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Harrison understood it. He understood the fear his parents had of him. It was justified, he’s been told, so he never complains about it. He never complains about his parents being scared of him. He never complains about his parents ignoring him. He never complains about his parents neglecting him. Because it’s his fault, isn’t it?
He’s a freak, as much as he hates to admit it.
So he gets why his parents don’t want him. He understands.
He’s gotten used to it at some point. He’d been like this for years and beyond. He’d always had these- er, he’s not sure what to call them. Powers, he supposed? Though saying it like that makes it sound like he’s some sort of anime protagonist.
Regardless, he’d always had these extra features and abilities as a kid, though they were less extreme at first. His parents were definitely careful with him, opting that if perhaps Harrison was taught how to control the power, he’d be able to be a withstandable kid.
Though, then again, maybe signing him up for an illusionist course wasn’t the best of ideas. Because, not only did they have to pay for the damage, Harrison had actually taken a liking to the art of illusion.
His parents thought of that as a good thing ; perhaps if he took the idea seriously, he’d be able to progress sooner. He’d be able to trap those freaky abilities deep inside, and be a normal human being!
It doesn't go as planned, unsurprisingly. Of course, he was gonna blow up at some point. It was only fair to him, as a human being, right? Even with those powers, he's still admittedly a human. So who was really to blame when he has accidentally sent his brother into an infinite, unknown void.
He remembers it so vividly ; His parents were freaking out about him, keeping their distance. Harrison had only come out of his barricaded room to ask for food. He hadn't eaten in 2 days, he was starving. Now, due to their fear of Harrison's powers, they did everything in their hands to avoid Harrison, even more so after he had accidentally set the oven on fire the other day. Before the incident, at least one of them would go up and carefully give him food on the daily, but they hadn't since.
He remembers his stomach churning, the nausea taking over his body as he tumbled over. He was at the brink of passing out, his eyes so close to rolling behind his head. But then he heard footsteps nearing him, then his brother crouched in front of him, a piece of bread in his hands.
Harrison could've devoured the bread in seconds if given the energy, but instead, he had to be slowly fed by his brother. In an attempt to croak out a thanks, his head started hurting and his ears began ringing. In a matter of a second, his brother went from being in front of him to sinking into a black hole, that disappeared as soon as his brother had been consumed.
He was barely able to eat much after that.
But who was he to complain? He should be glad he's getting any food at all. His parents are scared of him, and his brother was gone. It's a miracle he's still alive.
When his parents heard of this thing- Camp Campbell , it was called - they had come to a fast conclusion. If the camp wouldn't be able to get him to get a hold of his powers, then at least he'd be far away from them. It was a win-win, they sought. And so they signed him up.
When he first got there, he was pretty stoked. His parents had told him that he was going to be staying in a camp all summer ; a camp for illusionists. Though he was rather surprised to see there wasn't even a single person by the magic stand, he made no complaints as he observed the stuff he had. a… a hat and a stick.
A wide grin breaks into his face. "This is perfect!" he exclaims to himself, putting the much-too-small hat on his head. Fits well with his attire, he thinks.
"Ah, golly jeez! I'm so late! A-are you Harrison?" a rather high-pitched voice asks from behind him. He turns around, and upon realizing it's an adult, Harrison backs away a few feet and nods. "Yeah, I'm Harrison!"
His parents told him adults hated freaks. They told him to stay away.
"Oh," the redhead voices, squinting down at the distance Harrison had created between them. Though curious, he opted it was probably just personal space he wanted. "I'm David, your camp counselor! Sorry if I got a bit too into your… bubble."
Harrison's not the best at socializing. Not since his parents kept him locked up like a beast, a monster. So he's not too sure what David meant by 'bubble' .
But he doesn't question it. His parents told him adults are always right and never to ask stupid questions.
"Ah, I see you've found the magician stand! It's, well, erm-... Not in the best state right now, but-!"
"Oh, don't worry I like it!"
It's the most he'll ever get anyway.
He actually enjoyed his time at the camp. He'd been given a proper amount of attention, he'd been allowed to eat three times a day , he'd been allowed to use his powers freely! I mean, imagine! It was the best summer of his life.
