Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/2207373. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Choose_Not_To_Use_Archive_Warnings, Underage Category: M/M Fandom: One_Direction_(Band) Relationship: Harry_Styles/Louis_Tomlinson Character: Harry_Styles, Louis_Tomlinson Additional Tags: Underage_-_Freeform, Bullying, High_School, the_1975, Top!Harry, bottom!Louis, Alternate_Universe, Alternate_Universe_-_High_School, Fluff and_Smut, Fluff, Smut, First_Time Stats: Published: 2014-08-27 Words: 7977 ****** Babe, You Look So Cool ****** by Taayjaay Summary Louis was never the cool kid, but when he started senior year, a freshman changes his whole perspective on the word. Notes Thank you to ftwlourry on tumblr for this prompt! My URL is teacuphaz on tumblr and I would greatly appreciate feedback in the comments! This is strictly a one shot and I have no immediate plans to change that. Sorry if it is showing up as "Chapter 1", because I have not indicated that this will be a chaptered work. Babe, You Look So Cool   Harry had always fit in from a young age. He didn’t think much of his “popular” status at school, it just seemed so natural that people were drawn to him. Now that he would be starting high school, he didn’t expect it to be much different. And it wasn’t. Louis had never gotten along with the kids in school. He’d always had a few close friends, but nobody other than that really talked to him unless it was to pick on him and put him down. Louis knew that when he started high school, it would be different. And it wasn’t. When Louis showed up at the city’s only small high school at the beginning of the ninth grade, the first thing that happened was that a group of sophomores pushed him into the lockers, causing him to hit his head and scatter his books across the cold, concrete floor. "Fag." The kids laughed. Picking on Louis was effortless. His soft fringe and fragile bone structure made him the target of many gay-related jokes and definitely did not help him when he was getting punched in the jaw. Louis didn’t know how he was going to make it through the next four years, and if he did, he knew things would have to change. But they didn’t. It was the start of senior year for Louis, and although countless hours of praying and wishing on stars were sacrificed in order to stop the bullying, it was to no avail. There was nothing more pathetic than being a senior and still being tortured by tenth graders. Nothing except walking face first into the lockers on the first day of school. Louis was looking through his text books, shuffling them to find his physics text for his first block when he looked up for a moment, careful not to run into anyone while he stumbled through the hallway just beneath most people’s vision. His breath suddenly stopped as his eyes locked on an unfamiliar face, laughing and leaning against the water fountain wearing loose clothing that hugged his body in ways that loose clothing shouldn’t fit. The boy had a messy frame of curls laying across his face which he brushed out of his eyes with his massive hands. Louis felt his heart clench at the sight of those hands, subconsciously biting his lip and inhaling sharply. His eyes locked on the boy’s mouth, and as if he knew, the kid licked across his red lips, sucking his bottom one into his mouth for a moment before letting his jaw go slack as if he was about to speak to the other boy standing next to him. Louis was lost in the kid's green eyes when he felt the cool metal hitting him in the cheekbone and the following eruption of laughter that usually followed him getting hit in the face with anything. Louis ended up on the ground somehow, shaking his head and looking around at the crowd of people staring at him. As he gathered his books, one particularly tall kid yelled across the laughter. "So you can’t think straight and you can’t walk straight, is there anything you can do?" The laughter got even louder, and Louis could feel the tears prickling behind his eyes. He took a deep breath in an attempt to ignore everyone and finally gathered his books. As he was halfway standing, someone grabbed his shoulders from behind, throwing him to the ground again and causing Louis’ glasses to fly off his face and onto the ground. He rubbed his eyes, trying to see before realizing that he had released a few carefully held tears which were staining his cheeks an awful swollen red. Blatant slurs and curses filled his ears from every direction and Louis felt surrounded. He prayed to God to not let him have a panic attack right here in front of everyone. "How about you fuck off, man." A deep voice came from behind Louis, but he didn’t even want to look up. He didn’t want anyone to see his face right now. His books were formed into a neat pile when he heard the conversation behind him and finally turned around cautiously. "C’mon, it’s all good fun. You like it, don’t you, fuckboy." The kid who was speaking was one who had pushed him down just moments before. Louis recognized him, but never bothered to learn his name. It took him a few minutes to realize who was defending him. The low voice spoke again. "It’s going to be good fun when you’re the one on the ground too. These kinds don’t care about you. They aren’t going to care if it’s that kid on the ground or if its you laying there, they just want to see someone get hurt. I suggest if you don’t want to be the one on the ground, you keep walking." It was the curly haired boy from earlier who spoke to Louis’ defense, and Louis’ mouth hung open in shock of the realization. That