Chapter Text
Harry was woken from his sleep by a knock on the door.
"Harry," Louis called "Dinner's ready."
"Ok," Harry answered, reluctantly rolling out of bed. He pulled on a t-shirt, having slept in just a pair of joggers, before leaving his room and making his way towards the kitchen.
Louis smiled once he saw him, placing two bowls of spaghetti bolognese on the table. "We probably should have gone to the canteen as I am not a very good cook, this is about the only thing I can make, but I figured you wouldn't want to have to get dressed and go out anywhere."
Harry was surprised by Louis' statement, one because for some reason he had expected him to be able to cook, and two because he was right that Harry definitely didn't want to leave the dorm this evening.
"Yeah, thanks," Harry said, taking his seat at the table.
"No problem," Louis smiled, sitting down opposite him. "We still have the last couple of rules and a couple other small bits to go over after dinner."
Harry nodded.
"So what subjects are you taking?" Louis asked, hoping to engage Harry in a regular conversation.
"Business, sociology, and law," Harry answered.
"Oh, they're all very interesting. Do you know what you want to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, as a job."
"I want to be a lawyer," Harry told Louis, surprising him. He hadn't imagined that to be the sort of career path Harry wanted to go down.
"That's amazing. A lot of hard work I imagine but I guess it's all worth it in the end."
"Yeah, three years for the law degree then another two years of this training thing. But hopefully, big money at the end of it," Harry joked with a smile.
"Is that why you want to do it? For the money?" Louis asked.
"No," Harry answered, the joking edge gone from his voice. "I want to help people. I don't know the exact type of lawyer I want to be yet but I want to make sure innocent people aren't wrongly accused, I want to make sure people know what they're getting into when signing contracts and making those sort of decisions, making sure they aren't tricked into things and make the best decisions possible for them. I want to help people get what they want, and deserve, when they might not know how to get it themselves."
Louis was taken aback by Harry's answer but listening to the passion and sincerity in his voice, he couldn’t help but smile.
"Well, I think that sounds incredible and I'm sure you'd be amazing at it."
"You don't know me," Harry shook his head, looking down at his plate.
"Maybe not, but I do know you stand up for what you want, and you definitely know how to argue," Louis said, attempting to lighten the atmosphere which worked when Harry let out a light chuckle at his last few words.
"What do you study?" Harry asked, wanting to take the attention off himself.
"Drama and music, and I take a course in education. I want to be a drama teacher."
"Seriously?" Harry asked, surprised by Louis' answer.
"Yeah. Something wrong with that?" Louis asked Harry, sounding somewhat offended.
"No, no, of course not," Harry rushed quickly. "I just meant that's not what I thought you would be studying. I'm sure you'd be a really good teacher. What age do you wanna teach?"
"Either our age or secondary school. I definitely don't want to teach at a uni."
"So are you in the plays and that they do here?" Harry asked.
"Yep," Louis said, popping the 'p'. "I'm in most of the productions and some of the music performances too. Though I'm on the football team as well."
"Unusual mix," Harry commented.
"Yeah, I have to say, there's not usually a lot of crossover."
-~-
After dinner, which was filled with conversation, Harry and Louis made their way back to the living room to go over the last three rules.
"I believe we were up to number 10: always answer me verbally," Louis said, picking up the papers which made up the contract and list of rules.
Harry nodded, not answering out loud just be be annoying. Louis chuckled in response, shaking his head.
"So what's the problem with this one?" He asked Harry.
"I don't see why I'm not allowed to nod or shake my head. I shouldn't always have to answer verbally."
"This again is partly for your safety as if I ask you a question during a scene, you just nodding your agreement wouldn't be enough. I'd need verbal consent before anything happened and you may nod or shake your head without really meaning it. It's also harder to attain what you mean from a simple head nod. This links back to the communicating openly and honestly. I need you to talk to me, to further explain your feelings and problems, more than what I could get from a nod. Does that make sense?"
Harry nodded, ignoring the look Louis gave him. "What about outside of a scene? Which, I would like to clarify, we won't be doing. I understand the importance of it there but if you just ask me a question here then why do I have to give a verbal answer?"
"For one, I might not always be next to you, or looking at you. And secondly, it gets you in good practice for during a scene. If you're used to answering me verbally then you will mostly likely do so automatically when in that situation. If you're not used to it then you will most likely forget and nod and having to constantly remind you not to, and to say your answers gets repetitive and takes some of the fun out of it," Louis explained.
"Ok," Harry answered, causing Louis to smile widely.
"Great. Now rule 11: no violent behaviour."
