Twenty-one reviews on the first chapter? I definitely wasn't expecting that, thank you so much! Moving onto PLL, I was actually really pleasantly surprised by 7x01 – I thought Ash's acting was amazing, and Caleb was SO worried about Hanna throughout the whole episode. I love life. Also, a little bit of shameless self-promotion: if you want to, you can follow me on twitter. My username is hannnarivers and I always tweet if I post a new chapter, in the midst of my other tweets which are basically all just me crying over Haleb/Ashley/Tyler. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter as much as you seemed to like the first, enjoy!

Chapter Two

"Me? You told him that I'm your boyfriend?"

Hanna pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded twice.

A deep sigh emanated from Caleb as he pushed a hand through his hair. "You're crazy," He laughed, not unkindly, "He knows we've been friends for years, Han, he's not gonna believe that we're dating."

While Hanna knew in her heart that this was true, she couldn't help the nagging urge that she had to fight her case and prove herself right. "Well he seemed to believe it when I told him," She shot back, her voice hopeful.

Caleb raised his eyebrows, "He did?"

"Uh," Hanna scratched her forehead, "Maybe not one hundred percent, but we could totally convince him."

"Convince him?"

Hanna nodded once, "Convince him."

Caleb's face fell – he stopped smirking and raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "How?"

Was he really going to make her say it? "If we, you know," Hanna fumbled nervously, looking down as she played with her fingers, "Acted like a couple."

Too scared to look up and face Caleb's reaction, she kept her head down and waited for him to say something. When ten seconds later she still hadn't heard a reply, she assumed that his answer was no. But then her ears registered the sound of a small laugh, and she slowly raised her head to find Caleb smirking at her, his eyes glistening with what she could only describe as mischief.

"What?" She questioned, her voice small.

Caleb cleared his throat, his smirk never fading, "You want me not only to say that I'm your boyfriend, but also to act like your boyfriend whenever Sean's around?"

"Yes," Hanna confirmed, "And his friends."

"Sean's circle of friends basically extends to the entire school, Han."

Hanna knew how ridiculous she was being – of course she couldn't ask Caleb to do this for her. "You know what," She waved her hands around in front of herself as she stood up and started to walk away, "Doesn't matter, I'm being dumb, I-"

"Ok."

Hanna stopped in her tracks, "Ok?" She whipped her head around to face Caleb, "Did you just say ok?"

Caleb grinned at her; he looked cute when his eyes crinkled like that. "It might be one of the most ridiculous things I've done in a while but yeah, I did."

The disbelieving expression on Hanna's face vanished and was replaced with one of unadulterated glee as she retraced her steps, all but running into Caleb's back as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you," She repeated in his ear, relief clearly evident in her voice, "You're already the best fake boyfriend ever."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes at that, "Now there's something that every guy wants to hear."

"No seriously," Hanna pulled away from him and turned his stool so that they were facing each other, "Thank you so much, I owe you big time. Whatever you want, name it."

Caleb pretended to think for a second, "Yeah, I'm gonna need to ask you to give me those concert tickets back now." He couldn't even finish the sentence before his face broke out into a wide grin.

Hanna gasped in mock offence and slapped his arm lightly, "No way, they were a present, and you can't ask for presents back once you've given them away. They're mine now."

"Then I guess we'll be going as fake boyfriend and girlfriend," he sighed, feigning resignation before he wiggled his eyebrows, eliciting a giggle from Hanna.

"I guess we will."

As their smiles faded and the room fell silent, Hanna found herself staring into Caleb's eyes. Her gaze fell down to his nose, his lips, and then quickly back up as she noticed out of the corner of her eye that his eyebrows were knotted, either in thought or confusion. "What?" She asked quietly, finally breaking herself out of her little daze.

"How are we gonna, you know," Caleb scratched his forehead – this was the first time that she'd seen him nervous that night. "How are we gonna know what to do?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Hanna, genuinely curious as to what he was getting at.

