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"You screwed up didn't you?" Niall lifted his head from where it lay on his desk one Monday morning. It was the first class of the day, and he already felt crappy enough with a hangover. He didn't need Louis interrogating him about the party they went to last night.
"Is it that obvious?" Niall groaned, rubbing his temples and wishing he had enough time to grab some breakfast. He didn't think he would make it to lunch without passing out, much less the rest of the day.
"Well seeing that you're face down on a school desk with a hickey the size of an orange I would imagine that something is wrong."
“Shut up Louis.”
“No please enlighten me of your glorious night where you finally got laid.” Niall groaned again and by some miracle, or horror that the Teacher’s Aid was listening into their conversation, he asked everyone to take a seat.
“Mrs. Peters will be a little late today so until she arrives, I will be taking your essays that were due.” Niall couldn’t deny it; the teacher’s aid was a looker. With a long slender body and legs that could go on for days, Harry Styles was the definition of a sex god. All the girls in class always oogled over him. A couple of guys, mainly Niall and Louis, admitted their appreciation for such looks.
Harry was only a couple years older than them, and Louis loved to remind Niall that.
“Mr. Styles what’s on your neck?” It was such an innocent question but Niall found himself looking up from his desk to see Harry fumbling around with papers to try and hide what something looked like a hickey on his collar bone. Niall would have normally snickered and joked to Louis that their teacher aid had also got some. But it made Niall stop in his tracks.
Harry looked way too familiar in that moment, and Niall suddenly felt sick. He knew it was a hickey, or as he preferred to call it, a love bite. He knew one other person that said the same thing and he was currently looking down at him for his essay.
Niall wasn’t sure if he was correct, but it felt as if Harry’s stares were lingering more than usual and he felt a sense of dread settle in his stomach. The rest of the class went on as slow as a slug, and Niall, despite Louis’s attempts to make him smile and laugh, stayed silent and bolted out the door the moment he got the chance to.
Flashes of the party last night were quick in his mind, and he could faintly remember seeing Harry at the party and being the drunk he was, somehow got him in bed. If word got out, Harry could lose his position, and that was the last thing Niall wanted. He couldn’t tell anyone of this, and only flipped up his shirt collar as he made his trek home.
It wasn’t until Thursday that Louis had realized that Niall was acting weird. Or more weird than usual.
“Bro why are you avoiding Mr. Styles?”
“I’m not avoiding anyone.”
“Bull crap and you know it. Spill.”
“There’s nothing to spill.”
“Likely story, you’ve been acting weird since Monday and that girl pointed out the sick hickey he had and...” Louis’s face grew bright with realization.
“Don’t.”
“You did hook up with him!”
“No I did not.” Niall spat out through gritted teeth.
“You totally did and you loved it!” And if the heat rising up in his ears was anything to go by, Louis was probably right.
“Shut up please.”
“No it deserves to be shouted from the rooftops; you’ve had a crush on him since like the second day of school!”
“Invalid!” Niall squeaks, covering his face and swatting Louis away.
“Oh man how did you do it? I mean you guys had to be drunk, there’s that. But that means he was totally at Liam’s party that night, or do you have already have a thing?” Louis winks and nudges Niall but all he wanted to do in that moment was die.
Louis continued to ramble on and on theories, and Niall was about to stick some mashed potatoes into his ear when someone plopped themselves next to him. And one glance to his right had Niall blushing in record time.
Harry had seated himself not completely next to niall, but you could mistake one for the other by how strangely close they sat.
“But hey good for you, think you could teach me your ways and help me out with Liam?” Louis must have either been deaf or he was purposely trying to make Niall miserable, for Harry tensed beside him.
It couldn’t have gotten more awkward.
Niall couldn’t even look at Harry, hasn’t been able to since Monday and was sure as hell he wasn’t going to be able to until the end of the semester. He mumbled some sort of excuse and promptly ditched Louis.
He didn’t want to see the disappointed look on Harry. He just couldn’t bare it. And he was able to successfully avoid him and Louis for another week before he slipped up.
