Work Text:
1.
It was a usual Friday. Why did everything happen on usual Friday though? Every single time one of her friends decided to summon ancient demons, or ask the person next door out, it was always a Friday. So, when Anthony walked up to Hannah, she sighed, already expecting something to happen.
“What do you want?” Hannah asked, pretending to be immersed in her book and not the fact that Anthony was leaning close into her, so close that she could see the splatters of freckles around his face, usually hidden by his hair.
“Maybe I just wanted to talk to you.” He accentuated this with a wink, and she hoped that her disinterested stare hid the fact that she was blushing wildly. Why did he have to flirt with everyone? Not that she was complaining, but she was going to confess what Anthony really meant to her, eventually.
“When do you ever want to” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, “Just talk.”
“True, I usually want to do more than talking.”
She was not going to crack and tell Anthony that she liked him. Confessing your love is humiliating, but even more humiliating if you consider the fact that it would be met by Anthony patting her shoulder and apologizing for not feeling the same way.
Nope. Not going to happen.
“Anyway, what I came here to tell you is that Coy started a challenge”
“What is it?” She asked, genuinely worried. Coy’s plots could range from harmless pranks to things that probably would be considered crimes in most places, but as he so politely puts it, “legality is for straight people.”
He must have noticed the expression on her face because he laughed and pulled away. She tried not to pull him back in, even though she would love to just lean up and kiss him. Hannah pinched her arm, hoping this would help. But nothing could cure her of her ridiculous crush on Anthony.
“Don’t worry, nothing bad. Just a fun little challenge.”
She winced. The last fun little challenge ended up with Anthony in the hospital.
“We have to see who can say the most pick-up lines.”
For some reason, Hannah saw him fiddle with his hands.
“Are you a poster? Because I want to pin you to the wall.”
“Oh god, that was horrible.” She said between laughs. If she were telling the truth, she would have said that if she didn't already like him, this would have changed that.
Later in the day, she had to run 1 mile, and after what seemed like an eternity later, she reached the finishing life, doubling over and coughing. She collapsed on to the floor, happy to feel the comforting ground. She was pretty sure her soul left her body in the third lap. Anthony watched her, laughing, and she turned and glared at him.
“I have athsma Anthony. Are you insulting my asthma?”
“Definitely not, Hanbon”
Hannah turned bright red, her body overheating. It’s just a nickname. But she couldn' help it, she liked him.
“Looking red, are you?”
Forget that. She hated him.
“I’m just really hot”.
That’s partially true. The day she had to run a mile had to be the day it was almost 100 degrees outside.
“We’ve already established that you’re hot when I said that pick-up line.”
And with that, he walked away, and not even the temperature could excuse how red her face was.
2.
Hannah had a problem. Well, she had many problems, but only one pressing one. Anthony had begun calling her pet names. What began as just a joke- Anthony squishing her cheeks and calling her cute- had now fledged into Anthony calling her “baby” and “darling” and “sweetheart” in such a kind voice that made Hannah blush wildly and lock herself in the bathroom.
She couldn't even look at him without bursting into a blush, and Anthony knew this. He took glee in teasing her, flirting with her, and doing all these things that made her life a living hell. It would be fine, sure, if he liked her back. But he didn’t, and that’s where the problem lay.
“Hey baby”
Without tilting her head, she already knew that this was Anthony.
“I’m starting to think that the competition Coy made up is just an excuse to flirt with me”
“Shush. Don’t tell the world my secret”
She blinks at him. He had to be joking. He had to be joking. There was not a chance that he would want to flirt with her. She had endured enough “you’re such a good friend” and “you’re like a sister to me” comments to know that they would always be platonic. Given the amount of your mom jokes he made, he was probably more likely to date her mom than actually date her. He would forget about flirting with her in a week and move his interest onto something else.
Doesn’t mean she can’t have fun while his flirting lasted.
“I’ll keep your secret darling. Only for you”
“Aw thanks honey”
“Always sugar”
“You’re the best, sweetheart”
She bit her tongue. Why couldn't Coy flirt with her? It's not like she was complaining about Anthony, but it really would be easier to control herself and not start kissing Anthony in public, PDA be damned, if he were a gay guy, or some other person she was not crushing on.
“You too, baby.”
With this, he broke out in blush, and he seemed- nervous? He was probably not used to little Hannah (although she was barely younger than him) flirting.
