This is the most boring summer job Louis has ever had.

He's cursing himself for not opting to just work at the summer camp in town with Niall. He would've been perfect for that job, he loves kids, and it's ten times better than sitting behind a desk for six hours a day. But by the time he'd finally gotten around to applying, all of the positions were filled.

So, here he is, stuck in a poorly air conditioned library for the summer. It does pay slightly better than the summer camp, at least, so he'll have enough to give his mum some and help her out and keep a little for himself. He's trying to save up for a guitar so Niall can teach him how to play.

"Isn't this everything you dreamed your summer would be?"

"Oh, yeah," Louis mumbles, colouring in a colouring page he stole from the craft table. He's been here so long, even everything on his phone is boring now. "This is the dream."

Laura, the older woman who hired him, gives him a smile. Sympathetic, but also a little amused. "Hey, I could've stuck you upstairs. You'd be getting yelled at by some geriatric woman for not having the newest Nicholas Sparks novel in yet right now."

Louis wrinkles his nose. "If that were the case, you wouldn't have this lovely new addition to the art wall," He points out, holding up his almost-finished dragon colouring page. Laura raises her eyebrows.

"It's very pink," She observes.

"The kid at the craft table would only give me one crayon," Louis pouts.

"Um, 'scuse me?"

Louis looks up. A little boy stands behind the counter, both of his front teeth missing. He can't be older than six.

"What's up, mate?" Louis asks, giving him a smile. The boy looks away shyly, holding his little hands together. Louis could melt. He may not have been able to work at the summer camp, but he's grateful he was able to work in the children's section of the library.

"Um, mumma's in the bathroom with my baby sista'," He explains, a slight lisp to his words. "'N I can't reach the book I want. C-Could I please have some help?"

"'Course you can," Louis stands up from the desk chair, slipping behind Laura's chair and out from behind the desk. "Lead the way."

Unsurely, the boy walks to a tall bookshelf, pointing up to the top. "The purple one," He says. Louis reaches up and grabs it for him, handing it to him. The boy smiles. "Thank you!"

"No worries," Louis says. "And, y'know," He points to the stepstool a few feet away. "We've got stools, in case there's another one you can't reach."

The boy shakes his head. "I'm scared of heights."

Louis can't help but laugh a little, endeared. Too fucking cute. "Then you can come find me again. 'M happy to help."

"Thanks, mister," The boy smiles again. Louis smiles back at him, giving him a thumbs up before walking back to the desk.

"Hey, 'm gonna go upstairs and hit the washroom," He tells Laura, sticking his hands in the pockets of his shorts. Laura squints at him, suspicious.

"You're going to the washroom?" She questions. "And not to flirt with Nancy for another free cuppa?"

Louis twists his mouth to keep from grinning, sighing. "You caught me."

"Mhm," Laura hums, clicking around on something on the desktop computer. "Just be quick, please. And flatter her just enough for her to let you bring me one too."

"Got it," Louis nods, saluting her playfully before making his way to the staircase. He takes two stairs at a time up to the adult section, which is dead compared to the children's section. Besides Nancy, who sits doing a crossword behind the desk, there's an elderly man in the political section, and a boy sitting at one of the tables.

The boy can't be any older than Louis, curly hair coming down over his baby face. He's cute, really cute, actually. He's staring down at a thick book, looking stressed. Louis takes a moment to stare at him, unashamedly, until he remembers what he came up here for.

Looking up from her crossword, Nancy lights up when she sees Louis walking over. "Oh, Louis, honey, it's always so nice to see that handsome face of yours!"

Nancy is about seventy-six years old. She also has a husband. Louis will happily slut himself out for a cuppa, though. "Had to come pay you a visit," Louis greets, nodding and leaning onto the desk. He takes a moment to look at her, squinting like he's thinking. "Something's different about you. You get your hair done or summat?"

Nancy blushes, smiling with her bright red lips. "No, I didn't," She chuckles, waving her hand downward. "Suppose I got a little sun. Gerald and I were at our grandson's football games all weekend, he had a tournament."

Louis does not give a shit. "That must be it!" He nods, smiling at her with his teeth. "Y'look lovely. Way too nice to be cooped up in here all day, tell me Gerald's taking you out sometime soon."

"Oh, you're a riot!" Nancy tuts, folding her hands together, nails bright red to match her lipstick. "Gerald and I don't go out anymore, we're far too old for that."

"Really?" Louis feigns surprise. "Well, he better sharpen up and buy you dinner, or I might have to myself."

