Chapter Twenty- Miss Me While Your Away
Sitting on the bed, Hanna watched Lucas scurry around the room trying to pack a last minute suitcase for his trip up to Winthrop for the weekend as she couldn't help but laugh at how goofy he looked at the moment. Knowing all that he had sacrificed to be with Hanna, when Lucas had received a personal invitation from Mr. Smith to attend a benefit dinner that the school was throwing, she knew that was his attempt to get Lucas to reconsider Winthrop again. Although she wasn't crazy about the fact that he could possibly leave, but she knew that she had to support him and encourage him like he did for her, so without any questions asked, Hanna made Lucas plan for his weekend in Winthrop by purchasing a train ticket that was non-refundable so he could cash it out, even though she knew he would never do something like that. Hearing the door open from downstairs, Hanna knew what that arrival meant and what it was going to mean for her stomach. Leaving Lucas behind to pack his suitcase, Hanna swiftly made her way downstairs to join Alton in the kitchen for Lucas's mothers famous pecan pancakes.
"I thought I was the only one who knew about this" Alton said as Hanna grabbed a plate from the cabinet
"I'm dating her son, I think I would be let in on the up and up of why you come over so much" Hanna replied as Lucas's mother placed four pancakes on her plate
"I come over for the company" Alton replied
"That's a lie" Lucas's mother laughed as she gave him four pancakes as well before he joined Hanna at the kitchen table
"Ha" Hanna laughed at Alton
"Aren't you suppose to be helping Luke pack for Winthrop, isn't that your girlfriend duty?" Alton asked her
"Lucas is just about done, now all he needs to do is just pack the personal items" Hanna said
"I'm so thrilled that he's going off to a fancy benefit dinner" Lucas's mother smiled proudly at the thought of her son
"Hopefully he'll have a good time" Hanna replied
"He will, Winthrop is a amazingly beautiful" Alton declared
"Well, I won't take the chance of him being in hunger. I've packed a weekends worth of food" Lucas's mother said as she showed his lunch pale
"He's not going off for a month, goodness, this is like you and over cook mode" Alton replied at the quantity of food that she gave him
"I'd be happy to lighten that for you, if need be" Hanna smiled as Lucas came prancing down the staircase with his suitcases in hands not the least bit surprised to see that his girlfriend and best friend had abandoned him for some of his mother's pecan pancakes "Hey Luke" she said cheerfully as she tried to hide the fact that she was eating away
"Save it, too late" Lucas replied as he joined his mother in the kitchen being sure to give her a kiss on the cheek before even thinking to grab a plate "This looks great mom" he said as he put four pancakes on his plate
"Are you all packed?" Hanna asked him
"I'm all packed up, just about ready to go" Lucas smiled
"I really wish you were staying because from what I've heard, Mona is throwing a kick ass fourth of July party" Alton told them
"Watch your mouth, we don't say ass unless its necessary" Lucas's mother said as she sipped on her cup of coffee
"Oh, its necessary in this situation. These fourth of parties are legendary, you could go in a virgin and leave a new man" Alton praised "I for one am planning to me amongst the deflowered virgins" he declared
"This is really a conversation I shouldn't he listening to, seeing as you disturb me enough as is" Lucas's mother said grabbing her paper and coffee to head upstairs to her room "Come by the room when you get ready to leave Luke, and don't forget to call your dad" she said on her way up the stairs
"Mona's parties aren't as crazy as you may think, from someone who helped plan and gone to them" Hanna said
"Your just jealous that your market card has been swooped up and can't enjoy the festivities like you once could" Alton laughed
"Shut up" Hanna told Alton as she hit him in the arm
"Please tell me your not going to this party? I mean your market card is picked up, right? Or is it like a discount type of thing with all the coupons" Lucas asked her
"I'm not going. Mona and I are no longer on speaking terms, so me attending her party would give the wrong idea of what we really are" Hanna said
"Especially with Mona being the new queen bee" Alton stated as Lucas just looked at him "What? Like she doesn't know" he reasoned
"No, I'm good. Mona was always into following the crowd, if I was the so called queen bee then I wouldn't be sitting here with you two losers" Hanna smiled
"Maybe Spencer could go to this party, get the stick taken out of her ass" Alton suggested
"Spencer, no. Spencer will most likely be curled up with a nice S.A.T prep book or one hundred things you need to know about Yale" Hanna laughed
"Well beats the uptight persona she has going on" Alton said
"Why is Spencer of concern to you?" Hanna asked with the biggest of smiles on her face
"No reason, just thought since we were into the blending of social crews that we would all be one big happy family" Alton said
"Okay, do you really have to discuss all the things that your going to do while I'm away. That almost makes me want to not…" Lucas said before Hanna cut him off
"Your going. If I have to drag you, your going" Hanna said not even tearing away from her pancake eating
"Okay. Well I'm going to call my father, may you get you both get your party on without me" Lucas said as he made his way up the stairs
"I'm not going babe" Hanna said
"I will" Alton said happily "No more Mr. Virgin" he sang in a melodic tone
"That right there, is the sole reason why you'll still be a virgin after the party" Hanna laughed as she got up from the table to clean her plate in the kitchen
"I will be a new man, I guarantee that. A new man is what I shall and will be" Alton declared as all Hanna could do was laugh at his declaration
Glad to finally be off the entrapment of a train, Lucas thanked his lucky stars to be on pavement once again. Dragging his suitcase along the walkway, he was relieved to see Mr. Smith resting up against his convertible waiting for him to arrive. Making his way over to help the young boy, Mr. Smith couldn't hide the happiness to see his young protégé finally take his offer to at least experience what life could be like at Winthrop for at least the weekend. Loading Lucas's stuff into the trunk, Lucas couldn't help but get lost in the scenery that was the town of Winthrop, it was like being in a movie, where the young and eager boy got lost in the beauty of college and all that it had to offer. Once they were both in the car, Mr. Smith wasted no time pulling out of the train station and onto the open road, in fear that Lucas would change his mind after one ounce of wondering what his girlfriend was up to back at home, Mr. Smith wasn't going to take that chance.
