The day, surprisingly, went by rather quickly for Louis. His classes weren't all that bad, apart from the mountain of homework, but that didn't bother him too much. Apart from that, his school day consisted of what it usually did; snide remarks made about him, the occasional accidental shove, and just general insults about who he was as a person. So, nothing new in that department.
A slight let down was when he went to lunch, only to realise Sam had gotten himself detention, leaving Louis to eat alone. It wasn't like he wasn't used to eating alone, but he had gotten accustomed to eating with Sam, so it felt empty without him.
Oh, God. I'm so Goddamn soft, Louis found himself thinking a few times throughout the day. Once during the lunch without Sam, and a few other times when he saw Sarah in the halls, and even in a few of his classes, and just blatantly ignored her. Seeing her face drop made Louis' heart falter, but he kept telling himself it was the best thing for her. He was used to the bullying and the stares he always got. He could handle it. Hell, it had been happening to him since he started school. He couldn't understand that and didn't even try to, but he could take it. He was so used to it by now that most of it didn't faze him at all.
Then there was Sam. He was probably the most respected kid in the school, and no one would dare do or say anything to him, even if he was hanging out with the designated loser. And Kara... Well, Kara had a way of dealing with it when she was around. It wasn't pretty. While Louis could easily resolve things with his fists, he chose to use his words and wits. Kara, however, always opted to go down the old fashion route. Instead of using her words to resolve things, she would knock them on their ass.
Sarah, however, Louis didn't know. He didn't want to judge someone based on how they looked or who they were, but he didn't want to risk her getting hurt, which was ironic since he was the only one currently hurting her.
At the end of the day, Louis did the usual routine: waiting for everyone to leave while he sat in an empty classroom. Though today, Sam was with him.
"So, I get to meet Sarah, hey?" Sam asked as they sat on the teacher's desk in the deserted classroom.
"If she hasn't left already, then yeah," Louis responded, twirling a pen between his fingers.
"You know, if you just opened up to the possibility of letting people in, you'd find that you'd have a lot more friends."
"I do open up. I have no idea what you're talking about," Louis said, looking offended, ceasing the spinning of the pen.
"Louis, I've been your friend for a while now, and I don't even think I know your middle name," Sam started, "or your favourite movie. Or, literally, anything personal about you."
"But you know I'm hilarious, and that's all the matters." The offended look dissipated from Louis' face. "And, come on, you know tons of stuff about me."
"Ugh, you can be so annoying sometimes." Sam looked away from Louis and sighed. "Yeah, I know some stuff, but I just wish you'd trust me a little more."
"I do trust you, Sam."
"Then let me in, Louis. Let someone in. You're an awesome person to hang out with when you actually try. I keep telling people that, but then you go and..." Sam trailed off.
"Be myself?" Louis tried to help.
"No," Sam replied bluntly. "This isn't you. It may be part of you, but I've seen snippets of the real you, and he's not a complete sarcastic asshole."
"You're right," Louis responded after a short pause. "here's a bit of waxing done."
He was never any good in these situations. Being serious around other people just wasn't his thing. It meant he had to be more vulnerable and open, and that was something that he was still working on.
These little arguments with Sam were nothing new. They have been happening since they became friends, and while Louis always did his best to avoid the seriousness of the conversation by joking and being sarcastic, there was always a pang of certain guilt that followed. He wanted to open up more to Sam, and he hated when he was the reason for Sam's frustration. But he still needed more time.
"Ugh!" Sam stood up rapidly and headed towards the door. "Are you coming or what?" He was trying to keep his voice calm, but Louis could hear the anger and frustration in it.
It sent a surge of guilt through his body, causing his face to soften and his guard to drop, even if it was only the tiniest bit.
"I'm sorry, Sam," Louis whispered, getting off the desk and walking towards his best friend. "You know I'm trying to be better with all that." Sam looked at Louis, who, for the first time that day, was speaking with sincerity.
"I have a lot of walls up, and you know that. I want to think I'm getting better, though." Louis finished the sentence with a small smile, trying to alleviate some of the tension that had made itself apparent in the room.
