Chapter Nine- One More Song For the Losers
His eyes began to flutter open as he inhaled her scent finding it a bit surprising that it was so close that it lingered. With his hand draped over her pillow he felt his other hand resting upon a warm body, a body that at one point in time he knew like the back of his hand. Laying restlessly cradled within his body like a fitted puzzle piece, Lucas took in the site as he slowly lifted his head to see that they were both naked, which was only solidified with the scattered clothes that were on the floor. Unsure as to how he even felt at this moment, all he could do was just try to wake himself and then deal with everything later but now he wanted coffee, a big strong cup of coffee to be exact. Adjusting his eye sight from the blurred vision he had, Lucas soon began to feel Hanna stir beside him. Her eyes fluttered open to look upon the dark haired boy, who was trying to wake himself up. Looking on at him she searched for a sign or confirmation that matched what she felt at this moment but nothing was clear for either one of them.
"I'm surprised Alton has called. It's late" Lucas sighed as he laid back on his pillow as she turned towards him
"It's barely eight" Hanna replied
"Yeah, but the drive. I mean I'm sure we'd like to get back to normal once we get back to Rosewood" Lucas said
"Normal?" Hanna asked as Lucas soon realized that she probably took that in a different way then he had meant it
"I mean we should probably just get back home. What we came out here for is accomplished or worse off, so we should just go home" Lucas said as a moment of silence came between them
"I'm going to take a shower" Hanna said before she quickly got out of the bed, grabbing the covers so that she could cover her body as she walked into the restroom leaving Lucas in the bare
"And I'll just get dressed" Lucas replied awkwardly knowing that he had most likely pissed her off as he rolled over to the edge of the bed to grab his boxers
Sitting at the booth, Alton angrily looked on at the couples that had magically made their presence in the diner today of all days, thinking to himself this was just a new form of punishment to look at something he'll never have. Taking another swig of his root beer float that he was pretending to be a real beer, but since he was underage the root beer float had to suffice. His eyes fell upon a classified and in some odd way it caught his attention seeing as entertainment was scarce in this town. Flipping through pages he became less and less intrigued with what he read as he thought his next option would be to bang his head against the table until the part of his brain that thought it was a good idea to admit his feelings to the stuck up Spencer Hastings was sprawled out on the table like a bloodied horror movie sight. His thoughts weighed heavy on him and even brought upon strong consideration until he saw an ad in the paper for a lady of the night service in a neighboring town that was close to Rosewood. Usually he would have scoffed at the idea, knowing that would make him even more desperate than he all ready knew he was but right now he was at his lowest and morals were out the window when you felt like crap to begin with. Beginning to dial the number in a spur of the moment, Alton quickly hung up the phone once he saw Lucas enter the diner to come over to join him. Closing the page in a quick motion, Alton tried to pretend that he was his normal self.
"Hey" Lucas said tiredly
"You look like crap" Alton observed of his friend as Lucas flashed a sarcastic smile his way
"Yeah, well after the week I've had you'd understand. What are you drinking?" Lucas asked his friend
"Root beer, the g-rated beer" Alton replied
"It's not beer to begin with, it just has the title beer in it" Lucas replied
"Leave me alone. I want to believe it's a g-rated beer and I will continue to do so without your mocking" Alton said
"What's up with you?" Lucas asked noticing the tirade he just gave about his g-rated beer
"Just a bad night" Alton said
"A bad night? Why? No porn available?" Lucas asked
"Am I really that porn obsessed? I mean I used to think it was my show runner for the character that is me, but I'm seeing that a lot of people are starting to think I'm obsessed with porn" Alton asked
"Your not exactly obsessed but you know your way around an adult store better than anyone I know, which has its benefits" Lucas said
"Beneficial how? I'm fantasizing about a woman I'll never have, while you had sex with a girl you fantasized about" Alton replied
"You had sex with Spencer. That's a step up" Lucas pointed out
"We will not speak of her, she caused me to drink" Alton said
"Your g-rated beer" Lucas concluded "Wait, Hanna told me she encouraged you to tell Spencer the truth, how'd that go?" he asked
"I'm imagining myself drinking beer, how do you think it went?" Alton replied
"That bad" Lucas said "Well at least you know where you stand with her" he said
"I know where I stood. I've officially moved on" Alton declared as Hanna came in to join the two of them, which caused Lucas to tense up at her presence "You smell fresh. Your defying the seedy motel allusion of all things disgusting and foul smelling" he laughed to himself
"Root beer?" Hanna asked noticing the glass
"It's his g-rated beer" Lucas replied
"Oh, so I take it things didn't go well with her last night" Hanna said
"God! Why is my love life on display here? Can't a guy just drink his g-rated beer in peace?" Alton asked
"It's not even beer" Hanna replied
"In his mind it is" Lucas laughed
"And this is the point where I'm changing the subject because I'm officially bored. How did you guys rest last night? I think I got like a crick in my back" Alton said as both Hanna and Lucas looked at each other nervously hoping the other wouldn't say anything about what had happened last night, which lead Alton to look at them strangely
"Really?" Alton declared after a moment of silence as Lucas and Hanna looked at him
"You two had sex!" Alton declared
"And I think I'll have a g-rated beer myself" Hanna said nervously as she got up from the table to walk over to the counter
"Don't ask" Lucas said before he got up from the booth "I'll meet you guys in the car" he said before he left the diner
"He's even having seedy motel sex with a girl he's not even dating, unbelievable!" Alton said in disappointment with himself before he down his root beer wishing it was the real thing even more so now.
