Chapter 7
Vada sat on the bleachers that faced the football field. She completed her homework quickly, wanting to work on a new drawing she had an idea for. Her sketchbook was out, as well as her pencil.
The redhead found her classes at Liberty High to be easier than the ones at her previous school. She'd always been a good student, perhaps not the best, but good enough to never fail a test. Well. Almost never. Trying to keep her mind off academics, she started to draw.
It was nice to have some peace and quiet, considering how chaotic the halls of the school were.
"Vada!"
A male voice caught her attention from the track. It was Jeff. What the hell is he doing here?
He was wearing his letterman jacket, reminding Vada of his status as a Liberty Tiger. He joined her on the first row of the bleachers, and their eyes met.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. "Are you stalking me?"
"Of course I am." He replied sarcastically. "That's what I like to do in my free time: stalk teenage girls."
Vada snorted. "Very funny."
She continued to focus on her drawing, but stopped when she realized Jeff was staring at the page.
"That's really good." He complimented. "Is it a tree?"
"It's a bonsai." She clarified. "It's for my grandma."
"Cool. You're visiting her?"
Vada shook her head. "I live with her."
"Oh, I didn't know that."
Well, of course you didn't. I never told you. "Why are you here, Jeff? Shouldn't you be hanging out with your baseball buddies, or your girlfriend, perhaps?"
There was a quiet moment between them as they studied each other. "I was actually looking for Justin and Zach." He finally said. "But when I saw you here by yourself, I decided to join you. That's all."
Vada sighed and let out a tiny smile, hoping to show him that she wasn't actually upset. She was just trying to avoid being cornered by Loud Leah again. It had been a quiet Friday so far, and she was looking forward to leave with Hannah, so they could spend the rest of the afternoon and all night at her place.
"I don't know who Justin and Zach are." She said.
Jeff laughed. "I almost forgot you're new here."
Vada rolled her eyes, and laughed with him. "Yeah, well, it's not like I can learn everybody's names in a week. You, Hannah, and Skye are the only ones I've spoken to for more than a minute."
"Hannah seems like a nice girl." He commented. "I don't know her that well, but Jensen has told me nothing but good things."
"Clay Jensen?" Vada remembered the way she'd seen him look at Hannah and smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure he thinks very highly of her."
Jeff seemed to understand what she was saying. "If you're her friend, then you must know how she feels about him, right?"
"Who do you take me for? Gossip Girl?" She smacked his arm playfully. "I'm not about to expose any secrets."
Jeff raised his hands in surrender, a smile still plastered on his face. Vada took pride in knowing she could make him laugh.
"I'm just curious." He said. "I've been trying to help Clay get with her, but so far there's been no luck. They're both so difficult."
"Love is a difficult thing, I suppose." Vada's mind went back to her life in New York, and to the reason why she had to move in the first place. It's all in the past now. It's not like I can change it. "This conversation is getting too deep."
"And we aren't even drunk." Jeff pointed out, standing up. "Anyway, I should get going. I have to meet up with Clay in the library. I hope you and Hannah have fun tonight."
Vada was about to ask him how did he know about their upcoming sleepover, but then remembered that she was the one who had told him about it. "Good luck with the game."
"Thanks." They grinned at each other one last time, until Jeff finally turned around and exited the field.
The girl was once again alone, with her sketchbook still on her lap, and her pencil still on her right hand. She had chosen to draw a bonsai because her grandma had mentioned how much she liked them. Once I get a job, I'll be able to buy her a real one.
After putting up with some more boring classes and annoying whispers, Vada met up with Hannah in the parking lot. She pulled her into a hug, which the brunette cheerfully returned.
"I've been waiting all day for this." Vada whispered softly in Hannah's ear. She resisted the urge to caress her friend's beautiful hair.
"Me too." Hannah agreed.
Their hug lasted over a minute, right until Vada caught Bryce and Monty staring at them. She let go of Hannah gently.
"Oh, don't stop on our account!" Bryce yelled from where he was standing.
"Just pretend we aren't even here!" Monty added.
"That's kind of hard, considering how distracting your ugly mugs are!" Vada shouted back, giving them the finger. "Let's go, Hannah."
"You don't have to tell me twice." She said, getting into the car with Vada.
Vada tried not to let their taunts get to her, but she could tell that Hannah had a difficult time dealing with harassment. And who wouldn't? High school is supposed to be fun, not a hell hole where you get mocked for everything that you do. It's hard being a girl.
"Those two are such creeps." The redhead said as she drove. "I caught them looking at my boobs yesterday. They didn't even try to be subtle about it."
Hannah hissed in disgust. "I'm sorry. I've been there too, and it's awful. And it all started with that list..."
"What list?"
"This list that Alex wrote." Hannah answered. "It's a long story."
