A/N: Apologies for the super late update, I don't really have a schedule down. At this moment in time...this fic is done. I've got all the remaining chapters written down. I spent a weekend finishing it just for you guys! Updates are dependent on when I have the time to edit each chapter, because as much as I wish I could do amazing in one go...I have to edit first! I'm not particularly pleased with the ending either so I'll have to work on it!
Buuutt, I've had a crappy few days and I thought I'd bring a smile to you guys faces (hopefully) by updating! I'll try and update as fast as I can but...it's when I have the time!
Oh! I nearly forgot! I have a Tumblr now you guys! hookedgirl . tumblr .com not sure if you guys would be interested in following but if you want to you can, I'll post updates and you can ask me things!
Found Sara's phone with your prints on it. You want it back, be at Bowa's Pub. 8pm.
Hanna stared down at the message she'd just typed out. Caleb was behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. A steady pillar of support. Just press send. Like ripping off a band aid. It'll all be over soon, and soon will be a lot closer once you hit send. You can do this. For Caleb. If you don't send that text, Noel will still be out there. He could still hurt Caleb, your dream might even come true. But send the text….get the evidence. He won't be able to do anything once the cops have him. Just do it. Hanna took a deep breath and hit send. She waited a moment or two for confirmation it had sent then quickly put her phone face down on the table. She didn't want to look at it, at the sent message staring up at her. If she didn't have to look at it, she could push it to the back of her mind, forget about what she would have to do. Caleb tightened his arms around her, brushing a kiss across the top of her head. She tensed up. She couldn't put it off any longer. They needed to have this conversation, and things between her and Caleb today…they'd felt so…so….familiar. She'd been happy. But what she had to say was going to upset Caleb…no not upset. It was going to make him really, really mad. She took another deep breath and pulled out of his embrace and turned to face him, out of reach.
"What?" Caleb asked, frowning in concern, his arms subconsciously reaching for her. This was more than the text, more than the impending meeting with Noel. He studied Hanna's face, the grim determination, the….fear she was trying to push back. He knew he wasn't going to like what she was going to say. If she was pushing back her fear it would be to keep him calm, to show him she could handle it. Whatever 'it' was. She'd looked similar when she'd quite clearly not wanted him to leave her alone in the room earlier…but had told him she'd be fine anyway. A grim thought started to take shape in his mind and he narrowed his eyes at her.
Hanna picked up the baggie of pills and the hammer, then she placed the baggie carefully on the table. He watched her take another breath.
"You can't come with me to meet Noel. You can't be there. If he see's you he'll bolt. It has to be me. Just me. If it's not then he won't feel like he can come over and gloat and he won't let his guard down. You just…you can't be there. You'll have to stay here. Otherwise this won't work. I need to do this alone." She said in a babbling rush. Then she started to whack the hammer down on the pills. And there it is. Caleb thought. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't need to hit that hard Hanna, you're supposed to be gently crushing the pills. Not pounding them in to nothing." he stated. She looked up at him, then quickly looked away, grabbing the nondescript packet they'd found to put the crushed pills in. It would be easier to tip the drug in to a drink that way….and less suspicious. Hanna picked up the baggie and gently pulled it open, then held the packet between her fingers, giving it the slightest pressure so the top gaped open. She concentrated on the task way more than she needed to.
"You know I'm right Caleb" She said, as she started to tip the crushed pills in to the packet, concentrating to make sure she got it all out, even the bits getting caught at the top of the bag. She then folded down the top of the packet and placed it with her phone, before fiddling with the rope and tape that they'd laid out by the camera. Caleb just looked at her. She fidgeted.
"Look Caleb, I know you're mad and I want you there, so badly. I'm terrified of facing him, after what he…what he did, or probably did or helped do or whatever. I'm scared. I need you there with me but you can't be there. So I'll have to go by myself and…and….I can do this. I have to. Because then we won't have to live in fear anymore. We'll be in charge again, all the time and-"
"Hanna." Caleb interrupted calmly.
"Yes?" She asked hesitantly, finally turning to look at him. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, an exasperated look on his face.
"You're not the only one who can wear a disguise, if that's what you want to call your cap. I might not be able to sit with you and face down Noel…but I can still be there. We scoped the place out. I'll sit in the back, there's a table there that I can sit at. He won't be able to see me, but you will and I'll be able to see you. You won't be alone Hanna. I'll be right there, and if he even breathes wrong, I'll be there faster than you can blink. I won't let him hurt you. You know that." He said. Hanna heaved out a breath and threw her arms around his waist burying her face in his neck. "You don't have to keep pretending that you're fine Hanna. That you can handle it. It's okay to be scared, we've been over this. Now that we're together again…you have to let me help you. It's the rules." Caleb said with a triumphant smile. Hanna hugged him tighter. She had expected him to be more mad, but then trust Caleb to have already worked everything out. She had been too nervous to properly look at the place they'd chosen, just where she would sit. She should have known Caleb would have looked it over more thoroughly. Should have known he'd have worked out how to stay close to her. She had, after all, known he wouldn't let her do this alone.