Looking on nervously as Lucas pulled into his driveway after he had spent three days away from his house, Kate fixed herself so that she would look perfect when she made her move. All weekend long she had thought over and over as to what she should do to even start up a normal conversation with Lucas, but she continually got nowhere, she had even gotten to the point where she was jotting down ideas then turning them in conversations in a paragraph format. Insane, she was, but she really liked Lucas and she wanted something in Rosewood to go right for once. Walking over slowly she was surprised to see Hanna get out of the car as Lucas and Alton walked over to her house. Completely taken aback Kate had no time to spare and she had to be in the proactive phase if she was ever going to get Lucas to notice her so she found herself walking over towards Hanna's as if she was originally invited over in the first place.
"What day is your mom coming home?" Hanna turned to ask Lucas after she had dropped her overnight bag down on the porch
"Probably in the next few days, the doctors are monitoring her" Lucas sighed as he took a seat on the bench
"Will you be all right staying by yourself? I mean your welcome to stay over" Hanna suggested to him as he got even more nervous at the thought of them being in the same vicinity again that could warrant no clothing to be involved
"Won't your mom get upset?" Alton asked
"My mom happens to like Lucas, which is strange in some way, but it's not like we'd be in the same bed…again" Hanna said
"Because we know how that turned out" Alton said
"Guys, I just want to help. Nothing more, I feel bad for my part in what happened and I just want to help your mom out" Hanna replied
"It wasn't your fault. I know I blamed you but I was just…" Lucas said before Hanna cut him off
"I know" Hanna said "But regardless of what you meant I feel like I played a part" she sighed
"What exactly do you want to do?" Alton asked
"I don't know, whatever you need" Hanna told Lucas before Kate walked over towards them.
"Hey guys" Kate said happily as she joined them
"Hey? And you are again?" Alton asked as he looked at her strangely
"Katie, but you can call me Kate" Kate introduced herself "I'm sorry to just come over but I was just coming over to see if you were coming over for dinner tonight?" she turned to ask Hanna as Hanna just looked at her strangely wondering why she always had a knack for showing up
"I would love to chalk this sudden visit up to you trying all you can to get Lucas to notice you, but lucky for you there is some truth to your statement. Yes, tell my dad I will come over" Hanna replied
"Hey Kate" Lucas sighed wishing Hanna wouldn't make it so obvious that Kate liked him because that only made him feel more weird to know
"Did you guys go to Mona's party the other night? I heard she had it at a hotel" Kate said hoping to inspire a conversation
"A hotel party, and a motel party. I'm just hitting the jackpot of all things loser" Alton said
"What do you know about Mona?" Hanna asked wondering how Kate even knew of Mona to begin with
"She and I talked the other week. She was asking about you" Kate said
"About me? What did you tell her?" Hanna asked
"Nothing, really. I mean I don't know anything about you besides dinner at our house which is always awkward" Kate said
"Well here's advice for you. Mona is bad news and if your in need of friends, she's not it" Hanna said almost coming across as caring to Kate which surprised both Lucas and Kate
"She's not that bad" Alton replied
"Said the guy, who thinks she's sexy" Lucas laughed "I wouldn't take his word for it, but Hanna is right, Mona is not someone you want to have conversations with less in case its about social climbings" he said
"Since there is such a negative response about her, I guess I'll just take your advice" Kate smiled feeling like they actually cared before Spencer pulled up in front of Hanna's house.
