No Ordinary Nerd

Chapter 24

After taking his usual morning shower, getting dressed, and having a short family breakfast, Donnie left his house a little early so he could walk with Hannah to school. Donnie smiled to himself, being in a really good mood ever since he woke up.

As Donnie arrived at his girlfriend's house, he stepped up onto the front portch and knocked on the front door, taking a step back after doing so. "Oh, good morning, Donnie. What brings you here?" Mrs. Baker asked kindly after she answered the door. "Good morning, Mrs. Baker." Donnie greeted with a warm, friendly smile. "I figured I'd walk with Hannah to school today." He answered, making the older woman smile at him. "That's really nice of you, Donnie. Why don't you come on in while you wait? Hannah should be ready to go in a few minutes." Mrs. Baker said as she stepped aside, allowing her daughter's boyfriend into their home. "Thanks, Mrs. Baker." Donnie said as he walked inside and followed Hannah's mom into the kitchen where Mr. Baker was seated at the table with a medium-sized mug of coffee set in front of him on the table as he read the morning paper.

"Mom, who was at the door?" Hannah asked curiously as she came down the stairs. Before her mom could answer, Hannah looked up, spotting Donnie as he sat at the kitchen table, sharing small conversation with her dad. "It was Donnie. He wanted to walk with you to school today." Hannah heard her mother say from beside her. "You seem a lot happier ever since you got home from your date with him last night. I take it the date went really well." Her mom said. "Yeah, it did. I don't even mind that he was being a bit cleché when he won me a stuffed bear at the carnival last night." Hannah said with a bright smile, making her mom chuckle a little as she smiled too. "Maybe it's a good thing when guys are a little cliché. On one of our first dates, your dad took me to an arcade restaurant and was really determined to win anything and everything to impress me. It was definitely chiché, but it was cute. That's one thing that lead to him winning my heart." Her mom spoke, smiling fondly as if the happy memory was being displayed on a large movie screen in front of her. Hannah smiled at hearing the cliché date story from her mother. Hannah continued smiling as she watched her dad and Donnie talk, seeing how they never fell into an awkward silence or ran out of things to say. "Donnie's a real keeper. Especially since he's a really good balance between protective and funny, kind, caring, sweet, and adorable." Hannah's mom said as she observed the two talking in the kitchen as well. "Yeah, he really is." Hannah said, more to herself than to her mother. "You may not see it, but he looks at you the exact way your father looked at me when we were dating in high school." Her mom added. "He does?" Hannah asked in response. "Yeah, he does. He really cares about you a lot, you know." Her mom answered. "Even if he doesn't say or express it through actions 24/7, you can easilly see it in his eyes when he looks at you, when people around him mention your name, or when he merely thinks about you." Mrs. Baker added as she smiled at her daughter. 

After saying bye to her parents, Hannah and Donnie walked down the driveway and started down the sidewalk, their hands wasting no time in finding each other as their arms started to lightly swing back and forth between the two as they walked to Liberty High.

"Remember. You'll be perfectly fine. He's a senior, so he won't be in any of your classes. And I will make sure to walk you to and from classes so he can't and won't try anything again." Donnie reassured after noticing Hannah tense up a little as the school building came into view. Hannah relaxed after hearing her boyfriend's reassuring words. "Thanks, Donnie." She said, lightly kissing the boy's cheek as they continued walking.

Throughout the day, Donnie stayed true to his word as he met Hannah in between classes, walking her to and from them as he kept an eye out for the Liberty High senior - Bryce Walker. As it was now lunch time, Hannah and Donnie walked together to meet up with the rest of their friends at their usual spot - one of the lunch tables outside.

"Hey, guys." Donnie greeted as he and Hannah walked outside, seeing Tony, Jeff, Skye, and Jessica already seated at a table. "Whoa, what happened to you, Donnie?" Jeff asked, noticing the boy's bruised face. "Oh, I just got into a fight the other day." Donnie said simply. "With who?" Tony asked curiously. "Yeah, and what about?" Skye added. "Bryce Walker." Donnie said with a sigh as he lightly squeezed Hannah's hand in comfort. "And to answer your question, let's just say he said some things I didn't appreciate." Donnie said, answering Skye's question. "Yo, Bliz. What's up?" A voice greeted from behind the pair, saying the nickname quietly so only they could hear it, Hannah laughed to herself as the two instantly knew it was none other than Justin Fowley. "Hey, Justin." Donnie greeted with a small smile. "You get into a fight or something, Jensen?" Justin asked once he saw his friend's face. "Yeah. And before you even ask. Bryce Walker. Cause for it being that he said some things I didn't appreciate." Donnie said, restating what he had said a few minutes prior.

Later on, as the last class of the day was finally over, Donnie rushed to get from his class to Hannah's so he could walk her to her locker. As he rounded the corner, he spotted Hannah waiting by the door to her classroom, looking around as if she was looking for him. "Sorry I'm late. My class ran a little later." Donnie panted after running over to her. "Don't worry about it, Helmet." Hannah said with a smile as the two began walking to her locker. "Would you like for me to walk you home, Ms. Baker?" Donnie offered, Hannah detecting slight hopefulness in his voice. "Sure. I'd very much appreciate it if you would walk me home, Mr. Jensen." Donnie smiled at the girl's answer. After they both got their things from their lockers, they naturally joined hands as they left the school and headed for Hannah's house.