Chapter 7 – Club Ramifications


-:-:-


He found himself back in his room in an instant, the door shut and locked behind him to the sound of Chad's protest.

"Sonny?" Chad called. "Sonny, come back. Ben's just being dumb, you look awesome."

No, Harry looked like a fucking prostitute, and now he felt like one, a stupid heat building behind his eyes as he charged into his bathroom, wiping frantically at his cheeks. Hell, he'd almost made a fool of himself. Ben had done him a favor calling it out before he'd actually gone outside, he was just looking out for Harry when the first mate was too stupid to do it for himself.

His vision began to blur as tears poured down his cheeks, Harry trying to avoid his reflection in the mirror as he dumped Evie's purse on the counter and tried to take slow, steadying breaths. It was a good thing he'd done this here instead of back home. He couldn't imagine how awful he'd feel if Jay told him he looked like a prostitute, if Uma thought he looked cheap.

And what was worse was that Harry liked this, he'd felt pretty, which meant he really did just have garbage taste. He was stupid for trying to divert from the tasteful outfits Evie had made specifically for him. She'd told him he couldn't wear makeup and here he was, in shimmering eyeshadow and fucking panties because he couldn't contain his dumb impulses. He tried to swallow his tears as he yanked the jewelry off, abandoning it on the counter as he fumbled for a towel. He just needed to take off the makeup and change back into his normal clothes, and then maybe Ben would let him pretend this had never happened.

"Hey," Chad's voice called from the open doorway to the bathroom, and Harry flinched at the sudden intrusion, eyes blinking wide. "We got Aziz to pick the lock since Ben can't use his master key without violating your trust and please don't cry." He was across the room in an instant, pulling Harry into a hug that he shouldn't surrender to. "We don't know why Ben's being stupid but Lonnie's yelling at him right now because he's wrong."

"He's not wrong, I'm an idiot," Harry gasped. "A stupid, garbage whore, and if I had any decency I'd be happy with my normal clothes, but of course I'm not because I'm fucking stupid."

"Literally none of those things are right," Chad soothed, tucking Harry's head under his chin so he could hold him close. "You're smart and generous and artistic and if wearing pretty clothes makes you happy then that's what you should do, and that definitely doesn't make you a prostitute or whatever Ben says so just ignore that guy."

"No, he's right." Harry shook his head. "I need to um- get changed. I-" He cut off with a wet croak. "I'm so stupid." He shook under the weight of his tears. "Why can't I just be fucking normal? I'm so dumb."

"You're not dumb," Chad snapped. "And who gives a shit about normality? Normality's overrated. You shouldn't feel bad for being true to yourself, and fucking fuck Ben for making you feel like that. There's nothing wrong with wearing eyeshadow, and Ben's going to tell you as much himself."

Before Harry could protest, he found himself getting dragged out into his room. He tried to resist when Chad got to the door to the sitting room, but the blond didn't try to make him enter, content to let Harry linger behind him.

"Ben," Chad spoke up. "You need to apologize for making Sonny cry, and take back all that awful stuff you said."

Immediately, Ben tensed. "I didn't make him actually cry, did I?" His gaze turned in Harry's direction, and they locked eyes for a moment before Harry ducked completely behind Chad, hiding like the coward he was.

"Grovel, Ben," Lonnie hissed. "Right now."

"Gonna have to side with Lonnie on this one," Aziz added.

"Ye guys don't have to do this," Harry sniffed, feeling embarrassed by their need to intercede on his behalf when Ben had just tried to be kind. "Just let me get changed back into normal clothes-"

"There is no such thing as normal," Doug, of all people, griped. "It's an illusion. Everyone's normal is different, and if yours involves makeup and pastels and sparkly shoes then that's no one's business but your own, and if someone tears you down for that- that's on them, not you." He pointedly glared at Ben. "Though for the record, as your friends, we should support you instead of trying to tear you down."

"I'm… I'm sorry," Ben said, looking mildly ashamed. "I was- you just really surprised me, and then I got afraid of him getting hurt-"

"You thought he was really pretty and didn't want the rest of the world to see it, I get it," Lonnie interrupted with the most off the wall explanation ever. "But that doesn't excuse your behavior. Now grovel."