"You are such a dear," Nancy laughs, reaching up and pinching his cheek. "Please, let me get you a cup of tea. The kettles still hot."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't ask you to do that," Louis shakes his head.

"No, darling, I insist," Nancy waves him off, starting to shakily stand from her chair.

"No, no, Nancy," Louis is quick to stop her. He may be a con artist, but he won't make an old woman with a bad hip. "Don't get up, 's okay. I can get it myself, if you really insist."

"Oh, are you sure?" Nancy furrows her eyebrows, and Louis nods. "Oh, you are such a nice boy. I envy the girl who snatches you up someday."

"Still waiting on that to happen," Louis scoffs, walking around the desk so he's behind it. The electric kettle is still plugged in, and he grabs two styrofoam cups from the big stack next to it. "'S it alright if I grab some for Laura as well? She's been running me ragged down there, 'm trying to get on her good side."

"Of course, dove," Nancy says, putting her reading glasses back on from where they hang on a chain around her neck. "Shall I give her a good talking to?"

"That might work if she wasn't your boss," Louis points out, grinning.

"You underestimate me, dear," Nancy says, going back to her crossword. "Say, do you know a five-letter word for 'in the countryside'?"

"Rural," Louis answers immediately, pulling two teabags out of the box.

"Handsome and smart," Nancy hums, writing it down in the crossword boxes. "Just wait until you get to uni, you'll be quite the gentleman caller."

Louis winces at the mention of going to uni, not really having the heart or confidence to tell her he isn't. He's just finally gotten over the initial sting of seeing all of his friends get their acceptance letters and wear uni jumpers to school and talk about how excited they are. "Haha, yeah."

"You never did tell me where you're going in the fall," Nancy says. Louis panics, cursing himself as he finishes up the two cups of tea. He looks back up at the cute boy sitting at the table across the room.

"What was that?" He calls towards him. The boy looks up, confused. "Sorry, Nancy, gotta go help him out."

"Hm?" Nancy furrows her eyebrows, following Louis' eyes to the curly-haired boy. "Oh, snickerdoodle, did he ask for help? Suppose my hearing isn't what it used to be."

"'S alright, I've got it," He assures, flashing her a smile before walking back around the desk. He brings the two cuppas over to the table the boy is sitting at, sitting across from him. The boy looks half confused, half freaked out. Louis sighs. "Sorry, I was being interrogated."

"Ah," The boy gives him a weak smile, glancing over at Nancy. It's then Louis notices his eyes are puffy, rimmed with red, and he frowns.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asks gently. The boy looks a bit startled by the question, blinking at him with those wide, pretty green eyes. "Shit, sorry, now I'm the one interrogating."

The boy exhales out a short laugh. "It's okay, I'm alright," He visibly swallows, avoiding Louis' eyes. His accent is posh, he must not be from around here. "Just a bit of a long night, I suppose."

"Oh, 'm sorry," Louis twists his mouth, studying him for a moment before sliding one of the cups of tea over to him. "You a tea drinker?"

The boy's eyes soften, looking down at the tea. "Yes, I am," He says after a beat of silence, looking back up at Louis and giving him a more genuine (but still small) grin. "Thank you."

"Yeah, 'course," Louis nods, crossing his arms on top of the table and leaning forward. "I don't usually give my tea up to any boy, but. 'M a sucker for curls."

The boy seems surprised by the compliment, cheeks flushing slightly. "R-Really?" He asks, before his cheeks become even pinker. Louis laughs a little.

"Yeah, I am," He nods again. "Sorry, I usually introduce myself before I reveal my biggest weakness. I'm Louis."

"Harry," The boy says softly, his hands folded in his lap. Louis nods, and Harry takes a small sip of his tea. His eyes drop to the thick book placed in front of him.

"Y'know it's the summer, y're not supposed to be studying," Louis teases gently, giving Harry a smile. Harry smiles back sheepishly, sighing a little.

"I have summer work for my advanced classes in the fall," He explains. "I'm trying to get it done early so I can do some work at my dad's company before school. He wants me to learn the ropes before I take it over someday."

"Ah," Louis nods. "Well. There's this thing called a library card, you can take the book out of here and go somewhere with air-conditioning that doesn't smell like old-lady perfume and dust."

Harry giggles, finally looking visibly less tense. It's the most beautiful sound Louis has heard, like, ever. "It's okay, I finished. I wanted to get out of my house for a little bit," He explains, shrugging. "And the library in my town flooded with the storm last week, so they're closed for a week. Besides, I like it here."

