PrettyLittleAshwee11: You better keep reading, then... Thank you!
Boris Yeltsin: Thank you! I tried my best to keep them all in character!
AshBenzoLove: Yeah, it was about time she tells her friends what she really wants and gets their support! It's finally here! Hanna and Caleb will finally meet again! But how will he react? Keep reading to find out!
DuncneyLoveOfMyLife: But she literally bought Hanna a plane ticket to Chicago, so she could talk to him! But yeah, I still hate her, too, haha. At least in canon. There was no turning back when she went after the love of her best friend's life. I don't care what anyone else says; that's unforgivable, and I would honestly be fine if that had ruined their friendship and they weren't friends anymore. Spencer's a selfish bitch who doesn't care about anyone but herself and will screw over anyone she claims to care about to get what she wants, and I will forever hate her. Sorry, not sorry. Ugh, I honestly have SO MANY story ideas, but just don't have the motivation to write them, which makes me so sad because I really want to but it's just super overwhelming to sit down and start from scratch. Would you honestly want MORE Jordan? Haha, you spent this entire story begging for me to get rid of him! If I wrote that story, it couldn't be another cheating one, because I feel like it would end up too similar to this one, so she and Jordan would have to be at least semi-happy to make it work. I'm not sure I could write that. I'm also not sure I could write Haleb as just friends. They have never been, and will never be, "just friends." They've been in lust, and then in love, since pretty much the first time they met. I'm honestly not even sure what "just friends" would look like between them. But it certainly does sound interesting, so I'll add it to my never-ending list of story ideas that I want to write, but may never end up getting to, LOL. "YES HANNA GET THAT DICK" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh, she's definitely gonna get that dick. ;) As for her parents, I didn't write her telling her dad, but his feelings on the matter will be addressed briefly in the epilogue, I believe.
So for some reason, this chapter was really difficult for me to write, and I'm still not sure I love it. I'm not sure why, but it just didn't come together the way I wanted it to. Maybe I tried to fit in too many show/canon references? I don't know. But I really hope that it lives up to you guys' expectations, and that it doesn't let you down, because I know you've all been waiting for this for a long time now. Also, I know the end is kind of cheesy, but I still think it's sweet, and true to Haleb. Let me know what you think!
Also, in case you missed it last chapter, there is one more chapter to this story, and it will be an epilogue. It is not completed yet, and I can't promise it will be by next Sunday, but I will try to get it up as soon as possible. I would rather take the extra time to make it as good as it can be, so I promise it will be worth waiting for!
Caleb was watching television with Brody in his new apartment in Chicago when he heard a knock at the door.
He got up to answer it, Brody following closely behind. He looked through the peephole and saw a familiar face standing there, rocking back and forth nervously on her heels.
This couldn't be happening. He sighed, rolling his eyes, but opened the door anyway.
As soon as Brody saw who was on the other side of the door, he bolted at her, almost knocking her over.
"Hi, Brody!" she exclaimed, crouching down to rub his ears and kiss his head. "Oh my gosh, I missed you, too!" she told the dog.
When she stood back up, Caleb got his first real look at her for the first time in months. Her hair was shorter, and she was wearing it straight instead of curly, but she still looked beautiful, even more beautiful than he remembered. Clearly, his memories hadn't done her image justice.
"You know, Hanna, I think I need to get you a dictionary or something. You're obviously having a difficult time understanding the meaning of the words, 'Please leave me alone.'" His words were harsh, but his tone wasn't, and he even had a small smile on his face, so Hanna knew he wasn't actually angry with her. At least, not about her showing up here. He was probably still angry about other things, though.
"Come on, aren't you at least a little bit happy to see me?" she asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood and break the tension.
"Of course I'm happy to see you," he admitted, pulling her in for a hug. It was true. Despite everything that she had put him through, he couldn't help but admit that he was happy to see her face again.
"I missed you so much," she murmured into the crook of his neck, squeezing him tightly. She had missed his smell, had missed the feeling of being in his arms, had just missed him.
"I missed you, too," he admitted, squeezing her back just as tightly. He knew this was a bad idea; he shouldn't be giving into her so easily. But he just couldn't resist the feeling of having her in his arms again after all this time.
"Um, can I come in?" she asked nervously, once he had eventually let go of her.
