Manners

I stared over at the doorway of my bedroom, holding a glass of water in my hand as I waited for Sidney. He was checking out the message my brother had sent me, and I was trying to untie the knots in my stomach while he did so.

Sidney emerged from the room, both of his hands in his pockets as he shuffled his way over to me. I lifted the glass up to my lips, chugging back the water as I watched him come closer to me, a tiny smirk on his face as he watched me down the glass of water before I slammed it down on the counter top and sighed. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”

Sidney smiled slightly, walking over so he could lean his hip against the counter. “You’re going to be an aunt.”

I stared at him for a moment before giving my head a shake, “What?”

He laughed, “He emailed you to say that Elizabeth is pregnant, 3 months now, apparently.”

“He sent me good news?” I asked, making a bit of face. “It’s like he grew up or something.”

Sidney grinned at me, “Yeah, that’s insane.” He eyed me for a moment, watching as I carried the glass over to my dishwasher. “Are you okay?” He asked, tilting his head the side.

I shrugged. “I think so. It’s just, anything that has to do with Cameron generally brings back all of the things I didn’t deal with, I guess. I haven’t talked to him in almost a year, and the last time we talked he was drunk.”
“You and the drunks, Hanna,” Sidney joked. “He said the baby was due at the beginning of September, they don’t know the sex and that he heard you moved out and hoped all was well. There wasn’t much to it.”

I nodded, running a hand through my hair and letting out a long sigh. “I can’t believe he’s reproducing.”

“Hey, he has the same genes as you, and you turned out okay,” Sidney reminded me, making a bit of a frowny face before adding, “for the most part.”

“Watch yourself,” I warned, picking up a spatula from the counter. “I will hit you with this, and I haven’t washed it yet.”

Sidney eyed the spatula for a moment. “What did you use it for?”

“Spreading out the tuna for a tuna sandwich. On Tuesday.”

“Oh my God!” Sidney yelled, jumping back a few feet. “That was three days ago! Hanna, what the hell is wrong with you?” He asked, laughing.

I shrugged, “I kept getting distracted, I guess. I washed everything else, I just forgot about the spatula,” I explained, dropping it back into the sink and stealing a glance at the clock. “Do you have a practice today?” I asked him.

Sidney shook his head. “Well, yes, but it’s optional, and I’m opting to spend it with you and make sure you’re okay.”

“Aw, you’re all sweet and caring,” I cooed, walking over to him so I could hug him. “You’re such a girl sometimes.”

Sidney sighed, making me laugh as he reluctantly returned the hug. “I’m beginning to remember why I had remained single for so long.”

“Because it’s hard to find a nice man?” I joked, making him groan and try to push me away from him.

----------------------------------------

“No!” I yelled again, letting out an aggravated sigh. “Max, don’t make me kick your ass.”

Max laughed, “Come on! What else do they make these things for?” He asked, using the handle of a wooden spoon to try and spin a plate on.

“You are going to owe me a new plate,” I yelled at him, glancing around the already broken plate on the ground. “Or possibly a whole new dinnerware set.”

“Me? No. Sidney makes how much? He can buy you new things,” Max said, spinning the plate and trying to balance it. It lasted about the four seconds before the plate tipped and crashed to the floor, breaking into three large pieces. Max covered his mouth immediately, looking down at the plate and then back up at me a few times before he uncovered his mouth and started laughing, dropping his shoulders down as he leaned his head back and laughed.

I shook my head, pressing my lips together angrily as I watched him fall back against the counter, falling off balance from the force of his laughter. “This is why people don’t like you.”

Max laughed again, wiping his eyes. “Please, Hanna, we both know everyone likes me. Who are you kidding?”

Sidney started laughing from behind me, causing me to turn around and look at him, raising my eyebrows at him. He giggled a little bit before taking a deep breath and calming himself down. “Max, that was very irresponsible of you. And Hanna clearly doesn’t appreciate the way you’re behaving, and if you would act like this with other people, no one would like you.”

There was a pause as Sidney stared with a completely serious face at Max, who stopped laughing and also grew serious, closing his mouth clenching his jaw a little bit.

It only took a few seconds before both he and Sidney started laughing again at the same time, even more intensely then when Max had broken the plate. I threw both of my hands up in the air and walked out my kitchen, making sure to elbow Max in the gut as I passed him and made my way into the living room where Jordan, Kris and Tyler were, as well as Tyler’s girlfriend, Caity.

Since I had moved to Pittsburgh and left Peyton behind, the guys had been going out of their way to bring over every female they knew in an attempt to supply me with new friendships. It was a kind gesture that all of them were making, but the fact was that the only girlfriend I could actually see as a becoming an actual friend was Vero. All of the girls were kind, even Geno’s which I had not expected, but it seemed as if I had nothing in common with any of them. Caity was sweet enough to have around for conversation, but if the girl talked to me while she was chewing one more time, I was going to throw her not only out of my place, but into another state.

“How do you handle having them around all the time?” Caity asked me, watching Max and Sidney as the two of them were almost falling over from the power of their hysterics.

I sighed, “Well, Sidney’s pretty trainable, so when he’s by himself he’s fine. And the rest of them are actually very aware of proper manners.” I sighed, looking over at Max, who had slumped down against the counter and was sitting on the floor of the kitchen, clapping his hands as he continued to laugh. “It’s really just Max.”

Caity laughed. “I guess I could see how he’s the problem here.”

I nodded, sinking back into the couch more as the two of them continued to laugh hysterically. “At least Tyler hasn’t broken anything in my house.”

Caity smirked at me, “Not yet, anyways. The boy owes me mom an entire china cabinet worth of…well, china.”