Sam's gaze dropped to the floor as his hand rested on the door handle. It wasn't often Louis showed this side of himself, and Sam wasn't too sure how to react to it. Of course, he must have been happy that he got to see Louis when he wasn't an ass, but it also hurt to see that behind all the sarcasm and sass, there was just a boy who was trying to find himself.
Louis broke the silence, causing Sam to look up. "The floor can't be that interesting, Samuel. Don't you start feeling sorry for me, or I'm gonna have to kick your ass."
Sam shook his head and grinned, though Louis could see that it was forced. "Wouldn't dream of it, Lou-Lou."
Opening the door, Sam and Louis left the classroom and started walking down the empty halls towards the school's exit.
"And by the way Louis," Sam started, nudging Louis' shoulder, still forcing the grin on his face. "There's no way you could kick my ass."
Louis could tell that him being so closed off hit Sam hard. It always had. So, like any good friend, he was going to try and lighten the mood.
"Sam, I could drop you in a matter of seconds. I'm six-foot-four and full of muscle."
"Aren't those the lyrics to a song?" Sam questioned, looking over at Louis, who was still chuckling.
"I think so, but, my God, if they don't describe me perfectly."
"Alright, don't get too up yourself."
"Don't worry, that can be your job." Louis winked at Sam and elbowed him.
"Gross, dude." Sam laughed, and a look of victory swept over Louis' face as they reached the exit and pushed through the door.
"But I thought you were gay?" Louis asked with another wink, still trying his best to move as far away as possible from the beginning of the serious conversation they had just had.
"Who's gay?" A voice cut through their laughter, causing them to stop and look in the direction it came from.
"Hey, Sarah!" Louis called, waving at her.
Much to Louis' surprise and delight, she was standing just to their right with her phone in her hand, smiling at them.
"Hey, Lou!" she responded, skipping over to them. "And hello, you!" She said in the same chirpy voice, looking at Sam.
"Hello to you, too." A smile was plastered on Sam's face. "And to answer your question, Louis is gay, so don't get any ideas."
"Oh, I already know that," she said with a laugh. "I've already mentally cried about it. It's nice to meet you, though..." she stopped as if waiting for a name.
"Samuel," Louis filled in.
"Nice to meet you. Sarah, isn't it?" Sam held his hand out. "Also, you can just call me Sam."
"That'd be correct!" She reached out and shook Sam's hand. "I was gonna call you Sam anyway!" She let out a small chuckle.
"How was your first day?" Louis asked, interrupting the rather long handshake Sarah and Sam shared. He didn't like the look that Sam had gotten in his eyes.
"It was good," responded Sarah, dropping her hand to her side. "It would have been better if I could have, you know, talked to you."
"I'm sorry." Louis looked over at Sam, who was already staring at him with raised eyebrows. Louis sighed. "We can forget about the 'no talking' thing if you want. Just... mentally prepare yourself."
"I'll be fine, Louis. I'm a big girl." A huge smile covered Sarah's face.
"Yeah, Louis. And besides, I'll have her back," Sam whispered into Louis' ear, rather sensually, when Sarah wasn't listening.
"Sam, no!" Louis practically yelled, causing Sam to burst out laughing and Sarah to look at him with a confused look. "He, uh, wanted to copy my homework."
Louis was glad that Sam hadn't stayed mad at him. He was telling the truth when he said he was trying to open up a bit more. It was just hard for Louis. Sam knew that and had always done his best to accommodate.
"Oh..." Sarah didn't look convinced of the lie, but before she could press the matter further, Sam, through his laughter, interjected.
"Am I taking you both home? What's happening?"
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm, uh, not staying at my house really. At the moment, anyway," Sarah said, glancing at her feet. "And I don't want to be a burden, it's a bit of a drive, so I'll just catch the bus. That was the original plan."
"You wouldn't be a burden," Sam said with a wink and a smile.
"You're such a creep." Louis laughed at Sam, before turning to Sarah. "Alright, well, then, I'll see you tomorrow. Walk with me again?" Louis asked, trying not to sound too eager, and trying not to ask about her living situation.
He couldn't deny that he was curious about what she meant, but he knew better.
"Sounds like a date!" Sarah smiled, before giving Louis a hug, catching him off guard. "Meet me at the bus stop, okay?"
"Alright," Louis replied with a smile before Sarah turned on her heel and headed off.
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