Chapter Text
For the lovely Daisy x
Based on this tweet
bad boys on the corner harassing Harry as he walks home from school YO CURLY MY FRIEND WANTS TO CLIMB YOU LIKE A TREE pic.twitter.com/Rxfv0Q6JR5
— daisy (@tomlinsonshine) June 5, 2014
Set in the 1980s, just because…
The self-professed “bad boys” of Doncaster prep school, Zayn and Louis ducked out of the school’s back door to grab a quick smoke during their free period. Technically they were supposed to be in study hall but Mr. Jacob, the football coach, didn’t care if they weren’t there. Plus Zayn had just bought the new Def Leppard cassette & they were dying to listen to it. Zayn pulled out his yellow Sony walkman and handed one ear phone to Louis so they both could hear & pressed PLAY. Soon they were jamming and smoking when Louis noticed that Zayn was looking at him like he wanted to say something…
“So Lou, are you gonna play for the football team this year since it’s our last year?”
Louis had played football for years-and was quite good at it-but he quit a few years ago because he would just rather fuck around and smoke with Zayn than be on the team. And it was hard to play football high (which they occasionally did during the school day too).
“Dunno, prob not…why? Has your mum been talking to my mum again?” Louis and Zayn’s mums were nurses at the local nursing home and were always talking about their boys to each other.
“Yeah…she wishes you would go back and play and wants me to try to convince you”
“Ha! Well, she is gonna have to keep on wishing because it’s not gonna happen…”
“Hmmm…” Zayn mumbled then got quiet again for a few minutes while they listened to “Pour Some Sugar on Me”
“You might meet a nice fella on the team and you could hang out with him and maybe-just maybe-he could be your boyfriend!” Zayn suggested. Louis was gay and out and everyone knew his sexuality so Zayn, heaven love him, was always trying to fix him up and/or find him a “nice guy”. Which Louis was thankful for because his previous relationships had been messed up beyond repair and had, quite frankly, made Louis think he wasn’t good enough for a nice guy. After many flings and one semi-serious relationship with an older classmate had ended in disaster, Louis had sworn off dating for a while. And Zayn knew this so why was he suggesting this?
“Yeah, well, monkeys could fly outta my arse, too, so…”
Zayn guffawed “Okay, Lou, I’ll drop it. But I am determined to find you the nice guy you deserve if it’s the last thing I do”
Louis replied “if you keep bugging me like this it WILL be the last thing you do!” Then he laughed and said “okay, we will finish this tape later, we better get to class before Ms. Jensen writes us up for skipping. She’s not nearly as cool as Mr. Jacob…” And they both snuffed out their cigarettes, Zayn tucked his Walkman into his jean jacket & they went back into the school…
A few weeks later, school was in full swing and Louis was bored and annoyed at every stupid twat at their school. The boys were ugly or immature or stupid and he had had enough of them. Until one day, a virtual ray of sunshine named Harry Styles entered Louis’ homeroom and plopped himself down in front of Louis’ desk. He looked a bit like a deer in the headlights and who could blame him being the new kid at school. For once Louis thanked the gods that his last name started with a T and that Harry’s name started with an S. Louis leaned back in his chair and muttered “so you new here?”
Harry looked around to see where the noise was coming from then turned to Louis and said nervously, “Yeah…my parents are divorced and my mum got a new job at the nursing home so here I am.”
Louis made a mental note to yell at his mum for not telling him that her new co-worker (who she wouldn’t shut up about) had an adorable son. “Hmmm, well, welcome to the insane asylum, er, I mean Doncaster Prep. Try not to get in my way and I won’t get in yours” he said.
Harry looked at him with wide eyes and now looked even more nervous than when he came in. “Uh, yeah, sure, okay. Sorry if I bugged you…”
Louis smirked and decided to give Harry Styles shit on a daily basis just to see him squirm; he wanted Harry to know that Louis was the resident bad ass but it also didn’t hurt that Harry looked cute when he was about to cry.
The following week, Zayn told Louis to meet him outside during study hall because he had some “good shit” that couldn’t wait until after school. Once they lit up, Zayn asked “so Lou, have you seen that new kid, Harry Styles, yet?”
Louis thought: you mean the tall, curly-haired, lanky drink of water who’s worn a different color pastel polo shirt with a popped collar, tight khakis with pegged legs, and loafers with no socks every day for the past week? You mean the one who Louis messes with every day in homeroom?
“Uh, no…why?” he said.
