keep driving

4. a small concern with how the engine sounds

song: overdrive by Conan Gray

The next morning, Harry wakes up by himself and not by Louis like yesterday.

Louis is in fact still peacefully asleep next to him, laying on his side with his back to Harry. There is a soft layer of sand grains on his shoulder blades and the soft morning breeze goes through his hair.

Harry forces his eyes away from him and quietly gets up, walking towards the water.

They both took off their shoes and tops yesterday, and the sand feels soft and warm between Harry's toes. The sun is just rising behind the dunes so Harry supposes it must still be really early.

He glances at Louis again, who turns around in his sleep.

Their backpacks are next to him along with the empty pizza boxes and water bottles.

Harry lets out a sigh, trying to crack his back. Sleeping on a beach repeatedly is not good for his shoulders.

Still, Harry feels somehow more content than he has in a really long time. His skin feels fresh and sun kissed, the smell of salt and beach is in the air and the absence of his phone doesn't make him as anxious as he thought it would.

The only thing that's bothering Harry right now is the sticky and dirty feeling of sweat and not having had a shower ever since the morning he left for the airport. So Harry checks once again if Louis is still asleep and then quickly gets rid of his trousers, leaving him in his boxers.

He slowly steps towards the water, the waves glistening with the first rays of sunshine. It's truly beautiful. When the first wave reaches his feet, Harry shivers subconsciously. It's not exactly cold, but definitely refreshing. He will feel a lot better in a few minutes.

Mind drifting off to whatever thoughts are running through it, Harry walks into the water, leaning down slightly to wet his hands and arms so that his torso gets used to the temperature.

He feels how the disgusting feeling leaves him as soon as he dives into the waves, letting the water surround him and pull him down. He knows his hair won't look any better when it's dried due to the salty water, but he doesn't really care right now. Harry resurfaces with a sigh, laying back and just letting the water carry him while he looks at the sky slowly waking up.

He could definitely get used to this, to jumping into the sea as soon as he wakes up. Sadly, that's nowhere near in the future. He's not really sure what he wants to do for a living, but he doubts it will be in Greece.

Either way, that's not something to think of right now, when Harry could just shut his brain off and enjoy the feeling of the waves surrounding his body. He swims for a bit, then decides it's enough and gets up again, walking towards the beach and going through his hair with one hand.

He doesn't have a towel and neither does Louis, but the air is heating up quickly so Harry opts for just sitting down on the wet sand by the water and letting the sun do the job.

When he reaches the beach, Louis is laying on his left side once more, only half on his backpack by now, his face almost completely in the sand. But that's not Harry's problem.

He sits down for a while, drawing silly things into the sand while his skin dries and warms up again. Harry only listens to the sound of the waves and the seagulls, feeling the breeze in his hair and the sun on his back, feeling completely content with how peaceful it is.

Eventually, Louis seems to wake up, because Harry hears some rustling behind him but his eyes are trained on the horizon. Eventually, he sees Louis' legs next to him in his peripheral and sighs, leaning back with his hands behind himself in the sand.