Okay guys, please don't be mad about the time jump. We will get to what happened during the time difference, I promise. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think. :)
8 MONTHS LATER
Hanna's phone buzzes on the table, she sits up and grabs it before laying back down on the couch. Sliding it open she goes to her text screen to see a text from Jen
Put on your tightest, whitest dress – We're going out. Be there around 6!
Hanna huffs and rolls her eyes as she types out her reply
I don't need to go out. Why don't we just have wine and pizza in? My treat?
She hits send and waits for the reply that she know she will get almost immediately, and she does.
Don't even go there Marin. Get your ass up and get ready. We are going out. Be there at 6 – NO QUESTIONS!
Hanna sighs again, exasperated knowing that this was an argument she would not win.
Fine. See you at 6.
Hanna looks towards the clock and notices the time, 3:50.
Damn it Jen. A little more notice would've been nice…
She thinks as she hops up from her spot on the couch and heads towards the bedroom for the bathroom to take a shower.
When she gets out, she blow dries her hair and begins to rolls it up on big rollers before leaving the bathroom in search of something to wear. She swings the closet doors open and skims through the hangers and pulls out every white dress she has in her closet and throws them on the bed. One by one she picks them up and holds them up to her body and looks in the mirror until she settles on dress number 4 and puts the rest back in the closet.
She heads back into the bathroom and begins to start on her makeup. Once she is done perfecting her makeup, she takes the rollers out of her hair and lets it fall in full, volumized curls down her back. As she fluffs it up in the front she looks in the mirror, giving herself an overall look of approval before walking back into the bedroom to get dressed. Sliding into her dress of choice –A tight white lace number with one ¾ length full lace sleeve and a scalloped hem at the bottom - she pulls on her hot pink wedges, just as there is a knock at the door.
She walks into the living room, to the door and swings it open. Jen, Alyssa, and Erin stand on the other side all wearing a shade of pink and ready to go.
"Oh my god…you look…HOT!" Alyssa says as she looks her up and down for approval.
Hanna laughs and poses in a silly way before saying thank you and moving out of the way for them to come into her apartment.
"I'm almost ready. Just got to grab my clutch..." She says as she runs back into her bedroom to grab her bag, leaving her friends to stand in the living room. She grabs a hot pink clutch to match her shoes and throws her pink lipstick – shade 'Starlit Pink', and her phone inside along with her debit card, cash, and license. She makes her way back out into the living room to see the girls pulling a sash out of Erin's bag.
"Oh no. Absolutely not!" she says as she shakes her head at her friends.
"Oh come on Hanna! It's just a sash!" Jen pleads
"Yeah, a giant hot pink sash…no. Not wearing it." She says again with a shake of her head as she grabs her keys from the table and throws them in her clutch. She looks back at her friends "Okay, ready." she says and they just stand there "What?" she asks as she looks at them, waiting.
"We are not leaving this apartment until you put this sash on." Alyssa says as she holds it up.
Hanna rolls her eyes "Fine!" she says as she takes the sash from her friends and the all smile at her excitedly. She throws the sash over her sleeved shoulder and pins it at the bottom near her other hip. "There you happy?" she asks as she pulls her hair out from under the sash and throws her arms out in defeat of her friends.
They all smile at each other and then back at her before Erin says "Almost" and pulls a veil out from behind her back, shaking it at Hanna with excitement.
"No…No. No, absolutely not. I will wear the hot pink Bride-To-Be sash that I am sure you guys only got because I A. told you not to, and B. you know will get us free drinks…I will wear this" she says as the pulls at the sash "but I draw the line at a veil.."
"But come on…it will look so cute!" Alyssa says
"NO! The answer is no…let's go!" she says as she heads for the door, leaving her friends to follow behind her.
When the cab pulls up in front of the bar Hanna knocks the veil out of her face so she can see where they are.
Damn this veil.
"Murphy's? Really? First the sash, then the veil and now this..? You girls must really want to embarrass me tonight…I am guessing karaoke?"
Jen smiles at her "Something like that. Come on…we have a surprise for you!"
Hanna gets out of the car and pulls her dress down some then straightens the veil on top of her head.
Singing karaoke while looking like Vegas Wedding Barbie…this should be interesting…I just wanted a small, girls night…but they mean well…let them have their fun. You're getting married in a WEEK!
She thinks with a smile as she waits on the sidewalk while the rest of the girls pay, and then pile out of the cab. Erin grabs Hanna's hand as they make their way to the front door and push it open. Music blares from inside the building and they link hands as they make their way through the crowd of people inside and find the table already set up for them close to the stage.
