Caleb stopped in his tracks and stared at the blonde in front of him. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and shut it abruptly. Hanna breathed deeply, and then swallowed hard. A small, uneasy smile appeared across her face. The awkward tension filled the room to the brim; Hanna was sure she'd never felt so awkward in her life.
The moment passed when Caleb nodded in her direction and scurried out of the petite store. Hanna let out a small sigh of relief and turned back to the cupcakes. Hanna was thankful she was only here for the weekend; she didn't need any more run-ins with her ex.

That evening, Hanna and Ashley sat in the dimly lit restaurant located in the center of Rosewood. Their table was in a quiet corner: perfect for all the catching up they had to do.

"So, how's the business?" Ashley asked as she placed her glass of wine down. She was referring to the business Hanna had set up with Spencer over 2 years ago. It was a fashion store – of course – and although it had originally started in New York, the stores were now found across America. The idea had come about when Hanna was sitting in her lonely apartment, wandering what the hell she was going to do with her life now she was single. She had confided in Spencer, who was also struggling with her career in politics, and the idea just popped up.

"It's doing really well," Hanna replied, smiling. "We've actually just got the confirmation papers in for setting up shop in Dallas."

Ashley, impressed, nodded. "Dallas, huh? You know, I lose track of all these stores now. You have so many!"

"I know, I never imagined it doing so well. We have 23 stores nationwide now. 23!" the blonde exclaimed.

"I'm so proud of you, baby," Ashley said softly. She stared into her daughter's blue eyes and smiled warmly. "To think of the position you were in after the breakup, to now. It's amazing."

Hanna gave her mother an uncomfortable smile and fidgeted on her seat. She grabbed her glass and took a big sip of her margarita – which she regretted as soon as she did it. Ashley looked at Hanna as if she were crazy, but said nothing.

-:-

The next morning, Hanna inserted her left earring and checked herself over in the mirror. She was wearing a short black dress with a flower decoration on the front, and a black waistcoat of the same length. Her loose curls were left flowing loosely and she had a light dusting of makeup on. After sliding into her favorite pair of Jimmy Choo's, Hanna grabbed her Givenchy Antigona and headed out of the hotel room.

The blonde wandered down the all too familiar streets of Rosewood and found herself in front of the place she'd longed to get away from: high school. Hanna glanced at her IPhone and saw it was 12:47; she was just in time. As she dodged through students in the hallways, she finally made it to Alison's classroom.
The fellow blonde was sitting at her desk, scribbling something on what looked like an essay. Hanna tapped on the already open door and Alison's head looked up.

"Han!" she exclaimed, simultaneously scraping her chair back. She clicked over to Hanna and gave her a long hug. "It's so good to see you."

"I know! I've missed you," Hanna replied. She pulled back and smiled at her friend. It was strange to think of Alison as the bitchy, popular stereo-typical blonde she was back in 9th grade. She was so sweet and caring now. "Are you ready to go?"

"I just need to grab my bag." Alison did so and the two girls walked side by side down the hallways. Hanna hadn't done this since senior year. An odd feeling rushed through Hanna as she noticed the students staring, but she brushed it off. It wasn't like she was going to be seeing any of them again; they were high schoolers, after all.

The pair headed to The Brew for old times sake. They stood at the counter as Sabrina, the newest owner of the coffee shop, took their orders. As they collected their lattes and paninis, Hanna and Alison took a seat on the brown leather couches at the back. Sabrina hadn't bothered to change the style, so the books Ezra had stacked up 6 years ago were still there.

"This is…weird," Hanna said as she sat down. Alison sat opposite and chuckled. "I never imagined myself coming back to this town."

"How's LA treating you?" the Rosewood High teacher asked before taking a sip of her steaming drink.

Hanna grinned and nodded. "It's good. It's been stressful, though. Plus, Spencer has been super hormonal lately. Like one minute, she'll be all sweet and loving, and then the next, she's yelling at me for no freaking reason. I swear she's pregnant or something."

"Either that or she just has really long periods," Alison joked. "How long are you two there for?"

"We have another 2 weeks to finish up with this client, and then we're off to Dallas for 6 weeks to open the new store there."

Alison raised her eyebrows. "So are you ever actually in New York? You know, that place you live."

"Barely," Hanna laughed. "But travelling around has been amazing. I'm actually living my dream." Alison smiled understandingly. "Anyway, enough about me. How's Mr. Handsome?"

"He's good," the blonde replied, blushing. "We've actually set a date."

