he looked around and spotted Louis sitting at one of the tables by the back where the big glass windows were .

He walked over and pulled the chair across from Louis out , "Hi ."

"Hi ." Louis straightened in his seat , Harry sat down and put his bag on the chair next to him , "Okay , so . To help you understand how shit I am , I brought the last three tests we had ." Harry said as he opened his bag and searched inside , "But please , you have to promise you wouldn't laugh because I wrote some stupid stuff there ."

"Okay . Promise ." Louis chuckled quietly , Harry pulled out the tests and put them down in front of Louis , leaning his forearms on the table . Louis reached his hand out and took the papers , he read through the questions and answers , having to bite onto his lower lip to stop himself from chuckling more .

"I see you , I know you want to laugh ." Harry pointed a finger at him in mock-accusation , Louis pursed his lips together , "I just - we have a lot to work on , it looks like ."

"Ugh , I know . I'm so bad at this ." Harry let his forehead fall down on his arms , before lifting himself up to take the papers from Louis . "How should we start ?"

"We'll take it slow , and just , go through everything there is . It's not as complicated as it sounds ." Louis assured him , "I can break it down for you , and like , explain in simpler words for you to understand ."

"That would be lovely . Thank you ." Harry smiled , "What time are you free next week ? Except for Tuesday and Thursday , of course ."

"I - I'm free on Mondays and Wednesdays . I could do Fridays too some of the time , not for long though ." Louis pulled his sleeves over his hands .

"Cool . So we could meet up on Monday after school ? Three o'clock , here ?" Harry asked , Louis nodded , "Sure ."

"Great . I need to go now , I'm sorry , but I'll see you on Monday ." Harry said and put his papers inside his bag , zipping it close and standing up from his seat .

"See you on Monday ." Louis nodded , Harry gave him one last smile and said a small thank you before walking out of the library .

Louis sighed out in relief ; it went well , fortunately . He stayed at the library for longer , deciding to do his homework for the weekend while he was already there so he had the weekend to rest between his shifts at work .

~~

~~

Monday came around , there wasn't a History class during the day , but Louis did see Harry in the hallways , with Rory glued to his side , of course . He avoided their group as much as he could , since Rory's friends were not nice people at all . They weren't exactly bullies , but they knew how to control the students around them . When they wanted something , nothing stopped them from getting it done .

School ended at two fifteen , so Louis had fourty-five minutes before he needed to be at the library . He walked out of the school building and started walking to the library , stopping on his way there to buy himself a small sandwich from the food truck that sold nice omlette sandwiches , and a water bottle .

He got to the library at two minutes to three , hearing someone calling his name . He turned around and saw Harry walking down the pathway to the entrace , smiling at him , "Hey ."

"Hey ." Louis smiled back as he waited for Harry to join him , Harry opened the library doors and gestured for Louis to go in first . Louis mumbled thank you and walked in with Harry following , they sat at the table at the back and pulled out their papers .

"Where are we starting ?" Harry asked , Louis pulled his notebook out of the bag , "I revised pretty much everything we were taught , mostly for tests . So we'll just go through it and break it down , like I said on Friday ."

Harry nodded , "Okay ." He then held his pinky out towards Louis , "Pinky promise me you won't make it boring ."

Louis looked down at his hand , then shyly linked their pinkies together , "I promise to do my best ." He said before pulling his hand back , feeling like his pinky was on fire from touching Harry's hand .

"Fair enough ." Harry smiled ; for some reason he found himself amused at how small Louis' hands were next to his own .

Louis opened the first page in his notebook , "Okay , first subject ."

Harry listened closely as Louis talked , stopping him to ask questions or repeat what he said when he didn't understand . He was thankful Louis was patient with him , because an hour and a half later they were only halfway through what Louis wanted to get done .

Harry also found it easier to listen to Louis , his voice was very soft and it was almost as if he knew how Harry's mind worked - he first told him the general idea , then let him read from the notebook and ask his questions , then he explained what he read in simple words .

"Thank you for today , it went really well ." Harry said once they were out of the library , "I was afraid I would be so bored of it and end up not lasting thirty minutes ."

"I'm glad ." Louis had a small smile on his lips , "You did good today , I really felt like you understood what we talked about ."

"I really hope so ." Harry sighed . "When is the next time you're free ?"

"Um . Wednesday , and Friday noon right after school ." Louis said , toying with his sweater paws .

"Let's do Wednesday , then ? Three o'clock here at the library ?" Harry asked , "I'm busy on Friday ."

"Sure ." Louis nodded , Harry smiled , "Great . Do you need a ride home ?"

"Oh - oh , no I'm good ." Louis shook his head , Harry took his car keys out of his bag , "Are you sure ?"

"Yeah , I don't live that far away from here ." Louis told him , which was kind of a lie - it did take five minutes by car , but it would take him fourty five minutes by foot .

Harry furrowed his eyebrows . "Were you planning on getting home by foot ?"

Louis pursed his lips together . "I-It's not that far , just a few minutes ."

"No . Come on , I'll give you a ride ." Harry started walking towards his car , Louis sighed , "It's really not a big deal , -"

"Nope . You've got no choice . Come on , now ." Harry unlocked his car , Louis let his shoulders drop in defeat as he walked over to Harry's car . He got into the passenger's seat and buckled himself , Harry pulled out of the parking spot , "Guide me where to go ."

"Just straight on the main road , I'll tell you where to turn left ." Louis said , hands hidden inside of his sweater paws between his knees .

They drove in silence for a minute , before Harry spoke up , "Tell me something about you ."

Louis blushed soft-pink , "Like what ?"

"Anything , really . I barely know you , and we're going to spend quite some time with each other ." Harry said , "I'll give you an example ; my favourite sweet is chocolate-chip cookies ."

Louis smiled softly , "Mine is chocolate-chip vanilla muffins ."

"Nice . When was the last time you had one ?"

"Two or three weeks ago ." Louis said .

"Where do you buy them ? Like , is there a specific place or just the first place you come across ?"

"There's a bakery I really like , Gina's Bakery . They bake really good ones ." Louis said . It felt nice talking to someone , sharing his likings . He was wondering if Harry found him annoying for talking so much .

Harry smiled , "Oh yeah , it's one of the best bakeries in town ." He said , "I've always liked baking , but never really got to do something with it . Well , I bake at home and it's nice , but I mess up the whole kitchen , and so I make sure that when I bake I let my mum have the first bite to make up for the mess ."

Louis found himself smiling at his little story , he thought it was cute . He was also happy that at least one of them had a good relationship with their mother .

"Turn left here ." Louis nodded his head , Harry turned left and drove down the street , "Which house ?"

"Turn left on the second road , then I'll tell you where to stop ." Louis said , Harry turned left where Louis told him , then stopped in front of the house .

"Thank you for the ride home , you really didn't have to ." Louis unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed his bag , Harry smiled , "It's no problem , really . I'll see you tomorrow at school ."

Louis nodded , "See you ." He gave him a shy smile and stepped out of the car , closing the door behind him . He crossed the road to get to his house , circling the house to the right to get to the basement door .

~~

~~

It was later that week , the bell rang for lunch break . Louis made a stop at his locker to drop off a few notebooks and text books , and fill his bag with the ones he needed for he next few classes , when he saw someone approaching him from the corner of his eye .

He tensed as he turned around slowly , shoulders dropping when he saw it was Harry .

"Hey , are you headed to lunch ?" Harry asked , Louis nodded , "Yes ."

"Do you want to sit with us ?" Harry asked with a smile , "The lads are already there , I think ."

"O-Oh - I - no , thanks though ." Louis felt a cold shiver running through his body at the thought of sitting there , with all of Harry's friends , not to mention Rory and his friends too . His skin filled with goosebumps , "I'll skip ."

"Are you sure ?" Harry asked again , "Do you want to tell your friends to sit with us aswell ? We wouldn't mind ."

It made Louis' heart clench in his chest , for two reasons ; he didn't have friends . And even if he did , he wasn't sure they would want to sit with those guys at the table . It's always been just him , spending his lunch break far away from everyone . If the weather was nice he would sit at the bleachers , and if it were raining he would go to the back of the school building , where there was a bench under a roof .

"I'm sure . Thanks for offering though ." Louis nodded and closed his locker .

Harry twisted his mouth to the side , "Well , if you change your mi -"

He was cut off by Rory appearing from behind Louis , "Hi , baby , I missed you ." He said with a smile and grabbed the back of Harry's neck , pulling him into a loud kiss . Louis shifted uncomfortably , looking away when Harry moved his arm to wrap around his middle , "Hi , Ro ."

"What were you two talking about ?" Rory asked , keeping his arm around Harry's neck as he smiled at the two , too evidently annoyed by Louis' presence .

"I asked Louis to sit with us for lunch , but he's going to sit with his friends ." Harry said .

"Oh , well then , his desicion . Let's go now , I'm hungry ." Rory pressed his lips to Harry's cheeks and pulled him along , Rory's friends following them .

On of them , Evan , leaned a bit towards Louis . "Stay away from Styles ." He said and turned away , as another one , Tristan , bumped his shoulder into Louis' .

Louis swallowed thickly as he adjusted the bag on his shoulder , going to the back of the school to eat his lunch .

~~

~~

Louis hurried into the library as light rain started falling , he walked inside and cleaned his shoes on the rug before walking further in and sitting at his and Harry's usual table . He was twenty minutes early , so he used the time to start his homework . There was no use going on his phone , because honestly , who would he text ?

He was almost done with a math problem , his surroundings blurred as he focused on finishing , when he felt two hands on either side of his body , fingers prodding his ribs to tickle him . He jumped in surprise and grabbed the hands , hearing a light laugh from behind him .

"Sorry , sorry , you were just an easy target ." Harry grinned as he moved from behind him to the seat across from him , Louis let out a breath , arms crossed over himself so his hands are covering his sides for protection , "You scared me ."

"I know , it was funny ." Harry sat down , "I know how to make it up to you , though ." He reached for his bag and opened it , pulling out two chocolate-chip vanilla muffins .

Louis' cheeks painted pink as his chest warmed up , "Y-You - you remembered ?"

"Of course ." Harry smiled and handed him a muffin , keeping the other one for himself , "It's one of my ways to tell you how grateful I am that you're willing to tutor me , even though I can be quite frustrating ."

"You're not - you're not frustrating ." Louis shook his head , "You're good ."

Harry's smile widened , "Even when I tickled you out of nowhere ?"

Louis chuckled and shook his head , closing his homework , "Let's just start ."

They were a bit over halfway done with going through the subject , which was going quite well , they cracked jokes in-between and Harry even allowed himself to tease Louis a few times .

What pulled them out of their studying session was the chair next to Harry sliding outwards , the two lifted their heads only to see Rory sitting down , a tight smile on his lips , "Hey , baby . I hope you don't mind me joining for a bit ."

"Oh - no , I don't mind ." Harry smiled with his eyebrows furrowed together , "You didn't tell me you were coming , is everything alright ?"

"Yeah , I was around and I was bored so I thought I would come see how smart my boyfriend is ." Rory smiled and leaned in to kiss Harry quickly , his hand moving to hold Harry's bicep .

Harry turned to look at Louis , who was looking down at the notebook . "Is that okay with you ?"

Louis nodded , "Yes , sure , I don't mind ."

"Great , let's get back to studying now ." Harry leaned forward in his seat .

Louis' voice dropped a few octaves , speaking in almost a whisper as he asked Harry to continue reading the paragraph . He shifted in his seat , feeling Rory's eyes burning into him , which successfully intimidated him .

Rory leaned his chin on Harry's bicep , moving his head up to lean on his shoulder . He could not care less about what Harry was reading , all he wanted to do was show Louis that Harry was his and to back off .

Louis then explained to Harry in simple words what he read and let him ask questions , his voice still quiet as he avoided his gaze , and looked everywhere but at Harry's face or Rory .

Rory was getting fed up with listening to Louis talking , so he moved to a different tactic ; he turned his face towards Harry and pressed a kiss to his cheek , then another one closer to his ear . He trailed the kisses down to his neck and mouthed on the skin , he could care less about them being in public while Harry was trying to study - he had to do anything to get Louis to leave .

Louis was shifting uncomfortably in his seat for a bit before shaking his head , "I-I'm sorry , Harry , I - we'll end here ." He pushed his hair up from his forehead and took his notebook , closing it and standing up with his school bag over his shoulder .

Harry sighed and pushed Rory off him , "No , Louis , I'm sorry , I - Ugh ." He groaned when Louis didn't listen as he kept walking away , Rory still tightly attached to him and not letting him go even when he tried wiggling away .

"Rory , get off me , right now ." Harry was pissed ; he was trying to study , get his grades up , and he expected Rory to be supportive of him studying after school hours , but instead he was trying to distract him from it .

Rory smiled and bit his lower lip , "Finally alone , are we ?"

Harry sharply stood up from his seat , taking his bag with him . His heart twisted in his chest when he saw Louis' untouched muffin still on the table , he took it and pushed his chair into the table , "Let's go . Now ."

Rory followed Harry out of the library and to his car , Harry got in the driver's seat and slammed the door shut , placing his bag in the backseat ; if the muffins weren't in the bag still , he would've thrown it without a care of what's inside .

"Are you fucking kidding me ? What was that for ?" Harry switched the car on , Rory rolled his eyes , "Well , sorry I wanted to kiss my boyfriend , how wrong of me ."

"Yes , yes it was wrong of you ." Harry pulled out of the parking spot , "I was trying to study , you know I want to get my grades up for college . Why would you try to distract me from studying ?"

"I don't like that Louis guy ." 

"He's done absolutely nothing to you , why would you not like him ? It's okay not to be everyone's friend , but you dislike him for completely no reason ." Harry stopped at a red light . "You made him very uncomfortable , and for what ?"

"He needed to know that you're my boyfriend ." Rory shot back , "Can't let him think he can daydream about you sucking him off ."

"For fuck's sake , why would you even say things like this ? I'm dating you , aren't I ? Louis is my friend , and I won't let your childish behaviour ruin our tutoring sessions or our friendship ." Harry pressed the gas pedal as the light turned green ; luckily Rory didn't live too far away .

"This is just fucking ridiculous ." Rory breathed out in anger , "You're not seeing it but he's trying to snatch you up , he knows you come from a wealthy family and he wants you for the money ."

"I'm not having this conversation with you anymore , this is getting out of hand ." Harry shook his head , "You're unreasonable and you act like a child ." He stopped in front of Rory's house , "Go , I don't want to see you right now ."

