AN: Hey guys! I'm back. :) Sorry this has taken so horribly long, but I've been caught up in school and all that lovely fun. -.-; This is the long awaited (I hope?) debut of, 'Hopeless', or if you prefer, 'The Hopeless Man's Road to Hell'. Predominantly E/T, but there's also S/A, H/L, and A/E. And, a surprise pairing for Jenna!
So, summary:
17 years after Homecoming and Hanna, Emily, Spencer and Aria are back together and ready to rule Rosewood once again. A is gone, and life for the former teen queens couldn't be better. Emily owns a fitness studio, Hanna is a pediatrician, Spencer is a tax accountant and pregnant, and Aria is an English Lit. teacher and a single mom. What could possibly go wrong? Hint: Rosewood's about to welcome back some very familiar faces, and the girls will learn that Alison's isn't the only face from the past they'll have to contend with.
A few minor notes on this first chapter:
-I've got... 31 pages already written for the first 'Chapter', but I'm breaking it up just for the sake of suspense and such. Also, for chapter titles, I've broken up the story time line into 'days' (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc). The story will be beginning on a Thursday, so that will be the title of the chapter (Thursday pt. 1, Thursday pt. 2, etc).
-I've taken some great liberties with the plot line, but I think it will work out. I don't think it's too unrealistic, but we'll see what happens.
-Jenna can see. She underwent an operation and it managed to restore her sight, leaving her only needing to wear reading glasses. I thought of leaving her blind, but there was just something about it that didn't sit right with me. Also, I wanted to put her in a position where she would be able to interfere between Toby and Emily and having her as the receptionist just seemed like the safest bet.
-Oh, yes, names. I've yet to come up with a name for Spencer's baby, so any suggestions are welcome even though the baby won't be
arriving for a while. As for Aria's daughter, I've named her Ellison (El-= Ella, Aria's mother. -lison = Alison.)
- Just getting it out of the way now: Ben and Maya are dating. I know it's absurd, but it's a very effective plot device. I am going to tear that jerk apart in due time, no worries.
- Wren will be making an appearance, though not until the 'Friday' chapters. Hehe. I know, I'm evil. I'm a Spencer/Alex shipper, but Wren is just yummy so I have to find someway to bring him back. Mellisa will also be popping up, as will Mike, Mona (No, I don't care that she maybe dies. She has a part to play in my story, hence why it's slightly AU.), Ian, Wilden, Jason, Sean (Yuck.), Ella, Byron, Ashley, Tom (Hanna's dad's name apparently. Says IMBD, I believe.), Isabel, Kate, Noal and a couple others that I may see fit to bring up! Oh I am going to have fun with this. :P
I think that's pretty much it... If I forgot anything, I'll add it in with the next chapter. Forgive me, this first one is a little word-y, but I have to get all the details out of the way at the beginning so no one is confused later on. Just bear with me, it'll get easier. Without further ado, I give you the first chapter of 'Hopeless'. Enjoy!
PS: In case anyone missed it, I own absolutely nothing. I just play with the characters for my own amusement and creative purposes. So, don't sue, okay?
Fall had reared it's golden head in the town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, the summer fading to a fond memory and a new school year fast approaching. Emily Fields, owner and management of Fields' Fitness Studio, Rosewood's new fitness establishment, looked over her yoga studio as men and women of all ages gathered up their things at the end of another class. When Emily had returned home from university, she decided to combine a degree in business management and the physical fitness which came naturally to her and open a fitness studio in her hometown.
That had been almost two years before, and after getting Hanna, Spencer and Aria together, she buckled down and bought an old two story building in the heart of the downtown sector. It hadn't been easy; she'd needed to work three jobs and live with Aria and her daughter for a year before she could afford to buy the place outright, but she'd done it. With Spencer in her corner as her financial planner, Alex as her realtor, Lucas as her tech support and Aria and Hanna as her interior designers, Emily's studio had come to life in a little under two years.
