"Would you like a drink?"
Hanna Marin glanced up at the flight attendant hovering over her. "Water, please." The woman nodded and handed Hanna a bottle of water before moving on to the next row of passengers. Hanna sighed and drank half the tiny bottle, tucking the rest into the seat pocket in front of her. She looked back down at her book, trying to focus on the words on the page, but her concentration was broken. If only Spencer Hastings could see her now-reading a novel instead of the latest issue of Vogue. It had only taken one Women's Studies class to push Hanna into reading, and now she was trying to catch up on books she had missed in high school when she was distracted by all that A nonsense. Plus, she'd already read Vogue at work and knew its contents cover to cover.
Putting the book on her lap, she reached down into her purse and took out her headphones so she could watch something on the small television screen in front of her. If she wasn't going to read, she needed some other distraction so she wouldn't think about how she was moving three thousand miles away from her home. She had told herself-and everyone around her-that moving didn't bother her, that she was fine with leaving her mom, that she would still be able to come home when airlines had sales, that it would be great because she was going to be living near her best friend, that she needed to get away from Rosewood. All of that was true, but there had still been a small tug in Hanna's heart when she hugged her mom goodbye at the airport, both of them making an effort not to cry. Ashley had wanted to come with her daughter to California, to make sure Hanna got all settled in and to see how Emily Fields was doing, but Hanna insisted Ashley stay home. There was the baby to think about, and the new husband, and Hanna wanted to start her life in California on her own terms.
She also wanted to get to Emily as soon as possible without any parental interference, because she needed to see if her best friend was okay. Emily and Paige had broken up three years ago, and while Hanna insisted that Emily needed to start putting herself out there ("Get back on that horse, or whatever lesbians get back on. Tiger? Panther? Lion?" "It's still a horse, Hanna." "Really? Are you sure? It's not some kind of cat?" "Why would it be some kind of ca-HANNA." "Sorry! I just thought lesbians were all about the pussy euphemisms!"), Emily wouldn't listen. Emily and Paige had moved to Los Angeles together after high school, Emily somehow having been accepted to USC and Paige having been accepted to UCLA. Paige had decided to study psychology and help out with UCLA's swim team, and Emily was doing...something with physical therapy. Hanna had tried to follow Emily's school trajectory, but got confused with all of Emily's talk about bachelor and doctorate degrees and residency and science and blah blah blah. All she knew was that Emily had spent a ton of time in school and was now a sports physical therapist, and since she was in Los Angeles, she was able to do physical therapy with (on? for?) well-known athletes. Some college players, helping out with a few professional players. Emily had studied hard. So had Paige.
Somewhere in their senior year they had pulled apart, Emily focusing on her degrees more than on Paige, and Paige letting go instead of trying to force the relationship to work. They had stayed together until a year after they graduated undergrad, both of them thinking it was easier to be in a comfortable, if not completely happy, relationship while they tried to figure out their post-college lives. The breakup had been amicable, and since both girls were still in Los Angeles, they saw each other once in a while. Paige had grown more confident in herself and her sexualty and had gotten involved in the LA lesbian scene, while Emily had retreated back into herself, choosing to stay at home instead of spending nights out at bars. She claimed she was happy, but Hanna knew that Emily had spent three more years studying so she could actually practice doing whatever therapy she was doing, and that she spent a lot of that time alone. Emily had made friends at school and in Los Angeles, but hadn't tried dating at all since Paige. Hanna had tried to convince Spencer and Aria to help her pull Emily out of her shell, but the other two were both understandably busy with their own lives. Even after all of the distractions in high school, Spencer had still gotten into Yale (not her first choice, she told everyone), studying law, and was now in law school. Aria had decided to be a professor, and even though she had done well in college, she had to jump through hoops when she started applying for jobs. All of the schools at which she applied to teaching jobs somehow found out about her relationship with Ezra and were worried that her sense of morals was unbalanced. She finally got a job at a school in North Carolina, and was focusing all her energy on making sure she was a model teacher, so the school board would have no reason to fire her. She and Spencer saw each other on a surprisingly consistent basis, while Hanna and Emily spoke on the phone every few days. The four girls were still friends, but Hanna was the only one concerned enough about Emily to actually do something.
