Chapter 1

Glancing at her clock, Hanna groaned. It was 7:30 AM, she had to get ready for school. The blonde brushed her teeth, picked out a cute outfit, and then trudged her way downstairs. Her mother was pouring milk into a bowl, most likely making some cereal. The blonde joined her mother in the kitchen for breakfast.

"Morning, Hanna," Ashley Marin said, grabbing a spoon from the drawer. "You want me to make you something to eat for breakfast?"

"No thanks, I've got it," she responded. "I thought you would want to sleep in or something. It's super early for you, and you usually like to get all the beauty sleep you can." The single mother laughed at her daughter's comment. Hanna raised her eyebrows and added, "Okay, and you're acting a lot more cheerful than usual."

"I've been in a good mood lately," Ashley said, smiling cheerfully. "Ever since I started spending more time with Ted, and the reason I'm up so early this morning is because I'm attending a church event with him. I have to be there to help him out. I wasn't really listening to what it was, but I know I have to be there by eight."

"Well, you've only got half an hour," Hanna said. "I'm glad Ted can make you happy, but since when are you so religious?"

"I'm not," Ashley said, chuckling. "I don't care for the religious stuff, I just want to spend more time with him."

"You've been spending a lot of time with him lately, actually," Hanna pointed out.

"Well, I guess I've forgotten how fun it is to date around," Ashley said, sighing. "I haven't been with anyone since what happened with your father, so I guess I didn't remember how fun it was to have someone else in your life."

"You have me," she reminded.

"Of course, and I love you very much," Ashley said, and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "But I mean romantically. Raising a daughter by myself isn't easy, and as amazing as you are, I would really like to have a man in my life again, and he's a wonderful guy."

"Alright, Mom, I got it," Hanna said, chuckling. "I'll stay out of your way, and let you have your man in your life." She laughed at her own statement.

"Actually Hanna, I want you to stay in my life tonight," Ashley said, causing her daughter to look at her in confusion. The older woman clarified, "Don't make any plans tonight, alright? Tonight, Ted and his son are coming over for dinner, and I want you to be there. I haven't met his son, but Ted says he's a joy."

"Oh come on, Mom, all parents would say their kid is a joy!" Hanna cried. "Even you would."

"Because you are a joy, sweetheart," Ashley said, and kissed the top of her daughter's head again. "And I want you to be here for the dinner tonight. Make friends with her son, and be kind to Ted. It's a very special night for us all. I want us to feel like a family, because I feel like Ted is a special one."

"Yeah, yeah, Mom, whatever," Hanna said, rolling her eyes. "I'll be home for the dinner, and I'll be on my best behavior. I'm just gonna take this sandwich to-go for school. Love you, Mommy." She smiled at her mother before leaving their house.

"See you tonight!" Ashley called after.

At school, Hanna was grabbing her history notebook out of her locker. When she shut her locker and turned around, she was greeted by a surprise kiss from her boyfriend. She closed her eyes and looped her arms around his neck, deepening their kiss. He pressed her head against the locker as he ran his hands through her golden locks.

"That is a nice way to greet me today," Hanna said, pulling back, nearly out of breath. "I haven't caught you all day. Where have you been?"

"Here and there," Caleb said, shrugging his shoulders. "I was looking for you all morning, but you weren't anywhere to be found. I finally found you, and I had to surprise you with a little kiss. Your absence has been making my heart grow fonder."

She playfully smacked his cheek, and giggled.

"That was so cheesy!" Hanna cried, and ran her hand through Caleb's shaggy brown hair. "I missed you, too, Caleb."

"Good, I was hoping you missed me," Caleb said, grinning. "How about I take you out tonight? Just you and me, the movies. We can watch whatever you want, even a romcom. I don't mind, as long as I get to take you with me." He smiled, and cupped her cheeks.

"As fun as a romcom movie date sounds, you won't be getting to take me, because I can't go," she told him, sighing. "I have to have dinner with my mom's boyfriend and his son. I'm really hoping that this son isn't irritating."

"Damn it," Caleb said, groaning. "You better not get interested in this son of his... I don't want any roadblocks in our future."

"Come on, this is the son of my mom's boyfriend!" Hanna laughed like it was crazy. "This kid is like my brother. If my mom gets remarried... this dude will be my brother. You honestly think I want any problems like that? I'm not going to be interested in my future brother. Besides, I love you."

Caleb smiled proudly and gave her a ginger kiss.

"I was hoping you would get all defensive about it," Caleb said, grinning. "I'm bummed you can't make it tonight, but I'm sure you'll make it up to me some time, right?"

