A/N: The writing of this story has been heavily influenced by a playlist I put together. If you're interested in the musical vibes for this fic, search Spotify for Osborn by parergon_life or spotify:playlist:7xQuMbeiFBMVl79V729Xjo

Chapter 2

Zahra didn't expect to see the mysterious young man again. It was more often that guys would act interested in her one moment and vanish the next. It seemed like all of them were only actually interested in 'hooking-up', as one of the more polite terms described it. So Zahra was indeed surprised to see Harry sitting outside of her workplace a couple days later. He was composed – shoulders back, hands tucked into his overcoat, legs crossed revealing rather expensive-looking shoes. When he caught sight of her he stood and passed a hand through his mop of brown hair that fell into his eyes.

"Good morning," she greeted as she walked over. "Have you been out here very long? It's so cold and damp."

"Just a few minutes. How was work?"

She shrugged. "Not bad; it's pretty much the same routine. How are you?"

"Alright. I could use a coffee though. How about you?"

Zahra shifted her feet. "Well, uh, don't you have to go to work or something?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" He raised an eyebrow and smirked a bit. "Still don't trust me, huh?"

She looked away.

"I don't blame you."

"I just...I don't think that you're a creep, but..."

"I'm not after that one thing, okay? I want you to know that."

Zahra was almost speechless, gazing into mesmerizingly blue eyes. She had vaguely noted that they were a pale colour, but somehow this was the first time that she realized how startlingly blue. "I understand," she murmured.

"So, I'm going for breakfast, if would you like to join me."

Her mental faculties deliberated fiercely. He was still a stranger to her and yet she felt something reassuring about his presence. Despite his very straight-forward statement, her suspicions still whispered about ulterior motives. The desire for companionship over-rode caution. "Yes," she replied with more confidence in her voice than she was expecting to hear.

"Great. Someone recommended a place that's a couple blocks from here. Do you mind a bit of walking?"

"Not at all." Zahra glanced down at her clothing - sneakers, jeans, and a coat over her hoodie. "Wait, I'm not at all dressed up for this sort of thing. My work clothes aren't meant for going about in public."

He shrugged. "It's okay. You look fine to me."

She couldn't help but feel a little happy inside at that. Usually she wouldn't go anywhere without at least a bit of mascara on, but Harry didn't seem to mind her less-than-polished morning look. His trustworthiness just increased slightly.

Shortly thereafter, they had finished a hearty breakfast, and were chatting over their recently topped-up coffee. Zahra and Harry found that they had much to talk about, yet they had both stayed clear of anything relating to family. Soon the waitress came by with the cheque. Zahra attempted to take a discreet glance at the bill, however Harry casually placed a hand over the slip of paper.

"Don't worry about it," he said.

"At least let me take care of my half," she insisted.

He was already taking out his wallet and pulling out a credit card. "It's my pleasure," he replied.

"Thank you," Zahra murmured.

"This was nice; we should do this again." He glanced over at her and read the expression in her eyes - she was concerned about the money, concerned that he was expecting something back, although she didn't say it. "When are you free again?"

He watched her bite her lip before she replied. "Aside from cleaning, I'm usually doing schoolwork during the day, but my schedule is pretty flexible."

"If you're not busy this Monday, would you like to go out sightseeing? I've been in Berlin a couple weeks, but I've only been taking in the nightlife; I'd like a break from that. I'm sure there are places without tourists that you could show me."

"Alright, I guess that would be okay."

"You don't sound convinced."

"I guess I'm just not sure what to make of this; girls have reason to be cautious, if you know what I mean."

Harry's eyes dropped. He couldn't deny that had treated some girls as nothing more than a distraction – to have some fun with and then move on. Whatever it took to fill that void. Yet, here was someone who was just as emotionally isolated as himself; someone who didn't have the option to run away, just buckle down and endure it.

He wasn't about to complicate this any further; he had to fully level with her. "It's a selfish request for me to make, but there's something about you that I trust. I don't have anyone else I can share my thoughts with. I just could really use a friend."

Zahra wanted to believe him; yet, was he just trying to get her to feel bad for him? The prolonged silence prompted Harry to look up at her, gage her reaction. That's when she really caught sight of him; fear tainting his questioning eyes. Harry was just as alone as she was. It wasn't that he was looking for pity, he was pleading not to be left alone. And somewhere in the middle of feeling utterly lost, they had found each other.