Hanna had been working for a fashion PR company for a few years (first as an intern, then as an assistant), and the company recently decided to open an office in Los Angeles to try to work more closely with the entertainment market. They told Hanna that if she moved to California, she would get a raise and a promotion, and while she pretended she wasn't interested so that the company would offer her more perks and benefits, she knew right away she was going to accept the job. She needed a change. She needed some sunshine. She needed her best friend.
The plane landed and Hanna dutifully waited as the plane taxied and pulled up to the gate. Work had paid for her plane ticket, so she had flown first class (one of the perks they had given her when she had waited on giving them an answer), and she had two giant purses filled with an assortment of books, magazines, and odds and ends she had decided at the last minute to take with her from Pennsylvania to California. She had checked two bags and her mom had paid for her to check two more, because Hanna's closet was jam-packed. Hanna was staying at a hotel for a week while she found an apartment, and Emily said if it took more than a week to find a place that fit the Hanna Marin standards, Hanna could crash with her. Hanna had tried to negotiate a company car, but had failed, so she was shipping her Audi and had packed it full of stuff. It had arrived at Emily's house the day before, Emily had reported ("Hanna, why is your backseat filled with purses?" "Uh, why wouldn't it be?"), so Hanna felt relatively prepared for her move. The hotel would be fun-she would make Emily stay there for a few nights and they could catch up and order room service and she could make sure that Emily relaxed a little. Since her company was paying for it, she and Em could clear out the mini-fridge every night while they binge-watched shows on Bravo.
Hanna turned on her phone as the plane was taxiing, and sent her mom a quick text to say she had landed and she would call as soon as she was at her hotel. She also texted Emily to say she had landed, to which Emily responded with three happy face Emojis. Emily had really gotten into Emojis in college and hadn't given up using them, even though the rest of the world had. Hanna then checked her email, decided nothing was important enough to respond to, and then scrolled through her social media platforms to see if she had missed anything major. (She hadn't.) The plane pulled up to the gate, and once the fasten seatbelt sign was turned off, Hanna stood up and grabbed her bags, hustling out the door as soon as the cabin crew let her. She stopped at the bathroom to change out of her plane clothes and into a more fashionable outfit-her flight had left the east coast at 7 AM, and even though she liked to dress nicely, there was no way in hell she was getting up any earlier than she had to in attempts to look put together. Besides, her yoga pants, tank top, jacket, and shoes were all name brand, so she was still able to look chic and feel comfortable.
Clacking her way through the airport in her heels, Hanna made her way downstairs to baggage claim. She saw Emily and hurried toward her, dropping her bags and pulling Emily into a hug as Em squeezed her back.
"I'm so glad you're here."
"Me too, Em." Hanna stepped back and took a look at her friend, happy with what she saw. Since Em had moved out to California for college, Hanna was only able to see her a few times a year, during holidays and the occasional birthday trip. The first year, the four Rosewood girls had all met up in Mexico, happy to be taking a break from lectures and exams (and, for everyone but Emily, the cold weather) and enjoy hanging out in the sun. Hanna had gotten a little too drunk a few times. Spencer had flirted with every boy on the beach (Toby was long gone at that point). Aria had read a bunch of books and giggled every time a guy hit on her. Emily had been hit on by a lot of girls but had remained faithful to Paige, and she got drunk with Hanna for most of the week. The next year, the girls had tried to get together, but their lives had already become so completely different that it was hard for any of them to meet up because they had other friends to take into consideration. Hanna had visited Emily in California their junior year and had done all of the typical tourist stuff-Hollywood Boulevard (which was crap), the Santa Monica Pier, the WB and Paramount tours, and a lot of beach trips. She was excited to see more of the city and to become part of it.
