Here's an update for all of you amazing readers and reviewers.

Guest ~ don't worry, detail about her v will be prominent

p ~ there was a reason he ran off to the shower - cold water

Guest01 ~ yes, it's very important why Caleb is the way he is, so it'll all be revealed what's happened to him in the past. He's learnt to give before he takes and that's why Hanna's problems are being explored first

ForTheLoveOfShips ~ some bonding time in here! I never really used to like writing Alison but I like her a lot in this fic

If anyone is interested, I've done a gggb playlist with music that I think encompasses everything about Haleb and their storyline in this fic. I'll be posting it on my twitter with a link to spotify - if you don't follow me on there you can dm me on here and I'll send you the link.

Not much to say but enjoy...

VII

"Okay class!" Hanna jerked her head up from her doodling session as Mr. Williams clapped his hands together, "I can tell that I've decidedly bored you with my 9am speech on how important the effective the use of secondary literature is. But we have just under half an hour of our lesson left," The older man glanced at his watch, "I want you all to spend that time working on your project."

"Can we go to the library Sir?" Bridget Wu asked from her desk next to Hanna's.

"You can go wherever you want," The teacher moved round to the front of his desk, perching on the wood, "This is your project. It's all about you understanding how best you learn, how best you work, before you go off to college."

"So I can go to the gym?" One of the Sean's friends asked, prompting chuckles from around the class. Hanna couldn't help but roll her eyes - were they all weights-obsessed jocks?

"If you want," Mr. Williams agreed, "But next week I'll be having five minute sessions with each pair for you to run me through your chosen topics and progress so far. I expect all of you to come to our meeting with something tangible."

Hanna smiled down at her notebook as she started to daydream again, making a final alteration to the skirt she'd sketched. Despite what everyone said about Mr. Williams, he was a pretty cool teacher. She loved the freedom of being able to work on whatever she wanted and…

She let out a shaky breath before she swallowed nervously as she thought about the dark-haired male sat at the back of the classroom. Caleb was all she could think about since she'd thrown herself at him on Wednesday afternoon. He made her feel alive, like she could completely be herself. It was liberating. It also terrified her.

"Hey," His voice grumbling in her ear made her jump and snap her notebook shut as she looked up to meet the two dark eyes she'd just been thinking about. It was no coincidence she'd envisaged the material of the skirt to be the same colour.

"Hi," She muttered quietly, subconsciously wetting her lips as he adjusted the beanie on his head.

"I thought we could go some place else," He nodded towards the door, looking around the room anxiously at all the other students who'd chosen to stay to work on their project.

She nodded, shoving her books in her bag, "Yeah," She agreed, "Somewhere," She whispered, chasing after the body that was already halfway towards the door. Mr. Williams started talking to them as they left the classroom, but Hanna didn't process a word he was saying; every single sense was focused on Caleb Rivers as he floated down the corridor three feet in front of her. Wherever he was going, her body told her she had no choice but to follow.

"Wait," Hanna called as they moved past an empty classroom. "Jazz," She blurted out when he turned to look at her expectantly. Her face flushed in embarrassment as he shot her a wry smile, "You said you wanted to listen to jazz," She explained gently, clutching her bag to her side as if that would stop her body tingling from any look he sent her way. "We can't do that in the library," She added, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Who said we were going to the library?" He murmured, taking two steps towards her before he dropped his mouth down onto her jawline, kissing the smooth skin tenderly. She barely had time to react before he was pulling back, his breath ghosting and lingering over her earlobe until he disappeared into the empty classroom.

Hanna stood there in shock, her teeth tugging on her bottom lip as she nervously glanced around the hallways, infinitely grateful that they were alone. She didn't want anyone to know about Caleb. A noise from round the corner made her jump and she forced herself to take a breath before she followed him into the empty classroom; he was doing things to her that she didn't think were possible at this time in the morning.

She couldn't help but glance at him slightly anxiously as she took him in, already settled near the back of the classroom well away from any prying eyes; she had no idea what to do with herself.

"Come here," He murmured, pulling a chair up for her to sit to the side of him, her body slightly facing him. "Show me your book," He asked her, a hand going to her thigh as she sat down, his thumb rubbing smoothly over the dark blue material of her jeans.

