AUTHORS NOTE: Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you that have written reviews or have put this story under alert or put me as fave author. Whatever way you show that you like the story is very flattering and I was thinking about slowing down the writing but every morning this week I have woken up to beautiful reviews or e-mails that show that people like the story and that is more than appreciated, so I'll keep up the fury of writing so you get your fix because Tuesdays can't come quick enough for me. Also thank you to the shout out on , I always read those message boards for practically every show I watch so its really cool to see my story get a shout out. So yeah, I want to give thanks to you guys. I will be updating frequently, if I don't then I'm trying to get inspired through my usual source which is music for the next chapter. Look for night time updates since I write mostly at night and afternoon updates because sometimes I finish a chapter that night and start another one then finish it up the next day. Thanks once again to all of you and enjoy!

Chapter Ten- Beauty and The Hermes

Standing in the middle of the living room, Lucas played the perfect grandson as he watched his grandmother and aunt along with his uncle say their final goodbye's to his parents, while he gathered and packed up all of his cousins toys to put in their backpacks. Earlier that morning he had woke up bright and early to make breakfast for his grandmother to show her that he still was perfecting his craft of cooking like she had taught him, watching her go was always sad but it only made him look forward to the next time she would visit. Giving his final hug, Lucas watched his family pile into their oversized Ford Explorer, cranking their traditional road music with the air conditioning running on full blast before they finally pulled out of the driveway and drove off into the sunset or at least onto the highway he thought. Aware that he had school in a three hours or so, Lucas quickly made his way back upstairs with his parents close behind wanting to get back in the bed before work, cautiously watching his parents going into their bedroom, making sure that were in for good, Lucas finally entered into his darkened bedroom. Lightly closing the door behind him, happy that he was finally back in the comforts of his own room once again, before he could even imagine to walk back over to his bed, he was quickly pulled into a kiss. There was no need to guess whom had captured his lips because it had been the lips he'd been dreaming about for the longest, backing her over to his bed the two fell back onto his bed making out like crazy just happy that they didn't have to pretend how they felt about each other anymore.

"I thought your family was never going to leave" Hanna said breaking the kiss

"Yeah, we had a few close calls, but I'm glad things are back to normal" Lucas said as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead

"I'm just glad I don't have to climb that grapevine anymore in the middle of the night, I'm hoping you'll get that fixed soon" Hanna laughed

"I plan to" Lucas said pulling her in closer to his body "I like this" he whispered to her as he tucked away the strand of hair that was in her face

"What do you like?" Hanna smiled up at him as they both got comfortable underneath the covers of his bed

"I like being like this with you, being able to kiss you and hold you. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't dream about this" Lucas laughed as he drifted into sleep

"Really?" Hanna asked with the biggest of smiles on her face

"Yes, really" Lucas said "You're my dream girl" he laughed

"I would love what you just said if there was sincerity in it, who laughs during a compliment?" Hanna laughed

"I laugh because of the fact that I used to dream about you and you're my dream girl, so it goes together in some ways" Lucas babbled before Hanna leaned in to kiss him

"How about we just go back to sleep" Hanna said breaking the kiss as she rested her head on his chest before he quickly opened his eyes

"Are you nervous about school?" Lucas asked

"What's there to be nervous about?" Hanna asked

"Things will be different, I mean its kind of official now that we're dating, right?" Lucas asked her "And people will know" he said

"I'm sure we don't have to make a public announcement about it, but we're dating" Hanna said

"So is it going to be weird?" Lucas asked looking down at her

"How will it be weird?" Hanna asked

"Okay, geek and beauty, that's where it can be weird" Lucas brought up

"Just go back to sleep. This is all in your head" Hanna sighed

"All right, all in my head" Lucas said "Set the alarm?" he asked her

"Set it for seven" Hanna replied as Lucas reached over to his bedside table to set the alarm on his clock before drifting off to sleep

Pulling into the parking lot of the school she hated to admit that a part of her was feeling a bit nervous and scared. Every part of her liked being with Lucas, but then there was another part of her that did care about what people were going to say about the two of them together as a couple. Before when they were hanging out people had just chalked it up to the popular girl with a heart that appreciated good people and friends regardless of status, but people never expected the popular girl to date what Lucas felt he was, the geek. She hated that she was feeling this way, but it was something she couldn't manage to ignore as it all became real once they got closer to school. Getting out the car, Lucas checked his backpack one last time making sure he had all his books while Hanna scanned the parking lot searching for a reason to delay walking down the hallway together. The closer he came towards her, the more she began to panic and needed to find something, leaning in to kiss her cheek, Hanna quickly spotted Emily.

