The Apocalypse

by Jack Parker

  "Hannah? Ah! Hannah!"

  Rolling his eyes, Jake slumped back in his seat and watched as girls fawned over Hannah and guys waved and asked her how she was doing. Normally, Jake enjoyed first period because he could sit around and catch up with his friends for awhile, but on this particular day, Jake had never been so glad to get out of there.

  Of course, Hannah clung to his side when they exited the room, and Jake found himself wishing someone else would take her off his hands. "Shouldn't Tisha be your guide dog?" he asked grumpily as he spun the dial of his locker's combination. "You've got friends, believe it or not."

  Confusion shown on Hannah's face like sunshine on a summer day. "Why are you in such a bad mood today?"

  Jake sighed deeply. He might as well do what the rest of the world hadn't bothered to do: inform Hannah that she couldn't stand him and that he liked her even less. "I'm not in a bad mood. I just don't—"

  "Hannah!"

  Groaning, Jake looked over his shoulder and saw Tisha and Morgan approaching. Oh. So this was actually good. He could push Hannah off on someone else, and that someone else could waste breath talking to her. But when Jake glanced back to Hannah, he didn't see the happiness he expected. Instead, she seemed to have paled and was definitely mid-cringe.

  "Oh God, hide me," Hannah whispered softly, nearly pressing herself into her locker. "Get rid of them."

  Before Jake could mock her, Tisha was slinging her arms around Hannah. "I am so, so, so sorry about yesterday, Han," Tisha gushed. "I don't know what I was thinking. Are you feeling better?"

  In near amusement, Jake watched Hannah gape at Tisha with an expression so readable that even Jake noted without wasting a thought that she felt awkward.

  Finally, Hannah nodded faintly and fidgeted with her green sweater. "Yeah."

  For probably the first time ever, Tisha, Morgan, and Jake exchanged a glance that expressed a mutual feeling. Jake was the one to voice it. "That's all you have to say? No long, drawn-out discussion? You're done?"

  Hannah sent Jake a glance that he couldn't decipher and busied herself with her books. "Mmhmm." Closing her locker, Hannah looked directly at Jake. "Are you ready to show me where my next class is?"

  Sighing, Jake nodded and closed his own locker. It was then that he noticed identical shocked expressions on Morgan's and Tisha's faces. "Actually, Ayers, they could show you." He motioned toward the girls. "I bet they're—"

  "Isaac appointed you as my bodyguard," Hannah interrupted, her eyes going wide. "Your mom too. I'm holding you to that." Jake watched as she sent a little smile in the direction of her friends. "Besides, I wouldn't want to bother you guys."

  Tisha nibbled her lower lip nervously. "It's not bothersome, Han. You're my best friend. Of course I can show you."

  "Absolutely," Morgan agreed with a nod of her blonde head. Jake had never seen her look anything but composed, but here she was looking worried and a little perplexed. "Really, Hannah."

  Although he was undoubtedly more confused than Morgan, Jake just wanted to get to the senior lounge, as it was his free period, so he intervened in Hannah's favor, since she was typically the most stubborn girl he knew. "If you're walking with me, you better come on now. It's a long way."

  Hannah nodded. "Okay." Sparing a brief glance at the girls, Hannah smiled slightly and gave them a little wave. "I guess I'll see you guys later."

  Not waiting for the conversation to continue, Jake practically stomped down the hallway. So much for his idea that he could shove Hannah on her friends. Nope, she was going to be a leech, and Jake would probably never get rid of her—at least until she got her memory back. Man, it would be a sweet day when that happened.

  "Hey, Jake?"

  Halting at the end of his Biology AP class, Jake turned around and looked at Mercedes Jensen, his ex-girlfriend. He offered her a little smile and waited for her to fall into step with him; they both had lunch next, so she could say whatever on the way.

  Even with his rumbling stomach, Jake couldn't ignore Mercedes's beauty. She wasn't the most beautiful girl in the school or anything, but she had bouncy, shampoo commercial hair—light brown in color—and wide-set, enormous blue eyes that could entrance anyone. But what really was noticeable about Mercedes was her friendly disposition; even though she and Jake had bitterly broken up, her friendliness hadn't wavered, despite how Jake had initially distanced himself from her.

  "So the Winter Formal is coming up," Mercedes began, waving to some friends across the hall as she walked beside Jake. "Ms. King was asking me earlier if everything was all set. I've got the decorating committee covered, so no worries there. But did you find a good band to play?"

