Walk That Mile

Chapter 5: Day 9 & 10

DAY NINE

Santa Fe, New Mexico

For perhaps the first time, Louis wakes up first and without an alarm. He's cocooned in his covers as the air conditioner hums quietly in the corner.

Last night they'd come into the room quietly, taking showers and changing for bed separately before slipping into their beds and watching an old Friends rerun on the widescreen television. It is officially the first time Louis has ever made out with someone on top of a car and then slept five feet away from them without touching. He wanted to ask Harry if he'd ever done this but he didn't want to have to acknowledge it all out loud. Everything between them feels fragile and undefined; Louis doesn't want to be the one to break it or draw a dark line too soon.

Harry is still sleeping soundly in the bed next to him, his back to Louis. Louis watches the way his ribs rise and fall with his breath, the way his back shifts slightly when he moves in his sleep. Eventually, it gets creepy and Louis gets out bed to brush his teeth and use the toilet.

Harry is waking up when he comes back but only barely, one eye peeking open and following Louis across the room.

"Good morning," Louis says softly.

"Morning." Harry's voice is lazy from disuse and he clears his throat.

Louis feels Harry's gaze as he turns down the air conditioner and then gets back in bed pulling the sheets up to his shoulders. Harry rolls onto his side and looks at him quietly, blinking slowly.

"Stop being creepy," Louis says although he's just as guilty of it. Harry grins and rolls to his back, staring at the ceiling instead. "What are we doing today?"

Harry turns his head on the pillow and looks at Louis. "I never planned to be in Santa Fe," he says. "Last night I should have been in Pie Town."

"Pie Town," Louis parrots back. "Please tell me that's a real place."

Harry smiles, "It is. It's about four hours east of here."

Louis nods, "So we need to drive there today?"

Harry pushes his lips out and then goes back to staring at the ceiling. "No. The reason I was planning to go was to stay the Lightning Field there. You stay in a cabin and see the lightning up close."

Louis widens his eyes dramatically. "That sounds really cool."

Harry glances at him with a smirk. "I know."

"So let's do it tonight," Louis says. "We'll stay in Santa Fe for the day and drive over there this evening."

"Yeah?"

Louis laughs. "H, we can't just cancel the whole trip because someone messed it up." He coughs and looks away pointedly when Harry raises his eyebrows. "We do need to get to Los Angeles eventually. We might as well enjoy it."

Harry nods, his tongue drawing over his bottom lip. "I don't have a plan."

"A plan?"

"For Santa Fe," Harry clarifies. "There's nothing on the itinerary."

"Harry," Louis says seriously, "Haven't I shown you that the best laid plans are those that are not laid at all?"

Harry laughs so hard he snorts and Louis glares at him. "Sorry," he says, sniffling. "You're kind of ridiculous, you know."

"I'm aware," Louis says evenly, lips twitching. "Can I pick what we do in Santa Fe, then? If there's nothing else on the to-do list?"

Harry runs his teeth over his lip and shrugs. "I guess so."