Snitches get Stitches

Ian thought his brother was an idiot. Lip was proof that book smarts didn’t mean shit, really. But Ian still walked with Lip, Harry, Karen Jackson, and Mandy Milkovich when they all left school together.

It wasn’t like Ian had shit else to do. ROTC was on a break while the kids with money went to Washington and Ian didn’t have a job anymore anyway.

“Where are we going?” Karen asked Lip. With Karen hanging off Lip’s arm and Harry and Mandy swinging their entwined hands together, Ian felt like a fifth wheel in some twilight zone edition of a double date.

Lip and the chick he liked to fuck.

Harry and his beard.

It was fucking insane.

“East side,” Lip told Karen. “I scoped the place out when I came to do SAT prep last week.”

“You’re taking the SAT’s?” Mandy asked skeptically. “They’re like ninety bucks to take.”

“I’m actually getting paid two fifty to take them for Andrew Reed.”

“Don’t they check ID’s?” Ian asked. It was a good gig if Lip could pull it off. Lip was like a certified genius, he could score perfectly if he wanted.

“Yep.” Lip pointed toward a nice house a few driveways ahead of where they walked. “Kimberly Yang makes fake ID’s for any school in the city.”

“So by prepping for the test you meant getting a fake ID?” Harry asked. He laughed when Lip nodded. “Brilliant.”

It was brilliant, actually.

Lip stopped them not much further and then led the group down an alley.

“I stashed supplies here,” Lip said. There was an actual hedge wall around the back of the fancy ass house that Lip scoped out and Lip pulled out a black trash bag from beneath them.

“Are we robbing them?” Karen asked. She had her arms crossed and a haughty look on her face.

Harry didn’t seem concerned at all, he just accepted the wire stripper and bag that Lip handed him with a crooked grin. Ian didn’t care either, copper prices were up and it was easier to do in the fall than the winter, but the house looked armed.

“You sure there’s no alarms?” Ian asked Lip while they walked up the little cobbled pathway.

“There are, on the windows and doors,” Lip said. He stopped beside the house and pulled his right foot back before smashing the little basement window. “Not on here.”

Ian dropped to his knees and looked down in the basement. It was a finished basement, one that only rich people had, that was set up with what looked like an actual pool table and a bar.

“It’ll be a tight squeeze,” Ian said instead of complimenting his brother.

Lip didn’t need anyone to make his swollen head even bigger.

“Not too bad,” Harry said. He pulled his hoodie off, leaving him in a short sleeve shirt that was just tight enough on his arms to show the wiry muscles he had. Ian watched, kind of amused, when Harry wrapped his hand up in the hoodie and then began knocking out the jagged bits of glass left around the edges of the window.

“Ladies first,” Mandy offered. She looked practically bored; she’d probably been stealing copper lines since she could walk.

Harry frowned up at Mandy and shook his head at her.

“I’ll go first. I don’t want you to snap your ankle. It’s a bit of a jump.”

Lip just stood back with Karen and laughed when Mandy rolled her eyes. Ian wondered what kind of bullshit Harry got up to before he moved to Chicago that gave him such a nonchalant attitude toward all the hood shit they got up to.

Harry didn’t look much like a career criminal, except for the sexy tattoo on his left arm, but Harry slid through the opening feet first like a pro.

“Ian, will you help Mandy?” he called up once he landed with a quiet thud.

“Try it and die, Ginger,” Mandy snapped. She slid through the opening next and Ian saw Harry catch her around the waist at the bottom.

“Oooh, Lip, will you catch me?” Karen asked Lip in a sickly sweet voice and a flutter of her lashes.

Karen could mock Harry all she wanted, Ian thought it was just Harry being a gentleman.

“I’m hoping you actually do break a leg so we can find a way to sue the owners,” Lip said. “Get your ass down there.”

Karen laughed before sliding through the opening just a little less gracefully than Mandy did.

“You’re supposed to be flirting, not pretending he doesn’t exist,” Lip whispered once Karen dropped out of sight. Lip smacked the back of his hand to Ian’s chest and shook his head before sticking his feet through the window.

“Get it together, dude.”

Ian aimed a kick to the top of Lip’s head before Lip wiggled his way through the opening.

Ian could flirt until he was red in the face, but Harry wouldn’t give him a second look. He had a fake girlfriend to keep his arm warm and some supposed fuck buddy to warm his bed.

