The Apocalypse (47 page)

Isaac closed his eyes, smiling more. "Yeah… She's pretty awesome, Jake."

It was pretty ironic, really. Isaac was the little nerd that Jake had helped get involved at school, and Jake was one of the more well-known students—class president even. Yet little Isaac's love life was blossoming brighter than Jake's.

Rapidly, Isaac's eyes popped open. "I have
a
confession to make."

Almost amused and thinking Isaac would say something relating to romancing with Avalon, Jake nodded eagerly. "Sure, dude. Confess away."

"I've been home for awhile." Isaac propped himself up on his elbow and stared down at Jake on the floor. "You and Hannah were too busy talking to hear the door open, so I just let you keep on going."

"You were eavesdropping?" Jake asked flatly.

Grinning, Isaac shrugged nonchalantly. "If you want to call it that," he conceded. "I thought it'd be too impolite to just interrupt you when there was so much stuff you guys had to talk about."

"You're unbelievable." Jake shook his head sadly and leaned back on his elbows, stretching his legs out. "So. Lecture me. Tell me how to fix things. Tell me what a prick I am. I'm ready for it."

"Hmmm." Isaac rubbed at his blond hair thoughtfully and then let his hand drop to the couch. "You've really got a thing for my sister?"

Jake inhaled slowly. "Yes."

That cracked Isaac up. He buried his face in the cushions of the couch, his whole body convulsing with shaking laughter. Jake had flinched at the sudden burst of laughing, but now he just stared at Isaac, thinking the kid had surely fallen off the deep end or something.

"That's the most hilarious thing I've ever heard," Isaac finally managed to gasp out. Literal tears had formed in his eyes from laughing so hard. "Jake and Hannah. Allen and Ayers. Jake Allen and Hannah Ayers." Isaac proceeded to laugh even
harder
. "Wait till this one gets out—who would've predicted this?"

Jake rolled his eyes. He hadn't really thought about what people would say if he and Hannah did end up getting together. He knew that most of his peers were used to them fighting in the hallways and hearing of their latest streaks of insults, but he supposed that he and Hannah would create a bit of gossip if anything came of their feelings for each other. Of course, Jake had no way of knowing what was going to happen between them.

"Can you give me a warning before you tell Mom and Di?" Isaac asked, suddenly looking somber. "You know, they're going to freak out so hardcore and gush over you two for at least a few months. I want to plan a trip to, basically, anywhere to avoid that."

Ignoring the fact that Isaac made a very good point indeed, Jake smirked at the younger boy. "Okay. But you don't get a warning when I tell Mom and Patricia that you've gone and got yourself a girlfriend." Jake laughed. "That'll keep them gushing for a few more months."

Isaac scowled. "You can't do that. It'd take away the limelight from you and Hannah because I'm the baby and all."

Jake grinned widely. "I know."

Groaning, Isaac lifted himself off the couch. "I've got to go study for my chemistry test," he announced, frowning. "My nerves need a break from you and your threats."

"Yeah, and chemistry is a sure way of calming your nerves."

"It calms
me
down." Isaac shrugged, looking a little cocky. "It's a smart kid thing. You wouldn't understand."

Jake made a face while he watched Isaac go into the dining room. He figured that realistically the kid would probably go text or call Avalon; it's what Jake would have done when he had his first girlfriend. Now, though, he couldn't even get a girlfriend—not the one he wanted anyway.

A look at the clock told Jake that it wasn't yet nine o'clock. It was still early, definitely early enough to go check on Hannah. He wasn't sure why he wanted to, but he thought maybe the brief amount of time that she'd spent upstairs would have cleared her head enough for her to know where they stood. At the very least, Jake could maybe have
a
cordial conversation with her.

Hell, he'd settle for sitting in the same room with her without fighting.

Once upstairs, Jake lightly tapped on Hannah's door. "It's open," she called after a momentary pause. He opened the door slowly and peered in; he wasn't sure if Hannah considered the door open to
him
, after all. When Jake's eyes adjusted to the darkness of Hannah's bedroom, he saw that she was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She glanced over at him. "Hey."

"Hey," Jake returned, going in and closing the door behind him. He felt sort of nervous. Cautiously, Jake sat down on her bed. "Finished your homework?"

Hannah rolled on her side so that she was facing Jake, so he lied down, facing her as well. "Honestly? Earlier, yeah," she said, giving him a small, sheepish smile. "You're still here?"

"I was talking to Isaac."

"Oh."

Jake studied Hannah, not able to read her expression well at all in the darkness. He could see that her eyes, opened wide, had resumed staring at the ceiling. At that moment, he would have given just about anything to know what she was thinking. But Jake wasn't a mind reader, and he didn't have the gall to ask Hannah what was on her mind.

Instead, he tried a different approach, commenting lightly, "Isaac's got a girlfriend. Did you know that?"

"Mmhmm." Hannah's eyes flicked from the ceiling to Jake's face. "I heard she's nice. Tisha and I are going to stalk her soon, just to make sure."

