A/N: This fanfic is going to be different from all my other fanfictions. It's going to be a lot more dramatic fanfiction. This is going to be my side fanfic. My main fanfic is Project Hannily. I'm probably not going to continue Once Upon a Hannily or My Best Is Never Good Enough. I'm kinda bored with that story, to be honest. I hope you enjoy this one because I worked hard to make this.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars.

Chapter One:

Hanna's POV

I had to run. Right now. I stuffed as many clothes as I could into my worn out backpack that I found on the street while my first attempt of escaping. I've been trying to escape this place for a while, but every single time, I would get caught. Dang. I'd tell my foster parents that I would just stop by the grocery to buy something but they wouldn't let me go, no matter what reason. This house was on lockdown. The glass windows were made of super strong glass, which I tried breaking with my handy dandy butter sock. Yes, the butter sock. I got it from the TV show, iCarly. Every time my parents would try to smack me, I'd smack them first with my butter sock. And that's why I'm here in my room grounded. I was currently just on my computer on Tumblr. I had to steal my computer from a local Best Buy store. I almost died, but it was all worth it. A computer was what I needed to carry on my plan. I would alternate between packing up and working on my plan with my computer before my adoptive parents came home. Living with them was hell. They treated me worse than a dog. I was pretty much a slave to them, and I don't even know why they even adopted me if they were going to treat me like crap. I was popular at school though, and I am not sure how that even happened. I guess if it wasn't for my stealing skills then I wouldn't have been popular.

I looked at the time. My foster parents were going to be here in about 30 minutes, which meant that I had to hurry up. I finally decided that I didn't need a plan so I just threw my computer to the side and started packing up as many of my stuff as I can.

I looked at the clock again. It was now five minutes until they get here. I had to move fast. I zipped up my backpack and went to the fridge to get as much food as I could and a lighter. I don't think I was ready to do this, but I would have to. I took a deep breath as my eyes started to tear up and my vision became blurry. I grabbed a piece of paper lying on the counter, lit the paper on fire, and dropped the paper on the floor with the match. I was just a few feet from the front door, so I grabbed all of my belongings and got out. I had no regrets. This was the least I could do to return the pain my adoptive parents have brought me. It was the worst sixteen years of my life.

I covered my head with the red hoodie I had on and ran as far as I could. I knew that I couldn't stop, but I didn't know where to go, just anywhere except my house, which was just had burned into ashes. Every step I took was I step I took to freedom. I felt free and alive, but I also felt nervous. I didn't know if I was smart enough to carry out this plan, but I had to take the risk. What if my foster parents send a bunch of policemen searching and looking for me? I didn't need that in my life. I had planned this escape a long time ago, and today I had an opportunity and it was now or never.

After a good five minutes of running, I started to jog slowly because I was getting really tired. I should've brought a bike or something, I thought. But the problem was my parents didn't care enough about me to get me a computer or anything, not even food. If there was any food they got for me, it would be dog food.

I was too busy looking at the ground, filled with my own thoughts and doubts. I looked up and saw that I was finally out of the neighborhood area, which meant that I was near one of those places full of groceries and stores like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc. I walked quickly to a wooden bench on the sidewalk next to the entrance of all of the stores, took my backpack off, and started looking for some food to eat. Whenever I'm sad or nervous, I just keep eating. Food's the only thing that's been there for me; I'm not kidding. It seems to just make the pain go away. After rummaging in my bag for a few minutes, I found a few cans of sardines. Ew. I personally hated sardines, but it was the only food I had so I opened the can, grabbed a fork, and hesitantly ate the tiny little fish. It honestly didn't taste that bad. When I'm hungry, I can eat almost anything. And boy I was hungry. People passed by, of course, so I put my hood higher and put on my sunglasses. Strangers looked at me like I was a robber or something, so I decided to move. As I was about to get up, some girl approached me and she looked like she had some money in her hand. She put it on the ground, next to were my feet were, and walked away. What the hell? Did she think I was homeless? I wasn't going to let someone treat me like I'm poor or something, so I sped after her and grabbed her wrist.