Harry fucking hated Ian. He outted Ian to his entire family in the same fight where Ian bashed him in the mouth and compared him to a shitty wife.

But, yeah, Ian was soo fucking sure that Harry would love to go get a drink with him when they finished stealing the wiring out of a house.

If Lip wanted to date Harry, then he should just grow a set of balls and ask him himself.

Ian wound up helping Harry with the wiring when it quickly became clear that he didn’t have a fucking clue what he was doing.

“It’s like peeling potatoes,” Ian explained. He pulled some of the wiring from behind the ugly ass paneled walls and showed Harry the motion with the strippers to keep him from butchering it.

“If they pay you based on weight, why not just keep the rubber on it to get more?” Harry asked while he tried to mimic Ian’s motions.

“They won’t buy it with the rubber on because they’re only paying for the copper,” Ian told him. “And if we take it in like this then it’s pretty damn obvious we stole it.”

“And it’s somehow less obvious when five teenagers show up with black trash bags full of copper?” Harry asked, causing Ian to laugh.

“Touché,” Ian grinned. He paused for a moment and looked around the basement. Karen wasn’t even pretending to help, she was setting up the balls to play pool. Mandy and Lip were on the other side of the room, laughing about something while they pulled wires together.

Lip looked over and caught Ian’s eye and wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’ve got pretty eyes?” Ian blurted out to Harry. Harry paused in his stripping and blinked up at Ian with eyes that were just as pretty as they were confused.

“Uh… no, but… thanks,” Harry said slowly. “Can you help me untangle these?” Harry held out a tangle of wires that were still connected to the fuse box.

“Hold up.” Ian opened the fuse box and flipped a few breakers, all the ones for the basement. “There, clip them as close to the box as you can and then they’ll pull out easier.”

The last thing they needed was to take the inexperienced foreign kid to the hospital for an electrocution.

“Thanks, mate,” Harry said. He did seem pretty chill with Ian considering all the shit that happened in the last week.

“Hey, Harry?” Ian waited until Harry looked up at him. Ian was a lot of shit, but a coward wasn’t one of them. He held eye contact with Harry while he forced himself to genuinely apologize.

“That shit I said about your uncle? That wasn’t cool,” Ian said genuinely. “I was pissed that you told everyone about Kash and I… I just wanted to piss you off.”

Harry glanced around the room and then frowned at Ian.

“I didn’t mean to yell your private business in the yard,” Harry said, keeping his voice low. “I- I was going to tell Fiona, because I know she loves you - you’re lucky, you know? - but I didn’t mean to scream about it. I just… I dunno.” Harry dropped his eyes down and started fiddling with the wiring. “You yelled and I just… I dunno.”

Ian took a chance and put his hand on Harry’s, keeping him from twisting the wiring around over and over between his fingers. Ian just looked at their hands and kept his voice light.

“You think we can just move on?” Ian asked him. Harry didn’t pull his hand away and Ian took it as a good sign and pushed forward. “Like… pretend I didn’t bust you in the face like an asshole?”

Harry’s eyes flicked up to Ian’s face quickly and then he very slowly pulled his hand away.

“Yeah, if we can pretend I didn’t try and kill you,” Harry said with a warm smile that reached his eyes, causing a little glimmer of light in them.

“You tried to kill me? You sucked,” Ian said with a playful smile. “We gotta teach you to fight, man.”

“Right now?” Harry asked.

Ian didn’t mean right then, but fuck it, they had time.

Ian and Harry went upstairs to the living room with some plush white carpet, uncomfortable looking fancy couches, and a cabinet against one wall that was filled with expensive china.

“Look, make a fist.” Ian held his hand up and curled it in a fist slowly so Harry could see the proper way to do it. “Now, either block your pretty face or be ready to bleed,” Ian warned him.

Ian didn’t even realize what he’d said until Harry’s cheeks turned a light shade of red… and then it was on.

“Quick jabs, Black. Don’t think about it like making love, a fight is just a quick and rough fuck.”

“Hit me hard, Black. I can take anything you throw at me.”

“Can you take it? How much can you take?”

“Fuck, you can take it, can’t you?”