"Most definitely," she said, nodding her head. "Alright Caleb, I'll see you later." She pressed a soft and loving peck to his lips. "I'm going to go find my friends before passing period is over. Love you."

"Okay, okay, let's not shove any tongues down any throats!" Hanna yelled, pushing her brunette friend away from her boyfriend. "Honestly, I didn't think you two were big fans of PDA!"

"Yeah, but we're not in public," Spencer said, rolling her eyes. "I'm in his truck, with the windows up. What the hell are you doing here, anyways?"

"I thought you would be happier to see me," the blonde said.

"Not after I was rudely interrupted," Spencer said, her hand brushing over Toby's lap. "How did you even—"

"You left the truck's door unlocked, genius," Hanna said, rolling her eyes. "I thought you were the smart one, Spence. So, you wanna tell me how good Toby's lips are, on a scale of one to ten?"

Her cheeks turned a bright shade of red, and she couldn't even manage to look at Toby again. She opened the door and got out of the truck. Toby turned her around and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, but she barely kissed back. She was too embarrassed to think straight, and there was so much blood rushing to her cheeks.

"I'll see you later," he said, and she nodded her head as she turned away.

The tan truck was out of sight in a moment.

"Aw, Spencer, I didn't mean to embarrass you in front of him," Hanna began, sighing. "Come on, I was just messing around!"

"Well, it was totally embarrassing, so you failed!" Spencer yelled. "Your idea of messing around is more of a humiliation, you know. I could barely look him in the eyes. My cheeks were burning up thanks to you." The blonde chuckled and side hugged her friend.

"Calm yourself, it wasn't that bad," Hanna said, laughing. "I think Toby knows that I was messing around. He's a cool guy, he knows what's up."

Spencer smiled. She knew she couldn't be mad at Hanna for too long.

"By the way, I would say his lips are a ten," Spencer laughed.

"There's my let-loose Spencer!" Hanna exclaimed. "I haven't seen Aria or Emily all day, except English, and they haven't even said a word to me today. I am starting to feel like an outsider. Plus, I have a stupid dinner with my mom and her boyfriend and her boyfriend's son—"

"Whoa, stop right there. Pastor Ted has a son?" Spencer asked.

"Apparently, but I'm glad he does, because he's getting old, and if he didn't already have a kid, he would probably want to have one, but I am not going to let him have that child with my mom. I can't even think of him knocking my mother up!" She shivered and held onto Spencer's arm.

"Everybody has sex, it's a natural thing, even Tob—" Spencer began, but Hanna cut her off.

"Okay, I have already seen too much PDA from you, so I don't need the image of you having sex, and wait, you've had sex with him!?" Hanna cried. "You never told me!"

"Now I feel uncomfortable," the brunette said, sighing. "Hey, you think it was fun when Emily told me that you had a little party with Caleb at my lake house? No, no it wasn't! My nana's couch is probably covered in whatever he ejacu—"

"Sh-ut up!" Hanna choked, smacking Spencer's mouth with her hand. "We are at a public place, so let's just not do this here."

"Ejaculated," Spencer whispered, and then went off into a fit of giggles.

"You are more immature than I remember," Hanna said, shaking her head. "And everyone thinks I'm immature!"

Finally arriving home after a long day of school, and a bunch of Spencer's anti-prude and filter-less comments, Hanna was ready to jump into bed, listen to music, and rest. She unlocked the door with her key, and started to turn the knob. When she got it open, her mother was standing there.

"Welcome home, sweetheart," Ashley greeted, pressing a kiss to Hanna's temple. The blonde suddenly remembered that she had to go to her mother's crappy dinner, and if she didn't put on a smile, she would have to hear her mom in misery, and she would never hear the end of it.

"Hi, Mom," Hanna greeted, her voice emotionless. "Isn't it too early for dinner?"

"Sweetie, it's six o' clock," Ashley informed her daughter with a quiet laugh.

"Oh god, I must have lost track of time when I was getting coffee with my friends," Hanna mumbled, sighing. "Well, I didn't realize it was already dinner time. Where's Ted and his son?" The single mother smiled brightly and guided her daughter to the dining room, where Pastor Ted was sitting, along with a very familiar young man. And the young man wasn't too pleased to be at this familiar house.

"Well, hey there, Hanna!" Ted exclaimed, getting up from his seat. He pulled Hanna in for an unexpected hug. "I've been waiting for you to come home. It's so great to see you. This is my son. Come here, Sean."

"Mom," Hanna said in a whiny tone. Ashley didn't know what to say. It was her first time meeting Ted's son, well she thought it was, but it really wasn't.

"Hi Hanna," Sean said, swallowing hard. "It's funny that we're meeting again this way..."

