Hanna "It's a long story, mom"
Ashley "Well, I've got time… This guy is the press officer of the show, right?" she asks, staring at her
Hanna "Yes, he is" she just says, resting an arm over Caleb's shoulders. She is still standing next to his stool and he is still holding her by her waist from the side
Ashley "And? Why is he threatening Caleb?"
Hanna sighs "He has been messing with us since the premiere's promotion… Do you remember last time I came here, when he asked us to keep our relationship a secret?"
Ashley nods.
Hanna "And you also know all the story about our pictures from that party where Caleb and I got photographed together, and how we reached out to him to help us to track the pictures and stop them from being published, you know all that part of the story, I already told you what happened, and why they ended up published as if it were Alison in them and not me"
Ashley "Yes, I remember"
Hanna "Well… there were more pictures from that night…"
Hanna and Caleb tell Ashley everything that has been going on with John. They tell her about the pictures, about his threatens, the stories he wanted to make up about Hanna, and Caleb also tells her about how Alison and he have gotten in John's apartment and taken the safe.
Ashley "God, Hanna! Why haven't you told me about all this before?"
Hanna "I didn't know mom, I wasn't aware of many of those things… besides, Caleb and I can handle this on our own"
Caleb "I'm sorry… it was my fault, I kept everything from her because I was trying to keep her away from all that. I know I made a mistake" he says to Ashley
Ashley "Don't worry, Caleb… I have been in your place" she smiles at him "I have to admit I have misjudged you a little…I didn't like that you were willing to have a secret relationship with Hanna, knowing that it could be too risky for her because if you were caught together, she would be in a very complicated position and really exposed to the press. But I guess you did a lot to keep her safe, I was wrong… thank you for looking after Hanna"
Caleb "Thank you, Ashley. And of course I do look after her"
Ashley gives him another smile and Hanna presses a kiss on his cheek.
Ashley "Well, so is there anything else I should know about this guy before I do something about this?"
Hanna looks at her "No, there's nothing else, and you don't have to do anything, mom… John can't keep messing with us because he has nothing to use against me now"
Caleb "Come on, Hanna… you haven't told us what did he tell you yesterday, and don't say it was nothing because you came to me crying your eyes out"
Hanna "It doesn't matter anymore"
Ashley "Well, so if it doesn't matter anymore, then you can tell us"
Hanna "It was nothing, really"
Ashley "Hanna, I'll call Sarah to talk to her, and I need to know everything before doing that"
Hanna remains silent.
Caleb "Come on, babe… I didn't pressure you to talk to me yesterday because you were so sad, but I need to know what he told you" he says, staring at her "We need to move on, let's just solve this today and then we can forget about all this shit"
Ashley "Caleb is right, let me help you out, sweetie… I think I have an idea to end all this"
Hanna "Fine" she releases Caleb and sits back on her stool "It wasn't big deal… he went right to the point and asked me for some press interviews and of course I told him I wouldn't… so, he just started to try to convince me. He told me to do it for Sarah, but I kept saying I wouldn't… then he tried to tempt me into being an actress myself, he told me I was beautiful and other stuff, and that he could help me to start my own way, and it got kind of weird… but I kept saying I wouldn't do any of that and-"
Caleb "Weird how?" he interrupts her
Hanna "Nothing, just weird, okay?"
Caleb "Yeah, you already said that... Was he rough to you? Or rude? Or anything like that? Did he make you feel uncomfortable?"
Hanna "Maybe, a little, but I just stopped him"
Ashley "Hanna! What did exactly happen?"
Hanna "Nothing! It was just a moment! I stopped him right then, nothing happened"
Caleb "Hanna, I asked you yesterday if I had any reason to worry, you could have mentioned that"
Hanna looks at him "I'm telling you nothing happened, fine? He only put his hand on my knee, that was all, I can look after myself, and it was just another one of his moves to convince me… I set him straight right then and that was all, he cut it out and he didn't keep trying that way"
Caleb "Are you serious, Hanna? He crossed the line! He's totally fucked up! I really need to put that guy in his place"
Hanna "Shit, Caleb, I'm telling you it was nothing. I'm just telling you this because hiding things from each other doesn't work for us but I don't want you to do anything"
Ashley looks at Caleb "I'll take care of that, don't worry" then she looks back at Hanna "What else did he tell you?"
