Disclaimer: Not mine, borrowed and nurtured. A/N: for the guest reviewer who asked for Haleb's story. Set s5/s6. Song 'Everything has changed' by Taylor Swift, feat. Ed Sheeran. I recently re-binged PLL for motivation and this scene stuck with me. Some AU moments re: timeline.
ii
Everything Has Changed
'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello"
And your eyes look like comin' home
All I know is a simple name
And everything has changed
Hanna and Alison were drifting apart.
She couldn't explain it, not to her mother, and not to her friends – the only person she could turn to was Caleb, but even their relationship was strained, too much had happened.
When she first met Alison, she wanted to be just like her.
But Hanna had shed 'Hefty Hanna' from her life. She liked who she was now. Was it selfish of her to not want Alison back in her life, let alone back in her room?
Yeah, she had once idolised Alison, and resembled her the most.
Maybe it was sleep deprivation and stress from her exams, or maybe she'd outgrown Alison?
She felt suffocated, and she didn't want things to go back to how they used to be.
Alison was intent on shedding her bad reputation, yet it lingered in the halls, no matter if she apologised or not to her victims. What she did to Lucas and Mona was unforgiveable, and Hanna couldn't let it go. It was no surprise to Hanna that Alison didn't approve of Caleb, she said Hanna 'could do better', like she knew what was best for her.
Well, newsflash, she didn't.
Hanna drowned her frustrations with alcohol, escaping reality.
She found a new home at Toby's cabin, where Caleb stocked the fridge with beer.
Maybe she should have talked to someone about her depression, but the secret she carried stopped her. Caleb and Toby worked past midnight. Her stomach rumbled. She channelled Spencer and ordered food from the café, knowing the outing would do her good. She yawned, she didn't want to do small talk with the owner, Zach. It was awkward enough with Aria and Jason dating, and Mr Fitz discovering his son wasn't even his, then leaving to build schools in Burma, leaving Aria devastated.
Maybe Hanna should have left sooner, but she had convinced herself Zach wasn't a threat, just Ms Montgomery's boyfriend.
Zach leaned on the counter, "You going somewhere special in that skirt? You look hot!"
Hanna took the sandwiches and coffees, "Just back to my boyfriend's cabin."
Zach watched her fumble for her keys, "Do you want some help carrying all that?"
Hanna begrudgingly allowed him, climbing into her front seat to turn on the car engine.
Zach climbed inside, putting her order on the dashboard, Hanna's anxiety rose as he invited himself into her space. "If you ever want to talk…" Zach jotted his number on a spare napkin. "It must get lonely at the cabin." His unwanted hand caressed her knee, causing her to smile nervously.
She felt sick to her stomach and managed an 'okay' to get him to leave.
He grinned, shutting her car door and returning back to his wedding rehearsal.
Hanna tore up his number, wishing she had locked her doors.
How was she going to tell Caleb or Aria what happened?
With shaking hands, she drove away from the curb trying to erase the memory.
Hanna hadn't even touched her food when Caleb returned.
She hadn't moved for hours, staring into the distance, shivering from the cold autumn air.
"Is everything okay? You're not eating?"
Caleb noticed the empty whisky beside the uneaten sandwiches.
Hanna blurted, "Do you think this skirt is too short? You do, don't you? It's disgustingly short, what was I thinking!" Hanna attempted to rip the skirt from her body, getting increasingly agitated.
Alarmed, Caleb shook his head, "Han, Hanna! No, I think you look amazing in that skirt. Did something happen?" he held her knees, her body shaking violently.
Hanna shook her head, "No, I…. Alison was going to leave town, for good, and she gave it to me."
Caleb encouraged Hanna to sit on his lap, "I understand Alison wanting to leave Rosewood."
Hanna sighed, "I wasn't helping Alison to leave to keep her safe, a part of me wanted her gone."
Caleb ran his hand through Hanna's short wavy hair, "Is that why you cut your hair?"
Hanna nodded, "It was time for a change."
Caleb held onto her knees in a tender way, "It makes sense, you never liked who you were when Alison was around, and it sounds like she had a lot of control over you girls. I don't like her, but I'm sure coming back isn't going to be easy for her. Her past, her mistakes will haunt her forever."
