Chapter 7

Seething

Hannah couldn't remember ever being filled with such an immediate dislike for a person as she was when she first met Bella Swan.

She despised her. On sight.

It was ridiculous and stupid and Hannah was all ready to give her a chance…well until she opened her mouth and questioned if Sammy was her brother.

Then that was over.

And Hannah was seething.

She didn't say that aloud. It would not have helped anybody if she did, but mentally she was plotting the best way to kill Bella Swan if she dared to say a single thing about Sammy.

It also wasn't helped by the fact that her dreams decided to stay completely and utterly normal for the next week or so. No dead ancestors showed up…and even her feelings decided to calm down.

Hannah nearly felt normal.

She didn't like it.

But there was nothing she could do about that, so instead, she unapologetically did everything in her power to make sure that Kim was as excited as humanely possible for her Spring Formal.

At least somebody should be.

But of course, Bella Swan needed to ruin that too.

She was hanging around at Emily's and was spending most of her time complaining about something or other, while Emily cooked, helped by Hannah and Kim or doing something in the garden, in the time in which Hannah had dragged the old electrical sewing machine of her grandmother down from the attic and was doing simple alterations at a tiny desk tucked away in one corner of the dining room.

At least she wasn't stuck in her room…and quite frankly alone because of that she accepted the fact that Bella Swan was there.

Kim had tried to be nice to her but had very quickly realised that Bella wasn#t interested in making friends and so Kim just got out a book and read some…and in the evening they escaped to Kim's parents' shop and bitched to each other about all things Bella Swan.

Which maybe was mean, but the other girl was not much better, in their defence.

But the thing that Bella did that infuriated Hanna…well that happened just a few days before said Spring Formal.

Neither of them had been in the mood to go into Port Angeles or Seattle and stress out any member of the pack about that, so instead, they had checked out the thrift shop in Forks.

They had come away with two gowns: A terrible 80s concoction for Kim that was all ruffles and nearly drowned her in too much fabric as the dress was at least 5 sizes too big…and a sleek black 70s number for Hannah.

That 80s gown was absolutely horrible but had serious potential. Or at least Hannah saw it.

Kim was just trusting the process.

So after finishing most of the alterations that she had currently going on, Hannah used her aggression on Kim's dress, pretty much taking it completely apart and recutting the teal sateen of the dress into a bodice that fitted Kim perfectly.

The colour suited her best friend gloriously, bronze skin contrasted with the teal and bluish and greenish tint that shifted underneath the light, into a thousand different colours, like the pacific ocean on a sunny day.

Kim wanted a big skirt, and that's what she was gonna get when Hannah had a single thing to say about it.

So there she was, pinning the hem of said enormous skit as Kim had finally picked out the shoes she wanted to wear, and mentally cursing herself for making the skirt as white as she had because it was massive enough that Kim probably managed to destroy Emily's dining room if she wasn't careful when turning.

But Kim was happy, grinning madly and feeling like a princess…and that was the most important thing.

And then Bella Swan needed to destroy the whole thing.

"Why do you even care about a stupid Spring Formal right now!?" She asked suddenly and Hannah looked up, pins in her mouth from where she was kneeling on the floor pining up the hem. "There's a vampire out to kill me!" There was maybe a small hysterical edge in the older girl's voice, but she wasn't in the mood for it.

She spat out the needles into her hand.

"Oh, really that's what going on?" Hannah asked sarcastically. "I am very much aware of that. That's why my brother and her boyfriend haven't slept more than 3 hours in the last week," she said, forcing her voice to be even."Nobody expects you to go to that Spring Formal. For the rest of us, it's…It's harmless fun. Who in the world cares?" She said with s shrug. They needed something fun to look forward to after all. "Kim is gonna go with Jared and she's gonna look gorgeous," Hannah said with a grin. "Whenever I finish that gown at least. I do love the neckline, you were right, the scoop neckline was much better than the boat neck."

"Who asked you?" Emily asked curiously from the kitchen.

"Bradley Longtree," Hannah answered. "He's a senior, but his girlfriend is off at Michigan U, so he asked me to go with him. As friends." They were related somehow…he was her cousin a few times removed or something but Bradley was nice, if a bit shy and nerdy and so when he had asked, Hannah gladly said yes and agreed.

