If It Hadn't Been For Love

Okay, so after reading tons of Spoby fics, I've decided to write one of my own. I have always been keen on writing but have found that I lack the certain experience to write really well. I thought that maybe writing a fic of my own, would help develop my writing and broaden my views.

I haven't loved a couple like Spoby since Naley (Nathan and Haley) from One Tree Hill. They are truly something special, so I hope I do them justice.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars and as much as I have wished upon the shooting stars , I still do not own The Spobs.

Something Very Familiar

"Argh! I seriously can't get these things into my suitcase!"

The blonde girl's hair was bobbing up and down as she kneed her suitcase frantically trying to get it to close.

"Ammmm, let me try" the taller, slender-framed girl crossed the room which the two of them were occupying to help her best- friend.

She shoved her friend slightly, moving her out of her passage.

"You could have said excuse me" she mumbled.

To her horror, instead of zipping the suitcase shut, her friend was doing quite the opposite, pulling the untidily folded clothes onto the bed.

"Spencer, what the hell are you doing?"

Her friend did not look up but continued her tedious task of undoing all of Hanna's sweat-inducing-hard work. She sighed before speaking up.

"Hanna, you can't expect to pack all these things in here. You can pack what you need right away-the necessities, and we can send the rest back to Rosewood-

"But that is everything I need!" she interrupted rolling her eyes.

"You mean to tell me you can't do without these" she said holding up a pair of penciled jeans

"No!" Hanna retorted, jerked the clothing for her hand

Spencer dived back into the suitcase, "Or these?"

Hanna gasped in bewilderment. An onlooker would have thought she had just asked her for a kidney.

"Are you crazy? If I leave that shirt here, what would I wear with this" she said holding up a pair of black leather pants.

Spencer rolled her eyes, wearied by her best friend's vanity. She turned back to the strewn-pile of clothes that looked as though the suitcase had puked them out.

"Okay, how about these?"

Hanna was visibly shaken; she covered her mouth to stop the escaping shriek. Spencer could see that it was taking great effort for her friend to compose herself. She breathed in slightly before responding

"Um, no"

"Not even for a couple of days!"

Hanna composed herself, quickly snatching the shoes from her friend's hands as though her touch would somehow mire the shoe's quality.

"No, sorry." she said hurriedly before turning to leave the room "She didn't mean that…." She whispered on departure, cradling the shoes

Spencer sat there staring into the air in front of her until Hanna's voice was barely sighed. She should have known better than to come between Hanna and her shoes. She knew that the blonde girl would never survive without a pair of shoes, not even for a day. For her that was the equivalent of going around without a brain.

Spencer had grown to accept the quirks about her friends, as Hanna had accepted hers.

Both girls had spent the better half of their college years together and after three years were heading home with their degrees in tow. Both Spencer and Hanna had decided to pursue a degree in design: Interior Design and Fashion Design respectively. Spencer had received much opposition from her family in choosing her degree. Her father had been contented to say that she had wasted all of her hard work at high school to become something that could be deemed a hobby. She hadn't mind however, she thought it worthwhile to pursue something that calmed her,' soothed her soul' she would say, in oppose to a career that though brought in the cash would have her hunching and 'breaking her back' with frustration.

Hanna had followed her calling, meshing her love for fashion with her education had been an easy call for her. This was one of the major reasons that the girls were returning home so early. Hanna's clothing store- ' Pretty Little Secrets' would make its debut opening in Rosewood in four short weeks and Hanna had insisted that the girls get a head start on all the preparation that needed to be done. Spencer had been excited, not only that her best friend's dreams were coming true but also with the prospective for her first official job.

Sure enough, she had taken internships, and had worked under some of the best designers, but with this she would get the opportunity to test her skills, and prove something to herself.

Spencer sighed happily.

They had actually graduated from college, she thought.

Through it all, the exam lows , breakups, the days of having nothing to wear, the annoying the crap out of each other, they had stuck together and it had proven to be some of the best day of both of their lives.

