hooked // harry hook

chapter four - student involvement

We had the club fair today during lunch break. I smiled as I saw all my peers representing the different activities they enjoyed. Evie was head of the sewing club, Jay and Lonnie were in charge of the athletics sign ups, Carlos was occupied with the computer science club, and Mal was starting up the art club. I smiled and stopped by each booth to chat with my friends before I spotted Harry's lonely figure sitting at a table, I approached him hesitantly.

On the one hand, he could use some help. On the other, everything he did did disarmed me. "Don't see any clubs you like?" I asked, sitting down across from him. "Who's gonna want me in their club?" he asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. It was the first time I could see some sort of sincere vulnerability from him. "You know, isolating yourself like this will only make things worse. You need to interact with people, find something you're passionate about." I reasoned, putting my head in my hands and looking up at him.

His blue eyes met mine, and for once, I felt like I could finally decode what he was feeling. "Thanks for the help, love, but I'll figure it out." he said, standing from the table. "Also, you seem to be stalking me. Keep it up." he winked, walking over to the club tables. I rolled my eyes and laughed, shaking my head. I was finally starting to figure him out, at least a little bit. I saw as Harry eyed the fencing sign ups, but changed his mind once he saw Jay glaring at him. I sighed and stood, walking over in Jay's direction. "Is that face really necessary?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Yes. Didn't I tell you to stay away from Harry?" he shot back, looking over at me. "It's my job to get him settled in. He wants to join fencing, and you giving him that face is not very inviting." I reasoned, shaking my head. "I already told you he was bad news, why do you keep advocating for him?" he asked, annoyed. "Jay, you can't let your personal feelings interfere with your club. Lonnie, you're captain, what do you think about all this?" I challenged, turning to her. "I think he deserves a fair shot. Jay, I'm gonna go give him the sign up sheet." she said, picking up the clipboard from the table and walking in Harry's direction.

"He has you under his spell, Vee." said Jay, shaking his head. "He definitely doesn't. I think he deserves a chance to prove himself, Jay. I'm sure people felt the same way about you when you got here. You out of all people should understand the way he feels right now. You came with your three best friends, you were never alone. He is." I answered, putting my hands on my hips. Jay had one thing right, I was most definitely under Harry's spell.

Despite that, I wanted him to have a good time here. Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Evie had a really hard time when they first moved here. Now they've all flourished and become comfortable at Auradon. Lonnie came back with Harry's name on the clipboard, and I said my goodbyes before making my way back to the dorm.

As I walked into the hallway, I heard my name from behind. "Vee!" said that increasingly familiar Scottish accent. I turned and smiled as Harry ran up to me. "Thanks for that." he smiled down at me. "My pleasure. That bad boy act isn't working very much anymore. I've got you figured out, Hook." I smirked, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow. "I certainly hope so." he said, winking and walking away to his room. I laughed and shook my head, opening the door to my room and closing it behind me.

-

I stood on Evie's podium, admiring myself in the dress she had made me for the garden party. It was a long rusty red colored dress with slits at either side of the waist. It was a halter cut, and tied up in the back. It was made out of a gauzy rayon style fabric, and the back of the dress begun towards the bottom of my lower back. I felt like a garden princess, and it matched not only the theme of the party, but my style as well. "Evie, this is incredible." I said, spinning in front of the mirror. "Oh, it was nothing!" she squealed, resting her hands on my arms and putting her head on my shoulder. "You look amazing. You're gonna kill it at the party tomorrow." she giggled. She helped me change out of the dress.

I changed back into my clothes and smiled appreciatively. "Only because of you. You're a literal blessing." I laughed, hugging her. "So, I've gotta ask. What's going on with Harry?" she wondered, wiggling her eyebrows. "Are you gonna give me a hard time about it too? Jay chewed me out this morning." I sighed. "No, no. What you told me is true. He deserves a chance. He needs to see how great Auradon really is, and us alienating him isn't fair." she clarified. I nodded and smiled. "I'm just doing my job. I'm trying to help him get settled. I feel like he just needs to make some friends. Everyone is being really short with him." I reasoned.

"Well, I'm willing to get to know him better. I'll drag Doug along, maybe we can convince Carlos. I'm pretty sure Mal and Jay are very set in their opinions, given the history there." she frowned. I nodded and smiled. "I'm sure we can arrange something. I don't know how receptive he'll be but we can try." I shrugged. I said my goodbyes and carried my dress down the hall to my dorm. The dress was so long I had to throw it over my shoulder and hold it above my head, obstructing my view. I accidentally bumped into someone, and immediately apologized. "Need some help with that?" he said.

I lowered the dress to reveal Harry smiling cheekily at me. "Why are you everywhere I turn?" I asked with a laugh. "Yeah, I could use the help." I smiled, handing it to him. He held up the hanger and followed me to my room. "What is this even for?" he asked, hanging it up in my closet. "The garden party?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "What?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck. "It's a day party out in the courtyard. There's food and tea and croquet." I said, sitting on the edge of my bed. "Oh, I didn't know. What do you wear to that kind of thing?" he laughed, shaking his head. "I can, uh, help you pick something if you want?" I suggested shyly. "Only if it matches your dress, since you're coming with me." he winked, walking out and whistling. Man, this guy could be smooth. I stood and followed him to his dorm. Was this a date?

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Made this chapter a little longer. What are you guys thinking about the story? Anything you hope to see? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for your votes and for reading, hope you're enjoying this as much as I am!