"When we pretend to be together," Caleb replied, a little more confidently this time, "How are we gonna know how to act?"

Hanna let out a loud laugh before covering her mouth with her hand, "I'm sorry but-"

"Han I'm serious!" Caleb interjected, "Like, do we need to practise?"

Her shoulders began to shake as she tried to cover up her laughter, "Practise what?!"

Caleb furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance – why wasn't she taking him seriously? "You know what, never mind." He threw his hands up in the air in resignation as he pushed himself up and off of his stool.

Hanna reacted straight away by placing her hands on his shoulders to stop him from leaving, immediately feeling guilty for laughing at his question. "I'm sorry ok, I'm sorry for laughing," She apologised, gently, "What were you saying?"

"You'll just laugh again," Caleb huffed in response.

"I promise I won't."

"Ok," He began, "Won't Sean realise that we've never like, done any of this stuff before? Won't he be able to tell?"

Hanna's nose crinkled in confusion, "Stuff? Like what?"

Caleb shuffled his feet awkwardly, looking down at the ground as he spoke, "Kissing."

"Kissing?" Hanna retorted, Caleb's head shooting up at her reply.

"Well yeah," He started, "I mean, he's gonna expect us to kiss and stuff when we're together, right?"

Hanna stood in silence, taking a second to mull things over. She hadn't really thought about the fact that they'd probably have to kiss, and to be honest, she didn't totally know how she felt about it. "Right," She eventually agreed, "I guess I just never really thought about that."

"Yeah," Caleb nodded, "So you never actually answered my question."

"About practising?"

"Mhm."

Hanna allowed herself a small, yet obviously nervous smile, "I mean, I don't think we need to practise… we've both kissed people before, we already know how it works, don't we?"

Caleb nodded in response, and Hanna couldn't help but notice that his face seemed to drop a little at her answer. "Yeah, totally. I don't know why I'm being so stupid about this," He mumbled, his cheeks reddening a little, "Nobody practises kissing before they do it."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room for a second before Hanna cleared her throat. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Caleb copied Hanna in clearing his throat, "See you tomorrow." He gave her a slight smile before turning on his heel and walking towards the front entrance.

Hanna stayed put until she heard the door slam, and then slumped back onto a stool, resting her elbows on the kitchen island and her head in her hands. At the time, she couldn't seem to place the emotions that she was feeling; nervousness? Regret? Guilt? But as she lay in bed that night, Hanna realised that heavy feeling in her heart after their unfinished conversation was disappointment. She just couldn't quite figure out why.

The following morning, Hanna found herself sitting with her phone in one hand as she swirled a spoon around her bowl of coco puffs with the other, debating whether or not she should text Caleb. The two often walked to school together – much like they walked home – but the uneasy feeling that consumed her after their conversation the previous night had left her wondering whether or not he would turn up at her door that morning. Eventually giving in, she threw her spoon down onto the counter and began to type out a message.

Hey, you feel like walking to school together this morning? It's totally cool if not, I get it xx

For the first time ever, Hanna hesitated before she pressed the 'x' button twice at the end of her message. This was stupid – why, all of a sudden, did a gesture which used to feel so natural now feel so, loaded?

"Why wouldn't I want to walk with you?"

Hanna's head shot up as she registered a confused looking Caleb leaning against the side entrance to her house. She smiled as her gaze met his, "I knew I should've shut that door, you never know what kind of scruff could come walking into the house unannounced."

Caleb shot her a grin, "So now I'm scruff?"

"You sure are asking a lot of questions today," Hanna joked, holding the box of coco puffs out to him as an offering.

He shook his head, pulling up the stool next to her and taking a seat as he pushed his phone into his pocket. "Well you're not answering any of them," He retorted, before repeating his earlier question, "Why wouldn't I want to walk to school with you?"

Hanna was beginning to feel a little embarrassed at her previous paranoia. "No reason," She smiled, "Just making sure that you weren't getting bored of me."

"Well you don't have to worry about that, I'm not getting bored of you any time soon."

