SECOND CHANCES


"I'm glad you came."

"Hey, what was that on stage?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Can I walk you home?"

"Wait for me?"

oOOo

Half an hour after the fashion show had ended, Caleb still stood outside waiting, leaning against the brick wall and watching the steady streams of his exhaled breath form into small clouds. They were slowly soaring up, vaporizing into the cold air of the night.

Just like his patience was on the verge of becoming nonexistent. Not just tonight, but in a general, overall matter.

His mind was filled with high hopes, but if those wouldn't be met tonight, he really didn't know what else he could do in order to win back Hanna's heart.

Scolding himself inwardly for the millionth time for being so stupid and agreeing to spy on a girl in exchange for money, he rubbed his hands against one another in order to keep them warm. It was January, and there he was outside in the cold, waiting for a girl to walk her home... and hoping to find out at last, what their stand was.

His relationship with Hanna was completely messed up. He was still hopelessly in love with her, willing to prove it to her every fucking day that she was treating him like any other guy in school. He knew it had been all his fault, betraying her trust and scheming against her. He would never do it again, he had learned his lesson.

And he had learned something else in this whole ordeal: this thing called love, it was no longer a dream — even for him. For a short period of time, he had experienced that feeling of loving a girl and having her love him back, even though she hadn't explicitly told him so. But he hadn't needed the words spelled out for him; her actions, her kisses... god, how he missed their kisses... had shown him that she had been feeling the same way about him. No one else in his life had ever made him feel that way. He would do whatever it took to gain back her trust and be able to kiss those lips again.

Yesterday, he had thought that they'd finally gotten back together again after she had kissed him so vigorously of her own accord. But this was today, and apparently, Hanna had either changed her mind about him yet again or she had gone through some sort of amnesiac state of mind. She hadn't answered any of his texts since that morning, had basically gone to great lengths at school to avoid him; he hadn't been able to talk to her all day and he was desperate for some confirmation that last night hadn't been a dream.

Standing outside in the cold and waiting for Hanna to leave the venue at last was a painful reminder of his unusual - and unfortunately too small - footwear. Caleb shortly condemned the black leather loafers that he had borrowed from Lucas for tonight in order for Hanna to be able to show him off.

But to his dismay, she had been ignoring him all evening. Eventually, he had gathered his courage and had searched for her backstage, finding her busy with her friends. After a short glimpse at him, she had finally come over to talk to him, though talking hadn't really been possible as she had brushed off his burning questions about the course of events during a fashion show, during which he had been sitting in the audience, silently taking in her beauty, especially in that red bikini outfit, feeling immensely proud of her... and also feeling pity for himself for possibly having ruined the best thing that had ever happened to him.

The large wooden doors next to him opened, and a throng of guests piled out onto the street, yet still no sign of Hanna. He figured she was still busy changing back into her comfy clothes and helping out storing away the plethora of dresses and outfits that had been brought to the place for the models to walk in. He would wait for her, no matter how long. He needed some answers.

Caleb wondered what time it was, but couldn't tell since his clock had broken down weeks ago and he hadn't brought his cell phone tonight, not knowing where to store it in this penguin costume called tuxedo that also belonged to Lucas. He felt terribly misplaced in it, and not just because it didn't really fit as Lucas was so much shorter than him. His own wardrobe consisted of nothing but comfortable t-shirts, sweaters and jeans. But tonight, he had wanted to look his best... for her.

At long last, the flustered voices of a bunch of girls could be heard coming from behind the front doors, and Caleb steadied himself, nervously tucking at his jacket.

Seconds later, Hanna exited the building, accompanied by Spencer, Aria and Emily. There she was, still clad in that tight-fitting red ruffled gown, showing off her feminine curves.

Caleb felt the air leave his lungs as he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had been the only guy ever who had been allowed to touch her sexy body in an intimate way.

At first, she didn't see him standing by the wall of the building behind her, so she craned her neck, looking in different directions until her eyes caught sight of him. "Hey! There you are," she greeted him in an amicable manner, and her friends quickly said their goodbyes, leaving the two of them alone on the curb.

