Julian and Lola were still transfixed on Tyler's picture, they barely registered their group of friends barging into the small pool house, creating a ruckus in their wake.
The room erupted in a fit cheers and words, mostly Edward's - the latest edition to their sleuthing squad.
He marched to the front of the table and dumped a few tapes onto the smooth wooden surface with a thud.
"Guys just admit it. I am freaking awesome," He shrugged his shoulders, expecting the rest to add to his self praise but no one reciprocated.
"You haven't done anything yet," Hanna pointed out bleakly and she looked away shyly when he turned to her.
"My queen, you were amazing! The way you distracted your uncle while we stole the tapes. You girls were right, these have been tampered with and whoever did it was an amateur. I might be able to retrieve some footage if they did a shit job."
"I told you to stop calling me that," Hanna seethed.
Julian stood up from his seat, his face filled with surprise and awe as he stared at the scrawny boy who was fiddling with the tapes.
"Really?" His voice came out strangled and strangely emotional. He looked like he was about the hug Edward.
"Chill dude, you look like you're going to cry and you'd better stop because I find that emotional shit scary," Edward quickly turned to Hanna, his face apologetic. "Don't worry Hanna, if you get emotional I'll be fine with it. Just not anyone else. Yuck."
Hanna turned to her friends, her face filled with exasperation. The guy had been shamelessly flirting with her all night and she didn't know what to make of it.
She sat down at the table while Edward, Damien and Nalini took turns to brief Julian and Lola about their little mission to Uncle Kim's store. The whole ordeal barely took a few minutes. Nalini and Hanna had distracted her uncle with something pointless while Edward snuck to the back and Damien kept watch.
Edward was a natural. He was extremely sharp, noticing the cameras and their positions the moment they walked into the convenience store at West Point. He was quick to figure out where the storage room had been even before Hanna had pointed it out to him.
Hanna grabbed a packet of chips and stuffed her face with the carbohydrates that were sure to head straight to her thighs. She'd never had a guy praise her like Edward did, ever.
She looked up at his beaming face and his beady eyes hiding behind thickly framed glasses. She'd never really noticed him before and it still shocked her that this guy had a crush on her.
Hanna had always felt like the unattractive one in the group. Sure, their group of three rarely attracted the attention of guys in general but Hanna's insecurities always told her that she looked the worst.
And therefore no guy would ever like her.
But then there was this guy, barging in from no where, helping Julian only because of her. The food got stuck in Hanna's throat and she gulped it down painfully. Was this guy for real?
Edward caught her staring at him and winked making Hanna's face turn beet red. For a nerd who's been bullied repeatedly in high school, he sure had a lot of confidence. Maybe Hanna could learn a thing or two from him.
She quickly shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts. She just hoped he wasn't making fun of her because it felt a lot like he was.
"Hey, you okay?" Lola squeezed her shoulder, drawing her back to reality.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." She smiled at her friend who always knew when she was having her moments of insecurity. In their group of three, Lola was always the quiet, perceptive one. Nalini was the fierce, stubborn and smart one who would fight the world for her best friends
And then there was Hanna, the pacifist, always neutralising any tension that would arise in the group.
There usually wasn't much to fight about, the girls got along like a house on fire from the time they were in pre school but Hanna had to admit, there was something lingering in the air among st them.
Ever since the guys came into the picture.
She stole a glance at Julian and Lola who were showing the rest the picture of Tyler and Eva's hand. She caught Lola blushing when Julian nudged her proudly and a sinking feeling settled in her stomach.
Nalini and Lola almost got into an argument about this just a few days ago in school. Nalini claimed the bad boy might just be using them but it was easy to see that Lola had feelings for the guy, even if she refused to admit it.
Whether Julians feelings for Lola were genuine, Hanna could not say. Her attention then turned to Nalini who was bickering with Damien, who seemed to be enjoying their argument more than anything.
Did Nalini like Damien? Did Damien like Nalini?
Did Edward really like her? Or was he just playing with her feelings like most of their schoolmates did to girls like her.
Once everyone settled down, the group started discussing when they would be meeting up next.