Niall was hungover on another Monday morning, drank his little heart out the night before to try and drown out all the feelings he was feeling from the last few weeks. Louis made no sound, except to mark that he didn’t have any marks on his skin unlike last time.
“For the last time Lou, we are not a thing. It was never a thing.” He whispered fiercely but wasn’t quiet enough. A cough sounded above them as their teacher glared at them.
“Horan. Tomlinson. Please enlighten me with your glorious problems so that we may continue our lesson.” Niall began shaking his head furiously but Louis jumped up immediately and ran to the board.
“I’m glad you asked Mrs. Peters because I believe this will be an excellent lesson to learn for everyone.” Damn Louis for being vice president of the student body. Damn him for being so bloody charming and witty. Damn him for winning the teachers over with one bright smile.
Mrs. Peters shuffled before nodding enthusiastically and motioned for Harry to bring her a seat as Louis began drawing an elaborate demonstration of his problem. Niall groans silently and drops his head on the desk.
“So hypothetically most college students nowadays hook up drunkenly at parties, am I correct?” A few snickers were heard but Niall heard the class mumbling in agreement.
“Now let’s say Niall here was one of the majority and finally got laid.”
“Louis.” Niall glared but his best friend was happily ignoring him once again.
“And let’s say he was finally able to make a move on his crush, whom I am a witness to witnessing the amount of times Niall has gone on a ramble about this kid.” Cue all the blood rushing to Niall’s face and he continued to glare at Louis while keeping an eye on Harry in the corner of his eye. So far, he hadn’t made a move to show a reaction.
So what was Louis playing at?
“And now, making the move, Mr. Niall here has been trying to avoid me, the crush and what seems the entire world because why?” Louis looks at him expectantly and at this point, it wasn’t worth it to fight it.
“It’s not going to work out in the long run.” Niall muttered and some of the girls of the class awed in usion.
“But that is where you are wrong Niall because I’m sure as hell, excuse my language Mrs. Peters, that he at least likes you back.” And if he wasn’t already out, Niall had half the mind to kill Louis anyways.
“How many of you, raise your hands, say that Niall should man up and ask out his crush?” And niall risked a turn of his head to find the majority of his classmate raising their hands. Even Harry was smiling slightly as he raised his own.
“See, you can do this Niall. Mr. Tomlinson is out. Mrs. Peters you may continue.”
“Thank you Louis, now as I was saying before,” Niall tuned out the rest of the lesson, his eyes focused solely on Harry who was writing up some make up notes for one of the students who was absent. Louis nudged him too many times to count that lesson but he wasn’t paying attention to him.
“Hey you should thank me.” Louis mentioned when the class had ended. They were on their way to go get lunch. Well Louis was, Niall wanted to talk to Harry.
“As if.” Niall snorts, eyes scanning the crowd for a mop of curls or an arm of tattoos.
“So when you guys are hopelessly in love and getting married, you will be sorry because I won’t accept being the best man.”
“Who said you were going to be best man?” Louis gasps just as Niall spots Harry neary the car park.
‘I am offended, I just helped with a beautiful thing. I should have said his name.“
“Fine, then you would have been responsible for him getting fired.”
“Who hooked up with who again?”
“Just shut up Lou, I’ll catch you later.”
“I better be invited to the damn wedding or a thousand years of bad luck!” Niall laughs to himself, mentally noting to piss Louis off more often. He tended to get sloppy with his insults the more offended he was.
He inhaled deeply, counted to ten and made his way closer to Harry. The teacher’s aid was rummaging around his bag, “Its a satchel,” he had once explained in the beginning when Louis pointed out that he had a man purse.
Now Harry was seemingly unaware of Niall’s presence. And Niall wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
“Did you put Louis up to that?” Niall stops and looks up at Harry. He couldn’t judge what he was thinking and that put him on edge. He took in a nervous gulp of air.
“What?”
“What Louis said in class, did you put him up to that? I could lose my job Niall.”
“No, you know Louis, he just says whatever comes to mind.” Harry hums and nods his head towards the car park.