beautiful boy couldn’t be defending him, could he? Louis was smart enough and experienced enough to realize it didn’t mean anything, but it was an awful kind gesture from a complete stranger. The kid who had pushed him earlier took a step closer to the curly haired boy, not realizing how tall the boy actually was in his intimidation attempt. He hesitated while the taller boy remained calm, smirking. "What’s a ninth grader like you going to do to me?" The shorter boy snarled, and the curly haired kid continued to smirk, cocky as he non-chalantly traced the lean muscle that bulged slightly under his own pale, almost translucent skin. The boy made eye contact with the shorter kid once again, same expression on his smug face. "Let’s make sure you don’t find out, agreed?" The boy turned his attention to Louis who was sitting on the ground still, shocked that someone had the guts or even cared enough to defend him. "Your name?" The kid who had pushed Louis earlier snickered a bit as if he were about to make a joke, but the curly haired boy turned to him, giving him a stern, serious look until the laughter stopped. He turned to look at Louis again. Louis swallowed the lump in his throat, gathering his books into one arm and trying to speak. "Louis." Louis was shocked his mouth made any noise at all. He watched the boy step towards, him, slowly as if he were worrying about startling Louis. He leaned down and picked up Louis’ glasses, examining them, then took another step so that he was right in front of Louis. He got down on one knee for balance, everyone in the hallway still watching and whispering about what had just happened, and placed the glasses carefully atop Louis’ nose, fixing his fringe so that it laid correctly across the simple black frames. The boy extended a hand to Louis who had long since stopped breathing, and Louis knew he was trying to help him up. Louis grabbed his hand, and felt the contact race through his heart like an electric shock. The boy smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you, Louis. I’m Harry." Harry helped Louis to his feet, steadying him and placing an arm behind the older boy before whispering, "Let’s get you cleaned up," and leading him towards the bathroom. Everyone in the hallways finally resumed, though hushed, mumbled observations were still rampant. When the boys reached the washroom, Louis sat up on the counter while Harry wet paper towels with cold water and dabbed carefully at Louis’ eyes to bring down the swelling and wipe away the redness and tears. "That’s going to be a pretty bad bruise. You shouldn’t challenge lockers to fights." Louis couldn’t help but giggle, which seemed to make Harry smile. "I’m used to it." Louis replied, eyes fluttering shut as Harry pressed the wet cloth to his eye. Harry was in such a close proximity in regards to the younger boy that he could feel his warm breath across his lips accompanied with the firm grip on his thigh to steady himself. It would only be too easy for either boy to lean forward two inches and close the gap, but even with his eyes closed, Louis knew there was no chance of that happening in real life, but he felt the wet cloth leave his face and he dared to open his eyes and it became all too real. Harry was mere inches from his face, hand on his thigh, and that smirk that was slowly becoming familiar was plastered across his smug face. Harry lingered for a few moments, taking in the view of Louis’ face and tracing the angles of his bone structure with his eyes. Louis sat motionless, scared that this moment was so fragile that if he moved, it would be shattered and gone forever. At last, he exhaled, realizing that Harry must’ve felt it, and Harry smiled wider, licking his lips as he did so. "Your eyes are really pretty, Louis." Harry finally looked away, allowing Louis to breathe again, and letting his words sink in. Without thinking, Louis replied. "Yours too. I noticed them from across the hall. That’s why I ran into the lockers actually I was distracted you know they’re really really nice." Louis wanted to throw himself on the ground right about now. What the fuck did he just say? Harry paid no mind to Louis’ rambling, tossing the damp paper towel and offering his hand to Louis once again to help him off the sink. "I’ll walk you to class? That is, if you’re feeling well enough." Louis nodded, eagerly grabbing the boy’s hand and allowing himself to be led out of the small, dimly-lit room. He didn’t realized Harry had grabbed his heavy books and carried them effortlessly along with his own until they were almost to his first class. All Louis could thing of was how Harry still held his own dainty hand in his strong, angled hand that had been such a distraction earlier. For the first time in the hallways of his own school, Louis wasn’t paying attention to who could be watching him and ready to call him out for something stupid, he could only focus on Harrys hand engulfing his own. He wasn’t worried about being pushed or hit, he felt protected; safe. "Physics, huh? You’re one of those." Harry laughed. Louis went to defend himself, but instead, nodded shyly. "It’s my favourite class. Sucks doing it first thing in the morning though." Harry nodded, checking his watch. "I gotta run. I’m going to be late for Math. Do you have any plans for lunch?" Louis had planned to eat his lunch in the bathroom stall and hopefully put a barrier between him and anything that would try to hit him in the face, but he figured those weren’t actually plans. he shook his head. "No." "Do you have a car?" Louis