(A/N: Thank you for your responses. I'm super happy that you want to read this story and I'm happy you'll be along for the roller coaster ride. It will be angsty; I'm not going to lie. But it will be worth it in the end. Anyway Enjoy.)

"When Will You Learn"

This wasn't who he was; this was not him at all. Sure, he lived in a rough neighborhood in the city. And yes, he's been around drug dealers and gang-bangers, pretty much all his life. But this wasn't his lifestyle. He wasn't one of those boys in the hood type, to carry a gun and shoot a motherfucker for looking at him wrong. He didn't hang out on the corner all hours of the night and sell drugs to dope fiends in the neighborhood. He didn't start shit with people from different neighborhoods just because they weren't from where he was from. He wasn't a gansta, a thug or a criminal. But in this moment walking back to the store in handcuffs, with his head hanging down in shame, that's exactly how Harrison felt. And he had nobody to blame but himself. The cop had outsmarted him and now he was sure he was gong to go down.

Harrison had a clean record. He'd never been in trouble with the law before. He always tried to stay on the straight and narrow; even when many of the other boys in his neighborhood strayed from that path. He wasn't a follower, but he didn't want to seem like a punk either. Rico always did know how to push his buttons. He thought as he rolled his eyes. He walked back in the store with the cop holding onto his cuffed hands behind his back. He saw Rico face down on the ground in the store handcuffed as well, with a cop's knee in his back. Rico was arguing with the cop, he always did have a smart-ass mouth. But most of the cops around here were assholes and always made things a lot harder for you if you mouthed off to them. Rico knew that, but still he tested the limits.

"Fuck you, you bitch ass pig! You wouldn't be this fucking bold if I wasn't hand-cuffed and you ain't have that fucking gun would you!" yelled Rico as the cop pressed his knee into his back even harder. Rico groaned and the cop took his baton off of his side belt and held it about an inch away from Rico's head. Rico had his face turned to the side with his cheek pressed to the floor of the store.

"You might wanna watch your tone there boy, this day could get a lot harder for you," warned the cop sneering as he tapped Rico's forehead lightly with the baton. Rico grimaced and huffed steaming mad.

"That's uncalled for Ballard, pick the boy up off the floor and put your damn baton away," said the cop that was with Harrison.

"Sorry Sergeant Grant you're right," said Ballard smiling over at Grant. He put his baton away. But when Grant turned his head Ballard leaned down and whispered in Rico's ear. "You're lucky he's here otherwise things could've gotten much uglier for you boy, now get the hell up and don't say another fucking word."

"Fuck you," mumbled Rico as Ballard helped him get up off the floor.

Huck ran in minus the last boy that was running away from the store. He and Fitz talked to the storeowners and got a full report then. Huck rode to the station with Ballard and Rico, but not before Rico yelled out to Harrison.

"Aye H don't tell these fucking feds shit man, keep your fucking mouth shut!"

"Shut the hell up," growled Ballard firmly as he dragged Rico out of the store. Huck followed them out to Jake's patrol car and they all got inside and drove off.


Once they left Fitz put Harrison in the back of his squad car and left the windows cracked a bit. Then he locked the car doors and went back inside the store. Harrison rolled his eyes did the cop actually think he could try to get out of the car with his handcuffs locked behind his back.

The cop came back out of the store after making a call on his radio; he got in the car and drove off. Harrison sighed and sat back in his seat. He knew this was going to be a long day. His sister and his mom were going to fucking kill him when they found out that he'd been arrested. Marcus said Harrison was the faster one, but Marcus was the only one who got away. He wondered briefly where Marcus and T.J. were and if they had the money after all.

Fitz glanced at Harrison in his rearview mirror every now and then. The drive to the police station from the corner store was a short one. But Fitz took the long way to have some time to take in the young boy. He couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen years old. His life hadn't even really begun yet, but here he was making bad decisions already. Patrolling this neighborhood as often as he did, Fitz new of some of the boys in this area, especially the more popular ones. When Fitz first booked Harrison, he saw his name on his learners permit. And recognized it immediately. Harrison and his group of friends were well known around the neighborhood, each for different reasons.