Hanna felt her stomach flip at his words; he could be so sweet when he wanted to, which lately seemed to be ninety-nine percent of the time. "Good to hear," She almost whispered, the corners of her mouth curving upwards.

Caleb returned her smile, reaching a hand out to rest on one of hers. Hanna's eyes shot down to look at their joined hands, but before she could make sense of what was happening, he was patting her wrist and pushing himself up off of his stool. "Come on, we're gonna be late."

When Hanna didn't follow him towards the door, Caleb made his way back over, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You ok?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

Breaking out of her reverie, Hanna shook her head, "No," She paused, "I mean yeah, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong, let's go."

The two left the house together, smiles on their faces and arms interlinked as they started the twenty-minute walk to Rosewood High. Despite Hanna's previous reservations about the effect that their little 'plan' was going to have on their friendship, the journey was as easy as it usually was, conversation flowing with almost no effort from either side.

At some point throughout the walk, amidst Hanna's rant about something that she'd seen on the TV the previous night, Caleb's mind began to wander. His attention was still wholly focused on the girl beside him, but inadvertently on her features rather than her words; the cute crinkle of her nose as she laughed, the excited glint in her blue eyes when she talked about something she loved, the soft pink hue of her bottom lip a she held it between her teeth, awaiting his reply. Wait, what had she just asked him?

"Huh?" Caleb asked clumsily, furrowing his brow.

Hanna giggled, "I said, don't you think pashminas look kinda weird on people our age?"

Caleb could conclude that he well and truly had no idea what she was talking about. "Yeah, sure," He tried, desperately attempting to think of a response to her question that wouldn't leave him feeling embarrassed, "Heels always look better."

"What are you talking about?!" Hanna chuckled, "Do you even know what a pashmina is?"

Caleb's lips stretched out into a reluctant smile, "Ok you caught me," He held his hands up in defeat, "No idea."

The two laughed together as they reached the stone steps at the front of their school, clambering up to the door before they both stopped abruptly. A few feet away from Hanna's locker, standing with his hands in his pockets, was Sean. Just perfect. The reality of the situation suddenly dawned on Hanna, and she couldn't help it as a wave of nausea coursed through her body.

Seemingly sensing her unease, Caleb slid his hand down to grip hers, intertwining their fingers. "Let's do this," He encouraged, giving her a small smile as he squeezed her hand gently.

"Let's do this," She agreed.

The 'couple' walked towards Sean hand in hand, both purposefully avoiding his gaze. They made it to Hanna's locker without being disturbed, and Caleb released his hold on her as she twisted and turned her lock to the right combination. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sean break away from his group of friends as he strode in their direction.

Caleb spoke quickly out of the side of his mouth, "Han, he's coming."

Taking a shaky breath in, Hanna flipped her hair over one shoulder and turned to face Sean, a wide – albeit fake – grin plastered across her face. "Sean!" She enthused, "Hey!"

A little taken aback by her enthusiasm, Sean raised an eyebrow at his ex-girlfriend. "Hey Hanna," He looked towards Caleb with a smug smirk tugging at his lips, "Caleb."

Caleb rolled his eyes and pushed Hanna's locker to, taking her hand in his once again as he gently tugged at her arm. "Come on Han, let's go."

Before he could so much as take a step in the opposite direction, Sean reached out and placed a firm hand on Caleb's shoulder. "Not so fast, new guy," He jeered, "I was hoping to hear all about this little relationship that you two have got going on."

Caleb huffed in annoyance, but allowed him to speak.

"So tell me," Sean continued, though his questions were clearly unwelcome, "How did this happen?"

"It's none of your business, Sean," Hanna interjected, sharply.

"Wow, you're pretty guarded about your relationship," Sean mocked, eyebrows raised, "Something to hide?"

"No," She shot back, looking to Caleb for guidance.

Caleb pursed his lips as he looked down at her, before turning his attention to Sean. "If anything, we have the opposite of 'something to hide'." He cleared his throat as his eyes met Hanna's once again and he raised his hand, gently tilting her chin up with his index finger.