"Remind me again why you pretend that you're a low income teacher back at Rosewood? Because it would be hard for me to be separated from this car for long" Lucas laughed as he checked out the features of the car
"I choose to separate my life, nothing is wrong with that" Mr. Smith replied
"Oh, no. Nothing is wrong with that, but why would you?" Lucas asked him
"Because, its fun" Mr. Smith laughed
"So I think Hanna should get your approval because she basically made me come this weekend" Lucas declared over the rushing winds
"I like Hanna, I never disliked her" Mr. Smith said
"You could have fooled me, I thought you were going to get rid of her at some point" Lucas laughed
"I just want you to be smart about your future. Love is great, but you have to make sure it's the real deal kind of love before you start sacrificing everything" Mr. Smith
"Well, I love her and that's what matter right now" Lucas smiled
"Can't knock a guy in love" Mr. Smith said "So are you excited about this weekend?" he asked
"Yeah, but what exactly is this benefit for?" Lucas asked
"Basically a reason for the wealthy to get drunk and spend money over stupid stuff" Mr. Smith described "Oh, and I forgot to mention that you will be featured on a panel of prominent students" he said as Lucas's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in shock
"What? I'm not prepared to be on a panel. Let alone talk about my software" Lucas said
"Your ready Luke. This will be good for you, I promise" Mr. Smith laughed
"Easy for you to say because you won't be the one up there looking like a fool" Lucas said
"You'll be fine, I guarantee it" Mr. Smith said "Just think of all those wealthy people who just want to make a quick dollar, and how you'll make them eat every word you say" he said
"Wealth and me, that's two things that have never gone together. That check you gave me is slowly dwindling down to nothing with all the costs I've had to bear over the proposal, and lab time I had to purchase" Lucas said
"When do you have the lab booked?" Mr. Smith asked
"I have it booked for the beginning of August, that's the only time that was available" Lucas said
"I'll make a few calls and get your money back. You can use the lab over on campus grounds, and save the money for your presentation" Mr. Smith said
"So this is you flexing your name on this one, huh?" Lucas laughed "Oh, and before I forget…thank you for what you did" he said
"What did I do?" Mr. Smith asked
"For buying the house, it meant a lot to me and Hanna" Lucas said
"I didn't do it to keep the love alive, I did it to keep you focused, and because I had someone look into Hanna's father" Mr. Smith said
"Oh, and what did you find?" Lucas asked intrigued
"Enough evidence to know that he doesn't take care of his responsibilities" Mr. Smith smiled
"Here's to one hell of a weekend" Lucas smiled joyfully
"Here's to one hell of a weekend" Mr. Smith laughed as he increased his speed to let Lucas have the full experience of the convertible
Alton had high hopes that he would be able to make it through one weekend without Lucas be around, and at first he was doing okay with his lone ranger status but after three hours had passed of Lucas no longer being in Rosewood, he realized boredom was slowly kicking in. A few times he had ran through his mind to call Reese and see what she was up to, and he found himself actually dialing the number but luckily his prediction of him quickly getting annoyed of her as well always prevented the phone from ringing on either side. Sitting off near the window in the café, Alton had gathered up a bunch of his comic books and began to read them while sipping on a nice cold soda. He found some enjoyment of reading his once favored comic books but knew it would only last for so long before the feeling of boredom would sink back in eventually. Realizing that he had ran out of soda, Alton got up from his seat to go up to the counter, Mona's party flier had caught his attention while he waited for his drink to be refilled and just as he got caught up in the details of the flier, Mona walked into to the café, laughing at him as he looked on at her flier.
