Chapter Text
A cold breeze blew in my face through the open window in his room—a room that would soon become my old room, one I’d want to leave behind in the past. Today the room was clean, too clean; I’d never cleaned it like that before. I always left things lying around where they didn’t belong, and that used to really annoy my mom. But not today; everything in my room was in its place.
My clothes weren’t lying on the chairs as usual, but were in the closet. I packed my favorite things into my old red backpack, which I’ve had since fourth grade.
But just as I was about to leave, I slipped and fell down the stairs leading to the couch by the window. It was the first time that had ever happened. My gaze immediately shifted to the bed and I ran into that direction and crawled under the covers to pretend I was asleep.
The door opened slowly, making a slight creaking sound. Since I was facing the other side of my room ,and not where my door was. Someones presence was overing over me.
It was my sister, Piper; I was sure of it.
“Henry? I know you’re not asleep.”—Damn it! How did she even find out?
The bed covers fell on the ground as I slowly got out of bed, Her eyes were jumping from my head to my feet, she was staring at me weirdly, and I bet she noticed my strange outfit, which I’ve never worn before. I was wearing a black vest with red accents on the sleeves. Underneath was a burgundy T-shirt, and I had on just a usual pair of black pants. I was also wearing new boots—claret ones.
“Where are you going?”—Even a blind man could understand that she was feeling drowsy. Seeing that she had just woken up, I decided that the best option right now is to lie.
“Me?” The fake confusion has hit me, so far I was acting great—I thought. I pointed my index finger against my sternum and let out a nervous giggle. “Me... Well, Charlotte's stuffed dog died, and I need to help her send it to the moon for treatment...” What on earth am I rambling about?
“What?...” The words came out of her mouth only after a couple of seconds she said and looked at me like I was an idiot; I felt how my face got slightly hotter as before and I felt how my palms started to sweat, it wasn’t as bad as Jaspers condition, of course, but it was still pretty bad.
“Well, yeah, actually you're asleep, and you're dreaming all this. To wake up, you need to go to bed,” My words were going slow and strangely and also at the same time my palms were going back and forward while explaining this, I tried my best to convince her.
“What?... Are you an idiot? I know I'm not asleep right now.” She said it with such confidence that I realized I couldn't keep lying. I slowly walked over to the doorway and stood facing her. I was standing on a blue rug, while she was standing on the bright red one. I placed my hands on her shoulders, squeezing them gently, and leaned my head down slightly so I could talk to her normally.
I wanted to say something, but I didn’t even know what—explain everything from the very beginning? Starting with what happened almost two years ago in New York?
That I’m no longer Henry Hart?
About 2 years ago
Long time ago I’ve already started wondering if I really liked being just a superhero’s sidekick. I felt like I needed to have something that belongs only to me. Not that I hated Ray, no, not at all, he is my friend, I’d say best friend. It’s just… Swellview was already suffocating me, I just wanted to disappear and start a completely new life. My eyes were already set on the Republic of Grim, right in the heart of its capital, Dystopia.
In New York, I only had two things to do.
First—to visit some old friends, namely Babe and the whole Game Shakers team. And also something I haven’t told anyone about, and the reason I came here for the second time—to change my last name in secret. I barely found the building I needed on Doodle Maps; my phone was lagging so bad it was crazy, and I barely could navigate in the City, but finally I’ve found what I needed: The NYC Civil Court.
The door was made of glass; I opened it and slowly stepped inside. It was hard to breathe in there. The Fluorescent lights were blinding me. My pupils narrowed. To my right, there were many people sitting on dark green sofas, waiting their turn. To my left was a door with a sign that read “No Entry.” Near the door was a white, half-circular table where a secretary was sitting, and… Was she texting someone on her phone? I slowly walked up to her and tapped on the thick protective glass behind which she was sitting. She ignored me; I tapped again, and she still ignored me...
As I cleared my throat, she immediately turned her attention to me. The girl with dark blonde hair and brown eyes looked at me; she had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep.