"Em!" Hanna called out trying not to display her nervousness before Emily turned to look at her from afar "Wait up, I have you homework assignment" she said before she turned to Lucas who seemed like he didn't quite know what to do because he was caught off guard "I'm sorry, I have to give Emily her homework back and have her explain this problem for me because I think I'm going to have a pop quiz in math" she explained to him

"Oh, okay. Well I'll see you at lunch then seeing as in class we sit on opposite sides of the room" Lucas laughed nervously

"Yeah, we can totally have lunch together" Hanna smiled "I'll see you" she said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek not knowing that he was leaning in to kiss her on the lips

"Can't wait" Lucas replied before Hanna walked off over towards Emily, who was waiting for her on the side entrance of the school. Lucas looked on at the two girls go inside thinking that today would be different than all the other days because he'd finally have the girl on his arm, but it'd have to wait. Locking his car up, Alton happily joined his friend as they began to walk towards the entrance of the school together. Walking down the hallway together, Alton and Lucas received their usual look and laugh that they had grown accustomed as they joined Reese by her locker.

"Where is the new girlfriend?" Reese asked

"I was thinking the same thing" Alton laughed "Could have used Hanna to talk to Mona over there" he said

"Mona wouldn't talk to you if you were the last person on this earth" Reese replied

"She's getting help with her homework" Lucas replied

"Never pinned her for the knowledge seeking type, average, but not knowledge seeking" Reese replied

"She is plenty smart" Lucas said "So what was the big emergency that you text about?" he asked

"I'm glad that my emergencies cause you to react with such swift movement" Reese replied

"That's because your definition of emergency is if the grammar is wrong in a book, which does not constitute as emergency" Alton said

"Okay can we skip the banter today guys. What is the emergency?" Lucas asked

"Mr. Smith wants to see you" Reese told Lucas who seemed a bit scared to hear that Mr. Smith had wanted to see him, he knew that it had been some time since he had talked to Mr. Smith , which was not like him seeing as Mr. Smith was practically the closest thing he had to a mature adult friend at this school, where the teachers are paid to be nice to you

"What did you do?" Alton asked Lucas

"Nothing. I'm sure he just wants to check in with me to see how things are going" Lucas said

"Yes, because he cared about the fact that your now Hanna Marin's boyfriend, I think he has bigger things to worry about" Reese said closing her locker door as she adjusted her book bag "I'd try to think of another reason why he wants to see you" she smiled sarcastically before she walked off down the hallway leaving the boys behind to ponder

Bored with math class, Hanna was glad that the teacher had let her go to restroom for her usual primping session in the mirror. Re-applying her make up and her lip gloss, Hanna had found through her treatment sessions that she began to value the image that was now in the mirror. There were times where she could see the minor things that blew up in her head as major details of what was wrong with her, but learning to love herself completely was showing her that she was worth more than she had given herself credit for, all it took was one day at a time, she couldn't promise a complete transformation from a girl who was making herself throw up but she wanted to be better. Coming into the bathroom, Hanna quickly noticed Mona as she appeared to stay true to her primping sessions that she had become known for between the two of them. They both stood in the mirror on opposite sides of the bathroom, both perfecting the image they wanted their peers to see, not as much saying a word to each other. Girls had come in and out of the bathroom, some timid to see the two most popular girls in the restroom, while there were the few that weren't afraid to say hello to Hanna and make conversation with her. Looking on with intrigue, Mona couldn't help but relish in the fact that Hanna still had it, in her best day, Hanna could replace Alison in a heart beat was all she thought looking on that reinvention product that was Hefty Hanna to The Hanna Marin.