"My book?" She asked him, a frown gracing her face.

"Your notebook," He said, pulling the chair closer to him so that he could run his hand up her leg to her hip, rubbing soothingly as she reached into her bag.

"I don't…"

"These," He said, squeezing reassuringly as he flicked through the front pages with his other hand, "This is what we should do," He murmured, not missing the slight smile that graced her lips as he fiddled with his laptop to start playing some jazz music in the background.

"These are my sketches," She whispered, her fingers dancing over the lines of pencil she'd etched on the page. "They're silly, Caleb."

"No they're not," He said simply, "They're your work. They're what you enjoy."

"It's just what I do when I get bored," She murmured, looking down at her hands.

"I see you drawing in this in every class we have together."

"You're watching me?" He couldn't help but roll his eyes as she smiled at him – that had to be the one thing she picked out from his sentence.

"Easier than picturing you naked."

"Caleb!"

"It is," He muttered, leaning forward to capture her lips with his own. It was tender and slow and everything she remembered about kissing him two days ago. But it was better. This wasn't a kiss about sex or pleasure; it was a kiss about each other and wanting to feel close. And she let him lead, not sure how much to give or take, unable to fight the frown as his mouth slowed until he sat back and simply took her in.

"I'm going to Philly tonight." Hanna felt an uncontrollable urge to tell him.

"I know." She looked at him, confused. How the hell did he know? "Noel," He muttered, answering the question that was written all over her face, "There's no party tonight. He wants to sleep with Alison."

"Oh."

"Our project," He cleared his throat, separating from her slightly to focus on his laptop.

"Why are you friends with him?" She asked, not letting the topic drop. She wanted to know more… about him… about his friendship with Noel… mainly him.

"We're not friends," Caleb said simply, "I'm helping him out with some things."

"Are you coming tonight?" She asked as he reached for her notebook, looking through it in more detail. "To Philly?" She clarified, propping her head in her hand on the desk as she watched him, her forehead furrowed. The bell rang before she could get an answer and he stood, packing his laptop away and shoving it in his old ratty backpack.

"Your face is too pretty for that vein to be twitching," He muttered, handing her notebook to her. "See you later," His voice dropped and his hand cupped her jaw as his lips dropped behind her ear, caressing the skin before he disappeared out of the room and into the throng of students who were appearing in the hallways.

"Later," She blinked stoically, a hand coming to her forehead to try and smooth the skin. "Later…"

Whatever later meant.

Later saturated Hanna's mind.

She refused to ask Alison exactly what was going on between her and Noel – even though the desire within her was like a candle refusing to burnout – because she had no intention of letting any of her friends have any inclination about what was going on in her personal life. As far as they were concerned, the week they'd just lived through had seen her being the quintessential heartbroken singleton who although having instigated the break-up herself, was still hugely upset about being without a boy she'd appeared to deeply care about. Yes, the Rosewood High Queen had doused herself in black because she was supposed to be in mourning. If only they knew.

Hanna had to fight a laugh when she thought about it. Two months. Her and Sean had been together for two months and she'd considered them serious… They were discussing college together, even living together in New York. God, what a joke. All she'd done was channel everything her parents had ever wanted - all she'd thought she'd ever wanted - into her relationship with Sean and hoped for the best. She'd thought the summer had been about finding herself, starting to come to terms with who she was and what was expected of her. Having a boyfriend was all part of that. Having Sean was fundamental to that.

But the leaves on the trees were changing, turning from their pleasant and unsurprising greens that sprouted under the East Coast sun to the rich and enchanting, unpredictable hues of the Pennsylvania fall. And Hanna liked fall. It was fall that she cared about now. One glance in her ex-boyfriend's kitchen from Caleb Rivers and she knew that the finding herself she claimed to have done in the summer wasn't enough. It was time to really, truly, discover herself. To come to terms with who she was and who she wanted to be.

Two years with Sean in her life. Two months with him allegedly meaning something and he couldn't tell that she'd been making herself sick after every dinner.

Two weeks with Caleb and she guessed he'd known after two days.

She was so pulled to him, so captivated by everything that he was. She'd never met somebody who seemed so uncaring of what other people thought of him. Some of the Rosewood High population might have said that Ali came close, but Hanna knew her outwardly nonchalant attitude came from deep-seated insecurity. Caleb was something else.

