The clock strikes 12 midnight and she slips on her jacket as she made her way out. She took one last look in her room thinking this might be her last. Her gaze fixed at the folded paper lying on top of her bed. It was her letter to her mom telling her the things that she wanted to tell her, mostly that she loves her and that she's much grateful to have her as her mother. Beside that letter was 2 other letters, one that's addressed to the girls and the other for that special person in her heart. With all courage and determination she entered her car, started the ignition and drove away to seem to be her final destination.
"Hanna are you okay?" Aria asked with visible concern for her friend. They were all exhausted and battered with everything that had happened; Spencer in jail and Mona proclaimed dead.
"I'm fine" Hanna lies and quickly hides her phone out from her friends' eyesight. They were in on everything together but their group only had one functioning machinery at the moment and it wasn't her or Emily. She was still in grief with the loss of her best friend and her other best friend is beyond devastated with Mona's last news of Alison being A.
"Emily how about you?" Aria tried to divert the spot light to the brunette who was also spacing out.
"Same as Hanna" Emily replied with a low voice. When the attention of her friends wasn't on her anymore, Hanna pulled out her phone back and quickly sent a text message to the blocked number who just sent her a message just a minute before Aria had asked how she was. 'DEAL' her text message goes.
Emily had just woken up from her sleep when she saw her mom crying on the phone in their living room. Thinking that it was something about her dad she rushed to comfort the lady but not to actual good news, it wasn't about her father but about her best friend. It was Ashley Marin on the phone informing her that Hanna's body was found with a single fatal gunshot wound. She and her mom met with Aria and her mom at the hospital lobby. She and Aria still hoped that the news was faux or exaggerated and that Hanna was still healing somewhere in the hospital rooms but to their much dismay Ashley Marin whose face was very worn out guided them to the hospital morgue.
After the initial shock had subsided the two girls went to visit Spencer who was now at home after being able to post bail but was stayed in lockdown at home wearing an ankle tracker much like what Toby and Hanna's mom had worn. It took half a minute before the two girls were able to let out 2 words to Spencer. Two words that were so hard to say…'Hanna's dead'. Just like they were, Spencer couldn't believe it. Who could?
Speaking in her funeral was hard for them 3. Honestly what can you say when a high school senior dies most of all how do you talk about a best friend who dies? Aria was the first to rise to the podium to speak.
"Hanna was one of my best friends. She was the bubbly one among us. I remember her convincing me to attend the homecoming dance when I was too heartbroken to attend. She was my fashion buddy, at some point our fashion choices met. One time I saw her eating cupcakes at the pastry shop and to make the long story short that was the most honest that I saw of her. I still can't believe that I won't get to see her eat those cupcakes anymore, that she won't be hoarding all the cookies during sleepovers. Hanna loves cookies so much" she giggle and wipes away the lose tears on her face. "We had each other when we had to deal with our separate break ups. She deeply cared for all of us whether it be matters of the heart or just little matters of life. She's very protective of us especially with Emily, those two are just…" She paused again as her words got choked in her throat. Go on Aria. She took a deep breath before she continued. "If there's one thing I regret it's that I didn't believe her that much because I wanted to believe more in something else. Hanna I'm so sorry. Thank you for the laughter Han…I will miss you" Aria steps down of the podium and nodded to Spencer to take the floor.
Spencer stood up and went in front. She was allowed to attend Hanna's funeral granted that she'll be with police escorts.
"Some of you might think Hanna's just the dumb blonde in our group but she's smart like really smart. Not everyone knows this but Hanna managed to do well in her SAT. She had great schools in her mind and now…Hanna and I always corrected each other. Well I did most of the correction but I don't mind doing it for the rest of my life if that's what it takes to still have her. She's all sort of definition of a best friend. She's the first one I went to when I found out about my parents' divorce and I told her that she's the first one that I came to mind when I had knowledge of it and she told me in return that she's there for me. At some point Hanna, Jack and Johnny were buddies and I just told her to sober up, get a grip, you know…words of wisdom, just that. Now I wish I should have done more for her maybe take the bottle out of her hand by myself or…" despite keeping herself composed Spencer couldn't help herself from crying in front of everyone. "Ever since I found out about Hanna's death I kept saying to myself 'they just don't make that kind of man anymore' and everyone who knows Hanna knows what that means." And with that Spencer ends her speech and sits beside Aria, both of them wrapping each other's arms on one another, sobbing.
