Fratboy Harry and Other Stories

Happy Place

You weren't sure why you'd agreed to go on this trip. The cabin was nice, your friends were nice but...to say you were having a good time would be a stretch. It wasn't like you wanted to go home, though. At this point you weren't really sure if you had much of a home to go to.

When everyone else decided to play a game, you snuck off by yourself to the little deck out back. The sun hadn't quite set yet and it was a little chilly, so you grabbed your hoodie and a blanket, wrapping it around your shoulders. You sat in solitude, watching the sky change from orange to purple. The brisk night air filled your lungs as you took shaky breaths, trying your best not to cry.

"What are you doing out here?" you suddenly heard behind you. You hadn't even heard the door open. You remained silent, however, and didn't bother to turn your head.

"Okayyyy..." he said, stepping closer to you. "Something wrong?"

You shook your head, finally acknowledging him. You sniffed, pulling the sleeves of your hoodie over your hands.

Harry sat next to you on the step. You could feel his eyes on you, but still you focused on the sunset and the pine trees. You heard him take a deep breath.

"Nice out here," he stated.

"Yeah," you muttered.

"Good place to think," he added.

You nodded. Harry always had been kind to you. Out of all the people that had come on this trip, even your best friend, you were most glad that he had come. You hated being rude to him, and you hoped you weren't. You just needed to be alone.

"Sometimes when I'm not feeling that great, I like to watch the sunset," he commented. "The way the sky changes colors is so amazing. Until eventually it's pitch black and the stars come out. And it reminds me how small I am."

Something about Harry's words made you choke and brought tears to your eyes. You quickly wiped them away with your arm.

"Problems at home?" you heard him ask, making you jump.

Trying to hold back a sob, you nodded your head. For the first time, you turned to look at him. The kindness in his eyes was undeniable. It was as though he could see right through to your soul. His forearms rested on his knees as he waited for you to speak. But you just couldn't.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked, seeming to read your mind. "Sometimes it helps."

Swallowing back tears, you shook your head again, lowering your gaze to your lap. You wrapped the blanket tighter around you, feeling a sudden chill.

"That's okay," Harry sighed. "You don't have to. We can just sit here."

You blinked at the word "we". Pulling your knees up to your chest, you looked out at the trees again. You half expected Harry to try to coerce you into talking, but after a few minutes when he hadn't, you shifted your eyes to look at him. His profile was lovely as the night wind whipped through his hair. You smiled to yourself in spite of the internal agony you were experiencing.

"Thanks," you muttered, causing him to turn his head and return your smile.

"You're welcome," he replied.

You and Harry sat together in silence until the sun had completely set. Just as he'd remarked, the stars had come out. You began to count them in your head. Your lips must have been moving however, because Harry seemed to catch on.

"Don't count that one," he pointed. "That's Venus."

"How do you know?" you asked, although you knew it was as well.

Harry shrugged. "Just do."

You hadn't meant to stare at him. But watching him look up at the sky was mesmerizing. When he caught you looking at him out of the corner of his eye, he gave a smirk, making you quickly look down at your lap. You saw him shift slightly next to you, rubbing his hands together and suddenly you felt like a jerk. He merely had a shirt on, and here you were with a jacket and a fleece blanket.

"Here," you said, holding out one end of the blanket.

Harry glared at you in question.

"Get under," you offered. "It's getting cold."

Giving you his hundred watt smile again, he scooted closer to you, pulling the blanket over his shoulder. Your arms touched under the blanket, sending more shivers throughout your body than you had without him there. When his hand found yours, however, and he threaded his fingers through, you felt a sudden calmness. You didn't bother to look at him, but instead continued to look up where the tops of the trees kissed the sky in tranquility.

"Do you have a happy place?" you heard Harry inquire.

"What?" you asked, startled.

"You know, a happy place. Where you go in your head when you're feeling sad or lonely."

"Um...I guess..."

"Mine's a meadow," declared Harry.

"A meadow?" you looked at him.

"Yeah. Full of flowers. I imagine myself lying in the middle of it. The warm sun on my skin. There's a brook somewhere nearby and I can hear it rolling over the rocks. It's all very serene. And it calms me."

You stared at him for a minute, the image in your own head before looking down at your joined hands.

"Mine's a childhood memory," you said just above a whisper.

"What is it?" Harry asked softly.

You took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. It was your most special memory, one that you kept in your mind and brought back so many times, you sometimes wondered if it had been a dream, or you'd made it all up.

"I'm in my backyard," you finally murmured. "I'm playing with my dog for a bit until my mother comes out to join me. I ask her to push me on the swing and she does. Then my dad comes out, and he pushes me even higher. I almost feel like I'm going to fall off the swing, I'm so high up. But as I come down, he catches me and pushes me again. I can hear my own giggles mixed in with my parents' laughter. And it's the best sound in the world."

As the final word left your lips, you realized you were crying. Without a sound, Harry wrapped his arms around you, pulling you to him. He rocked you back and forth, allowing you to cry in his chest. The blanket had fallen off from the embrace, but it didn't matter. Harry felt amazingly warm and comforting.

"It's okay," he cooed, rubbing your back. "That's a lovely memory."

You wanted to scream, the voice in your head angry about what had happened to your family. But somehow Harry's serenity kept the voice at bay, making you feel at ease, and less on edge.

When your sobs subsided, you finally lifted your head, wiping the tears from your eyes.

"Sorry," you whispered.

"Don't be," he said.

Even in the dark, his eyes were so green, they nearly took your breath away. His face was so close to yours, you could feel his breath on your cheek. He lifted his hand then to wipe away another tear before brushing your hair back from your face. Then he planted a soft kiss on your forehead.

"I didn't mean to be a cry baby," you said.

"You're not," he grinned.

You stared at him for what felt like forever until he leaned in and gently brushed your lips with his. It was a soft, comforting kiss, though you still managed to feel it right to your toes. When he lifted his head again, you rested yours against his chest, wrapping your arms around his waist.

"This is it," you declared with a sigh.

"What's it, love?" he asked, his fingers tangled in your hair.

"My new happy place."