"Well, thank God you're coming over to my house. You can tell me all about this Alex and his list tonight."
Her companion nodded. "I will."
Once they made it to Vada's home, the girls entered the place quietly. "My grandma gets easily startled." The redhead explained. "When she's not on the couch watching TV, she's usually sleeping in her room."
"How old is she?" Hannah wondered.
"She's 74." Vada murmured. "Let's go to my room."
The girls made their way to Vada's room. Once inside, they left their backpacks on the floor. Hannah started to wander around, gazing at Vada's things.
"Feel free to touch anything you want. My diary is locked, so I won't have to worry about you reading it." The redhead joked. "I have some embarrassing shit written there."
Hannah grinned, noticing the small diary that was laying on Vada's desk. It had Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, and Olaf on its cover, and a silver heart-shaped lock.
"Frozen? Really?" Hannah questioned. "I didn't picture you as a Disney girl."
Vada shrugged, sitting on her bed. "It might sound silly, but those movies make me feel better. The characters are sweet and noble, and there's always a happy ending... unlike in real life."
"I suppose you're right." The brunette said solemnly. Her attention drifted to the pictures Vada had hanging on her wall. Hannah was surprised to see her friend with blonde hair and a nose piercing, posing with several girls. "You look so good with your hair like that."
"Thanks." Vada blushed at the compliment. "I dye it very often. I love being a natural redhead, don't get me wrong, but changing colors is fun too."
Hannah didn't seem to notice the other girl's reddened cheeks. "And what about the piercing?"
"I still wear it sometimes, but I took it off recently because my father forced me to." She sighed. "I can hear his voice every time I pick it up."
"I'm sorry." Hannah lamented. "I didn't mean to bring back any bad memories."
Vada fought back the tears. "It's not your fault. My mom left when I was 7, and ever since then, he's been horrible to me. And back in New York, I did something in my old school..." She paused for a few seconds. "I did something that really pissed him off, and that's when he brought me here and left me."
"I'm so sorry." Hannah said once more, and took Vada's hand in hers. "Is there anything that I can do?"
"Distract me, I guess?" Vada suggested. "I'll go get us some snacks, and we can talk about stuff. You can tell me all about the list that you mentioned, and anything you feel like sharing."
"Deal."
Vada headed to the kitchen, and picked up some bags of Doritos, Pepsi cans, and chocolate bars. She was careful not to drop anything, and returned to the room.
"Hey, I could have helped you with all that!" The brunette frowned as Vada dropped everything on the bed. "You could have made a mess."
"Don't worry about it." Vada said dismissively. "I'm the master at carrying too many things at once."
Hannah chuckled. "Is that right?"
"Let's get comfortable." The redhead proposed, and both girls sat next to each other on the bed. Vada opened one of the bags of Doritos, while Hannah took one of the chocolate bars.
"Yes!" Hannah celebrated. "This one has nuts on it!"
"A chocolate bar without nuts isn't really a chocolate bar." Vada remarked, amused by Hannah's reaction.
"Amen to that."
"So..." Vada started. "Who is Alex and what was on his list?"
Hannah looked down on the floor, her enthusiasm gone. She covered her face with her hands, and let out a sigh. "Alex Standall used to be a friend of mine. I used to hang out with him and Jessica Davis at Monet's all the time. We drank hot chocolate and complained about life together. But then we stopped hanging out and..." She let out another sigh. "Alex made a 'best and worst' list. He put me under 'best ass' and Jessica under 'worst ass'. I think Skye was also on the list under 'butter face'..."
"Well, that's some immature, degrading, and objectifying bullshit." Vada complained. "And Skye has a beautiful face. This dude clearly had no idea what the fuck he was talking about. What does he look like? Perhaps I've seen him around."
Hannah seemed to enjoy Vada's outraged reaction. "He has bleached blond hair, and a nose ring."
"The Billy Idol wannabe?" Vada cried with laughter. "That skeleton made a list to talk shit about girls?"
"Oh, my God!" Hannah started laughing along with her. "You're so mean, Vada!"
"Don't get me wrong." She wiped off her tears. "He's a cute guy, and has nice eyes. But he's so pale... almost invisible."
"You have a point." Hannah's laughter stopped, and her expression turned serious again. "Anyway... after he made that list, most of the guys started grabbing my ass and making fun of me. Jessica accused me of hooking up with Alex, and slapped me on the face."
Vada's nose scrunched as she processed what Hannah had said. Jessica seemed kind when I spoke to her. It's a shame that their friendship ended because of some bullshit misunderstanding. "Jesus, Han..."
