a mirror in the sun ☼ l.s.

fifteen - you and me

Harry was quiet in the passenger seat as Louis drove them to the diner -- the same diner where, not even a day before, the moon itself had spiralled out of orbit. In the same half hour period of time, Harry had crashed his best friend's date with an omega and then kissed said best friend.

The thought of the kiss made Harry's heart skip a beat. The thought of what his father would say made his stomach churn.

"H? You ready?"

He startled when Louis poked his cheek lightly, thudding back down to Earth. Ruthlessly, gravity dragged him back down to a planet where alphas loved omegas and betas loved betas. Harry had never wished so badly that he could fly.

"I'm, uh -- I'm actually not that hungry," he deflected quickly. He ran his hands up and down his thighs, glancing into the restaurant and then back at Louis. "Do you want to just run in and grab something for yourself?"

"Are you sure? We missed lunch."

"I'm sure." He curled into his seat, somehow managing to look withdrawn and comfortable at the same time. "I'll just wait for you here."

Louis turned toward Harry as much as he could from the driver's seat. "Hey. What's wrong? I thought we were working on things."

"We are! Of course we are, I-I just . . ."

"You just what?"

"I just don't really want to, um . . ." He dropped his gaze to his lap, playing with his fingers for a distraction. "I don't want to go in," he confessed quietly.

"What? Why?"

Harry tucked his bottom lip between his teeth, chewing anxiously. The diner they frequented was a popular spot among their classmates, and after finally feeling so safe -- so himself -- with Louis again, he wasn't sure he could bear putting his walls back up and his mask back on.

He could feel Louis watching him, waiting for an answer. "After everything with Colson today, I just don't really feel like running into people from school," he explained finally. The explanation fell somewhere between the truth and a lie, just vague enough that Harry didn't feel too guilty.

"So you are hungry."

"What?"

Louis didn't even bat an eye. "You're hungry," he repeated. "You just don't want to interact with anyone."

"Um. I guess so, yeah. It doesn't matter, though, I don't need to eat now. I can wait."

"No, you're eating now. I'll run in and grab something for both of us. We can take it somewhere else and eat -- somewhere we can be alone. Is that okay?"

Harry blinked once, then again, fishing for the right response. "You don't have to do that. I mean, I can do it. Really, I-I can just alpha up and --"

"Stop talking. Do you want to go in?"

After studying Louis for a fleeting second, Harry shook his head.

"Got it. That's fine. Do you want something to eat?"

He nodded slowly, like he wasn't sure if he should respond honestly or not. Louis didn't seem at all phased by his answer. He reached across the car to poke Harry's cheek again, but his fingers stayed this time, stroking Harry's smooth skin with the rough pad of his thumb.

"Then I'm going in to get food for both of us," Louis repeated. "I'll grab you a cheeseburger and fries. You like pickles, tomatoes, onions, and mustard, right? Do you want a cherry soda, too?"

"Yeah, sure," Harry said, a bit overwhelmed. "Sounds perfect."

"Alright. Be right back."

"Wait, wait! Let me give you money to pay."