Beauty in the Breakdown

After almost twenty four hours of touring, Alex was ready to party. And he was ready to drag Hannah with him, not caring that she really did not want to go.

"Alex, I am not going to drink alcohol in a Dixie cup, listen to music that will make my ears bleed, and then run when the cops come to break up the party," Hannah stated firmly. She was not going to go, she was sure of it. But, she had to fight off growing nervousness when he just gave her his signature grin that made all the fangirls swoon. She knew that look. And it never signified anything good.

"Hannah, do you think that your responsible big brother would take you to a place like that?" he sent her a hurt look and swung an arm over her shoulder. "Oh no. We're going to a club. They have glass cups and the cops won't be there, but I can't make any promises about the music."

Hannah’s eyes widened and she sputtered excuses, and when Alex didn’t buy them, she tried threats. "I am not going to a club. You can just-"

"Before you tell Alex to do something that probably isn't anatomically possible, you should consider that if I have to, I will throw you over my shoulder and drag you to the club," Jack drawled. Hannah's eyes flashed angrily, but returned to their lifeless state so quickly that Jack was sure he had imagined it. But he was hopeful that maybe, just maybe Hannah was feeling something other than a dull, numbing ache.

Hannah narrowed her eyes and said through gritted teeth, "Fine. I'll go, but only because I don't want Jack touching me."

Jack shot her a supposedly seductive grin and said, "Honey, if I wanted to, I could have you on the floor right now, and you would be loving it."

Before Hannah could retaliate, Alex poked Jack's chest, "Hey! That's my sister. There will be no getting on the floor and no loving it. Got it? You're like my brother. And she is my sister. That makes it incest."

Hannah glared at them both and whirled around to the back of her bus, ignoring protests made by Jack and Alex.

She quickly changed into skinny jeans and a blue and black checkered tank top, yanked a straightener through her black hair, and put on some mascara, eye liner, and lip gloss.

Then she marched back out to find the boys arguing about gummy bear flavors. As soon as Jack saw Hannah, he stopped mid-sentence and stared at her with his eyes bulging. Hannah felt a faint blush spread across her cheeks and looked down at her black Vans. "Let's get this horrible thing over with."

Jack smiled, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of the bus. When she started to tug her hand away, Jack panicked and searched his brain for an excuse to keep holding her hand. He said, "Oh no, I'm making sure that you don't run away."

"It crossed my mind, but Rian would hunt me down and shoot me with pepper spray," she said, allowing a small grin to cross her face.

"Oh yeah, that's how us old ladies roll," Rian joked, pumping his fist in the air.

Alex gasped and pointed a finger at Rian. "Does your girlfriend know that you have girl parts? Old girl parts? Because she is really hot. She could come running into my arms, seeking comfort and man parts."

Jack and Hannah laughed as Rian tackled Alex and started hitting him with Alex's shoe.

Hannah chuckled, "Ouch. How are you handling being beaten up with your own shoe, Alex?" Jack heard the amusement in her voice and took a chance.

He knocked her on the ground, cushioning her fall with his body, and promptly took off her shoe and hit her lightly with it.

"How are you handling it, Hannah?" he asked smoothly, masking the fact that his heart was pounding. Jack was slightly aware that this was a landmark moment. If she went along with it, then it would prove she was well on her way to healing, and if she didn’t...well, he didn't want to think about that.

Hannah was painfully aware that she was on top of him, and liking it, but she ignored it and grinned. "The question is, how are you handing it, Jack?" With that said, she yanked off his shoe and started beating him with it.

He shot her a wide smile and said in a horrible French accent, "Mademoiselle, this means war."

"If you two are done having rough sex, we really have to get to the club," Zack joked. Hannah shot up like a rocket and ran inside the club, desperate to escape the situation. Jack glared at Zack and followed her with his eyes, disappointed that the moment ended before it had really even started.

The boys strolled into the club, ready for a night of fun, and Hannah watched them, ready for a night of misery.