Hello again & welcome to part two of my pretty little chapter trilogy. This one's rather look, I'm sorry about that. There's a lot of Mona-Hanna going on but it's still very important for the story. I hope you'll like it c:

~OH AND THIS IS A FLASHBACK/PAST CHAPTER (just to avoid any possible confusion)~

Chapter 7 - Pretend & Descend (Part II)

The glass doors of The Brew swung open on Wednesday afternoon and the four girls strode in, occupying their usual seats. Hanna Marin felt fabulous – at least that's what she told her reflection in the mirror before she left for school.

Emily was currently telling the girls about the mini-fight she and her girlfriend Paige had had the night before, and Aria was not the slightest bit reluctant to instantly supply her with relationship tips despite being the only single girl of the group. Spencer Hastings on the other hand was uncharacteristically quiet, simply nodding before she offered to fetch drinks for the others. Not that Hanna would mind her keeping her smart mouth shut for once.

Yesterday Spencer had caught her on her own in school again, and apologized for her recent inquisitive behavior. Apparently, Hanna's lecture in the girls' restrooms on Monday had left her feeling somewhat ashamed – probably not because it made her realize that she was being a bad friend but because the blonde had defeated her in her own game – and she was more than eager to sort things out between them. Whatsoever, the girl couldn't really believe that her brunette friend would actually drop the topic just like that. She would certainly not let her catch her off guard.

Furthermore, things with Caleb seemed to go better and better these days. Okay, one could argue that they were acting more like friends than lovers, but Hanna had managed to kiss him – the real deal kind of kiss – without instantly thinking of a certain other guy. She would probably be over her little faux pas by the end of next week or so.

"Of course I'd love to go to Stanford with her but I just don't know if it'll all work out the way she imagines it, you know? What if I get to go but it all turns out to be nightmare and-"

"Oh, Em, you're definitely overthinking this." Aria said in a soothing tone.

"You so are" Hanna agreed. "Look, if you really want to, you can get over everything."

"You would know." She could've sworn she heard Spencer mumble when she took a seat, setting the girls' beverages down on the small table.

"You are probably right." Emily admitted, looking over at Spencer. "Let's talk about something else. Spence, how's Toby? I haven't seen him around in a while."

"Oh, he's perfect. It's all going well." The brunette purred which earned her suspicious glances from both Hanna and Aria.

"Well, okay. He's a bit stressed out because we can't seem to find any new clues regarding his mom." She let out a sigh. "You know, it's times like this when I'm just soo jealous of you, Han. I mean, your relationship with Caleb just seems completely flawless."

The blonde raised an eyebrow at that remark. "There's no such thing as a flawless relationship, Spence." She smiled sweetly, doubting that Spencer would say something like that without any ulterior motives.

"Come on, Han. Don't keep your secret from the less fortunate girls. What is it? Unconditional trust, honesty, whatever?" So much for an apology by Spencer Hastings. Hanna wouldn't let her get what she wanted this time, for sure. But a witty answer to this didn't seem to come to her too easily either.

"Look, Caleb and I are far from being the perfect couple. In fact, we fight all the time. About the same things, over and over again." She mumbled. "We probably just don't have problems of your intensity."

"Probably." Spencer shrugged. "Maybe we should all just keep our eyes open for other fish in the sea, you know, to add a little excitement to our lives again."

Emily gasped and even Hanna couldn't believe her ears. Was this still directed at her or did Spencer seriously consider dumping Toby? No, this was most definitely just another one of her endless mind games.

"Spencer, how could you even think about something like that?" Emily cried, her voice sounding like it had lost half of its intensity on the way from her throat to her mouth.

"Well, let's be realistic for a moment, shall we? Statistically speaking, only one of us is going to stay together with whom they are dating when they graduate, if even. And that spot has already been reserved by Hanna and Caleb, obviously." Spencer stated dryly. Hanna didn't bother to respond.