It was Hanna's turn to brush Caleb's fringe, worried for him. He had his own secrets.
"Caleb? What really happened in Ravenswood?" she pressed.
He was silent, lost in his thoughts.
He took a swig of beer, and handed it to Hanna, "It doesn't matter."
Caleb kissed Hanna. She flinched, turning her body to remove her clothes, and replaced them with one of his shirts. Caleb worried for her; she was acting strange.
"You know, whatever shit is going on at home, you are always, always welcome here," he said.
Hanna returned to his lap and said, "can you just hold me?"
iii
All I know is you held the door
You'll be mine and I'll be yours
All I know since yesterday
Is everything has changed
Spencer couldn't lie anymore, not to Jason and not to her friends. Whatever her dad was hiding, she vowed to get to the bottom of it. Ms Dilaurentis had always hated her the most, suspecting her of being involved in Ali's disappearance, but now, there were a web of lies connecting their families to more secrets. Jason was her half-brother and her mum had known of her father's adultery for years. Spencer felt it her responsibility to look out for Jason now.
Hadn't they been through enough?
Rosewood was full of secrets, thought to be buried with Alison, but now she was back, someone wanted them unearthed. Spencer thought CeCe's appearance as 'A' would help reveal them, but still questions needed answers, like how Shauna found them in in New York?
Did Jason send her?
"I think my father thinks I kidnapped Alison," Jason pocketed his hands in his jacket.
Spencer wondered why the lights weren't on. Did he just get back? And where was Ms Dilaurentis?
"Why would he think that?" she whispered.
Jason sighed, "Because I was in New York too. I tracked Aria's phone," he admitted.
Spencer whispered, "She won't forgive you for that."
Jason shrugged, "Probably not, but can you blame me? I forgot who taught you how to lie. Aria was acting suspicious, you all were. I followed you to New York, and I watched someone chase you to that roof. I saw Ezra get shot and I knew it was over between Aria and me – they have history, whether I like it or not." He took a step towards her. "When Emily and I were attacked, I remembered the perfume of the attacker. I'd smelt it before."
Spencer nodded, "CeCe Drake didn't want you to hand over that photograph to the police because she killed Wilden," she explained.
Jason massaged his temple, "That's what I don't get. CeCe was like family. If she loved us like she claimed, why hurt us?"
Spencer sighed, "CeCe seemed to know everything… she was always one step ahead of us."
Jason heard Pepe barking in the yard, "I can't believe I trusted her."
Spencer reached out to comfort him, "We all did."
Pepe's barking grew more agitated, and Emily called his name but to no avail.
They hurried outside. Spencer saw it first, a rotting hand poking out of the dirt…
"No, Jason! No!" Her first instinct was to protect him from Ms Dilaurentis' body, but he pushed her aside. Ms Dilaurentis was dead, along with her secrets. "I'm so sorry, Jason." Spencer managed, catching Emily's horrified gaze as she hooked Pepe on his lead.
"Call 911," It was Alison.
She pulled her hoodie over her blonde locks, barring herself from the media.
Emily opened her mouth to protest, to which Alison added, "Jason needs me."
"Ali," Em pulled Alison's tear-stained face towards her, "We'll find who did this."
Ali squeezed Emily's hand in thanks, before joining Jason in his grief.
Aria watched behind the barrier, as the Forensic team carried Ms Dilaurentis away.
She wanted to be there for Jason, she cared for him, but Spencer was right, she loved Ezra, and Ezra had taken a bullet for them in New York. He was in surgery, and everything Aria wanted snapped into focus.
She wanted Ezra, and not being with him didn't make sense but she owed Jason an explanation. So, she had written it all down, word for word, in a hope to explain her feelings – that letter was in her shaking hand, wet with rain. She handed it to Emily and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Tell Jason, I'm sorry."
It wasn't the end of her story, just a chapter she would always treasure.
She didn't want to be there, not with Aria ignoring her and Caleb worried for her. She kept pulling down her dress, paranoid it was going to cause attention.
"It was Zach, wasn't it? What did he do?" Caleb demanded of Hanna when Zach gave her an unwanted wink as she helped Aria with wedding decorations.
She was terrified of being hated by everyone for ruining Ms Montgomery's wedding.
She shook her head, telling Caleb not to say anything.