“Well, get this-apparently his an amazing football player and his mum said he might go pro once he finishes here in two years!”
Louis almost choked on the weed smoke that was in his mouth…TWO YEARS? So that means he’s only 16? What the hell was he doing in a senior home room then? Also, he could not imagine that Harry-who galumphs into homeroom every day looking like a baby deer who couldn’t get out of his own way if he tried-would be nimble on the pitch. And whyyyy didn’t his mum mention this to him either?? Christ…
“Wow, that’s amazing” Louis feigned enthusiasm and was wondering why Zayn was talking about this when he said: “Maybe you can re-join the football team and help mentor Harry?”
“Whoa, Zayn, if you think I’m gonna play football just so I can kick about with Harry, you’re sorely mistaken. Mr. Jacob has tried everything to get me back so what makes you think this Harry kid is gonna do the trick? And how do you know he’s gay? And that I would even be interested in him? He’s not really my “type”, ya know…”
Zayn laughed, “okay, Mr. Know-it-All. Just so happens that his mum was going on about how Harry wasn’t much in to girls at his old school, and was more dedicated to footy and blah blah blah. Besides have you seen how he dresses?? He’s sooo not straight.”
Now Louis was intrigued but he most certainly wasn’t going to tell Zayn that. “I’ll think about it, mmkay?”
“Great! Now that’s enough weed for today because I gotta save some for the big party tonight at my house.” Zayn said.
On Monday morning-still somewhat hung over from Zayn’s killer weekend-long party-Louis saw Harry slither into his seat and decided to talk to him instead of his usual behavior of kicking the back of his chair and spitting spit balls into Harry’s curly locks. “So, uh, Harry, do you like Doncaster Prep?”
Harry turned around, somewhat shocked to hear Louis actually talking to him and said “Mmm, it’s okay. Can’t wait for football games to start, though!”
Louis smirked “I used to play footy but not anymore. It’s bullshit.”
A hurt look flashed over Harry’s face momentarily and said “Yeah I heard you were pretty good. Ever think about re-joining the team?”
Louis wondered how Harry knew about his footy skills but he also knew that but he didn’t want these few questions turning into a fucking therapy session. Louis said “Yeah. But I’m not going back. End of story”. Then he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
Harry must’ve picked up on Louis’ body language because he said “Okay, got it” and turned around back in his chair to face the front of the room instead of Louis. Now Louis kinda felt like a twat but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind when Mr. Jacob yelled Harry’s name and motioned for him to approach his desk. Louis realized why Harry was in his homeroom-so him & Mr. Jacob could talk football strategy before and during school-but he couldn’t focus on anything except Harry’s lovely bum bent over the desk. “Christ,” he muttered then slammed his head onto his desk to take a nap.
He couldn’t get the vision of Harry’s tight ass in his tight-ass khakis out of his head all day. He was looking forward to going home and having a right proper wank about it too until Mr. Jacob stopped him in the hall and asked if he would stop by practice this afternoon. Occasionally, he would let Louis come to football practice just to muck about and play around with the guys. Yet Louis had the feeling this invitation went beyond just kicking a ball around and into “let’s-get-Louis-back-on-the-team” conspiracy. But if it meant seeing Harry in shorts, then he’d give it a go and the wank would have to wait. So after catching up with Zayn and promising to stop by his house after practice, Louis jogged over to the footie stadium at the edge of the campus. He was just in time to see Harry “Mr. Nimble” Styles trap the ball with his long, lanky leg then in one motion, deliver it to his wing 30 yards up the field. Then on his deer-like legs Harry sprinted the 30 yards to meet up with his teammate who crossed the ball to him and Harry headed it into the goal. Louis was properly impressed but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let it show or tell anyone.
Mr. Jacob saw him watching the practice and said “Lou! Come on over, we are just about to take a short break.” So Louis joined the team on the pitch and dribbled an errant ball back to the sidelines like a pro. “Whoa,” Harry said when Louis joined the team on the sidelines. “You’re pretty good.” Louis smirked at him and said “I know.”
After a pep talk by Mr. Jacob to the team, they went off to do partner drills and Louis was walking over to join a friend to help when coach grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. “Lou, mate, lemme talk to you for a sec…”
“Uh oh, here he goes again,” Louis thought…
“We need you back on the team, mate, desperately. Styles is good-really good-but he’s a raw talent that needs finesse and training which you can teach him. I know you have bad memories on the pitch after what Phillip did to you but let that go and come back. Please. Don’t make me beg…” Mr. Jacob said.
