Harry
Jane was sitting by herself under the big tree at the end of the playground. She liked to sit there now, but he didn't know why.
The card in his hands felt heavy because he had written out some very personal thoughts and he knew that she probably didn't feel the same. He really liked Jane and Valentine's Day was the perfect time to let her know.
Everyone had to give everyone in the class a card, but he had been up late working on her card because she was the only one he really cared about. All of the other kids were mean to Jane because she was different and, in turn, they were mean to him because he was nice to her.
Today, Jane wasn't looking around frantically, instead she had her knees up to her chest with her shoulders crossed over top and her head was resting in the crook of her arms. She looked sad and that made Harry sad, even as his heart swelled with just seeing her in general.
Harry walked over to her with his card on display in his right hand. Jane didn't look up until he was standing right in front of her. He knew that she was sad and he smiled in hopes that it would cheer her up, even if only a little bit.
"Here's your Valentine. I waited to give it to you because I wanted you to know that it was me and not someone pretending to be me."
Jane looked up at him with glossy eyes that were a mixture of sadness and anger, "I don't want it."
Harry's smile dropped quickly into a frown, he felt like he'd just been punched square in the chest. "I...why? What did I do?"
Jane picked up the paper bag beside her and threw it at him, "You're just going to be mean like everybody else."
He stuck his hand inside and pulled out a few handmade cards that said horrible things. One said that she was ugly and that no one liked her, another said that she should die, and another one said that she was a freak.
Harry's eyes matched hers as they met, "Jane..."
Jane started to cry. She shook her head quickly and closed her eyes, "No. Go away! Go away, go away, GO AWAY!"
Harry didn't listen and cried with her, "No! I'm not like them, Jane! I'm not!"
Jane was tired of being picked on because she had voices in her head that made her scared and she was too hurt to remember that Harry was right, he wasn't like that at all. The voices took control again after a brief disappearance and she yelled at him to leave her alone.
He was crying too, but she didn't know that it was because of what he'd written in the card that was meant for her. Harry's fists clenched at his sides and he dropped the card before walking away.
He felt like an idiot because he couldn't just tell her that it said that he liked her and that it wasn't mean like the rest of them. He was also incredibly angry that their classmates had written all of those mean things to her on a day that was supposed to make people feel nice and loved.
Jane looked up after she'd heard him walk away and she saw the big and colorful hearts drawn all over the front of the card. The voices were quiet and she felt giddy despite how sad she was. A gentle wind started to blow and sent the hurtful cards fluttering away.
She panicked and grabbed Harry's card immediately before it could fly away with the others. Jane didn't know why she did it, but she just couldn't let it fly away.
Harry was making his way over to the teachers, a small voice told her that he was turning on her and she felt incredibly sad. Jane looked back to the card in her hands. He was a boy, but he'd certainly made her a pretty card, even if he drew funny looking hearts.
Her fingers traced over the colorful lines and she finally stopped crying. Jane sniffled and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes before opening the card carefully. Even though it was pretty and he was the only one that was ever nice to her, she was still afraid that the inside would say something mean.
It had taken her a long time to actually open the card, and now that its contents were in front of her, she wished that she had opened it sooner. There were more funny looking and colorful hearts that covered the paper, but the words caught her attention.
Harry had nice handwriting and her eyes absorbed the words faster than her mind processed them.
Jane,
I'm not good at this, but I think you're really pretty. No. You're the prettiest. I really like you, Jane. I really really do. Happy Valentine's Day
Love,
Harry
Harry walked up to the where the teachers sat with a determined look on his face and tear stained cheeks. Mrs. Hillary was the first to notice him and she asked him what was wrong. He wanted to yell and say mean words.
"Everyone gave Jane mean cards. That's not fair."
Mrs. Hillary had a strange look on her face and Harry didn't like it. "I'm sorry Harry, but there isn't anything I can do about it."
His fists were clenched at his sides and tears sprung up in his eyes again, "Yes you can! Take away something! Make them sit and write! I'll do it to!"
Mrs. Hillary interrupted him, "Harry..."
He would have none of it, because he wasn't done yet, "No. Jane is a person. A person! Just like you! She's different, but she's still a person! She's pretty and smart and...and it's not fair. It's not fair to be mean to her when we're supposed to be nice today and every day, because God says so. Jane deserves love and friends too, even if she's different."
His teacher responded with a saddened expression, but she didn't say a word and he knew it was because she thought that he was wrong because he was a little and she was big and because Jane was different.
Harry walked away and to a spot on the other side of the playground, a spot where he couldn't see Jane because he was upset that she thought he was just like everybody else.
