Bad Luck Hannah

"Mom," I stared at her in distress as she forcefully made me sit still so she could curl little ringlets here and there in my blonde hair. She was over the top happy that Josh had wanted to go out with me,but she really didn't understand how much I didn't want to go.
Even more so since she had taken his side.
This was embarrassing.
Parents weren't supposed to do that, it made me look like I couldnt get one myself without divine intervention --- or a meddling mother who couldn't mind her own business.
"Hannah, come on. This is your first date ever! Why aren't you excited? That boy likes you!"
No he didn't.
He was just up to something and I wasn't gullible enough to fall for it.
He didn't like me like that.
I wasn't so desperate for someone to like me that I believed him whatsoever.
I scowled at my reflection, wishing she hadn't told him it was okay without even asking me.
I glanced over as Dad stepped into the doorway, sending me a warm smile I tried weakly to return; I was closer to him then Mom, mostly because he wasn't pushy or forced me to do anything I didn't want too --- and of course because he was the only one who could handle Jason.
"Sherryl, don't you think you're being a little pushy about this?" Dad asked, leaning against the bathroom door, his arms crossed over his slim frame. "If Hannah doesn't want to go ---."
"Of course she wants to go," Mom scoffed, interrupting him and tugging rather hard on my hair, as if she knew his intervention was somehow my fault. "He seems like a nice young man!"
"Sherryl, did you see his ears?" Dad frowned at her. "And he already has tattoos. In high school! And not just one! We know absolutely nothing about him whatsoever. Not even his last name. I don't want Hannah going anywhere with him until we know more."
Thank god.
I sent him a relieved look, and then stiffened as there was a knock on the front door.
Dad turned immediately to go answer it, a scowl on his face.
I stared at Mom in the reflection of the bathroom vanity, going for a pleading look.
"Mom, I don't ---."
"Hannah, you're going," Mom's eyes met mine in the mirror, cutting me off. Her face told me I wasn't going to win this. "You need to get out with people your own age!"
"He's not my age," I mumbled, looking down. "He's like eighteen."
I was assuming, anyway.
He was supposed to be a senior like the rest of his friends, but he'd mentioned he got held back a year.
Mom rolled her eyes at me.
Why was she making me do this? This was literally painful.
"Hannah!" Dad called, and I huffed as Mom forced me to stand out and shuffle out of the bathroom, threatening to carry me if I didn't stop dragging my feet and be nice to that boy..
This was beyond humiliating.
Josh was standing awkwardly in the living room with my dad, who was staring him down very intensely when we walked through the kitchen; my house was weird. You entered in the living room, where there was a bathroom leading off of it for guests, but you had to walk through the kitchen to get to the rest of the house: the den, three bedrooms, another bathroom, and the laundry room.
I really wished I'd planned an escape route, but I'd never thought this situation would come up. Especially not with my mother literally forcing me into it.
I tried not to sigh.
Josh turned as Mom literally guided me into the room, and he blinked a couple times, as if surprised, and it made me wonder how awful I looked; I'd been more focused on complaining about going then actually looking at my reflection.
"So, Josh, why don't you tell us a little about yourself." Dad asked before Josh could say a word, and we all turned to look at him, Josh looking a little started. He hesitated, glancing at me before turning to face my father completely, apparently not one to be cowered.
"Uh, sure. What would you like to know?"
"Well, you're from the other school, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have a job? Where are you living? It must be a long drive over from the other side of town just to go to school. Do you like it here so far? Who're your parents?"
Josh just looked at my dad, and he opened his mouth to speak, but he obviously wasn’t sure which question to answer first.
"Um, no, sir, I don't have a job. I, uh, moved across town when our other school closed, so I actually just live a couple of minutes from here. And yeah, I like it, it's nice." he nodded, looking like Dad was actually starting to make him a little nervous now. "Um, what was the other questions?"
I sighed, and walked forward tugging on the end of his sleeve to let him know we could leave before the inquisition really got started; even I could be merciful.
"Er, it was nice meeting you," Josh said hastily, hurrying after me as I was already on the porch, intent on leaving regardless if he was coming or not.
The sooner we left, the sooner I would be back and this would be over with.
I felt so embarrassed, and nervous.
Very, very nervous.
I'd never been on a date, what was I supposed to do?
There wasn't any guidelines for this!
My stomach was churning painfully.
"Your parents seem nice," Josh said after a moment as we walked across the gravel to his car, and I shrugged, listening to our footsteps and keeping my gaze on the ground.
