Hello again c: Thanks for all kinds of feedback, be it reviews or follows. And to the 'guest' who reviewed & probably won't be reading this: Thanks for the compliment & I'm actually going to write other PLL fics soon, so maybe you'll find a ship that suits you then, but please (& other people obviously agree with me on that matter), just don't bother reading and reviewing this if this ship disgusts you so much. It's not like the description of the story could have tricked you or something (also, hopw is Wrenna disgusting? It's not like I'm letting Hanna hook up with Emily's dad or something. And they were likely to happen for a few episodes at least) Furthermore, I consider this website to be a place where your unlikely ships come to life, so why would I care that Wrenna isn't going to happen on the show anymore? Anyhow. This one turned out rather long again. But before I finally let you read in peace, I have a little question for you. So, I'm going to start writing a PLL/Suits crossover because THERE ARE NONE YET, OMG, THIS HAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL. Excuse me. Anyway, it is going to be connected to this story and the main protagonist will be Spencer this time. So please tell me, would any of you like to read it? I'll probably start anyway but I'd really like to hear what you think about this, nonetheless c:
Okay, hope you enjoy this chapter c: (btw, Hanna should finally be going to Rosewood in Chapter 7, in case anyone's patiently waiting for a reunion of the girls)
Chapter 5 –You're such a fugitive but you don't know what you're running from
The sun immersed Central Park in a soft, welcoming light on this cozy Saturday morning in April and Hanna Marin and her friend Jessica McCourt were taking one of their pre-shopping strolls, Starbucks fraps in hand. The last time they had been there was on St. Patrick's Day which just so happened to be Jess' favorite holiday to celebrate. She was born in Northern Ireland to an Irish father and a New York born mother. But the family moved back to NYC when she was 4, therefore she never got confronted with a lot of Irish culture. Nonetheless, she had acquired a Northern accent she pulled off from time to time, usually around Wren, their UK origins being something they quickly bonded over – leaving Hanna slightly jealous, if she was being completely honest – or at parties and the urge to show off all of her Irishness during the internationally popular Irish holiday.
The two girls had been stumbling through the park in a drunken haze, eventually making their way to Lenox Hill Hospital at around 5 in the morning, to pay Wren a little visit in the ER. Everybody deserves a little partying after all. Whatsoever, Dr. Kingston decided to sneak them into the long line of drunkards and helped them sober up for work with infusions at secrecy –as far as that was possible, with an intoxicated Hanna trying to make him spend the night with her in her hospital bed. A hot blonde shoving her tongue down your throat and suggesting to make a baby -right here, right now- even catches the attention of the busiest colleagues after a while.
Thinking back, Hanna was a bit surprised that her behavior hadn't brought her into any trouble. She had at least slightly embarrassed him after all. But then again, they never fought. They had a way of dealing with problems of all kind that always seemed to work out for them. It wasn't too surprising that they hadn't talked yesterday's happenings over for too long either. The sudden appearance of a wild Caleb in New York might not have occurred before, but it was nothing that they couldn't choose to hold off on dealing with any more than they really needed to.
Once the girls reached Hanna's favorite Chanel store there was no time to ponder anymore as she quickly became far too caught up in this year's Spring collection. Jess was okay with casual chatter until they were searching the racks for hidden treasures at Ralph Lauren and she slyly tried to bring up the happenings she had interrupted the day before, all the while nervously chewing on her lip.
"So, that Caleb guy yesterday…"
Hanna immediately threw her a disappointed look, and the brunette quickly switched the topic when they were queuing at the checkout.
"Anyhow. Rosewood! Are you excited? I wish I could join you guys but someone's got to keep the madhouse running." She graced Hanna with her best puppy face. The blonde couldn't help but giggle.
"I wish you could join us, too, Jess. Or well, me at least. It doesn't look like Wren's going to get the week off." She sighed while handing her credit card to the cashier. "Oh well, maybe it's for the best."
"What? Why?" Jessica asked confused, hurrying out of the store after her.
"It's just… I'm worried about the girls." Hanna bit her lip, stepping into the nearest Gucci store. "I really hope they won't give him a hard time when they're staying with us."
"Why would they even do that?" Jess raised an eyebrow, picking out a mint green day dress for Hanna's Rosewood trip. "Does that perhaps have something to do with a certain Caleb?"
