Here it is everybody! The sequel to my story "Back to Me". If you haven't read that I suggest you do. You don't exactly have to but some things will make a lot more sense. For those that have read it, I hope you like this as much as the first one. And FYI this jumps 4 1/2 years after B2M ended. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars.
It was New Year's Eve and Toby and I were sitting in the loft. It was his idea to stay in this year and I set up a romantic, candlelight dinner.
"Cheers, to my beautiful fiancé." Toby toasted with his glass of champagne.
"And cheers to my handsome and wonderful fiancé. You've stuck with me through a lot and hopefully you'll stick with me during this last semester of college." I said and then we both laughed a little and sipped our champagne.
"Don't worry, Spence. I'll be here for you. We've been dating for five years and we've been best friends for seven. I've been around you when you get crazy with studying and I know how to handle it. I won't run away." He assured me and then jokingly added. "We're not Mike and Mona."
His last comment sent me laughing. A year and a half ago it wouldn't have been funny but now it was. Hanna and Mona had gone to college for two years and then opened up a clothing store together called Pretty Little Outfits. So Mike was finishing his last year of high school while Mona was finishing her last year of college. It was pretty stressful for both of them and trying to have regular date nights and a small social life didn't help. And things finally blew up for them on the night of Mike's senior prom.
All the preparations, like buying the tickets, getting a dress, and everything else, were done. But they never even made it. Mrs. Montgomery wanted lots of pictures so Mona met Mike at his house and then he would drive to the school. Nobody knows, not even Mike and Mona, what started the fight. But according to Aria, there was a lot of screaming, Mona stormed out, and poor Mike was left with a broken nose.
"No, we're not." I shook my head. "But I'm glad they got back together that Thanksgiving. Mona was pretty miserable that summer without him."
"Speaking of Mike, Mona, and the others, doesn't feel weird not being with them this year?" He asked.
"Yeah, it does a little." I nodded. "But I sort of like it just being you and me."
In previous years we celebrated New Year's Eve with the others. And one year we all went to New York together. But this year Aria, Ezra, and their daughter Brooklyn Juliet went to visit his family. Emily and Maya couldn't make it back from Connecticut. Plus, Hanna wasn't drinking so she didn't see the point of having a party. So Toby and I decided to have a quiet night in together.
"I do too. You start classes next week. After that I'll have to force you to take a break from studying if we want a date night." He said both joking and serious.
"Very funny, Toby, I'll remember that when you're busy with a project and I can't get you away from the blueprints." I shot back sarcastically.
"Touché," He laughed.
"Alright, everyone!" Hanna yelled to get our attention. "It's game time."
Toby and I went over and took a seat at the dining room table and everyone else slowly made their way over. This year we were celebrating New Year's Eve at the lake house and everyone was kind of doing their own thing.
"Hanna, nobody wants to play a game." Caleb sighed.
"Caleb Rivers, we are playing whether you like it or not. Because if you don't, you won't get a kiss at midnight and you won't be getting any until the wedding." She threatened.
"Hanna! The wedding isn't until June!"
"Dude, just play the game." Ezra told him.
"Alright fine," Caleb gave in. "What're we playing, honey?"
Mona was sitting to my left and we both laughed quietly at the emphasis that Caleb put into calling Hanna 'honey'. After four years of dating, Caleb definitely knew it was best to stay on Hanna's good side. And to do whatever you have to, to get back on it.
"Well, baby," Hanna stated with equal emphasis. "I heard about this little game from a customer. You get a piece of paper, write down your New Year's resolution, and put the paper in a jar. Then someone randomly grabs one of them, reads it out loud, and has to guess who wrote it. Everybody understand?"
We all nodded our heads and began writing down what our resolution would be. Everybody was finished within five minutes. And Caleb was the lucky one that got to go first.
"Okay, let's see…My resolution is to not freak out when my wife goes into labor." He read and he was laughing by the end of it. "Hmm, that couldn't be Ezra's? Could it?"
"Hey, just you guys wait until your girl tells you she's pregnant and going into labor." Ezra stated.
"Alright, Daddy-to-be, you go next." Hanna said as she passed him the jar.
Ezra read the paper and correctly guessed that it was Maya's. She had written down that she would get a steady job this year. Usually she could get good seasonal jobs during the summer but didn't get so lucky during the school year. Like one time she was a waitress but the restaurant was shut down the health department.
"This one says; to do everything the best that I can for my baby." Maya read. "That is very sweet, Aria. And you'll be a great mommy."
"I hope so. Ezra and I can't wait for her to get here." Aria said rubbing a hand over her belly. "Okay, to expand my business. Tough one, that could be either Hanna or Mona since you both have the store. But I'm gonna say Mona, it was written too formally to be Hanna."
"Sorry, Aria, but that was mine." Toby spoke up.
Earlier this year Toby had started his own furniture business. He did anything from tables and chairs to curio cabinets and bookcases. He also did furniture repair. Things were slow at first but they had started picking up lately, especially when it got close to Christmas. And he was hoping to start doing swing sets and other stuff for backyards. He was making a living from something that he loved and I was so happy and proud of him.