They were parents.
I glanced over as I heard a car rolling to a stop, and cringed as I realized Jason was home. He wasn't supposed to be back for another hour, he'd went to go see Hayley where she lived on the other side of the county, which was like a thirty minute drive. He should have been gone for a while! I hadn't wanted him to know about this at all!
Oh god.
Josh glanced back at me when I faltered a step in panic, and then followed my gaze, grimacing when he saw Jason step out of the car, a dark look on his tan face.
I bit my lip worriedly, stepping closer to Josh automatically, and then feeling extremely stupid over it; he couldn't protect me, I didn't expect him too.
No one could do anything with Jason, who was slamming his car door shut extra hard, his nostrils flaring like when he was about to pitch a fit, and his mouth opened; I could already see the fumes leaking out.
And then Hayley stepped out of the car and it was like he deflated, not wanting to cause a scene in front of her.
She stared curiously at Josh where we both headed for his car, and I didn’t realize I had grabbed his hand until he gave it a comforting squeeze as he opened my door for me.
"Don’t worry, he's not gonna bother you while I'm around," he muttered softly where only I could hear, and I glanced back at him as I climbed inside, he closing the door. I saw him glance over at Jason as he went to his side, but then he was inside the car and quickly starting it.
His cologne smelled nice.
And he'd changed out of his clothes into a nice pair of jeans, I also noticed. He'd changed his clothes, put on cologne --- was he treating this like a real date? I figured he'd just been doing this because he wanted something from me.
I just couldn't figure out what yet.
I stared at him, narrowing my eyes as he turned the car toward town, and he glanced over at me, his fingers drumming a nervous beat against the wheel.
"What?" he asked, noticing my stare.
I frowned.
"Why did you ask me out?"
"Why do you always ask me why I do things like I have an ulterior motive?"
"Because you do."
His lips twitched at that.
He knew as well as I did that he had motives.
I just wasn’t sure what kind.
"Maybe I just wanted to take you out and apologize for being a shithead the other day," he said lightly, and I bit my lip, unsure whether to believe him or not. I glanced forward as the car stopped, realizing we were at the diner again; we'd gotten here quickly.
"I figured this would be appropriate," he told me with a rather charming grin. "Since, yknow, we studied here."
I didnt say anything, just climbed out of the car.
He stepped out after a second and hurried after me, sighing.
I was going to make tonight ungodly difficult on him so he would never ask me out again, never come near me again, and most definitely not come back to my house.
We stepped inside, and the same waitress directed us to the exact same table as before, and I stifled a sigh as I slipped into the booth, Josh plopping beside me when there was another side he could sit on.
I frowned at him, but he ignored me, taking the menus the waitress had left for us and handing me one.
"You want Dr. Pepper again?"
I glanced over at him, a little surprised he had remembered, and nodded, glancing down at the menu.
Honestly, I was so nervous, I was afraid to eat anything.
Tonight was going to be painfully awkward.
I didn't know how to act around people, let alone on a date.
I shouldn't be here.
I twisted the end of my shirt between my fingers tightly, knotting it over and over as I tried to keep myself from looking at him.
I started to chew my lip anxiously.
"So, what do you want?" Josh asked after a moment, leaning overly close to my shoulder. "Anything other then just french fries this time?"
My lips twitched slightly, and I stared at the same menu I'd been looking at my entire life.
Fries sounded good to me, anyway.
Probably one of the few things I could eat without getting sick.
So I just shrugged.
He could figure it out.
"Okay, kids, what would you like to drink?" The waitress asked, popping up, chewing her gum like it was going to escape if she didn’t get it bit down in time; that couldn't be good for her jaw.
"A Dr. Pepper and a Coke," Josh smiled at her.
"Alright, be back in a jiffy then."
I glanced at him again, setting my menu down.
"You know," he said, turning to look at me, and I hastily looked down, "I think that waitress thinks we're a cute couple."
I blinked at him in surprise, then rolled my eyes.
"She does!" He insisted, bumping me lightly. "She thinks you look very adorable with your hair curled, and that I'm the hottest guy she's ever seen."
I tried not to smile, and pursed my lips against it, hearing him chuckle.
Did he really like my hair or was he just saying that?
Mom had worked ungodly hard on it, and I hated to think that Josh thought I'd put a lot of effort into looking nice for his sake, especially when I hadnt wanted to go....
"Here's your drinks." The waitress popped back up, sliding them across the table to us. "You guys ready to order?"
"Just a order of frieds, extra ketchup."
