"Hanna just get up!" Emily groaned, feebly attempting to pull the blonde haired girl out of the comfort of her bed and into the open world, one she hadn't experienced for too long now, and the girls were all sick of it. Caleb had left a little over a week ago, and said he didn't know when he would be back; at least that's what he told Hanna. The girls knew otherwise though.
"Don't you get it Emily?" Hanna snapped, snatching her arm from Emily's grasp and collapsing back onto the bed "I don't want to go out! I don't want to go shopping, I don't want to watch movies, and I sure as hell don't want to go to school!"
Emily sighed and banged her head against the nearest hard surface, in this case being Hanna's desk, which looked untouched, but of course it had been for a week. "Stop being so difficult and get your ass out of bed!"
Taken aback by her sharp tone, Hanna begrudgingly sat up straight. Her hair was up in a loose bun that she shook out, releasing her pale curls so they freely descended down her shoulders, then she moved on to wipe her make-up stained cheeks with the sleeve of her silk pyjamas, only to reveal her pale, blotchy skin that had clearly not been cared for.
"See, that wasn't too hard now, was it?" Emily teased, raising her eyebrows at her best friend.
"I never said I was getting changed" Hanna mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest "I'm not going to school"
"Very mature Hanna" She said sarcastically, already rummaging through Hanna's closet. Eventually she picked out a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a flowing white top, completing the outfit with a pale pink blazer. Emily laid them over a chair, pointing to them "Your clothes are there, if you aren't downstairs in fifteen minutes I'm carrying you to school, and not buying breakfast"
Hanna grunted twice as loud as before, making sure that Emily could hear. Lethargically, Hanna pulled herself up and trudged over to the chair, inspecting the clothes. Since she was secretly hoping that they were going to be a horrible combination so she had another reason to be grumpy today, Hanna had to say she was disappointed but somewhat impressed with Emily's choice of fashion. She decided she may as well put them on, because she doubted Emily was joking about carrying her to school. Not caring how she looked for now, Hanna settled on applying just a small amount of foundation, eyeliner and mascara then started her long descent down the stairs.
"Finally" Emily rolled her eyes as she leant on the kitchen counter.
"Well good morning to you to" Hanna said sarcastically, picking up her bag from the bottom step "Are we going then or not?"
"Yes we are, first stop the Brew" She said, getting up and walking towards the door, idly swinging her car keys around her finger. Hanna hadn't guessed her act, not yet anyway.
XXXXX
"Hey Hanna" Aria and Spencer greeted cautiously, not sure what mood she would be in after first period. They knew the plan, and were under strict instructions not to give anything away.
"You don't need to talk to me like a five year old who's dog just died" Hanna spat, slamming her locker shut.
"We do when you act like this" Spencer mumbled, leaning on the wall casually.
"Shut up, Spencer" Hanna hissed, banging her head on her closed locker.
"No need for the bitchiness" Aria broke in, calming the atmosphere that was sure to build between Hanna and Spencer. It was just how they worked, half-hearted bitchy comment after the next "So you guys want to do something after school?"
"Sure" Emily smiled, sending a sly wink to Spencer and Aria without Hanna noticing "Spencer, are your parents home?"
"No they are away in Philly for the rest of the week, sleepover at mine?" She suggested, then remembered something "Toby is staying over for a couple of days but I can banish him to my room while we sleep downstairs"
"Sounds good" Aria grinned, then turned to a half-asleep Hanna "Come on Hanna, we have biology" She groaned and pushed herself off the lockers, and was dragged by Aria to second period. When they were sure she was out of ear shot, the remaining two resumed talking.
"What time is he supposed to get here?" Emily whispered, just in case anybody heard.
"He text me this morning and said three, Toby is going to help him set up everything in my room" Spencer told her, checking her watch as she did "I imagine that it will be ready by the time I get home, so if you go back home with her and get her stuff then bring her to mine we should be ok. I'll call you if anything changes though"
"Ok" Emily nodded "I've got to go to Gym, so I'll see you at lunch"
"Bye"
XXXXX
Spencer excused herself from her fifth period lesson, AP Math, so she could call Toby. After two short rings, he picked up.
