by Jack Parker
Jake reacted with disbelief masked with sarcasm. "Uh-huh."
"We were looking at picture albums last night, okay? Mom, Hannah, and me." Isaac's gaze was intensely settled out the window. "Han asked a lot of questions, obviously, but when she recognized you in one, she got more into it and asked even more questions. And the crazy thing is…I think she remembers some of the stuff. She got this far-off, dreamy look on her face when Mom was talking to her."
"Kind of like the far-off dreamy look she gets when someone tries to explain something to her?"
"I hate you sometimes," Isaac sighed, shaking his head; apparently he'd caught the sarcastic inflections in Jake's question. He ran a hand over his blond hair and sighed deeper, seeming torn about something. "But I've got a favor to ask of you anyway."
Dread filled Jake. "A favor," he repeated, his eyebrows raised cynically. His truck was nearing the street that he and Isaac lived on, so if he could just make it a little farther… "What kind of favor?
"Come hang out with me and Hannah tomorrow. I figure we can walk over to the park." Isaac shrugged and kept his gaze out the window. "It'll be cold, but…you know. And having you there would make Hannah more relaxed."
"You're her brother," Jake replied as he maneuvered his car toward his driveway. "I think you can handle her by yourself."
Nose wrinkling, Isaac turned to look at Jake pleadingly. "Please? Come on, it won't kill you. I don't…I don't know what to say to her all the time. She likes talking to you. You'll keep things more natural."
Jake thought about this, personally believing that Isaac must have inhaled paint fumes or something if he believed that load of crap. But he'd said 'please,' and Jake had a hard time saying no to a friend, especially when he didn't have any better plans. Since he'd only worked at Häagen-Dazs during the summer and could only spend so much time indoors, he didn't really have a better option. His mom would be working, and considering that Jake spent a good percentage of his weekends with Isaac anyway, it made sense for Jake to go, even if Hannah would be there. Besides, he couldn't remember the last time he cruised through the neighborhood to the park.
"Say yes, Jake." Isaac's blue eyes were rounder than round and wider than wide. "Come on…"
As he parked, Jake shrugged. "Sure. Why not."
Still on a high from the victory of his basketball team the previous night, Jake knocked on the Ayers's front door, something he hadn't done…ever. So he let himself in and was met with Patricia's friendly smile and warm, "Hello, Jake."
He smiled back. "Hey. Where's Isaac?"
Patricia rolled her blue eyes. "He was still in bed twenty minutes ago." Jake looked at his watch incredulously, seeing that the time read 11:26. Sleeping till then was crazy to him, but Isaac was not a morning person. "You can go wake him, if you want, but it's at your own risk. Hannah's waiting for you in the kitchen. Do you want me to go get her?"
Jake blinked. "What?"
But Patricia didn't have to repeat the question, for Hannah appeared, smiling slightly. "There she is," Patricia announced, stating the very obvious. She looked back at Jake. "Come on back here later, Jake, and I'll have hot chocolate ready. It's freezing out there. You'll both be sick."
Still confused, Jake nodded ever so slightly and opened his mouth to question just what was going on. But then it dawned on him. Isaac had set him up. For what, Jake wasn't sure, but he could tell. Hannah was dressed in jeans and a blue and green American Eagle hooded sweatshirt, obviously prepared for the cold, and yet Isaac was nowhere to be found. It didn't take a genius to see that Isaac intended for Jake and Hannah to spend the day together, and Jake cursed himself for not thinking ahead.
"Ready?"
Hannah's tone was bright, and she made her way to the door. No, Jake wasn't ready, but he couldn't think of an excuse to get out of going, so he followed her and closed the door behind him.
"Wow, it really is freezing," Hannah remarked as she and Jake walked down the steps and moved to the sidewalk. She paused, and Jake pointed in the direction that led to the end of their street. Following his guidance, Hannah laughed rather nervously. "I need a map. It sucks."
Jake lifted a corner of his mouth almost into a half smile and shoved his hands into the pocket of his own hooded sweatshirt. "You'll get used to it," he replied, not even sounding convincing to himself. It wasn't that he wasn't convinced, however; it was just that he didn't particularly care for reassuring her.