He couldn't let himself get sucked back into her. He should tell her no, ask her to leave. But she still had a hold over him that made it impossible for him to say no to her.
"Uh, yeah, of course," he said, stepping to the side to let her enter.
He led her into the small living room area. This place definitely wasn't as nice as his house in Rosewood had been, but rent was a lot more expensive here.
"How did you even find me?" He had to ask. He intentionally hadn't told her where he was going.
"Um, Veronica told me. You must have given her your new address." He had given her his address, now that he thought about it, for her to forward his final check.
"Gotcha. Well, can I get you something to drink?" he asked her awkwardly. He hadn't planned on hosting any visitors, especially not his married ex that he couldn't seem to get out of his head, no matter how hard he tried.
"A beer would be great," she agreed.
"Coming right up," he said, but giving her a disbelieving look. He had never seen her drink beer before.
He brought back a beer for each of them, handing one to her as he sat down across from her.
"You cut your hair," he observed.
"Yup," she confirmed, running a hand through her short locks. "I just…needed a change." Her hair, and the fact that she drank beer now, were most definitely not the most significant changes she had undergone over the last couple of months. "So, what have you been up to?" she asked him. "It's been a while."
"Uh, yeah. It has," he agreed, looking at her, trying to read her. "After I left Rosewood, I went to Arizona to visit some friends. Then I went to Spain, spent some time in Madrid. Now, I'm here, and I've just been working on developing this new software."
He politely asked her what she had been up to the past few months, and she told him about her parents, her friends, how Veronica was settling into her role as Senator, deliberately leaving out one important development. She didn't know how to broach the subject, and was delaying it as long as possible.
But by the time she commented on the weather, Caleb was fed up. He didn't care to make small talk with her right now. He had practically begged her to stay away from him, and he was pretty sure she knew how painful this entire thing had been for him, so he trusted that she hadn't shown up here out of the blue for no reason. There must be something important.
"Alright, Han, cut the crap," he said bluntly. "I know you didn't come here to talk about the fucking weather. What's really going on?"
She hesitated, still not really prepared. But she knew she couldn't really put it off any longer now. He wanted an explanation, and he deserved that.
"I left Jordan," she admitted quietly, watching his face to try to catch his reaction, but he kept his poker face locked on. "We're working on finalizing the divorce. I don't have…a penny to my name now. I moved back in with my parents, I'm working as an unpaid intern at a PR firm, since I don't have any other skills, my dad won't even look at me, and my friends probably think I've gone insane." She forced a laugh.
"Wow," he breathed, overwhelmed. This was a lot to take in. And what did it mean for him, for them? This is not what he had been expecting when she showed up at his door.
"Are you okay?" he asked her gently. He knew this couldn't have been easy for her. The last time he had seen her, she had insisted she couldn't leave Jordan, that they couldn't be together. He didn't know what had changed.
"Yeah," she said honestly, her eyes never leaving his. "It's just weird. Being so close to someone and then having to cut them out of your life completely. It's like losing a limb or something. Or a part of you."
"It'll get better, Han," he said, trying to sound sympathetic. But really, he couldn't believe she had come all this way to tell him how heartbroken she was over splitting up with her husband. He really did not need, or want, to hear this.
"I'm not talking about him," she countered softy, surprising Caleb. So that meant…
"Look, Caleb," she interrupted his thoughts, getting up and moving to sit next to him. "I know I screwed up. Big time. I know I hurt you. A lot. And I wouldn't blame you if you won't take me back. But I know I would always regret it if I didn't at least try. Because I know I would have spent the next fifty years of my life kicking myself for losing the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Wow," he repeated, once again overwhelmed. "So you're saying…?" he started.
"I want you, Caleb. I need you," she filled in for him, grabbing his hands. "You were right. I wasn't happy with him. You make me happier than he ever could. I was a complete and total idiot for giving that up. For giving you up. You were right. I was just scared. I was scared to give up what I knew. But now I know – I finally realized – that you are so worth the risk. I miss you so much, Caleb. I never stopped thinking about you. I never stopped loving you."
He bit his lip uncomfortably, debating how to respond. This is what he had wanted, so badly. She was offering him exactly what he wanted most. So why couldn't he just say yes?
She sensed his hesitation.
