Thank you for beta'ing, xxdare2dreamxx1! Happy Thanksgiving to all of those who celebrate! Btw, the point of views switch between Hanna and Caleb...the odd numbered chapters are in Hanna's POV, and the even numbered chapters are in Caleb's POV.
She has no idea what she's saying. I'm angry, but I have no right to be. How would she know that I'm homeless? We have never seen each other before. For all I know, she's a high-class bitch like a lot of girls in this town...but then why would she sass the help...or maybe she's a kind soul, who is working here for charity. Whoever she is, she made a huge blunder, and I don't expect her to apologize. Nobody ever does when they screw me over.
"Hey look, I'm sorry...I didn't know..." she says as I pass her with the heavy tray of chocolate chip cookies.
"Yeah, fine." As I look back at her, I see that her eyes are squinted in concern, like she's actually being sincere. Then again, she may just be putting up a front to not cause drama. I don't care either way. I can't care anymore, because the last time I did, my life took a downhill spiral. It was all because my foster mother didn't bother to pay for child support. She didn't even notice me walk out the door. That's exactly why I am now living in Rosewood High School and breaking into the vending machine.
The blonde girl comes in again. "They said they need more food out there."
"Oh, right...sorry."
I take the food into the hall and place it on a back table. I return to the food preparation area, but I can still see and hear everything that's going on.
Ella's father leads her to her soon-to-be husband at the end of the aisle, Aria takes Ella's bouquet, as she is the maid of honor, and the girl next to me looks all pale as the new married couple join hands and say their vows. "Oh, that's disgusting!" she says under her breath as they make out passionately, but it's loud enough for me to hear it.
"Hey, what's wrong with a free show of romance at their own wedding? Are you sick or something?"
She staggers a bit in her step. "Don't worry about it. The feeling will pass. It's just strange to see a teacher having a life outside of school." We both have a chuckle at that.
The bride and groom kiss for the umpteenth time that night, and so do the guests. The help-the girl, myself, and the others-are just on the outside, looking in. I did have a love like Ella and Zack...but one car crash later, my girlfriend disappeared forever. That was back in Ravenswood, and even though I have friends there, I can't stand it there anymore because it reminds me of who I lost. Miranda and I were both raised in foster homes, and when she passed, I thought I'd never find anyone like her again. I still feel that way. Her picture is in my mostly empty wallet. The picture we took at our school dance is the last one I have with her in it. I want to cry, but I can't.
Caleb, stop thinking about me so much! You're going to destroy yourself! It's not gonna make me come back...this happened a year ago! You were a mess at my funeral, and that's acceptable...but now it's time to move on. Let another girl into your heart.
I always imagine Miranda's ghost talking to me. It is most likely my conscience.
"You seem real out of it. Should I ask them to give you a break?"
It's the blonde girl again. She has the bluest eyes out of anyone I've ever seen-in fact, I don't know anyone with blue eyes. She has such long legs and a genuine look about her face. Ask her out! "No! I can't just up and do that," I respond.
"You don't wanna take a break?" She looks confused.
"Well, ah...I just don't want to look lazy, is all."
"You're slumped over and you seem depressed...not lazy. You okay?"
"Just a lot of things going on, all right, don't worry about me. Concentrate on your problems, and I'll concentrate on mine, fair enough?"
"Fine. Excuse me for asking!"
"Today has just not really been my day…"
She sounds so insulted and hurt. I want to slap myself for talking that way to her. She's only trying to be nice. "That makes two of us."
I feel a tap on my elbow. "Excuse me, mister!" a little voice says loudly. I turn around and face a kid with brown ponytail and glasses. She looks about six or seven years old. "I'm lost!"
I have no idea what to do with children, especially ones who can't find whoever they're supposed to be with. They're cute and all, but they can be a pain in the ass. There's gotta be a reason why my parents dumped me when I was this girl's age.
My co-worker comes to my rescue. "Do you want me to help you find your parents?" She bends down to the child's level.
"My name is Claire. I have noooooo idea where they are! Mommy said if I ever get lost, I gotta go to a grownup."
"Well, I ain't exactly a grownup...but I'm tall enough to help you out." Claire takes her hand and leaves the room. Minutes later, she comes back empty-handed. "Crisis averted."
"You'd make a good babysitter."
"Nah."
"Have you ever babysat before?" I wonder aloud while putting cheese slices on top of crackers.
"I did, once...a teacher's son..." She trails off and rolls her eyes to the ceiling. "You?"