Immediately, Ben turned his attention back to Harry, crossing the room and standing awkwardly in front of Chad, who refused to move. "Sonny, I'm so sorry. I never should have said those things, they were entirely out of line and if- if this makes you happy, then I support you, which is what I should have done from the get go."

"That's great," Chad drawled. "Now tell him he's not stupid or a prostitute."

Ben tensed. "I didn't- You're not a prostitute, Sonny, I didn't mean it like that."

"Well that's how he fucking took it," Chad murmured. "Your opinion means a lot to him and you know that. You took something that he felt really good about and basically called it wrong, which makes him think he's wrong, and he's not. You humiliated him, Ben – you who supposedly care for him so much-"

"What do you mean 'supposedly'?" Ben echoed. "I was trying to look out for him."

"In the meanest way possible!"

"Well, how do you think they're going to respond to this? Do you think it will be kindly, Chad? You know how much they hate stuff that's different. I just didn't want him to get torn apart by the media."

"They wouldn't tear him apart if you just supported him!"

"Guys," Lonnie interrupted, her tone furious. "This is not helping."

She wasn't wrong. Over the course of the argument, Harry's stupid tears had started up again, shame and humiliation seeming to tear his chest apart as he hid behind Chad.

"I don't think I want to go out anymore," he murmured, his voice tight and unhappy. "Please just go without me."

Chad looked over his shoulder with wide eyes. "Sonny-"

"Please," Harry said, his tone pathetic, his entire being pathetic. "Go. T-Take pictures. I'm just- I'll…"

Focus on the Isle, as he always should. Focus on being rugged Harry Hook instead of losing himself in stupid Sonny Smee. It was a rabbit hole deeper than Wonderland, and he felt like he was falling apart.

"If that's what you want," Chad said, seeming entirely reluctant.

"It is." Harry even managed to keep his voice steady when he said this, managed not to shake.

"We're just a phone call away if you change your mind," Chad continued, looking sad. "Or we could stay in with you-"

"Please just go," Harry whispered, voice tight. "I'm gonna call it an early night."

"Okay," Chad said, and eventually he pulled away. Eventually he walked into the sitting room, bumping shoulders with Ben, who turned to look at Harry, expression apologetic-

Harry closed the door before he could do something stupid like talk to the future king of Auradon, locking it before he retreated back to the bathroom so he could wash off his face, get out of these clothes. He needed to refocus. He needed to do better.

It was times like this that he wished he was back home, wished for Carlos' snarky comments or Gil's gentle enthusiasm. Would they think Harry was a whore?

It hurt too much to consider, so he pushed it away, focused on changing into some of his workout clothes, trading out the stupid panties for respectable boxer briefs and moving on with his life, just like he always did.

-:-:-

In an effort to remind himself who he was, Harry worked through his usual set of exercises that he'd already completed for the day before retrieving his stuff from the sitting room, Lonnie kind enough to leave it on the coffee table, before he launched into the exercises again. He'd go for a third time, but there was a line between conditioning and running himself ragged, so Harry settled for a quick shower before he resigned himself to his computer, reviewing the next set of criminals to be sent to the Isle so he could start making plans for when to contact the kids, what notes he'd slip to them.

He measured material and started tacking together another coat with secret pockets so he could sneak in more spell pages and fire starters. He tried to be productive even though he mostly felt like a fool, which was always a bitter pill to swallow. Throughout the course of the night, his phone let off frequent buzzes, the others sure to text him so he didn't feel left out. He couldn't bear to check any of the messages though, so he ignored it for as long as possible, ignored it until his mind was as tired as his body and he collapsed onto his bed, staring at the dumb rectangle that refused to leave him alone.

He flipped open the latest message and paused, throat going tight at the picture Ben had texted him, a selfie of himself and Lonnie under bright, multi-colored lights.