"Alex let everyone believe we slept together, same as Justin Foley." Hannah continued. "The Justin thing happened before I became friends with Jessica and Alex. He was my friend Kat's ex-boyfriend, and I've been crushing on him for a while. We went out one night for a date at the park, and all we did was kiss. I even let him stay in my house and sleep in my bed after his mom's boyfriend hit him." She paused and ran her fingers through her hair. "But the next day he showed a picture of me running down a slide to his friends, and Bryce sent it to everyone at school. People ended up thinking we had sex, and that's when all the rumors about me started."
I wonder if this is the same Justin that Jeff mentioned today. Whoever he is, fuck him for making Hannah feel this way. "I guess this is my turn to say that I'm so sorry, Hannah." Vada said sympathetically. "You didn't deserve any of it."
"Thank you." Hannah muttered. The redhead could tell that she was trying really hard to stay composed. "But that's not the end of it... after my falling out with Jess and Alex, I began to feel that someone was watching me, and taking pictures of me while I was changing in my bedroom. I could hear the sounds of the camera."
Vada's jaw dropped. Why did all these terrible things had to happen to such a sweet girl?
"I invited Courtney Crimsen over to find out who it was. We got a bit drunk, and started kissing. She got upset because it had been her first kiss, and that's when I realized she was a lesbian. I kissed her again, so her first kiss wouldn't be ruined." Hannah paused, and observed Vada's comforting face. "We got caught up in the moment, and heard a camera click. The stalker turned out to be Tyler Down."
"The yearbook guy?" Vada's eyebrows rose. "I've seen him around. I thought he seemed harmless."
"So did I." Hannah nibbled on her bottom lip. "And to make things even worse, he ended up sending that picture of Courtney and I kissing to the whole school. At first, people didn't know who the girls in the photo were, but when Bryce accused us at the Winter Formal, Courtney panicked and told Montgomery that it was me and another girl named Laura."
Vada grabbed her head with her hands. All this information was becoming too much for her brain to process. That's why there are so many awful things written about Hannah on the bathroom walls. "Fuck."
"She also told him that the things people were saying about Justin and I were true." Hannah added bitterly, finishing her tale. "So... that's basically all that's happened to me so far at Liberty High."
Sadness clouded Vada's features. "I don't know what to say, Han. This is all so fucked up." She grabbed the brunette by the shoulders. "I guess all I can do is tell you that I'm here for you. You're my friend, and I'll help you deal with all of this." She pulled her friend into a hug, and they stayed like that for several minutes.
"I don't even know how to thank you." Hannah said once their hug ended. "You've been so good to me this week."
"So have you." Vada told her. "Listen, I don't mean to interrupt this conversation, but we kind of forgot about our food and drinks."
"Shit, you're right."
The girls laughed together once again, and Vada suggested they watch a movie to help Hannah get her mind off things. She chose Mamma Mia!, because it was one of her favorites, and because Hannah hadn't seen it before.
The movie was a jukebox musical romantic comedy, and its upbeat songs and touching moments ended up lighting up the mood for both Hannah and Vada.
"I wish I were Donna." Hannah suddenly said, taking a bite out of a chocolate bar. "She had three guys still care about her, even after 20 years."
"Oh, honey, anyone with half a brain would still be obsessed with you after 20 years." Vada assured, taking another sip of Pepsi. "You are Liberty's greatest beauty."
Hannah giggled. "No, I'm not. There are plenty of girls at school that are prettier than me. Jessica, Sheri, Angie, you..."
"Me?" Vada put a hand on her chest. "I'm touched, Hannah."
"But it's true!" The brunette insisted. "You have gorgeous hair, a killer smile, and a great sense of style! You're perfect!"
Vada turned crimson. "You just described yourself, Han."
"Agree to disagree." She said, raising her Pepsi can.
"Okay." Vada did the same, and their cans clinked.
"Wouldn't it be so cool if our lives were a musical?" Hannah contemplated. "Everyone would know the lyrics and the dances moves, and you and I could sing duets together."
Vada couldn't deny that that sounded amazing. "What song would you want us to sing?"
"Well, after watching Mamma Mia!, I feel like Dancing Queen would be perfect for us."
"You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen..." Vada cheekily sang, her face close to Hannah's.
"Okay, stop, you're embarrassing me." The brunette covered her face with her hands. "But I like your singing."
"You're getting off the hook for now, but someday we're both going to perform this song." She extended her pinky finger. "Pinky promise?"
"People still do that?" Hannah questioned, and Vada pouted. "Fine, you got me." She locked her pinky finger with Vada's, much to the redhead's glee.
Vada checked the time on her phone. "It's only 9:30. We still have plenty of hours to watch more movies and gossip."
"Shouldn't you check on your grandma?"
Fuck. Vada felt a stab of guilt for having forgotten about her grandmother. I got so caught up with Hannah, that I forgot I don't live alone. "You're right." She stood up. "I'll go make her some dinner."
