Get The Guy (N.H.)

Chapter 3

"Whoa! What happened here?!" The curly headed clerk steps through the mess with a disgusted look on his face. I glance between him and Niall anxiously. Niall's phone is still in my hand, and I can hear the automated voice mail speaking even though I'd moved it away from my ear. Niall's eyes are locked on me, suspicion written all over his precious face. Then, to top it all off, my phone is still blaring Spice Girls from my purse. 

The new arrival is now standing just to the side of me; his face flushed with anger. He waits impatiently for the obnoxious ring tone to subside. I contemplate pulling it out and stopping it myself, but my bones seem locked in place. The second it does stop though, our visitor bursts. 

"Why are you just standing here with this huge mess behind you? Don't you see all these costumers you're driving away?" He says it in a furious undertone, which is somehow more intimidating than I could imagine him screaming would be. 

Niall looks away from me hesitantly to respond to his coworker. "Actually, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen any costumers besides this one in a while. Is there anyone else in here?" The curly one ignores his snarky comment and turns on me. I'm able to spot a name-tag now. It reads "Harry Styles (Assistant Manager)". 

I meet his cold, narrowed emerald eyes. "I suppose you did this?" His arm motions toward the wasted sauce. I nod microscopically, my entire body frozen. "What were you doing? Dilly dallying, and farting around?" All I have in me to respond with is a terrified squeak. "I hope you understand that this is a grocery store, not a playground. I'm going to have to charge you for this... this DISASTER, and send you on your way." 

"Oh come on, Harold," Niall says, placing his hand on Assistant Manager Styles' shoulder. "We never make our costumers pay when they break something. It was an accident. Watch the tapes if you don't believe me." Oh great. The most embarrassing moment of my life is all on video. Fantastic. 

Harry jerks away from Niall and shoots him a deathly glare. "You leave to, Horan. And quick before I decide to fire you." Niall stares at him disbelievingly before muttering out an angry, "Fine," and grabbing my hand to pull me with him. 

I start to say something, to apologize to Harry, or even to remind Niall of my sentence to pay, but I am distracted by the feeling of Niall's skin on mine. He leads me all the way out of the store and to his car. We pause to stand beside it. 

"Shouldn't I go pay?" Is the first thing I can think to say. 

He completely ignores my question, and looks at me accusingly. "Why did you call your own phone that's supposedly dead?" I had forgotten all about that now. My fingers are still wrapped tightly around his phone. 

"Well, I did it unconsciously, really. It was just the first number that popped in my head," I lie  quickly. 

"And the dead phone?"

"I thought it was." 

He stares at me for a seemingly long time, guarding my expression. I tried to keep a straight face, but I could feel the heat rising up my neck in embarrassment. Gladly, he seems convinced.

 His palm is held out face up in front of me. I alternate glances between it and his face, confused. "My phone," he sighs eventually. 

"Oh!" I drop his phone in his hand immediately, but he doesn't catch it in time. The shiny device hits the tips of his fingers before smacking into the asphalt with an unmistakable shatter. 

We both freeze, looking at the small rectangle with fear and astonishment. "Holy shit, how many things can you break in one day?" Niall asks incredulously. I can hear the irritation in his voice. I can tell that he is looking at me, but I can't bring myself to return the exchange. 

"Maybe it's not broken," I say, my voice cracking. His anger made tears well in my eyes. I've ruined too much for this boy in one day. My hands are trembling with nervous regret.

"Like hell it's not broken!" He says a bit louder. I wince internally, bringing a hand to my cheek to discreetly wipe away the salty liquid. My hair shields my face, and I continue to stare at the phone. 

"I'll check," I manage to say calmly. I don't give him time to respond. I just squat down and grab it. Sure enough, little beads of glass litters the spot it was lying. The sight makes me quiver. I don't turn around his phone when I stand, but I do look up at him for the first time. 

He's looking at me with a mix of anger and annoyance. "Sorry," I say, handing him his phone. I don't have the courage to flip it over myself. He snatches out of my weak grip and immediately stuffs it into his pocket. "You're not going to look at it?"

Again, he ignores my question. "Why are you crying? My phone is broken, not yours." 

I suddenly get a seemingly brilliant plan. I get my own phone out of my pocket and hold over and behind my head. "I'll make it even," I offer enthusiastically. His eyes widen as I sling my phone full force across the mostly empty parking lot. I hear the cringy shatter when it hits the hard ground. Then, it's skidding to a stop. 

"What the fuck!" Niall shouts. He has his hands on his head and he staring in astonishment at the newly ruined phone. "Are you crazy?!"

"No, I was making it even." I'm a little confused by his response. He's staring at me with noticeable concern. "Here, I'll go get it. It's probably worse than yours," I said in an almost bragging tone. 

I leave him standing by his car as I dash to retrieve my now useless mobile device. It's lying face up, completely undamaged. When I pick it up, I see that the back is completely mauled, but it clicks on and works normally. Of course, it's the one time I actually want to destroy my phone.

I spin around to share the disappointing results only to find that Niall's small black SUV is gone.