Louis flinched slightly at the memory of Phillip but answered quickly “Naw, that’s ancient history” –it totally wasn't but again, no therapy sessions on the pitch-“and the bottom line is I just don’t have the passion to play anymore. And neither you nor the prospect of training Harry is going to bring me back.”
“Okay,” Mr. Jacob said, resigned-for now-to accept Louis’ decision. “But you can’t fault me for trying. Now get out there and help Nick with his drills.”
He smacked Louis on the back and Louis jogged over to where the players were weaving the ball in and out of cones. He caught a glimpse of Harry and his long, toned legs were flying thru the drills like they were nothing. And his ass looked amazing in the short shorts he was wearing. Damn.
Before returning home he stopped by Zayn’s house and borrowed his Def Leppard tape so he could listen to it on his Walkman. He kissed his mum hello as she was leaving to work the night shift at the nursing home and ran upstairs to his room. He found his yellow Sony Walkman and plopped in the tape and laid down on his bed. He was tired but he couldn't get the image of pretty Harry and his lovely bum out of his head. When “Pour Some Sugar On Me” came on his headphones finally, he had to wank off or he was gonna explode. It was an angry wank because Louis was mad at himself for even thinking about Harry and at the mention of Philip’s name early today. “FUCK” he yelled when he came to no one in particular because the house was empty. After he cleaned himself up, he rolled over on his bed and started to drift off to sleep while thinking about the conversation he had with Mr. Jacob-and Harry…shit, no, NOT Harry-and about Philip-and Harry…shit, no, NOT Harry-and about football-and Harry…shit, no, NOT Harry-until he fell asleep. This was going to be a lot harder than he imagined.
After a few weeks and various iterations of “Louis, think about what I said” and “we really need you back on the team” from both Mr. Jacob and Harry, Louis was more than annoyed with both of them. He essentially ignored Harry during homeroom and on the pitch and he thought Harry was getting the hint that he wanted him to stay as far away from him as possible. One morning Harry schlumped into class wearing a bright aqua polo under a blue blazer and he looked hella fit but Louis didn't even acknowledge his existence and kept on carving a cross into his desk. Finally after a few awkward minutes, Harry turned fully around in his seat to face Louis and stared at him intently to the point where Louis was getting uncomfortable. Finally Louis said:
“Can I HELP you?”
Harry drew in a quick breath then quickly blurted out “Louis I’m sorry if I made you mad about suggesting you join the team. Mr. Jacob put me up to it-I don’t know why-but football means a lot to me and I know how good you are and I just want what’s best for the team.” Then he spun around in his chair and started doodling on his Spanish book.
Needless to say, Louis was a little surprised at what Harry said but he now felt badly for being a twat to Harry. “Look, mate, I know you’re only doing what you’re told and I appreciate your efforts. But I’m not going back. Ever,” he said.
Harry turned back around to face Louis, his face much softer than before. “Okay. Promise I won’t bring it up again” and he smiled his big toothy grin and god, he was gorgeous, and pretty and…
“Fuck” Louis muttered under his breath then stated “Zayn and his brother are having a party this weekend if you want to come. Call it a ‘peace offering’ not an invitation” and Louis smiled back at Harry.
“Cool, mate, thanks. I still don’t know a lot of people here so I would like to hang out with you guys. Do you mind if I bring a friend?” Harry said.
He was dorky and adorable yet Louis was mildly offended at his request to bring a friend and he wasn't sure why exactly. “Yeah, that’s cool. Just don’t tell your entire class because Zayn will go mental if a bunch of you show up.” Harry just smiled again and Louis continued “be at Zayn’s around 9 on Saturday. His mum is out of town for nursing training and his older brother is home from uni so it should be epic.”
Harry smiled again-Christ, is that all he ever did?? Louis thought-nodded and turned around in his seat. Louis sighed and wondered if Harry’s +1 would be male or female. Despite what Zayn said about him, Louis still wasn’t convinced that Harry was gay.