"In one way or another, I guess." Hanna shrugged. "They all were Caleb fans when we were dating and they all got along fairly well. I suppose Spencer and him were sort of friends,actually. But I doubt that he's Spencer's reason for being Wren's biggest opponent of all of the girls. She has plenty and they are all better than this one."
The blonde laid her eyes on a light pink pencil skirt and hurried in its direction, leaving Jess rubbing her forehead. "Okay, you'll have to help me out with the names again before they come here. I wouldn't want to embarrass myself."
"As if you ever did." Hanna laughed, searching the rack for her size.
Jessica simply ignored her remark and continued nonchalantly. "Okay, so there's Aria, the one you talked to on the phone. She wouldn't like him because…?"
"Because she has a problem with homewreckers. But I guess she likes him best of all the girls. She's generally a very understanding person." Hanna stated, holding the skirt to her waist in front of the tall mirror, doused in fluorescent light.
"Okay, so she's the cool one." Jessica decided, nodding slightly. "Then we have Emma… uhm no, Emily, right?"
"Yeah, Emily. She's quite the tolerant type as well, probably because she's into girls. But she really likes Caleb. But oh well, she's unlikely to cause problems either, to be honest. They got along quite well before we were dating, so maybe she's over it by now."
"But then we still have Spencer, don't we? What a name." Jess rolled her eyes. "I don't think I'll like her."
"Oh no, I'm sure you will." Hanna protested and snatched the dress from her hand, heading to a dressing room with a matching pair of shoes. The brunette followed her and stood outside.
"Well then, tell me why she wants to be a little trouble maker."
Hanna let out a sigh behind the curtain. "It's Wren's fault. First of all, he was engaged to Spencer's sister Melissa who eventually caught him kissing Spencer. Later on, he'd keep trying to get together with her, but she was dating Toby most of the time then. I wonder how life has turned out for him. Anyway, I don't know, I suspect that she still had a thing for him when he stopped paying attention to her, so she feels that he hurt her pride or something."
Jess didn't respond for a while, needing some time to progress all the information. "Hold on… okay, it's official. Wren is such a manwhore." She fake-gasped.
"Oh, shut up." Hanna hissed, trying to sound as if she was joking. In reality, Wren's past with the Hastings' somewhat upset her. The fact that Spencer had kissed him before she had made her shiver from jealousy and what kind of drug was he on when he decided to put a ring on Melissa Hastings? She couldn't even imagine how dull and annoying she had to be in bed. Ew. Now she really got the shivers.
In Sephora, whilst looking for the perfect lipstick for the swim meet, Jess decided the time had come for another try. She glanced at Hanna like a puppy that had just peed in the corner of the living room, although everybody had believed her to be domesticated by now. "Can we pleeeeease talk about yesterday's Caleb situation? Pleasepleaseplease. What did I miss because of that Luke guy?"
"Oh right, 'that Luke guy.'" Hanna raised her eyebrows suggestively. "How was your date last night?"
The brunette shrugged, her eyes lingering on a redhead who was trying out different Yves Saint Laurent powders, covering her little black dress in what looked like fairy dust in the process. "It was alright. All he talked about was how he didn't pass out when this guy threw up three cups full of blood and how awesomely fascinating Dr. Kingston is. But apart from that, it was lovely." She let out a sigh. "Who knows, maybe I'm just not destined to get my own McDreamy." Her eyes jumped back to Hanna. "But don't you think you've gotten my mind off of the most important topic of the day. Go ahead. I want details."
"Fine." Hanna moaned, comparing MAC's Russian Red to Ruby Woo on the back of her hand. "So, I was waiting for you two and all of sudden, Caleb came up to me. Completely out of nowhere. We had a little chat, small talk and all and well, I think he was trying to ask me out. Then Wren came back and they basically banned me from their conversation and it eventually seemed to turn into a bitchfight over who is, like Wren would say, 'the better shag'" She told her soberly, her fingers making quotation marks in the air.
Jess' jaw seemed to drop right into the MAC bronzer she was about to try out. "Oh my God, the one time I leave you on your own for a minute… So, who won?"
"I guess Wren. You sort of interrupted the battle." Hanna giggled.
