A/N: A little missing scene from "Blind Dates", set after Wren calls Melissa.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pretty Little Liars or these characters. If I did, Wren's name wouldn't be so ridiculous.
Hard Habit to Break
With the phone call made and her plan in motion, Spencer and Wren quickly ran out of the things to talk about.
"Okay, so you'll call me later?" she confirmed, already moving onto the next item on her mental checklist.
He'd forgotten how intense she could be when she was on a mission. He only saw her that way once before, when she came to see him after Melissa sent him packing. He'd tried to cheer her up by making jokes and reassuring her that the family would forgive her soon, but she'd barely cracked a smile for his efforts. Instead, she had been completely focused on getting him to fix everything by talking to her father. As if having Peter Hastings beat him to death with a tennis racket would set her world back on its axis. But even that single-mindedness hadn't prepared him for the fierce, all-consuming drive in her now.
She started toward the door of the cramped supply closet and Wren shifted to block her way, holding her in place by the shoulders.
"Wait a second."
He hadn't seen Spencer for months, months spent trying to forget the effect she had on him, and now she had blown back into his life and taken center stage again. With all the talk about Melissa and Ian, there had been no time to talk about the million other things left unresolved between them. She seemed perfectly fine with that but he couldn't just sweep it all under a metaphorical carpet and forget about it. He wasn't built that way.
"Spencer..." he began, not really sure where to start.
She looked up at him, brown eyes wide, and he suddenly realized how close they were. Dangerously close. He tended to do stupid things when they were standing this close.
Not that he really regretted any of them.
"Wren... I can't," she said, pushing him back gently before he could repeat history. "I'm kind of involved with someone now."
He let his arms drop down to his sides. "Yeah, I know."
She eyed him suspiciously. "You do?"
"Melissa told me," he added hastily. He jammed his hands into the pockets of his lab coat, where they couldn't get him into any more trouble.
Suspicion melted into confusion on her pretty face. "Melissa told you about my boyfriend?"
He didn't bother answering, just stared at her and waited for her to work it out on her own. They both knew exactly why the elder Hastings sister would feel the need to pass that information along. Melissa's sweetly spiteful voice still echoed in his ears from weeks ago. 'In case you were wondering, Spencer's moved on. Twice, actually. She obviously found you as irreplaceable as I did.'
Spencer rolled her eyes. "Of course she did. I'm sorry, Wren."
He shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm glad you're happy."
A sarcastic laugh bubbled up. "Happy might be a stretch right now, all things considered. But yeah, Toby and I are good."
"Good. You deserve that."
The silence stretched awkwardly and he finally moved out of her way.
"You should probably go. I'll call you when I know something."
She offered him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Wren. Really."
He shrugged. "Forget it."
With one last look, she brushed by him and went to the door. Cracking it open, she peeked out to make sure the hallway was empty and made her escape.
Wren followed her to the door and waited for it to swing shut behind her. His forehead made a satisfying thud against the cool metal a moment later.
He was never going to get that girl out of his system.