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He was just running a quick errand for his mum. That's all it really was supposed to be - grab some 2% milk and some cereal for him and his siblings. It was Tuesday and all he wanted was to be back home, in bed preferably. He had already grabbed the milk and placed it in his shopping basket, now heading towards the cereal aisle and to the Cinnamon Toast Crunch. He was about to grab the family size box (which ran out rather quickly between him and his four younger sisters) but stopped after accidentally bumping into someone else reaching for the Coco Puffs.
"Oops!" The curly-haired lad said. Louis was about to snap (he just wanted to go home already), but stopped when he saw the boy.
"Hi," he chose instead, right as the other boy continued.
"Sorry! I was just choosing which cereal to get." Curly's lips were so pink and plump and who the hell looks so good at 10 PM on a tuesday night?
Louis realized he was staring too long and quickly glanced over at what Curly was holding.
"Well, I certainly hope you're not choosing either of those!"
"Sorry?" Louis watched as a look of confusion clouded over Curly's face. He could stand there for ages just watching his expressions, seeing the cute scrunch of his eyebrows, the small twitch his lips do-
"What's wrong with Apple Jacks and Coco Puffs?" Curly asked (and no, Louis did not stare at his ridiculously perfect lips when they twitched up into a smirk, thank you very much).
"Well, Apple Jacks have an uneven and unacceptable ratio of apple to cinnamon, and that just throws the taste all off. As for Coco Puffs, they're just nasty and if you can't see that, then there is no hope for you, mate." He replied (he had plenty of time to think this through, what with all the shopping trips he'd done previously with his family. It always took a bit of persuading but he got his way everytime).
Curly cocked his head but was quick to respond, "And Cinnamon Toast Crunch is so much better?"
"Hell yeah they are!" He laughed. "Once you go Cinnamon Toast Crunch, you don't go back!"
Curly made his confused face again. "Isn't it 'Once you go bl-'"
"Shhh!" Louis placed a finger on Curly's lips. "That's beside the point. I'm telling you! Just try it once and if you hate it then I promise I will never persuade an innocent shopper to purchase this amazing cereal with the perfect balance of sugar and cinnamon ever again." Louis took his hand away from Curly's lips then held out his pinky. Curly giggled and quickly took it as he put back the Apple Jacks. He placed the Coco Puffs in his basket and went for the Cinnamon Toast Crunch as well.
Louis smacked his hand away and gestured towards Curly's basket. "What in God's name are you doing with that disgrace in your basket?" He declared loudly.
"My sister doesn't like Cinnamon Toast Crunch." Curly deadpanned.
Louis' draw dropped and was about to jokingly walk away but Harry was quick to add, "I'm joking! I'm only joking please come back!"
Louis checked his phone then turned back around. "I've been at this store for 20 minutes and over half of that time was spent arguing with a man-child over which cereal he should get."
"Harry." Curly said with a shy smile.
"What's hairy?"
"I'm Harry."
"Yes, you are. Quite a mop you have there, I can recommend a fantastic barber!"
"No!" Curly giggled (what an adorable little shit). "My name is Harry! I'm Harry Styles."
"Oh, I see! I'm Louis - Louis Tomlinson."
Harry shook his hand (and Louis may or may not have held on for a few seconds too long).
"Hi Louis Tomlinson who has an odd obsession with Cinnamon Toast Crunch."
Louis laughed, but responded easily. "Nice to meet you Harry Styles who has deficient taste buds but has just been educated and will never return to those other shit cereals."
Harry laughed and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. After a brief moment of silence, Louis continued on to the checkout but stopped when he realized Harry wasn't there with him.
"Coming, Curly?"
"Oh, no. I've got a few more things to grab." Harry said with a frown.
Louis smiled sadly, "That's alright, I'll see you around Curly," Then left with green eyes and curly hair occupying his thoughts.
•••
It's been a week and a half - 10 full days - since Louis was last at Tesco buying cereal. It's been a week and a half - 10 full days - since Louis saw Harry, and he hasn't stopped thinking about him. That may or may not be why he's back at tesco, and that may or may not be why he's in the ice cream section. Ten minutes after arriving, and he still hasn't decided between Rocky Road or just regular old vanilla (seriously, what's the best ice cream flavor for experiencing a breakup that's not technically a breakup but more like pining from afar after one brief meeting?)
"I certainly hope you're not choosing either of those!" Louis heard a deep voice say from behind him.
Louis turned around, ready to defend his favorite flavors until he saw who the offender was.
"Curly? Fancy seeing you here!" Louis said (his smile was NOT the size of the sun, thank you very much).
"Really? Rocky Road and vanilla? The sheer disrespect!" Harry exclaimed, an expression of disbelief quickly falling from his face, only to be replaced by a smile.
"Well, what do you recommend, Curly?" (Ok so Louis' smile was the size of the sun)
"The obvious and only way to go is triple chocolate fudge!"
"You can't be serious," Louis couldn't stop smiling.
"No, you could say I'm... cereal." If Louis' smile was the size of the sun, then Harry's was the milky way.
"Stop with the puns before ice cream!"
And if they went on a date the next day, that's nobody's business but theirs (they did).