Several weeks have passed by since Hannah and Gavin's first kiss, and with mid-terms being just one week away, everyone in the school was feeling on edge and tense. Emily hadn't heard back from her best friend, so she was starting to get worried and anxious. Hannah wasn't telling her much of anything, more or less just avoiding her and spending all her free time with her boyfriend. She was trying her hardest not to get discouraged by all of this, but inside she felt as if she could break at any moment. We didn't come all this way for nothing, she thought to herself, suddenly getting angry. I deserve an explanation for this second round of isolation.
When lunch came around, Emily was able to spot the two lovebirds in the far, left hand corner of the cafeteria. For a moment she felt lost and vulnerable, just standing there out in the open with a tray full of food in her arms. She gathered up her courage though and marched up to where Hannah and Gavin were sitting.
Standing right in front of them with a very sly look on her face, Emily asked, "Excuse me Gavin, do you mind if I talk to Hannah in private for a minute? This won't take long."
"Go ahead," he said with a smile on his face. "We weren't talking about anything important anyways."
Hannah wasn't prepared for what Emily had to say and had no idea why she chose now to talk to her. But before she could protest, Emily went on with no hesitation, saying, "You have left no time for me. I'm your best friend! If this is how you're going to treat me from now on after all we've been through, then I guess this friendship is over. That is, unless you're willing to be reasonable now, but I highly doubt that."
"You're kidding, right?," Hannah asked, not bothering to hide her sudden annoyance. "You have no idea what I've been through! You left me without saying goodbye back in middle school, and now you're mad at me again because I'm not making time for you? I have depression, do you not remember that? Not everything is about you, Emily. You are so full of yourself. Just do me a favor and stay out of my life!"
Emily's face was turning hot red as she listened to her best friend say these things to her. Okay, fine, she thought to herself. You want to be that way towards me? I can serve it right back.
"You think I'M selfish? How about you listen to yourself for a change! Oh, I'm sorry that you have depression. Let me cater to your every need because you don't know how to cope with it. Some best friend I am for not being there for you when you were falling down into a black hole of sadness. How about you try working on your own attitude instead of blaming me for everything!"
Tears were threatening to show up on Hannah's face, so she bolted out of the cafeteria and locked herself in the janitor's closet. Gavin immediately chased after her, and Emily just stood there feeling nothing. Her anger got the best of her, but instead of regretting her words, she just stormed out of the big open room and didn't care to notice that all the students were staring at her.
Gavin was standing right outside the door of the closet, begging for Hannah to open up and let him in. To his surprise she actually did so, but then she slumped back to the corner of the room and started to sob. He stood there frozen for a few minutes, but then he rushed to her and put his arms around her. "Hannah, I'm so sorry," he said in earnest. "This is the last thing I wanted to happen. I didn't want to get in the way of your friendship with Emily. You need to make things right with her."
"She hurt my feelings and humiliated me in front on the entire school, Gavin," she said sheepishly, wiping away her tears along with her now runny mascara. "How can I forgive her for doing that?"
"One of you needs to be the bigger person," he responded. " I can say from experience that getting into fights isn't fun, but not clearing the air and staying mad will just make you two drift away even further. You two haven't talked to each other in months. I want you to be happy, Hannah, because you have done so much for me. If you hadn't approached me on the first day of school, none of this would have happened. I'd just be known as the scrawny nerd with no friends. Please, go talk to her."
Hannah didn't know how to respond to what her boyfriend had just said. Suddenly she felt like crying again. Her body tensed up, and she started to stutter. "I-I don't know. I thought that we could make things work, but you heard her. She's just.... She's just.... " Her words weren't coming together, and Gavin could see that she was hurting. "It's okay," he said as Hannah fell into his arms, sobbing again. "You're okay. Everything's going to be alright. I'm not going anywhere. I love you." Gavin never thought he would be put in this position, sitting on the floor of the janitor's closet and trying to comfort his girlfriend. In this moment he realized just how lucky he was, and this gave him more confidence in himself.
"I, I love you...," Hannah said through half sobs. Gavin held her tightly and kissed her wet cheek. Hannah then sighed and rested her head on his lap, trying to calm herself down. "You are so good to me, Gavin," she said. Hannah could feel a smile crawling up to her face despite how messy she looked. But instead of talking, she just sat there in the quiet with her boyfriend. She didn't want this moment to end, but reality came back into focus when the bell rang for 6th period.
"I should get to my class now," Hannah said in a rushed tone. "Thank you so much, Gavin." She kissed him on the lips and then hastily got back up onto her feet, sprinting to find Mr. Gregory's classroom. Now Gavin stood there in the closet alone. Eventually he made his way out of the closet and went to his next class, but he was too distracted to focus the rest of the day. He was so in love with Hannah. It was only a matter of time before he would find himself wanting more of her every day. As he thought this through, he realized just how much of a dent he put in Hannah and Emily's friendship. What if they never reconciled and just ended things on the spot? This argument they just had during lunch was definitely a sign. Guilt was starting to cloud Gavin's mind, but he decided to push it aside and think about his relationship with Hannah. He loves her and wants what's best for her. Perhaps instead of eliminating himself, he should try to get to know Emily better. That wouldn't be such a bad idea, right?
Friday has come and gone, and now the weekend is here. Hannah was with her grandmother picking out a Christmas tree while Emily just spent time up in her room avoiding her brother. The minute she told him about her problems with Hannah, he instantly took control and started yelling at her for being insensitive to her best friend's feelings. So now David is sitting in the corner of the room, panicking and rocking back and forth. Emily wouldn't dare try to calm her brother down since she was already feeling on edge. All she could think about is the fact that she's not handling the situation very well. What if David is right and she just needs to stop focusing on herself? She shook that thought out of her head and went back to what she thought was the original problem. Hannah doesn't trust her and it's all her fault. I can never forgive myself for messing this up, she thought to herself. Emily was thinking too hard, but she didn't know how to stop, so she just hid under the covers and cried herself to sleep.
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