"I just think it's stupid," Bella piped up again, clearly once again feeling like she needed all the attention. "Who needs a stupid, ugly poufy dress?"

Right.

It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room as that, just as Hannah could see the waves the sateen was making as Kim was starting to shake and finally took her skirt in her hands and fled out of the room.

That was just what Bella Swan needed to tell Kim, who had a mountain of insecurities about her body and her looks and anything in between.

"You needed to do that, didn't you?" Hannah said, her voice icy, fury growing in her gut. "I talked Kim into that dress. And she has enough insecurities without you adding to that. Not everything is about you, Bella Swan. Maybe it's about time, you realize that. You are in way over your head and you don't even know half of it," she hissed at her, as she stood and then went out in search of her best friend.

She found her in the bathroom. Not that Hannah expected anything different.

Crying her eyes out. Because Bella Swan was a terrible person and Hannah wanted to kill her.

Sammy would probably not be happy about that, but he would also probably help her hide the body if it came down to it. And right now Hannah was really on the brink of that. "Kim," she said quietly, entering the bathrooms artful not to step on the dress that was filling out most of it, even when Kim wasn't.

"Is it really stupid and ugly?" Kim asked her tearfully and Hannah just sighed.

"Do you really want to trust the judgment of a girl that had something with a bloodsucker?" She asked reasonably. "She has terrible judgement. And terrible style when we are already at it." That was catty, but Hannah didn't care. But Kim didn't laugh. Hannah sighed.

"It's not. You look super pretty in it," she assured her. "Jared is going to love it, I swear."

Jared would love it if Kim wore a potato sack.

"But I am not," Kim whispered under her breath, staring at her hands and Hannah crossed her arms.

"You are not what?" She challenged her friend. "If you say you aren't pretty, I swear to the spirits I am gonna get Sammy to drag Jared here and we'll let him be the judge of it."

"Hannah," Kim said softly, biting her lips. "I just…everybody is going to stare at me in this dress."

Okay.

Hannah could fix that.

"Hey, Emily, can I go into the attic?" She called loudly, getting back a questioning affirmative immediately.

"Sure?"

"What are you going to do?" Kim asked her incredulously. "Han…"

"Oh, Granny used to have a rather eclectic taste," Hannah said with a shrug. "Be right back."

When Sam had taken over their grandmother's house, he had pretty much just put everything of their grandmother that he didn't need or didn't know what to do with up in the attic. Including all her clothing.

"I am going to find the Poufiest dress ever and we'll see what Bella Swan thinks about that," Hannah uttered her breath. It was quick work to find what she had been searching for. It was lime green, cerise to be exact, with an electric pink overlay. Her grandmother had worn it to some work occasion of her grandfather. She had made it herself.

It wasn't the prettiest dress. If Hannah was going to search for the prettiest dress, then it would be her granny's wedding dress. That was the prettiest one by far.

This one…This one was rather…eclectic.

But that was fine.

Hannah didn't have a problem with that.

Even if she looked like a lime when she put it on.

Kim just stared at her as she walked into the living room.

"They are all going to be so busy staring at me that they'll ignore all of you," Hannah said brightly. It fit her perfectly. Even the length. No need for heels for that gown.

"You can't wear that," Kim said weakly. "Hannah, this is…"

"Why not?" Hannah questioned, patting the enormous puffed sleeves of the gown. "I think it has something. It's Granny's. I like it."

It wasn't what she would have picked, but it wasn't horrible. If this is what it would take for Kim to go to that Spring Formal, she would gladly wear it.

"You aren't actually going to wear that," Bella said with a snort and Hannah just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why not?" She challenged the other girl. At least she knew that nobody else was going to have that gown.

"Because it's ugly," Bella responded drily and Hannah just smiled at her.

"And at least it's just a dress and not my personality that's ugly," she gave back pleasantly. "I'll wear it proudly."

"Han," Kim said softly. "You don't need to do it."

"Oh, I do," she disagreed.

And if it was only because Bella Swan hated it if her grimace was anything to go by, then it was worth it.

Hannah wore the lime green dress.

Including the ginormous sleeves. She did take off the bow around her waist though.

