13 Reasons Why – A Different Perspective

What if Hannah had never killed herself? What if the tapes belonged to someone else? A bit of an alternate reality in which Hannah and Clay work together to unravel the reasons why a close friend of theirs took her own life. Will follow a blend of both the book and the TV Show, and will be as close to canon as possible, with maybe a few extra bits I've thrown in. Expect lots of romance and told from Clay's POV.

This is purely for entertainment. I do not own the characters or the story. All credits go to Jay Asher. Hope you enjoy!

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Prologue

It was just another normal day. Or so I thought. I would do the same routine every morning: I'd get out of bed, have a shower, get dressed, go downstairs, have breakfast and then go to school. It's the same routine that I had been doing my whole life, minus, like, the first 3 years… I never anticipated the moment my ridiculously normal life would change forever.

I never really thought much about death in the past. There hadn't really been a point in my life where I had to experience the loss of a family member or a close friend. In fact, I only really viewed death as something that would eventually happen to old people, after they'd lived a good life. I would never have thought that death would come so sudden and so soon, at least until this year.

I remember the day so clearly. I was coming back from lunch with my girlfriend and a couple of friends to head to fifth period, which was going to be Communications Class, and I remember walking into the room and it was deathly silent. Pun not intended. This was unusual, because the class would always be quite lively. On any other day, I'd walk into the classroom and people would usually be on a high. This was because we would have had some food (which is important with every teenager), as well as a 45-minute lunch break to basically act like idiots. But not this time. As soon as you walked into that room, the atmosphere would drop. It was almost like those stupid tumbleweed moments you get in cheesy western films or in comedy films when someone makes a terrible joke. Except it was much more eerie. I remember looking around the classroom and seeing blank looks on people's face. It was as if everyone had seen the same ghost at once. Some people had red, puffy faces where they had either been holding back tears or recovering from a stream of them. It was at that point I knew something was up. I felt my girlfriend, Hannah Baker, gently place her hand in mine as we walked to our desks. It was clear she was feeling the tension too, so I squeezed her hand gently to reassure her, but whether it worked I don't know.

I sat at my desk and started to get out a notebook and a textbook when Mrs. Bradley said 'Not yet, Clay. There's something I need to announce.' I freeze and just stare at her blankly.

About five minutes after the rest of the class had settled down, Mrs. Bradley clears her throat.

'Ok, everyone. I ask you all not to get your textbooks out just yet, as we are all required to head to the gym immediately. Principal Bolan has an important announcement.'

Almost immediately, the class gradually starts to get up out of their chairs to head down towards the gym. It's almost like they already know what Bolan is going to talk about. I feel like I'm the only one in the room who doesn't have the slightest clue on what is about to happen, nor did I realise the impact that it would soon to have on me. As I get up out of my own chair, my instinct is to look over at Hannah who's only on the desk behind me. It's obvious that she's just as clueless as me based on her facial expression, and it's a small comfort to me to know that we're both thinking the same thing: Just what is this all about?

As we walk down the corridors towards the gym with the rest of our class, it isn't long before we are joined by other classes, from all year groups. It seems that Bolan has summoned the entire school to head down to the gym to see what he has to say.

'What do you suppose this big announcement is that Bolan wants to make?' I ask Hannah, who's walking next to me.

'I'm not sure,' she answers, before linking her arm with mine. 'But whatever it is, it must be pretty important for Bolan to summon the entire school.'

We enter the gym in silence. All the stands are full, so full even that some of us must either stand or sit on the floor. Luckily, me and Hannah managed to find some seats on the stands next to Jessica and Alex. There's a podium set up in the middle of the gym with a microphone, with Bolan standing behind it. Mr. Porter, our school counsellor is standing beside him. They both have solemn looks on their faces.

It isn't long before the whispers subside. Bolan steps up to the podium and clears his throat.

'Students at Liberty High, it is with a heavy heart that I announce the tragic loss of one of our fellow students. A couple of days ago, Skye Miller tragically passed away at home due to ill health. She was a valued member of our school community and as a result of this, we send our heartfelt condolences to her friends and family.'

It took me a few minutes to process what I was hearing. 'Skye Miller tragically passed away' were the only words that I caught from that entire speech. They were echoing in my head. Has Skye really gone? Why? And how? I was numb. I couldn't respond. I was just in shock. Bolan went onto telling us about what a great student she was, always looking out for her friends etc but none of that mattered anymore. I didn't have any room to process anything else.

I could feel Hannah looking at me, but that didn't matter right now. I had known Skye since first grade, and yeah, we'd had our arguments over the years, but she was one of my closest friends. It was literally the other day we were having a conversation about some psychic stuff she was into. Tarot cards or something like that. And yet suddenly, here I am, sitting in this gym, realising that I'm never going to see her again. I'm never going to see her walking through the corridors; I'm never going to have silly conversations with her in our English class. All of that is gone.

School was cancelled for the rest of the day after that, as the news hit people pretty hard. Me and Hannah walked back to mine in silence. I don't think either of us could have processed what had happened. I just didn't know what to say. A million feelings were rushing through my head. Anger. Sadness. Hurt. Shock. I'm not even sure which one of those I'm feeling right now. I looked over at Hannah who was looking ahead of her. I think she was avoiding my gaze, even more so because you can tell she was trying to hold back her own tears. Her eyes were glistening and slightly red. I hold her hand gently and she instantly holds back, with a small smile on her face but still refusing to look at me. I don't ask. It's a conversation we can have once we get home.

We walk through my front door without saying a word. My parents are still working so they won't be back until later, so we had a free house. Hannah drops my hand, walks a few paces into the living room and sits on the sofa. She looks blankly in front of her for a few seconds before directly looking into my eyes. I couldn't escape her gaze, and her facial expression just automatically brought all the emotions that I had been bottling up all afternoon out. I could feel the heat building up in my cheeks, my hands start to shake and the tears stinging my eyes.

'Are you okay?' was all she said and I just broke. I couldn't hide it from her, it was too much.

'Hey…' she softly says as she gets up from the sofa and walks towards me until she's standing right in front of me. She puts both her hands on either side of my face and just forces me to look at her. She leans in slowly and kisses me gently on the lips before pulling me into a tender, almost motherly hug. I lean into her and bury my face into her neck and we stayed like this for a few minutes. Words can't describe how much that hug meant to me. The one thing about Hannah is that she always knew what to do. No matter how she felt, she always made sure that I was the one who was Ok, but I could tell she was crying too. She may not have known Skye for as long or as well as I did, but she was no less of a friend to her than I was.

We pull apart slowly and we just stand there. Her hands on my shoulders and mine around her waist. 'Clay, I'm so sorry. I know she was a good friend to you,' Hannah says.

I can't bring myself to say anything. I'm still trying to process what's happened.

'Look, I know you already know this, but please remember that I'm always here for you.'

I smiled and kissed her cheek. 'Thank you… Same to you as well.'

Hannah winks at me. 'I know. Shall we get a takeaway?'

I can't help but chuckle a little. 'Sure.'