The week before their opening, she'd held interviews for a receptionist position and hadn't had any real hope she'd find someone capable enough to put in the hours necessary. So it came as a complete shock to her when the newly seeing Jenna Cavanaugh walked into the studio and asked about the receptionist job. After an hour of questions and another hour of chatting about what each other had been up to the past seventeen years, Jenna was hired. The girls' reaction hadn't been as bad as she'd expected; as it turned out, Jenna had left a job as a receptionist at Rosewood Day when she found out about Emily's job opening, saying she'd rather work and help an old friend at the same time.
"Great class, Em.", Hanna complimented, bringing Emily back into the world of the living. Hanna hadn't really changed since high school. Still blonde, still beautiful, and still at the height of what was fashionable. What had changed was that she and Sean had broken up a year or so after graduation, with him staying in Rosewood to join the police training academy while she'd gone to Northwestern for medical studies, eventually settling on pediatrics of all things. She'd been single for about a year before Lucas stopped by her residence for a visit, and by the end of the weekend, he'd transferred from MIT to Northwestern. They'd moved in together the year after, and after graduation they'd returned to Rosewood and hadn't left each other's side since. When Emily began taking members at her studio, Hanna's name had been the first on the list for a yoga class membership, with Aria and Spencer's names taking the second and third spots.
Of course, her return to Rosewood hadn't been all sunshine and rainbows. The girls had been thrilled of course, and her parents had been glad to see her, but the weekend she moved into Aria's house, Maya showed up. She had been rightfully angry with Emily, seeing as she'd pulled up stakes and left town without telling Maya face to face, only sending her a text message saying she couldn't do it anymore, she was leaving and that it was over. The bizarre thing was that Maya hadn't seemed upset over being dumped in such a way, just angry that Emily hadn't taken her with her or at least talked to her about it first. While Emily and Maya talked on Aria's front lawn, a car that was all too familiar to Emily pulled up behind Maya's. She distinctly remembered that day in the locker room all those years later, and when Ben Coogan stepped out of his car, her skin turned cold and her feet told her to run.
When Ben called out to she and Maya, she heard the front door of Aria's townhouse open with a clatter and knew Aria had run out onto the front porch. Thanks to "A", Emily had needed to tell the girls everything that had brought she and Toby together in high school, including Ben's controlling ways and his eventual rape attempt. The girls had been livid and, though Emily had been 1600 miles away at the time, she'd heard about Ben's nose being broken by Spencer from her mom, Aria and everyone in between.
Finding out Ben and Maya were dating was, to Emily, a signal of the coming apocalypse. She'd looked at Aria in bewilderment, then wished them well and told Maya that she was invited to dinner when she and the girls went out that night to celebrate. Maya had turned down the invitation but said she'd take them up on it later. Since then, she'd made an effort to avoid Ben and it had worked relatively well. Maya had signed up for a kickboxing class so she and Emily were able to catch up then, with Emily keeping a conscious eye out for any bruises. She may not have had romantic feelings for Maya any longer, but she still considered them friends and wanted to look out for her.
"Yeah, seems your yoga classes are really catching on around town. There are twice as many people here as there were last week.", Aria agreed, walking over with the pregnant Spencer. Aria, still a small, level headed, beautiful brunette, was a single mom, raising her now teenaged daughter Ellison in her old townhouse with her brother. Aria had been a year into teacher's college when she moved in with Noal and a year later, she was pregnant with Ellison.
When little Ellie was born, Aria and Noal fought constantly and Aria moved out with the baby. The next week, Noal and his band skipped town and Aria, who moved back with her dad and brother in the family house, hadn't been all that upset by it, saying she was more than ready to be a mom while the idea terrified Noal, so she hadn't been that surprised he hadn't left a forwarding address. She finished her training to be an English teacher and as the best English student in her graduating year, she was offered a job at Rosewood Day. Her moving back home while pregnant turned out to be a good thing because her parents were able to rebuild a friendship over their love for their kids and their coming grandchild. While it was clear from her dad's solid relationship with Ashley Marin that they wouldn't be reconciling, Ella moved back into the townhouse to help get Aria ready for a baby, so Aria had her entire family together for the first years of Ellie's life.