"You can't change my reactions to things," Harry said. "If that's how I react, that's how I react."
"Actually, I think you can change your reactions to things," Louis said. "I have been told, by Mr Higgins, that one of the reasons you are enrolled here is your tendency to turn to violence very quickly."
"He had no fucking right to tell you that," Harry spoke angrily.
"Language," Louis reprimanded lightly "I know that might seem like an invasion of privacy but this school is supposed to help people to correct their problematic behaviour that led to them being here. in order for me to help you with that, I need to know those reasons."
"Is that why you made 'no swearing' a rule?" Harry asked, still angry knowing Louis and Mr Higgins had discussed him behind his back.
"No, I give that rule to all my subs. Though it would have been a rule for you even if I didn't normally include it."
"What else were you told about me?"
"Nothing really. Only the reasons you were sent here and the list of your previous doms. I would love to hear more about all of that at some point. But back to the rule, I understand that you might be feeling angry but you shouldn't turn to violence, especially over very small things."
"It's none of your business what I do or how I feel."
"You want to be a lawyer, and if you keep getting into fights, one day it's going to go too far and something bad will happen. Someone will end up in hospital, or prison, and you won't get into law school with that on your record, Harry. I know you don't believe me but I am trying to help you here."
"You can't change people that quickly."
"I know," Louis said softly. "I'm not doubting that there will be slip ups and all the rules will be broken at some point, but they are all there for your benefit and I would like you to at least try to follow them. Is that alright?"
Harry nodded.
"Words, Harry," Louis reminded him.
"Yes, that's alright. I get you think it's for my benefit so I will try not to go out of my way to ignore them," Harry answered, even though that was a lie.
"Thank you. Last one now, following my instructions unless they will lead to something illegal or harmful."
"That makes me your slave. I'm not just going to do every damn thing you tell me too," Harry protested.
"It does not make you my slave, Harry. I'm not going to give you a load of pointless orders just because I can. It is part of my job to take care of you and all the instructions I give you will be in your best interest, whether that is taking care of you, rewarding you, or punishing you when discipline is required."
"How is punishing me taking care of me?" Harry asked, exasperated with the whole thing. He's never discussed his rules in such depth before which had made them much easier to ignore. Sitting here, talking about them like this with Louis was making him start to think they weren't all bad and that was not something he could have. All this talking and he hadn't managed to change one damn rule.
"Everybody needs discipline in their lives otherwise how would we ever learn what is right and wrong? I will punish you when you do something bad which should hopefully mean you don't do it again. Once we've settled more into our dynamic then punishments will be more effective because you won't want me to be angry with or disappointed in you. Were you punished by your previous doms?"
"I never let them," Harry answered shortly.
"Never let them how?"
"Most just got sick of me before we could reach that point but using Olivia as the example, she tried to spank me so I pinned her to the bed and spanked her," Harry said causing Louis to let out a sharp laugh.
"No way," he said, his eyes alight with amusement. "You spanked Olivia Wilde?"
"Yep," Harry nodded.
"That is amazing. What I would have given to see that," Louis smiled, shaking his head.
"You don't like her?"
"Can't stand her. Her younger brother, Charlie, was my sub in my first year. She was so rude every time I met her, not just to me but everyone else, I had to request a new sub."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, everyone always had to be looking at her or it was like the world was ending. Also, have you seen her dancing?"
Harry shook his head.
"She looks like some kind of deranged octopus."
Harry couldn't help the loud laugh that rose from his chest at Louis' words, weirdly able to picture exactly what 'deranged octopus' dancing looks like.
"You wanna know a secret?" Louis asked, after they had both stopped laughing.
"What?" Harry asked, intrigued as to what Louis was going to say.
"Wilde isn't actually her last name. She changed it as soon as she turned 18."
"What is it then?" Harry asked. It must have been bad for her to change it so young.
"Cockburn, but is spelt cock-burn."
Harry let out an unattractive snort at Louis' answer. "You're joking, right? No way is her surname actually Cockburn."
"I am 100% serious."
"God, that is awful. Olivia Cockburn. No wonder she changed it to Wilde."
And it was then that Harry realised he was actually enjoying Louis' company. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
-~-
It was the following morning, a Saturday, which Harry as grateful for as it meant he had no classes. He'd woken up at 9, an hour before his alarm was due to go off and, frustratingly, had not been able to go back to sleep.
He rolled out of bed, pulling on a pair of joggers and a t-shirt before making his way to the kitchen to find something for breakfast.
He was surprised to see Louis already up and dressed, eating a bowl of cereal whilst looking through something on his phone.
"Morning," Harry spoke as he entered the room, heading straight over to the fridge.