Rory shook his head , "Fuck you ." He stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut , running up the pathway as it started raining .

Harry sat there for a few seconds , running his hands over his face as he took a deep breath , when he realized - Louis doesn't have a ride home , and it's raining .

"Shit ." Harry turned back to the main road and back in the direction of the library , he drove down the road looking both sides of the street to see if he could find Louis .

And there he was , walking down the street as the rain drenched him , arms hugged around himself to stay warm .

Harry slowed down the car and rolled his window down , paying no attention to the rain seeping into his car , "Louis ."

Louis turned his head , shivering from the cold . He didn't say anything . 

"Get in the car , I'll drive you home ." Harry told him , Louis shook his head , "I'm soaked ."

"I don't care , get in ." Harry insisted , Louis shook his head , "I-I can't , I'll - "

"Louis , if you're not going to get in , then I'm walking with you all the way home ."

Louis bit his lower lip ; he didn't want Harry to get soaked too , so he got into the passenger's seat and rolled the window up , buckling himself in .

Harry licked his lower lip as he pulled back to the road , "I'm really sorry for Rory's behaviour ."

"Don't apologize , you didn't do anything wrong ." Louis shivered , Harry quickly turned the heat up higher . "I really am sorry , I should've stopped him much sooner ."

"Don't worry about it ." Louis shook his head .

They spent the rest of the ride in silence , Harry parked in front of Louis' house and watched him unbuckling his seatbelt .

"Wait , before you go ." Harry said and reached towards his bag in the backseat , he pulled the muffin out and handed it to Louis , "There . You forgot it on the table when you left ."

Louis gave him a small smile as he took the muffin , "Thank you . For the ride , and the muffin ."

"No problem ." Harry smiled back , watching as Louis stepped out of the car with his bag , closing the door behind him .

Louis circled the house to the basement entrace and got in , locking the door behind him , he put his wet bag down by the dresser and placed the muffin on the small table , sighing sadly . He went to shower , peeling the wet clothes off him before stepping under the shower head , letting the hot water wash away the cold rain . He couldn't hold it in anymore , and before he knew it he was crying into his hands , sinking down to sit inside the small tub as he sobbed quietly .

~~

~~

Over the next two weeks Louis constantly looked over his shoulder ; he felt Rory's eyes on him whenever he walked down the hallways , or Rory's friends bumping into his shoulder as a warning .

It took a bit of time before he saw Rory and Harry back together ; he had a feeling they would fix things between them eventually . But something about Harry wasn't right - when he was with Rory his smile never reached his eyes , and he never tried to initiate anything first - not a hug , or a kiss , or simply put his arm around him without Rory grabbing his arm to rest around his shoulders or middle .

He'd been tutoring Harry for a month , before Mr. William notified them about a test the week later . When the lesson ended and everyone walked out of the room , Harry approached Louis who was collecting his things into his bag .

"I'm worried ."

Louis looked up at him , "Why ?"

"There's a test . What if I didn't study hard enough ?" Harry held his lower lip between his teeth , eyes wide with concern .

Louis stood up from his seat and put his bag over his shoulder , "You studied really well , I think you'll do good ." He assured him .

"Are you sure , though ? I mean , you know the subject better than me , and you've been helping me a lot , and I just - are you sure I'll pass ? I'll be happy even with a B- ." Harry walked out of the room with him , Louis wrapped his arms around himself as he tried keeping a bit of distance from Harry , not too far but just enough incase Rory or one of his friends saw them .

"I believe that you know , and if you'd like we can go over everything in our sessions before the test ."

"Yes , I would love that . Thank you ." Harry nodded , Louis nodded once , "Cool . So , tomorrow at three ?"

"Tomorrow at three ." Harry confirmed , "See you then ."

~~

They had a week to prepare for the test . Harry really wanted to show both Mr. William and Louis that he was trying his hardest to pass the class , and he was grateful Louis was more than willing to meet up with him one evening during the weekend to study more .

It was the day of the test , Harry was waiting at the front of the school with two of his best mates , Liam and Zayn .

"Haz , calm down , you've been studying for the test more than you did for any test in your life ." Liam rubbed his shoulder , Zayn nodded , "Li's right , you're going to pass the test and get a good grade , just calm down ."

"I really want to speak with Louis before , though . Need him to tell me that , too ." Harry's knee jumped nervously .

Zayn smiled , "When are you going to introduce him to us , eh ? You two have been friends for a while now , we want to say hello ."

"Soon , I promise , he's - he's just really shy , and I don't want to just , throw it on him , I need to tell him I'm going to before doing that ." Harry said , when he saw Louis' small figure between the students . "He's here , bye ." He said before taking off .

"Louis ." He called his name , Louis turned his head towards him and stopped walking , "Hey , is - is everything okay ?"

"I just - wanted to talk to you . Before the test ." Harry sighed out , "Am I really ready ?"

"You are , don't worry about it ." Louis assured him , "You've been studying really well and yeah , you'll do great ."

Harry nodded , biting his lower lip . "Okay . Good ."

"Good ." Louis nodded back , "I - we sh-should go inside ."

"Right , let's go ." Harry walked alongside him into the building , they separated ways to go to their lockers which were in two different hallways .

~

Lunch break was right after the test , and Harry hurried to Louis' locker to talk to him again .

Louis just closed his locker when he saw Harry , he gave him a small smile , "Are you alright ? You're frowning ."

Harry nodded , "Yeah , I just - you know . Nervous ."

"Don't be . I'm sure you did good ." Louis held onto the strap of his bag , Harry crossed his arms and leaned backwards against the lockers .

"Can I - can I sit with you for a bit ?" Harry asked , Louis' cheeks painted pink with blush . "O-Oh , sure . What about - what about Rory ? Your friends ?"

Harry smiled softly , "Let's go sit somewhere ."

Louis followed Harry to the back of the school building , where they sat on the bench . Louis glanced at Harry , noticing something wasn't exactly okay . "What's wrong ?"

Harry sighed lightly and crossed his arms over his chest , "My friends already know , and uh , I figured that since you're my friend too , and you know about the situation , I could ask for advice from you aswell ."

Louis turned a little bit to face him , a worried look on his face .

"Rory and I have been dating for over a year , but um , his behaviour changed over time . I noticed , of course I did , because when we first met and started dating he was all friendly and easy going . Now he's turned into a possessive arse , he's mean for no reason . I tried talking to him , multiple times , but it never gets better ." Harry breathed out , "I know I need to end things with him , our relationship isn't happy anymore and he's toxic . I just don't know how ? He's not easy to talk to anymore , we've been arguing over stupid shit , and I'm worried it won't go through his thick skull ."

Louis bit his lower lip ; it was both a relief and heart-clenching to hear Harry's words . He was relieved that Harry was finally taking the step of breaking things off with Rory , but listening to him talking about how unhappy he is and how worried he felt , made his heart clench in his chest .

"Well , I ... I've never been in a situation like this , so I might not be very helpful ." Louis toyed with his sweater paws , "But if I were , I would have a one on one talk with them , whether they like it or not , whether they want to hear what I have to say or not . I would tell them how they made me feel , and reason the split up by telling them I'm walking away from something that doesn't make me happy , because I want to be happy and it wouldn't be with them ."

Harry listened quietly , a small smile on his lips . Louis had some good advice , he liked it .

"I would tell them that I tried saving the relationship but they didn't let me , so I'd have to let them go because it's not mutual anymore . And , uh . Yeah ."

Harry's smile grew wider , he turned to Louis and reached his hand out , holding one of Louis' small hands in his own . "Thank you . That's some good advice ."

"Welcome ." Louis smiled back shyly .

"On a different note , my friends would like to meet you ." Harry said , not missing the way Louis froze in his seat . "Wh-What ?"

"I've been telling them a bit about you , and they asked me to introduce you to them ." Harry gave his hand a light squeeze , "My friends aren't Rory's friends , they're better people , nicer , funnier . I told them I would ask you first ."

"Who - who wants to ... uhm ... "

"Liam , Zayn , Niall and Nick . Proper nice lads ." Harry said , "Only if you want to , of course . I'm not forcing you into anything ."

(a

: I know Nick is usually a bad guy in fics , but Im tired of that concept and he's going to simply be a good friend of Harry's , so don't worry about him , he's not the villain)

"I - maybe not soon ? B-But soon enough ." Louis said , Harry nodded , "Sure . Whenever you're ready ."

Louis nodded and shifted a bit in his seat , Harry gave him a smile , "Loosen up , they're really good guys and I promise to punch them in the throat if they make you uncomfortable ." He joked , the corners of Louis' lips tugged upwards just a bit .

"Hey , come on , don't think about it too much ." Harry squeezed his hand , before wiggling their arms together , "I'll distract you ." He pulled his hand out of Louis' small one and moved it to his side , tickling him just a bit .

Louis jumped in his seat as a smile spread on his lips , he pushed his hand away but Harry only tickled him again . He laughed a bit and stood up from the bench , covering his sides with his arms .

Harry laughed along with an amused glint in his eyes ; he found it absolutely funny tickling his friends , but Rory used to get really mad at him for doing that so he avoided it , getting his friends instead from time to time .

"Sit back down , I won't do anything ." Harry chuckled , Louis shook his head , "No , you'll get me again ."

"I won't , please sit down ." Harry patted the bench , Louis hesitantly sat back down on the edge of the seat , sliding back to lean on the back of the bench .

Harry was about to reach his hand out to try and tickle him again , when his phone started ringing . He scrunched his nose and pulled it out of his pocket , shoulders slumping when he saw it was Rory . He leaned forward so his elbows leaned on his knees , one hand rubbing his eyes as he answered the call .

"Hey ."

"Where are you ? Lunch started twenty minutes ago ."

"Had something to do , I'll be there soon ."

"I know you're with Louis . I don't fucking care anymore ."

"Well , why did you call , then ?"

"Whatever . Stay there , I don't care ."

With that Rory hung up , Harry sighed and put his phone in his pocket , not bothering to care about it either .

Louis bit his lower lip , "Was it ... was it Rory ?"

"Yeah . I really can't do this relationship anymore ." Harry shook his head and leaned back on the bench , "I'll talk to him today , I don't care how long it'll take ."

~~

Harry gave Rory a ride when the day ended , they drove in silence . Harry's jaw was tight as Rory pettily had his arms crossed over his chest , and knees turned away from Harry towards the door .

"Where are we going ?" Rory asked .

"Somewhere we can talk ." Harry answered simply , Rory huffed and rolled his eyes , "I already know what we're going to talk about , so cut the bullshit . Park here and we can talk ." He gestured to the park's parking lot .

Harry sighed and turned right to the parking lot , parking at the end where there weren't any cars . He turned the car off and unbuckled himself , feeling as if the seatbelt was too tight on his chest and he couldn't breathe .

Before he could open his mouth Rory talked . "I don't know what Louis did to you , but you're not the same Harry . We used to be so good together and then he arrived and things went downhill ."

"Louis didn't do anything wrong ." Harry shook his head .

"Yes , he did , and we both know it ." Rory argued , "He's trying to seduce you , he wants your family's money . He doesn't give a shit about your feelings ."

"You have absolutely no idea what the fuck you're talking about ." Harry shook his head , "Louis did nothing wrong . He was simply tutoring me and we became friends , how is that wrong ?"

Rory chuckled humourlessly , "Do you really believe he's that innocent ? He only cares about having your money !"

"You don't know Louis ."

"And you do ?" Rory raised his eyebrow , "Tell me this ; did you know he doesn't live with his parets ? Did you know he lives in the basement of his house by himself ?"

Harry's heart broke in his chest , frowning deeper . What ?

"That's not your story to tell ." Harry shook his head , "If he didn't tell me then I won't force him to talk to me about it ."

"Come on , Harry , he's poor , that's why he's helping you ! He's trying to get closer to you for your money and nothing else !" Rory raised his voice .

"Don't fucking raise your voice at me ." Harry shook his head , his voice deep and strictly calm . "For the past few months you've been acting like an arse . You've been bragging about us dating , talking very loudly about going on dates and how we're together . Which , fine , I didn't mind at first , I thought you just loved me so much you wanted to scream it to the whole world . But I realized you were just being very possessive and toxic ."

"I was what ?!" Rory's jaw dropped .

"You think I haven't asked around ? You think my friends never heard you threatening students you'd hurt them if they simply looked at me ?" Harry shook his head , "The entire town knew we were dating , because you've been shoving it in everyone's faces . And it happened in front of Louis , too , multiple times . You've been kissing me quite roughly everywhere we go , every time you felt like people were looking . You're hanging off my arm twenty-four-seven ."

"That's because I love you , Harry , and I want everyone to know we're meant for each other ." Rory reached his hands out to cup his cheeks , Harry grabbed his wrists and moved his hands away , "That's not love . I'm sorry , but it's not ."

"How can you tell me I don't love you ? I really love you , Harry , I really do . I love you ." Rory tried reaching for his cheeks again but Harry had a firm grip on his wrists to hold them away .

"That's not love . If you loved me , you woudn't try to distract me when I'm trying to study , just because you don't like the one tutoring me . If you loved me , you wouldn't go through my phone behind my back . If you loved me , and something that I did was bothering you , you'd talk to me like a grown person instead of fighting with me and telling me it's my fault ." Harry listed , "You don't love me ."

"I do love you , Harry , I really fucking love you ." Rory almost begged .

Harry let go of his wrists and leaned back in his seat , "You don't love me , you love the idea of being with me . I know how people talk about my looks , and I've heard you brag about my physical appearance a lot . I don't remember you telling people what you think about my personality , and it says a lot . To me , personality is more important than looks , because if your personality is shit , then you're a shit person no matter how you look ."

"You know I love your personality ." Rory reached to hold his hand , but Harry pulled his hand away , "You love my looks , and you love telling people I'm your boyfriend , but that's it ."

"Is there anything I can do to show you I really , really love you ?" Rory asked , his voice quiet as he hoped Harry would give him a chance .

"I'm sorry , Rory . This isn't working anymore ." Harry shook his head , "We're done ."

~~

~~

It was a week later , and their History tests were all graded . Harry wiggled in his seat throughout the entire lesson , nervously shifting and running his fingers through his hair .

Louis glanced at him every few minutes , just to make sure he was still breathing . He sent him reassuring smiles and blushed soft-pink when Harry smiled back .