"Thanks guys. I hope so, I sank everything I had into this studio.", Emily told them, waving to some people who'd stayed behind to chat with their friends. "But I think people are really enjoying them. What do you guys think?"
"I love it, and no complaints from baby Santiago yet, Em.", Spencer answered with a smile. Spencer was four months pregnant, dating and living with Alex Santiago, as she had been since she graduated university. Alex had stayed in Rosewood while Spencer went to Harvard on her father's insistence, and despite Mellisa hissing in her ear that Alex wouldn't stay with her, Alex had found a way to visit Spencer once a month, and she made sure to come home for every holiday until the five years between school and home no longer existed. When she graduated five years later, her parents hadn't even known she was home until she'd moved into Alex's apartment, and when she'd found out, Mellisa had been livid. Spencer had stayed much the same since the days at Rosewood Day. She was still brilliant to a fault, winning accolades left, right and center, still bitter rivals with her sister, brunette and beautiful, and still head over heels for Alex, who thought the world revolved around her. Being in the same room with them for any length of time, in the words of Aria, put your risk for cavities through the roof, but aside from Mellisa, there wasn't a person in town who didn't smile when they saw the two walking down the street window shopping, hand in hand and laughing.
"Same, and my mom went crazy over it when she came with me, Aria, El and Ms. Montgomery last week. She hasn't stopped talking about it and from what I've heard, she's recommended it to everyone she knows.", Hanna told her. When Byron moved in with Ashley, giving Aria, Ellison and Mike the house as their own, Hanna and Aria had been terrified that their moms, who'd been friends since school, would break apart. Taking pro active measures, they'd dragged the two women to yoga with them, and it had gotten the ball rolling. "We love it, Em. You're a hit! And you're a great teacher."
"And, Mike told me your kickboxing classes are big with the college kids.", Aria added. Mike had become a TA after graduating from Rosewood College with a degree in engineering.
"Oh that's great news. Tell them I really appreciate them spreading the word. I haven't even had time to get fliers drawn up.", Emily sighed, a weight taken off her shoulders. At least word was getting out. "With the studio, the loans, the house, it's been just insane these past few weeks."
"Take a breather, Em. You did it! Your dream is alive.", Hanna encouraged, shaking her shoulders slightly. Jenna's voice floated in from the lobby, and Emily heard a delivery arriving. "How's Jenna doing as your receptionist anyway?"
"She's been such a big help. Doing the schedules, arranging the music for all the classes, setting up the appointments and taking care of the memberships. I'd be sunk without her.", Emily answered. "Since we set up the swim lessons for kids at the rec center, she and Mrs. Cavanaugh have been working wonders with them, and baking snacks for the kids after their lessons."
"That's so great. And Ellie says she's great with the little kids.", Aria told them.
"She is. That reminds me, I needed to ask Jenna if she got around to checking with some local artists about potential flier designs.", Emily remembered.
"Now if that's not a perfect intro, I don't know what is.", Jenna laughed, walking into the studio. Time had been good to Jenna, and she looked almost identical to how she had before the smoke bomb. The only differences were that she had put blonde streaks in her then tied back brunette hair, and wore wire rimmed glasses. "I was just coming to tell you that one of the artists I contacted about ideas sent a sample in the mail that arrived today, Emily. Hi Hanna, Spencer, Aria."
"Hi, Jenna. I was just telling the girls about you and your mom's work with the kids swim lessons.", Emily answered as the other girls said hello, not for the first time thankful that Jenna's eye surgery had worked and her sight had returned to her.
"They're a fantastic group, and Ellie is a wonderful assistant.", Jenna agreed. Ellie had signed up to be Jenna's assistant with the swimming lessons, having been a certified life guard for a year and wanting to keep her skills sharp during the school year. Jenna handed Emily a thin manilla envelope, then said, "This was just delivered, Emily."
"Oh thanks." Emily looked at the return address and saw '901 Productions, C/O 1102 Dalton Dr., Rosewood, PA'. "I've never heard of 901 Productions before."