“Um, sorry. If you. Found that uncomfortable.” She looked away, nervous. Her thoughts were a blur of ohmygodanthonyhatesmewhatdididowhydidwestopflirtinghehatesme. Remembering what Anthony said to do when she overthinks, she breathed in and out. It is probably not something that is going to ruin their friendship forever and mean that they will never talk again.
“Oh no, don’t worry. It’s good that you joined in with the game”
Well, at least that was better than him thinking that she liked him.
“I need to go to my next class. Um, see you later?”
3.
Anthony was sleeping on Hannah’s shoulder. Hannah did not understand why the world did not pause in commemoration of this event. At least a violin symphony would be nice. But alas, no, the world did not change, even though Anthony had his head tucked into Hannah's neck, his lips nearly touching her shoulder. His hair was so beautiful that Hannah could not understand how everyone did not love Anthony, just a bit. She hesitantly moved her arm up, wondering if Anthony would mind if she started playing with the strands of his hair.
The movie that was playing on her TV was much ignored, while his lips were the focus of her attention. It was impossible for Hannah to look away, and she stared, transfixed, for who knows how long until his meta glasses fell right off.
This was enough to break her from her haze, and she broke out into laughter. Anthony heard this noise and stirred, and she cursed herself. Because now he was going to get up and leave since he was awake. She never wanted to leave from here, his body curled up next to her, the heat radiating from him warming her up, so she didn't need the blanket she brought.
“Hey.” She whispered tentatively, afraid to wake him up.
“Hi Hanbon. I’m tired.” He sighed, doing nothing to move from his position, instead cuddling closer, so his lips now met her throat, his breath skirting up and down.
“Hi, tired.” She giggled, not caring that that was a prime example of a dad joke.
“Ya know what I mean Hanbon.” His words are slurred and slow, still in the fragile state of half-asleep. She liked him like this; his eyes half lidded, and a lazy smile etched across his face. His freckles looked like stars, and she was internally debating whether she preferred the stars or his freckles, ultimately reaching the conclusion that of course she preferred his freckles.
“Ok, I’m just going to put you in bed now.” She moves her body away, carefully putting his head on her pillow.
“Nooooooo.” He reaches out for her. “Stay. You have a very comfortable head”
“Ok?” She replied, confused, why her head mattered.
“It’s also a very pretty head. I want to kiss that head”
“Ok?” She replied, confused but now wildly blushing. She had to repeat to herself that he did not mean it like that. He just wanted to kiss her the way other friends wanted to kiss each other. Platonically.
“Can I kiss that head?”
“I think it's time for you to go to sleep, sweetheart.” Sweetheart slips out of her mouth, so easy to say, and she tensed up, already worrying about what he would say. Instead, his grin brightened, and his eyes twinkled up at her. Anthony laughed, as if there was a joke that she was not involved in yet directly involving her.
“Only cuz you called me sweetheart.”
And he fell back to sleep on her shoulders, and she was left to wonder what he meant.
4.
When Anthony texted Hannah, asking if she would go to the park for a picnic with her, she was overjoyed. With the fact that she could spend time with Anthony, and also the fact that if she closed her eyes and tried hard enough, she could pretend it was a date, and Anthony was asking her because he liked her, not because they were really good friends who did things like this all the time.
Hannah definitely did not spend two hours getting ready, and if she did, that was no one's business but her own. She spent about fifteen minutes looking in the mirror and practicing how exactly she was going to say hello to him. “Hey” was too flirty, and “Hi” was too eager and “Hello” was too formal. After this, she decided that what she would need to, as Coy put it, “Win Anthony’s heart, or his...” was confidence. Dancing around her room to “Tongue Tied” counted as creating confidence.
What she did not except was Anthony to come in right as she was head banging, and stare at her with a bemused expression.
“Lovely dancing over here”
She felt a blush creep up her cheeks.
“Shut up Anthony. At least I have good music taste”
“You do realize this is one of my favorite songs?”
She realized this. Because every time she played it, she thought of him.
“Anyway” She cut him off, turning off the music to head outside “Where are we going for lunch? I feel like that’s a top priority.”
He laughed, properly laughed like all the bad things in the world had left him. She wanted to make him laugh like that every day.
They started walking to the park, chatting along the way about their classes, and their teachers. They arrived, sat down on the grass, and soon started focusing on the very important topic of whether Coy and Will were dating. This conversation had been going on for a long time, but finally, Hannah thinks she had proof: Coy and Will happened to be in the storage cupboard together. Although they were not doing anything discriminatory, who goes into the storage cupboard for ANYTHING OTHER THAN KISSING. Of course, the time Anthony asked Hannah to come so he could get over his claustrophobia, and he thought having her there would make things a lot easier.