Emily had gained a few pounds since Hanna had last seen her, since she wasn't swimming as much and was focusing on school and her career. Hanna knew she was self-conscious about it, but Hanna thought Emily looked better with the softer curves. She was still a billion feet tall and gorgeous beyond belief. Hanna had also gained a few pounds and was completely fine with it, since she had started working out more and loved that her boobs were bigger. Five pounds didn't bother her; she knew she worked hard enough and paid attention to what she ate that she would never go back to being Hefty Hanna. California fashion was just as high end but somehow less harsh than that of New York,and she knew the looser clothing and bathing suits would look great on her.
The girls started walking toward the baggage carousel on which Hanna's bags were to appear, Emily asking Hanna standard questions about how the flight was and how she was feeling and if she was excited. Three of Hanna's bags finally made their way around the carousel to where the girls were standing, and Emily had to help Hanna get the bags because they were so heavy.
"What the hell did you pack?" Emily let out an "oof" as she pulled one of the bags off and put it on the ground. "Bricks?"
"That one might have my books in it." Hanna struggled to pull the second bag off the carousel, and Emily leaned over and pulled it off for her.
"Why didn't you just pack the books in your car?"
"My purses and shoes had to go in my car. I didn't want them to get-Em, help, I can't get this one either-squished."
The third bag came off the belt with a thud, and Emily stared at Hanna.
"You didn't want your bags to get squished."
"No! Em! Some of those were gifts from designers. I can't have them being thrown around on a plane like they're a bunch of fruit on a truck."
"Fruit."
"You know. Fruit bruises when it gets thrown around."
"So you don't want fruit to get thrown around on a truck."
"What?"
"What?" Emily shook her head, grabbed one of the suitcase's handles, and started to walk away.
"Wait! There's one more," Hanna said as sheepishly as she could. "It's coming around the corner now."
"You have four bags?! Hanna, how the hell are these all going to fit into my Prius?"
"Oh god, Em. You got a Prius?"
"Shut up. There's a tax benefit and you spend way less in gas."
"Okay, grandma. Help me with my bag." Hanna leaned over the edge of the luggage carousel in anticipation, and Emily stepped a few feet in front of her and grabbed the bag before it reached Hanna.
"Hey! I said help me, not get it for me."
"Han, how did you get all of these to the airport in the first place? This is it, right? There's not a surprise fifth bag or animal or guitar that's going to slide down that ramp?"
"No, apparently you can't bring pet elephants on planes. Who knew?"
Emily laughed.
"And my mom helped me," Hanna continued, as she started pulling two suitcases towards the exit.
"David didn't come?" Emily asked, taking the two remaining suitcases and following Hanna.
"He wanted to give me and mom privacy or whatever. Plus he had to watch the baby."
The girls went outside and Emily took the lead, waiting at a crosswalk until it seemed safe to lug the heavy suitcases to the center median, and then hitting a button on the traffic light.
"Are you and the little nugget getting along any better?" Emily asked. The little white "walk" signal appeared, and the girls crossed over to the parking garage.
"What is there to get along with? It does nothing. People keep saying the baby is adorable, but the thing. Does. Nothing."
"You probably shouldn't call your baby sister a 'thing.'"
"I still don't understand why my mom had to have another girl," Hanna grumbled as they reached Emily's car. Emily popped open the trunk, got in the car and put down the two backseats, and started to try to shove the suitcases inside.
"Han-oof, can you push the end of that one over? Thanks-I don't think she had a girl on purpose."
"How do you know? How do you know that she didn't keep thinking 'baby girl' over and over until her body gave in?" Hanna leaned against the car and watched Emily struggle with the bags. "What if she wanted to replace me and her uterus or whatever made her have a girl?"
"Hanna, your mom didn't want to replace you," Emily grunted as she shoved the bags into the car.
"How do you know?" Hanna repeated.