I blinked at him again.
He'd guessed right.
The waitress nodded, and quickly walked off, leaving us there.
Alone.
"Don’t look at me like that, you never said what you wanted, so I just assumed." He shrugged, twisting around until he was mostly looking at me, and I felt my face flush.
I didnt like it when people looked at me.
"You really do look pretty, though," he said, tugging on an errant curl. "I like your hair like that. I like it the other way too, of course, but this way is just different, I guess. I mean, yeah. I like your hair."
He was talking too much.
Was he nervous, too?
"Sooo, um, the only movie at the drive in is the new Poltergeist." He said after a moment, messing with his straw and looking like he wanted to kick himself. "You like scary movies?"
"They're okay."
"Okay as in they freak you out, or okay as in you liked to be freaked out?"
I don’t think anything could be scarier then Jason, especially not movies.
I just shrugged, looking down.
"Well, they freak me out," he continued. "So you'll probably have to rescue me from beneath the seats once the jumpscares start up. Sound like a deal?"
"Sure."
He frowned, looking a little frustrated.
Good, maybe he would end this date early then and chalk it up to one of the worst ones ever and tell his friends so they would leave me alone too.
"Here ya go, kids," the waitress appeared, setting the fries between us and the extra bottle of ketchup.
"Thanks." Josh nabbed it and the fries before I could move, quickly squirting the ketchup all over them before I had a chance to stop him.
"No!" I burst, but I was too late, and they were all covered in it.
I sighed.
"There is absolutely no difference between doing it this way and having to dip them," he told me, looking triumphant. "You just skip the step of dipping."
"But you get it all over your fingers," I muttered, gingerly picking one out on the edge. "And you can't control how much you get on them, either. And they get soggy."
"They do not get soggy."
"They get soggy."
Still good, though.
"Are you really debating ketchup with me?" He grumbled. "Because that’s ---."
"Lame?"
"No." He frowned. "Easy for me to win."
I rolled my eyes again, though I was getting amused.
He could be funny, I guess, once I gave him a chance, and I found myself giggling at one point.
Which I think surprised us both.
But the fries did get soggy, just like I said they would, and when they did they werent exactly as delectable as before, which I think Josh found out pretty quick when he ate one and grimaced.
I chuckled, sipping my Dr. Pepper, and I glanced at the time.
It was six forty-five, and I wasn’t sure what time the movie started.
Josh followed my glance, then nearly choked on his Coke, quickly sitting it down.
"Shit, we gotta go!" He burst. "I didn’t realize what time it was."
Right.
I hastily slid out of the booth with him, waiting patiently as he left a check and a tip before hurrying out into the parking lot.
We walked over to the car, and I glanced over as an old red pickup truck pulled up, guys in the bed laughing and tossing something back and forth between them; probably just got out of Saturday football practice.
Josh's hand abruptly slipped around my waist, and I stiffened, glancing up at his face to see he was eyeing the pickup too.
And when Jaime, Jasons friend, stepped out, laughing with a bunch of his other letterman jacket friends, I didn’t mind his hand there so much, and I was incredibly relieved that we were leaving.
I could tell Jaime saw us, but we both ignored him, quickly getting into Josh's car.
I hoped they didn’t tell Jason, though he would already be annoyed because I'd left with Josh in the first place.
I didnt know why he was so possessive like that, he hated me anyway, but he....
I didnt want to think about that.
I clasped my hands quickly in my lap as Josh drove rather hastily to the drive in, surprisingly finding a nice spot in the middle; he must have better luck then I did. If it would have been me, I probably would have needed to park in the very back.
"You want anything to drink?" he asked as we settled, "or popcorn? I always get tons of extra butter on it."
"That... Sounds good." I nodded, and he grinned, quickly getting out of the car and trotting to the concession stand. I sighed, quickly unbuckling and scooting down in the seat.
I could see the previews were on, but I really didn't want to mess with his radio, so I waited until he got back.
"I hope you really like Dr. Pepper because that's what I got you again."
"That's fine," I took it hastily. "You really don't have to pa--- "
"I asked you on the date, remember? So yes I do." he sat the popcorn between us on the console, and then fiddled with the radio until he found the right station.
I sighed, settling back in my seat as the movie started. It wasn't as good as the first one, and it really could have been scarier, in my opinion, but it had good jump scares.
So good Josh even jumped and cringed at one point.
And tossed the popcorn all over his car.
I chuckled, watching him more then I did the actual movie. I think he took me here with the intention of being the brave guy who consoles the girl through the scary movie, but it had really backfired on him.