"Hey!" he managed to breathe and pushed himself free from the cold wall in his back. It wasn't until then that he noticed she wasn't wearing a coat or a jacket, and that her feet were still walking on five-inch heels matching the color of her dress. "What is it with you girls always ignoring the temperatures and wearing inappropriate clothes for a simple walk home?" he approached her with a fat smirk plastered to his face. It had been the first thought to enter his mind upon catching a glance of her, but it really was a universal question that required answers.

"And miss out on a chance to show off this pretty outfit? No way!" Hanna stood rooted to her spot, waiting for him to reach her. She felt the cold creeping up inside of her the moment she had left the building, making her regret her outfit choice and her words — instantaneously. Her arms moved up, crossing in front of her body of their own volition in a futile effort to keep warm.

Caleb didn't think twice before he took off his own jacket and placed it on her shoulders. "Here."

Hanna considered giving it back to him to make a point of her independence, but eventually decided to accept his thoughtful gesture, grateful for the warmth that was now starting to engulf her. "Thank you, Caleb." She looked up into his warm hazel eyes, a comforting counterpoint to the reddish hue that seemed to spread on his cheeks now that he had to be the one feeling cold.

"You're welcome," he said sincerely and watched her slip into his proffered piece of clothing.

"Not just for the jacket, but…," she said, sighing deeply, "… for coming here tonight. I really didn't think that you would. After the way that I'd been treating you lately…"

"What? You thought that I wouldn't show up at this kind of event to support my girlfriend?" Caleb cut in.

Hanna remained silent, and they both looked down at their feet, musing about the heavy weight of his last word.

When their eyes met again, no more words were necessary as their bodies gravitated towards one another. They flung their arms around each other's necks, holding on tightly.

After long moments, Caleb pulled back and broke the silence, "I am so sorry, Hanna." One of his hands clasped her head, unwilling to let go of her so soon. An expression of relief crept upon his features as he saw her nod at him ever so slightly; she obviously didn't have anything to oppose.

His thumb swept over her cheekbone in a sweet caress, and then he gently pulled her head closer again. He squeezed his eyes shut, blocking out the world around him, tremendously glad to be able to hold her like that again.

This time, she was the one loosening their embrace. She looked at him intently, watching his almost pained expression change into a small smile. U Let's go home," Hanna murmured and she didn't care about the ambiguity of her words. Maybe it was the confusion she was left with after the disturbing video message from —A., maybe it was his intoxicating appearance that seemed to cloud her mind. She had never seen him dressed like that and she instantly knew that he'd only done it for her. Damn, he looked outright handsome, totally legit to make a girl lose her stride.

They broke apart, and Caleb extended his hand, interlacing his fingers with hers, which felt so small and so cold. Then, they started walking towards her home together.

"So, where did you get that tux? You didn't hide it in your backpack in all this time, did you?"

A short laugh fell from his lips. "Fuck, no. I borrowed it from Lucas. And I can't wait to take it off as soon as I get... home." The last word had come out like a question, and Hanna wondered whose home he had referred to.

"Are you and Lucas getting along well? How was 'Goonies' the other night?" she brushed his comment aside, trying to get the conversation going between them.

"I couldn't tell if I wanted to. Do you seriously think I was able to keep track of the actions in a movie that Lucas picked out after the way you reacted to the simple gesture of a friend bringing you ice and soup? I kept wondering what you would have done, had I upped the ante by bringing you dessert, too."

Hanna dissolved into an embarrassed giggle, "Depends. What kind of dessert did you have in mind?"

It was one of those cute, high-pitched laughs that always caused a tingle in his stomach. Caleb frantically searched for an answer that would ensure more of those signs from her, telling him that she was feeling comfortable in his presence, relaxed and true to herself – and convincing him once and for all that they were both in a good place again. "Oh, l don't know. A caramel apple — maybe?"

Another giggle. Bingo.

"Mrs. Gottesman makes them herself, you know. I can't tell you how many apples I've eaten in the last couple of days. I haven't had that many vitamins in my entire life before I came to Rosewood, I'm surprised my stomach can handle it."

"Well, maybe because they're hidden underneath a sickly sweet layer of sugar? That kind of cancels out your healthy snack," Hanna cautioned him, before sighing and letting out a visible cloud of condensed breath.

