So this was loosely inspired by The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks. And the outfits the girls are wearing are based on the ones in 4x11.
Disclaimer : I very unfortunately do not own any of the characters :(
"Hanna! Hanna, come on!" Spencer Hastings shouted over the cheering crowd and the commentator who was screaming into his microphone. The sun was beating down on the crowds and the car park, making the already warm day even hotter, and as Spencer walked forward, the kicked up clouds of dust.
"Yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming!" Hanna Marin shouted back as she took one last look at her reflection in the side mirror of her car, touching up her lip gloss and then running after her group of friends. Spencer rolled her eyes as she linked arms with the blonde, and Aria Montgomery laughed as she took in the girls appearance. "What?" Hanna asked, raising her eyebrows at her friends.
"You know what," Emily Fields smirked.
"No," Hanna snapped back.
Yes!" Aria laughed. "Ohmygod, you are obsessed with this boy!"
"First of all, no I'm not," Hanna replied, poking out her tongue at Aria. "And second of all...He's not a boy, he's a man." Her cheeks tainted red as she said it, and her friends all started laughing, Aria nudging her in the side and Spencer letting out a wolf whistle. "Oh, shut up!"
"Spence!" Came a shout from behind them, and the girls turned around to see Toby Cavanaugh jogging toward them, kicking up dust in his wake. He pulled off the dark brow cowboy hat he was wearing as he leaned in to give his girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek. "I thought you guys were going to be here ages ago?" He asked, smiling a greeting to the other three girls.
"Well we would have been here sooner, except Hanna was taking forever to get ready," Spencer replied, giving Hanna a pointed look. Toby just laughed.
"Okay, well he's on in ten minutes. We got you guys a spot up in the reserved seating," Toby said as he put an arm around her shoulders. "So you'll be right up front when he gets let out." That comment was directed at Hanna, who just shrugged and tried to play it off like she didn't care. But there was a tension in her shoulders and the way she was angling her neck to look into the arena gave her away.
"Let's get in there," Aria said, wrapping an arm around Hanna's waist and tugging her forward. Toby overtook them, leading the four girls inside and holding up his badge to get them through the front gate without paying. More than once, Emily jabbed her elbow in Spencer's side, catching her out for checking out her boyfriends ass in the tight jeans he was wearing. Toby directed them to the dusty, wooden seats right in front of the metal fencing, almost seven feet high, that protected the audience from the dangerous animals inside the pen.
"I remember two years ago, we could never get you out here," Emily said as they sat down, Hanna's knee bouncing up and down impatiently as she stared into the pen.
"...And now we've got the event that you've been waiting for!" Came the shout of commentator, Gabriel Holbrook. Squeals went up from the crowds from the girls in the crowd and cheers from the men. "This is his qualifying round for the National Semi-Finals! We have Caleb Rivers on Mad Max!" The screams got even louder as everyone jumped up, stamping their feet in the wooden stands. Spencer was grinning as she spotted her boyfriend across the pen, up on the fence and prepping his friend, his rider, who was still hidden by several other officials and a large wooden gate. Hanna's fingers were curled into the palms of her hands and her arm tightened around Aria's in anxiety.
"Can you see him?" Hanna asked, although she was mainly talking to herself as she stretched to try and see the bull rider. She was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, the dark red cowboy boots she was wearing digging into the hard dust beneath her feet. Her red and white checkered dress clung to her body in the burning heat of the afternoon, and she was glad she had gone with the halterneck option, because at least her back was bare to the cool breeze that the only relief from the sweltering sun.
Suddenly, Caleb Rivers came into sight.
He had a protective vest strapped on over the blue and black shirt he was wearing, and there were leather chaps strapped over his jeans. Toby was shouting something at him, last minute words of advice before he jumped on the back of the angriest bull in the district. Hanna's stomach was in her throat, a horrible, suffocating feeling washing over her, just like every time she saw Caleb get on the back of any bull. But she swallowed it back down, because despite how ferocious this sport was, Caleb knew what he was doing and he was good at what he was doing. The shouting got louder as Caleb jumped down from the wooden fencing and landed on the saddle of the bull, his finger quickly twining itself in the leather and grass strap. The bull quivered and shook, tossing it's head from side to side as two of the officials prepared to open the gate. There was a nod from one of the men, and then the gate sprung open.
One second
"And Rivers is in the pen!" The commentator shouted out, cheering and clapping rising from the stands as the bull broke out of it's stall. Caleb's face was set determinedly, the brim of his hat shadowing most of his expression except for the firm line of his mouth.
Two seconds
"Go Caleb!" Spencer screamed, cupping her mouth so that her voice carried over the screams of the other viewers. She jumped up and down, alongside her friends as she watched the dark haired man ride the bucking animal. She gripped Hanna's hand as their eyes tracked Caleb and the bull.
Three seconds
Toby was chewing down furiously on his lower lip as he watched his best friend in the ring. He had seen Caleb do this a hundred time, but this wasn't just any rodeo, this was the qualifying round for the semi-finals, and if he made it through, he would be in for his second time.
