Harry

Three hours have gone by since Felicity and I left Austin, and it has most certainly been a painfully boring three hours. We're still in fucking Texas, and if I look at our location on a map it would look like we've barely driven anywhere. I can't find a radio station that doesn't grow static-y after thirty seconds, Felicity has been asleep for two of the three hours, and my phone battery is running low. I think my car charger is somewhere in the back and I haven't had the chance to ask Felicity to grab it ... mostly because I didn't want to disturb her as she slept. I'm just glad that my battery has lasted this long with navigation going.

For the first hour that she was awake, we tried to pass the time by playing some road trip games. We did everything from 21 questions to a couple of alphabet games to I Spy. I lost every game, but I swear it was because Felicity cheated or something. No one is that good at road trip games ... it's just absurd. She called me a sore loser, but I think deep down she knows she cheated. I just don't understand how I didn't win a single round.

Felicity fell asleep after an hour of driving and she's been out ever since. She's peacefully snoozing with her head against the window and a water bottle cradled in her arms. It's kind of endearing. Every once in a while she will lightly snore but the sound barely makes it over the noise of the radio. I'm amazed she's been able to sleep for this long, especially in the car. I can never comfortably sleep in a vehicle for more than thirty minutes. It's kind of impressive. 

I don't think we decided on where we are going to stop for the night. We definitely aren't going to make this entire drive in one go. That is just too much driving. It's a nineteen hour trip ... there's no way we would drive straight through. I suppose we can just stop in a city whenever we get tired and call it a night. Hopefully we drive through a major city so we don't have to stop in the middle of nowhere in a dingy motel off the highway. I understand that's probably our cheapest option, but I'd rather pay more for a nice hotel that doesn't have the same bedding from 1957. 

After a few more painfully irritating moments of listening to static-filled radio stations, I decide to turn it off and just play music from my phone. If my phone dies ... whatever. I'll figure out where I'm going later. It's not like we've really been following a schedule here. 

As I reach over to grab my phone, I tap the home button and smile as the screen lights up. I've set my wallpaper to a photo of Felicity and me from Citygarden in St. Louis. All the Christmas lights were lit up behind us. It was actually the photo I sent to both Lou and Niall as a means of saying hello and reassuring them that we are still alive. I've grown attached to the picture. I don't know why ... there's just something about it that I really like. Maybe it's the way we look so comfortable with each other or the way all the Christmas lights shine behind us. Maybe it's the way our smiles are so genuine and happy. Whatever the reason, I've set it as my wallpaper and I quite enjoy seeing it every time I turn on my phone.

"Is that us?"

I'm startled by the sound of Felicity's voice suddenly filling the small space of my car that I drop my phone to the floor. She watches me curiously before rubbing her eyes awake and sitting up straight in her seat. 

"I thought you were asleep," I respond as I take a deep breath in the hopes of calming my heart rate.

"I was. I just woke up," she shrugs her shoulders and leans down to pick up my phone by her foot. As she presses the home button to light up the screen, she stares down at the picture in front of her. "Why didn't you send this to me? I like it."

"I don't have your phone number."

"You know, you could have asked me for it."

"Well yeah, but trust me there is a lot going on in my head ... getting your number was the least of my worries."

Felicity tilts her head in curiosity, like she wants me to elaborate on what exactly has been going through my mind lately. But thankfully before she can blatantly ask me about it and put me on the spot, her phone begins to ring. I swear that thing knows exactly when to start going off. It's rung several times when she was asleep, but each time I saw her boyfriend's name on the screen, I silenced the ringer so it wouldn't wake her up. He calls too damn much; he's called once every twenty minutes.

As I brace myself for another irritating conversation between Felicity and her boyfriend, I'm caught by surprise when the look on her face immediately changes as she reads the caller I.D. There's a smile that graces her lips ... a smile I know is not from seeing her boyfriend's name. 

"Hi, Dad. Is everything okay?" Felicity's voice is light and happy, making me smile in return. Considering the fact that she was satisfied with the conversation she had with her father yesterday, I'm glad it's someone she will enjoy talking with. "Yeah we left Andy's place a while ago ... No, I'm not. Harry is driving ... Oh, um. Sure."