"Don't even bother showing up" Mona told him as she walked over towards him
"Public space, I would think it would be a public party" Alton replied
"Your using up public space, and no, your not coming to my private party" Mona said "What would even give you the idea that you'd be welcome?" she asked
"Hence the public space reference I just said" Alton said
"Do you really think just because Hanna has plead temporary insanity by dating Hermes, that that would make you welcome amongst the popular?" Mona asked
"No, I just….forget it, your right. Temporary insanity has come over me" Alton replied as Mona and her friends laughed at him
"Such a loser much" Mona laughed just as Hanna and Emily made their way inside the café to see the scene between Mona and Alton "You can have the flier now because I'm sure you've contaminated it" she laughed at him
"Mona! Knock it off" Hanna said coming to Alton's defense "What the hell is your problem?" she asked
"What are you the geek rescuer now?" Mona asked
"In what reality do you live in now, where you think its okay to talk to people like that?" Hanna asked "What makes you better than him?" she asked
"I really don't think we should get into that topic" Alton whispered to Hanna
"Nothing, she's just bullying him because she can" Emily said as Mona quickly turned her attention towards her surprised to see that Emily was speaking out against her
"This is classic, Emily ganging up on me, but then again she might want to kiss me" Mona replied as her friends busted into laughter
"Shut up Mona" Hanna replied
"Or else what? You make all these threats and think your better than me, but the reality is that you're a nothing now. Your days as queen bee are over" Mona said
"Well if I have to act like you then I sure as hell don't want the crown because its hardly fitting that big head of yours anyways" Hanna said
"Nice comebacks, but too bad that's all you'll ever have except a comeback to what Alison prepped you for. I can imagine what Alison is thinking now, she wasted all her time trying to make you a spitting image of her, and it almost worked, but you threw it away all for Hermes, and we know how she loathed him" Mona said trying to goat a response out of Hanna
"You don't know what the hell your talking about" Hanna said moving in closer towards Mona, showing that she wasn't backing down for one bit against her
"C'mon, lets just get out of here" Alton said grabbing on to Hanna's shoulder
"You've turned into exactly what Alison hated, pathtic" Mona said "Oh, and your looking a little chubby these days, more to love I guess" she joked before Hanna nearly pounced on her but Alton had pulled her back before she could even get a good grip on Mona
"Just go Mona" Emily said
"You know what, I think I will, because unlike all three of you, who had nothing better to do than support the person who murdered your friend, I have better things to do with my popularity" Mona said
"You and your popularity are going to have something in common all right because their both about to get a hit" Hanna threatened
"Make threats all you want, but you'll never be queen bee" Mona said
"Bring it on bitch" Hanna replied "I made you, and I can destroy you" she threatened
"Now who's full of themselves" Mona laughed "I'd like to see that" she said as her and her friends left the café just laughing at Hanna's threats
"Okay, what was that all about? Your giving threats now?" Emily asked Hanna as she followed her over towards a table
"Yeah, Em. Mona has gone too far now" Hanna said annoyed with even the mention of Mona
"All because of me, that's thoughtful of you" Alton said becoming flattered by Hanna's need to defend him
"No, not because of you. Mona is trying to stick it to me everyway she can. On her face book page she's bashed me in every form she could" Hanna said
"And here I thought we had an ounce of friendship between us" Alton laughed to himself
"Alton" Hanna said
"I think I was about to witness my first girl fight, and strangely enough I would have found that a huge turn on" Alton smiled
"Alton" Emily replied
"Like you don't get turned on by some girl fights" Alton said finding that hard to believe from Emily "So your telling me that if Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox threw down over Megan Fox grabbing the last white tank top that was soaking wet and she had to cover her bare chest, and Jolie had to fight her to get back to the school bus of kids she has, you wouldn't get turned on" he narrated as he imagined it all in his head while both Hanna and Emily looked at him in wonder of how he came up with this scenario
"You seriously need Lucas more than I ever thought you did" Hanna replied
"Maybe" Emily muttered under her breath so only Alton could hear her before she turned back to look at Hanna "This is all over a face book status?" she asked
"No, I'm just tired of catching crap from Mona of all people" Hanna said "She needs to be knocked down a peg or two" she said
"And how are you going to knock her down, and will you need a pool full of whipped cream for this task?" Alton asked before Hanna slapped him upside the head
"Focus" Hanna told him
"Its not like we can stop Mona, the best way to deal with Mona is to just avoid her" Emily said
"Yeah, if we were dealing with someone who was normal, but this is Mona, she eats and sleeps her popularity status" Hanna said
"So what, are you planning to do. Throw a retaliation party or something" Alton laughed to himself like Hanna had lost her mind or something but she turned to him with the biggest of smiles on her face
"That. Is. A. Great idea" Hanna smiled "I could throw a party on the exact same day that she's throwing her party" she suggested
"This is crazy. This is a knee jerk reaction from seeing her" Emily said
"How? We can see who exactly is popular. You know since she's the queen bee and all" Hanna said
"And your really serious about this?" Alton asked her
"Yes" Hanna replied
"I like it. I really like it" Alton smiled "I'm in…wait, I am invited to your party, right?" he asked her
"Of course. My party will be all accepting" Hanna smiled proudly
"How are you going to get everyone to go to your party? Mona has been advertising this party since the last week of school. You have one day to pull off a miracle" Emily said
"Well I have Aria, Spencer, Alton, Maya, Alex, and you coming….that's a good start . I welcome the challenge Em" Hanna said
"I hope you do because I'll be impressed if you pull this off" Emily sighed as both Hanna and Alton smiled proudly at their set out challenge to bring down Mona once and for all "You two are crazy" she laughed
With the welcome party in full swing, Lucas quickly saw that Mr. Smith was telling the truth when it came to the rich people that loved to drink the wine and shell out the money. Lucas did his share of schmoozing with many of the party goers, making Mr. Smith proud that he was actually enjoying himself rather than playing the shy boy, stepping out onto the balcony for some fresh air as he knocked back a bottle of water. Tossing the bottle into the trash can that was tucked away in the corner, Lucas quickly spotted a young woman standing off by her lonesome looking out at the night sky. Surprised to see that someone else was out there, the young woman turned to him but was somewhat relieved to see that it was Lucas, she was relieved as if she knew Lucas for some reason. Rising to her feet, the young woman quickly extended her hand out to Lucas to introduce herself to him.
