So this chapter is SIGNIFICANTLY longer than my first chapter, but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out :) as for you guys who are asking for me to make it longer than a two-shot, unfortunately I won't be doing that :( this story has a resolution that I'm happy with, and I hope you guys will be happy with, so I wanna leave it at that. BUT, good news! I'm working on two other stories at the moment that I probably won't be posting for a while, but they ARE in progress! So keep your eyes peeled for that good stuff, and in the meantime, ENJOY!

Oh, and as always, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Caleb sat down at a table outside of The Brew, a coffee in his hand. He had fallen into this routine recently, going to The Brew every morning to have his coffee, usually with Hanna. But unfortunately, the other half of the equation was not with him.

He would give anything to be able to look up to find a hyper, gorgeous, generous blonde sitting across from him, but he knew he couldn't have that. Not after what he had done last night.

I had to, he reminded himself. She was slipping away from me. I'm not what she wants. If I was, she would tell me whatever it is that she's not telling me.

He sipped his coffee mournfully as he stared in front of him, as though if he stared long enough, he would find the beautiful blonde in question sitting across from him.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. But as he did stare, his eyes laid upon a familiar short brunette, in yoga pants and a sweatshirt, angrily stalking toward him.

"Aria?" he said as he stood up from the table, mainly shocked that she was walking around a rich, cushy town like Rosewood in sweats, which he had never seen on any girl in this town before, or at least in public. She made her way over to him, and before he could say anything else, she punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" he hollered, while admiring her strength; he was not expecting that to come out of her. "What was that for?"

"What do you think?!" she seethed. "How could you do that to her?! Do you realize how upset she is? She loves you, Caleb!"

"And you honestly think that I don't love her back?" he retorted.

"Could've fooled me!" she snapped.

"Aria-"

"Save it," she said, putting her hand up. But with one look at his shocked face, her tone softened. "Sorry. I just needed to get through to you." She then leaned forward secretively and whispered, "Look, I know you love Hanna, and I know that you don't feel good about this."

This disoriented Caleb for a minute. "How did you-"

"Because I'm not stupid," Aria said bluntly. "And honestly, neither is Hanna. She's just blinded by heartbreak, which is why she doesn't see it."

"You're right," he admitted. "But she was keeping something from me. I could feel her distancing herself from me, and I feel like I only exist in part of her life. Hell, it seemed like she was talking more to Wren than she was to me!"

"Is that what this is about?" Aria said, bewildered. "You think she was moving on to Wren?"

"I don't know!" Caleb said exasperatedly. "I'm just spewing things out here! All I know is that she doesn't tell me anything anymore. I can't stand the thought of her keeping things from me! If she really loved me, she would tell me whatever is bothering her."

"But what she is hiding is bigger than you, than all of us!"

"She should be able to trust me, though," Caleb croaked out.

"She does," Aria said earnestly, sympathy swimming in her round, mysterious eyes. "She wants to tell you, but it could put you in danger. Hell, it could put her in danger! You have to be patient with her. She needs you more than ever, and you're leaving her in the dust!"

Caleb tried his best to process everything Aria was saying to him, but she was talking so quickly that it was hard for him to keep up.

"Wait, why would it put me in danger if she tells me?" he began, but then it hit him. The last time Hanna was upset about him being in danger, it was because…

"Aria, is A back?" Caleb whispered.

Aria froze, her eyes somehow even bigger and rounder than they were usually. He sighed in frustration at her hesitance. "You cannot just drop a bomb like that and then leave me hanging-"

"Will you keep your voice down?" she whispered hastily, and then pulled him to the side, behind a tall, potted plant. "She's going to kill me for telling you-"

"You didn't tell me," Caleb reasoned. "I figured it out."

"Still!" Aria stood on her toes and looked around her, afraid all of a sudden. She then averted her eyes back to Caleb. "Look, you really need to talk to Hanna about this. It could mean you two can be together, but it could also mean the complete opposite. Just… be careful, okay?"

"Okay," he said determinedly. "I'll go over there now."

"Great," she said as she reached over and comfortingly rubbed his arm. "Good luck."

"Thanks," he said as the two parted ways. "I'll need it."

Hanna stared down at the empty carton of ice cream, somehow feeling even worse than she had before. She touched her face, which felt oily and bloated, and then her stomach, which was protruding even further outward than when she had touched it earlier.

With a sigh, she got up from her bed and walked over to the full-length mirror on the other side of the room, and the worst was confirmed. Her thighs jiggled with every step, her face puffed out like a chipmunk's, and she had curves in all the wrong places.

Muffin top. Love handles. Thunder thighs. They were everywhere.

How had she gotten to this low point?

It didn't matter how. What mattered was that she had gotten to this low point.

And there was only one way to get out of it.

She pried her eyes away from the mirror and made her way over to the bathroom. When she got there, she threw open the door to the cabinet above the sink and fumbled clumsily through everything, her hand shaking, until she found what she was looking for.

In her hand, she had a bright green toothbrush.