  Since he was senior class president and Mercedes was vice president, they were expected to help with the planning of social functions. "Mmhmm," Jake nodded. "Chris McCarthy's band will be there, and I'm going to talk to Eric Jefferson to see if they'll do a battle of the bands. That went well at Homecoming."

  Mercedes grinned. "Definitely. Hey, you get Eric, and I'll talk to Stacia and Natalia. They can outplay the guys."

  "I don't know about that, but they look a lot better in short skirts than the guys would." After Mercedes smacked Jake's upper arm, he returned her grin. "Sounds good though. Everything else is taken care of?"

  "As far as I know," Mercedes answered cheerfully.

  They approached the cafeteria, and Jake suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be chauffeuring Hannah around. Well, crap. "Then I'll talk to you later." Jake stopped walking and left Mercedes with a smile.

  He began to backtrack through the halls to where he was supposed to meet Hannah at their lockers. Grumbling the whole time under his breath, Jake decided that if the best food was gone by the time he got back, he'd strangle Hannah, even though the circumstances weren't her fault, really. He was the one having to backpedal.

  Jake was surprised, however, when he saw Hannah staring at Ethan Sharpe. He almost laughed out loud at the expression on Hannah's face: sheer horror. With an arrogant ease, Jake walked up to them and grinned at Ethan.

  "Hey, Jake," Ethan smiled, slipping his arm around Hannah's waist. Her eyes widened drastically, but she remained still. "What's up, man?"

  Jake's grin widened. "You're freaking her out, you know that?"

  "No, no, he's fine," Hannah argued with a strangled laugh. However, she did pull away and take a step closer to Jake, which Ethan's brow furrowed at. Jake sent him a discreet shrug. "So, um, are we going to lunch or what?"

  The baffled expression on Ethan's face turned more bemused and then concerned. "You're stuttering, Hannah?"

  Apparently refusing to answer, Hannah started walking in the direction that Jake had arrived from, and the guys sped up to meet her step. Even from the corner of his eye, Jake could see Ethan's eyes trained diligently on Hannah's backside. Ethan had once claimed to worship every inch of Hannah Ayers, and by the way he acted, Jake didn't doubt it too much at all.

  A sudden thought hit Jake, and he spoke to Hannah more willingly than he had in a long time. "Hey, Ayers?"

  Hannah paused and waited for the guys to catch up with her, raising her eyebrows delicately and responding, "Yeah?"

  "Have you seen Hudson?"

  Ethan scoffed. "That old bastard hasn't showed his face around here much since I about busted all his teeth down his throat."

  Appearing surprised by both guys, Hannah shook her head slowly. "No, I haven't talked to Greg." Her blue eyes landed on Ethan, and she seemed to look at him through new eyes. "It's your fault that he hasn't been around?"

  With a cocky laugh, Ethan shrugged. "Well, you know. All I had to do was show him the guns." Ethan promptly raised his right arm and flexed his bicep. "We can't have reckless drivers hanging around to terrorize their victims."

  It seemed as though Hannah was about to respond, but she must have changed her mind, for she focused her blue eyes ahead, watching where she was going. Since she wasn't looking, Ethan tried to get Jake's attention, but Jake just sho
ok his head. He'd wait until after school to complain about Hannah's state of mind. Finally, they reached the cafeteria, and Ethan and Jake, with Hannah still in tow, walked toward the guys' normal table. Jake had to suppress a scowl over Hannah seeming to believe she could sit with the guys. She had her own friends to sit with, and he was going to make sure she knew that she was sitting with the girls.

  Jake's thoughts were in vain, however. After going through the lunch line, Hannah followed Jake—or, really, Ethan, since he was the one talking to her—back to the guys' regular table. Frowning, Jake sat as far away as possible from Hannah, but she still ended up only one seat away from him, with Ethan separating them.

  "So how were your classes, Hannah?" Brent asked her as he bit into his ham and cheese hoagie. He'd apparently missed Jake's signal not to talk to her, which should have been unnecessary since Brent wasn't a big fan of Hannah's anyway. "Have any trouble?"

  Hannah shrugged and tipped her milk carton back and forth, apparently sloshing the liquid around. "I have no idea what's going on in any of my classes. If that's trouble, then I've got plenty."