"Lola, you said your parents will be away this weekend?"
"Yeah, but they usually call my aunt over to babysit. Maybe I can convince them to let me stay alone this time?" Lola suggested, looking deep in thought. Her eyebrows were knitted together tightly and Hanna noticed Julian staring at her, his face alight with adoration.
Maybe he did like her.
Hanna wanted to slap herself for getting distracted. She grabbed a cookie from the open packet in front of her and munched on one to help herself concentrate.
"Why don't we just drug her aunt? Then we can discuss without any disturbances," Edward said.
"Not a bad idea," Damien added.
"Bloody risky idea. What if she dies or worse, our parents find out," Nalini says crossly.
"Yeah, I agree. No drugging aunties. I'll be at Lola's this weekend, right?" Julian nodded at Lola for confirmation and her friend nodded meekly. "Maybe we can sneak out once she's asleep."
Hanna caught Nalini narrowing her eyes at the two, she could already read her thoughts and hoped this wouldn't turn into another fight later on.
"I'll try to convince them to let me stay unchaperoned but if all else fails, shall we meet at the park? Damien, can you pick us up?" Lola asked.
"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. The park is actually a good idea. What about you, bro?" He patted Edward on the back who scowled at him.
"I'm in if Hanna is."
Hanna wanted to punch the guy as all eyes fell on her. Was he seriously bargaining Julian's life with her involvement? The guy was the devil incarnate.
"I guess I could stay over at Lola's," She finally said and everyone sighed in relief.
Edward had only just joined them today and he was already holding all the cards.
"It's settled then. Okay, I need to leave. My mum's making spaghetti and she wants me home in five," Edward announced, standing up. He grabbed the tapes and stuffed them in his bag. "Will start working on these tonight."
"Thanks man. I really appreciate it," Julian said, his voice heavy as he turned to each of them. "I appreciate all of you guys going through all of this trouble to help me."
"God, you're pretty sappy for someone who used to trip me in the hallways and vandalise my computer lab." Edward replied sharply but then his face softened. "Don't worry I'll do my best."
"Come on, I'll drop you girls home," Damien said. "Lola, are you ready for your date with Tyler tomorrow?"
"Date?" Julians eyes widened in shock.
"We're just going out for ice cream," Lola blustered defensively. "I'm going to try and find out about his relationship with Eva."
"Be careful," Julian said worriedly but it only made Lola laugh.
"Nothing's going to happen. We'll be in public."
The conversation ended tersely and everyone cleared the room after an awkward bout of silence.
"So my queen, when are we going on a date?" Edward asked as he swung his backpack over his shoulder.
The word queen made Hanna whip around and push him against the wall. She'd never been one to lose her cool and do impulsive things but this guy had a way of getting under her skin.
"Woah, are we going to kiss now? We can't! I don't have my breath mints and we just ate sour cream and onion chips!"
"We are definitely not going to kiss or go on a date or whatever it is going on in that head of yours. And stop calling me your queen. It's weird." She waved a finger at his face in warning.
"Why? Am I too ugly? I swear I'm working on the six pack." Edwards shoulders slouched in defeat and Hanna cast a wary look around. Lola, Nalini and Damien had headed into the house, leaving the two of them out here alone.
"Are you making fun of me? Do you really like me or is this some kind of sick joke?" She whispered letting the cool breeze carry the heaviness of her words.
"What do you mean?" He asked seriously. "Of course I like you, what's not to like?"
Hanna didn't know why his admission made her feel like crying. All these years of living in other people's shadows and hearing others make fun of her weight had shut her off from thoughts of a boy ever liking her.
She didn't even know how to deal with it.
Edward's dark brown eyes were dark under the waning sunlight, he looked so sincere it made her chest feel heavy.
She turned around before he could see her watery eyes and then she marched away from the boy. Leaving the the unanswered questions to linger in the silence between them.
A/N: This chapter was mostly about Hanna and the new star of the show, Edward lol. Next we will be back to Lola's hehe. Anyone interested in Nalini's story or maybe Eva's. Let me know who interests you the most for now below :) :) Also thanks for reading. It makes my day/life when I see your votes and comments :)