"Because that's not how it works!" Emily somehow managed to Tetris all four bags into the back of the car and slammed the hatch down triumphantly. "Ha! Did it!"
"You're becoming such a good little lesbian. I'm so proud," Hanna teased as she walked to the passenger side and got in.
"I've always been a good little lesbian," Emily replied, climbing in the driver's side and starting the car.
"Your mom had to buy you a tool kit and I had to Skype with you to tell you what everything was."
"Yeah, when did you become such a tool expert?"
"When I started dating a bunch of them after I broke up with Caleb."
Emily side-eyed Hanna as she drove out of the parking garage toward the pay station. "Hanna Marin, comedian extraordinaire."
Hanna sighed. "When my dad left, my mom and I had to fix a lot of things ourselves. And then after all of that A bullshit, when mom started dating David, he wanted to make sure I was prepared for life when I left for college."
"And now you know Home Depot better than I do." Emily handed her parking ticket to the attendant and then gave him the correct amount of cash. She cautiously pulled into LAX traffic.
"Your mom told me I have to check your apartment and make sure everything looks safe and that you have everything you need. She thinks you've been lying to her about doing fine on your own."
Emily sighed. "My mom thinks that me being single means that my apartment is going to start falling apart, when in reality it just means that I have to throw shoes at spiders instead of having Paige kill them for me."
"Pam Fields," Hanna sighed.
"Pam Fields," Emily agreed.
"Well, whatever. You're an independent woman. Your mom is just scared. What do you want to do tonight? Should we go out or go to the beach or just hang at my hotel and get pizza?"
"Pizza. Definitely pizza."
"Are you saying that because you want pizza, or because you don't want me to drag you out to Hollywood or a gay bar?"
Emily paused. "Both. But mainly pizza. And you're going to be jetlagged and you get really fucking cranky when you're tired."
"I do not."
"Hanna."
"Emily."
"Hanna."
"Emily."
"Hanna. Pizza."
"Fine, fine. Pizza."
Emily drove to The Standard on Sunset, dropped Hanna and all of her bags off (thank god for those bellhop carts), drove home, parked her car, grabbed her backpack, and walked back to the hotel. She didn't want to pay for parking at the hotel, plus she didn't live too far away, so there was really no point in leaving her car there. She called Hanna once she was back at the hotel, and Hanna told her what room to go to. Hanna opened the door as soon as Emily called, leaving it propped open and going back into the room. Emily took the elevator up and cautiously walked inside Hanna's room, closing the door behind her.
Hanna had already started unpacking, hanging up some of her dresses and more expensive shirts so they wouldn't get wrinkled. There were shoes and clothes all over the floor and a small pile of books on the desk. Emily dropped her backpack and looked at the mess, then looked at Hanna.
"You've been here for ten minutes and it already looks like Hurricane Hanna blew through here."
"I didn't remember how I packed my clothes. I tried to make a chart thing like Spencer told me to, but it didn't exactly work." Hanna was in the middle of the room, next to a suitcase and a pile of clothes.
Emily cautiously made her way to the bed, moving some jeans to the side so she could sit down. "Well, Spencer's charting really only works if you're Spencer Hastings and have time to organize your suitcase like that."
"True." Hanna pulled a shirt out of the suitcase. "Here it is! I knew I had one more thing I had to hang up." She went to the closet to hang the shirt up, then plopped down next to Emily on the bed, not caring that she was sitting on a bunch of tank tops.
"So! What should we do?"
"Do you want to go get brunch? There are a few places to go around here."
Hanna looked at the clothes all over the room. "I'd have to put all this stuff away."
"You can't just leave it?"
"Emily! I can't risk someone coming in here and taking anything."
"Hanna, no one is going to steal anything," Emily said, standing up. "Come on. Put on some flats. There's a really good pancake place that's like a ten minute walk from here."
"Fine," Hanna grumbled, standing up and grabbing her purse. "But if any of my Jimmy Choos go missing, you're paying for them."