Emily glanced at the empty podium and shook her head thinking she couldn't do it; that she'll just break down and cry in front of everyone. Hanna's mom who sitting beside rubbed her back in circles and gently squeezed her shoulder for support, slowly she stood up and with heavy footsteps she walked up front.
"I don't know where to start. My friendship with Hanna is like something more but it's not but it actually is. Sometimes we're like sisters then girlfriends other times we're wives. We were the closest maybe because we shared a lot in common. Hanna is my other half. She was one of the first people who knew that I was gay and she never judged me for it. Her words still clearly ring on my head 'We love Emily. No one cares who you're with.' She really cared for me, for all of us. We've spent a lot of time together especially when I moved in with her when my mom was in Texas with my dad. Sometimes it was a curse to have her as my roommate." Unlike the two girls Emily managed to put her brave face on. She wasn't in tears but her voice was breaking. "Aria's right, Hanna was very protective. One time she went to this bar that's more of a club but is actually a bar just to make sure about things and keep me safe. She'd do anything to protect her friends even if it's dangerous." Emily closed her eyes and clenched her jaw just to control her emotions because if she starts to cry she wouldn't be able to continue. She opened her eyes and looked up before looking at Hanna's big smiling portrait and directed her words at her. "Thank you for making me feel loved"
The last speaker wasn't who they expected to be. It was Alison. From her seat from the back she walked heads down to the front.
"I wasn't the best kind of friend to Hanna but she was to me. I did mean things to her that I'm not proud of. I used her insecurities against her and you guys might not believe me but Hanna and I had our moments. It was a love-hate relationship for us. I really did care about her and to the end of my living I will regret the things I did to her. I'm sorry Hanna. I'm sorry that it had to reach this point for me to say I'm sorry." Alison's speech was short but was rooted from her heart. She begged Mrs. Marin to let her speak during the funeral and the lady didn't see the heart to not let her. This was what Hanna would've wanted. After speaking in front Alison stepped down and walked out of the church not wanting for so many people to see her break down for her best friend's death. She wants to mourn on her own.
It was one of the saddest days for the girls. They stayed for a few hours at Hanna's house after the funeral. Caleb didn't speak there not because he had nothing to say but because he had so much to say that can't let the words fall freely. It was hard to speak about the woman you loved who died.
The girls and her cried over again when they read Hanna's letter. Ashley didn't understand why Hanna left those letters. She didn't understand if her daughter had already known that she was about to die or she was going to run away but got shot. To say that she was confused was understatement.
Emily curled into fetus position on Hanna's bed after everyone had left. She asked Ashley if she could stay there for the night which the elder Marin agreed to. She recalled the events of the past 2 weeks. A death for each week, it was too much. The first death, Mona's, it was out of her hands. Maybe she would've still been alive if they didn't ask for her help but by Mona's mouth she had subtly hinted that her life was in danger and A is just waiting to cut her lifeline. The second death a week after Mona's passing, it was what pierced her most because she knew she could have done something, that she could have saved her friend; that Hanna should've been with her at that moment. She re-read the letter Hanna had left for her. At first they thought it was for Caleb but then they saw her name on it. It was filled with Hanna's unforgettable memories of them together. One line stuck to her mind though, one phrase that Hanna wouldn't be able to hear her say her response. She clutched Hanna's letter to her chest and sobbed harder if it was even more possible.
"Emily, Em, wake up" She felt her body being shook gently by someone. She blinked so her eyes could adjust to the light. Her jaw dropped and jumped up but away from the person who was waking her up. "Woah! Am I that scary?" She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. There she was, the girl who's a few feet away from her, her now dead best friend, Hanna.
"Why are you here?" Was Hanna haunting her? Is her guilt making up all this? There are so many questions in Emily's mind.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Emily looked around and saw the fluffy dog stuffed toy she once threw at Hanna. She picked it up and threw it again to the blonde.
"You're dead!" Hanna flinched when she got hit by the toy.
"For seriousness Emily what's wrong with you? Are you high or something?" Hanna laughed at her stunned friend but Emily didn't move a muscle. The blonde strutted towards the brunette and pinched her cheek.