"Hey Spence" He greeted, and by sounds in the background, Spencer guessed that the visitor had arrived.
"Is he here yet?" Spencer asked eagerly.
"Yeah, got here half an hour ago, we are getting everything ready now"
"Awesome" Spencer smiled widely, sure if anybody saw her now she would look crazy "Hanna is going to get to mine at like five, will it be ready by then?"
Toby put his hand over the speaker of his phone to confer with his counterpart before answering "Yeah it will be, but he says only if I get my lazy ass off the phone and help"
Spencer laughed slightly and then sighed "Aw ok then, I guess that I'll see you when I get home. Love you"
"I love you, too" Then Toby hung up. Spencer slid her phone into her pocket before returning to her Math class, which was sure to drag out.
XXXXX
"We'll see you over at mine later then" Spencer called across the car park to Emily and Hanna as her and Aria got into Spencer's car.
"He is here, right?" Aria asked.
"Yeah he's here" Spencer nodded, pulling out of the car park and onto the short road to her house "And I think he's pretty nervous to"
"I'm not surprised! He must have had a lot of balls to lie to her about where he was going and not knowing when he would be back" Aria scoffed, popping a piece of mint gum into her mouth.
"Well I'm sure it's going to be worth it" She smiled as she parked outside her house, getting out quickly and half running into the Hastings manor with her midget friend by her side. Him and Toby were relaxing in the kitchen with a can of beer each and watching TV.
"Hey Caleb" Spencer and Aria both laughed with joy as they walked into the kitchen, slamming their bags down on the kitchen counter right in front of him.
"Hi" He smiled mischievously, welcoming his friends into his arms "How is she?" Caleb asked, referring to his long term girlfriend, of whom he had been missing like crazy.
"Emily only just managed to get her to school today" Spencer said, taking a seat across the counter on the end of Toby's knee "She's been pretty lost without you"
Caleb sighed and ran his hand through his hair "Well now I feel bad"
"You should" Aria teased, nudging him with her elbow "But she could never hate you, you know that"
"What time is she coming?" Caleb asked, nervously fiddling in his pocket. Right then they heard a car pull up outside.
"Quickly, run up to my room before she sees you!" Spencer shrieked, pushing him towards the stairs. He obliged and ran as fast as he could, launching himself jokingly into Spencer's room. A minute later Emily came in, pulling a moody Hanna with her.
"Hey guys" Aria smiled, always being the best actress out of the four, pretending nothing big was about to happen.
"Hey" Hanna groaned, already making her way to the fridge and scoping it out, for alcohol no doubt.
"I was thinking, maybe you could pick out a film tonight?" Spencer suggested, taking her place back on Toby's knee as he gently rubbed circles on her thigh.
"Yeah whatever" She shrugged, going up the stairs slowly, all eyes on her until they could no longer see the blonde. They heard a squeal, and Aria, Emily, Spencer and Toby broke out into the same glorious smile at hearing their friend's happiness for the first time in a long week.
XXXXX
"Caleb!" Hanna yelled, leaping into his arms "Your back!"
"I know" He mumbled into her hair, wrapping his arms protectively around her waist and spinning her around until they were both dizzy. Even once he had put her down, he refused to let go of her. The past week he had missed her way too much, the pain indescribable. He took in her fruity scent and soft skin, never wanting to forget the memory of it. To be fair, to him Hanna was unforgettable. He would remember her in his next life, and the one after that, and the one after that, and even the one after that. All he could do was hope of the same from her.
"If I knew I'd see you here then I would have made myself look better" She laughed, pressing her hands to his chest, revelling in his presence. Hanna hadn't quite realised how much she had really missed the other half of her heart for the long, dreary seven days. It was then that she decided that she would never let him go again without her.
"You still look as beautiful as always" Caleb said lovingly, tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear, and then pressing a line of kisses where his fingers had just laid out a trail. Slowly, he moved from her ear down to her neck, then back up to her lips, were finally the two pairs met in a fit of passion and love. Not feistiness or aggression, genuine love and affection were all the two shared right now. There are 1,025,109 words in the English language, but none of them could describe the love that they felt so strongly for each other, and no word ever would.
