I Wanna Be Free, I Wanna Be Loved

Ch. 7: The Bitch Is In

RACHEL'S POV

I got home and found Ryan in his room strumming away at the guitar dad got him for his twelfth birthday. My brother looked happy right now...too happy. I knew that stupid instrument brought him joy but right now his eyes were the size of the moon and the smile on his face screamed more than just happiness over music.

"Hey Derpwad. What up with the happiness?" I quiped.

Well if you must know, I finally met Hannah" he said, putting down the guitar.

"What'd she do, blow you?" I asked.

"No! But I did get her to agree to come to dinner with mom and us"

"Uh, more like you and mom" I said, going into my room.

"Why are you so intolerant to hang out with her?" Ryan asked, coming into my lair. "She's a girl, you're a girl. I thought you always wanted a sister?"

I looked up at him frm my bed "She'll never be a sister to me. She's just some girl hell-bent on ruining my life and yours with her existence"

"Rach, I highly doubt she's a demon spawn like you, or has any desire to be on. She was in her room doing a crossword puzzle when I went to say hi"

"Oh, so she's a nerd?" I asked, flipping through a magazine.

"God Rachel, you're so difficult. She's a sweet girl"

"Are you sure she didn't blow you?"

"You know what? Stay here for all I care. Mom and I will take Hannah out for a proper and peaceful welcome dinner while you rot here thinking of new ways to potentially get arrested and texting your boyfriend. What is his name again, Slayer?"

"His name is Slash!" I yelled as Ryan finally left.

He was right...I did want a sister and maybe I could shape Hannah into someone I could actually stand to be around. I got up off the bed and looked for an outfit that I could wear to dinner, ultimately settling on a dark blue tank top, gray skinny jeans, and knee high leather boots. I re-did my black eyeliner and thick mascara before going to check on my brother. I found him playing the guitar again; he had showered and was wearing a black v-neck shirt and jeans.

"Changed your mind, have you?" he asked without even looking up from the guitar.

"Shut your hole, Yoda. I'm not doing this for you or mom, I'm doing it so I can mold her into my sidekick"

"Rachel Emily Ross, if you get her arrested, I will never--"

"Dude, are you like in love with her or something?" I cut him off.

"What? No! Just making her feel welcome and I can't do that if you two are rotting in a jail cell together" he answered before running down the stairs. He was so into her and I would get the sweet satisfaction of a front row seat to watch him make a fool of himself; bring it on.

RYAN'S POV

Hannah was sitting on her bed in her small room still doing word puzzles. She too had changed; she was wearing a simple white dress and matching sandals. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail and I couldn't help but have thoughts of running my fingers through her hair while we kissed. I snapped back to reality where she would never feel like that about me once she saw the other boys at our high school. I was nothing compared to some of them even though a lot of girls told me I was cute with my puppy dog brown eyes and my little fohawk. Hannah looked up from her book and smiled at me.

"Hey" she said sweetly.

"Hi" I replied with my voice cracking slightly. Smooth Ryan, real smooth. "So we'll probably go out to dinner when mom gets home"

"Cool" she said "Oh you're welcome to come in, sorry there's really nowhere for you to sit"

"It's okay" I said, taking a seat next to her on the bed "How come you like crossword puzzles so much?"

She put her pen and book on the nightstand and blushed slightly, I wondered why. Did my question hit some kind of nerve?

"I've always liked them, and people say I'm really good at them too. My mom alw--"

She stopped speaking and looked down at her lap. I could see a few tears roll down her cheek and she quickly wiped them away. So my question DID affect her. I asked about something that related back to her parents...her DEAD parents. I should be expecting my "Douchebag of the Millenium" award in the mail.

"Oh god, Hannah! I'm so sorry!" I said as I hugged her. Every nerve ending in my finger tips was on fire as I touched her shoulders and my mouth went dry again.

"It's okay, you didn't know" she looked at me with those piercing green eyes. I let her out of the hug but I still had my hand on her back and I quickly dropped it, brushing her arm in the process. Something about this girl just turned me into a mess. When I heard the garage door open, I got up off the bed and went into the kitchen to meet mom while Hannah went back to her word games.

"Manage me, I'm a mess" I whispered to myself.