No Ordinary Nerd

Chapter 13

"Threat has been neutralized. Hydra doesn't have him." The agent who fired the shot said after firing a second shot as Simmons and Bakshi fled. "And Simmons?" Agent Trip questioned. "Her cover has been maintained." The agent replied. All anyone could do in that moment was stand there like zombies as they took in everything that just happened - their friend, Donnie Gill, had been shot and killed right in front of them, and they could do nothing about it.

"You ok?" Jeff asked quietly as he walked over to Hannah as she stood alone in a daze. "Would you be ok if the person you liked got killed right in front of you while you could do nothing about it?" Hannah questioned in reply as she looked up at Jeff with tear-filled eyes. Instead of saying anything back, Jeff moved closer, pulling Hannah into a warm, gentle, much needed hug as she broke down in the boy's strong arms. "I never even got to tell him." She said sadly. Jeff gently rubbed the girl's back in an attempt to comfort her as she cried into his chest. "I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but it will be ok." Jeff said quietly.

TWO WEEKS LATER
"Hey, Hannah. We brought some things that we thought might cheer you up a little." Jessica said quietly as Skye, Sherri, and herself entered the still-upset girl's room, having been let into the house by Mr. Baker. Hannah simply looked over towards the three girls without saying anything. "I know it's still rough for you, knowing how close you two were." Skye spoke as she slowly went over and sat beside Hannah on her bed, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "So, we wanted to try and cheer you up at least the slightest bit we could." Sherri finished, walking over and sitting on the bed as well, Jessica following suit. "We even brought you a comfort-food-fix." Jessica said as she placed the small pile of candy on the bed. Hannah looked at the pile, seeing a few chocolate bars and other brands of candy, but one in particular grabbed her attention instantly. Hannah smiled a sad smile as she gently picked up the box of Mike and Ikes. "This was my favorite candy." Hannah said, quietly, almost whispering it. "Was?" Sherri asked curiously. "Yeah. It was something that Donnie and I shared when we used to work at the Crestmont together, before he had to quite and leave for the summer." Hannah spoke, remembering the memory of the two sharing a box of Mike and Ikes as they worked at the Crestmont theater. "My biggest regret is that I never told him how I felt. Because now he'll never know." Hannah said, looking down at the nicely made covers on her bed. The three girls stayed silent, not quite sure how to respond to that without possibly upsetting Hannah more. As Hannah looked over at her bedside table, she noticed the picture she had of Donnie and herself. She never realized it before, but as she looked at it now, she saw how Donnie looked at her with what appeared to be admiration in his eyes as he was smiling at her rather than the camera. "Donnie liked you too. You can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you. Donnie really cared about you." Skye spoke as she joined Hannah in looking at the picture on the small table by her bed. "Yeah. I've never seen him look at any other girl like that in all the time I've known him." Jessica added, joining Hannah and Skye. "I know it sounds selfish, but I don't know if I can let him go and move on. I don't know if I even want to." Hahhah said with a small sigh. "Maybe you don't have to." A new voice spoke, pulling the girls' attention away from the photo as they saw Hannah's parents standing in her doorway. "What do you mean, Dad?" Hannah asked curiously. "We've been keeping in touch with the Coast Guards that have been searching for any sign of Donnie, and they think they might've found something. Mr. Jensen and myself are fixing to head back down there to help resurface what they found and see what it is." Mr. Baker explained. "Do you think it could be Donnie?" Sherri asked hopefully. "We think so. Hannah's mother and Mrs. Jensen came up with the theory that Donnie could possibly still be alive. Since a body wasn't found at the surface of the ocean where he fell, they think that it might be possible his body could've frozen itself, causing him to sink to the bottom of the ocean." Mr. Baker explained. "Kind of like in Titanic." Jessica said with a small chuckle. "Sorry, not the time." She apologized sheepishly after getting looks from her friends. "So, you're saying there's a chance Donnie could still be alive." Hannah stated questionably. "Yes. It's a slim chance that might be the case, but it's still a posibility." Mrs. Baker said with a small smile.

After her dad left with Mr. Jensen, Hannah felt a new sense of hope after she heard that Donnie might still be alive. She clung onto that hope, not wanting to have to live in a world where her best friend was dead, never to be seen again as his grave site would be barried by the ocean. "Please let him still be alive. I can't and don't want to live in a world without him." Hannah pleaded to herself as she lie in her bed, staring up at the ceiling as the moon's light dimmly shone over it.

After three days had passed, Hannah began to slowly loose hope again. But that soon changed when her mother got a call from her dad. "Andy? What's going on? Did you two find anything?" Hannah's mom asked into the phone as Hannah sat at the kitchen table, eating her breakfast as she watched her mother on the phone.

After Hannah's mom ended the call, she slowly sat down at the kitchen table next to her daughter. "What did Dad say?" Hannah asked, hopeful and curious. "Well, they definitely found something. He said they were working right now to resurface whatever they found. He also said he'd let me know anything as soon as they find out what it is they found." Hannah's mom explained. Hannah sighed as she continued to eat her breakfast. Mrs. Baker placed a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder, not saying anything more as the two were overcome by a hopefull silence.