"What the hell? I don't need your money!" I shouted at her. I didn't get a good look at her face but when she turned around I was stunned. She was stunning.

"Excuse me?" the girl asked confusedly.

"Did you thing I was homeless?" I ignored her question.

"I just thought you-.."

"Well take your money back, I don't need it okay." I handed her the money back, but someone from behind me snatched it. I looked behind me and saw a guy with a black hoodie and a mask running away from me with the money in their hand.

"Hey! Give that back!" the girl shouted and started chasing after the guy with the hoodie. Damn, she was fast. I started running after her, but I couldn't keep up. She must've been an athlete or something, because that would explain why she was wearing a tracksuit and tennis shoes. The girl was a few feet away from me. I ran as fast as I could to catch up with her. It took a few minutes, but I finally caught up with her. I was panting like crazy and I had no idea how someone can just keep on running straight for an hour or something. We were getting closer to the guy with the hoodie, but he went inside a black car and drove away.

"Are you serious?" the girl said, frustrated.

"Sorry," I shyly said.

"It's alright. I'm Emily, by the way." The girl introduced, sticking out her hand for me to shake.

I looked into her eyes and she was gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen someone who looked as beautiful as her. I snapped out of my thoughts and shook her hand. "I'm Hanna," I said, "I'm sorry I got all 'Sharkeisha' on you earlier, I was just in a bad mood.

"It's okay, I understand. Well, why are you here alone anyway when it's really dark?" Emily asked.

"I needed some air." I lied. I couldn't let anyone know that I ran away. If the word was spread, the police would know where to find me. I'd never want to go back in that hell. "I actually have to go now."

"But can I see you without your sunglasses first?" Emily asked, smiling. I took off my sunglasses, and Emily stared at my eyes intently and smiled at me. "You look pretty." Emily complimented me. She checked her watch. "It's really late and I have to go home too. It was really nice to meet you." We shook each other's hands one last time and went our separate ways. I looked over to my right and saw Emily walking the same direction as me.

"So I guess we're going the same way? I guess we can walk together then." Emily chuckled. Aww her laugh is so cute, I thought. Whoa, that was a gay thought. I cannot be gay, she's just really pretty.

"Yeah. What school do you go to?" I asked, walking closer to her so that she were shoulder to shoulder walking the same direction.

"Rosewood High." She answered.

"I go there too! How come I never see you?" I wondered.

"You do look familiar," I said, squinting my eyes at her to try to remember her. "You look like the girl from my English class."

"Mr. Fitz's class?" Emily asked.

"Yeah."

"You probably never see me because I'm always sitting at the back. I have heard about you. You're one of those cool kids." Emily explained.

"Well sure, I guess you could call me that." I shrugged.

We kept walking, talking about ourselves and our lives. Suddenly, she stopped talking and looked over at a house, so I assumed that it was hers.

"Well, here I am. Do you live in this neighborhood, or are you just following me? It seems like you were pretty clueless about where you were going." Emily asked me with a half-smile.

"I live around here," I lied. Half lied. I didn't really live here, but I was staying somewhere near this neighborhood tonight, maybe under a tree on a blanket.

"Oh. I have to go, it's late." She said, glancing at her house.

"Thanks for walking with me." I smiled thoughtfully.

"No problem." She smiled back. We just stayed like that staring at each other on Emily's doorstep. After a few seconds, she broke the eye contact and opened the door to her house. I shook her hand again, but she pulled me in for an unexpected hug. Then, she went inside her house.

I started walking on the sidewalk away from Emily's house to find a nice, shady tree where I could sleep under. I was silently praying that none of the kids from my school lived in this neighborhood, or else they would see me like this. A couple of houses away from Emily's house, I found a little neighborhood park that looked more like a garden. I couldn't really see it that well since it was really dark, but I spotted a large, cozy tree to sleep under. So, I walked to it, took a blanket out of my backpack and spread it out on the grass under the tree. I really didn't want to sleep on the ground on a blanket, but it was the only choice I had. This seemed like a private neighborhood so hopefully, I wouldn't get seen by the police, because I am pretty sure that my foster parents had sent someone to come find me. I lay down on the blanket and closed my eyes.