It was his turn to chuckle, "Wow, way to make me feel good about eating fruit. And hey, aren't nuts supposedly considered a healthy snack, too?" He shot her a sideways glance in the exact same moment that she turned to look at him, eager to catch a glimpse of his cute smirk that she was sure had accompanied his words. The conversation died down for a moment, and the tension was rising. Caleb grasped her hand a little tighter, still keen on warming her up best that he could.

"Say you would have brought me... um, let me think... a brownie... I probably would have invited you to stay a little longer...," Hanna's voice trailed off.

Caleb stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her. "A brownie?" he tried to stifle a laugh.

"Yeah. I happen to love brownies," Hanna said shyly and then she heard him laugh abruptly, after all. "What's so funny?"

"Hanna, my pockets were filled with brownies that night," he paused to enjoy watching her face light up. "I'd stopped by the Brew to get you that bag of ice and they had just made a fresh badge of 'em. I couldn't resist spending my god-sent money on something as divine as a handful of brownies, fresh from the oven."

The way he was talking about the cake made Hanna long for a piece of it. She thought about the blisters on the soles of her feet and the detour, which they would have to take in order to get to the Brew on their way to her house, and quickly dismissed that idea. Caleb would have to suffice as her sweet treat for now. "Why didn't you care to share those brownies?"

"Didn't think you'd be down for something as trivial as a brownie," he quickly said.

"Well, it was chocolate cake," she said matter-of-factly. "Why would anyone call that trivial?"

"It didn't have any nuts or fudge or anything," he argued. "Just plain old chocolate."

"Perfect," she conceded, staring into his eyes , before she gave him a quick peck on the lips. She could almost imagine the sweet taste of chocolate there.

"Memo received," Caleb chuckled, "Hanna Marin likes the simple stuff. Got it."

"Sometimes, the simple stuff is the best...," she replied looking into his gleaming eyes. All of a sudden, she wanted to grab his hand and run home so that she could kiss him in private, without the prying eyes of –A. watching her every step. "Well, anyway…"

She starting walking again, trying to avoid the ever growing tension the closer they got to her home. "Would you?"

"Huh?" Caleb said absentmindedly, inwardly still busy filing away that new piece of information for later purposes. Eventually, he reclaimed her hand and picked up his pace, noticing how she had started walking a little faster and wondering how the hell she always managed to move around in those high heels.

"If I had asked you to stay, would you have ditched Lucas?" Hanna examined him. Their route was now taking them past the park, which lay in complete darkness, and Hanna's free hand reached for his arm, leaning a little more into his shape. Immediately, she felt more secure.

"Well, your mom came home at that moment and caught us kissing so it really doesn't matter what I would have done two days ago. But...-" He paused thinking about that particular situation and its ramifications, had they had just a little bit more time alone.

He could have sworn at that moment, Lucas' damn tight pants had just shrunk perceptibly by another size.

"But?" she probed him, unawares of his personal momentary loss of body control.

"Fuck, yeah, Hanna. I would have gladly ditched a bunch of teenage boys on the TV screen in favor of us sharing a brownie together!'

"Wait, you said you had pockets full of brownies and you wouldn't have spared an entire piece for me?" she asked with mock indignation.

"Nope. And before you ask, I wouldn't have shared with Lucas either. He's not allowed to eat sugar after eight, let alone eat something that might leave crumbles in his room." He let out a snort before going on, "Besides, I was craving some sort of compensation after the way you had been keeping me at arm's length all day long."

Hanna stopped walking, the dark park to her right side forgotten, experiencing a mild form of déjà vu. Her hand moved from his arm up to his neck, and she pulled his head down, meeting his lips in a soft kiss, followed by another one.

"Did you really mean what you said the other day when you came by to apologize? You know... about you no longer feeling alone and... that you... you know…-"

"Every single word," he hurried to assure her.

She cracked a smile as the realization finally hit her, now that the feeling of deep disappointment and heartache was no longer nagging at her. She knew he was telling her the truth. And seeing that he had learned his lesson, she realized that from that point forward, he would always be truthful to her. It caused a profound contentment to settle upon her. She closed her eyes again and brushed her lips against his, gradually applying more pressure.

