Chapter 2: Meetings

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The park was a huge place. Besides its typical playground it also had a wooded area with many different paths. One path led to a shallow duck pond where parents and children often went to feed the birds. Other paths were just trails for walking and bike riding. During the day they were normally busy with people walking among the trees and shrubs. But at night, the park took on a different persona.

The playground was completely empty once it got dark. You'd see the occasional night jogger or a few couples walking around the pond. But if a person was to step off of the paths, they might meet a rather unexpected group lingering.

Off route from one particular path led to their hangout. It was secluded and you could easily get lost in the woods if you didn't know where you were heading. If you had been successful in your journey there you'd be greeted by three large sitting rocks. That is were they hung out. Where deals were made. Not even the cops went into that part of the woods at night.

It was sort of an unwritten code not to go into those woods at night. The kids who hung around there weren't the type of kids you'd take home to mom and dad. They were liars, trash. Idiots, all of them were idiots. Well, all except Brock.

At first glimpse you'd see an average kid. Handsome face, muscular physic. He was tall, six foot one to be exact. Brock was young, only eighteen, and his face was clean shaven. His dirty blond hair was long, not too long though. He wore nice fitting jeans and brand name shirts and his usual black leather jacket. His outer appearance would never make you think twice about his motives.

But his eyes could rattle the mind. Those baby-blues pulled you in with some kind of force that just took over. The gleam in his eyes just made you want to trust him, although something you should never do was trust Brock. Behind the beauty was a monster, a real mixer. A manipulative, cunning kid with a hidden agenda. His eyes alone could tell the mischief that was in store, only, most people realized this about him when it was too late.

Brock was the leader of the little gang. They all flocked to him, following him around like a herd of love sick puppies. He could treat them like dirt and they would still come back to him. Brock got into their minds and made them do things for him and made it seem like it was all for a good reason. Brock was clever. You'd need to be clever to be in the field of work he was in.

Drugs. He could get almost anything. All you had to do was ask, all he asked for was the money to buy it and for your word. Your word was everything in the deal. A person's word created a bond. It sealed the deal. It's how he kept them coming back, binding themselves to his every wish and every want. Brock could get anything out of them. And he was smart about it, often twisting words around making it seem like things were the other persons idea. Brock was no idiot.

His friends, or should I say cronies, were another story. They weren't anywhere near Brock's level. They weren't as intelligent as he was, but each of them had a purpose.

If there was a second in command it would have been Ben. Ben and Brock came across as best friends, but Brock was just using Ben, only Ben couldn't see that for himself. He treated Ben better then the rest of them though. Maybe Brock did see Ben as the closest thing he had to a friend, its hard to tell what Brock was thinking most of the time.

Ben was a nice kid. No matter what you can say about Ben, he was a damn nice kid. Just a year younger that Brock, Ben was easily just as beautiful. His dark brown hair was kept short, but still long enough to spike it. He normally wore nice hooded sweaters and jeans with sandals. He looked like a model out of a magazine.

If any of them had a chance at a future it was Ben. He had very good grades, any university would have taken. He was school smart, but not so people smart otherwise he would have seen how much of a hold Brock kept on him. But either way, Ben was a good guy. He really was. He had a warming smile that just made you feel good and he never treated the rest of the group like shit like Brock did.

Brock's mission in finding friends was to benefit himself mainly. Ben was there to back up Brock when things got tough. Ben's father was a policeman. Being friends with Ben gave Brock a cover story. If he ever got into trouble Ben would be able to tell his father that Brock had actually been with him. And it worked. Ben had gotten Brock out of some pretty sticky situations before, just by providing an alibi.

That's all Ben really was to Brock. A cover. He couldn't give two shits about what really happened to the people in his little group.

Then there were the half-brothers, John and Max. Just by looking at them, you could tell that there was no way for them to be related by blood. The reason Max's mother married John's dad was actually because of Brock, in a way.

John and Max had become friends through Brock; both of them came to Brock for pot, that's how they met him. One night, Max was at John house when Max's mom came to pick him up. She started talking to John's dad and then from there they fell in love.

John had short brown hair that was shaved closely to his head. His usual outfit consisted of light jeans and a white tee-shirt. John was loud. That is one thing you could say about John, he was loud. He always spoke loudly, as though he was bragging about something he had done, like he wanted you to know what was going on in his life so he could get credit for it. John loved the attention he got from people.

Max on the other hand was quiet. While John would be the center of attention, Max would be to the side, watching the scene. He was shorter then John and didn't have a personality even similar to that of his half-brother. No one really knew how they had come to be such good friends. Maybe they become friends out of the "opposite attract" rule. Max was only five foot eight while John was five eleven. Max had reddish dark brown Mohawk and wore cargo paints with an opened button up shirt with a band shirt underneath.

Brock's main interest in the half-brothers was drugs. Max's mother owned a pharmacy and John's father was a doctor. Both were Brock's ticket to certain drugs. Brock, within time, was able to have John and Max bring him whatever he needed, and Brock would sell it to his other "clients", giving both boys a share of his profit, though not even a good share at that. What the sixteen year olds didn't know didn't hurt them, right?