At the end of the lesson Mr. Williams read the names at the top of the test , handing them over folded in half . Harry took his test from the teacher and kept it folded as he walked out of the room , waiting for Louis to see the grade with him .

Louis took his test when his name was called and walked out of the room , spotting Harry waiting for him . He walked over , "Well ?"

"I haven't looked yet . Too nervous ." Harry shook his head , Louis rolled his eyes playfully , "Come on , just look ."

Harry bit his lower lip , shifting on his feet as he held the still folded test . He slowly unfolded the papers and looked at the left top corner , seeing a bright red A . He gasped and looked at Louis with wide eyes , not able to control his wide grin .

"I got an A . Lou , I got an A !" Harry flipped the papers for Louis to see , Louis smiled back widely , "You did it ."

"I got an A !" Harry called happily , and without thinking much he wrapped his arms around Louis' waist , lifting him off his feet into a cuddle . Louis couldn't help the giggle escaping his lips as he wrapped his arms around Harry's shoulders .

Harry squeezed him tightly , "Thank you , thank you , thank you -"

"Okay , okay , I get it ." Louis laughed , Harry put him back down on his feet , though kept his arms around him for a bit longer , "I really got a fucking A , Lou ."

"You really did ." Louis smiled and rubbed his shoulder , Harry pulled back from their cuddle and sighed out , looking down at his test again , "This is unbelievable . You're such a good teacher ." 

Louis blushed and pulled his sleeves over his hands , "Thanks . You're a good student ."

Harry smiled and picked his bag up from the floor , slinging it over his shoulder , "I'm so relieved , feels like I can breathe again ."

"So dramatic ." Louis teased him , Harry rolled his eyes playfully and let his arm rest on Louis' shoulders comfortably , "Let's go , I'll give you a ride home ."

They walked out of the school building together , missing Rory and his friends watching them .

"You're not going to let it slide , right ?" Evan asked , Rory huffed , "Of course I fucking won't . The bitch stole my boyfriend , he's going to fucking get it ."

Harry pulled out of the school parking lot , "We're having a bonfire this weekend , by Niall's house . Told the lads I'd ask you if you wanted to join us ."

Louis bit his lower lip , "Do they - do they really want me to be there ?"

"They do , they asked me to talk to you about it ." Harry assured . "I already told them before that I talked to you about intruducing you to them and that it'll happen when you're ready , and they understand . So on Saturday evening we're having a bonfire , want to come with ?"

Louis was quiet for a bit , looking out of the window . "Can I - can I think about it ?"

"Yes , of course ." Harry nodded , "I'm not going to force you , I would never . I just want you to know that all of us want you there , okay ?"

"Okay ." Louis nodded , though found it a bit hard to believe .

Harry parked in front of Louis' house , Louis unbuckled his seatbelt , "Thanks ."

"Welcome . Let me know when you decide ." Harry smiled at him , Louis smiled back and grabbed his bag , stepping out of the car and shutting the door .

Once he was out Harry let his smile fall from his lips ; he looked at Louis' house , thinking back to what Rory told him . And when he saw that Louis wasn't walking up the pathway to the front door , but around it towards the back , his heart shattered in his chest .

He didn't want to say anything , though , because if Louis hadn't told him that yet , he wasn't going to bring it up and force him to tell him . As much as he wanted to help him he knew better than that , and that he had to wait for the right moment .

~~

hey lou , we're meeting up for the bonfire tonight . have you decided ?

hi 

yeah , ill come

perfect !! i'll pick you up at six thirty , is that okay ?

yeah , its fine

great :)))

wear something warm

~~

Louis waited for Harry to pick him up , standing on the sidewalk with clothes layering his body . Barely a minute later Harry's car stopped in front of him , Harry smiled at him through the window . Louis smiled back as he approached the car and opened the door , getting into the passenger's seat .

"Hey Lou ." Harry waited for Louis to buckle himself before he started driving , Louis held his sweater paws in his hands , "I'm nervous ."

"Don't be , I already told you they're nice lads ." Harry smiled gently , "they're nothing like Rory's friends , I can promise you that ."

Louis nodded , "I would hope so , yeah ."

"Also , we need to make a quick stop at the store to buy tin foil and marshmallows ." Harry said , Louis furrowed his eyebrows , "What's the tin foil for ?"

"For the potatoes . You put a bit of oil on them and wrap them with the tin foil , and put them in the fire for like fourty or so minutes to cook them ." Harry said , parking in front of the closest store , "I'll do this quickly ." He said and unbuckled himself , stepping out of the car and into the store .

Soon enough they parked next to Niall's house , Louis stepped out of the car and looked at the house nervously , Harry hung his arm over his shoulders , "Take a deep breath , I'm not leaving you there by yourself ." He said as he walked them towards the house , circling it on the stone trail to the back of the house where they could hear voices .

Harry let his arm fall from Louis' shoulders , instead grabbing his hand . Louis felt his whole body warming up at the touch , his hand felt on fire .

"Hey lads ." Harry smiled as he approached them , the four turned and greeted him back .

"Hi Haz . You brought tin foil , right ?" Niall asked , Harry nodded and handed him the paper bag from the store , "There ." He said before pulling Louis a bit closer , placing his hand on his shoulder , "Lads , this is Louis , I already told you about him . Lou , these are Zayn , Niall , Liam and Nick ." He said as he pointed to each one , though he had a feeling Louis already knew that .

"Hi ." Louis gave them a shy smile , the four smiled back at him . Zayn spoke first , "Nice finally meeting you , Harry told us you helped him get an A on his History test ."

"Yeah , you're the proof miracles exist ." Nick chuckled .

Louis smile widened a bit , "He did great , he's easy to teach ."

"You're just a good teacher ." Harry nudged him with his elbow , then turned back to his friends , "Alright , what can we help with ?"

"I'm going to get the cooler with our drinks , you lads can start organizing the wood for the fire and place the chairs ." Niall said and walked towards his house .

Harry and Liam started putting wood inside of the stone circle they had ready for the fire , while Louis helped Zayn with the folding camping chairs . They put the chairs around the fire , then Nick brought a small table for them .

Niall carried the cooler and placed it near the table , "Louis , Zayn , let's go wrap the potatoes ." He said , Louis followed the two towards the backyard , missing the knowing look the two shared .

There was a basket with medium sized potatoes , Louis teared the tin foil for Niall and Zayn to wrap the potatoes .

"Hey , Louis , uhm - Zayn and I want to talk to you ." Niall started , making Louis freeze in his spot .

"It's nothing bad , I promise ." Zayn was quick to reassure him , Louis swallowed thickly , "D-Did I - have I done anything wrong ?"

"No , no , it's not about you , don't worry ." Niall said . "It's about Rory ."

Louis bit his lower lip , "What about him ?"

"I'm sure you know , but - he's not the nicest person , to say the least ." Zayn said , "And we know how he is . Now that Harry broke up with him , he sees you as a threat ."

Louis frowned , "Why ? How ?"

Niall crooked his mouth to the side , "He believes that you're the reason for the break up , he blames it on you . Which is fucked up , because Harry broke up with Rory because he was a fucking idiot , and it has nothing to do with you ."

"We just want you to watch out for him , and if anything happens please tell us , or Harry if you trust him more ." Zayn placed the last potato in the basket , Louis nodded , "Okay ."

"Good ." Niall smiled , "Harry cares about you , evidently ."

Louis blushed soft-pink , a smile tugging on his lips . "You think so ?"

"I know so ." Niall nodded , "Let's go now ."

They returned to the firepit , seeing that Liam and Harry managed to start lighting the fire , using dry leaves and firestarter . Niall put the basket on the table and flopped down on one of the chairs , "It's been a while since we had a bonfire , lads ."

"Yeah , because it was Winter for three months , genious . It's the end of March now , best time for a bonfire . Not warm , but not freezing cold ." Zayn said and sat next to him , patting the chair next to him , "Louis , sit with us ."

Harry smiled as he watched Louis sitting next to Zayn , then joined them and sat on the chair next to Louis . Liam stayed by the fire to make sure it properly lights up , Nick opened the cooler , "Anyone wants a drink ?"

"Hand me a Sprite can ." Zayn said , Harry asked for a coke can and Niall for a light beer .

"Louis ? Anything ?" Nick asked , Louis nodded , "I'll have coke , too ." He said , thanking Nick when he handed him the can .

"Oi , lads , I forgot to tell you ." Niall said as he put his beer bottle on the small table , "I asked Emma out and we're going out next weekend ."

"Good lad !" "There we go ." "Finally , mate ." The guys patted his shoulders , Louis smiled at them ; he was really happy and relieved that Harry's friends were nice .

Harry leaned a bit closer to Louis , "He's been talking to her since before Christmas , and was too nervous to ask her out ."

"It's nice that he did ." Louis said back , Harry smiled , "Definitely ."

Once the fire was large enough and burning , Liam joined them and sat down on a chair , taking a can out of the cooler . "Haz , your turn , put the potatoes in the fire ."

Harry placed his can on the table and stood up , grabbing the basket . He carefully placed the wrapped potatoes close to the fire , pushing them further in with a piece of wood . 

"God , no , Maths is worse than English Lit ." Nick argued , Niall nodded , "I second that . English Lit is basically a bedtime story class , I always end up falling asleep somehow ."

Zayn chuckled , "Doesn't count , you fall asleep in every class ."

"It's just , boring , mate , they need to find better ways to teach us ." Niall whined , Harry flopped back down on his chair , "I have to admit that tutoring with Louis was really nice , and I actually learned something ."

Louis blushed soft-pink as he smiled shyly , "You're a good student when you want to be ." He teased . Harry gaped playfully as the other guys chuckled .

"What's that supposed to mean ?" He acted offended , Louis breathed out a chuckle , "Some of the days you'd be really focused and motivated to study , and on other days you'd do anything to distract us . The day I let you answer questions I made up for you to practice , you insisted that you couldn't do that until you counted all the freckles on my hand ."

The other four guys laughed , Harry too couldn't help his laughter aswell , "I seriously had to , I couldn't focus if I didn't finish ."

"Do you ever look at someone and wonder , what is going on inside their head ?" Liam mimicked the sound from the movie Inside Out that he heard on TikTok , Harry poked his tongue out at him .

~~

~~

Louis started sitting with Harry the the rest of the guys during lunch . Now that Rory and his friends weren't sitting with them anymore , and Louis felt comfortable being around Harry's friends , he allowed himself to enjoy having his lunch with company .

Harry was happy having Louis with them , he enjoyed having him around . He was easy to talk to , friendly , gave really good advice , and genuinely had the biggest heart . He was also beautiful .

Louis left the classroom late after talking to his teacher , and made a stop at his lockers before going to lunch . He just zipped his bag closed when he felt presence next to him , turning his head to the side only to have the blood draining from his face as he saw it was Rory , along with his friends .

"Let's go ." Rory said and closed Louis' locker , his friends crowded Louis as he was forced to follow along .

They reached the back of the school , Rory gestured to the bench , "Have a seat ." He pushed at his shoulder , Louis flopped down on the bench , shifting uncomfortably when Rory sat to his right , one of the friends sat to his left , and the other three stood in front of them .

Rory leaned his arm on the back of the bench behind Louis' back , "This is going to be a one-time talk , I won't repeat myself . Harry is mine , and you stole him from me . Fucking bitch . I will have him back , because from now on , you won't talk to him or go near him ."

"Y-You're mad ." Louis' voice trembled , Rory's jaw tightened as he reached into his pocket , pulling out a switch knife , pointing it at Louis' middle . He smirked as Louis froze , eyes wide and glossy as he looked down at the knife .

"I won't repeat myself . Am I clear ?" Rory raised an eyebrow , "If you don't listen , I'll just get rid of you . Because Harry will be mine again ." He pressef the tip of the knife against Louis' hoodie without actually stabbing , only letting it sink into the material to scare him .

Louis' breath hitched , flinching backwards against the bench as a tear slid down his cheek .

Rory smiled , "Good ." He took the switch knife away and put it back in his pocket , standing up from the bench , "We're done here , lads . Let's go ."

Louis stayed on the bench for the rest of lunch , ignoring the texts from Harry . 

He avoided him for the rest of the day , thankful they didn't have a History lesson . At the end of the day he fled the building , even taking a different route back to his house incase Harry tried looking for him in his car .

He reached his house and walked down to the basement , locking the door behind him . He had three hours before he had to go to work , so he tried napping for a bit but his mind was running over the whole dilemma .

Of course he wanted to be Harry's friend , he finally had a friend , even four more , and he didn't want to give it up because of a crazy person . But at the same time , he knew that said crazy person was not afraid to kick down anything that was in his way , and he was quite frankly scared of what he was capable of .

~~

~~

The next day , Louis made sure he was very early to school , so he wouldn't have to run into Harry at the front of the building , or the hallways . He grabbed what he needed from his locker and went to sit at the bench at the back of the school until before the bell rang to the first lesson .

He managed to avoid Harry for four classes , but then it was lunch time . He was at his locker again , and he could see Harry approaching from the corner of his eye . 

"Lou ." Harry breathed out , "What's wrong ? You've been avoiding me since yesterday ."

Louis said nothing , just zipped his bag closed and slung it over his shoulder .

"Please tell me if I did anything wrong ." Harry tried again , watching as Louis closed his locker and tried walking away . He quickly followed and blocked his way , "Hey , hey , don't ignore me ."

Louis avoided looking up at him , trying to walk around him but Harry blocked him again .

"Talk to me , please , I want to fix this ." Harry reached out to hold his arms , but Louis stepped away from him , not helping his eyes filling with tears .

Out of nowhere Zayn and Niall were by their sides , Zayn grabbed Louis' arm , "We're going to talk . Haz , meet us under the bleachers , okay ?"

Harry frowned , "No , I want to know , please ."

"I promise we'll help you , okay ? Just let us talk to him ." Niall squeezed his bicep , then joined at Louis' other side and walking away with him and Zayn . Harry watched helplessly as they walked away , running his hands through his hair and down his face .

"Oh , what's wrong ?" He felt a hand on his back , he took his hands off his face only to see Rory with a concerned look on his face .

"I'm fine ." Harry stepped away from him .

"You can talk to me , you know . I'm here for you ." Rory gave him a small smile , Harry shook his head , "I'm good , thanks ." He said and started walking towards the bleachers .

~

Niall rubbed Louis' back , "Take your time ."

"It's about him , isn't it ?" Zayn asked , Louis nodded and wiped his cheeks as he finished crying .

"What did he do ?"