The brunette joined her, both their giggles transforming into full blown laughter. "Honesty hour, who actually is the better shag?"
"You'd insult my intellect if you thought I was dumb enough to leave the better shag for the worse shag." The blonde bit her lip, grinning, and decided to go for Hot Gossip instead.
Meanwhile, Dr. Wren Kingston had just finished off one of his usual bypass surgeries and therefore found the time to text his girlfriend that he wouldn't get the week off to accompany her to Rosewood. He had mixed emotions about that, seeing as he enjoyed visiting Hanna's mom with her. However, having the three girls stay over at their apartment for a week would probably exceed his recommended dose of their company already. He certainly didn't mind having to hang around Spencer for no more than one week.
Just when he had pressed 'Send', he heard the chief physician call his name a few steps away. Wren quickly put his phone away, turned around and straightened up.
"Dr. Rubinstein." He greeted the gray-haired man who seemingly should have retired a decade ago.
"Oh, Dr. Kingston. How lucky I am to run into you here. Dr. Donovan and I have a proposal to make you'll surely be more than happy to take into consideration." Right on cue, Dr. Donovan, a middle aged man of a small stature with neatly trimmed red hair and incidentally Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, appeared next to him.
"We've both realized what a talented Cardiothoracic surgeon you are, Dr. Kingston" Dr. Rubinstein continued. "The results of your surgeries are outstanding. In the three and a half years you have been employed at our facility, you haven't lost a single patient. Let me assure you, you have a blooming career ahead of you and we would be more than pleased to have you reach the top here at Lenox Hill. But frankly, it might take years until you could reach a position you deserve here. Therefore, Dr. Donovan and I want to offer you a job at one of our partner hospitals in Chicago, the St. Claire's. You would be promoted to chief resident as well as head of the cardiothoracic department there within a year. So, how does that sound to you?"
Wren couldn't help but gasp. This was certainly the kind of offer one could consider 'an offer you can't refuse' – without the risk of swimming with the fishes if you did refuse nonetheless, that is. He cleared his throat, hoping he'd be able to find his voice to answer. "Dr. Rubinstein, I am… wow, I am more than honored to hear how highly you and Dr. Donovan think of me and I have to admit, your offer has certainly left me speechless for a moment. But I'm afraid I won't be able to move to Chicago."
"What? Why? Don't be stupid, Kingston." Dr. Donovan finally spoke up. "I would've killed for an offer of that kind back when I was in your position. What could possibly keep you here in New York?"
"Well, my girlfriend has a job here and-"
"Oh, your girlfriend. Seriously, Kingston? Girlfriends come and go." Dr. Donovan cut him off mockingly and Wren was almost certain that he wasn't exactly popular amongst the ladies. "Or do you intend to put a ring on it anytime soon?"
Wren hesitated for a split second, sorting his various thoughts and emotions out as quickly as he possibly could. Why hadn't he considered this before? Or had he?
"Maybe I am indeed about to."
The weekend had seemed to be never-ending, bitterly wanting to punish Hanna for all the mistakes she had ever made. One of the perks of Caleb's return was that she had a valid reason to avoid the girls over the weekend. All of them were more than understanding when she texted them about wanting to spend time with him instead of meeting up with them at The Brew. One of the disadvantages of Caleb's return was him actually wanting to spend the weekend with her. Hanna tried hard to remember how she usually behaved in his company and to act as natural as possible which turned out to be a lot more effort than she had expected. But she wanted this to work, after all, didn't she? She wanted things to go back to the way they were before she decided to be a slut and screw this other guy, whose name she didn't even allow herself to think of.
Caleb had not quite given up on getting her to accompany him to the Naked and Famous concert next Friday and therefore decided to turn her into a fan-in-the-making at least. As soon as 'Punching in a Dream' came on, Hanna was too busy trying to keep her thoughts from wandering off to the loveliest British accent she had ever heard, bringing a breeze of sanitizers, almonds and hair gel with it, to even pay attention to another song. 'Young Blood', her most hated The Naked and Famous song, brought her back into the kitchen and she declared that she could never like this band enough to see them live. Eventually, they seemed to be heading back to their old, carefree ways. But whenever she believed Caleb was trying to make a move on her in any way, she excused herself, wanting to be left alone for a while to deal with her imaginary 'period cramps'.
