You Looked Lost (Narry Lifeguard AU)

Chapter 9

I walked beside him to the break room, telling him about my day yesterday, trying to cheer him up a bit.  His mood had visibly brightened by the time we’d gotten there, and I gave myself a mental pat on the back.

A lot of people were already there, sitting at tables, so Harry and I joined Jesse where he was sitting with Craig.  Brian and Natalie joined us, and then John showed up to give the announcements for the week.

“Alright, everyone!  Week two at Waterworld is underway!” everyone cheered in response, and then he made us quiet down again. “So, there’s not too much going on this week, but we are showing ‘Finding Nemo’ Thursday night.  All staff working that night are listed on the schedule, so you can check after this.  Last week was a great opening week, so I’m really proud of everyone.  We have a new staff member today, so everyone be nice and make him feel welcome.  Alright, off you go.”

John motioned with his hands for us to start sweeping out.  Harry and I decided to check the schedule before we left, and both of us were working Thursday night.  My day off this week was wednesday.

We started our rotations, and my first station was the slide.  Brian was behind me most of the day, so I saw him a lot when he came to replace me, but I rarely saw Harry.  It gave me kind of a weird feeling, not hanging out with him as much.  I felt stupid, but I missed him.  It wasn’t like he was gone, it was just different not seeing him as much.

Brian and I both had our break at the same time, so we headed to the break room, him telling me some story about how many times he’d had to use his whistle for the same kid in the span of like ten minutes.  We walked in and the air conditioning greeted me, making me sigh in relief.  It was really hot today, and I knew I needed to definitely apply more sunscreen to prevent another burn.  I could tell I was getting tanner, but I was still pretty pale.

I spotted Jesse and Harry at a table, but Harry was getting up to leave it looked like.  Brian and I reached their table, as Harry had just stood up.  We greeted them and he turned around at the sound of my voice.

“Niall,” Harry breathed out heavily, and suddenly he was hugging me.

I was surprised, but in a good way.  I hugged him back, and tried to slow down my heartbeat, so that he wouldn’t look at me weird.  One of Harry’s curls sticking out from underneath his hat was tickling my ear.

“You’re warm,” Harry mumbled into my neck.

I gave a small laugh and nodded into his shoulder.

“I did just come from outside,” I smirked.  “It’s quite hot if you hadn’t noticed.”

“But you’re always warm,” Harry mumbled again, and I suppressed a shiver.

His hands were cool against my back and his breath light against my skin.  He pulled away, and I let him, even if maybe I hadn’t wanted to.  He smiled and he looked like the Harry I knew again.

“See ya later,” He winked at me and I rolled my eyes, letting my hands slide off of him and sitting down next to Brian.

“Bye, Harry,” I said, giving him a little wave as he turned around to walk back outside.

I shook my head fondly, and turned my attention to Brian and Jesse, who were already in the middle of a conversation.

By the end of the day, I swore my skin had to be at least three shades darker.  The sun had definitely been at its peak.  My energy was drained, and I was excited to just go home and sleep.

“See you tomorrow, Niall,” Brian said, waving as he climbed into his car.

I waved back and fished my keys out of my pocket.  I was about to unlock my car, when someone ran up next to me, breathing hard.  Harry leaned against my car and caught his breath, while I just watched, a slightly amused expression on my face.

“You okay?” I asked him, smirking.

He nodded and lifted his snapback, running a hand through his hair before replacing it on his head.  I watched the action closely, waiting for him to speak.

“I wanted to catch you before you left,” Harry said breathlessly.  “Damn, that was my exercise for the year.”

I laughed lightly, even though what I really wanted to say was that he didn’t need to exercise.  He was already fit.

“Was that what you wanted to tell me?” I said jokingly, but Harry just glared at me lightheartedly.

“No.  I wanted to tell you that I was...I’m sorry about not texting you or anything yesterday.  I wanted to, but something came up and it just...it didn’t slip my mind, but I just didn’t have time-” I interrupted him.

“Harry, you don’t have to check in with me every day,” I said, giving him a curious look.  “I’m your friend.  I’m here when you need me.”

“But I’ll always need you,” Harry looked panicked, like he hadn’t meant to say that.

It made the warm feeling return to my stomach.

“Then, I’ll always be here,” I answered sincerely, giving him a look that said I was being serious.  “You don’t have to be sorry.”

“Well, I’m sorry anyway,” Harry insisted, “because I went a whole day without talking to you and it sucked.”

Harry was still breathing hard, but he was looking at the ground now.  It struck me how sad he sounded and I wanted to hug him again, but I figured he’d only be embarrassed.

“Well, then we can’t let it happen again, can we?” I asked him, the smile in my voice causing Harry to look up at me.

His expression turned grateful and he shook his head in response.

“Never,” he smiled, his dimples appearing but his teeth still hidden.

I nodded my head.

“Then that’s settled.  I’ll see you tomorrow, Harry,” I said, unlocking the car now.

“See ya,” he said, stepping away from the car as I climbed in, the door making it’s usual screech.

He gave me one last wave, before turning on his heel and walking towards his car.  I watched his walk for a while, before turning the ignition and heading home.

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That gif of Narry on the side just proves how much Harry likes to hug Niall, aww