"He - he wants Harry back ." Louis started , Niall rolled his eyes , "Of course he does ."

"Like hell he would get him back ." Zayn bit on his knuckles .

"H-He told me to back off and stop talking to him , he ev-ven pulled out a switch knife ." Louis rubbed at his eyes with his sweater paws , missing the concerned look Niall and Zayn shared .

"He did what ??" Zayn frowned .

Louis sniffled , "He pulled a switch knife out and pointed it at me , and s-said he'd have to get rid of me if I d-don't do as he said ."

"He's fucking mad , what the hell ?" Niall pushed his hair back , breathing out is shock . "Listen , I know you wouldn't want to , but I really think we need to tell Harry ."

"N-No , no , we can't ." Louis shook his head , Niall squeezed his shoulder softly , "Not every detail , just that Rory told you to back off because he wants Harry back ."

Louis looked down at his lap , "Are you guys sure ?"

"Yes . Harry needs to know . That way or another , he's already a part of the situation ." Zayn said , "He's really worried about you , and he cares a lot ."

Louis bit his lower lip , nodding his head , "Okay ."

"Okay good ." Niall rubbed Louis' back , "Let's go meet him under the bleachers before he goes crazy ."

The three made their way to the bleachers , where Harry was waiting impatiently . Once he saw Louis he speed-walked towards him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders and back , hugging him close to his chest .

Niall and Zayn walked a few feet away to give the two privacy to talk , trying to look around the place to see if Rory was anywhere close ; they had a feeling he was watching Harry's every move .

"Talk to me . Please ." Harry squeezed Louis gently , Louis bit his lower lip and pulled back a bit , he avoided looking up at Harry's face as he toyed with his sweater paws .

"I-It's - it's Rory . He , uh , told me to back off because he wants you back . Sees me as a threat ." Louis said , his voice almost a whisper . "Scared me a bit ."

"Well , fuck Rory . His behaviour is only getting worse , fucking hell ." Harry huffed , "Don't give two shits about what he says . I don't want him back , he's done awful things and I don't to be associated with him anymore . Him and I are done ."

Louis nodded , Harry placed his hands on either side of his head , making Louis blush at the close contact . "I really care about you , I hope you know that . I'm not letting anyone get in the way , you hear me ?"

"Thank you ." Louis gave him a faint smile , Harry brought him into another hug , "If anything happens again , I want to be the first to know . I won't let a toxic person ruin us ."

Louis shivered a bit in his arms . Us .

~~

~~

Harry was sitting next to Louis at the library , as they both worked on their History homework separately . Louis insisted that Harry would answer the questions by himself first , then go through the answers with Louis when he was done .

Louis had to bite back a smile as Harry kept sighing , huffing and tapping his pen on his notebook , trying to catch Louis' attention . Louis was stubborn , though , and refused to help Harry , as he wanted him to do this by himself .

"Louuu ..." Harry nudged his foot with his own , Louis pretended not to hear him . Harry nudged his foot again , pouting when Louis didn't pay him any attention .

He scooted his chair closer to Louis' , leaning his head on his hand , elbow on the table , "Louuuuiiissss . Stop ignoring meeee ."

When Louis said nothing as he kept writing in his notebook , Harry playfully leaned closer and bit his shoulder , Louis gasped and moved away , "Ow , Harry , why ?"

"Don't ignore meee , I need your help ." Harry leaned back in to bite him again , but Louis pushed him with a hand on his chest , "No , stop it , I told you I wanted you to do this on your own ." Louis said as he kept pushing against his chest , letting out a chuckle when Harry knocked his teeth together in mock biting as he tried leaning closer .

Harry gave up trying to bite him , instead he started tickling him gently , "Heeeeelp ."

"N-No , Harry , w-we're - we're in a library !" Louis talked through his giggles , trying to stay as quiet as he could with the laughter tickled out of him . Harry smirked widely as he kept tickling , "Help meee ."

"Okay I promise , I promise I'll help , stop it ." Louis pleaded , sighing in relief when Harry stopped . He wrapped his arms around himself for protection , cheeks permanently stretched and aching from smiling and laughing . "God , you're awful ."

Harry grinned and moved his arm to rest on the back of Louis' chair around his shoulders , "I'll make it up to you . Muffins when we're done ?"

~~

Harry's hands were sweating ; Mr. Williams decided to unexpectedly have a short exam done , saying he wanted to see how many of them knew the new subject that he taught them the past three weeks .

As Mr. Williams handed out the papers , Louis turned his head to Harry , who was looking at him worriedly . Louis gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up , Harry took a deep breath and nodded .

Once the lesson was done they walked out of the room , Harry was immediately by Louis' side , "I have a feeling I did shit on that test ."

"I believe you did good . We've been going over it and you know the subject , don't think about it too much ." Louis reassured him , Harry bumped their shoulders together , "Thanks ."

Louis smiled softly , his smile quickly dropping when he saw Rory further down the hallway , watching the two without trying to hide his unamusement , glaring at them .

Harry followed Louis' gaze , jaw clenching . "Ignore him ." Harry rested his arm on Louis' shoulders , pulling him along as they walked out of the building .

~~

Mr. Williams gave them the exams back two days later , Louis met Harry outside of the room , "Well ?"

"I didn't check yet ." Harry held his lower lip between his teeth , Louis sighed softly , "Come on already , we both know you did good ."

"I don't know , Lou , what if I got a C- ? Or a D ? Or an F ?"

"Then it's still okay , and we'll keep working on it . This isn't the end of the world ." Louis reassured , Harry felt his chest warming up at his words .

He slowly unfolded the papers and looked down , a relieved sigh leaving his lips as a smile took over , seeing the A on the top right corner of the page .

"I got an A ." Harry breathed out , smile widening . Louis smiled back , "See ? There was nothing to worry about ." He chuckled as Harry pulled him into a tight hug , arms wrapped around his waist .

He wrapped his arms around Harry's broad shoulders , rubbing his thumb on his shoulder . "I'm proud of you ."

Harry cuddled him tighter , nose pressed to Louis' shoulder , "Thank you . Thank you for everything ." He lifted his head up a bit , pressing a kiss to Louis' cheek . He let his lips linger on his skin for a short bit , pulling back only to press another kiss , "Thank you ."

Louis' blushed deeply , his body felt on fire head to toe . He pressed his face to Harry's shoulder , saying a quiet Welcome .

Too cooped in their cuddle , they missed Rory and his friends watching them . And Rory was furious .

~~

*Trigger warning - physical bullying*

~~

"Alright , I'll see you in class ." Nick waved at Louis as they went separate ways ; they had two more classes till the day ended , and Louis had to make a quick stop at his locker . He hurried down the hallway so he wouldn't be late for class , opening his locker to take out a notebook .

Just as he finished zipping his bag closed after putting the notebook in , a hand slammed his locker door shut , making him flinch and look up . Rory stood there , a hard look on his face , "You're not going anywhere ."

Louis shivered , he tried backing away only to bump into one of Rory's friends , as the five were surrounding him . His heart raced in his chest as the hallways cleared of students , and that was when Louis realized he wouldn't be able to make it to class .

Rory grabbed him by his bicep , squeezing painfully as he dragged him along with his friends following close behind them . They reached the back of the school , and as they stepped outside it dawned on Louis what was going to happen .

"L-Let go ." Louis tried shaking Rory's grip off his arm , "Let me g-go ."

"Shut the fuck up ." Rory pulled him along , walking with him around the building , where there was a dead end .

Rory shoved Louis forward , making him stumble but stay on his feet . One of Rory's friends , Evan , walked over to Louis , making him back away . Evan reached him and forcefully took his bag off his shoulders , handing it to Rory .

"Don't want that getting in the way ." Rory held the bag from it's loop at the top as if it was a garbage bag , then tossed it away .

Louis couldn't find his words to fight against him , his chest was heavy with fear . Rory walked closer and stood right in front of Louis , looking a bit down at him . "I told you what would happen if you don't leave Harry alone ." And with that , he grabbed his shoulders and kneed him in the stomach .

Louis gasped and bent to hug himself , Rory pushed at his shoulder to make him fall to the ground . He put his legs on either side of his torso as he stood over his small body , one hand grabbing him by the collar , his other hand throwing two punches to the side of his eye .

"So glad Harry taught me how to punch . A good boxer , he is ." Rory smirked before throwing another punch , then stood back up to kick him in the stomach . Louis groaned in pain , wrapping his arms around himself tighter .

Rory turned to his friends and held his arms to the sides , "I'm not going to do all the work by myself , lads ." He encouraged . And that's how Louis found himself getting kicked and punched , his bosy ached and he slowly lost his energy , gasping to catch his breath .

The kicks slowly stopped as he stopped reacting , his body too weak to try and resist .

"Wooh , lads , this was a workout ." Rory chuckled , chest rising and falling . He kneeled next to Louis , "This could all have been avoided , if you just fucking listened to me . This , is all on you ."

~~

Nick looked at Louis' empty chair , sharing a concerned look with Niall who sat close to the window . He hid his phone as he texted Niall , and the two decided to go check .

"I'm sorry , miss , can I go to the bathroom ?" They asked at the same time , making the class chuckle . The teacher sighed playfully , "Go , make it quick ."

The two walked out of the room , as soon as they were outside they took off to the back of the school . They reached the door , Nick pressed his ear to the door , "I don't hear anything ." He said and opened the door , stepping outside with Niall following .

They looked around , Nick opened his mouth to talk but Niall quickly signed him to stay quiet . They stood still for barely a few seconds , before they heard it .

"Maybe his thigh ?"

"No , not the thigh , not good enough ." 

"The shoulder , then ?"

Niall tip-toed in the direction of the voices , Nick following just as quietly . Niall kneeled down and slowly peeked around the corner , his eyes wide at the scene . He quickly backed up and pulled Nick along , they reached the door .

"Listen to me ." Niall whispered , "I need you to call the police , okay ? They hurt Louis really badly . Call the police and tell them to get here with no sirens , and then call an ambulance . I'm going to film them on my phone , we need evidence ."

Nick nodded and they separated ways , Niall tip-toed back to the corner of the wall and pulled his phone out , putting it on silent before starting to record , only the top of his phone poking out of the corner for the camera to get a good angle .

"Do you think we kicked him enough ?" George asked , Rory chuckled humourlessly , "No matter how much we kick the bitch , it'll never be enough for stealing my boyfriend ." And to prove his point , Rory kicked at Louis' back , then twice at his thigh .

"And now , after giving him a nice kick-down , we need to decide where the knife goes ." Rory put his hands on his hips . 

Niall bit down on his arm not to make a sound , his eyes stinging with tears of worry .

"Isn't the thigh good enough ?" Evan asked , Rory rolled his eyes , "You already asked this . The thigh is the bonus , but I need another spot ."

"Just go for the stomach , easy ." Tristan said , Rory huffed , "If I do then he'll die , and even though I'd love to get rid of him , we're not here to kill him . Just hurt him a whole fucking lot ."

"Then don't push the knife all the way in , what's the big deal ?" Tristan added .

Rory was quiet for a few seconds . "You know what ? It might work , yeah ."

Niall felt a hand on his shoulder , he turned his head to see Nick . They nodded at each other , Nick peeked at Niall's phone to see what was going on , eyes widening as he covered his mouth .

Rory took the switch knife out of his pocket , flipping the knife outwards . He looked down at Louis , shaking his head , "I don't have much else to say to you . You brought this on yourself , if only you backed the fuck off ." And with that , he made a quick move , leaving a cut across the top of Louis' thigh .

Louis let out a pained sound , his tears mixed with the dirt and blood on his face .

Rory pushed at his shoulder to make him lay on his back , "I hope you know I'm not trying to kill you . I just want to make you suffer . Like , a lot ." He said , before stabbing Louis in the stomach , on the left just a bit above his belly button .

Louis cried out , gasping and trembling . Rory pulled the knife out , throwing the bloody switch knife away to the side , "God , Louis . Look what you made me do ! All because you didn't fucking listen ."

Nick gave Niall's shoulder a squeeze and walked quietly around the building to the front of the school , meeting the two police officers . "Please , come quick ." He said out of breath .

They followed as Nick ran around the building , pointing to where Niall was , still filming , "We have evidence . They're still there . They have a knife ." He whispered , the two officers pulled out their guns and walked over to Niall , rounding the corner .

They startled Rory and his friends , and managed to catch Rory , Tristan and George , cuffing them quickly , as Evan and Mark managed to jump over the stone wall and escape before they could get to them .

Niall stopped the recording just as the door to back of the school slammed open , Zayn and Liam stepped outside looking out of breath . They saw Niall and hurried over , looking around the corner .

One officer had the three cuffed and sat on their knees in front of the wall away from each other as he talked on the radio , while the other officer and Nick were kneeling next to Louis , talking to him to keep him awake .

"Fucking bitch . You fucking bitch ." Zayn shook his head in disbelief , marching over to Rory . The officer held him back , "You don't touch him , or any of them ." They heard the ambulance sirens nearing the school , the officer nodded his head forward , "One of you , go get them here ."

Niall quickly ran around the corner to get the paramedics ; he had to get away from the scene for a few seconds before he got sick or broke down crying .

Liam looked at all the people around him and frowned , "Where's Harry ? Where the fuck is Harry ?"

"I texted him but he didn't open the messages ." Nick shook his head , "I texted the three of you together ."

"Yeah , I texted him too , I even tried calling , he's not picking up ." Zayn shook his head , his eyes never leaving Rory as he kept glaring at him .

"I'll try again ." Liam pulled his phone out of his pocket , turning around when he saw Niall running over with the paramedics .

"I'm running quickly to get the principal ." Niall said before he took off again .

Liam breathed out , "He's not fucking picking up ." He called again , pacing as he tried to stay calm .

Two more cop cars pulled up close to where they all stood , Rory , George and Tristan were each put into a different car . One of the officers wrote down the phone numbers of Niall , Nick , Liam , Zayn and Harry , when the principal came to talk to the officers .

At the fifth call Harry picked up , "Li , is ev -"

"Harry , thank fuck you picked up . Something happened . Get to the back of the school right now ."

"What happened ?"

"Please just get here , I can't do this over the phone ." Liam said , watching as Louis was taken into the ambulance , which now was parked alongside the cop cars .

"Is it - is it what I think it is ?"

"Yes , just a hundred times worse ." Liam sighed , "Just get here quickly ." He said and hung up .