They returned to Hanna's hotel around four PM, after a day of walking around West Hollywood and the Sunset Strip. They had gotten pancakes at The Griddle, where Hanna was surprised to find that she could order a Mexican Coffee that had alcohol in it, even though it was brunch time on a weekday.
"Welcome to LA," Emily had said when Hanna expressed her shock and excitement. "Brunch drinking isn't just for weekends here."
Hanna had two, and made Emily have one so she wouldn't feel like a lush, and then after they were full, they'd wandered down to Santa Monica Boulevard and window shopped. Emily had bought a candle, and Hanna had tried to memorize some of the restaurants and bars so she could look them up later. They made their way to Emily's apartment, which was on a street off of Santa Monica, in the more central part of West Hollywood, and Emily had given Hanna a tour of her place. There was a gate to get into the complex, and then a small courtyard with a fountain, and Emily's apartment was one of six on the ground floor. There was a staircase that led up to a second floor that also had six apartments. The apartment itself was on the larger side: one bedroom, one and a half bathrooms (the full bath was attached to Emily's room), a good sized kitchen in which more than one person could move around at a time, a table next to the kitchen area, and a living room that had a couch, a big chair, a coffee table, and a TV.
"Wow, Em," Hanna had said, plopping on the couch and bouncing a few times to see how it felt. "Nice place."
"I wanted to go live in Ktown or somewhere cheaper, but my mom was worried about my safety and then went on this whole speech about how she had looked up where the gay parts of LA were and how she really wanted me to live in West Hollywood-"
"That was nice of her."
"-I know, it was nice, and she told me to find a place here and she'd pay the difference of what I was expecting to pay because she wants me to feel comfortable, and I love it here, but I hate that my mom is paying part of my rent." Em had sighed and leaned back into the couch. "But you know Pam Fields."
They had sat in Emily's apartment for an hour or so, talking about the apartment and what it was like living in West Hollywood, and then walked back to the hotel. The bright September sun was high in the sky, the temperature in the city still really warm. Hanna wanted to go out and explore more, but Emily had been right: her body was getting tired, from traveling and from jetlag, and she was looking forward to getting into pajamas and watching TV with Emily for the rest of the night. She had been awake since four thirty am east coast time, and she was starting to feel it.
When they got back to Hanna's hotel, Hanna checked her work email and answered a few, while Emily started piling the clothes that were on the floor and bed onto Hanna's suitcases. Hanna turned around and watch Emily fold a tank top.
"Em, you don't have to do that." She stood up, and Emily raised her eyebrows.
"Hanna, I'd like to be able to sit down without worrying I'm sitting on a six hundred dollar dress."
"I hung those ones up already." Hanna crossed the room, pulled the tank top out of Emily's hand, and dropped it on the floor. "It's fine. You don't have to clean up after me." She glanced at Emily's outfit. "But you do need to let me take you shopping."
Emily looked down at herself. "What's wrong with my clothes?"
"Em, I recognize that shirt. You bought it in high school. I was with you when you bought it. We need to update your wardrobe."
"My wardrobe is fine, Hanna." Emily walked past Hanna and sat down on the bed.
Hanna crossed her arms. "You need to get out of 2012. Just let me take you shopping. I can help you."
Emily flopped down onto her back. "I don't need help."
Hanna walked over and flopped down next to Emily. "Come onnnn." She poked Emily's leg. "You love going shopping with me."
Emily turned and looked at Hanna. "No, you always had to drag me out with you and I had to pretend to care about the eighty-five dresses you just had to try on."
"You're right." Hanna's eyebrows furrowed. "Who am I thinking of?"
"Mona," Emily said gently.
Hanna sat up and pretended to examine her nails. "Right. Mona."
Emily sat up as well and put her hand on Hanna's shoulder. "It's okay to still miss her."
Hanna sighed. "I know." She swallowed and then looked up.
"So!" she said brightly. "Where should we get pizza?"