nodded again. Harry smiled. "Alright, meet me out front. We’ll go for pizza down the street." Harry smiled, amused by the bewildered look on Louis’ face. "Have fun in physics." "Have fun in math." Louis smiled weakly. "English is more of my thing." Harry remarked, turning down the hall without a goodbye and walking his long legs down the hall they had just come down. When Harry was out of sight, Louis had no proof that what had just happened had actually occurred. He was confused and dazed as he walked to one of the empty seats left in the back of the classroom. as he set his books on the desk, he pressed the bruise on his cheek just as harry had minutes prior, and it felt familiar. He wanted Harry’s hands to touch his face again. He was crazy about how it felt to have someone’s fingers other than his own rub against his skin, and he wasn’t sure why it had felt as electrifying as it did. It didn’t feel like that when anyone else was that close, why Harry? It was like this kid had some strange power over him and he couldn’t get away from it, not that he wanted to. He met the boy less than half an hour ago, and he was already in too deep. Louis didn’t realize class had even began when the bell was ringing to signal class change. He scribbled the homework assignment in a daze and headed to second block English. His head was swimming the entirety of second block as well, but a few things that the teacher said were getting through. He was more focused on figuring out why Harry liked this class so much. It was just endless writing and essays, mixed with hours of reading and trying to understand people’s complicated thoughts. There had to be something to it, and by the time Louis had started his writing assignment, the bell was ringing for lunch. Louis’ legs couldn’t carry him fast enough as he struggled not to sprint to the parking lot. He couldn’t help but get his hopes up that Harry wouldn’t ditch him and he would actually be meeting him in the parking lot. As he stood on the curb waiting, he watched the cars empty the parking lot to go get lunch. He hadn’t realized how many people leave the school for lunch, he was too busy avoiding them altogether. In the middle of his thought, Louis felt an arm wrap around his waist. He turned around, almost as if he didn’t expect Harry to actually show up, and he was standing there, tall, lanky, and unbelievably close to Louis. "Where’s yours?" Louis pointed to a small truck parked in the corner of the parking lot. Harry held his arm as they walked, throwing their books and bags in the back of the vehicle as they got in the two front seats. "It’s not much, but it gets me around!" Louis smiled, and Harry grinned largely, showing his teeth. He could tell that Louis was starting to open up a bit more. He admired the boy pulling at his fringe, fixing it nervously as he shakily put the key in the ignition and shifted into gear. When they arrived at the pizza place a few short minutes later, Louis realized that Harry had already ordered. He went to the front, paying for the pizza and bringing it over to where Louis was sitting. "Hope you’re ok with pepperoni." Harry sat across the table, opening the box and motioning for Louis to take a slice. Louis nodded, grabbing one as Harry did the same. "How were your first classes?" Louis asked, chewing carefully. Harry replied with a mouthful. "Long. Couldn’t end fast enough." Harry looked up at Louis, smiling from under his lashes. Louis couldn’t understand how Harry just expected him to sit here and eat like a normal person while he was looking at him like that. Louis swallowed. "Yours?" "My what?" Louis asked. Harry laughed. "Your classes. How were your classes?" "Oh!" Louis gasped. Yes, he had gone to classes today, hadn’t he? "My classes went well, yeah, I’ve got this English assignment that’s killer though. I’m supposed to write a short story about a person who has a secret that they’re not sure they want to hide." Harry’s face lit up. "Oh? What are you thinking about writing about?" Louis shook his head, grabbing another slice as he finished his off quickly. "No idea. I wrote a few different sentences, but nothing felt right." Harry screwed up his face in thought, considering Louis’ dilemma. "I think you should consider writing about something you know. Have you ever had to hide a secret?" Louis thought momentarily. No, not really. He didn’t have anyone to tell secrets to, so I guess there’s no way he could really be hiding anything. His mind wandered briefly about maybe Harry being the person he told his secrets to. He could imagine laying in bed, curled into Harry’s arms and telling the boy secrets, big and small, important and meaningless while the younger boy listened and played with his fingertips. He looked up, blushing when his eyes caught Harry’s. "I have never really hidden anything, nobody’s ever asked so I’ve never had the opportunity to lie." Harry nodded empathetically. "Have you ever had things about you that you wanted to tell someone?" Louis nodded, signalling for Harry to continue. "Just write about that feeling. You don’t even have to mention what the character is hiding or even who the character is, just go inside your character’s head and describe how they feel." Wow. Louis was amazed by how brilliant Harry was. He’d never even considered not narrating a story, but instead allowing his story to be it’s own narrator. "I can’t steal your idea!" Louis laughed. "It’s such a good idea though, Harry." "No, we’re just talking, Lou. If you write it, it’s not stealing. It would be your writing." Harry