On My Way To Greatness

Chapter 2 - Friends

Harry kicked a pebble down the street and huffed. He had been sent outside to go "get a healthy dose of vitamin D" according to Petunia. Harry knew it was just to go get him some new friends but it still didn't make him want to be outside. He'd always hated the outside world. It was bright and still. Peaceful. There were no distractions from the harsh thoughts tearing through his mind at any given moment. 'You don't deserve that...' 'You're gonna get even fatter now...'
'You're so skinny... sure you're not a druggie?' Over and over... most of them didn't even make sense.
Today was no different. He sat on a squeaky swing and gently rocked himself, trying in vain to keep himself contained and calm.
He sat there alone on that swing for almost 2 hours before someone came up to him. They didn't say anything. Just sat down on the second rickety swing. Harry, not knowing what to do, watched the newcomer out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't tell what gender they were. They had long-ish, fluffy hair that covered their face down to the top of their nose. It was dyed halfway red. Almost an obnoxious shade that made Harry's eyes hurt, but at the same time made him wonder how it was possible to get such a color. The person's outfit intrigues him even more. The person was wearing a thick black hoodie with a skeleton print down the front, and a small black skirt. They also had some sort of really tall socks, one white and one black with two with stripes. Underneath those were some tight things that almost look like ropes. They had their head down but Harry could also see what looked to be a collar with a bell on it, that connected to a long chain. They were playing with the chain.
Harry realized he had been staring and blushed deeply looking away. He didn't quite know what to make of this newcomer. They were interesting and seemed to be relatively cool, but they were silent and a stranger. For all, he knew this could have been some sort of creep.
He stayed on the swing though. He felt that it would be rude to get up and walk away.
They say like that for almost another half an hour. Just the swing's creaks breaking the silence of the abandoned park.  Creaakkkkk... creaakkkkkkk... creaakk...
When the person spoke Harry was startled. "Hi."
"O-oh. Hello." he stuttered out, unsure of what else to do.
"I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to." The person said shyly. "I just thought you looked like you needed someone else to come take your thoughts away for a while."
Harry stared. "What do you mean take away my thoughts?"
The person shrugged. "You looked like you really didn't want to be alive for a while. So I sat next to you and made the thoughts go away for a little bit."
Oh. Thought Harry. Now that he thought about it, the person did take the voices away when they got here. "Thank you." He whispered.
The person smiled and Harry's jaw dropped. "You're so pretty..." he realized what he said a moment too late and jerked back, face flushing and an apology on the tip of his tongue. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!
"Thanks." The person said looking down. "That's not something I hear often."
Harry didn't know what to say. "Uhm... look it's getting late I should probably get home..."
"Oh.. ok." They looked a bit upset. "Have a nice night then."
Harry slid off the swing slowly, and before he could think anything of it he said something stupid again. "D-do you have a phone? I could give you my number.." He curled in on himself. What is wrong with you?! They're going to think you're a desperate whore!
"Really?! I mean. Uh.. yeah here."
The person held out a small phone. Harry quickly typed it in and sent off a text to his own phone. "There. Ok. Bye." He turned and sprinted away, baggy clothing whipping in the wind.
When Harry got home he was immediately questioned by Dudley. "Where were you Harry? You're never out for that long!"
Harry still didn't know what to say. He had run all the way home and was completely out of breath. "I-i-i..." he took a deep breath and held it. Dudley didn't know what was wrong so he walked away. "I'll be in my room." He called over his shoulder flippantly.
Aunt Petunia came next, hearing the door and not seeing anyone. She spotted Harry, who looked as though he was going to pee himself, standing at the door.
"Harry?" She asked, slowly walking toward the frightened boy.
He mumbled something, face still shocked.
"What was that sweetheart?"
"I gave someone my number...I gave someone my number... aunt Petunia I made a friend!" He looked like he was going to cry.
"You made a friend! Oh, I'm so proud of you!" She hugged him tight. "Oh, sweet boy I knew you could do it!"
Harry laughed a bit deliriously, muttering about friends and phone numbers. "I'm going to make a special dinner. You go get changed out of those dirty clothes and I'll make dinner. We're celebrating tonight."
Harry nodded, heading upstairs to change.
For the first time in as long as he could remember, he didn't hear his own voice screaming about how unworthy and ugly he was. That night, dinner was calm and everybody soaked in the change over mashed potatoes and steak.
Harry even went to bed full, rather than throwing all the delicious food up, knowing that he didn't deserve it. He knew he'd regret it in the morning, but couldn't bring himself to care. He had talked to someone and they hadn't made fun of him, though a doubtful voice in the back of Harry's mind was beginning to get loud.
It was only as Harry laid down to sleep that night that he realized, he didn't know his friend's name... or their gender... The thoughts didn't help the voice.