Chapter 13 ~ The Tweet

[Louis]

That fucking liar. How dared he even answer 'your relationship' when he had abandoned me as he did? Unless he did because he didn't like me anymore... But judging by his and Liam's relationship now and how Harry was acting towards other people - especially girls - he had done nothing but lied on this test.

Feeling angry about it, I balled the paper in my hands and tossed it in the nearest trash can. I stomped my way out of the building and didn't even think twice before making my way home. If I had bumped into Harry on my way, I would probably have punched him in the face. He should be happy that he didn't cross paths with me.

Once home, I tossed my backpack on the floor and got rid of my jacket and shoes before going into the kitchen to look for some food. It wasn't until I closed the fridge that I realized Lottie was sitting at the kitchen table, munching on some cereal with her phone in her hand. When she noticed I was looking at her, she glanced up, a smile forming on her lips. "Hi."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I walked over to sit down across from her. "Have you been sitting there all the time or did you just appear out of nowhere?"

She chuckled, placing her phone on the table. "I've been sitting here for almost half an hour, so the answer is no, I did not appear out of nowhere."

"How weird. I didn't notice you..." I trailed off, running my hands over my face. I was so exhausted after today. All I wanted was to lay down on my bed and fall asleep. Then I could wake up in a month or so, and hopefully, I would be alright until then.

Lottie must've noticed that something wasn't right with me because she instantly questioned me if I was okay. I wanted to lie, but she was my sister and could read me like an open book, so I knew there was no use. "Honestly, no. I feel like shit."

I said it so straightforward that she muffled a laugh with her hand. After a second though, she got herself together and turned back to being serious. "Tell me."

And so I did. I told her everything that had happened since the day Harry came back. Every interaction we'd had and how he had behaved. I also told her about my weird English teacher and how Liam had kind of threatened me earlier today. She listened carefully throughout my entire speech and seemed really interested. Once I was finished, she stayed silent with a deep frown on her face.

"Alright," she said after a minute of silence. "I think there is a reason behind his behavior. I mean, clearly, he is acting different in general considering Liam who is probably the closest person to Harry right now told you so. Additionally, didn't you say that he even chose your favorite pasta on that test and also brought your books back to your locker for you? Someone who hates you would never do that."

I bit my lip. She may be right, but that still didn't make matters better. I was still as confused as before. Sure, maybe Harry didn't hate me, but what did he feel towards me if not? We'd barely even talked. He'd merely showed different signs with his body language that he didn't hate me, if so.

"Okay, let's say he doesn't hate me. It still doesn't change anything. It doesn't change the fact that he abandoned me when he got famous, and it doesn't change the fact that he treated me like shit when he came back."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right about that. I didn't mean that it was okay for him to act as if nothing has happened between you. Or well, at least as if he hasn't done anything wrong. He deserves to know what he did to you."

I let out a sigh, running my hand through my hair. "This is all just so fucked up. I don't understand why he is acting so weird. It was easier when he treated me badly. Then I at least knew he still disliked me and I had a very good reason to hate him."

Lottie pursed her lips together and looked at me sincerely. "You still do though. Even if he is acting like this, you still have a good reason to hate him. He practically dumped you by ignoring you. That's pretty damn low."

"Yeah, I know... It's still hard though. Even if I try to convince myself that I hate him and that he doesn't deserve anything, I still have a hard time accepting it. My feelings for him are still buried inside me and they always arise when he is around me. It's so frustrating and if I had one wish it'd be for them to disappear."

She gave me a sympathetic look. "I understand. Even if I only seem like an immature teenager in your eyes sometimes, I know what love is. Additionally, I know what you have been through, and I would only want what's best for you. And even though I know it may hurt, I don't think that is Harry. If he's hurt you once, he is able to do it again."

"I know," I sighed, looking away from her. "And I don't plan to be with him again. Plus, he has Liam now and I've got Hannah. I don't even know why I'm having these thoughts."

She smiled faintly at me. "I do. It's because your feelings for him won't go away."

I nodded, laughing forcefully. "Yeah, that might be it."

With that said, the topic died down, and we started talking about other stuff instead, like what had happened in school today and so on. When I walked up to my room later that evening, I couldn't help but think that my and Lottie's conversation had been helpful though. It made me clear my mind a little bit, something I was in real need of after this eventful day.