Hanna can't help the laugh that escapes her throat when she sees the lengths the girls have gone through. The table sits away from the crowd sort of secluded from the madness of the dance floor. The table is covered in a hot pink tablecloth and there is a bottle of champagne sitting on the table in a tub waiting for them to arrive.
"You guys, you didn't have to do all of this!" she says as she picks up her rhinestone 'Bride' champagne flute and looks at it "I appreciate but you guys are going to make me cry." she says as she reaches out to hug all of them.
"You just wait to see the surprise we have for you!" Alyssa exclaims with a squeal and a clap "But first…mojitos!" she says as she grabs Hanna's hand and pulls her towards the bar. As they push their way through the crowd for the bar, Alyssa stops suddenly and Hanna runs into the back of her.
"Lyssa, what the-?" she stops when she looks up and sees why Alyssa has stopped. "Jordan? What are you doing here?" she asks as she looks up at him and then around the room in disbelief.
"Hi Hanna….I uh- I didn't know you were going to be here tonight…I uh, I'm just here with some friends…but I'll go…so we don't ruin your bachelorette party." he stumbles over his words, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh, it's no big deal…you don't have to do that. I didn't know I was coming out tonight actually." she says with a smile and a shove to Alyssa's back
He gives her a smile back "Well, you look beautiful…have fun, don't get into too much trouble." he says as he turns the opposite direction and walks off.
Hanna shoots Alyssa a look "I'm sorry. I didn't know he was going to be here."
"It's fine….mojitos, NOW!" she says as she turns Alyssa back around and they continue make their way through the people to the bar. When they reach it, Alyssa shoves Hanna in front, as the bartender arrives
"What can I get for you ladies?" he asks
"Four Mojitos, please." Hanna says to him and he turns to start their mixing their drinks.
Hanna turns back to Alyssa, "Look…I really appreciate tonight…but you cannot let me get too drunk. We have to get on the road back to Rosewood tomorrow and I have my final dress fitting on Monday so I can't be bloated. Deal?"
Alyssa smiles back at her "Deal." and hugs Hanna tightly "We didn't know he would be here tonight but I do want to apologize for it anyway." she whispers as she pulls back and lifts Hanna's left hand up into the air and looks at her ring "I cannot believe that this time next week, you're gonna be married." she squeals "You will make a beautiful bride Hanna Marin!" she says with a look of appreciation on her face.
Hanna's eyes well up with tears "You bitch." she says as she brings her fingers up underneath her eyes to stop them from falling "You're gonna make me cry and I spent 15 minutes trying to make sure I got this cat eye on point." she says and they share a laugh just as the bartender walks back to their end of the bar with four small cups in hand.
"Here you go ladies, and they are on the house. Congratulations to the bride to be from us here at Murphy's! You ladies enjoy!" he says as he hands each of the two cups.
"Thank you!" Hanna says as she smiles a smile at him and she can barely here Alyssa say 'oh my god.' under her breathe behind her. She turns back around "What is it Lyssa?" she asks then looks up. She stops where she stands "Caleb? What are you doing here tonight?"
He looks at both of them then back to Hanna looking her up and down "I'm just here with some friends…I didn't know you would be here though…so we will head on out so we won't ruin your night….god, you look incredible" he says
"I'm just gonna go on back to the table. You good?" Alyssa asks as she shoots Hanna a questioning look before leaning in and whispering in her arm "I am so sorry. We didn't know he would be here either."
"Yeah, I uh…I will be there in just a minute." she says to Alyssa as she turns back to Caleb.
"Bachelorette party huh?" he says as he notices the sash across her chest.
"Um…yeah. I uh, I didn't know I was coming out tonight. They just called me up last minute." she says with an awkward laugh and smile "I'm heading out tomorrow…back to Rosewood…getting hitched next week so they wanted me to have one last night out before the big day."
"He's a lucky guy." he says as he offers up a smile "You happy?"
"Uh, yeah I am...very…I'm a very lucky girl."
"Well, look…we already have rounds on the table but when we are done we will head out. I have already ruined one girls night out for you this year…I wouldn't want to ruin another one…much less a bachelorette party." he says as he reaches out to hug her "You look amazing, by the way."
"Thank you" she whispers as she hugs him back.
He turns and walks in the opposite direction as she turns and walks back to her table. When she reaches it she can see the shocked look on all of her friends faces as she hands Jen her mojito and takes the lone empty stool sitting beside her.