At the camp, there were only two other people at the time; some guy named Preston and another named Dolph (he reminded him of something he'd seen be discussed on the internet, though he can't quite place his finger on it). He had become friends with them over the summer, and the three had decided to come back again next year.
Come back again they did.
It wasn't like Harrison had a choice anyway. His parents would've forced him there regardless. However, this time, he's not only greeted by the familiar two faces of his friends, but an extra three faces of people he doesn't know.
David had introduced them as new campers. Some guy named Max, a girl who went by Ered, and another named Nerris.
Max was definitely a quiet kid. He had tried to befriend him, but the guy said nothing back. So he opted to talk to the blonde and the redhead, who he found to be rather chill people.
In the middle of their summer, two new kids were introduced. Some kid who insisted he was 'Space Kid' , and a big guy named Nurf. They were a comical duo, though the latter was a bit ( a lot ) more dangerous than the other.
And, over time, the camp grew more and more. Meeting the new people, creating bonds with them, overcoming problems and stuff. He's never been happier!
After the events of the "butterfly effect day", as the other campers called it, Harrison realized how much of a freak he was. No wonder Max hadn't wanted to talk to him in the last summers. He was weird . and who would ever want to be associated with something weird?
But he forcefully shrugged it off. He had always been a freak. His parents told him so. His friends reminded him of this.
And he understands.
On a particular night, he's not in his tent, despite being past curfew. He was in the forest, sitting against a tree with his face hidden in his arms. He's so tired, he wants to sleep. But he can't. His heart won't stop racing for some reason, and it hurts to breathe. His ears won't stop ringing too. He can only hear the quiet chants of "freak!"s and "weirdo!"s.
The feeling hits a bit too close to comfort.
He forces himself to get the fuck up, because there was no way he'd be able to withstand whatever was going on. Get David, Get Gwen, his mind yells at him to do. His shaky legs aren't taking him very far though. Even worse when he trips on a rock, and lands on his face.
"Unf!" he yelps, feeling the weight of his entire body tumble on the ground. His breaths are just as shaky as his legs are. His chest won't stop rising and falling, and his mind is all blurred. There are tears in his eyes as he continues to struggle to breathe.
Again, this feeling was too familiar. He wanted it to stop.
It feels like he's floating, like he's about to die. A bit overdramatic, but he can't breathe anymore. And so his eyes roll to the back of his head, and he succumbs to the dizziness. He passes out.
When he woke up, the sun had just begun to rise. He's a bit confused as to why he was on the dirty ground, in between thick layers of trees, but he's able to recall the events of last night. He rubs his eyes and yawns, then gets up. His legs are a bit wobbly, but he had to run back to his tent so it wouldn't be suspicious, right?
He pats the dust and dirt off of his shirt, running towards his tent. When he made it in, thankfully his tentmate, Preston, was still asleep. His legs finally give up on him and he passes out again, on the bed.
He was asleep in the tent for about 20 minutes, then he was awoken again.
God, he'd never been more tired than that day.
During another camp event that involved walking around the forests and hills, they got lost. Unsurprisingly, Max would think to himself, groaning as David continued to march forward, acting as if he knew the woods by the palm of his hand. (He did not.)
Though Harrison didn’t really mind. He enjoyed walking in the forest just as much as the other guy would (unless it’s Max or Neil). He was well aware they were lost, but he could trust his camp counselors on surviving! ...right-?
“David!” Max finally yells out, hopping on top of a big rock. “Do you even know where the hell we’re going? It’s been, like, 2 hours. The sun’s setting.”
The redhead adult looks at the boy with a sheepish grin. “O- Of course, I do! Just… There might just be a small delay...”
“Yep, we’re fucked,” Neil adds on quietly, before he sits down on the ground, kind of like admitting defeat. Nikki sits down too, except she’d climbed on a tree before she did. David frowns at them and raises a finger. “Hey, now! No need to be so defeated! And, also, language !”
“My whole life… it’s over!” Neil wails, admittedly quite dramatically, swiftly ignoring everything David just said. “My plan of being the world’s greatest scientist… It’s done! All because of this stupid fucking camp!”
“Get over it, Neil,” Max scoffs, hopping down to sit beside his friend, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. “It’s not like we’re gonna die now. There’s not just magically gonna be a pack of wolves or some shit.”