"Mrs. Montgomery has a little boy?" She's the only teacher I'm familiar with here. "No, uh, I don't believe I have...I'm not good with rugrats."
She giggles, and her dimples are blinding me. I have to look away. "I don't mean her, there was another teacher...Mr. Fitz..he got arrested a while ago...sexual misconduct with a student. That kid wasn't his, either."
"Poor little guy...you ever wonder what it's like growing up without a father?"
"Yeah...but his ex girlfriend lied to him...he wasn't even aware that Malcolm wasn't his son."
The names are familiar to me. "This guy used to date Aria Montgomery."
"She seemed to really love him...I'd hear her talking to him in the girls' bathroom...I wonder why she turned him in...maybe he turned out to be a scumbag."
"Maybe. She doesn't really tell us guys anything...just the girls. So, babysitting, that's how you make money?"
"Occasionally."
"You wouldn't like the way I make money...I fix people's phones and charge them a lot of cash."
"How much is a lot?"
"Around forty bucks. I feel like I ripped off Emily Fields, but before you judge me, I gave her extra apps. She was extremely grateful."
"Oh...well, it ain't that shady. At least you don't sell drugs."
"Yeah. So, how do you know Ella and Zack? I'm friends with her daughter."
"I only really know Ella. She's my teacher now, but before, she helped me out in the special day class."
"Hold on, you go to Rosewood High?"
She nods, much to my surprise. "Been there since grade nine."
"That's funny, I transferred there last year. I wonder why I've never seen you."
"Cuz I'm invisible. Why are you even talking to me?"
I was shocked by this question. "Why would I not?"
"I dunno, I guess I'm just being silly...I shouldn't think so low of myself...it's just hard, cuz I'm a teenage runaway and all."
"What, you're homeless too?"
"I used to be. Now I'm living with her and Zack. Hey...I've been thinking...when this thing is over...you said you don't have a home...it's like, pouring out there right now...if you want, I could ask Ella if you could stay there for a while...until you get back on your feet. I'm sure she wouldn't mind-"
"No, thank you. I left my foster home for a very good reason. I have a lousy social worker, and your foster parents are gonna ask me questions. I'd rather be a lone ranger."
"Where are you gonna sleep?"
"At the school."
"What about staying with a friend?"
"There's this dude I know in Flagstaff...Arizona...but I can't afford to move...I know! I can bunk with Lucas Gottesman. He's my best buddy. He tutors me and tries his best to keep me out of trouble."
She smiles. "Well, then, there you go! I thought you would have been doing that before..."
"I've only been a runaway for one night and almost a whole day...I just felt awkward asking him."
"I know Lucas, he's a sweet guy. He'll take you in if you give him a good sob story. Hey...my bestie tutors me as well."
I'm six years old and in my pajamas. My babysitter's on the phone, talking to the police and then they're asking questions about my daddy. He's been stealing money again. I have to talk to the police, the babysitter says. They ask me stuff I don't understand and I don't know how to answer them. I feel alone...so alone...and then there's the random birthday card from Mommy.
My voice is gonna crack any second, and I don't want her to see me break down. I barely know her. We're strangers, but as the minutes go by, talking to her makes me feel less alone. I don't think I ever met anyone like her before, besides my late girlfriend. My friends and I haven't had a deep conversation, and I'm not as close to the guys as I'd like to be. Their girlfriends look to me for technical stuff, but that's about it. Ella's nice and all, but she's supposed to be, it's a parent's job to be respectful of their children's friends. That's what they're expected to do. This girl is going out of her way to speak to me, and it surprises me more than anything.
"Marin! Rivers! You're here to serve and set up the food, not chat. Get your asses moving!" the head chef barks at us, and we spring to action.
"Sorry!" we both apologize and then leave the back room with our dishes of assorted appetizers. We set them down on the table where the rest of the food is.
"I'm Caleb," I introduce myself and offer her my hand. Hesitantly, she shakes it, and her hand feels so dainty and soft. She reminds me of Miranda-beautiful with a kind soul.
"Caleb," she shyly echoes. "My name's Hanna."
"It's nice to meet you."
"You, too."
Next up is dinner, and then the cutting of the wedding cake. Everyone on the staff places a part of the cake on hundreds of plates. I hide a hunk of it in a napkin and stuff it in my pocket in a way that nobody can see me. After that, everyone is making toasts.
"Chocolate cake is the best," Hanna says. She eyes the pieces of cake hungrily.
"I couldn't agree more. How about while they're talking, we share a slice?" I grin at her mischeviously.
