AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not an expert on the fashion industry, or how the job process for it works. I should probably research it, but I'm not going to. Hey, at least I'm admitting it, ha ha ha. Oh, and I just noticed my incorrect grammar on the "Author's note." Hmmm. Oh well.

~*ONE WEEK LATER-MORNING IN LUCAS'S APARTMENT*~

Hanna was on the phone with Mary, a woman who worked for one of the companies she had gone to interview for a few weeks earlier.

"Alright, Ms. Marin, you are in luck. Someone in our department is very interested in you becoming their assistant. Miss Sally Hollins."

"Really?"

"Well, her last assistant had to quit due to personal issues, but you were the next person on her list, so."

"Oh, well that's still great! When do I start?"

"Two days. I hope you're ready."

"Oh, I am. Thank you! Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, hon. Oh, and one more thing. There's this fashion show we're having in Rosewood next month, which is perfect because you're still living there at the moment, yes?"

"Yes."

"Go to it. You didn't hear this from me, but a little birdy told me you don't want to miss it. Plus, the host always throws one hell of a party, so there's that too."

Hanna laughed.

"Oh, well. Guess I'd better start getting ready now. But look, thank you so much for this."

"Sure. Bye."

"Bye."

Hanna hung up the phone grinning from ear to ear.

Things were definitely looking up.

Well...career wise at least.

As far as her love life?

Well, that remains to be seen.

~*ONE HOUR LATER-THE MARIN HOUSEHOLD*~

Emily was sitting at the table in the kitchen while Hanna dug through the sink for a clean spoon.

"So, you're an assistant again?" Emily asked Hanna.

"Yeah," she answered.

A spoon! Finally.

"Ha ha! Found you," She said triumphantly.

"I'm sorry."

Hanna waved her spoon-free hand.

"It's fine."

She walked over to the fridge.

"Really? I thought you'd be more upset over it since you just wasted two years of your life."

"You know it's weird," Hanna opened the refrigerator and took a yogurt out of it.

"I actually was upset the day that Claudia let me go and I walked out of there like some dumb-ass fashionista, but...I don't know, Em. So much has changed since then."

She closed the refrigerator, opened the yogurt and dug her spoon into it.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked her before she could put the dairy-product into her mouth.

"I just mean...I was kidnapped...I broke up with a man I thought I was gonna marry...I don't know, I just feel like on the list of priorities, a career in fashion just feels like number three."

"You're not gonna quit now are you?"

"Hell no! Are you kidding me? There's no way I'm backing down from this career now. And I actually do love working in fashion."

"Well, how are you these days? You know since..."

Since you broke off your engagement with Jordan.

Hanna could read between the lines.

"I'm fine, really. Plus, it was wrong of me to lead Jordan on like that. He didn't deserve that. And, you know Caleb's right...We both need to be single in order for us to figure out what we want."

"And what do you want?"

"I think I want Caleb."

"You think?"

Hanna put a scoop into her mouth.

"At this point, thinking is all I've got these days."

~*FOUR HOURS LATER-THE RADLEY*~

Hanna and Gabe were sitting at a table outside waiting for their order. Fortunately, they had an appetizer-sized plate of chips in front of them.

"What is this? Sea salt?"

"Um, I think that's paprika actually."

"Oh. Well that's disgusting. I have a bad memory involving paprika that I prefer not to get into."

Gabe moved the plate away from him.

"So, what did you want to meet me here for?" He asked her.

"What? Can't friends hang out in restaurants together without it turning into something?"

Gabe chuckled at her answer.

"Anyone else, sure. But when it comes to you and your friends I'm always a little suspicious of you four. Including you. No offense."

"Offense taken...Wait," Hanna crossed her arms on the table and leaned closer to him, "Are we really that suspicious to you guys?"

"Yeah."

Apparently this was obvious to just about everyone except them.

"What do you think? You guys are always keeping secrets from everyone, and you always seem to be stuck in the middle of murder investigations."

"Huh. That's...huh," she said with a dumbfounded expression.

Hanna shook off the expression and took her arms away from the table.

"Guess I never really gave that much thought about how we'd look to the outside world."

She took a few chips from the plate and munched on them.

Gabe crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"So...What exactly am I doing here?"

"Oh," Hanna swallowed her mouth full of chips, "Right."

"Well, I invited you here because I needed some advice."

"Advice on what?"

"Well, I broke off my engagement with Jordan a week ago and-"

Gabe sat up straighter in his seat.

"Hold on a second...You broke off your engagement with Jordan?"

"Yes. I couldn't keep lying to him, and I think he deserved better than me stringing him along until the wedding in May."

"Is this because of Caleb? You are still in love with him! Well, it didn't take a genius to figure that out."

"Yes, you turned out to be right, whoo-hoo. You'll get a damn parade later," she said sarcastically.

He smiled at her joke.

"I don't understand your need for my advice though."

"Well I just need to ask you one thi-"

A server interrupted her as he put down their food in front of them. They both thanked him, and then he left. Gabe stole a roll off of Hanna's plate and started buttering it with a knife.

"Anyway, I need to ask you one thing. It's about Caleb."

He stopped what he was doing.

"Okay."

He put the knife down on the table, the roll still in his hand.

"I am officially freaked out, but I'll listen."

She rolled her eyes, but kept her composure.

"How do I get Caleb back?" She asked him bluntly.

"Wait, what? I'm sorry, but what?"

He looked at her as if she had grown three heads right there in front of him.