He really was trying though, so I had to give him that.
"It wasnt that scary," he said when it ended, looking a little relieved.
"Really? You looked terrified."
He rolled his eyes. "I did not."
"You did. And it wasn't that scary. There's a lot of scarier movies."
"Oh yeah, like what?" he challenged, twisting to look at me.
"Like... The Possession, or Fragile, the old poltergeist, the Conjuring," I had like a total list built in my head. "Those would make you lose more then just half the popcorn."
He looked down at where it was scattered everywhere, and I swear he blushed.
"Sure," he mumbled, looking away hastily. I glanced at the time, seeing it was only nine fifteen, and my mom had technically said eleven.
But that didn't mean I wanted to spend more time with him, of course. Or that I was actually enjoying myself.
"So, you wanna stay till the next movie or you wanna do something else?" he asked after a moment, car lights flashing over his face every few seconds as people started to leave.
I shrugged in response.
It was his idea to go on a date.
He could figure it out.
"Okay... We'll just wait for the next movie then."
"It doesn't come on for another ten minutes."
"So? There are plenty of things we could do in the mean time," he grinned at me, raising his brows, and I felt my face flush.
I looked down hastily.
"Like play truth or dare," he said, as if I hadn't looked horrified at the idea of other "things."
Truth or dare?
Really?
I looked over at him with a sigh. "Fine."
I wouldn't choose dare, only truth, and how many questions could he even ask in ten minutes?
"Good." he started to smirk a little, making me regret my decision instantly. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Have you ever been kissed?'
Oh my god, really?
I sent him an annoyed look.
"Hey, you picked truth, now you gotta answer."
I shook my head slowly in response.
"So that's a no?"
Nod.
"Huh." he rubbed his jaw, but he couldn't be that surprised. I turned to look at him a little better, readying myself for my question.
I just hoped he picked truth.
"Truth or dare."
He actually hesitated.
"Truth." he said cautiously.
"Why did you ask me out?" I blurted immediately; if I waited or thought about it I would lose my nerve and not ask, and I didn't know if he would tell me the truth now or not, but at least I asked.
And he hesitated again.
Meaning he wasn't going to tell me the truth at all.
He was going to lie to me.
Probably tell me he thought I was pretty, or interesting, or some other bullshit they always seemed to have.
Right before they made fun of me and revealed it had all been a big joke Jason had come up with and who would ever like a loser like me?
I looked down at my lap.
I just wanted to go home now.
"You wanna know the honest reason?" Josh finally said, and I glanced over at him, nodding.
I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know.
"You didn't like me."
What?
I just blinked at him, confused.
"I mean," he looked a little uncomfortable. "I tried to make a move on you and you acted like I had the plague or something. No ones... Ever ran away from me before."
My face tinged red.
I would rather he forget about that.
I know I wanted too.
I looked down again.
"You asked me out because I didn't like you?"
How ridiculous was that?
"Basically, yeah. I figured I could convince you somehow, but every time I've tried so far you've shut me down."
Because he kept trying to touch me and I hated that.
"So I figured maybe if I took you on an actual date, you might change your mind and decide you wanna hang out again." he looked hopeful. "I mean, if I didn't blow it by being a jackass."
I was getting confused.
Okay wait.
"You only asked me out because I didn't like you, and that had never happened to you before?"
He nodded.
So it wasnt because he actually liked me, which is exactly what I'd figured.
If it wasnt a bet, it was something else.
"Your turn. Truth or dare."
I really didnt want to play this game anymore.
I wanted to go home.
But i didnt want to pitch a fit like a loser again, and I didnt have long left before i could go home, so...
"Truth."
He looked like he'd been prepared for that.
"Okay, um... why dont you let people touch you? Is it because of your brother?"
My eyes flicked to his face before away. "I just... I dont like it."
"Look," Josh's brows furrowed. "I know that your brother is a real asshole, and that he's mean to you and shit, but... not everyone is like that, yknow? You dont have to freak out every time someone goes to touch you... you didnt when Chris touched you."
"And when did Chris touch me?"
"When you guys were at the car, he had his hand on your shoulder and you didnt seem to mind at all. Every time I come near you, you cringe."
I flushed, and looked at my hands, twisting my bracelet anxiously between my fingers.
"Do you like Chris?"
"What?"
I stared at Josh in surprise, seeing his sudden sour expression. Did I like Chris? No, definitely not like that. He was just nice to me, and I really appreciated that he didnt try to touch me as much as everyone else did.
