louis wore one of his chokers to try to cover the marks around his throat.

he tried makeup, which kind of worked. he tried turtlenecks, which was stupid and would be totally obvious, and he just gave up. he was sick of covering for himself. he was over it.

he stole twenty bucks out of his dad's wallet to pay for a new copy of paper towns. he put all of harry's books in his backpack and carefully trudged to school. his head still hurt from the blows, his side hurt from ethans feet and he wished his hoodie was tighter so the sleeves wouldn't constantly slip when he lifted his arms up. he had fingerprint bruises on his wrists and regular bruises painting his frame like freckles.

louis signed in and went straight to the library. he lied to the woman and said his little cousin got ahold of it and tore it up, and gave her the cash to pay for the new book. he got some change back and went to the bathroom to make sure he looked fine.

it's been a while since he relapsed in the stalls so it was a bit eerie to him, being in the cold restroom by himself. he bit his lip and hoped for the best before making it to third block on time.

there was a new student sitting in louis' seat. he had blonde hair and dark brown eyes and he wasn't bad looking, but he definitely seemed stuck up. he had a septum piercing and a hand tattoo of a skull.

louis adjusted his backpack and cleared his throat when he got to his desk. "erm..you're in my seat."

the kid rose an eyebrow. "i don't see your name on it."

louis pointed to the top right corner of the desk. louis tomlinson - 3rd was listed as the third name on the paper. "'s right there, buddy."

"my bad," the kid got up and moved, sitting in the back. louis sat in his seat and pulled on his hood. tying the string to keep it up.

algebra was boring. why was the alphabet involved with numbers? it made louis' head hurt. nine times out of ten all he would have to do in the future is add and subtract numbers, not throw in the variables and plot it on a graph. that's just bullshit.

in the middle of the period, the teacher's phone rang. she talked for a short amount of time before hanging up and speaking. "hey, louis?"

louis looked up. "yeah?"

"mr. styles needs you in his room. just take your work with you," she shrugged and wrote a pass. louis liked her, just not the subject. she was lenient. she let students work in the hallway sometimes, let them do partner work and even gave them answers to help the harder equations.

louis packed up and took the pass, thanking her and left. his ratty van's tapped against the tile, the sound echoing down the hall. he stuffed his hands in his pockets as he turned around the corridor and knocked on mr. styles' door gently.

"come in," he heard the familiar voice say. louis turned the knob and shyly entered the room.

"you needed me?"

harry smiled and nodded. "i do, pull a seat up."

louis nodded and closed the door, grabbing a chair and sat next to the man. louis noticed he wasn't wearing a tie today, and that was different. it was actually pretty hot. he was hot.

was it bad he was attracted to his teacher?

"i got you something," mr. styles said and he opened his desk, pulling out a bag. it was more like a gift bag and it had to you, from me (: written in harry's scrawly writing on the front. louis stared at him in confusion and harry gave him the bag.

"don't be shy, open it!" his teacher beamed and leaned back in his seat.

louis carefully opened the bag and pulled out the tissue paper that was laying on top. he grabbed the large box and pulled it out as well, gasping and his eyes lit up. "no way! this is for me?"

harry nodded, smiling. "it is!"

harry got him the whole collection of books by john green. from an abundance of katherines to let it snow and even turtles all the way down. there were quite a few books in the box and louis set it on the table.

"thank you so much," he said and harry noticed louis was smiling. smiling. with happy eyes and a toothy grin. his eyes were crinkled, his cheeks were flushed and he was just...thankful.

"i remember you telling me you liked his books and i found this at the bookstore the other night," harry said and skimmed his fingers over the hardbacks. "they're yours."

louis kept thanking him over and over again. someone thought about him. that was new.

"oh, i have your books, by the way," he said and opened his backpack, placing them on harry's desk. harry chuckled and put them by his computer to stock up later.

"do you like it?" harry asked.

"oh, i love it," louis put the box back in the bag. "thank you again, mr. styles."

harry chuckled. "please, you can call me harry. i'm not even that fucking professional."

louis snorted and put the bag by his chair. harry watched him softly, taking in his appearance. his hair was tucked in his hood, his eyes were a little baggy and he looked exhausted. he still had the cut on his cheek but it was now scabbing up, and he noticed a small bruise on louis' jaw. should he bring it up? yes. did he want to ruin louis' moment of joy? no.

so he kept quiet.

"what's your favorite book?" harry asked, swirling side to side in his chair.

"oh, it's this book called walk two moons. it's by sharon creech," louis said softly. "it's about a girl who goes on a trip to try to find her mum. it's like a story inside of a story, 'cause she tells her grandparents stories about living with her dad while they're on the trip."

harry nodded, letting him know he was paying attention. it was cute how the small boy got excited over novels. he could talk about books for days.

"i also love the outsiders," louis said. "it's an amazing book and film. it has the meaning that family doesn't have to be blood. it makes me cry everytime," he chuckled. "what about you, harry? what's your favorite book?"

harry loved the way his name rolled off of louis' tongue. with his accent and higher pitched voice, it sounded like an angel was talking to him.

"hm," harry pursed his lips. "i would definitely have to go with fifty shades."

louis rolled his eyes. "puh-lease. that series was horrible. it glorified abuse and tried covering it up with an erotic lifestyle. definitely one for the trash."

harry laughed at that comment. "i was just kidding. it was garbage, i agree. but my favorite book would have to be shelter. seriously, there's nothing like it. i love the author's way of writing. it's mysterious and one i can keep reading without getting bored."

louis nodded. "i liked that book a lot."

"would you like to read the second one?" harry asked.

louis smiled softly and nodded. "i would love to."

---

here's a little bit of larry bonding. over time, their bond will grow. for now, they share interests in books and shit.

here's a double update because im in a good mood. im back to date on my medications so i shouldnt be in this clusterfuck anymore. plus i got $400 in scholarship money for any college tuition in my state so im pretty pumped. money i dont have to pay WOO

im probably not even gonna go through with my update schedule because ive noticed a decline in votes/comments/reads. i like updating to see your comments and reactions & its just died down a bit. idk.

thank you guys for almost 500 reads!!