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"I thought I was strong, thought I was made of stone, but suddenly the lonely hit. You think you know the part you play until somebody goes and rewrites the script. It felt like falling, but it's funny 'cause I never touched the ground again"

~ Wild Blue (Wild Blue, Part I)

HANNAH

I threw up.

As soon as I got home, I ran to the bathroom and let it all out. I was so confused by what I saw, yet so sure at the same time. Everything felt muddled and I didn't know how to make sense of it. I fell on the floor hanging on to the bathtub as I coughed to try and clear my throat.

I was trying to breathe slowly to calm my body when my phone dinged. I was sitting on the bathroom floor, waiting for my body to react to those images in my head once again. When nothing came, I groaned, turning to see who'd texted.

Hey, I'm gonna (don't yell at me!) spend the night with Garrett. Don't wait up, love you!

I sniffed, letting out another cough to clear my throat. I thanked Garrett silently for taking Chloe out tonight. I was such a mess right now and I knew she would interrogate me for answers if she saw me. I wasn't ready for that.

She had let me know she was leaving with Garrett moments after I left his room. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't even give her my mace. Even now, my mind was so full of confused and alarmed thoughts that I couldn't focus on anything substantive.

Instead, I forced myself to get up then brush my teeth and take a shower. I guess I thought maybe the water would help wash the horror of tonight away. I don't know.

I don't think it helped.

When the shower didn't work, I brought my laptop and notes out to the living room. I reheated my coffee from earlier and sat back down on the couch. I put on some random TV channel for background noise, trying to immerse myself in my schoolwork for tomorrow.

I fought and fought my own thoughts, dragging them away from the topic of tonight. I studied for hours, forcing myself to focus and hone in on memorizing even the smallest and low yield details.

Around midnight, though, my caffeine high dropped. I could no longer keep up the facade of forcing myself to ignore what happened tonight.

Images of what I saw flashed into my mind, confusion taking over. I mean, I know what I saw.

It should be simple. Right?

A groan escaped me as I pushed my fingers through my hair.

Maybe I should check if he's alright. I said I would anyway, so what's the harm, right?

Right.

Nodding to myself, I took in a deep breath. I found his number and shot him a text before I could overthink my decision.

Hey. This is the girl who checked on you earlier. How are you feeling?

It took about a minute for him to start typing.

I'm doing good, thank you for checking on me.

Instantly, the breath I was holding left me.

Feeling a lot better?

I wouldn't say a lot, but enough to try falling asleep.

Alright, then, that sounds great. I'll keep my promise from earlier and won't text you. I'm glad you're okay.

He started typing almost immediately. He typed for long enough for me to expect a paragraph. I couldn't guess what the content would be for the life of me.

Then the three dots vanished for a little while.

Seconds later, they returned.

Okay. Again, thank you.

I blinked. Did he type for that long just to send this?

No, he must have deleted what he wanted to say. My eyebrows furrowed at the thought.

Instead of typing out a response, I just liked his text and locked my phone. If he didn't want to send his text, he must have had a good reason.

And honestly, I'm still too shocked over what happened to be able to carry out a conversation.

***

That exam was brutal.

I was unable to gauge how I did on it, which made me too uneasy for my liking.

I left my seat after looking over my test almost three times. I refused to change any of my initial answers unless I was sure of my new answer. Yeah, I'd been burned by changing my initial answers way too many times to make that mistake again.

After handing my exam to the professor, I grabbed my bag and water bottle before heading out of the classroom. It was around ten in the morning, but I hadn't had a full breakfast. So, I headed over to the cafeteria to grab something rather than going back home before my other classes.

Luckily the cafeteria wasn't too busy. I always tried to avoid the mess it becomes during lunch. After retrieving my cheeseburger order, I went over to the salad bar. I let out a soft groan when I saw the grape tomato container empty.

"You know, cherry tomatoes are good, too," a familiar voice said from next to me.

I startled, whipping my head up to catch who it was. My breath almost got stuck in my throat when I caught his eyes. "Matthew?"

He smiled gently. "Hey."

I opened my mouth to say something elaborate, but cut myself short. Rather, I settled for, "hey."

"I was getting lunch before heading to class but I saw you and I wanted to thank you in person." His genuine eyes stared at me, waiting for a response I didn't know how to give.

"It was no problem, don't worry about it," I mumbled, unable to look away. I had so much I wanted to say, so much I wanted to ask, but none of it seemed appropriate.

He watched me for a second, then a frown took over his lips, "I just realized I don't know your name."

"It's Hannah." My response was quick; I wanted that frown off of his face as soon as possible and I didn't know why.

"Hannah."

Nodding, I turned to put some of the cherry tomatoes on my salad. "I'm taking a chance on these, you better not disappoint."

That seemed to knock him out of his trance. "I never disappoint."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Absolutely."

"Are you gonna provide proof or just talk?"

He laughed. "You can come to the game on Friday and see for yourself."

Taken back, I arched my eyebrow. "What game?"

"The hockey game?" He almost looked offended. "Oh, don't tell me you don't know."

I almost laughed. "Wait, we have a hockey team?"

His eyes shined with disbelief, a small smile playing at his lips. "Are you fucking with me?"

I shook my head, serious. "No. I thought hockey was only in Canada. Plus, our football team losing five games in a row has rendered me passive to school sports."

Muffled laughter escaped him, but I could tell he was trying to hide it. "I'm guessing you're not into sports?"

"I tolerate sports, barely."

He nodded firmly. "Good, because you're coming on Friday."

I narrowed my eyes. "Oh really?"

He grinned. "Yeah. I'll get you tickets."

"Wait, you're being serious, aren't you?"

"Of course. I'll meet you there."

I shook my head, watching him with curious eyes. "I don't go to games. Plus, I don't even understand hockey."

He shrugged. "Well, that's too bad. You're coming to this one. And I'm sure you'll catch on quick."

I chuckled. "Alright fine." I pushed my hair behind my ear. "I don't even know who the players are. What if they suck? Am I supposed to cheer even if they do suck in the name of school spirit?"

"They don't suck and yes you're supposed to cheer," he replied, watching me finish preparing my salad.

I looked back at him. "What are you, their manager?"

"No," he smiled coyly, "I'm their captain."

I almost sputtered out a nonsensical response before catching myself. "Captain? Of the hockey team?"

"Yeah, why are you saying it like it's so hard to believe?"

"I just found out we have a hockey team. You being the captain is just another surprise. Give my brain a minute."

"Okay," he said, "one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi-"

"-What are you doing?"

"Giving your brain a minute to catch up."

"And you're counting with Mississippi-es?" I laughed.

"You want me to count Mississippi-lessely?"

This time, I laughed out loud, unable to contain it. "Okay, Ross Geller."

He smiled. "So, you'll come then?"

I studied him for a second, recognizing the hope in his eyes. I realized I couldn't say no even if I tried. "Yeah. I can meet you there...wait how will I get the tickets?"

"Well, let's see we do have three to four days until Friday so if we put our minds together, we might be able to come up with a plan."

I deadpanned him. "Are you always a jackass?"

He chuckled. "It's called sarcasm."

"Being a jackass is sarcasm? I must've missed the definition change."

He shook his head at me, fighting a grin. "I can bring it to you later today or tomorrow."

"Does it come with your sarcasm?"

"Of course, it'll be free of charge."

"Oh great." Out of habit, I took out my phone to check the time. My eyes almost bulged out when I realized how long we've been talking. "My next class is in 10 minutes, so I should probably go."

He laughed. "Come on, I can walk you to your class."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, come on."

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