"Of course I dont. I dont even know him. he's just nice to me."
"But I'm nice to you."
"You try to force me to do stuff with you."
"Yeah? Like when?"
"Like this date! I didnt want to come, but somehow you managed to get me here. And you keep trying to touch me, and, and ---."
I was starting to sound stupid.
"Look, if you didnt want to come on this date, you didnt have too. Especially if you dont like me that much." he muttered bitterly, I think I'd hurt his feelings. I hesitated, staring at him in the dark, starting to feel bad.
I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
"I didnt mean it like that," I mumbled, wincing. I was really making a mess of things, this was why I didnt talk! If I never said anything, then no one could be upset with me, or hate me or try to ---.
There was a tense silence, and I bit my lip, letting my hair fall down to shield my face from his. I had really turned this entire night into a disaster, hadnt I? He was the one who'd wanted to go out with me, and maybe, maybe he would leave me alone now.
I didnt need to go on dates, I just needed to be left alone.
People didnt like me for a reason.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to keep the tears at bay, and I hastily looked out the window, staring out at the cars coming and going through the lot in an attempt not to be a total baby about all of this.
I wasn't going to cry in front of him.
Besides, wasn't this exactly what I'd wanted?
Dammit, I wasn't going to cry!
Josh sighed after a second, the darkness filled with tension between us. "Hannah, I'm sorry, I dont mean to be a jerk."
It was my fault, not his. He didnt need to feel bad about anything, and I wanted to tell him that, but my voice was stuck in my throat, and I was afraid that if I spoke, he would know how upset I was.
"Hannah, please look at me, I'm sorry, okay? Don't be upset."
I'm not upset.
I just looked down, unsure what to do; I'd never been in this situation, I didnt know how to answer him or make it better.
"Hannah," he sounded frustrated, and his hand was suddenly closing over mine where I had them tightly clenched in my lap, making me stiffen.
"See, please dont do that, okay? I'm not gonna hurt you. You can't shy away from people's touch forever."
I'd been doing pretty good so far.
I tried to pull out of his touch, but he merely tightened his hold, refusing to let me. "You don't have to act like touching me physically pains you."
He had no idea.
The knot of anxiety in my stomach hurt, and the one in my chest, and I was pretty sure if I tried to run through the side of this car it would end badly for me too.
"Just s-stop," I mumbled, giving up on trying to get away from him. "Just --- just take me home."
"No, you're not running away from me this time."
I bit my lip, glancing over at him worriedly, uncertainly.
What did he want from me?
Why couldnt he just leave me alone?
His irritated look softened slightly as he looked at me, and he sighed after a moment, running his free hand through his dark hair.
"Look, can we... just start over, I guess?"
Start over?
Why didnt he just leave me alone and let it go at that?
"Why can't you.... just leave me alone?" I mumbled after a moment, staring at the dash of his car like my life depended on it. "You don't even like me."
"What? Of course I do."
"You said ---."
"I didnt meant that as in I didnt like you like that," he said hastily, looking a little chagrined. "I meant it as in --- as in you're the first girl I liked who didnt like me back, and you didnt respond to any of the moves I made on you, or ---."
"All you did was try to kiss me after knowing me like three days," I snapped, irritated. "Normal people dont even do that."
"Well no one's ever had an issue with it until now," he responded just as huffily. "I've always had an easy time getting girls and then there's you --- you're like untouchable."
I think I literally scoffed at him.
"What? You are! You won't let me touch you, you don't even want to be around me half the time, you don't seem to enjoy my company ---."
"I would enjoy your company a lot more if you didnt force yourself on me every chance you got," I tried to jerk out of his grip again. "If you didnt bully me into doing things with you, or make me feel like I have to because you stood up for me or something!"
"I'm just trying to get you to like me!"
"You would be a lot easier to like if you weren't so pushy!" I finally wrenched my hands away from his, growing more and more aggravated the more time I spent with him. I didnt want to be here whatsoever now, not with this conversation, not with him.
I wanted to go home and if he didnt take me, I was going to walk.
He stared at me in frustration, and then leaned back into his seat, huffing. "Why are you making this so difficult?"
"Just take me home!"
I wasnt going to answer anything, I didnt have too, I wanted to go home!
"Hannah ---."
"Home, now," I hissed at him. "Or I'll freaking walk there!"
"It's like ten miles ---."
"TAKE ME HOME!"
"God, fine," he snapped, abruptly starting the car. "I'll fucking take you home!"
Thank god!