My Life Is Worse Than Yours...

Chapter Two

The first hour of the drive was tedious. It consisted of Harry trying to carefully pick out the dark roads of Edinburgh with Louis sat in silence. They had talked for a few minutes as they left the campus grounds before the conversation naturally died down and to Harry's dismay, it hadn't picked up again. He had been confident he knew the way, but that belief was starting to waver as he passed the same pub for the third time. Louis tapped a rhythm occasionally against his thighs or kneecaps in time to whatever song was playing on the radio, which would prompt Harry to ask whether he was comfortable; Harry never asked as by the time he had opened his mouth, Louis had stopped fidgeting and returned to looking out the window. Harry's air conditioning did not work so he couldn't use that as a conversation piece, by asking Louis if he were hot or cold enough. He couldn't help think this was a mistake, driving seven or eight hours in the car with someone he didn't know; what could he talk about?

He took a wrong turn and swore quietly under his breath. Louis chuckled.

"What?" Harry asked, turning his head quickly to look at Louis who had sat more upright in his seat.

"Oh, nothing." Louis said as he glanced down at his hands, a hint of a smile stil prominent on his face.

"No, come on. What?" Harry pushed. Louis sighed and looked over at a disgruntled Harry.

"We have driven the same roads for ten minutes and you haven't asked me for directions." Louis said definitively, as if he had answered Harry's question.

"And?"

"You are either incredibly stubborn, or you do not know how to talk to people," Louis concluded quickly. "Or perhaps are too shy to know how to start a conversation?"

"Hold on," Harry began. "Do you know the way out of this maze?"

"Yes, I come this route most days on the bus. Make a right here."

Harry listened and Louis hummed happily.

"What now?" Harry said with a half smile, half scowl that broke across his face.

"So you're not stubborn, taking my instructions. We're left with awkward or shy."

"Hey-." Harry stuttered before Louis cut him off.

"There's nothing wrong with a little quiet, but I do suppose if we don't talk for eight hours, we might go a little mad. So - left here - which is it?"

Harry paused before he sighed deeply.

"I'm unsure on how to start a conversation. Eleanor spent a year trying to correct it, but clearly it hasn't worked. I don't know anything about you."

"Ask me something." Louis said, his voice sincere as he told Harry to take another left.

"Okay, what kind of music do you like? You rolled your eyes when David Bowie came on earlier, so I can assume you're not a fan of his."

"You'd be correct. I like Suffragette City, but he is not to my style, Styles." Louis laughed at his own joke before continuing. "I like Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody from a few years ago is a masterpiece. An Fleetwood Mac. Rumours is arguably the best album ever released."

"Bold statement." Harry grinned as he pulled up to a set of traffic lightsand flicked on his indicator as he was in the wrong lane again, to Louis' laughter.

"You disagree?" Louis pushed as Harry pulled away from the lights in the right lane.

"No, it is great, but Night at The Opera and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars are great too. Plus, it was only released this year, it must stand the test of time before we can have that argument."