Night Shift (h.styles au)

chapter 2

(hey so this completed chapter was saved in my drafts... and I just decided to post it! It's from like 2015? 2016? Either way, it felt like such a waste to just leave it sitting there, so enjoy! I do not write like this anymore, so please be kind. I did a bit of editing but left it basically the same as when I wrote it like five years ago) 

"Wait," Harry remarks intelligently, "What."

His cheek is pressed against the tile floor, which— as he observes from the angle which he lays on his side and clutches his crotch —is rather dusty. Although he isn't exactly aware of it yet, he says "What?" a lot during the time that he works with Parker. Because that's just sort of who she is, a question that only she would know the answer to.

The mystery girl herself is laying flat underneath one of the mattresses, arms crossed and chin resting on top. Although most of her face is shadowed, a small slant of light hits her grinning mouth and reflects off a row of pristine teeth. She does not seem to feel to bad about crushing his testicles moments prior.

"Hurry up and get under here," Parker whispers, pausing to blow a wisp of hair out of her face. It just flutters right back into place. "A customer just walked in."

He doesn't move. "What're you doing?"

"Being an absolutely outstanding employee, okay? Just get under here."

Harry's sort of tall and lanky and a bit awkward. His movement is also limited in the tight jeans he's wearing (he thought they looked cool but mobility wise they're a bit lacking), so after a lot of flailing and wiggling he manages to snake himself under the bed with her just as footsteps enter the building. Sneakers squeak to a stop near the front entrance as the newcomer looks around the deserted rows of mattresses.

"Anyone here?" the customer calls.

Harry glances over at Parker with wide eyes, gesturing silently towards the person they're supposed to be helping. That was why he was hired (somehow, despite his lack of experience and the fact that during the interview, he almost knocked over the urn on his bosses desk that contained the man's beloved childhood dog. Harry set it calmly back down, called it a real hot dog, didn't receive any laughs, and looked forlornly down at his hands. That's when he noticed some of the ashes had spilled onto his hand. He had quickly wiped it on his pants) but he was hired to sell mattresses, not hide under them with a beautiful girl who just punched his balls so hard he worries they might of gotten stuck inside him.

Parker reaches up, and that's when he notices the snacks wedged into the wood paneling above them. Every mattress in the store is modeled on a cheap wooden bed frame, providing excellent hiding space underneath, and apparently, the perfect thing to stick snacks into. She pulls down a packet of Skittles as casually as you would please and rips them open.

"Shhh," she breathes, although he hasn't said anything, "Don't worry. People usually come in, and if they see no one, they just leave. I've packed snacks under here in case they take too long." She holds up a handful of the colorful candy. "Skittle?"

He accepts the food from her delicate fingers. They chew in silence and continue to wait. Their bare calves brush, and Harry takes note that she must've, like, moisturized her legs recently. He knows it's like, a weird observation, as though noticing that she clipped her nails, but he can't help it. They feel so soft, like a silk blanket, and he briefly admires the beauty of the female anatomy with all it's smooth fleshy skin and pretty hair and bursts of bright colors. He wants to platonically run a hand down her leg. If it was socially acceptable for him to start a Leg Touching Club and not get run out of town by girls looking to disembowel him and strangle him with his innards, he would so be the President of it.