A Different Light

Chapter 9

Hannah POV 

I wake up and shower then head out into our kitchen to grab some breakfast. As I'm munching my bowl of cereal, Jillian appears, her short hair sticking out on one side. 

"Morning," I say to her. 

"Good morning," she says and beams a smile. 

"You look all bright eyed and bushy tailed," I tell her. 

"Tobias asked me out today," she says with a big grin. 

"Oh yeah. We're all going. Burgers, milkshakes, and bowling," I tell her. 

"What do you mean 'we'?" She asks, arching a brow and crossing her arms over her chest. 

"You, Tobias, his roommate Mac, and myself," I tell her, confused. 

She rolls her eyes and heads to the fridge. My brows pull together and I watch her. 

"Is something wrong?" I ask her. 

"Would you rather see a movie than go bowling?" she asks. 

"I don't know. We kind of watch a lot of movies..." I say to her. 

"Fine. Maybe Tobias and I will go see a movie then," her tone is snippy. 

She stalks back into her room and closes the door. What the hell was all that? 

So Jillian doesn't want to go with you guys. Tobias texts me.

Yeah. We just had a very weird conversation. She wants to go see a movie and got upset when I told her we watch a lot of movies. I've only been here a day and already they're watched like seven movies, I text back. 

Whatever. Let's just get lunch and see if we can agree on something to do. 

Sounds good. 

I take a shower and slip into my favorite flowy emerald dress and a pair of wedge heels. I curl my hair, put on minimal makeup, and spritz some perfume on my neck and wrists. I pack my wallet, chapstick, lip gloss, and a couple other necessities in a bag that goes with the crocheted pattern on my sandals. I head into the living room and see Jillian in a tight, short black dress, pumps, red lipstick, and her hair is as curled as she can get it with how short it is. She looks beautiful but a bit done up for burgers and bowling. Maybe she and Tobias are going somewhere fancy... 

There's a knock at the door and she runs to open it. There stands Tobias with a handful of flowers and a smile. He looks at me and hands them to Jillian. I smile at him and look to see where Mac is. Instead of Mac, Nick is behind Tobias with artfully colored roses. 

"Mac couldn't make it so I asked Tobias if I could come," Nick explains. I take the roses and try to hide my disappointment. 

"What happened?" I ask. 

"Actually he had a family emergency. His mom is in the hospital. Nothing super crazy, she is getting her appendix out, but she's all he has. It's a couple hours away, and he left in the middle of the night," Nick says. 

"Oh I hope she's okay," I tell him. 

"You look absolutely stunning," he says and wraps me in a hug, then he lifts me off my feet. 

He smells like the most amazing combination of woodsy musk. I want to breathe it in forever. Somebody clears their throat, making Nick set me on my feet as we both look over at Tobias and Jillian. Toby is wearing a t shirt and faded jeans, and Nick is wearing something similar. 

"Shall we?" Tobias asks pointedly. 

Nick takes my hand and kisses it, "We shall."

I never noticed his tattoos before. We get into Nick's car- a deep blue 1969 Mustang Fastback, manual. It is the most gorgeous car I have ever seen in my life. I slide in and can't help but notice the entire car is original and recently restored. 

"You like it?" He asks, his muscles tighten as he shifts into gear and we head out of the parking lot. 

The car purrs under his perfect maneuvering. 

"Oh god yes. This would be like a dream car of mine!" I tell him. 

"It was mine, too. My dad and I spent all summer restoring it. It was a graduation present for me," he explains. 

The way he drives is the sexiest thing I have ever seen. I have to keep catching myself because I am staring at him too much. I put my sunglasses on and continue checking him out as he drives. He has tanned skin and green eyes with sun streaked brown hair. He's gorgeous, muscled, tattooed, and tall. He's probably 6'6" and I loved the way my body felt against his. Way better than Mac... 

"What are you thinking about, beautiful?" He asks me. 

"Just checking you out," I tell him with a grin. 

He throws his head back and laughs, and I relish in the sound. 

"So where are you from?" I ask him. 

"Guess," he says, looking over at me then back to the road. 

"California," I say with a wide smile. 

"Got it in one," he tells me. 

"Really??" 