"Oh my goodness, this baby is making me lose my mind! I completely forgot about your furniture business." Aria sighed.
"Don't worry, Aria, I thought it was Mona's too since we have been thinking of carrying maternity clothes. Toby probably wrote that on purpose to confuse everyone." Hanna reassured her.
"Thanks, Han. But I still say that April 17th, can't come fast enough." Aria told her as she passed Toby the jar.
"This says, stay in touch with my friends despite the distance." Toby read. "Well, Emily, I think I speak for all of us when I say that this is one resolution that better be kept."
"Yeah or else I'll drive up to that fancy science school in Connecticut and drag you back to hang out with us." Hanna stated.
Emily was going to college in Pennsylvania for marine science. After an accident during our senior year of high school she couldn't swim anymore. So she decided that even though she couldn't swim she still wanted a job where she could be around water and underwater animals. Then this summer she got a job at an aquarium in Connecticut and transferred to a school up there. Maya transferred up there as well and obviously still hadn't gotten the job part.
"I'll do my best. And I know you'll keep me in check." Emily laughed and then cleared her throat. "My resolution is to not screw up my relationship by getting caught up in classes like I did last year."
"I think we all know it's either Mike or Mona." Caleb commented.
"I'm gonna say Mike because he's still in school and Mona isn't." Emily told us.
"Nice guess, Sherlock." Mike said giving Emily a high-five. "So this says, 'I want to keep my weight balanced so I can fit into my wedding dress.' Oh that is definitely Hanna."
"Hanna, do not worry about fitting into your dress. I know planning a wedding is stressful, but don't stress out about that. You've come a long way from the girl Alison called Hefty Hanna." Aria returned the favor and comforted her.
"Thanks, Aria," Hanna smiled. "Alright, learn to not be scary to anyone under fifty. And that would be Spencer's without a doubt."
Usually I didn't care that I was way smarter than a lot of people. And I even enjoyed showing off my intelligence. But after college I wanted to work with blind kids. A lot of people had helped me during that first year after the fire and I wanted to do the same for others. But I couldn't be much of a help if I scared people off. So I figured I should start working on that now.
"And that would be a correct guess without a doubt." I joked. "I want to make sure that I'm married to my future wife and not married to my job or classes. That could potentially be anyone except for Ezra. But since Caleb is engaged, I'm gonna say it's his."
"That better be yours, Caleb Rivers!" Hanna stated and pointed her finger at him.
"Yes, Hanna, it's mine." Caleb nodded.
"You are a very smart man, Caleb." Ezra told him.
"Alright, Caleb, there's one paper left and it's your turn again." Hanna said as she passed him the jar.
"But we all know its Mona's." Caleb pointed out.
"But we don't know what she wrote." Hanna shot back. "Mona, you read yours."
"I wrote to enjoy success." Mona started. "Since I was I kid I've been determined to succeed. But thanks to Ali, I couldn't enjoy winning that much because I had to move on to the next thing to be good at. I felt the need to be above and beyond in everything. Even now I feel that way sometimes. The store is successful, I like my job, and I want to enjoy it instead of feeling like I constantly have to be bigger and better than everyone else."
"I know what you mean; I've always tried to be like Melissa. But Toby helped me realize that I didn't need to try so hard." I told her, letting her know she wasn't the only one. "It's a good thing you want to put it behind you. It's tough, because old habits die hard, but totally worth it. You and Hanna both deserve to enjoy the success of your store."
"We do, and so do the rest of you guys. We went through a lot of crap in high school, but we made senior year the best, just like we said we would. We try and make every year the best, and now it's time for us to enjoy how far we've come." Hanna stated with a content smile.
"I'll toast to that." Caleb said and tapped his glass against Hanna's.
The rest of us followed suit and talked about how far we've come since Alison was in charge and Jenna went to jail. But we stopped a few minutes before midnight and turned on the TV. We started counting down and watched the ball drop. Toby kissed me and out of the corner of my eye I saw everyone else was doing the same, even Hanna and Caleb.
I woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee. Usually I woke up first, but every now and then Toby would get up before me and I was greeted with coffee. And I really enjoyed it. But this morning I got another surprise.
"Good morning," Toby smiled as he came into the bedroom carrying a tray of food.
"And good morning to you too, Tobes. What's all this?"
"I want make sure I start this New Year off right. So this is breakfast in bed."
"This is really sweet of you, and I appreciate it. But I think you did a fine job of starting this year right last night." I smiled suggestively.
"I enjoyed last night too." He said and kissed me. "But I'd rather go overboard than under do it."
"I love you."
"I love you too." He replied and leaned in for another kiss.
"So, it's the first day of the year. What do you want to do?" He asked when I had finished the breakfast my fiancé had cooked for me.
"I want to spend it entirely with you." I told him before kissing him.
"I think that can be arranged." He laughed and then resumed kissing me
I hope you guys liked it. Before you even ask, yes you will see a flashback of Spoby's engagement! And maybe even a wedding ;) This chapter was to show a little bit of what went on the past few years. Next chapter has a little more of that and also starts the main plot of the story. So if I get 5 or 6 reviews I'll update early next week. And did I mention Jason visits next chapter? ;)