"Beth Parker" Beth introduced herself "You must be Lucas Gottesman, my uncle talks about you all the time" she smiled at him as he shook her hand
"And your uncle is?" Lucas asked her
"Gavin Smith" Beth replied "He's like your biggest supporter" she laughed
"Yeah, and my biggest critic in both business and personal aspects" Lucas laughed "So which brother is your father? I'm new to this whole other life of Mr. Smith, I'm just now meeting Gavin" he asked her
"Well my mother is the oldest, and her younger brothers are my uncles" Beth said
"Another new fact that I'm learning" Lucas smiled "So is this a boring party that you have to attend?" he asked
"Something like that, I'm newly enrolled at Winthrop, like I had any other choice of where to go" Beth laughed
"When its in your family, yeah, you really have no other options. I'm considering Jamestown and Mr. Smith is doing all he can to get me in, and then transfer over" Lucas laughed as Beth couldn't help but laugh at her uncle's attempts
"Well you really should consider coming to Winthrop, I mean not a lot of people can say they have a Smith within their midst" Beth said
"Are you trying to recruit me?" Lucas asked
"Don't flatter yourself, I've got my share of brain power here, I just respect prospective ideas that could change data entry as we know it" Beth said
"You make me sound like the uber dork when you say it like that" Lucas replied at her statement "What are you into?" he asked
"Engineering" Beth replied
"Interesting" Lucas smiled
"Well I should probably head back inside before my mom starts to freak out that I'm not schmoozing enough" Beth smiled
"Yeah, I should head back inside as well" Lucas smiled
"Are you staying in the halls?" Beth asked
"No, I'm staying over at your uncle's, since I'm not technically a student I can be his houseguest without penalty" Lucas said
"Oh, then I would say I'll see you around but then I'll just see you on Sunday" Beth smiled
"For what?" Lucas asked
"Sunday breakfast, it's a regular for the Smith family, you'll face the real critics on Sunday for sure" Beth smiled "Bye Lucas" she said before she went back inside
"Winthrop is interesting" Lucas smiled to himself
Tiredly coming down the staircase, Hanna felt like she hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep from the night before after calling everyone within her calling circle to tell them about her party, most of the people she had talked to were either going to Mona's party or were on the fence about if they were going but were going to consider going to Hanna's if they had to, although she got some definite responses, she worried that her plan to overthrow Mona was coming to a shocking realization that maybe her popularity had taken a hit. Hanna loved Lucas with all her heart, but a part of her felt like her popularity was another facet of her life that made her feel like she was in the glory days of her high school years, she wasn't smart or rebel enough like the rest of her friends to think beyond high school, these days were it for her. What the themes were going to be for Homecoming, Prom, and Formal all mattered to her, she knew that wasn't important but deep down it really was important to her and she knew that Mona knew that aspect of her. When she was finally able to manage some time to call Lucas she stayed up what was left of the night talking to Lucas, who seemed to be enjoying himself up at Winthrop, which she relieved to hear because then she wouldn't feel so guilty about throwing a party to get back at Mona, in her head she could hear him telling her to take the high road and forget about her, but payback was in need and it needed to visit Mona. Walking past the kitchen, Hanna could hear her laptop beep, which signaled that she had received an e-mail and it was alerting her to that fact. Opening up her e-mail, she was surprised to see that she had over five thousand e-mail in her inbox all labeled from yesterday around late in the evening. Clicking open one of her e-mails, she quickly read the message, before she was quickly torn away from the knocking at her door.
