Chapter Two- Trust Me, I'm Friendly

After the text from A, Hanna didn't know whether to rush home and hide under the covers or press Sean for more answers as to why she wasn't good enough for him. Millions of things ran through her mind to where she knew that she couldn't have possibly taken a good photo with everything that on her mind. Everything was getting messed up and it was A's fault, that's all she could conclude in her head but a part of her knew that things with Sean was running its course and if they wouldn't sex it up then they probably wouldn't have anything solid in there relationship. Going to her locker, Hanna quickly grabbed her books ready to end her day at school and just getaway. She had hoped to escape A by leaving school, but that proved useless with all the other texts she received in various locations. Sending a quick text to Aria, Spencer, and Emily, she wanted to know if they had heard anything else from the infamous A as she began to walk out of the school. Halfway down the stairs she had forgotten the fact that she wasn't doing anything with Sean, which she had counted on for a ride home, so she reluctantly prepared herself for the walk home until she saw Lucas coming out of the science building. For a moment she thought she should just walk away and stop the thought that was coming to her head but the idea of working up a sweat was appealing to her or her pride at the moment.

"Hey Lucas" Hanna smiled as he stopped his path to his car "Wait, I thought you were walking this morning?" she asked him

"My dad had to get my car serviced" Lucas smiled shyly "Do you need a ride again? I mean if that's what you wanted when you said hey" he asked her

"Are you always this nervous?" Hanna asked as she walked over towards his car as he followed behind her to the drivers side while she got in on the passenger side

"I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth, so I try to clarify as quickly as possible when stupidity leaves my mouth" Lucas said

"It wasn't a stupid question. You were right since I clearly need a ride and have placed myself in your car, so your good" Hanna smiled as she put her seatbelt on as Lucas started the car up and pulled out the parking lot

"The pictures came out good" Lucas brought up

"They did. I probably look horrible" Hanna sighed as she looked out her window

"No, you looked good. You always look good" Lucas said without realizing the last part of his compliment "And there's my foot again" he laughed

"Well thank you" Hanna smiled "Do you mind if you drop me off at the hospital? I want to see a friend" she said

"Yeah, okay" Lucas replied "I will get you to the hospital" he declared as he gripped on tight to the steering wheel. So happy that Hanna Marin was in his car, Lucas couldn't help but look over at Hanna as she looked out the window while he drove. She seemed as if she was miles away even though she was sitting in the car with him, he wished he could understand what caused her to be so distant when she was only but a mere few feet away

Walking down the hall looking for Emily's room, Hanna finally was able to locate the room. Noticing that Emily was in the room with her parents, Hanna stood out in the hallway looking in on a sadden Emily as her parents just talked. She remembered what that felt like, when her parents use to argue while at the dinner table, and all she could do was pretend, pretend that she wasn't even there until it literally felt like she wasn't there. Hanna wondered how long Emily had felt like this, she wondered if they had still been friends while she felt like this, but most of all she wished that she would have been there for her to help her see that she didn't have to feel like this. Before Hanna would eventually give up and go home, promising to see Emily tomorrow, Emily's parents had spotted Hanna out in the hallway. A slight smile came to Hanna's face once Emily's mom had pulled her into the room and into a quick hug while she looked on at Emily. Emily looked more than thankful that Hanna was there to rescue her. Leaving the two girls alone in the room, Hanna took a seat on the edge of Emily's bed observing the seriousness of it all.

"A did this to you" Hanna laughed to herself "I wish we could just be done with all of this" she said

"Toby did this or at least what I remembered before I fell" Emily replied

"Why'd you bring him, Em? You knew he was dangerous" Hanna asked her

"I thought he was a good person, I wanted to give him a chance" Emily told her

"Well it goes to show if someone appears creepy, they are" Hanna said

"I wanted to ask you something? About what you told me at the dance. Why did you think I was bringing Maya?" Emily asked

"Em, have you received anymore texts from A?" Hanna asked

"Only the one we got in the fortune cookies. Why?" Emily asked

"A sent me an e-mail. It was an e-mail of you and Maya. Kissing" Hanna told her. Emily's eyes seemed to bulge out of her head as she couldn't believe that someone finally knew her secret, well that was someone other than Alison

"It was a mistake" Emily replied softly lowering her head in shame

"Was it? Em, its okay if you have feelings for her" Hanna assured her friends

"Have you not met my parents. Hanna, there is no way they would accept it, no way" Emily said

"Yeah, so they'll be upset at first, but they love you and I have to believe that will win out in the end" Hanna said

"Its not about love. I know my parents love me, its about what's right, and those feelings, the feelings I have for Maya are wrong" Emily said as Hanna could only look on at her friend fighting a battle within herself, only she had hoped the side that wanted to be happy was winning out over the side that was determined to live a lie

He wasn't like everyone else, that's something he knew and had accepted through the course of his sixteen years of existence. His parents didn't involve themselves in the community social scenes like others, he didn't have siblings to exercise his physical prowess on, he was just plain Lucas, who happened to love play Wii and working on the next great computer software that would make Bill Gates eat his dust. Doodling on his notepad, jotting down ideas for him up and coming software, Lucas sat out on the ledge of his roof. A long time ago, when he was a bit adventurous, he discovered that there was paved sitting space on part of the roof that was by his room, so whenever he wanted to be close to the stars or just to think, he would sit out there. Taking a break from doodling, he ran over the events of his day and still found himself amazed that Hanna had managed to talk to him two days in a row consecutively, which brought a smile to his face because he knew that was about as much contact that he would get with her. Hanna was in her own world to even noticed that he had been the same boy that lived across the way from her, he had been the same boy that saw her transform from the round girl into the slim Goddess that she had become now. He was the same boy that recognized how much she envied her friend Alison, so it was no surprise that he had noticed the change in her since September 1st . He could come across as a bit of a stalker but he just always found himself being the outsider looking in. Noticing the piece of paper that stuck out of his notepad, Lucas pulled the paper out and began to read over the letter that would change is future into the one he had hoped for, but a part of him still feared that running away wouldn't solve any of his problems even if it was an opportunity of a lifetime.