Their caress deepened, and Caleb surrendered to her sudden outburst of tenderness. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against him as they continued kissing in the nearly empty street.

"What was that for?" Caleb teased her in between kisses during a much-needed break in order for them both to catch their breath.

"I'm just... compensating," Hanna breathed before her lips touched down on his again. They shared a series of languorous kisses, but when there was a sudden crackle in the scrubs separating the sidewalk from the park just a few yards away, the couple abruptly broke apart, startled.

Caleb checked their surroundings, but except for a lonely cat emerging from the bushes, there was no other living soul around them. "Come on, let's get away from here," he said, steering her away and across the street.

Ten minutes later, Caleb gave up interrogating her about what had happened at the fashion show after she didn't divulge any smidgen of information, claiming that she wasn't in the mood to dive into that subject just yet. Hanna didn't want any thoughts of Alison to ruin her night.

Instead, they had started engaging in giddy chit-chat about Lucas' quirks, meaning no harm whatsoever. Both kept expressing their appreciation for everything their friend had done for their relationship. And just when all kinds of innocuous subjects had been covered, Hanna's house came into view.

The closer they came to arriving at her door, the more Caleb was filled with apprehension. He quickly stepped ahead of her and opened the wooden gate in the white picket fence that marked the beginning of the Marin's property. Placing his hand on the small of her back, he gently escorted her through the opening. As soon as he had closed the door yet again after him, he felt her fingers entwine around his own. The warmth of personal contact in his hand set off a tingling in the pit of his stomach, and he gulped silently when they finally arrived on her doorstep.

Caleb's heartrate was about to go through the roof as he wondered, if she'd allow him inside tonight. What would Hanna be expecting just now? A handshake goodnight? A peck on the cheek? A full kiss on the lips? His idea of what was to come was beginning to make his palms sweat. He sidestepped a bit in the doorway, trying to handle the situation without releasing her hand just yet. If he let go first, then she might take it that he didn't want to hold it any longer, but if he held on then it might be construed that he was being clingy or desperate.

Hanna flashed a quick glance up at him before letting go of his hand in order to rummage through her purse. Eventually, she found her key and turned around to put it in the lock.

What was that — an unsure expression on her face? Was ending their impromptu walking home date making her feel uncomfortable around him?

This should be the moment that he'd been waiting for since he'd laid eyes on her tonight, sitting in the audience, watching her walk the runway — the instant where the definition of their relationship was about to be settled from friendship to something stronger, and, at the same time, even more fragile.

Was that what he was afraid of? Afraid that their friendship would be left in the dust? He still considered himself inexperienced in the relationship department and hoped he could be what Hanna needed, yet this was uncharted territory for him. Hanna Marin would be uncharted territory for any guy. He'd never had to fight for anything as important to him as her love in return.

Hanna's eyes fixed determinedly on the floor, well aware of the boy standing close beside her. Why did she feel like some starry-eyed teenager on her way back from the prom? This was Caleb, for crying out loud, being a charming escort and incredibly handsome date. It had been like a wonderful dream to be able to talk to him again in an unencumbered way.

She remembered the evening she had escorted him home – only it wasn't his house somewhere in another part of Rosewood, but her own basement door. When that door had closed behind him, she knew at that precise moment that she was falling in love with him. She probably had been in love with him for a while but it was only then that she was able to recognize it. Just like she now realized that those feelings for him had never really gone away, despite the way he had betrayed her.

She wanted to feel his arms around her so badly and snuggle up close to his chest. She wanted to feel his lips on hers as they finally surrendered to the electric undercurrents that had been present during the whole walk home.

Now, the time had come to either calmly say goodbye or… express themselves.

She could tell Caleb felt the pressure, too. His jaw had been twitching earlier on their short walk up to her house. Her hand stilled on the doorknob and she willed herself to calm down for a moment. Thinking about his loving smile, she let herself relax as she turned the key in the lock.

This was Caleb; he was supposed to make her feel at ease. Surely, if he kissed her — a shiver of excitement raced up her spine and she sucked in her breath in anticipation — it would be in the same tender fashion she'd come to adore.