Jane had seen him talking to their teacher. His voice carried with the wind and she heard him defend her and she heard Mrs. Hillary's silence in response. He walked away angry and Jane felt horrible because she was mean to him, just like the other kids were mean to her, even though she knew that he probably didn't have a single mean bone in his body.
She couldn't see him after a little while and she didn't like that. The voices in her head did, they still told her that he was going to hurt her, but she ignored them the best that she could because she knew better with him.
Jane stood and clutched the beautiful Valentine's Day card to her chest. She was afraid that it would disappear if she let it go and she wanted to hold on to it forever.
Harry sat with his head down and his fingers pulling out individual blades of grass. He was sniffling and Jane felt bad for him and herself all at once. Harry was alone because he lost all of his friends when he started to be her friend. And she ruined everything so nobody liked her and she felt terrible for letting him be her friend because no nobody wanted to be his.
Jane sat next to him, with the card clutched in her hand and tears in her eyes. She started to cry the moment she turned her head to look at him.
"Please don't leave."
Harry shook his head quickly, his eyes locking with hers, "I promise."
Jane hugged him and clung to him like he was her mother. Harry didn't mind it at all and mumbled that he promised every now and then. She couldn't hear over the voices that were shouting in her ears, but she didn't need to because they were wrong and he was good. Harry wouldn't hurt her.
. . .
Valentine's Day was on a Thursday this year. Jane was happy because she'd made Harry a card during her free time in the "sitting room". She still had the card that he'd given her when they were kids, only it rested in her pillowcase, so that they wouldn't take it away from her.
Harry had been coming to see her on Tuesdays and Thursdays now, and on the days that he came to visit Rosalie, he would sit so that she could see him because he knew it helped her to see him and to focus on the way that he spoke.
He read to her every visit and they were about halfway through Pride and Prejudice. Jane hardly followed the story sometimes because she had to focus on the way that he spoke and the way that his lips moved in order to tune out the voices.
It worked though. When he read to her, the voices quieted enough for her to ignore them or to tune them out. After he left, they were loud and constantly warning her about him and everyone else, but they hated him the most.
The rules had changed since his last visit and now they were allowed to take visitors in the "sitting room". Jane was planning on asking him to come with her because she wanted the moment of relief for as long as she could get it.
That, and she really did like Harry. She liked him when they were little because he was nice to her and she liked him now because he was still nice to her and because he showed that he cared about her enough to try to understand and to actually help.
He was certainly handsome, but she hardly ever paid attention to that because Harry was...well...Harry.
He showed up at the start of the lunch hour and Jane diverted his attention to him, trying to force the voices to stop tearing at her mind and to leave her alone. Harry smiled and sat down in front of her with Pride and Prejudice in his hands.
"Hi, Jane."
Jane smiled the best that she could with the pandemonium going on inside her head, "Hi, Harry."
She watched his smile grow as his eyes drifted to the paper beneath her hands, "What's that?"
The voices were screaming now and she found it easier to just pass him the card. It was by no means pretty or nice in anyway, her supplies were limited, and she'd made it out of some pages from an old book, but she was proud of it because she knew that he would like it no matter what.
She didn't think that it was possible, but his smile grew even more and it encompassed most of his face.
Jane watched him with flushed cheeks as he read over the ink that she'd written over even older ink.
He radiated happiness and the sight of it had butterflies swarming in her stomach.
"I have something for you too, although it's not as great because I had to sneak it past security."
Harry pulled a tiny slip of paper from his pocket and slid it across the table to her.
Jane picked up the note slowly because she was nervous to see what it said. He hadn't told her that he was available or if he liked her still and she was worried that he would say something about them being friends.
I love you, Jane.
The voices stopped and everything was silent. Jane read the four words over and over again in her mind. He loved her. She didn't think that it was ever possible for anyone to love her and it was so hard, yet so easy, for her to wrap her mind around.
He'd been visiting her for months and they wouldn't always read. More often than not, he would ask her questions that she could answer with yes or no and sometimes he would try to understand her in ways that no one else had ever tried before.
He wasn't trying to fix her; he was trying to understand because he wanted to know who the woman he was in love with really was. Jane didn't focus on the how aspect, instead she focused on the love aspect.
Someone actually loved her and she didn't know what to do because the voices were quiet and she wanted to say so many things at once.
Harry saw the rush of emotions on her face and his smile softened to one that was considerably more shy, "You don't have to say anything, I just really wanted you to know."
Jane started to cry because she still couldn't believe that somebody loved her, "I love you, Harry."