"You still got it" Mona laughed to herself as Hanna looked at her confusedly

"What are you talking about?" Hanna asked

"You still manage to be the it girl even though these days you don't seem to care about that fact" Mona replied

"Oh, God. Spare me with the hostile takeover messages Mona" Hanna sighed annoyed with the usual topic between the two

"I'm being serious Hanna. You've been spending a lot of time with Hermes and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid for you" Mona said

"First of all, his name is Lucas. Second, you don't need to worry about me" Hanna corrected her

"I don't need to worry? Hanna, we're best friends or at least I still think we are. What the hell is going on with you?" Mona asked

"I'm growing up. I don't have time to sit around worrying about if I'm still Queen Bee, it's a twenty four seven job that I'm not ready for" Hanna said

"You didn't have a problem with it before" Mona pointed out

"Yeah, well things have changed" Hanna said

"More like you've changed. Things are still the same, its you that's different" Mona said

"So I change all of sudden because of who I hang out with?" Hanna asked

"There were rumors that said you and Lucas were kissing at the Carnival, I suspect they're true" Mona said putting much emphasis on saying Lucas's name to Hanna

"What's the big deal? It's my life" Hanna reasoned

"Yeah, its your life that your ruining. Look I get the fact that he probably makes you feel good about yourself, but how long will that last until you finally start to get it?" Mona asked as she moved closer towards Hanna "Think Senior year, while your wanting to be prom queen and back to back homecoming queen, all he'll want to do is worry about S.A.T. scores and college applications" she said

"So?" Hanna replied "He's into school, so what? Is there some rule that I'm suppose to date dumb jocks?" she asked

"No, you date your kind. That's a given rule, and he isn't it. No matter how much fun you have with him, he will always expect you to see what we value and look forward to is just dumb and silly" Mona said

"Lucas isn't like that" Hanna replied

"For now anyways" Mona sighed "You remember how Alison use to treat us, especially you. She used every chance she could to prove that she was the it girl and that every other girl was nothing compared to her. Her little covenant was just protection to keep her ego up that she could bend you guys any shape or form she saw fit. Well now is your chance to be Alison" she told her

"I'm not trying to be Alison" Hanna replied sternly

"Keep telling yourself that because your actions say otherwise, and I know you well enough to know that's all you ever wanted. Hell a part of me thought you had finally had enough and killed the bitch" Mona said realizing that she was getting through to Hanna at the mention of Alison's name and the horror that she put them both through so that their sole mission was to rule Rosewood High School "I think we should catch up. I'll call you later" she said before she grabbed Hanna's phone

"Mona what are you doing?" Hanna said not really putting up much of a fight

"How funny, I'm still number one in your calling circle" Mona laughed to herself giving Hanna a look out the corner of her eye "There's a reason for that" she said before she put Hanna's phone down and then left the bathroom

Coming into the empty classroom, Lucas laughed to himself to see that Mr. Smith was sitting in the back of the class on his computer playing video games when he really should have been grading papers instead of goofing around, but that's what made him unlike any other teacher was his uniqueness and his nerd like qualities as Lucas came to call it. Turning to see who was in the classroom, Mr. Smith smiled over at Lucas before he saved his game and shut the computer down before walking over to his desk while Lucas pulled up a seat over by his desk. Sifting through his desk drawers, Mr. Smith threw packets on top of packet out on his desk as all Lucas could do was look on at the orange envelopes wondering what exactly was going on with Mr. Smith that made him go on a cleaning spree of orange envelopes. Realizing that was all the envelopes that he had in his drawer, Mr. Smith leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he looked on at all the envelopes that seemed to take up more space on his desk than the ungraded papers before looking up at Lucas, who was eager to know what was going on.

