Episode tag to "Face Off." Seriously, I thought this episode was one of the funniest when it aired. Just all of the craziness and misunderstanding was hilarious. Also, welcome Jerry, my new OC. I know he's at least going to be Hannah's friend, not sure if he's going to be more. I'm also not sure where I'm going with this whole thing either. This is about where my pre-written chapters ended, so I haven't done much after this. I'm once again not sure of something. I don't know what exactly I was describing with those emotional "attacks." I think they're kind of a mixture between a personal problem of mine and an imaginary condition. Shrug.

As soon as "Bree" stepped out, I could barely hide my laughter. I knew it was really Chase, but I didn't dare ruin the prank and spoil the secret. They had lied and made a joke out of someone, and now karma was catching up to them. It wasn't my place to step in.

This situation was so awkward I had to step outside and laugh. "Bree" had started to attack Adam, and "Principal Perry" was desperately trying to keep Jake there. Leo, Tasha, Donald, and Douglas were nowhere to be seen. I was standing out of the way, watching the whole thing unfold before me.

I decided not to go to the dance with them. Most of the world didn't know of my existence, so I thought it would probably be beneficial to not flaunt my presence. Even though I went to Mission Creek High and a lot of the students knew me, I usually went by the law that the less others know about you, the less they can blackmail and get to you. Besides, I still wasn't very comfortable around large amounts of people, especially normal teenagers who are no longer confined to the rules and regulations of school.

I heard shouts from the lab, but my instinct told me it wasn't anything of concern. And I had been taught from the start to always trust my instinct.

Instead, I decided to take a walk to clear my head. I did this often and was never questioned when I disappeared for four or five hours a day. It helped me to think and try to untangle all the complicated knots in my life. And lately, there had been a lot of knots.

I wandered aimlessly through Mission Creek. I was deep in my thoughts, but I wasn't lost in them. I never was. A part of me was always scanning for danger and observing things semiconsciously. It would probably always be that way.

I thought about many things. I thought about Mission Creek. I thought about humanity. I thought about myself. But mostly, I thought about the Davenports.

I thought about Leo, dorky, curious, clumsy, quirky, smart Leo. I thought about Donald, egotistical, caring, intelligent, immature, serious Donald. I thought about Tasha, sweet, selfless, kind, self-centered Tasha. I thought about Douglas, suspicious, sarcastic, brilliant, selfish, misguided Douglas. I thought about Adam, childish, cruel, ignorant, misunderstood, ignored Adam. I thought about Bree, feisty, desperate, snarky, normal, girly Bree.

And then I thought about Chase. He could be described just as everyone else, but there was something special about him. My life as another member of the Davenport household seemed to revolve around him in one way or another. He and I had somehow formed a bond stronger than I had ever known. I had no idea what it meant though.

I shook my head to clear those thoughts. There are some topics even I knew not to press. I didn't want to know what would slip into my mind if I thought about that any further.

I was overcome with a sudden wave of despair. It struck me like lightning from a sky filled with only white, puffy clouds. My throat constricted, and I gasped, almost doubling over from the overwhelming emotion. I sat down on a sidewalk bench and tried to figure out what was going on. This wasn't an attack by another person; I knew that much. But why was I feeling this way with no warning and for no reason?

My hand was over my chest as I struggled to breathe properly. This made no sense to me. Normally, I had none to a normal amount of emotion. But this was something completely different. This was a whole new level. This was actually more than the normal amount.

"Hey, you okay?"

I heard the voice and turned my head sharply to the side. There was a kid standing there. I recognized him from school. His name was Jerrold, or Jerry for short. He was a baseball player but wasn't really considered a jock. He was tall with perfect brown hair and perfect green eyes and a perfect white smile and a perfect just-about-everything-else. Pretty much every girl had a crush on him, but he wouldn't go out with them just because they thought he was cute. He was actually a nice and deep person.

I felt my guard coming up and wanted to act like a smart-aleck by saying, "What do you think?" or something like that. But something stopped me and made me be honest with him. "I…I don't know. This has never happened before. I…I've never felt this. I don't know what's going on." I let a little of my panic slip into my voice.

He sat beside me. "Just breathe," he told me calmly.

I felt like crying, but I followed his example as he took several deep breaths. Eventually, I started to feel better. "Thanks," I said when the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and sadness was gone. "What was that?"

He shrugged. "Something close to a panic attack, I think. My sister gets them all the time. We've sent her to a therapist and put her on medication, but it doesn't seem like anything will work."

"That seemed to work just fine."

He smiled, though there was some sadness in it. "That usually helps to calm her down, but there's nothing out there to prevent these attacks."

"Oh. Well, I live with Donald Davenport, so I could do some research and see if someone knows anything about them."

His smile brightened. "You'd really do that? Thanks. You're Hannah Davenport, right?"

I almost corrected him and told him my last name was actually Clinton, but I caught myself in time. I was still getting used to playing Adam, Bree, and Chase's "cousin." I just nodded.

"That's cool. I remember when you flipped Trent. It was pretty funny for everyone, even Trent apparently. You're stronger than you look." He peered at me curiously. "You seem like a girl with a lot of secrets."

I raised an eyebrow mischievously. "Just because people don't ask me certain things and I don't tell them outright doesn't mean they're secrets."

He laughed, and I realized that this was the first time I had ever heard him laugh. "Fair enough." When he had stopped laughing, he looked at me intently. I felt like squirming under his intense gaze. "So, do you mind if I ask you some of these questions you've never been asked?"

"I think you just did."

He grinned and took that as a yes. "Well, what kind of music do you like?"

"I like classical because it helps me focus." I didn't tell him it was almost the only type of music I had been allowed to listen to at the facility. "I also like Christian music because I like the spiritual and emotional things behind it." It was true. It helped me connect more, and it made me think of things much bigger than me, which helped me forget my problems for once and think of others.

"Cool," he commented. "I'm more of an alternative rock kind of guy."

I nodded. "I like the strong instrumentals mixed with the vocals." And that was my opinion on alternative rock in a nutshell.

Apparently, that was extremely funny because he laughed loudly. "Dude, it's okay. If you don't like it, you can just tell me."

I shook my head, feeling more confused by the minute. "That's not what I meant. I do like it. I like all music really. It's just…not my very favorite." I couldn't seem to find a way to make it sound better.

He shrugged. "I can't really blame you. I don't really care for your taste in music either, so…"

I nodded. Before I could say anything, my phone chimed. I couldn't help but feel a little bit of relief. Another law I lived by was to stop while you're ahead.

I looked at the text on the screen. "We r back. Where r u?" was displayed in small black letters. It was from Adam of course.

I quickly texted back, "Walking. I'll be back in a few minutes." I looked back up at Jerry, my cheeks a bit warm. "Sorry. I have to get back home." Suddenly, I realized something. "Hey, why weren't you at the dance?"

He shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I didn't have a date. I could have gone with my baseball buddies, but to be honest, I didn't really want to go. Something just told me I shouldn't go. I guess I know why now."

I felt my face getting redder. "Oh. Well, I'll see you at school. And if I find anything about those attacks, I'll tell you." Though I doubted I would ever talk to him again. Chance meetings like this were usually temporary and rare. That much I understood about social interactions.

"Thanks. I'll see you later." We both stood and went in opposite directions. I had no idea what to think about this whole thing. I decided to just go home and try to forget it. There was less of a chance of me getting hurt that way.

funkypudding: Thank you. Many emotions. Much praise. Bows. Hope you continue to enjoy.