She looked around the small room now, a sense of nostalgia and yearning easing its way to her heart. She sunk into it for a moment.

That was the bed she had laid in for countless hours pouring her heart and soul into her work, and over there was the lamp that her mother had brought her, arguing that she would have to wear glasses if she wasn't careful with her night- reading. Hanna had nearly broken it, when she and Caleb had been having their 'nightly rendezvous'. Spencer had walked in on them in a heated make out session in her room, and in her anger and slight disgust had slammed the door so hard that Hanna toppled over nearly sending the lamp to an early grave.

She had been angry then but recalling the memory now: how animated Hanna had looked struggling to get herself from the floor coupled with Caleb turning bright red, stammering excuses, tripping over his own tongue, Spencer couldn't help but chuckle. This room held some really good memories.

And some bad ones…..

She took a deep breath, her smile metamorphosing into a sullen line across her face. It called to her- those aching memories. And though the process of returning to them were heart- shattering, the fact that she got to live them, even if only in her mind, made her feel alive in those moments.

She turned to the chair that sat in the corner of the room, the beautifully carved rocking chair. Every wave of emotion seemed to overtake her now. She got up slowly, and edged her way to it. Her hands slowly glided, feeling the smoothness beneath her slender fingers. She felt the care, and the love that had been poured into its creation. It was a haunted memory for her, a ghost she could not let go of. Every memory that had been stored in the 'basement' of her brain, released itself now. The kisses, the way his blue eyes sent electrified shock into her heart, the way she had always forgotten to breathe when he was near her, the way he was the last thing on her mind when she went to sleep and when she woke up, and the stress of the "to do" came flooding in, thoughts of him would calm her.

But somehow she had lost that…

"Spence?" a voice came quietly behind her

Spencer was suddenly aware of the tears that were welling in her eyes. She quickly attempted to wipe them away, turning around to face Hanna, who was still carrying the red pumps in her hands.

"Oh, Spence" she cooed

"I'm fine" she lied, feigning confidence.

The expression plastered across Hanna's face said it all; she was not buying it. She looped her arm into her best friend's, resting her head slightly on her shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Spencer shook herself of the emotions that she had allowed to crush her, walking back to the suitcase she began her task again, folding the clothes neatly and placing them just as neatly into the suitcase.

Hanna remained quiet, she knew her friend well enough to know that pushing her would only agitate her, so she waited until she was ready to answer her. Several moments passed before Spencer spoke.

"It feels like it was so long ago. It's not supposed to hurt so much after such a long time." Her eyes were pleading as she turned to look up at Hanna now. "That's what they say. They say that time heals and that you move on and that it get easier."

She took a breath now, resigned. "But they lie….It doesn't get better."

Hanna sat down beside her friend, taking her hand in hers, their eyes searching each other, sympathy mirrored.

Her words were soft "Look Spence, I get it, you lost the love of your life… you're strong, you're the strongest person I know and I know…. I know that Toby broke your heart, and I know when he left you were absolutely devastated, but you got up anyway and you picked up the broken pieces and you kicked defeat in the ass and you proved that you could be anything- despite all the heartache from your family and all the hell we've been through with 'A', you've manage to rise above it all."

Both girls smiled "Because you're Spencer-frickin'-Hastings and you deserve nothing short of the best" Hanna said matter -of- factly

A huge grin spread across Spencer's face, she always knew exactly what to say when Spencer was down.

"Thank you Han"

Hanna smiled in response before getting up. "Now let's get our asses back to Rosewood before our parents send out a search team"

Spencer chuckled, zipping the suitcase and giving it to Hanna "Wait- what about the shoes?"

Hanna stopped looking back at them and then to Spencer "I can do without them for a day"

She looped her hand through Spencer's, resting her head slightly on her shoulder as they both exited the room. They both looked back for a moment, taking in the room one last time before closing the door shut behind them.

"Aria!"

"Aria?"

