Hey everyone. Thank you so much for the feedback, it has been overwhelming. I apologize for the long delay, there's been a variety of technical difficulties that I care not to get into. I received some questions from my reviewers that I'd like to answer.
Will this story focus mainly on Aria? No, it will not. I aim to focus on all of the girls (Aria, Emily, Hanna, and in later chapters; Spencer). I've planned quite a few storylines, and that will of course dictate the focus I'll have on each girl at different times. In the beginning, as you've probably been able to tell, the storyline is Aria's secret, the strained relationship between her and Hanna, and Pretty Little Liars impending split.
I was also asked if I'd forgotten about Spencer, and why she isn't in Pretty Little Liars with the rest of the girls? I haven't forgotten about Spencer, and she'll feature more and more as the time progresses, but in the beginning she'll be more of a recurring character (as will the boys). She will be promoted to 'regular' later on, and the story's avatar should reflect it when it happens. My decision to not have Spencer in Pretty Little Liars was made because I had planned that one of the girls would be in another band with Alison, and said girl would butt heads a lot with Alison, and stand up to her at different times, and that sounded to me more like Spencer.
Another question is; which couples will this fic contain? Haleb, Ezria, and Spoby, but no Emison. Emily won't have a love interest, and you'll find out why when her first storyline comes into play.
Will Spencer become friends with the girls? Definitely, around the same time when Hanna finally discovers Aria's secret, they'll all officially become friends.
I think I've covered the questions now. If you have any more, please let me know.
Before I begin this chapter, I wanna give a shout out to BlackBaby, LucieAnne97, and Pipe It Down Arielle for guessing whom this chapter's quote will be by. Oh, and to all the Haleb shippers out there, I think you'll enjoy this chapter ;). Sorry for the long author's note, but here we go;
Disclaimer; I don't own Pretty Little Liars. Neither do I own the song Notice, that one is by Diana Vickers.
Shooting Stars
Chapter 2: A Tropical Resort With a Great View.
Hanna had woken up that morning to a surprisingly empty apartment. Now, she hadn't in her wildest imagination thought that Aria would be up before her, but Emily had always been the early riser of the bunch, and that Hanna had beaten her to the punch that day was very surprising.
Hanna had gone into the bathroom, and had performed her morning routine – this particular morning spent a little more time on the details. See, Caleb Rivers was supposed to come over to hang out in the forenoon. They had been talking at the NMA's, and had decided that the most sensible thing was to meet somewhere private to avoid intruders. Paparazzis could really be a bitch.
It was a big deal that Caleb wanted to hang out with her, and she feared that she'd come across as too much of fangirl. Of course, she couldn't deny that she admired his work, but she didn't want him to think that she was obsessed with him. She wanted to make an impression on him – the right kind of impression.
That entailed the perfect outfit, at least she thought so. She'd been standing in her room for the past half an hour with her closet door open, trying to pick something acceptable to wear. She settled for something simple; the mint green dress with the lace collar that Emily gave her for her eighteenth birthday a couple of months ago, paired with the black cardigan Aria had knitted for her seventeenth birthday (before everything became messed up), and a pair of black ballerina slippers. On any other day she'd have jumped into a pair of stilettos, but that day she'd simply be at the apartment.
When she had gotten fully dressed, she heard a door slam slightly somewhere in the apartment. It had been so faint that she thought for a moment that she must have imagined it, but then she heard a similar noise again.
"Emily?" She called as she peeked outside of her room, certain that it couldn't possibly have been Aria. The living room, however, seemed to be completely vacant so she shrugged it off.
She left her room when she deemed herself ready for Caleb's visit, and entered the living room/kitchen, noticing now that she could see the entire room that she had been right; it was completely vacant. She sat down on the modular sofa, crookedly placed in the middle of the room, across from the television that had been strategically placed to make a certain area (favorite area) seem more secluded and cosy. Then she waited...
It felt as if time was moving incredibly slowly, but finally the doorbell rang. Although Hanna was eager to spend some time with the Caleb Rivers, she took her time to get from the sofa to the door. She was trying to keep her cool.
She opened the front door with a smile. "Hi Caleb." She greeted him, stepping aside to let him into the apartment. He kicked off his shoes, and then greeted Hanna with a smile. She suddenly became very self-conscious, and started rambling at the speed of light. "I know what you're thinking; wow, did she wake up like that? Yes. Yes, I did. Impressive, I know, but someone's gotta carry the burden, and it sorta just fell on..." She paused when she saw the bemused look in his eyes. "What?"
"You ramble when you're nervous." He said matter-of-factly, and Hanna's cheeks instantly reddened. "Don't worry, it's adorable."
She chuckled softly. "What, like a puppy?"
"Nah," He waved his hand dismissively, "You seem like you've got a lot of back bone and independence. Maybe you're more of a kitten."
"Okay, but can't I be an independent puppy?" She asked jokingly, accompanied with eyes of the puppy variety while they were on the subject. "I'm really more of a dog person."
"Sure, you can be a puppy." He smirked, and then glanced around for a bit. "What do you say we move this out of the hall?"
"Uh, sure." Hanna was caught a little off guard. She didn't understand why, but she'd completely forgotten that they'd remained in the apartment's tiny entrance hall that could barely fit more than one person (which was why Emily, Aria, and herself always stumbled over each other in the morning). "Uh, would you like a tour?"
Caleb smiled. "A tour would be nice."
"Okay. So this is obviously our teeny, tiny excuse of a hall that with the coat closet, jacket hangers, and shoe shelves, is a little too cosy." She gestured to the closet, hangers, and shelves as she spoke, and then she pointed at the door behind Caleb. "Behind that door is our double bathroom which, despite the brown tiles and the seventies vibe, might be one of the best parts of this apartment. What's a double bathroom, you may ask? It's basically two bathrooms in one. You enter into one, and then there is a door to another one in there."
She paused, giving Caleb the chance to catch up since she was, again, speaking very fast. "Now, the bathroom politics are that if you're taking a shower or going number two, preferably occupy the inner bathroom in case anyone needs to use the other bathroom while you do your thing, and that when you're done using the inner bathroom, you knock on the door to the outer one, should someone be in the outer bathroom to handle their business."
