“I don’t think I should go,” Hannah sighed as she collapsed onto the bed. “I shouldn’t have said yes, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You were thinking you were normal,” Coco butted in, standing at the bedroom door. “Girls your age should be going to parties.”
Hannah looked to Veronica for some support. Her best friend just shrugged. “I agree with her.”
“I hate it when you two gang up on me.”
“Someone’s got to make sure you have a good time,” Coco said, throwing her hands up into the air and disappearing down the hallway.
Veronica flicked through the clothes in her wardrobe, scrunching up her face at the considerable lack of anything she deemed party-worthy. All of Hannah’s clothes were just so… boring.
“Don’t you have anything sparkly?”
Hannah crawled off the bed to join her. “I don’t do sparkly. How about this outfit?” She held up a beige shift dress that was half nurse and half prison warden.
“Are you kidding?” The look on Veronica’s face told her it was a clear no.
She looked at her friend, already dressed in a sequined blue skirt that was shorter than anything she owned, and a black singlet top that showed her bra. If that was what girls wore to parties, then she was stuffed.
“I shouldn’t go.”
“You’re going and we’re going to be unfashionably late if you don’t hurry. Put something on and I’ll wait for you downstairs.” She stood with her hands on her hips as she turned to face Hannah. “And don’t think of doing anything stupid like locking yourself in the bathroom. You are going to this party and you will have fun.”
Hannah watched, speechless and resigned, as Veronica left her alone. She grabbed a pair of denim shorts her mother had brought and she had never worn because of their bedazzled rhinestones and a plain white top. Looking in the mirror, she didn’t approve but it would have to do.
Ignoring Coco and Veronica’s stares as she hurried downstairs, she went directly for the car and didn’t look back. They followed shortly afterwards.
The party was held in a house four blocks from the animal shelter. Neither Hannah nor Veronica knew the host, or most of the people there for that matter. Still, they entered bravely and tried to get into the swing of things.
After ten minutes of listening to the loud music and being bumped by at least a dozen elbows, Hannah leaned in closer to her friend, having to yell to be heard. “I don’t like it here, I want to go home.”
“Not yet, just try to have fun. Isn’t that your boy toy over there?”
Hannah followed her gaze. Sure enough, through the mass of bodies, Harry was standing by the door to the kitchen. He appeared to be looking for someone as his eyes scanned the crowd. They finally settled on Hannah, causing his face to crease into a smile. He started approaching.
“He’s coming over,” Hannah said, panicking now. She didn’t want him to see her but she also did at the same time. It would have been far easier to stay at home watching documentaries. There was a good one about dinosaurs on.
She couldn’t think of a way to disappear before Harry arrived. The first thing she noticed was how he had gone to an effort to look good. His usual messy hair was brushed, his clothes weren’t wrinkled, and that beautiful smile was lighting up his entire face.
“Hey Hannah, glad you could make it.” His gaze was too intense for her to think straight.
“Yeah, me too,” she stuttered out. Her cheeks burned, she thought for sure she was making a fool of herself. She had never felt so self-conscious of everything.
“Would you like to dance?”
An alarm started sounding in her head. She didn’t dance, she wouldn’t even know how. She would only make a fool of herself, why hadn’t she expected this and planned something accordingly? Where was the nearest exit?
“Sure she would,” Veronica replied for her, pushing Hannah into his arms. She couldn’t stop herself before she felt his hand grip around her and lead her away. Hannah tried to make her friend burst into flames just by looking at her. If looks could kill, it would have worked.
“I don’t really know how to dance,” Hannah managed to get out as she stared at Harry. The light danced in his eyes, he was finding her pain funny – great.
“Just relax and move your feet. I don’t really know what I’m doing either, but it doesn’t matter as long as you’re having fun. Right?” He placed his hands on her waist and guided her to the left and then the right. She had to move her feet to stop herself toppling over.