Anthony had gotten pizza, the good, thin kind, and maybe (only maybe) Hannah was focusing a bit more on the pizza than him. She had a crush on him, obviously, but the pizza. The pizza with lots of melted cheese and the perfect tomato sauce to bread ratio and the perfectly cooked crust. Knowing that she wasn’t paying enough attention to him, Anthony pulled her back so that she was lying on his lap and began to fiddle with her hair.
His hands twirled her hair into something that almost resembled a braid.
She laughed. “That may be the worst braid I have ever seen in my life”
“Well forgive me for not knowing how to braid hair. Why would I even need to know that?”
“Because you have a sister and most of your friends are girls”
“Well now I’m learning how to.”
He didn’t seem like he was going to move any time, so she rearranged her position into something a bit more comfortable; her legs spread across the picnic blanket. She turned on some music, a mix of her favorite love songs which apparently will “Give Anthony the right idea.” She really hoped Coy was right about this.
A comfortable silence washed over them. Anthony kept on braiding her head, and occasionally humming along to the song, while Hannah tried not to freak out. She thought she managed pretty well- yes, she was as red as a tomato, but she hadn’t confessed her crush yet, so she counted it as a victory.
Anthony chuckled as he finished the braid. “It’s really bad, but I think you look really cute in it, if that helps?”
Is it possible to be redder than a tomato?
She had a tiny mirror on her, gifted to her by Coy, who told her if she ever lost it, she would be boiled alive.
It was actually a really good braid. The hair he did not manage to braid manages to frame her face well. It was pretty chunky, and she could do way better, but still the fact that Anthony went out of his way to do this was enough for her chest to pound.
“Oh my god, you hate it don’t you?”
“No, of course not” She could never hate anything he did. “I could never hate anything you did”. She was not meant to say that.
She looked away. He could probably sense her crush, she thought. He was probably disgusted and embarrassed and-
“I’m doing it again anyway”
“You really don’t need to.”
“Well, I am.”
He was gentler this time, more precise in his braiding.
Silence fell over them, like a comfortable blanket. She didn’t need to say anything, just being quiet and listening to music was enough.
She really loved him.
She realized that and tensed her shoulders in surprise. A simple crush, fine, but now she was really gone.
“Is anything wrong?”
“No, nothing”. Of course Anthony would notice that something was wrong, because that’s just who he is. Utterly perfect in every way. Why wouldn’t she be in love with him?
5.
“I have a crush”, Anthony announced to her.
It was a Friday. She hates Friday, she resolved. When has anything good happened on a Friday?
“That’s really nice!” She managed to say. She did not manage to smile, however, and said it with a weird grimace. Jealousy was radiating off her. She shouldn’t be like this, though. Anthony was her friend and Anthony liked somebody- or loved somebody. She needed to be happy for him and congratulate him.
“What’s she like?” She says this pleasantly, like she’s talking about the weather. The weather is nice today. So nice. And Anthony has a crush. Nope, the weather is nice. She should focus on that.
“She’s so funny, you have no idea. Every time I see her, I can’t help but smile.”
Hannah was funny. Hannah could make him smile.
“She’s always there for me, and never judges me when I talk. I could just rant to her for hours, and she’d be fine with it.”
Her jaw tightened as she bit down on her tongue, drawing blood. She smiled at him, a tight, polite smile that one may reserve for strangers, not her best friend.
“That’s wonderful!”
Jealousy was a strong thing.
“And she’s so pretty. I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t have a crush on her. And she just can’t understand how pretty she was, which is unbelievable because how can you look like that and not realize it?”
Hannah wasn’t pretty enough to ever make him like her. Hannah wasn’t good enough, and would never be good enough for Anthony.
She would have to deal with watching Anthony and his crush and dreaming about it being her instead.
“Oh, that’s great! I’m sure you would be so cute together!”
She genuinely meant that. There was no way they wouldn’t be cute together. Not like how she and Anthony would be.
“You really think so?”
“Obviously, she has to like you.”
Oh my god, what if he had a crush on Gal? He probably does- Gal would be perfect for him. Beautiful and funny and kind and all the things Hannah is not.
She had a vivid image in her mind of Anthony laughing at Gal’s jokes, and Anthony feeling nervous about asking her out. Anthony and Gal going on a date together, holding hands together. Anthony overthinking every conversation they have, Anthony blushing wildly whenever she looks his way.