It took barely a few seconds for Harry to get there , as he sprinted through the hallways and burst through the door . He froze in his spot as he took in the scene ; cops , an ambulance , Rory and two of his friends cuffed and put into the cop cars .

Nick walked over and grabbed his shoulder , "Harry , sit down . You're pale ."

"Where is he ? Where is he ?" Harry asked out of breath , looking around .

"Louis or Rory ?" Nick asked , in all his stupidity .

"Fuck Rory . Where's Louis ?" Harry looked around helplessly , Zayn walked over to him and grabbed the sides of his head , "Breathe , Harry , you need to breathe ."

"N-No . No . I need to see Louis . Tell me where he is ."

"I'll tell you , just please look at me ." Zayn tightened his hands around his head , Harry looked at him with glossy eyes .

"Rory and his friends hurt Louis . Really badly . He's in the ambulance . And we're going to drive behind the ambulance to the hospital ."

Harry felt the ground shaking beneath his feet , and without wasting any second he pushed through everyone and marched towards the ambulance with tear-filled eyes .

A police officer stopped him before he could get there , "I'm sorry , you can't get any closer ."

"I need to see Louis . Please . Please ." Harry pushed against him weakly , but the officer held him back , "I'm sorry , I can't let you . You can follow the ambulance in your car ."

Tears fell down Harry's cheeks . "J-Just tell me . How bad is it ?"

The officer tried to remain calm , but seeing Harry all worked up , he couldn't leave him in the dark .

"He's severely beated up , no broken bones ." He said , and before Harry could sigh in half-relief the officer continued , "He was attacked with a switch knife . The only fortunate thing is , he wore enough layers for the knife not to go in too deep , yet it did open a gash in his stomach ."

Harry's knees couldn't support his weight anymore as he watched the ambulance pulling away with it's sirens on , he fell to the ground and sobbed into his hands . 

The first to wrap him in a hug was Liam , and in seconds he was held by all four of his best friends as they let him cry on their shoulders .

"Let's go ." Zayn rubbed Harry's back , "Let's drive to the hospital ."

"We'll catch up with you guys , our stuff are still in class ." Nick said as he and Niall stood up , Liam and Zayn helped Harry up and the three walked to the parking lot to Liam's car . Harry could care less about his car staying in the school's parking lot .

As they sat in the car Harry texted his mother , he didn't want to call because he knew that the minute he would hear her voice asking him if he was okay , he would break down crying again . He let her know he couldn't talk over the phone , only through texts , and to come to the hospital as soon as she could .

Twenty five minutes later Liam parked outside the building and the three hurried in , going straight to the front desk .

"How can I help you ?" The nurse behind the desk asked .

"We're for Louis Tomlinson . We know he just got here , but please , if there's anything about him we want to know ." Zayn said , the nurse nodded , "Give me your names ."

Zayn told her their names and the three sat down in the waiting area .

Harry was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees , hands on his face as his fingertips rubbed into his hair . Zayn rubbed his back , knowing it wouldn't do much to comfort him until they got to see if Louis was okay . Liam had his arms crossed over his chest , his knee jumping as the anger never left his body .

Niall and Nick walked into the building , quickly spotting the three . Nick sat next to Zayn , and Niall , without a care to what others would think , sat on the floor in front of Harry with his legs crossed , and wrapped his arms around his shoulders to hug him .

The five sat in silence , letting everything sink in as each one ran through the situation in their heads .

Two police officers walked in and approached the five , they sat with them and explained that they needed to question each one of them separately as soon as they could , to which the five agreed .

Before they could even begin , a woman walked into the building and to the front desk , Harry followed her with his eyes . It was only when he heard Louis' name , and the woman was handed papers , that he realized it was his mother .

He put his hand on one of officers' arms , "Come with me ." He said and stood up , the officer looked confused but followed Harry .

Harry stood next to the woman . "You're Louis' mother ?"

"Only on papers . Why ?" The woman said carelessly , Harry's jaw tightened , "How can you do that to your own son ?"

"He's no son of mine . He's lucky I let him live in the same house as us ." The woman said , then turned to the nurse , "Listen , I'm not responsible for the kid anymore , is there a way for me not to pay the hospital bills ?"

"I'll pay ." Harry took the papers and pen from her and filled in what he needed , when he saw his own mother walking into the building and straight towards him .

"Harry , I got here as soon as I could ." Anne put her hand on his arm , Harry nodded once , "Something happened to Louis , I'll tell you in a bit . I'm paying his hospital bills ."

"What - Harry , what about his parents ?" Anne asked worriedly .

Harry looked over to Louis' mother . "His own mother doesn't want him as her son , she wouldn't pay the bills ." He was so emotionally tired that he didn't even try to filter what was coming out of his mouth . "We don't need her , he has me and he has the lads and we're going to take care of him ."

Anne looked at Louis' mother in disbelief but said nothing , as the officer took Louis' mother for questioning . Harry filled in all of their names and phone numbers as first emergency contacts and the firsts to know about his condition , before handing the papers back to the nurse behind the desk .

He went back to sit with his friends , the other four greeted Anne with faint smiles and head nods .

"Who wants anything to drink ? Eat ?" Anne asked , Zayn smiled gratefully at her , "I don't think any of us can stomach anything right now ."

Anne gave them a sad , comforting smile back . "At least some gatorade , okay ?" She said before leaving to go get a few bottles from the closest vending machine .

The other officer asked the front desk for a spare room and was given one of the offices , and took each one of the guys for questioning . They all told him their point of view , told him everything they knew about Rory and his friends , detailed the entire incident step to step .

It took a long while for all of them to be questioned , but they needed to keep themselves busy while they waited to hear about Louis .

They reached the hospital around two thirty p.m , and by the time it was seven p.m a Doctor walked into the waiting room . "Anyone here for Louis Tomlinson ?"

The five friends , along with Anne , jumped up from their seats and herded towards the Doctor . They held their breaths as they followed the Doctor down the hall for a bit more privacy , followed by a police officer .

"Louis is alive and breathing , he's currently asleep ." He reassured them . "He was severely beated , his body is covered in bruises , which will heal within the next few weeks . He was lucky he wore a few layers of clothing , it saved him from having broken bones . He did sprain his left wrist , however ." He looked down at his clipboard . "The cut on his thigh was cleaned up and wrapped , no stitches needed . Now , the stab in his stomach ; once again , him wearing layers saved him from a worse injury . The knife did go in though no organs were harmed , it did open a gash and stitches were needed , specifically eleven . He needs a lot of rest , he lost blood though not to a severe degree of needing transfusion ."

"Can w-we see him ?" Harry asked , a tear falling down his cheek , the Doctor nodded , "Go to the second floor , take a left at the lobby , room number is 476 ."

"Thank you ." The six sighed out and rushed to the lift , crowding inside as Anne pressed the button .

When the lift stopped Harry was the first to get out , marching through the lobby and down the left hall with everyone trailing behind him . His eyes scanned the room numbers , when he saw Louis' room number and slowly stopped walking .

Niall took a seat outside of the room ; after what he saw , he wasn't ready to see Louis yet .

Nick squeezed Harry's shoulder , "Go inside , we'll be here . Let us in when you're ready ." He encouraged , Liam patted his back aswell .

Harry took a deep breath before opening the door , letting it shut behind him his lower lip trembled at the sight of Louis on the hospital bed , his wrist was wrapped up and poking out of the blanket that covered him , along with a heartbeat-line clipse on his finger . He walked closer , sinking down to sit on the chair next to the bed as he saw his cheekbone bruised near his eye .

He convinced himself he had to see more , he had to see to realize just how badly Louis was injured . He moved the blanket off his arm , biting harshly onto his lower lip when he saw the dark purple bruises , lined with blue and a tiny bit of green .

He wanted to see his torso , but he knew that lifting Louis' shirt up without him even being aware of it was not right , so he had to wait for Louis to be awake and ask for his permission .

"God , Lou , I'm so sorry . I'm so fucking sorry ." Harry managed to say through the lump in his throat , holding Louis' small hand between both his own . "I can't believe I let that happen to you , can't believe anyone would hurt you like this ."

He kissed Louis' knuckles tenderly , then the back of his hand a few more times . He couldn't take his eyes off him , he didn't want to let Louis out of his sight anymore .

He dragged the chair closer to the bed and leaned his elbows on the bed , still holding Louis' hand . His stomach rumbled at the lack of food , and if it weren't so painful he wouldn't have gotten up from his seat .

He moved to open the door , letting the group in . Anne rubbed Harry's shoulders , smiling gently when she heard the growl of his stomach .

"I'll go get you guys food ." Anne announced , Harry sniffed , "I'll come with you , you won't be able to carry six meals by yourself ." He turned to Zayn , "Please don't leave Louis' side , just in case he wakes up ."

"I won't ." Zayn assured him , "If anything happens or there's new information , you'll be the first to know ."

Harry nodded and followed Anne out of the room , she hooked her arm around his , "Wish I could've meet Louis for the first time in different circumstances ."

"I know , sorry about that ." Harry said , his voice rough and scratchy . Anne squeezed his bicep softly , "Don't worry about it anymore , we have enough other things to worry about ."

"I uh , it's not like I didn't want Louis to meet you , because I really did . But I also knew about his situation with his parents , but I didn't know through him , I heard from - ... from someone else . Louis didn't tell me this . I just felt like I needed to wait for Louis to be fully comfortable with telling me before I bring him over to meet you , or to our home in general ."

"I understand , dear , don't worry . He's got us , and he's going to be all okay ." Anne said , and soon enough they reached the food-zone of the hospital . They bought burgers and fries for everyone , taking drink bottles aswell before returning to Louis' room .

The five sat on the floor of the room in a circle as they ate in silence , Harry kept glancing up at Louis every short bit . Once done eating they collected the garbage and left the bag by the garbage can outside of the room , it was a quarter past eight p.m .

Anne left the room to look for one of the nurses ; she knew Harry wouldn't want to go sleep at home , so she wanted to get him a recliner so he could sleep by Louis' bed .

Harry was tired , he could feel his eyes slowly falling shut . He felt a pat on the shoulder and looked up , Niall smiled at him , "We're going to go home , we'll be here tomorrow morning . Give me your car keys , I'll get it home for you ."

"Thanks ." Harry said , his voice quiet . "Keys are in my bag ." Niall squeezed his shoulder and went to get the keys .

Liam kneeled in front of Harry , a hand on his knee , "I'm keeping my phone next to me , call me at any hour for anything , alright ?"

Harry nodded and thanked him , Zayn and Nick hugged him before the four friends left the room .

"I'm not leaving your side , in case you wondered ." Harry smiled faintly as he looked at Louis , playing with his fingers gently , "I'm going to stay right here , and there's nothing anyone can do to have me leave your side ."

Harry leaned his head on the bed under his arms , his back ached but he didn't want to move . He was fighting sleep when the room's door opened , he sat up and saw his mother walking in with two nurses , who were carrying an armchair into the room .

"I knew you wouldn't want to come home with me ." Anne smiled , "Got you a comfy spot to sleep ."

Harry stood up from the chair and hugged her , "Thank you , mum . I appreciate it ."

Anne squeezed him and pecked his cheek , "You're exhausted , dear . Get some sleep , now . Call me whenever ."

"Love you , mum ." Harry pulled back , Anne smiled , "Love you , dear . I'll come by in the morning ."

Harry nodded at her , then thanked the two nurses who put the armchair right next to the bed for him . There were two blankets and a soft pillow on the armchair , Harry waited for everyone to leave the room before making himself comfortable .

He turned the lights off except for the bed lamps , taking his shoes off . He took a trip to the bathroom before making himself comfortable , then checked Louis again . He tucked the blanket around him , knowing he gets cold easily . He used one of the blankets he was given and covered Louis in it , then sat on the armchair and pull the leg supporter up , leaning backwards just a bit with the pillow under his head and the blanket over his body .

He fell asleep holding Louis' hand his head turned sideways in Louis' direction to make sure that he would be the first thing he would see when he woke up .

~~

When Harry woke up , Louis was still asleep . He slept for most of the night , getting up once to use the bathroom , and a few more times to check on Louis . He never let go of his hand , either .

A nurse walked into the room and checked Louis' vitals , Harry sat up a bit and rubbed his eyes , "How is he ?"

The nurse smiled , "He's doing good , he's stable and will most likely wake up in the next few hours ." He said , "When he does , press this button right here and we'll come in with the doctor to check on him and give him more medication for the pain ."

Harry nodded and said a quiet thank you , the nurse smiled and nodded back before walking out of the room .

"Good morning , Lou ." Harry spoke quietly , playing with Louis' fingers . "I hope you wake up soon ."

He managed to fall asleep for one more hour before waking up as the door opened , and his four friends walked in .

"Morning , Haz ." Liam smiled , Harry smiled back and sat up , closing the leg supporter . "Morning ."

"We brought you breakfast ." Nick said and placed a reusable bag next to the armchair , Harry smiled a bit wider , "Thanks , smells good ."

"Is Anne here too ?" Niall asked , taking the chair and sitting next to Harry as Liam sat on the armrest . Harry shook his head , "No , she said she'd be here later , emergency at work or something ."

"How is Louis ?" Zayn stood next to Louis , his hand holding Louis' small one . 

"The nurse said he's stable and will most likely wake up in a few hours ." Harry said and leaned his head on Liam's arm , "I really want him to wake up soon ."

"He will ." Niall put his hand on Harry's knee , "He's a strong one ."

"He really is ." Harry mumbled , mostly to himself .

He ate his breakfast while Liam and Zayn went to get coffee for everyone , when there was a knock on the door before it opened , two police officers walked in , the same two officers who arrived first at the scene the day before .

"Good morning ." The male officer nodded once , followed by the female officer . "How are you guys ?"

"We're alright ." Niall nodded , Harry and Nick nodded along .

"Good to hear . How's Louis doing ?" The two officers took a look at Louis , Harry licked his dry lips , "Stable , should wake up in a few hours or so ."

"Great . We're here to give you some more information about the case , and ask more questions ." The female officer said , "I'm officer Valerie Grace , this is officer Eli Johns ."

Zayn and Liam returned with five paper cups of coffee , eyebrows raised when they saw the officers .

"They're here for questions and to tell us more about what's going on ." Nick helped them with the cups and handed Harry his vanilla coffee , the five huddled in front of the two officers as they recorded their conversation .