“Walk with me Niall.” Niall feels his heartbeat speed up, and not in the feeling rush type of way, he felt like he was on the verge of an anxiety attack. But still, he followed Harry as he looked for his car.
Niall wasn’t even sure where to start, so he watched on as Harry found his car and began to load it up. He only stopped just before he was about to leave. Harry turned around and leaned against his car, neither of them saying a word.
“Is there an actual reason why you wanted to speak to me or am I wasting my time?” Harry mused and Niall took another breath.
“Well Louis didn’t make a big stink in class for nothing.”
“So, you’ve got a crush on me.”
“Yeah.”
“Since the beginning of the year?”
“Second day at best.”
“Why, was there something wrong with me the first day?” Niall didn’t know what to make of whatever they were doing but he liked it. A lot.
“Nothing except for the fact that I had gone to the wrong classroom the first day.”
“And you call yourself a Senior?”
“Hey,” in their banter, NIall had stepped closer to Harry, he was so close to him that he could smell the mint Harry had.
“Hi, how you doin?” Harry smirked, and Niall almost blushed. He contained himself and just settled for a soft smile.
“Fine, how about yourself?”
“I’m feeling just a tad lonely but I’m likely this right now.” Niall stares up at Harry in shock while the latter looks around the car park before smiling and pulling Niall in close.
“So what’s this I hear about you asking this crush out?” Niall’s brain was short circuiting, he hadn’t been this close to Harry since that night and man did the memories come flooding back like a damn had just broken.
“I-I,” Harry continued to smile and wow Niall didn’t expect him to act like this. He could get used to it if his brain would coordinate with his mouth a little better.
“I would like to take you out Harry.”
“Formal eh? Never thought you would be the one to do that.” And Niall’s face reddened at the thought of the night once more, the things that went down would quite possibly never vanish from his mind, not unless he was able to make better memories with the man in front of him.
“I’m kidding. I would like that Niall.” Harry smiles and Niall feels his anxiety calm down, there was a peace in him.
“What about your internship?”
“You’re legal, so I’m not in the wrong. Believe it or not, this happens nearly every year so the school doesn’t care anymore.” Niall had to smile at that, and thanked the heavens that his school was chill about things like this.
“So what now?” Harry shrugged and pulled Niall impossibly closer.
“We can always start with this.” Niall felt like a proper schoolgirl. His heart was pounding hard, and he felt a little love drunk. He noticed the faintest start of dimples as Harry licked his lips, staring right back at Niall. The wait was becoming unbearable. And when Harry leaned in, Niall thought he was surely going to make a fool of himself.
But as most first kisses were to go, could this even be considered their first kiss? Niall shrugged off the small fact and focused on breathing through his nose as Harry deepened the kiss. Niall was experienced in the kissing department and always assumed that Harry wouldn’t as funny as that sounds. But man oh man, he was putty in Harry’s arms.
When they pulled apart, and the air between them cleared, Niall could see that the light was dimming. The weather had begun to grow colder and days had gotten shorter. He shivered but it was short lived as Harry’s hands found their way onto his arms, rubbing up and down in an attempt to warm him up.
“Thanks.”
“I should be thanking you, never thought you would make a move.”
“Then in all technicalities, you should be thanking Louis and his big mouth.”
“You mean your best man?” Niall sputtered and turned red as Harry laughed. It easily carried through the half empty car lot.
“You're right, he does have a big mouth, I mean I didn’t have to strain to hear his teasing.” Harry lays another kiss on Niall before opening his car.
“I do have to run now, I promised my mum to a bit of tea and an update of my life. Though I’m sure she would be just fine with a call every once in awhile.” And Niall has to smile at that, his mum would do the same.
“Would Saturday work well with you?”
“I’m as free as can be. I can’t wait.” Niall steps to the side, watching as Harry pulls out and waves him goodbye. It’s only when he’s out of sight that Niall fist bumps the air and shouts happily.
Louis was never going to let him live this down and he was okay with that. He got a date with Harry and that was all that really mattered.