Affair of the Heart: A Haleb Story

Chapter I

Disclaimer: I do not own PLL. I wiish!

Author's note: this is from after episode 19 :) I did not like the breakup, so yeah...

Hanna POV

Caleb was sitting on the kitchen counter, waiting for me downstairs. That much I knew, as I nervously fiddled about with my mascara. The fact of the matter, is that Caleb and I were official, but at the same time, not official. No-one else knew about us, and the forest, and the tent. I didn't exactly tell the girls - yet.

I stared at my reflection, making sure my mascara did not leave a trace where it was not supposed to. I couldn't help but notice all the negative features in my face, insecurities bottling up inside me again.

Come on, I thought to myself. This is Caleb. There was no way I could be nervous around Caleb. Only afraid of the fact that he now makes me weak to my knees.

I nodded to myself, indicating my mind that I was ready to go. If only my legs responded. I forced myself out of the bathroom, and dragged my feet heavily from tile to tile. He heard me walk, as he was now waiting for me at the bottom of the stair-case, giving me his best smirk.

I smiled back, immediately feeling the familiar weakness in my knees.

"Hello," he greeted in his husky, low voice, smiling broader. I immediately bent over and kissed him- I couldn't exactly stop myself.

And it wasn't a quick peck, either. Our lips gently synchronized, and the descriptions for this was endless: strong, yet elegant. Fast, yet passionate.

We only stopped when we both needed air, which was, thankfully, at the same time. We bent, touching each-other's foreheads, just staring at one another and content to do so.

I'm in love, I simply thought. I surprised myself, though. A year and forty pounds ago, I would have never imagined myself falling for the bad boy. But Caleb wasn't a bad boy- he was a boy who'd been through a lot, that's all.

My mom cleared her throat behind us. Awkward, I thought, closing my eyes.

We separated from our embrace. "Good morning, Ms. Marin," Caleb spoke kindly.

"Ashley." she corrected him, a slight smile and nod.

Caleb beamed. He could be so sweet.

"I do believe I have to get to work," she hinted for us to step aside.

"Right," I muttered, staring at the floor. Me and my mom haven't talked that much since I reminded her of the difficult time in her life.

However, before stepping out, she gave me a peck on my forehead. "I love you." she said. Only then did she walk out.

I held Caleb's hand as I made my way to the kitchen. "So, what are you hungry for?" I asked, opening the fridge. I loved the atmosphere in the house of a Sunday morning.

"You," he simply said. I blushed, and he noticed. As I grabbed the milk out of the fridge, he hugged me from the back and started kissing my neck. I let out a giggle, and I could feel his smile as he kissed, closer to my cheek. It took to long, so I spun around and kissed him again.

A few minutes later, we were lying on the couch, his head resting on my laps. I simply stared, lost in his eyes. This was interrupted by his voice. As he spoke, my heart dropped.

Caleb POV

Why am I telling her this? I thought to myself. Right, I answered my rhetorical question. Because I'm in love.

I could see the tears coming from the corner of her eyes, and wanted to hug her, right here and right then. But I could not gather my strengths, and instead abruptly rose and ran up the stairs. I locked myself in her bathroom, razor in my pocket. I could hear her come up the stairs. I made sure I locked it, and proceeded. I unbolted the blades of the razor, and as my hand shook, I ran the blade along my wrist, and flinched as the blood drooled from the wound being formed.

"Caleb?" I heard a knock on the door, then saw the knob twist. "Caleb, please open-" she cut short. "It's just me." she said.

I felt a single tear on my cheek, and carried on. I must've been pretty stupid, because she had an extra key to the bathroom. As she opened the door slowly, she caught sight of my arm, and swung the door open. "Caleb," she muttered, walking towards me.

I couldn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I simply watched as she healed my wound, wrapping it in band-aid. As she did so, my eyes wandered around the room, and stopped on her arm. She had several scars.

"Hanna," I muttered, closing my eyes. I was so stupid.

She clearly knew what I was talking about. "You're going to be fine."

When she was done, silence fell. Neither one of us knew what to do, so I motioned first, and cupped her sweet face with my hands.

"I love you." I murmured, and before she could respond, I kissed her.

She didn't hesitate to kiss back. It must've been minutes, but felt for hours.

"You don't need to try so hard to say goodbye," she told me.

"I'm not leaving you." I replied. And it was true- I had no intention to walk out.

She rose. "Well," she declared, "I think we need fresh air."

She held her hand out, and I didn't scruple to take it. We walked out of the bathroom, hand in hand.

Our plan was to visit the mall. Even if it was my least favorite place in the whole word, at least I was with Hanna. That's all I could ask for. When we entered the wretched place, the image I had feared came into my head.

****************************** Flashback ****************************

"Mom, mom can I go on the shark?" I asked impatiently, staring at the paying toy. "Please please please," I repeated. Since she didn't answer, I kept going. "Please, please, PLEASE, mom!"

She finally swung her head at me, a death stare across her face.

"SHUT IT!"

I gulped, and stared at the floor. "Okay," I murmured.

****************************** End of Flashback ****************************

"You OK?" Hanna asked, squeezing my hand. I forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I groaned as I saw her friend, (Mona, Monique?) approach.

"Hey, Mona." Hanna greeted.

"Woah, what's up with the beauty and the beast theme?", she questioned, eye-balling me.

"Mona," I emphasized, putting on my best homosexual tone. "I didn't think you'd make it today. It's pretty windy."

Hanna chuckled, squeezing my hand. Mona had the death stare, and grunted as she walked away.

"Nice," applauded Hanna. "Very nice."

She was still chuckling as her phone beeped, and she bent down to check it. I watched as her face changed color, and she abruptly let go of my hand.

Hanna POV

Looks like mother got a little incident at work. -A

What was A talking about? I thought. I realized Caleb was looking at me oddly, and I forced myself to smile. "Nothing," I answered.

"I never believe your broken smile anyway," he winked. "What's going on?"

This was the first time in my life that somebody had actually noticed that my smile was fake. That not everything was the truth. That, inside, I was scared stiff about what life was planning for me.

"Something is up with my mom…" I whispered, dialing on my phone. He watched me call her.

"Hello?" answered my mom.

"Mom," I said, relieved. "is everything okay?"

"Hanna," she hesitated. "have you been… shoplifting again?"

"What? No!" I responded, taken aback.

"The police is checking the house. Some stores have missing items and they need to make sure it wasn't you."

"But mom, it wasn't!"

The phone clicked, and I realized she hung up. "Jesus Christ," I muttered.