Free The Apocalypse by Jack Parker

forth, apparently sloshing the liquid around. "I have no idea what's going on in any of my classes. If that's trouble, then I've got plenty."
    "Darling, I'll give you any assistance that you need," Ethan promised, slipping an arm around Hannah's shoulders. As Jake was rolling his eyes, he thought he glimpsed Hannah wince and recalled her wounded shoulder. "You just let me know, and I'll do whatever I can."
    Brent's brow furrowed. "Do you guys even have any classes together?"
    "No," Ethan answered simply as he crammed a whole Dorito into his mouth. "But I'm great at moral support."
    "I'm sure," Jake commented flatly, knowing Ethan just wanted an excuse to spend time with Hannah—something that Jake couldn't fathom wanting. He stared at the pizza on his tray, feeling as though Hannah's presence suffocated his appetite. Suddenly curious, he glanced at a table not too far away and saw that Hannah's friends were all eyeing his table. Of course they were. They liked Hannah. And they could have Hannah as far as Jake was concerned.
    "Well, we've got seventh period together," Brent was saying when Jake zoned back into the conversation. Oh God, Jake thought, realizing he was still acknowledging Hannah and having a dreadful feeling about where this was going. "So I could try to help you there. And you've got—how many classes do you have with Jake?"
    "Three," Hannah answered, nibbling on a French fry. She glanced at Jake and gave him a small smile. "Will you study with me, Jake?"
    I'd rather be whipped with a cat of nine tails. Jake's smile was grim, but he couldn't think of a nice way to reject her, so he simply shrugged, vowing mentally to find someone else to dump Hannah on. It was incredible to even believe that Hannah Ayers had the audacity to ask Jake for help.
    "So that's most of your classes covered," Brent stated helpfully. Jake knew that Brent wasn't overly fond of Hannah, so it must have been sympathy and pity compelling him to help her out. Jake figured he must be heartless, since he'd have to be forced into helping her.
    Ethan cocked his head to the side and grinned at Hannah. "You should let me take you to Winter Formal," he declared with a smile. "You're not still going with Hudson, are you?"
    Relatively curious about that himself, Jake actually looked up to see Hannah's brow furrowed. He hadn't heard her say anything negative about her boyfriend or possibly ex-boyfriend, Greg, and, for the old Hannah, that would have meant she didn't have a problem with him. But this new Hannah…she was weird, and she might not declare the rage that she felt.
    "I haven't talked to him about it," Hannah answered simply.
    Ethan stared at Hannah, clearly expecting her to continue, but when she didn't, he prompted, "You're going to tell him that you won't go with him, right? Hudson doesn't deserve to take you."
    "He didn't really do anything wrong," Brent countered, despite the fact that he didn't personally like Greg Hudson either. "I mean, ice is kind of hard to miss, so he can't be hated for that." Brent paused and stole an almost considerate glance at Hannah. "Unless you want to hate him. Hey, if you want to hate him, hate his guts with a passion. I don't care."
    Smiling, Hannah made a noise that sounded strangely like a laugh, much to Jake's surprise. Looking up from his pizza, he looked at Hannah with his classic smirk, but it disappeared in wake of his surprise that Hannah was looking directly at him.
    "What's your opinion, Jake?" Hannah asked, further taking Jake aback. She glanced around the table, and her smile widened. "I've got one saying I should hate Greg—two, if you count Isaac—and one straddling the fence. Are you going to even it out, Jake? Should I hate Greg?"
    Studying Hannah lengthily as he slowly chewed his pizza with a crooked expression, Jake finally shrugged. "I've never liked that jackass. He's weird."
    "He's a pansy," Ethan scoffed, slamming his palm against the tabletop. "He's a brainy nerd, and he can't even