"I love you and what you've done to this room" Hanna said between kisses, stealing a glance around the room. With the help of Toby, Caleb had sprinkled red rose petals on Spencer's bed, lit candles around the room and even played gentle Justin Bieber songs through Spencer's stereo (Off the album that him and Toby had not been listening to while preparing the decorations). Finally, he had moved the bedside table to the end of the bed, that had on it a small envelope labelled 'To Hanna Marin' in fancy calligraphy, which Spencer had kindly written, but not the whole letter. He wanted to do that himself. Caleb interlaced his hand with Hanna's and led her over to it, pushing the note towards her. She smiled and reached up to peck his lips before opening it shaking, excitement overwhelming her as she started to read the contents...
To The Love of My Life (aka Hanna Marin),
I've never been a good writer, and you know that. I've never been very good at expressing my feelings either and I guess you know that too. I've also never been very good at loving or trusting anybody. Ok I'm not really selling myself very well here am I? Anyway, apart from the first bit about writing, these things have changed since I met you, since the first time you offered by your basement, I knew that I was a goner .Inevitably I was going to fall for you, but I thought I would get my heart broken. But I was wrong. You also now have that in writing, since I never admit that I'm wrong. See, that's how much I love you.
Back to the deep and meaningful stuff, or 'intimate', one of my favourite words ;). Never in a million years did I think that you, Hanna Marin, the queen bee of Rosewood High, the most perfect girl I had ever laid eyes on, would fall for a guy like me, but I guess life owed me something. I may not be a religious person, but I can't thank God enough for granting me my very own angel, right here on Earth. Because that's what you are, an angel. Nothing in the whole world, not even hacking computers, means more to me. The last week as killed me, but what kept me going was knowing that I would get to see your beautiful face at the end of it.
If you haven't already guessed what I'm getting at here, what I'm trying to say is that I love you, more than life itself. Actually, that's a lie, because you are my life now, and the only thing that would make me happier would be...well I want to say that in person. So now, look up from this letter with your teary blue eyes, princess.
Hanna did as the letter said, and laughed slightly at how he knew she would be welling up over it. The tears continued to run as she looked away from the letter ad found Caleb on one knee in front of here, holding up a red velvet box.
"Will you marry me?"
She threw her hand over her open mouth the stop the unattractive sob that was sure to escape her throat if it wasn't covered. Without a second thought Hanna had decided her answer, but couldn't bring herself to say the word. After too many moments of silence, Caleb couldn't bare it anymore.
"Hanna, please answer me, it's killing me"
"Yes" Hanna whispered, smiling widely as the word passed through her plump lips "Yes!" In a second, Caleb had bounced back up to his feet and flung his arms around Hanna's waist, picking her up and spinning her around in circles, both of the giggling with excitement. Soon, their lips came crashing down together, moving in perfect synchronisation and harmony, almost as if the pair of lips was made for each other.
"Wait, I need to do the ring!" Caleb remembered, setting a dizzy Hanna back on her feet. Slowly, and nervously since he didn't know whether it would fit, Caleb slid his mother's wedding ring onto Hanna's fourth finger, which was luckily a perfect size. Fate. "I love you, Hanna Marin, so much that sometimes it actually hurts"
Hanna brought her hands up to rest of his chest, right above his heart "I don't want to be the cause of your pain"
"Its good pain, pain that takes my breath away" He reassures her, placing his hands above hers, intertwining her nimble fingers with his as he reconnected their lips, brushing lightly over them.
"In that case, I love you too" Hanna teased against his lips, feeling the slight shiver that she sent through his veins. Taking a step back, Hanna turned around to scan the room "Spencer Hastings's bedroom, the room of miracles" She muttered, taking in her surroundings. Hanna jumped a small amount as Caleb snaked his arms round her waist from behind, planting tickling kissed onto her exposed neck.
"I can't wait until there's a mini you running around" Caleb murmured seductively in her ear, his warm breath making her knees go weak.
"One step at a time " She sighed back "One step at a time..."