“What do you want?” She muttered angrily, and glared at me as if I’d told her she was the worst person in the whole wide world. I started gesturing and said,
“I’d like to file an application to change my last name… where do I need to go to do that…?” I squinted my eyes slightly and lifted my eyebrows.
“Second Floor,” she mumbled and went back to scrolling on her phone. Didn't she even check anything? I'm glad, of course, but it seems kind of unprofessional...
“Thank you miss!” My fingers formed into finger guns, as I let out a confident little click of my tongue and smirked.
Between the secretary’s desk and the people waiting their turn was a hallway leading to the elevator. To the left, there were still many people waiting in line: a mother with a baby who was crying—and whose sobbing grew even louder as I walked past him—a man who had already fallen asleep, and a woman leaning on her spouse’s shoulder...
I walked up to the elevator, pressed the button, and selected the second floor. To be honest, I was so out of practice with normal elevators that this one seemed way too slow.
The door slowly opened, and to be honest... I was shocked by how many people were already in there...
My legs were still sore from yesterday’s mission. Slowly, I walked up to the receptionist, who was also exhausted, but at least wasn’t as angry at the clients, and said: “Hello, I’d like to submit an application to change my last name.” As I was leaning against the same table as on the first floor, she cleared her throat and cautioned her.
“Hello...” she said and opened some kind of notebook or folder... it was hard to tell exactly what it was; she looked at me, squinted, and furrowed her brow "How old are you?" She asked gently
"Seventeen" I said and cleared my throat "I’m seventeen" I declared
"Look, you're seventeen. In New York, you can file the petition yourself, but keep in mind—it's not a quick process. It takes time for the court to verify your information, for all the newspaper notices to be published... It'll take at least four months, maybe even half a year. Your new last name won't become official until a judge signs the decree. Are you willing to wait?"
A small but honest smile appeared on my face. That was exactly what I needed; I didn’t need to change my last name right now. I’d like to change it when I graduate from high school, or even later.
“Yeah, I get that,” I said confidently. “Why do you want to change your last name? You’re so young, and—”
“Family issues,” I lied, hoping she wouldn’t ask any more questions about why.
“Can we get this done in an hour?” I asked. After all, I don’t know when Babe is going home, or where she even lives… And I really didn’t want to go to the hostel.
“Are you even from around here?” she asked, and I pursed my lips. “Of course,” I lied. “I actually... work for the Game Shakers.” I lied again, but she was pleasantly surprised and smiled slightly.
“Really? The Sky Whale game is just awesome!” She smiled and started nodding her head. “Yeah...” I gave a nervous chuckle.
"Okay... Here, take this, fill it out, and bring it to me. You can go... To that room—there are tables in there." She pointed to a white door on the right near the elevator. I took the papers and a pen and went there. For some reason, I remembered the sound of my footsteps perfectly—the sound of my sneakers on the tile floor. I walked into the room; there were only tables there—four tables, to be exact. There was only two people in the room, and one of them has already leaving by the time I sat down on a bench.
I started filling out the form, and the first questions were easy...
Name: Henry Hart.
Name I want to change to: I looked at the paper, for what it felt like an eternity, I thought about changing my name for a long time already, but it feels kind of wrong… I played with the pen in my hands, spinned it. I looked at the watch on the wall. My gaze went back to the paper, I was noticing every single part of the paper, every unevenness’s, every single imperfections and how every single letter was printed. I slowly inhaled and wrote…
Henry Connor.
Place of Birth—Swellview...I lied to her, of course, but maybe I just haven’t lived in Swellview since I was born
Date of Birth—March 21, 2001.
But I got stuck on the next question... Why do I want to change my last name? I twirled my pen between my fingers, started chewing on it, and suddenly remembered that this pen wasn’t mine. But after a while, I wrote:
I want to change my last name for personal family reasons and because I want to start with a clean slate as I transition into independent adult life.
Present Residence--- I realized I’ve got in a trouble, I took my phone out of my jeans pockets, and I decided to phone Kanzie, since I wanted to surprise Babe later… I tapped her name in the app and called her; she picked up after a few moments.