Harry was too easy to get flustered. He was tripping over his own feet, pink in the cheeks. By the time Ian swept Harry’s leg out and knocked him on his back, playfully pinning him without putting any weight on him, Harry looked wrecked. With a quick flex of his hips, Ian could feel his dick was hard even through their jeans.

“Fighting turn you on?” Ian grinned. He had one hand beside Harry’s face and hoped he wasn’t the only one who could feel the tens—

“AAAAHHH!”

“I THOUGHT YOU SAID THE OWNERS WERE ON VACATION!” Ian screamed at his brother while they ran.

Ian had two trash bags of copper over his shoulders, Lip had one, and Harry had another one. All five of them were running as fast as they could, but fucking Karen was slowing them down.

“I DEFINITELY NEVER SAID THAT.” Lip swore when another bullet went whizzing just to the side of their group, ripping through a tree that could have been their fucking heads.

“THEY USUALLY WORK UNTIL SEVEN,” Lip yelled. “HEY, SPLIT UP! WE’LL MEET UP LATER!”

Ian shouldn’t have been surprised when Lip grabbed Mandy by the hand and jerked her and Karen down the next block, west of where they should have been headed.

So clearly that meant Ian and Harry were on their own, being chased by the psychotic home-owner with the gun.

“This way.” Ian would have grabbed Harry’s wrist to steer him in the right direction but he was busy carrying the twenty pounds of copper they had filled two of the bags with.

Harry followed him anyway and they kept running, taking random turns, and getting as far from the guy with the gun as they could. Ian carefully directed them toward the Fairy Tail, an interesting looking bar that Ian always wanted to try out.

“Hey, hold up.” Ian slowed down when they reached Roseland. There were a few empty buildings on the north side of town and Ian looked around in one through a busted window before he waved Harry over.

“You got your phone?” Ian asked. When Harry nodded, Ian told him to write down the address of the building before he stored their three bags of copper in the building.

“Why are we hiding our stuff in there?” Harry asked.

“So we can get a drink and pick it up on our way home later,” Ian told him. “I mean… if you want to? This place doesn’t card and I made Linda give me my last check this morning.”

“I…” Harry shuffled a step away from Ian and stuffed his hands in his pockets with a frown. “I have a girlfriend,” he said quietly.

“A real girlfriend?” Ian asked. He took a step closer to Harry. “Or just one you hang on your arm to hide the fact you’re gay?”

Harry raised his chin stubbornly and didn’t step back again.

“Does it matter?” Harry asked. “I can’t go get a drink with you if it’s a- a flirting thing.”

“Mandy won’t care,” Ian said. “Unless you’re worried about whatever guy you’re fucking.”

“Bit of both,” Harry said without an ounce of shame. “Also… Also you make me a bit sad to look at.”

Ian stopped his approach and tried to work through that to figure out if it was meant to be an insult.

“Why the fuck do I make you sad to look at?” Ian asked incredulously. Ian had a decent body, he stayed in shape with ROTC and drill training. Yeah, Ian looked a lot like Monica, but that shouldn’t have shit to do with Harry.

Harry shrugged and kicked a clump of dirt with his boot.

“You look a bit like my ex-boyfriend,” Harry said, his eyes on the ground. “I miss him sometimes. Everything was easy with him, you know?”

Ian did know. Because everything had been easy with Kash, mostly.

They worked together, they fucked, they listened to music. Yeah, it made Ian feel like crap when he saw Kash’s kids jumping up on him, or when Linda would write Ian a check advance when he needed it. But mostly it had been easy.

“Yeah, I get that.” Ian sank down to sit in the grass beside the building they hid the copper inside. “What was your ex like?”

Harry sat down with his legs crossed across from Ian and grinned.

“Fred? He was - is - Fred’s brilliant. He’s funny and loud, so you don’t notice how smart he is at first…”

It wasn’t a date like Lip’s dumb ass tried to push them in, but it was kind of cool. Ian didn’t really have any friends, especially not any gay ones, and sitting with Harry, just talking, was nice.

Harry had a sarcastic sense of humor, like Lip, and he seemed like a loyal guy. He was worried about his uncle, he was waiting to hear back from his friends back home, and he was jealous that Ian had such a big family.