Frowning, Hannah turned to look at him. "Didn't we talk about this, Jake? No pity." She skipped ahead merrily, laughing a laugh that Jake had never heard. "Oh, I'm so glad we're going somewhere that's not school! I haven't been anywhere else, really."
Walking to the end of their street, Jake turned around a curb. Figuring he might as well try to be interested in something she was saying, Jake asked, "Did you have fun at the game last night?"
He saw her nose wrinkle. "Not exactly," Hannah answered, looking around at the houses. "I mean, the game itself was okay, I guess, but…there were so many people there. They got on my nerves."
Pondering this, Jake decided to ask another question—one that he'd been wondering. "Why don't you spend much time with your friends? You used to be with them all the time."
Hannah didn't answer, and Jake didn't press her; he didn't care that much. Instead, he kept walking down the street. If she didn't want to talk, that was fine with him. In fact, it was a feeling that they could share. Jake did risk a glance at her though. Hannah's strawberry blonde hair was blowing in the light breeze, and her blue eyes were full of thought, as was her expression. If Jake wasn't biased, he might have said that the expression suited her, but Jake was biased. He didn't think Hannah was ugly or anything, but she wasn't gorgeous either, not even with an expression that kept her mouth shut.
About two minutes later, Jake and Hannah reached another corner, but this time, Jake reached over and caught Hannah's wrist. "We cross the street here," he informed her, dropping her wrist as quickly as he'd grabbed it and starting across the street. Hannah was at his side immediately. "It's not too much farther either."
Hannah remained silent, and Jake was beginning to worry about how awkward this outing was going to be. As they continued the short trek to the next block, Jake and Hannah crossed the street again, and the park was in plain view. Jake gazed at Helke Park and remembered walking there when he was younger.
"We used to come here every Fourth of July," Jake said suddenly, glancing at Hannah for just a second. "My family and yours. There were fireworks, and the whole park would be crowded with people who came to watch them."
Seeming to study the park a little harder, Hannah smiled. "Really. And what usually happened?" Jake almost froze, feeling as though she'd read his mind. "I mean, we didn't just watch fireworks, did we?"
"Nah. We chased each other with sparklers."
Hannah laughed but then sent Jake a funny look. "Sparklers?"
"Sure." Jake then realized that Hannah was questioning what they were, not asking for confirmation. "They're like…sticks. But when you catch them on fire, sparks and different colors shoot out. Like mini fireworks in your hand."
"I see."
Not sure if he believed her, Jake looked over to see Hannah smiling, and, sure enough, she did have a distant, spacey expression on her face, and all of Isaac's words came back to Jake. He'd have to pay attention today, just to see if Hannah liked him as much as Isaac believed she did. Jake had no way of knowing what Hannah was like without him around, but he could definitely say that there were issues between her and her friends. Those issues didn't seem to exist between him and her though, which was hard for Jake to fathom.
Jake led Hannah around the park, walking slowly, in pretty comfortable silence. At every chance he had, Jake glanced at Hannah, curious to see if the 'crush' that Isaac spoke of was there. Instead, he just saw her in relaxation. Growing doubtful of it, Jake scanned the opposite side of the park, thinking he recognized some guys playing tennis.
"My friends annoy me," Hannah
commented out of nowhere. Caught off guard, Jake turned and looked at her, only to see that she was looking back at him intensely. "Really annoy me. Tisha is so pushy and touchy and talkative, and-and Morgan is all right, I guess, but she seems so—like you said once—bossy. And don't get me started on Libby. Can she do anything but fight?"
Jake stared at Hannah through green eyes, not having a clue about what to say. "Well…" Hannah was looking at him expectantly, and Jake realized she actually cared what he said. So he shrugged. "I don't like them either. Libby's a bitch."
Seeming relieved, Hannah smiled. "I think so too."
Though Jake was a little confused, he was more impressed with himself for not insulting Hannah too. "But don't take my word for it," he surprised himself more by saying. "They're your friends. Ditch them now, and you might regret it later."
Hannah seemed to be considering this as they walked on, but Jake couldn't tell what she was thinking. He didn't have much experience processing thoughts of hers that weren't negative. Suddenly, Hannah's face lit up, taking Jake aback. She pointed across the way and asked, "What's that place? More of the park?"
