Chapter 33:

Black and Red Collide

"Too much?" Spencer asked, her eyebrows arched in question.

Toby turned away from the dresser mirror and let his eyes rove over her, taking in her appearance.

After over four years together, one would think that he would become numb or at least impartial to her exterior form. But no, even though all that time had passed, he still seemed to get a fluttery heartbeat and a goofy grin on his face when he saw her. Every expression she made, everything she wore – from sweats to jeans to gowns – reminded him of just how beautiful she was, inside and out.

Tonight, in honor of the upcoming new years' party, Spencer was daring in her midnight blue cocktail dress, with a lace neckline that was all-too signature Spencer to fit anyone else. It hugged her narrow waist and fanned out loosely about her hips. Her hair was tied up in a loose up-do, held back by a few silver clips. A pair of black heels dangled from her fingertips, and she stood in the doorway, putting on her lipstick.

"Well?"

Her voice brought him out of his reverent stare, and he realized that she was actually expecting an honest answer.

"Oh, no." He shook his head, taking a few steps toward her. When he reached her at the bedroom doorway, he let his arms wrap loosely around her, "Perfect."

"Are you sure? The dress isn't – "

"Nope."

"The shoes aren't – "

"Nope."

"The – "

"Spencer, it's beautiful. Really. You're beautiful." He smiled, rubbing the tip of his nose affectionately against hers, "An angel in midnight blue."

"Well, Romeo, I hope you're right about that, because at this rate, I'm going to need wings to get to the party on time." She gently extracted herself from his grip, stepping around him and hurrying towards the dresser mirror.

"Hey, Ezra and Aria said that it would be no biggie if we were late." Toby replied calmly, running a hand through his hair.

"Yes, but I'm Spencer Hastings, silly." She said as if it was obvious. "I don't do 'late.'"

"Ah, yes, the always fashionably early Spencer Hastings." He confirmed, joining her in front of the dresser, "My wonderful fiancée. The love of my life."

"As sweet as you are, you might have to trade in the Romeo façade for something more boring. Perhaps Mercutio or Benvolio? Even Friar Lawrence was at least rational."

"Hm, and who would that make you? Nurse? Lady Capulet? Or perhaps even Rosaline?"

"Psh, as if." Spencer rolled her eyes, fitting one last bobby pin into her curls. "If I was Rosaline, I'd have to be chaste all my life, now wouldn't I? I think that this," she held up her ring finger in the mirror, "says otherwise."

"Face it, Spencer." Toby let his fingertips run gently down her arms, "We're the star crossed lovers of Verona-Rosewood and always will be."

Spencer smiled, "Well, I can't say that I'd really want it any other way."

He grinned softly and pressed a gentle kiss into her hair. She shrieked in objection, "What are you doing?! I just got my hair to stay where it was!" Her hands flew to the back of her head, anxiously fingering the space he had kissed.

He snorted and rolled his eyes, "Spencer, it's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Why are you so worked up over this?"

"I guess I've just been…I don't know…on the fritz lately?"

"Well, that's quite obvious." He said, and she scowled, her cute nose scrunching up. "But I was curious as to why you were so frazzled."

"This week has been quite crazy, in case you didn't realize." She replied, matter-of-factly while applying a final coat of mascara on her ebony eyelashes.

"What, like telling your parents?" He asked with a knowing smirk. "Spencer, it was no big deal. They took it very well, I thought."

"Well, if you invented a new dictionary in which 'well' means my father almost turning purple while trying to keep a straight face and my mother looking like she had just gotten the world's worst migraine, then yes, things went exceedingly well."

"Your mom said that she was happy for us!"

"She was apprehensive and you know it!"

"So it'll take her some getting used to. Big deal."

"It is a big deal!"

"Spencer, your parents want you to be happy." Toby said seriously, turning her around to face him. He pressed her lower back gently against the dresser. Carefully, as to not ruin her hair more, he pushed a lock of it back behind her ear, "Are you happy?"

"Of course." She said automatically, as if the question itself was a silly notion.

"Then they'll learn to be okay with it. If they want you happy, they'll see that I love you as much as they do."

She smiled sweetly and turned her head slightly so that she could press her lips into the palm of his hand. "Okay." She sighed. Her arms came to wrap loosely around his waist, "I trust you."

He kissed the tip of her knows, "To infinity and beyond, Juliet."

"Okay, one, two, three." Hanna counted off with a smile, and on the last number, she popped the Warhead into her mouth, immediately triggering the expected spitting image of the person on the cover of the candy wrapper: contorted and nearly in pain.

She looked over to see Will making the same expression, his eyes clamping shut behind his glasses. Hanna laughed and put a hand over her mouth, "God, those things are still terrible; to this very day!"

Will nodded in agreement, finally getting his expression back to normal. The two were taking a casual stroll down the snow-covered sidewalk of Rosewood, passing boutiques and coffee shops that were in the process of closing down for the night. After a great dinner at one of Hanna's favorite Italian joints, they had decided to hit up the candy shop down the street – the same one that they each had been addicted to as a kid – and purchased practically a vat of candy. Red Hots, Hershey's, Starbursts, and the universally-feared sour balls of death – Warheads.

"I can't remember one time I've eaten one of these and afterwards thought 'oh, this was a good decision.'" Will teased, tossing the wrapper back in the plastic bag. Hanna reached over and dove her hand into the bag, pulling out a mellow pink Starburst to ease the bitter taste of the previous candy off of her tongue.

"Neither have I." Hanna agreed, "But it was always fun to dare people to finish a whole one."