"And this day just gets worse" Alton sighed as ran his finger through his hair "I'll catch up with you guys later" he said preparing to leave
"Al? don't leave" Hanna told him feeling bad for him as he did his best to ignore Spencer while walking down the pathway only to have Spencer walk right up to him
"Hey, your back" Spencer replied happily
"And I'm leaving" Alton said as he walked right passed her causing Spencer to be surprised
"Alton, wait" Spencer said as she turned to look at him as he couldn't help but wonder what she wanted "About last night…I hope we can still be friends" she said as all Alton could do was laugh to himself
"Friends. We had sex, twice. I hardly call the two times that we did were on friendly terms" Alton said in disbelief at her request
"I know, but…you just caught me off guard, and that wasn't fair" Spencer said
"Fair? Oh, I'm sorry me pouring my heart out is unfair to you" Alton said "Forgive me for not putting your feelings in consideration first above mine that you shot down" he said
"I didn't shoot you down" Spencer replied
"Yeah, I think you kind of did" Alton replied before he turned to walk away
Finishing up his shower, Lucas would have usually made his way back to Hanna's room to get dressed but seeing as they weren't sexually active nor together anymore, Lucas had gotten dressed in the bathroom. He didn't know why he decided to stay over because he knew that right now things were extremely awkward between Hanna and him, but her mother had made such a strong case for him to stay that he couldn't resist. Hanna hadn't really disclosed any information about what was going on with Lucas's family but from the ambulances that had arrived at his house the other night, Hanna's mother knew that Lucas needed some support and with everything he had done for Hanna with her bulimia she felt she owed him that much to give it back to return. Making her way out of her room Hanna was surprised to see Lucas sitting downstairs waiting for her like it was their first date or something. Flipping through the Cosmopolitan magazines Hanna had laying around not even noticing Hanna coming down.
"You could've knocked on my door" Hanna told him shyly as he got up from his seat
"I wanted to give you privacy, you were still dressing and all" Lucas said
"Is this weird for you?…I mean I feel like ever since what happened last night that things got weird" Hanna said
"No, its…it's not weird. I mean it's something we use to do all the time and we just happened to do it last night" Lucas rambled on nervously
"Your rambling" Hanna pointed out
"I know and so desperately trying to stop" Lucas quickly replied
"When we used to do that was when we were together" Hanna said
"And now we're not" Lucas said
"So it was just casual sex?" Hanna asked
"I guess. I mean the sex was beyond good but I would think it would take more than that" Lucas said
"To fix us?" Hanna asked
"Fix. I thought we were just…I don't know, hooking up" Lucas replied
"Hooking up?" Hanna asked a little surprised that he had called what they did as that before she finally just realized that this was a conversation they weren't ready for "We should probably go over to my dad's before he gets paranoid" she said before she made her way out of the house leaving Lucas to just follow behind in confusion
Staring at his clock in disbelief all he could do was sit on pins in needles that he actually worked up the nerve to call. In a pure and desperate attempt to forget everything Spencer, Alton had called up the lady of the night service and had gone through with ordering his pick. As he was selecting his so called pick, he found it all to be so surreal that people actually had choices like they were at a fast food restaurant, his mind could only imagine the extra stuff that people had requested. The lady sounded sweet on the phone and he was almost able to connect a face to her voice but found it better to just simply think of her as the product she was selling herself as. The longer he waited the more he just kept questioning everything he believed about porn and seeing women as objects in general like it was a gut check moment for him, but then again this would be something he'd knock off his list of things he's always wanted to do that Lucas would never have done. How pathtic was he quickly thought, now he's ordering women just to stay in the race with Lucas. Before he could begin his back and forth struggle with himself he heard a knock come at his door as he had instructed the girl to just come upstairs to his room because his parents were out of town for the night. Slowly getting up from his bed, Alton took a deep breath before opening the door to see a drop dead beauty before him.