While Rico had been a frequent visitor to the police station, he'd never seen Harrison there before. A friend of his was the assistant coach of the basketball team at Anacostia Senior High, where all the boys went to school. And he'd heard from his friend that Harrison was a bit of a basketball star. He was smart too, with a 3.5 GPA. This boy had a bright future ahead of him and could go very far if he wanted too. But mistakes like this would cost him his bright future if he didn't change. Fitz sighed. He saw this all the time, particularly in this neighborhood. Smart and talented young boys and girls, who had a chance to make something of themselves and get out, always get sucked in by the lifestyle.

Harrison didn't know it, but he had his whole life ahead of him. There was so much more to the world then Congress Heights in South East D.C. He could witness it first hand if he gave himself the chance to do great things.

He was about ten minutes away from the police station when he glanced at Harrison again in the rearview mirror. Harrison sat back slouched down a bit with his head facing the window. He was staring outside at the scenery as they passed it by. Silently wondering when he would be free to go outside and enjoy his freedom again. Harrison wasn't a bad kid. Fitz could feel it; he just needed to make better decisions.

"You play basketball for Anacostia right?" asked Fitz sparking up a conversation.

Harrison turned his head to Fitz and looked at him in the rearview mirror. His face was expressionless, after a few more seconds of staring at Fitz in the mirror. He turned his head back to the window and continued to stare outside.

"My buddy Billy is the assistant coach there, he says you're a really promising player," continued Fitz not phased one bit by Harrison's silence. His comment was met by more silence but he continued on.

"I used to play basketball myself back in high school, I was a shooting guard." Harrison huffed loudly but didn't say a word and Fitz continued. "I don't think I was as good as you though. Billy tells me you have to potential to get a scholarship to a good school if you continue to play as well as you do," said Fitz looking at him through the rearview mirror. Harrison rolled his eyes and continued to look out the window. "You won't get any scholarship if you're sitting in jail kid," said Fitz knowingly. Harrison glared at him.

"You don't know me or my life so stop pretending like you do man!" he snapped looking at Fitz through the mirror. Fitz let the insult roll off of him before speaking again.

"I know that you have a chance to make it out of here but you're wasting it by making bad decisions Harrison," he said calmly as he made a turn at a traffic light.

"Fuck you, don't call my name like you know me, you don't fucking know me! All you pigs are the same. Ya'll claim to want to help people in the community when all ya'll really want to do is get young black boys off the street and put them in jail. Ya'll ain't never there when shit goes down but you show up when everything is over and harass the wrong fucking people. Ya'll shoot first and ask questions later, but I'm the criminal, man fuck that. And fuck that cop that had his knee in my mans back. He probably would've beaten him to within an inch of his life if there weren't any witnesses around. Ya'll aint protecting shit and you don't give a damn about me so don't act like you do cus I ain't buying it pig!" said Harrison ending his rant.

Fitz sighed, so much anger in him and at such a young age. But he understood why. The cops in this city particularly in this neighborhood had a bad reputation because of cops like Ballard who were more like bullies than police officers. There were some cops who were bad but not all of them were like that and Fitz was going to show Harrison that fact today.


He didn't say anything else to Harrison after Harrison's rant and continued to drive on. Harrison saw that they were reaching the police station and sighed once again. Time to face the music he thought. He sat up and watched as Fitz drove up to the station, but was confused as Fitz continued to drive past it. He looked back and noticed that they were not stopping. He watched in the window as the police station faded into the distance and noticed that Fitz was making a turn.

"Where the hell are we going?" asked Harrison as he noticed some familiar streets.

Fitz didn't say anything he just continued to drive and Harrison got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. For all he knew this cop could be taking him to an alley to beat his ass and then dispose of him and make it look like it was Harrison's fault. He knew he should've kept his mouth shut. But he was just so frustrated, now he was scared.