"Caleb, I know I hurt you, and I'm so sorry. I know your brain is probably screaming at you to stay the hell away from me, but what is your heart telling you? What do you want?" she encouraged him, asking him the same question her mother had asked her.
"I don't know," he admitted. Of course he wanted her. He loved her more than anything in this world. But he didn't know if he was ready to go down this road with her again. The first time had been amazing and wonderful and great. Until it wasn't. And then it almost destroyed him.
"The time that I spent away from here, it made me question … a lot," he continued. "I experienced so much. I wasn't staying at some luxury resort in Madrid, I was exploring the city and the culture. I saw a lot of really dark, terrible things, Hanna." He had seen poverty, and homelessness, and starving children. Way worse than what he had experienced as a child, even. It really made him reevaluate his priorities. And he couldn't help the resentment he felt towards her and her family and friends, buying designer clothes, yachts, expensive jewelry, when some people couldn't even afford to eat. "I'm not the same person. I learned stuff about myself, and…the world. When I look around this room, I don't see the same stuff that I used to."
Hanna was confused. Was he saying that, after all of this, after everything they had been through, he wasn't even willing to try to make things work with her?
"Do you see me?" she asked him nervously.
"Of course," he replied adamantly. How could she not realize how much she meant to him? How could she ever question how important she was to him?
"Then...why don't we just start there?" she suggested, leaning in to kiss him.
He kissed her back instinctively. God, he had missed this. He had forgotten just how soft her lips were, had forgotten the way she tasted, had forgotten just how perfectly their lips fit together.
But then he came to his senses.
He pulled back, standing up abruptly. He couldn't let himself just jump right back into things with her. He needed to be sure that things would be different this time.
"Hanna, I can't – " he started.
"Can't what, Caleb? Isn't this what you want?" she asked him gently, standing up with him and grabbing his hands again. Just a few months ago, he had been begging her to leave Jordan so they could be together. She knew she had hurt him, but she couldn't imagine those feelings had just gone away. And the spark was definitely still there - she could feel the bolts of electricity as soon as their lips touched.
He didn't answer immediately, searching around the room desperately, trying to figure out all of the things he wanted to say to her right now.
"I know, with complete certainty, that you are…the love of my life, Hanna," he stated, and his words, paired with the intensity in his eyes as he looked at her, made her heart clench. "You mean everything to me. But - "
"But what?" she asked him desperately, running her hands down his arms, encouraging him to open up to her. She needed to know what was holding him back, needed to know so that she could fix it, could convince him that they should be together. "Talk to me, Caleb."
"I love you with every fiber of my being, Hanna. And I want this - I want you - more than anything. But, if we're gonna do this again, I need you to be in it a hundred and ten percent this time," he told her, staring into her eyes. "Last time, when you picked him, you broke my heart, Han. You wrecked me."
"Caleb, I know, and I'm so sorry - " she interrupted.
"No, Hanna you don't know!" he exclaimed, cutting her off, frustrated. "I honestly thought I would never be the same. I had no idea how to even begin to get over you. Why do you think I ran away to Spain?" he asked rhetorically. "I needed to get away from here, from you; I knew I couldn't be around you without my heart shattering again every time I saw you. I needed some space to try to move on from you. But it didn't even work. Everything I saw and did would make me think of you somehow.
"Hanna, I need to be sure that you're in this completely. That it'll be different this time. Because I love you, so much, and I want this, more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. But if you can't give me your all, then I don't think I can risk putting my heart through that again."
She could hear the emotion in his voice, and it brought back all of the pain of their breakup. All of the pain of the long months in which she agonized over what to do, how to reconcile her happiness with everyone's expectations of her.
She knew she had hurt him, but she didn't realize the extent to which she had. She couldn't blame him for being so reluctant to get involved with her again. But she had to try to convince him, at least.
"Caleb, it will be different this time, I promise. I'll give you a hundred and ten percent – no, a hundred and fifty percent," she corrected. "You have all of my heart. I was so stupid before; I took you for granted, and I didn't realize just how much I needed you. But I do now. Caleb, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't care about any of the other stuff; I never should have cared in the first place." She now realized just how stupid she had been. No party, or house, or piece of jewelry, or exclusive club was worth losing him.