encouraged. Louis considered this for a moment, then grinned finally. "Thank you. Also, how much do I owe you for pizza?" "None! Consider it my treat." Louis smiled appreciatively. It was almost like this was a date. A date. Oh God. Louis had almost forgotten to be awkward this entire time. He was suddenly aware of how insecure he felt in front of Harry who seemed to just sit there and look effortlessly beautiful. Why did Harry even want to hang out with him? Louis felt awful for even considering that Harry might think of this as a date. Before Louis realized it, he was talking and it was almost word vomit as he spoke. "Don’t you have anyone better to hang out with?" Louis realized how bad this sounded as soon as he said it. "I mean, I don’t… Thank you for everything, it’s just-" Harry looked puzzled and Louis didn’t even know what he was trying to say. "Louis." Harry spoke slowly and importantly. "If I wanted to hang out with anyone, I could. That’s why I’m with you." Louis nodded, still unsure. "Louis." Harry repeated. "Look at me. Stop it. I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work." Harry's face changed from dead serious to the same smirk as before. Louis was confused. "You’re trying to get rid of me, and that’s not happening. For one, I think you’re cool, and for two, you’re my ride back to the school." Louis giggled, causing Harry to shake his head. "You’re allowed to laugh, man, you act like you’re trying not to piss me off. Relax." Louis smiled, but it was short-lived as a few kids for the school walked into the pizza shop, causing Louis to automatically tense. Harry turned around, realizing why Louis was so reserved. "Does shit like that happen all the time?" Louis nodded slowly as if to not indicate his presence, finishing his second slice of pizza and wishing he was suddenly invisible. Harry grabbed his hand rubbing small circles in the base of his thumb to calm him down. "You don’t have to hide yourself to protect them. They’ll get over the fact they’re in the same room as you. They’re whatever, man." Louis didn’t relax, but Harry continued. "I dare any one of them to come near you with me sitting here." The kids took a seat at the table next to Harry and Louis and Harry automatically packed up the box and threw it in the nearest trash can. He motioned for Louis to come but turned around to realize Louis was too nervous to even walk past their table. One of the guys from the table stopped his conversation, standing up to sit next to Louis at the table and pinch his cheeks. Harry approached the table, causing the boy to stand up to face him. "What, you don’t like other men touching your boyfriend?" The other three guys laughed, and Harry smirked. "No, as a matter of fact I don’t, and I don’t think he appreciates it either." Harry spoke calmly. "So, I’d suggest you back the fuck down or there’s going to be an issue." The boy stood two inches shorter than Harry’s lanky frame, but didn’t back down. Harry, smiling, pointed to his cheek. "Put it right there." "You want me to kiss you?" The boy looked disgusted, Harry shook his head, still pointing to his cheek and leaning towards the boy. "Nah, I like my boys to not have ugly faces or a bad attitude. If you’re thinking of doing anything to me of Louis, you’re going to hit me, right here." Harry hollowed his cheek, angling towards the older boy. The boy looked at his friends. A free shot, he couldn’t believe it, He wound his fist back, ready to throw his fist forward, but Harry struck first with a swift uppercut to the jaw and a blow to the stomach causing the boy to cripple over and fall to the ground. Harry grabbed Louis, standing him up and walking him around the group of boys and straight out the door. In the car, Louis automatically locked the doors. His hands were shaking, he wasn’t sure if it was from the confrontation or the fact that Harry said the word “boyfriend”. Either way, his pulse was erratic. Harry grabbed his hand, rubbing the same circles in the base of his thumb as before. "What the fuck is everyone’s problem?" Harry sounded frustrated, but all Louis could do was shrug. "It’s just always been like this. I don’t know. I’m not like them." Louis’ voice was still as shaky as his hands, but Harry remained calm. "I’m not like them either, but nobody fucks with me." Louis wanted to scream at Harry. Nobody fucks with you because look at you! Like, have you actually not seen a mirror? If I looked like you I wouldn’t give two fucks about those guys! He remained silent, trying to steady his breath. "I don’t know, Haz, if I looked like you there’s no way I would get picked on, you know? You’re the kind of person who just looks like they fit in. I wish I could look more like you." "Stop that. There’s a reason I’m sitting here with you and I’m not in there fucking around with them. You don’t need to change a single thing about yourself, that’s absolute bullshit and if you say it again, I’ll punch you in the face twice as hard as any of those jerks would. Now, I need a ride home after school, do you wanna come over and maybe I can help with your English assignment? You can help me with my math and science if you’d like because I’d greatly appreciate it." Louis liked that. He liked the way Harry was straight up with him and changed the subject. His hands had stopped shaking at last. "Yeah. That sound’s good." The rest of the day went by in a blur just as it had in the morning and before Louis knew it, he was sitting in his car with Harry again and following the boy’s careful directions to his house. Harry’s