"Girls have some odd bathroom etiquettes." He simply acknowledged, a subtle grin spreading across his features.
"You don't know the half of it." She giggled lightly at his comment, then waved her hand towards the open doorway that lead properly into the apartment, allowing him to go first.
As he entered the large room that functioned as a kitchen, dining- and living room in one, Hanna couldn't help but check him out. He was dressed in an ordinary pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. She'd only seen him in fancy attire before, but casual definitely suited him better.
She followed him into the room, and then stepped into the kitchen part of the multi-functional room. "Now," Hanna spoke as Caleb followed her over there, "I don't spend too much time in this particular part of the apartment, but rumor has it that it's called a kitchen. In the corner we have our fridge that you're completely welcome to raid, should an immense hunger overcome you. I want to warn you, should you ever be in the mood for some yoghurt, I have a bandmate who's a vegetarian, and consumes an obsessive amount of soy products. Whatever soy is, but I tasted it once, and I almost died..."
"You're rambling again."
"Yeah, sorry." Hanna mumbled, and then got back on the tour track. "So next to our fridge, we have our top and bottom cabinets. The two top ones right after the fridge is filled with cups, glasses, plates, bowls, and other stuff in that category. The third one has tea, coffee, and other instant, digestable stuff in it. The bottom one, right next to the fridge, has utensils in the drawers, and 'where else should we have put it' stuff in the lower cabinet part. The two other bottom cabinets are a mess of things really. Edible crap, mostly. I think the middle one is the one with candy in it."
"Edible crap?" Caleb arched a brow, accompanied by a confused look in his eyes.
"I'm not good at tours, and I tend to overshare." Hanna quickly explained, and then proceeded with the tour. "And then we have our stove, oven, heaty thing at the end of the kitchen. Right next to the door, really. Then there's that wooshy thing above, and those shelves to keep the seasoning. Have you ever used an oven before?" She asked, and Caleb nodded as a reply. Then she pointed at the drawer beneath the oven. "Explain that. It confuses me all the time."
"I think it's where you store baking trays, sheets, and stuff like that." Caleb described to the best of his abilities, but Hanna seemed to understand him.
"Ah, I've been wondering how Aria made those magically appear." She nodded her head slowly as things started to make sense, and then pointed to the small space above the top cabinets. "Speaking of, up there we have our cookie jars. Figures that Aria and Emily would conspire against me, and put them way up there, where I can't reach."
Caleb chuckled. "I can tell you have a sweet tooth."
"It should match the rest of me, shouldn't it?" Hanna said, waving her hand up and down in front of her body to emphasize the point. "Anyway, moving on to the dining part of the room which is basically just this kitchen counter, island thingy." She gestured towards the counter that went out from the wall across from the fridge, and stopped right opposite the third cabinet (which was right before the oven). There were barstools pushed as far as they could go underneath the island's surface. "Apparently regular chairs are not good enough for us, and we use barstools instead. I'm not too big of a fan of them, although it is quite amusing to watch Aria struggle with them every day."
"Yeah, she is quite short." Caleb drawled as the the scenario played out in his head. He could definitely imagine it.
"Now, when you enter this majestic room, Emily's bedroom is on the first door to the right. Aria's bedroom is behind the door right next to Emily's. Above their doors we have two shelves for our awards. Award shelves, if you will." Hanna pointed towards shelves above her bandmates' doors. Emily's had fewer awards than Aria's, but not too many. "The awards above our individual doors are if they're specifically related to one of us. Aria is our songwriter so she has a few more awards than the rest of us."
She paused for a bit as Caleb studied the awards above the rooms, and then she carried on with her show and tell. "Okay, so Aria picked her room because she didn't want her room to be closest to the front door, in case a burglar or a murderer broke into the house. Furthest from the entrance, last to die." Hanna explained, leading Caleb past the sofa to the other side of the room where two more doors were. She gestured to the door that was right across from Aria's door. "That's why my bedroom is behind the second door to the left. I'm not about to be murdered by some psycho!"
Caleb laughed at that statement, and Hanna whacked him lightly on the arm. "Anywhosies, the first room to the left is pretty much just a storage room of crap that didn't fit in anywhere else. As you can see, there are award shelves above these doors as well." There were far more awards above the storage room than Hanna's. "Those above my room are specifically related to me, and the ones above the storage room involve all of us as a band."
Again, Caleb studied the awards. He had quite a few of his own. "Best Dressed Female?" He questioned, pointing at an award above Hanna's door. "Is that a thing?"
Hanna glanced at the award as well and giggled. "Apparently so." Then she stepped towards the middle of the room, Caleb followed. "This modular sofa is placed crookedly in the middle of the room for a reason, and we'll get to that. Why purple, you ask? We like purple. The tiniest, black sofa table. The tiniest there ever was." She gestured towards the sofa, and then the table in front of the sofa as she spoke. "We like to believe it's so tiny so we have less of an excuse to eat in front of the tv. It still happens, though. Speaking of..." She pointed at the tv that was placed on a stand, a fair distance across from the sofa. Everything crookedly. "Tv. Frequently on either Nova, Disney Channel or some sports channel. We have our dvds in a disarray inside the stand, on either side of the dvd player."
The tv stand stood with its side up against the corner of a wall. The right side of the apartment seemed to stop a few feet (or more) before the left side that continued out. Hanna paused to build up a dramatic effect, but Caleb genuinely thought that was it.
"I've saved the best for last." She then revealed. "Behind these crookedly placed furnitures we will enter Nirvana. The best place one earth." She walked towards the left side of the living room, the part that continued past the right side, and Caleb noticed that behind the tv were some things that had probably been intended to make up another room. Almost right behind the tv stand, stood a round cooler equal to the ones you often found in convenience stores. It was filled with canned sodas. Where the right side ended with a wall, the left side was an entire, large window. Two giant, palm tree looking potted plants stood at either sides, just a foot from the corner. Between them hung a hammock. "This..." Hanna waved her hand horizontally around the area. "... is hands down the best place on earth. We've been a lot of places, but this is where it's at."