"It's based out of New York, the owner just moved back to town. When they heard you were looking for flier ideas, they called and asked if you'd mind them giving it a shot.", Jenna explained. Emily opened the envelope and pulled out a laminated piece of paper. The backing was deep sky blue with a windy field draw in the distance, along with a miniature scale drawing of Emily's own building. The words 'Fields' Fitness Studio' were printed above the building in white block letters, along with a drawn picture of Emily in front of the building, in a basic black yoga uniform. Underneath were the hours of operation and prices for the different level of membership.
At the bottom of the page was a phone number and the initials T.C., and Emily had no doubt about who the artist was. Her jaw dropped in response, and Hanna appeared at her back, looking over her shoulder. As Hanna scanned the image, her eyes went wide and both she and Emily could only stare at the picture.
"I know that look.", Spencer said to them as she hurried to Emily's side. Spencer could only look at the picture in confusion. "Guys?"
"I hate that look. Let me see.", Aria requested. Emily handed her the picture, and Aria and Spencer exchanged baffled looks. "Guys, what's the big deal? This is great work."
"Too great.", Hanna said as she turned to Jenna. "And familiar. Who's the artist, Jenna?"
"Someone want to fill us in?", Spencer asked, interrupting Jenna's answer. "As far as I can see, a flier isn't cause to call out the National Guard."
"Toby once gave me a CD with a cover drawn is this exact style.", Emily explained. "Jenna, Toby drew this, didn't he?"
Jenna nodded. "He called me a few weeks ago, said he was moving back to town to open a branch of his production studios and a new gallery here in Rosewood. While we were talking, the studio and you came up and I mentioned how you would need fliers drawn up. He asked if he could give it a shot, and I said sure. He's an amazing artist, Emily, and you know it."
"I know, I know. It's fine, beyond fine really. These fliers would be perfect.", Emily agreed. "Okay. Can you call Toby and tell him I loved the flier, and that if he wants he can stop by anytime after 6 this week and we'll decide on a price?"
"Will do.", Jenna answered, then nodded to the others and walked out of the studio, leaving the former queens of Rosewood Day in silence.
"Does anyone else have a really bad feeling about this?", Spencer asked.
"Just another day in paradise.", Hanna sighed.
"Guys, lets not panic just yet. Remember where that got us last time.", Aria placated them, then checked her wrist watch and jumped. "Oh no. Guys, I've gotta run. I have to go pick up Ellie from my mom's, then get home and start dinner."
"What's Ellie doing at your mom's?", Emily asked.
"She's helping her paint the living room, grandmother/granddaughter bonding time I think she called it.", Aria laughed, then cringed. "I hope mom kept my kid relatively clean, or peeling the paint off that shirt and pair of jeans is going to be tonight's little chore."
"Have fun, my dear.", Hanna sympathized with a smirk. Chances were, knowing Ellie, she'd get in Aria's car and be covered from head to toe with paint. "I've got to split too. Lucas and I are having dinner with my dad, Isabel and Kate tonight." At the thought, Hanna looked like she'd rather pull her wisdom teeth out with a pair of tweezers and no anesthetic.
"Ouch. Well, if you need an escape, text me and I'll fake some kind of pain so you can rush to my aid.", Spencer promised as the three of them winced in sympathy. Isabel was Hanna's definition of a nightmare in trashy heels. Kate wasn't as bad since they'd reached a ceasefire a few years back, but Isabel was still a major source of friction between Hanna and her dad.
"I'll hold you to that.", Hanna answered. Hanna had eventually gone back to school and received an OB/GYN license. Her inspiration for the upgrade, she later told them, was her having to help Aria give birth to Ellie as she had been the only one with any kind of medical training in attendance. Aria had gone into sudden labor and there had been no time to get her to the hospital, so Hanna and Ella had walked her through it, delivering Ellie safely. When Spencer announced she was pregnant, Hanna called dibs on being her OB/GYN. "When's Alex coming to pick you up, Spence?"
"He should be here in a bit. I sent him a text when class ended."
"Has he asked you yet?", Aria wondered. Mike's ex-girlfriend Wendy worked in a jewelery store and five months before had told the group that Alex had come into the store, looking to get an engagement ring re sized and engraved. Every time Alex or the baby came up up in conversation, the question was asked.