"I say this as a person who cares about you, I just want to say that first" Mr. Smith said clearing the air first "What the hell is going on with you?" he asked angrily

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked not knowing what he was talking about

"I have received letters from countless school that we had sent out interest letters to that had you proposal, and you haven't manage to contact any of them" Mr. Smith said "I called because its been some time since I've talked to you, I thought that maybe you were still staying on top of things but they haven't heard squat from you" he said

"I haven't had time" Lucas replied

"Lucas, I know when you lying, so don't start now" Mr. Smith said "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you let Winthrop go, when that was a guarantee ticket out of Rosewood, I mean that's what you still want, right?" he asked

"Yes" Lucas replied before Mr. Smith quickly spoke again

"Then why are you pussy footing around with your future?" Mr. Smith asked

"Because I'm not quite committed towards signing over my life just yet" Lucas said

"Lucas, you received a big fat check that states that a group of wealthy businessmen are behind your proposal, and you wasting their time is not what I thought you were going to do, or else I wouldn't have stuck my neck out for you" Mr. Smith said

"I never asked you to do that" Lucas replied "Look, I appreciate all you've done but I want to be… I want a teenager for once, I don't want to be the next big innovator right now, I'm sixteen and I want to do sixteen year old things" he said

"Like date girls like Hanna Marin?" Mr. Smith asked him

"Yes. Wait, how do you know about Hanna?" Lucas asked surprised to know that Mr. Smith knew about his new relationship status

"I have half of Rosewood top ten most popular kids in my class that said they saw you two making out at the Carnival" Mr. Smith stated

"So you easedrop on that?" Lucas asked

"I easedrop on the fact that I think the reason you gave up Winthrop was for this girl, and could possibly screw your future up over this girl" Mr. Smith said

"Okay, I'm pretty sure your crossing a line here. You don't know Hanna to just assume that she's not worth anything" Lucas said defensively

"I probably am, but I really don't think you'll go report me. Luke, I want you to be successful and anyone of these schools can get you to where you want to be, there not Winthrop but they will get you there" Mr. Smith said

"And I want that still, but I don't want to be consumed by it" Lucas replied

"Luke, if your not serious about this then I'm afraid I might have to take back the check" Mr. Smith sighed sadly "I hate this but I can't just let you have thousands of dollars to just see you not even take advantage of the opportunity you've been given" he said

"Then I'll give it back. I haven't cashed it, so its all there" Lucas replied sadly as Mr. Smith gathered all the envelopes on his desk and handed them over to Lucas

"Look through these, I mean literally spend an evening going through each of these schools, and if you still don't want this anymore then I'll take the check back because we both know funding will be hard to come by especially if you want to make it in anyone of these schools. If you truly, I mean really want this then we can start preparing the work" Mr. Smith said before Lucas reluctantly took the envelopes from him

"I have until the end of the week?" Lucas asked

"Yeah, that works" Mr. Smith sighed feeling as if Lucas wasn't taking him seriously about reading through the school programs before Lucas made his way over to the door "Hey, Luke" he called out to him before Lucas turned around to face him

"Yeah" Lucas replied

"Tell Hanna that she forgot to get her assignment. If she's going to pass the pop quiz on Friday she's going to need to practice these problems" Mr. Smith said as he walked over towards Lucas to hand him the assignment sheet as Lucas looked on at the paper sadly realizing he had been duped "I usually don't do this for people who make it a habit to skip my class for reapplying make up in the bathroom time, but you want me to give her shot, this is me giving it to her" he said before Lucas grabbed the paper and left

Making her way inside the café, Hanna sighed in annoyance to see that Aria was sitting at the table with Spencer and Emily. She had grown tired of being upset with Aria after going to the Carnival with Sean, but she still hated the fact that whenever she saw Aria's lips she could still see Sean attached to them. Deep down she really didn't care much now that she had Lucas in her life, and for the most part she found Lucas to be better a better kisser than Sean so it was like any trace of Sean, Hanna had in her heart was quickly erased by Lucas. But she couldn't let Aria know, she wanted her to fear crossing her in the future and if she gave in and forgave her then that would show weakness. Maybe Mona was right, maybe she did want to be like Alison, she didn't envy every aspect of Alison's demeanor but Alison always knew how to keep them in check. Spotting Hanna, Aria quickly said her good byes as Hanna walked over before she got up to grab her stuff.