He laughs again and nods, "Yeah, I grew up in San Clemente, California. I used to walk to the beach from house to surf." 

"Wow. That sounds amazing." 

"Eh. It got old after a little while. It's a beautiful place, but I think I would rather visit than live there," he tells me. 

"Oh? Interesting. I've never been," I say to him. 

"Well maybe I'll take ya one day. Only if you're really nice to me, and give me back massages," he says. 

I smack his arm and we laugh. Tobias pulls into a parking lot and we follow. This place is not called Mac's...it's some expensive looking Italian place. We head inside and Jillian is clinging to Tobias' arm so tightly, he looks uncomfortable. The hostess eyes the boy appreciatively and leads us to a booth. The entire place is empty- there's only us there. 

"Oh my god, can you say desperate?" Jillian says and motions for Tobias to slide in the booth ahead of her. 

"Oh uh I usually sit on the outside," he tells her. 

"Whatever," she slides in and I follow, letting the boys sit on the outside. 

Nick puts an arm around my shoulders and whispers in my ear, "She's a little much." 

I giggle and nudge him with my arm. He smiles down at me, and I rest my hand on his leg. 

"I really love the color of your dress. It brings out your eyes," he says to me. 

"Oh thank you!" I tell him. 

"It's her favorite," Tobias says. 

"It is," I tell him proudly and beam at them both. 

"This is my favorite dress," says Jillian. 

"It's uh cute," Tobias tells her. 

"Why thank you," she bats her eyes at him.

"Isn't that kinda dressy for bowling, though?" He asks. 

"I said I didn't want to go bowling," she fumes. 

"Oh I forgot. What do you guys think sounds fun? Wanna go mini golfing or something?" Tobes asks us. 

"As long as there are no bets, I am in. I-" I start but Toby cuts me off. 

"suck at mini golf. Yeah, I know, that's why I brought it up," he laughs, finishing my sentence. 

"I'm in," Nick says. 

"Well I'm not. I want to go to the movies," Jillian crosses her arms over her chest. 

"I don't wanna be inside on our last day before classes start..." I trail off as she gives me a dirty look. 

"Yeah, I second that," Tobias says. 

"Third," Nick says. 

"Ugh. You guys suck," she says. It's kind of hard to tell if she's joking- and I don't think she is. 

What a b***h. 

A waitress comes up to take our orders and we realize that nobody has even looked at a menu. 

"You guys wanna split a pizza? They have a wood-fired mushroom and sausage one that sounds delicious," I say. 

"Hell yeah, that sounds good. Should we get a large?" Tobias asks. 

"Yup. Wanna get an appetizer? They have bread sticks and stuff," Nick says. 

"How about bruschetta?" I offer.

"Oh god yes. My mom makes that, it's my favorite," Nick says and pulls me closer into him. 

"Are you sure you want to eat that much bread? That's a lot of carbs.." Jillian asks, looking straight at me. 

"Pretty sure," I tell her. 

"Well you guys enjoy your carb fest. I lost my appetite," she says all snippy. 

"You didn't eat breakfast either. You know that can also make you gain weight- you need to keep your metabolism going-" I begin but she waves me off with a swipe of her hand. 

"Puh-lease," she says to me and the boys share a look. 

"Alright," I say and stare at the table. 

"So that's all for you guys?" The waitress asks. 

"Can I get a beer?" Tobias asks. 

The waitress looks at him and shakes her head with a grin. 

"Sure. Anyone else?" She asks. 

"I'll take one," Nick says. Then adds, "Please!" 

"I'll take a diet dr pepper and a water, please," I tell her. 

"Iced tea for me, please. NOT sweet tea. Just plain iced tea," Jillian says in her dismissing tone. The more she talks the less I like her. 

The waitress rushes off and Toby, Nick and I start talking about the party on Friday and who's going to be there. Apparently, Kappa Blappa something or other is the fraternity that Nick and Tobias want to rush this year. They're the frat all the footballers join.They said rushing starts in a month. I think about sororities. Maybe I should join one... 

