Hanna spent her night out with Travis. She was distant, though. She thought about Caleb the whole time. She just couldn't help it.
Travis had always been nice and everything with her, but someway she found him childish. They had all trivial topics in their conversations, and not to mention, Travis had never tried to go a little 'further' with Hanna... He had never showed any interest in sex. Well, Hanna was glad about it since she absolutely didn't feel to make love to him, at all, but he had never even made a move. He just took her out for dinner, told her sweet words, then grabbed her by the hand, took her home and kissed her goodbye. And, not to be mean, but his kisses weren't passionate at all. They were all too much sloppy and wet, and Hanna was almost bothered by them, so she was very glad when he opted for a quick peck.
Caleb's kisses, God, those were kisses.
But she really wanted to give Travis a chance. Because it was more than clear that he truly and genuinely cared about her. She was grateful to him for everything he had done for her. Because he was always willing to be there when she needed a support, when she wasn't okay and even when Caleb wasn't there. Because Caleb hadn't been there for her when she was dealing with Ali's return, when she had faced a deep identity crisis, when she had restarted shoplifting and everything else. She had been into a storm. And Caleb no, he wasn't there. Because he had left her probably in the most difficult moment of her life. Instead, there had been Travis with her.
She felt like she couldn't completely trust Caleb anymore. Well, it was clear that she still felt something for him, something very strong, without a doubt much stronger than what she felt for Travis, otherwise she wouldn't have offered him her basement once again, but she just wasn't ready to end her thing with Travis to come back with him. What if then he would have left once again? What if a morning she woke up and found Caleb gone? She was scared that it could have happened again. And no, she couldn't risk to be through it anymore. She still didn't know how she had been able to get over it, so she was sure that she couldn't have gotten over it if it would have happened a second time.
There was Travis, a guy maybe not very passionate but surely nice and kind, and Hanna knew that he wouldn't have walked away. But she couldn't be sure that Caleb wouldn't have walked away again. So, she had decided to keep things the way they were.
When Travis took her home and luckily said her goodbye with just a quick peck, it was late enough to make sure that her mother was already sound asleep in her bedroom, but not late enough to make her think that Caleb was already asleep. So, when she got in, she decided to go downstairs to see Caleb before going to sleep. She placed her purse on the table and walked to the basement, paying attention not to be loud not to wake her mom. She knocked on his door twice, and Caleb voice allowed her to come in.
"Hey." she smiled at him as she closed the door behind her back.
Only then, she realized that he was wearing a pair of shorts and nothing else.
"Hey." he replied, looking up his -her- Spanish book.
"Everything okay with Spanish?"
Caleb nodded his head from side to side.
"More or less." he shrugged.
Hanna smiled and started to play with one of her locks. Caleb could tell that she was nervous. He moved his body a little and made some room on the couch.
"Sit down." he smiled.
Hanna accepted his offer and sat next to him on the couch, as he placed the book on the floor.
"How did your date go?" he asked casually.
"Fine." Hanna replied quickly, biting her lip.
"Travis is a nice guy. I'm pretty sure that he treats you well."
"Yeah, he does."
Caleb nodded slowly, wiping the palms of his hands against his covered thighs.
"Anything from -A?" he asked again.
Hanna shook her head.
"No, not since the explosion. We don't know what to think anymore..." she sighed.
Caleb sighed as well, then, without thinking, he just grabbed her hand and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. It was so natural to him.
"Hey, I'll do anything to stop him, her, it or whatever it is. I promise. Even if it's the last thing I'll do in my life... We'll make it, okay?" he whispered, squeezing her hand.
Hanna felt sparkles running through her veins right from the point where their hands were joined. She had missed him like hell, and she could feel all the passion even just with him squeezing her hand. Passion that she hadn't felt in a quite long time.
She looked up at him slowly, trying hard not to stop her gaze on his bare chest, and then she met his eyes. She nodded slightly, pushing her lips one on the other. Caleb nodded in return, still holding her hand.
"Thank you." Hanna managed to whisper then.
"For what?"
"For being here... Now. For not leaving even if... You know... You wouldn't owe me anything, but you're here, and... I just want you to know that I really appreciate this."
"I wouldn't owe you anything? I'd owe you the whole world, Hanna." he replied with a chuckle, still gently rubbing her soft hand.
Hanna chuckled and shook her head.
"Seriously, I'm here because I care about you. I know that things are not the way they were before, but... You're important to me and nothing can ever change this. You know, I made you a promise that night in Ravenswood... That when I was done, I would have come back to you. I did what I had promised, not only to you but also to me. I did it late, though... Anyway, I still feel the need to protect you. I want to protect you, so I'll stay." he continued.
Hanna inhaled and then breathed out deeply, staring at his eyes. His voice was soft and calm, his hand was still holding hers, and Hanna was sure he was totally honest. He was speaking with his heart. Hanna knew that heart.
"Well, I feel safer when you're around." she said shyly.
Caleb gave her a small smile.
"I'm sorry for what happened." he said then, bitterly.
Hanna's heart broke just at the thought of those horrible days without him.
"I know I've been a jerk and everything, but... I'm sorry. Really sorry. I just want you to know that I really am." he continued.
"I know." Hanna nodded.
She still didn't know what exactly had happened in Ravenswood, but she didn't wanna ask him right now. She just looked down at their joined hands, following with the gaze the gentle movements of Caleb's thumb on her hand.
