Burning Skies » larry

Chapter 16

Much to Harry's surprise, Louis asked him to stay for dinner with the other mutants who lived here. To say Harry was nervous was an understatement.

Harry was anxious at the very least with a bunch of human strangers, but mutants? That was a different conversation. Louis had reassured him that they were all nice, but Harry still couldn't help but be uneasy. 

At around 8 P.M., they all gathered in the dining room where a long, wooden table stood in the center, surrounded by wooden seats. Only now did Harry realize that there were actually workers in the place—cooks and maids who helped set up the table for them.

Harry stuck close to Louis' side even as they sat down. Harry took the seat at the edge of the table so that Louis was seated on his left side and Katrina was at the head of the table to his right. He met several new people—Sarah, a shapeshifter (Louis told him she usually transformed her skin to metal), Jacob who was telekinetic, Millie and Gavin who were healers, Patricia who had super strength, and Rosie (she looked no older than twelve) who was also a shapeshifter.

Zayn and Mitch were also there, seated next to Louis. Food was served, and everyone seemed at ease and chatted amicably. Harry kept to himself and forced himself to eat even though his stomach was currently in knots.

Louis leaned closer to him, his hand falling on Harry's knee. Harry was surprised by the contact but soon realized he didn't mind the weight of Louis' hand on him.

"We usually have meals together when many can come. We're not complete now, but it's definitely more than enough to fill up at least half the table." Louis told him.

Harry looked around him. Everyone looked happy and pleased to be here, and even Katrina who he'd expected to have her serious facade on was laughing along to something Sarah said. It was Harry's first time to be seated at a table filled with mutants and feel like he was meant to be here, somehow.

"You're right. You are like a little family." Harry said, looking at Louis through the curls that tumbled down his eyes.

"We are a family. We protect our own." Louis said, squeezing his knee comfortingly.

Harry tried to ignore how his throat suddenly felt tight. There was something about being here with people who shared so much similarities with him. He wondered about all their stories, how they ended up here. How did they deal with their powers? How did they eventually accept themselves?

For the rest of the night, Harry slowly felt more and more at ease. He felt welcomed. He felt content just sitting there beside Louis, listening to their stories. Harry even managed to hold a conversation with Sarah who swapped seats with Katrina so she could talk to him. She was lovely, of course, and she gave him her number, telling him not to hesitate calling her if something came up and he needed help of any kind.

Rosie, despite being young, talked like she had all the wisdom in the world. The entire table listened to her with delight, humoring her and urging her to talk about some facts about the moon that she just seemed to so casually spew. 

Millie and Gavin were attached to the hip, kind and friendly as the rest of them. Harry wondered if they were together.

The quiet ones were Mitch and Jacob, though Mitch smiled at him whenever their eyes met. He was a bit like Zayn, probably introverted, but still friendly and warm. Jacob, though, looked like he would rather be somewhere else.

Dinner came to an end a few minutes later. They said their goodbyes to the others before Katrina led them to the lobby.

"I'll let you know how the interrogation goes, Harry. Just know that we've dealt with mutants like this before, so we know what we're doing. If everything goes as planned, it'll be easier for us to ensure that these men won't put you or any other mutant in danger again." Katrina said.