You guys. are. incredible. I get so overwhelmed by the love for this story. I get such random moments of inspiration for this story and I cannot wait for you to read what's going to come.

Haleb heart, Halebxxx ~ I freaking love Caleb and Penny together, they're going to have a very special relationship

Haleb. , FrenchBenzo, CanonCannon, Guest(s) ~ you all think Sean's cheating? Keep reading...

Guest (Aug 14) ~ your review was so so so sweet, I would love for these things to get published one day

prettylittleliarshaleb ~ nope, no A in this fic, other demons instead!

Guest ~ joint smoking coming up below...

Guest (Sep 5) ~ I died at your review, all in good time... trust

Guest ~ here is a Monday update just because you asked

Enjoy below...

III

Exactly one week after Hanna Marin had been introduced to Caleb Rivers, she found herself sat at her vanity, thinking about him. At 7am. Hanna Marin, did not think at 7am. She didn't think until her Mom was handing her a black coffee and avocado toast. But here she was… applying a final brush of highlighter to her cheekbones and… thinking.

Maybe it was the fact that she had History first period with him, maybe it was the fact that she'd be going to Noel's party that night and she wondered if he'd be there, or maybe it was the fact that she couldn't get the images of him with Penny out of her head. For whatever reason, Caleb was clouding her thoughts.

She thought she was good at reading people, judging their character and putting them in a box. But she had to admit to herself that maybe her assumptions had been more than a little… off.

Still though, she reminded herself as she reapplied her mascara one final time, he clearly wasn't wholly innocent – he was doing deals with Noel Kahn for god's sake and on his first day in school nonetheless. And as soon as Sean had graced them with his presence at their tutoring session earlier in the week, he'd flipped straight back to Mr. 'I only talk when necessary'.

She shrugged her shoulders and sighed, trying to rid her mind of the frustrating teen. Checking her bag for the day, she threw in her lip-gloss and made her way downstairs to be met by silence and an empty house. "Mom?" She yelled, expecting her to appear. There was no reply and no note, but more importantly no coffee. She begrudgingly made her own and took small delight in the fact that she didn't have to eat breakfast before she made her way out of the house and headed straight to school.

"Han!" Spencer grabbed Hanna's attention as she spied her at her locker and started to run over.

"How are you this awake?" She asked grumpily as two books from her locker spilled onto the floor.

"What's that?" Spencer frowned, snatching one of the books up and starting to flick through it.

"My history notes," Hanna defended herself, stealing it out of Spencer's hands and holding it against her chest.

"Hanna," The brunette sighed, "You're not going to get into Cornell if you're sketching necklines instead of Napoléon."

"Who?"

Spencer rolled her eyes, "Seriously. Take notes."

Hanna shot her a fake smile, "Can I help you?" She asked sarcastically.

"Ali said you're coming to the party tonight. After the football game."

"Yeah," Hanna rubbed her lips together and slammed her locker, "I am."

"Why?"

The blonde looked around the hallway awkwardly, "Because it's a party Spencer."

"Is Sean coming?"

"Why would I know?"

"Err, because he's your boyfriend and you two are usually attached at the hip on a Friday night after he's won," Spencer's face screwed up as processed what she'd actually just said.

"We're not having sex," Hanna slammed her locker shut, "And I can spend a Friday away from him."

She was saved by the bell as it cut off any comment her friend wanted to make. "Aria's parents are away, so we're going to hers before," Spencer rushed out, conscious that she should have been in class at her desk in two minutes.

"I know, Spence." Hanna smiled at her, "Go to class, I'll see you at lunch."

Spencer grinned and rushed forward to give her a hug, "I'm so excited you're coming," She said before she started to walk past her down the hallway, "And remember… notes!"

"I will, Spence," She smiled before turning on her hell and making her own way to History. She was going to be late, but for once, she didn't really care. She'd been thinking way too much already that morning and who could blame a girl for being tardy when she was channeling all her energy into something her body wasn't used to.

"Ah, Hanna," Mr. Williams looked up from the register as she walked into the room. "I should care that you're late, but I really don't."

"Thanks?" She shot him a confused look before making her way to her seat at the back of the room. She liked her History teacher a lot, but sometimes he lacked serious social skills - probably why his wife divorced him. There was no surprise he was the subject of the back-to-school gossip.

"No problem," He rolled his eyes and stood up, moving round to perch on the front of his desk. "As I was saying guys, you're senior's now and although some of you clearly don't want to be here, you are expected to be independent and actually like the subjects you're studying."

"Where is he going with this?" She heard Bridget Wu mutter beside her.