Jake followed her finger across some fielded distance, and his forehead wrinkled. "No… That's our old elementary school."
"Can we go over there?" Hannah questioned, angling her head thoughtfully. Jake didn't see the appeal, but he shrugged anyway. He was rewarded with Hannah's grin, and suddenly she was sprinting in that direction. "Come on, Jake!" she yelled back at him. "Come on!"
Unsure, Jake watched her for a second but suddenly realized that he should probably go with her. So taking off at a run, Jake easily caught up with her and crossed the grass and the outfield of the baseball diamond to reach the playground of Helke Elementary. As they approached, both of them slowed, and Jake could hear Hannah catching her breath; the cold stung his own lungs.
Her face aglow, Hannah jogged over to a recreational structure, and Jake watched dubiously as she climbed an orange-painted, metal ladder to the top of the structure, where there was a slide and a metal pole for sliding. Instead of picking a way to go back to the ground, Hannah hopped down the side and went across the swinging bridge, clutching to the sides to keep her balance.
"What are you doing?" Jake asked, walking along beside her on the ground. His shoes crunched on the small white pebbles that covered the surrounding area.
"Trying to imagine playing on this before."
Jake easily moved up a few steps, bent down, and attempted crossing the monkey bars, but he was too tall to do it smoothly. "Oh," he replied, not sure what to say. He could feel Hannah's eyes on him as he traveled to a platform and began to swing on the chained monkey bars, which were higher from the ground. But they still weren't high enough, and his feet nearly grazed the surface. "Having any luck?"
"Not really," Hannah answered, and when Jake glanced back, he saw her looking around the area. She hopped off the structure, so he dropped from the monkey bars, and followed her toward the string of teeter-totters. "Tell me about it."
Considering this, Jake pointed back to the swinging bridge structure. "In the second grade, our entire grade used to pretend we were on the Titanic, and that whole thing was the ship. We had a captain and everything, and then we'd pretend to drown or freeze after abandoning ship."
Hannah was staring at Jake quizzically as they walked, and he then realized that she didn't understand, so he briefed her on the infamous sinking of the Titanic. She didn't appear to be amused, so he tried again, saying, "And when that got old, we'd play Jurassic Park. All these little stones were made of 'lava,' and we had to 'wear' lava shoes."
Still blank, Hannah shrugged and sat on one end of a teeter-totter. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She shrugged and added, "But I guess it's not too important."
Jake resisted the urge to throw something at her and instead seated himself on the opposite end of the teeter-totter Hannah had picked. "I guess not," he replied, kicking off from the ground. Hannah giggled and grinned, which was so pathetic to Jake that he had to smile. She was so easily amused that it made him want to laugh.
"Tell me more about being a kid."
Continuing the seesaw motion, Jake shrugged and studied Hannah. "I really don't know what to tell." A sudden thought hit him. "But I know you used to keep a diary. At least you did until you were about twelve." He grinned, forcing himself to appear sheepish. Secretly, however, he was pleased with himself; if Hannah still had that diary, it would spill the secret about them hating each other, and then he'd be off the hook of putting up with her. "I know because you decked me when you caught me and Isaac reading it."
Hannah laughed. "I didn't know that. Where'd you find it?"
Momentarily blank, Jake didn't answer, but then it came back to him. "It was in the most generic place in the world," he answered teasingly, rolling his eyes. "Between your mattress and box springs. But every time we looked for it again, we could never find it. Who knows if you even kept it after that."
"I bet I burned it," Hannah grinned broadly, revealing two neat rows of straight, white teeth. "It would have been a great way to deny whatever you read."
Although he had never thought of that before, Jake had to agree with her. "Knowing you, you probably did. You would have loved making sure that I could never see it again."
"I can't believe you read it!" Hannah made a face, though she was still obviously amused. "What kind of nosy jerk are you?"
Jake smirked. "Your favorite one."
"Oh, I'm sure." Hannah rolled her eyes, letting the sarcasm that Jake was familiar with roll off her tongue. Still, she didn't seem to be seriously angry. "If you're my favorite, there are obviously some slim pickings."
"Screw you!" Jake called in amusement. As the teeter-totter lowered on his side, Jake stood up abruptly so that, on the other side, the teeter-totter hit the ground under Hannah's weight, making a loud thud.