She laughs. "You can't be serious! They'll never trust us again!"
"I have a way where we don't get caught." I look around us and when the coast is clear, I pull my piece out. She gasps, and I break the slice in half. "Don't make a mess, or they'll be suspicious!"
She stuffs a few bites in, as do I. We eat over the garbage so the crumbs aren't all over the floor.
The toasts are up next. Aria is the first to speak into the microphone. "I offer my congratulations to my mom and her new husband, Zack. They met at the Brew two and a half months ago and have been head over heels in love ever since. I am honored to be here tonight and I give them the happiest blessings. To Ella and Zack!" She raises her glass, as does everyone else. My friends from school and a bunch of other people I don't know say a little something too.
The cake is then served. Zack pops a piece of cake into Ella's mouth and I feel like doing the same thing to Hanna, just to make her giggle. She looks like she needs to let out a big belly laugh. Ella tosses her bouquet into a throng of ladies and one of them catches it. Cheers fill the room and then the group dance starts.
"Have you been to one of these before?" I gesture towards the attendants spinning around to the lively music.
"A wedding and a reception? Hell no," she says. "In fact, I ain't gone nowhere fancy since I was this small." She puts her hand low to the ground.
"Neither have I, really..."
It's only half past the point of no return
The tip of the iceberg, the sun before the burn
The thunder before the lightning and the breath before the phrase
"Have you ever felt this way?"
She's bobbing along to the music and humming to herself. It's kinda beautiful. "I love this song," she comments. She must've noticed me staring at her, since she's turning pink.
"It's a good one."
"Yeah," she murmurs.
Pretty soon, the wedding is over with. Everyone is going home and I catch up with my friends. Hanna is helping Ella and Zack load up the car.
"Hey, I'll see you guys at school on Monday," I tell Aria, Emily, Spencer, Toby, and Paige. I throw on my overcoat and sling my bag over my shoulder.
"Okay, bye!" We all exchange short hugs and then they leave. Zack comes up to me.
"What are you still doing here? Do you have someplace to go? We can't just leave you stranded."
"Yeah, I know, man," I mutter. "Uh...I left my phone at home and my car's with my ride. I'll just call him on the pay phone. Got a few quarters? I'll pay you back next time I go to the Brew."
"Oh, sure, no problem!" Zack hands me some money and I walk to a nearby pay phone as I put my hood up to protect myself from the rain. I dial Lucas' number and he picks up almost right away.
"Hello?"
"Dude, listen, it's me, Caleb. You mind if we're roommates for a while? I'm homeless...and I don't know what else to do."
"I'll ask my mom if you can stay with us."
"Thanks!" I wait while he talks to his mom and then he comes back on the phone.
"She said it's fine, but you have to get a non-shady job so you can support yourself. We're not totally rich, but it's okay if you live with us."
"I need to earn enough cash to buy myself a small apartment. That's all...I don't want to be in your hair too much."
"It's all right, I get it. I'll pick you up at the church soon."
"Okay. Bye," I say as I see Hanna running up to me while holding her umbrella over her head.
"Bye," he's barely able to get out before I hang up.
"I'm going to sleep in a warm bed tonight," I tell Hanna. "Here, let me put this over both of us."
She folds her arms over her chest. "Good, so am I! Zack suggested that I check up on you. He was afraid you'd get robbed."
"I don't have any money, so tell him not to worry."
"Plus...I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. We had such an interesting conversation. I had to tell Ella and Zack there was something I forgot...which wasn't a lie, technically."
"I think we'll see each other again. This is quite a small town, and we go to the same school. Do you want me to walk you to your car? It's starting to get dark."
"Yes, please," she murmurs. We walk side-by-side, and I make sure she's farther from the street than I am. Our arms swing back and forth and sometimes, our hands bump. I feel like should grab her hand or something, but I don't. We're just friends. Soon, we reach Ella and Zack's car. It's stuffed with all the decorations and wedding presents.
"How are you gonna fit in there?" I ask. "It looks really cramped."
"I'll manage."
I open one of the doors to let her into the crowded backseat while covering her with the umbrella. "Good luck! Have fun in your new home." I hand her back the umbrella.
"Thank you! Same goes for you." She moves things out of the way and sits down. She places a large present and the umbrella on her lap and I shut the door.
"Oh, and Ella, Zack, congratulations! May your marriage be happy and long-lasting."
They grin and thank me in unison. Hanna and Ella wave at me as Zack drives off.
