Next chapter! Sorry about the delay. Also, again I do know which ship will be endgame and that ship is not Pannily (though I do love that ship) :))

"So what's going on with you and Alison?" Spencer asked casually as she took a seat opposite Emily at the outdoor table, placing her lunch in front of her. Aria, Hanna and Alison had yet to arrive at the table. Spencer wasn't even sure the latter two would turn up.

"What?" Emily turned to Spencer with a frown. "Nothing. Why are you asking me that?"

"I saw you holding her hand yesterday. In a more than friendly kind of way." Spencer answered, unscrewing the cap from her bottle of water. "And you two have been pretty much inseparable since she got back to Rosewood."

"She's going through something major right now and she needs me." Emily answered a bit defensively. "I'm just trying to be a good friend, that's all. It doesn't mean there's something going on between us."

"She's up to something." Spencer said, lowering her voice slightly in case Alison unexpectedly showed up. "She's keeping secrets from us and you know it, Emily."

Emily sighed heavily and stabbed at her salad. She'd heard the speech a hundred times already and she was getting sick of hearing it. "Don't go there, Spencer. I'm not in the mood for your accusations. Alison has been through a lot. If she's keeping secrets from us it's because she's not ready to tell us certain things yet. I trust her."

"Because there's something going on between the two of you and you're not thinking with your head." Spencer said firmly, rather irritated by Emily's behaviour.

"Spencer!" Emily exclaimed, looking up from her food. "Stop."

"You can't honestly tell me that nothing has happened between the two of you since she got back to town." Spencer challenged, watching Emily closely. As she'd expected, Emily's determined expression faltered. "What happened to not being over to Paige, to wanting her back?"

"That hasn't changed, I do still want her back but she made her mind up and she's not going to change it." Emily looked away from Spencer, biting her lip. "Paige and I are over, I just have to accept that. Alison is here and she wants me, that's what I'm focusing on now."

"But she's not…"

"Spencer, just drop it!" Emily stood up from the table and glared at Spencer. "I'll see you later. I've lost my appetite."

Spencer opened her mouth to protest but Emily was already storming away from the table. She sighed heavily and turned back to her lunch, resigning herself to having to eat alone,

XXX

Hanna sighed to herself as she reached the swing and took a much needed seat on it. Her free hand grasped the chain to steady herself while she sipped from the small bottle in her other hand. Another encounter with Aria had sent her fleeing from her friends and she'd ended up alone in the park. It was quickly getting dark but Hanna couldn't bring herself to care. It began to lightly drizzle again and she realized belatedly that she didn't have a jacket.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there staring into space but when a voice caught her attention she realized with a start that she was soaked through. Even more than she had been when she'd arrived at Aria's house.

"Hanna?" The voice repeated, causing Hanna to look up. She swallowed heavily when she found Paige walking hesitantly toward her. She quickly swiped at her cheeks, hoping her mascara hadn't run too much.

"Hey."

"Are you okay?" Paige asked cautiously, casting a quick glance around as if she expected someone to jump out at her. A probably. "It's late, what are you doing out here alone?"

Hanna didn't fail to notice the way Paige eyed the bottle in her hand. "I thought I'd come out and get some air. I guess I lost track of time. You know how it is."

Paige frowned at the response she'd received. "Let me take you home. It's not safe to be alone out here, Hanna."

Hanna shrugged and looked away from Paige. "I'm okay where I am. I really don't want to go home right now."

Paige sighed and took a moment to watch Hanna. She noticed that the blonde was trembling and frowned, quickly stripping off her jacket. She stepped forward and carefully put it on Hanna, hoping the offer wasn't going to be rejected. She was relieved when Hanna grasped the lapels of the jacket and snuggled into the warmth.

"Thanks." Hanna whispered, tossing the bottle onto the ground.

Paige nodded and took a seat on the other swing. "Did something happen? You don't seem okay."

Hanna laughed softly and leaned her head against the chain again. "That's observant of you." She fell silent for a moment but when Paige merely stared expectantly at her she continued reluctantly. "I got into a fight with Aria tonight. It's...it's complicated."