Instead, she put on a leather belt and her beat-up converse, put up her hair and kept the jewellery simple.

And really…she quite liked it.

Everybody did stare but they should have gotten used to her taste by now.

Jared found her whole getup amusing, as did Bradley.

And Hannah…well, she was happy if that meant that Kim was happy.

And Kim was happy, so all was right in Hannah's world.

It was a nice evening, even when their fun was cut short, mostly because Jared needed to be back on duty before midnight.

It was fine though. It was early enough that Hannah and Kim did their usual girls' night in Kim's room, including facemasks and ice cream.

There really wasn't anything better.

"Hannah," Kim said suddenly as she drizzled too much caramel sauce over her ice cream and Hannah looked up.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you," Kim whispered, pouncing on her in a fierce hug. "You didn't need to do this but you did and…thank you."

"You are my best friend," Hannah returned just as fiercely. "Hey, if I only need to wear 80s dresses to get you out of the house more often, I'll do it," Hannah quipped, making Kim laugh.

"Thank you," Kim repeated.

"Also, it was worth Bella Swan's grimace when she saw me in that dress," Hannah said drily, making Kim laugh again.

"She looked like she bit into a lemon," Hannah said with a shake of her head. "I am going to be so happy when it's all over and she doesn't hang around anymore."

"Yeah, we'll see if that happens. I think Jacob Black has other plans," Hannah said drily, contemplating her bright green painted fingernails.

She was quite sure that once the red-headed vampire had disappeared, Jacob would just see that as fate and as a reason to really go after Bella.

She was what he wanted after all.

Which was fine. Hannah also really doubted his judgment but for goodness sake, they were all teenagers, so what did she know?

Not much, that was certain.

"What are you going to do next?" Kim asked her softly, snaking an arm around her shoulder and Hannah just shrugged. "About Jacob," Kim clarified and Hannah just sighed.

"Han," Kim carjoled her.

"I have bigger problems than Jacob Black and his undying love for a leech lover," Hannah said darkly.

Much bigger problems. Namely, that bloodsucker named Victoria, her brothers, both of them, Sammy and Embry…and when she was already at it, the bad feeling in her stomach about Harry Clearwater. Something was going to go down soon.

It was there in her mind suddenly, clear as water.

Something was going to happen.

Hannah swallowed.

She didn't know what yet, didn't know enough to sound the alarm bell and she hated that.

"Like what?" Kim asked her with a laugh but as Hannah just kept staring into space, her friend grew serious. "Talk to me, Han?" Kim said softly.

For just one moment Hannah thought about telling her everything. To tell her about her feelings and about the dreams, about dead ancestors and magic…she thought about telling her about her grandmother…but she couldn't.

Because Kim…sweet, smart Kim was gonna think that she was insane. And Hannah couldn't lose the one person in her life that had always been there for her.

"You don't want to know," Hannah managed to bring out, swallowing as her throat grew tight.

"But I do," Kim insisted. "Han."

Hannah just shook her head, staring around Kim's room until her eyes fell onto the picture frame on Kim's bedside table. Kim, Cooper and their parents at some sort of fair, Cotton Candy held into the cameras, smiling brightly.

"You know every time I am here, I want to have what you have. Two parents that love you, and an older brother…you are so lucky, Kim," Hannah said softly. Kim had a normal family. Hannah wished she had that.

"I know," Kim said softly. "What's going on with your Mom, Hannah?" Kim finally asked and Hannah just shook her head.

"She's her usual self." It wasn't even a lie.

"And that's bad?" Kim pushed softly and Hannah just shrugged.

"It's always bad, Kim. Sometimes it just gets worse," she admitted. "It is what it is."

"It shouldn't be," Kim disagreed but Hannah just managed a weak smile.

"Just a few more years," Hannah said softly. That's all she needed to survive. Then she could figure out something else. She hated how that made it sound but…it was the truth.

"You should tell Sam," Kim finally said quietly. "He's your brother, maybe he could…"

"No," Hannah cut her off. "Sammy has enough problems on his own without needing me to add to them." Besides, she just got him back. She didn't want to lose him again.

"I would want to know," Kim said, crossing her arms and looking at Hannah sharply but Hannah just shook her head.

"You don't, Kim. You really don't. You think you do, but you really don't."