"Oh, you" Hanna said realizing that it was Alton on the other side
"Nice to see you, too" Alton smiled as he quickly rushed in with his laptop in hand "Have you checked your e-mail?" he asked her
"Not really, but I have noticed that I have over five thousand in my inbox from last night. Either my spam box just took a vacation and wants me to sift through my crap or something major has happened" Hanna said as she put on a pot of coffee to brew
"I really think you should look at it" Alton smiled
"Why? What did you do?" Hanna asked as she walked over to her laptop to click into the e-mail "Count me in" she read "Is this a party confirmation?" she asked him
"From J-Boy28 it looks like, what's their real name?" Alton asked as he looked at the e-mail
"Justin Goodman. I know him, he's in my English class. I never called him, did you call him and tell him the news?" Hanna asked
"Not really. I kind of did my own advertising for the party" Alton said
"What kind of advertising?" Hanna asked pouring herself a cup of coffee before she joined him at the kitchen counter
"Just realize that I used my skills to get us attendance and the ultimate goal is to beat Mona" Alton said
"Okay, get to the point Alton" Hanna said before her cell phone began to vibrate next to her "It's Spencer" she said checking her caller identification before she answered the phone
"And like the cock blocker I always knew she was, here she calls" Alton said to himself
"Hey, what's up?" Hanna answered the phone ignoring Alton's comment
"Have you checked you tube?" Spencer asked
"No, I just woke up people. I'm trying to plan a party in record time with no time to spare, I do need sleep" Hanna declared to both Spencer and Alton
"Check it" Spencer said
"Under what?" Hanna asked
"I think I can help you with that" Alton said as he slid his lap top in front of her so she could see the video.
Tilting her head to the side to see what exactly what she was looking at, Hanna quickly drew back in disgust once she realized that it was porn movie clip that she was watching. For the two minutes that it was allotted, all she could see was the girl bouncing up and down on the guy, with loud moans filling her ear drums. Giving Alton a death defying glance, Hanna looked back in time to hear the moans edited out with the advertisement of her party with the slogan of come and get laid at Hanna's fourth of July party added in. The video ended with a final text advertisement of Hanna's fourth of July party and fireworks exploding as the backdrop. "Are you serious?" Hanna quickly turned to ask Alton
"Hey, I did this to help you. Remember, beat Mona is the goal" Alton told her
"With advertising my party through porn. What happened to the old fashion way of paper and clever print?" Hanna asked "This is disgusting even for you" she said putting Spencer on speakerphone in hopes of trying to find a way to clear up this catastrophe
"What do you expect from him" Spencer laughed
"Hey, if anyone needs to get laid, its you" Alton fired back at Spencer "Hanna, you have less than a couple of hours to throw a party that will hopefully dethrown Mona, do you really want to waste time being upset about a stupid video?" he asked
"I have over five thousand people coming, expecting to get laid Alton. I'm not some pimp or something" Hanna said
"You don't have to pimp out anyone. Once guy see's girl then they'll do that all on their own, and it helps if you have alcohol, that always decreases morals" Alton said
"Wow, your getting more pathtic by the minute" Spencer said
"Okay, well do you want to waste time and tell all the five thousand people who are planning to attend your party that they can't come because this is too much for you to handle" Alton said
"First off, she doesn't have five thousand people house, and second, do we even know all of these people? They could be from God knows where trying to get laid apparently" Spencer proposed
"Spencer is right, I don't have room for that amount of people" Hanna sighed
"And my second point right?" Spencer asked
"Spence, at this point, I could care less who comes, the space is what I have to worry about" Hanna replied
"Ha, I won" Alton said happy that he got through to Hanna as opposed to Spencer
"I'm still pissed, but we're desperate and you made a desperate move that I'm ashamed to admit that I appreciate greatly, but no more porn" Hanna said
"Okay, now for the space, I think I may have an ideal as to where we could hold the party that might be perfect, but I might need you Hastings" Alton said
"Forget it, I want no part in your disgusting plan" Spencer replied
"And she's your best friend, I'd reconsider" Alton whispered to Hanna
"I heard that ass" Spencer yelled
"Could you be any more of a prude. Just do this to help Hanna, your good name won't get tainted" Alton told Spencer
"Spencer, will you just listen to him. We'll sanitize after the party is over with, but we're in his hands right now" Hanna said
"Thank you for the somewhat compliment" Alton smiled at her
"Fine, whatever" Spencer agreed
"Pick me up at Hanna's in fifteen" Alton said
"Fifteen what?" Spencer asked
"Minutes. What'd you think I meant? What seconds? That's not even possible" Alton replied
"Ughhh…Hanna, you owe me big time" Spencer said before she hung up the phone
"Spencer is going to kill you" Hanna told him
"I can handle the ice princess. Now with this whole porn thing, do you think I can stop maybe tomorrow after the party or so?" Alton asked
"What?" Hanna asked
"I just have a couple or maybe one thousand titty jello shapes being delivered today to my house for the party" Alton said as Hanna just shook her head in disbelief
"Go, before I regret having any part in this" Hanna said before Alton grabbed his laptop and made his way outside the house
Finishing up his lab time, Lucas sat in front of computer, looking over all of his work before he would finally save and print the progress he's made on the software. Back at his photo gallery he always felt like he was trying to create an office out of nothing, in his mind he always felt like he couldn't take away something that was meant to be for his grandmother and grandfather. Lucas had high hopes that one day that his grandmother would teach him all the recipes she knew so that one day he could fix up the gallery and turn it into a gallery and a restaurant. Being at Winthrop, in the lab, he felt like he was some sort of braniac that was doing something important for once in his life. Gathering all his work together as he prepared to head back to Mr. Smith's place to wash up and call Hanna, he was quickly joined by Beth, who seemed eager to get into the lab herself. Once again she was surprised to see Lucas, but then again it wasn't surprising that her uncle would give him full access to the lab.