-

"Lou, please!"

I pouted at the curly haired boy. "But it's cold. I don't want to freeze my ass off."

Harry put his hands on his naked hips, a cheeky smile forming on his lips. "Not even if I keep you warm?"

Furrowing my eyebrows, I crossed my arms over my chest. "How would you be able to do that? The water's cold. Your body heat won't exactly keep me warm when the cold water is going to surround my body."

He took a step forward, leaning in to whisper in my ear. I didn't know if he noticed the goosebumps that rose on my skin or the beating in my heart that quickened by his proximity. "But what if I forced you to?"

Harry and I were at our usual place by the lake. It was a summer day, and the sun was shining brightly in the sky. However, that didn't change the fact that it had been raining the last couple of days and the water was most likely ice cold. Nonetheless, Harry wanted to bath and was trying his best to get me in the water with him. We were both wearing swim trunks and did intend to bath when we came here. That was until I had touched the water though.

I narrowed my eyes at him, having a feeling that he was planning something I wouldn't like. Before I had time to open my mouth to interject, I was pushed down from the dock and into the - what I had predicted - ice cold water. I instantly brought myself to the surface, breathing in quick breaths through my mouth. As soon as Harry's head popped up beside me, I didn't hesitate to push his head down again. That motherfucker.

He grabbed my hips under the water and started tickling my sides, making me lose my grip on him. Once he resurfaced, he burst out laughing. I, on the other hand, glared daggers at him. I hated him.

"I can't believe you actually did that," I hissed, splashing water on his face.

He blinked the water from his eyes, still laughing. "It was the only way to get you in the water," he winked.

I shot him another glare. "Well, that may have been because I didn't want to get in the water, huh?"

Harry gave me a feigned sympathetic look. "Naw, is little Lou freezing?"

I crossed my arms over my chest again, refusing to meet his gaze. "Of course I am. I clearly told you that I didn't want to bath because the water is ice cold, you fucking bastard."

He wrapped his arms around my body just like he did before, but this time he kept close, hugging me to his figure. "Good thing I promised to keep you warm then, huh?" He quirked an eyebrow at me, still an amused smile on his lips.

I wanted to wipe it off. However, I couldn't deny that his body was radiating warmth. Plus, I didn't exactly hate the fact of being this close to him either. Maybe just that fact made me warm by itself?

When I decided to look back at him, I noticed that he was closer than I had first thought. His face was literally inches away from mine. The fact that his piercing green eyes were staring into my own didn't exactly make matters better. It only made my heart beat faster in my chest.

His brown curls were now clinging to the side of his face, making him look ridiculous, but to me, he looked just as perfect as always. "Have I ever told you that you're quite pretty?" I asked, leaning up to brush some of his wet, unruly hair away from his face, my eyes focusing on my fingers.

I could see his lips form a wide smile from the corners of my eyes as he shook his head slowly. "No, but I could definitely say the same about you."

His words made me look back into his eyes. I was surprised. We had never admitted to each other that we found one another attractive. Sure, we had always been quite affectionate towards each other even though we had always only been friends, but this was something new. The word 'pretty' had never passed our lips.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I started fiddling with the hairs at the back of his neck as I bit down on my bottom lip nervously. God, we'd never been in this kind of situation before. To say it was nerve-wracking would be a definite lie. I was almost shaking - and not from the cold water.

His gaze trailed down to my lips and he licked his own before leaning in. Our foreheads were now touching, our breaths mixing together. My heart was practically beating out of my chest as he came even closer, his lips ghosting over my own. If I just pushed my chin forward, our lips would be touching.

Harry finally closed the small gap between us, pressing our mouths together and--

"Louis, time for school!"

My eyes sprung opened by the noise, my eyes slowly taking in my surroundings. It was just a dream. No. Not a dream, but another memory. I'd dreamt of when Harry and I had our first kiss. I never mentioned it before, but that was another thing that happened by the lake. Another reason why that place meant so much to me.

I let out a deep sigh, running my hands over my face. Why did these things have to happen to me? Wasn't it enough that Harry was back in Holmes Chapel? I didn't need more things that reminded me of him.

Before I could register anything else, the door opened and my mom was there, sending me a small smile when she realized I was awake. "Good, you're awake. School starts in almost half an hour. You're beginning to run late, honey."

