Even After Everything

‘How do you know?’ I ask, curiously.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Er…nothing. Will you sign my ticket?’

‘What?’ He sounds incredulous.

‘My ticket. Will you sign it?’

He apparently can’t find any response to that. I feel like telling him it would only be polite to sign his stupid name, but I hold my tongue. - you can’t be rude to rock stars. Though he is making me feel like a bit of a prat.

His eyes flick over me in suspicion, before he finally speaks.

‘What’s your surname?’ he snaps.

I’m taken aback.

‘I’m not telling you!’

‘Why?’

‘Because…because it’s embarrassing,’ I mumble.

He takes a step forward, and I step back, a little scared.

‘Hannah…’ There’s a long pause. ‘What have you done to your hair?’

I frown, bringing a hand to my head and twisting a lock of hair around my finger. ‘I dyed it this morning - what’s wrong with it?’

‘Nothing. It’s just…different.’

How would William Beckett know? And why’s he being so damn retarded, so familiar with me?

‘Look…have I met you before?’ I say finally.

His face contorts into a mixture of confusion and rage.

‘What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?'

I step back, bewildered. ‘What?’

But Sana comes to my rescue, stepping in front of me with her hands on her hips.

‘What the fuck’s going on, okay? What are you being such a prick for?’

He cranes his head around Sana and hisses at me. ‘What, you can just pretend you don’t know me?’

It’s my turn to be speechless.

‘You’re…William Beckett,’ I hazard.

Obviously the wrong thing to say as he now looks livid.

‘Wrong. I’m fucking Will,’ he spits, turning and striding off down the corridor through which he came.

‘Alright, picky,’ I mutter. ‘What’s up with him?’

‘No,’ says Gabe angrily, turning to me. ‘What’s up with you?’

He grabs my wrist and pulls me round the barrier, Sana following worriedly, yelling ‘That’s against her human rights!’

‘I’ll give you human rights,’ he hisses, dragging me down the corridor.

‘Ouch, ouch - that hurts,’ I shout, pulling my wrist from out of Gabe’s grip and stopping still. He walks behind me and pushes instead, until we reach a two black doors. He throws open the one on the left and shoves me through, Sana following - though now deadly silent.

I stand awkwardly in the center of the otherwise empty room until Gabe strides up and stands in front of me.

‘What the fuck are you playing at, Hannah? I can accept the fact you might have moved on, hell, even Bill probably can, but showing up here. And then that. You’re a vindictive little bitch.’

I’m on the edge of tears. Do you know how horrible it is to have one of the only people in the world you admire appear to hate you?

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I stammer.

‘Oh don’t turn on the fucking water works. It might have worked once but when I’m this pissed off, it has no effect. Why are you here?’

Is he serious?

‘I...I came to watch you guys play.’

‘But why?!’

‘Because…I like Cobra Starship and The Acadamy Is…?’ I venture.

‘Well they don’t like you anymore.’

‘What the fuck’s going on?!’ yells Sana, clearly too pissed off at being kept out of things to care that our idol is in the room.

‘Who’s this?’ spits Gabe.

‘My best friend,’ I mutter defensively, walking over to her and linking her arm.

‘And you haven’t told her?’ he scoffs

‘Told her what?!’

‘About this. About Bill. About last summer.’

Sana freezes noticeably beside me. I turn to give her a questioning look.

‘Last summer?’ she asks quietly.

‘Yeah.’

‘I um….I, that is-’

‘Spit it the fuck out,’ Gabe glares at her.

‘I need to talk with you. Alone.’

I throw her a hurt look.

‘This shit’s between Hannah and me.’

‘I know! But she doesn’t know what you’re talking about!’

No shit Sherlock, I think.

‘She fucking does,’ he growls.

‘No, trust me she doesn’t,’ she hisses significantly.

Gabe looks at her, suspicious, as Sana turns to me.

‘I’ll sort this out Banana, okay? Will you wait outside?’

I open my mouth to tell her where to shove it but she pushes me out of the door and I’m too stunned to argue.

Instead I press my ear to the door tightly.