Hanna "You two are making this bigger than it really was… when John became aware of the fact that nothing he could tell me, was going to work, he tried with something he knew I would really care… he told me they would try out a popular actor to be Alison's co-star on the second season and if it worked, they would cut Caleb out of the show and he also told me that Sarah and the rest of the writers were talking about bringing Emma back to give Caleb's character an end. He told me I could make myself popular and loved by people by doing some press interviews, and that way, they would keep Emma on the show along with Caleb's character… it was all bullshit, and of course I didn't believe it, but when I was about to leave his office, he told me to ask anyone in there if it was true that Emma back on the show was a real possibility and that if they weren't talking about Noel Kahn and Wren Kingston to be with Alison on the next season. It sounded really ridiculous but-"
Caleb "But he made you doubt"
Hanna nods.
Caleb "That dude can be very persuasive"
Hanna "Yeah… I ran into Josh when I left his office, so I asked him about that… he confirmed that they had been talking about bringing Emma back and he also confirmed the thing about Noel and Wren"
Caleb "Really?"
Hanna "John just told me to ask the right questions and I was stupid enough to fall into the trap… but I went talk to Sarah… that was why I didn't make it in time to your break, babe… I had to wait on Sarah for like an hour"
Ashley "Did you tell Sarah what happened at John's office?"
Hanna "No, mom… I didn't tell anything to her, I just told her what he told me about Caleb"
Caleb "And what did she tell you?"
Hanna "She told me that no one even thought about taking you out of the show, it wasn't even a possibility… They only want Noel or Wren to be a guest star on the show, that's all… and bringing Emma back was just an idea suggested by one of the writers but it won't happen because it won't be good for the story-line between you and Alison"
Caleb nods, but Hanna can see some concern on his look.
Hanna "Sarah also told me she was really happy of having you on the show, and that she loved your work since the very first time she saw you at the auditions"
Caleb gives her a slight smile.
Hanna "Anyway, I could finally get to feel what you may have felt every time you met up with John… I would have done anything for you Caleb… if Sarah had arrived ten minutes later, I would have gone back to John's office and do anything he asked me in order to make sure you kept your part on the show, even if I wasn't sure he was telling the truth, because it sounded ridiculous but I wouldn't have taken any chance"
Caleb extends his arm and takes her hand "I should have gone with you… I knew what he was capable of and I let you go anyway"
Hanna "Are you kidding me? You warned me about it and I was a complete bitch to you… I'm really sorry" she says staring at him
Ashley "Hanna" she says to draw her attention "Send me Sarah's phone number, I'm calling her right now"
Hanna "No, mom… you don't have to do that… let's just forget about all this, besides, I have nothing to do with the show anymore"
Ashley "Hanna, just send me her number, I will get it anyway if I make some calls, just save me some time and send it to me yourself… besides, I think I can fix all this, but I need to talk to her first, because it's her show's press officer the guy we are talking about"
Hanna "Fine… I'm sending you the contact" she takes her phone "It's done" she says then
Ashley "Well, I'm gonna go call her" she says and leaves the kitchen
Hanna stands up from the stool and approaches Caleb. He is absent-minded and she can see that his eyes are a little glassy.
Hanna "Are you okay?"
Caleb shakes his head without saying a word.
Hanna stands between his legs and pulls him into a hug "Thank you for everything you do for me" she says, because she knows what's bothering him
Caleb "Please, Hanna… I'm always failing you" he hugs her back
Hanna "That's not true" she pulls a little away from the hug to look at him, but she keeps her arms around him "You were there for me since the beginning, remember that day when my parents' divorce was published on the internet? You were there for me… when I had to play Emma, you were there for me and helped me to remember my lines… you also were there for me when I did stupid things like at Noel's party… and all that was before we started dating… you were there for me when you thought I was pregnant, even if it wasn't like that, but you were there anyway… you were there even when I was pushing you away… and you were there for me even when you broke up with me, I wasn't aware of that then, and I hated you, but I know the truth now… and I also know that you missed an audition today, thank you for being with me now"
Caleb moves his hands to her face and cups her cheeks, he stares at her for some seconds before he pulls her into a passionate kiss. Hanna moves her hands to his nape and she strokes his hair as she kisses him back. Caleb takes one of his arms to her lower back to hold her closer.