"I'll be down in a minute," I said, sending her a tight smile.

She nodded before closing the door again. I let out a frustrated groan and pulled the covers over my head. All I really wanted was to stay here all day and hide from reality, but I knew I couldn't, just like every other day. There was a world out there that was waiting.

Once I got downstairs, I noticed that mom and the girls had already left. That meant I was definitely running late. I fished my phone from my pocket and informed Hannah that she didn't have to wait for me before getting out a bowl from the cabinet. I mean, just because I was running late, I still needed breakfast, right? Breakfast was the most important meal of the day after all.

Still, I hurried to get the food down my system. As I ate, I decided to scroll through my twitter feed. I hadn't done it in a long time, so why not? Big mistake. My feed was loaded with tweets about a certain curly haired lad. Even after two years, I still had a hard time registering that he was famous. People around the world knew who he was.

What shouldn't have shocked me but did, was how nice everyone was. Sure, they were a fan of him, but did they really knew how the real him was? If they did, they surely wouldn't have been this nice to him.

Just because I suddenly felt angry about it, I couldn't help myself but answer one of the girls who had written to him about how she loved him and how he had made her life 'so much' better.

@Louis_Tomlinson: @Harrys_biggest_fan You don't know the real him.

Turned out that was the next mistake of the day because my notifications were suddenly spammed with hate tweets. However, I didn't have time to look more into it, so I decided to exit the app, knowing exactly why I had stayed away from it for so long.

I then hurried to the hallway to put on my outdoor clothing before waking to school... or more like jogging. Once I entered the school building, I went to my locker, noticing that the hallways were pretty empty. I knew I was late but I didn't think it would be this bad. Mr. Waltz would kill me.

Walking into the classroom, I didn't look up to meet my teacher's gaze, but rushed to my seat and sat down. I could hear that he stopped talking though, so there was no doubt I had people's attention. Thankfully, he continued only seconds later, making me let out a sigh of relief.

However, I could still feel someone staring at me. Looking up in confusion, I instantly noticed that it was the curly haired lad across the room. He had a bitter look on his face. It wasn't a glare but definitely not a smile either. Not that I had expected that.

I decided not to care about it and turned my gaze to my teacher instead. The next hour was pretty uneventful. It wasn't until the bell rang and everyone got up to exit the classroom that I could feel a presence behind me. I was also standing up, ready to head towards the classroom door, but halted in my steps when this happened.

"Didn't succeed very well with that tweet, did you?"

I turned around abruptly, my mouth hanging open as I stared at him. He still had that bitter look on his face that I couldn't really put my finger on what it meant. It was frustrating, to say the least. "What do you mean?" I muttered, trying to play dumb.

He rolled his eyes, letting out a snort. "I think we both know pretty well what I'm talking about. Next time you may know that you shouldn't mess with Harry Styles."

It was my time to snort. "As if I care what your stupid fans say to me. One day, they might actually find out who you truly are. And you know what will happen then? No one will like you," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

He took a step forward, invading my personal space. "You think that you could change that? You're no one, Louis. That's the way it is, and that's the way it's always been. No one is going to believe a no one."

His words made anger boil up within me. How dared he even utter those words? Just because he was known by more people than me, it didn't mean I was less worthy than him. He made it sound like there was a big difference. I mean, come on. Weren't we all just human beings?

"You're so stuck up in your fucking 'famous' life that you have lost all common sense in you. I can't believe you turned out like this. It's a shame, really." With that said, I walked passed him, making sure to bump my shoulder in his as I did so.

I didn't even look back when I made my way out of the room, just keeping my gaze ahead and slamming the door shut behind me. It wasn't until I was at my locker that I noticed I was shaking. I didn't know whether it was due to anger or just the fact that I had been standing so close to him, but I surely hoped for the prior.

To think I actually thought that he might actually not hate me just a day ago was crazy, and I wanted to slap myself for even thinking so. For one second, I actually thought I had seen the old him coming through, but damn how wrong I was. He was never going to change.

And I hated myself for wanting him to.

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There you go, guys! Another chapter for you. I know Harry's quite hard to understand and believe me, he has a hard time understanding what he feels himself ;)

Pauline .xx