"Are you Alton?" The girl asked
"Yes" Alton said trying to control his emotions that were beyond elated
"Nice room. Looks all comic bookish" The girl observed as she made her way inside of the room
"I'm a comic book fan. I collect them and sometimes attend the conventions but not often because that would make me seem so….dorky" Alton said realizing that his attempt to not sound like a dork was making him sound like a dork
"That's cool. My brother is into comic books" The girl smiled
"Do you…do you want the door opened or closed?" Alton asked
"Whatever is good for you" The girl said as she seductively walked towards him beginning to stroke his chest
"How about we leave it open" Alton replied nervously as he broke away from her embrace to close the door "You look, look nice" he stuttered
"Thanks. I got these from a strip auction, they cost me a pretty penny" The girl said as Alton sat down on the edge of his bed
"A strip auction? As in like a strip club clothes auction?" Alton asked
"Yeah, I wanted the aquarium high heels because it'd be cool gadget for the customers" The girl said "I must really sound like a slut right now" she said
"No. I think aquarium high heels are very gadgety and could possibly be a good investment for your chosen profession" Alton replied
"Thank you. You know your pretty cute, so cute that you remind me of a cherry pie" The girl said as she joined him on the bed then slowly leaned in to kiss him. In a moment he got caught up in the moment of kissing her partially because she had vanilla chapstick but because he was caught off guard, but all his sense had managed to come back and he knew this wasn't what he wanted
"I'm sorry. I..I can't do this to you" Alton said breaking the kiss
"I think you've paid for it" The girl smiled
"I know I did, and that was pretty pervy of me, which I'm starting to see that I am, but I can't" Alton said "You're a nice girl and you deserve better" he said as the girl looked at him quizzically for a second
"Aw, your one of those guys" The girl concluded
"What guy? What are those guys?" Alton asked
"The guys that call girls like me because they've gotten their hearts ripped out" The girl said "It's a classic case" she sighed
"Really?" Alton asked "Am I that transparent?" he asked
"Pretty much. Well since we're not going to do anything, I guess I'll just leave" The girl said as she got up from the bed
"Wait" Alton said grabbing on to her hand "I…I don't want to be that guy or those guys" he told her before she quickly flashed him a smile
Hanna hadn't been a fan of the infamous dinners that her mother made her attend over at her father's house, but she had become immune to them to where it didn't bug her as much as it used to. Before when she would come over the very sight of new life that her father had created without her and her mom irritated her to the point where she wished she could destroy it one foul swoop just like he had done to her but she had always reminded herself that what hurt her had made her stronger, and that it really got to her father that they didn't have the relationship they once had. On occasion Hanna's father tried to make small talk with Lucas thinking that was the way to get Hanna to engage but Hanna only laughed at the fact that he didn't even know they were together so his attempts would be useless in the end.
"So is anyone up for dessert?" Hanna's father asked
"I'm good" Hanna quickly replied
"Can I have a coffee?" Lucas asked
"Okay, one coffee. Hanna are you sure you don't want dessert because it's that pie you love from the bakery on the corner" Hanna's father asked her
"I'm full, but I'll take a slice home" Hanna said just to appease her father but didn't want to mention that she hated that pie from the bakery and that she only pretended to like it because that's the only pie he'd get
"So how are things at school?" Sarah asked, Hanna's step mom
"Things are good" Hanna replied
"Just waiting for the year to be over I guess" Lucas replied
"That's how Kate feels. It's an adjustment for her but she's really looking forward to college" Sarah said
"Oh, what college are you planning on going to?" Lucas turned to ask Kate which only made her blush
"Well I applied to the Ivy's, USC, and Jamestown" Kate replied
"Jamestown, interesting choice" Hanna said as she sipped on her water before putting it down "Lucas might go there" she mentioned
"Really? What program?" Kate asked intrigued
"Uh…computer engineering and software" Lucas said
"That sounds like a lot of brain work" Hanna's father said
"It's all I know. I've actually narrowed my choices though…I'll be attending Winthrop" Lucas said
"Winthrop. I've heard high praises about that school" Sarah replied
"Yeah, I mean your like guaranteed a job if you graduate from there" Kate said
"Well Lucas is ahead of the class in both areas because he all ready has a software that is worth a lot of money" Hanna said "But I'm guessing that Mr. Smith is glad that you've made it official" she laughed
"Probably" Lucas replied
"And you, Hanna? Where are you planning to go?" Hanna's father asked
"Oh, I'm not quite prepared to answer that question. I'm the underachiever in this group, so most likely a junior college will be my future" Hanna replied
"But where?" Hanna's father said "Do you know what programs your interested in? if you'll be traveling to another junior college or stay local?" he asked
"I haven't really thought that far" Hanna shrugged
"Well don't you think it's the time you should?" Hanna's father asked with a slight laugh that she wasn't taking this seriously
"And in due time I will but I'm pretty sure I have time" Hanna quickly replied giving her father a glare "But I would greatly appreciate if you change the subject" she smiled at her father trying to be as polite as possible
"Hanna…" Hanna's father said before Hanna cut him off by getting up from her seat while Lucas looked on at her confused as to what she was doing
"And I'm now officially leaving" Hanna said as she got up from the table
"It was just a simple question Hanna" Kate replied
"Yes, it was a simple question, a simple question that a father would have answered but seeing as I had a part time dad then he only gets a partial response. I'd also appreciate if you would stay out of my business" Hanna replied before turning her attention towards Kate just as Lucas got up from his seat