"Sit down. I'm over the shift sharing. I can still ignore you and be in your presence" Hanna said stopping Aria from leaving as Aria cautiously put her stuff down before taking her seat while Emily and Spencer looked on impressed at the progress Hanna was making as Hanna grabbed her seat

"Making progress, that's something" Emily smiled

"Well chalk it up to Lucas having an effect on me" Hanna said

"So you two are a couple?" Spencer asked "I thought that was all a rumor because I know you went after him at the carnival, but you know how rumors are" she said

"Yes, the rumors are actually true. I made out with Lucas, and I have made out with him since then" Hanna smiled "I think I'm kind of addicted to his lips" she laughed as the girls couldn't help but laugh themselves

"I just didn't think you were official seeing as you didn't take the walk" Spencer said

"The walk?" Aria asked confused

"The walk that says we are out in the open. I should know, I did the walk and the announcement" Emily said referring to her public humiliation at the A sponsored party that they attended

"Not everyone has to do the walk, that's not the certified couple announcement" Hanna said

"This from the girl who literally draped herself all over Sean's arm when you got together. I think Mona took pictures every time you walked down the hall together" Spencer laughed

"And if I recall, you had one taped in your locker" Emily recounted remembering the picture Hanna had draped up in her locker

"Okay, well things change" Hanna said

"So let me get this straight, times change when your dating Lucas, but they weren't changing when you were with Sean?" Spencer asked

"Why is this pick on Hanna time?" Hanna asked

"We're just using your rules. Its not picking on you when they're your rules" Spencer replied

"Lucas and I know what we are to each other and that's what matters" Hanna said

"That's what I thought with Maya and me, but they kind of care when you view them as your secret spouse" Emily said

"Hello, I made out with him and apparently people are talking about it" Hanna said quickly trying to prove Emily's statement wrong

"You walked down the hall with me this morning Hanna" Emily said

"So what are you saying?" Hanna asked them

"Your afraid of losing Queen Bee now that you have the pauper on your arm" Spencer said

"Pauper? Wouldn't that be Alex?" Hanna asked

"Difference is, I have mine proudly sported on my arm, can't say the same for you" Spencer laughed knowing she had the upper hand on Hanna

"Lucas doesn't care about that stuff. We're together, he knows that and you guys know that, that's all that matters to me" Hanna said

"And why do I predict you giving me a late night call asking for advice?" Emily laughed

"Well that won't be happening because my relationship is perfect and I don't see it going south anytime soon" Hanna smiled proudly at them determined to prove them all wrong before all their cell phones began to vibrate. Looking at each other scared lifelessly as they all knew it would be a matter of time before it would start picking up again. Opening her cell phone, Aria looked down at the message in disbelief

"My four bitches, I sense a storm coming your way and I won't be responsible for the damage left behind, after they get through with you. But wait, I will. A" Aria read so that only the four of them could hear before they all looked at each other nervously

"What the hell could that mean?" Spencer asked

"Storm coming, it can't be an actual storm because we're in the summer months practically" Hanna replied

"Toby" Emily replied lifelessly "There was no clear proof that he was dead" she said

"You said you saw Jenna on the steps that day crying. His bike was wrecked" Aria replied

"But who knows what happened afterwards, she might have been crying that he wasn't dead" Hanna said "I know I'm about to if that's the case" she said

"Do you think he knows about the file?" Spencer asked

"To know that then I'd know the answer to the first question, is he alive?" Emily said

"So who? if we assume that this is a person, could it be?" Hanna asked

"I think this is the part where we have to wait and see" Aria said

"A always knows how to come back with a bang" Hanna sighed

Still shaken up by A's text message, Hanna couldn't fathom sleeping alone tonight in the house, especially with the cryptic beware tone it had to it. Climbing up the grapevine, she made a mental note to literally force Lucas down to the hardware store to fix the grapevine and print out instructions for Alton so he wouldn't mess it up again. Walking on the level part of the roof, she smiled as she saw Lucas sitting on his bed reading over what appeared to be brochures of something. Knocking on the door, Lucas tiredly made his way over to the door to open it for her then quickly made his way back over to his bed to continue reading. Expecting a kiss, Hanna found it weird that he didn't even greet her with a kiss, and somehow she knew that wasn't a good thing, but she didn't want to be quick to jump to conclusions especially when it came to Lucas. Taking a seat on the other side of his bed as she got ready for bed by putting her hair up in a ponytail, the two sat in silence as he just continued to read on not even acknowledging that she was really even there.

