Background Character

Chapter 10

The alarm clock his father had picked up blared, the first and only warning Jake had to get up. School for him didn't start for another two and half hours which left him plenty of time to get his morning run in. Usually, it made him feel a little less hungover, although today was worse than usual. He came back to the trailer with sweat pouring down his face and still didn't feel all there.

He was quick to shower, going for more of a rinse than cleaning up. Hannah would arrive soon to pick him up so he shrugged on some clothes: a pair of jeans, some t-shirt with the school's emblem, and his letterman jacket. He got a good look of his face in the kitchen's window and grabbed a pair of dark sunglasses, hoping they would mask some of the puffiness of his face.

His promise to Hannah the night before still rang in his head. Hannah was always there for him and he hated that idea that he had gone against her wishes. Jake had promised not to get drunk and he had broken that promise, he didn't want Hannah to be disappointed in him.

She pulled up to the side of the house, prompt as ever. Hannah left the car running, feeling a little impatient as she waited for Jake, who never seemed ready when she pulled up. Despite this, she didn't dare honk her horn. Her aunt would probably be outside screaming her head off if she did, Hannah knew this from prior experience.

Jake was a little more sluggish than usual as he slunk out of the trailer, careful not to let it show too much. Hannah said nothing as he slid into the passenger's side because she knew, she knew he had gone against his word. Part of her was hurt, and it was that part of her that kept her quiet. She knew that he felt bad about it, he slumped a little more in his seat than usual. She knew he couldn't bear to face her.

So they sat there, both afraid to break the silence.

Hannah pulled into her parking spot, she even had her own sign assigning the spot to her. There was no official order that gave her the spot, it was more of an unofficial gift for all her work as student council president. She certainly wasn't going to complain about having the best parking spot on campus all to herself.

Tomas popped out from his car and spotted the two. He raised his hand in greetings but it quickly fell when Jake looked at him and then strode away, completely ignoring him. Hannah made a beeline for him and together, they watched as Jake disappeared into the school, through the rusty front doors.

"Ignore him," Hannah sighed, saddened by Jake's treatment of his best friend. She knew why, he was ashamed of himself, but Tomas was left in the dark. Jake had yet to come clean about his problem so Tomas probably believed that it was something about him. "He's just having an off day Tomas. It's not you, trust me."

"Why is he so upset?" Tomas asked, nudging Hannah towards the doors.

She complied, walking side-by-side with Tomas through the parking lot. She felt bad for him, but she knew it wasn't her place to tell Tomas about Jake. So she lied, "I'm honestly not quite sure. He was in a mood when he woke up this morning, I'm guessing that he didn't sleep well."

"That makes sense," Tomas admitted, although he wasn't completely sold on the idea, "You know him better than I do, so I guess I'll just take your word."

"Don't just take my word, you know how he gets Tomas. I don't want you to take it personally," Hannah stopped at her locker first, "Jake is upset-I mean, he's exhausted. He's having a little trouble with one of his classes and he spent all of last night trying to study it. I think it might have been Calc?"

Hannah was taking a gamble, making up a story for Tomas. All of that extra information could be used against her. Saying he was tired was one thing, but she was more likely to be caught in the lie with all the extra information. She'd have to text Jake a heads up so he'd corroborate the story if need be.

Tomas seemed to accept that response, brightening up a little. "Yeah, I'm probably overthinking it. It's probably just that I'm tired, we have Calc quiz coming up. That's probably why Jake is so freaked, he's pretty worried about not doing well or something."

Hannah sighed internally, thankful Tomas had filled in the blanks for her. He seemed to have accepted the answer she gave him and had moved on.

It seemed he had turned his instincts towards her. Like most of the people around him, Hannah was well aware of the feelings he had for her. More than most, she was aware of the way he watched her sometimes. There was nothing creepy or uncomfortable about his glances, it was just something she noticed.

Just as he watched her, sometimes she found herself watching him. There was so much love and admiration that shone in his eyes and that small smile of his as he stood in the crowd as she gave a speech as student council president. Though she was unaware of how long he had been pining over her, she eventually became aware of him.

Though she felt that he deserved far better than her. He deserved someone kind and funny and sweet. Not someone as dark and twisty on the inside as her and certainly not someone who lied to him every single day.

Everyone has their secrets Hannah thought to herself, It's just that mine is so central to who I am. He knows that there was a time I lived with my grandmother and he knows that Jake's parents despise me, but he doesn't know. He doesn't really know me.

Too engrossed in her thoughts, Hannah nearly collided with a group of freshman, too engrossed in conversation to notice her tall form steadily growing closer. Tomas grabbed ahold of her arm, tugging her into him, nearly missing one of the boy's backpacks. He held onto her tightly as she steadied herself, eventually becoming aware of how close the two were.

They locked eyes, unable to do anything for a few moments as they grappled with it. Both jumped back, Hannah's face turned red with embarrassment as Tomas looked anywhere but her.

"Sorry, I-I-I, um I-" Tomas stuttered as he picked up the backpack he had abandoned in order to grab Hannah.

"It's fine," Hannah cut in, not wanting to prolong either of their embarrassment. "It was a spur of the moment thing, you were just trying to help."

Something in Tomas stirred at her words. He took a step forward, so that the two were close again. Hannah was a tall woman, only an inch or two shorter than him and he was well above the average height for a man. She looked away initially because she knew that if she looked into his eyes, she'd probably melt into his arms.

Tomas' voice became low, but even whispering Hannah could hear him clearly, "What if I wanted to do it again?"

"We're in the middle of the hallway." Hannah looked around her, hoping to find some way to deflect his attention, "Class is probably going to start soon. We should probably go, or something."

"What if I don't want to go, what if I just want to stand in the middle of the hallway and kiss you?"

Hannah knew that she couldn't let him get any closer, that he deserved to know all her baggage before he did something he would regret.

Tomas' eyes fell and he leaned in, hoping to finally kiss the girl of his dreams. Before he could, her hands came up and pushed him away. The initial shock kept him rooted where he was standing as she bolted away and he was left to wonder what had gone wrong. Had he misread the signs? Had she just not wanted to do it in the middle of the hallway? Did she want to go on a date first?

In all his years of knowing Hannah, she had never gone on a date or even been in a relationship with a guy. Tomas had secretly hoped that it was because she wanted him as badly as he wanted her. That she was waiting for him to ask her out or to give some signal that he felt as she did, which he obviously did.

Yet, Tomas knew the kind of person Hannah was. If she had really wanted to go out with him, she probably would have asked him. She was never afraid to be brave and take charge, something he loved and admired about her so much about her.

Eventually he moved on, dragging his feet to first period as he wondered what had gone wrong.