Hannah ran her fingers over her face, rubbing her foundation in. Just under her bottom lip, she passed over a hard nub in her skin. She sighed, it was probably going to show up as a zit. But at least it was small and covered up.
She didn’t want to be late for the movie with Amber.
It wasn’t going to be as relaxing or fun as she thought. Hannah’s anxiety spiked when she caught sight of someone all too familiar. Hannah tugged the gray hood further over her face. Amber sighed next to her.
"Girl," she nudged Hannah with her elbow, "you can't avoid him forever."
"Watch me." Hannah mumbled.
"He's not even going to see the same movie." She said.
The snack line moved forward. Hannah kept her eyes down on the black carpet, counting how many orange triangles were inside her field of vision as John started his snack order. She found seven while John made some joke to the cashier, making her laugh.
Hannah was sure she could handle it, until she heard John's laugh. His regular laugh. Not the bitter, stilted one which echoed in Hannah's mind every time she thought about him or Skylar. The laugh which dissected her, made her question everything, made her wonder, briefly, if John was human at all.
Or was Skylar playing some impostor game with them all? So what Hannah's father assured her he had the alien under surveillance? How did he know they were the only one?
"Come on." Amber tugged Hannah forward. Her toe caught on a carpet snag and she stumbled. Quickly looking up as she caught her balance knocked Hannah's hood off. As John was walking away his eyes met hers. She used to melt under his gaze, she used to revel in meeting it, but now she quickly turned away and tugged her hood back up. Under the flush of anger and embarrassment she felt a small amount of pressure just under her lip.
As Hannah ordered her large popcorn, jumbo bag of m&m’s, and a large icee, she caught her reflection on the side of a candy display. There, under her bottom lip, was that zit. Only now it had a bright red rim with a very white center. Hannah did her best to hide her face behind her food on the way to the theater. She really should have dealt with it earlier.
Word count: 403