Will nodded and laughed, "I lost way too much of my lunch money on those bets." He shook his head.

Hanna giggled and pushed a lock hair out of her face. She came to a stop in front of the old green clock at the corner of the road, which showcased the current time. "You know, it's the New Year in Europe right now." She noted, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"Is it now?" He asked, and she could hear a smile in his voice.

Suddenly, she felt an enormous chunk of wet slush nail her in the back of her jacket, and she turned: a snowball. She looked up at Will, her mouth open wide in shock. He was smiling gleefully, almost like a little kid, and her face contorted in playful anger.

"Oh, you are so gonna get it!" She exclaimed, stooping to pack together a snowball of her own. When she did, she flung it at him. He tried to dodge it, but it hit him square in the face, nearly knocking his glasses off.

"You little…" He said, reaching for more ammo and she squeaked, running backwards to get further away from him. They continued to launch snowballs at each other, every one bigger than the one before. After a few moments, Will charged at her, and she squealed as he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her playfully into the air, nearly hoisting her body over his shoulder. After he spun her in a circle, he gently set her down on her feet, his arms still around her. She smiled and giggled, taking the glasses off of his face and cleaning the foggy frost off of the lenses with her sleeve. When she gently placed them back on him, he leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose, pink from the snow. She wrinkled her face in a smile, and he laughed with her.

The whole thing felt so…natural? Like it was the easiest thing in the world. She wasn't worried about who would see them or what he would think of her.

They just…were.

"Come on." She said, "Now that you've gotten me all wet and gross, we'll roll in looking like slobs at the party."

He chuckled and pushed a strand of hair from her face, "Really?" He asked. His fingers wandered to where her oval shaped 'H' locket lay over her scarf, "Because you still look beautiful, I think."

She snorted, "Okay, Prince Charming, let's goooo…" She rolled her eyes with a smile, gently breaking away from him and taking his hand. As she rounded the corner with him beside her, she saw a figure coming out of the bookshop a little while down the sidewalk. When the person turned their head, she stopped dead in her tracks and dropped Will's hand like a dead fish. And when their eyes met hers, she knew that she was done for.

She expected Caleb to turn and keep walking after he got a good glance at them – she and Will. But he stayed right where he was, a textbook tucked beneath his arm, his face expressionless.

And Hanna just wanted to disappear into the given air.

"Helloooo, Aria?" Ezra waved his hand in front of his fiancée's stoic face, trying to get her attention, "Anyone in there?"

"Huh?" She asked with a slight start, "Oh. Sorry, yeah, I just…"

"Spaced? For the fifth time in the last hour?" He asked, somewhat teasingly.

"Yeah, sorry. Just…a lot on my mind, I guess." She tried a smile.

"School?"

"Yeah. And the wedding."

"Well, I guess all of that can be stressful for a girl." He playfully ruffled her hair, kissing the top of her head, "But, we have to get the h'orderves done before our lovely guests show up." He crossed the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "How's your 'enhanced macaroni and cheese' coming along?" He asked.

"Hm?" Aria stood at the sink, draining the thick fettuccini noodles, "Oh, fine." She said.

It had taken her the entire day of thinking and she still had yet to figure out a solution to the Jason situation. It had been all she thought about for three days straight, and she feared that Ezra might soon pick up on her aloofness and start pressing questions.

"Alright, bean dip, guacamole, bread…anything I'm missing?" He asked her.

"Uhm, nope, not that I can see."

"You aren't even looking at it."

"Well, it sounds great." She said passively.

"Okay, what's wrong?" He asked seriously, joining her in front of the sink. "You've been off ever since I got back. Did something happen while I was gone?"

"Yeah, my best friend almost died in a fire." She reminded him bluntly.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, and that's what happened. Ezra, things have been messing with Spencer's life right and left ever since the school year started. I'm starting to worry that some divine force is out to get her…" She fixed the skirt of her black lace dress, and tucked a loose curl behind her ear.

"Hey, don't worry about it." He assured her, "I talked to Spencer this morning; she's fine. She told me that Toby's been really helpful with the situation and cheering her up."

"Yeah, but have we heard a word from Jason since the fire? Nope, we haven't." She stepped around him, heading for the cabinet, where she fished out a bag of pita chips.

"Aria, it'll be fine. He probably just needs some time to cool down. Really, it shouldn't be shocking; that kid spends more time away from Rosewood than in it."

"He's not a kid." She said under her breath.

"Look, he's been going through a lot of stuff ever since his sister died six years ago; it takes a while to get back to a normal life after a trauma like that."

"Yeah, tell me about it." She said bluntly.

"Aria." Suddenly Ezra was at her back, turning her around to face him. He cupped her face in his hands, "You. Will. Be. Fine. And so will he."

She sighed, shaking her head. "Alright. You're right." She said. "Now let's just get ready for our guests." She picked up the little festive kazoo on the table in front of her, blowing into it." Happy New Year." She put on a fake smile.

She'd said the reassuring words. She just wished that she believed them.

alright guys, here comes the moment of truth.

so i decided a while ago that when the time came i would ask YOU all for YOUR opinion. i have two separate pieces planned out in my mind, and it could easily go either way, but i want YOUR votes.

so: caleb or will?

who will be right for hanna?

leave your vote as a review and i will count them up by thursday next week and have the chapter up by either friday or saturday next week.

now: PLEASE dont be angry with me if it doesnt end up going the way you would like! :( im sorry but im just going to go by majority rule!

and thanks so much for the reviews/support! love you all!

xo AJ ;)