After some minutes of kissing, Caleb pulls away and stands up. He looks at her and taps the top of the stool where he was sitting before, asking her to sit there. Hanna sits on the stool and this time it's Caleb who stands between her legs, he rests his palms on her thighs and she wraps her arms around his neck.
Caleb "How did you learn about my audition though?"
Hanna "Your agent called earlier when you gave me your phone… I wasn't going to take the call, but I did it the second time he called, just in case it was something important, sorry"
Caleb "It's okay, you did well" he places a tender kiss on the corner of her mouth "I gave you my phone because I trust you"
Hanna smiles "Thank you for being here with me" she says once more as she takes one of her hands to the top of his head and she runs it through his hair "But don't do that again, don't miss something important to you for me, just tell me next time" she says, fixing his hair now
Caleb "I didn't miss anything, I am just where I want to be"
Hanna smiles again and pecks his lips "You should call your agent later"
Caleb nods and then he joins their mouths again, in a new gentle but still passionate kiss. He takes one of his hands and places it on her jawline, leading the kiss. Hanna is really enjoying the moment, focusing on the feeling of his soft lips pressing hers, his tongue invading her mouth, the way he holds her, she really loves kissing Caleb. She tightens her grip around his neck, pulling him against her, pressing her chest to his, as she tilts her head to the side and deepens the kiss even more, but Caleb pulls away after a few seconds.
Hanna smiles at him "What's wrong?" she asks, although she knows perfectly why he stopped the make out session by his heavy breathing
Caleb smiles back "Nothing" he only says and takes her hands
Hanna smiles amused, this could be a perfect moment to get her payback for what he did to her on the plane and torture him a little, but she decides to leave her revenge for another time, not to ruin the very nice moment they are having and also because her mom and Mary are around, and just like Caleb, she is really aware of that. And thank God she doesn't so, because Ashley is about to get in the kitchen.
Caleb "Let me take you out tonight" he suddenly says "Let's go on a date"
Ashley stops herself before getting in the kitchen when she hears Caleb, not to interrupt them.
Hanna "We can't, Caleb"
Caleb "Come on, babe… we are in New York, and we only have one night together, let's do this… I think we deserve it, after all we just went through because of the show, because of John, no one could blame us for having a night for us, we just got back together, we need some time to focus on our relationship"
Hanna "I don't want to… it only takes one person and their freaking phone to fuck us up again, I won't take that risk, I won't make the same mistake twice" she says a little annoyed
Ashley decides to interrupt them now, she walks in the kitchen and takes a glass of water.
Hanna looks at her "Have you already talked to Sarah, mom?" she asks surprised since it's been only a few minutes since she went call her
Ashley shakes her head "She was in a meeting, her new assistant will let her know I called as soon as she gets back at her office"
Hanna "Why don't we just leave the things the way they are?"
Ashley "Because this thing I have in mind to end it all is really simple to me and it will be very good to you"
Hanna "And what is it? I want to know"
Ashley "Don't be so impatient, let me arrange this all and then I'll let you know exactly what we are going to do before doing anything… Now go do something with Caleb, take one of the cars, go somewhere… I'll let you know any news" she says and leaves the kitchen
Hanna looks at Caleb "Wanna go for a drive? We can make a stop somewhere and grab something for lunch later" she suggests, since there's not much more they could do since they can't go to any public place together
Caleb nods "Sure"
/
That afternoon.
Hanna and Caleb are in the living room, cuddling together on the couch while watching a movie.
Caleb's phone buzzes "See" he says smiling after checking it, and he hands his phone to her "Zack just sent this to me"
Hanna takes a look. She sees a picture of them kissing at Ian's party, one of those in where her face appears clearly.
Caleb "There are more" he says and slides his finger on the screen, showing her another picture
Hanna keeps passing the pictures, taking her time to check them one by one, but she doesn't say a word and Caleb can't see her reaction since she is resting her head on his shoulder and she is looking down. When she gets to the last one, Caleb places a hand on her cheek and makes her look up at him.
