Room 425, Monday

[new_it_girl]

Hanna returned to Fandom late last night. It took her almost the whole day to say goodbye to Caleb and then her friends. Their group hug alone could have lasted forever. It was necessary after everything they had been through together. Leaving her mom was the worst part, because Hanna knew she wouldn't be back to Rosewood for awhile. Her mom knew it, and even promised to visit so Hanna wouldn't have to go back.

Being in Fandom couldn't make her forget, though. This time, when she remembered some of the things 'A' had done, she saw the face to go with it all.

She shuddered, and then turned the music on her laptop on. The less quiet it was, the better.

[open if you don't mind a slightly angsty girl; A being discussed quite a bit...for those who may not want to know who it is]

Comments

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

Hanna considered ignoring the inquiry. She wasn't sure she wanted to be around people right now. But Elphaba wasn't just any random person. Perhaps seeing her close friend who wasn't from home would be a good thing.

"Hey!" Hanna greeted as she opened the door, a faux cheerful smile plastered on her face.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Hello. I don't think I've ever asked if you like apples," Elphaba admitted, smiling genuinely at her friend. "I hope you do, otherwise I've made a terrible mistake. Or... I'll just have to eat them all in front of you."

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

Hanna kept the smile, though it was a little more real this time. "I like apples."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Well, I brought some," Elphaba said. "So we'd have... something in case I ended up staying here late. Not that I had anything particular planned for us to do, I'll admit. But I was hoping to spend some time together."

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

"I don't mind company," Hanna admitted, and she actually meant it. "I don't think I want to be alone right now."

Not that she would have been for long since she did have a roommate, but it had been too quiet just moments before.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba's face fell a bit, her expression turning to one of a concern as she stepped into the room. "This is about 'A', isn't it?" she asked.

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

Hanna sighed. "How did you ever guess?"

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"It seemed the obvious answer as to what could have upset you," Elphaba said, taking a seat on the edge of Hanna's bed. "Come, sit. I won't leave until you want me to. I'll listen to anything and everything you want to say."

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

"It was a very long weekend," Hanna said. "But...it's over."

She closed her eyes as a way of keeping herself composed. It still hurt to think about.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"It sounds like it's still affecting you, even if its over," Elphaba said. "You actually don't sound all that relieved at all."

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

"Oh believe me, I'm relieved," Hanna said. "But yeah...it's still affecting me. It will for a long time."

She wanted to tell Elphaba all of it. She could now, right? 'A' was away now. She couldn't hurt anyone close to Hanna anymore.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Sit, please," Elphaba said, wanting to hold her friend close. "You don't have to force it, but I do want to hear about it. I think talking about it will help, at least a little."

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

Hanna sat as instructed. "I just...I feel responsible...in a way. If circumstances in the past had been different..."

She probably wasn't making any sense.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba put a comforting arm around her friend and sat closer. "Start over," she said, having lost what was happening. "What happened?"

She needed to know that before she could see why Hanna was feeling guilty.

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

Hanna did just that. But she started at the very beginning, when the messages started. "'A' seemed to torture me more than the others."

She'd only told Elphaba the basic facts before. Now, she was telling her everything: from the blackmail about her mom to being hit with a car to the cupcake thing...

"All of that happened before I even came here," Hanna explained. "By the way, you can't tell anyone that thing I told you about my mom. I'm so sorry if I put you in a bad position because of that, but...she's all I have."

And there was still so much of the story she needed to tell.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"I don't see why I'd need to tell anyone," Elphaba said. "It's safe with me, I promise." She'd not heard all of this before, and some of it was a shock, but she was mainly just worried for her friend.

"And I can't even imagine what it was like to go through all this."

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

"It wasn't easy," Hanna admitted. "My other friends were going through this, too, and we had each other. But, none of them knew about my mom. I did feel very alone at times."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Well, you're not alone any more. And you won't have to deal with A again. Though that part I still don't entirely know about," Elphaba said, hinting gently.

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

"Well, this weekend, I kind of understand why A targeted me so much." Hanna could feel the tears burning again. This time, she wasn't sure she could hold them back. "A...is...was...really close to me."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba clasped a hand over her mouth in shock. "Not one of your friends, was it?"

She really, really hoped it wasn't. That could scarcely bear thinking about.

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

"It was my friend Mona," Hanna said, her voice barely audible. "She even sent herself A messages to throw us off."

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

"Why..." Elphaba found herself at a loss for words. "I don't understand why she would do that."

She shook her head, feeling awful for her friend. "I don't understand it at all."

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

"I barely understand it myself," Hanna admitted. "It was about revenge for her. We had been friends a long time ago, but then I was accepted into Alison's clique. I am ashamed to say I ignored Mona during that time...just because I wanted to be popular."

Now she allowed the tears to fall. She was totally blaming herself for all of this.

[didntchewgrass.livejournal.com]

Elphaba found herself crying as well, not because she was a sympathetic crier but because it hurt to see her friend like this. She scooted closer and closed Hanna into an embrace.

"That doesn't justify what she did to you, or anyone else."

[new-it-girl.livejournal.com]

Hanna was grateful for hugs right now. "I get that. I do. But maybe if I hadn't ignored her...and just stood by while Ali was mean to her..."

"After Alison died, Mona and I got close again," Hanna explained. "We made ourselves over and became queen bees. Our best Alison impersonations...Then I got close to my old friends again when we started getting to A messages."

Hanna just shook her head. "She wanted to drive us further apart, but it backfired. And that just made her more mad."