I Love You But I Can't Breathe

Chapter Three

"Here is your shopping list," Louis smirked, his eyes dark and amused. "You have exactly ten minutes to purchase these items, and only these items, and make sure to tell the cashier you have a busy night planned. Got it?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so," Harry stammered as Louis slipped the scrap of paper into his hands and a twenty pound note. He took a deep breath.

It was initiation time.  

"And... go!" Liam shouted, starting the stopwatch on his phone.

Harry bolted out of the van, and headed straight into the drugstore, pushing through the front doors and quickly unfolding the list he was given.

Harry's Initiation Grocery List

-Lube (preferably the warming kind)

-Ultra-ribbed condoms

-thigh high stockings

-red lipstick

-extra large cucumber

-one of those gardening/home magazines for old people

Harry felt the blush rise to his cheeks after just the first item. Even when him and Louis needed... supplies, Harry always pleaded for Louis to go pick them up instead. Louis could literally toss a bulk container of condoms onto the counter with a pack of gum and some sweets and feel no shame at all. When they'd gone to the shop together, Harry had always awkwardly pretended to browse through the magazines, his cheeks flushing strawberry pink as he waited a few moments for Louis to leave the store before following, so people wouldn't know he was the one using those... things. Harry always assumed his bashfulness about sex would disappear once he started having it, but except for when he was alone with Louis, he still felt a blush rise to his cheeks when he had to acknowledge that he actually did those things.

"Fuck," Harry muttered under his breath, making a beeline for the women's aisle, knowing the thigh highs would be the hardest to find. He sifted through packets of pantyhose, struggling to tell the difference between them, until he found one pair with a picture on the front where the stockings stopped just above her knee. Harry forget to get a basket, so he hugged the tights to his chest as he moved over to the makeup aisle and picked out the gaudiest shade of red he could find in the discount section.

He grabbed the largest cucumber he could find, because as much as he was embarrassed, part of him still wanted to make Louis proud. He knew that this whole initiation deal was just Louis' way of having some fun with things, and that he'd be moving into the house regardless of the challenge, but he wanted to do this for Lou.

"Excuse me, sir- do you need any help?" an assistant asked him, smiling politely as Harry spun around trying to find the next item on the list.

"Um, no... no thanks," Harry stammered. "I just, I just need a few things."

"Okay, well let me know," the assistant said cheerfully.

Harry could feel the heat rising off his cheeks as soon as he stepped into the "Family Planning" section. Honestly, why did they call it that? No one using any of those products was planning for a family.

Harry felt his heart stutter as he eyed the rows full of condoms. "Louis... fuck," he murmured, quickly snatching up the first ribbed pack he could find, "I'm going to kill you." He took the bottle of warming lube, and struggled to add it to the growing stash of things in his arms.

Harry hid behind a mascara display for a solid thirty seconds before gathering up the courage to put his items on the cashier's counter.

"How are you today?" the man asked, scanning his items stoically.

"I'm, uh, you know, I'm good," Harry stammered.

"Did you find everything you were looking for?" the man asked.

Shit. He was scanning the cucumber. Harry didn't know how Louis had managed to compile the most embarrassing collection of items but watching them being scanned one by one, Harry knew he had to have the most devious boyfriend in the world.

"Uh, yeah," Harry nodded, letting his curls hang a little in front of his face. He looked out the front window of the shop and he could see Niall in the van practically pissing himself laughing as he watched Harry's items being scanned. "Wait, wait, just a second!" Harry said, and rushed back to grab a magazine with an elderly couple on the front of it. "It's gonna be a busy night," Harry croaked out weakly as the cashier finished ringing in his items.

 "That's nice," the cashier said noncommittally, pursing his lips to try and hide his judgement. "Did you need a bag for that?"

"No, I can carry it," Harry said, looking out the window and seeing Liam holding up his phone and pointing to it urgently.

"Okay, that'll be 14.80 please."

Harry handed over the 20 pound note, grabbing his change without making eye contact.

"Have a nice night."

"You too," Harry said, and hurried out the door to the car. He slipped into the backseat and let his items tumble onto the middle seat and onto Louis' lap.

Louis was holding Liam's phone, and had a serious expression on his face.

"Time?" Niall asked.

Louis took a dramatic pause before reading the time off Liam's stopwatch app. "Nine minutes and twelve seconds," Louis said, flicking his fringe away from his face. "Looks like we can keep this one, lads."

Liam clapped while Niall did a drumroll against the dashboard.

Louis rolled down the window and called out "Oi oi! We've got a new lad in the house!"

Harry- never one for attention- giggled and covered his face with his hands. "Shh, Lou, you're gonna wake up this whole neighborhood."

Louis just shrugged, and flipped open the Senior Living magazine.

"I don't have to, like, wear this stuff- do I?" Harry asked quietly, glancing down at the red lipstick and the pantyhose.

Louis raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't part of the itinerary, but I could make an exception if that's what you're into."

"No, no, no!" Harry giggled, "that's not what I- Louis."

He looked over and Louis had opened the tube of red lipstick and was applying it generously to his already pink lips. "Do I look pretty?" he asked, making a pouty face as Niall and Liam heaved with laughter in the front seat.

Harry was still laughing, but even though he knew Louis wasn't actually into this stuff- was just messing around like usual- he looked heartbreakingly good. He swept his fringe out of his eyes and leaned over to plant a wet kiss on the pudgy part of Harry's cheek as Harry shrieked and giggled.

Louis eyed his lipstick mark with a devious sense of pride. "Come on, getaway driver," he called out to Liam. "We have places to be."

Liam smiled as he pulled out of the parking lot, and Harry buckled himself in before reaching out to hold onto Louis' hand.

Louis ran his thumb gently across Harry's palm as Liam drove, carefully navigating the country roads. As much as Louis was loud and wildly unpredictable, always calling attention to things when Harry preferred to hang back, he never felt safer than when he was with him.

"You feeling alright today, babe?" Louis asked softly, so the other boys couldn't hear, nuzzling a little against Harry's cheek.

Harry nodded, and Louis continued to talk, gentle little sweet nothings and soft anecdotes about the week he'd had at work, and soon Harry had drifted off to sleep, curved up against the warmth between Louis' neck and shoulder, sleeping peacefully until they arrived at their last stop of the trip.

Author's Note: Hi everyone, hope you're enjoying the story so far :) I won't usually be posting this many times a week but I'd really like to get the story going (also I needed a distraction from all the Freddie chaos this morning, so many emotions)! Thanks for your votes and comments, it's much appreciated <3