Coffee Shop Soundtrack

Three weeks had passed since the night at the diner. Neither Jack nor Hannah have talked about Claire since and nobody else mentioned her either, which Hannah appreciated.

For a few days Hannah had been on edge. She was wary at any sight of a blonde girl in the crowd, but thankfully Claire hadn't appeared at any shows. She was worried about Claire's intentions and feared just how far she would go to win Jack back. But after three weeks of silence Hannah was convinced she was only bluffing.

Hannah had almost forgotten all about her.

-

"I'm going for a coffee, anyone want anything?" Hannah called out to the few people who were awake on the bus.

It was only nine in the morning and most people were still asleep, taking advantage of the fact that they didn't have to load in until noon today.

"I'll come with you" Jack said, getting up from the sofa.

Nobody else wanted anything so the couple set off in search of the nearest coffee shop.

They walked hand in hand down the street of whatever town they were in. Hannah found it hard to keep track of all the places.

Ten minutes later they stumbled upon a small coffee shop, not unlike the one Hannah used to work at.

Once inside they placed their orders and took a seat at a table.

"This is nice" Jack smiled.

"The coffee?"

"Well the coffee is good, but I meant being here with you. We've had hardly any alone time lately"

"It's hard to get time alone when you share a bus with eleven other guys" Hannah laughed.

"Especially when the guys don't understand that a closed bunk curtain means 'do not disturb'!" Jack added.

Hannah blushed at the memory of her and Jack being 'interrupted' by Rian. They thought everyone had left, but apparently they were mistaken.

"I think everyone's going out for drinks after the show tonight. Why don't we ditch and have some alone time on the bus" Jack winked.

Hannah giggled, "Sounds like a good plan, as long as you're sure everyone will be gone this time"

"I promise. I'll even do a full check of the bus, just to be safe!"

They sat for a while longer, talking and laughing. It reminded Hannah of when they first met all those months ago. When Jack would come in every day and they could sit and talk about anything and everything, like they had known each other all their lives. If only she knew back then what an impact he would have on her life.

Their conversation was interrupted when Hannah received a text message from Vinny.

"We better get back. I've to go help Vinny set up the merch stand and you've got sound-check" Hannah said.

They quickly gulped down the last of their drinks and walked back to the venue.

Jack went to the stage area where the rest of the band were waiting and Hannah went to find Vinny.

-

"Hey, there's one more box in the van, can you grab it?" Vinny asked as he dropped a pile of t-shirts onto the table.

"Sure" Hannah replied, walking towards the door.

Once outside she walked across the parking lot to the van and pulled out the last box.

She kicked the door shut and turned to walk back but something stopped her. She froze on the spot, the box slipping from her hands and dropping to the ground.

Just a few feet away she could see Claire walking towards the bus parked right next to the venue. Sound-check had finished twenty minutes ago, so Jack would be definitely back on the bus by now.

Hannah was about to go over, but Vinny called out to her from the side door of the venue.

"Can you manage it? Is it too heavy?"

"It's fine, I got it" she called back, retrieving the box from the ground and walking back inside.

She took one last look outside before the door shut, hoping her mind was playing tricks on her. No such luck. It was definitely Claire and she was now climbing up the steps of the bus, a mischievous grin on her face.

-

"Are you okay? You seem a bit on edge tonight" Vinny commented.

All Time Low were now on stage so the merch stand was clear for now.

"I'm fine" Hannah mumbled.

"Just going to the toilet"

She stood up and made her way across the venue to the toilets. She was relieved to find them unoccupied.

She didn't have a chance to speak to Jack before the show and she was desperate to know what happened with Claire on the bus. Did she stay long? Did he talk to her? Was she kicked off straight away?

For all Hannah knew she could be waiting in the venue right now, waiting to pounce on Jack after the show.

Hannah splashed cold water on her face in an attempt to calm herself down. All these thoughts were stressing her out and she still had a crowd to deal with after the show.

She got some tissue from one of the stalls and dried her face.

When she turned to leave, she jumped in fright. Right in front of her was a tall, thin, blonde haired girl with an almost orange tan and the make-up to match.

Hannah recognized her immediately. It was Claire.

How did she sneak in here? Hannah hadn't heard the door creak open.

Hannah stepped around her, moving towards the door. She decided that now was not the time or place for a confrontation. Besides, Claire wasn't aware who she was, right?

Wrong.

Before Hannah had a chance to open the door she was being pulled backwards by her hair. She yelped in pain as her back slammed against the tiled wall.

"What the fuck is your problem" Hannah screamed.

"You're my fucking problem, bitch" Claire spat, bouncing her head off the wall.

Hannah shouted in pain again.

This made Claire press her hands firmly around Hannah's throat, restricting her breathing.

Hannah choked, desperate for oxygen. She tried to pry Claire's hands away but it was no use. She was much stronger.

"Listen bitch, Jack's mine so you better stay the fuck away from him. Got that?" Once again she slammed Hannah's head off the wall while keeping a tight grip around her throat.

Hannah was really struggling to breathe now. Her vision was blurry and she was seeing stars. She was sure she was moments away from passing out.

"This is your one and only warning. Stay away"

With that Claire released her grip and Hannah dropped to the floor, gasping for air.

Hannah remained on the floor, unable to move.

Did that really just happen? That girl really was a psycho.

Hannah's head was pounding and she felt physically sick. She could feel a warm trickle run down the back of her neck. She slowly ran her hand over the back of her head. She brought her hand back around and it was covered with blood.

With shaky legs, she managed to get up, balancing herself against the wall. She took a step towards the sink to clean herself up, but as soon as she moved her vision went black.