"Good morning. Sleep well?" Louis asked, looking up from his phone.
"Not too bad," Harry answered, grabbing the milk so he could make himself a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea. The cereal was still out on the side from where Louis had used it but Harry wasn't sure where the bowls were kept. Not wanting to have to look through all the cabinets he asked Louis instead.
"Bottom cabinet on the right," Louis told him.
"Thanks," Harry said, taking a bowl from the cupboard. "And the tea bags?"
"That pot next to the kettle," Louis gestured towards it whilst he spoke. Harry thanked him again then set to work making the tea. Yorkshire, Louis had good taste.
"When do I get my phone back?" Harry asked, taking a seat at the table opposite Louis.
"After two weeks with me," Louis told him. Oh, so the two week rule restarted every time he got a new dom. It made sense but was still very annoying to Harry.
"Any chance I can have it sooner?"
"Sorry, its one of the school's rules, not mine. Your phone is still with Mr Higgins, so I can't give it back to you. You can always use mine if you need to."
"I don't know anyone's numbers," Harry said, "but thanks."
They fell into silence for a moment as they both ate, though strangely enough, Harry realised he didn't feel uncomfortable whereas silences around people he didn't really know usually made him feel awkward.
The phone thing was still an issue. Harry knew he would have to stick it out with a dom for two weeks before he could get his phone back, call his mum, and get the hell out of here. He'd been planning to make Louis hate him this morning, to act out and break something and be as annoying as he possibly could so Louis would have no choice but to tell Mr Higgins he couldn't have him as a sub and Harry would hopefully be kicked out. But the longer he was at the school, the less likely it seemed that that would happen. If Mr Higgins hadn't kicked him out by now, what more could he possibly do that would result in that happening. He'd been rude, disrespectful, gone against every rule he'd been given, broken equipment, spanked a dom, what else was there? Maybe it would be better to be nicer to Louis, maybe he would be able to get out of here faster.
"Why are you dressed like that?" Harry asked after a moment, only now realising what Louis was wearing.
"I've got football practice this morning," he told the sub.
"Oh," Harry said.
"You're welcome to come if you'd like," Louis offered "It would be a nice chance to meet some of my friends."
Harry didn't want to go and watch Louis play football. He liked the game, yes, but it wasn't a particularly nice day and sitting and watching Louis, and a load of other boys he didn't know or care about, kick a ball around a field for however long the practice was, didn't particularly appeal to him.
Be nice for two weeks then you can get your phone and leave, Harry thought to himself.
"Sure," Harry smiled.
-~-
Leaving the flat half an hour later, Louis and Harry walked towards the school's sporting grounds, an area Harry had yet to visit.
Most of the team was already there by the time they arrived, and Louis told Harry to go and take a seat in the stands to the side of the pitch, where several other people were gathered, and that he would introduce him to the team after practice as they didn't have much time now.
Harry nodded and made his way to a seat, far enough away from anyone else that they wouldn't talk to him but not far enough away to make him stand out.
He was both surprised and unsurprised to see Louis was actually very good at football. Unsurprised, because he knew he was on the team and therefore couldn't be bad, but surprised because he hadn't expected him to be quite this good.
About halfway through the practice, Harry caught sight of someone sat in the stands who he recognised. It took him a moment to place the face before he realised it was the Irish boy he had been rude to on his very first day.
Looking at him now, Harry wasn't sure how he had ever been mean to him. He looked so harmless and nice, and he had been when they'd met, only trying to introduce himself and probably make a friend when he didn't have any here.
A wave of guilt washed over Harry, a feeling he was unused to, so he got up and made his way over to where the boy was sat by himself.
"Hi," Harry spoke once he had reached him. “I just wanted to say-“
“Fuck off,” Niall interrupted, briefly looking away from the football training to glare at Harry.
“I just wanted to say I am sorry. I-“
“What don’t you understand about the words fuck off?” Niall mocked before standing up and storming away from Harry, leaving him alone, staring at Niall’s now empty seat.
He hadn’t meant to be so harsh to Niall. He’d been in such a bad mood that first day; he didn’t want Niall to hate him for what he said even if it was justified. And as he was here, Harry could only assume his dom was part of the football team so was most likely a friend of Louis’.
Harry didn’t want these two weeks to be miserable and didn’t want Louis or his friends to hate him if he was going to have to spend time with them.
After a moment of standing there staring at the seat, Harry felt an overwhelming rush of sadness though he couldn’t exactly place why. So he turned and left, heading back to the flat, not wanting to stand there any longer. He didn’t notice Louis watching him with concern as he walked away.