The door swung open and her eyes fluttered to the one person she didn't want to see, not now, not tomorrow, not next week, preferably not at all. But definitely not in this very moment. She quickly looked away after glancing over for what had felt like a mere second to her but Spencer had already caught a glimpse of her staring and turned to see what she had been so interested in that her expression froze. The brunette's eyes lit up and she quickly called out an offer that inflamed deep, throbbing hatred in Hanna's insides. "Wren, hey! Why don't you come over and sit with us for a moment?"

Wren had just finished his shift at Rosewood's hospital and two of his colleagues had persuaded him to grab some coffee with them before he went home. Reluctantly, he had agreed despite feeling like doing nothing apart from sitting in his apartment with the blinds shut, smoking and talking to his newly found friend and confidant, Tippy the parrot. He might have ignored Tippy's advice to call Hanna to find release from his misery but that certainly didn't mean that he didn't value her opinion highly.

He was just about to pay for his coffee when Brad, one of the other doctors, pointed out the four girls that were sitting in the corner to Robert and him and the two engaged in a discussion about which of them they'd like to ask out first.

"Yeah, she's cute and all but look at the blonde, dude. I wouldn't want to miss out on that one." Brad and Robert snickered like immature teenage boys and Wren had to clench his teeth to keep himself from blurting out something he might regret. When he caught Hanna glancing over at him whatsoever, he could not ignore his companions any longer.

"Ooooh, she's looking over. What do you think, Kingston? Would I have a chance with the blonde?"

"You? Don't be ridiculous." Wren hissed a bit too harshly.

Before the others could wonder about his strange behavior, Spencer Hastings turned around and smiled brightly at him, calling him over immediately, not even bothering to ask the girls for their Okays. Brad's jaw dropped down to his knees. "You know these chicks, Kingston? You lucky bastard. Go over and sit with them, this is a command. And if you find the time, tell the blonde that her next drink's on me, if she'd like that."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, Williams. If anyone's going to buy Hanna another drink, that's going to be me." He flashed him a poisonous grin and – hesitantly nonetheless- headed over to the girls.

Hanna kept her gaze fixed on the floor until she decided that looking at him would seem a lot more normal. But how? A polite smile would probably be best. Hopefully, it did not look forced.

"How about you sit right there, next to Hanna?" Spencer proposed, her voice gushing with fake sweetness.

Hanna absentmindedly shifted in her seat and simply smiled at him awkwardly whereas Emily and Aria included politely mumbled "Hi"'s. As he sat down next to the blonde, he could not help but feel their stares on him, their confusion about his company fairly obvious. Hanna was all of a sudden very interested in her low fat latte, staring down to the bottom of the cup before taking four short sips within 30 seconds. She was wearing the same Gucci perfume she had worn last Friday – not that he had searched every local perfume shop for the sweetly-sophisticated scent that filled his nostrils yet again, in all probability on a mission to cloud his mind.

"So, Wren" Spencer broke the awkward silence that was beginning to emerge. "You took that bird in, right? I never knew you were a bird person."

"Yeah, neither did I." He replied dryly and sipped on his coffee, glancing over at Hanna. "The fact that I was half-asleep when I decided to take her in might explain a lot."

Hanna could not help but smile over this, Friday morning's embarrassing phone call playing back in her mind. She had made a complete fool of herself, but in the end she had gotten lucky anyway. Not because of what happened at night but… or… ugh, whatever. Her mind was working overtime but her body wouldn't even tell it what she was thinking before it was out of her mouth.

"Tippy isn't causing you any trouble, is she?" She asked, biting her lip in honest worry. After all, her mom had made her get rid of the parrot due to the sleepless nights it gave them. An endlessly babbling bird surely wouldn't do Wren's messed up sleeping schedule any good.

"Certainly not." Wren smiled brightly at her, utterly relieved that she was addressing him and therefore resolving the awkwardness between them. "I'd say we're mates by now." He chuckled softly and Hanna didn't care to suppress a giggle either, not the slightest bit minding her friends or their confused looks.