room looked exactly as he had pictured it; pictures of cool bands scattered across the walls and videogames on a shelf in the corner. Harry had really nice headphones and record players and all sorts of stuff you see at hipster stores and Louis almost wanted to shake his head at the thought of there being anything different in the kid’s room. Of course this was exactly how it looked. Harry collapsed on the bed, dropping his bag on the ground as he did so. "Welcome. This is where the magic happens. Make yourself at home." Louis stood, examining the posters of mostly punk bands and alternative music. He recognized many of the artists and he was eager to learn the ones he didn’t recognize. What he struggled to believe was that earlier this morning, he barely knew this beautiful boy, and now he was in his bedroom. Stuff like this never happened to Louis, but he wasn’t going to argue as he dropped his bag and sat on the corner of Harry’s bed. "This is much cooler than my room." Louis remarked. Harry scoffed. "Oh, fuck off,Lou, give it up. If you don’t like your room, we’ll change it, okay? Not that hard." He was right, and Louis laughed, although he wasn’t sure why. Harry was facing the ceiling, eyes closed, but he continued to speak. "Sorry about the boyfriend thing earlier. There was no point in arguing, might as well give him the answer that’s going to piss him off the most." "Oh, no. No that didn’t bother me. I figured that’s what you were doing. I really appreciate what you’ve done for me today by the way." Harry turned his head to look at Louis. "It’s no problem. Like I said, I don’t give a fuck, and you shouldn’t either. Everyone’s still going to like me tomorrow anyways and if they don’t, fuck ‘em. I know who matters." Louis grinned. Harry stroked Louis’ thigh absentmindedly with his thumb briefly before speaking again. "Lets get this homework out of the way." They worked, and they talked, and when Louis left, he still had the same butterflies he felt the moment he saw Harry. When he got home and saw his mom, she knew immediately that it had to be a boy. "Who is he? She smiled, and Louis could even force himself to be annoyed at her prying. "His name's Harry." Louis’ face hurt from blushing so hard. He loved the way that name sounded when he said it. "Harry." Louis’ mom repeated. "Nice name. Is that where you’ve been all day? Tell me about him." Louis felt a pressure building up in his chest. He didn’t wanna gush but he knew it was about to happen and he couldn’t stop it. "Mom, he’s so pretty." Louis was so embarrassed but it was almost as if he couldn’t help it. His mom was more than eager to hear Louis go on and on of course as long as he was happy. "He’s got curly hair and green eyes and he’s just flawless and I don’t even understand how a person can look like that. We spent all day together and he didn’t even punch me in the face." Louis’ mom looked at him disapprovingly. "Louis, don’t talk like that. I’m sure there’s no reason for him to punch you in the face." Louis looked apologetic. "I’m glad you’re happy, darling, when do I get to meet him?" Louis could feel his heart sinking. "Well, I’m not even sure if he likes me like that, you know? He stuck up for me a lot today and we talked for so long at his place today but I just don’t want to get my hopes up just in case this ends." It didn’t end though, for the rest of the week, most days went exactly the same, minus the bullying. Louis seemed to get picked on less and less, and even though he didn’t make any new friends other than Harry, the other kids in his class at least started to talk to him now and when he hung out with Harry and his friends from time to time, they treated him like a normal person. Louis had never felt happier in his life. In a short amount of time, Louis had accumulated a small part of Harry’s wardrobe. Harry didn’t care, he told Louis that if he wanted to borrow anything that he felt would be comfortable, it would be no problem. Louis had stolen a couple of his band shirts and started pairing them with the black jeans he had always been to insecure to wear in public (they were tight, and Louis was curvier than he’d like to admit). For the first time, Louis started actually doing his hair and liking his appearance. He felt more comfortable than ever, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the new clothes or the boy he spent most of his time with. It was two weeks later and Louis was laying on Harry’s bed while the boy typed up an essay on the computer in his room. It was a rare day that Louis didn’t have homework, but Harry had to continue busily typing away. Louis didn’t mind though, he liked just having Harry nearby. "I got the mark back for that story I wrote." Louis spoke. Harry Looked up from his computer, smiling. "Let me guess, you kicked ass? I ready it, it was an amazing story, Lou. You have talent." Louis blushed. "Yeah. Honestly I couldn’t have done it without you. I told my teacher it was your idea and she said she looked forward to having you in her class one day." "Then I look forward to having her. I need a break. Want cookies? Cause I could go for about half a box right now." Louis gave Harry the thumbs up, continuing to lay on the bed. He was in love with the way Harry’s sheets smelled like him. He wanted to wrap himself in those sheets and just inhale for hours. Harry always seemed touchy with him, but made no other indication of any extra feelings. Louis felt like he might be able to go on being best friends with Harry forever, but the thought of never having more hurt more than it should. Best friend. Louis had a best friend. Wow. Louis found himself smiling alone until Harry walked into the room with a whole box of cookies and laid down on the bed beside Louis. "Hey, Lou, my mom’s going to be gone tomorrow night and I don’t really want to stay here alone. Would you mind staying the night tomorrow?" Louis forced his pulse to stay calm as he tried to calmly reply. "Yeah, I’d like that." Smooth. Louis mentally high-fived himself before shoving a whole cookie down his throat. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. "Also, Lou, I’m not going to be there until third block tomorrow, so I’m not going to be there for lunch. Just thought I’d let you know in advance." Louis was upset by this, but it was ok because they’d make up for lost time tomorrow night. "Yeah, thanks. How’s your science work coming?" “My work is really improving and I have you to thank for that!” Louis turned so he was laying on his side facing Harry. "It’s no problem, I love spending time with you." Harry looked at Louis, examining his face. Louis’ eyes were closed, and Harry watched the way his eyelashes rested on his cheeks as he breathed slowly. Louis looked soft and delicate; very pretty, Harry noted. Most boys weren’t pretty. He also looks very good wearing his clothes. Louis had seemed to be doing better lately and it made Harry happy that he might have something to do with it. He almost felt bad for leaving Louis tomorrow at lunch but he knew he’d be fine. "Gotta get this essay done." Harry spoke, sitting up and heading to his computer. Louis thought about tomorrow being Friday and how much he loved Fridays usually, knowing he wouldn’t be faced with the stress of dealing with other people for a full two days. It always gave him enough time to recharge which was nice. He wondered if it was only him who felt that way. Maybe sometimes even Harry felt that way. He thought and thought until he was home and then it was suddenly already Friday and his first two classes were over. At lunch, out of habit, he walked out to the parking lot and forgot that Harry wouldn’t be meeting him there today. He thought for a few moments about what to do when he heard a voice calling his name from a few meters away. "Louis." Louis’ head snapped up. He recognized the boy as one of the kids from the pizza place that first day with Harry, not the one who had been picking at him, one of the ones who remained seated. What was his name? Eric? Louis wasn’t sure. "Yeah?" Louis gained some newfound confidence, but it faltered a bit as the boy who might be Eric stepped forward, getting closer and closer to Louis until they were face to face. "Boyfriend not here to protect you or what?" Louis shrugged, his confidence was starting to shake as the boy pushed on his shoulder, knocking him back a foot. "Fuck off." Louis rarely swore, he even surprised himself. That was entirely out of character. "You’re in trouble now, Tomlinson." the boy spoke, winding up and punching Louis straight in the jaw. By now a crowd had gathered and Louis was defenseless. He refused to fall to the ground as he turned to face the kid again just soon enough for a second fist to make contact with half of his nose bone and half of his eye. He swung a weak fist forward, allowing his wrist to be grabbed as the boy dropped him to the pavement and pinned him down. Within a few moments, Louis felt the boy roll off of him and wasn’t sure if he wanted to open his eyes to see what was happening. He heard the kid yelling, and opened his eyes to see him with blood pouring from his nose running towards the school. The next thing he saw was Harry. Harry. Louis stood himself up closing the distance between him and Harry, Harry’s hands immediately placed themselves on Louis’ face, checking the damage briefly before grabbing the boy’s hand and walking straight towards Louis’ vehicle. The got in, buckled up, and Louis started driving before even asking, "Where to?" "My place." Harry spoke. Harry wasn’t calm. This was the first time Louis had seen Harry genuinely irritated and it gave Louis an awful rush that he wasn’t sure he liked. "What about class?" Louis asked. "We aren’t going." Harry replied instantly without any hesitation. Louis had never not gone to a class before, but he was sure that in these circumstances, he would be forgiven. They were silent the rest of the drive until they reached Harry’s bathroom, the room right next to his bedroom. Louis sat on the sink just as he had the first day they met and Harry reached for his face. "Look at yourself." Louis could see the smile hinting at Harrys lips as he turned to look in the mirror. His face was covered in blood from Harry's hand earlier, not much of it was his own other than the tiny cut by his eye. His eye had a purplish shadow forming and his hair had gotten a lot longer than he remembered, falling down over his eyes and looking shaggy in the back. he was wearing one of Harry’s sweaters (he missed him and it smelled like him) and his favourite shirt. Louis had to admit, he looked pretty cool, even beside the coolest boy he knew. "Reminds me of that video by The 1975, Robbers, but I didn’t have to shoot someone." Harry laughed. "You look badass." This made Louis laugh, louder than Harry’s ever heard. Usually Louis laughed shyly, but now, this was a full laugh and Harry couldn’t help but smile. He put his hands on the boys face again, loving how Louis’ breath would catch every time he got close enough. Experimentally, Harry leaned close to Louis’ face, testing how the older boy would react. Louis