Even that couldn't hide the fact that Ben was definitely wearing makeup – eyeshadow, eyeliner, and maybe some lip gloss. His hair was slicked back with what seemed to be colored highlights and his t-shirt oversized – black with multiple horizontal cutouts across the front, the thing cropped halfway down his torso, revealing a metallic undershirt beneath. His smile was wide, and he seemed to be sporting his own clip-on jewelry, and it- but he'd said-

Harry flipped through the next few messages, and realized the others were dressed similarly – Aziz sporting a smokey eye while Chad had a pretty blue that brought out his own natural eye color. Chad had gone the route of an oversized sweater while Aziz sported a sparkly cardigan thing over a drapey blouse. Even Doug was dressed up, his glasses abandoned and hair slicked in the same color-changing stuff as Ben, wearing a black long sleeve sweater covered in pink flowers, clip on earrings catching the light-

They'd been wearing this shit all night. All of them. There were pictures of them all over social media, videos of them dancing and celebrating and having a relatively benign time wearing their own strange outfits and acting like it was completely normal. Every text acted like things were completely fine, informing him that they'd arrived safely and that Aziz kept stepping on their feet and Lonnie was the queen of the wobble, whatever the fuck that meant, and Harry was just- he was so confused.

His phone started ringing when he was reviewing everything for a second time, and of course it was Ben, because he was the only one who ever called Harry anyway.

"Sonny!" Ben greeted when he answered the call, seeming to be in a quiet place, his tone victorious and breathless. "You're still up! Wanna come get ice cream with us?"

For a moment, Harry froze, his heart seeming to thud painfully in his ears. "Are ye making fun of me?"

"What?" he could hear Ben's confusion, and that didn't lessen the ache in his chest. "No, Sonny."

"W-Why would you say all that and then-" He cut off with a harsh breath. "I get it, I was stupid-"

"No you weren't," Ben pressed. "That was the point. We were just trying to show our support-"

"By making fun of me." They'd looked so happy in those pictures, and it hadn't really hurt until now, to see them have fun without him, but he couldn't help but think back to the Isle, where they others were probably also getting along fine without him, because no one really needed him-

He started crying again, because he was exhausted and his brain refused to work with him that day, he was homesick and off balance and just wanted to find his way back to normal. He wanted to be angry Harry Hook again. That mask protected him, at least. He wanted that security back.

"Sonny," Ben called. "Sonny. Please just- hold on, we're gonna be there soon."

"Go get your stupid ice cream," Harry growled. "Go have fun and leave your stupid pet villain kid alone."

He hung up with a snarl, trying to take calming breaths to steady himself. He heard what people said when they thought he couldn't hear them. He was Uma's number one information collector back in the day, he knew how to get the things people didn't want him to hear. He was a joke, he'd become a joke, and worst of all, he'd let them do it to himself. And he didn't even know where to go because he was supposed to be charming Ben, supposed to do whatever he wanted and not yell at him like a damn idiot. If Ben wanted to make fun of him, who was Harry to argue? What the fuck did he know?

He needed to get a damn grip.

He fumbled for the phone, hitting redial as he tried to swallow around the lump in his throat.

"Sonny?"

"Sorry," Harry murmured, sounding small. "Sorry, I um- I shouldn't have yelled like that. It was- what ye did was nice, just- I don't- I don't want ice cream, or anything. Ye can- I'll join ye tomorrow. I don't think I'll be good company tonight."

"Okay," Ben said. "We're gonna cut the ice cream, though, because you're more important by like, a lot, and I feel like there's a lot of stuff we need to talk about."

"I was just being dumb," Harry sniffed, wiping at his cheeks. "I do that sometimes. I'm sorry. I shouldn't- I overreacted to everything. Ye were just trying to be helpful. I shouldn't have yelled."

"Please stop saying you're dumb."

"Ye don't have to be nice about it," Harry said. "I know I'm stupid. My dad said it enough times-"

"Your dad was a fucking villain, Sonny."

At that, Harry flinched, almost dropping his phone. "R-Right, right – what does- what do I know? Sorry."

"That wasn't- Sonny, that's not a slight against you. Please, I didn't mean it like that-"

There was a scuffle, and then Lonnie was there. "I don't know what you guys were talking about but Ben seems to be fumbling the ball so I cut in."

"He didn't say anything that wasn't true," Harry said. "Hey um- thanks for the makeover, by the way. I never said that, but it- it was kind of you to uh- indulge me. So- so thanks for that."

"When I get to your dorm room, I'm gonna give you the biggest hug," Lonnie declared. "We're almost there."