"And thank you for not hating me. Even if I'd totally deserve it." he said then.
"Don't talk like this. You're one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, Caleb. Just because we broke up, it doesn't mean that I hate you. I know who you are and I can just be happy that you're back here now."
Caleb smiled at her and then lifted their joined hands to leave a gentle kiss on her knuckles.
"Travis is the luckiest guy in the world having you. He should never let you go like I have." he whispered, deeply looking in her eyes.
Hanna could feel her heart pushing very hard against her chest as she locked eyes with Caleb. His words hurt, because they made her think about how she was happy with him. Then, she just lowered her gaze, so Caleb let go of her hand. He let out a deep sigh and then continued.
"Well, I should probably go to sleep now. Tomorrow morning I'm going to school to talk with Hackett."
Hanna nodded and got up.
"Yeah, I should probably go too. I'm a little tired." she said.
"Okay. Thanks for Spanish. And... For stopping here to say hi." he replied with a smile.
"No problem. Goodnight." she said, approaching the door.
"Goodnight, Hanna. Sleep tight."
And then, Hanna exited the basement and went straight to her room. And, like something around a year and a half earlier, she fell asleep thinking about the 'bad boy' sleeping in her basement.
Caleb too, fell asleep thinking about the beautiful princess upstairs.
The next morning, as soon as Ashley got out of the house, Hanna knocked on Caleb's door and he opened it smiling.
"Morning." he smiled, making his way to the table.
"Good morning." Hanna replied, sitting next to him.
Caleb, as always, poured his bowl with some milk as Hanna drank her orange juice.
"So... Today you'll talk to principal Hackett..." Hanna started.
"Yeah. Let's see where this goes." he shrugged, before taking a sip of his milk.
"I can drive you to school if you want."
"I don't think that's a very good idea. I don't want people to know that I'm staying here."
"Yeah, I know... But I can say that I met you halfway and that so I gave you a ride. Plus it's not like everyone will see us getting out of the same car."
"Don't worry, Han. I'd rather walk anyway." he nodded at her.
"Fine." Hanna sighed.
The two shared a few silents moment, then Caleb got up of the table.
"Okay, so... I'm going. We'll see at school, maybe." he announced.
"Sure." Hanna smiled.
And then, Caleb walked out of the door with his backpack.
When he arrived at school, immediately he noticed that everyone was staring at him and whispering in each other's ears. He could imagine what they were saying. 'Hacker Rivers is back at school!' 'Hanna Marin's former boyfriend is back in Rosewood!' and so on. Of course. If someone had ever talked to him there, it was just either because of his 'profession' or because of Hanna. They didn't know anything else about Caleb Rivers. He was just the hacker dating Hanna Marin. Anyway, he didn't care at all.
He walked to the entry but then noticed it was rather early, so he just sat at one of the tables outside and started playing Angry Birds. He was so focused on his level that he didn't notice someone sitting across him.
"Caleb?"
Caleb lifted his gaze from his mobile screen to the person sitting in front of him.
It was Travis.
"Hey, Travis." he greeted, shoving his phone into the pocket of his jeans.
"You're back?"
"Yeah, I'm back. Don't worry, though... I know about you and Hanna. I won't give you any troubles."
"Have you seen her?"
'I've been seeing her very often! I live in her basement!' he thought.
"Yeah. The night of the explosion at Toby Cavanaugh's house. We had a little chat and she told me what happened while I was away." he replied, nodding.
Travis nodded as well, slowly.
"Why you're back, though? It's not because of Hanna?" he asked.
Caleb bit his lip and took a deep breath.
"I'll be honest... I was back for her. Because I missed her. Because I hoped we could make up. I hoped that we could have another chance together. But then I learnt that there was someone else who was with her. And when I found out that it was you... I was happy. Seriously. I think you're a nice guy, Travis. And Hanna needs a nice guy by her side. Look, I just want her to be happy. And if she's happy with you, I'm perfectly fine with it. Just... Please, take care of her." he replied, honestly.
Travis gave him a small smile.
"I will." he replied.
"I'm planning on staying because I love her, though. And I will always love her. I want to be here because I want to be close to her. I swear that I won't intrude between you two, but you just can't forbid me to love her." Caleb precised then.
Travis felt a little confused by Caleb's last words. He furrowed his forehead and gave him a strange look, so Caleb smirked and continued.
"Travis... Don't worry about me. You're nicer than me. I left Hanna like a coward and I've come back only after a few months. You're the one with her now, right? Hanna definitely deserves the nice guy, not the one who runs away."
"I really like her, Caleb. I know how much she's special and I'll do anything not to lose her. Anything."
"Good. Well, I have to go now. Nice to see you, man." Caleb said standing up and stretching his hand towards Travis.
Travis held it and looked up at him.
"Same here. See you around." he replied.
Caleb nodded slightly and made his way to the principal's office, with the hands in the pockets, as Travis absent-mindedly watched him, lost in his own thoughts.
A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for your support! You gave me twelve reviews for the last chapter... Sooooo great ;) I'm happy you liked it :) What about this one? There was this Caleb/Travis face-to-face :P (on the show it should've totally happened a confront between the two, in my opinion!) I'm curious to know what do you guys think! Well, in the next chapter something quite important will happen :):) I'll update next week, probably after Tuesday! In the meanwhile, I'd be glad to read your reviews ;) Love you guys, till next time! xx -Atramea.