"You're real…and alive" she said following the blonde's action. Out of impulse she grabbed the blonde for a bone crushing hug.
"Yeah but you're going to kill me if you don't let me go" Hanna was happy yet confused as to why her friend seems to be so ecstatic to see her. "What are you doing here by the way?" She asked Emily once the brunette had let her go.
"Uhh…it's a long story" She thought about telling Hanna about it but then her friend might think she was crazy. Was it a dream? A vision? A déjà vu?
"We could talk about that long story when we meet Aria at the brew. She's going to kill us if we're late. Come on" She wasn't given enough time to recover before Hanna was already pulling her.
She got more disturbed when Aria doesn't feel odd like her. Aria greeted them like nothing happened. There are sadness in her eyes but not because of Hanna but because of Mona and Spencer. Was it possible that she had time traveled? Because this was the time she had spent with Hanna. It was the same café and they were at the very same spot. She remembered the scratch on the table and it was there. She remembered that before she spaced out Aria dropped her phone so she waited for the moment to come. Just as she expected when Aria reached out for something she hit her phone and it dropped to the ground but she caught it just in time.
"Good reflexes there Em" That was it! She was totally freaked out. She looked at Hanna who was trying to keep up with everything that Aria was saying. Maybe that's it, maybe this was her opportunity to save her friend, to keep her alive. She was too busy of thinking about Ali that she had let her friend slip herself into danger but this time around she wouldn't let that happen. Her gaze was kept locked to her friend. She saw Hanna suddenly feel uncomfortable when she read the text message she just received. Aria asked Hanna if she was okay to which Hanna lied. She took a peek at the message when Hanna put her phone under the table.
'2 for the price of 1! Spencer's freedom and Mona's body for the files from Radley. -A' She saw the message clearly and realization hit her. That's why Hanna took of that midnight without their knowledge, that's why she left those letters. Hanna was planning to take down A. When Aria asked her the same question as Hanna's she knew she was okay because now she knows she could save her friend.
On the night that Hanna supposedly dies she was out with Paige for a breather. They weren't back together, she just wanted to talk to someone who wasn't part of their circle. Hanna had asked her to come over for early dinner but she bailed out. Now she changed things, she didn't want to talk to someone else anymore, she wanted to be there with Hanna. Bringing take outs with her she went to the Marin's residence. Hanna smiled when she arrived.
"I was just about to invite you for early dinner" Hanna said when they took out the contents of the bag.
"I guess we think alike" she said in response. They devoured upon the food Emily had brought. After enjoying their early dinner they lay down on Hanna's bed and watched a random movie on Hanna's laptop.
"Em I want to tell you something" Hanna opened the conversation
"What is it?" Emily thought about it. Maybe she's going to say the things she said to the letter. Hanna looked at her face with admiration.
"Thank you for being such a good friend to me, to all of us. The loyal one." Hanna said in a sweet tone.
"You're not so bad yourself." Emily wrapped her arms on her admiring friend and kissed her forehead.
When Hanna thought Emily was fast asleep she took out papers and a pen and started scribbling her last letters. She placed them on her desk when she was done and sat back on the bed watching her best friend sleep. When the clock strike midnight she silently slipped her jacket on and headed out leaving a kiss on her sleeping friend's forehead. After hearing Hanna's car starting Emily shoot her eyes open and rushed downstairs to follow her. She waited for Hanna to drive away before she went out to get in her own car and followed her friend. She secretly watched as Hanna dropped of a folder to the police station's mailbox. After putting in the folder that contained the Radley files Hanna drove off to meet A hoping she could trick that psycho and finally take her down.
She pulled off at an abandoned playground just at the exit of Rosewood. She bravely but carefully walked around waiting for A's instructions and few minutes later she received a message for her to leave the file in the seat of the swing. She followed obediently and left. She drove away but not back to her house but to the other road that would lead to the other side of the playground. She sneaked on the bush and waited for someone to get the folder she had left. It wasn't the real file, she wasn't dumb enough to do that. A hooded figure came out of the opposite direction and went to pick up the file. She couldn't see the face because of the hood but she could see blonde streaks of hair. She thought it was Alison. Forgetting her plan and filled with rage with her ex best friend she run towards the hooded girl's direction and tackled her to the ground. The other blonde was taken by surprise but was still strong enough to push Hanna away and stand up.