admired the soft curves of Harry’s cheeks which had just begun to angle at a young age. Louis had never thought of Harry as young, but it was unavoidable up this close where he was surrounded with bouncy curls and bright eyes. Louis spoke, intimidated by the prolonged silence. "Thanks for taking care of me." Harry leaned forward, pressing his lips to the swollen skin under Louis’ eye. Louis sat still, not wanting to break the moment which seemed so fragile as Harry’s lips lingered on the skin for a moment longer than Louis expected. Before he could think, Harry began to sing to him the song he had just mentioned in his low voice, very quietly. "I’ll give you one more time I’ll give you one more fight.” Harry’s lips traced the edge of Louis’ jaw, licking and kissing softly while both of his large palms pressed into the boy’s thighs. "Said one more line Be a riot, I know you.” Harry’s chest was now pressed against Louis’, arms wrapped around the older boy’s waist while he was still sitting on the sink, basically straddling Harry’s hips at this point. He licked at the dried blood on his fingers, intriguing Louis. Harry sung these previous words softly near Louis’ ear. Harry stepped back, smiling, grabbing, Louis’ delicate hands and holding them in his own at about an arms length. "Well now that you’ve got your gun It’s much harder now the police have come Now I’ll shoot him if its what you ask But if you just take off your mask And find out everything’s gone wrong.” Louis smiled as Harry sang, voice more powerful than before. He had a beautiful voice, Louis had known for a while, but it was nice being sung to directly. Harry spoke now. "You listened to my music." Louis smiled, nodding and blushing at the same time. Harry grew louder now, screaming the next line passionately just how Louis knew it happened in the song. "Now everybody’s dead-" Louis laughed harder than before as Harry’s voice boomed through the echoey bathroom. "And they’re diving past my old school He’s got his gun, He’s got his suit on-“ Harry’s voice became quiet as he stepped close to Louis again, pressing their foreheads together and closing his eyes as he spoke the final words of the song. "He says babe, you look so cool." Louis’ blood was pumping in his ears and he felt Harry’s lips just barely touching his. They spoke against his lips, skin brushing as Harry said the final words. "You look so cool." Louis was frozen to the spot, unable to think or breathe when he could barely taste Harry against his lips. Being called "cool" shouldn't have been as big of a turn on as it was but without a second thought, he felt himself pressing his lips against Harry’s, kissing him deeper and deeper as he felt Harry reciprocating. Harry’s tongue flicked across Louis’ lips and he felt he was about to explode. He didn’t know what to do with his hands but he loved the way Harry was rubbing small circles into his hipbones in a way that made Louis ache for him. Harry’s lips broke contact with Louis’ to suck dark bruises into the boy’s prominent collarbones, coloring them to match the boy’s eye as the swelling settled beneath it. Louis felt himself being lifted and carried effortlessly, causing him to wrap his hips tightly against Harry’s waist with his legs as they approached the younger boy’s room. Harry threw Louis onto the bed, crawling on top of him and sucking more lovebites into the skin of his neck. Louis whimpered. He could feel Harry’s eyelashes brushing his neck and the pressure from his lips was amazing but it was almost too much. Louis almost lost it, fingers tangling deep in Harry’s curls as Harry rutted his hips harshly against Louis’ for friction. Lou's thought about what he would've given a few weeks prior to this to have his hands in Harry's hair as the boy balanced on top of him. Harry placed kisses across Louis’ face, Louis keening in the affection until both boys locked eyes at last. Harry spoke first, as usual. "My boy." Harry kissed Louis’ lips softly, sucking his lips gently and brushing the fringe away from the older boy’s eyes as he pulled away. "You’re all mine." The kissing grew harder now, more desperate as Harry repeated the words he had sung before to Louis. "Babe, you look so cool." Louis felt shivers race down his spine and didn’t seem to care that he was running out of oxygen. Harry was all he needed and he needed him badly. Sitting up, Harry took his shirt and sweater off Louis' body and kissed across the bruises on Louis' collarbones. "Harry." Louis gasped, but the moment the name escaped his lips, he couldn't remember what he was about to say. Harry hummed as he kissed his way down Louis' body. Harry laced his fingers in Louis', hair tickling Louis' stomach as Harry left more bruises by the boy's hip bones. "Shh, sweetheart, let me take care of you." And God, if that wasn't the hottest thing Louis had ever heard in his seventeen-year-old life and Harry was palming him through his too-tight black pants and everything was so overwhelming that Louis could hardly take a moment to be embarrassed as his breathing grew laboured and his small whimpers found their way from his lungs. Before he knew it, his pants were down and there was a wet warmth that was unbearably wonderful surrounding him. He dared to look down, arms folded behind his head and saw Harry, perfect lips stretched around his cock. Louis' jaw hung slack, mind blank. "Fuck." Louis spoke louder than he expected to, but the way Harry's lips were so beautifully swollen and stretched was almost as unbelievable as how glossy Harry's eyes looked