He lit a spark within her and it wasn't to do with the copious amounts of weed she was sure he smoked. She wanted him in Philadelphia tonight. She wanted him.

"Han!" Alison snapped the blonde out of her thoughts as she came out into the living area of the Hastings' Philadelphia flat. It was 8pm and after catching the train after school, she'd watched each of the girls taking their turn getting ready for the night before she'd slipped into her thoughts. Her good thoughts. "Hurry up," Ali pulled her up, "We need to start the drinking games soon."

"Sorry," She muttered, heading into the bedroom Alison had just emerged from.

"What are you wearing Han?" Spencer asked, stroking down the front of the dress she'd put on.

Hanna rifled through her overnight bag to find exactly what she was looking for, "This," She held up a skimpy black lace crop top, "And just a black skirt."

"This is so cute," Aria stole the top, feeling the material before she held it up against herself in the mirror. "I may need to completely borrow this."

"Once Han wears it, it's out of bounds," Alison commented, leaning against the doorframe as she watched Aria in the mirror.

"You can borrow it," Hanna said kindly, smiling as Aria handed the item of clothing back to her.

"Seriously," Alison said, "Hanna has the best boobs," She added, "None of us can wear the same top as her and think it looks as good."

"Thanks Ali," Hanna smiled at her before she pulled her top over her head and proceeded to pull on the clothing in question. "I don't think I can wear a bra with this," She muttered, pulling the straps of her bra down before she unclipped it at the back and dragged it out from underneath the top.

"Spencer, does your sister keep any other liquor here?" Ali asked expectantly, "Em could only sneak a bottle of vodka," She rolled her eyes.

"I still think they know," Emily murmured anxiously, tucking her hair behind her ear as she sat herself down in the armchair near the mirror.

"It'll be fine Em," Spencer reached out to squeeze her shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah Em," Alison rolled her eyes, "It'll be fine."

"Okay," Hanna sighed, stepping in front of the mirror, "Can we drink?" She pulled a face, checking her makeup, "I need to drink."

"And to think" Spencer started sarcastically as she plugged her phone in to the speakers on the windowsill. "You used to be such a good girl."

"I…" She stuttered, fiddling with her skirt.

"I'm kidding," Spencer laughed, shoving her lightly, "You're a Marin," She smiled, "Just like I'm a Hastings. Things are expected of us," She said knowingly, "But we can have a little fun too."

"Fun," Hanna swallowed as Aria suddenly appeared with shot glasses.

"I know you've just broken up with Sean," The brunette said, handing out them out, "But you definitely need to be on the lookout tonight."

"My cousin says Philly has the hottest guys at the moment," Ali commented, pouring a measure of vodka into each of the glasses, "Although I'm not sure I'll take much notice."

"What?" Emily spat.

"Ali what are you talking about?" Aria covered for Emily's outburst, "Are you… seeing someone?"

"Maybe."

"Who is it?" Spencer asked eagerly.

"Noel," Hanna couldn't control her mouth before it opened. "Sorry," She gasped, holding a hand to her lips.

"No," Alison tilted her head and looked at her coyly before she raised her shot glass in the air, expecting the girls to follow, "You're more observant than I thought," She murmured, more than a little intrigued, "Han."

She shrugged, wanting to avoid the scrutiny, "We should drink," Hanna muttered, throwing her head back and trying not to wince as the clear liquid burned the back of her throat.

"Hey," Spencer frowned, "Don't the Kahn's have a flat here in Philly? They bought it when Eric when to college here."

"Maybe."

"Ali," Aria gasped in delight, "He's not…"

"What can I say?" Alison sent her a flirtatious glance, "Boys know what they want."

"So he's coming?" Emily asked unsurely, looking more than a little put out, "I thought we were having a girls' night."

"We are," Alison shrugged. "But what's a girls' night without some spice?"

"Still a girls' night," Emily muttered under her breath.

"Come on Em," Hanna consoled her, pouring another shot of vodka for herself, "We're in Philly," She said, "Ali's got us fake IDs," She added, knocking back another drink, "We're going to a club… All of us together."