Lucas pulls up just then, and I almost run to his car. The teacher's lounge couch gave me kinks in my neck although it was comfortable. I'm certain that Lucas' bunk bed would be much better.
"Hey, man!" Lucas says as I climb in the passenger seat.
"Hey, you look happy...more than usual...what's going on?"
I lean back. "Things are really looking up. I have a place to crash now...and I met this nice girl at Mrs. Montgomery's wedding."
Lucas looks interested. "Does she have a hot friend you can hook me up with? Maybe we can double date."
I hit his arm with the back of my hand. "Dude, it's not like that! She's cute...but we didn't hook up."
"What's her name?"
"Hanna Marin."
"I have a crush on her!" he exclaims. "She's my friend and she's sweet...but let's see which one of us she chooses. I want her to be happy."
"Listen, even though we've fallen for the same girl, we're bros, and she won't come between us. I promise. How did you meet her?"
"A virginity club on the first day of school...we were having a Real Love Waits meeting, and then she decided that wasn't her thing."
It's quiet on the rest of the way to Lucas' house. We run to his front door and he lets us both in. His mom greets us with friendly hugs. She's always made me feel welcome in this house.
"Hi, Mom, is it okay if we order a pizza?" Lucas asks.
"Of course!"
"Thank god, I'm starving," I say with a gracious smile.
We are soon looking hungrily at a large pizza with just about everything on it, including pepperoni, sausages, onions, mushrooms, and extra cheese. Lucas turns on Star Wars and we watch it while we eat our dinner. After that is video games and arm wrestling. We stare at some porn on his computer and I imagine the girls are Hanna. At about one in the morning, Lucas gets into his pajamas and loans me a pair of sweats. I thank him and we climb into his bunk bed. I'm at the top while he's at the bottom.
"How did you end up in this situation?" he asks from below me.
"I was a nomad, you know, wandering from place to place. My parents don't give two shits about me, they haven't since I was a kid. I was taken in by different foster families who didn't really care for me either. Finally, I had enough and just left home earlier this week."
"Dude, that's rough. I think I should just give up on Hanna...I mean, she and I don't have much in common. She grew up in foster homes like you did."
"Oh, I know, she told me. She lives with Mrs. Montgomery now."
"She escaped that nasty little bitch, I guess."
"Who are you talking about?"
"Hanna used to live with Alison DiLaurentis. Don't tell me you've never heard of her. She's a legend...in a bad way...and she's notorious. Imagine an evil she-demon...like Aurra Sing in Star Wars. You must have seen her somehow...did she call you anything?"
"I don't know her..."
"She would always bully me and call me Hermie. I'll let Hanna tell you everything else about her."
"She sounds like a sweetheart," I say sarcastically. "How did Hanna get stuck with her?"
Lucas shrugs. "Mrs. DiLaurentis is rich and she was able to support Hanna."
"I'm sure she'll be better taken care of at Ella's," I point out. "She didn't deserve to live with such a mean girl."
"No, she didn't," Lucas agreed. "Toss down some of those comic books on your bed, why don't ya?"
"Sure." I throw him the books that are laying on his bed. I lean back, put my hands behind my head, and close my eyes as I think about my life in Ravenswood, when I moved there. I had just met my then best friend, Luke, and I saw Miranda for the very first time.
A pillow being thrown at my face awakens me. I stretch and let out a big yawn. This was the best night of sleep I'd ever had in my whole life, and Luke says I almost overslept so he got me out of trouble by waking me up. I'm so used to noise at my own house, but here, it's peaceful and quiet.
"Rise and shine, boys!" one of the other guys shouts, coming into our room with his roommate. His parents died in some earthquake way back when and he's been living here for years. He's our age, sixteen.
"I'm up, I'm up," I groan.
"Man, you slept for ten hours! That's a hell of a good sleep," Luke laughs. "I woke up at about nine, and it's almost 9:30. You can rest until then, but you were dead to the world. Raymond's gonna come in and check up on us at 9:30 and you have to be alert. You never know when someone's gonna adopt one of us."
"What would happen if I was still sleeping?" I ask.
"Nothin', Raymond would just shake you awake and reprimand you like a father, but Jesus, it's annoying!" Luke rolled his eyes. "He's cool, so you don't want to get on his bad side, you know, his responsible side."
We have to laugh at that, and then, the other dude walks out because he wants to talk with Raymond.
"Hey man, check it out. Binoculars," I say, reaching down and picking up the binoculars at the foot of my bed.
"Yeah, I stole it from my dad," Luke shrugs.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" I grin at him.