Pleased by the friendly conversation, Jake smiled. "That's illegal, I think. But I'm impressed."

"Thanks. I figured you would be."

Jake's smile widened. If he hadn't acted on impulse and had instead contemplated how awkward things could have been with Hannah, Jake would have felt foolish, since he was decently comfortable. There wasn't much awkwardness at all, despite the tension that had been between them earlier.

"You do tend to encourage illegal acts."

Laughing a little, Jake looked at Hannah more than a little bit curiously. "What are you talking about?"

"Indecent exposure." Hannah raised her eyebrows. "Under the guise of playing hide and go seek. That's pretty illegal, I think."

"Uh-huh…" Jake grinned. "You seem a little fascinated with that game. Want to confess to any dirty thoughts you've been having about me?"

"Not particularly."

Jake shook his head, laughing softer. "That's okay." He flicked Hannah's forearm with his finger gently. "Don't get so bent out of shape. I've already promised to include you in the next round, if there ever is one."

Making a face, Hannah flicked Jake's shoulder in return. "I want to know which sluts you were playing with. That's pretty intense play…I don't know why that never surfaced in the high school gossip. Were you all drunk or something?"

"Mm, some probably were." Jake was highly entertained by Hannah's interest in his endeavors. He hadn't expected that interest at all. He sighed slowly, saying, "Really, I don't remember everyone who was involved. Me, Brent, Ethan, Kirk, Anthony, Jason… Mercedes, Molly, Natalia, Stephanie…" He rubbed his cheek thoughtfully. "For some reason, I think Libby was there."

Hannah snorted. "That doesn't surprise me at all."

Grinning, Jake elbowed Hannah's side tenderly. "It just makes you more jealous, doesn't it?"

Laughing, Hannah smacked at Jake's chest. "Shut up. I'm pissed that she didn't
tell
me about it. That would have been such great dirt on you!"

"I'm pretty sure she was wasted out of her mind," Jake explained easily, catching Hannah's wrist before she could pull it away from his chest.

"That doesn't surprise me either," Hannah admitted, seemingly torn between amusement and bitterness. Jake watched Hannah watch their hands together. "She's a skanky drunk. She's skanky sober too though."

"I'm not going to defend her there."

Jake's fingers interlocked with Hannah's, and they lied on her bed in silence. It was on the tip of Jake's tongue to ask her what was going on between them, but he was afraid of ruining the cordiality that they had going for them. He'd rather just enjoy the moment he had with her now, rather than pressure her for knowledge about what they were or what they were going to be. Truth be told, Jake suspected that Hannah was still as clueless as he was.

The moments passed slowly, or so Jake thought, and he was perfectly content listening to Hannah's breathing, her slow inhaling and steady exhaling. It was soothing, comforting, and he reveled in being able to just kick back with her.

"Jake!"

Isaac's hiss was quiet, but it managed to pull Jake out of his deep sleep. His eyes opened slowly, and he recognized pressure on his chest, realizing that Hannah was using him as a pillow. Astonishment hit him when the clock informed him that it was nearly three o'clock in the morning.

"Jake!" Isaac hissed again, this time gripping Jake's shoulder and giving him a firm jerk. Hannah stirred, but Jake's reflexes led him to rub her shoulder soothingly. "You'd better get out of this room! Di's worried about you, and she just called Mom because you didn't answer your phone!"

That rocked Jake. Of course his mother would have noticed that he wasn't at home when she got in from work, and, of course, she would have called him, though Jake had no idea where he'd left his cell phone—probably at home. He cringed with guilt when he thought about how anxious his mother probably was, especially considering that Jake was never out late on school nights—partially for the reason that he didn't want to worry his mother.

Though Jake tried to ease away from Hannah gently, she woke up, rubbing her eyes blearily. She looked as perplexed as Jake had felt only seconds ago. "What's wrong?" she murmured, clearly still half asleep.

In that instant, Ethan's advice to Jake hit him hard. Still acting on impulse, Jake leaned in and kissed Hannah lingeringly. After
a
moment, he felt her lips react against his passionately. Jake's hand slipped to Hannah's waist as he deepened the kiss.

"Jake!"

Isaac's voice was frantic and caused Jake to pull away, much to his displeasure. He rolled off Hannah's bed quickly, already forming an alibi about being with Isaac and falling asleep. There was plenty of motivation that he had for preventing his mother and Patricia of finding out anything about him and Hannah just yet.

Just before he left Hannah's room in a hurry though, Jake glanced back. Hannah smiled at him, looking like she really meant her smile, and he returned it eagerly. That had to be a good sign.

"That little girl has got ADD worse than anyone else I've ever met before," Tisha remarked to Hannah. "That's a trait I never thought Isaac would like in a girl."

Hannah's mouth turned up almost into a smile as she and Tisha stalked Avalon Edwards in the Fairfield Commons mall. Tisha was growing annoyed because every time she thought she'd have time to try on clothes before Avalon left a nearby store, Avalon abruptly left the store she was in, and so Hannah and Tisha would have to trek after her. It had already happened four times.