[Harry]

The days slowly passed by after that with nothing new happening. Louis and I still couldn't sit at the kitchen table together without throwing each other dirty looks, and mum and Troy were obviously growing tired of it. Especially mum since she desperately wanted all of us family members to get along.

Gemma and Louis hadn't talked very much to each other either that I knew of, and I guess that was because Gemma was aware of everything Louis had done to me, so she was a little cautious when it came to him. And Louis probably saw Gemma as someone that was related to me and therefore, decided he couldn't get along with her or something. Not that he absolutely despised my mother, though, but you could clearly see that he wasn't very fond of her either by the look he had in his eyes whenever she spoke to him. I didn't know if that was because of me, though, because it seemed to have more meaning to it, a meaning that was deeper than the hatred he had for me.

On another note, Louis had slowly started accepting the fact that we were now stepbrothers. Well, at least he had told me it was okay for me to tell Liam about it, which was a relief. My best friend had practically been nagging holes in my head, asking me who my stepbrother was and why I refused to tell him. I would usually only try to change the topic, but it was hard to do so because Liam and I told each other almost everything, and keeping this kind of a secret from him was not an easy thing to do.

His reaction had been something I wouldn't forget anytime soon. It was priceless, the way his mouth had formed an 'o', and his eyes widened in utter shock. He'd repeated the words 'you can't be serious' probably at least ten times before I had slapped my hand over his mouth to make him shut up. He had been speechless all day after that, only telling me for the first time when school was finished how bad he felt for me because of it. His sympathy was really appreciated, even though I told him it was okay. At least Louis hadn't done anything worse than normal yet.

I also made Liam promise not to tell anyone else about it because Louis and I wanted to keep it a secret since everyone would most likely freak out if they found out that the school's most popular guy lived with me, a boy who was classed as a nerd in some people's eyes, or just a 'normal' boy in others'. It was only partly a lie considering I knew that would most definitely happen, but Louis and I hadn't made an agreement not to tell anyone. He was the one who had told me to say this, and I didn't want to explain to Liam how I sometimes had a hard time disobeying his orders when it came to certain things. It was just too complicated.

I knew for a fact Louis hadn't told anyone that we were stepbrothers, though. I didn't know if it was because of what he told me about him being afraid of his friends finding out, or if it was something else. Something told me there was more to it, like for instance what I just mentioned about everyone freaking out over it. I was positive that was one of the reasons he wouldn't tell anyone. After all, he had a reputation to keep up, just like he did two years ago when we were friends.

At the moment, I was changing into my sports gear, getting ready to attend my last lesson of the day, P.E. It was the Friday I had promised Ed I would go to the football game he had later in the afternoon. To be honest, he hadn't shut up about it all week, reminding me every day how happy he was that I had finally agreed on attending one. If I remembered correctly, though, he hadn't asked me that many times before, but I decided not to bring it up. The main thing was that he was happy I was going to be there, and that was all that mattered.

Through the corner of my eye, I could see Louis pulling off his black shirt while talking to one of his friends. His six-pack was a sight I had been getting quite used to witnessing lately since he rarely bothered putting on a t-shirt in the mornings when he came down to eat breakfast. It wasn't like I enjoyed it, but I couldn't deny the fact that six-packs on guys were very attractive.

Mentally smacking myself in the forehead, I turned back to my locker and put on a pair of joggers before slamming it shut and going into the gym. A few people were already there, conversing with each other about God knows what. The only thing I managed to pick up was something about a celebration party, and I assumed it had to do with the game that was later this evening. I just hoped Ed wouldn't bring it up and take me and Liam to it. Parties and I weren't a great combo. I didn't like them, to be frank.

It turned out Mr. Wilson wanted us to play volleyball that day. My volleyball skills probably weren't the best, but I wouldn't say I was the worst one at it either. Louis and his friends liked to think they aced the whole thing since they were so-called 'sportspeople', but the girls and guys who played volleyball in their free time wouldn't agree with them. According to them, Louis and his gang just bantered around and thought they were great when in reality, they weren't. Not that I cared, it was just fun to witness the scene play out.

What wasn't so funny, though, was that I was on the same team as Louis. He made fun of me whenever I missed the ball and even once when I managed to get hit on the head. In return, I flipped him the bird and laughed under my breath whenever he made mistakes himself. Unfortunately, though, he had better ball control than me since he played football, so he had the great advantage that he could just kick or nod the ball over the net. Stupid volleyball rules that allowed football moves...