"So, for the next semester, you guys are going to be working in pairs on a project." The whole class collectively groaned.

"Is this just so you don't have to teach us?" Hanna glanced to her right and watched as Ben Coogan threw out a wholly inappropriate question.

"No Ben, I will still have to be here during lessons, but believe it or not, this is supposed to get you ready for college assignments."

"I'm not going to college." Everyone looked around as Caleb spoke up from the very back of the classroom. It was the first time he'd used his voice in their lesson.

"I know college isn't for everyone, but it'll still give you some transferable life skills and I promise, you're going to enjoy it," Mr. Williams tried. "Now, to make it fun, you're not going to be doing it by yourself," He smiled, "You're going to be working in pairs," He mumbled, moving back behind his desk to rifle through his bag, "And because the board are pushing their diversity agenda, I have paired you up myself."

If six words could kill any hope, they were it. "Why?" Hanna found herself throwing her head back and sighing. She would have been quite happy just taking notes.

"Hanna," He said, scanning his list, "You are paired with Caleb."

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt eyes staring at the back of her head. She couldn't help herself… she had to glance over her shoulder at him. And he was there, looking straight back, his eyes piercing into hers with the faintest smile on his lips. The room, the noise disappeared as Mr. Williams read out the rest of the pairs and it wasn't until he banged the chalkboard eraser that she turned her head back around.

"You can plan your project how you like, you can plan your time how you like, all I am asking," The teacher continued, writing words up onto the board, "Is that together you pick your favourite event, your favourite era, your favourite period and produce something that tells me why. Why you chose it, why you relate to it, why it encapsulates everything you love about history."

In that moment, the rational side of her brain told Hanna there was nothing she loved about History.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. The school was a mass of energy as everyone focused on the football game and she hardly saw Sean because of it. She let him get on with it – it meant he could complete his usual superstitious pre-game ritual and it allowed her to have lunch with the girls. She almost told them about being paired with Caleb, but then something inside her told it to keep it to herself. Spencer was proud though – when she'd flicked through Hanna's history notebook there were actually words, not drawings. Hanna hadn't dare told her it was because she didn't want to engage in conversation with her project partner.

She thought about him though.

All she did was think about him.

Was he going to the game? Would he sit on the bleachers? Were him and Sean getting along? Had he played horseys with Penny yet? Would he be at the party tonight?

The first two questions were answered when she couldn't see Caleb's face in the crowd. And it wasn't for not trying. He was nowhere to be seen and as Sean scored a touchdown, she forced herself to remember she had to be the dutiful girlfriend, cheering when she was supposed to and pretending to understand the rules the rest of the time.

The clock ran down and she was still a million miles away, to the point where she didn't notice when Sean was running over towards her.

"Han?" Emily nudged her, linking arms to encourage her down the steps as she went to congratulate Ben too.

"Sorry," She shook her head, plastering a grin as Sean climbed up onto the railings to give her a kiss. "Congratulations!"

"You didn't understand any of it, did you?" Sean grinned up at her, a knowing smile on his face.

"I know you played well. That's enough."

"I know," He agreed.

"Are you coming tonight?" She asked him as he jumped down from the railings.

"Can't Han," He shook his head, "Coach will want to go over the tapes already. I've got math homework that I'm stuck on though, let's work on it with Caleb on Sunday."

"Okay," She nodded numbly. She didn't have any energy to fight it, waving at his retreating figure as he ran back over to his team.

"Is he coming tonight?" Emily asked, having separated from Ben.

"No," Hanna shook her head, linking arms with her again, "He's not."

"Are you upset?" The brunette asked quietly, concern written all over her face.

"No Em," Hanna looked up at her and smiled slightly, shaking her head. "I'm not upset at all."

"Hanna?" Ashley Marin called as she climbed the stairs to her daughter's room.

"I'm in here Mom," Hanna yelled back, wrapping a final piece of hair around her curling iron.

"You look nice," Ashley appeared in the doorway and smiled, "Is that a new dress?"

"We bought it last summer in New York," Hanna looked down at the pink bandage dress that covered her body. Her Mom hadn't even let her try it on; she'd just insisted on buying it, "It fits now."

"Oh."

"Did you want something?"

"Hanna!"

"Sorry," The blonde squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm just running late."

"Where are you going?" Ashley took a seat on her bed and watched her daughter touch up. "I thought you spent Friday's with Sean after the game?"

"Why is everyone asking me about Sean?"

"Because he's your boyfriend sweetie," Ashley said, "And you've idolized him since you were thirteen."

"Well I'm not thirteen anymore."