"The Smith name at it's best. He cut my time for you?" Beth said finally realizing why Lucas was able to get lab hours that were booked beyond belief
"What? I had no idea" Lucas quickly replied
"Its okay, I mean you're the prize that he's trying to catch" Beth replied before she realized how rude she was being "I'm sorry, I'm just having a tough morning" she said
"Sorry" Lucas said
"For what?" Beth asked
"For the tough morning" Lucas said
"Thank you, but I should have seen this coming" Beth said "And I was hoping to drown my problems in some much needed work" she said
"Uh oh, a future workaholic in the making" Lucas laughed "What's the problem?" he asked
"I don't think I should share my problems with you, that'd be….weird" Beth said
"I've heard weirder things" Lucas said
"Scratch weird, it's dumb" Beth said
"I highly doubt anything you feel is dumb, remember you've got your own brain power working for you" Lucas smiled
"My boyfriend and I made it official last night, we've officially broken up" Beth said
"Oh, the dreaded break up. That does suck" Lucas said
"Yeah, well I was delusional to think that it'd work for us. It was a high school thing that I should have left at that, just high school" Beth said
"You believed it would work, that doesn't make you delusional" Lucas siad
"I'm going to Winthrop and his idea of college is the local community college" Beth said
"What's wrong with that?" Lucas asked
"What I view as stressful and important, he won't. Winthrop isn't just some university, its designed to put you in the working force and hopefully a millionaire if your really good" Beth said
"So by you choosing Winthrop, that doomed your relationship, I hardly doubt that" Lucas said
"Maybe not, but it was a big part in it. What I viewed as important, he didn't anymore. It was just high school, and I have come to realize that" Beth said
"You make it sound so tragic, like it was doomed from the beginning?" Lucas asked
"Maybe because it kind of was, I could only rebel so much against what people were telling me" Beth said "Before the truth finally swooped in unexpectedly" she said
With enough time to spare, Hanna and Alton were able to put together a successful party that accommodated all four thousand of the people that had showed up. In a big way, Alton had come through for Hanna, and it was priceless to see Mona's face as she realized that not only was Hanna throwing the biggest party, but most of their peers after watching the you tube video had decided to check out Hanna's party instead of Mona's. It was a full out effort from everyone with Maya calling in favors from her friends in New York, who knew a couple of disc jockeys in town that would spin for free as long as they were fed, and Spencer was able to get a favor from one of her mother's staff to consider the event a town event so the police wouldn't make the party abide by curfew rules, and with Aria's ability to do all things artsy, she was able to put together a banner that would make the party legit as a town event though the titty jello's confused a few of the elderly people who came. Looking on at everyone from a far, Hanna couldn't help but be happy that most of the party goers were hailing her as the queen bee of parties like it used to be.
