Not Another Reason

Chapter One: Bad First Impressions

"All I'm saying is.. I can't be with someone that lied to me." Evelyn shrugs, sighing as Jessica continues to play with her hair as her head remains in her lap. "How do you know that he lied though. Because to be honest with you Evie, it just seems like you're taking a dead girl's word over your boyfriend's." Jessica replies, trying her best to save the relationship she once adored and looked up to.

"EX-boyfriend, Jess. And the guys basically confirmed it. They saw Zach trying to ask her out that day in the cafeteria, you know, when she yelled at him to leave her alone. He tried to say he was only asking her for homework but cmon, you heard the tape. Hannah's version makes more sense and is way more believable than the bullshit Zach came up with."

"And by guys, you mean Monty." Jessica says with an eye roll, Evelyn's best friend not being Jessica's favorite person at Liberty High, especially since Evelyn was practically turning into the girl version of him now that she spends almost all her time with him.

Evelyn sits up, giving Jessica a strange and somewhat dirty look. "Yeah, and what about it? He told me what he saw and what he heard from the conversation, and I trust Monty, so of course I'll believe him."

Jessica sighs, motioning Evelyn to lay her head back down in her lap so she can continue to play with her hair. "Sorry, Eve. Just, do me a favor, and remember your good times with Zach. He really cares about you and loves you, and always has. Don't let some bitch like Hannah Baker ruin that."

Evelyn tried to listen to Jessica. Ironically, if Jessica knew that Evelyn was hooking up with her ex boyfriend to help her get over the heartbreak, she wouldn't have wanted to help her, let alone even be her friend.

Evelyn tried to take her words into consideration and give what she said some thought. But after hearing what Hannah said on the tapes about Zach, how nice he was and how he seemed to try and flirt with her or stare at her any chance he got, she just couldn't help but believe. She saw herself, some days, how Zach would look at Hannah, and how whenever she was brought up, he tried to change the subject or not be involved in it. It hurt Evelyn, and although she tried to deny it, when the tapes were delivered to Jessica's house during their sleepover and they listened to them all, her fear had come true. Zach really did have something for Hannah Baker. And Hannah had felt the same way about him.

Evelyn never really took too much interest in Hannah, and didn't see why everyone else had. In her eyes, she was another problematic girl with little to no friends, that had rumors buzzing around about her, here and there. Even with her brother telling her to be nice and try to at least make friends with Hannah first to get to know her, Evelyn couldn't deny that she didn't like Hannah from the moment she met her.

Zach Dempsey and Justin Foley approach Hannah Baker's house, showing up casually late but still ready to party. But unknowingly to the clueless jocks, the sprinklers on Hannah's front lawn had turned on just before Zach's long legs even took a step, immediately causing him to slip and fall. Justin points and laughs at him before falling down with him, the guys wrestling like the giant kids that they truly were.

Kat, Hannah and Clay stand on the porch, watching the two jocks wrestle with humorous faces.

"Meet the boys. Justin Foley is mine, and Zach Dempsey is for you." Kat says to Hannah, pointing at each one to let her know who's who. "Zach Dempsey? Really?" Clay asks, confused as to why Kat would want to hook Hannah up with one of the jocks of Liberty High. "What? Zach's sweet!"

They watch as the guys wrestle a little more for a second, before Kat adds "Okay, yeah, he's kind of dumb, but he's the sweet kind of dumb, the best kind."

"Yeah, and he's also taken." Evelyn says, stepping onto the porch and catching their attention while tossing the rest of her drink away in the bush in front of them. She hears the noise and laughing of the guys, glancing at the boys on the lawn as she rolls her eyes. "Idiots."