I Met My Best Friend On the Internet (a Taylor Lautner Fanfiction)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The rest of October and all of November passed fairly quickly and without much happening other than Tessa doing some rather mean things to me. I had worked things out with my teachers who were going to let me work the entire month of Christmas break on the work I would have had to do in January/February when I would be gone. They really were very kind about it.

I was in my room the first day of winter break, looking out my window. It was so cold that there were snow flurries outside. Normally, I would be outside catching the snowflakes on my tongue, but today... I just didn’t feel like it. I had been tired lately. I wasn’t exactly sure why, except maybe it was because of my new diet. I shrugged and laid down on my bed. I wanted to talk to Tay. Opening my computer, I saw that he was online.

bluebird: Tay!

toolatetogoback: hi honey! :) how are you?

bluebird: I’m okay! How are you?

toolatetogoback: just okay?

bluebird: Yeah!

toolatetogoback: what’s wrong baby

bluebird: Nothing! I’m fine :) how are YOU?

toolatetogoback: nuh-uh you’re not getting out of telling me what’s the matter!

bluebird: I’m only tired!

toolatetogoback: why are you tired love?

bluebird: Not enough sleep I guess!

toolatetogoback: ….something tells me that it’s more than that. but I’ll let it go.

bluebird: Good :) Now! How are you?!

toolatetogoback: I’m good :) talking to you, so of course I am happy!

I bit my lip. Okay consider me melted...

bluebird: Awwww! Ugh I wish I could hug you.

toolatetogoback: two more months baby! :)

bluebird: Less than two months :D

We continued to chat the rest of the afternoon. It was hard to describe how just talking to him made me feel new again. All my unhappiness and exhaustion just disappeared. There was so much about me that he didn’t know... I supposed he would find out eventually, but I just couldn’t tell him yet.

“Hannah!” I heard Rachel’s voice call up the stairs.
“In my room, Rach!” I called back.
She ran up and burst into my room, bouncing on my bed beside me.
“HEY!” she said, grinning ear to ear.
“...Hi,” I said, looking at her cautiously, “what’s up?”
“Guess what!” she exclaimed, still grinning.
“You got a pet unicorn,” I said with a straight face.
She scowled a bit before breaking out into a smile again, “No, idiot. Guess again!”
“I hate this game you know,” I sighed.
“Okay fine I’ll just tell you! Will asked me out!!”
“FINALLY,” I said in exasperation, “it’s about time that boy declared his undying love for you!”
She blushed and looked down, “I kinda like him.”
“Obviously,” I deadpanned, mimicking Severus Snape from Rowling’s Harry Potter.
She giggled a bit and then said soberly, “We want you to come with us for our first date...”
“Are you for real?” I asked, shooting her an incredulous look. She nodded and I exclaimed, “No effing way. I’m NOT going to be a third wheel during your date with Will.”
“Oh you’ll be going with someone!” she grinned.
“...Who.”
“John Garrett.”
“NO!” I shouted. John was like my brother and we had been close friends for six years.
“Oh come on, it’s not like a real date! We just thought you’d be comfortable with him!” she pleaded.
“Is Johnny okay with this...?” I asked cautiously. We had been teased and made fun of because people thought we acted more like a couple than like friends, which was absolute balderdash.
“I’m sure he will be! Will was going to ask him as soon as I found out if it was okay with you!”
“Well... okay. I suppose it would be fine as long as he’s cool with it,” I said with a shrug.
“Yay! We’re thinking about going bowling. Ya know, keep it simple and fun. Will said he doesn’t want to make me feel boxed in or pressured at all,” she smiled happily.
“Aww that’s charming of him,” I said, slightly distracted as I was trying to reply to Tay’s chat that I had been ignoring for the past ten minutes.
“Ooh whatcha doing?” Rachel asked, peering over my shoulder. “You’re talking to him!” she exclaimed.
“Yes, yes I am,” I said.
“He calls you ‘baby’?!” she gasped.
“Yes he does, would you please shut up?!” I said in exasperation.
“Fine, I’ll leave you two love birds alone. Too bad he doesn’t live close, you could go on the date with him,” she said with a wink.
I blushed and threw a pillow at her as she walked out of my room.