Saturday came and-just as promised-Zayn’s party was shaping up to be amazing. Yet Louis was beginning to worry that Harry wouldn’t show up. Zayn could tell something was bothering Louis & said “mate, relax, he will be here.” Finally, Harry showed up with what looked like the entire football team. “Fuck,” Louis muttered under his breath & grabbed Harry’s arm when he entered the house. “Harry I TOLD you not to bring a bunch of people” he whispered loudly into Harry’s ear. Harry turned to him-Louis could tell he was drunk-and slurred “Louuuu, donnnnn werry, ‘sokay, juss summm matessss frummm daaa teammmm” Zayn stepped in at that point and said “It’s cool, Lou. Harry, here have a beer & the weed is out back.” Louis glared at Zayn and Harry drunkly smiled and sauntered off to the patio. Louis took a deep breath and stormed over to the keg and slammed about four beers in a row and started to relax. Zayn smiled at him and said “so you don’t look happy that Harry’s here. Whazzup?”
Louis sighed loudly, “I don’t know, mate, but I do know that this beer is cold and the weed is killer so Imma have a great time. Pass the dutchie!” Zayn gave him his joint and laughed. After enjoying the festivities for a bit, Louis realized he hadn’t seen Harry in a while so he tried to find him without people knowing he was looking for him. He found him downstairs on the couch, sucking face. With a guy. Louis’ eyes bugged out of his head and his emotions ran from “what the fuck?” to “shit he’s gay!!!” in the course of 0.03 seconds. “Who the fuck is he kissing? Looks like the guy from the team…what’s his name?! NICK! That’s it! Shit!” he thought. He didn’t know whether to run or yell and at that point, Harry came up for air and saw Louis standing across the room staring at him. Harry smiled at Louis and rubbed Nick’s semi-hard cock thru his jeans and went back to kissing him. Louis had enough and turned on his heel and ran up the stairs, almost knocking Zayn over. “I’m out!” Louis yelled over his shoulder and walked the few blocks to his house in about 2 minutes, muttering “fucking hell” the entire time….
On Monday, Louis sat in his chair in homeroom, tapping his foot impatiently for Harry to show up because he had a few things he wanted to say to him. Finally Harry galumphed into class and slid his gangly limbs into the seat, ignoring Louis. Louis cleared his throat loudly and Harry turned his head slightly towards him so Louis took that as an invitation to begin his questions. “So, what the fuck was that shit you were doing on Saturday? Do you just kiss random guys at parties and grab their dicks?!” Harry turned fully around in his seat and laughed. “Naw, mate, I was just having fun. Me and Nick mess around all the time when we are drunk or high. Means nothing.” A long awkward pause happened then with Louis glaring at Harry and Harry finally broke the silence with “Why do you care, anyway?”
“I DONT care. Fuck who you want, ‘s none of my business” Louis said curtly.
Harry erupted into laughter, “HAHAHAH! Oh my god, me and Nick don’t fuck, we just kiss and give each other hand jobs occasionally. I’m only 16, Louis, I’m still a virgin.”
And he smiled which made Louis’ shoulders relax slightly. “Oh, cool…I mean, sorry I was judging you. Whatever floats yer boat, mate,” he said. Harry chuckled and turned back around in his seat. Louis’ mind was racing and Harry opened up a math book to finish his homework. After a few minutes, Louis said “so how long have you known?”
Harry looked up from his homework and said “huh?”
“How long have you known you’re, uh, gay?”
Harry smiled-again?! Shit, he needs to quit that, thought Louis-“dunno, guess I’ve always known. I kissed a few girls, got to second base with a few of them last year at my old school, but it felt weird. Then I met Nick at summer football camp and we started talking. He knew he was gay but I wasn’t sure about my sexuality so one night at a end of camp party, we both got drunk and he kissed me. And I liked it. I didn’t like him necessarily but I liked that I was kissing a guy, not a girl. Does that make sense?”
Louis made a mental note to mess up Nick’s life just because, then he said “Yeah, it makes sense. Scept I've always known I was gay, never bothered with girls, but I got into a shit relationship with an older guy last year and it didn't end well. So now I’m celibate and sworn off guys, ha ha”
“Yeah, I heard. Sorry about that” and he turned back around in his seat.
Louis was a little annoyed that Harry heard about his relationship with Phillip-and what had he “heard”, exactly?-but he figured Mr. Jacob had told him. And he detected a bit of sympathy in Harry’s voice with slightly concerned him because he wasn't looking for that AT ALL. Hmmm, this Harry kid was a bit more complex than Louis had initially thought.
Zayn met Louis for their “smoke break” and wanted to know the scoop on Harry. So Louis told him about the convo they’d had that morning and Zayn busted out laughing. “I TOLD YOU, MATE! He’s gay! So now’s the time to work your magic and make him fall for you.”