"Nah, what are you thinking?" he asks.
"Let's see what those girls are up to," I answer, and we both cheer and hoot. I put them up to my eyes first. "Eh, nothing interesting, just one girl reading some book…is she crying?"
"Let me see," Luke says, grabbing them from me. "A girl's reading and she seems to be crying. Through her tears, she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. She has black hair with chocolate-colored eyes and she's wearing old sweats that show off her figure nicely. Wonder why she's crying. Poor girl," he says. "Maybe Rochelle's got her doing so much shit, she hates it there!"
"Oh! Burn!" I yell, laughing. We hear so much about Rochelle from Raymond that we don't like her much either. He passes me the binoculars and the scene had changed. A woman…was it Rochelle? joins her and it looks like she's reprimanding her but then they hug. Then, a blonde girl, a brunette girl, and a little girl joined them. "Oh, damn, she is hot," I wolf whistle. "There's this girl with this giant sweatshirt tickling a kid…but there's another girl with them…her legs look great in those skinny jeans. I wonder if she'll go out with me. I do love blondes, you know, but this other one's smokin'! Wow, that pixie is a great dancer! She looks so cute dancing her routine…oh she stopped. Wonder why. Now, she's talking to the reading girl we saw earlier, the one Luke's in love with," I tease.
A few minutes pass while I ogle over the short brunette girl, and then Luke takes a turn looking.
"Should we have names for these girls? We've got reading girl, blondie, and pixie. What if there's more blondes or more girls that read, or more pixies? Make up some names," Luke offers.
"Call the reading girl Elizabeth," I tell him.
"Why Elizabeth?"
"Ever seen Kiera Knightley? She always plays that quiet girl who reads and she plays a character named Elizabeth. And I'd call the blondie…Barbie. The pixie should be named Tinkerbell."
"Awww, shut up!" Luke slaps the back of my head.
"What? I don't know what else to call her."
"Well, let's just call them what they look like, and then ask them their names if we see them in person up close," he says.
"Yeah, good idea," I agree.
After breakfast, we spy on the girls again. This time, the blondie is giving the pixie a makeover it looks like. She doesn't need a makeover! She's fine the way she is. When she is done, I hand Luke the binoculars because the girl he liked is about to do a pose in front of the mirror with the reader and the blondie.
"She's hot! Too bad we can't hear what they're saying! Oh, now, Rochelle just came in, and she took a picture of them and the blonde and another girl with brown hair and glasses. Okay, that music is going to drive Raymond nuts. They do have it up too loud. We can barely hear it, so that means they need to turn it down.
"But look at that pixie dance!" He sighs lustfully.
"Let me see!" I demand, and he tosses me the binoculars. I'm almost hyperventilating watching my crush dance. Then, I immediately put them down. "I think they just found binoculars. I see the girl with glasses waving them over her head and the girls stop dancing. Start doing something hot!"
We take off our shirts and begin doing push-ups and letting the girls drool over us, if they are in fact, watching us. We really hope they are!
Raymond comes in a few minutes later. "Boys, what are you doing?"
"We think the girls are spying on us," I inform him.
"And we wanna look good!" Luke chuckles.
"Rochelle doesn't control those girls," he mutters, shaking his head and walking out of the room.
"I'm glad she doesn't. Next time we catch them, maybe they'll be naked!" Luke guffaws and I slap the back of his head. "Damn it!"
"Don't be such a perv," I tell him.
"They're pervs too, you know! They spied on us also!" he protests.
"Yeah, you're right. But let's spy on them later, and play baseball now!"
We play a game outside despite the rain. It's me against Luke. We're teaching the nine little guys how to play when Raymond calls some of them in because they're getting adopted. I win, and Luke cusses. We go back inside for school for two hours, but a fun school, and lunch, and we see Raymond looking through the binoculars, laughing his head off.
"What the hell?" I shout.
"Rochelle just got a face full of noodles and sauce!" he says between his bursts of laughter. "Apparently, the girls are having a food fight. Oh, look at that, she joins in!"
"Why are you watching her? She has cooties!" one of the little boys, Jack said.
"Hey, little guy, girls don't have cooties. When you get older, you'll understand." I ruffle his hair playfully.
"Good times in that orphanage," I grumble to myself. "They're just fond memories now. It's about time I start over." I can see Miranda smiling down at me as I think those words.
Thank you for reading and reviewing, xxdare2dreamxx1 and feyhazelle! I would really appreciate some feedback...how do you guys like this story?