Hannah would not be able to do that.
Anthony looked flustered by this information, colour flooding his face. He suddenly looked away, instead focusing on his feet. His hands fiddled behind his back, and he looked so truly in love that it made Hannah feel sick.
She needed to get out of here.
“I have to go. I haven’t finished my homework.”
“I didn’t think we had any homework.”
Damn Anthony and his attention span in class.
“It’s for a club.”
“You don’t do any clubs”
“I do now.”
And with that lie, she ran away.
+1.
Anthony had a crush. Hannah was dealing with this just fine, thank you very much.
She really wasn’t. Every single person Anthony had a conversation with; she contemplated if this could be Anthony’s crush. Every single person she picked apart and reasoned why they were so much better than her, and why it was so improbable he could like her. She began to be fed up with his flirting and banter and pet names and take her on things that could be compared to dates and all the things that should be reserved for his girlfriend. It wasn't fair of him to pretend she was that, and to lead her on like this. If he called her baby one more time, she didn’t know if she would punch him or kiss him, and she didn’t want to find out.
So, forgive her if she was a bit too snappy when Anthony walked up to her and uttered totally profane pick-up lines, the type to make you embarrassed and look away. Except she did not do those things and instead glared at him.
“Shouldn’t you be doing those things with your crush?” She doesn’t care that she sounds bitter. “I’m sure she would prefer this more than I would. I am going to die if I have to listen to you flirt with me one more time.”
And she couldn’t for the life of her to understand why Anthony looked upset about this. He had a crush, who probably liked him back, because how could she not. While Hannah was going to have to get over it. She would have to smile as they held hands, and cry into her pillow every night wondering why it couldn’t be her.
Anthony does not have the right to look like a kicked puppy or reply “ok” dejectedly or walk away from her with his head hanging low. He doesn’t like her, so he doesn’t get to act like that. She returned to reading her book and tried (unsuccessfully) to shove all thoughts of romance away.
Hannah and Anthony barely talk for the next few days, and she can’t figure out why. Four days after what Coy dubbed “The Incident”, she decided she needed to take action into her own hands.
She announced this to the mostly empty room, Coy there but not present, too concerned with cute cat videos on his phone. Coy did not register this very vital information at first, so she repeated it. She got rewarded with a non-committed shrug from Coy.
“Sure.”
“JUST SURE? THIS IS MY FAVORITE FRIENDSHIP ON THE LINE.” She yells back.
“HEY.”
“Second favorite friendship.”
“Fine, I'll help you. But only if you admit I am the most amazing person ever.”
Hannah sighed and repeated this.
“So, know how we get my friendship-”
“-or more” Coy butts in.
Hannah glares at her. “So, know how we get my friendship with Anthony back?”
Coy grins. Hannah hates that look. “With a big, roma- sorry, platonic. With a big platonic gesture. I’m thinking boombox outside his house to show he’s such a good friend, confessions in the rain about how you can’t fight your feelings of friendship anymore, standing outside of a bookstore asking him to love you like a friend” He overenunciated the word friend, probably thinking he’s being clever. Hannah hated that.
“Serious suggestions only”
“I’ll have you know I am being serious.”
“Serious confessions that aren’t just the plot of a rom-com.”
“Fine.” Coy sighs. “What about just talking to him, and saying you want him back as a friend?”
“Um...”
“Oh also, you should throw rocks at his window to get him to talk to you. Or flowers, that works too.”
And maybe that's the best option, or maybe Hannah is just a lunatic, but she agreed.
She doesn’t know whether rocks will smash his window. But it’s either that, or flowers, so she just hopes it doesn’t break.
Anthony’s house was barely a one-minute walk from hers, which was not enough time for her to think about what she planned to do. Talking and apologizing and maybe kissing- nope. She cannot think of things like that. She would rather be friends than ask him out and ruin every single conversation with awkwardness. At least then she would still have a piece of him, and that was good enough. She wasn’t deserving of more.
His room was on the first floor. When she was little, she would sneak into his room during the night when she couldn’t sleep and they had nightmares. She would sneak into his bed, and him, half asleep, would pull her closer, thinking she was a teddy bear. She misses that, all the time. The feeling of his hands around her waist. Him asking her to stay when she left in the morning.
Eventually her parents found out and that was the end of that. All good things end eventually.
His house didn’t always look this big. She was just scared; she reasoned with herself. But this was fine. She will be fine.