Hanna furrowed her brow in confusion before she realised what he was doing, and felt her heart begin to beat furiously in anticipation of what was about to happen. Yet again, she was completely unsure of how to feel; she was about to kiss her best friend of three and a half years, and while one side of her brain seemed to be telling her that it was a decision that she'd regret, the other side was overwhelmingly curious about what it would be like to feel his lips upon hers.

Letting the curious side triumph over the other, Hanna met Caleb's gaze and gave him a tiny nod to signify that she was ok with what they were about to do. Almost painfully slowly, she watched as his face began to edge closer, his eyes frantically searching hers for any signs of uncertainty. With neither one of them backing out and a gap of only a few centimetres separating them from the experience of their first kiss, both Hanna and Caleb fluttered their eyes shut and closed the remaining space between them.

Their lips pressed together softly in a gentle, lingering kiss, and Hanna couldn't help but feel almost cathartic as the simple interaction filled her stomach with excited butterflies. She found herself being left somewhat disappointed when, after five seconds, Caleb pulled back and their brief contact was lost. As the two separated and Hanna's eyes gradually opened, she inadvertently let a sigh slip from between her lips, her face turning a bright shade of red as soon as she realised what she'd done.

The corner of Caleb's mouth turned up as noticed Hanna's blushing cheeks, not at all minding her seemingly positive, albeit accidental reaction to their previous interaction. Both breathed heavily and found it impossible to tear their gazes from each other, until an obnoxiously loud cough made its way through the air, of course originating from Sean. Hanna swallowed nervously and cleared her throat, as Caleb took a step backward, scratching his head with one hand.

"Alright, I get it," Sean rolled his eyes, "I don't need a live performance."

Hanna acknowledged Caleb for the first time since their kiss, taking his hand in hers once again. "It was just a kiss, Sean," She retorted, although it definitely felt like more than 'just a kiss' to her. She silently scolded herself for thinking like that – Caleb had agreed to do this as a favour to her, she had to remember that there was no meaning behind his actions besides his loyalty to their friendship. Little did she know, that for the rest of the school day, Caleb was berating himself for the exact same reason.

"Em, I'm starting to think that this was a bad idea." Hanna gnawed away at her nails, pressing her phone to her ear with one shoulder.

"Don't be stupid Han," Emily reasoned, "Nothing's going to change between the two of you, you're just being paranoid."

"Did you just call me stupid and paranoid in the same sentence?" Hanna shot back, slightly offended.

Emily sighed. "You know what I mean," She laughed, "Caleb's one of your best friends, if you're unsure about anything then just talk to him!"

Hanna took a second to think, "Mhm." Her phone vibrated against her ear before falling to her bed as she jumped slightly. "Hold on Em," She demanded, pressing the phone back to her ear, "Someone else is trying to call."

Holding her cell out in front of her, she registered Caleb's name and her lips instinctively stretched out into a smile. "Gotta go Em, it's him, I'll call you back later."

Before Emily could respond, Hanna had accepted Caleb's call, effectively cutting her other friend off. "Hey!" She beamed down the phone.

"Hello to you too," Came Caleb's reply, "Somebody's feeling upbeat this evening."

Hanna found herself blushing in response to his comment – mostly because, in her heart, she knew that her bright attitude was thanks to the boy that she was currently in conversation with. "I've just had a good day, that's all."

"I was gonna ask how you thought this morning went, you know, in front of Sean," Caleb began, "But from your tone of voice I'm taking it that you weren't too displeased?"

"Is it bad that I kinda liked it?" Hanna asked, tentatively.

"Being around Sean?" Caleb sounded totally confused.

"Uh," She paused, "No, not the Sean part."

There was a short silence before Caleb cleared his throat, "The kiss?"

"Yeah."

Her feelings about their earlier actions had been bugging her all day, and she desperately needed to find out if he was just as confused as she was. Her only fear was that she was crossing a line, going too far, talking about something which had never even entered Caleb's mind until she brought it up.

