A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've rewritten this many times, and the final version is definitely not what I had in mind when I posted chapter one; hope it doesn't disappoint. Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and kind reviews, I really appreciate them and they seriously make my day!

Emily's phone buzzes, and she grabs it eagerly, tossing it carelessly back onto her desk in disappointment when she sees who'd texted her. It's Spencer, talking about some new piece of evidence she'd collected. Not that there was anything wrong with Spencer getting a leg up on A, but it wasn't the text she was looking for her – it wasn't Hanna.

They hadn't talked in two days, not since she'd told Hanna about her plans to win scholarship money for her. It wasn't that she wanted to actively avoid Hanna – it was more like she didn't know what to say. She could've sworn Hanna tried to kiss her that night, but the two days of radio silence had given her a lot of time to talk herself out of the idea. Perhaps she'd just imagined it?

"Em, I need a favor."

Emily jumps in her seat and turns around so fast she nearly upends her chair. Now there's a person she hadn't been expecting.

Emily scrambles for a response. "Uh, heard of saying hello?"

Hanna shrugs. "Hello. I need a favor."

Emily blinks.

"I know this is a lot to ask, but I need you to teach me how to dance in time for prom."

Emily rubs the back of her neck uncomfortably, praying that her blush isn't as visible as it feels. "Uh, didn't we just do that? Two days ago?"

"I mean like ballroom dancing, Emily. I'm not going to pop and lock at prom," Hanna scoffs.

"Not that I wouldn't want to teach you, but you've been just fine at other school dances. Do you really need lessons?" Emily's totally lying; she really doesn't want to teach Hanna how to ballroom dance. Emily doesn't trust herself to engage in something quite so…intimate.

"I know how where to put my hands and how to sway in place. I want to learn how to actually dance, Emily." Hanna looks at her insistently. Innocently.

Maybe it's just the look on the blonde's face, but after a few seconds of hesitation Emily swallows her inhibitions and nods, Hanna grinning at the sign of assent. "Ok. I…I can do that." Hopefully I won't regret it. "What kinds of dances are you thinking?"

"Oh, I don't know. All the big romantic ones," Hanna says vaguely. "Um…waltzes, tangos…" She strains for any other names but comes up empty. "You know, the stuff you see on Dancing with the Stars."

Emily bites back an amused smile. Hanna's too adorable. "Well, I'll see what I can do, then. Come by tonight."

Hanna beams. "Great. It's a date!"

"Caleb tried to teach me how to slow dance, once," Hanna tells her. Emily tries to conceal her surprise at Hanna's casual mention of his name – she knows they'd broken up just recently, and it was a messy one, one-sided. Hanna hadn't spoken much on the matter, so she didn't know why it happened, or even who had broken up with whom, but given Hanna's unruffled demeanor and the events from two nights before (which they still haven't discussed), she has a pretty good idea.

"How did that go? Caleb's not really a romantic…"

Hanna smiles faintly at the memory. "We fell over at least five times. I think he was trying to teach me how to waltz? All I know is that we were just a few minutes away from waltzing into the emergency room. Lucky thing I had to go home. I didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him to stop."

Emily smiles. "I'm glad this dance is going much better."

"I'm glad I have a much better partner," Hanna comments, grinning when Emily spins her spontaneously. "He sucked at the waltz. But he did teach me one thing about dancing."

"What's that?"

Hanna smiles mischievously, and Emily suddenly becomes aware of how closely they're pressed together. Every word between them feels tangible, thick like threads of steam, intimate like a moaned breath.

There's barely any space between them, but with that damned smirk on her face Hanna leans even closer, mouth lined up next to Emily's ear as if prepared to divulge some important secret. Despite herself, she closes her eyes briefly, unprepared at the sudden intensity of Emily's perfume. The swimmer must have sprayed it on the pulse point behind her ear, because Emily is all Hanna can smell – something sweet and heady and exotic all at once, and Hanna's stomach jumps hotly for reasons she can't admit.

Hanna quickly shakes herself out of her daze. Wasn't she supposed to say something? Oh, right - "Good dancing," Hanna hums against the swimmer's skin, "is like good sex."

For the first time all night, Emily misses a step in their careful, patterned dancing. It trips up Hanna too, who nearly falls into Emily but catches herself on Emily's shoulders at the last moment.

"You ok, Em?" Hanna asks, steadying the girl with a light giggle.

"Yeah, I – yeah. Thanks," Emily says, clearing her throat despite how dry it is. "Um. You were saying?"

"Yeah, think about it. You need good rhythm, good coordination, and good communication," Hanna lists off, keeping her eyes locked with Emily's. Emily finds she can't look away. "You're a great dancer. I bet you're wild in the bedroom, aren't you?"

Emily flushes deeply, still unable to tear her eyes away from Hanna's. The blonde's irises crackle bright blue-white – it's electric. That color in Hanna's eyes energizes her with a confidence she hadn't dared to exercise. "You know, maybe one day you'll be lucky enough to find out," she teases, only just a little breathless.

