Never Just Friends - Chapter #1 - Free To Read

I woke up today feeling… ugh. Seriously. My stomach felt like it was auditioning for a circus act. First day of high school. It feels like just two seconds ago I was in middle school, where life was relatively simple. Well, simpler than this impending chaos.

I glanced over at my closet, and there it was: the first day of high school outfit I’d spent hours obsessing over. What’s the point? No one’s going to care. I pulled it on anyway, hands shaking a little. I glanced at the picture of Mom and Dad on my nightstand. They’d be proud of me today. At least, I hope so. It’s been two years since they died, but it still feels like it was just yesterday. I took a deep breath. You’ve got this, Hanna. You’ve got Jacob.

“Hanna! Let’s go! We’re going to be late!” Jacob’s voice boomed from downstairs, breaking into my thoughts like he always does.

I hurried down, finding him leaning against the door like some chill action hero with his car keys twirling on his finger. Always so calm, so dependable, so Jacob.

“You ready for this?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, as if he already knew the answer (he did).

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I muttered, trying to sound more confident than the human puddle of nerves I actually was.

“Hey, you’re gonna crush it. Just be yourself.”

“Be myself? Right,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “You mean the girl who trips over her own feet and somehow manages to embarrass herself within five minutes of walking into any room?”

Jacob laughed, then ruffled my hair like I was five. “Exactly. That’s my girl.”

When we pulled up to the school, my heart started racing like it was in the Indy 500. The school was huge. I mean, way bigger than middle school. There were already groups of kids forming, laughing, chatting, acting like they’d already figured out where they belonged in the social hierarchy. Must be nice.

Jacob nudged me. “Go get ’em, tiger.”

I forced a smile. “Thanks. I’ll try not to trip over my own feet.”

“You’ll be fine,” he promised. But did he really believe that? Probably not.

As I walked toward the entrance, I spotted a note stuck to my locker. A smile tugged at my lips. Emily and Elordi had written it. Of course they had. You’ve got this, Hanna! I felt a little better knowing I had at least two people in this huge place who didn’t want to watch me fail.