Much to Hanna's relief, he responded with a chuckle, "I hope not, 'cause I kinda did too."

She smiled down the phone at his answer, "Really?"

"Yeah." Hanna could practically hear him grinning back at her.

"It doesn't have to mean anything though, right?" She rambled, suddenly becoming a little uncomfortable with the direction in which the conversation was heading, "I mean, maybe it's just because we're both really amazing kissers."

"I have had five different girls say that to me before, so," Caleb quipped, sounding cocky.

Hanna giggled, "Five?"

"Yeah," He shot back, offended by her scepticism, "The last four girls that I dated, and then you."

"Ok first off," She laughed, "You've only ever dated two girls, and secondly, I never specifically said that you were amazing."

"You said that we're both amazing kissers, I think that encompasses me."

Hanna paused for effect, "Hmm, we'll see."

"We'll see?" He shot back, clearly amused.

"I mean we're probably gonna have to kiss again, aren't we?" She asked, maybe a little hopeful that his answer would be yes.

"I guess so." He definitely didn't sound too disappointed.

Hanna smiled to herself, "Well, I'll just have to judge your skills when that day comes."

"I'll look forward to it."

A long, pregnant paused filled the air on both sides of the line. Did he just say that he was looking forward to, kissing her?

"Me too," Hanna dared to agree.

The pause returned, for longer this time. She started to panic. What was she doing? He's your best friend, she told herself, stop flirting with him. But the more she thought about it, the more she realised that he seemed to be enjoying it just as much as she was – why shouldn't they have some harmless fun and make the best of the situation?

"Anyway," Hanna felt bold all of a sudden, "Get some sleep, and prepare yourself for another day of being my boyfriend."

"Not sure anything could prepare me for that," Caleb joked back, "You'd be one hell of a handful of a girlfriend."

Though she knew that he was obviously kidding, Hanna couldn't help it when she felt her heart sink at his comment. She looked down and fumbled with the bottom of her skirt as she felt a few tears begin to well in her eyes. Her tendency to be self-conscious about everything meant that she often reacted in an overly-sensitive manner to comments like this – it annoyed her to no end, but it was a part of her personality that she couldn't seem to change.

"Han?" Came a gentle voice down the line, "I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it."

Hanna snivelled as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek, "I know, don't worry." Her voice wobbled a little as she spoke, and Caleb picked up on it straight away.

"I've upset you, haven't I?" He asked, sounding regretful, "I was only-"

"You were joking, I know," Hanna interrupted, chuckling sadly, "You know me, I'm just being oversensitive."

"I don't even know why I said it," Caleb's voice was quiet, "You wouldn't be a handful at all; in fact, the opposite. You're kind, and you're beautiful, and you're probably my favourite person in the world. Any guy would be pretty damn lucky to call you his girlfriend."

Hanna found herself shedding another tear, but this time one of gratitude rather than of self-pity. "You don't mean that," She mumbled, though the smile plastered across her face suggested that she believed otherwise.

"I do," Caleb confirmed, "Don't doubt yourself Han, you deserve the world."

Hanna bit her bottom lip to stop her smile from getting any bigger, "You do too, you know?"

Caleb let out a short laugh, and Hanna imagined the glint in his eyes at her words. She hadn't just complimented him because she felt compelled to after he'd been so sweet towards her – she genuinely believed what she was saying.

"Thanks," He replied, almost a whisper, "I'll see you tomorrow, girlfriend."

Hanna smiled at his use of the word, even if his tone implied that he intended for an invisible 'fake' to be read alongside it.

"Good night, boyfriend," She whispered back, pushing the button to end the call. Bringing her phone to her chest, Hanna curled her knees up and rested her chin atop of them, allowing herself five minutes to grin like a thirteen-year-old who'd just been asked out for the first time.

So there's the second chapter, I hope it lived up to expectations! Reviews are very much appreciated, as always.