"Are you okay?" Hanna asked

"I don't know, should something be wrong with me?" Lucas asked quickly answering her question with a question of his own

"I don't know, I think that's why I asked what's wrong" Hanna said "Are you upset about something?" she asked

"You could say that" Lucas replied not tearing his attention away from the brochure while Hanna just sat confused as to what that was suppose to mean

"Okay, so I can conclude with your tone that your upset with me. What's wrong? I ask again" Hanna asked him

"Right now, I just really want to read my brochure. That's what is going on with me currently" Lucas replied before Hanna quickly grabbed the brochure in hands and took it away from him

"After we talk. What's up?" Hanna asked

"This morning you left me because you had to go with Emily. You needed her to help you for a pop quiz in Math today" Lucas brought up

"Yeah, I'm not great in math so I needed help" Hanna replied "Me not being smart is an issue?" she asked

"No, I don't doubt your knowledge" Lucas laughed sarcastically "How was that pop quiz you needed help with?" he asked

"It was hard, again I'm not great at Math" Hanna stated

"Wow! That makes it two times" Lucas laughed to himself

"Two times what? If you want to be cryptic than I can just go home" Hanna said

"Two times that you've lied to my face. I'm friends with your math teacher, he gave me this to give to you for missing class apparently for your make up run" Lucas said leaning over towards his back pack to pull out the piece of paper Mr. Smith gave him earlier to hand to her as she closed her eyes in disbelief "So what was this morning really about?" he asked her

"Nothing. I just…I wasn't ready" Hanna told him

"Ready to reveal that we're dating. So what was tomorrow's plan going to be? You'll meet me inside" Lucas asked

"No. Look I just didn't want to make a big deal out of us being together" Hanna said

"Because this would effect you" Lucas guessed

"Yes" Hanna quickly replied not realizing what she had just agreed to "Wait, that's not what I meant" she said

"Yeah, I think that's what you meant. I'm so stupid. I'm incredibly stupid to believe that your actually different, you like the same girl that told me we wouldn't have a shot in hell together" Lucas laughed to himself

"No. We're together, you're my boyfriend" Hanna said

"When its just us, but at school I'm Hermes, right? That's what I'm stereotyped as, and that's what you can't be bunched under, Herme's girlfriend" Lucas asked

"Okay, I never called you that. I'm not Alison" Hanna said

"Well you sure as hell still follow her rules" Lucas said

"What do you want then? Do you want me to get the school band and have them play here comes Lucas and Hanna. Are you with me because I'm popular because if you like me for me then you wouldn't care about us doing the walk?" Hanna asked

"Are you being serious right now? Just let me know before I answer because that was the dumbest thing you've said" Lucas replied "This from the girl I saw draped over a toilet puking her guts out, yeah, I'm doing it for status" he said

"How dare you?" Hanna replied angrily

"I like you! I like you! I like Hanna Marin. I like Hefty Hanna, and I accept every version of you, but question is do you accept me. Am I embarrassing to you?" Lucas asked

"Of course not" Hanna replied

"Then what's wrong with me that you would have to lie in order to get out of walking down a stupid hallway with me. Its not even about the hallway because I don't care about that, the part I care about is the part of you that is scared to have people know that I'm your boyfriend" Lucas said

"Luke" Hanna said before he quickly grabbed his pillow "Where are you going?" she asked as he made his way over to the door

"I know you hate sleeping at your house by yourself because your mom isn't home, so you can sleep in my bed, I'll sleep downstairs" Lucas said "My parents never come in my room so you don't have to worry about getting caught" he said

"So your not going to even be in the same room with me?" Hanna asked

"Why should I? you were afraid this morning, well I'm afraid tonight, that's fair, right?" Lucas said "Goodnight. See you at school" he said before he left the room