Ashley paused, before speaking carefully, "Have you guys had a fight?"

"No Mom," Hanna sighed, looking down at her lap. "I just think that maybe I might have spent too much time with him recently. I can't forget about my friends and that's what I feel like I've been doing."

"Honey," Ashley looked more than a little concerned, "The last time we spoke about this, you were talking about going to college near each other and renting together in New York. What's happened? Has he hurt you?"

"No," Hanna shook her head, "I promise," She practically begged, "I just…"

"You what?" Ashley asked gently, standing and walking over to fan out a piece of Hanna's hair.

Hanna looked up at her in the mirror, nerves simmering in her stomach. "I don't know if I'm going to get into Cornell," She choked out. That wasn't exactly what she'd intended to say.

"Your Dad is friends with a lot of people in high up places," Ashley rubbed her shoulders, "You're going to get in, sweetheart."

"But how can you guarantee that?" She looked crestfallen, almost heartbroken; "It's not fair on everyone else." And by everyone else, she was only thinking about one person. Her Mom looked like she was about to say something, but Hanna abruptly stood, not waiting for her answer. "I need to finish getting ready," She mumbled, heading towards her bathroom. "I'll see you tomorrow," She said, before she slammed the door shut and locked it behind her.

She turned the tap on and knelt by the toilet.

The ritual was all too familiar. The familiarity was comforting.

The expectation was too much.

Hanna couldn't help herself. She was staring.

Caleb was the most intriguing person she'd ever met – she just couldn't work him out. She had her world, her perfect world and ever since she'd met him at the Ackard's for dinner, that world had shifted.

It was him, she knew it was, and she felt such an inane pull to find out what else he could change. It was a glance, it was a smile… she wanted it to be a touch. Would she feel electricity course through her at a simple hand brush? Would she feel her heart stop beating with more than three sentences sent in her direction? She had no idea, but she wanted to find out.

He turned from where he was talking to Noel and she quickly averted her eyes as he looked over at her, focusing on the detailed label on her bottle. He couldn't know what she was thinking; no one could know what she was thinking. It did not fit in with Hanna Marin and all that she was.

"Hanna," Ali came trotting over with a red solo cup in hand, "You look like your Grandma's just died."

"Don't say things like that Ali," Hanna frowned, taking a sip of her drink.

"Don't be such a killjoy," Alison rolled her eyes, shoving the cup in her direction. "That stuff you're drinking is 90 percent water. Have this."

"Han!" Emily ran over, hot on Alison's tails.

"There you are," Aria appeared too, a drunken glaze covering her eyes. "I'm so glad you're not with Sean tonight."

Hanna frowned and looked up at her from her perch on the arm of a sofa, "I'm with Sean," She replied, taking a sip of the drink Alison gave her. She hadn't been that obvious had she?

Aria laughed and rolled her eyes, clearly well beyond tipsy, "Not that silly, I mean with Sean… tonight… right now… you're here with meeee!"

"Where is the goodie two shoes?" Alison asked, draping an arm around Hanna's neck as her hips shimmied to the beat of the music.

Hanna looked down in her cup, "He couldn't come, he had to go over the tapes from the game and he has a weights session in the morning."

"What a loser," Aria scrunched up her face, "Come dance with us," She insisted, pulling Hanna up and dragging her towards the dance floor.

She followed her and forced her mind to leave Caleb alone. The alcohol helped and three cups later, coupled with the little dinner she'd had, she was starting to feel more than a little out of control. Spencer appeared at some indiscernible point, looking disheveled with Toby Cavanaugh following behind her. "We went to third base," Spencer grabbed her and squealed in her ear, hugging her tightly.

"Spence!" Hanna gasped, looking at her in shock. "You're not even together."

"I know," She looked at her like she was dumb, "It's just some fun, Han."

Hanna didn't say anything, just downed her drink and headed for the back door to get some fresh air. The closest Sean had got to putting his hands down her panties had been the second week of their relationship, when he'd fallen on top of her near the edge of the community pool. She'd never seen an arm move so fast. But that was her and Sean; well-mannered, respectful, proper. Three weeks ago it had been everything she'd ever wanted.

Wandering outside, she drunkenly sat down on a rock and breathed heavily, trying to steady herself. What was she doing? Why was she doubting everything she'd worked so hard towards for the past two years of her life?

She looked up as she sensed somebody approaching her, glancing into the distance as soon as she noticed it was Caleb. She cringed when he sat down next to her – she didn't need him clouding her vision anymore than he already had and she certainly didn't need him getting any inkling of what she was thinking.

"Hi," He greeted, pulling out a silver tin.

