second chances {l.s.}

day one.

trigger warning: tiny mention of ED

Harry was a simple kid. Or so he thought, at least. He had lived in Cheshire his entire life, until his parent's relationship fell through and ended eventually in divorce. Watching the crash and burn of it all left a feeling in his chest that never really seemed to fade away. They stayed with his grandmother for a bit, with his mum not wanting him to switch schools in the middle of his sophomore year.

Life after the divorce felt weird. Walking downstairs into the kitchen and seeing his mum sipping tea with his grandmother instead of his father felt wrong, in a sense, even if a piece of himself hated his father for the way things had went down. It was something he didn't like to talk about. Every day when he got home from school, part of him was still searching for his father, going to call out to him only to realize he wasn't around. He didn't even answer Harry's calls anymore, or those late night texts Harry would send that only read, "I'm sorry, Dad." He took the separation a lot harder than what he'd led on, or what he'd talked about with his mum, but he figured at that point she was starting to catch on. He wasn't eating as much, and it was a big deal just for him to leave his bedroom.

Three months after the divorce had been officially finalized, Harry, Anne, and his sister Gemma packed their bags and moved to a town called Doncaster. It wasn't Harry's choice, by any means - He was completely content at his grandmother's. However, Anne figured they'd be happier in a home of their own. The town was pretty, albeit much smaller than where he was from. A bit more rainy, too, but Harry didn't mind it all that much. It was a gloomy morning on the day of the move, with Harry sitting in the crowded backseat as he stared out the window. He watched the raindrops roll down the glass, eventually disappearing from view as they moved down the car. He could hear music playing from the radio but he wasn't paying it any mind, truly. It was early August, and he knew he'd be starting a new school year at a new school in just a matter of weeks. He couldn't say he was prepared.

The weeks seemed to fly by faster than anticipated. In the meantime, Harry had unpacked his room. He tried to make it as similar as possible to his room back home in Cheshire. The way it had been before his life had gone to hell, that was. He sat at the age of his bed on the morning of his first day back, in nothing but a pair of sweats. His guitar in the corner of the room was staring at him, it seemed. He moved to lay back against the bed once more, groaning. With the town being smaller than Cheshire, he had a feeling that everyone in the school already knew each other. That he would stick out like a sore thumb. It was a lot easier to hide back in the Cheshire High hallways, but now, he wasn't so sure how he would be able to get past it.

Eventually, Harry was able to pull himself out of bed. Only because Gemma had started banging on his door, telling him that they were about to have to go. He was dreading it, to say the least. But still, he stood to his feet and pulled on his clothes, grabbing his bag before he was heading downstairs as he ran his fingers through his unruly curls in an attempt to tame them. "Alright, alright, I'm ready." Harry mumbled as he saw the look Gemma had shot him, following his sister out to her car and climbing into the passengers seat. Though he'd only been in Doncaster a few weeks, he'd already noticed that it rained almost daily, so there he was again in the seat of the car, watching silently as the raindrops rolled down the window in an attempt to forget about all the things wracking his brain and leaving him nervous.

The ride was short. A bit too short for Harry's liking considering he truly wasn't ready to go inside. And of course, Gemma didn't even wait for him to get ready. As soon as she parked the car, she was turning it off and stepping out. Harry sighed quietly, opening the car door and stepping out as he slung his bag over his shoulder. He looked up at the school in front of them, seeing other kids already walking towards the entrance from their cars, or standing in circles talking around the walkway. All of them so unfamiliar and at the same time, so seemingly uninviting. He felt as if he was intruding on something. All these little cliques and groups and Harry wasn't even sure where he would fit in - or if he would at all.