"I'm glad. You know, I probably should have told you why I had to get rid of her in the first place. I feel so bad because I didn't. It's just that she kept us up all night with these…" The girl started, unable to think of the word she was looking for. The way he sat there right next to her made her nervous again all of a sudden, as well as the girls surrounding them, eyeing her as if this conversation was the oddest thing they had ever heard. She should not have started talking to him like this in the first place; now how weird did that make her look?

"Oh, the dialing noises?" He asked and Hanna responded with a nervous nod, suddenly avoiding eye contact again. Spencer smirked at the two of them like the marionette player in the Disney version of Pinocchio, more than pleased with herself and the way her little puppets danced for her.

"Yeah, she used to do those a lot but it's getting better now. And well, she sleeps when I do." Wren shrugged and looked down at his hand, unsure how to deal with the girl's sudden change of attitude.

Spencer cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak when – unexpectedly being an understatement – Mona Vanderwaal walked straight up to the girls, her low fat soy latte in hand.

"Seriously, girls? Hanna is the only one who's thoughtful enough to get something low fat? What a disappointment. Even you, Spencer? I have to admit I expected more from a Hastings." She took a sip from her cup and looked the group up and down, all of them too dumbstruck to reply. Her gaze lingered on Wren for a moment before it jumped back to Hanna and she addressed her with a sweet but honest smile on her face.

"Han, would you mind accompanying me to the bathroom for a moment?" She purred and held out her hand for her to take. The blonde took her hand and got up, not wasting any time on pondering the situation. The only thought that crossed her mind was Mona being her savior and she realized how badly she wanted to get away from this table, no matter what the cost.

An obviously pleased with herself Mona Vanderwaal and a dazed and confused Hanna Marin quickly made their way to the restrooms. Some preppy douchebag who was sitting at the table next to theirs wolf-whistled when they passed him, but Hanna did not even bother to turn around. Mona opened the door and closed it behind Hanna as soon as they had both stepped inside. She checked every bathroom stall to make sure they could speak in privacy, and while she was at it, Hanna suddenly had an idea.

She could not really understand why she actually considered it but from one minute to the next, the urge had awoken inside of her to tell someone about her little mistake that involved a certain surgeon who was currently sipping coffee in the company of her friends, and she wanted to tell no one other than Mona, her former BFF. Quite frankly, this whole plan did not seem to make a lot of sense but what was the worst thing that could happen? For some reason, she could not imagine that Mona would actually spill her dirty little secret just like that, and even if she did, no one could take the relief of having gotten such a burden off of her chest away from her. Even if Caleb found out and decided to leave her, this whole matter would at least be sorted out, once and for all.

She was going to wait for Mona to tell her what was on her mind first and then she would just get it out. Quick, painless and easy.

The brunette motioned Hanna to join her at the paper towels and started speaking, keeping her voice low and hushed despite their lack of unwanted company and eavesdroppers. Or had Spencer followed them and was now waiting for her to act with precipitation? No, she was seriously getting a tad bit too paranoid these days.

"That guy you were sitting with, wasn't he a doctor at Radley?" Mona asked, sounding as cool and unconcerned as ever.

"Wren? Yeah, he used to work there." Hanna mumbled. She had not expected Mona's part of the conversation to be about him, to be honest. Had seeing him freaked her out enough to make her flee to the girl's room with Hanna? "Speaking of Wren…" The blonde began but Mona wasn't willing to let her choose the topic just yet.

"He's not assigned to stalk me, right? Because I don't give a fuck about what I'll have to do to stay out of Radley, whatever happens, they will not get me to go back there." She hissed and her tone managed to make Hanna shutter for a split second.

"Mona, chill. He definitely isn't. He quit a while ago, when he realized that he'd rather be a cardiothoracic surgeon than a psychiatrist after all." Hanna tried to calm the girl who was giving her a furious look. It was surprising how clearly she still remembered what Wren had told her about his career in between songs.

"Good." The brunette breathed in sharply and stared at her reflection in the smeary mirror, covered in doodles of lovers' names, before she started to fix her already flawless hair.