  "Darling, I'll give you any assistance that you need," Ethan promised, slipping an arm around Hannah's shoulders. As Jake was rolling his eyes, he thought he glimpsed Hannah wince and recalled her wounded shoulder. "You just let me know, and I'll do whatever I can."

  Brent's brow furrowed. "Do you guys even have any classes together?"

  "No," Ethan answered simply as he crammed a whole Dorito into his mouth. "But I'm great at moral support."

  "I'm sure," Jake commented flatly, knowing Ethan just wanted an excuse to spend time with Hannah—something that Jake couldn't fathom wanting. He stared at the pizza on his tray, feeling as though Hannah's presence suffocated his appetite. Suddenly curious, he glanced at a table not too far away and saw that Hannah's friends were all eyeing his table. Of course they were. They liked Hannah. And they could have Hannah as far as Jake was concerned.

  "Well, we've got seventh period together," Brent was saying when Jake zoned back into the conversation. Oh God, Jake thought, realizing he was still acknowledging Hannah and having a dreadful feeling about where this was going. "So I could try to help you there. And you've got—how many classes do you have with Jake?"

  "Three," Hannah answered, nibbling on a French fry. She glanced at Jake and gave him a small smile. "Will you study with me, Jake?"

  I'd rather be whipped with a cat of nine tails. Jake's smile was grim, but he couldn't think of a nice way to reject her, so he simply shrugged, vowing mentally to find someone else to dump Hannah on. It was incredible to even believe that Hannah Ayers had the audacity to ask Jake for help.

  "So that's most of your classes covered," Brent stated helpfully. Jake knew that Brent wasn't overly fond of Hannah, so it must have been sympathy and pity compelling him to help her out. Jake figured he must be heartless, since he'd have to be forced into helping her.

  Ethan cocked his head to the side and grinned at Hannah. "You should let me take you to Winter Formal," he declared with a smile. "You're not still going with Hudson, are you?"

  Relatively curious about that himself, Jake actually looked up to see Hannah's brow furrowed. He hadn't heard her say anything negative about her boyfriend or possibly ex-boyfriend, Greg, and, for the old Hannah, that would have meant she didn't have a problem with him. But this new Hannah…she was weird, and she might not declare the rage that she felt.

  "I haven't talked to him about it," Hannah answered simply.

  Ethan stared at Hannah, clearly expecting her to continue, but when she didn't, he prompted, "You're going to tell him that you won't go with him, right? Hudson doesn't deserve to take you."

  "He didn't really do anything wrong," Brent countered, despite the fact that he didn't personally like Greg Hudson either. "I mean, ice is kind of hard to miss, so he can't be hated for that." Brent paused and stole an almost considerate glance at Hannah. "Unless you want to hate him. Hey, if you want to hate him, hate his guts with a passion. I don't care."

  Smiling, Hannah made a noise that sounded strangely like a laugh, much to Jake's surprise. Looking up from his pizza, he looked at Hannah with his classic smirk, but it disappeared in wake of his surprise that Hannah was looking directly at him.

  "What's your opinion, Jake?" Hannah asked, further taking Jake aback. She glanced around the table, and her smile widened. "I've got one saying I should hate Greg—two, if you count Isaac—and one straddling the fence. Are you going to even it out, Jake? Should I hate Greg?"

  Studying Hannah lengthily as he slowly chewed his pizza with a crooked expression, Jake finally shrugged. "I've never liked that jackass. He's weird."

  "He's a pansy," Ethan scoffed, slamming his palm against the tabletop. "He's a brainy nerd, and he can't even throw a football."

  "I don't think he even knows when football season is." Brent, well-known for being a huge jock, looked disgusted. "He's not a normal male."

  Pensively, Hannah tipped her head. "Is it a requirement for guys to like football or something? Why is that so important?"

  Brent shrugged. "He doesn't like any sport."

  "And you're the only girl that's ever dated him," Jake smirked. Had Hannah been herself, Jake would have added something insulting about how Greg Hudson couldn't even pick a decent girlfriend, but he opted not to.

  "Well, if I dated him, I obviously liked him," Hannah reasoned slowly.

  "No, you didn't, babe." Ethan patted Hannah's forearm reassuringly, smiling at her sweetly. "You've always had a thing for me. Let me take you to Winter Formal. I promise you'll love me even more by the end of it."