On her own again, she pondered over her current situation some more. It would definitely still take some time for her relationship with Caleb to be normal again but they were headed in the right direction. She should probably hurry up, though, seeing as she couldn't be on her period forever. Would it help if she just told him the truth after all? No, surely not. The blonde sighed and rolled over to her other side on her queen size bed. She wanted to just stop thinking for a while but she didn't dare to put music on this weekend. The only guy she was allowed to think about was Caleb. She tried to remember what kissing him was like but she couldn't. Like, the real deal kind of kissing, with tongue and all. She allowed him to peck her on the lips throughout the weekend, afraid she might raise further suspicions inside of him otherwise, but it had been weeks since they had really kissed. Friday's kisses on the other hand seemed to be engraved inside her brain, playing over and over on repeat, leaving her lips tasting like the whiskey that had been involved and feeling the softness of a certain other guy's lips pressed against them. Glancing down at her wrist, she felt the same tingling sensation she had felt when her bracelet was returned on Saturday all over again. God, just snap out of, will you? She was slowly but surely getting impatient with herself. Annoyed, she decided to go to bed early, suddenly worried about the next day and the long due confrontation with dearest Miss Spencer Hastings.
Moments after Hanna had slammed the door of her Mercedes shut, Emily was hurrying in her direction. "Hanna! Hey! So, how was your weekend with Caleb? Aren't you so excited that he's back?"
"Morning Emily." Hanna chirped, rocking a fake smile. "Of course. It's so great to have him back." She swallowed hard when she saw Spencer and Aria heading towards them. "You know, I should get to class. I still have to discuss this paper with Mr. Fitz. I'll see you guys later." She announced and hurried up the steps before Emily could protest.
Ezra was more than surprised to see Hanna in his classroom that early, wanting to discuss her book report. She didn't seem to be too interested in what he had to say about it but he just continued anyway – it was his job after all. After he had agreed to letting the girl stay in the classroom already since the lesson would start in five minutes, he cleared his throat and casually threw in a question that had been burning in the back of his mind for a long time while Hanna was setting her purse down next to her desk. "So, is Aria doing okay?" He hadn't managed to come up with a more subtle way of asking, no matter how hard he tried.
"What?" The girl replied, having been deep in thought. "Aria? Oh, yes. I guess so. Why?"
"Oh, I was just wondering. Is she perhaps… uhm…"
"What? Seeing someone else?" Hanna teased. Ezra nodded, looking down at his feet.
"Not that I'd know of it." Hanna gave him a reassuring smile. She was convinced that Mr. Fitz still had feelings for Aria and who knows, maybe she could get them back together? Making another couple happy should make up for the bad karma that cheating on her own boyfriend had brought over her.
"You know, maybe you two should just take the time and have a nice conversation. I can't make any promises but maybe there's a chance for you to get back together. That's what you want, right?"
Ezra shrugged helplessly as the bell rang, and Aria strode in with the rest of the class.
The rest of the day passed impeccably fast and before Hanna even knew it, lunch time grinned her right in the face, with a suspicious Spencer waiting at the table just to stare her to death. The blonde sat down next to Emily, facing Aria, but feeling Spencer's glances on her coming from the right nonetheless. Paige joined them for a moment and seeing her and Emily together seemed to make Aria's heart melt.
"You know, I kind of miss having all this. I want what you guys have." She pouted, looking at them.
"Aria, maybe you should sort things out with Ezra." Hanna suggested immediately, eager to do some good.
"I don't know. Maybe. I just really need a man in my life again." Aria sighed, looking down at her food.
"Oh Aria, I wouldn't be so sure about that." Spencer spoke up for the first time. "Men can be a lot of trouble. Isn't that so, Hanna?" She smiled at her sweetly.
Hanna swallowed hard, afraid she might choke on her fries any minute. "Excuse me, Spence, what?"
"Oh, you know. When Caleb was gone, you wouldn't have had to feel terrible for weeks if you weren't dating him." Yeah right. As if you were talking about that. Hanna threw her a bitter glance.