Hanna smirks, clearly pleased with the response, but she doesn't say anything, just lets the silence speak for her.

Emily's always found a certain solace in movement. First it was dancing, and then it was swimming, and later when swimming fell through she started pouring her effort into running. She wishes she'd gone back to dancing first. There's a peace in teasing out the natural harmony and rhythm of her body.

It's even better, she thinks, when you have someone to share it with. Long ago she'd shared it with Paige, but there was always an undertone of competition between them. It's different with Hanna – they don't compete, they coexist. Maybe it helps that they're dancing – there's no point in gaining an upper hand when you're dancing with someone else, not like in running or swimming where there's always a race. Dancing only works if you're in sync with your partner.

Hanna only talks about the breakup once, and it's in Emily's company.

"What are you thinking about?" Hanna asks. "You're quiet over there."

"You," Emily states, automatically telling the truth and blushing once it's out. Hanna quirks an eyebrow, and Emily only gets more flustered. "I, uh, I mean, you're kind of close and it's hard to think of anything else. I mean - damn," Emily sighs, resigned to her own awkwardness.

Hanna laughs, and that laugh has a way of making everything feel alright again. "I get it, Em."

"What are you thinking about?" Emily asks a little too quickly, eager to move past her recent embarrassment.

Hanna hesitates, opening her mouth slightly but not saying anything. Finally, she says, "Caleb."

"Oh," Emily says, her tone completely neutral. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Hanna's silent for a few seconds. "A little."

Emily nods, her expression compassionate and inviting. Hanna knows that Emily won't push her if she changes her mind now and decides not to speak, and that's why she tells the truth.

"There's not much to say. I loved him. I really did," she says, voice cracking as she remembers Caleb's pain. She's a little surprised by how emotional she got so quickly, but she continues anyways. "And - and I know he loves me. But it just wasn't working for me. I didn't love him anymore. I don't know what changed," she says, her voice diminishing into a whisper by the end of her last sentence, and she's no longer dancing with any energy - she's basically letting Emily pull her along, and her jaw clenches as her breaths become uneven.

"Come here," Emily says, gently bringing their dancing to a close and pulling Hanna even closer into her arms until Hanna's crying softly into Emily's collarbone. They stand there, the music enveloping them, the moment unbroken. Emily leaves a lingering kiss in Hanna's hair before resting her chin on top of Hanna's head, her own heart aching and lip wavering over the blonde's distress. She takes in a shaky breath and wipes furiously at the few tears threatening to wet Hanna's hair. "It's ok. You'll be ok."

Maybe Hanna just sees the world differently when it's blurred and distorted by her tears, or maybe it's the comfort of Emily's touch, or maybe it's the fact that this girl connects with her so deeply she can't help but cry when Hanna does, but that's when Hanna reaches a moment of clarity she's only ever danced around before. This moment - and every moment with Emily that came before it - is exactly what changed her relationship with Caleb.

Despite her realizations, Hanna doesn't say anything to Emily. She's too uncertain of everything to define anything outright. Maybe if Emily makes a move, she'll respond - but until then, Hanna sticks to light teasing and flirty smiles, not audacious enough to act further.

Unfortunately, there's something particularly romantic about the pouring rain, and Hanna's had to bite her tongue several times during their lessons. It's not atypical, as Rosewood's been suffering some huge thunderstorms lately, but another one's started up at the end of the evening.

"God, it's really bad out there." Hanna peers into the night. It's been swallowed by the rain, and the window looks like a watercolor, wet streaks obscuring and blending the image of the street all at once.

"Yeah, it is. I just hope the electricity doesn't – "

And then everything turns dark and silent as the power winks out.

Emily's hyperaware of Hanna's body against hers – there's no other sound or image to otherwise occupy her senses.

"Well, I guess that's it for tonight." Emily starts to pull away, but Hanna's grasp tightens.

"No, wait, this is perfect. If I can dance in the dark and in silence without falling on my ass, I can do it in front of everyone else."

"Hanna, we're going to trip over something."

"Aw, you're no fun." Emily can hear her pouting, and she sighs in acquiescence.

"Alright…1, 2, 3…1, 2, 3…"

Dancing like this, it's different. The speakers have cut off, but there's still a beat in their choppy breaths and pulses. Emily relaxes into their movements, letting Hanna take the lead, until -

"Wait, Han!"

Emily's swept off her feet – literally – as Hanna manages to take the lead, step forward, and back Emily into the bed.

"I told you this would happen," Emily whispers, the laughter dying on her lips when she realizes the position they're in. Emily is pressed into the bed, Hanna's right arm pinned beneath her shoulder and the left hand still locked with her right, their bodies brushing.

A streak of lightning flashes past and illuminates the scene, and Emily can finally see the desire on Hanna's face.

Hanna chuckles hollowly, her voice husky, her breath bleeding into Emily's. "If I knew it was that easy to get you in bed - "

"Shut up," Emily breathes, yanking the blonde closer and slamming their lips together. Finally.