"And it is?"
"That you would even ask that question!" Hanna exclaimed, faking to be offended. She couldn't keep the act up for long, and soon cracked a smile. "That's a tropical resort with a great view."
Caleb arched one brow, shooting her a skeptical look. "A tropical resort..."
"... with a great view, yes." Hanna smiled widely, and grabbed Caleb's arm gently, leading him closer to the tropical resort with a great view. "See for yourself. Have a seat. The wannabe palm trees are surprisingly sturdy."
Caleb took a seat in the hammock, and glanced out through the window. "Wow, it really is a great view."
The ocean was within spitting distance, on the other side of a road and few buildings, and while Hanna and the girls lived on the top floor of the apartment building, it really was quite the view.
"You should see it at sunset. Amazing!" Hanna informed him, a reminiscent look upon her face. "Anywhosies, would you like a soda?" She waved her hand towards the cooler. "Just to the full experience of this magnificent tropical resort with a great view."
"Sure, but do you have to call it a tropical resort with a great view every time you reference it?" He asked curiously since she had now said the phrase multiple times.
"Unless I want to insult it. There are rules in this house, you know." She explained to him as she opened the cooler. "Is Pepsi okay? You seem like a cola kinda guy." Caleb nodded. "Now for the full tropical resort with a great view experience, I have to pour this soda into one of our tropical mugs, and put a straw in it."
She grabbed a Pepsi, along with a mango and passionfruit Fanta for herself, and then carried them into the kitchen to find some tropical mugs for their drinks. She opened the cabinet they were in, and saw that familiar obsessive amount of them, that they were all proud they had.
"You have some odd rules in this household." Caleb called out to her while she was in the kitchen, and she giggled softly at his reaction to their ways.
"Thanks, but just wait 'till you've had the full experience, mister!" She called back, still looking at the cabinet. "Are coconut mugs okay?"
Caleb chuckled. "Sure."
She was back within the second with their drinks now in coconut mugs, and a straw placed in each. She handed the one with Pepsi inside it to Caleb, and then she took a seat next to him in the hammock with her own drink.
"Ah, this is the life." She let out a sigh of contentment, taking a sip of her drink.
Caleb took a sip of his drink as well, while thoughtfully gazing upon their view. "I get your point now; it really is amazing. One could get used to this."
"One already has." Hanna said, giving him a wink as she held up her coconut mug, and clinked it with his.
A comfortable silence fell upon them while they enjoyed their sodas, simply admiring the view. It was nice, really, how natural it felt between them. Caleb was an actor, and Hanna was a singer, and they seemed to have a mutual understanding of the importance of the little moments in their down time, when their schedules were usually built up of busy, and at times stressful, commitments.
If only the silence, if only the comfortable moment, could have last a while longer, but it ended abruptly when Aria came bursting into the living room after having been in the bathroom for the past half an hour.
"Jesus, Aria! You scared me." Hanna exclaimed when she heard Aria come in. She turned her head to look at her shorter bandmate. "I thought you were still asleep, and half expected you to sleep 'till way past noon."
Not only was she up exceptionally early (unless it was a work day, and Emily woke her up), but she was fully dressed, and seemed surprisingly awake for that hour, considering that she wasn't particularly a fan of the hours before noon.
Aria ignored Hanna's statement, and narrowed her eyes at Caleb, whom she had just noticed was seated in the hammock in their tropical resort with a great view. "You break it, you buy it, actor boy."
Hanna snapped her fingers to get Aria's attention back. "Okay, there's no need to be rude to Caleb." Aria merely folded her arms across her chest in protest, and Hanna continued to speak. "Now, what are you doing up so early?"
Aria rolled her eyes. "Generally it's pretty normal to be up when the sun is."
"Sarcasm still doesn't suit you, Aria." Hanna pointed out, and Aria responded with a half shrug. "Could you give me a straight answer, please? Usually Emily has to wake you."
Aria huffed, and a sound of annoyance escaped. "So what, I'm incapable of waking up at a decent hour by myself?"
"Why do you treat everything I say to you as a personal attack?" Hanna countered, fighting off the hurt that was trying to make its way to her face.
"Why do you keep asking questions you don't really want the answer to?" Aria retorted. An awkward silence filled the room, taking the worst toll on Caleb who was an innocent bystander. "I'm going to the studio, should we expect you there on time, or will you be wasting your entire day with this guy? Evidently I'm the only one who cares about our responsibilities."
"But you're the one who..." Hanna had raised her voice, but stopped mid-sentence. Nothing good would come of it if they rekindled the same old argument. "Nevermind, but Aria, you should know that we don't..."
"I don't care. I'm going now!" Aria interrupted, "I'll see you if I see you, and if not I'll assume that you deemed this more important, which I honestly can't believe. What we do should be important to all of us, not just me."
Hanna held in a contemptuous laugh. "That's funny, considering what's been going on. It doesn't seem important to you at all. I have a feeling you won't care what I have to say, but we don't..."
"I said I was leaving now. I don't have time for chitchat." Aria interrupted again.
"Okay, but we don't have..."
"Leaving!"
"I know, you've said that, but we have a..." Hanna tried, for what felt like the umpteenth time, to tell Aria that they didn't have studio time that day, that in the light of the award show last night they were given the day off. She just wouldn't listen.
"I don't care!" Aria exclaimed, stomping her foot like a child with an 'end of discussion' look in her eyes.
"I can tell." Hanna said, and exhaled in defeat. "There's really nothing I can say to get you to stay?" Aria shook her head in response. "Fine, do as you please, but I can't let you leave dressed like that. Emily would kill me."
Aria glanced down on her outfit as if she'd forgotten what she wore. She had on a pair of bottle green very high-waisted shorts with an attached belt around the waist in the same color, and a peach colored top with golden yellow hieroglyphs printed all over it, tucked into her shorts. The top had a slit going up the middle, stopping right below her chest. The left side of the slit was tucked in unevenly, revealing a small triangle of bare skin. Her flats matched the hieroglyphs on her top.
Hanna's life would be very short if she, in the absence of Emily, let Aria out of the apartment looking like that. Emily was strangely protective over the youngest band member, and Hanna had a feeling that it had to do with Aria's secret.