Four seconds
The bull was thrashing from side to side, throwing it's hind legs in the air and twisting it's center in a furious attempt to throw Caleb off. There was a moment when it looked as the animal was going to throw itself against the fence, but it's rider remained steady, and it jerked to the left at the last moment.
Five seconds
"Only three seconds left on the clock, ladies and gents!" The commentator announced, speaking so quickly that his words all tripped over each other. He was leaving forward in his stand, eyes glued to the man and the beast.
Six seconds
The neon green numbers were ticking over, counting up to the second when Caleb could jump off the raging animal. Only two more to go until he was through the qualifying round.
Seven seconds
"He's gonna make it," Hanna breathed, her hand resting on Emily's shoulder as she pulled herself on tiptoe, her eyes straining. Every muscle in her body was corded tight with tension as she watched the dark haired man control himself.
Eight seconds
Screams and cheers went up from the crowd—probably none of them louder than Hanna, who was jumping up and down, her pig tails flying everywhere. Caleb untangled his hand from the braided rope and leaped sideways, rolling in the dust as Toby and an official ran out to help him move away from Mad Max. Caleb glanced over his shoulder as the beast growled and pawed at the ground with his hoof. It looked as though it was going to charge, and all three men started running for the fence. The crowd was still cheering and clapping as they jumped up on the fence, clinging to the highest rail. The bull panted and huffed as it stormed at them, pulling up short of the railing before turning around and trotting away. Toby and Caleb exchanged looks and both started laughing, before a gust of wind came along, lifting the hat off Caleb's head and blowing it toward the crowd. It landed in the dust, at Hanna's feet, and knelt down to pick it up, turning it over in her hands thoughtfully. Caleb's dark eyes were on her as she looked up at him and then put the hat on her head, poking out her tongue at him cheekily.
"Looks better on you," was all Caleb said with a half smirk as the three men jumped down from the railing. He lifted two fingers to his forehead, saluting her with that mouth watering smile before turning around. Hanna's eyes never left his taunt figure as he headed toward the center of the ring, barely hearing the commentator scream into his microphone.
"And Rivers has done it again! Qualifying for the National Semi-Finals!"
"I wouldn't be surprised if she slept with it," Aria said under her breath, grinning when Hanna shoved her elbow into her side. "What?!" Aria protested. "I wouldn't!"
"I've got better things to sleep with, thank you," Hanna shot back as she downed the rest of her her fruity, blue drink and slammed the glass back down on the table. "Anyone want more? I'm going for another—"
"Next rounds on me," came a deep voice from behind Hanna, and the blonde spun around, coming up hard against a sturdy chest. She looked up, already knowing who was standing there and feeling her stomach roll over. "Hey, pretty girl," Caleb said, smiling down at her
"Hey," Hanna grinned up at him.
"I think that's mine," he continued, nodding at the hat.
"I think it suits me more, though," Hanna replied with a quirk of her eyebrow.
"The woman's right," Toby piped up and Hanna laughed, glancing back at Spencer's partner. When she turned back to Caleb, he had his arm out, waiting to be linked with hers. She slid her arm around his and nodded, feeling the familiar twinge of excitement at the pit of her stomach as he lead her away from their group of friends. The barn that had been converted into a drinking space was overflowing with patrons, and the couple were soon lost in the crowd. One moment they were heading up to get drinks, and then suddenly Caleb was shuffling her away, toward the long hall that lead toward the bathrooms.
"Caleb! Where are we—" Hanna was cut off as Caleb pushed her up against the wooden wall and pressed his lips to hers. Hanna's words were just a muffle in her throat as her mouth turned upward in a smile, her hands finding purchase on his shoulders as his tongue swiped at the seam of her mouth. She allowed him access as she tilted her head backward against the wall, enjoying the feel of his tongue twisting around hers. His hands skimmed up and down her sides before sliding around her hips and squeezing lightly.
"Shit, Han," he growled as his lips brushed down her neck and pressed against her collarbone. "It's getting harder and harder to see you and not grab you." Caleb dropped his head so that it was resting at the curve of her shoulder up to her neck. Hanna ran her fingers through his hair before her eyes were drawn down to where a drunk couple were stumbling into the hallway.
"Come on," Hanna murmured, pushing him away lightly and grabbing his hand, dragging him into a maintenance closet. Caleb grinned as she kicked the door shut and then turned to him. "You realize we could just tell people?"
"Not yet," Caleb shook his head as he twined his fingers with hers. "We need to wait until your final exams are over. It's not just because of how everyone else will react—it's because of how we will react as well. If everyone knows about use, we will end up spending more time together because we don't have to hide it anymore, and that'll distract you from school." Hanna rolled her eyes.
"Because you don't already distract me from my studies," she smirked.
"Well I don't want to distract you more," Caleb grinned as he ran a finger down the side of her face and slid it to her lips. "Just a few more weeks, and then we can tell everyone."
"Okay," Hanna smiled, her mouth moving under his soft touch. "But until then, I'm holding onto your hat...For insurance."
"Yeah, well, a cowboy will always come back for his hat," Caleb shrugged, leaning in and resting his forehead against hers. "Besides...It looks better than you anyway."
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