"I just thought I'd recognized him before and well, obviously, I was right. I think I liked him. He was nicer than some of the other doctors there, at least. Also, he's kind of hot, right? Far too hot for the evil Hastings witches, for sure. I wonder what he ever saw in those two." Her lips formed a frown and her hands let go of her hair when she turned to face Hanna directly.

"You know, he'd look so much better with you. You should totally make a move on him, I'm sure he'd be more than pleased to go out with someone of your league. Plus he might supply you with some fancy pills from time to time." Mona smirked at her and raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Mon, I…"

"How about we go shopping? I really think we need to have some fun together again, it's about time." Having that said, Mona's hand shot to the doorknob and she had stepped out of the bathroom before Hanna had even been able to turn around.

During Hanna's absence from the table, Spencer had tried to engage Wren in another awkward conversation regarding the blonde he had spent last Friday night with until Aria and Emily started to pity him and intervened with some small talk. He had never been more thankful to be able to talk about the most common things like the weather or his job. After a good five minutes that had felt more like five hours to him, he decided it was time for him to leave. Sure, he had hoped to get a chance to catch Hanna on her own for a moment but he seemed to have missed out on that one this time.

"So, I better get back to the guys." He said apologetically and got up, quickly turning around. "It's been a pleasure, ladies." He gave Emily and Aria a slight smile together with a nod and walked off, completely ignoring Spencer who was sitting in the opposite corner.

Robert and Brad were sitting at the next table and Rob greeted him with a low and sympathetic "Back already?" before Brad took the floor, as was his habit.

"I'm guessing you didn't tell the blonde about my offer?" Wren leaned against the half-wall that separated their table from the others with one shoulder and rolled his eyes.

"No, I didn't and I never will. Just keep your nasty hands off her, will you?" He snapped, an overwhelming and surely poisonous broth of anger and jealousy boiling up in his insides. It just wasn't fair. Could he not fall for a girl he could actually have for once? Or was he secretly a sick, twisted masochist who lacked the capacity to show any interest in all the single ladies? If Hanna was actually going to break up with Caleb, would that mean this excruciating longing, this sickening need to be with her, this maddening want to kiss her and hold her and touch her, would abruptly vanish, just like that? No, that was absurd. It was about time to face the facts. He was madly in love with Hanna Marin and he couldn't stand being on her hook much longer, fully aware that the longer she kept him waiting just to dump him after all, the more fatal the damage would be he'd be left to deal with all alone.

"Wow, calm your tits, Kingston. I guess she's not even into me. Sad but true. She didn't even turn to look at me when she passed me and I wolf-whistled. She must have been looking at you earlier." Brad shrugged and motioned him to sit down but Wren couldn't stand his company right now. In fact, he couldn't stand anyone's company. He just needed to get out of this café for now.

"I'm sorry, I just – I could really use some fresh air, if you'll excuse me." Not willing to wait for one of Brad's oh so witty responses and Robert's usual silence, he rushed out of the door and turned left, only to lean against the wall a few steps from it. He lit up a cigarette, the hot smoke filling his lungs within seconds. Not a day had passed since Saturday that he got through without his nicotine fix to keep his thoughts from wandering off to the only person he ever thought about lately.

Without any words of further explanation, Hanna walked past her friends with Mona, only glancing over for less than a second to notice that Wren had left. What a relief. Maybe that was some sort of universal sign, wanting to tell her to keep quiet about their secret. Mona stepped outside and held the door open for her, only to hold her back as soon as she had set foot on the pavement as well, staring at something to her left. She signaled Hanna to look with a slight nod and what had formerly been relief turned into a sickeningly sweet mixture of confusion, helplessness, indecision, as well as relief of some kind.

The way Wren was standing there, cigarette in hand, his eyes glimmering with a certain kind of sadness, his expression undecipherable, yet dominated by a hint of depression, somewhat reminded her of James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause, a movie she annually watched with Aria for a reason neither of them could still recall. Probably because they sometimes felt just as out of place as the main characters – or at least they used to. Did they still? Who knew.

"You should go talk to him." Mona whispered, making her snap out of her trance.