"That's not Aria" Spencer slapped at Hanna, to stop her frantic waving

Hanna looked down, playing with her fingernails slightly embarrassed. "She did look a little like her," Hanna cringed "minus the love handles."

Spencer shot her a glare.

They were at the airport having just landing back in Philadelphia a short half an hour ago. They had promised each other almost four years ago, that upon finishing college, and if the stars were aligned for them to move back to Rosewood, that they'd meet at the airport and then drive home together. It had seemed like a good idea then to the four best friends, but now as Hanna and Spencer walked through the crowded, slightly claustrophobic hallway, they couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness. What if they had changed? Not like hair -color -change or bigger- boobs- change but an unrecognizable- life altering- change. After all, Aria had just spent the last two years in Africa, how could that not change her? Spencer gulped imagining Aria decked in love beads and sandals humming "Kum-ba-ya". They had stayed in touch as much as they possible could, exchanging letters and a few telephone calls but never enough to delve in the details of their lives.

"There's Aria now!" Hanna exclaimed, shaking Spencer from her thoughts. She craned her neck in the direction of Hanna's extended arm.

Sure enough, Aria was striding towards them, a huge grin plastered across her face. Both Hanna and Spencer quicken their pace, closing the distance, mentally cursing as they collided with other persons heading the opposite direction.

Shrill screams of excitement echoed through the airport as the friends finally meet each other. Embracing each other in a three way hug, the girls jumped up and down, waves of brown and blonde tangled together.

Spencer was the first to speak "Oh my God, you look fabulous!"

Aria did a little sauntered spin, her short flared dress dancing, igniting the ooh's and ahh's once more from her friends. Everyone was giddy with laughter.

"I've miss you guys so much." Aria said enveloping her tiny frame once again around her best friends.

"We've missed you too." Hanna said ending their embrace

"Hi guys" a masculine voice spoke up; Hanna peered behind Aria, startled. The man stood a few feet behind them, a dark green bag slung around his shoulder. He had aged some since she last saw him; his hair had grown slightly longer, and it hung messily from his head.

Hanna's eyes grew with question, as she looked at Aria then back at the man behind her. Aria raised her eyebrows, biting her lips slightly as if to convey a message to her friend. Hanna's eyes grew again, this time with realization. During their exchange, Spencer had already skipped over embracing the man, in excitement.

Hanna smiled shyly. "Hi, Jason"

" We haven't seen each other in nearly four years, I think I deserve more than a half- hearted wave" Jason joked, embracing Hanna. Hanna reciprocated the hug, they had never been personally, close friends but it was undeniable that they had shared some of the same heartaches and trials plus he was one of her best friend's half-brother.

They were still in an embrace when Hanna felt a hand slip around her waist, startled, she jerked her head her head around, certain whiplash. Stooped slightly behind her with a mischievous grin was Emily, her dark hair cascading down her tan shoulders. Hanna's heart did not even get the chance to steady its pace before she was jumping up again, squealing like a madman. Spencer and Aria joined, again overcome with excitement as the last member of their quartet returned.

When the girls had at last settled overpowered by fatigue and the upending jet lag, they stood taking in each other. It was then that Emily noticed Jason, standing behind them, with his hands in his pockets. She shot Spencer a questioned look, Spencer motioned towards Aria, who responded with a slight smile. Emily looked back at Hanna, her brows raised and Hanna gave her a knowing smile. They each let out a small laugh; it was good to share telepathic conversations with each other again.

Okay so no drama rama in the first chapter! ( Cause it's always darkest before the dawn ) Sorry that song just pops into my head randomly. I promise there is a lot of drama coming up; I just wanted to use the first chapter for some Little Liars fluff. I also have to warn you guys that I'm not American or English or Australian. I'm actually from the Caribbean *gasp*0.0 what? No way!

Yes I am, so I hope that everything I write is translated well with you guys (that is, if anyone reads the story )

Anyways until next time

Xo, Tane