"None of that other stuff matters if I'm not happy. And I wasn't. But you make me happy. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be. I love you so much, Caleb Rivers. I am completely and totally in love with you. I love you more than I ever could have imagined it was even possible to love someone. I wanna spend my life with you. We'll live in a box on the side of the road if we have to, I don't care. As long as I get to be with you."
She saw his face break into a grin and she knew she had him.
"We will not have to live in a box on the side of the road," he corrected her, laughing. "But I appreciate the sentiment."
"So what do you say?" she asked him. "Will you give me another chance?"
Instead of replying, he just smiled softly at her before pulling her into his arms, and kissing her. It started slow, both of them just grateful to be together again. He cupped her face in his hands, connecting their lips over and over again, while she ran her hands through his dark hair.
"I love you," she murmured against his lips.
"I love you, too. So much." God, it felt so good to finally be able to say that to each other. It felt so right. He knew they belonged together. He'd known that for a long time now.
"Where do we go from here?" she asked hesitantly. She hated to break the moment, but she liked having a plan. They had just committed themselves to each other, but what was next for them? She was living in Rosewood with her parents, he was living here in Chicago, she didn't even know what kind of a job he had here, her divorce wasn't even finalized yet, how would she tell all of her friends and family?, what were they supposed to do now?
"We could go to the bedroom," he offered, smiling suggestively at her.
She laughed, tempted by the idea. "No, I meant, where does our relationship go from here? I wanna be with you, I know that," she emphasized, looking deeply into his eyes so he could see how serious she was, "but I don't exactly know what that looks like."
He considered her question. He hadn't even allowed himself to hope that this would happen, ever since she had rejected him and crushed his heart that day, so he really didn't know, either. But then he remembered something they had talked about a while ago.
"Let's go to New York!" he exclaimed suddenly, shocking her.
"What? Like a vacation? O-kay, but I was hoping for more of a plan than that," she said doubtfully.
"No, let's move to New York!" he said excitedly. He needed to get her out of Rosewood, the place where she had grown up and spent her life with her husband, give them a chance at a fresh start, and he had nothing tying him down here.
"Caleb, what are you talking about?" she exclaimed, confused. "Who's moving to New York?"
"We are. If that's still your dream," he told her, thinking about the night she had told him about how she had always wanted a career in fashion, but no one had faith in her. Well, he had faith in her.
"Caleb, this is crazy!" she told him worriedly. "My divorce isn't even finalized yet, I have no money, New York is expensive, and – "
"You remember how I told you earlier I was working on a new software?" he cut her off. "Well, what I didn't tell you is that I sold it. For kind of a lot of money."
"What?!" she exclaimed, taken aback. "Oh my gosh, really? That's amazing, congratulations!"
"Yeah, you know that tech entrepreneur, Lucas Gottesman? Well, he loved the idea, and he paid top dollar for it. I can support us, Han. We can move to New York, and you can go back to school, to fashion school, or you can get an internship or something, whatever you want to do, and I can take care of everything else. My mom has some contacts in the fashion world, so I can set even you up with someone."
"Caleb, that sounds amazing, but I can't let you do all that for me," she objected. She was still technically married to someone else, and they had just gotten back together a few minutes ago after not even seeing each other for months, and they had never even been in a real relationship yet; she couldn't let him just give up everything for her like that. Not yet.
"I want to, Hanna," he assured her. "I love you. And I want you to be happy. So if you changed your mind and you don't want to do fashion, then that's fine, too. You can do whatever you want to do. Be whatever you want to be. You can follow your dreams. And we can finally be together. That's the most important part to me."
"That's the most important part to me, too," she agreed, tears filling her eyes. Wow, he was perfect. How did she ever get so lucky? And how did she ever not realize how lucky she was to have found him?
"Let's do it," she agreed. "Let's go to New York, let's follow our dreams together. Honestly, I don't care what we do as long as I get to be with you."
"I love you so much, Hanna," he told her. "I never wanna spend another day without you. Ever. For the rest of my life."
"Okay," she agreed softly through her tears. That sounded pretty perfect to her.
He pulled her close to kiss her again. She parted her lips to let his tongue in, tangling them together as their hands roamed each other's bodies, removing excess layers of clothing.
Suddenly, Brody ran up to them, attempting to get in between them, feeling left out of the excitement.
They both laughed as he rubbed up against them, not wanting to be excluded.
This. This is how it always should have been. They were always meant to end up together.
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