Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, except for the ones I make-up. They all belong to Disney, and any other company that owns 'In a Heartbeat.'
Well, no one was able to catch the "notable" lines, but I was actually amused that some of you guessed on the part where 'Heather's a witch' and 'I'd rather befriend Satan than her.' Anyway, the part that I thoughts was interesting was in the last four lines:
It was a bizarre encounter…
A special moment…
How come it felt like we knew each other…?
Before we even met.
If you look closely, the first letters of the lines form IAHB. OK, I just thought that was kind of cool. Now that that's over with, continue with the story J
Note: Hank's thoughts are italicized.
Initial Attraction
Point of View: Hank - Chapter 4
School was the same as it always was. Boring. Boring. Boring. And it had only been three months. The only thing fun about high school that time was football. It was because of that sport that Tyler and I became enemies, before we were friends.
"So Tyler, do you think you'll be the captain this year?" a boy asked.
"Who knows, CJ?" Tyler said lightly, although he wished he were. "Maybe."
"Maybe not," Hank commented from behind.
"Excuse me?" Tyler said.
"Well, we all know you're not captain material," Hank said, not even thinking before speaking.
"And I suppose you are?" Tyler countered.
"I see you're catching on," Hank said with a small laugh.
"Well just see about that," Tyler said before leaving the locker room and heading to the field.
We were stupid back then, blinded by our egos. Little did we know, we were going to be life-long friends…
"Gather around everyone," said the coach said. "I'm going to announce this year's JV football captain. And that person is…no…we actually have two. Well, this year's co-captains are Tyler Connell and Hank Beecham."
Everyone cheered for them, but Tyler and Hank were staring at each other, eyes burning with fury.
We've been best friends ever since. Well, we were at each other's throats first, but you kind of get the hang of it. It gets stale after a while. In ways, we were pretty much alike. We were considered jocks. Overachievers. We didn't look that bad. Good if I may say so myself. We were honor students. Some could even call us "gods" during those days. We were at the top of our game.
Anyway, my life continued to be dull…that was until I met her. I guess I owed it all to Tyler.
"Hank!" Tyler called out. "Hank!"
"Yes Tyler," Hank said grimly.
"I need your help," Tyler finally said.
"Another one?" Hank sighed exasperatingly. "OK, what is it?"
"My childhood best friend just moved around here," Tyler began. "I need someone to show her around school Monday morning."
"Why can't you do it?"
"Long story," Tyler told him.
"I'm listening."
"Well, I'm coming hope late Sunday night and it would really help if I get some sleep," Tyler told Hank.
"Is that you're only reason, because I'm not convinced."
"Please Hank. It's only for a while. She really needs someone to show her around. And I could only trust you to do that if it's not me."
"Well, since you put it that way, what time should I meet her and where?"
"I told her to meet by our lockers around 7:00. She already has the locker number and so forth."
"Are you coming to school though?"
"Of course. I'll meet you around there at exactly 7:25 to see how it went."
"Don't be late."
"Thanks. I owe you one."
"Of course you do. I'll think of something later. Wait. How am I supposed to know who she is?
"Her name's Hannah."
"Well, that's good but how am I supposed to recognize her?"
"You would know when you see her."
Suddenly, some one called out from a far.
"Connell! Beecham! Get your sissy little selves back here!" yelled the coach. "This is football, not a chitchat session! Give me 20 pushups and 5 laps around the track! Go!"
"YOU definitely owe me one," Hank said as he and Tyler began their little punishment.
I never really wanted to do that favor, but if it meant helping out my best friend then I was willing to do it. Besides, it was for a good cause. Anyway, as I told Tyler, I came to school early that Monday morning. As I was told, I was supposed to meet her at the locker. As I got there, I noticed that I forgot something. Not my backpack. Not my books. Not her name. I forgot to get from Tyler a clear description of what she looked like.
"Great!" Hank said to himself frustratingly as he looked at his watch. "It's already 7:00 and she'll be here any minute."
Hank continued to talk to himself, echoes bouncing through the still empty halls, as he proceeded to put his books into his locker.
"Excuse me," a person spoke from behind Hank and tapped his shoulder.
Surprised, Hank jumped and turned towards his back, causing him to drop his books.
"I'm so sorry," the girl apologized and picked his books up for him. "Here."
Hank just stood there, his back to his locker.
