Chapter Text
when the swing dance club was first introduced to the school, there were three members. harry styles, some kid named liam payne, and his girlfriend danielle. harry had no idea what he was doing, but he was fourteen and it seemed fun. he didn't have a partner, though, so the three of them switched out and took turns with the others. it was fun to watch harry's crown of flowers fly from his head when liam spun him too fast.
when they started putting up flyers, the club gained a little bit of attention.
after two years, there were at least twenty four people active at a time, no less. it was fun, being a mentor to kids who were sometimes older than harry. he loved showing people how to dance.
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he was probably thirteen the first time he saw louis tomlinson. louis was the coolest kid around, everybody knew that. he and stan lucas were who you tried to be. when louis dyed his hair black, about ten kids did the same the next week. when louis first pierced his ears, all the guys did it too. he was just popular, even when everyone found out he liked boys just as much as he liked girls.
harry liked louis more than he liked anyone.
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when louis slams his locker shut, the last thing he expects to see is a pair of wild green eyes staring up at him.
he jumps back, startled, before pressing a hand to his chest. "jesus christ, kid! you trying to give me a heart attack? what do you want?"
when the boy's eyes slide to the floor and he shifts back on his heels, louis starts to get impatient. "hey, hello, anyone home? what do you want?" he repeats, taking in the kid's appearance. he's obviously an underclassman, probably sixteen at the oldest. he's dressed weird, though, like some sort of hippie weirdo. louis' eyes move from his worn down boots to his (obviously purposefully) ripped jeans, to the flowy shirt hanging from his skinny frame. when his eyes finally reach the boy's head, though, he notices a careful array of flowers in his mop of curls before it hits him that this kid was wearing a fucking flower crown, for christ's sake.
"i'm harry," the boy finally says, and his voice is not what louis expected at all, deep and slow.
"that's... nice? why are you hiding out behind my locker, harry?" he asks, not dropping the subject. harry blushes and pouts, and louis has no idea why. fuckin' weird, he is.
"i was actually wondering... there's-" his slow speech is interrupted by a loud call of louis' name and then a body latching onto him from behind.
"louis, my man!" niall crows in his ear, and louis shakes him off irritably. the blond boy doesn't comply, instead jumps more firmly onto louis' back in a piggyback state and ruffling a hand through his dyed-red hair.
he doesn't even notice harry at first, who at the loud noise had pressed himself against the lockers beside them and is staring at them with wide eyes, curious.
"hey, who's this?" niall asks as another body materializes beside them. zayn's to his left, dressed more like louis with his darker clothes and quiffed hair, tattooed body on display. niall is the odd one out of their group, but he's, well, niall. he is one of the most popular seniors in the school, seemingly knowing everyone. because of this, louis and zayn were in turn well known and liked, despite their multiple tattoos and louis' facial piercings.
"uh, this is harry. he gave me a mild stroke earlier."
all three boys turn to look at a red-faced harry, before he stutters out a "n-nevermind, i was just about to leave-" while nervous fingers straighten the flowers in his hair.
zayn scoffs as harry nearly trips over himself in his haste to escape. "well, that was interesting. what a freak," he speaks up, but it's not meant in a mean way.
louis stares after the younger boy on his trek down the hall until he rounds a corner and disappears from sight.
he stays in louis' mind for the rest of the day.
---
the next time louis meets harry, he's out smoking under the goalpost of the school's football field, standing under the overpass so he doesn't get wet. he's just lit up and is scrolling through his dashboard when a sneeze makes him snap his head up. harry is wearing a flowercrown again today, a large sweater enveloping his frame as he makes his way across the field toward the senior. it's cold out; louis himself has on his leather jacket and a black beanie. a light drizzle had started about ten minutes ago, and from what he can see, harry had been out in the rain for most of it. louis' tongue plays with his lip ring for a moment before he calls out "hurry up, curly, you'll catch cold if you stay out there any longer!"
harry sprints the remainder of the way, ducking under the cover with louis and beaming up at him. louis just stares at this boy as he takes a drag before offering the cigarette to harry with a questioning expression.
harry shakes his head and fixes his crown. it's a little shaken up now, wet, but just as bright as the one the day before.
"so, harry, what brings you out here?" louis asks harry, leaning against the pole behind him. the boy seems a bit flustered, although not as much as yesterday. louis frowns and thinks that harry is a bit beautiful with flaming cheeks.
the boy looks up at him, the smile making him just radiate, what the hell. he looked like he'd just seen the second coming of christ. "you remembered my name," he said, and louis blinked.
"i.. did, yes. are you gonna answer my question or are you just gonna stare at me?"
"oh! well actually," harry's foot swiped through the muddy grass beneath their feet, which suddenly has become much more interesting to look at than louis. "i was trying to ask you the other day... there's, uh, the clu- swing dance club, there's this event we hold and i was wondering if you wanted to go... with- with me..."
louis stares at him, harry stares at his boots, and the bell ringing signals the end of their break, so louis stubs out his cigarette beneath his toe. "that's..." something he would have to think about. right now, though? he decides to ignore it. also, he can't afford another tardy, he'd get detention. louis is in charge of picking up the twins after school every day, he can't do that if he's stuck behind because some kid in a ridiculous flower crown makes him late to econ to ask about some dance.
"look, i've really got to get to class, you should too." he pulls a marker from his bag and grabs harry's arm, writing his number followed by a louis x. "nice talking to you kid. give me a call if you get sick so i can reprimand you for staying out in the rain, okay?" he salutes before jogging off across the field away from harry, heart pounding.