"God, please don't make me say it again. Look, I know it's weird, but I needed to ask someone...honest. And someone who's been out of the loop for five years."

He firmly shook his head.

"Listen, Han...I can't give you advice on this."

"Why not?"

"You're not gonna like what I have to say, and since you want honesty, well..."

"Honesty is good! It's why I'm asking you."

He let the roll fall down onto his plate and sighed heavily.

"Alright...Here goes nothing...You are still in love with your high school boyfriend. You probably never stopped loving him, even after you met Jordan."

"Yeah, I already know this part. So what should I do to get him back?"

Gabe hesitated.

"I-I I...I just think that you should move on from this 'first love' fantasy that you have."

"It's not a crime to still be in love with your first love," she said dreamily.

"Of course," he said as he looked into her eyes.

Hanna smiled and put her head down.

"Unless..."

She looked up.

"You're planning on ruining his relationship with his ex-girlfriend more than you already have. Oh, and your supposed 'best friend' too I should add," he finished with a slight chuckle.

"Is that supposed to be funny? Because it's not."

"I'm just being honest. You really think that because you two shared a 'moment' on the night of your kidnapping he's just going to choose you all over again?"

"Caleb and I were one of the only things that ever made sense in my life. And I'm pretty sure he still feels the same."

"Right. You're 'sure'," he air quoted her with his fingers.

He leaned back in his seat again, a curious expression coming over him.

"Have you even talked to Spencer about this?"

"She...doesn't want to talk."

Hanna took a sip of her water.

"Right. So it doesn't even matter that you guys broke up years ago and that your friend was happy with him. Your happiness is the only thing that matters right? Damn Spencer to Hell I guess."

Hanna opened her mouth in shock at what he just said.

"Caleb and I...we still love each other! Our moment was good because it was something...romantic."

"Oh yeah. Cheating is just so romantic," Gabe said sarcastically.

"Oh no. Don't you dare give me grief about this. You of all people have no right."

"Why not? You rightfully told me off when I was suspended. Am I not allowed to do the same to you for some reason?"

"Are you saying I shouldn't get back together with Caleb?"

"By all means, do what you want. It's your life. But as your friend, it's my job to be honest. And honestly, I can't see this going anywhere good. Someone's gonna end up getting hurt because of this."

Hanna was starting to get annoyed with Gabe's "honesty."

"You're wrong. I'm not engaged to Jordan anymore, so all that needs to happen now is for Caleb to realize he wants to be with me again and not Spencer."

"Wow," Gabe chuckled at her last few words. "I'm not even going to comment on that sentence, but good luck with that."

Hanna didn't respond to his remark.

"Eat your rolls," she told him bitterly.

They finished their meal in silence.

~*ONE HOUR LATER-GABE'S APARTMENT IN ROSEWOOD*~

"I swear there are more books than furniture in this place," Hanna said amused.

"Hey, I gotta have something to keep me occupied when I work."

Gabe walked over to his couch, and sunk into the seat. Hanna stood in the middle of the floor with her hands on her hips.

A minute passed before Gabe spoke again.

"So…Are we done talking about the whole Caleb situation? You were awfully quiet on the drive over here."

"I…I don't know," she crossed her arms.

"Well, just say the word and I'll stop talking about it."

Hanna walked closer to him.

"Not yet. I want to know why you think Caleb and I won't work out our problems. Why you think the whole 'first loves' idea is ridiculous, because you clearly do."

"Look…You told Spencer that it was okay for her to date Caleb. She waited two years to start dating him out of respect, for you, her friend, and now all of a sudden when someone else wants him, you want him back all over again even though you-"

"God, not this again."

She turned her head away from him in disgust.

"I'm only telling you the truth," he rose from the seat, "You told me that's what you wanted."

"Yes! I wanted the truth from you, my friend. Keyword, friend!"

"What am I supposed to do? You want the truth? Well here it is: You and Caleb getting back together is nothing but a selfish act. It's not true love."

"As if you know anything about the concept of 'true love,'" she said, copying his finger quotes from earlier.

"I know cheating isn't romantic."

"So what do you want me to do, huh? Just give up on Caleb completely?"

Hanna could see that he was starting to get angry.

"Hey, I already told you. Do what you want. If you want to ruin your friend's life because of your own refusal to let go and your own selfish needs…be my guest," he said coldly.

Hanna put on a cruel smile.

"Of course. Because I should just be like you, right? Throw a fit when I get into trouble and pretend like I did nothing wrong by blaming others for my mistakes instead!"

"Are you seriously using my past mistakes to justify your argument? Are you kidding me? And you're one to talk about having anger issues, I mean you're practically yelling at me right now."

"YES, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE!"

"GOOD GOD, HANNA! HOW MANY TIMES DO I…"

He breathed in and out a couple of times to calm himself down.

"Listen…You had your shot with Caleb. He left you. He got fed up with your work schedule, and you both moved on to other people. At this point, if you pursue him, there's a very strong chance your friendship with Spencer will be ruined forever, and you'll both end up getting hurt in the end."

Hanna didn't say anything. Instead, she left, slamming the door behind her as she did so.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've got this little head!canon telling me that if Gabe and Hanna ever got the chance to talk again, they would be brutally honest with each other. Even if it makes the other person uncomfortable. Just a little something I thought of after Hanna yelled at him in 5x18. Just another reason why this ship had the potential to be awesome and why the writers made an enormous mistake.