Tyler seemed embarrassed from beside her, taking a sip of his coffee and avoiding the laugh I sent in his direction.

Sidney seemed to have composed himself a little bit more, walking into the living room and sitting himself down on the arm rest of the couch. “I’m sorry, but that was pretty damn funny.”

I shook my head at him, “Not impressed, Crosby. Not impressed.”

Sidney only laughed again, letting one of his hands fall onto my shoulder for a few seconds before he removed it and let it fall back to his side. I yawned, looking over at the group of giant hockey players who had squeezed into my rather small basement suite. Jordan had brought over his PS3 and had had high hopes of teaching me how to play some game that involved shooting zombies with a laser gun. I had lasted about three minutes before I put the remote down and left, making Jordan angry and the rest of the room laugh. He and Kris were currently playing some game that reminded me of Spyro the dragon only if Spyro was on some kind of steroids.

The guys hadn’t said anything when they first came over this afternoon, but it was obvious that Sidney had told them something had happened and I was in need of some distraction. They had two days off before their next game, and Sidney had hardly left my side since I had told him about Alissa, only leaving when it grew late into the night and I told him he had to leave so I could try and fall asleep.

“That is not fair!” Jordan yelled, slamming his controller down the floor and stomping his foot. “What cheat did you use?”

Kris stared at him with wide eyes, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t even know how this game works, I’m just pushing every button I can see.”

“Well, stop it, you’re cheating,” Jordan yelled.

“How can I be cheating when I don’t know what I’m doing?” Kris argued. “You’re just a sore loser.”

“You’re a sore loser!” Jordan yelled back. “And you’re fat.”

Kris stared at him for a moment before he shook his head. “Too far, Staal. Too far.” He stood up from the couch and walked over to where the rest of us were. “Hanna, I’m sorry, but I feel as if I am too emotionally unstable to stay here now, especially after that mean man insulted my figure.”

“Oh my God,” Sidney laughed from beside me as I nodded at Kris.

“It’s okay, Kris. I totally understand,” I told him, standing up to give him a hug. “Stay strong, buddy.”

He nodded, pretending to wipe away a tear before he looked back at Jordan, shaking his head once more before he headed over to his shoes and made his way out.

“What a pussy,” Jordan mumbled. “Who wants to play me now?”

“How about you stop playing PS3 and be a decent human being again?” I suggested, making Max start laughing again from the kitchen while Jordan merely shook his head at me.

Sidney waited until the conversation had picked up again before he leaned down. “How are you? Do you want us all to leave?”

I shook my head, “No, I’m really glad to have the company,” I told him. “Thank you, Sidney. I’d probably be having a panic attack for the next three days if you hadn’t made sure I was surrounded by company.”

He didn’t say anything back, choosing instead to run his hand through my hair a bit, letting his fingers twist around the ends of my curls as he talked to Jordan about how much he hated some game that Marc always wanted to play. I was beginning to feel my entire body fall into complacency, a small wave of tiredness beginning to wash over me as I listened to the rest of them talk. It was nearing ten o’clock, and although I would usually be awake for a few more hours before even thinking about sleep, in the last two days I had been more fatigued than usual, especially with the brief work schedule. The job wasn’t hard, but for some reason, being in Mellon arena always seemed to exhaust all of my energy. I was beginning to edge close to sleep when Caity turned to me, taking a bite out of the cookie in her hand before she asked, “Feeling tired, Hanna? I always get tired around nine o’clock, especially with the jet lag, since I’m going to school in Alberta, so I totally understand,” All while allowing me to see the progress of her chewing.

I forced a smile. “Actually, yes, I am. Is it cool if I kick you guys out?”

-------------------------

“So, you can’t handle Caity’s manners?” Sidney asked me, watching as I put the leftover cookies into a Tupperware container.

“She’s nice,” I told him. “I just can’t handle that she doesn’t pause to chew before she talks. I also feel like she can only think of something to say if food is in her mouth.”

Sidney laughed, “Yeah, I don’t know how TK does it. I mean, she’s a really nice girl, but I couldn’t sit across from that at dinner.”

“Did you just refer to her as that?” I asked, giggling slightly. “You’re kind of an asshole, Sidney.”

Sidney grinned at me, “I’m so glad to see that.”

I tilted my head to the side, leaning back against the counter. “See what?”

“You smile. I was worried that your brother and talking about Alissa might cause you to go into a bit of a depression, or make you more introverted, and I’m just really happy that you’re still finding it in you to laugh at all of us.”

I shrugged, “It’s still hard, but Alissa died seven years ago. It doesn’t make it easier, per say, but I’ve had more time to deal with it and it doesn’t affect me as much as it would have if I had been asked to talk about it even two years ago,” I explained. I studied Sidney’s face for a moment before adding, “You don’t need to worry about me so much, Sidney. I’m a strong girl.”

He nodded, “I know you are. But that doesn’t stop me from worrying.” He said, taking a few steps closer to me. “You deserve to have someone who cares about you, Hanna. And if there’s only thing I could be good at in this relationship, it’s going to be caring about you.”

I felt myself pout a bit at him, “Sidney, why are you so sweet?” I asked him.

He laughed lightly, “I don’t know. I just want to listen to you as much as you listen to me, I guess. I don’t want you to ever think that you’re alone in anything.”

I nodded, biting on my lower lip for a second. “Thank you.”

Sidney only nodded again, walking the few more steps to hug me, kissing my forehead. “Don’t thank me for giving you what you deserve, Hanna.”

I sighed, returning the hug and leaning into him a little more. If there was one thing in my life that I was thankful for at that moment, it was Sidney.

And the lemonade Jordan had brought over.