Aria looked at her knowingly, "It's a girls' night."

As soon as Hanna stepped into the queue for Rumor she felt like eyes were on her. She glanced over her shoulder as she leaned on Aria for support, expecting to lock pupils with the one person she was constantly thinking of, but his presence eluded her. And if she expected it to change once they were inside, she was sorely mistaken. But she wasn't the only one who was clearly a little put out – Alison looked like she wanted to be anywhere but at the bar of the club with her friends at nearly 1am.

"More shots," Spencer yelled drunkenly, leaning over the bar with her hand in the air waving her credit card around.

"Hannaaaaaa," Aria tugged on the blonde's arms as she caught her staring off into the crowd. "Come on, Spence is getting us tequila."

"Sorry," She shook her head, holding tender fingers to her forehead as she immediately regretted the sudden movement.

"I need salt, I need lemon!" Emily shrieked as Aria handed out shots of the clear liquid.

"Don't be a wuss Em," Ali snarked.

"I need lemon too," Hanna whined, leaning over the bar to grab the attention of the bartender.

"Han," Spencer's eyes flared as she reached for her friend's top, "You're almost spilling out," She yelled over the music, as lemon and salt was served up for them.

"They're my boobs," Hanna shrugged, pouring the salt onto her hand, "I can do what I want with them."

"There's boob and then there's nipple," The brunette said, turning them both around so that they could down their drinks with their friends.

"I need to go dance," Aria pulled a face as the liquid burned the back of her throat.

"Yes!" Emily agreed, tugging on Spencer's arm, "I love this song."

Ali's face screwed up tellingly, "I hate this song."

"Come on," Aria slipped her arm through the blonde's, "Ali be happy."

"Are you coming Han?" Alison looked at Hanna expectantly, rolling her eyes at Aria's drunken ramblings, "I need you."

"No," Her brow furrowed, "I just need to go to the toilet."

"Do you want me to come?" Spencer asked, throwing an arm around Hanna's neck as she struggled on her feet. "I can come."

"No," She shook her head, "I'm fine." She yelled over the music, watching as they disappeared into the Friday night crowd, leaving her standing by herself. She wasn't unaware of the men that were staring at her as she stood there by herself, a hand back on her head as her brain tried to focus on walking in the direction of the bathroom. But she wanted them all to go away; she knew they were looking at her chest and then her face. If one of them was Caleb, she knew it would have been the other way round.

There was sweet relief as she slammed the cubicle door shut and all but collapsed on the toilet as she drunkenly went about her business before pulling her phone out of her bag, almost dropping it as she eagerly looked at the message that was lighting up the screen. But as her eyes focused, the disappointment ebbed again as she processed the fact that it was from her Mom three hours ago hoping she was having a nice sleepover, not the brunette male infiltrating her mind. She hated that there was no signal in the stupid club.

Someone slammed on the door, making her jolt as a voice yelled for her to hurry up. She had to forget about him, she told herself as she pulled down her skirt and flushed the toilet. Caleb had no reason to come to Philadelphia tonight – even if he was friends with Noel, even if Hanna had told him she'd be there – he had no reason at all.

"Alright," She yelled back as the person banged on the door again, pulling it open to let a girl whiz past her as she made her way to the sink to wash her hands. "Lipstick… lipstick," She said, riffling through her bag to find the dark pink colour she'd decided on earlier in the night.

"I never do lipstick when I'm drunk," A random girl next to her started talking at her. "I always think you just make it worse."

"That's nice," Hanna said stoically, focusing intently on her reflection in the mirror as she plumped her lips with colour.

"Especially red… It's the worst when you kiss someone."

"You shouldn't talk to strangers," Hanna cut her off, popping the tube back in her bag as the girl looked at her slightly offended, "They just get annoyed by your voice," She added before she was turning on her heel and heading straight for the door. "Seriously," She rolled her eyes as she began to head back to the dance floor, "No, I'm not interested," She yelled at a male who gave her a look, "Go away," She pulled a face as she ended up at the bar again, the guy to her right offering to buy her a drink.

"That's not very nice."

"Caleb!" Hanna spun to the voice on her left, a hand to her chest as she tried to restabilize. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" He asked, wrapping an instinctive arm around her waist as his nose nudged itself into her hair. He'd been waiting for her.