"Ouch! What did you do that for?" Hannah scowled and jumped up, rubbing her backside as though it would take the pain away quicker.
"Suck it up, baby."
Hannah's scowl deepened as she crossed her arms and kicked some pebbles in Jake's direction. "That really hurt!"
More amused, Jake almost smiled but kept his composure. "Stop being such a pansy. It didn't hurt that bad."
"It did so!" Hannah argued, walking toward him. She placed her hands on her slim hips and stared Jake down. He raised his eyebrows challengingly, and a smile began to show on Hannah's face. "Or maybe I've just got a really low pain tolerance."
Jake smirked. "I don't know about that. Your face is pretty painful to the eye, but you've put up with that pretty well for the last seventeen years, haven't you?"
Hannah's mouth dropped open, and she swatted her hands at Jake's torso rapidly. "Ha, ha, ha, Jake Allen. You're a real comedian."
"That's funny." Jake struggled to keep his smirk from turning into a grin and barely managed success. "Your diary said so too."
"Whatever," Hannah scoffed, her face heating up in a blush. Or at least Jake thought it was, although, to be fair, her cheeks could have been turning rosy from the cold and wind. She paused unexpectedly and inclined her head at Jake. "What'd my diary say? If it even existed."
Jake couldn't help but grin at the rebellious smirk that adorned Hannah's face. "It said that…that you were madly in love with the most hysterical, best looking, most intelligent specimen on Earth," Jake informed her, a cocky grin on his face. "And that would be me."
Laughing outright, Hannah rolled her eyes grandly. "I'm sure. Too bad there's no proof of that."
Unable to resist discovering any truth in Isaac's words, Jake tipped his head flirtatiously, widening his grin playfully. He was definitely going all out for this, moving completely into his flirty mode that had made so many girls fall for him throughout the years. "There's proof, Hannah. You're madly in love with me now. Why wouldn't you have been then?"
Hannah's arms stretched out and shoved Jake off his balance, nearly makin
g him fall onto the white pebbles. He would have if he hadn't caught her hands to steady himself. Laughing softly, Hannah made a face at him and tried to pull her hands away. "You're so full of yourself!"
"And you're freezing," Jake said sweetly, giving Hannah's hands a gentle squeeze. "Let's go take advantage of that hot chocolate your mom promised."
Hannah jerked her hands away and started for the sidewalk, even as she scoffed and tossed her strawberry blonde hair. "I'm not letting you take advantage of my mother's niceness! You're a mean, horrible person."
Following along behind her, Jake rolled his eyes. "That you love."
"Not as much as you love me."
"I love you more than a root canal, I'll give you that much."
"Hey!" Hannah cried, giving Jake's upper arm a smack. "I don't know what that is, but I can tell you were being mean, jerk."
Jake held his hands up innocently. "I absolutely was not being mean, Miss Hannah. That's my word of honor right there."
Grinning, Hannah settled one of Jake's arms over her shoulders, taking him by surprise. "You don't seem like a very honorable guy to me, but I'll believe you if you do the honorable thing and keep a lady warm."
Thoroughly convinced that Hannah did indeed have a crush on him and being very highly amused by it, Jake let his arm rest over Hannah's shoulders and endured the intense longing to mock her more seriously. Instead, Jake pulled her closer in a flirty manner. "Yes, milady."
Hannah reacted by briefly laying her head against Jake's shoulder, and one glance at it made Jake want to crack up. If someone had told him that Hannah would desire bodily contact with him two weeks before, he would have only believed the person if 'bodily contact' was code for 'bodily harm.' Now that Hannah was practically snuggling against him, Jake appreciated the bittersweet irony. He just wasn't sure what he was going to do now that he saw it.
Chapter 7
Super Shopper Savings
"For the love of God…"
Hannah sighed deeply and leaned back on her heels as she kneeled at her white dresser. She'd searched through every drawer in her bedroom, whether it be from her dresser, her chest, her bedside table, or her desk. Hannah had also rummaged through her closet—the floor, the wall of shelves, and the top rack above her hanging clothes. Her mattress had been raised so that Hannah's arm could slide around on top of the box springs, and she'd even searched her bookcase for any signs of her alleged diary, but there was nothing to be found.
