Alan's Point of View
I looked down at my lap, where the still steaming coffee cup sat clenched in my hands. I wasn't particularly a fan of coffee, but Eric had insisted on buying one for me. Flipping my bangs out of my face, I looked over to Eric sitting next to me. He took another sip of his coffee as he anxiously tapped his foot up and down on the floor. He looked over at me and gave me a small smile. "Thanks for coming all the way here with me," he said, patting my back.
"No problem," I replied, shifting slightly in my seat. I looked down at Eric's feet, eyeing the duffel bag by his feet. I tried not to think about it very much, just the thought of him leaving was enough to make me upset. It wasn't going to be for very long, but still. He would be gone. "So, coming you're coming back on the seventeenth?" I asked, clarifying the date he would return.
"Yep," he said with a nod, "do you think you could pick me up around six thirty then?" Eric asked with a wide smile. He sat his now-empty coffee cup down, the caffeine making him slightly jumpy in his seat.
I opened my mouth to reply, but was unintentionally interrupted by a flight attendant on the loudspeaker. "Flight 217 is now boarding, flight 217."
Eric looked over to me, and his face was practically spilling over with excitement. He shot up from his seat, pulling out his bag from underneath him. I stood up slowly after him, smoothing out my jeans. "Well, that's me!" Eric exclaimed, trying to suppress a squeal - as unlike him as that was. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into the classic 'bro hug'. "I'll see you in a couple days, Alan."
"Yeah, I'll see you then," I said, leaning into his hug with a smile, "have fun with Remi." I felt a little piece of my heart chip away as the words left my mouth. I had to support him and his love for Remi. I know I was acting extremely jealous, but I wished that love was for me instead.
Eric let go of the huge, still beaming. I forced a smile for his sake and shot a thumbs up. He spun on his heels, walking towards the line of people waiting to board the plane. I waved over at him and he waved back. Knowing that would be our goodbye, I turned on my heel and left the airport.
I found Eric's car after a few minutes if aimlessly walking around in the parking lot. I pulled the keys to his truck, which he had given to me earlier, out of my pocket. I unlocked the car and hopped into the driver's seat. I sighed, pushing the key into the ignition. I drove out of the parking lot and back onto the road that led home.
On the drive back to Eric and I's cramped apartment, my mind began to wander off. Remi and Eric had started dating back in September, and now they were getting ready to go on six months. Six months was pretty special for Eric, often times he couldn't keep a girlfriend for a couple of weeks. Now, to keep their relationship going, Eric was going to visit her at her college over Valentine's Day. Meanwhile, the only thing I could worry about was whether or not she'd stay true to her promise.
I sighed and shook my head. I twisted the wheel and pulled over to the side of the road, turning the truck's engine off. I covered my face with my hands, shaking my head and letting out a little groan. I threw my head back to face the ceiling. I needed something to do to get my mind off of Eric.
I thought about calling up Ronald first, but then I presumed that he was out with Ashlyn. It was Valentine's Day, after all. That meant that Grell would be out with Sebastian, too. Both of those options were eliminated. From what Ronald had told me, William's mom had been keeping him on a tight leash, and even after his grounding was dismissed. I shook my head and pursed my lip. "Another lonely Valentine's Day for Alan, I guess," I mumbled under my breath as I started the truck again.
I drove around town for a couple minutes, not really paying attention to where I was going. Eventually, I found myself driving though lanes of parked cars in the lot next to the mall. I stopped drive for a moment and peered up at the mall. I nodded a little, turning the truck to go park. Maybe a day alone was just what I needed.
Pushing one of the glass doors that led to the mall open, I walked inside. I looked around for a moment and realized that I had entered through the food court. I smiled, remembering when I came here to go Christmas shopping with Ronald and William. That was when I got Eric-
I shook my head and facepalmed myself. "No," I growled, scolding myself under my breath, "you're not going to think about Eric right now," I took a deep breath and recollected myself before walking up to the smoothie stand. After I had gotten myself a drink, I sat down at one of the open tables. It wasn't until then that I noticed who else was here.
She wore a faded black t-shirt with the logo of some heavy metal band on it. Her pale purple jeans were completely ripped up with a chain dangling from her belt loop. She tapped her buckled-up boots up and down, most likely to the beat of whatever she was listening to through her headphones. Her pastel violet hair was braided and flipped over her shoulder, her blue eyes averted down at her phone.
Hannah Anafeloz.
It was a long shot, knowing what little I did about her, she'd be reluctant to hang out with me, let alone even talk to me. But hanging out with Hannah was exactly what I needed to get my mind off of Eric. Once I had finished my smoothie, I threw away them empty cup and approached her. "Hey, Hannah," I said with a nervous laugh and a small wave.
