Chapter Text
Lou abruptly woke up that morning to the sound of their iPhone playing Ride by Twenty One Pilots at full volume. Their long eyelashes fluttered open, as they sighed tiredly. They delicately tapped the screen with the tip of their French manicured nail to turn it off.
Standing up from their floral patterned bedsheets, they strolled across the soft white carpet, soft step after step, making their way to a walk in closet.
On one side of the shelf, there was a pair of well fitting skinny jeans and a loose Doncaster Rovers jersey. On the other side, there was a neatly folded cyan blue skirt and sleek white t-shirt with a graphic lily on the front. Of course, they chose the second outfit, pairing it with a pair of sparkly gold flats, a simple denim jacket, and a thin caramel colored belt around their curvy waist.
Heading over to the vanity mirror in their bathroom, they gazed at the reflection in front of them, brushing their teeth, washing their face, moisturizing, and nearly burning their temple with a curling wand. Next, they rinsed their hands with strawberry soap from bath and body works, and sprayed their favorite floral perfume on their body, preparing to put on their makeup.
First came the basics: primer, concealer, powder, and eyebrows, making sure they were curved and filled in perfectly. Next, they dusted their cheeks with a rosy pink blush, and defined them with bronzer and plenty of shimmery highlighter, as there's no such thing as too much highlighter.
After that, they outlined their lips with a peach lip liner, and a coat of pale pink lipgloss overtop.
Lastly, they lined their eyes with a thin line of liquid eyeliner and a couple coats of their favorite covergirl black mascara.
Finally they were done. They batted their lashes and made a couple funny facial expressions in the mirror to make sure that their makeup was to their liking.
Satisfied, they grabbed their denim fabric backpack and phone, then headed downstairs for breakfast. Saying a quick greeting to their sisters, they grabbed a granola bar from the counter and dashed out the door, just as the bus arrived to take the students to school.
They thanked the bus driver, then their smile immediately vanished as they made their way, trudging to the back seat.
Instantly after setting down the backpack, Lou received a sharp smack to the side of the head. Graciously rubbing their temple, the looked to their left, only to see Zayn Malik and his crew smirking at him, chuckling smugly. His hazel eyes flashed with hatred.
"Well would you look at that," Niall Horan, Zayn's right hand man taunted him. "The little fag wants to sit with us."
"Fuck off, guys," Lou rolled his eyes.
"Oh my god! Check it out, Perrie!" Zayn called his girlfriend. The petite blonde took out her earphones and looked to her boyfriend. "She speaks!" She gave Lou a look of sympathy before looking back to her phone.
Lou groaned. "They. They speak."
Niall quirked an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, there weren't two of you. I think the girly perfume is finally is getting to your brain." The rest laughed.
Lou felt tears coming to their eyes, but didn't let them fall. One, because that'd be fucking embarrassing. Two, because their mascara wasn't waterproof, and they weren't going to ruin their already perfect makeup.
Instead, they plugged in their earphones and opened iTunes. Pressing play, the wonderful sounds of Twenty-One Pilots' song, Lovely, filled their ears. This one was especially a favorite because it made them wishful. If only Lou had someone to make them feel lovely, too.
Soon enough, the bus came to an abrupt stop, and the rest of the students made their way off the vehicle, and into the school's front doors. Lou followed far behind, looking left and right for someone.
Eventually, that someone showed up. It was Lou's best friend- scratch that- Lou's only friend, Liam. Sure, it was kind of sad, but Liam was a great guy. Some people thought they were dating, but that wasn't the case. They just happened to be really good friends. Even if they weren't together, knowing that they'd always be by each others side made their relationship even stronger.
"How come you never come to school on the bus? It'd make the ride at least a bit more bearable..." Lou pouted.
"I know, and I'm sorry. But I live too far away. I have to drive myself," Liam apologized.
"Yeah, whatever. It my mascara running?" Lou asked, trying to change the subject.
"Nah, you look fabulous as always, Mate."
Lou blushed. "Thanks, Li."
"Any time, Lou," Liam smiled. "It's getting late. We should head to class."
"Yeah," Lou agreed. And the two strolled off to their first class side by side.
********
BRRING!
"Everyone in your seats!" Mrs. Flack screamed. As the class started to settle into their seats, the teacher started to ramble on about some shit that no one cared about. Algebra or whatever.
Halfway through the lecture, Lou felt something hit the back of their head. They leaned down and picked up a crumpled up sticky note. Unfolding it, it read:
Nice makeup. It matches the pussy you're hiding under that skirt.
Lou's eyes widened, as their breath hitched. They shoved it into their backpack's front pocket to throw away later. They didn't notice the smug look on Zayn's face in the seat behind.
Trying to pay attention to the lesson, Lou tried their hardest to ignore the urge to cry. You'd think they'd be used to all the teasing and insults after so long, but still hurt just as much as it did 2 years ago, when they came out as transgender. Ever since then, the poor lad was never able to go through a single day without some sort of bullying. The words only came harsher. The hits only came stronger.
"Why can't thy just accept me for who I am?"
They thought. "Why does it matter what I wear? Or how I act? Or who I love? Or how-"
"TOMLINSON!" Mrs. Flack chastised. "Are you even paying attention!?"
"Y-Yes, Miss," Lou stuttered, realizing that they had been called on to answer a question.
"Sure," she scowled. "Next time, it's a visit to Principal Cowell's office. Got it?"
"Y-Yes, Miss. Sorry," Lou apologized, ignoring the snickers from other students. "It won't happen again."
"Better not," she grumbled, turning back to the board. "Now. If the square root of x equals 6 plus..."
Lou stopped paying attention from that moment on. They simple sulked in their chair, head in their hands. It was going to be a long day.
Long story short, it was. At lunch, someone tripped them, flipping their lunch tray to the ground. In P.E., they were violently slashed with lacrosse sticks. And lastly, in study hall, they were smacked in the face with Zayn's textbook, landing in their current situation: sitting in the nurse's office with a bloody nose.
"I think you're good, babe," Johanna, the school nurse said, tossing another bloody tissue into the trash bin.
"Thanks, Mum," Lou sighed. "I hate school sometimes."
"I know, baby. I know," their mother comforted them, aware of the merciless bullying going on in their class. "But you're so brave. And you've got Liam by your side all the way. I know you can get through it."
"Yeah. Okay," Lou sighed, unfazed. "I gotta get back to class." They stood up.
"Alright," she softly smiled. "See you later, honey."
"You too, Mum."
And with that, Lou headed off to finish off what was left of the school day.
********
"Hey, Lou."
"Hey, Li," Lou greeted into their smartphone. "What's up?"
"Not much. Just finished an email to Mr. Cowell. Apparently, I'm supposed to be the new kid's 'buddy' tomorrow. I guess that's kind of interesting," Liam replied. Lou's brows raised at the words, 'new kid'
"New kid?" They asked. "What new kid?"
"Oh, that's right! You weren't here for the assembly!" Liam remembered. The period before was when Lou had to go see the nurse, explaining the absence. "Yeah, there's a new kid coming tomorrow. His name's Henry or summat."
"Great," Lou rolled their eyes. "Another person to make fun of me. Bloody joyful."
"Hey, maybe he'll be different!" Liam suggested.
"I doubt it..." Lou sighed. "Anyways, I gotta go, but I'll text you later, kay?"
"M'kay. See ya later, Lou."
"You too. Bye!"
"Bye!"
After hanging up, Lou sighed solemnly. Another new kid. Fantastic. It would only be a matter of time before Zayn adopted him into his little cult. They definitely didn't look foreword to it.
Little did they know that this 'new kid' would completely change Lou's life for the better