"Hi," Hanna returned, watching as he pulled out some thin paper before putting the tin back in his pocket. "What are you doing?" She asked, unable to help herself as he pulled out some dark substance and placed it in the paper before rolling it up. He held it in his mouth between his lips as he pulled out a lighter.

"Lighting up," He replied, taking a drag from the spliff before holding it out for her. "Want some?" He asked, watching as she eyed the joint, tugging on her tight dress uncomfortably. She eventually shook her head and looked away. "What's your favourite thing in history?" He shoved a hand in his pocket and asked her. He was trying to fill the silence.

Hanna looked back at him with a quirked brow, "You want to know my favourite thing in history?" She asked slowly.

"We have a project to do together," He mumbled, taking another drag.

"We don't know anything about each other," She replied, squinting at him as a light from the cabin shone directly in her eyes.

Caleb took another drag. Her answer made him realise how drunk she was. His question was exactly that; trying to get to know her and despite what she thought, he could real her pretty well. "How long have you been purging?" He asked. By the way she froze next to him, he'd hit the nail on the head. She stared at him and he knew what she was thinking, "Pretty girl like you with scars on her knuckles who counted the number of peas she ate the first time I saw her," He began, "I've been in enough foster homes."

She held her hand out for the joint and inhaled it quickly like a cigarette, blowing out the smoke like she'd seen others do at parties. He grinned at her. He didn't think he'd ever seen anybody so adorable, sat there in a light pink bandage dress that seemed to cling to every one of her delicious curves, smoking a joint for the first time. "Are you laughing at me?" She asked as he moved closed to her.

"He doesn't know what he's got," Caleb muttered under his breath before running his hands through his hair and turning to look at her, "You wanna learn how to smoke it properly?" He asked, waiting for her to nod before swooping in.

Her breath caught in her throat when he placed a hand on her stomach, "Exhale," He instructed her, "Now breathe it in through your stomach," He guided her, watching as she placed the joint back against her lips and did as she was told, "And hold it in your mouth for a few seconds," He said, "There you go," He added as she exhaled again before removing his hand.

She stared at it in her hands before bringing it back to her lips and taking another hit. "Don't tell anyone," She said, handing him his spliff back.

He grinned at her, "Your first time and you've already perfected puff puff pass," He shook his head wryly before taking a drag and staring out into the forest. "You don't need to do it," He said as they sat there in the dead of the night. She didn't respond, just looked down at the scars he was talking about on her knuckles as the silence surrounded them. "You're so fucking gorgeous Han," Something inside of him compelled him to say it.

She was taken aback.

Her heart clenched for some unknown reason and she had no idea how to respond.

And so she opened her mouth and said the most stupid thing possible, "My friends call me Han."

He laughed again at her for the second time that week and for some reason she found herself laughing with him. "I guess that means we're friends then."

"Yeah," She smiled up at him, moving into his side to shield herself from the cold. "My favourite thing in History," She started, dragging his attention to her lips as they moved so perfectly against one another. "France," She sighed dreamily, "The 20s," She propped her head in her hands.

"Why?" He asked her quietly, resting his hand close to her thigh. He was playing with fire.

"Art deco... Coco Chanel..." She trailed off, embarrassment tinging her cheeks.

He reached out for her chin and forced her to look at him, "The jazz," He added, his other hand bringing the blunt to his lips, "The weed," He raised his eyebrows, taking a drag again.

"You like... jazz?"

He dropped his hand and inhaled one more time before throwing the stub onto the ground, "My Mom," He looked down and said quietly.

He didn't need to say anything else. She placed her hand on his thigh comfortingly and he brought his down to rest next to hers. Their fingers brushed and her question was answered; electricity shot through her body, pulsing around her veins before it settled in her heart. "We don't have to do it."

He looked at her, not following, taking in her glazed eyes, "Do what?"

"France..." She started.

"No," He shook his head, cutting her off. "We're doing it."

"We're doing it," She repeated as he lifted his pinky finger and ghosted it over hers.

She didn't know how long they sat there until she went back in. But they were silent with each other, taking in the moment until her friends came out, calling her name. If she expected him to say something when she stood, he didn't. So she walked away, but not without glancing over her shoulder to catch him lighting up again before he ran a hand through his long hair.

Hanna knew she wouldn't stop thinking about him for a long time.

Han is a little... all over the place, no? Brain versus heart aka the story of her life.

Guest ~ some Haleb ffs I'm loving: Take Me Home (by aBeautifulLiar), Strings Attached (by hannnarivers) and Tonight, I Only Wish For You (by .2016).

If you liked this chapter, please review xox