No response from Hannah. She simply sat there, fingers tapping away at her phone. Her foot tapping pattern changed, making me presume that a new song was on. I knocked on the table, trying to get her attention. "Hannah," I repeated.
Still nothing. Growing impatient, I tugged one of her headphones out. "Hannah!" I repeated.
"What?!" she snapped, turning to face me with a scowl on her face. That's when I noticed her black eye.
"Whoa," I marveled, "what happened... There?" I asked, trying my hardest not to gawk. She was obviously already in a bad mood, now that I had disturbed her, and I didn't want to make it worse.
Hannah sighed, flipping her braid over her shoulder and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "My bipolar psychopath cousin happened, that's what. I swear, Alois needs to be put in a mental asylum. Spoiled little brat," she sighed and shook her head, tapping her phone a few times to pause her music and pull out her other headphone. "So, what brings you here, Humphries?"
"Well, er, Eric's out of town for the weekend and, I, uh," I stuttered. I mentally scolded myself for thinking of Eric again. Then, something went off in my head. I'm not sure if it was one of those inspirational light bulbs or an epiphany, but I instantly knew what to do. Maybe I'd be able to catch Eric's attention if I was with a sketchy girl like Hannah. I grabbed Hannah by her wrists, making her eyes go wide. "Hannah," I paused, "will you go out with me?"
Hannah sat shocked for a moment. She clawed at my fingers with her sharp black nails, causing me tell and release her grip. Looking down at her lap, she began to chuckle. Soon, she threw her head back, gasping for breath between every session of hysterical laughter, pointing at me and laughing in my face. Regaining her self control, Hannah took a deep breath and turned back to me. "What on earth would every make you think that I'd wanna go out with you?"
Shocked, I stepped back a few steps. I honestly didn't care about dating her, but I was a bit offended. Trying not to let my embarrassment come over me and blush, I looked away from her. "I just wanna get Eric's attention. I don't think I could get it any other way than-"
"I get it," Hannah chuckled again, shaking her head. She tucked another strand of hair behind her ear. Swinging her legs around her and swiveling in her chair, she kicked her feet up on top of the table she sat at. She turned over to me with a questionable smirk on her face. "It's a social experiment."
"Well, er, I guess you could call it that," I said, running a hand through my hair. Shoving my other hand into my pocket, I glanced over at Hannah. "So, will you?"
"Why not? It'd give me a couple good laughs, it'd be interesting. Spice up the regular old life," she smiled again, looking away from me, "besides, I've never dated a Goody-Goody like you."
"Um, thanks?" I asked, not sure if I should have been offended or flattered. I walked up to the seat next to her and pulled it out. Hannah peeked over at me, and I gestured to the chair, silently asking if I could sit next to her. She nodded slightly, giving me the Hannah approval. I sat down next to her, glancing over at her awkwardly every so often. She was back on her phone, furiously texting away.
After a couple minutes of extremely awkward silence between us, Hannah chuckled. She poked me, grabbing me attention. "Just so you know, Little Red's gonna be upset these next couple weeks.
I furrowed my brows together, eyeing her suspiciously. "You mean Grell? What happened?"
She chuckled again and shook her head. Hannah tossed me her phone, and I barely caught it between my hands. "Read for yourself," she answered.
Nervous, I cautiously looked at the text conversation displayed on her phone. "Well, Grell finally caught onto me," I read aloud, my eyes growing wider with each word, "Claude was our waiter and it much have been obvious. I tried to let her down gently, just telling her we should see other people. She took it really hard and stormed out. Felt kinda bad about it, she was heartbroken. But it had to happen sometime. Officially a one man guy now," I glanced up at Hannah and she simply nodded. I looked back down at her phone, shaking my head in disbelief. "No way."
That jerk-wad had really done it! I mean, I saw it coming, but on Valentines Day?! Nobody should be that heartless! I grabbed my cell phone out to text Eric about Grell. "Darn it!" I hissed, slamming my phone against the table in frustration. Hannah glanced over at me for a moment, before shrugging and popping her headphones back in, the dark music once again blaring through them. I sighed, facepalming myself for being so forgetful. Eric was on a plane, and as far as I was aware, there was no cell service on airplanes. I shook my head and opted to message Remi about it instead.
From: Alan
To: Remi
Subject: EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!!
THAT BISCUIT HEAD (AKA Sebastian, who is obviously two-timing with Faustus) BROKE UP WITH GRELL! Eric is currently on the plane over. Let him know about this as soon as he arrives. Have him call me so I can discuss this more with him when I have details. From what I hear, it was really brutal.
P.S. Don't forget the promise.
-Oli