next to you ❀ l.s.

thirty two - road trip

"Toothbrush?"

"Check."

"Phone charger?"

"Check."

"Sweaters?"

"I've got, like, five, because you're going to steal mine even though you packed your own."

"Smart lad," Harry replied with a laugh, smiling even as he fought back the instinctive urge to apologize. "And all of our gifts definitely made it into the car, right?"

"I triple checked," Louis promised. He checked the time on his phone, then ushered Harry into the passenger seat, calling out before he closed the door, "If we don't leave now, it'll be the new year before we get there."

Harry rolled his eyes, but he buckled his seatbelt as he watched Louis hurry around the car and climb into the seat beside him. It was early afternoon and the sun was shining, but the December cold still made itself known, chilling the cheap plastic of the door handles and crackling over the windshield. The finicky engine on Louis's ancient car sputtered to life, and they were off.

As Louis merged onto the interstate, Harry asked, "How long is the drive again?"

"If we can just drive six hours today, then spend the night in the middle of nowhere, we'll be there by lunchtime tomorrow."

"Lovely."

The drive was somewhat scenic, at least. The flatlands gradually rounded out into rolling hills, then into impressive mountains that sent the interstate twisting and curving through boulders. Disappointingly, there wasn't any snow, but the browned grass and shivering leaves made the cold visible even from inside the warm car.

Louis stayed relatively quiet as he drove, humming under his breath and tapping the steering wheel along to the radio. Harry, on the other hand, was deep in thought; as much as he tried to hide it from Louis, a family Christmas sounded about like a horror movie. Especially based on how Thanksgiving had gone, he was quaking at the mere thought of sitting down for dinner.

But Louis's family was different, and he knew it. He shifted in his seat, angling his body toward Louis rather than out the window. "Tell me about your family again," he requested shyly.

"I've got three sisters, but the older two won't be home," Louis explained, speaking as smoothly as if reciting a verse he had heard in church for years and years on end. "One is two years older than me and the other is a year younger, so they're off living their lives and couldn't get back. My youngest sister is only five, because my mum got remarried --"

Harry stiffened, frowning. "Wait, wait. Your mum got remarried?"

Louis hummed in confirmation, a peaceful expression still gracing his facial features. It amazed Harry how Louis immediately relaxed when he thought about his family. They served as a sort of comforting force in his life -- a sense of stability that Harry had never had.

"But my step dad isn't in town. He's spending the holidays with his parents because they weren't able to travel, but Mum wanted to stay home for me and my younger sister. She's only five, you know, so travelling with her is still a hassle."

Harry hummed his understanding, hoping that Louis wouldn't pick up on his uncertainty. His mum had never been married to his dad in the first place, but she had cycled through a lot of boyfriends growing up. Harry curled into himself at the thought, tucking his knees up to his chest.

"Oh, I love this song," Louis announced suddenly, twisting the dial to turn the volume up.

Harry let the music surround him, and he let himself roll his eyes at Louis's awful driving dance moves. And without another word exchanged between them, he let Louis's laugh convince him that everything would be okay.