"I could use a friend too," Zahra replied quietly.

"Zahra! Zahra, don't walk away when I'm talking to you!"

"There's nothing to talk about! I'm done arguing."

"There is plenty to talk about!"

Zahra halted and spun around to face her mother. "You're just going to side with him. You always do."

"You are constantly disrespectful to your stepfather. Why would I side with you on that?"

"I do my best to be polite and stay out of his way, but I'm allowed to have my own opinions."

"He's right, you do have an attitude problem. You just refuse to take responsibility for it."

"And just what am I supposed to 'take responsibility' for? I bought that food with my own money, and put my name on it, and he completely disregards that and just eats most of it. Of course, this is after I've been informed by both of you to 'start learning how to provide for myself,' as you put it – or more like fending for myself. So how is this my fault?"

"You just deliberately refuse to share with him, and after all he's done for you."

"Please remind me what he's allegedly done for me, because I've always felt like the baggage he got when he married you."

"Zahra! He takes care of you like you were his own daughter!"

"More like a stranger who is renting a room, but if that's what you want to see, then I doubt I can convince you otherwise. Please just leave me alone."

"You should go cool down anyways!"

Zahra went into her room, carefully closed the door, and stood there seething. She just wanted to throw something, break something, so badly that her hands shook. Her eyes darted about, but she couldn't locate anything that wouldn't either make a huge mess or that she would regret breaking. Zahra slumped down to the floor beside her bed and just sobbed quietly into her blankets.

This is what her life had become. It wasn't that bad, compared to that of others, but this was wearing her down. Her step-father was suffocating her, and her mother had seemingly become a different person. Between his own pre-teen daughter and grade school-aged son, and the toddler from this marriage, Zahra felt totally out of place. It was like they were all just waiting for her to move out so that they could get on with this new life.

But where did she belong now? She couldn't just go back to Washington and continue where she had left off. Her actual father still lived in the state, but he also had his own new family now. Most of the people she used to be friends with she didn't even know anymore. Only a handful of people had stayed in touch with her over the past couple years, and she had barely made any new friends in Germany. Her interests, hobbies, goals, hopes - they seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Zahra didn't even recognize herself anymore.

"Harry, it has been suggested by your father that you make an appearance at a few meetings with the subsidiary companies."

"Why? The last thing they need is the oversight of some kid."

"As the heir of Oscorp, your father wants everyone to get accustomed to seeing you stepping into his shoes."

"It's unnecessary micro-management. Isn't this what you're supposed to do as Chief Operations Officer?"

"Nevertheless, your father would like for you to become familiar with all aspects of the company. It's the least you can do to show that you actually care about the future of Oscorp."

"Do I have a choice?"

The delayed response on the other side was enough of a reply for him.

"Fine, I'll go. Just send the details to my assistant and he can work it into my schedule."

The conversation ended and Harry stood up from the computer. There seemed to be few things as aggravating as taking orders from his ill father via Donald Menken - Norman Osborn's COO as well as executive assistant and right hand man. These video calls were as tedious as they were exhausting. Harry strolled across his suite and gazed out the window at the grey weather that morning. The weather was likely similar in New York right now.

Somewhere in the background he heard a familiar chime, and he turned to locate his phone; it was a message from Zahra. Harry had texted her a couple hours ago when he had awakened, but she hadn't replied until now. Just knowing that Zahra was thinking about him was enough to settle his turbulent emotions a bit. Ever since they had exchanged phone numbers they had been messaging each other a lot.

Sorry for the late reply. I had some stuff going on... How are you?

Not too good. How about you?

Same. I'm not busy today btw

Thoughts on getting brunch?

That would be amazing

Thirty-five minutes later, Harry was watching Zahra walk towards him with a small smile on her face. She was bundled into a rain jacket and boots, and held an umbrella overhead.

"You walked?" he asked.

"Just part-way, I took the tram. It wasn't raining like this when I started out," she replied as she folded the wet umbrella.

"I could've picked you up."

"I needed the walk; it's alright."

She smiled a bit more, yet her eyes looked as though she had been crying recently. Harry noted this, but said nothing; she probably didn't want to immediately get into a discussion about whatever was upsetting her.