Between drags of his cigarette, Louis said “yeah…you were right. Need my gaydar checked again…ha. Don’t wanna be his boyfriend, just…wanna suck his dick. Or watch him suck mine…” He didn’t say that he was dying to see Harry’s beautiful green eyes staring at him while his pretty rosy lips were being wrecked by Louis’ dick in his mouth. He would leave that for another time.
“Well, I hope you get what you want! Good luck!” and Zayn put his cigarette out and walked back into school.
“Fuck” Louis thought as he went to class. “Now what?” He didn't have too much time to consider his options because Mr. Jacob stopped him in the hall to ask him to come to practice that afternoon. Louis didn't have the energy to argue with him about not going so he agreed. And he soon realized this was a good opportunity to accidentally on purpose kick a ball into Nick’s smug face and bust his lip. Then he couldn't kiss Harry when they were drunk….
Louis showed up at practice looking like Danny from “Grease”: hair in a semi-pompadour, tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscles, tight black jeans that emphasized his bum, and his prized Guess acid-washed jean jacket that smelled of cigarettes and a hint of weed. Needless to say he was not prepared to practice football so when Mr. Jacob said “Just to refresh, this is Louis and he will be joining us twice a week for practice and drills” he felt slightly over-dressed. He also was completely gobsmacked and only managed a meager smile and nod. “Now let’s make him feel welcome!” Coach said and smacked Louis on the back. “First drills are headers! Here Lou, show them what you can do!”
Louis took off his jacket and jogged out to center field to begin giving the team pointers on their header technique. He also decided he was going to murder the coach for setting him up like this. But after seeing the boys’ talent and how appreciative they were for his help, Louis began to soften his desire to do bodily harm to the coach. Also, Harry kept smirking at him and he sure did look cute with his sweaty curls stuck to his head. Damn.
After practice, the team ran off to the showers and Louis finally had a chance to maim, erm, talk to the coach. He spoke first “Look, Lou I’m sorry I had to do that to you, but…”
Louis interrupted him and held up his hand “No need to apologize, mate, I had fun and don’t mind helping. And you were right: being back on this field is just what I needed. See you Thursday, yeah?” The coach smiled back and Louis grabbed his jacket and started the short walk home. He was listening to Zayn’s cassette on his walkman when he saw movement behind him only to see Harry walking quickly as if to catch up to him. Louis caught his eye and took his headphones out to say “What’s up?”
Harry was slightly out of breath and his cheeks were flush and he just looked beautiful, Louis thought. “Hey (huff)…Louis…(huff)…just wanted to thank you (huff)…for your help today (huff). Means a lot,” Harry said.
Louis wasn’t sure why Harry couldn’t tell him this tomorrow in homeroom but he smiled and said “Sure, it was good for me to get back on the pitch and do some drills. Besides, you guys are good and it makes it even more enjoyable for me.”
Harry huffed out a big breath, “Whew I’m so glad! I was afraid you’d be mad.”
Louis smirked and said “Naw, it’s cool. Uh, do you live around here? Wanna walk home together?” arry said “Uh, yeah just over on Wharton. I’ll walk that way with you.”
Louis offered the Walkman to Harry who declined and the two walked mostly in silence to where Harry turned to his street. “See ya later, mate,” Louis said. Harry stopped and looked like he wanted to say something to Louis but instead said “yeah, a’morrow!” And turned on his heel to walk down the street to his house. “Hmm, that was weird” thought Louis but chalked it up to Harry being tired from practice and not his normal chatty self.
The next few weeks were a blur of school and practice and he hadn't hardly seen Zayn so one day he told Louis to meet him during free period and Louis decided he wasn't gonna miss that again. “So, mate,” Zayn said, “how’s things with Harry?”
Louis was annoyed “there is no ‘thing’ with Harry. I’m just helping out the team with some drills ‘s all.”
Zayn laughed “Aha! Okay, whatever you say.”
Louis did have to admit that he looked forward to seeing Harry’s smiling face in the mornings and twice a week at practices. He was an amazing football player, much to Louis’ surprise, and Louis enjoyed helping him develop his skills. It also didn’t hurt that Louis started showering with the team after practice and caught glimpses of Harry’s beautiful body-and massive dick-in the locker room. He wanked about that on a weekly basis and wouldn’t shut up about how awesome Harry was on the pitch when he met Zayn for a smoke. Louis wasn’t sure but he thought he might be falling for Harry Styles….