Rule number one of Camp Campbell, never say something you don’t think will happen ; because it will .
A wolf jumps out of a nearby bush and everyone is stunned in place. Nikki squeals at the sight, while Max deadpans at the increasing number of wolves approaching them. “You’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding me.”
And so the entire camp ran for their lives, occasionally screaming and yelling when a wolf got close enough to them. In the end, they got away safely from the wolves. They had a few scratches here and there, but overall they were all okay.
Silence hung in the air, there were only deep breaths and heavy pants. Though Nikki was still on a wild ride ( Somehow . Harrison wonders how the girl has so much energy). The mint-haired girl was swinging on tree branches, laughing giddily about how fun the chase was.
“Shut the fuck up, Nikki,” Max heaves, still panting. “That was not fun, my fuckin legs hurt.”
“Come onnnnnnnn ,” Nikki drags the word, a grin on her face. “You’re being a baby! That was nothing!”
Max ignores her, opting to focus on their current situation ; stuck in a forest, with no sense of direction, because of-fucking-course they’d get lost. He groans into his hands, falling backward onto the grass.
“Max!” David yelps, crouching down to him. And Harrison can’t help but think of a distant memory at the sight.
“Fuck off, David. You’re the reason we’re lost right now,” Max mumbles, flipping David off with his right hand. The redhead’s lips thinned, a guilty look on his face, because he’s well-aware he plays a part as to why they’re lost.
“I’m starving,” Nikki says out of the blue, hanging upside down from a branch like a monkey. Harrison hears the branch crack and the girl falls on her head, shouting an “oof!” , but then she gets straight back onto her feet.
“Are we gonna go hunting?!” She asks excitedly, practically bouncing off her feet. Max groans, still laying on the ground, and every other camper frowns. David hums, thinking over all the options, but before he can say anything, Harrison pipes up.
“I have granola bars, if you want,” he says, pulling one out of his hat.
Nikki practically pounces at him, thrashing the bar out of his hand. Harrison yelps in surprise, backing away as Nikki devours the bar.
“Oh, God. It’s only been two minutes and Nikki’s turned feral,” Niel says, thumping his head on a tree. “I’m more curious on why Harrison just has a granola bar in his hat,” Max adds on, finally sitting up.
“Oh, well…” My parents starve me, so I kind of have to keep a stock of emergency food, you know? Basic kid things, haha! “...uh, I just get hungry sometimes.”
“Well, do you have more?” Max asks, tilting his head. Harrison thinks. Since he’s been at the camp, he hasn't had the need to eat from his emergency food stock. Because, unlike his parents, the camp properly feeds him, even if sometimes the food is… uhm, not in the best state.
Well, he’s pretty sure he’s got enough for everyone. Maybe not himself, though. But he’ll last. It wouldn’t be his first time not having food.
Harrison pulls one, then two, three, four, five, the bars go on. He gives one to each camper, and an additional two to Gwen and David. Nikki got an extra one, because he’d rather she get more food than her going rabid and biting his face off or… something.
“Jesus Christ,” Max mutters, opening his granola bar. “I meant like, maybe two more or something. Why the hell do you have so much for?”
Harrison lets out a nervous chuckle, opting to avoid answering the question.
David thanks Harrison, but before he can take a bite, he realizes the camper himself doesn’t have one. He frowns, and points at him. “Uh, Harrison? Do you not have an extra one for yourself…?”
The boy yelps, turning towards his counselor. “Well, I could’ve had one, but Nikki wanted it, so…”
From beside Preston, Nikki smiles sheepishly backing into a bush.
David sighs, his shoulders lowering. Well, his campers probably needed it more than he did. Besides, he was a camp counselor. He was taught to protect the children before himself. So he hands Harrison the granola bar, who looks more perplexed than he probably should be. David raises a brow in confusion when Harrison doesn’t take the bar out of his hand.
“Uh, Harrison-?” “You can have it, David,” Harrison says, a look of confusion on his face.
What the hell was David doing? Harrison was extremely confused. Why was he handing food over to the freak ? His parents would’ve probably taken all the granola bars to themselves. Or, well, they’d probably be too scared to even touch them.
Oh, was that it? Was David scared of the bar?