"What? No. Can we just go?" Hanna moaned, but Mona felt like it was just the right time for a sneaky little change of plans.

"No. Go have a nice little chit chat." She smirked and in the blink of an eye, Hanna found herself being pushed in Wren's direction, who had luckily turned just in time to catch her.

"Hi. Sorry." The girl breathed, clinging onto his shirt to help keep her from falling further forward, her fingers digging deep into the fabric.

"Hi." Wren beamed, his hand gripping her waist tightly, although she was already standing steadily again.

"Shouldn't you know better?" The blonde giggled, letting go of his v-neck and pointing at the cigarette he still held in his free hand.

Wren chuckled, making the burned ashes fall down to the ground. "It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be."

"Of course. You're a doctor, you know what you're talking about." She mocked him playfully, completely forgetting about Mona who was watching them from a few steps away, unable to hear what they were talking about whatsoever.

For a little while, the two were completely silent, only smiling at each other until the girl lowered her gaze again. Wren realized that this might be the only chance he would get to ask her all the questions that had been burning in his mind for the past days and took a shot at it.

"Uhm, Hanna, can I – if you – can I talk to you for a moment?" His voice sounded almost pleadingly.

"Please?" He added, his desperation clearly audible due to Hanna's obvious hesitation.

"Sure." She finally said, letting a slight sigh slip out with her answer.

Wren quickly took another drag from his cigarette before he resumed speaking. "Okay, look, uhm." He clutched his hand to his forehand and glanced up at the blue but cloudy sky as if the words he was looking for were hovering right above him. He had either memorized them awfully quickly or they simply were not there because he looked right back into Hanna's eyes, their color seemingly matching the blue he had just seen and collected himself, clearing his throat.

"Hanna, I really don't want to bother you and it's honestly not my intention to rush, you should take all the time you need, but it's just –"

The addressed found herself violently chewing on her lip in the meantime, considering possible responses in advance. She should just tell him that she would stay with Caleb, shouldn't she? Yes, definitely. But in non-hurtful way, if that was even possible. The thought of disappointing her one-night-stand who was looking at her with these sad, desperate eyes like a lost little puppy made her stomach cringe. Actually, absolutely every little thing about him made her stomach cringe. The way he could not look at her non-stop, the way he moved his hands to calm himself down, the way his accent made his voice sound even softer and more soothing, simply the fact that he was a grown man with a doctorate who could hardly form two whole sentences in a row when he was trying to talk to her ever since they had slept together made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside, as strange as it was.

"I really need to know if I even have a chance with you still. And honestly, I'd love to give you all the time in the world but frankly, I can't take it much longer. I just, I don't think I can." He shook his head and brought his cigarette back to his lips, avoiding eye contact.

Once the cloud of smoke he had blown out again had passed her, Hanna had thought up a perfectly adequate but nonetheless tender way to let him down. Her mouth didn't seem to cooperate with her, though.

"Wren, I really don't want you to feel like you're wasting your time because of me. I'm sorry about that. It's just that I really need some more time." She took a deep breath and sighed.

This wasn't what she had wanted to tell him, not at all. But how he was standing there in front of her had neither done her mind nor her feelings any good. She usually didn't find smoking hot or anything but he made it look attractive. Apparently, Hanna's nose even considered the way it made him smell somewhat pleasing.

"It's just that this whole thing with Caleb – it's complicated, you know? I just don't know how I'm supposed to deal with this, I still need to figure a lot of things out, but please, don't give up on me already. I swear it won't take me much longer." She practically pleaded, unable to believe her own ears.

Was that really her, the fabulous Hanna Marin, saying all of that bullshit? Well, there was more than just a spark of truth in it, as much as she hated to admit it. It looked like she wouldn't be able to move on just like that after all. Did she even want to? Well, duh. It would be absolutely mental to dump Caleb for this guy she spent just one night with and whom she knew virtually nothing about, right?

"Alright then." Wren nodded and gave her a weak smile, flicking his burnt down cigarette away.

"Okay." Hanna mumbled.