"Oh, you know my son?" Ted asked with a bright smile.

"Yeah, um, we go to the same school," Hanna half lied. It wasn't really a lie, because they did go to the same school, yet she left out the big part about Sean being her ex-boyfriend, which probably wouldn't be what Ted wanted to hear. She guessed that Sean never told his dad about her, because he didn't seem to remember anything about Sean's past girlfriend Hanna.

"So, you two are friends already, that's wonderful, Ashley!" Ted exclaimed, and put his arm around his girlfriend. "I am just so happy that we are all getting along so well. It means so much to me. I was nervous about this dinner, but I think we are all friends, so this is wonderful. Thank you kids for adjusting."

"Sean, Hanna, why don't you two go upstairs and start getting to know each other even more?" Ted suggested. "Ms. Marin and I are going to start preparing dinner. Don't have too much fun without us, kids!"

"Wait Ted, I thought your name was Ted Wilson," Hanna said, suddenly looking back.

He chuckled softly and explained, "Wilson is my middle name. I'm Ted Wilson Ackard."

Hanna's lips formed an 'o' shape as she sighed. "Uh, wow, I didn't know you were an Ackard. Anyways, Sean, you want to come upstairs?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said, getting up from his seat at the dining table. He followed Hanna up the stairs. It felt weird. He had been in that bedroom before, and he knew it all too well. She was embarrassed, because their break up wasn't exactly easy. She never thought she would have to be so near him again, but there he was, in her bedroom.

"Sean, why doesn't your dad know who I am?" Hanna curiously asked. "I mean, we dated for a pretty long time, and he doesn't even know that I was your girlfriend before. He just thinks I'm the daughter of his girlfriend."

"Because I was dating you when I lived with my mom," Sean explained, sighing and taking a seat on his bed. "They were already divorced when we were dating, and my dad never really cared about my personal life. He saw my mom and I at church every weekend, said hello, asked how I was doing, and that was about it. Then, after we broke up, my dad said he wants to be a part of my life, and he asked me to move in with him, and I wanted to get to know him better, so I live with him now."

Okay, his explanation was pretty good.

"Hanna, I don't want things to be weird between us," Sean said, standing up. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I mean, I know we used to date, but it's not like this is a permanent thing. Our parents will probably breakup at some point. My dad's not the best at keeping a relationship." He sighed as he looked up at her.

"I would say something, but I don't want to speak for my mom," she told him. "I guess I just didn't expect to see you as the son of my mom's boyfriend. No hard feelings? I mean, it's been such a long time since we broke up. We've gone through so much, and I think we've both mov—"

Sean pressed his lips against Hanna's, and cupped her cheeks as he kissed her gently. She quickly pulled back, not even thinking to kiss back.

"You can't do that, Sean!" Hanna cried. "If my mom is dating your dad, I feel like you're my brother, not my boyfriend. Besides, I have a boyfriend."

"Caleb Rivers?" Sean scoffed. "I don't think he can treat you right. Hanna, I still care about you in ways that you don't understand. I never meant for us to fall apart the way we did." He stroked her cheek gently. "I still have feelings for you, and this isn't permanent. I'm not your brother. There's nothing wrong about us!"

She might have considered what he said, but the sound of her mother's voice interrupted them. She couldn't even look at Sean again, she just rushed downstairs.

"Hey guys, the salad is ready," Ashley said with a smile. "Sit down, Ted and I will serve in in just a moment. Champagne, anyone?" Ted and Ashley started laughing. "I'm just kidding, the champagne is for us adults. If you guys want soda..."

"Yeah, I'll have a coke," Sean said.

"Help yourself, kiddo," Ashley said, smiling. She was so cheerful for some reason. "Make yourself feel at home, Sean! I want you to. Cokes are in the fridge." He smiled and went to grab a can from the fridge. He sat next to Hanna, which made her tense up.

Ashley grabbed plates, and set them down on the table. She started scooping salad out of the bowl that Ted and her cooked in, and put a decent amount on each plate. Sean began to coat his salad in dressing as Ted and Ashley joined the kids at the table.

"So kids, there's a reason that this dinner is so special," Ted told them, causing them to both look up at him. "Um Ashley, do you want to help me out here?"

"Of course, Ted," Ashley said, smiling. "So, you might have noticed how Ted and I are spending a lot of time together, and I promise that there's a valid reason for that. Ted, should we tell them what that reason is?"

"I think it's time we do!" Ted exclaimed. "Honey, let's tell them together, on the count of three. One... two... three!"

"We're getting married!"

And it took just three words to make Hanna's world fall apart.