…

Emily's POV

I entered my house. My parents were probably wondering where I had been. I was jogging, like I go every day and every night. I passed my curfew though today so I crept up to my room as quietly as I could, trying not to get caught by my parents. I finally reached my bedroom so I opened the door and collapsed on the bed. I was too lazy to take a shower, but I had to since I was dirty. Maybe I'll just watch some TV for a few minutes first. I reached for the remote and turned the TV on. I noticed that I was on the news channel. Just as I was about to change the channel, but something caught my attention. Large and wide on the TV screen was Hanna's face and the words above the pictures said, "Missing!"

"It was reported that 17 year old, Hanna Marin, was missing after her guardians found their hosue burnt down. There were no remains found inside of the burnt house, which meant that Hanna Marin luckily escaped from the house. The police are on their way to find Hanna Marin and are further investigating this problem." The TV reporter said on the TV. The camera showed a burnt down house. My eyes were wide open. I couldn't process what was happening. I wasn't in the mood anymore to watch TV so I just turned it off and showered quickly. I attempted to fall asleep, but it didn't work. I was too worried about Hanna and where she was now. Where could she be staying? I finally managed to fall asleep for two hours, but I woke up and kept tossing and turning.

…

I opened my eyes and checked the time. It was two hours before school started, which meant that I had plenty of time to go jogging, like I did every day and every night. I got ready by grabbing my sweatpants and my tennis shoes. I planned to run around the neighborhood a few times until I was satisfied, but something stopped me. When I reached the community park milestone, I saw a familiar girl sleeping under a tree. I was completely worried, but relieved that Hanna was safe. I ran to her, kneeled down and shook her shoulder gently; she started to stir. She opened her eyes and looked at me with a confused face.

"Emily?" Hanna fearfully asked. "How did you find me?"

"I jog around the neighborhood every day. It doesn't matter. Why are you here sleeping under a tree?" I asked, full of concern.

"I must've sleep walked or something," Hanna nervously laughed.

"You were on the news last night. Apparently, you're missing and the police are trying to find you." I explained.

"Oh my god." Hanna covered her face with her hands.

"What's wrong? Why are you really here? I know that we just met last night, but I care about you and I want to help you. You can trust me." I held her hand, trying to comfort her. She looked down at it and smiled a little.

"Please don't tell anyone." Hanna begged.

"I won't. Now, what's wrong?" I insisted.

"I ran away from home." I could tell that Hanna was going to burst into tears in any moment.

I said nothing and just hugged her tightly. She hugged me like she never wanted to let go, like we've known each other in forever. She held me like she never wanted to let go, and that I was the only person she had right now. I could feel tears dripping on my neck, so I just softly rubbed circles on her back, hoping to calm her down. After a few minutes, we just stayed there like that until she stopped crying.

"Come on, let's go over to my house. People might find you here." I suggested. She said nothing and kept sniffling. I held her hand and led her to my house. I opened the door to my house and we both went upstairs to my room quietly, making sure not to disturb my parents.

"Living with my foster parents was worse than living in hell. They treated me like an animal, maybe even worse. Everyone expects my life to be perfect since I was popular, but no, most of the time I wished I wasn't alive." Hanna's voice shook as she explained this to me. She was fighting the tears, but she can't help but to let them go. She started to explain the rest of her story to me. I had really gotten to know her today. I've heard a lot about how and how she was a snob, but those people knew nothing about her. She's an amazing person.

"You can stay here if you want." I offered.

"You don't need to worry about me. I'll just waste your time." Hanna frowned.

"I can't leave you like this. It'll be perfect! We'll be best friends." I beamed.

"What about your parents? I can't let them know that I'm living here." Hanna pointed out.

"We'll just keep it a secret." I said.

"Well, okay then." Hanna agreed.

…

A/N: Phew! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this fanfic. I worked really hard on this and I hope it was worth it! Please review what you thought or if you have any comments or questions or whatever. Remember to subscribe/fave! This is was the longest chapter so far that I have written out of all of my fanfics. I'll update this next week or in two weeks. Make sure to check out my other stories. Thank you for taking your time to read this!