Hey, everyone! I posted this story on Wattpad last year, and now I've decided to share it on this site as well. It begins after the Winter Formal, where my OC Vada arrives at Liberty and meets Hannah.

I made a trailer for this story, you can look it up on Youtube as "Looking Too Closely - 13 Reasons Why Fanfiction."

The title is based on the song by Fink. Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 1

Vada Lisbon didn't know what was worse: having to leave her beloved New York to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere, or having to start all over again at a new school where she didn't know anybody.

Her sophomore year had been going fairly well until a certain incident had sent her packing to live with her grandmother in Crestmont. Grandma Eloise was thrilled to have Vada with her, but the girl just wished she could turn back time.

Walking the halls of Liberty High made Vada feel like a circus attraction. People would stare and whisper, probably speculating about the reasons behind her transfer. But Vada paid no mind to them. Her main goal at the moment was getting her locker to open.

"Are you serious?!" She yelled, not understanding why the thing wouldn't function. They must have given me the wrong combination or something.

"I had the same problem once." A sudden voice said. Vada turned to see that there was a girl standing by the locker next to hers. She was beautiful; with long brown hair, green eyes, and a kind smile.

"Those things are like 100 years old. They're hard to open." The pretty brunette said. "I'm Hannah, by the way."

"I'm Vada." She held up her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Hannah shook Vada's hand and eyed her curiously. "You're new, right?"

Vada nodded. "Yeah, I just moved here on Friday. I'm a sophomore."

"Same here. What class do you have now?"

Vada checked her schedule. "Communications with Mrs. Bradley. Do you know where that is?"

"I'm on that class too!" Hannah said excitedly. "We could walk together if you want."

"That would be awesome, thanks!" Vada exclaimed. When her locker finally opened, she put some of her heaviest books inside. "Finally. My back's been killing me all morning."

"The price for education, right?" Hannah joked. She's so nice. I thought this would be harder.

"I feel so lucky that you're my locker roommate." Vada blurted out. "It's like fate or something."

Hannah grinned and looked down. "Sorry." Vada murmured, blushing slightly. "Was that too corny?"

The brunette shook her head. "Not all at. It's just nice to make a new friend."

Vada sighed in relief, and they walked to class together. She could still feel the other students watching her. "Everyone here is acting as if they never had a new student before."

"Yeah, that's Liberty High for you." Vada sensed an annoyance in Hannah's tone. "Here is the classroom." Her new friend opened the door for her. They sat together on the first empty table they could find, and left their backpacks on the floor. Some guys in jerseys stared at Vada, but she ignored them and began to doodle in her notebook until the teacher arrived.

"Hello, class." Mrs. Bradley greeted. "I've been informed that we have a new student with us today. Where is Vada Lisbon?"

Oh, no, no. Please don't.

Vada raised her hand, feeling her face grow hot. Please don't make me talk, please don't make me talk.

"Welcome to Liberty High! Would you like to tell us something about yourself?"

Oh, shit. Of course I have to talk, it's Communications class!

Vada cleared her throat. "Um, well... my middle name is Charisma, which has nothing to do with my personality, just the Avon perfume". A few students chuckled at that. "I just moved here from New York... I like drawing and painting... and I guess that's it?" Why am I so lame?

"That's nice." Mrs. Bradley acknowledged. "Thank you, Vada."

"Bury me alive, please." Vada whispered to Hannah, covering her face with her hands. "I feel like a dumbass."

"That wasn't so bad." Hannah reassured her, patting the redhead's hand. "You did okay."

"I'll take your word for it."

Vada was grateful that Mrs. Bradley didn't make her speak again after her awkward introduction. When the bell rang, the teacher stopped Vada to tell her about the compliment bags; which was something that the students used to praise each other anonymously. Vada wrote her name on the bag Mrs. Bradley gave her and put it with the others. She gave a courtly nod to the woman and headed to the cafeteria to catch up with Hannah.

Her new friend was sitting by herself, concentrated on the pages of a book. Vada was curious as to why someone so sweet like Hannah didn't seem to have any friends, but chose not to say anything about it. It's not like I was Miss Popularity back home.

"Sorry I'm late. Mrs. Bradley just wanted to give me my own compliment bag." Vada explained. "The whole thing seems adorable."

"Yeah, I can't help but check mine whenever I can." Hannah admitted. "I get a bunny drawing every now and then."

"That's so sweet. Any idea who sends them?"

"Nope... no clue." Hannah replied, closing her book. "So you're from New York? That's amazing. I've always wanted to go there. NYU is my dream college."

"Mine's Yale." Vada commented. "But I see the appeal of NYU. What would you like to study?"

"I want to be a writer." She declared, playing with a strand of her hair. "I like words, and writing poetry is one of my favorite hobbies."

"Just like sketching is mine. Looks like with both artists." They giggled and finished their lunch together. Spending time with Hannah was so enjoyable that it saddened Vada when they had to split up to go to their respective classes. Ugh. What do I do now?

It took Vada a few minutes to find the History classroom, but fortunately, she wasn't late. Some different jocks were glancing at her now, and Vada couldn't help but roll her eyes. I hate athletes.

"You're the new girl, right?" One of them asked. Yes, I am the new girl, dumbass. What do you want? Before Vada could form an actual reply, the teacher had entered the room. The redhead ignored the annoying boys and listened to the lesson. I should ask Hannah for her number before the day is over. At least I made one friend today.