salt and sand || narry ||

Chapter 1: What are you into?

That night the boys decided to invite Niall with them to the local arcade, Zingers. Harry was dressed in a plain white tee and dark skinny jeans. They were pushing and shoving one another down the sidewalk along the cobblestone covered street that was the Main Street of the town. It housed the local ice cream shop, With a Twist!, owned by Harry's mother, the arcade, lots of local restaurants and bars, as well as boutiques and unique storefronts. Niall was leaning against the brick façade of Zingers waiting for his new friends. He smiled when he saw the gaggle of boys approaching. "Hey lads, your town is great! My family had dinner down at the Sea Biscuit? Food was insane!" he told them as he bumped fists with each of them.

Harry gazed at the blond boy with amusement, everything was so new to him and the kid never seemed to wipe that damn smile off his face. "Oh yeah, that's Liam's parents place! We eat and drink for free there, you'll have to come with us next time," he said, grinning easily at him as they pushed inside the dimly lit arcade with it's ugly black carpeting with neon shapes and lines found in almost any dingy 90s themed arcade. "Why does it always smell like piss and smoke in this place?" Louis grumbled as headed for air hockey, "Aye Liam, come get your arse kicked!" Liam sighed and followed the lad with Zayn trailing behind, "I've got winner!" Leaving Harry and Niall to their own devices.

"So...do you want to go watch them fight each other or how about we check out some different games? What are you into?" he paused momentarily, raising his eyebrows suggestively while watching the blond boy for a reaction. "Skee-ball? Pac-Man?" Harry asked, leaning against the coin machine and running his fingers through his hair. Niall grinned back, his cheeks tinged with pink, "I'd say I could easily do a few rounds...of Skee-Ball, that is." Harry's brow quirked at the blond as he slipped a few dollars into the machine to dispense some tokens.

Now, Harry had never been into labels. Were there people who whispered when he walked by in the halls about things he may or may not have done? Yes. He preferred to keep them guessing, it was none of their business. But if he was being honest? He had never been with a guy, not even a kiss. Had he thought about it? Sure. He was just a lover and whatever form that took was how it was.

Niall on the other hand was taken aback by the innuendo that Harry had just thrown at him. He'd never been hit on by a guy before. Or maybe he had taken it all wrong? Oh god, how embarrassing, that's probably exactly what happened. Why did it matter? He didn't even like guys! Did he? No, no. I don't know. Guys are good-looking, but like, oh just stop overthinking it...

Niall was brought back to reality when he realized Harry was trying to hand him some tokens for their game. "Be prepared to lose, Styles, because I get it in those corner 100s every...single...time..." he told him, his tongue wagging as he inserted the coin in the slot. The wooden balls rolled into the queue with a soft clack as they settled. He dipped his hand in and looked up at Harry who was watching with a smirk on his face, arms crossed, his green eyes goading him on. "Go on, show me how it's done. Don't talk a big game if you can't follow through..."

Niall winked at him as he pulled his arm back and rolled the first ball up the ramp and watched it deposit straight into the left 100. "Told ya, I'll get a perfect 900," he said with a shrug and grabbed the second ball as Harry inserted his own token the game neighboring Niall's. He studied the blond boy's stance and technique as he picked up his first ball. His eyes took in the lean muscle that flexed with each bend of the pale boy's arm. Harry shook his head to focus on the game, rolling his first ball up the ramp and watched drop into a measly 20-point ring. He tried to hide his face as he flushed with embarrassment, but Niall wasn't having it, his loud laugh ringing out, but not in a mocking or mean way. "Ah come on Styles, you can do better!" he encouraged him as he watched Harry pull his arm back for a second roll. This ball dropped into the 40-point ring and he threw his arms up in success. "Yes! That's more like it!" Harry shouted, but noticed Niall had already racked up 500 points. "Okay, dude, you gotta teach me your secret," he said, gaping at Niall's score in disbelief.

Niall nodded, "Alright, if you don't mind me getting all up in your business," he said, his cheeks filling with pink once again. He stepped behind on the taller boy and gripped his elbow gently. "Alright, then when you pull back, you need to flick your wrist in the direction of which corner you want it to go. You need to add a little spin to it, so as your releasing the ball, give a little push against the ball. You ready to try?" he said, gently gripping Harry's wrist and demonstrating the flicking motion. He could feel Harry's pulse under his fingers and was surprised to find it beating quicker than it should for a simple game of Skee-Ball. He watched the boy follow his instructions along with his guidance and the ball sank swiftly into the 100 slot on the right. Niall immediately let go of Harry and threw his hands in the air, "That's it, you got it!" he cheered, laughing and grinning at the tall and tanned lad. Harry watched in shock that the trick actually worked, "Niall, I did it! Holy shit, you fooking genius!" he cheered and wrapped the blond boy into a tight hug as they celebrated his success.

"OI! What's the party we're missing out on?" Louis's voice rings out from behind them and the two boys spring apart from one another. Niall was looking down at his feet to hide the blush that was surely on his cheeks. Harry pushed his hair back before rubbing his neck, "We, ah, Niall showed me a trick on how to always win Skee-Ball and it actually works!" he said, showing his score after only three balls. The rest of the boys then gathered around to watch and play or learn the trick themselves. Niall and Harry kept stealing glances at each other when they didn't think the other was watching.

The boys ended their night by swinging by Harry's mom's shop for some ice cream and they were sitting out on the patio, nudging each other when a cute girl walked by their table. "What if we meet someone we actually really like and they aren't a local? I know it didn't happen the past two summers, but I'm just saying... what if?" Liam mused aloud as he dipped his spoon back into the sundae in front of him. Louis shook his head, "Then you make it work! Eleanor and I are attending the same school and everything. Even if we weren't, we had a plan made," he told him, licking his cone absentmindedly. Zayn piped up, "That's different, Lou, you and Eleanor have been dating since you were 16 and she's a local, not the same scenario at all. I personally have no interest in getting into a relationship right before leaving for school. Not to sound like a prick at all, but no one here has gotten me to commit yet, so I'll just wait to see who I meet at Bournemouth," he said with a shrug before looking at Harry and Niall. Niall looked at Harry and then to the rest of the boys, "I did ask myself that when my parents told me we were spending our whole summer here. What if I fell in love with a local? Would I just wait until I came back again the next summer and do long distance until then? I'm off to school in the fall too, what if I meet someone at school? I don't man, love is hard..."

Harry just snorted, "You all are a bunch of saps. Like who you want. Fuck who you want. Don't take it so seriously. Just take it one day at a time and you'll figure it out as time passes, it's as simple as that," he said, holding Niall's gaze the whole time that he spoke. All the boys kind of murmured in agreement as Harry flicked the cherry off the top of his ice cream, he hated them and knew it had to be someone new who made his signature ice cream dish. "It all... just depends on what you're into and who you're into..."