Aria allowed an exasperated groan to escape her lips, and she made a big to do of stomping into her bedroom, and when she emerged back into the living room, she had a small purse in one hand and a scarf looking thing in the other.
She made a point to throw the dark brown shawl over her shoulders. "There, I'm covered." She said with that innocent smile that Hanna had learned that Aria only used, when she wanted to get away with something.
Hanna wasn't buying it. "Okay, that's a shawl, and it's see-through." She pointed out, although she knew Aria couldn't think less of her opinion. "The least you can do is wear a cardigan. You find a cardigan, you put it on, and I don't get murdered by Em. It's very easy, you see."
"Yes, but if it's easy, anybody could do it, and I'm a maverick." And with that, Aria decided that it was the end of the discussion. She narrowed her eyes at Caleb again. "In case of breakage, I know where you live."
Then she left without another word, leaving Caleb and Hanna to themselves again.
"Why did she seem to have such a problem with me here?" Caleb voiced his confusion, the first one to speak after Aria's departure. It didn't make sense to him because she was the one who had pushed him together with Hanna.
"It's not so much that you're here." Hanna explained, "It's more your invasion of our tropical resort with a great view, since the wannabe palm trees and the hammock are technically hers."
"Ah..." Caleb let the words sink in. It made a little sense now, but it still confused him that the sweet girl from last night was this little package of attitude. "But what's with the hostility? She seemed like such a sweet person yesterday, she even introduced us."
Hanna nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she makes a great first impression. Sometimes second and third. Sometimes it even lasts for a year, and then BAM. The hostile makeover reared its ugly head. Personally, I think it's just a defense mechanism for whatever she's hiding, but she won't trust me like she does Emily!"
"And what makes you think that she's hiding something?" Caleb asked curiously.
Hanna shrugged. "I don't know, it's like a seventh sense."
"Don't you mean sixth sense?"
"Nope." Hanna shook her head, "My sixth sense is my ability to guess the stuff inside filled chocolates without taking a bite first. I don't wanna be surprised by one with gooey minty yuck."
Caleb loved the 'gooey minty yuck', but the serious expression on Hanna's face while she told the story made him laugh. The laughter quickly subsided, and he thought over what Hanna had revealed. It didn't make sense to him because the members of Pretty Little Liars always seemed to have such a strong bond to the outside world.
"But you're going to work through it, right?" He questioned, a concerned look in his eyes.
"No, I don't think we are." She paused, and sighed deeply. "Can I tell you a secret? You have to promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone!"
He related to the precaution, in their line of work it was difficult to know how to trust, so he nodded. "Sure. I won't say a word."
"We're splitting up by the end of the year." Hanna revealed. "We can't make it work because Aria and I aren't getting along anymore. Emily gets along with both of us, but we have certain unwritten rules that makes it impossible for two to continue without the other, and just add someone new. We don't want to do that, so we're calling it quits."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Hanna. You seem to really love what you do." Caleb gave a sympathetic look, accompanied with a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But you also seem like the type to not give up without a fight, so don't."
Hanna let out a short, frustrated laugh. "I can't exactly tie Aria to a chair, and make her tell me what's going on with her. But it has to be serious if she's willing to sabotage everything we've worked so hard for."
A gloom silence fell upon the pair until Caleb decided to break it; "Do you want to talk about something else?"
Hanna smiled appreciatively at him. "Yes, please."
Caleb opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by someone entering through the front door. Seconds later, Emily stepped into view. She looked distressed, and she hadn't even been told that Aria had gone off on her own yet.
Emily had on a pair of denim shorts, a loose fitted dark blue tank top with a tighter white one underneath. She had a dark red flannel shirt tied around her waist, and she'd forgotten to take off her grey pair of sneakers. Tear stains were on her top.
"Okay, this day is becoming surreal. I thought she was still sleeping, too." Hanna muttered to herself, and then she offered her bandmate a smile, speaking up. "Where have you been off to? I assumed you were home."
"I had some errands." Emily replied vaguely, and seemed to be on the verge of tears. "It seemed like a good day to do so."
It concerned Hanna to see Emily like that, and quite frankly she didn't buy the errand story. Something seemed off. "Em, where have you really been?"
"I visited someone." Emily mumbled, but both Hanna and Caleb heard her.
"And now you're upset." Hanna pointed out, switching friend-mode on. "I'm gonna need names."
Emily furrowed her brows in confusion. "Of what?"
"Of who to take care of." Hanna replied with an 'isn't it obvious' tone to her voice. "Frying pans would be found in the kitchen, right? So what's his name? Or her name, if you swing that way?"
Emily looked unamused. "That's an extremely insensitive thing to say. Besides, it's nothing romantic. It was just a friend, okay? A good friend."
"I might not be the most insightful person there ever was, but I'm sensing a bit of 'I don't wanna talk about it' from you. Is that right?" Hanna asked, watching as Emily nodded once with a painful glint in her eyes. Hanna chose not to press her on it. "Okay, then we won't. But you're not with your friend anymore. You're at home, and this is a neutral zone. Like Switzerland."
Emily cracked a small smile, and shot her blonde friend a look of gratitude. She glanced around the apartment, and noticed a very tiny person was missing. She looked to Hanna. "Aria still asleep?"
"Nope." Hanna shook her head. "She went to the studio."
Emily looked quizzically at Hanna. "But there is no studio time today. We have the day off."
"This I know."
"So you just let her leave?" Emily questioned, an accusatory tone to her voice.
"Wait a minute," Caleb piped in. "Hanna tried to help, she tried to..."
"Did someone buzz you in? I'm talking to Hanna." Emily interrupted, but without the rudeness Aria had presented earlier. Emily didn't do rude, her bandmates knew this.
"Well, it's like Caleb said; I tried to tell her that we had the day off, that the studio was a no-go zone, but she refused to listen to me." Hanna explained, an apologetic gleam in her eyes. "She wasn't having any of it, and she just stormed off." Emily spun around, and jolted out of there quicker than Aria had. Before she ran out of the door, Hanna added; "By the way, the outfit is not my fault."