"If he had, you guys would know by the ring flashing on my finger and the absurd amount of happy I'd be spraying everywhere.", Spencer answered, practically glowing as she spoke of Alex. When Spencer found out about the ring, she'd been off the wall with excitement, and the following week, she learned she was pregnant. Her parents had heard about the baby and they'd been ecstatic, congratulating she and Alex and talking about baby showers and possible names.
Mellisa, however, hadn't been so happy. Spencer had called her family together for dinner to tell them, and when the words left her mouth at the table, Mellisa turned a pale shade of white and scowled. "Typical Spencer.", she'd sighed. "Stealing her sister's significant others, stealing her sister's essay, and then being stupid enough to get pregnant out of wedlock? Tisk, tisk. And to think, with the kid of a... What are you anyway, Alex? Still a ball boy, or have you moved up to pool maintenance?"
Peter and Alex hauled Spencer away from Mellisa before she killed her, and as Alex sat her down in the living room so she wouldn't over exert herself, Veronica could be heard giving Mellisa the third degree in the dining room. Mellisa got up, walked out of the dining room, grabbed her coat, flung a derogatory term at Spencer and walked out the front door, slamming it shut behind her. After a substantial amount of profanity which was ignored by her parents, Spencer had called her sister every name in the book and Alex had been apologized to several times by both Peter and Veronica. In an attempt to relieve the tension in the room, Alex took a seat next to Spencer on the couch, wrapped an arm around her and said,
"So, I assume the name Mellisa is out of the running if the baby is a girl?" Spencer just laughed and buried her face into his shoulder. To make matters worse, while the family sat in the living room discussing names, the phone rang. Peter had answered it, and when he stood in silence, Spencer guessed it was Mellisa calling, having thought of another slew of colorful insults to hurl at her sister. Peter took the phone from his ear, looked at Spencer and said,
"Um, Spencer, it's for you. It's Wren."
Spencer had been too shocked to form a coherent reply, and Veronica had hissed quietly at him to just hang up. Veronica stood and took Spencer's hand. "Spencer honey, come with me into the study. I'm sure I've got some old baby name books hanging around, we'll take a look for them while your father and Alex talk." Veronica lead Spencer away and the younger Hastings daughter was still shaking when she and Alex left for home two hours later.
"Speak of the devil, here's Alex now!", Emily pointed out when Alex entered the studio.
"Hi, girls. Hey, honey.", Alex greeted, hugging Spencer then kissing her. He rubbed her stomach and said, "Hello, my little monster. I hope you're being good for your mommy."
"Hi. We were just talking about you.", Spencer replied, her hands on his shoulders. "And don't worry, your little monster has been on their best behavior so far."
"Something I keep thinking I'll get used to, but I never do.", Alex laughed, putting his keys in his back pocket. Alex had gone through school for business management and opened a realty office after graduating. He'd cornered the market in Rosewood, and when Spencer returned, he had a home set up for them and waiting for her.
While Spencer, Hanna and Emily were away, Aria, Mike and Alex became close friends, with Alex and Mike going to football games and Aria being Alex's emergency contact when it came to buying presents for anniversaries and birthdays. During their time in Rosewood, Alex had had more than one run in with Sean over Aria's love life, and while Aria had told Sean to back off repeatedly, Alex had needed to step in a fair few times. Hanna had remained largely oblivious to the antics of her ex until Aria finally drove to Northwestern with Ellie and brought her up to speed. "Good things I hope? Please don't make me hide behind my unborn child."
"Of course only good things. You know we think the world of you, Alex.", Aria promised him.
"Just make sure you take care of Spence and the hell raiser inside of her, and we'll keep thinking the world of you.", Hanna added with a kidding smile. She adored Alex, and thought he and Spencer were a match made in high IQ heaven.
"Of course. I think her mom would kill me before you girls could lift a finger.", Alex answered, wrapping his arms around Spencer's waist.
"So how was work?", Spencer asked.
"Not bad. That reminds me though, I've got some news for Emily. I had an interesting meeting just before I came here.", Alex told them.
"News for me?", Emily asked, confused.