Before she knew it, Hannah was dancing. Well, a dorky type of dancing, but everyone else was too wrapped up in themselves to notice. Harry was the only one she cared about and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“I’m dancing,” she said, finally letting herself smile with the triumph.
“You’re good, see?” He let go of her waist, letting her free to move on her own accord. Hannah was almost dizzy with the smell of his cologne, he smelt so good she wanted to get closer just so she could inhale him.
Feeling more confident, Hannah tried a few more moves than just shuffling back and forth. She wiggled around in a circle, laughing at her own terrible attempt. As she returned, she smacked Harry right across the chest.
“I’m so sorry,” she hastily apologized, mortally embarrassed at her own clumsiness.
“Don’t worry about it,” he chuckled. “You’re getting better.”
She seriously doubted that but it didn’t seem to matter much anymore. It was like the rest of the party had completely disappeared, leaving just the two of them on the dance floor. To make it better, she didn’t feel like her usual nerdy self, she felt like the kind of girl she had only watched dance with a guy before. Now she was that girl.
Hannah closed her eyes, letting the feeling of Harry being so close sink in along with the music.
Suddenly, someone bumped into her and she felt a cold liquid spread over her top. Her white top.
“Hey, watch where you’re going,” Harry warned the guy. Hannah’s eyes burst open, just in time to see the boy walk away – leaving his entire drink on her chest. She could feel it dripping down her bra, her stomach, and her shorts. She was completely covered in the liquid.
“I’m sorry, Hannah, he wasn’t watching where he was going,” Harry apologized, even though it wasn’t his fault. “I’m sure there’s a bathroom around here, you can dry off. It will be okay.”
“No, I need to go,” Hannah said resolutely. She hurried away from him before he could stop her. She weaved her way through the crowd of bodies, making it impossible for Harry to follow her. She heard her name being called out several times but didn’t stop or look back.
Along the way, she grabbed Veronica by the arm and continued to drag her towards the door. They were leaving, whether she liked it or not.
Outside, the air was warm and balmy. Hannah called her mom and told her to get there as quickly as possible. She had no intentions of sticking around.
“What happened to you?” Veronica said once she had hung up, staring at the wet patch that was making her shirt see-through.
“Some idiot spilt his drink on me, what does it look like happened?”
“We don’t have to leave, you can just dry off. In this weather, it won’t take long.”
“I don’t want to dry off, I want to go home. We should never have come in the first place.” She stomped off to the road, desperately wishing to see her mother’s car. “I don’t belong in a place like this, I think the universe was making that point obvious.”
Veronica laughed, only making her grumpier. “It wasn’t the universe that spilled their drink on you, it was some idiot. You’re such a drama queen.”
“I’m not a drama queen, I’m realistic.”
Finally, the car appeared. It had barely come to a halt before Hannah was inside and slamming the door behind her. Veronica did the same on the other side.
“Drive, Mom, please,” Hannah directed, waiting for the comments that woul
d surely come from her mother.
She stepped on the accelerator before opening her mouth. “I thought you girls would stay at the party longer. Was it boring?” She grimaced as if being bored was the worst thing on the planet.
Veronica replied before Hannah could. “Someone spilt their drink on Hannah and she saw it as a sign from above that she needed to leave.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” Coco cooed, even though she wasn’t taking the situation seriously. Did she not see how wet and transparent her shirt was? “Maybe next time you’ll have more fun.”
“She was having fun before that,” Veronica volunteered. “She was dancing with the guy she’s crushing on.”
“You were dancing?”
Hannah was doing her best to ignore them but it wasn’t working. Everything they said just twisted the knife in her chest. “Yes, I was dancing, call the newspapers. I’m not the freak you both think I am.”
“This guy, is he cute?” Coco asked, ignoring the outburst.
“He’s gorgeous,” Veronica answered, knowing Hannah wouldn’t. “And he’s totally into her.”
“He won’t be now,” Hannah mumbled, wondering if she could get anything right. Anything at all would have been nice.
CHAPTER 6