The next day was Rachel and Will’s date. They had decided John would come pick me up and meet them at the bowling alley. It seemed too much like a date for either of our tastes, but it couldn’t be helped. At exactly 5pm John knocked on our door and I ran downstairs shouting a goodbye to my family.
“Hey, lady,” John said as he walked back to his car with me.
“Hey, kid,” I replied, looking up at him. He is a good 8 inches taller than I am, with black hair cropped close to his head. I really do have to admit that he is one of the handsomest guys I’ve ever seen. It’s kind of sad we don’t see each other as anything but friends.
He and I listened to alternative bands all the way to the bowling alley, singing along with them at the top of our lungs. By the time we arrived, both of us were a bit hoarse.
“I’ve missed this,” I stated as he opened my door for me.
“Missed what?” he asked.
“Us hanging out, taking off, going places, singing along badly with the kind of music no one else likes,” I replied with a grin.
“Me too, girl,” he grinned back. “Hey let’s go to the beach next week!”
“John. It’s December, and the beach is four hours away,” I said skeptically.
“Details, details! We should go!” he said, still grinning.
“You’re so weird. I love you, idiot,” I rolled my eyes at him.
He laughed, “Love you too, silly goose. Let’s go whip Rachel and Will’s butts in bowling!”
“You do realize I’m awful at bowling, right?”
“Then I’LL whip their butts!” he said, not willing to be daunted by my doubts.
“You do that,” I laughed as we walked in.

The whole bowling thing was actually really fun. I didn’t do terribly, and John and I definitely beat Rachel and Will. But they didn’t seem to mind since they were so wrapped up in each other. Hehe, I thought triumphantly.
On the way home, John asked me how I had been doing, giving me a sideways glance as he said it.
“I’m good, how about you?”
“Is that the truth, Hans?” he stated more than asked.
“Ye-e-s... do you not believe it is?”
“No,” he said matter-of-factly. “You’re twice as thin as you were when I last saw you and you–”
“Okay, so I’ve been dieting!” I cut him off quickly, not wanting him to address the second thing that I knew he had noticed.
“Hannah,” he said warningly.
“What?”
“Are you being healthy?” he asked, his tone slightly worried. John knew more about me than anyone else, and he knew my insecurities about my weight sometimes led to rash decisions about meals.
“Yeah,” I said, unconvincingly and I knew it. I just never could seem to lie to him. He was like my big brother, so protective and kind.
“Come on, we’re going out to eat,” he said, taking the road that led back into the business district of town instead of taking my street.
“But won’t people think–”
“To hell with what people think,” he said a bit sharply.
I smiled softly. He was always like this when he was worried about me. “Okay,” I said. “Where are we eating?”
“Pizza Hut!”
“Oh no, Johnny, so much fat and–”
“Hush. I don’t want to hear about it. You’re getting the pasta and you’re going to like it,” he insisted, driving into the parking lot.

Over our dinner, I told him cautiously about Tay. He expressed concern over my not knowing him in real life, and even more concern over our meeting in person. I explained everything, which made him a bit more at ease, but he still insisted that I put pepper spray on my keys and learn some defense moves. I laughed at him, but he told me that he would rather keep me safe.
“You like him, don’t you?” he asked with a small smirk, trying to lighten the mood.
“No...” I said, dropping my gaze.
“Uhhh-huhh,” he said teasingly, winking at me when my gaze snapped back to him.
“I don’t!”
“Yes you do. You’re just in denial,” he stated.
“Really, Dr. Phil. How do you suppose that?” I asked sarcastically.
“Because of the way you light up when you talk about him. I want you to invite him to visit in the summer, if he doesn’t turn out to be a creep. I have to meet him to make sure he’s okay. You’re like my baby sister, and if he breaks your heart, I will beat him up.”
I laughed and nodded, “Deal.”