"That isn't necessary."

"It super fucking is, Sonny," Lonnie replied, tone stubborn. "It super fucking is."

Lonnie hadn't been lying about their approach, because a few minutes later Harry heard the sitting room door get pushed open, and with that he went to face his fate, hoping the frantic face wash he'd just performed would be enough to keep him from looking completely weak.

"Hey," Harry greeted weakly. "Thanks for the pictures."

"We love you," Lonnie interrupted, pulling him into a hard hug. "We love you exactly as you are and we would never make fun of you and I know that's a hard thing to trust because you've spent most of your life getting abused by your shitty dad but we do love you and respect you and want good things for you because you're nice and sweet and thoughtful."

Harry didn't know what to say in the wake of that, could only blink dumbly as Chad and Aziz piled onto the hug.

"We're so sorry," Chad said in a gush. "We didn't want you to feel worse. Or left out, but I think we did both those things but we just wanted to normalize your awesome style that is awesome because you are awesome and Ben get over here you asshole."

"I'm sorry," Ben murmured, and then they were all in a dumb group hug. "I'm so sorry, Sonny. I keep- I keep hurting you, and I hate it, because the only thing I want to do is make you smile and I panicked, I panicked when I saw you dressed like that because people are already so mean to you because of literally nothing and I was afraid that they'd see someone as bright and unique and wonderful as you and try to break you down more and I couldn't stand it, so then I just broke you down instead and it's just- it's fucking unforgivable. I know it's unforgivable, but please, if you could accept my apology, I'll spend the rest of our friendship actually supporting you instead of being a dumb coward."

"There's nothing wrong with you," Doug said, his expression earnest. "You're great, and you're definitely not dumb. Needing a private tutor doesn't make you dumb, and even if you were, that doesn't make your hurt feelings invalid. You matter. Your feelings matter. You are our friend and we love you."

That was a lot of earnest feelings and professions of love coming Harry's way, and he already felt so fragile and shaky and they- they seemed to mean it, had really done this to support him, which was such an elaborate and extreme gesture that it reminded him of his idiots running around back on the Isle, reminded him of Jay and Mal and Uma who were all so dramatic and somehow, he'd managed to find that dynamic here.

"Cripes," Harry sniffed, tearing up again. "Sorry, it's just- it's hard to believe that I could have something as good as you guys. Hard to trust that ye- you're not just indulging me or taking pity on me-"

"If anyone is being pitied, it is me," Chad rushed to say, nuzzling Harry's shoulder.

"But for the record, you are not being pitied," Doug spoke up, his expression determined. "No one is being pitied. We are all great and we all appreciate each other for the great things we bring to the table regardless of who our parents are or how we like to dress."

"I'm taking you shopping," Ben declared. "I wanna- whatever you want, Sonny, please. I just- I want you to be happy. I want to support your happiness."

"Ye guys are lunatics," Harry sniffed, trying to deal with that offer.

"Yes, but we are your lunatics," Aziz hummed. "Which I feel is a very important distinction."

-:-:-

They ended up spending the night after that. It wasn't really appropriate, and a little against the rules, but literally none of them would tolerate anything less.

Lonnie retreated back to her room so she could change into something more comfortable while Aziz, Doug, and Chad raided Ben and Harry's closets.

"We're not leaving you behind again," Chad pledged, determined to wrap himself around Harry like a damn monkey while Aziz and Ben worked together to create something called a blanket nest. "If you want alone time, you can have alone time, but we're going to be on the other side of the door if you need us because we want to be there for you, and seriously tonight was us mostly trying really hard to have fun but not having fun because you were not there."

"What he said," Aziz offered when he and Ben paused their work. "All we could think of was you being here alone and sad."

"And it was very super awful and I'm really fucking sorry," Ben said, looking miserable.

Ben. The future king, Ben, looked miserable.

"We know, Ben," Doug murmured, offering him a gentle smile from his perch beside Harry. "You just need to think before you let your beast take control."

"That was your beast?" Aziz asked. "Is that how it acts up?"

