Aquarelle [h.s]

thirty

"Should we get something to eat? I don't have much at home" Harry suggested after a couple of minutes, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Uh, sure" I said, giving him a little nod, a bit unsure about what that would've actually entailed. I didn't really feel like eating out that night, but I knew we didn't have many options, considering it was already starting to get late. "Like what?"

He pursed his lips, seeming to be thinking about it for some seconds before speaking again. "Is any kind of fast food fine?"

"Sure" I replied, even though I knew it wasn't the healthiest option after having eaten pizza just that morning.

Harry nodded, not saying anything right away and driving in silence for some more minutes before stopping his car in front of a lit up building. "Here."

I turned my head to look at it, quickly recognising it as a fast food restaurant, one I didn't particularly liked or disliked, that was on his way home. "I'll go in" I decided quickly, feeling like I needed a little break from Harry's presence. It wasn't strong or overwhelming, but it was definitely present, in a way that made me tense up a bit and didn't let me ignore it. "What should I get?"

Harry put his elbow on the car window, pinching his lower lip with his fingers. "I'm not very hungry in the evenings" he then told me, and I gave him a small nod.

"So... how do chicken nuggets sound? With chips?" I asked him, quickly thinking of the lightest but still filling food that I could've expected to come out of that place.

"Good" he replied, turning around to get a hold of his coat, that was in the backseat of the car, probably to take his wallet, but I glared at him.

"Don't you dare" I told him before he could even touch the black fabric carelessly thrown there. "This time I'm paying." He'd paid for the pizza earlier that day, so it seemed just fair for me to pay for our dinner.

I didn't give him any time to reply to me before opening the door and getting out of the vehicle, making sure I had everything I needed in the pocket of my coat as I walked towards the entrance.

Thankfully it wasn't too full, so it didn't take too long to get to the front and order, and once I was done I paid and stepped to the side, resorting to waiting for a little while. I definitely wasn't complaining though, as it gave me some time to take a break from everyone and finally think about what had happened on that day with a clearer head that wasn't fogged up by Harry's intoxicating presence.

All of sudden my phone started ringing, and I scrambled to get it before anyone could understand it was coming from me.

"Oh hi, Louis" I said quietly as soon as I took the call, having read his name at the top of the screen.

"Hey, it's been a while since I last heard from you" he told me from the other side, something in the tone of his voice and the hour he'd called at telling me that he wasn't calling me just because he'd missed me.

"I know, I've been busy" I just replied, furrowing my eyebrows a bit but deciding to go with it anyway.

He hummed. "A weird thing happened today" he told me, and I knew that was it. "Nicholas came asking about you at the museum? Said you were nowhere to be found"

"Oh" I said, frowning. Why had he? That seemed like a weird thing to do. He knew I wasn't at work on that day, so why had he gone there?

"He said he hasn't talked to you in days."

I pursed my lips together, not really wanting to tell him about what had happened in that moment, but knowing that I had to. I could only hope he wouldn't have made a big deal out of it. "Oh, uh, we broke up?"