"How were you able to pull of getting a space like this? I mean this looks like the port that used to house all the ships that come in throughout the night" Aria asked Hanna
"That's all Alton's deal" Hanna said passing the glory to him
"The guy that owns this property, I used to do his taxes and lets just say he's cut a few corners when it comes to paying, and I knew exactly which corners he cut. So he let me rent out the space for two hundred dollars" Alton said
"Hence the five dollar fee" Hanna realized why they were charging at the gates
"We've made more than two hundred to cover the money you put out, what's the rest for?" Emily asked
"I hope its not for anymore videos" Spencer said
"No, its not. It's divided up so that they could be put into some of the club funds at school" Alton said
"On behalf of swim club, we're grateful for the tit jello shots" Emily laughed
"I always knew you were a breast girl" Alton laughed
"Then what was Spencer needed for?" Hanna asked "You needed Spencer earlier this morning" she told him trying to refresh his memory
"Oh, I showed the guy my video, and I told him that Hastings here was going to devirginize me. I told him to consider this helping me into manhood by letting me throw the party" Alton laughed as Spencer quickly hit him on the arm
"No wonder he kept staring at me like I was crazy or something" Spencer said as the girls just laughed at their banter
"You were flattered, and you know it. You were finally looked upon with gazing affection, you should be lucky that he considered you worthy to be with me" Alton said
"Worthy, he looked at me like I was crazy, I hardly consider that worthy" Spencer replied
"Oh God, get over yourself. You need a beer, lets get you a beer" Alton said leading Spencer off to the keg as Aria, Emily, and Maya followed behind them unable to control their laughter with the constant banter between the two
"This looks pretty amazing" Noel told Hanna as he handed her a beer "You look thirsty" he smiled at her
"I thought you would be at Mona's?" Hanna asked
"After that video, I thought it was clever the lengths you would go to just to beat Mona, I had to come" Noel laughed
"The video was not my brain child" Hanna laughed
"Where is the boyfriend?" Noel asked
"He's at school" Hanna said
"School?" Noel laughed "Okay, I'll pretend to understand why your boyfriend is at school instead of enjoying summer with his smoking hot girlfriend" he said
"While I appreciate the compliment, I made him go" Hanna said "This is for his future" she said
"So are you planning to go to school next weekend or something? Since your into future plans apparently" Noel asked
"Your funny, I think your cut off on the alcohol content" Hanna laughed
"This is you, Hanna. Mona trying to be queen bee is so annoying, and over thought" Noel said
"How is it over thought?" Hanna asked
"Its like she's trying so hard to be something that we all know she isn't, but you, you know your peers, and its natural for you. This isn't the only kick ass party you've thrown, I remember others that got hot and heavy a few times" Noel said
"I never cheated on Sean, so the parties your referring to don't matter" Hanna said
"Yeah, you never cheated exclusively, but you've made me rethink my crush on Aria a few times" Noel laughed
"That's all in your mind" Hanna laughed "Who ever came up with this stupid queen bee title anyways, its stupid" she said
"Like you don't know. You were only best friends with her for the longest" Noel said
"Alison. That's right, I forgot" Hanna laughed "Ali was all about appearances, I should know, since she made me live up to them" she said
"Well she's a thing of the past, and you're the future. I think the word queen will be in your future for quite some time, and Mona can't stop that" Noel said as he moved in closer towards her
"That's if I want it" Hanna said
"Oh, you want it. I know you do, I see it in your face. This is you, its always been" Noel smiled as they were nearly inches away from each other
"You know what I love about popularity" Hanna whispered in his ear as he nearly lost his mind thinking of all the things he wanted to do to her at this point, as their bodies nearly collided
"What's that?" Noel asked her as he ran his hand over her shoulder
"I can walk away at any time" Hanna said dodging his embrace of her before she began to walk off. Turning back to look at him "Is that what you meant with hot and heavy?" she asked with a devilish smile
"You're a tease" Noel smiled knowing exactly what game she was playing
"Yeah, I'm something like that" Hanna smiled before she went off to join her friends. She knew with every step that she took that his attention was solely on her, and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy because she knew if she had Noel Kahns attention then she had everyone's. She still had it, she was still the queen bee, the only question was, did she still want the title and all it possessed. Feeling a vibration from her cell phone, she quickly pulled out her cell phone to see that it was a text from A "Nice to see you haven't gone soft on me. Every Queen needs to step over a few peasants to get to the thrown" she read not really interested in decoding her message, all Hanna was interested in was enjoying her victory over Mona.
Lucas found himself enjoying himself fully as it was clear that the Smith family was far different than any family he had ever seen. Meeting all of Mr. Smith's family members, Lucas truly felt like he was connected even more so to Winthrop than he could have imagined just by the overwhelming kindness he had received since being in Winthrop, but he knew that it was time for him to go home, before he found himself in a debate in his mind of if he was making the right decision. Having his stuff sent down, Lucas made his way downstairs to see Mr. Smith waiting for him in the foyer of the oversized house while the rest of the Smith's were outside still laughing and enjoying their time. He still found himself in shock by the double life that his mentor lead, but he was happy that this was something that only Alton and him knew about, like it was their getaway from Rosewood if need be. If Mr. Smith kept this a secret, he knew that it was for good reason and the time Lucas spent here, it was apparent as to why.