Tobias POV 

This is a f*****g nightmare. This poor girl looks like a slutty version of the corpse bride and is being such a b***h. If she makes another snide comment to the waitress, she can sit by herself. She insisted we come here and then doesn't even f*****g eat? What the f**k dude. Meanwhile, Hannah looks absolutely beautiful in her favorite dress- and I know it's her favorite because she wears it on important occasions. Her and Nick actually look like a good looking couple. He's a nice guy and I wouldn't have to kick his ass if he hurts her- I can take it all out on the field. Jillian keeps trying to feel me up under the table, resulting in me literally with my ass halfway off the bench. Finally the appetizer arrives and we all dig in while she just stares and sips her plain tea. If I have a pet peeve, it's people who treat waitstaff like s**t. Her hand travels up my leg again and I grab it and move it. 

"Can you knock that off, please? I don't like it," I tell her. 

"Of course, baby," she purrs, then she whispers in my ear, "Want to meet me in the bathroom and I can take care of you there?" 

"No. What the f**k," I tell her. 

"Why not?" She glares at me and crosses her arms over her chest again. 

"Look. You're a nice girl, but I don't think this is going to work out at all. Can I take you back?" I ask her. 

Her eyes well up with tears and she sniffs a few times. 

"Why does this always happen to me? Guys always want the sluts like her!" She screams and points to Hannah whose face turns 3 shades of red and she dips her head. 

"Surely the irony isn't lost on you as you just felt me up and look like a cheap f*****g w***e for an outing bowling," I tell her and she starts sobbing. 

The waitress rushes over to see what's wrong and I slip her a $20. 

"For your trouble," I tell her. 

"Oh sir, no it's fine.." she tells me. 

Jillian sobs louder and louder. 

"Uh. Actually. Can we just take everything to go?" Nick asks, and I realize Hannah hasn't looked up from the table. 

"Oh sure. Your pizza is almost done. Let me box it all up for you and get you your bill," she says to us. 

"Dude just get her outta here. I got it. We can just go back to our place," Nick tells me. 

"Jillian, come on," I say to her and she wails. What a f*****g psycho. 

She stands and we head out. When we get into the truck, she finally calms down a little and looks over at me. She has makeup running all over her face and looks...just horrible. 

"You weren't serious, were you?" She asks me. 

"Bout what?" I ask. 

"What you said...about how I'm dressed...and us not working out. You didn't mean that, did you?" She asks, hopeful, and her hand slides up my leg again. 

I take her hand and throw it off me. 

"Do you see how you're behaving?" I ask her. 

"How do you mean?" She's fixing her makeup in the mirror. 

"This is..you are... This is just too much, Jillian. I don't do these kind of relationships. You need someone a little better suited to your needs," I say to her. She starts crying again, and wails all the way back to her dorm. 

Thank Christ she gets out and heads inside without a word. 

I park and head into my own building as Hannah and Nick pull into the parking lot. Nick gets out and I look towards Hannah. He just shakes his head. We grab the food and head up. Smithy is at the gym so we set the food on the table and start eating. 

"That b***h is f*****g crazy," I say to break the silence. 

"Yeah no s**t. She was completely feeling you up under the table, bro. What the f**k was that?" Nick says. '

"What did she whisper in your ear?" Hannah asks me. 

"I can't repeat it. I'll throw up," I tell her and we all laugh. 

We all eat, and a little while later Mac shows up. Hannah is laying across Nick while he plays video games and if Mac gets upset, he hides it well. Good. Nick is much better for her. Mac sits down and Nick hands him the controller, then starts to play with Hannah's hair. 

"How's your ma?" I ask Mac. 

"Good, man. She's totally fine. I feel like I rushed out there for nothing but oh well, better safe than sorry," he says. 

"Glad to hear she's okay, though, and yeah definitely better safe than sorry," I tell him and my voice gets tight. Hannah looks over at me. 

"You okay?" She mouths. 

"Eh. Fine," I shrug. She smiles. 

Suddenly her phone goes off. She looks at the screen and answers. 

"Hello?" 

"What do you mean?" 

We can hear the voice on the other end yelling and it sounds like something is breaking. 

"Oh my god! Yeah. I'll come. Uhh I guess... He doesn't. Okay. Yeah we will be right there," she says and her eyes well up with tears. 

"What happened?" Nick asks. 

"Jillian destroyed my room, I guess..." she tells us. 

Fuck.