Aria had ended their friendship, unable to believe Zach to be the jerk Hanna labelled him as. She even went as far to say Hanna's obsession with alcohol was what drove her to hit on Zach, not the other way round. It made Hanna feel worse than ever, to not be believed.
Aria was supposed to be her friend.
"You must have done something, what did you do Hanna?"
"I didn't do anything, Aria. He hit on me!"
"He wouldn't do that to my mum."
"Well, he did. I just thought you should know what kind of person he is."
Aria's jaw dropped and anger flared in her nostrils, "You're lying!"
Hanna had returned to the cabin and cried herself to sleep.
She spent the rest of the night motivated to pour any alcohol down the sink – if their fight had taught her anything it was, she didn't want to be this person either. Caleb found her in foetal position and wrapped a blanket over her. He noticed the empty bottles and kissed her forehead.
There was something he needed to do, and he was not going to regret it.
"Do you just pick on girls half your age or?"
Caleb didn't care who heard him.
Zach sauntered over, "Hey, it's my wedding day, how about you lay off the beer?"
Caleb didn't wait for another word, his fist met Zach's jaw with force, knocking him back several feet. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
Aria came running into view, "Caleb?"
Caleb gave her a look which confirmed her worst fears. She turned to her mother who put down the flowers she was holding and squeezed Aria's hand.
"Zach and I need to talk."
"You knew?" Aria gasped.
Ms Montgomery nodded. "I had my suspicions. I had hoped he would grow out of it, but deep down I knew this was too good to be true."
Aria stood with Mike, watching her mother's happiness slip away.
She looked down at her phone and swiped to see a text from Ezra - Thank you.
Aria hugged Mike, she had somewhere to be.
"I'll explain everything later, and please look after mum for me."
Mike nodded, "If he wasn't already on the floor, I'd have punched him too… I still might."
Aria smiled, "I know, just get her home and call dad, he'll want to know."
Mike nodded, "Hey Aria, you're not going to the hospital, are you?"
Aria sighed, "No, I'm going to see a friend."
Hanna forgot how cold it got in Chicago and regretted the lack of thermals for their holiday. Caleb was excited to spend Thanksgiving with his family, having learned he had half brothers aged 5 and 7, it made him the adventurous big brother.
Hanna sat on a log beside a roaring fire, toasting marshmallows with her hands engulfed in gloves, and her hair obscured by a large snow hat which made Caleb laugh out loud every time he saw her scowl at him.
"Careful, you'll burn it?"
"I like my marshmallows crispy."
Caleb looked at her with admiration and love, "Burnt on the outside but soft in the middle, I know."
Hanna looked at him shrewdly, "Sick of your family already?"
Caleb laughed, "No, I'm just freaking cold, someone's wearing my jacket and extra pair of socks."
Hanna snuggled closer to the fire, "You snooze, you lose, buddy."
Caleb pulled her head towards him, kissing her forehead, "How about we set up our tent?"
Hanna turned to him, "You do realise sex is out of the question?"
Caleb sighed, "Did I forget to tell you, they're staying in the cabin on the hill? So, we'll have the entire wilderness to ourselves – the stars, one sleeping bag… paradise."
Hanna's smirk faded, "there's a cabin? With a fire?"
Caleb nodded, "Yep."
Hanna sprinted up to the hill, marshmallow and stick flying from her hand.
"So, no tent then?" Caleb kicked the fire out and made his way up the hill, smugly.
He found Hanna huddled by the door to his mother's cabin and redirected her to his cabin.
"My mother said she'll blast Ghostbusters 'til midnight."
Hanna rolled her eyes, "She's really fine with us sharing a roof?"
Caleb shrugged, "I guess, we'll see." He unlocked the door.
Hanna made her way to the open fire, sitting right in front of it whilst Caleb turned on the lights, bolted the door, took off his jacket and shoes and wrapped Hanna in his arms.
"Warm enough?"
She looked up at him, smiling and kissed him slowly, one hand resting on his cheek.
"You taste like marshmallow," he murmured into her kisses.
"You taste like cinnamon," she whispered, her hands snaking around his neck.
A faint cry accompanied them as they lay on the rug together, grinning.
'Who ya gonna call, Ghostbusters!'
A/N: Whose story shall I write next?