"You know I will actually have to hold off on the coffee because we'll be leaving now" Lucas told Hanna's father and step mother as he guided Hanna out of the dining area
"We have to discuss this Hanna" Hanna's father sighed
"I've obliged your desire to want to have this so called family dinner, don't ask for more" Hanna replied as her father just nodded knowing he wouldn't gain anymore information
"Goodnight, and thank you for dinner" Lucas thanked Hanna's father before the two left the house
Walking back over to the house all Hanna could do was curse her father out underneath her breath as she still found herself fuming over her father. Lucas looked over at her a few times unsure as to what he should say to calm her down but just couldn't even wrap his mind around as to what he wanted to say. He knew that her and her father had a rocky relationship which he's witnessed once before, but at this point with the relationship with his father it almost hurt him to see that she was so closed off from him. Making their way inside the house, Hanna quickly relieved herself of her coat and stormed off inside to the living room just so she could flip angrily through the channels.
"What time is your mom coming home?" Lucas asked
"I really don't know Luke" Hanna answer in annoyed tone as Lucas sat beside her on the sofa
"Okay, don't bite my head off" Lucas replied
"I replied" Hanna said
"But in a bitchy tone" Lucas answered "There's really no point in arguing about it, dumb question, lets move on from it" he said
"Are you going to tell your grandmother what happened?" Hanna asked
"What does that have to do with anything?" Lucas asked with a slight laugh
"Since your concerned about my mother, I figured I'd be concerned about yours" Hanna said
"Oh God?" Lucas groaned
"Okay then lets drop it all together" Hanna said
"I just figured since I'm obviously sleeping over at your house that I would ask when your mother is coming home just out of concern" Lucas reasoned
"So are you asking because….what? You want to hook up again?" Hanna asked trying to be sarcastic
"I know where this is coming from. Your trying real hard to start a argument but I know what this is about" Lucas laughed to himself
"I'd prefer a hook up than to discuss that" Hanna said resting her head back on the sofa
"Why didn't you just answer the question? It was a simple question" Lucas asked her
"Because what right does he have to know?" Hanna asked "He wants to play a father when he's around his little wife" she said
"Maybe he actually wants to try to be one, but you kept shutting him down all night" Lucas replied
"Because its all an act" Hanna said
"Look I'm not going to act like he's the perfect father, but considering everything that I'm dealing with as far as my father is concern I just think your making a mistake" Lucas said
"Your father and my father are night and day. Two opposites" Hanna said
"Maybe, but your dad is trying to a part of your life whether it be annoying or over bearing, he's trying" Lucas said as Hanna just laughed to herself
"This is the confusing part for me…is this advice from a friend or a boyfriend because as of today I'm not sure what to make of this or us" Hanna stated "I mean where is this coming from?" she asked
"Why are you being like this?" Lucas asked frustrated with her
"It's coming from a confused place" Hanna quickly replied
"You know what last night meant, it wasn't…it wasn't suppose to be more than it was" Lucas said
"So let's call it what it was, last night was a hook up as you call it" Hanna said
"Hanna, you knew what it was. Do you honestly think sex will just fix us?" Lucas asked in disbelief
"No, I thought we meant more to each other than to just have sex. Sex makes it seem so casual, like we can't control our hormones. Silly me to think that with you that you'd respect me enough to have the emotion behind it" Hanna said
"Just not the emotion you want apparently" Lucas said "There is no winning with you" he sighed
"There's no winning with you!" Hanna quickly replied "I can understand that after last night that we weren't going to magically get back together, I'm not that delusional" she said as tears welled up in her eyes "But do you know how you made me feel this morning?….of course not because it's all about how you feel and what you need" she laughed to herself as she was unable to stop the tears that were running "You made me feel like I was nothing…like I was some meaningless screw for you. I remember a time when you were so loving and caring the morning after…you made me feel like I was the most beautiful girl in the world and I didn't feel that way with you" she cried
"I don't know what you want from me?" Lucas asked wanting so badly to just understand but was unable to comprehend what she wanted last night to mean
"Luke don't you think you mean more to me…you were my first. The first guy I let see me….in that way. So whenever we have sex it'll always mean something more just because of that reason" Hanna said
"I just never thought you thought like that" Lucas said
"Yeah, well I do" Hanna said as she turned off the television and passed by Lucas on her way up to her room
"Where are you going?" Lucas turned to ask her
"I'm tired. I'm going to bed" Hanna said still muffling back tears as she climbed the stairs to her room
Snacking away on their pizza that he had ordered for them, Alton kept looking over at the girl to make sure that she was actually real and in his room. He instantly regretted calling the service when she had first come over, but now that they had talked to each other and actually had stuff in common he realized more than he ever could about himself in a weird way that he was a good guy. Finishing up her pizza she quickly set it to the side, and turned her attention back towards Alton as if she were studying in him in disbelief or something. Glancing over at her, Alton found it weird that she was staring at him but was a little flattered that she had found him so intriguing. A slight laugh came to his face as he tried to act like he hadn't noticed but it was getting harder to do so.