Once the lecture ended, I made my way into the locker room, feeling slightly lonely since I had no friends in this class. I tried not to be fazed by it as I stripped off my clothes, grabbed my towel, and headed for the showers. Luckily, not that many people were in here yet. I didn't quite like to shower around people because I would always receive these judging looks that said I shouldn't be there because I was bisexual and, therefore, found guys attractive. Usually, I would ignore them, but whether I wanted it to or not, it still hurt. Why would I be treated differently because of a small thing like my sexuality? I was just like any other guy.

I hung my towel on a hanger before getting under a showerhead and turning on the water. Just as I was about to open the shampoo bottle, though, I felt a tap on my shoulder. At first, I contemplated whether to turn around or not, afraid that it would be someone who was going to spat in my face that I didn't belong in here with the straight guys, but in the end, I decided I wouldn't care, and finally spun on my heel to face the person.

My breath got caught in my throat at the sight of an almost naked Louis standing in front of me, a towel lazily wrapped around his waist, hanging a little too low if you asked me. I turned my gaze up to his face and was surprised to see that he didn't look angry for once, which was definitely unusual. He never pulled on anything close to a happy face around me. "Louis, wha--" I started, but he cut me off.

"Are you going home after this or are you waiting here until the game starts?" He asked, his eyes flicking around to see if anybody was listening to our conversation or even paying attention to us. When he realized everyone in here had their backs turned to us, he looked back at me, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

The fact that he was talking to me in a somewhat normal tone of voice wouldn't really register in my head, so when I opened my mouth to reply, nothing came out. I had to close my eyes and inhale a large breath of air to get anything past my lips. "H-home, why?" I wondered, mentally hitting myself for stuttering. I never stuttered in Louis' proximity. That was something I had promised myself never to do. What even was this?

A small smile formed on his lips, and I had to blink my eyes a few times to know if it was actually real. Was Louis Tomlinson actually smiling at me? Impossible. "Great. I forgot my cleats at home and I haven't been handed a key yet, so I would've had to call dad otherwise," he said, biting his bottom lip.

"Oh." I didn't know what else to say, so I awkwardly looked down at my feet and fiddled with my fingers, feeling embarrassed that I was standing in front of Louis completely naked now that he was my stepbrother. That was just weird on so many levels.

Louis' smile turned into a smirk as he leaned closer to me, his hand grasping my shoulder lightly. "Just to give you some advice... If I were you, I would practice my subtle staring skills because it was obvious that you were checking me out just a second ago, but don't worry, I would check myself out too if I could," he sniggered in my ear before pulling away with a wink.

I didn't even have time to open my mouth before he had walked away from me to get into a shower himself. When what he had just told me registered in my head, I could feel anger boil up within me. The somewhat friendly thoughts I'd had about him just a second ago disappeared as fast as they had erupted. He was just so damn full of himself, always thinking about his stupid looks and whatnot. I hadn't even been checking him out, that lying son of bitch.

Frustratingly, I turned around to finish my shower, refusing to think about the feathery haired boy who was just a few showers away, now talking to one of his friends happily.

-----

The moment I hopped off the bus, I didn't hesitate to start jogging to my house. I didn't want to have Louis walking right behind me like he'd done the last few days since he still had a problem finding his way back home. It had been a week, yet he still hadn't learned it. I wouldn't call that a bad sense of locality, that was just downright stupidity, but Louis was kind of stupid, so I shouldn't even be surprised.

The reason I particularly didn't want him to follow me today was because of what happened in the locker room earlier. He could find his way back home however he wanted, but he wouldn't get my help this time. He could use the map on his phone or whatever, I didn't care.

When I got home, I wasn't surprised to find the front door locked. Even Louis was aware that no one would be home, so it really didn't shock me at all. Gemma didn't finish school yet in another hour or so and mum and Troy worked late every weekday, besides when mum got off early every once in a while, like one day last week.

I unlocked the house and dumped my backpack on the floor in the hallway the first thing I did before I shrugged off my jacket and slipped off my shoes. I then made my way into the kitchen to grab a quick snack and pull out a glass from one of the cupboards, so I could drink some well-needed water. An hour of working out was quite exhausting when you usually didn't practice any sport.