The five friends learned that Rory's two friends that managed to escape , Evan and Mark , were taken in and detained aswell . They also gave Niall his phone back , as Niall had filmed some of the attack and they needed the evidence . They found a lot more evidence in Rory's phone , as well as his friends' phones . They also said that since Louis is still underage , as he was seventeen - they all were , still juniors in high school - he would be given a lawyer to handle his case . Harry reminded himself to ask his mother if they could find a lawyer of their own .

The officers asked more questions , and when they asked if any of them knew about the situation with Louis' family , Harry raised his hand , "I - I kind of knew , but never fully ."

"Elaborate ."

"I confronted Rory about his behaviour , the day we broke up , and he was talking crap about Louis . I told him to stop because he doesn't know Louis , and he told me that I don't know either , because if I knew then I would know Louis lives in the basement of his house away from his family . Louis never said a word about it , so the only information I had , really , was from Rory . I dropped Louis off at his house multiple times , and after I was notified , I did catch that he never went up to the front door , but circled the house to go around it . But since Louis never said anything , and I never knew how bad things are , I still don't , I never asked . I waited for him to say something first ."

"He never said a word about any family member , now that I think about it ." Liam added .

~

It was a few hours later , the four friends left and promised to be back in the afternoon . Anne came to visit aswell , handing Harry a change of clothes . He told her over the phone he wouldn't leave Louis alone , and he would wait for him to wake up and to make sure he was fully okay before he allowed himself to go home to shower .

It was a short while after Harry woke up from his nap , he was scrolling through his phone with one hand , his other hand laced with Louis' , fingertips mindlessly caressing the soft skin of his wrist and palm .

That's when he felt Louis' hand twitching , making his head shoot up as his eyes widened . He locked his phone and put it down , leaning closer to Louis , "Lou ?"

Nothing . Harry swallowed thickly , "Lou , I felt your fingers moving . Can you try again ?"

He waited a few seconds , before Louis managed to move his fingers again , just a tiny bit . Harry breathed out in relief as he smiled , eyes glossy , "Lou , thank god . I missed you ." He wrapped both his hands around Louis' , bringing it up to kiss his knuckles , "Can you move your hand again ?"

He kept his lips pressed to Louis' knuckles , and sure enough , seconds later Louis' whole hand twitched in his hold .

"That's it , come on Lou . You can do this ." Harry kept encouraging , "I'm right here with you , I'm not going anywhere . Keep trying ."

Harry sat in silence for a bit , Louis didn't move . He sighed and kissed his knuckles once more , but as he went to put his hand down , Louis' hand wrapped around his own in a feather-light grip , head twitching in it's spot on the pillow .

"Keep going , I'm here waiting for you ." A smile broke onto his face , "You can do this , I believe in you ."

It took Louis about a minute before he successfully opened his eyes , Harry smiled and sat up for Louis to see him properly , a tearful grin on his lips , "Hi Lou ."

Louis looked up at him , looking evidently exhausted . Harry brought Louis' hand up to his lips and kissed the back of his hand , "I'm so happy you're awake , I was so worried ." He kissed his knuckles before reaching for the button , pressing down on it to notify the nurses Louis was awake .

"You're okay now , no one is going to hurt you ever again ." Harry placed his hand softly on Louis' cheek , caressing it with his thumb , "Can you talk ?"

Louis faintly shook his head , Harry nodded , "Okay , it's okay . Does anything hurt ?"

Louis nodded once , Harry bit his lower lip and gave Louis' hand a gentle squeeze , "A nurse will be here any second now , it'll be okay ." He kissed Louis' hand a few more times , befoe the door opened and a nurse walked in , along with a Doctor .

Harry moved a bit to the side without letting go of Louis' hand , silently letting him know he wasn't going anywhere .

"Nice to see you awake , Louis ." The Doctor smiled at him , while the nurse checked his vitals . "My name is Tammy . Do you remember what happened to you ?"

Louis nodded once , the Doctor nodded back , "Okay good . Do you feel any pain in your body ?" She asked , Louis nodded once more . The Doctor told the nurse to get him pain relievers and which dose .

"I will tell you about your condition , is that okay ?" The Doctor asked , waiting for Louis' nod as she saw he was hesitant . Harry gave Louis' hand a soft squeeze of encouragement .

"I'll start with the bad news ; you are very bruised , all over your body , so it will be very painful moving around in the next ten to fourteen days . Your wrist is sprained though nothing major , don't put any pressure on it or try lifting heavy things , it should be better in three to four weeks ." She explained , "You have a cut on your left thigh , and a gash wound on your stomach that needed eleven stitches . Now for the better news ; since you wore layers of clothing , you fortunately don't have broken bones . As for the wound in your stomach , it could've been worse , but thanks to the layers none of your organs were damaged ."

Louis listened as she talked , not able to stop the tear that fell from his eye . Harry was by his side in a split second , he wiped the tear away and then under his eye to catch his other tears before they fell .

"You'll be fully healed in seven weeks , eight weeks maximum ." The Doctor smiled gently , "Your body is still very weak so take it slow , drink a bit of water . You've been given medication for your pain , so you'll feel tired and drousy , go back to sleep if you can . For anything at all , you can either press the button or ask any nurse in the hallway to get me , or specifically your nurse , Rami ."

Harry nodded , "Thank you ." He said for both him and Louis , watching as the Doctor and nurse walked out of the room .

He looked back down at Louis , "Don't cry , Lou . You'll be okay , I promise you ." He wiped his tears and leaned down to kiss his forehead , "You've got me , and the lads , and even my mum . You're not alone , and you'll never be alone again ."

Louis slowly calmed down , Harry sat back down on the chair , leaning his head on his hand with his elbow on the bed , "Want me to get you some water ? I have a few untouched bottles here ." He asked , Louis nodded once .

Harry handed Louis the bed controller to lift himself up while he went to take a water bottle from the bag of food and drinks his mother left there . He uncapped it and handed it to Louis , Louis took it with two hands , his arms shaking at the struggle and the pain of the bruises . Harry helped him supporting the bottle as he took a sip before putting it down , letting Harry take it and cap it .

The door opened and the four friends walked in , immediately smiling when they saw that Louis was awake . Louis slowly turned his head to look at them as they walked into the room , each one taking his turn pecking him on the cheek .

"So good seeing you awake ." Liam smiled and moved to stand next to Harry , while Nick brought the armchair closer so him , Zayn and Niall could sit on it , one on the seat and two on either side on the armrests .

"Definitely . How are you feeling ?" Niall asked , Louis looked over at Harry for him to answer . Harry gave him a smile and turned to Niall , "He can't speak , yet , but he's alright , he was given meds for the pain too so he doesn't feel too bad ." He said and turned back to Louis , "Just hungry , aren't you ?"

Louis nodded once with a faint , almost not visible smile , Harry smiled back , "I'll ask the nurse when you can eat , and get you some homecooked soup , my mum makes the best chicken noodle soup in the world ." Harry reached to hold Louis' hand again , rubbing his thumb on the back of his hand .

"Oh wait , I'll text her that you're awake ." Harry pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted Anne , letting her know that Louis was awake and well and to text him before she left the house .

The six friends talked for a bit , trying to lift Louis' mood up the best they could . He did smile as he listened to them rambling on and cracking a few jokes , drinking more water slowly to not upset his stomach .

An hour passed by and Louis' eyes were getting heavy , the four friends decided to leave to let him rest and promised to be there again in the morning with some breakfast . Harry stayed , of course , making himself comfortable on the armchair with a blanket over himself as Louis lowered the bed so he could get a bit more sleep .

Harry played with Louis' fingers softly , "Get some rest , I'll be here when you wake up ."

Louis smiled gratefully and let his eyes fall shut , falling asleep to Harry tracing the back of his hand .

~

Louis woke up four hours later , seeing that Harry was already awake . Harry looked up when he saw Louis' head moving , smiling at him , "Hi there . Did you sleep well ?"

Louis nodded yes , Harry put his phone away . "I asked the nurse , Rami , if you could eat anything . He said that you should start with dry food in small doses , so uh , my mum brought toasted bread and a bit of butter , and salted crackers ." Harry sat up a bit to reach for the tupperware box and the crackers from the store . "She also brought you some flowers ."

Louis looked to his other side and smiled when he saw the bouquet of flowers sitting inside the vase . He turned back towards Harry and took the bed remote controller , lifting it up into a sitting position . Harry took the tupperware box and opened it , buttering one of the toasted bread pieces for Louis and handing it to him , before buttering one for himself .

"Is it good ?" Harry asked , Louis nodded and wiped at the corner of his lips . Harry finished his bite , "Do you want more butter ?"

Louis shook his head as he kept eating , he finished his toast and nodded when Harry offered another one , drinking a bit of water .

They finished eating , Harry leaned his elbow on the bed , his free hand tracing Louis' wrist , being careful of the bruises . "I uh ... can I - be honest with you ? It's nothing back I just want to talk about it ."

Louis nodded , growing nervous as his eyes were focused on Harry's hand on his wrist .

Harry took a few seconds before speaking . "I know about your situation with your parents ." He said , and couldn't miss the way Louis froze . He was quick to wrap his hand around Louis' , "I've kind of known for a while , by accident . Then yesterday happened , and since you're seventeen and technically not legal yet , they called your mother . And she was here , only to sign papers and leave ."

Louis' heart raced in his chest , he didn't know what to feel ; relief that he didn't have to hide it anymore , or fear that Harry would get up and leave ?

"I never said anything , because I was waiting for you to come around and talk to me about it yourself . Didn't want to push it or make you feel pressured to tell me when you weren't ready ." Harry continued , "And don't you think , even for a second , that it changes anything about us ."

Louis' eyes filled with tears for the second time that say , Harry pouted and sat up from the armchair , moving to sit close to Louis on the bed and leaning in to hug him . He put his hands carefully on Louis' back and leaned in to hook his chin over his shoulder , feeling Louis' hands resting on his elbows .

"I'm here for you , and I promise to do anything I can to help ." Harry spoke quietly , Louis nodded against his chest .

"Thank you ." He whispered .

Harry smiled and pulled back just a bit to kiss his cheek softly before returning to the hug .

~~

It was morning again , and as they promised , the four friends were back with breakfast , this time bringing enough food for the six of them so they could have breakfast together . They had a good laugh and managed to successfully bring a proper smile to Louis' lips .

"Haz , how about you go home to shower ?" Liam rubbed his shoulder , "No offense , but you really need one ." He chuckled along with the others .

"Yeah , lad , go home and shower . We'll stay here with Louis for your peace of mind ." Niall agreed , Harry twisted his mouth to the side and looked over to Louis , Louis nodded with a shy smile , "Go shower , I'll be okay ."

Harry pouted a bit but nodded , they wrapped up their breakfast and Harry took a lift back home with Nick , while Zayn stayed with Louis , and Niall and Liam had to go to school for a bit .

"Thanks for the ride ." Harry smiled at Nick , who nodded and smiled back , "Go shower , mate , wash that grease out of your hair . We'll come by in the afternoon , probably with some board games ."

"Sure . See you ." Harry patted his shoulder and stepped out of the car , hurrying up into the house not to waste any time .

He took his time showering , washing and scrubbing his hair properly . He stepped out of the tub and dried himself , dressing in comfy clothes and packing a backpack with spare clothes , taking a cards game , his tablet and even managing to fit inside a Scrabble box .

He took the bag with him downstairs and put it by the door , before he went to the kitchen . He munched on a cookie from the plate sitting on the island counter as he opened the fridge , taking out ingredients for chicken noodle soup . 

It took a bit of time for the soup to be ready , and when it was ready Harry secured the lid of the small pot with elastics so it wouldn't spill , he put his shoes on and picked up the backpack , slinging it over his shoulder . He carried the pot out to his car and put it at the foot of the passenger's seat , securing it more with the backpack .

He went back into the house and brought two bowls and two spoons , placing them inside of a reusable bag . He took his house keys and locked the door after making sure he had everything he needed , going to his car .

He made a stop at Gina's Bakery and bought some fresh bread and chocolate-chip vanilla muffins , before driving back to the hospital . He carried everything to Louis' room , smiling when he heard Louis' soft chuckle from behind the door .

"I'm baaack ." Harry opened the door and smiled at Louis and Zayn , they turned their heads to face him and smiled , "Back and less smelly , fortunately ." Zayn teased , making Louis chuckle again .

"Heeey ." Harry pouted . He placed the pot on the dresser and carefully put the reusable bag next to it , taking his backpack off and letting it sit on the floor . "You feeling okay ?" Harry asked Louis and reached his hand out to move his fringe from his forehead , Louis nodded , "Yeah . What did you bring ?" He asked and turned to look at the pot on the dresser , "Smells good ."

"Chicken noodle soup , some fresh bread and chocolate-chip vanilla cookies ." Harry smiled proudly and turned to Zayn , "Do you want to eat with us ?"

"No mate , thanks though , promised my sister I will take her out to lunch ." Zayn shook his head and stood up from his seat , "I'll see you two in the evening , alright ? Enjoy your soup ."

"Thanks ." "Thank you ."

Harry set the folding tray in front of Louis , "Was Zayn good company ?" He asked as he prepared Louis' bowl .

"Yeah , we got to talk and it was nice ." Louis smiled , "Very nice guy ."

"I've known him since , about , fourth grade , and when I first saw him , the first thing I told him was 'you look like Aladdin' ." Harry said and placed Louis' bowl in front of him with a spoon , Louis laughed softly , "He actually does , though ."

"I know , he only looks more and more like him as he grows up ." Harry took the bread out of the brown paper bag and ripped it in half , handing one half to Louis .

Harry prepared his own bowl of soup and took his half of the bread , he sat on the armchair and blew a bit on the soup before bringing the spoon to his mouth .

"Did anyone tell you when you'd be able to go home ?" Harry asked , Louis nodded and finished his bite of bread dipped in the soup , "The Doctor was here , she asked a few questions and checked on the wound on my stomach , saying that I could be signed out in the morning after tomorrow , but I have to have someone to watch over me . If I don't have someone for that I'll be staying here for about five more days , just until they're sure the wound is starting to properly heal and build itself close ."

"Tell them you have me to watch over you ." Harry took a bite of his bread , Louis put his spoon down , "I can't , this is a lot to ask of you ."

"Lou , I already told you I'm not going anywhere ." Harry lowered his bowl aswell , holding it with both his hands . "I'm not letting you go through this alone ."

"You've already done so much , though , I feel bad ." Louis said quietly , "I can't repay you if you keep adding more to the list ."