I don't know what happened, but somehow her eyes just mesmerized me. I mentally told myself to glance away from her gaze, but my eyes were completely captivated by hers. All of a sudden, the moment vanished
"Are you all right?" the girl asked him.
"Uh huh…yea," Hank replied.
"As I was saying, here are your books," the girl said as she handed him his belongings.
"Oh…those books…I mean, thanks for drop…picking them…floor," Hank stuttered as he absent-mindedly took the books away from her, only to succeed in dropping them again.
"I'll get the books," Hank said, still looking at her face.
Hank finally managed to get a hold of the books, and put them in his locker. He shut it close and faced her again.
At that instant, I for some reason knew that this was the girl I was waiting for.
"You must be Hannah," Hank said after he finally gained his composure.
"How did you know?" she asked. "Have we met before?"
I just knew when I saw her, like we've met a long while back.
"Tyler told me," Hank said.
"You know TC?" she asked.
"He's my best friend."
"Where is he?"
"He's coming later."
"Why didn't he call me? He was supposed to show me around the school."
"Actually, he asked me to do him a favor and be kind enough to show you around instead."
"Really? That's great then. At least I didn't waste my time coming here early.
Me too.
"I'm Hank Beecham," he said as he extended his hand to her.
"Hannah Blair," she said as she shook his hands.
Hank quickly shook her hand and took his away, making Hannah give him a curious look.
My hands were shaking like crazy. I didn't know what else to do at that moment.
Hank put his hands in his pocket.
"Shall we?"
Hank led the way and he basically toured her around the school.
Those minutes of just walking and talking to her seemed like heaven. And before I was hesitant to even do this in the first place.
Hank and Hannah finally got back to where they started.
"I had fun," she said as she smiled at him
That was her best smile as of yet. Luckily, I had the lockers once again to support me as my legs started to feel like jello.
"Same here," Hank finally said.
"Thanks for the tour."
"Anytime."
"I have to find my locker now. Tell TC I said 'hi'."
"I will. I'll see you around…" Hank said rather unsure.
"Definitely," Hannah said as she gave Hank another smile and disappeared at the corner.
"Thank you, Tyler," Hank said silently as he slowly fell to the floor, his back still against the locker.
I was on cloud nine. I guess Tyler doesn't owe me one anymore. I wished the moment would never end. But as I learned that day, time flies…or does it?
"Tyler should be here any minute…" Hank thought out loud as he glanced at his watch.
It was the weirdest scariest thing that has ever happened to me in my life.
"7:00?" Hank asked himself. "This watch must be broken."
But it was working fine. The second hand was continuously moving.
Hank looked at the clock that was hanged over one of the classroom doors.
7:00.
Hank looked inside the classrooms in the near hallway for a clock.
7:00. 7:00. 7:00.
"What is going on here?" Hank said out loud as he headed back to his locker, fear creeping out his spine.
Suddenly, reality sank in as Hank finally stopped to look around. The halls were empty and no one was in sight.
"Where did everyone go?" Hank stated.
Then he looked at his watched again and the time said 7:01. Students don't usually come around 7:15.
"What is this? The X-Files?" Hank cried.
I thought I was going insane.
"What about the time she and I walked around the school and talked?" Hank said out loud in order to calm himself.
"Hannah…is she experiencing what I'm experiencing right now?"
Hank just sat on the floor near his locker. As time passed by, Hank continued to ponder about what happened.
And the more I thought of it, the more I became convinced that she wasn't real at all. She was just an illusion. It was all a dream…
"Hank?" Tyler said when he finally arrived. "What are you doing down there?"
"I was waiting for you," Hank said with a preoccupied look.
"Well, thanks for helping me out," Tyler said. "I ran into her just a minute ago."
Tyler's information caught Hank's attention.
"You mean she's real?"
"What?" Tyler asked with confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Just…you're welcome."
"All right."
"And you owe me nothing."
"If you say so," Tyler said. "Hank, are you sure you're OK?"
"Couldn't be better."
"Good, I'll see you later," Tyler stated before leaving him.
…but it wasn't a dream. It was real. It happened. I kept asking myself if she went through what I did. After all this time, I still don't know what all that was about. All I know was that the moment we spent with each other that day was something out of the ordinary. Time played a little trick on us. I wish I knew the answer.
I have to cut it off here. I hope you liked it. The next part will most likely occur at the near future, if not the present time. Thanks for all of those who reviewed J And don't forget to review this one. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182