"Really?" Louis wrinkles his nose.

"Do you not?" Harry asks. "I figured you did since you're, you know, here."

"'M only here 'cause it was the only summer job that didn't involve making chips and chicken nuggets," Louis explains, and Harry giggles again, dimples popping out of his rosy cheeks. "Beats homework, though. So glad I graduated."

"So, you're going to university in a couple of months, then?" Harry asks. Louis thought he just escaped this conversation. He sighs. There's something kind in Harry's eyes, though, where he feels like the truth won't be met with sympathy or judgement.

"Um, no, I'm not going," He admits. "'M gonna work, help my mum out with my younger siblings 'n stuff."

"That's awesome," Harry smiles. Louis grins weakly.

"Seriously?" He asks.

"Yeah, that's sweet, I'm sure she really appreciates it," Harry nods. This is the kindest way anyone has reacted to him saying that. Cute and nice, Louis' in over his head. He's just about to think of a smooth, clever way to ask him for his number when Nancy calls him over. He sighs.

"Duty calls," He mumbles, standing back up with Laura's tea. "I'll be right back."

"I should get going anyways," Harry stands up as well, picking up his rucksack and the book to put it back. "I have to catch the bus back home."

"Oh," Louis tries to mask his disappointment. "Okay, well. It was nice to meet you, Harry."

"You too, Louis," Harry nods, giving him a smile before turning to find the bookshelf the book belongs to. Louis walks back over to the desk, trying not to show his annoyance in Nancy's timing when he smiles at her.

"What's up?" He asks her.

"Could you reach that catalogue for me, darling?" Nancy asks, pointing to a thick binder on the shelf mounted on the wall. "I can't seem to get it."

"Sure," Louis says, setting Laura's tea down. He stands almost two heads taller than her as he reaches up and hands it to her. "Here y'go."

"Thank you so much," Nancy grins. Louis smiles at her again, taking Laura's tea and giving Nancy a wave. The more he thinks about it, the more he regrets not getting Harry's number. He looks around the room, ready to go and ask him, but he's gone. Shit.

He goes back downstairs, practically running over to where Laura is sitting behind the desk and placing her tea down in front of her. "Hey, is it okay if I take my break right now?" Laura furrows her eyebrows, opening her mouth to answer, but Louis says "Thanks, be right back!" before rushing towards the door, running down the steps and stopping on the pavement.

Fuck, which direction is the bus stop? He takes a gamble and turns left, starting down the pavement. These Vans really weren't made for jogging along High Street, but. This is an urgent matter.

He reaches the bus stop, thank fuck, but Harry is boarding it as he does. Shit. He takes a moment to evaluate the decision he's about to make, but ultimately ends up boarding the bus as well.

"Hi, how much?" He asks the driver, digging his wallet out of the pocket of his shorts.

"Three-fifty," The bus driver says, his voice monotone. Louis stuffs five pounds into the cash box, too impatient to get change, before making his way down the aisle and plopping down in the seat next to Harry. Harry's eyes widen when he turns and looks at him.

"Um," He sputters. "...Hi, again."

Louis stares at him for a moment. What the fuck is he doing? "I, uh. Just now realised how creepy this seems," He's relieved when Harry laughs a little. "Sorry, um. I just-you're really cute. I wanted to ask for your number."

Harry's cheeks flush again, just like they had at the library. "Really?" He asks.

"Yeah," Louis says breathlessly. "But, y'know, no pressure. I didn't mean to bombard you, I was just scared I'd never see you again and I'd miss my chance to get it and-" In Louis' episode of rambling he never realised Harry had reached into the rucksack at his feet for a pen.

"I've never had a boy run down the street to get my number," He admits with a laugh, grabbing Louis' arm and jotting his number down on the pale inside of it. It's Louis' turn to blush, the feeling of Harry's hand on his arm making his skin hot.

"With those dimples?" Louis asks. "I don't believe that for a second."

"I swear," Harry shakes his head before looking up and meeting Louis' eyes. "But I'm glad you're the first."

Louis feels himself smile, his cheeks warmer then they've ever been, lost in Harry's eyes for a moment. It's then he realises the bus has just stopped and started again. Shit. He had planned on getting off at the first stop and hurrying back to work.

"Um, hey, how long 'till the next stop?" He asks, glancing out the window. "My break's only supposed to be ten minutes."

"Uh," Harry winces. "About nine."

Fuck. Louis sighs. "Ah," He shrugs after a moment, smiling down at Harry again. "Worth it."