"I have some time." Paige replied quietly, her eyes sweeping over Hanna's face. She had been crying, that much was obvious. Coupled with the fact that Hanna had obviously been drinking Paige wasn't in a hurry to leave. She just hoped that she could convince Hanna to let her walk her home after they finished talking.

"There's this guy...Zack." Hanna said, bitterness filtering into her tone.

"Oh." Paige tried not to wince at the response. Of course there was a guy, she hadn't thought that Hanna would stay single for long. "Is he a boyfriend kind of guy? I didn't think you guys fought over...that kind of thing."

"Not a boyfriend kind of guy. Not mine anyway." Hanna sighed and shifted uncomfortably, pulling Paige's jacket tighter around her shoulders. The collar brushed against her nose as she burrowed deeper into it and she closed her eyes for a few seconds when Paige's scent hit her full force. "Um...he's Aria's mom's boyfriend. He's a jackass."

"How so?" Paige asked curiously, turning more toward Hanna on the swing. The physical distance between them pained her but she supposed it was for the best that the space between the swings was keeping them apart.

"He hit on me." Hanna answered as she turned to look at Paige, expecting to see the same judgement in her eyes. "I thought he was joking but then he got into my car and…" her voice cracked and she trailed off, looking away.

Paige sat up straighter, an icy cold chill running down her spine. "Did he do anything? Did he hurt you?"

"No, nothing like that. He tried to feel me up and I told him to get the hell out." Hanna sniffled softly, her eyes fixed on the ground. "I told Aria about it."

"Did she lose her temper or something?" Paige asked, confused by the broken expression on Hanna's face. "Did she call him out or tell her mom? You don't have to feel guilty, Hanna. What the guy did was his fault, not yours. If his relationship with Aria's mom is messed up, he's the only one to blame."

"Aria didn't think so." Hanna's voice was hoarse as she stared into space, Aria's words echoing in her head. "She accused me of inviting him into my car, she thinks that I tried to seduce him because I'm a drunk now."

Paige stared at Hanna in shock. "Aria said that?"

"She's right. About the drunk part at least." Hanna swiped at her cheeks. "She has no reason to trust me, I just keep screwing things up."

Paige swallowed heavily, looking down at the bottle on the ground. "Why are you drinking? You're not a drunk."

Hanna shrugged. "I don't know who I am anymore. I guess I've never really had any idea about that. Trying something different seemed like a good idea."

"Oh, that's why…" Paige's eyes shifted to Hanna's hair. "I wondered why you had changed your hair."

"I'm surprised you even noticed." Hanna commented dryly.

Paige frowned at the thought that she wouldn't notice if something was different about Hanna. The concept was ridiculous to her, "I always notice you."

Hanna huffed out a sigh but didn't protest. "I felt like a change. I didn't want to be an Alison clone anymore so I decided to fix it."

"You're not an Alison clone." Paige protested without hesitation. "Why would you even think that? Hanna, I...I'm worried about you."

Hanna felt a lump form in her throat and she ducked her head, her eyes once again blurring with tears. "Don't bother. I don't need your worry. You made your decision, just like everyone else."

"What do you mean?" Paige asked, her voice rising slightly in frustration. She hated not being able to do anything to help.

"I've lost everyone!" Hanna exclaimed tearfully, the volume of her voice surpassing Paige. "Emily, Spencer, Aria, Caleb, my mom...you! There's nobody left. Aria is right, I am the problem." She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, a choked sob escaping her throat as she bent at the waist. A couple of seconds passed before she felt hands close around her wrists and pull her to her feet. She barely had time to see Paige's face through blurry eyes before she was pulled into a strong embrace. She tensed for a moment before she melted into it, her hands coming up to clutch desperately at Paige's shirt as she tucked her face into the taller girl's neck.

Paige felt her heart twinge as Hanna's tears soaked her neck and she held her tighter, wanting nothing more than to make things better for her. She wasn't sure there was anything she could do given the situation though, it seemed to be entirely out of her hands. She settled for holding the blonde close and whispering soft assurances in her ear. She wasn't sure how long they stood there and she honestly didn't care. She felt like she would have happily stood there with Hanna in her arms all night. Disappointment niggled at her when Hanna began to pull away but Paige willingly loosened her embrace to allow her to put a small amount of distance between them.