“Hello?” she said, and I replied right away.
“Hello, listen, don't tell Babe it's me,” I whispered.
“What? Okay... Do you need something?” she said.
“I... I have a really weird question... I forgot what street your office is on... Can you tell me?”
“Uh... Well... 128 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222...”
“Okay, thanks...” I hung up. It would be stupid to write down the office phone number, since Hudson and Babe are always there, so that option is out right away. I went into my contacts and copied down the eleven digits of Kenzie’s personal number. Sorry, Kenz, I hope you don’t get too many calls.
Criminal Records and Debts The applicant has no court judgments, commercial debts, or criminal records. I finally finished writing everything... I slipped my phone into my pocket, grabbed the papers and a pen, and walked out of the room.
End of flashback I removed my hands from Pipers shoulders and put them behind my head, and turned around. Now I was facing the window, freedom is so close but so far away. I turned back to her, forcing a plea into my voice.
“Can we talk tomorrow?“ Except, there will be no tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll be already in New-York.
“Just say where you are going!” Piper demanded, her voice cutting through the tense silence of the room.
“I'm leaving Swellview!” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. My heart stopped. I hadn't meant to say it—not like this, not out loud. I let out a long, heavy sigh. I looked her dead in the eye and insisted, “Yep. You heard it right. I'm leaving Swellview.”
”Why?” ”Don’t you understand? Everyone is graduating from high school, except for me! Even you, even though you are younger than me!” My voice cracked; I was feeling sick and nauseous. I felt how my eyes have gotten slightly wet, compared how they’d felt a couple of seconds ago.
”I’m leaving” I repeated, I took my red backpack, swung it over my shoulder, and came closer to the window. She was trying to tell me something, but I wasn’t listening, It has felt like the information she has said went in one ear and flew out of the other. Her words have felt hollow. I stepped out of the window and stepped on a thick branch, and just climbed down. For my parents I had left a letter on my table, I wonder if Piper will be the one to read it first. My eyes still felt wet, but not as much as before, the cool night air was already drying them. I was walking fast, since Piper might have woken up my parents, our parents I mean.
My hands were trembling, I pulled out my Pear phone out of my pocket and opened the Ruber app, I ordered the cheapest ride available targeting the local airport.
A white car pulled up, I opened the back seats door and went inside, while tossing my backpack near myself. After a few minutes I opened Doodle and looked up when my flight is going to be.
On the plane
The flight is going to be about 3 hours long, so I’ll get there only by midnight, I will probably need to book a hostel room for a night, or not.
I slid into the seat 14A, and leaned my head against the cool plastic window on the plane. We still had like 10 minutes until we will fly, so I decided to check my PearPhone, and oh gosh I saw so MANY messages from EVERYONE? Ray, Jasper, My parents of course, even from some classmates whose names I don’t know, But I decided to answer Charlotte.
“Hey Charlotte, can you please tell everyone to stop texting me? I’ll be alright, don’t worry about me.” My eyes were focused on the blue send button, I hesitated for a moment but then confidentenly sent it. My phone was already in my pocket on the airplane mode after a couple of seconds, my gaze shifted back at the window while my backpack was near my legs. Outside, there was just darkness, with only the distant lights from the airport and the glow of the moon visible. As my eyes closed slowly, and I was preparing to fall asleep, a girl’s melodic voice suddenly woke me up.
I moaned out of suddenness. My eyelids felt really heavy, as if they weighed about 5 tons. My glance shifted at her face, Well, I thought it would be just a glance, but with each second it turned into an observation. She was about my age… And also she was just; Adorable. I’d even say divine. Her thick, black, wavy hair looked slightly weird with her perfect straight bangs, she had oval glasses on and also simple round earrings. She was wearing a black tight fitting top, bootcut jeans with a brown belt, and a terra-cotta colored jacket. She clicked her fingers in front of my face and I immediately went back to reality, I blinked a couple of times and started panicking slightly. I’ve lost a track of time.