"I'll help you out." The girls went to the kitchen, and prepared Mac and Cheese together. Once it was finished, they entered Eloise's bedroom. The table lamp was turned on, so there was no chance of them tripping over something.
Vada delicately put the plate and fork next to the lamp, careful not to make a mess. She touched her grandma's shoulder as gently as she could.
"I'm awake." Her grandma said, opening her eyes. "My vision was tired." When Eloise noticed Hannah holding a glass of water, she turned to Vada. "Who is this girl?"
"Grandma, this is Hannah." Vada pointed at the brunette. "She's a friend from school."
Vada started to wonder if it had been wise to bring Hannah into the room with her. She was grateful for her presence, but she didn't know how her grandma would react to another person. How can I know? I don't even know what she's suffering from!
"Come closer, girl." Eloise instructed Hannah. "I want to look at you." The girl put the glass on the table and did what she was told.
Vada couldn't understand what the hell was happening. Her grandma examined her friend in silence, as if she were searching for something.
"What is she doing?" Hannah mumbled to Vada.
"I have no fucking clue." The redhead mumbled back.
"You look like a porcelain doll, girl." Eloise declared. "You're welcome to stay in my home."
Wait... what?
Vada and Hannah exchanged confused glances, completely dumbfounded. Grandma Eloise didn't speak another word, and turned her focus on the Mac and Cheese.
"That was weird." Hannah said on their way back to Vada's room. "But at least she likes me."
"Do you wanna watch another movie?" Vada asked, wanting to change the subject. Grandma is a giant enigma. "Or maybe play a game?"
"What kind of game?"
"How about 'never have I ever'?" The redhead faced Hannah on the bed. "I don't have any alcohol, but we could use Pepsi instead."
"It'd be a good way to avoid alcohol poisoning!" Hannah exclaimed. "Let's do it."
"Okay..." Vada began. "Never have I ever had male friends."
Hannah took a sip of her Pepsi. "I've got Helmet and Tony." Her smile disappeared for a few seconds. "And I had Alex, once upon a time..."
Shit. I should have said something else. Vada cleared her throat. "Your turn."
"Never have I ever had sex."
Vada rolled her eyes. This time, it was her turn to drink.
Hannah chuckled. "A fellow New Yorker?"
"Yes." Was all Vada dared to say. There were things she wasn't ready to disclose yet. "Never have I ever started a rumor about someone."
To Vada's surprise, Hannah drank. "There was this girl at my old school, before I moved here. Her name was Sarah. I'm not proud of it, but me and two other girls used to make her life a living hell. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I was so afraid to be the one they'd end up bullying, that I hurt her pretty badly."
Vada tried to process what Hannah had just confessed. The brunette played with the hem of her shirt, waiting for a reaction. Bullying is wrong, no matter the way you look at it. But she clearly regrets it. I can't change my mind about her based on one thing, right? Besides, I'm not perfect myself. I've done bad things too. If I were to tell Hannah, I'd want her to understand and accept me... right?
"I appreciate you trusting me with that." Vada finally spoke. "That couldn't have been easy to admit, especially to someone you don't know that well yet. How about we stop playing and watch another movie?"
Hannah let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, sure."
The girls watched Cruel Intentions, and sobbed together when Sebastian died by Annette's side. They finished all the snacks before midnight, so Vada ended up ordering a pizza. Hannah told Vada about the time she'd kissed Alex and Jessica, the time where she and Clay saw the moon together on the roof of the Cresmont theatre, and the time where Bryce had grabbed her ass when she went to get chocolate at a store called Blue Spot Liquor.
"That fucking pig!" Vada whined. "The more I learn about him, the more I hate him."
"I haven't been able to set foot in that place ever since that happened." Hannah lamented. "I used to get all my candy from there."
"Well, fuck it! Next time you're craving sugar, you can text me, and I'll go with you!" Vada gushed. "And if we ran into Bryce or one of his crooks, I'll kick their asses. Nobody gets between a girl and her chocolate."
Hannah gulped. "You're actually serious? You'd go with me?"
"Of course." Vada promised. "You tell me when, and I'll meet you at your place."
Hannah smiled, and embraced Vada warmly. I don't think I've ever been hugged this much before. I could get used to this. Unexpectedly, they ended up falling asleep next to each other.
That night, Vada dreamt of brown hair, an infectious smile, and a bright future at Liberty High, completely oblivious of the things that were about to come.
Author's note: This chapter was supposed to be all about Vada/Hannah, but I ended up including a bit of Vada/Jeff at the beginning. I made this longer than usual as a treat to all my amazing readers.
Bryce and Monty made a cameo, and will make more appearances in the future, showing why they're the story's main villains. Vada will cross paths with other students at Liberty, and the drama will begin. Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think! XO