Fitz continued to drive and Harrison finally noticed that they were on his street across from where he lived. A few people were hanging out outside on the corner. Some he knew some he didn't. All of their attention turned to the cop car. Everyone in this neighborhood knew that when the cops showed up nothing good could come from it.

"What's going on?" asked Harrison confused. Fitz parked the car on the opposite side of the street where Harrison lived. He turned to him and said.

"Not all cops are bad Harrison. And you're a good kid, you just made a mistake. Am I right to assume that you won't be making those kinds of mistakes anymore?" Harrison nodded mutely and Fitz nodded. "Good, now let's get you home."

Fitz got out of the car and opened Harrison's door. Harrison stood up on the sidewalk with his help and Fitz took the cuffs off of him. Harrison shook his wrist after the handcuffs were taken off and looked over at Fitz. Fitz gave him a small smile and gestured for him to move. Harrison nodded at him and walked across the street toward his house with Fitz following behind him. Once they got on his doorstep Fitz knocked on the door and rang the doorbell while Harrison stood beside him.


The door opened shortly after he knocked and Fitz was expecting to see an older woman in her mid forties, but instead he saw a beautiful young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She was short about 5'3 or 5'4, her figure was very slim and petite, she had beautiful brown skin that glowed, her eyes captivated him, they were bright brown doe eyes. Her hair looked like it was made of the finest silk. It hung down her back in a curly state while bangs covered her forehead. He was taken aback by her beauty and had to force himself to remember why he was here. She cleared her throat bringing him out of his thoughts. He saw her glance at him and then turn her gaze to Harrison and glare at him. She turned her gaze back to Fitz and said.

"Officer how can I help you." He practically melted when she spoke. Her voice caressed his ears and all he wanted to do was hear her speak again. He cleared his thoughts and found his voice.

"Hi Miss…" he asked searching for her name. Her eyes left his once again as she glared at her brother. She turned her gaze back to him and said.

"Pope, Olivia Pope," she held out her hand for him to shake it and he took it gladly. His larger hand engulfed hers and they both felt a spark course through their veins. It was so strong that she finally turned her gaze to his ocean blue eyes and got lost in them. Harrison cleared his throat getting them both out of their trance.

"Right, Miss Pope," said Fitz reluctantly letting her hand go. "I just brought Harrison home after a mix up at a store down the street," he explained. Harrison looked everywhere but at Olivia. Olivia glared at her brother once more before turning back to the officer.

"Thank you officer…"

"Grant, uh but you can call me Fitz," he said quickly.

"Thank you officer Fitz," she said softly. He smiled at her sweetly, and she gave him a small smile back. Harrison stepped around them and inside the house. "So he's not in any trouble?" she asked.

"No ma'am Harrison is fine, I just wanted to make sure he got home safe." She looked skeptical at first. In this neighborhood if someone were getting a police escort they were always most definitely in trouble. But she would get everything out of him once the officer left

"Well thank you again officer for bringing my little brother home," she said nodding at him politely.

"You're welcome Miss Pope," he said smiling at her once more. His radio started to go off and he took a step back. "Duty calls," he said backing out of the doorway. He looked over at Harrison and said. "Stay out of trouble kid." Harrison nodded at him and he looked back down at Olivia. "It was nice to meet you," he said sincerely gazing in her eyes. She looked back up into his eyes and said.

"You as well, thanks again." He nodded and tipped his hat to her and then he walked off of their front porch and got back into his squad car and pulled off. Olivia shut the door once the officer was gone and turned to Harrison and glared at him. Harrison rolled his eyes and walked into the living room with her following behind him.


"What the hell was that?" she asked angrily.

"Nothing," he said shrugging.

"Oh so I guess you get police escorts home everyday now huh?" she asked sarcastically.

"I guess so," he said smartly as he plopped down onto the couch in their living room and turned on the T.V. he sat the remote on the coffee table and lay back on the chair. Olivia picked up the remote angrily and turned off the T.V.

"Harrison what the fuck is wrong with you, huh? I know that police officer didn't just bring you home out of the kindness of his heart, what the hell were you doing?" she asked in a commanding tone.

