She Won't Be Lonely Long

Between Hannah and Maral, the previously frayed ends of their friendship ironed out on its own, as it always had. Maral was still heartbroken that Hannah wouldn't be staying and wanted to make the best out of her remaining visit. It was still in Hannah's best interest, Maral insisted, that she connected with Xabi and perhaps got laid if a time came that was right.

To be quite frank, after the classic knight in shining armor routine had made itself a reality, the idea of "connecting" with him didn't seem half bad to Hannah, although in all honesty it never had. It was still just as far-fetched to her, her train of thought centering around the doctrine of leagues, and Xabi was most definetely out of hers. He was about ten leagues above her, she calculated with significant thought. He made her nervous still, because he had every reason to hold against her the way she lived, the way she looked, and the way she was overall. Perfection was intimidating, and he was the closest to perfection that she had ever come across. No one could hammer it into her stubborn thoughts that not all men were juvenile pigs like the ones she knew at home, because no one knew what she was thinking. It wracked all of their brains.

Sleep was tough to achieve after such an eventful day for all four of them.

Xabi laid in bed anticipating the next day, wondering if maybe he could break through to Hannah as he knew Maral wanted.

Hannah laid in bed cursing her self-image for nearly crippling her ability to socialize with decent people.

Sergio laid in bed still upset that he didn't get to punch a skinhead.

And lastly, Maral laid in bed being the only one who knew how the next day would unfold.

_______________________________________________________

The next morning was an early one because the night before had ended quickly due to such commotion. As always, everybody was was awake some time before Hannah. With a skip in her step she headed to the kitchen for something to eat but Maral, busy at some type of work, caught her eye first. Her arms were full as she disappeared into the garage, but empty when she reappeared to gather some more things.

"What are you doing?" Hannah questioned, snatching a sugary glazed pastry from the counter and joining her friend on the steps.

Maral got off of the dusty conrcrete ground ground where she had been kneeling, her arms snaked around a stiff cardboard box boiling over with junk food. She spared Hannah a quick glance, beaming before she stumbled into the garage towards one of Sergio's cars, his Mercedes this time because it was the roomiest. The entire trunk was stuffed full but Maral could still manage to arrange it in a way that would allow her box of junk to fit.

"Camping!"

The mere word brightened the features on her face, her teeth baring and her eyes sparkling wildly. "We're going camping?!"

"Yes!" Maral panted, pushing past her to grab two rectangular bricks of cloth stacked in the doorway leading inside. They were quite durable and pine green, tassled zippers hanging off of them at various spots and a handle for convinience.

Hannah sighed, rubbing her forehead and smearing it into lines with frustration. Realization set in that this spontanious outing wasn't necessarily recreational. Everything had a purpose. "There's only two tents there. This is all part of your plan isn't it?"

Giggling maniacally, Maral nodded and slung the two tents into the back seat. That topic was over in a matter of seconds because Hannah knew that Maral wouldn't accept defeat. Little did she know, the match-making efforts she was so devoted to would end up pushing Hannah from Spain prematurely.

Less than two hours flew by before they were all piled in the car headed for a spot in the countryside that Sergio had gone to before. The haul would take four hours but that wasn't an issue with any of the passengers. Hannah loved to ride in Sergio's cars, a sense of luxury that she had never known.

"Hannah," Maral groaned. "Its eighty degrees out. Why do you need your seat-heater turned on?"

"Turn on my ass-warmer!" Hannah demanded. "I want to ride with class."

"Seat-heaters are the last thing that you would need to ride with class..." Maral snickered while fulfilling Hannah's request.

Ten minutes later, Hannah was complaining that it was hot and demanding they stop at a gas-station. Sergio felt that was necessary also, getting restless in that car as Hannah and Maral did their best to annoy him from where they sat. Maral marvelled at the way Hannah and Xabi naturally paired off once they were at a stop.

"I think that this is working..." Maral uttered excitedly to Sergio while he pumped the gas and the others dissapeared inside.

"Good job." Sergio flashed her a charming grin.

Inside, Xabi was trailing behind Hannah as she stocked up on booze, something that Maral had forgotten about when gathering supplies for the weekend.

"All this Spanish booze..." she sighed dramatically as she struggled to muffle the grin bending her lips. "I'm so lost in this country, Xabi."

He smiled in return and laughed, causing the butterflies to shiver in her stomach again. He was just too perfect, she continued to tell herself.

Once he had helped her pick out the best things to drink, she topped off her purchase with a giant fountain soda and paid. The two walked outside with armfuls of refreshments, discussing what Hannah's home was like since he had filled her in on Liverpool the day before.

"Well... I love my family." she said cheerily. "I've got the greatest mother."

"I mean... what do you like about where you live?" he inquired, although it was the second time he had asked.

She frowned, struggling to fish for an answer as she peered around the Spanish countryside before her. It really was tough to compare with. He intently stared, waiting for a response. The argument her and Maral had the night before was making sense now.

"I like how where I live, they speak English so I don't feel like an idiot."

They laughed together, but unfortunately she hadn't conjured a response quickly enough. He could tell she was very discontent with the life she led in America and this only added to the mystery of her.