Harrison sighs, tilting his head. “Oh, I see,” he says to himself, then he makes eye contact with David again, who still looks as confused as ever. “You don’t have to be scared or anything, David. It’s not like I can put a spell on a granola bar.”
“Yeah, you’d get copy-striked or something,” Nikki adds stupidly, coming out of the bush. Neil face-palms, taking his granola bar out of his mouth to retort back a “That’s not how it works, Nikki.”
David yelps in surprise. “What? No, nonono! I’m not… scared of a granola bar . I mean, you don’t have one, and you’re the growing kid here. So you have it.” He insists, pushing the granola bar into Harrison’s hands. The illusionist flinches slightly, and he’s not too sure if he can trust the counselor’s words.
He knows his counselor was a great guy with high morale, but he wasn’t above lying. That was a fact proven before. He pushes the granola bar back to the camp counselor.
“Jeez, you’re really forcing it to yourself to starve, aren’t ya’?” Max asks, no bite his tone, because it’s meant to be a joke. Nerris grins at that, seeing it as a chance to tease her friend-rival. “Yeah, Harrison. Just eat, man. Starving is never a good state to be in for a dumb magician like you!”
Harrison tilts his head harmlessly. Then, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, he says ; “I mean, I’m pretty used to it, so I don’t think that’s true.”
Silence hung between the group, and Harrison’s confused as to why that is. Sure his friends could be dumb at times, but surely it wasn’t hard to connect dots. He was a freak of nature - who would ever be brave enough to feed him? Well, them, he supposed, but that’s because they… they don’t know the extent of his abilities.
“ Oooookay ,” Neil drags, eyes still wide as saucers. “Not what I expected to hear, but, uhm. That’s-... Concerning.”
“Yeah, man. That’s kinda fucked,” Max says, having stopped eating his bar. David would yell about his language, but he’s still a tiny bit ( a lot , actually) shocked from the reveal.
“Wait, wait- Backtrack on that?” Gwen asks, raising a hand. Harrison lets out a confused sound, but he complies. “Uh… I’m used to it…?” he repeats, slower, steadier.
“...” Gwen looks at him with wide eyes, her expression a mix of surprise, concern, and confusion. “You’re… used to starving, is what you’re saying?” she repeats, asking to confirm. She didn’t want to believe that one of her kids campers was being starved. No way was she taking that shit. She hoped the illusionist was kidding, but she knew Harrison wasn’t the type to joke about things like that.
Again, the green-eyed boy was confused about how everyone was acting. He understood that, if he were a normal guy, they would be concerned, but he wasn’t a normal guy. He was a freak, a weirdo. A demon child. They didn’t have to be worried!
“Yeah?” he responds carefully, tilting his head in confusion. “I don’t get it. Why do you guys keep on asking?”
“Uh, because that’s not fucking normal?” Gwen responds obviously, squinting at the boy in front of her. Harrison frowns, but doesn’t say anything back as Gwen continues to talk. “You mean you’re fuckin used to being starved? Or do you starve at your own will? Either way, it’s not remotely healthy, Harrison!”
Harrison hated being scolded. Even more so when he was getting scolded about something he didn’t understand.
“Well, I can’t really blame my parents-...” “Your parents?!” Nerris shrieks, flabbergasted. She throws her hands in the air, because, despite all the teasing and cheeky remarks, she and he were still friends, and she still cared about his well-being. “What the fuck , Harrison?! That’s even more fucked! Why didn’t you tell me?!”
Harrison backs away from the stares directed at him, cowering like a threatened wild animal. “T-tell you…? Um, I mean… It’s supposedly normal…! I understand why they don’t like feeding me-”
“Jesus fuck, Harrison, you’re not meant to understand,” a voice interrupts.
Surprisingly, that voice belonged to Max. Despite him being the biggest asshole around, Harrison had always known the fondness Max felt towards his friends. Though he was flattered that the guy who barely showed any form of emotion was concerned about him, he thought they were all overreacting a bit.
“Listen, take it from a guy with shitty parents. You’re never meant to understand fucking abuse, because that shit is never justified,” the shorter boy mumbles, glaring up at Harrison, who was growing just a bit more panicked over time.
“Um, so-” It seemed that David had finally come back to his senses. “Harrison, could we- Could we, um, talk?”
