𝐊 𝐈 𝐒 𝐒 & 𝐓 𝐄 𝐋 𝐋 . 13reasonswhy

TRECE.

"Totally not on your side, dude." He laughed back as him and Justin made faces to express their confusion on the way Pratters took the comment. Zach and Hannah locked eyes as he did this. They smiled at each other until Hannah looked shyly away. The bell rang to signal the end of class shortly after their interaction, but both stayed behind to view their compliment bags. Rory, however, left swiftly with Justin to go do God knows what before their next period.

"I always feel stupid." Zach said as he walked up beside Hannah as she spun around the stand her compliment bag was on.

"What? Looking?" Hannah asked as she peered into her bag.

"Yeah." Zach laughed under his breath, trying to play off his embarrassment.

"Yeah, these are the stupidest, most embarrassing things I check every day, no matter what." She said sarcastically as she pulled out a few white paper strips. She glanced down at the first one, seeing a tiny drawing of a bunny smiling up at her.

"You get a good one?" Zach asked as he tried to view what Hannah was grinning at.

"Nothing earth shaking." She replied as she neatly folded the paper back up. "You?" Hannah asked politely.

"Nada." He sighed. There was an awkward silence between them as Zach began to leave. "It's kinda soul-crushing, you know?" He grabbed his backpack straps and shrugged, smiling at Hannah before leaving completely. Sheri had been standing behind the pair with a worried look on her face and Hannah only noticed when her counterpart had left.

"What?" Hannah asked as she turned to face the girl.

"What's the deal with you and Zack?" Sheri asked. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her lips were turned down disapprovingly. Hannah's jaw dropped as she began to assume what she might be hinting at.

"I thought he was single, oh my God, I'm so sorry. It's just he asked me out the other week at lunch and I said no but then I presumed he still wasn't dating anyone, I'm so-" She began to stumble over her words and her cheeks turned a bright red. The more she apologised to Sheri, the more flustered she became.

"You're still friends with Rory Price, right?" Sheri interrupted the panicking girl. Hannah looked up and her lips stop trembling.

"Yeah, why?"

"Zach Dempsey isn't seeing anyone right now, but-"

"Then why did you get annoyed before?" Hannah interrupted, becoming annoyed with Sheri for making her worry for no reason.

"But," Sheri continued loudly, "He used to date Rory. They were together for, like, two years. They broke up the summer you came to town."

"So what's the problem?" Hannah stuttered, still not understanding her point. If Zach and Rory weren't a thing anymore then what was the problem? It's not like she would be making him cheat and be messing up her best friend's relationship.

Sheri scrunched her face up at Hannah's unknowing persona. "Ex-boyfriends are off limits. I learnt that the hard way."

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked. Sheri didn't seem like the type of person to make up petty things to stop her friends from dating people.

"She says it's, like, 'just the rules of feminism' or something." Sheri said, imitating Rory's voice. Both girls chuckled at the impression until they hear a third voice joining in the laughter. They both thought they were alone in the classroom and the sound of another girl surprise them greatly. They looked around until they noticed Rory leant against the door.

"Are you coming, Hannah?" She said, her voice slower than usual, with a sickly sweet bitterness to it.

"Yeah." Hannah said as she hung her head down low, holding onto the strap of her bag and following Rory. The blonde girl smiled sarcastically at Sheri and winked as she turned out of the door frame.