Throughout the night she tossed and turned unable to enjoy any ounce of two hour sleep that she had gotten, she thought she could at least sleep without him but that proved to be a dumb thought when she would drape her arm over to the side of her thinking he'd be there. She wanted badly to go downstairs to talk to him but giving herself up would have gotten him in more trouble, a part of her felt like she hadn't quite figured out the piece of her that questioned announcing to the world that she was dating him. By the time Hanna had gone back to her house to get ready for school, Lucas had all ready left for school. The point had been driven home when he had literally avoided her at school to the point where she wondered if they were even together anymore by the way he was acting. Not eager to go to Emily about it because she could all ready hear Emily in her head telling her she warned her about this, she wasn't ready yet to hear the lecture from either her or Spencer. Once the final bell rang, finally putting an end to math class, Hanna found it new to be leaving the actual classroom rather than the restroom this time. Just as she was about leave, Mr. Smith had called for her to stay behind. Remaining in her seat, Hanna waited for Mr. Smith to clean his chalk board before he finally turned his attention towards her.

"Good work on the assignment. Don't expect that again though" Mr. Smith told her

"Okay" Hanna replied

"Lucas is crazy about you" Mr. Smith said trying to wipe his hands of chalk

"Yeah, I think that inappropriate" Hanna said

"I get that a lot from Lucas, but I have a habit of calling it like I see it, especially when it comes to Lucas" Mr. Smith "He's a smart kid, insanely smart. I see myself in him so maybe that's why I care so much, and maybe that's why I don't want him to end up here like me" he said

"And I'm almost sure he won't. Is this why you asked me to stay?" Hanna asked

"I just want you to realize how much he's given up for you. He's got countless schools that he could choose from that will help develop the genius that is waiting to explode inside of him" Mr. Smith said

"And you think I'm holding him back from that? I don't force Lucas to do anything" Hanna said

"But you could, if you wanted to. Lucas gave up a shot at a great school, and I'm positive it was because of you" Mr. Smith said

"Yeah, I know. If I would have known then I wouldn't have let him do that" Hanna said "Regardless of what you think, I'm not like them" she said

"So you do know, that's good. Then you know that he's had a list full of schools that are potentially interested in him, but he's ignored every last one of them and I can't for the life of me know why he would do that. He even got a big gat check worth one hundred thousand dollars to make his proposal, which is what the average silver spoon gets in that school in order to make it" Mr. Smith said

"I didn't know that" Hanna replied

"I don't blame you, but I do think that he's putting stock in this relationship, and I just really hope your doing the same" Mr. Smith said

"I care a lot about him" Hanna said

"Good. Then be a friend to him, and don't let him give up something else before the next thing will be his dreams" Mr. Smith said

"Can I go?" Hanna asked as she got up from her seat

"Yeah, and for the record, your not like her" Mr. Smith said

"Like who?" Hanna asked

"Alison. I've had Alison in my class, and your nothing like her, in a good way. I happen to believe that we can shape our own paths, the moment we conform to someone else's path is when we lose our way, and I think your path is waiting to be traveled" Mr. Smith said making Hanna think long and hard over the course of action she's made in the past twenty four hours

"Can I ask you another question?" Hanna asked him

Yet another day of the same old, same old was all Lucas thought to himself as Alton and him got their usual laugh and stares as they walked over to their lockers. Lazily putting his books away, the last place that Lucas wanted to be was at school because at this point nothing about being surrounded by a bunch of jocks and conceited girls appealed to him. His relationship was like a one hit wonder musician, hot one day then fizzled out over time, literally. He had a check worth more than any amount of money he's ever seen in his life in his pocket ready to give back to Mr. Smith , which basically meant that he was kissing his future goodbye because he knew that he wouldn't have enough time to prepare at least a halfway decent proposal project for any of the schools he read about. So nothing was great at the moment with him, he was more than accepting of the fact that his life partner in this school was going to be Alton and maybe Reese, when she would give up the Spencer obsession.