Sighing, she kneeled down on the floor, hovered over the toilet, and shoved the toothbrush down her throat.

Caleb knocked on the door to the Marin house. No answer. He supposed Hanna could be sleeping, but something felt off. He reached up and felt along the top frame of the door until he found the hidden key to let himself in.

"Hanna?" he called, looking around. The place looked empty. Where was she?

Suddenly, his ears perked up to the sound of retching noises. Like someone… throwing up?

His heart stopped, and he immediately lurched forward and raced up the stairwell.

Hanna spent the next minute emptying the contents of her stomach, continually shoving the toothbrush down her throat, until there was nothing left. She squeezed the toothbrush in her hand as more tears fell, and then just sat there, her body convulsing with sobs.

Suddenly, she felt two strong arms envelope themselves around her, and then pull her back. She leaned into the embrace of the person, not bothering to look up to see who it was, and continued to cry into them.

After a minute, she had calmed down, and had reduced herself from crying to simply breathing heavily. She finally looked up to the person who had come to her rescue, and was met with a familiar pair of kind brown eyes and long brown hair.

Caleb.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he said incredulously, gasping for air. Hanna sat back, not sure of how to respond.

"I didn't think you'd be here," she said feebly.

"Hanna," he began again, "you're not listening to me. Why are you doing this?"

"Because you don't love me anymore," she whimpered. "No one wants me. I'm just an ugly, fat loser."

"What?!" he said, shocked. He leaned over and grabbed a few squares of toilet paper, then wiped her mouth and face clean. He then took her face gently in his hands. "Hanna, you are nothing less than beautiful. That's not at all the reason I broke up with you. I just got tired of all of the secrets and lies, but I'm ready now. I'm ready to deal with them again."

"Caleb, no you're not," she said softly, a tear strolling down her cheek.

"Yes I am," he said determinedly, and then lowered his voice. "Hanna, I know that A is back."

"What?" she whispered, shocked. "Who told you?!"

"No one," he said honestly. "I figured it out, okay? We don't have to be apart anymore. We can be together, and I can stop whoever is trying to hurt you!"

"Caleb slow down," Hanna said. "It doesn't work like that. This A… this A means business!"

"Whatever it is, I can take it," he stated.

"No you can't," she argued. "This A…"

"What Hanna?" he shouted. "Dammit, stop keeping things from me!"

"Fine," she deadpanned. "Caleb, A ran your mom off the road."

Caleb's blood ran cold. A had done that? "What..?"

"I got a text last night," Hanna admitted. "I can't have something like that happen to you. I wanted so much to be able to tell you, but I also want so much to be able to be with you. But I can't have both, and... I'd rather be with you."

"But you weren't even with me," Caleb said exasperatedly. "You were someone completely different when you were hiding all of this from me."

"Would you rather have someone completely different or not have me at all?" Hanna challenged.

"It's not like that matters now," Caleb sighed. "The past is the past. I know everything now. And we can be together!"

"You're right, I think we can," Hanna said with a weak smile. "But Caleb, you can't tell anyone about this, and you have to play it off like you don't know. There's a risk to all of this-"

"That's a risk that I'm willing to take," Caleb said compassionately as he took Hanna's hands in his. "I thought I was making the right decision last night, but… if us being apart leads to you going to drastic measures to hurt yourself and thinking that there is even the slightest possibility that I don't love you, then it's clear that we need to stick together through this. I just want you to be happy, Hanna."

Hanna sighed as she looked up to him. "I'm only happy when I'm with you."

He took this as a cue to kiss her gently on her forehead, avoiding her lips because of what she had just done, and then pull her close. She leaned into his embrace, feeling completely at home in his arms.

After he pulled away, he looked over her shoulder at the toilet, then back at her. "Never again, do you hear me?" he scolded. "Never."

"Caleb-"

"Stop," he said sternly. "Hanna Marin, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, and you are far from fat. I don't ever want you to feel that way about yourself."

"Why not?" she questioned.

He looked at her knowingly. "Because it breaks my heart to see someone so perfect thinking anything less of herself."

Hearing these words escape his mouth, Hanna finally was able to lean forward and embrace Caleb in another warm, meaningful hug. She felt more tears escape from her eyes, but recognized them as happy tears.

A was still after her, and Caleb was now added into the equation, but she knew that things would turn out all right in the end.

All that mattered now was that she had her Caleb, and they could be there for each other and protect each other in a way they couldn't when he was kept in the dark.

"I love you," she said softly, her eyes closed and her head still resting on his shoulder. He pulled back from her hug and gently pushed a hair away from her face, revealing her light blue eyes that sparkled with love and kindness.

"I love you, too," he answered sweetly. With that, he stood up from the ground and pulled her up with him. "So, what now?"

She sniffled before cracking a mischievous grin. "Well, I know that there is some dong po in the fridge that needs to be cooked."

He returned a smile. "Shall we?" he said eloquently as he held out his hand, and Hanna reached out and grabbed it.

"We shall."

And with that, they went down the stairs together, hand in hand, picking up right where they left off.