Chapter 12

Hannah

*Nikolai: Connors will be back tomorrow. I will keep him away from you.
Hannah: How will you do that?
Nikolai: Don’t worry about it. I have it handled. Katya is picking you up tomorrow after school to take you shopping. I will meet you guys later.
Hannah: Okay. Thanks!*
I looked over the texts Nikolai and I had exchanged last night as I sat on the bus on my way to school. I’d forgotten that Katya, his whatever, was taking me shopping, but I’d agreed, so I needed to just shut up and deal with it. I was starting to get used to his late-night texts and found myself waiting anxiously to hear his ring tone. It wasn’t like I’d been sleeping. How could I when every time I thought about our peculiar, intense exchange in the hallway, I was overcome with excitement and confusion?
I had been swooped up in a cyclone of emotions yesterday with barely a breath to register each one. When I closed my eyes last night, the image of him kissing Taylor Ferguson seemed tattooed to the back of my eyelids. Seeing them had been like taking a sledgehammer to the stomach. It made me feel so foolish for harboring this pointless crush on him, when it was obvious he was a player who wanted nothing to do with someone like me. He had made that painfully obvious when I overheard him talking to Jack.
If I hadn’t already been reeling from seeing him with Taylor, his cruel words would have sent me to my knees. Instead, they pushed my angry pride to the surface, and against my better judgement, I found myself insisting I didn’t have any feelings for him and that it was only his bloated ego that made him think I was interested.
I hope he bought it.
Then the strangest event in a series of strange events. Backing me into the lockers, whispering in my ear? What had that been about? I had been paralyzed by his closeness, the feel of his breath on my lips, his low voice in my ear.
Why did he do it? Had he been flirting with me? Trying to intimidate me? My experience with this sort of thing was zero, and he had just gotten done telling Jack how unappealing I was, so I wasn’t sure what to think. All I knew is when he pulled away, my legs were shaking, and anticipation ricocheted through my body wondering what he might do next. I barely slept last night due to the torrent of conflicting emotions Nikolai had stirred up.
The bus hit a pothole, jarring me out of my confusing thoughts. I looked down at my old uniform of baggy pants and an oversized sweatshirt, and for the first time felt miserable that I had to wear them. In the past, I had simply accepted the dowdy clothing as a way to manage the situation with Jeff, but now, with Nikolai helping me and having had the chance to dress a bit more normally, these clothes felt like a prison.
My bus pulled up to school, and I felt the old dread come over me knowing that Jeff was back at school today. Rising up to move with the crowd of kids departing the bus, I felt a vibration in my hand and looked down to see Nikolai’s name staring back at me. Even though I knew he probably wasn’t texting me anything remotely romantic, a jolt courses through my body and a small smile turned up the corners of my mouth.
*Nikolai: Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan to deal with Connors.*
My hand tightened on the phone as I struggled to control the upwelling of emotions rolling through me. I quickly blinked away the tears of relief that rushed to my eyes. It was worth dealing with all of Nikolai’s confusing behaviors when he did so much to make sure I was safe.
Hannah: Thank you.
No two words had ever been more heartfelt.

*****

In spite of Nikolai’s text, knowing that Jeff was wandering the school somewhere triggered my fight or flight response. I ran to my locker, grabbed the books I needed, and hustled to first period.
As I exited first period, I saw Jeff making his way towards me, a scowl of irritation on his face. Sweat slid down my spine and my feet felt like blocks of cement. He was about twenty feet away when Nikolai’s friend, Jack walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder.
Jack said something that had Jeff jerking back in what looked like shock.
“What the FUCK?” Jeff yelled loud enough for me to hear, even at my distance.
Jack shrugged and folded his arms on his chest. Jeff pushed past him and ran down the hallway in the opposite direction, towards the main office.
I stood in astonishment as Jack walked in my direction and winked at me. I couldn’t resist asking, “What did you say to him?”
Jack shrugged again. “I was just the messenger. Apparently, his car is on fire. Must have been some kind of faulty wiring. Bad luck, there.” Jack shot me another smirk and walked down the hall.
I couldn’t help the burst of laughter that escaped my mouth. Jeff worshipped his stupid car, a BMW convertible I was certain he did absolutely nothing to deserve. Nikolai targeted the one thing that would consume Jeff’s attention for the rest of day. I guess it was possible that Jeff could return to school, but it was highly unlikely. I felt the ball of anxiety that had been sitting in my gut since this morning start to dissipate and walked to my next class.
Around eleven, I got a text from Nikolai telling me that Katya would be picking me up in the parking lot after school in a red Mercedes convertible. Katya...ugh. I was not looking forward to having one of Nikolai's lady friends dressing me. However, it was a small price to pay for the peace I had felt all day today.I was terribly curious about her relationship with Nikolai. That curiosity got the best of me and I found myself texting Nikolai back.
*Hannah: How do you know her? What should I talk to her about?*
I sent the message and re-read it, feeling like a dope. I was basically asking him to tell me how to have a conversation with someone. God, I was going to get dumped by my fake boyfriend right before we started fake dating.
I kept my phone on my desk, which again, was pretty much prohibited in school, but teachers were typically lenient about it if it wasn’t a distraction. I hated how often my eyes would drift to the phone sitting silently on the corner of the desk. A part of me was nervous that he would text me back and tell me to stop asking stupid fucking questions, another part of me was nervous he’d never text me back again for the same reason.
I had gotten so caught up in a word problem about derivatives that I almost didn’t register that my phone was making short, jerky vibrations on my desk. I grabbed it and swiped it open.
*Nikolai: Are you serious?*
I felt myself flushing in embarrassment, but honestly, his response was a best-case scenario. I wisely put the phone away and didn’t respond.