"Relationships have their good and their bad sides." The blonde shrugged and proceeded to eat. "How come you're so anti-boyfriend today? Everything alright with Toby?" She tried to sound as compassionate as possible but she was sure that Spencer noticed the hidden undertone.
"Of course. It's all good."
"Good to hear."
Paige excused herself from the table and moments later, Caleb sneaked up on his girlfriend.
"Hey, babe." He said smiling, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
Hanna couldn't help but shutter for a split second, feeling Spencer's knowing gaze on her.
"Hi. You really shouldn't sneak up on me like that." She breathed heavily, trying to explain her reaction. "I wasn't expecting that."
"I'm sorry." He took a seat next to her. "I just thought I'd come over since I haven't seen you all day." He pecked her on the lips and the girl tried her best not to flinch awkwardly in front of Miss Hastings.
"And, since you're still not cooperative, I've decided to take your advice. So, Emily. I have an offer you can't refuse."
Emily was more than pleased to be going to the Naked and Famous concert with Caleb this Friday and Hanna was more than pleased that that matter was all sorted now. Spencer eventually left the table when Toby came up to them to talk with her. He spent so much time at Rosewood High despite not being a student anymore, he could've just stayed in school.
Prior to the last class of the day, Spencer caught her alone in the hall and quickly shoved the blonde into the girl's room, double-checking every stall to make sure it was really just the two of them. Hanna stood with her back to the wall, feeling awfully trapped – as if Spencer was a Doberman, waiting for her to make a wrong move to bite one of her limps off.
"Did you tell Caleb that you've slept with a certain British doctor last Friday night?" She asked her, sounding as if they were having nothing more than a casual conversation.
"No, why would I lie to him?" Hanna shot back with a bitter sweet smile on her face.
"I don't see why you would. Or why you would lie to me. So, nothing happened between the two of you?" Suddenly, it dawned on Hanna that she had no idea what Wren had told Spencer about them. But he wasn't the type to just spill their secret like that. Or was he? Frankly, she didn't know him well enough to be certain but she just couldn't imagine him betraying her in that way.
"Of course not. He insisted on having me sleep in his bed when I missed the last train and he spent the night on the couch." Hanna stated dryly.
"Naturally, he would insist on that. He's a gentleman. As long as he isn't shoving his tongue down your throat, that is." Spencer smirked. "How come you missed the train anyway? Did you tell us you'd get rid of the bird right after school?"
"Yeah, well, we hung out together for a while. It's not like it's illegal to talk to a guy once you get a boyfriend." Hanna rolled her eyes at her.
"Oh, so you just decided to stay at his place to 'hang out' up until the depths of the night?"
The girl shrugged. "We lost track of time. Things like that happen when you're having a good conversation."
Spencer's eyes were sparkling, making her look more interested than ever. She was probably sure that she was about to make Hanna's desperate attempts at self-defense tumble to the ground any minute now. "So, what did you guys talk about?"
"Music, mostly. What, do you want me to recite his favorite Zulu Winter lyrics for you to prove that I'm telling you the truth? God, Spencer, I thought we were friends! Friends don't treat each other like criminals when they suspect that one of them might have made a mistake. Friends believe each other and let it go before they make a fool of themselves." Hanna hissed and stormed out of the bathroom, leaving a speechless Spencer behind.
Back in her room, the girl plopped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Things were looking up between her and Caleb now, weren't they? And Spencer's face when she made her stop her little interrogation was absolutely priceless. She found herself laughing to herself until, completely out of nowhere, a thought she had brushed away for days now, hit her like a bullet in the head.
She had chosen to stay with Caleb on Saturday morning already; but she had also told Wren on the very same morning, just an hour earlier, that she'd need some time to think before she could make up her mind. But her decision was final already, so why hadn't she told him yet? She should finally let him off the hook. Maybe that would make things easier, too. She grabbed her iPhone and quickly found his number but she wasn't able to press the 'Call' button. Mentally cursing at herself, she threw her phone onto her bed. You were supposed to learn from your mistakes. "I live and I learn", right? Well, apparently she had slept through the lesson in which life had taught her what to learn from this mistake. Unless the only thing she was supposed to pick up from it was that she was a selfish, coldhearted bitch. She buried her head in her pillow, desperately wanting to just go back in time and force Tippy onto some geek at school on Friday.