Riddles (a one direction fanfiction)

A/N welp. don't worry, this fic is just to try out an idea. I'll still be doing renegade. this one is written a lot lot lot differently than renegade. the name's going to be changed soon, to The Regulars, but until I make a new cover it's going to stay as it is. whatever, enjoy!

Tap, tap, tap.

My fingernails drum on the table in an effort to stay awake. I can’t fall asleep now, even if it is my break. I lift my eyes to the clock on the wall, taking minutes. Two minutes left. Boss wouldn’t care if I just took a little nap, would he? No, of course not. It was Tuesday. Tuesdays were always slow days. My head drops into my arms, my cheek pressing against the cold tabletop, and my eyelids drift closed.

“HARRIS!”

I jolt awake, my eyes snapping open and my arms flying into the air. “I’m awake!”

But I don’t see the disapproving smirk of my pudgy boss-only a lanky, idiotic eighteen year old, laughing maniacally. I shoot daggers at him, leaning forward to punch him in the stomach. He doesn’t notice. He’s too busy laughing his ass off.

“Harry Styles, you douche!” I shout at him, earning a judgmental glance from one of the customers. Excuse me-the one customer.

“Oh c’mon, Harper. You had to admit that was good,” he chuckles, and I roll my eyes.

“You were all like, aaah! I’m awake! I’m awake!” he mocks in a high-pitched voice, flailing his arms in a highly exaggerated fashion.

“I sound nothing like that!” I protest, “and besides, I had a reason. Your boyfriend kept me up all night forcing me to look at dresses for your mom’s wedding.”

Harry’s pale cheeks stain pink. “He’s…he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”

I jab his arm with my pointer finger and smile. “For now.”

I almost see teeth behind his lips this time. Mentioning Louis always makes him happy.

“Styles! Harris! Break’s over!” Boss shouts from behind the cash register. Boss’ real name is Peter, but we call him Boss, due to our being underpaid coffee shop slaves.

I cover my groan behind my hand and snatch my apron off of the hook by the employee-only door. I march absent-mindedly to my spot behind the counter, resting my elbow on the counter and my chin in my hand. Inviting.

I glance at Harry, who’s idly cleaning coffee mugs. He meets my eyes and smiles at me reassuringly with only one side of his mouth. He dreads this job almost as much as I do.

I hear the all-familiar bells on the door ring, and I know who it is before I even look. That was one of the few aspects of the job I actually liked-the regulars. This boy was one of my particular favorites.

Niall-a short, Irish, pixie-like blonde. He comes to Joe’s coffee shop every other Tuesday at exactly 3:00, placing the same order every time, which was addressed as ‘the usual.’

Today he had a little bit of a skip to his step, like he was trying to keep a rhythm. He grins at me with his crooked smile. “Hi Harper. The weather’s really nice today, isn’t it? Usual, please.”

His childlike gleefulness is infectious, and I can’t help but smile back at him. “You’re in a good mood today.”

He shrugs. God, he’s cute. “I just had a lot of fun with Lily last night.”

My eyes widen. Lily. His girlfriend. Fun. Last night.

He stares at me blankly for a second, then his face breaks out in red splotches, spreading all the way to his ears. He covers his face with his hands, embarrassed. “No! Oh God, no! I didn’t mean it like that!”