8pm rolled around faster than Hanna would have liked. She'd been more and more on edge the closer it got to them leaving for the bar. She kept repeating her mantra. But it kept getting drowned out by her own screams, the feel of freezing cold water. The feel of that cattle prod. She and Caleb had spent most of the time with him holding her and murmuring reassurances to her. She'd wanted to show him she'd gotten better, that she could handle this because she was the one playing with Noel. She was the one holding all the cards. That she could be strong again, brave again, for her friends. For him. But she'd struggled, and she'd given in and let Caleb comfort her. Let him be there for her. The drive had been silent and Caleb had held her hand the entire way. She'd insisted that he go in to the bar first, they couldn't go in together and she needed some time to gather her thoughts. To try to pull herself together. He'd been reluctant to leave her by herself, especially with the darkness closing in but she'd insisted she would be fine and they didn't have time to argue. So with one last touch, he'd flipped up his hood and sauntered in to the bar. It wasn't really a disguise. He'd just opted for some nondescript clothing and he'd assured her that the angle of the table meant Noel wouldn't be able to see him. But she'd been too on edge to tease him about it after the huge fuss he'd made.
She sat in the car, steadying her breathing, pushing her memories to the back of her mind. Trying to drown them out with memories of Caleb. Laughing with him earlier that day, hugging him…kissing him. I'm doing this for Caleb. To keep him safe. To make sure Noel can't hurt him. To make sure Noel can't hurt my friends. I'm the one in charge here. I'm trapping Noel. I make the rules for this part of the game. He has to do what I say. I have all the cards. He can't hurt me in front of witnesses and he can't hurt me anymore than he has already. I'm not trapped. I'm not there anymore. He's trapped. He's the one at a disadvantage. Hanna fingered the packet in her pocket, then threw open the door of the car, locked it and hurried the short distance towards the bright bar. Her heart pounding the entire way. She walked up to the bar itself, trying to keep calm. If Caleb saw her freaking out already he'd call it off…or at least insist on being there with her and then Noel might see, or Caleb would refuse to go back and hide and Noel wouldn't come anyway. She sat down and ordered two beers, getting a strange look from the bartender.
"I'm meeting someone. A friend" she said quickly, tugging on the bill of her cap. The bartender just raised his eyebrows. She could see Caleb from her spot at the bar, and he smiled at her reassuringly. She forced herself to smile back. A few minutes passed. Then five, ten….fifteen. he still wasn't there. Maybe he didn't believe me….maybe I wasn't threatening enough? Or maybe he saw Caleb and I together…no. We arrived early and walked in separately. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he has nothing to hide, maybe he just…the phone…I don't know. Where the hell is he? She thought as she checked the clock again. Her phone rang and she hurriedly grabbed it, flipping it over to see…..Aria. She'd briefly wondered if he'd figured her out…if he was calling to, well…call her out. She ignored the call, put the phone on silent and put it in her pocket. She wanted it close….just…just in case.
A few moments later, before she could panic anymore than she already was, she heard the door open and she carefully turned to look, trying not to be obvious about it. She was greeted with a familiar face. Noel. She felt a spike of terror but she quickly pushed it away. Replaced it with another feeling. With a sense of satisfaction. He's come. You're mine now bitch. She watched as he looked around the bar, then headed right over to the planned table. It was the only one still free, just like Caleb had known it would be at this time of the evening….partially because it was tucked out of the way and partially because he'd paid the bar owner to make sure it stayed free. Hanna surreptitiously made sure Noel was out of sight, then she carefully took the packet from her pocket. She looked at it, am I really going to do this? Yes. I have to. Half…half the packet. No more no less. Mixed in to the drink it should work fine. He won't drink that much before he gets loopy right? She reached out and pulled one of the glasses in front of her closer. Looked around once more, then…..poured the entire packet in to the glass. She wasn't sure if it was the anger or the fear that made her do it. Sure he wouldn't be drinking much of it, but this would make sure it knocked him out…or at least made him woozy enough he'd be easy to manage. It made him less of a threat to her. To Caleb. She hurriedly put the packet back in her pocket, grabbed a straw and started to mix the powder in to the beer. Then she grabbed the second glass….she swallowed. This was it. You can do this. You can do this. Caleb's right over there. There are people everywhere.
Hanna pulled on what she liked to call her Mona mask and she walked over with a lot more confidence than she felt, placed the two drinks on the table, making sure Noel had the drugged one in front of him. She knew it was that one because she kept repeating right right right right, in her head the entire time. She couldn't afford to accidentally give herself the drugged drink. She settled herself in the seat as casually as she could, refusing to look in Caleb's direction in case Noel followed her gaze and noticed who she was looking at. Noel looked at her. She shuddered internally at his cold gaze as she met his eyes finally. Tried not to look down at his hands, right there on the table. Hands that had…had probably….
"I'm waiting for someone" He said coldly and Hanna snapped out of her thoughts. Channel Mona. Mona must have done stuff like this all the time right? She was A. She's a genius. She wouldn't let Noel scare her. She'd show him who was boss. I need to do the same. I can't let him see how scared I am. Or he'll use it against me. Caleb's over there, I can feel him watching. It's going to be fine. I just need to play a part. Play Mona. Become Mona.
"You're waiting for me" she said, with a slight smirk. Noel sat back in his chair, contemplating her. He hadn't been expecting that, or at least…she didn't think he had. She felt a small sense of satisfaction. People always underestimate me. She continued to study Noel. He didn't look surprised, he'd had a more….huh, kind of air to him. But then he wouldn't show his hand like that. Wouldn't give her any power over him by showing her she'd taken him by surprise. Hanna started to second guess her reading of him, and before she could go too far with it and freak herself out at how bad she possibly could be at reading him, she forced her thoughts away from it. Showtime. Guys have mastered this, and anything a guy can do...I can do better. It can't be that hard to drug Noel. Hanna pushed the drugged beer towards him, a confident smirk on her face. He looked at the drink, then back up to her face….and….there it is. Just for a second….a smile. A very, very brief smile. Hanna choked down her rising fear. She'd been right. She knew it. Game on.