She looks over at me and nervously smiles before lowering her phone and setting it on speaker. For a moment I feel my stomach drop. Is her dad going to lecture me or something? Is he going to scold me for not getting Felicity to California when she planned? Why is she so nervous to put him on speaker phone? What's happening right now?

"Okay, Dad. There you go," Felicity speaks up as she shrugs her shoulders, looking directly at me the entire time.

"Alright, cool. Hello, Harry," her dad's voice comes from the phone. He doesn't have much of a deep voice ... it's a bit raspy like he's got a frog in his throat. Not that I'm picturing what her dad looks like, but  ... by the sound of him, I don't think I'd find him to be intimidating. 

I cough a little before scratching the back of my head. "Hey, uh, Mr. Olesen."

"No need for the formality, Harry. I'd rather you not call me mister. It makes me feel like an old man," her dad scoffs before I think I hear him chuckle. "Call me Jack."

"Okay, Mr.- erm ... Jack," I clear my throat and wrinkle my nose as the words come out of my mouth. Felicity simply sits back in her seat and laughs. "Are you sure Jack is okay? It's so informal and I don't want to be rude or anything by not calling you-"

"Nonsense!" Her dad cuts me off from rambling and I feel my heart stop beating for just a moment. "I don't see it as rude. Jack sounds better than Mr. Olesen, am I right?"

"Sure," Felicity chimes in and quickly changes the subject. She looks out the window as she continues to hold the phone between us. "Anyway, Dad, what did you call for?"

"I just wanted to say hi to the both of you. Is that such a crime? I assumed you two would be on the road right about now, and I wanted to see how the drive is going."

"I've been asleep for most of it."

"It's not too bad. There's no traffic ... it's just a boring drive," I answer, seeing as I'm the only one of us two that could actually reply. 

"Well I suppose that is good to hear," he coughs before there's a loud thud on his end of the line, like he just dropped his phone or something. Felicity and I glance at each other in slight confusion before her dad's voice fills the air of my small car once again. "Sorry about that ... anyway! Where are you two headed next?"

There's a brief moment of an almost awkward silence between Felicity and I. Do we really tell her dad we're going to Vegas? I mean, the first thing that I would assume to come to a parent's mind when their child tells them they're going to Vegas is debauchery. They'll think of all the alcohol and partying and drugs and sexual escapades that are always depicted in movies. They'll think of people drunkenly getting married or getting mixed up with the wrong people or stealing a cop car or even stealing Mike Tyson's tiger. 

And in our case, Jack here has his daughter traveling to Las Vegas with a guy she hasn't met until this trip ... a guy that isn't the one she calls her boyfriend. I'm sure Felicity has always been a good child so Jack would never have any issues of trust with her, but it still makes me a little nervous. And it's not like I'm expecting there to be any crazy partying ... I'm just concerned for how her father might react to this. 

"We are on our way to Las Vegas," Felicity eventually replies. She shrugs her shoulders as she looks over at me, waiting to see my own reaction.

"Oh. What's of interest in Las Vegas?"

"One of Harry's friends lives there, so we are going to visit him. Haven't you been there before? Is it as fun as everyone says it is?"

Jack hesitates for a moment, a little unsure of how he wants to go forth with this conversation. "Well of course I have. It's interesting. Just be careful. There are a lot of creeps roaming the streets of Las Vegas. Do something safe ... go watch the fountains at the Bellagio. I'm sure there are some cool Christmas things going on, right? Just don't do something stupid. Don't come back married."

"We won't," both Felicity and I chime in unison. Her cheeks turn a bright pink color as I laugh in slight embarrassment. 

"Good good. Now don't get me wrong, Harry, you seem like a nice guy. But my daughter is not getting eloped to a guy I haven't met yet."

"No problem, Jack. I understand."

Felicity rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Dad, do you really think I would get eloped in Vegas? I'd never."

"I'm just taking precautions," he deeply exhales as there's a bunch of shuffling on his end of the line. "Vegas makes you do things you never thought would happen. That's why people say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

"If that's the case, shouldn't you be more worried about me getting arrested or into some kind of real trouble?" Felicity laughs as she spins the phone in her hand. 

