Hannah's Story

Chapter 7 - Hannah

Pic is of Elizabeth Gillies as Callie Malick.

HANNAH

I couldn't help but be excited that Gabe had asked me out for Friday. It gave me something to look forward to. I was smiling on Tuesday morning after walking into school with him. I walked into Janice's classroom, unable to wipe the smile from my face.

"I take it you ran into Gabe the Heartthrob this morning?" she asked, eyeing me skeptically.

I nodded my head as I said, "I did."

Her chin was resting in her palm as she swiveled her head to stare at me.

"Be careful with that one," she said. Her face was smiling, yet worried undertones came through in her voice.

"Why?" I asked.

"I'm just afraid he won't become as vested as you will in your relationship. I could be wrong, and I don't want to ruin anything between the two of you before it has a chance to start. Just be aware that he's not Ethan," she said.

I tried to hide my annoyance when I spoke. "I broke up with Ethan four years ago. I'm looking for something different this time around," I said, hoping she didn't realize she'd offended me a little.

"I understand. Just don't fall too hard too fast, okay?" she asked, her eyes looking apologetic as she spoke the words.

"I promise," I said.

Honestly, Gabe was really cute and I enjoyed spending time with him, but I wasn't falling too hard. I was still clearly in the "like" stage of the relationship. I just felt comfortable with him and wanted to see if this flirting was going to go anywhere.

"Okay. I'll drop it," she said.

"Thanks," I replied.

*****
Lunch period was there before I knew it, and I was waiting outside Janice's classroom.

I smiled as Jesse approached. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with a band logo on it and relaxed jeans with the legs slightly worn. His black converse completed the outfit.

His sisters were always complaining that he didn't take enough pride in his look, but he looked like most of the other male students in school. None of them were exactly fashion plates.  Currently, he looked nervous, chewing on his lip every so often and brushing his semi long brunette bangs back from his forehead.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" he asked, moving from one foot to the other in front of me.

"Yes, it will all be okay," I said. "Breathe."

He smiled half-heartedly, then ran his hand through his hair again. "There's something wrong with me. I shouldn't be this nervous just to be in the same room as her," he said.

I took his left hand in my right hand and squeezed it lightly.

"You're going to be fine. You have to start somewhere. If she doesn't like you, then she's not worth it. Understand?" I said, letting go of his hand when his breathing began to return to normal.

I'd never seen him like this. It was cute in a way, but also probably very unnecessary. Rachel seemed like a nice enough girl. I didn't think she'd flat out reject him.  I wasn't sure what to do if she did.

"Ok, Hannah. I guess it's now or never," he said, pushing his shirt sleeves up.

"That might be a little dramatic," I said lightheartedly, "but we can work with it. Let's go."

We walked down the hall and into Mr. Burnell's annex.  When I opened the door, the others were already at work.  Crystal and Michael were hovering over a laptop in the corner of the room, talking about what order to arrange the photos of school clubs. Dom and Jessica were flipping through old yearbooks. I guess they were looking for inspiration. Rachel was sitting at a table, holding a camera. It looked like she was trying to fix it.