Ian told Harry about becoming an officer in the Army when he graduated high school, how Fiona was the only real parent he had, and how he occasionally felt like an outsider in his family. Harry even listened when Ian talked a little about Kash - how he’d guessed that Ian was gay, how they started having sex, and how Ian was hurt that he was ignoring him.

It wasn’t a date, but it was still cool.

Mandy offered to walk with Harry to the post office after school on Wednesday to check for mail. Harry was beginning to get antsy- Lupin said he’d be back on Thursday, but Harry hadn’t heard from him. And Harry hadn’t heard from Hermione since his first week in Chicago.

Harry felt a bit disconnected from the rest of the world… Harry just existed with his group of friends, all of them in an isolated bubble of insanity.

Because stealing wires from a house and then being chased by a bloke with a gun was positively insane, even if they did each get fifty dollars from the wires.

“Ian tried to ask me out yesterday,” Harry told Mandy. They had their hands entwined together while they walked and shared a joint that Mandy brought with her.

“For real?” Mandy asked. “Wow. What’d you say?”

“I told him I have a girlfriend,” Harry grinned.

Mandy grinned back at Harry and passed him the joint.

“Good, I like a loyal man,” she winked. “You know Mickey jumped my ass last night? He was all pissy that I went with you yesterday. It’s like he’s jealous.”

“Right?!” Harry said. He took a long hit off the joint and passed it Mandy before slowly blowing the smoke out. “He sounded jealous the other day too. He said we’re always hanging on each other.”

Harry huffed and shook his head in bewilderment.

“We might have to break up,” Harry said. “Maybe Mickey changed his mind and wants do more than just shag?”

Mandy tried to laugh while inhaling and wound up having a horrible coughing fit. Harry rubbed her back while they paused on the sidewalk until she could breathe properly again.

“Mickey won’t date you,” Mandy said hoarsely. She had tears welled up in her eyes from coughing so hard, but she still had a little glimmer of amusement too.

“We have sex?” Harry said, rather confused. Mickey was at least attracted to Harry. And he’d been the one to be weird about Harry and Mandy.

“Yeah, but Mickey will never come out of the closet,” Mandy said factually. “Our dad would fucking shoot him in the face if Mickey said he was gay.”

Harry considered that while they kept walking. If Mickey didn’t want Harry to fake-date Mandy, what other reason would there be besides him wanting to actually date Harry? They wouldn’t have to walk around holding hands like Harry and Mandy did… but they could at least snog on occasion.

Because even when Mickey stayed two nights at Harry’s house, they never actually kissed…

“We don’t kiss,” Harry told Mandy. They had reached the post office and Harry was quick to open the door for Mandy.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” Mandy asked.

Harry laughed and flipped his backpack around to snag his little key force his mailbox.

“I mean with the other one,” Harry said, conscious of the others in the post office. “Is that weird?”

Mandy seemed to either be thinking it over or waiting until they were alone to answer. Harry quickly opened his box, expecting it to be empty again, and let out a joyful noise when he saw there were multiple envelopes waiting for him.

Harry put them in his bag, planning on opening them back at home, and felt a new bounce to his step when he and Mandy got back outside.

Until Mandy said something so pointed and hurtful that Harry’s happiness deflated instantly.

“Harry, Mickey’s just using you for sex.”

Harry stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and just stared at Mandy. She didn’t look pissed off or mocking, she looked… she looked like she was pitying him.

“No he’s not,” Harry argued automatically.

Harry liked Mickey- Harry liked hanging out with him and eating poorly cooked meals together. Harry liked getting high and listening to music together… Harry liked making Mickey laugh and he liked listening to Mickey talk in his rough and twangy accent.

Harry liked his eyes and his tattoos.

Harry liked the little thrill of danger he felt when he was around him and he saw a flash of metal at Mickey’s waistband from the gun he carried.

Harry really liked the sex, but he also liked all the other things.

Harry liked all those things though… did Mickey?

“Babe.” Mandy reached out and pulled Harry in a tight hug. “Did you accidentally catch feelings? You dumbass,” she sighed when Harry shrugged.

Harry didn’t get the fluttery and warm feeling from being around Mickey like he used to Fred, but… but a small part of Harry’s heart did assume that he eventually might.

“Maybe I’m wrong,” Mandy said when Harry pulled out of her hug. He wrapped an arm around Mandy’s waist and she tilted her head on his shoulder.