"If you didn't want to do anything then why did you call?" The girl asked
"Not that I don't want to answer your question, but I'd feel better if I knew your name" Alton laughed
"Vanilla. My name is Vanilla" Vanilla replied
"Vanilla? Is that your…lady of the night name?" Alton asked
"Yes. I don't know you that well enough to just reveal everything about myself" Vanilla replied
"And yet you want me to tell you about myself" Alton replied "Double standards much" he laughed
"Why'd you call?" Vanilla asked again
"It was stupid. I just came across the ad in the classified and just called. I really should be more concerned about my friend rather than my stupid love life…it was just a bad decision all around" Alton sighed
"Uh, thanks I think" Vanilla replied
"You know what I meant. I mean I will cherish sharing a pizza with a dime like yourself for an eternity" Alton laughed
"What makes you think that your love life is stupid? Everyone deserves to feel loved" Vanilla told him
"Because the girl I professed my like for doesn't feel the same about me" Alton said "I've been thinking about her non-stop like crazy thinking I couldn't stand her but the very things I can't stand are the things that I like most about her" he said in a complete daze of all things Spencer "But now I know we will never be so I can just move on" he sighed
"So you think that just because this girl didn't like you that no other girl will. I think your selling yourself short because I happen to think you're a pretty nice guy" Vanilla said
"Nice…nice guy is like the kiss of death to your nice but I would never date a guy like you" Alton said
"Sometimes nice means a lot to a girl. Sometimes nice is a one of kind word that can't be replaced with other adjectives" Vanilla said "You're a great kisser" she pointed out
"Really?" Alton asked surprised "Well my left hand provided a lot of practice for me so you have lefty to think" he laughed
"Well thank you lefty" Vanilla laughed "Your also pretty funny…I haven't laughed this much in months" she smiled
"My honesty has a tendency to make people smile" Alton said
"See all the things you think you fall short on you make up in other ways" Vanilla said "And that's what this girl will be missing, and I happen to think its her loss" she said as she walked over towards Alton as he slowly rose from his seat "Well, I guess I should be getting ready to leave" she smiled
"Yeah, I guess" Alton agreed "Thanks for a great night. We may not have done anything but this was fun" he said
"It was a fun night. I don't get these often so I'm extremely glad you gave me one" Vanilla laughed "Take care of yourself Alton" she said as she leaned in to hug him. The two stood in a long embrace as Alton was unsure to let go but found being within her embrace more than pleasing that it made it nearly impossible to let go. His eyes drifted in and out of pleasant slumber before the door slowly opened. Surprised by the site, Spencer stood in the doorway caught off guard to see Alton with another girl let alone in a close embrace with her.
"Oh, wow" Spencer responded as Alton broke away from Vanilla's embrace
"Well I'll hope to see you around Alton" Vanilla said before she kissed his cheek then slowly made her way out of the room as all Alton could do was watch her leave. Standing alone in his room he took a moment to think and recess everything before a took a moment to just laugh.
