hannah (chase lawrence)

001

our eyes meet from across the room and a silly grin smears across my lips like paint on a canvas. chase. i haven't seen him in years and i finally get to watch him perform. we went to college together for a few years and were instantly best friends, but with touring we didn't get to see each other much and we lost touch. the most we've talked is an occasional text every half a year or a comment on instagram.

i see his pearly whites flash back at me as soon as he recognizes me. weaving through the crowd like a needle pulling thread, we're drawn to each other. my heart begins pounding and the panic! at the disco song fades from my ears as i'm too focused on what lies ahead to take in anything else. eight feet away. seven feet. six. five. four. three. two. and then he was there, tall and a daring light in his eyes that i've known since the start.

  "hannah!" he exclaims. "how have you been? i've missed you so much!"
  "hey there kiddo! i've been great, how about you? i've missed you too," i respond, tousling his mop of curls.
  "i've been wonderful.  i'm so excited that you can make the show today, it means so much to me," chase smiles. i smile back. we both hold out our arms for a long awaited embrace. his muscular arms hold me close to his torso so my head was nuzzled into his chest.  now, not only the sound of the panic! at the disco song fades out of my ears but the loud bustle of partygoers does too. i feel his heart thumping against my temple as my arms gently wrap around his toned waist.
"so you wrote a song about me huh?" i mumble into his chest.
"had to, you were my best friend in college, you loser," he speaks into the top of my head.
"yeah, yeah whatever you say lawrence," i tease, looking into his eyes. for a single moment, everything fades. all i can see are his eyes, and his lips: i feel myself being drawn to them. oh my, his lips, to feel them just once. just once, but i couldn't, i can't. he didn't want me then and he sure won't want me now. "i um," i look down at my shoes and release myself from his arms. "i know you hooked me up with tickets but you still haven't sent me the barcodes or told me where they are. god, you're so bad with checking your phone."
  "i know, i know, im sorry, but this time it was on purpose!" chase exclaims. my brows furrow. he was ignoring me?"
  "i mean, if you didn't want to see me you could've just-" i start.
  "no no no, i mean the tickets are a surprise! you get to watch from pit, in front of the barricade," he smiles. "i'd never ignore you, loser."
  "you remembered! from my-" i begin.
  "-bucket list! of course i remembered," he finishes, letting out a laugh. "oh, and i got you a shirt to wear too."
  "oh really? what's it look like?" i ask.
  "well, why don't we go and grab it from the tour bus? i had to get out for a while so i came to this club that you posted on your instagram story half an hour ago," he says in a tone that's almost bashful, scratching the back of his neck.
  "ahh, so first you don't want to see me, now you're stalking me, get your story straight lawrence!" i tease, poking his torso.
  "ha ha, very funny," he says sarcastically, yet still playfully. "let's get to the tour bus, then you can meet the guys and get your shirt and it's only 8:30, so you could stay for a while if you'd like."
  "sure! let's get it going!" i say turning to face the door. chase slings his arm over my shoulders the skin on this forearm grazing my bare shoulder and i smile at the contact. "so, how's famous life treating you?"
  "well it's incredible. we still have a long way to go but our fan base is the best one we ever could've asked for. i've had one girl wreck her car and she drove to one of our shows, it was the florida show actually, in her absolutely demolished car! it just goes to show how dedicated they are and i think that's really cool," chase reminisces.
  "that's really sweet actually. obviously though i'm your number one" i tell him, knowingly.
  "of course, of course, hannah," he playfully tugs my hair. "here's the bus." he takes my hand and tugs me into the large vehicle and as we step inside i realize it's more spacious than i would have thought, but still cozy. two men were sitting on the couches lining the sides of the bus, watching the office.  "hey guys, this is hannah."
  "the hannah?" the one with dark curly hair asks with a wide but sly smile.
  "yes joe, the hannah!" chase laughs as the other clicks pause on the tv remote. "oh, right, that's joe and that's ryan."
  "nice to meet you both, i guess i'm the hannah," i laugh, extending my hand to joe, and then ryan.
  "so, how do you and chase know each other?" ryan asks, smiling with his eyes, but excluding his lips. he seems to be the type to have a very quiet, intelligent, yet extremely kind and polite personality.
  "well, we actually went to college together for a few years, you know before he ditched me for you two," i joke. "no, i'm only joking. im more than happy for him. im sure you can figure out our situation from the song he wrote."
  "ah yes, of course, the tragic unrequited love," joe sings. "if it amounts to anything he hasn't stopped talking about you."
  "im sitting right here, joe," chase laughs.
  "he hasn't?" i ask.
  (a/n: hello!!! hope you're liking the story :) im excited to get started on it. pls check out my other books!)