Andrew's pov

Over the next few weeks I watch Hannah carefully. She always seems so bright and cheery. She paints the sets and props with the same grace as the art students she sits in the midst of. At the same time, there is something in her eyes that hints at sadness. Something in her smile that hints at pain.

It probably has something to do with the death of her mother. I cannot imagine how terrible that must have been for her. I remember seeing it in the news. It was a pretty big deal in the dance world, considering she was a regular on Dancing with the Stars and a big star on Broadway. Hannah is just so strong for bearing it like she has. She never lashes out at anyone or tries to put herself in the spotlight. She is so humble, yet so beautiful.

"Mr. Roth," the drama teacher says, "Do you think being the founder's son means you are too good to paint my sets?" He looks at me disapprovingly.

I roll my eyes and dip a paintbrush in some brown paint and start applying it to a piece shaped like a tree.

"Dude you've been acting so weird all week," Ken says coming to sit beside me. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's good." I nod focusing on the tree. My eyes stray over to where Hannah's sitting, laughing with one of the actors. The guys an Italian dude. "Hey, Ken? Who's that guy over there?" I nod in Italian dude's direction.

"Oh, that's Joey." Ken shrugs. "He's been here since I got here."

"Hmm." I mumble. "I don't think I have seen him before."

"You have."

"I don't think so." I argue. "I think I would have remembered."

"Whatever." Ken mutters. "Why do you care who he is anyway?"

"I don't care." I huff defensively.

"Whatever." He scoffs.

The director calls for everyone to resume practice and I go back to watching Hannah.

                                                            ~~~

"Come on, babe." Kaitlin whispers in my ear. She pulls me away from the backstage area in the middle of the play and into a dressing room.

I follow reluctantly. "Kaitlin," I whine. "I'm supposed to be working."

Kaitlin rolls her eyes. "Drew boo, have I ever told you how unattractive you are when you whine?"

"Why would you say that? That's just mean." I pout.

Kaitlin rolls her eyes again and doesn't answer. To say she's used to my antics is an understatement. This is only the tip of the iceberg. This chick has seen me throw full on temper tantrums before. I am pretty sure she no longer cares.

I sit down in a director's chair and sigh.

"Oh, would you cut the dramatics, Andrew? Act your age for five minutes." She rolls her eyes.

I cross my arms and sulk. "Jeez Kait, you don't gotta be mean about it."

I can see her physically restraining herself and decide not to push my luck.

"So, what are we doing in her?" I ask her.

"We are planning." She says simply.

My arms fall limp by my sides and my brow furrows. "Planning what?" I ask completely confused.

"Oh, Andrew." She giggles coming close to me. Her arms wrap around my neck and her lips form to mine. "Why, we are planning the demise of sweet, little Hannah." She replies perkily, pulling her face away from mine.

Alarms immediately begin blaring in my mind. "Now Kaitlin, I don't think this is such a good idea." I say, "I still feel guilty about the last thing I did to Hannah."

"Oh please," she scoffs. "You should be over that. All you did was state the facts. It's not your fault the girl's mother was a slut."

"You don't know that she was a slut." I argue, my face heating up.

She just gives me a condescending look. "You know as got as I do that saints don't get pregnant before marriage. The lady was clearly a slut."

"Kaitlin, the lady died. Don't disrespect her." I growl. "She was someone's wife, and daughter, and mother. How would you like it if I talked about your mother like that?"

She scoffs, "As if you had any dirt on my mother. She was born uptight and a stickler for rules." She flips her hair over her shoulder.

I stare at her, unamused. "Your mother stripped her way through college." I say flatly.

Kaitlin gasps, her hand flying to her mouth. "No!" She exclaims.

I smirk and nod. "Oh, yes. Her stripper name was Bae Bae."

"That cannot be possible." She insists.

"And your dad wrote adult books under the name Richard Candy." I grin broadly as she covers her ears.

"Make it stop!" She cries. "My parents are freaks! How did you know this?"

"I can run a background check on anyone I want." I say proudly. "My tech can tell you anything. Like for example, I know for a fact you were born with a mole on your posterior. I also know you had it removed when you were thirteen."

Kaitlin's face is absolutely horrified. It contorts in all kinds of ways before she finally burst into tears. "You are awful, Andrew Roth!" She spins on her heel and runs from the room.

As soon as she is gone I begin laughing hysterically. I made up the first two completely. I don't know anything about her parents. However, the little bit about the mole I learned from her sister when she came to visit once. Quite the interesting tidbit if you ask me.

I leave and go back to my place working props. I catch Hannah's eye momentarily before she looks away. I may have bought her some time, but I doubt my hazing will keep Kaitlin at bay for long. I have to do everything I can to try to keep Kaitlin from causing trouble for Hannah. It's the least I can do. I have to warn Hannah.