"This is me 'repaying' you for tutoring me ." Harry smiled at him , before his smile faltered , "This is the least I can do after you had to go through so much , because of a person I used to date . I'm sorry I failed to watch out ."

"Don't - don't blame yourself ." Louis pouted sadly , "You're not to blame . You didn't do this to me , and you're not responsible for their actions and choices ."

Harry bit his lower lip , he looked down at his lap for a few seconds then back up at Louis , slowly letting a smile spread on his lips . "I wish I could give you a proper cuddle ."

Louis blushed and looked down at his bowl of soup , stirring the noodles with his spoon . "Maybe later ?"

They finished eating , Harry washed their bowls and spoons in the bathroom sink before placing them inside of the reusable bag . "Muffins now or later ?"

"Later . Still full ." Louis said , "H-How about - how about that cuddle you offered ?"

Harry smiled widely , "I would love that ." He toed his shoes off so he could go on the bed . 

"I need a bit of help scooting over ." Louis said , Harry nodded and fluffed the pillows before placing his hands on his hips , "Does it hurt ?"

"No ." Louis said quietly , cheeks turning pink at the touch . Harry helped him move himself sideways to make room for Harry , scrunching his nose at the pain of the bruises . 

"You alright ? Comfy ?" Harry asked , Louis nodded and lifted the empty side of the blanket , inviting Harry in . Harry smiled and lied next to him on his side , covering himself in the blanket . Louis used the remote controller to lower the bed so they were laying , he stayed on his back because he couldn't turn on his side due to the wound , and Harry was laying on his side with his arm under his head , his other hand tracing the inside of Louis' wrist , from his wrist to the crook of his elbow back and forth .

They kept talking quietly , slowly lulling the two of them into a nap . Anne came over to check on the two , seeing them cuddled next to each other on the small bed , peacefully asleep , she couldn't help but take a few pictures . She didn't stay for long , only restocked their water bottles and left them money for food , allowing herself to take the pot and reusable bag back home with her .

~~

~~

As Louis was promised , he was signed out of the hospital a day and a half later , at ten in the morning . He filled the papers and slowly got dressed in some of Harry's clothes , since he didn't have any clothes of his own with him . Once dressed he was placed in a wheelchair , Rami , the nurse , walked alongside them as Harry wheeled him out of the room and down the hallway to the lift . They went down to the main lobby , where they made sure the papers were confirmed and signed by the Doctor , and the payment came through .

Harry couldn't help but lean down to Louis from behind the wheelchair and kiss his cheek as he was given the confirmation papers along with all the documents , Louis smiled with pink cheeks and pulled his beanie down over his ears as they walked out of the building .

His smile only widened as he saw their friends waiting outside with balloons and sweets , he hid his face shyly behind his hands , "Oh my ."

Harry stopped in front of them , Niall placed the bouquet of flowers in his arms and hugged him , "So happy to see you out of there ."

Louis smiled , smiling wider at the paper bag of chocolate-chip cookies Zayn handed him before hugging him aswell . Liam handed him the balloons and hugged him , and Nick placed a brown teddy bear in his arms , hugging him afterwards .

It was a new feeling , a new experience Louis never got to have before - having multiple people caring for him , doing these little things for him . His chest filled with warmth and he couldn't help the tears filling his eyes , growing emotional as he looked at his armful of gifts .

He sniffled as a tear slid down his cheek , Harry hugged his shoulders from behind , face close to his neck , "Don't cry , Lou ."

"J-Just happy ." Louis managed to chuckle before sniffling again , Harry kissed his cheek , "I don't like seeing tears on your face , I like it better when you smile ."

Louis wiped his cheeks and blushed as Harry kissed his cheek again , missing the four friends smirking at them and elbowing each other knowingly .

"Let's get you in the car ." Harry pulled back from hugging Louis , "We prepared the room for you ."

After Harry successfully convinced Louis to let the Doctor know he would be watching over Louis , he told him he would love for Louis to move in to live with Harry . It was only him and his mother living at the house , and since Anne is away at work a lot of the time Louis would be amazing company , too .

Louis tried arguing about it , saying he would be perfectly fine at his basement , but Harry refused to let him go back to living in the same house as his so-called family . In the end Louis was convinced , and Harry couldn't be happier .

Harry placed all of the gifts in the backseat along with the backpack with Louis' belongings the police returned after investigating the case , then he helped Louis stand up from the wheelchair and walked with him the few steps to the passenger's seat , lowering him in and pulling the seatbelt out for him to buckle himself . He covered Louis in a soft blanket and closed the door , going around the car to the driver's seat .

He got in and buckled himself , then rolled down Louis' window to talk to their friends , "You guys are coming over , right ?"

"Yeah , we'll meet you guys there ." Zayn nodded , Harry nodded aswell before turning to thank Rami , the nurse , once more .

~~

Harry parked his car in the driveway and helped Louis out , walking with him up the front steps and unlocking the door .

"You feeling alright ?" Harry asked , Louis nodded , "Yeah , I'm good . Just - just need to sit down . My legs are weak ." Louis said as they walked into the house , Harry helped him to the living room and sat him down on the couch with a soft blanket over his body . He turned the heat up , "I'll be right back ." He handed Louis the TV remote and walked out of the house to get Louis' gifts from the car .

He brought them all to the living room , placing the flowers down on the table and tied the balloons' strings to the TV dresser , handing Louis the chocolate-chip cookies and the tucking the teddy bear into his arms .

Louis smiled shyly and thanked him , Harry smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead before getting his and Louis' backpacks from the car before locking it , going back into the house . He went to the kitchen and filled the kettle with water , letting it boil so he could make tea for him , Louis and the lads .

While the kettle was boiling he returned to Louis , kneeling in front of him . He lifted the blankets up a bit and carefully helped him out of his shoes , "I'll go get you fluffy socks ."

"You don't have to , I'm fine ." Louis shook his head , Harry only smiled and stood up with the shoes in his hand , walking away to put them by the door before going to his room to fetch socks . He found a pair of green , fluffy socks and went back to the living room , kneeling in front of Louis again .

As he was helping him Louis' foot kept twitching in his hands , he looked up at him and chuckled when he saw he was covering his mouth . "What ?"

"Tickles ." Louis curled his toes , Harry grinned , "Cute ." He finished with his left foot and moved on to the right , he took off his thin sock and looked up at him as he tickled the bottom of his foot just a bit .

"N-No , stop it ." Louis giggled and kicked at him weakly , Harry grinned and put the fluffy sock on his foot , lowering the blanket down to cover him . He went back to the kitchen and put a tray on the counter , taking out mugs and placing them neatly , each in different colour . He put tea bags in each mug , and a bowl of sugar in the middle of the tray , along with a small can of milk .

There was a knock on the door before it opened , "Harry ? Louis ?"

"Go sit in the living room , I'll be there in a minute ." Harry said from the kitchen , hearing the four friends walking in and taking their shoes off in the entrace .

Nick walked into the kitchen and put his hand on Harry's shoulder , "Anything to help with ?"

"No , mate , thanks , I'll just fill the mugs and bring it to the living room ." Harry said , "Did you bring the muffins ?"

"Yes , Liam stopped by the bakery ." Nick nodded , watching as Harry filled the mugs with the boiling water from the kettle . "I uh , I want to ask something ."

"Shoot . What's up ?" Harry asked .

"I know you just got out of a relationship , but you and Louis are just - so good with each other ." He said with a small smile , "The two of you are clearly not ready for a relationship yet , but - have you thought about it , for like , the near future ?"

Harry bit his lower lip as he carefully placed the kettle down . "Louis is lovely , I really like him and I love being with him . But you're right , we're both not ready for a relationship . Yet . I think - I think I won't let it occupy me too much for now , I'll let things simmer . I also want to wait to see how the case goes , I don't want to mix things up ."

Nick nodded and gave his shoulder a squeeze , "He's right for you . And you're right for him ."

Harry smiled and turned back to the tray , lifting it from the counter and carrying it to the living room with Nick following .

~~

Harry laid next to Louis on the bed with an animated movie playing , Louis was half laying down with his shoulders supported on the headboard with a pillow .

"Hey , Lou ?"

Louis hummed and turned his head towards Harry , seeing he had his lower lip between his teeth .

"Can I - can I see the wound ? Would that be okay ?" He asked , Louis felt chills running down his spine before he nodded , "Yeah ."

Harry sat up and settled at Louis' side , looking up at him once more to make sure it was really okay , before lifting the hem of his shirt up , very slowly . The first thing he saw was a bruise , a purple and blue bruise . He lifted the shirt up more , and then he saw the bandage on his stomach , covering the injury .

He brought his hand to the bandage to take it off , but as soon as his fingers touched Louis' stomach Louis errupted into giggles , startling Harry a bit .

Louis quickly covered his mouth with one hand , his other hand reaching down to hold Harry's . By his reaction Harry realized he was ticklish there and it made him smirk , and as much as he would have loved to tickle him again and make him laugh more , he knew he had to be careful of the wound .

"I-I'll do it ." Louis said as he slowly tore the bandage open , not all the way off though , just enough for Harry to see the stitches . Harry pursed his lips inwards , watching as Louis fixed the bandage back on his skin .

Before he lowered his shirt back down , though Harry leaned in and kissed his tummy tenderly a few times , enjoying the giggles and squirming before he pulled himself up and lowered his shirt . Louis had a really cute tummy , and his skin was soft .

Louis put both his hands on his stomach to cover it , a smile on his lips as his cheeks were red from blush . Harry smiled at him and laid back down next to him , shifting so he was closer to him with his nose pressed to his shoulder . 

"Do you think the trial will be soon ? That we'll win ?" Louis asked quietly .

"One hundred percent . Without a doubt ." Harry answered confidently . "We have all the evidence , there's no way they could play it out to be something else . Five against one is never fair , and you got hurt badly , there's no way anyone would let it slide as something light ."

Louis nodded ; he knew Harry was right , but he also knew about people who'd done worse things and got out of it , and it scared him that it might happen in his case too .

"Don't worry about it , it'll be okay and we're never seeing any of them again ." Harry put his hand on Louis' and laced their fingers together , Louis closed his hands so he was holding onto Harry's fingers .

~~

~~

The trial was set in three weeks . Louis counted down the days , finding himself thinking about it before he fell asleep , and when he woke up in the morning . He busied himself the best he could with the school work that was sent to him and Harry to do from home , and Harry kept him nice company , but during the nights , when he was alone in bed in the guest bedroom , his thoughts were running wild .

Harry , the lads and Anne were there for him , and he was grateful . But sometimes it was a bit too hard .

Louis was laying in bed , silent tears running down his cheeks . He wiped them as he sniffled quietly , trying to stay as quiet as he could . It was the night before the trial , currently one fourty a.m , and he couldn't sleep .

He was startled when there was a knock on his door before it opened , Harry stepped inside , "Lou ?" He saw him laying in bed , "You alright ?"

Louis nodded and brought the covers up to his nose , Harry closed the door behind him and walked closer , sitting next to him . He turned the bedlamp on and frowned , "Don't cry , hey , what's wrong ?" He asked and brought his hand to his face to wipe his cheeks .

"J-Just worried . Scared ." Louis whispered shakily , sniffling again . Harry pushed his bottom lip out and nodded , "I know it's scary , but things will be alright . I promised you , didn't I ?"

Louis nodded , Harry grabbed his hand and kissed the back of it , "Can I lay with you ?" He asked , waiting for Louis to nod his head before he settled next to him under the covers . He kissed Louis' clothed shoulder and then his cheek a few times , laying his head on Louis' pillow , his face close enough to his neck so Louis could feel his breath on his skin .

"I've got you ." Harry whispered and let his arm lay across Louis' stomach , being careful not to put pressure on the wound that was halfway healed , though now without the stitches , as they got them removed a few days ago .

Louis held onto Harry's arm and turned his head to the side just a bit , so his jaw was brushing the tip of Harry's nose just a tiny bit . Soon enough he was asleep , and it was one of the best sleeps he'd gotten in a long time .

~~

~~

Nine a.m , and the trial began . Louis , Harry and Anne were sitting with their lawyer , while Rory and his friends were sitting with their own lawyer .

The judge walked into the room and sat down , he announced the trial and began to talk about every piece of information given to him , starting from Harry and Rory dating , to Rory being mean to students , to Louis tutoring Harry after school hours , to Rory trying to push the two of them apart , to Harry breaking up with Rory and getting closer to Louis , to Rory threatening Louis and eventually physically hurting him along with his friends .

Zayn , Niall , Liam and Nick were also there , to both support Louis and to testify . 

The judge also asked to play the video Niall took on his phone , of Rory and his friends attacking Louis . He didn't let the whole video play , though , as he moved on to the body cams of the police officers who arrived first at the scene . He then asked to show the pictures of Louis' injuries taken at the hospital , and read the documents from the Doctor .

The first to testify was Harry . He was brought up and swore to tell the truth , and answered the judge's questions . He then answered some of Rory's lawyer's questions , trying to make Harry admit Rory had some type of a mental illness that would make him lash out sometime . Harry answered against it , and the judge was quick to stop the lawyer and let him know that all five of the accused teens had a chat with a psychologist and a psychiatrist , and all five of them are eligible to be tried .

The next to testify was Rory , who was trying to play the victim and blame things on Louis for challenging him and talking down on him , making Louis shrink in his seat as Harry held his hand under the table .

Louis' lawyer asked Rory questions , and through the questions he had Rory admit to never liking Louis even though he did nothing wrong , when in his story to the judge , he said he tried being friends with Louis but Louis pushed him away .

Then it was Louis' turn to testify . He was shaking as the judge asked him questions , then Rory's lawyer asked a few questions . It made Louis feel so small . Louis was then asked by his own lawyer , and after what felt like an hour he could go back to his seat next to Harry .

Harry's friends then testified aswell , and after them Rory's friends testified . After hearing everything everyone had to say , the judge announced a thirty minutes break to go over things again , dismissing everyone .

Louis quickly stood up from his seat and marched out of the hall , Harry right behind him and their friends following .

Harry caught up to Louis and put his arm around his shoulders , Louis had tears in his eyes , "I n-need air ."

"Okay , okay , come on ." Harry walked them out of the building , it was raining so they sat at a bench under the building's roof .

Louis covered his face in his hands , his chest rising and falling . "How d-dare he turn this on me ." He managed to whisper , trying his hardest not to cry .