as they looked up at him from underneath a mess of curls. Harry's tongue teased him, licking up and down his shaft and playing with the tip in a way that was much too good and would push Louis to the edge just in time for Harry to take him fully into his mouth again, sucking deeply as his lips tightened around the width. He felt something circling his rim and pressing in tentatively, slick with spit and wonderfully Harry. Louis could feel Harry everywhere, around him, filling him up. There was a slight stretch as Harry added another finger beside the first, and Louis' begging noises wrapped into Harry's ears and made the young boy desperate to have Louis. "You're so fragile." Harry growled, removing his fingers just long enough to grab the bottle of lube from inside the bedside table. He undressed, removing his shirt and exposing a few tattoos that Louis had never noticed before. A few words written on his hip, and a star on the inside of his bicep. It only made Harry look so much hotter as his long fingers undid his belt and tore his pants off. He was already fully hard as he poured lube into his palm and worked himself over a few times. His eyes took in the entirety of Louis' body and he spoke again, voice low and raspy. "God, you're so delicate... Fuck Louis. You're so small and perfect and I want to wreck you." Harry lined himself up to begin to press into Louis, Louis holding the bed sheets in anticipation. "I wanna hear your little whimpers as I fuck you harder than you've ever imagined. I know what you think of me. Baby, I know you think I'm so cool and I want to hear those perfect moans coming out of your lips as the hottest guy you know fills you up and makes you beg for it." Harry pressed into Louis, the smaller boy moaning as he felt the burn of the stretch. Harry settled, hips pressed against Louis' bum that he'd admired for what felt like forever. "Louis, tell me. Tell me what you think of me, honey." Louis gasped, revelling in the pet names and affection. "Tell me." Harry pulled back, snapping his hips deep into Louis again. Louis whined a low, desperate cry, heavily breathing to try and calm himself down. "Harry." Louis cried, begging for it. Harry angled his hips, pressing them in and out of Louis. "Harry, God, you're so far out of my league... Fuck, Harry I just... Harry I need you to take care of me." Harry pounded harder into the older boy, arms shaking as he held his body weight off of Louis' frail frame. "I love it when you say my name." Harry pressed his forehead to Louis', his own deep noises matching Louis' falsetto tone as Louis whimpered and his breath stuttered. "You sound so pretty when you curse. Fuck, Louis, so God damn pretty." "Harry. Fuck, Harry, please touch me." Louis was desperate and when Harry reached between their bodies to stroke Louis' length he was coming within seconds, tightening around Harry and pulling his own orgasm from him. Louis came while practically crying, moaning Harry's name through hitched breaths. Harry muttered a few choice curse words into Louis' shoulder, breathing just as heavy as the older boy as he collapsed half on top of and half beside Louis without pulling out. After a few minutes, Harry spoke. "Pretty boy, where did that come from?" Harry kissed Louis' neck, making the boy shiver and cuddle closer into Harry's body. "I was going to ask the same thing." Louis replied shyly. Harry chuckled, mess of curls spilling into the white pillow. "Porn. Mostly porn." Both boys giggled, kissing each other's lips and rubbing their noses together. "Plus, it just felt right. You felt right. That's why you're my first." Harry pressed lightly against Louis' bruised face with a few fingers, kissing him as he winced in slight pain. "Me too." Louis admitted. Harry looked confused for a moment. "This was my first time too." Louis reaffirmed, and Harry pulled away, sitting Louis and himself up in the bed. He pulled Louis into his lap, kissing his face and smiling wider than he ever thought possible. "Lou, you're the only boy that gets me like this. I'm all yours. I know how you look at me and it's crazy because I look at you wearing my clothes as if they aren't way too big for you and you drive me crazy, baby. I want to take care of you because I love you and you've got no idea what you do to me." Louis could hardly believe that Harry Styles was saying these things about him, but he shakily nodded his head. "I love you too, Harry. You're the most important thing in my world." Harry smirked. "I'll make you a deal. If you take care of me, I'll take care of you, and now that you're mine, I can take you on real dates." "I promise." The next week at school, Louis' hands didn't shake as the people who had made his life miserable for the last few years approached him. He was too immersed in how amazing it felt to have Harry holding his hand and knowing that it meant something. "Hey, fuckboy." One of the boys called, Louis didn't bother to look at which one, it was all the same. Harry was still looking into Louis' eyes, smiling that smile that Louis loved so much. Harry not so much as turned his head before replying. "Talk to my boyfriend like that again and I'll make you taste pavement like I did to your friend last Friday." The boy stopped, not wanting to get too close. "You know, I thought you were cool until you started dating that queer." Harry just laughed, holding Louis' hand tightly as they walked away. "Babe, you're cooler than they will ever be." And for the first time, Louis believed him. Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!