Hartbig One Shots

Slow Dances and Bathroom Tears

{ a/n- Hartbig Middle/High School AU }

Dim lights, blaring music, and a colossal wave of bodies creates a wild atmosphere. Hannah walks slowly, trailing behind Mamrie, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. She's always felt self conscious in a dress. The purple chiffon textured fabric swishes against Hannah's bare legs and the lace top sets nicely over her chest. Mamrie is confidently striding to the corner table, her navy blue dress twirling around her frame. Hannah sighs, wishing she could have Mamrie's confidence. Hannah sets her purse on the table and Mamrie grabs her hand.

"Come on, mini Hart! Let's dance!" Mamrie says, pulling Hannah onto the floor to dance. The pair dances, Hannah kind of awkwardly trying to get into the mood. Her eyes scan the floor, subconsciously looking for the cause of her nerves. And she finds her. Grace, wearing her beautiful blonde hair in loopy curls and her bangs pinned away from her face, a black satiny looking dress with a diamanté waistband and high heels to accentuate her long tan legs. She's dancing and singing along to songs, surrounded by friends and guys. "Hannah!" Mamrie shouts.

"Hmm?" Hannah asks, pulling her gaze away from Grace.

"I've said your name about five times pal. Are you alright?" Mamrie remarks, looking worriedly at her best friend.

"I'm fine Mames. What did you need?" Hannah replies, looking away briefly to find Grace in the throng again.

"Louise, Zoe, Tyler, and Alfie are here." Mamrie tells the smaller girl. Hannah rushes over to say hello, hugging each of her friends in turn.

"Louise you look absolutely gorgeous!" Hannah exclaims, jealous of the way Lou's white dress with gold sequin bust showcases her curves.

"Oh well thank you Hannah, you look stunning yourself." Louise replies. Hannah looks around to see who else is at the formal and spots Flula, leaning against a wall. He's underdressed for the event, wearing just a button up and bow tie.

"Mamrie." Hannah calls teasingly. "Look who's here!" Mamrie glances and spots Flula. Her cheeks turn red and she looks away.

"Hannah, stop. You're going to make me nervous!" Mamrie says. Hannah takes her hands and faces her straight on.

"Look, Mames, you are gorgeous, charismatic, and amazing. You can do this! When the slow song comes on go over and ask him to dance with you and if he says no he's an idiot because it would be a privilege to get a dance with you." Hannah assures her friend.

"Thanks Han." Mamrie murmurs. "You know that's all true about you too, right? Who cares if Grace is straight you could turn her gay any day. She should be honoured you want a dance with her."

"I just don't know what I'll do if she says no." Hannah says quietly.

"You'll come get me and and we'll dance together." Mamrie responds with a comforting smile.

"Alright, we're going to slow it down a bit, so grab yourself a partner and come out to the floor." The DJ announces. Mamrie and Hannah exchange a glance and nod. "God Bless The Broken Road" begins playing as the girls part ways to ask their crushes to dance. Hannah makes her way across the floor to where Grace is. Grace isn't dancing with anyone, not yet. Hannah knows she has to make her move now.

"Grace?" Hannah asks nervously. Grace turns to face her and smiles. Hannah works up her nerve, and blurts it out. "Would you like to dance with me?" Grace's mouth drops open and her eyes get wide as she looks at Hannah. She looks absolutely horrified, Hannah thinks.

"What?" Grace mumbles, her voice seemingly strained. Hannah rushes to try and fix things.

"A-as friends, o-of c-course." Hannah stammers, stuttering for the first time in her life. Grace looks to her right and backs up a little bit.

"I-I have Chester," Grace answers, her voice low as she gestures to the dark haired guy next to her. Hannah's whole world seems to fall apart, everything going wrong. The look that broke Hannah's heart is still on Grace's face and Hannah can feel tears prickling in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Hannah whispers.

"No, no. It's okay, it's okay." Grace answers, awkwardly resting a hand on Hannah's arm. Hannah turns and runs away, pushing through the crowd and bolting to the bathroom. Praying to god it's empty, Hannah lets out a massive sob as she bursts through the door. The only other person inside is Zoe, and seeing Hannah's predicament, Zoe envelopes her in a hug.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's going to be okay." Zoe reassures Hannah, rubbing her back and trying to calm her. Hannah's sobs turn to cries and her cries turn to whimpers.

"I was so stupid." Hannah mumbles. "I should've known better."

"Oh honey, you couldn't have known." Zoe says gently "I know it seems like the end of the world now but it won't matter eventually. She doesn't deserve you."

"What happened?" asks the voices of Colleen and Glozell.

"I-I asked her to dance and she looked mortified." Hannah chokes out, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks. Colleen and Glozell being to comfort her as well when Mamrie bursts in.

"Come here sweetie." Mamrie says, pulling Hannah to her in a tight, safe hug. Hannah cries into Mamrie's shoulder and Mamrie takes a tissue to try and clean her friend up. "Don't let her ruin your night! Go back out there with a smile on your face and show her up!" Hannah laughs weakly as another girl enters the bathroom.

"Hey, I don't mean to impose," Jenna says, looking at Hannah's tear stained face. "but I just wanted to say I heard what happened, and I'm sorry." Jenna hugs Hannah and Hannah is taken aback. "I have so much respect for people like you, and it's awesome you had the courage to come out and ask her."

"Thank you." Hannah says genuinely. Jenna hugs her again before leaving, and Hannah takes a deep breath. Mamrie and Hannah go back out on the floor and dance together all the rest of the night.

"Hannah!" Laci's voice calls, pulling the short girl to the side. "Everybody's talking about you and Grace."

"Talking about what?! I just asked her to dance with me!" Hannah exclaims.

"Everybody knows about it now. I just thought you should know." Laci replies, giving Hannah a sympathetic look before walking away. Hannah shakes her head, deciding it doesn't matter. "All Of Me" begins playing and as Mamrie goes to dance with Tyler, Hannah searches for another friend to dance with. In her search, she spots Grace, her arms resting on Chester's shoulders and his hands on her waist. Hannah feels sick to her stomach.

"Tiny Hart, come on!" Mamrie calls. Hannah meanders over to Mamrie and Tyler, a melancholy look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Grace is dancing with Chester." Hannah whispers.

"Can I get up in that girls shit?!" Mamrie yells. "First she turns you down and now she's just-UGH!" Mamrie goes off a little bit, turning to go talk to Grace.

"No!" Hannah shouts, tugging Mamrie back to her side. "Don't you dare!"

"Fine." Mamrie mutters, shooting a glare in Grace's direction. The rest of the night is still fun, and when the last cords of the final song play, Hannah decides to go find Grace.

"I'm going to go apologise to Grace." Hannah tells Mamrie, rushing off before Mamrie can tell her it's a bad idea. Hannah catches Grace talking to her friends and taps her on the shoulder. "Hey, Grace?" She turns and finds Hannah there, looking very surprised. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. It's totally fine, no don't worry about it." Grace mumbles these words over and over again, looking scared. Scared, Hannah thinks, why is she scared?

"Are you sure it's okay?" Hannah asks, trying to give a comforting smile.

"Yeah it's okay. It doesn't matter." Grace answers. Hannah knows she shouldn't press anymore, and just walks away.