Ready to Run

Chapter 4

After a few minutes of silence in the car, Louis is starting to get bored and so he does the only thing he can think about: talk.

"So, Harry. Do you have a job?" He asks.

He sees Harry look his way from the corner of his eye and then this one answers "Yeah. I work in a bakery." He answers.

"A bakery?" Louis repeats, surprised.

"Yup." Harry nods.

"Do you actually bake or do you work at the counter and look pretty?" Louis asks, risking a quick look at Harry to see his dimpled smile.

"I actually bake." He answers. "And I'm good at it."

"Well, I can't trust you until you prove to me you know how to bake." Louis smiles.

"You trust me when I tell you I'm not a killer but not when I'm telling you I bake. Interesting brain you have here, Hero." Harry says, tapping once on Louis' temple. Louis lets out a laugh and a smile lingers on his lips.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was not a compliment but it was not not a compliment."

"Too much information, Dimples." Louis tells him.

"And I did compliment you, by the way." Harry points out. Louis turns left and then they're in a town he doesn't care not to know the name of.

"If you're referring to when you told me I had a massive -not big, massive- bum," Louis starts and Harry laughs. "I'm not sure it really is a compliment."

"It was, but I was talking about the time I called you pretty."

Louis frowns, trying to remember when. Oh. Their first encounter. Louis asked him what he was doing here and he answered he was waiting for pretty guys to pick him up. Right.

"I thought it was just a thing you said to try to convince me to take me with you." Louis says.

"Well, yeah but no. I meant that." Harry says.

"Oh. Then thanks, I guess." Louis says, blushing slightly.

He is not used to receiving compliments, let alone by strangers. So obviously he takes it happily but he can't help but feel a bit unsure about it.

"What's your favorite pastry, then?" Harry asks, returning to the initial topic.

Maybe he noticed Louis being a bit uneasy and that is why he did not say anything.

"I don't know. Chocolatey." Louis replies.

"Oooh I see. I'll bake you something chocolatey if we decide to stay a few days somewhere in a B&B." He says normally like they knew each other for a long time and had planned to do a road trip long ago.

Louis realizes he is grateful he did not just drive past Harry. Well. He did, but he means he is glad he then decided to take him. He is feeling less lonely and Harry is cool.

"If it tastes bad I'd be really disappointed." Louis says teasingly.

"It won't, Hero. I'm the best at what I do." Harry says confidently and Louis kind of admires that.

He lets out a laugh and shakes his head at Harry. "So humble." Louis says.

"Just realistic." Harry replies. Louis chuckles and drives toward a sign which says that there's a mall nearby. They stay in silence until Louis parks and they go out of the car.

"Where'd you wanna go first?" Louis asks him and they go inside.

Harry looks around and points to a shop. "This one."