Harrison knows that wasn’t a question. Though David was never a forceful authority that hung over the children, he still held some form of authority. The illusionist takes a big gulp, following David to wherever the hell he was taking him. It seemed as though the redhead adult wasn’t paying too much attention as to where they’re headed, he just wanted to get far away from the rest.
When David feels they are far enough, he realizes they’re on a cliff. So he carefully sits down at the edge, looking down at the view below him, as Harrison shakily follows suit.
(Max is somewhere behind them, though he’s hiding behind a tree. He’s not known as a little shit for no reason.)
“Listen, kiddo…” David starts, looking softly towards Harrison, who’s reluctant on making eye contact with him, but eventually does. “I’m, um… Concerned. Over all of this. So let’s talk about it, alright?”
“Uh… okay…”
David clears his throat, then looks down at the scene below him. “Could you… Maybe explain everything first? A-about the… the, uh, starving.”
“I- It’s not like they starve me on purpose!” Harrison starts, voice a higher pitch, because he was panicking incredibly hard . “They’re just too… scared to feed me. And, I mean, I can’t blame them for being scared.”
David blinks, and then he squints over at Harrison, confused. “Scared? Why would anyone ever be scared of you?”
“Cuz’ I’m a freak,” he responds simply, as if it were the most obvious thing out there. He doesn’t seem bothered when he says it, because to him that was just factual. David frowns, but before he can say anything, Max pops out behind them.
“We’re all freaks, Harrison.”
Both Harrison and David flinch at the new voice, and they turn towards him. David opens his mouth to scold Max, and say that what he’d just said was rude, but he’s not given the chance when Max continues.
“But just because we’re freaks doesn’t mean we’re not people. We’re kids, Harrison. You’re a kid. Being a freak doesn’t give your parents any right to be an asshole to you, and abuse you.”
David has a semi-proud, flabbergasted smile on his face. However, Harrison keeps up his frown. “I’d argue that it’s not abuse, Max. They have a reason to ignore me-”
“It’s one thing to neglect your kid, and another to fucking starve them,” Max interrupts, glaring at Harrison. He wasn’t mad or anything (well, maybe a bit at Harrison’s parents), he was more upset that his friend wasn’t able to grasp onto the fact that he didn’t deserve to be abused.
“I made my brother disappear, Max!” Harrison yells, glaring hard at the ground. “They absolutely have any right to-”
“They fucking don’t ,” Max says, as if it was final. He sits down beside Harrison, brings a hand out of his pocket, and puts it on the older boy’s shoulder.
“Sure your case is different from many other cases, but regardless, if you choose to be parents, you have to be able to care for your kid no matter what happens. Knowing you, it was probably an accident too, right?”
Harrison’s silence proves it factual, so Max continues.
“Sure, it was a huge accident, but so what? It was an accident. You were a kid, you still are. Kids are bound to make mistakes. Your parents are there to help you stop making them, not to ignore you over your mistakes.”
Harrison has tears in his eyes, because he knows Max means everything he says. He didn’t deserve the abuse, the neglect. But it was so hard to accept that, after everything that happened between him and his parents.
“You deserve to be loved too, Harrison,” Max mutters softly. And it hurts that it impacts him. Harrison almost starts crying just because of that, but he doesn’t. David’s smile makes Max scowl, but he doesn’t say anything to take back his words ; because he knows Harrison needed them.
“But… I’m a freak…” Harrison whispers, voice wavering. Everyone can tell the illusionist doesn’t have anything else to argue with, and they know everything Max said hit him. The shorter of the two tilts his head, and gets up. “Well so am I,” he says, offering Harrison a hand. “Freaks are cooler than normal people anyway.”
Max can’t believe he’d just said something as lame as that, but it works, because Harrison takes his hand and smiles.
After that, everything gets resolved. They find their way back to the camp and they talk things out. Gwen and David come to an agreement, and though they aren’t related to Harrison by blood, they get a chance to fight for custody, which of course they won. Harrison’s parents were imprisoned for a minimum of 15 years, for child endangerment, and Harrison was officially David (and, sometimes, Gwen)’s kid.
Then a few months later, David also ends up adopting Max.
And, in the end, everything was alright.