Not too tender, Hanna thought dizzily as her imagination pounced on her heart once more. Her door opened and she turned to face him. "Well…," she said casually. Casual was good. She didn't want to appear to be too eager. Though, deep down, her mind was already thinking the dirtiest thoughts. Why did he have to look so devastatingly attractive? Sure, the suit seemed a bit too small for him, and his shoes… Hanna sighed, looking down once again, catching another glimpse of them.

"Yeah," Caleb glanced downwards then met her full in the face, breaking her train of thought. Uncertainty crept into his expression.

"Okay… Look, Caleb…," Hanna felt torn between asking him to come inside and keeping their rekindling romance in check. So far, her mom had caught her kissing Caleb twice, and both times Hanna hadn't told her anything priorly about being in a relationship with him in the first place – or back in a relationship. She really didn't want to hear any comments from her mother, trying to assess their situation, least of all anything like 'I told you so'. Hanna didn't even know what it was that she was feeling right now, but she knew for sure that she didn't want to go on without being able to hold Caleb's hand, or feel his lips on hers. "This was… nice. Really nice," she said quietly.

"Don't knock yourself out, Han." His good-natured smile was somewhat forced, yet he couldn't help but tease her a bit. "But I have to admit, this was by far the most interesting conversation about brownies I've had in a while."

Her large blue eyes stared at him, meeting the smirk in his warm, brown eyes without blinking. Her mind came up with a series of questions she could ask him in return which would allow them to continue their banter from earlier that night, but that would have meant wasting precious alone time before her mom arrived at home. After all, she had a car at her disposal, and Hanna was sure that she would be there in a matter of minutes, knowing she and her friends had virtually been the last people to leave the fashion show.

"If you say the word brownie one more time, I'm gonna-"

She didn't get any farther. Caleb's sultry kiss landed on her mouth, cutting her off forcefully, and causing all of her inhibitions to dissipate.

When the kiss had ended, he looked at her with a wistful expression. "So… are we good?"

Hanna thought about his question for a long moment before she answered it with another passionate kiss. "Yeah, we're good."

"Do you believe me? I mean… I swear I didn't rat you out or anything and I didn't take any of Jenna's money. Do you want the log of my cell phone? Because I can prove it to you. I keep records of my business conversations. And that's all it was to me before I got to know you better."

"No, no! I really don't want to hear Jenna's voice right now," Hanna assured him quickly. "And I believe you."

He pulled her into his arms, and Hanna snuggled up to his chest, just like she had imagined doing it minutes before. She closed her eyes, allowing the image of his pleading gaze to replay in her mind over and over again. How could she ever have doubted his soulful eyes?

"Don't ever do that again," she mumbled into the collar of his crisp white shirt.

Caleb vigorously shook his head, "I promise I'll never do anything that stupid ever again." He kept holding her closely, benefitting from the warmth she was exuding.

This was all he had needed her to say tonight. There were other things he'd been wanting to do with her in order to try and prove his love, but he knew he would have to progress slowly. After all, Hanna Marin was still a princess who wanted to be courted and captured by a guy.

While they stood embracing each other, once and again sharing series of kisses, an idea formed in his head.

Caleb shifted in her arms and gently nudged her in the direction of the opened front door. "Look, it's getting late. You should get inside before your mom sees us here together. I don't think she likes me very much right now."

Signs of disappointment crept upon her features as she obliged and slowly stepped into her house. She knew he was just being respectful. After all, she had been the one keeping him at bay for weeks. But while until two days ago she wouldn't even have considered keeping up Caleb's fake hug in front of Lucas and his date, she didn't like it at all at that very moment that he was being so shy around her.

However, when a car passed by her house, she was suddenly reminded of the fact that her mother would probably be home any minute and that it would be better for both of them to keep their desire in check. Nothing wrong with taking things slowly, she thought, trying to persuade herself in order to cope with the situation.

Standing in the doorway, Hanna turned around and quickly took off Caleb's jacket and handed it back to him. After watching him put it on, she whispered, "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight," Caleb muttered. He quickly kissed her one more time before he turned on his heels and started walking away.

to be continued…


This is my attempt to fill another void left by the PLL writers. Review?