"Are you all ready?" Mr. Smith asked
"More than ready" Lucas replied "Thank you for everything, I had a really great time" he said
"Enough to reconsider?" Mr. Smith asked
"Reconsider? I missed my deadline, the only hope I have is to transfer in from Jamestown" Lucas said "And might I add, Jamestown is still on the table" he said
"Aw, now your just throwing curse words at me" Mr. Smith laughed "Most of the board members were at the benefit the other night, and you talked to quite a few to leave a lasting impression. There is a second session that is coming up in the beginning of August, but it would be only as camp sort of deal to give you the feel of what Winthrop is, but you could still get credit if you choose to go here" he said
"Somehow I knew this weekend would translate into more with you" Lucas laughed
"This is an opportunity for you Lucas, I want you to have a shot at this" Mr. Smith said
"I know you do, which is why it pains me to admit that I could really see myself here" Lucas admitted "I love it here, and I love my somewhat celebrity status here" he laughed
"So now who's leading a double life" Mr. Smith joked
"But I still want to be that kid, I'm not sure speeding up the growth process is a smart idea" Lucas said
"Its only up until school starts, if you decide to stay then that's completely your choice" Mr. Smith said
"But the option to transfer, is that still an option I can use?" Lucas asked
"Its still an option" Mr. Smith sighed
"Then I think I would lean heavily towards that. Winthrop isn't out of the question, it'll just be awhile" Lucas said
"I tried, but I will be ecstatic the day you finally become a student here" Mr. Smith smiled "I'll go see if the driver is ready" he said as he went outside the house
"I guess this is goodbye" Beth said as she made her way inside the house from the back yard
"Yeah, I guess this is" Lucas smiled
"It was nice to meet you Lucas, I think my family is completely in love with you now" Beth smiled
"I like that. You know having all the Smith's in my pocket" Lucas laughed "So how are you? With the whole post break up?" he asked
"I'm doing better" Beth smiled
"That's great" Lucas said
"So are you planning to return or is this the final goodbye?" Beth asked
"I'm not sure, but I do plan to return. Where does that register?" Lucas asked
"It ranks high" Beth smiled
"Well I'll take it" Lucas said
"Well then I'll look forward to your return" Beth said before she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek "Until then, Lucas" she smiled at him causing a wave of shock to come to Lucas and instant image of Hanna looking on with disapproving eyes before he was quickly brought back to reality by the door opening
"Change of plans Luke" Mr. Smith said as he came back inside "Hey Beth" he said to his neice
"Hey Uncle Gavin. I was just saying goodbye to your young protégé" Beth teased her uncle
"What's the change?" Lucas asked still reeling from the shock that Beth had kissed him
"The driver is at the train station because he thought he was picking you up, so I thought you might enjoy driving this bad boy" Mr. Smith said before he revealed the very convertible Lucas was gawking over
"Oh, I'm so going to miss Winthrop" Lucas smiled before he quickly grabbed the keys and ran out to the car with Mr. Smith close behind him
"Hey, there are rules you have to abide by" Mr. Smith told him as Beth laughed hearing her Uncle nearly have a heart attack at the though of someone having bad intentions with his convertible
Stepping off the train, Lucas took in a deep breath before he once again began to drag his suitcase along the pavement. Looking around the familiar settings of Rosewood, a piece of him felt like nothing screamed intrigue like it did in Winthrop. A part of him hated that he went out to Winthrop and enjoyed himself so much because he just felt like he was comparing at this point. Coming upon a crowd of people looking on at the schedule board to see when certain trains were coming in, Lucas made his way through the crowd to find the sole reason of what Rosewood so special to him for what felt like all of his teenage years and maybe even beyond that. It was like Christmas morning when he laid eyes on her, so much so that he couldn't wait to hold her and smell the scent of her, and standing beside her was his best friend, his best friend in the whole world, the friend that without a doubt knew him best. Walking up towards them, Hanna rested against his car as she looked on at Alton.
"Something looks different about him" Hanna said playfully to Alton who observed his friend
"Is he taller or shorter?" Alton asked "He looks a tad bit taller" he observed as he walked all around him
"Maybe, he looks cuter but then again he was always cute" Hanna commented on his looks
"Thank you" Lucas smiled at her
"Speak for yourself, I for one think he's a little rough to look at" Alton replied
"I think I will, speak for myself. He looks good enough…"Hanna said as Alton quickly cut her off
"Control your feminine urges for the bedroom, we're in public here" Alton replied instantly
"I plan to" Hanna said as Lucas became flattered by every moment that passed as they both just stared at each other with only one thing on their mind and miles in between that stopped them from ripping each other's clothes off
"Maybe he has a bit more facial hair" Alton suggested
"Could be, you know maybe the Brad Pitt look is coming in" Hanna laughed
"That would balance out those unbalanced ears" Alton joked
"Okay, are we done here, I would really love to get home" Lucas laughed
"I think just about" Alton said "Good to have you back Luke, good to have you back" he said
"So what damage did you two do while I was away?" Lucas asked
"Oh, we just through a small little party" Alton replied
"You throw parties now Al?" Lucas asked surprised to hear the word we in Alton's sentence
"Yes, Alton is actually pretty good at event planning, so much so that its scary" Hanna said
"Was it fun?" Lucas asked
"It had its moments" Hanna smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a quick kiss
"Did you have fun?" Lucas asked
"Without you, never" Hanna laughed
"That's nice to hear" Lucas laughed as they all got into Lucas's car with Hanna at the drivers seat "I got some video you sent Al, I haven't watched it yet, but since when do you do videos?" he asked as he pulled his cell phone out
"Alton, really? You sent it to Lucas?" Hanna asked him in disbelief as she pulled out of the parking lot just before Lucas opened the video to hear the constant moaning sounds from the video of the people having sex
"Dude, seriously?" Lucas asked in disbelief by the video as they got onto the open roads as Alton did his best to explain the reasoning behind it to Lucas