"You're not…" Hanna was at lost with words when she realized that it was someone else
"Alison? Oh please. It's so easy for me to make you believe that she was a suspect. I even know what your next question is. Who am I? I'm Bethany Young's twin, Sara Harvey. You have even met my friends right?" Hanna stood up from the ground and Sara pulled out a small gun that she hid. "I have a secret to tell and you have no other choice but to listen. Alison didn't lure Bethany here like what your friend Mona thought. I did. I didn't bring my friends to watch that crap of a theater that you have. I brought them here to gather information about the Dilaurentis family. That's when I saw Alison and realized that we have so much in common. I planned everything from the very beginning. I let Bethany escape and convinced her to hit Ali with that rock. I watched our mom bury her. I watched Mona torture you but then she got caught so I had to take over." Hanna tried to process everything that her brain could.
"Why are you doing this? Why do we have to be tortured too?" She asked the other blonde who has her at gun point.
"She was kept by our mom but me and Bethany had to given away and be separated? How in the world is that fair? Alison has to suffer and so does the people who love and care for her. I also have to tell you another thing…two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Now that you know mine I have to take you down…casualty of the war" When Hanna heard this she ran as fast as she could to the other side of the playground where she once hid herself. It led to the woods where Emily got lost when she followed Hanna. The brunette had been cursing for a while. It was just in a blink of an eye that she wasn't able to follow Hanna's trail. After parking her car Hanna walked towards the woods to the playground and Emily who wasn't familiar of the way got lost behind. She then heard a gunshot. She followed the sound of it.
"Hanna!" She shouted her friend's name as she searched for her friend who was in imminent danger. After a short run she saw Hanna on the ground with a gunshot wound on her leg. She was about to run to her but then she saw the other girl who was pointing the gun at Hanna.
"Have you said your goodbyes to them?" Sara said mischievously to Hanna. As she was about to pull the trigger a tall brunette tackled her to the ground unexpectedly.
"Emily!" Hanna screamed when she recognized her friend who came to her rescue. Emily wanted to say to Hanna to run but she knew the girl can't because of her leg. She and Sara tackled each other both wanting to take hold of the gun. Gunshots were fired in different directions due to the two girls fighting over the gun. Two more gunshots were fired. Hanna was so scared for her friend but was relieved when it was Sara who fell to the ground with blood on her chest. Still holding the gun Emily ran to Hanna who was now able to stand and lean on a tree.
"Hanna are you okay?" Emily asked the blonde. Hanna hugged her friend but then fell to the ground as her friend too fell.
"Emily!" Hanna looked down and it then that she noticed that the last 2 gunshots didn't just hit Sara. She dialed 911 from her phone and thankfully the area still had 1 bar of service.
"It's over Han. It finally is" Hanna had her arm wrapped at the back of Emily while her other arm on her front. It was similar to how Emily held Ali after she had saved her from A's attempt.
"How did you know I was here?" She was sure Emily was asleep when she left. She didn't tell anyone of her plan
"I read your phone. I had this weird dream of you dying and I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't be the loyal one for no reason" Emily was out of breath as she spoke.
"Ssshh…tell me later. Save your energy. You'll get through this okay? Don't you dare close your eyes Emily Fields." Tears found its way to Hanna's eyes.
"Han…I love you too" Emily said with all she could. She recalled the last words in Hanna's letter when she supposedly died. '…I loved you since I met you, but I wouldn't allow myself to truly feel it until today. I love you Emily and how I wish you did love me too.'
Maybe this wasn't just a chance to save Hanna. Maybe it wasn't really Hanna who was going to die, maybe it was her and she was just given a chance to reflect on the things she had left hanging within her. Maybe it wasn't Hanna's second chance but hers.
"Emily!" She hears a loud voice calling her name and slowly, second by second, the voice faints. Light, a very bright light, that's all she sees.
The prompt by emisongeek was that one of the girls (preferably either Em or Hanna) would take down A and plan goes awry. I did what I could and added my own twist in the story. I hope this story is decent enough to give justice to the prompt :)