Author's Note: Here it is! My Haleb story is here! Northern Stars is told in the alternate views of both Hanna and Caleb, with flashbacks integrated here and there that serve as explanations when needed. Anyway, please review your thoughts :)
"Every long lost dream led me to where you are; others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars."
-Bless This Broken Road, Rascal Flats
Hanna
Slivers of whitened gold - the brisk morning sunlight - peaked through the green folliage, and tentitively spread it apart; its motion much like the petite fingers of a frightened child whilst watching the trademark barbarity of a horror movie: slow and apprehensive.
The girl stood, cleats planted firmly on the scuffed grass, where patches of dirt had arose from under the green in multiple places. Her gaze was trained firmly on the net, or more specifically, the pudgy redhead with a mouthful of metal braces; and as she smiled menacingly at her opponent, they clashed with the emerging sunlight in a blinding flash of iridescence.
Hanna squinted, just like the girl was doing now, in concentration, into the camera lens, determined to get the perfect shot. She bit her bottom lip in anticipation, thumb pressing the button halfway. "Come on Tay," she whispered, knowing full well the child couldn't hear her.
The ambient, currently, at this very second, was tense; a ripple of anxiety coursing through those who stood with her on the sidelines and in the bleachers.
This was it.
She was the only team member on the field, and as she geared up to take the final shot, she began to chew on her mouth guard in a contemplative manner. Hanna resisted the urge to chastise her, having told her a handful of times already, not to do that as it ruined the material. She settled for remaining silent, watching with all the other respectable parents alike, as she reset the camera.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour, although it was really only a few seconds, the inside of her foot collided with the checkered ball, and as it soared through the air, Hanna held her breath: watching avidly, hoping and praying, that it would get past the goalie.
In the blink of an eye, the scenery changed, as did the energy. The goalie now lay flat on her back, with the ball directly behind her in the net, and both her teammates and spectators burst into a cacophony of applause.
There was a common theme amongst all of the commotion; a chorussed congratulations, sung with each persons' entirety, as the gaggle of girls surrounded their captain. "Tatum, you did it! We won!" Grace, a petite blonde with knobby knees, cried, enveloping her best friend in a hug.
Tatum was smiling, a Cheshire grin stretching from ear to ear, as she shook her head. "It was all of us, Gracie."
Tatum, with her thick brunette waves pulled into a sleek high ponytail, and her oceanic eyes glowing with pride, possessed a demure beauty, her tanned skin contrasting in the light of Grace's pale complexion as she embraced her.
As Tatum continued for the next few minutes to campaign her team's parity in sport of the win, Hanna watched proudly from afar as she prepared the snacks. "That's my girl," she murmured, smiling to herself while she took the twelve oranges along with an equal amount of juice boxes from the cooler.
"Snacks!" Hanna called, somewhat startled as they ran towards her - Tatum leading the pack - all at once. The girls each took an orange and juice, making sure to throw in a "thanks Ms. Marin," before parting to stand with their respective adults.
"Thanks mommy," Tatum gratified, grabbing the last lone orange from the pile and proceeding to peel it. "You're very welcome Tay, you played a great game today."
"Thank you," Tatum responded modestly as she bit into a section of orange, a crimson blush creeping up her cheeks.
"I got some great pictures," Hanna added, as her daughter shouldered her purple equipment bag. "Are we going to Auntie Aria's now?"
Hanna nodded, "I told them we'd meet after your game, so yeah, I guess we are."
"Yay!" Tatum squealed, jumping up and down. "I want to show Uncle Ezra my medal!" She pointed to the gold pendant that hung from her neck on a yellow ribbon, smiling hugely.
"I'm sure he'd love to see it Tay, I'm so proud of you."
Hanna reveled in her daughter's achievement, like any other supportive mother would, and took the keys from her purse. "Let's get going."
"Okay!" Tatum never acknowledged her mother's praises as she ran ahead, her ponytail swishing from side to side.
Hanna moved to catch up to her daughter, calling after her to stop and wait before crossing the street. Tatum obeyed, and in a few seconds Hanna reached where she was standing, and grabbed her hand.
"Now what do we do before crossing the street?"
"Look both ways," Tatum replied, while doing just that.
"And after?"
"If it's clear, we can go."
"And if not?"
"Then we can't and we have to wait."
"Is it clear?" Hanna asked, although already knowing the answer.
"Yes mommy, it's clear. We can go right?"
"Yes sweetheart, we can. Lead the way." Tatum nodded, pulling on her mother's hand as she stepped off the field and into the street across from the parking lot.
Hanna hovered close behind, her eyes peeled for any unexpected, speeding cars. Although she trusted her daughter, having taught her well, Hanna rationalized that you could never be too careful.