„Oh oh sorry… I’m really tired today, do you need something?“ I said and she just smiled slightly, and something just shifted inside of me, she seemed so weirdly sweet, I’ve never felt something similar to this maybe in years, or even my entire life.
“You are on my seat”
“Mh?”
“You are on my seat” she repeated
“Mh? oh, my bad” I shifted and now I was really on my seat this time. “ It’s all yours” I smiled warmly.
My gaze was set on the back of the seat in front of me, I zoned out again. I leaned against the headrest this time and closed my eyes, the Pilot started talking, so I decided to listen to him.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck. This is Captain Miller speaking. We’d like to welcome you aboard flight 424 with service to New York's JFK. Our flight time tonight is going to be just about three hours and fifteen minutes. We’re currently looking at clear skies and a smooth ride up to our cruising altitude, with a current temperature of 55 degrees upon our arrival in New York. Flight attendants, please prepare the cabin for departure. Sit back and enjoy the flight."
The girls perfume just hit my nose, she smelled like caramel with a lemon, and that kind of matched her vibe. As soon as we went in the air my stomach dropped, and it felt as if I was sitting on a steep hill. It also felt as if I was glued to the seat. Even though I have been on a plane before already, it felt kind of weird THIS time, out of amazement I grabbed the girls palm on accident that was on the middle seat. As soon as I understood what I have just done, my eyes narrowed out of shock, and I removed my arm immediately.
"Oh… sorry, I-I didn’t mean to-"
"It’s alright" she interrupted me and looked at me. Her dark brown(or even black) eyes looked like they were sparkling, her eyes reflected more warm as brightness, especially since the light was muffled. Her voice felt like honey, it was so weirdly melodic. Did I fall in love?...
"Is it your first time?" she murmured. It felt more as a statement rather than a question.
"Well, It’s not my first time flying a plane" I made a small pause "But it is my first time seeing someone as beautiful as you" I added, and I already could notice how her face changed from relaxed to happy. My voice felt somehow weird, but I didn't attach any importance to it.
"Oh, don’t flatter me" she giggled, I felt pretty ecstatic in that moment. It’ve felt better than everytime me and Ray had won against a villain. It felt like I was finally just a regular guy, talking to a regular girl.
"What’s your name?" You could describe her voice as muttering, it was such a simple question, on which I didn’t have the answer yet. My legal name right now is still Henry Hart, but my new name will be soon Henry Connor. I stared at her for a moment, and answered.
"Henry. Henry Connor... And what about you?"
"Jessica Anderson"
We just talked for three hours long, she told all of her little stories in whose I was invested more than any school work, my sleepness and drowsy voice have faded away pretty quickly with her. I’ve noticed her every single move, how she played with her hair, how she nodded every time I talked, I’ve even bought a dessert for her, even though it was pretty expensive. She offered me to sleep a couple of times but I refused every single time. I just wanted to listen to her voice forever.
All of a sudden we’ve heard the pilots voice. Again.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The local time is exactly 12:03 AM. For your safety and the safety of those around you, please remain seated with your seatbelt securely fastened until the aircraft has come to a complete stop at the gate and the captain has turned off the 'Fasten Seatbelt' sign. Please check your immediate area and the overhead bins for any personal items you brought onboard. On behalf of the captain and the entire crew, we want to thank you for flying with us tonight, and we hope you have a wonderful stay in New York.”
"Time flies fast with you" She giggled. "Will you stay in New-York or?- "
"I have a layover and need to catch another plane. Sorry" I couldn’t even finish my sentence as she interrupted me.
"Oh, It’s alright." It was false, I didn’t want her to leave. We’ve just sat in silence for the rest of the "taxi ride", and my head felt like it would explode soon. I slowly started closing my eyes, I couldn’t control it, they closed as if they had their own brain inside of them. I fell asleep.
After a couple of moments for me, I’ve felt how a stewardess tried to wake me up. I’ve slowly woken up. At first everything was blurry but then it went back to normal. I opened and closed my eyes trying to wake up myself. A woman with black short hair, maybe a pixie cut? I wasn’t sure, talked to me, but I just didn’t listen. My head felt like it could’ve exploded soon, It felt like someone tried to gaslight me but at the same time, I really wanted to drink some water.