Hanna "These are really cute pictures" she smiles slightly "It's a pity they carried us a lot of problems" she says a little sadly, but she seems fine
Caleb nods and leans in to start a tender kiss but they pull away just a couple of seconds after because his phone starts ringing in Hanna's hands. She gives it to Caleb and he takes the call and puts it on speaker when he sees that it's Zack the one calling him.
Caleb "Hey dude! Thank you so much, I'm here with Hanna, we just saw the pictures"
Hanna "Hey, Zack! Thank you" she greets him as well
Zack "Hey! You are welcome… it was nothing… you have no idea how many things were there into that freaking safe! Your pictures are just a joke compared to the rest of the stuff!" he says quite excited
Caleb "Really?"
Zack "This guy is fucking crazy, he is a psycho… there were like thirty pen drives, CDs, DVDs, even tapes! He had stuff against half the people in Hollywood in there… sex tapes, pictures of people smoking joint, snorting cocaine, having freaking threesomes! This is insane! I think I'll make some copies for myself" he jokes
Caleb just laughs.
Zack "I'm sending you some pictures, dude! There are some in which two naked girls are making out on a table!"
Hanna "Yeah, well, Caleb is not interested in any of those pictures, you can keep them for yourself"
Zack laughs "Sorry, dude, I completely forgot"
Caleb laughs "It's okay buddy, make copies of whatever you want, consider it a reward for helping us"
Hanna "That's disgusting" she only says
Caleb "What about, Alison? Did she find her pictures?"
Zack "Yeah, she did… like ten minutes ago… she checked everything on her own before letting me see, but she didn't let me see her pictures, she just destroyed the drive right then"
Caleb "Well, I'm glad for her… Do you know what is she going to do with the safe? Did she tell you if she has something in mind to return it without going to John's place herself?"
Zack "I don't know… I'm not sure if she wants to return it now that she saw all that was in there, wanna talk to her yourself? She is still there in the living room"
Caleb "No, it's okay… she can do whatever she wants with that safe, I don't care"
Zack "Well, I'll let you know if she mentions anything"
Caleb "Okay, thank you again Zack, really!"
Zack "You are welcome buddy, this was really fun… are you sure you don't want any picture?" he asks again, just to tease Hanna a little
Hanna "Yeah, he doesn't want any kind of picture, and make sure any of them ends up in his phone for your own good"
Zack just laughs.
Hanna "Okay, good bye Zack, have a nice life" she says and ends the call just like that "I definitely like Ian much more than Zack"
Caleb chuckles and presses a kiss on her cheek.
Hanna "Send me our pictures, I wanna have them"
Caleb takes his phone and starts to send Hanna the pictures. Hanna lies down on her back on the couch and rests her head on his lap.
Hanna "I was thinking… we could publish one of these pictures on our social media when we decide to make our relationship public… that way everyone will know that it has always been me the one you were dating, and not Alison" she says as he keeps using his phone
Caleb looks down at her "That's a great idea" he gives her a smile
Hanna smiles back.
Caleb "You know I would do that right now if it were up to me" he says, staring at her
Hanna "Seriously, Caleb! You need to stop. I thought you were going to do it my way and wait until Sarah allows us to do so"
Caleb "I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I am doing"
Hanna "Yes, but you are pressuring me all the time to do otherwise"
Caleb "That's not true"
Hanna "Yes, it is… you are saying stuff all the time to remind me that this is not what you want"
Caleb "I'm not pressuring you into anything okay? I'm just saying it in case you change your mind"
Hanna "Well, I won't. Just stop it" she sits back up straight next to him
Caleb leaves his phone "Are you seriously getting mad at me just because I'm telling you I would send everything to hell for you?" he says, staring at her seriously "And just for the record, this morning, when I asked you out, I had a plan, I wasn't gonna take you anywhere just like that"
Ashley gets in the living room "Hanna, could you please give me a hand? There's a picture I would like to scan, but I'm having trouble with the scanner"
Hanna "Okay… but I don't know much more than you" she is about to stand up from the couch but Caleb stops her
Caleb "I'll go"
Ashley "Thank you" she gives him a smile and they leave the room, leaving Hanna there
/
Caleb and Ashley get in Ashley's home office. The room is huge, there's luxury set of sofas and a coffee table in the middle of the place. The walls are decorated with some pieces of art. At the bottom of the room there's large picture window and the sunlight coming through illuminates the whole room. In front of that window is placed Ashley's enormous white desk, and on one side of it, there are six led TVs on the wall.