  The bell signaling the end of lunch sounded as Ethan was talking, and the masses of the cafeteria immediately started fanning out to get to their next classes. "I'll think about it, okay?" Hannah promised as she returned Ethan's smile.

  Jake and Brent exchanged incredulous expressions, and even Ethan looked pleasantly surprised. Hannah had never given Ethan the time of day. "Seriously?" Ethan questioned, getting to his feet along with the others. "Man, Hannah, you've made my day."

  Collecting his stuff, Jake watched as Ethan impulsively planted a kiss on Hannah's cheek. Jake rolled his eyes and nudged Hannah gently. "Come on. We've got fifth period together, and I'm not being late just so you can flirt with Romeo."

  During fifth period, Jake had nearly come unglued with his Calculus teacher suggested that he tutor Hannah. Mr. Hayes had done it in private, so Jake had been able to outright refuse, citing his long-lasting war with Hannah. Although Mr. Hayes had understood that, he seemed disappointed by Jake's answer and had proceeded to give him a lecture, which had just angered Jake more. In fact, his anger remained for the duration of his last two classes.

  Just when it seemed like Jake's day couldn't get any worse, he saw two of Hannah's best friends approaching after his final class of the day, and boy, did they look pissed. Tisha Wilson and Libby Heatherly were both glaring at him as they stopped at his locker, their arms folded over their chests. From experience, Jake knew that the only way to deal with these two girls was to piss them off more; if he tried to reason with them, they'd stay longer, but if he could infuriate Tisha and Libby, they'd leave him alone. And alone was what he wanted.

  "What the hell are you trying to pull with Hannah?" Libby demanded, her blue eyes glowering. "You two hate each other. Why are you pretending to be Mr. Nice Guy all of a sudden?"

  Sighing, Jake leaned down and picked up a book from the bottom of his locker. "I'm not trying to be Mr. Nice Guy, and I'm not pulling anything, okay?" He straightened and met Libby's eyes. "Hannah's got issues, and since I've known her forever, it feels a little cold to shun her."

  "It never stopped you before," Tisha pointed out. She ran a hand through her light brown hair, looking confused. "Haven't you told her that she's supposed to hate you, Jake? You can't let her not hate you."

  Jake shrugged. "I'm not letting her do anything. Hannah does what she wants."

 
; Libby's eyes narrowed. "But if she knew how you treated her, she wouldn't want anything to do with you. You better tell her."

  "Yeah," Tisha agreed with a frown. "How do we know you aren't trying to get in her pants or something?"

  Tipping his head back, Jake laughed. "Me, in Ayers's pants? Are you kidding me?" He laughed more, shaking his head lightly. The thought had never and would never cross his mind, especially considering the friendship between his mother and Hannah's. "Girls, come on. Hannah may not know it, but I'm still the coldhearted bastard who can't stand her. So if you'll excuse me—"

  "No," Libby snapped. "Promise us that you'll tell her the truth."

  Tisha nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Jake. Hannah deserves that."

  Silently, Jake studied the two girls for several seconds. No wonder Hannah was annoyed with them; they were persistent. "Look," he began finally, "I can't just tell Hannah that I hate her, all right? It'll confuse her or something, and even though I don't give a damn about her, it'd hurt her mother, and then my mom would kill me." Jake closed his locker easily and shook his head. "So out of the goodness of my heart, I'm going to tolerate Hannah, whether you two like it or not. If you want her to know, you can tell her yourselves."

  Tisha and Libby exchanged glances, and when Jake thought they were finally going to drop the subject, Tisha threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Aww, Jake, I didn't know you were so sweet!" she gushed. "You're looking out for Hannah for real!"

  Libby rolled her eyes. "No, he's not. He's looking out for his own hide but whatever." She pulled Tisha away from Jake, who was grateful, and gave him a stern nod. "We won't tell Han, but I swear to God, Jake, if you hurt her, you'll be dealing with us."

  "Yeah," Tisha said challengingly, even though Jake thought the expression on her face was sappy. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. You'll have us all on your case."

  "Great," Jake said dismissively, smirk in place. "Can I get to basketball practice now?"

  Since it was a rhetorical question, Jake stepped around the two girls and started down the hall. He started to stop and tell them to drive Hannah home so that she wouldn't have to wait for practice to end, but, if he did that, it would start a negotiation. Then Jake would have to listen to them, and he didn't have time for that. A scorned woman may be rough to deal with, but so was his coach if he was late for practice.