“Maybe you should just ask Mickey if it’s just sex for him,” she suggested. “I mean, my brother is a fucking moron, but he’d have to be brain dead if he didn’t want to keep you around as long as he could.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Harry agreed absently, still trying to compare the way Mickey was with Harry with how Fred had been.

There was no comparison. Fred and Harry never had sex, but Mickey and Harry never went on dates. Fred got Harry’s first kiss, Mickey got Harry’s virginity.

Fred was soft and sweet, Mickey was rough and exciting.

Harry loved Fred, and… and he was rather fond of Mickey.

Mandy must have been talking while Harry was thinking it over in his head because she was staring at him expectantly.

“Sorry, what?” Harry said.

Mandy rolled her eyes. “I said you should talk to him at the party tonight. Let him have a few drinks so he’s more honest.”

“What party?” Harry asked.

Mandy smiled brightly then.

“The one you’re throwing since your uncles won’t be back until tomorrow.”

Harry wasn’t planning to throw a party, but he couldn’t think of any reason not to.

While Mandy began preparing the house for a party, Harry claimed he needed a quick shower while he escaped upstairs to read his letters. There were three of them and Harry opened the one from Dudley first.

Harry,
How do you always find the most mental situations to get involved in?
Text me,
-Big D

It was short, simple, and Harry copied down the phone number Dudley gave him in his phone.

The letter from Hermione was much more lengthy.

Harry,
First, I’m glad you’ve found friends. Especially your friend Mandy who looks very pretty and also very interested in you. What are your friends like? Are they helping you get caught up in your studies?

Harry snorted at the very Hermione-like question.

More importantly- WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE? And do not insult me by saying you fell off a ladder again. If Sirius did that I swear to you I will be on the next flight to the States with a vial of incredibly painful poison.
I’m so worried about you, now more than ever.
I do have some interesting news on the war front- Professor Dumbledore has stepped down as Headmaster. He’s given the job to Professor McGonagall. Ron called Bill when it was announced and Bill said that Dumbledore has been busy collecting something that will help weaken Voldemort so he can be locked away like Grindelwald.
Please write me soon, I feel sick not knowing if you’re okay.
All my love forever,
Hermione

Harry read Hermione’s letter a second time, smiling and frowning at different parts. Dumbledore must believe he would be able to trap Voldemort soon if he stepped down as Headmaster. Harry was surprised he didn’t plan to outright kill Voldemort, but Dumbledore was rather anti-murder he supposed.

Harry stuffed Hermione’s letter away in his desk to respond to when he had more time and he opened the third envelope. The handwriting was familiar and immediately Harry felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach.

Harry!
The craziest thing happened… There I was, minding my own business, when I saw Miss Perfect Prefect drop an envelope in the muggle post box in Hogsmeade. And I said to myself, what if the letter was cursed? So I, being a concerned citizen, summoned Hermione’s letter back out of the box and Imagine my surprise when I saw she was sending a letter to her parents… except the name at the top of the letter said Harry.

Harry sighed quietly. Fred was too damn clever for his own good.

So if you’re reading this, dearest Granger parents, kindly forward it along with Hermione’s letter. And stop reading here. Thanks.
Harry, tell me where you are, please? I’m done here, love. I don’t need my NEWTS. I want to come spend the rest of the school year with you while I wait for George to finish up. And then… and then I haven’t figured out past that. We have a shop purchased in Diagon to open next summer, so I might have to come back for a few months, but if we make as much as I think we will, we can open a second shop and I’ll put it wherever you are.
I miss you.
I love you.
Just tell me where you are and I’ll be on the next arrowplane to you.
Love always,
Fred

Harry scrubbed at his eyes to push back the annoying prickle of impending tears.

Fred couldn’t give up his whole life for Harry. Fred was quidditch captain, he had friends at Hogwarts, family too. Fred had never lived a minute of his life without magic. Sirius hated being in exile with Harry so much that he’d developed a drinking addiction. What would it do to Fred?

Harry was used to acting like a muggle, it didn’t bother him to talk about movies and video games, but Fred would feel isolated.

As isolated as Harry occasionally felt.

Harry stuffed Fred’s letter out of sight and changed his shirt and washed his face before going downstairs. Mandy said she was going to get ‘a shit ton’ of booze and suddenly there was nothing Harry wanted more than to drink.