Roommates

Chapter 4

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has been following this story and commenting. I really appreciate.  This story first started out as short story a couple of months ago, but then I deicided to make it into a longer story.

It didn't take long for Hannah to move in. I don't think she had enough stuff to bring except for makeup and clothes. I did my best to avoid her as much as possible and it worked for the first few days, mostly because we had different schedules. One night I was in the living room trying to write a story, but all I had in my mind was doubt. I wasn't sure how I wanted it to begin.  I reluctantly placed my laptop on the coffee table in front of me and grabbed the small foam basketball that was beside me. I normally played around with it when I was bored. As I tossed it in the air, I heard a door open and Hannah stepped out of her bedroom. She wore a turquoise colored tank top and grey shorts. Her blonde hair was tousled like she just woke up. Surprisingly it still looked good.  My eyes widened when I saw her and then the ball smacked my head as it finally came down.

"Ow," I grimaced.

"Oh sorry, did I surprised you?" Hannah rubbed her eyes as a grin formed on her lips.

"I didn't know you were here." I rubbed my head and glared at the basketball that has now rolled toward Hannah.

Hannah picked up the basketball and chuckled.  "It's not its fault. You should blame gravity."

"Oh, I do everytime I wake up and find myself shorter again," I replied.

Hannah let out a laugh as she made her way toward me. She sat down on the other end of the couch. She glanced at my computer.   "Were you working on something?"

"Trying to," I said slowly. I backed further away on my side of the couch and eyed Hannah suspiciously.

"And nothing came to mind?" Hannah batted the basketball around in her hands.

"No." I held my hands out and she tossed the ball toward me in one smooth motion. My eyes widened as I caught the ball in my hands. My glasses slipped off my nose and I felt like I was gawking at her.

"What, I played softball in high school," Hannah said with a shrug.

"You surprise me," I replied as I pushed my glasses back up.

Hannah leaned against her elbow as she stared at me.

I tried my best to avoid her gaze. I wished she wore more clothes. There was too much skin showing that it made me uncomfortable. I felt like I was overly dressed in my sweatpants and oversized sweatshirt.

"I'm glad I get to see you. I feel like you've been avoiding me."

"Well...you know me. I like being alone," I answered.

"Actually I don't know you that well," Hannah said. "Why don't we play a game and get to know one another."

"Umm...what kind of game?" I turned my body toward her.

"How about we tossed the ball to each other when we ask a question and we can just go back and forth like that," Hannah suggested.

I looked at the ball on my lap and then back at Hannah. "Okay.  What made you decide to move to New York?" I tossed the ball toward Hannah.

"To get as far away from home as possible," Hannah said as she caught the ball. "How about you?"

"Same. New York seemed like a place where writers go," I answered as I threw the ball back to Hannah. "Where are you originally from?

"A small town in in Virgina called Windsor," Hannah answered. She plucked the ball from the air like a cat.

"A southern girl?" My eyebrow rose at her answer.

"Yes, I say y'all and everything too," Hannah imitated a southern accent, a playful grin on her lips.

I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle which surpised myself.  I quickly looked away and cleared my throat.

"How about you?" Hannah tossed the ball toward me.

"I'm from Gahanna, Ohio, " I said. I caught the ball and placed it beside me.

"It looks like we both came to New York for a fresh start," Hannah stated.

 I nodded in agreement.

"Did it have something to with biology," Hannah asked sofly.

I glanced in her direction, still unable to look her in the eyes. I took a deep breath before I answered. "Yes, my parents wanted me to become a doctor and I wanted to please them. I was so miserable and I broke down twice. My grades kind of suffered and I didn't think I could of enter medical school because I had so many issues."

Hannah was silent for a moment and I bit the inside of my cheek in regret. I was being way too honest.  I shouldn't have said so much. I grabbed the ball beside me and squeezed it like a stress ball. Suddnly a pair of soft hands were placed on top of mind and I looked up to see Hannah next to me.

"I'm sorry you went through that," she said softly.

I kept my gaze on her hands, unable to move. "It's... in the past."

"Were they upset  that you didn't go to med school like they hoped?"

"They were disapointed, but after my second book hit the New York Time's best seller list, they became proud of me," I answered.

"They turned around." Hannah said with a small smile.

She slowly took her hands off mine and I felt like I could finally breathe again. "I feel lucky that the book did so well because it kind of saved me."

"They would have been proud of you anyways. I"m sure of it," Hannah replied.

"How can you be so sure?" She didn't know me. How could she say those things? My dark eyes met her blue ones and all I could see was a strong, unwavering gaze.

"Because you're beautiful and smart. You can do anything if you tried," Hannah answered.

I felt like something was caught in my throat and I let out an uneasy cough. No one has called me beautiful before and it sounded so foreign to my ears. "Umm...so...what about you? Why did you leave home?" I could feel her warmth beside me, not realizing how close we actually were.  I felt so small and inandequate beside her.

Hannah ran her fingers through her hair and let out a sigh. "My parents wanted me to be someone I wasn't, so I decided to leave and just be myself."

My head tilted to the side as I stared at her in confusion. What did her parents want her to be? As far as I knew she looked like the type of daughter some parents would want.

"You look so cute when you're confused," Hannah said with a smirk.

My eyes widend at her remark as my head snapped back. "I am not cute. Cute is reserved for children and tiny animals like puppies and kittens."

"You are tiny," Hannah joked, her lips curved into a grin.

I crossed my arms together and glared at her. "I am not tiny. I am 5'3 and tiny is for those below 5 foot."

"Did you make up the rules," Hannah said with a laugh.

"No, the rules are known to everyone. It's a universal statement," I defended. Just because she was born with the height of an Amazon, did not give her the right to call me tiny.

Hannah held her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. You're not tiny."

"Thank you," I said. "I thought I had to fight for my honor."

Hannah chuckled at my response before she leaned in against me. "You're still cute though."

 At that moment I lost all sense of thought and motion. All I could do was stare into those sparkling blue eyes and those pink lips that formed into smirk.