Walking into her house, Hanna was surprised to see her mom had made it home before she had. Going into the kitchen, her mother sat at the table with her head hung low as if she were crying. Hearing footsteps, Hanna's mom quickly looked up to see her daughter concerned as to why she was crying. Doing her best to cover up the fact that she was caught, Hanna's mom quickly scurried around the kitchen trying to prepare a meal for the two of them completely forgetting the fact that she had left the evidence on the table.

"What's going on mom? Is it dad?" Hanna asked

"No, everything is fine. How was school?" Hanna's mom asked

"Good. What's going on?" Hanna asked not falling for the change of subject

"Nothing is going on" Hanna's mom said trying to convince not only Hanna but herself at this point

"Mom, don't do this" Hanna told her mother

"Hanna, things are….I can't believe I'm even telling you this" Hanna's mom said trying to hold her emotions in but found it hard to do so before Hanna quickly came to her mother's side "I'm not doing so good, we're struggling financially" she said looking into her daughters eyes

"Okay. We know this, I mean things have been tough since dad left, but this isn't something we can't fix, right?" Hanna asked

"No, we're in debt. Major debt, and we might lose the house" Hanna's mom told her

"What? Where would we live?" Hanna asked

"I don't know" Hanna's mom cried "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry" she said pulling her daughter into a hug as she sobbed in between apologies

"Mom, its okay. This isn't your fault" Hanna said as tears streamed down her face

Laying in his bed, listening to his ipod, Lucas drifted in and out of sleep as he just couldn't fall asleep as quickly as he had hoped. Massaging his neck, Lucas quickly sat up in the bed to give his neck the proper attention it deserved. Feeling as if he had just about got the kinks out, he got up from his bed to walk over to his desk to grab the bottle of Aleves out of top desk drawer before he could see Hanna pacing her room in tears. Her emotions had caught his attention for a moment before he realized that he was intruding on her moment of weakness so he did his best to go about his own business but found it hard to do so. Just as he turned back to his bed, he saw her mom get in the car and quickly drive off, which was strange because she was home early and whenever she did get home she made it point to stay in. Looking back over to Hanna's room, he saw her still in despair for whatever reason. Without even realizing it, Lucas grabbed his sweater and put it on as he opened the doors that lead him out to his roof before shimming down the side of the grapevine. He didn't know why he even felt the need to go over, but the way she looked seemed different. Picking up a rock on his way across the street, when he got in range, he flung the rock up at her window, after a few hits, Hanna finally opened the window and found herself surprised to see the dark haired boy outside her window in his pajamas and a dark blue sweater.

"I know this is beyond creepy, but…are you okay?" Lucas asked before a moment of silence fell between him as she didn't know whether to classify him as a possible suspect to be A or to think he had some sort of knack of conveniently showing up "I'm sorry. I'll just go home" he said turning to go back before she called out to him

"Lucas, wait" Hanna called out "I'll come down" she said before she pulled the window down, quickly grabbing a jacket as she made her way downstairs

Lucas walked around in what felt like circles, in complete disbelief that he actually had the nerve to come over to her house, much less do a Romeo and Juliet type of move to let her know that he knew she was upset about something. Going back and forth in his head, he was torn from his thoughts by the sudden appearance of Hanna. Walking over towards her so that could meet halfway, Hanna stopped short to see if this was really happening.

"You just happen to be in the area again?" Hanna asked

"Yeah, something like that" Lucas replied

"I'm fine. I was just being a drama queen like always" Hanna said

"So that's why you were crying like that, because you're a drama queen?" Lucas asked

"Your getting bold" Hanna replied instinctively at the thought of being questioned

"Not trying to pry" Lucas said

"Things are just messed up" Hanna said

"Is your mom home?" Lucas asked

"Lucas, you know I've been crying and now your asking if my mom is home, just what exactly is your deal? Are you stalking me or something?" Hanna asked defensively

"No" Lucas replied

"Then how do you know all these things? You've got to be paying close attention to know this stuff, what else do you know about me that I apparently thought was private" Hanna asked becoming upset by the minute

"Look, I'm sorry. I just…I just thought that you were upset about something, and I just happened to see you from my room" Lucas said

"Your room? Where do you live?" Hanna asked

"Hanna, I live at the same place that I've always been since I've been born" Lucas replied

"That still doesn't answer my question" Hanna replied

"I live across the street from you. Right behind me is my home" Lucas said before Hanna looked across the way to notice his last name was plastered on the welcome sign of the house

"Oh. Sorry" Hanna said embarrassed "That's still weird, you looking at me through your window and everything" she commented

"I'm sorry. I'm really collecting the sorry's to the point where I need to purchase them in bulk" Lucas said noticing the redness in her eyes that reminded him of the fact that she was still upset about something "Do you want to come over and play Wii, it has the power to take anything stressful off your mind. My parents are probably still up watching hoarders on the discovery channel, so you won't be alone with me" he told her

"How do I know I can trust you?" Hanna asked

"Upper body of Screech. I'm pretty sure you can kick my ass if I tried anything" Lucas smiled at her before she gave in and gripped on tight to her sweater to keep herself warm as she walked across the way to his house while he followed behind her