With Emily gone, Hanna turned to face Caleb again, a sad smile tucking at her lips.
"So, is Emily always such an over-protective mess?"
"Pretty much!"
"I'm still trying
I'm not tired just yet
My eyes are drying
I never dreamed that you'd forget
Can you see me now?
Can you hear me shout?
When I'm dancing through the fear
Will you catch my fall?
Do you know me at all?
It's like you never notice me
It's like you never notice me."
Aria sang quietly to herself, strumming the strings softly on the guitar she had retrieved from the recording booth at the studio. She was currently seated on the sofa that Hanna usually took up all of the space on when they had studio time. It was oddly peaceful and quiet, almost too quiet. She couldn't pinpoint what she felt like was missing; she normally preferred a quiet atmosphere.
"We have to stop meeting like this."
"Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the camel!" Aria exclaimed, startled by the sudden interruption of the silence. Her hand flew straight to her chest, and she felt her heart gallop a million miles for the briefest of seconds. She glanced in the direction of the door to put a face on the intruder; it turned out to just be Ezra Fitz whom she met the day before. "Oh, it's just you."
He was dressed in a dark grey pair of jeans, a matching belt, a white dress shirt tucked into his pants, and a dress vest in a lighter shade of grey than his pants. He also had on a black tie that the vest was neatly buttoned over. His feet were bare, apparently comfortable enough not to wear his shoes at the studio.
"That certainly was a warm welcome." Ezra chuckled as he stepped into the room, and took a seat next to Aria on the sofa. "You sure know how to make someone feel special."
"Well, maybe if that someone didn't scare the shitting bricks out of you!" Aria sarcastically replied, setting the guitar gently on the floor so it was leaning up against the sofa. When she was certain that it was steady, she released it from her grasp.
"So, you play guitar too..." Ezra acknowledged, thereby stating the obvious. Aria merely raised her brows in response. "You're just full of surprises."
"Yep, and I'm quite skilled on the kazoo as well." This was about as awkward as the time she accidentally ripped the arm off of the fake skeleton in biology, and the teacher walked in on her trying to dispose of the evidence. Oh, how she didn't miss those days.
Ezra chuckled softly. "We have that in common." An awkward pause emerged after that, and desperate to continue the conversation he pointed towards the guitar and went on; "That song you were playing... Did you write that?"
"I might have." Aria shrugged. "Not that it matters."
"You should release it with the other Liars." Ezra suggested, to which Aria waved her hand dismissively. "You haven't played it for them yet?"
"And I'm not going to!" Aria replied firmly, attempting to make it obvious that she didn't wish to discuss the subject further. However, Ezra wasn't the type to give up.
"Why not?"
She sighed deeply, and then went on to explain; "Because it's personal. Besides, the songs that are left to be recorded for the album are already on the table, I can't just slap a new one on to it."
"Then save it for the next one." Ezra suggested, and Aria countered with a pointed look.
"Are you always this persistent?"
Ezra smiled warmly with just a hint of pride. "Pretty much. Are you always this evasive?"
"Mostly, yeah." Aria smiled forcibly in return.
"What if, for the next minute or so, you crawl over that barrier, and be real with me?" Ezra proposed, and then tried the same joke from yesterday to ease the tension a little. "Remember, I haven't bitten anyone since I was 6."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" The exact same words she'd uttered in response the day before. The realisation made her giggle ever so slightly. "I don't like to get too personal. Most of my songs are written from a dispassionate, impersonal perspective, but on the rare occasion they get very deep. Those are the songs I have a hard time sharing because they hit so close to home. If they're rejected, I'm rejected."
Ezra met her gaze, a sympathetic look in his eyes. "Let me guess? You've been rejected enough, even by those who were closest in your life, and therefore sharing a deeper part of yourself is difficult. But we all aren't like that, Aria, sometimes you just gotta take the leap."
"It doesn't matter anyway. It doesn't matter if I had some subconscious wish to share it with Emily and Hanna." Aria said, convinced that his words hadn't had any sort of impact on her. "It's not like there's gonna be a third album. Truth bomb, next year the Pretty Little Liars won't even exist. We're splitting up."
There was a uncomfortable silence, during which Ezra didn't seem the least bit surprised by that revelation. Which, frankly, surprised Aria. Then he spoke;
"Yeah, I figured."
"How so?" Aria questioned, the confusion she displayed almost tangible. Hadn't he just suggested that she should play her song for her bandmates, that they should use it for their next album? Why would he do that if he had the suspicion that they were breaking up anyway?
"There have been the occasional competition to reach the highest octave within screaming matches between you and Hanna Marin." Ezra explained cheekily, but Aria was unamused by his sass. "I assumed everything wasn't pixies and daisies."
"Pixies and daisies, really?"
"Shitting bricks, really?"
Aria smiled sarcastically. "Yeah, but you see... I'm funny."
Ezra put his hand over his heart, feigning hurt. "It hurts too bad. It hurts me deep right here, I can feel it in my chest. My soul is crushed!"
"So in the three year span where you haven't released any music, you've become a melodramatic blubbering man-child?" Aria smirked. "Seriously though, when you're done assing around, you have to swear not to say it to anyone."
"I won't." Ezra promised, and Aria smiled appreciatively. "It's not like the tabloids need my help with stories anyway, they are great at making them up on their own." He paused, and then something dawned on him. "But if you're splitting up, what will happen to Call The Shots?"
"I'll frisbee it off a roof somewhere." Aria suggested, and laughed when she saw the panicked look in Ezra's eyes. "I'm kidding, but either way I'll still write that song with you, if you're still interested in that?"
Ezra nodded. "'Course."
A silence filled the room again, but this time it wasn't so unpleasant. Aria took the chance to glance at the clock above the window to the recording booth, and wondered what was keeping Emily and Hanna that long. Well, not so much Hanna. She was busy with the actor after all, but Emily... She was never late.
In that moment the door opened, and Toby Cavanaugh stepped into the room. He seemed surprised to see Aria and Ezra there.