Hannah took the rocks out of her pockets. They didn’t seem that hard, and she already practiced throwing them at Coy’s window. Nothing happened. Except it may had been two a.m. and she may have woken up a very disgruntled Coy, who cursed her entire blood line. The curse would only be broken, apparently, if she kissed Anthony. Not going to happen, so she hopes her kids don’t mind being cursed.
The rocks hit his window with a loud thunk. He does not respond. Maybe he is at dinner or at a date or-
His head peaks out of the window.
“Hannah, is that you?”
“...maybe”
“Come in.”
She climbs through the window, surprised she can still fit. His room is messy and looks so much like him- his doodles paint the walls, and he has photos of him and his friends taped to every surface. It slightly looks like a bomb went off- clothes are strewn across the floor and random books half read make up big piles around the room.
“So...” Hannah says, pacing around the room.
“I wanted to apologize for snapping at you. I had no reason to, but I did anyway. I’m so happy for you and your crush, and I think you and her would be incredible together. I won’t do this again. I care about you so much and you’re my closest friend, and I don’t want to lose that.”
Ok. That was good. That was a good apology.
“And you and Gal would be cute together”
She shouldn’t have said that.
Hannah takes in a deep breath.
This is ok, everything is fine and Anthony- Anthony is laughing?
“Oh my god, you didn’t realize. You really didn't realize.”
What?
“...Was I supposed to realize something?”
“Hannah. Hannah. Hannah.”
Each time Anthony said her name, he became more and more hysterical, until he was a giggling mess.
“I don’t have a crush on Gal, Hannnah”
She loved the way he said her name.
“Ok, then, Will?”
“What?”
“Shirley? Jazzy? Coy?”
“I don’t have a crush on any of these people.”
His face flared red like a tomato. His head was ducked, any he seemed awfully busy staring at the floor. He was blushing furiously now. There was no way to deny it. Why would he even be blushing? It couldn’t be her, could it?
“I, um, sorta-”
She stared at him. He stared back, finally facing her.
“I may or may not might be madly in love with you."
What. Nope. This is not true.
She continues staring at him.
“I had a whole better speech, which was much more romantic and like your thing, but I just got nervous. I’m sorry. I know you don’t like me, and I hope we can still be friends but for a bit I almost thought you might like me-”. He rushed over his words, talking quickly as if he was afraid she would leave any second.
“You wrote a speech about me?”
Of course that was the only thing that came out of her mouth.
“I waxed poetically about your eyes for three stanzas. And I have a whole stanza dedicated to your love of your-mom jokes.”
“Is this a prank? Did Coy make you do this?”
“Of course not. I... I really like you. You’re so funny, I could listen to you talk for hours. I can never understand why you don’t act like you’re the prettiest person alive. Because you are that. I like you so much, you have no idea. I wake up thinking about you and go to sleep thinking about you and oh my god, I said too much now I sound like a creepy stalker-”
“Can I kiss you?”
She interrupted him, surprised that she actually managed to say that.
“I mean, unless you don’t want that. I would date you even if you didn’t- wait, you didn’t mention dating, what if you don’t want to date me- I just like you too. I’ve liked you this whole time. That’s why I was so jealous. Because I want you. Wait that sounds wrong- I want you, but not in a creepy stalkerish way.”
“Yes, you can.”
His hand came up, warm and steady against the side of her face. His thumb traced her cheek once before he leaned down to press his lips against hers, hesitant for a second as if he was finally realizing what was happening. There was no way to take this back, she realized. No way for them to go back to being just friends. But the hesitation broke instantly. It turned into something urgent, mouths colliding together. Hannah’s fingers tangled in the soft wool of his sweater, pulling him closer as the rest of the world disappeared. She never wanted to leave, wrapped up in Anthony.
She had read romance stories, and kissed some random guy as a dare, yet nothing compared to what was happening now. She understood why couples kissed in public- she would kiss him in public if it meant she could kiss him. She had read in a story the phrase "Their kiss turned faster, messier, more desperate". Hannah never fully understood what this meant until Anthony Po was making out with her, in his room, at 2 a.m. Slowly she broke away, while Anthony let out a little whine. She loves him, and he might love her too.
“Can I hear your speech now?”
That was enough to make them both burst out in laughter, rolling around the floor.
“Please, no, spare me...”
She looked up at him.
“Fine.”
“Yes!”
“Ok so... you, Hanbon, are the cheese to my macaroni-”
“This is terrible. I love it.”
“Shush, don’t interrupt me. You must be a magician, because every time I look at you, everyone else disappears...”