"We did it!" Tatum cheered, stepping onto the grassy portion just before the parking lot. "Good job honey, you were very safe." Tatum smiled with satisfaction, "Good."
This was a game they always played, with Hanna having taught her at a very early age, about street smarts. Every time the duo encountered a crosswalk there was the routine questioning - before crossing what do you do, is it safe - and if it was, Hanna had Tatum take the lead and cross with her behind instead of in front. Although, with that in mind, she was always careful to hold her daughter's hand and keep a fair distance all the while, in case of an instance out of their control.
When they got to their car, a blue minivan, Hanna assisted her daughter as she got settled, putting her bag in the trunk and clambering into her booster seat. Tatum got herself buckled, nicely refusing her mother's help, and took out her LeapPad from the backseat compartment.
"Ready?" Hanna asked from the driver's seat she had since gotten into, and started the car. She turned and looked at her daughter as she proceeded to shoulder check before backing out of the parking space. "Yep!" Tatum affirmed, momentarily looking up from her game and adding a thumbs up for emphasis.
Hanna chuckled as she faced forward again, turning onto the street a few blocks away from Aria's house, as the soccer field, now clad with another team beginning warm up drills, slowly disappeared from her rear view mirror.
There was an electronic ping, splintering the moment's silence, as Hanna veered onto a residential street. "Mommy, me think your phone is ringing," Tatum observed, her gaze never straying from the LeapPad's screen.
"Thanks Tay, I'll check it when we get to Auntie Aria's."
Hanna refrained from checking, what she now knew, as it never actually rang, to be a notification in practice of safe driving.
Tatum's Uncle Toby was a police officer, and for some reason unknown to Hanna, seemingly expressed such schadenfreude in recounting the many accident scenes he'd been to on the job - in a grotesque amount of detail. These stories scared Hanna into getting a hands free, and stopped her from listening to the radio when she drove.
A minute or so later, Hanna pulled into the Fitz's driveway, parking behind Aria's red Jetta.
A few hours had passed, and with Hanna talking and laughing, she'd completely forgotten about that notification she was going to check upon her arrival. That is, until the animated conversation subjected around Aria's kindergarten class was abruptly eclipsed with a heavy sigh and discursive lilt. "So... Han... have you checked your matches lately?"
Hanna glared at her friend, spying her daughter in her peripheral vision.
Currently, Tatum was engaged in a deep conversation with Spencer, her 'aunt' tiring quickly as she griped about her pregnancy to the five year old. "...it's hard Tay, the baby kicks nonstop throughout the night, and I can't get any sleep. Sometimes I think I prefer morning sickness."
Tatum was nodding, giving the impression that she actually understood the pain of morning sickness, and what it was that Spencer was going through. "Is she kicking now?" the little girl asked, pressing her tiny palm onto Spencer's obnoxiously burgeoning stomach.
"When are you due Spence?" Hanna questioned, turning away from Aria and focussing her attention on the woman sprawled along the love seat by the burning fireplace. Aria narrowed her eyes. "We were having a conversation Hanna, you can't just walk away from me!"
Her blatant frustration did nothing to phase the blonde however, as she moved to sit at the foot of Spencer's chair, taking her daughter into her lap.
"November fourth, the doctor said. Give or take."
"Wow." Hanna was surprised. Time seemed to fly by so fast, what with Tatum celebrating her sixth birthday in a few months time and Spencer having her first child in, apparently, only a week.
"Yeah. Toby and I are looking forward to her arrival."
"I bet," Hanna responded, as Tatum struggled against her light grip. "Mommy, Auntie Aria's calling me, can you please let me go?"
Hanna turned her head to find that, yes, Aria was calling to Tatum with a slew of hyperactive hand gestures. Rolling her eyes, she answered begrudgingly. "Alright go ahead." Hanna watched quizzically as Tatum bounded over to Aria with equal ecstasy.
"What's the secret?" Spencer wondered aloud, nudging Hanna with her swollen foot.
"Beats me," she shrugged, watching as Aria handed her daughter an iPad. Tatum nodded obediently, apparently seeing the coherence in her 'aunt's' words, something which Hanna struggled to attain.
"She's coming back over," Spencer hissed, hiding a smirk behind her hand.
"What do you have there Tay?"
"Mommy, this is for you," Tatum stated, shoving the device into her open palm. Hanna took it graciously, turning it around to look at the page displayed on the screen.
"Aria!" Hanna groaned in annoyance. She was just going to give the iPad back, having none of it, when her resolve began to dissipate. She bit her lip, clicking on the subheading labeled 'matches.'
"You have one match." the screen pronounced, with the profile of her said 'match' directly below.
Samuel Bates.
Author's Note: There's chapter one! Please R and R! I feel there seriously isn't enough Haleb stories on here, so that's what prompted this. (Psst.. here's a secret: more reviews equals frequent updates :) )