"Oh my God!" Hanna squealed. She jumped over to the couch Alison was on and sat close. "When is it?"

"February 7th." Ali fiddled with her sparkling engagement ring. Just over 4 months ago, Hann had gotten the call to announce that Doctor Elliot Rollins, Alison's boyfriend, had finally popped the question after 3 years together. Of course, Hanna was happy, but she couldn't help but be a little envious. All her friends were in relationships; Alison was with the doctor, Aria was married to Ezra, Spencer and Toby had been engaged for years. It was only Hanna and Em who were single, but Hanna was pretty sure Emily had a secret girlfriend. "Is there anyone you're interested in lately?"

Hanna shook her head firmly and said, "Nope. I'm staying single."

Later that evening, Hanna stared up at the white walls. Her hotel room was bleak; everything was the same shade and color. It made her feel cold, so she pulled her sheet up to her chin. The TV was on, and it was playing Hanna's favorite film: The Notebook. But for some reason, Hanna couldn't concentrate. She kept replaying the awkward encounter with Caleb back in Lucky Leon's. It baffled her to think of how in love they were 4 years ago, and how it was now.

Hanna's phone buzzed and the screen lit up. She reluctantly threw the covers back and reached over, reading the notification as she rolled back. It was a text from her mother.

Hanna, there's someone here for you. Come quick.
Love Mom.

As the blonde arrived at her mother's new house, she knocked on the door and was surprised to see only Ashley. Ashley ushered her daughter in, and a very confused Hanna stepped inside and wandered into the living room. And that's when she saw him.

"She'd be three now," Hanna said as she sat on the rickety swing. She took a sip of the beer that she had in her hand and stared at the patchy grass on the floor. To the right of her sat Caleb.

"I know." Caleb took a swig from his own bottle and cleared his throat, feeling rather awkward. As he licked his bottom lip, Hanna turned her head towards him. Caleb glanced at her, quickly, and noticed the tears welling in her eyes.

"What did we do so wrong?" she asked, shaking her head. Caleb didn't say anything; he just stared at her face. "Why us?"

Caleb shrugged and began tapping his beer bottle with his finger. It wasn't so much awkward now, more like nostalgic. He didn't know about Hanna, but Caleb was reminiscing over the memories they had shared as a couple: their first vacation to Paris, the night he proposed, Hanna's 21st birthday in Miami. What had ever happened to the couple who were so in love?

Hanna sniffed and wiped her cheek. "I just don't get it. We had an ultrasound and then the next day, she was dead."

"It happened so quickly," Caleb added. "You were fine before we went to bed."

The blonde nodded in agreement. After a few moments of silence, Hanna suddenly asked out of the blue, "What happened to us?"

Caleb was taken aback by the question. He thought for a second, but he knew the answer. "We grew apart." It was the simplest way of putting it. Caleb heard Hanna breathe in sharply. "We grew up and apart."

"We were so damn in love, though. We went from moonlit walks in Paris to not speaking to each for days on end. How does that even happen?"

"I don't know," Caleb breathed whilst shaking his head. "I really don't know."

"Caleb," Hanna said loudly. She turned her body as much as she could on the swing and looked directly into Caleb's eyes. "Why were you at my mom's house looking for me?"

The brunette swallowed hard and threw his head back as he took a gulp of beer. As he sat back up, he answered, "I wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"I just wanted to see how you are, how you've been. We haven't talked in so long." Caleb avoided Hanna's stare and looked at the playground beyond them.

"That's because things didn't really end well between us, Caleb. Anyway, I'm doing fine, thank you," Hanna responded a little rudely. She realized this and muttered, "Sorry."

Caleb finally looked at Hanna in the face and his heart couldn't help but flutter. It sounded girlish, but it always used to do that when Hanna was around. "Don't apologize. I heard something about you having your own business?"

"Yeah, I own a fashion store with Spencer."

"Wow, you always wanted to own your own business. I'm glad you're finally doing it."

"Thanks. I should probably get going," she said while standing up. The swing hit the back of her legs and Hanna stepped forward. She hurried back to her mother's house and then off to the hotel. The only thing on her mind was how…strange that was. She never imagined having that type of conversation with Caleb, and it broke her heart to think that's what they had become.

A/N – this might have moved a little fast, i don't know. i know caleb only saw hanna a day ago but i felt this conversation needed to happen because why not.
anyway, i hope you liked this chapter! review, follow and favorite!