"So, what would you like to do?" she asked.

"I feel like window shopping."

Her eyebrows raised. "That's the first time I've ever heard a guy say that."

He chuckled. "It's a good way to get a change of scenery, get inspiration. Is your umbrella big enough for both of us?"

Zahra gave it a hesitant glance. "I don't think so..."

"Alright, we'll use mine. Just a moment..." Harry pulled out his phone. "Brady, could you bring an umbrella over?"

A moment later a man briskly walked over with a large umbrella, and accepted Zahra's in return.

"Thanks. We're going to walk around for a bit," Harry said to him.

Zahra all but stared as the man returned to a waiting car - a luxury sedan to be precise. She looked back at Harry with questions all over her face, but thought that it would be rude to ask them.

"Well, let's go," he said, as he raised the umbrella. "You can come closer than that."

He watched her hesitate a little and bite her lip - still so shy. They strolled down the streets, which were still bustling with people despite the inclement weather. Whenever they came across a shop that looked interesting, they went inside. Home decor ended up being the main attraction for them both. Harry favoured an interesting mix of old world aesthetics and starkly modern pieces. Zahra was drawn to a delicate, Asian-inspired look.

'I think we could strike a balance here; what if we started an interior decorating company?" he joked.

She laughed a bit. "I'm not much of a decorator – I wouldn't know how to put it all together."

"All you need are ideas and good examples. I think you would like Singapore, it's just your style."

"You've been there? I'd love to travel more."

"It's an exciting place. You moved here from the States though - that's a fair bit of traveling right there."

"Yes... but I didn't really have a choice," she murmured while her fingers brushed over the tassels of a pillow. "When my mom got remarried, we just up and moved. I was fourteen at the time. It was hard to leave school and friends and everything I had grown up with. And I had to suddenly learn German. I've adjusted, but it's taken a while."

"Culture shock... must have been difficult."

"I think that if I had at least had more time to get used to the idea of moving to a new country, or had the chance to visit first, it might have been easier to transition. So, even though I like Berlin, it's just not home."

"Is Washington home?"

"Maybe, but I'm just not sure anymore. I feel like I'm just drifting. I definitely want to see more of the world though."

"There's a lot out there. I've done a lot of traveling, but I can sympathize with you; I still feel like I'm looking for home."

"Isn't New York home for you?"

Harry sighed. "It's many things... though I'm not sure that I could call it that."

After a couple hours they became hungry and ducked into a cozy eatery. It was still pouring outside. Despite all of the browsing they had done, neither of them had bought anything, so they were unencumbered by parcels. However, eating together was definitely becoming a favoured activity for Harry and Zahra.

"Thank you for getting me out of the house today," she told him. "This has been fun."

"What would you have been doing otherwise?"

She shrugged. "I would probably be holed up in my room, reading. I don't get out much."

"Wait..." Harry said suddenly, "how old are you?"

"I'm seventeen."

"Oh..." he grinned, "I thought you were older."

"Why? How old are you?" she asked, suddenly worried.

"Twenty. And you're still in high school."

She nervously looked down at her hands. "I kinda thought you might be older than me…"

"Well, I didn't think that you were a lot younger; you're more mature than some twenty-five year olds."

"I guess I'll take that as a complement," Zahra said with a laugh.

Harry found himself with too much time on his hands. What had he usually filled his days with? Spending money, clubbing, showing up at the never-ending array of activities for the fabulously wealthy… Occasionally, he actually did some work for Oscorp, but he really wasn't expected to do all that much; his father's company was still very much his father's company. But lately he hadn't been interested in any of those things. His nights awake were no longer spent cavorting; instead he passed his sleeplessness on the Internet or reading in bed. In fact, when sleep was particularly evasive, he would text Zahra; knowing that she would see it when she woke up to go to work.

He closed his eyes imagining the look of surprise on her face, and the smile that she would wear as she travelled through the darkened city to start her day. Zahra wasn't like the girls that he had spent so much time with; she was self-conscious and awkward at times, she wasn't manipulative in the least, she was genuine. Whenever he spoke, he knew she was carefully listening to every word. Somewhere in the midst of those thoughts, Harry drifted off to sleep.