"Yeah," Ben sighed, dragging a hand across his face. "Usually I can anticipate it, but when I'm caught off guard, instead of thinking, it can run with my gut reactions in the worst way. In this instance, I was an overprotective asshole because I was thinking of the worst-case scenario and upset that you'd been put in a position where there could even be a worst-case scenario, and…" he sighed, abandoning his work so he could crouch next to Harry's legs, letting his torso splay across his lap with a dramatic huff. "You were really pretty. I was not prepared for you to be that pretty. Lonnie was right, the beast got mad at the idea of other people looking at you while you were dressed up like that." He ducked his head, a dark flush spilling across the bridge of his nose. "Honestly, it um- felt that way when all you guys dressed like that, so… um- yeah."

"Yeah?" Aziz echoed, bypassing blanket arrangement so he could plop himself next to Ben, letting his head tilt back until it rested against the bent curve of Doug's knees. "You think you can say that and finish it with 'yeah' and we'll leave it alone?"

"I'm sorry," Ben gushed, hiding his face in his hands. "I didn't know that was a thing I liked."

"So when we were dancing together, that wasn't actually your phone in your pocket?" Chad mused, making Ben flush darker.

What?

"Yep," Aziz hummed. "I'm pretty sure Ben's going to be buying all of us pretty clothes tomorrow."

Doug cleared his throat. "We could just buy our own."

"No, Beast Ben was a tool, and he needs to learn how to properly behave," Aziz declared. "Ergo, he buys."

"You're the worst, Aziz," Ben seemed to grumble, but he was still smiling, so Harry figured it was alright.

Strange, but alright.

-:-:-

Lonnie allowed them to sleep in, the six of them cuddled together in the nest of blankets Ben and Aziz had splayed across his large bed.

"It's more of a status thing than anything else," Ben explained with a flush as they got settled. "I never expected to actually have enough people to fill it."

"Then clearly, you were not dreaming large enough," Aziz drawled, earning a round of laughter from the rest of them.

Almost all of them wanted to sleep next to Harry which was unquestionably weird, but Chad and Lonnie won that fight, Lonnie aiming a haughty sniff in Ben's direction before the prince of Auradon tentatively settled in next to her.

It was awkward for maybe a few moments before Aziz sighed. "Can we cuddle and shit?" he asked. "Is that allowed, or are we gonna be weird about it?"

"I don't give a shit about morning wood," Lonnie offered. "If that was a concern."

"I've never slept this close to anyone before," Chad murmured, sounding embarrassed. "Have you, Sonny?"

"Yeah." Harry saw no point in lying. "Crewmates and stuff. My sisters. It used to get cold in the winters."

Sometimes body heat was the only thing to help them get by, but even that didn't always help.

"Here," he said, laying out on his back and tugging Chad so that the blond could curl against his side, using his chest as a pillow.

"Oh," Chad breathed before he seemed to melt into it. "This is awesome."

"Let me in there," Lonnie ordered, taking Harry's other side. After a moment, Ben draped herself around her back, nosing at her hair.

"Come on, Douglass," Aziz huffed, nudging him in next to Chad before he moved to spoon the dwarf kin. "Comfy?"

"Yeah," Doug whispered, seeming embarrassed but pleased. "Oh. Oh."

"What?" Aziz asked, highlighted by the dull light of Ben's distant lamp, the prince submitting to both Harry's and Chad's request to not be left in total darkness.

"Just um- dwarf stuff, I think," Doug said. "It catches me off guard sometimes."

"Does your dwarf side like this, Doug?" Lonnie asked, her voice full of fondness.

"Yeah," he said, somewhat dreamily. "Dwarves are all about connections, and when we're given more access to um- our platonic bonds… it's good."

"We should do this more often, then," Ben rumbled. "My beast feels that way too."

"What I'm hearing is that we have a new Friday night tradition," Lonnie chirped.

"Seconded," Aziz murmured, and just like that, they drifted off to sleep.

It was different, sleeping with new people, letting them this close, but Harry didn't think twice about it. These people were his. They cared when he hurt. They came back for him. They made statements for him.

So maybe, just maybe, he could trust them.


-:-:-


Endnotes:

Yes, yes, we're doing this purely to cater to all the dwarf and beast instincts. And that's the only reason why. Truly.

Until next time :)