Page 38

Hannah was stalling.

It was 8:55 A.M. and she was standing outside the main entrance to the building where her 9 A.M. class was about to start. But it was such a gorgeous morning, with the sun shining and the cool breeze stoking goosebumps on her skin, that she didn’t feel like going into a drab classroom just yet.

“Aren’t you worried that you’re going to be late?” a familiar voice asked from behind her.

She turned around to find Dallas Henry standing there. Unlike at the café yesterday, when he wore that goofy ensemble of a collared shirt and slacks, he was back to dressing normally this morning. He had on jeans and a t-shirt that read “Don’t F#*k with Mr. Zero.”

“I know that line,” she said with a laugh, pointing at the shirt.

“You do?” Dallas said, looking surprised. “Where from?”

“It’s from the movie When Harry Met Sally… ” she said. “You didn’t know that?”

“No,” he admitted. “I just found it in a thrift shop and thought it was funny. How do you know that movie? Isn’t it super old?”

“Yeah,” she said, “but my older sister loves it. And she’s made me watch it so many times that now I love it too.”

“Hmm,” Dallas said, “maybe I should check it out to find out what all the fuss is about.”

“You should,” she told him. “It’s got some interesting ideas.”

"Sounds intriguing," he said, "and I'd love to hear about them, but don't you think we should head into class? I don't want to get in trouble."

“Afraid of a little trouble, are you?” she teased, not sure what had come over her. Maybe now that she’d researched the guy and found that he had a clean record, she felt more comfortable engaging with him.

“Wow,” he said, taken aback. “Are you flirting with me, or are you just overcaffeinated?”

“Speaking of caffeine,” she said, dodging his question, “do you remember how you asked me yesterday about getting coffee?”

“I do,” he said. “If I remember correctly, you said you needed some ‘Hannah’ time.”

“Well,” she replied. “I’ve had some time—.”

“It’s been like, 21 hours.”

“Do you really want to interrupt me right now?” she asked, pouting slightly.

“Sorry, go ahead.”

“I’ve been thinking that I might be willing to dip my toes back in the coffee waters,” she said, before realizing that the metaphor didn’t quite work. “Sorry, that was gross, but you get the point.”

“I absolutely do,” he said with an embarrassed grin before turning serious. “And I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think maybe we should hold off. I don’t want to be presumptuous but maybe you should take that Hannah time and figure out your situation.”

“Oh,” she said quietly.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said quickly. “I only say that because I don’t want you to be dipping your toes in the water and then I end up being the rebound pool. Lake? River? Oh god, that was worse than your coffee toes thing.”

“It really wasn’t,” she assured him, relieved that he wasn’t actually rejecting her and impressed at his unusually evolved attitude.

“That’s very kind of you to say,” he replied. “Maybe we could be school friends—.”

“Like Little House on the Prairie or something?” she teased.

“Now who’s interrupting?”

“Sorry,” she said, her cheeks reddening.

“I just mean, maybe we can be friends who have the same class and see how things go from there. What do you say?”

She side-eyed him for a second before relenting.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay,” he said back. “Now can we please get in there before the professor calls us out for coming in late.”

“Such a goody two shoes,” Hannah said as they started up the steps.

Dallas held the door open for her. She was about go in when she notice that her sneakers were untied.

“You go in,” she said. “I’ll catch up.”

"Okay, truant," he said jokingly and darted in.

She smiled to herself as she bent down to tie the shoe. As she did, she got a strange sensation, as if there were eyes on her. She looked up, scanning the quad. Then she saw him. Standing next to a pillar in the shadows of the building across the lawn was Finn Anderton.

He was staring at her with an expression she’d never seen before. It was more than a frown. It had twisted into something more intense. If she didn’t know better, she’d have called it anger.

Hannah wondered if maybe she should know better. She’d spent all this time making sure that Dallas Henry wasn’t some sicko that she needed to watch out for. But lately, she’d let down her guard with Finn.

She knew his record was clean too, but ever since she’d rebuffed his romantic interest, he’d seemed different. Jealous yes. But something more. He seemed edgy, volatile.

Suddenly, Finn turned and darted into the building. As the door closed behind him, she couldn’t help but wonder if she should be worried about him.

Or even afraid of him.