Ashley "I don't know what's wrong, it just doesn't work" she says as she approaches her desk but when she looks at Caleb, he is staring at those six led TVs on the wall "I like keeping an eye on my competitors" she explains, smiling
Caleb smiles back "I see" he says amused and then he approaches her desk as well and he starts to take a look "Well, it's all well connected, maybe it's something with the settings" he starts typing on the laptop
Ashley "Please, have seat, make yourself comfortable"
Caleb sits on the office chair "What is it that you want to scan?"
Ashley "This picture" she gives him a picture of Hanna and herself
Caleb takes the picture and takes a look at it.
Ashley "Hanna was only two years old in that photo, we are in the TV Studio where I used to work back then" she says, smiling
Caleb "It's a very cute picture" he says, still staring at it "Let's see if this works now" he places the photo in the scanner.
The scanner works, and Caleb is about to stand up from the office chair, to leave that place to Ashley but she stops him.
Ashley "Wait… I would like to know your opinion about something, if you don't mind"
Caleb "Sure"
Ashley "This is what I have been working on since this morning after talking to Sarah and my agent" she says as she opens a file on the laptop "It's a letter, I'm planning on posting it on my fanpage on Facebook, that's why I needed to scan that photo… I think this is the best way to start making Hanna be known as my daughter… Would you mind to read it and give me your opinion?"
Caleb "Sure… I think this is a very good idea"
Ashley nods "Yes, we need to anticipate John and anything he could do… I think it will be better if I take the first step"
Caleb nods.
Ashley "Well, I need to make a call… I'll be right back" she says and leaves the room
Caleb is reading the letter when Hanna shows up over there. She approaches him and stands behind the chair. She bends over and wraps her arms around his neck.
Hanna "I'm sorry" she only says and places a few kisses on his cheek
Caleb closes the laptop lid not to let her see what he is reading "It's okay, you were the one who was mad, not me" he turns his head to the side and they share a brief gentle kiss
Hanna "No, I didn't get mad, I'm just a little irritable… I thought I could leave everything behind by coming here and I really wanted to spend these two days with you, just focusing on our relationship, some time for us, as you said this morning. But here we are, still dealing with John and those freaking but still cute pictures… and now my mom is also involved in this… I'm just fed up with everything" she places a kiss on his neck "How about taking a break and go use my Jacuzzi?" she whispers in his ear
Caleb smiles "Mmm… that sounds really good" he takes her hand "Just let me finish with this first, okay?"
Hanna "You don't have to do that, you have already won my mom over, you know?"
Caleb chuckles "I just want to help"
Hanna "What are you doing, though?"
Caleb "Nothing… don't be impatient"
Hanna "Awesome… now you sound like my mom… I'm not sure if I like the idea of you two getting along"
Caleb chuckles again "Just trust her, she told you she wouldn't do anything without telling you before… and I'm just helping, I'll be with you in a minute"
Hanna "Fine… I'll be in my room" she presses another kiss on his cheek and leaves
Ashley gets back in her office a few minutes later. Caleb is still sitting at her desk.
Ashley "So, what do you think?"
Caleb looks up at her "I think this is perfect… Hanna will love this" he gives her a smile
Ashley smiles back "Any suggestions?"
Caleb "Well, I would add a recent picture of you two to the post, along with the one we just scanned"
Ashley "Yes, you are right… we want people to know her and have a positive image of her after all, they need to recognize her"
Caleb nods "Let Hanna pick that one, she will like to have some control of a part of this, at least"
Ashley smiles amused "I can see you know her very well… I'll give it a last reading, could you please go bring her here? I would like to have a talk with you two"
Caleb "Sure" he says and goes look for Hanna