Erin lifts her glass in the air "Okay ladies lift them up. Let's raise a toast to our beautiful friend Hanna on her last night in New York City as a single woman!" she exclaims and the rest of the girls raise their cups and they all yell "Cheers!" and take a drink of their minty drinks.
Hanna takes another sip and looks over her shoulder in the direction across the bar from them. Her eyes spring open really wide as she cannot believe what she is seeing. She quickly turns back to her friends "Is this the only place we are going tonight?" she asks panicking.
"It doesn't have to be. Why? What's wrong?"
"Well, as soon as we are done with these, can we leave and go somewhere else?"
"Hanna, we can't. You haven't seen your surprise yet." Erin pouts from across the table.
"What's up Han?" Jen leans in close and whispers
Hanna looks back over her shoulder and then back at the girls "Well… I mean because…Jordan and Caleb are having drinks…over there…together...my fiance and my ex. fiance..drinking...together." she says as she nods her head quickly behind her.
All the girls turn and look in the direction and they gasp.
"Oh wow. That's awkward." Erin says
"Why in the world…?" Alyssa asks but is cut off by the DJ who loudly comes over the speakers behind Hanna.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen…it seems that we have a couple of ladies in the bar celebrating a bachelorette party tonight." He says
"OH THIS IS IT!" Erin claps excitedly
"And it would appear that they want to sing a little karaoke so ladies, come on up here." He calls
As the music of 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' begins to play, Hanna looks back at her friends at the table "Oh absolutely not!"
"Oh, he's not talking about us….yet." Jen says with a look of innocence on her face, she then slightly smiles.
"I come home in the morning light my mother says when you gonna live your life right. Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones and girls they want to have fun. Oh girls just want to have fun."
Hanna sighs in relief as she hears the voices singing from the stage and she picks up her cup and takes a sip before the voices register in the back of her mind. She spins around quickly on her stool and looks up at the stage. Aria, Spencer, Emily and Ali all stand up in the spotlight singing into two microphones and they all smile in her direction. She spins back around in her chair with tears in her eyes.
"Surprise!" Erin exclaims with another excited clap of her hands.
"How did you? When did-"she says through her tears
"I found them on Facebook last week and asked if they could come." Jen says with a smile.
"They love you as much as we do, so they were totally up for it!" Alyssa says
"But girls they want to have fun. Oh girls just want to have, that's all they really want. Some fun. When the working day is done." they sing again from the stage
"Go! Get your ass up there!" Erin tells her
Hanna hops off of her bar stool and the other girls follow suit as they make their way onto the stage. The girls stop singing as Hanna wraps her arms around them tightly. Erin, Jen, and Alyssa take over singing "Oh girls, they want to have fun. Oh girls just want to have fun"
"Oh my gosh. It is so good to see you guys! Thank you so much for coming!" Hanna cries
"Han, are you kidding?" Spencer asks
"We wouldn't have missed this for the world!" Aria says as they all hug again.
"Come on ladies, let's sing!" Emily calls out and they join the other girls at the microphone
"That's all they really want. Some fun. When the working day is done. Oh girls, they want to have fun. Oh girls just want to have fun Girls they wanna. Wanna have fun." They all sing and laugh.
Hanna looks up and sees two sets of eyes on her. They both stand side by side near a table in the back of the bar. They watch her, but talk to each other. She shakes her head and continues singing along with the other girls, ignoring the awkwardness that is going on between the three of them.
When they are done the girls all walk off stage and back to the table. Hanna stops and laughs again before she is overcome with emotion and begins to tear up again "Oh my gosh! How did you guys get away with all of this? I JUST talked to you yesterday and you said nothing!" she says as she points at Emily who laughs too.
"Ali and I were actually just pulling up in front of our hotel when you called and we so thought that we had been caught!"
"You should've seen the look on her face when she saw your name on her phone. Full on panic mode!" Ali chimes in with a laugh.
"Aria…you said you would be in Boston until Wednesday and miss my final fitting. What are you doing here?"
"I have actually been back in town for a few days now…helping your mom. She wanted to surprise you by having everything ready so you could relax this week…and when Jen got in touch with me…I wasn't going to let your bachelorette party pass by and not come."
She hugs each one of them again and then turns to Jen, Erin, and Alyssa "You ladies have no idea what this means to me! Thank you." she says as she begins her rounds hugging each one of them.
"So, now that everybody is here. Let's get this party started." Alyssa says as she pulls the champagne bottle out of the bucket and starts to pop the cork as Jen pulls four more hot pink "Bride Squad" flutes out and hands them to the girls.