"So is the Wii going to be fired up for marathon night?" Alton asked

"I don't feel like playing tonight" Lucas replied sadly

"Why? I look forward to this, that's all I have looked forward to" Alton said

"I just don't feel like it, plus you always lose" Lucas said

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm not as good as Hanna" Alton replied "What's up with you two?" he asked

"I really don't feel like talking about that right now" Lucas replied

"So basically we're acting out the Penny and Leonard break up on The Big Bang Theory?" Alton asked "This is what it feels like because your boring me to death right now" he said

"Sounds suitable. Penny did rip Leonard's heart out, and well I basically feel the same way, so yeah" Lucas said as the whispers in the hallway began to increase

"What's going on now? We all ready walked down the hallway, well not all of it. That reminds me, did you bring the shower cap? I got a slushy thrown at me, Glee has inspired a new form of torture" Alton asked as Lucas pulled out the shower cap out of his back pack

"This is crazy, why do you need the shower cap?" Lucas asked as he handed the shower cap to him

"Slushy. In face. I kind of don't want it in my hair" Alton replied not understanding why Lucas didn't understand the purpose of the shower cap

"That's great. I'm going to class" Lucas said as he began to walk down the hall before Alton stopped him

"I think you might want to see this" Alton smiled

"What?" Lucas asked

"Turn around" Alton said before Lucas turned around to see Hanna, Emily, Spencer, and Aria all walking down the hallway together. It was like an reenactment of Alison's covenant without Alison in the center, it came as no surprise to Lucas that Hanna was in the middle because that was what she longed for in the long haul. Not all that impressed to see the covenant make the signature entrance that had branded them as Alison's minions, Lucas was just about to turn around before he saw that on Hanna's t-shirt was writing. Looking closer, almost sure that is was probably some fashionista shirt she had to have, he soon saw Herme's Girl written on it the closer she got. The other girls stopped off at their lockers before Hanna continued to walk towards him, and before he knew it she pulled him into a kiss. Everyone nearly exploded at the official sighting of Hanna and Lucas together.

"What is this?" Lucas asked breaking the kiss

"This is me being your girlfriend and not caring what people think" Hanna said

"By writing Herme's Girl?" Lucas asked unable to stop his laughter

"I like" Alton smiled

"Thank you, I think" Hanna said to Alton

"So is that name going to forever stay with me?" Lucas asked

"I don't know, but I like Hermes, and I really like Lucas. Whichever name works for me as I long as I get to kiss either one" Hanna laughed

"How about the name Alton? Could you kiss that? Better yet, would Mona kiss that?" Alton asked

"Goodbye Alton" Hanna told him

"We'll discuss merchandising later my friend because Herme's is making a comeback" Alton said before he put on his shower cap and made his way down the hall

"What's with the shower cap?" Hanna asked

"It's a long story" Lucas laughed

"Also, I really like Jamestown" Hanna said "I read some of those brochures and I really like Jamestown, I can see you there" she said

"Wait, how did you get a hold of the brochures?" Lucas asked

"I finally learned my math teachers name, Mr. Smith, he kind of gave me some information about the schools so I read up on them. We have this weekend to figure out what school your going to be working towards, so Wii marathon is officially cancelled" Hanna said as she linked her hand with his as they walked down the hallway together

"I think that's a little late, I wouldn't be prepared in time" Lucas said

"Then I guess you have to work your ass off then, but luckily for you, I happen to be good at cramming" Hanna said "Its non negotiable, your doing it" she said

"Oh, so your one of those girlfriends, who controls the boyfriend" Lucas laughed as he pulled her closer to him as they walked down the hallway as if it were only them while in actuality everyone was in complete shock that the most popular girl in school was dating one of the least popular boys in school

"Yeah, how else will we work. Oh, and your not giving up the check" Hanna told him unable to control her laughter

"Anything else I should know about that I won't be able to do?" Lucas asked

"Uh, don't take the good pillow again" Hanna said thinking off the top of her head

"You know those brochures are long, and we have to seriously research the school" Lucas told her

"I have nothing but time" Hanna smiled as she leaned into kiss him on the cheek before pulling him into class behind her