#1otd

Milk

Eggs

Dog food

That soap that smells like lavender and chamomile

Salted popcorn

Diet coke

Some sort of veggie

Shave cream

Post-It Notes

Orange juice

It's a standard list, really, that Nick carries with him to Tesco every Sunday morning post-hangover status. He didn't end up needing half the things he'd buy, leading to about three unopened cartons of milk and eggs in the bar area fridge that was currently emptied of it's alcoholic contents. But he'd take care of that later. 

A quick glance at his watch before the taxi dropped him off let Nick know that the time was just half past eleven, perfectly on time with hopes that the checkouts weren't too busy. It was a rainy Sunday so he expected no less than the average amount of church mums and grandmothers loitering about the aisles. It was a mad dash to retrieve his ten items, having to substitute the soap that smells like lavender with a soap that didn't really smell like anything. Much to his distress, he had always enjoyed smelling like a flower. 

Often times there would be one or two brave souls who would recognize him, ask him for a quick snap or two barring his time limit, but today seemed to be easy going. He'd had thirty minutes when he'd reached the store, but now only had fifteen (thanks to practically memorizing his way through the store now). And when he reached the ten-items-or-less baggage area, his heart sort of dropped into the pit of his stomach.

Another Sunday proven to him that Louis Tomlinson was indeed real, not a mirage or a fantasy or a dream concocted by his hormone imbalances or practical need to get laid since his last attempts. Louis was real and standing at an empty register and he was always just waiting. Nick trotted towards him, half-heartedly suppressing a grin where Louis' teeth gleamed brightly. "'ello Nicholas!" 

Louis wore the standard employee uniform: the bright blue button-down with black slacks and a neatly pressed red tie. Today his caramel color hair mopped into a fringe across his forehead, swept above a pair of black rimmed glasses. His golden skin seemed all but glowing, contrast with his impossibly blue eyes and marked by ridiculously pretty cheekbones. Nick always felt silly, falling in love with a child. Louis was seven years his junior and perfectly legal in all senses but it still felt crazy to feel something less "hey, let's get each other off in a cabinet" and more "I'd quite like to kiss your plush lips very carefully". 

"Mornin' Lou. How's work?" Nick picked the items out of his basket, placing them onto the counter before him as Louis began to ring them up. This was his favorite bit: Louis was go deliberately slow if there were no other customers behind Nick (there weren't) just to waste his remaining working schedule as well as get in a nice conversation. Most times they would discuss Louis and school and his job, sometimes Nick would pass off the celebrities he'd met that week on the radio if Louis asked; it was the same types of conversations but each time felt more exciting and new and always interesting. 

The carton of milk went double bagged, ringing up at 1.29 following the 2.78 pack of eggs. Louis went for the soap next, frowning at the label before sliding it across the scanner, 0.68. "The same old, you know. Stan quit yesterday. Threw his tie at the sales manager and stormed out before he realized he couldn't drive and I was his ride home. Had to sit in front of the store for an hour, kind of pitiful. Says he's gonna get a job at Sainsbury to show them up, some bullshit like that." The two liter diet coke came next, following the stack of post-it notes that were thrown into the plastic bag. "One of these days, I swear." 

One of these days was probably Nick's least favorite thing Louis would say. Because one of these days Louis was considering too throwing in the towel and walking away from the baggage business to pursue something more dream worthy and probably in a different city, too. One of these days Nick would do his Sunday shopping duties and Louis wouldn't be waiting and grinning for him at the ten-items-or-less checkout. One of these days it would be some horribly gangly looking ginger with freckles on the back of his neck and arms with braces and a terrible lisp that caused him to spit out over everything. And Nick would be forced to forget that Louis even existed outside of his Tesco shopping world because there would be no more Louis for him. 

"Alright? You're quiet, today." Louis is packing the jug of Tropicana carefully in another double bag, and Nick realizes he's fucked it all up. Because there are three customers waiting in line and he's used up his time bloody thinking and he feels like such a moron for wasting Louis' time and everyone else's in the shopping market. "That'll be-"

"Here's twenty, keep the change," he mutters, shoving the bill towards Louis whose eyes widen in an odd sense of shock. 

Louis nodded, filing the bill away in the cash register and grabbing for the receipt. "Have a nice day, Nicholas. See you next week." 

It was a sudden gut wrenching experience as Nick moved for the plastic bags, hands just brushing against Louis' who instantly pulled his back. It was almost as if they were the only two there in that brief moment before a brown-haired older looking gentleman cleared his throat behind Louis and Nick glanced at his watch to realize it was five minute past noon. "See you."

He managed to flag down a taxi once outside, listing off his address and leaning back against the seat cushion heavy with thought. "One of these days" was a blessing and a curse. He knew how much Louis had wanted to leave the job and find work elsewhere, do something he knew he could enjoy. They'd discussed it countless times whispering under their breath about how much Louis despised the job. He wanted to sing, Nick knew that. He wanted to be on X Factor, the chance to audition would be enough for him. He said he had a few videos on Youtube that Nick would never admit to searching for (albeit unsuccessfully) and loved everything about performing. 

Nick knew that feeling, that desire to want something so bad for so long. The difference being that Nick actually achieved his long time goal of being the Radio 1 Breakfast Show host. It took a lot of hard work, but he was young and opportunity came a-knocking at the right time and place. He wanted to tell Louis to do it, to pull a Stan and quit right there and make a scene. He wanted Louis to audition for X Factor, to become successful and a star and perform to thousands across the globe. 

But he also wanted to know that every Sunday he could come back at half past eleven with a list of ten items and be able to have a casual conversation with a cashier he just so happened to have very, very strong feelings for. Or what he assumed were very strong feelings. He'd never really felt this way so he wasn't sure what he was feeling. 

So, yeah. One of these days was always the topic of conversation whenever Nick didn't pull a panic attack and think too much. Maybe he'd have his own one of these days, and one of these days he'd build up the courage to ask Louis for his number, for a proper date outside of Tesco where they had endless amount of time to talk about life.