Dylan tried not to, but every day he glanced over to where Hanna sat with her new pack. All the tables in the square were full, but the group seemed to be happy sitting in a little cluster on the grass. Dylan hadn’t heard from her all summer, and she’d come back to school looking pale. Had her parents done something to her? Had they made her break up with him?
She’d said she wanted to figure out who she was, but that might have been a lie to cover for her parents. Hanna might have been afraid to tell the truth because Dylan wouldn’t take that lying down. He wasn’t Aiden.
Ouch, that was an asshole thought.
Maybe she’d left him because he’d done something wrong. Said something wrong. Because deep down he was nothing but an asshole and a screwup, and she’d seen through him.
Hanna had said she wanted to stay friends, but then she’d avoided him completely. Had she told Dylan that just to placate him or something? She was avoiding Aiden too. His friend hadn’t heard from Hanna all summer either. Should he ask Aiden to check on her?
No, that was a chicken thing to do. He had to talk to her himself. If she refused to talk to him, then he’d have Aiden make sure she was okay.
Hanna did seem happy with her new friends. He’d caught her smiling and laughing a few times.
Turning back, he looked over at Aiden. They locked eyes, and he realized his friend had caught him staring at Hanna. For a moment they didn’t say anything.
Aiden broke the silence. “You should go say hi.”
If it was just Aiden, he might have admitted something, but Dylan was all too aware of Tiago sitting right next to him. “Don’t want to bother her. She’s with her friends.” The ones she left him for.
“Invite them over. We can squeeze in,” Tiago said. The outside picnic tables fit six average kids. With Hanna and her four friends, that would be eight. Possible, but uncomfortable.
And it would be four extra kids Dylan didn’t even know.
Aiden must have seen something in his face. He smiled. “Just for today? It won’t kill you, I promise.”
Dylan sighed. But the truth was he really missed Hanna. “Fine.”
As he got up, he tried to ignore the fluttery feeling in his stomach. He knew Aiden and Tiago were watching him, but he was sure everyone else in the square was watching him too.
The ghoul boy noticed him first, glancing his way and going tense. A ripple went through the group, and they fell silent as Dylan took the last few steps. Hanna looked up at him, also tense, but he thought it was from awkwardness instead of nervousness. At least he hoped so.
“Hi,” Hanna said with a shy smile.
“Hey.” What should he say? Why haven’t you talked to me all summer? Or Did I do something to chase you away? Or even Are you afraid of me? But Hanna had been one of the rare few who hadn’t been afraid of him, at least since he’d rescued her from Conner. Now Conner she’d been afraid of.
“So um, we uh…” Dylan glanced back at Aiden and Tiago. “We were wondering if you wanted to join us? Just for today.” Why had he said that? It made him sound jerky. “We miss you.” Kind of a chicken thing to include Aiden instead of just admitting that he missed her, but it was also true.
Emotions flickered over her face, ending with something that might have been longing. “I don’t want to leave the pack.”
“You’re all invited.”
Hanna perked up. “Are you guys okay with that?” she asked the others.
They were less tense but still wary.
“I won’t bite,” Dylan told them.
That got a few laughs and shy smiles out of them. The vampire girl said, “Okay.”
They followed Dylan back to the table, and people were definitely watching them now. The vampire girl ended up next to Dylan as the others squeezed in around the table. Marisa started introductions, and Dylan told them his name even though everyone already knew who he was. Aiden too. Hanna had taken the spot next to him, and they exchanged awkward smiles.
Dylan wondered if he should be jealous, but the emotion just didn’t come.
“We missed you,” Aiden said.
“Did you really?”
“I didn’t hear anything from you all summer.” Dylan couldn’t help the accusation in his tone.
She ducked her head. “My parents took my phone away. I’m… sort of indefinitely grounded.”
“Why? You aren’t even dating me anymore.” Hanna’s parents had only allowed the relationship because Dylan helped catch Dalton’s murderers and it was some kind of werewolf honor thing.
“Because of my new pack. My parents don’t want me hanging out with them. With Marisa and Carter, at least, but they’re part of the pack.” Hanna poked at her half-eaten fried chicken.
“Your parents are assholes,” Dylan said. He’d love to punch her dad in the face.
“But you’re standing up to them?” Aiden asked. When she nodded, he said, “That’s great.”
“Hanna sticks up for us.” Carter was pressed close on Hanna’s other side. “She says she’s not brave, but she is.”
So maybe she’d been telling the truth about figuring out who she was without a boyfriend. If spending time with her new pack was making her braver, that was a good thing. Even if he felt a little pang every time he thought about her. There’d been something with Hanna, more than he’d had with Indira. Mostly because Hanna wasn’t a selfish bitch. She was sweet and shy but with a spark of something more.
God, was he pining for her? No. He missed her, missed their relationship, but he didn’t spend all day moping in his room.
Hanna ducked her head again. “I’m not.”
“Okay, I get that your parents took your phone, but why didn’t you come see either of us the first day of school?” Aiden asked.
After Hanna’s parents made her break up with Aiden, he’d pined for her. When she partly defied her parents and went back to being friends with him, he’d seemed content. He hadn’t minded Dylan dating her, had even encouraged it. When neither of them had heard from Hanna all summer, Aiden had been worried, but he hadn’t been mopey about it. In fact, he’d been unusually happy the past few months.
Relieved that the dark fae was dead, maybe?
Hanna shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to bother you.”
“It bothered me when you ignored us.” Aiden sighed. “I was worried about you. We both were.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to choose, Hanna,” Marisa said. “Being part of our pack doesn’t mean you can’t have other friends.”
“I know. I’m just”—Hanna waved her hands around—“trying to figure everything out.”
Aiden squeezed her arm. “Just remember we’re here for you.”
She gave him a shy, grateful smile. “Thanks.”
Dylan wished her “figuring things out” didn’t mean leaving him in the dust. He wasn’t going to let himself get all emo about it though. If they went back to being friends, he might be okay with that. Being dumped was no fun, but he was determined not to be the asshole ex-boyfriend. She already had one of those.