"What are you doing here, Aria?" He asked as he walked over to his usual chair, putting his bag down next to it like he always did. He turned around to face her again. "You do know that you don't have to be at the studio today? Grant thought that since you had such a late night yesterday, you could really use the day to unwind."
Aria looked confused. "So we have the day off?"
"Yes," Toby confirmed, "And I really need you to vamoose. Bae Ratliff is coming in to record with me."
"And who am I to stand in the way of her creating the successor to No Thanks." Aria said, and began to grab her things so she could get out of his hair. "I'm really sorry for hijacking your studio."
"No worries." Toby waved his hand dismissively as he was sitting down in his precious chair.
Aria smiled in return, and then she scurried out the room, with Ezra right on her tail.
"You just can't keep out of the studio, can you?" He joked as they started to walk down the hall to his studio.
Before Aria had the chance to reply, she saw Emily storming towards her from the opposite side of the hallway. She didn't look too pleased with Aria going off to the studio by herself. This was going to be painful.
She quickly told Ezra to go off, and he had only just turned into his studio when Emily had approached fully.
"Why would you go off to the studio alone, and on our day off?" Emily wanted to know, impatiently tapping her foot. "You could have gotten hurt!"
"I just took the bus to a place we come almost every day." Aria retorted, folding her arms over her chest. "It's not like I volunteered to be a bullfighter."
"Something could still have happened!" Emily pointed out, being a little too stubborn for Aria's liking. "There could have been an accident."
"Again, I took the bus. I went to a familiar place. How exactly could I have gotten hurt?" Aria challenged in an attempt not to be babied, but when Emily was in this mode...
"I don't know." Emily sighed. "You don't even know yourself. It could just happen, and if..."
"... you finish that sentence, I'll be extremely disappointed!" Aria ended, giving her friend a very pointed look. "This is not the time or place to have that conversation. I trust you."
"But, I..."
"Am a neurotic, over-protective mess, I know." Aria finished for her again, and Emily glared at her in annoyance.
"Could I finish my own sentences, please?" She questioned firmly, and her shorter friend held up her hand in a 'go right ahead' manner. "Can you really be a neurotic and over-protective mess, if you have a legitimate reason to worry."
Aria smirked, though her eyes portrayed a sense of vulnerability. "Oh, right. I took the bus by myself. I almost died."
"So I'm the only one who takes it seriously?" Emily exclaimed, getting very emotional. "People have died from less. What if it happens the wrong place, and I'm not there?"
"I already have a mom, Em." Aria reminded, feeling rather frustrated by their discussion. "She's almost as big a mess, minus the neurosis and the over-protectiveness. I don't aspire to turn out like her, thank you very much."
"You're responding to things I haven't even said. It's being blown way out of proportion." Emily said calmly. Turning this into an argument, like she had a feeling Aria was trying to do, would do neither any good.
"Out of proportion? Me?" Aria repeated, in disbelief. "I'm sorry, but you're the one who'll barely let me peel an orange because you're convinced that the tiniest of things will damage me. Let me remind you that I'm not dying!"
"What's going on?" A third voice interrupted. They looked to the side, and saw Spencer Hastings from Bittersweet Destiny heading towards them. Aria rolled her eyes; this was just what they needed.
"Nothing you need to worry about, Spencer." Emily informed her politely, and Aria shot her a look that clearly said 'why are you being nice to this girl'. "We're just having a normal conversation."
Spencer looked from Emily to Aria and back, and seemed rather unconvinced by that statement, but didn't voice it to them. "Right, well, I was hoping to run into you guys today." She said instead. "I'm deeply sorry for the way Alison acted yesterday."
"That's okay." Emily smiled, brushing the incident off.
Aria narrowed her eyes at Spencer, but addressed Emily. "Why are you accepting her apology on behalf of Alison, when more than probably she will strike again. An apology from someone other than Alison is not going to change anything."
"Alison would never apologise." Spencer interjected.
"Exactly."
"But either way, she shouldn't have went off on you like that. She shouldn't have ruined your great night." Spencer continued, while one Liar contained an eye roll, and the other smiled kindly. "For the record, I think you deserved every single award you won."
"Thank you, Spencer." Emily accepted with a small nod.
"Here's an idea; how about you write some standard apology on your computer, then print it out a thousand times, and then you'll have one at the ready in situations like this." Aria suggested, with no attempt to hide the contempt in her voice. "Although, when it comes to Alison, those are bound to run out fairly quickly."
Emily stared at Aria in disbelief, her mouth gaped open. "Aria," She hissed, "We've talked about this. High road, always. We speak through our music, you know this. We don't engage, and we most certainly do not drop to Alison's level, is that clear?"
Aria crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, and spoke through gritted teeth; "Yes, mom..."
Spencer looked from one Liar to the other. It was evident that she had stepped in on something, the atmosphere was heavy and uncomfortable. She should retreat, but she couldn't until she was certain that everything had been set straight between them. She was getting Aria's forgiveness too, even if it killed her.
"I know that Alison has set up the rivalry between our groups, and she's very determined to keep things that way, but that doesn't mean that we have to follow in her footsteps." Spencer reasoned, to which the tiny Liar simply rolled her eyes. "You may not like my bandmate, but I'm not her. I know you'll probably never consider me your friend, but I am yours."
"You don't have to do this, Spencer. We understand." Emily said. "You've never done anything to us, and in the end it should be about the music, shouldn't it?"
"Definitely." Spencer agreed.
"This is all very touching, but the bus waits for no man." Aria interrupted the lovefest of mutual understanding between her bandmate and The Bitch of All Evil's minion. She spun around to leave, but Emily grabbed her arm, and yanked her back. "Ah, I forgot. The bus could kill me."
Emily looked unamused. "That's not funny."
"I wasn't trying to be!" Aria argued as she yanked her arm out her bandmate's grip. "But I'm really pissed that you'd march down here in one of your neurotic moods, and then treat me like a fragile child. In case you've forgotten; I'm 17, not 7! I'll see you back home, or I won't, it doesn't matter much to me right now."
Aria spun around again, and succesfully managed to run down the hallway, and leave Paragon Records without being dragged back by Emily. The remaining Liar then face Spencer, an apologetic look plastered on her face. She knew she had put Aria in one of her 'there's nothing wrong with me' moods, and she felt sorry that Spencer had to witness it.
