Wedding Bell Rush - A.U. (H.S., Z.S.)

Chapter 6: Pit Stop

I watched the scenery outside change from city to rural areas. The buildings became more separated and the outlet malls became more apparent. The luscious trees turned into flat farmlands and confederate flags hung from houses every time we drove through a small town. The car was silent because Harry never put anything on the radio. I just had to listen to Zach's snores, Harry clearing his throat, and the engine running. I was nervous to ask him to put on some music because I didn't know if that was something he liked. I was surprised at how comfortable I felt being an absolute idiot in front of him and then later ask him to be a part of something so life-changing. I thought it was because something was special about him, but now that my stomach is churning, I realized it was just my adrenaline.

My stomach growled, and I remembered I hadn't eaten all day. I looked at the time and saw that it was 2:30 P.M., which was about four hours into our drive. I tried to silence my stomach, embarrassed at how loud it was. I curled up and tried to muffle my growls, but my stomach seemed to want to yell from the rooftop.

"There's a McDonald's coming up in a few miles, I think I want to stop there," Harry said, politely trying to acknowledge my hunger.

"Uh, McDonald's sounds good. Only if you're hungry; I could wait," I said something for the first time in hours.

"Don't be silly," Harry said, shaking his head.

"McDonald's?" Zach said, waking up and stretching. "I could go for some McDonald's," he said in a sleepy voice and immediately yawning right after.

Harry and I both chuckled. "Look love, our boy finally woke up," Harry joked, looking at Zach in the rear-view mirror.

I smiled, loving how much teasing Zach was receiving.

Zach kicked the back of Harry's seat. "Shut up, dad!" he said in his famous baby voice.

We laughed it off while realizing how awkward that interaction was.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the McDonald's. It was located right next to a gas station in a small town. No cars were parked, but we could see through the window that there were a few people in the restaurant.

Harry parked the car and we all got out, stretching simultaneously. We walked in altogether after Harry locked the car, and my stomach reacted to the smell of fried, greasy food with even more growls.

"Is that all you can say?" I angrily whispered to my stomach.

"What was that?" Harry looked at me as we lined up.

I blushed. "Nothing!"

"She was talking to her stomach," Zach interjected, leaning in between Harry and mine's shoulders.

I gave Zach an angry look. He was smiling, enjoying how embarrassed I was. I gave him a small slap on his chest. "You love this, don't you?"

He shrugged, sticking his hands in his front pants pockets. "Maybe."

We got to the front of the line and placed our orders. Zach got a Big Mac with extra cheese, two orders of fries, and a water. Harry ordered a cheeseburger and a coffee, and I ordered two orders of chicken nuggets, one order of fries, and a soft drink. We found a booth and sat in the order we sat in the car. I was against the wall and Harry was sitting to the right of me while Zach was across from us.

Zach and I were chatting about his sleep and Tahoe while Harry was scrolling on his phone. When the order was called, Harry immediately stood up.

When Harry left to get the order, Zach looked directly into my eyes. "What's the deal with you guys?" He nervously stuck his hands under his thighs.

I shrugged. "I don't know him. He was just there at the right time." I started blushing thinking about how Harry and I looked leaving the hotel together.

Harry sat with our trays. He had to make two trips for the three orders. The restaurant didn't have a self-serve soda dispenser, so our drinks came full.

"We'll pay you back when we get back to Juniper," Zach told Harry.

Harry shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry about it."

"No, I'm serious!" Zach whined.

"Don't worry about it, man. We're all good. If this means helping you guys out, I'm happy to do it."

My heart fluttered at how nice Harry was being, even though the order wasn't even 30 dollars. I never saw how generous and nice he was being the entire trip. He listened to me in the beginning, and he never once questioned anything. He knew how serious the situation was to me and, even if he barely knew me, wanted to help. I couldn't question any ulterior motives from him because I found nothing about this trip that could benefit him.

We ate our food while chatting about small talk. I found out that Harry moved to California when he was 18 to go to college for business. He's the same age as Lila and Hunter, which immediately made me feel like a child compared to him. He's currently working for this company that does stuff that I don't really remember because of how complicated he made it sound. Basically, he does public relations and marketing for them. He was roommates with Hunter and Hunter even found Harry his first house. They weren't as close as they were in college, but they kept up with each often. Their relationship almost reminded me of my relationship with Lila. It was evident that Zach didn't know that much about Harry because of how surprised he was with some of Harry's answers to our questions.

We cleaned our table and walked back to the car. Harry got in the front seat and rubbed his eyes.

"Are you tired?" I asked him as we all buckled up.

He shrugged. "I didn't sleep much last night, but I can manage."

Harry reached to turn the key, but I grabbed his wrist. "Let us drive. What if you fall asleep at the wheel!" He gave a burning look at my hand, and I immediately took my hand off.

He didn't move for a few seconds and dropped his hand from the key. "Fine." He took out the keys and threw it behind him, landing it on Zach's lap. "He's driving though," he said, getting out of the car.

Feeling offended, I scoffed. "Why does he drive? I can drive!" I yelled as he pulled a shocked Zach from the backseat out of the car.

Zach scurried to the front seat and started the car, buckling himself up. Harry lied down on the back seats, throwing his arm in front of his eyes.

"You didn't sleep during the car ride. How would I know you're not as tired?" Harry mumbled.

I repeated what he said, mocking him. "You said you could manage, but look at you now."

He gave a small smile. "I lie sometimes."

I completely forgot about Zach and turned to him. "You ok?" He was adjusting the seat and mirrors.

"Yeah but, I should have pissed before," he said, smiling.