"I said nothing so drop it!" he snapped back attempting to pick up the remote once more. She snatched it off of the table before he could get it though.

"You think this shit is a joke don't you?" she asked fuming. "You think it's cool to ride home in the back of a fucking police car so that everybody can see that you're a damn criminal!"

"The fucking cop told you that it was a mix up, let it go Liv," said Harrison getting up off the couch he walked into the kitchen with her hot on his heels.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking too!" she asked yelling now; she grabbed him by his arm and turned him around. "I know I'm not mom but you will not fucking disrespect me, I am your older sister show me some fucking respect!" Harrison glared at her.

"You're right, you're not mom so get the hell out of my face," he said walking away again. "Why aren't you up at Georgetown anyway? Came home to slum it again, you miss being in the hood?" he asked laughing sarcastically.

"Stop walking!" she yelled firmly. "Stop walking!" she yelled again and he stopped and turned around lazily. "You might think that it's cool to be seen as some thug on the street, but the reality Harrison is that to them," she said pointing behind her referring to the outside world. "You're just another statistic, you wanna end up in jail or dead like so many of the other boys on this street then keep doing what the fuck you're doing and that's just where you'll end up! When will you learn!?" she yelled.

"Why do you even care, as soon as you hit eighteen you was outta here to fucking Princeton. You aint even come home for thanksgiving or Christmas when you were in New Jersey. You barely called mom or me so don't give me no bullshit speech about how to run my life when you've barely been apart of it for the last six years. What, you think cus you back now and you at Georgetown and you stop by more often that we gon be one big happy family. This ain't the fucking Brady bunch Liv, it's real fucking life. I did fine without your advice for the past six years, and I don't need that shit now," he said turning to walk away. Olivia was shocked and hurt by his words so she said something she shouldn't have

"You wanna end up like daddy!" she yelled angrily. She immediately regretted it once she said it. They didn't talk about their father often especially how he died. Harrison turned to her with the most painful expression on his face that she'd ever seen. He quickly recovered and glared at her.

"Don't you ever bring up dad, you don't know shit!" he yelled with fire in his voice.

"Harrison," she said softly, an apologetic look in her eyes. Harrison shook his head and started backing away.

"Don't fucking talk to me," he said before he turned around and ran upstairs to his room.

He slammed the door shut to his bedroom shut and a few seconds later she could hear his loud rap music blasting through his speakers. She shed a few tears as she thought about their father. She quickly got herself together and went back into the living room. She pulled her books out and decided to study for her law class. Anything to get her mind off of that explosive argument she'd just had with her younger brother. She knew her going away to school drove a wedge between them but she'd hoped that by coming back to D.C. and going to Georgetown for Law School would help them get closer again, she just didn't know how hard it would be.


A few hours had gone by since their argument. Harrison had spoken too both Marcus and T.J. who had informed him that they had the money. He told him about his weird encounter with the cop and they both thought he was lucky. Olivia hadn't tried to speak to him since and he didn't want to talk to her either. How dare she bring up their father!

She knew how hard his death hit him, especially how he died. Liv always knew how to push his buttons; he just didn't know she would ever take it that far.

He shrugged it off and was about to call his girlfriend Kim when he got a text from Marcus saying that Frankie got Rico out of lock up and there was a party down the street to celebrate. Harrison asked him for the address and decided to sneak out; he didn't want to be here. His mom was still at work and he didn't know when Olivia was leaving but he was determined to go to this party.

He snuck downstairs quietly and walked past the living room. He saw Olivia sleeping on the couch with an open book lying on her chest. She looked so peaceful. Regardless of their argument she was still his sister and he loved her too death. He took the book off of her and placed it on the coffee table then he put the blanket that was hanging on the back of the couch on her for warmth. She snuggled into the blanket and remained sleeping. He left a note on the coffee table that simply said "Out…H," and he left out the house after locking up. Rico was out, it was time to turn up and celebrate.

(A/N: A lot of angst in this chapter and a lot more to come. Next up Harrison heads to the party and runs into Olivia's ex-boyfriend. Thanks again for reading.)