"I'm sorry for that." Emily said, and Spencer brushed it off with the wave of a hand. "Aria can be a bit stubborn, and when she gets like that, she doesn't care what she says or whom she hurts."
Spencer chuckled lightly. "At least she has an excuse."
"Are we still on Alison?" Emily questioned.
"Yeah." Spencer nodded. "Look, I meant what I said. Alison may put you through crap fairly often, but I still consider myself your friend."
"Likewise." Emily smiled. "And if you ever need to vent about Alison, or you just need to talk to someone, I'm your friend too. Hanna and Aria may take a little more convincing since you work with the enemy and all, but I truly think that you're a great person."
"Thank you, Emily." Spencer returned the Liar's smile with one of gratitude. "And I'll try my best to keep Alison in check. It's unlikely that I'll have a lot of success in that department, but you're right; it should be about the music."
They had reached a mutual understanding, and Emily had gained a new friend, and vice versa. Emily would have loved to stay and chat longer, but she was worried about her other friend. Aria really shouldn't be out there on her own, no matter what her shorter bandmate thought.
"You can call me Em." Emily said; only her friends called her that, and she felt Spencer had earned that. She then offered her goodbye; "But I really should get going. Aria might hate me for it, but I need to check up on her. You understand, right?"
"Sure. Goodbye Em."
They shared another smile. Emily turned around, and hurried quickly the same way Aria had, hoping to catch up with her.
Hanna and Caleb were still seated in the hammock, admiring the wonderful view while having a comfortable conversation about this and that. Caleb was on soda number two.
"Okay, which country in the world, that you haven't been on location at, would you most like to visit?" Hanna asked curiously. They had found out that they both liked to travel.
"Hmm..." Caleb thought it over seriously before he replied. "I've always wanted to go to Japan."
"Oh, we've been there." Hanna revealed, and the jealousy was clear in Caleb's eyes. She smirked at that. "Between our public appearances and performances here and there, we got to go sightseeing. It was great. It turns out Pretty Little Liars are very big in Japan."
Caleb chuckled at how surprised Hanna sounded by her last statement. "Yeah, but is there are place where you aren't big?"
"Hmm..." It was Hanna's turn to think seriously. "Finland." She paused. "Finland do not get us."
They both began laughing when Hanna said that, and it took a few minutes before the both of them were all laughed out.
"What about you?" Caleb asked then. "Which country would you like to go to, taking the other Liars out of the equation?"
"Greece!" Hanna said without hesitation. "I want to visit that country so bad it's not even funny. One day I might even want a house there."
"You want to live there?" Caleb questioned, sounding a little surprised.
"Partially." Hanna smiled as she gazed upon the view part of their tropical resort with a great view. "I'm an L.A girl at heart, but there's something about Greece that I really love."
"I've been there." Caleb revealed, and this time it was Hanna's turn to look at him with jealousy. "I filmed a movie there when I was about 15. I get why you'd love it; the place has a great history."
"Sure, history..." Hanna drawled awkwardly. The closest she'd ever come to learning about the country's history was watching Hercules – the animated version. "Which country would you most like to shoot a film in that you haven't already?"
"The place that I'd really like to shoot a movie, or part of a movie, is a continent, not a country." Caleb explained, and Hanna simply nodded as if she understood him completely. "I'd like to shoot a movie on Antarctica."
"But that place is like really cold!" Hanna exclaimed as what he was saying dawned on her. "On the plus side, though, there are penguins."
"I see that you clearly aced Geography in school." Caleb smirked, and she whacked him softly on his arm. "But yes, it is really cold, and there are penguins. That's the reason I'd like to shoot there, the cold would make it more of a challenge. I like challenges, and any idiot could go to France and shoot a movie."
"Hey!" Hanna faked offense. "France is a great place, too!"
"Let me guess," Caleb started while wearing that boyish grin of his, "You're very big in France as well?"
Hanna raised a brow, and looked at him challengingly. "Jealous?"
Before he had the chance to reply, the front door burst open, and an angry looking Aria rushed into the living room, closely followed by a worried Emily.
"Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?" Aria explained as she spun around to be face to face with Emily. "How about in the future you stop being so over-protective, and trampling in when it's not appreciated?"
"But you could have gotten hurt!" Emily argued, but that only seemed to make things worse. "You can't tell me things, and expect me not to worry. Do you have any idea how I would feel if something happened, and I wasn't there? I can't help you if I'm not."
"I get that sometimes I do need help, and when I do, I'm so glad that you are there. But there are boundaries!" Aria spoke through gritted teeth, something her bandmates learned early on that she oftest did when especially upset. "You have to understand that I'm not some fragile, little porcelain doll that'll break if barely looked at. I'm stronger than that, I won't break over the tiniest things. I only ask for a little more space, okay?"
Emily was in tears. On some level she knew Aria was right, but she couldn't help herself. "I just don't wanna lose you, too!" She cried as the tears sprang out of her eyes.
This surprised the spectators, Hanna and Caleb, but more so Aria. She completely forgot their argument, and rushed quickly over to Emily, wrapping her arms around her taller friend deeply. Emily cried on her shoulder, borderline hysterically, and it almost broke Aria's heart.
"Too?" She questioned when the two finally broke apart, but she could instantly tell that Emily did not wish to elaborate. "You could never lose me, Em. I promise. Even when this is over, I'll always be in your life. We'll be old and grey in the same nursery home. I swear you'll never be rid of me. I don't care if you live to be 117, I'll hang in there. I never want you to worry about losing me. I can't stand it. Are we clear?"
Emily nodded, tears still in her eyes. "Thank you, Aria. I needed that."
"What are best friends for?" Aria smiled, though she still had a point to make. "Just, please loosen you leash a little. I won't break that easily, I swear. If I'm having trouble, and I need your help, you won't be the least bit confused. You'll just know. It's worked like that in the past, hasn't it?" Emily nodded again. "So there really isn't that much to worry about."
"I still think we should..." Emily began, but the shortest Liar immediately knew where she was going with that sentence, and interrupted her quickly.