"Sorry." Hanna whispered, wiping at her flushed cheeks. "I didn't mean to cry all over you, I…" she was cut off when Paige gently touched her hand and shook her head.

"I'm glad you did." Paige confessed, her gaze fixed on Hanna's sky blue eyes. "I'm here for you, Hanna. even though we're not...together anymore, I want you to know that I'm here. Even if it's just to cry all over."

Hanna gave a soft laugh at that but she quickly turned serious. "I've missed you."

Paige smiled sadly and reached up to brush a few stray tears from Hanna's cheek. "I've missed you too, Hanna. More than you know." She let her hand fall back to her side and uncomfortably cleared her throat. "Can I take you home? Please?"

Hanna hesitated for a moment before she gave a small nod of her head, figuring she should probably sleep off the alcohol anyway. "Yeah. Yeah, sure."

"Good, let's go." Paige placed her hand on Hanna's elbow and gently guided her away from the swing. "Your hair looks nice. I uh...I meant to tell you that."

Hanna gave a fleeting smile as they began to walk slowly in the direction of her house. "Thanks. I like it." She glanced sidelong at Paige, noticing that she was only wearing a thin shirt. "Aren't you cold?"

"No, I'm fine." Paige answered, shaking her head.

Hanna nodded and slid her arms into Paige's jacket, zipping it up so she could stay warm. She wasn't sure she believed that Paige wasn't going to cold but she wasn't going to argue about it. "What were you doing out so late?"

"I went for a walk to clear my head." Paige slid her hands into her front pockets, mostly to suppress the urge to reach out and take Hanna's. "I do that sometimes."

"That's why I was at the park too." Hanna said softly, her eyes fixed straight ahead as they walked at a steady pace. "Mostly. Alison is living at my house right now, I needed to get away from her for a while."

Paige was silent for a long moment. She didn't want to say anything against Hanna's friend but she didn't trust her motives. "How is she?"

"She's Ali." Hanna answered simply. "She's fine, I guess. She's just everywhere and...I don't trust her. Telling the others that is pointless, I would just end up pushing Emily away even more. She's accepted her back with open arms. Literally." She realized what she was saying and glanced at Paige in time to see the frown on her face. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Paige shook her head, brushing the thought off. "I guess it's good that she's moving on with someone, I'd just prefer if it wasn't with Alison."

"Yeah." Hanna tried not to let it show how much the comment hurt her. She doubted that Paige was half as concerned with who she was moving on with. "I guess you're right."

Paige sighed softly and they fell silent as they walked along. They finally came to a stop in front of Hanna's house and the blonde turned to face Paige, giving her a weak smile. "Thanks for walking me home."

"No problem." Paige said quietly, glancing at the door. She remembered the last time she had been there, when she had met Hanna's mom for the first time and Hanna had told her they were dating.

"I would invite you in but you know...Alison. Might be kind of awkward." Hanna said quietly, noticing where Paige was looking.

"Yeah, of course." Paige smiled softly as she turned back to Hanna. "I was just thinking that maybe...maybe we could try being friends. I don't want to lose you completely, Hanna. I never did. And I think we could both use someone to talk to right now."

Hanna hesitated for a moment before giving a small nod of her head. "Okay. I'll give you a call." She moved to take off Paige's jacket but stopped when Paige touched her wrist.

"Keep it." Paige said quietly. "You can give it to me the next time you see me."

"You live twenty minutes from here and it's probably going to rain again." Hanna pointed out. "I'm right at my door."

Paige shrugged at the response. "It wouldn't be the first time I've been stuck outside in a storm. Besides, this way you'll have to come and find me eventually."

"Okay, fine." Hanna lowered her hands again and stared at Paige for a long moment. The urge to grab her and kiss her quickly grew overwhelming and she looked away again. "I'll um...I'll see you later, Paige."

Paige's lips quirked up slightly and she stepped away. "Drink some water before bed, it'll help with the hangover tomorrow. Goodnight, Hanna." She turned away and headed back in the direction they'd came from, walking back toward her house.

Hanna stood still, watching Paige go. "Goodnight, Paige."

TBC.