"That," She told him, pushing her body into his side.

"I'm not doing anything," He raised his eyebrows at her, fighting a laugh.

"You're distracting me."

"From what?"

"Buying tequila but I need salt."

"Baby, you've got a lot to learn," He murmured in her ear, his hand squeezing her waist as she turned to look up at him with big doe-like eyes. "A lot," He repeated before he couldn't resist her mouth any longer.

She let him take all he could as his tongue pushed against hers, his teeth taking a moment to pull on her bottom lip before he was kissing her deeply again. She didn't know whether it was the tequila shot or his hands running up her sides to rest on her crop top, but her heart was racing. "Oh," She sighed into his mouth as one of his palms ghosted round to her front, cupping her breast.

"You are so fucking beautiful," He pulled back and said, staring into her eyes as she bit her lip.

Her cheeks flushed and she momentarily asked herself again if it was the alcohol or him. By the way his gaze probed hers, it was definitely him. The desire pooling was almost too much. "Is Noel here?" She asked, attempting meekly to change the topic; she didn't know what to say, how to react when he said things like that.

"He's here." Caleb glanced out across the dance floor. "His brother's here too with someone called Jason."

"Excuse meeeeeeee," He turned his head back to Hanna as she leant forward and called for a bartender. "Hello?"

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"I need a drink," She pouted, squeezing her chest together to try and grab some attention.

"No you don't," Caleb stopped her, pulling her back from the bar, slightly into the crowd.

"Possessive," She laughed drunkenly as he wrapped a tight arm around her front, keeping her back tight against his chest.

"Let's go."

"Go where?" She asked as he began to drag her out of the club, "The girls."

"Text them now," He told her, taking her hand as they emerged into the darkness of the night. There were people milling around in the street and bouncers around the club, but Hanna

"Caleb," She was slightly breathless, trying to keep up with him as he pulled his hood up over his head, "Wait," She called, one hand gripping her phone, the other linked with his, "Where are we going?"

"Noel's."

"I don't wanna go to Noel's," She said as he stopped near the edge of a main road, looking down the street for a taxi.

"Spencer's."

"No," She shook her head adamantly, "I wanna go home."

"Fine," He agreed, hooking his arm around her neck to pull her close and kiss away the frown that was etched on her face. "We should go to the train station."

"I can call for an Uber," She murmured as the cold night air began to sober her thoughts. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off before he could speak, "My parents pay for my credit card," She said, digging around for her phone.

His hands dropped to her butt, cupping the faux leather skirt and pulling their groins together as his lips found the skin on her jawline. "Han," He whispered, his mouth moving up to her cheekbone as one of his hands cupped the other side of her face.

"It'll be here in two minutes," She said, her eyes closing as she locked her phone and laced a hand through his hair under his hood, doing nothing but think about the way his lips were ghosting over her skin. "I don't wanna go home," She murmured, their noses bumping before he kissed her gently.

"You just called an Uber."

"I mean," She kissed him again, standing on her tiptoes as her phone vibrated in her hand. "I wanna go somewhere where it's us. Where there's no one else."

"Han," He murmured as a car honked beside them, "That's your house."

"No," She shook her head, leaving him standing there as she made her way to the waiting taxi.

"No?" He asked, following her and pulling open a door for him to climb in.

"I hate my house," She muttered as the car started to move away from the curb, "I hate how it makes me feel," She added, resting her head against the window. "You don't make me feel like that," She whispered to herself, although he heard every word.

Caleb shuffled off to the middle seat and grabbed her hand, linking their fingers as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and encouraged her forehead towards his, "You're feeling," He murmured, his lips tenderly caressing hers. "Two weeks ago you weren't feeling."

"I thought I was," She agreed, her free hand finding his thigh, "But now I know," She kissed him again, her tongue gently meeting his before she pulled back to stare into his eyes, "I wanna feel more."

"We can."

"Not at home," She pleaded with him.

"Noel's cabin. Let's go to Noel's cabin."

I know it's really mean to stop it here, but it was already pretty long and I'm sure you can guess where the next chapter's going to pick up... it needs to be given enough dedication. If you liked, review? xoxo