Just when I was about to put the glass down on the counter, I could hear the front door opening. I didn't have to check to know it was Louis, although I was a little surprised that he had found his way back home that quickly. I thought he was going to take another ten minutes at least.

"Harry?" He called out, and I rolled my eyes at the harsh tone he was using. I guess we were back to normal.

A second later, he joined me in the kitchen and flashed me a cold look. "Why would you fucking run away from me like that? I could've gotten lost, for fuck's sake, and your mum would've been so disappointed in you if that was to happen, don't you think?"

I had to bring my fist to my mouth to quiet my laughter. "It's not my problem you still have trouble finding your way back here," I chuckled, feeling his intense glare at the side of my head, but decided to ignore it.

"Shut up," he muttered and walked out of the room, probably to get his cleats that he had forgotten this morning.

When he came back down from the second floor, he didn't even so much as say goodbye before he exited the house again. Raising an eyebrow at his sudden hurry, I walked over to the kitchen window just in time to see him hop into a car I didn't recognize. However, I did recognize the raven-haired guy who was sitting in the seat next to his, so I assumed one of his older friends was the one who drove the car.

Feeling pretty ridiculous for being so nosy, I walked to the entryway to fish my phone out of my jacket. I had two missed calls, and both of them were from Liam. We had planned to meet up outside school so we could walk to the football field that was on the other side of the building together.

After giving Liam a quick call, informing him that I would be there in twenty minutes, I put on my outdoor clothing once again and exited the house, locking the door behind me. I sighed when I realized it had started raining, and didn't hesitate to hug my arms around my body, hating that it was November and not February, which, in that case, would have meant that the summer was on its way. But no, of course not.

My hair was damp when I arrived at the bus stop, but at least I was lucky enough to get there at the same time as the bus, meaning that I could get on it immediately instead of having to wait in the pouring rain and get even wetter than I already was.

Since it was afternoon, there weren't many people on the bus considering no students needed to get to school. There were merely adults who didn't have a driver's license or a car that rode the bus at this time, and I found that great because it meant I didn't have to look for an empty seat to sit in. Most of them were unoccupied anyway.

Fifteen minutes later, the bus came to a halt outside school and I jumped off to make my way to the benches near the entrance. Liam and I had decided to meet up there, a usual place for us to meet up whenever we weren't going into school.

The rain had thankfully stopped falling from the sky by now, so I didn't have to shield my face as I walked to the destination only to find Liam already sitting there, waiting for me. "Hi, mate," I greeted, waving my hand a little when he turned to look at me.

"Harry," he smiled, standing up from the bench to join me. "You're right on time. The game starts in fifteen minutes, but we don't want to get the worst seats, so I'd say we go there right away, yeah?"

I nodded in agreement, and together we headed for the football field on the other side of the building. It turned out we actually were right on time because so far, only about twenty people were sitting on the bleachers, and I knew for a fact that the football team usually had at least a hundred people watching their games. Not only the students at school enjoyed watching them, but also family and people who just enjoyed football in general, which were more people than you would think.

Liam pulled me down to the seats closest to the field, much to my dismay. I didn't want Louis to catch sight of me, even though he already knew I was going to be here. I had no idea why I felt that way, I just did. Liam, however, seemed to want to be noticed by everyone on the field, and sadly, I had no say in this, because that boy had a strong will. I would never be able to pull myself out of his grip, nor win an argument against him. Once he was determined of something, no one could change his mind.

So, against my will, we sat down in the seats and waited for the game to begin. When there were only five minutes to go, the bleachers were crowded with people. They were already shouting at the top of their lungs, cheering like there was no tomorrow. I knew that if they were going to continue like that throughout the entire game, I was surely going to become deaf.

All the players were now out on the pitch, and the referee suddenly blew his whistle, signaling the captains of the two teams to go over to him. Louis didn't waste a second to jog up to the man, shaking his and the opponent's hands before they drew to decide what team was going to kick off.

Louis won, and just a minute later the game finally began.

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So, what are your thoughts on this story so far? Do you think it's going too slow? Let me know :)

What do you think will happen during/after the game?

Thank you so much for all your support, love you xx

Edited by: Lacy

Pauline .xx