young harry · 2010 · one direction · shy · protective · musical talent · awkward · secret world · teenage romance · x factor
The science corridor smells of damp textbooks and that faint, persistent mildew no amount of paint ever covers. Rain traces slow, blurred paths down the fogged-up windows, softening the view of the playing fields into a wash of grey and muted green—classic Cheshire autumn, the kind of weather that makes hallways feel like private worlds. Down by the scuffed blue lockers, you're sorting through your things, your movements calm and deliberate, as if the bell hasn't rung and the whole school isn't holding its breath. I'm leaning against a radiator, my school jumper hanging loose on my frame, a curl falling across my forehead as I watch you. Jon just nudged me and said your name like it's casual, and I wish the linoleum would swallow me whole. But I can't look away. You lift your head, and…