Harry sat next to him and wrapped his arms around his middle , pulling him to lean on his chest , "There's no way they're getting out of this , Lou , trust me . The judge knows the facts , and he can tell the difference in our version . Not to mention that we have it filmed through three different cameras ."

Zayn , Liam , Niall and Nick joined them , Niall handed Louis a bottle of water , "Don't stress over it , it'll be okay ."

"Yeah , we've been eyeing the judge and he looked to really dislike Rory and his friends ." Liam said , "You went through a shit time and we won't let them get out of this empty handed ."

"We're all here for you ." Zayn smiled and kneeled in front of Louis , placing a hand on his knee . "You're not alone ."

Louis' bottom lip trembled as he nodded , managing to whisper thank you through the lump in his throat as he wiped his cheeks .

They walked back into the hall a few minutes before due time , Harry held Louis' hand and talked to him quietly to distract him , just for a short while longer .

"When the trial is over we'll go get muffins , eh ? And some hot chocolate . We'll go to the store and buy every snack and candy they sell and have a movie night at Liam's , he has a movie room ." He spoke quietly with a smile .

Louis was looking down at their held hands , watching as Harry's thumb rubbed over the back of his hand gently . He nodded along , Harry gave his hand a squeeze , "What movie would you want to watch ?"

"Don't know ." Louis whispered , Harry smiled , "We could watch a comedy movie , have a good laugh . We could watch Guardians of the Galaxy , it's a funny movie ."

"Perhaps , yeah ." Louis nodded once .

Harry opened his mouth to talk again , but then the judge walked into the hall and everyone straightened in their seats .

The judge opened the trial for the second time , and went through the testimonies and compared them to the facts and the evidence . Then it was time for him to announce .

"Rory Danes - guilty ."

"Evan Brooke - guilty ."

"Mark Finley - guilty ."

"George Walsh - guilty ."

"Tristan Macer - guilty ."

Louis covered his mouth with his hand as tears of relief rolled down his cheeks , listening to the judge announcing their punishments .

Tristan and George received twenty months in juvenile prison . Evan and Mark received twenty six months in juvenile prison , for escaping the scene . Rory received thirty two months in juvenile prison , with no chance of shortening it .

Harry brought Louis into a tight hug , kissing his clothed shoulder repeatedly as Louis cried . Anne took her time thanking their lawyer , Louis pulled away from Harry and wiped his cheeks with his sleeves , going to shake their lawyer's hand and thank him .

The four friends were quick to join them and wrapped Louis in warm hugs , when one of the police officers approached them .

"Mr. Tomlinson , the judge asked for you to stay , he would like to talk to you ."

Louis nodded and wiped his cheeks again , Harry stood behind him and put his chin on his shoulder , hands on his waist , "Mr. Tomlinson ?"

"Shut it ." Louis elbowed him gently and turned to face him , Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around his shoulders , bringing his head down a bit so his lips were closer to his ear . "I told you we'd win , didn't I ?"

Louis only smiled and buried his face in his shoulder , Harry kissed his temple and rubbed his back before pulling away a bit and turning Louis around to face the judge who walked towards them .

"Louis , hello ." The judge held his hand out , Louis shook his hand with soft-pink blush on his cheeks , "Hi , Sir ."

"I just wanted to tell you that you are one strong young man . What you went through was unimaginable . I'm happy to see that even without family figures in your life you managed to surround yourself with good people who care about you ." The judge gestured towards everyone around Louis , making them all smile wider .

"Thank you . Really , thank you ." Louis nodded , his eyes filling with tears again .

"Don't let the incident bring you down , you're the strong one here . Be proud , keep your head held up ." The judge smiled , Louis nodded and shook his hand once more before they separated ways .

Harry tucked Louis under his arm as they walked out of the building  , Anne hugged the two and said she needed to go off to work and would see them in the evening for dinner .

"Do you guys want to do something ? We're off for the rest of the day , basically ." Harry suggested as they walked through the parking lot .

Louis patted his arm shyly , "Can we - can we do this indoors ? I kind of need to lay down for a bit ." He asked quietly , Harry agreed and turned to the other four , who heard Louis too .

"We can have lunch together at my house ." Liam suggested , "Let's stop at the grocery store and buy stuff , and make lunch together . We haven't done that in a while ."

"I second that ." Niall nodded , Nick and Zayn nodded aswell .

Harry looked down at Louis , who nodded and smiled , "Sure , sounds good . What are we making ?"

~~

~~

Time went by , Louis was fully healed from his bruises . The wound and the cut on his thigh left scars , but he was just happy he was healed . He returned to school , this time a bit more light-mooded , since he had Harry and his friends , along with Rory and his own friends not there anymore .

And of course , as expected , the entire school was aware of what happened . News spread fast . He hated being the talk of the school , he hated the eyes that followed him when he walked down the hallways . He wanted to go back to being an unknown wallflower .

Harry made sure to hold his head high as he walked with Louis by his side , he kept his arm around his shoulders , and as time went on his arm lowered and lowered until it was permanently around his waist . Louis didn't mind , the only disadvantage was that it gave Harry gree access to tickle him .

Their four friends saw it all ; the forehead kisses , arm around the waist , cuddles in the middle of the hallways , small hand on large bicep , shy smiles and constant blush , quiet giggles , large hand holding small hand , soft cheek pecks . They knew it was only a matter of time before further steps would be taken and they would get together .

Louis also moved out of the basement and officially into Harry's house . It took Harry some time to talk him into it , and even spent a few nights with him at the basement . Slowly Louis gave up on living in the same house as his parents and packed his clothes and necessities , leaving an envelope in the mailbox with a short explanation that he was leaving and where he was staying . After all , he wasn't eighteen yet .

It was almost the end of the school year , and finals kicked in . Louis and Harry studied together , staying up late and go through the subjects .

~~

~~

"We need a break ." Harry put his pen down on his notebook and stretched his arms above his head , Louis smiled as he continued writing down , "Soon , I promise ."

"Nooo . Let's take a break ." Harry pouted , bottom lip pushed out . "Let's go make a snack , I want a snack ."

"Will it help you focus later ?" Louis asked and turned his head towards him , Harry nodded , "Pleaseeee ."

"Alright ." Louis sighed and put his pen down , they stood up from the dining table and went to the kitchen .

Harry opened the fridge , "Sweet or salty ?" He asked , Louis leaned his elbows on the counter , "Don't really mind ."

"I have an idea ." Harry smiled and took shredded cheese out of the fridge , and a bit or parsley . He put it on the counter and took the leftover breafloaf from yesterday , putting it on a tray with baking paper then turning the oven on .

"What are you making ?" Louis asked , watching as he pulled a knife out of the drawer . Harry smiled as he started cutting lines into the bread , "Just some cheesy breadsticks . A bit of olive oil , pinch of salt and parsley , a bunch of cheese ." 

Louis smiled , "Sounds good . Can I help ?"

"Sure , I'll just finish cutting it and you'll do the rest ." Harry said , Louis nodded , "You'll have to guide me though , I never actually cooked something before ."

"Don't worry , you'll do good ." Harry said and put down the knife , "Come here ." He said and reached for the bottle of olive oil , pouring a bit into a small bowl and handing Louis a brush , "Now you brush the oil all over the bread , focus in the inside of it ."

Louis nodded and took the brush , dipping it in the oil and brushing it on the bread . Harry was standing next to him , his body angled towards him with his arm around his waist . He got kind of used to having Harry's arm around him , though it still made him blush a bit and gave him butterflies .

"Am I even doing this right ? You're too quiet ." Louis asked with a small chuckle , Harry smiled , "You're good , keep going ." He rubbed up and down his side .

When he was done he put the brush and bowl away , "Now the cheese ?" He asked , Harry nodded and handed him the bag , "Get the cheese inbetween the bread pieces , and when you're done sprinkle it ontop aswell ."

Louis did as told , now Harry's chin was on his shoulder , which he thought should be uncomfortable for Harry because he had to lean himself down to Louis' shoulder , since Louis was shorter .

Once done with the cheese Harry sprinkled the parsley ontop , then put the tray in the oven for eight minutes . Louis washed his hands and dried them , "When will it be ready ?"

"Eight minutes , just need the cheese to melt properly ." Harry said and sat on the bar stool , holding his arms open , "Come cuddle ."

Louis' cheeks turned pink as he walked closer , Harry wrapped his arms around his waist and held him tightly close to his chest . Louis wrapped his arms around Harry's broad shoulders , his thumb rubbing the top of his shoulder .

"You give really good cuddles ." Harry smiled into his shoulder , Louis bit his lower lip as he smiled shyly , "You think so ?" It was all intimate and it made Louis' heart hammer in his chest .

"Yeah ." Harry breathed out and tightened his arms around him before releasing just a bit , pressing a peck to his cheek . He leaned back a bit to look at him and kissed his cheek again , this time staying close .

Louis' cheeks were now red and his heart was hammering , he was sure Harry could feel it aswell from how tightly they were pressed together . He didn't dare to talk , eyelids fluttering when Harry brushed their noses together .

Harry couldn't take his eyes off Louis' lips , but he had to so he could look him in the eyes . Louis had to cross his eyes to look into Harry's eyes , though it was for about a second before his gaze dropped down to his lips - they were so close .

He wanted Harry to kiss him , but Harry wasn't moving much in his spot . He had to let Harry know he wanted to kiss him , but was too shy to be the first to lean in . So he inched the tiniest bit closer and tightened his arms around his shoulders , making Harry smile before closing the gap .

The kiss was gentle , just a soft press of lips . Harry pulled back only to press another kiss , this time putting more pressure yet keeping the kiss soft . He tightened his arms around his waist and moved his lips a bit , Louis' arms moved up to wrap around his neck , then his hands moved to hold his cheeks .

They had to pull back when Louis couldn't control his smile , Harry smiled and pulled back to look at him , "Can we do this forever ?"

A shy giggle escaped Louis' lips uncontrollably , his head dropped to his shoulder . Harry chuckled and rubbed his back , he settled his hands on his waist and gave him a soft tug for him to lift his head up . Louis lifted his head up yet avoided his eyes , his cheeks red and a smile on his lips .

Harry kissed a trail on his cheek , reaching his lips and holding him in his spot . It was only their second kiss and he already felt like he was addicted .

The oven's timer went off , Harry scrunched his nose as Louis pulled back and let Harry get up to take the tray out . He traced his lips with his fingertips , they still tingled from the kisses and felt a bit warm .

Harry moved the breadloaf onto a large plate and held it with one hand , taking Louis' other hand in his free one . He took him to the backyard , where they could sit and relax for a bit before going back to studying .

Harry placed the plate on the table , "Sit down , I'll get something to drink ." Harry said and walked into the house .

~

They finished eating and returned to the dining table , Louis was still shy from all the kissing they'd done before , during and after they ate .

They successfully studied for an hour and a half before Harry dropped his head on the table , "I can't study anymore ."

Louis smiled in amusement and rubbed his back , "Sit up , I'll quiz you ."

"Is there a prize ?" Harry asked , though he already knew what he wanted .

"Like what ?" Louis asked ; he had a feeling what Harry was talking about .

Harry smirked as he sat up , "For every right answer I get a kiss ."

Louis smiled , "Okay ."

Harry wiggled in his seat and turned to face Louis ; he had to do good if he wanted to get a kiss , and he was pretty competitive , especially when the prize was that good .

Louis asked him the first question , starting with easy things before he would move on to harder ones . Harry smiled widely when he got the right answer , leaning in and kissing Louis .

As the questions kept coming , Harry found it harder to answer , and he was pouting deeper each time Louis told him it was wrong .

In the end he pulled Louis into a proper kiss , then pulled back to smile at him , "My turn . Same deal . If you answer right , you get a kiss . If you answer wrong , I tickle you for ten seconds ."

"What ! No , that's not fair ." Louis tried taking the notebook out of Harry's hands .

"Yes it is ! We both know you know everything already . And also , I had a punishment too , I didn't get to kiss you ." Harry argued playfully and kept the notebook in his hands , Louis crossed his arms over his chest . "Fine , go on ."

Harry grinned and started asking him questions , and as he already knew , Louis answered correctly every time , getting a kiss after every right answer . Harry then felt playful , so when Louis gave him his answer , which was actually right , he shook his head , "Wrong ." He smirked mischievously .

"No way , I know this is right ." Louis shook his head , "I taught you this !"

"Nope , it's wrong ." Harry put the notebook down and reached his hands out , Louis shielded his body with his arms , "I don't believe you , you're lying ." He was already giggling , pushing at Harry's hands .

"You answered wrong , now I need to tickle you for ten seconds ." Harry grinned , Louis slipped out of his seat and ran away , Harry following quickly .

Louis made a run for his room , the guest bedroom , he ran inside and tried closing the door , though Harry was quick and managed to catch the door before he could close it all the way . Louis wasn't very strong so he had to let go of the door , he flopped down on the bed and hid under the blankets , which clearly wasn't very smart .

Harry grinned at him , he lifted the blankets at the foot of the bed and crawled in , Louis gasped , "N-No !" He laughed as Harry wrapped his arms around him and tickled his waist , up to his ribs . He twisted and turned as much as he could before Harry stopped and smiled down at him , now the blankets were messily laying over their bodies .

"Th-That was more than ten seconds ." Louis gave his shoulder a weak shove , Harry smiled and kissed his cheek , "I know . I also lied , your answer was right ." He admitted , making Louis smack his chest lightly , "I knew it ."

"Sorry , Muffin ." Harry kissed him softly .

~~

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They were at school for private lessons , now having their lunch break . Louis was at his locker , put his notebook and textbook inside , taking different ones for the next private lesson , when he felt arms wrapping around his waist .

He jumped and dropped his bag to grab the arms , sighing in relief when he realized it was Harry , who chuckled and kissed his cheek , "Sorry , didn't mean to scare you ." He said and pulled away , picking Louis' bag up from the floor and zipping it close for him .

Louis took the bag and put it over his shoulder , closing his locker , "Let's go to lu --" He was cut off by Harry grabbing his waist and turning him around , pressing his back to the lockers as he kissed him .

"In a minute ." Harry mumbled against his lips and kissed him some more , before they heard a loud whistling from down the hallway . They pulled back only to see their friends , Niall with his fingers in his mouth , whistling at them .

"Leave that for later , lads , we're hungry !" Nick said with a smirk , Zayn and Liam grinned at them as Niall pretended to faint into Nick's arms .

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This one took forever , but I'm actually quite proud of it .

Hope you liked it x

~Author