"Now that is some nonsense. Don't be getting thrown into jail either. I do not have any plans to fly over there and bail you out, so don't put that into my schedule. Your mother would be furious." By the tone of his voice we can tell he's rolling his eyes at the two of us, which causes us to laugh a little. Jack is actually quite fun to speak with. I can understand why Andy seems so fond of him. "Speaking of your mother ... I spoke with her this morning."

It instantly grows quiet within the car. The topic of Felicity's mom is one that never fails to change the mood. Nothing positive has come out of anything related to her. Honestly, I don't think I ever want to meet her. She would rip me to shreds.

"What did she want?" Felicity hesitantly asks. She begins nervously picking at a loose thread in the blanket wrapped around her legs.

"Oh you know how she is. She's not happy with all this road tripping you've been doing. She's definitely not happy that you aren't in California now. In fact, she's so angry that she doesn't want to do anything for you for Christmas," Jack starts off. It almost sounds like he's now flipping through a few pages and typing away into a computer. "That's just absurd to me. So here's what I'm thinking ... are you stopping somewhere for the night?"

Felicity looks over at me as I nod my head. We haven't decided where to stop, but there's definitely an unspoken understanding that we aren't making this drive in one go. We probably should have made a decision earlier.

"We're going to stop somewhere ... we just don't know where," Felicity answers for us.

Jack clears his throat and starts typing into a computer again. "I'll find a place. Now I've just transferred some money into your bank account as a congratulatory gift for your straight A's this semester. As for your Christmas gift ... don't go telling your mother about this because she will kill me ... I will cover the cost of the hotel room tonight. It's not much, but it's all I can do for now without your mother having my head."

"Dad, you really don't have to do that," Felicity begins to protest. Her brows pull together as she rests her chin in the palm of her hand. I don't know why she's arguing against it. If someone offered to pay for my hotel room, I'd let them. "I have enough money for everything on this trip. I'm far off course from the original plans for this trip, so everything beyond the three day mark should be my responsibility."

"Sweetheart, I insist. It's a gift. And besides, it's a tiny bit of compensation for Harry doing all the driving. It's wear and tear on his car. Just think of it as gas money."

"That isn't necessary, Jack," I hear myself speak. Now I'm not sure why I'm protesting. "My car is already old. The wear and tear on this thing is not an issue anymore."

"Not an issue?" Felicity whispers. The look on her face is one of confusion and shock. "You've been so cautious with this car the entire trip and suddenly it's no big deal?"

"Shut up," I hush her as my hand reaches over to cover her mouth. "I don't want to take your dad's money. It's okay, I will pay for the hotel."

"I can still hear you two, you know," Jack's voice sounds through the phone. I don't know why I didn't think he could still hear us while he's on speaker phone. "I'm covering the hotel fee for the night, and you can't tell me no. Deal with it."

Felicity sighs in defeat as she leans back in the passenger's seat. "Okay, fine. Thanks, Dad."

"Yes. Thank you, Jack," I chime in.

"Mhm. So I'm seeing here on the map that you will be passing through Albuquerque on the way to Vegas. It looks about half-way. Sound like a good place to stop?"

Once again Felicity and I look over at each other and shrug. This is the reason we should have made a solid decision about where to stop. It's just going to be this back and forth shoulder shrugging and "I don't care, you pick" until one of us finally takes the lead. I wanted to leave this decision up to her, seeing as it's her dad that is so kindly paying for our stay.

But at her lack of a response, I roll my eyes at her and answer. "Yeah, Albuquerque is great."

"Okay, awesome. I'll call a few places and see what I can get at such a short notice. I'll send you the information after."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Well, I need to get back to work. It was lovely talking with you two. Harry, keep Felicity out of jail when you're in Vegas."

"I will," I laugh as Felicity's cheeks instantly change to a deep shade of pink.

She mumbles a goodbye before rapidly hanging up the phone and exhaling a deep breath. "That was embarrassing. But at least we got a free night's stay."