Hanna squeals again and looks around at all the girls as they stand around in a circle and Jen pours some champagne in their glasses. When she reaches Hanna she smiles as she pours champagne into her bride flute and hands it to her.
Spencer lifts her flute into the air "To Hanna, the girl that we all know and love who will make the most beautiful bride ever! Hanna, we love you more than you will ever know. Cheers!"
"Cheers!" they all chime in and clink the tops of their glasses together before taking a sip from their flutes
As they all begin to talk, Hanna watches them in silence.
What did I ever do in life to get such amazing friends? They have literally dropped everything they were doing to come here and celebrate my last night in New York before the wedding with me. And these three – who have never met these other girls – invite them here to celebrate with me, because they knew how much I missed my friends from home. How did I ever get so lucky?
She smiles to herself and lifts her champagne back up to take another sip. When she does the lights catch the diamond on her finger and make it sparkle to catch her attention. She pulls her hand out in front of her face and wiggles her fingers. She smiles with admiration as she looks it over.
And then this. I am so lucky. These last 8 months have been hard, and complicated, but man…have they been worth it. I am so in love with him and I cannot wait to be Mrs.-
"Hanna!" Ali shouts to get her attention and when she looks up at her "Will you quit eyeing your shiny rock and fill us in on some wedding deets."
Hanna smiles and opens her mouth and then closes it when she hears a familiar voice call from behind her.
"Hey Han."
She stills for a moment and looks at all the girls who offer very panicked stares and then they distract themselves with other things, leaving her to fend for herself in this situation.
She turns around and stands from her stool to face him "Hey. You leaving?"
"Yeah, I uh…I was only here having a drink with a couple friends…I uh, I got transferred at work to California so I was just here doing a going away thing."
"California? Wow. That amazing."
"Yeah, you know I have family out there so maybe it won't be too bad of a move."
"Maybe not then." she smiles at him "Good luck."
He reaches out to hug her and stops himself. She smiles again and opens her arms out for him to give her a hug. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her in awkwardly "Congratulations. I met him…I like him…he's nice….he loves you and he will do right by you."
"Yeah, he does." she whispers back to him "Thank you. I am so sorry about everything."
"Hey, it's no big deal. You ended up where you should be." he says as he pulls back "I gotta go, just didn't feel right leaving without saying goodbye."
He turns to walk out of the bar, waving at her friends as he does. She watches him leave, then turns back to look across the bar. Familiar warm eyes meet hers and he smiles at her, making her blush.
God, he's hot. I am so lucky.
She thinks as she blows him a kiss from across the room making him laugh and shake his head at her gesture. She giggles and turns back to the table and the girls all stop their chatter and look expectantly at her.
"Well? How'd that go?" Jen asks
Hanna shrugs "We get each other, that's all. He knows I made the right decision, he's okay with it. He uh…he actually said he likes him." she says with a laugh and picks up her cup to take a sip of her mojito before she continues "So, where was I?"
"Wedding details." Spencer says as she leans in and puts her elbow on the table, interested in what she will say.
"Yes, okay well I-"she starts but is cut off when the waitress walks up to them with a tray full of shots.
"Okay ladies, I have 8 shots here for the bride and the bride squad sent over from the groom to be." she says as she sits one down in front of each girl "And he said to tell you to have fun tonight and that you look beautiful. He also said to tell you that he loves you and he cannot wait to marry you." she says to Hanna with a smile.
Hanna blushes again and all the girls sigh with envy at his words spoken by the waitress. The waitress picks up her tray and walks away, and Hanna glances over her shoulder at him across the bar. He sits watching them from his table, when their eyes meet he winks at her making her smile. He tips the top of his bottle to her and takes a drink of his beer. She turns back to her friends with a ridiculous grin splashed all over his face.
"You guys are so in love…I am so jealous." Alyssa says with a smile
"Yeah, we are." Hanna says almost in a daze
"Well, let's not let these go to waste" Jen says as she picks up her shot glass and holds it up, the rest of the girls following suit. They clink their glasses and down their shots and sit their glasses back down on the table.
"So Han, spill…how did all of this go down?" Aria asks
Hanna smiles and looks back over her shoulder once more at her soon to be husband who laughs with his friends across the bar. He catches her stare and looks up at her, his brown eyes glistening in the lights; he smiles and butterflies erupt in her stomach. She turns back to her friends again with a smile on her lips.
"Okay, this is really starting to make me sick." Spencer says with humor in her tone as the other girls shake their heads in agreement.
"Spill. Now." Emily says again
"Well...I was here about 8 months ago we went out for my birthday and ran into Caleb…"she says as she starts to tell them the story.