Then there was Taylor. Taylor was Brock's girlfriend, so you can just assume how she must have been, after all, what kind of girl would want to be with a guy like Brock?

Like her boyfriend, she carried the normal good looks one might see at a first glance. She was five foot five and thin. Her hair was dyed black and went just below her shoulders. Her hazel eyes, like her boyfriends, told the real tale about who she was. She was a heroin addict, that's why she was with Brock. She wanted her drugs. What Brock wanted out of her was plain and simple; sex. And remember, Brock always gets what he wants. Everyone knew though, within time the drugs would weather Taylor. Her tan face would become pale and look older. Then Brock wouldn't need her anymore. He move on to the next girl he could find without a second glance at Taylor.

The other girl in the group was Candy. Words couldn't describe the way Candy acted. She was poison. Candy had a harsh voice and a harsh vocabulary to go along with it. Normally when you her candy you think of sweet. The only thing sweet about Candy was her name, and maybe the pink hair. Candy was a trashy. She wore mini skirts and midriff bearing tops that revealed a belly button ring. She also had many tattoos. They were all over her arms and her legs.

What Brock got out of her, no one was really sure. All they knew is that Candy wanted ecstasy, and ecstasy is what Candy would get. One could assume though, what Brock was doing with Taylor, he was probably doing with Candy on the side.

Harry wasn't sure how he had become friends with them. All he knew was that one day he was at the park talking to Brock and the next he was making his own deals with the con man.

As of right now, all Harry wanted out of Brock was cigarettes. And Brock would get them for him; all he asked for was a simple exchange.

Vicodin. A pain reliever. That's what Brock wanted from Harry. They were almost impossible to get unless they were prescribed. That's were Harry came into the deal. Uncle Vernon had been prescribed Vicodin because of his back. Once in a while Harry's uncle would need one for his back, but the rest of the time, the bottle just sat in the bathroom medicine cabinet. Now one ever noticed that Harry had been taking them. Good thing it was a large bottle.

Harry would bring the pills to Brock and in exchange Brock would bring him some cigarettes. It seemed a fair deal to Harry.

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The usual gang was at the rock sight. They had a fire going and music playing. Brock and Taylor were sitting on a rock, furiously snogging. Candy was flirting with John who couldn't stop laughing. He must have been on something. Max was sitting against a tree talking to Ben.

As Harry walked into the meeting spot Max looked up and acknowledged Harry with a nod. Harry nodded back.

Ben looked up and smiled, "Hey."

"Hey." Harry replied back, "What's up?"

"Not much, you?" Ben replied

Harry shrugged, "Can't complain."

Harry was the youngest member of the group and the shortest. If you compared Harry to Brock it would be almost funny. Harry was short and skinny while Brock was tall and muscular. Brock could have easily killed Harry if he had tried hard enough.

"So, whatcha got today?" Brock asked as Harry walked over to him, his eyes never leaving Harry.

"Here. I got you ten."

"Nice job, Potter." Brock said as he took the pills from Harry's hand and looked over them quickly. He then smiled and said, "This stuff is crazy if you mix it with alcohol. Good work. Oh, and these are for you."

Brock handed Harry the fresh pack of cigarettes. Harry put the pack in his pocket and turned to walk away.

"Where are you going exactly?" Taylor asked as she snuggled closer to Brock who didn't seem interested in her what so ever.

"Home." Harry replied. Brock narrowed his eyes. The rest of the group looked interested. No one normally left that quickly.

"It's not even dark yet." Candy said as she held out a beer to Harry, "Stay awhile longer and have a drink."

"Cant." Harry said, "I've got to get home before my aunt and uncle get back from dinner."

"That sucks, you're missing the fun." John said, spitting while he spoke.

"Potter." Brock said and Harry turned back towards him, "I need double next time."

"Are you joking?" Harry asked, "That's a lot to take in one go."

"No. Double." Brock repeated and then stared at Harry viciously, "You bring me double next time."

Harry just looked back at him for a moment as though he was trying to resist, then dropped his eyes and nodding, "Right, double. See you later."

Harry walked back onto the path and headed back out of the park. The sun had not quite set yet. Truthfully speaking, Harry didn't actually have to go home right away. His aunt, uncle and cousin were spending the night at some friends they were visiting. Harry just wasn't really in the mood to hang around the gang today. He had a fair bit on his mind.

As he walked out of the park he noticed a man sitting on the stone wall fence. It was Sirius. Harry walked over to him, not really knowing why he was doing so. Sirius smiled as Harry approached. It was time to start getting to know him.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked

"I came for a walk. I was visiting a friend near by." Sirius replied

"Oh." Harry said

"Doing anything right now?" Sirius asked

"I was going home." Harry said

"I was just about to go into town and get a cup of coffee. Want to come?"

Harry stared at Sirius for a minute. He felt like he shouldn't go with this guy. He didn't even know him; all he knew was that this guy claimed to be his godfather. For all he knew, this guy could be some crazy murder that was waiting to kill Harry when he let his guard down. Finally Harry asked, "Are you paying?"

Sirius let out a bark like laugh, "Sure."

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AN: Okay that was chapter 2. Hope you liked it. I'm actually going to have Harry and Sirius interact more in the next chapter. I just wanted to introduce the gang and all. Please read and review.