"I know you do, but it's my decision to make." Aria determined, and the two of them shared a look, and for the umpteenth time Emily reluctantly agreed. "Great, I'll be in my room then, strumming on my guitar, and not dying."
"I'm glad you think that's funny!" Emily called after her as she disappeared into her room. Shortly after they could hear her softly playing on her guitar in there. Then Emily noticed that Caleb and Hanna were both looking her way. "Oh, hey. You guys are still hanging out?"
"Yes." Hanna replied, and then changed the subject to what she had witnessed. "What was that about? What's going on?"
Emily met Hanna's eyes, the same apologetic look in hers that she had mastered over the past year. "I'm sorry, Han, but that really is Aria's story to tell, and she's asked me not to say anything. I won't betray her trust, no matter how silly I think she's being." She glanced from Hanna to Caleb, picking up a vibe. She decided to excuse herself. "Well, I'll leave you two to it. The blue bubble gum soda is great, by the way."
She turned to the right, and stepped into her room that was right next to Aria's. No noise, however, came from her room once she'd disappeared into it. Caleb and Hanna faced the window again.
"It's like a Soap Opera." Caleb acknowledged, referring to the scene they'd just witnessed. "Aria is like the character that changes personality in every scene."
Hanna smirked. "Ah, had much experience with Soap Operas?"
"As a matter of fact," Caleb began to clarify, "I've had a few guest roles here and there on various of them."
"Full of surprises, you are." Hanna replied, genuinely surprised by that revelation.
Caleb smiled, and then they shared one of those looks that you just wanted to continue on forever, if you'd ever been apart of one. It was nice, but then an annoying buzzing accompanied by an incessant beeping erupted. Caleb groaned, and pulled his phone out of his pocket, pushing a button to make it stop. He stared at the screen for a few seconds, and then put the phone back in his pocket.
He sighed heavily. "I have to go."
"Are you filming scenes for The Power of Two?" Hanna questioned curiously – huge fan of the Apocalypse Trilogy, remember?
"No, I finished that a few months ago. It premieres in the beginning of December." Caleb explained, and Hanna gave him a confused 'then what' look, so he elaborated; "I have an audition in thirty minutes for a horror movie called The Human Puzzle."
"Isn't that a book?" She asked.
"Yes, it is." He confirmed. "I'm hoping to play Teddy, but so are a lot of other actors."
"I'm sure you'll do fine." Hanna smiled. "But, out of curiosity, have you ever considered doing a movie not based on a book?"
Playful teasing wasn't Hanna's forte, so Caleb chuckled. "I've done plenty of movies like that, i.e the one in Greece. But films that are based on books usually have an automatic fan following, and people are more inclined to watch are movie based on a book – in my experience at least."
"Well, Anthony Hopkins, you better go then." Hanna said, and they both, reluctantly, left the comfort of the hammock.
They stepped around the wannabe palm trees, and Hanna followed Caleb into the hall, placing the coconut mugs on a kitchen counter on the way. She watched as he gathered his things, smiling as she thought of the hours they'd spent together. He was greater than she'd imagined.
Ready to leave, he turned around to say his goodbye. "I had a great time. I'll see you around, Hanna Marin." He leaned down, and kissed her on the cheek, lingering there for a brief second.
Hanna exhaled a breath, the butterflies in her stomach running wild. "You know, you missed by about an inch."
"Did I?" He sighed, though smirking. "You know how it goes, Hanna. The paparazzi likes to tear apart the beautiful things in our lives. They interrupt private moments, they spread lies. The price of being in the business, I guess, but I don't want to subject any part of my life to that unless I'm sure."
"Then let's fly under the radar." Hanna proposed. "We keep things to ourselves, and we spend out time together in private until we're certain what it is. Until we've labeled it."
"So it'll be our little secret?" He questioned to see if understood properly. Hanna nodded, and then he knew for certain what she'd meant. "I couldn't do that to you." And he meant that – there was something special about her.
"You wouldn't be doing anything to me." Hanna argued, unwilling to give up that easily. He'd picked the wrong time to pull the nobility act. "I'm in the same boat, remember? I know what it's like."
Another sigh, he stared deeply into her blue eyes, and realised that she was right. They were both in the public eye, they had both had relationships that had been scrutinized under that. He'd gone public too quickly in the past before he'd built a solid foundation with the other person, and he'd watched it crumble. He'd never do that again, not until he was so madly in love that they wouldn't be able to tear it apart.
He was attracted to Hanna. He had been for a long time, way before he even met her. That day he'd learned that she was a very sweet person, that they understood each other, that he could easily talk to her, and that he'd like to get to know her better. Then he remembered that not too long ago, he'd been disappointed when he realised he had to go.
Maybe her idea wasn't so bad after all.
"Okay, we'll fly under the radar for now." He agreed, and then he leaned down again. This time he kissed her on the lips. It wasn't one of those long, deep kisses. It was a tender and sweet one, and a perfect first kiss for them.
They smiled at each other for a minute, and then he stepped out of the door, leaving for his audition. Hanna replayed their kiss over and over again in her mind, and she came to a conclusion...
Caleb Rivers was a greater kisser than she'd imagined.
Thus we end chapter 2. Again, sorry for the delay. I suck. The first chapter was like a pilot chapter, and now that I see there's an interest, I'm officially picking it up. Now, after chapter 2, are there any guesses what Aria's secret is? Also, who do you think Emily may have lost in the past? Also, are the Haleb fans happy?
Now to continue our little game; next chapter will be called 'I Like You, But You Have a Stupid Face'. Who will say it? Bonus points if you guess to whom it'll be said.
I end you with a massive thank you for reading. I hope not too many of you have lost interest during the delay. I hope that you review this chapter as well. In the next chapter the Liars will be shooting the music video for their upcoming single, Afraid. In it, they'll be facing their fears. Any guesses what they'll be afraid of? I thank you all again, and throw chocolate chip cookies your way (and if you don't like those, make a request), and I ask you to please review this chapter. You're all wonderful, and deserve a day at a tropical resort with a great view :).
Laters,
AK-tutti :)