Making sure that her mom was fast asleep in her room before tip toeing past the bedroom down to Hanna's room. When he had slept over without her mother's knowledge, tip toeing was something he had become a professional at but it was only the few times that they spent the night over at her house. Giving a slight knock at Hanna's bedroom door before he began to look around the hall suspiciously hoping that her mom wouldn't come out as he waited out in the hallway for Hanna to come to the door. From outside he couldn't hear much at first, which lead him to do their code knock that they did when he slept over but even that didn't receive much response until he finally heard movement from within her room. In pure annoyance Hanna opened the door to see the geek she had fallen in love with standing so pathetically outside her door.
"Do you know what time it is?" Hanna asked him
"Yes. I do" Lucas replied
"Then you should know that most people like to sleep this time of night" Hanna replied
"I have a surprise for you" Lucas told her
"A surprise?" Hanna asked
"Yes, now will you please just oblige my wish?" Lucas asked her "Please" he begged her
"This better be worth it" Hanna said as she grabbed her robe and followed Lucas downstairs to the living room. Looking around suspiciously for her surprise, Hanna didn't know what to make of what Lucas was up to until she saw that the television was on a video game screen. Stopping to look at her reaction, Lucas flashed a smile in hopes that she would be somewhat pleased with her surprise "What is this?" she asked turning to look at him
"This is Wii" Lucas laughed
"I know what it is but why is this my surprise?" Hanna asked
"I figured we should get back to something that we use to enjoy before all the relationship problems came along….just a simple game of wii" Lucas said as he reached over to grab her wii stick "So how about it? To old times?" he asked her as he extended the wii stick out towards her in hopes that she would take it. For a moment she contemplated what Lucas's face would look like if she just abandoned his attempts to mend things but she knew deep down she didn't want to walk away and leave things the way they were.
It was well into the night and almost into the following day before the two had taken a break from their fierce competition to grab a water break. Massaging her arm as she followed behind Lucas into the kitchen, Hanna was more than thrilled to give her arm a break just so she can still check and see if it was attached at the end of the day. Handing her a water bottle, Lucas leaned up against the counter after closing the fridge door and just couldn't help but laugh at the fun they were having just getting back to what they did best and the fact that Alton was going to kill him for having a marathon wii night without him. The essence of the wii marathon night had always been between Alton and Lucas because that was there thing and it was just a simple way of hanging out. They only started calling it a marathon when the games last until morning time to where Alton would have to sleep over, but in all intentions it was meant to because competition.
"It's been a while since we've played that" Lucas mentioned as he flashed a smile at her
"Yeah. I forgot how fun it was" Hanna smiled "So much so that I think my arm is beyond sore" she laughed
"You'll be fine, just take an advil or aleve or something" Lucas told her
"Because that's the prescription for everything" Hanna laughed "I'm really glad we did this….I was beginning to think that you were going to continue to be an ass" she said taking a sip from her water
"Oh, my assness has its phases. It should be gone by now" Lucas laughed
"That's good to know" Hanna replied
"I know these past couple of months we've been through a lot together, more than we both cared to go through but I'm really glad I'm going through this with you. I don't know if we'll ever be the same again, but I know I need you in my life" Lucas told her
"I haven't gone anywhere…it's just getting hard to detect where your head is at" Hanna said
"I'm always going to have feelings for you because you were my first everything, so yeah, sex with you will always mean something more to me when it comes to you. This morning I just….it was like second nature to have you with me so much so that I took what you could have been feeling for granted" Lucas said
"That you did" Hanna laughed
"I'm sorry for how I acted and how I've been acting" Lucas apologized to her "I guess I just treat you that way because some little part of me believe you when you say your not going anywhere so I just treat you like that because I figure you can take it" he laughed
"Oh, wow. Now I'm getting the Alton treatment. So when your snapping at me, its just you thinking I'll be able to take it…that's a very interesting perspective, but I'm not just going to let you treat me any kind of way" Hanna replied as she walked over towards his side of the counter to lean beside him
"I know" Lucas replied
"And that's the end of throwing the cheating in my face" Hanna said
"I know" Lucas replied
"And your going to let me help with your mom" Hanna said
"All right, if you want to. Now don't think your forced to because of what I said" Lucas told her
"I don't. I want to help because when I needed someone the most you were there for me, so now its time for me to be there for you" Hanna smiled "And besides…I like to think we're friends" she laughed
"Yes, we are…friends" Lucas joined her in the laughter
Leaving Lucas behind in the parking lot, Alton made his way down the hall with his backpack slightly draped over his shoulder. Getting his usual laughs in the hall as he walked over to his locker didn't phase him as much as it use to especially now that his best friend was a prized receiver on the football team. Lucas and Hanna's relationship had always been beneficial for him because he was always Lucas's right hand man, but the last thing he ever expected was to strike up a true blue friendship with Hanna as well. In some ways he like to think of them as the three amigos, but it was hard to see that Lucas and Hanna weren't together anymore because he knew how much they both loved each other but being friends to both of them helped him realize that things were going to be fine regardless if they were together or not. Opening up his locker he tiredly began to sift through his notes before he was joined by Spencer. Glancing up at the girl he letting out a little sigh before he just shook his head.