I’ve just said something to the stewardess, took my red backpack and went outside. The only thing that was in my head right now is Jessica, I wondered where did she fly after our long talk? Why didn’t she leave her number? Why didn’t she do anything to contact me afterwards? For some reason when I wasn’t thinking about her my head hurt like hell.
As I walked, I opened my small-front pocket in my backpack, and took out some Ibuprofen, and drank it without water. I didn’t have any with myself. The sound of the zipper was nothing compared to the other sounds on the airport. But somehow it felt calmer like this then in the day in Swellview, a lot.
I knew it’s bad that I didn’t drank any water after taking pills, but I can think about that later.
And suddenly a tiring and sharp pain, as if Zeus himself struck me with lighting. Every ten seconds my vision got blurry and then went back to normal, what the fuck is wrong with me? My legs felt like rubber or even jelly, and my throat felt dry, as if no water was in my mouth for YEARS.It kind of felt like a sunstroke too.
Even though the airport was large, it’ve felt like it was really small. I guess I do need to buy some water. Does my head hurt so bad because of Jessica? Haha… How could I even think about her being the problem? She was so sweet and all, she would never do that to me. It’s just a stupid coincidence.
I’ve dragged myself to a Duty-Free shop, and went inside, there was nobody inside except of the cashier, he looked about 40-50 years old, who was laying on the table sleeping with opened mouth, and an empty can of an energy drink.
I’ve just ignored him and grabbed a bottle of water. I came closer to the counter. My hand tapped on the man’s shoulder and he woke up.
"Huh? Where am I?" He mumbled in a drowsy voice.
"Planet earth" I answered and handed him a bottle of water and 10 bucks bill. After I’ve bought it and went out of the store, I immediately opened it and started drinking it, after a couple of moments a half of the bottle was already empty. I wanted to drink more, but my stomach has already hurt because of the amount I’ve drunk right now. I’ve decided to sleep at the airport since I need only a short nap for about 3 hours maximum, and I’ll have a flight at 10pm anyways. I have no need in buying a hostel. After my backpack was tightly tied to my arm, I could sleep calmly.
At the gameshakers office
After a couple of hours I slowly entered the door, when I saw Kenzie doing something on her laptop while she was facing the other wall, and not the one I was nearby. I decided to surprise her, I was going very slowly and quietly.
As soon as I was near her back, I tapped her shoulder and she made a small scream and gasped, her body flinched and her hands jumped of the keyboard. She quickly turned around and her gaze was sharp, but as soon as she saw Henry her gaze got softer.
“Henry! You almost gave me a heart attack!” she explained
“My bad, my bad” I confessed, it was stupid indeed. “Anyways… what are you working at?”
“Well, it’s called skydiving couch potato” My eyebrows jumped, since that name was kind of silly.
“I don’t like the name either. You basically need to catch all of the food to keep yourself full, the more you eat the more points you earn.”
“Ohh, I see.” And all of a sudden Kenzies phone rang. She takes it in her hand and answers the call.
"Hello, is this the Connor residence? Or Hart? I have a file here for a Henry Hart requesting a legal switch to Henry Connor, and this is the NYC number on the sheet. He needs to come back to the courthouse. The digital scan of his birth certificate came out completely unreadable, so we can't process the name change until he brings the physical copy back in." She slowly turned her head to look at me, she had her mouth slightly opened out of shock, and her eyebrows raised. She slowly gave me her phone.
"Why would you want to change your name?" She whispered and questioned me, while I just showed her my index finger, showing her that I want her to wait a little for the answer.
"What the heck are you wearing?" She whispered again, and After a couple of minutes I ended the call. Her arms were crossed, she stared at me with a hard and fixed gaze. Her jaw clenched slightly. Her phone was grabbed out of my hand. Before answering I paused, and then said:
“I’ll explain myself” I took a small step back from her, as if I was fearing her.