"Can we talk?" Spencer asked shyly
"Usually at this point in the day I would say yes because my morning has been a little so so but I don't think we can" Alton said "What is there left to say?" he asked
"We should at least talk about this" Spencer told him
"Talk about what? My feelings for you" Alton quickly replied
"Yeah, I just….I wanted to tell you something" Spencer responded as she began to work herself up
"Well you don't have to worry about those feelings anymore because I'm done with this" Alton said as he closed his locker and adjusted his back pack "You're a great girl, a little too guarded, but a great girl. You're just not the girl for me" he said before he walked away leaving Spencer standing behind
"I like you too…I like you a lot" Spencer said shyly as all she can do was watch him walk away
Looking around the wall at all the degrees that hung in his office as she just sat nervously playing with her fingers. Her eyes narrowed in on a picture that was on his desk as she leaned forward to get a closer look and see that it was him when he was younger. Picking up the picture frame, she noticed a few numbers scratched on the bottom of the frame, number that appeared to be prison numbers if she recalled correctly of her vast street knowledge. Just as she tried to rack her brain as to what this could mean the door quickly opened as he made his way inside with a coffee cup and files in hand. Lucky that she was able to put the picture down quick enough so that he didn't realize it, Hanna pretended as if she had just been sitting there patiently all along. Leaning back in his seat as he flipped through some papers, he took a moment to look over a few things as he thought to himself before he leaned forward in his seat.
"Okay, I've looked over your files again and I do think we can work with something" Mr. Smith told her
"So that means my applications weren't a success" Hanna sighed
"No but that doesn't mean we stop trying. We send letters, we show progression, and most importantly we show desire" Mr. Smith told her
"But how is that even possible with my grades?" Hanna asked
"Because your grades aren't as bad as you think…you can if you work your ass off, get into a state school" Mr. Smith said
"State? But do I still have to keep in mind a junior college?" Hanna asked
"Maybe, but like I said your gonna have to work for this" Mr. Smith said
"I wouldn't have come to you if I didn't want this" Hanna said "Believe it or not I do have goals" she said
"Never thought that you didn't" Mr. Smith replied
"So since you have this knack for being straight forward, were you ever in prison?" Hanna asked not wanting to beat around the bush as Mr. Smith just looked at her with a slight laugh
"I'm starting to understand why Lucas and you dated. Your like a me as a female" Mr. Smith laughed to himself
"Your avoiding" Hanna quickly replied
"Yes. I was in prison" Mr. Smith sighed
"But I thought you were like Richie rich out in Winthrop?" Hanna asked him "You don't even look like the prison type" she said
"I wasn't always so teacher like when I was a kid. In fact I was more like you" Mr. Smith said
"Uh, thanks I guess" Hanna replied not knowing if it was a compliment or not
"I didn't really care too much about school in high school. I was about my friends and sports. I did drugs and partied, I was living it up as they may say" Mr. Smith said
"So you think I do drugs now?" Hanna asked him
"Let me finish the point" Mr. Smith told her "The point is that my best days were in high school and it ended there" he said "I was caught with drugs and accused of killing someone" he then told her
"Accused?" Hanna asked
"I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and I happened to take the fall for a friend, who had accidentally killed a guy" Mr. Smith said "I keep those numbers because it was in prison that I realized that I had to get my act together, I had to be better and realize that high school was over and I had to get out of homecoming and prom mode and start looking towards my future and what I have to offer" he said
"And you think I'm getting to that point?" Hanna asked
"I think you have a lot to offer, and you just have believe it now. You've got memories of high school that will last you, but it will end and you have to start thinking beyond it" Mr. Smith said as a moment of silence came between them before he pulled out a folded piece of paper that he had in his drawer to pull out and show her "I've looked at some schools that meet what your looking for…Beaumont State, Ferguson Institute, and Channing State" he said
"All right. Let's get to work" Hanna said before she reached over into her back pack to pull out her note pad before the two of them each began to look on at brochures of the college