A sudden heat took hold of her entire body and before she even knew it, she was pressing her lips against his. She had her left hand placed on his chest whereas her other one had risen up to his cheek. In an instant, Wren kissed her back, his hand moving up to her cheek as well, softly stroking it with his thumb. His lips felt longing and demanding and Hanna got lost in the taste of coffee and cigarettes until a slow clap coming from no one other than Mona Vanderwaal, who was still observing them, made her eye lids flutter open again.

She quickly pulled away; her heart pounding twice as fast as it normally did, frantically hoping that Mona had been the only one around to see them.

"I, uhm, I really have to go." She breathed, not yet able to move whatsoever. Her hands still wouldn't let go of him, no matter how badly she wanted to get away.

Wren, on the other hand, was so fascinated with how starry eyed she looked at him that Mona got a bit bored with the pair and walked up to them. In the blink of an eye, she had grabbed Hanna's arm and pulled her away without giving her any time for a goodbye, leaving a more than mildly astonished Wren to ponder the recent events on his own. The confused – and therefore tremendously adorable- look on his face made the blonde want to run straight back into his arms, but Mona certainly would not let that happen.

In fact, the brunette was still holding Hanna's arm when she leaned closer to her ear to murmur: "Leave him wanting you hard. Good job, hon."

"What?" Hanna whispered back absentmindedly.

"I knew you'd take my advice. And now it's time to shop." Mona cheered and let go of her arm. "Oh, just one more thing: Why is he looking at you like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like he's seen you naked." Mona stated, her eyebrows arched together.

"Because I slept with him last Friday." Hanna blurted out, seemingly choking on the words, and stood still.

Mona continued on walking for a few beats then stopped and turned to face Hanna, her facial expression neutral. "Repeat." she stated.

Taking a deep breath, Hanna opened her mouth to speak, her expression somewhat emotionless for a split second. "I slept with him last Friday." The girl sighed deeply before she continued. "Mon, I just - I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Okay." Mona stepped to stand in front of Hanna. "I will forgive you for not telling me this news immediately. But, only because I hope we'll start hanging out again." She smiled and put her hand on Hanna's arm. "But we simply must talk about this, asap. Like, right now."

"Hey, don't complain. You're still the first one to even hear about this." Hanna smiled weakly, automatically thinking back to when it was absolutely normal that Mona was the first (and only) one she shared her secrets with. "I guess the time has come to get this off my chest, the sooner the better."

"And who better to tell than the amazing Mona Vanderwaal!" Mona smiled wider and laughed, taking Hanna's hand naturally and resuming their walk. "You've picked the right person to confess to, dear. Very smart choice."

"I hope so." Hanna mumbled, her voice barely audible. Certain doubts about Mona's reliabilities crept back into her mind but she quickly brushed them away. Maybe things could go back to the way they were before between them after all. "Naturally, you are aware that you are not supposed to tell anyone about this." She stated dryly.

"Oh, of course. That's a given. And I think we all learned that it's better off when secrets are kept as secrets until we actually want them to be told. After all, if we're going to get back together we're going to need some things to talk about between just us." Mona talked excitedly, her expression lighting up with happiness. "I've really missed you, you know."

"To be honest, I guess I've missed you, too." Hanna gave her a somewhat shy smile and squeezed her hand. "Okay, we should get started with this certain little secret, though, before I lose courage once and for all." She giggled silently. It felt almost too good to be in Mona's company again.

"Oh, yes! We mustn't let the window of opportunity pass us over on this juicy little tidbit." Mona chuckled softly. "So tell me. How was it?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively and grinned a little.

"Also," Mona paused a second, seemingly gathering her thoughts, "how did you even hook up with him? How much older than us is he? Seriously, I need to know everything."

Hanna rolled her eyes, grinning back at her. This was such an obvious Mona move, she had actually seen it coming. "It was amazing. Like seriously, it was kind of brilliant." Her smile grew wider and wider as she continued to speak, even though she wasn't aware of it. "Well, it's actually kind of a funny story. I went to his place to give him this parrot my mom wanted out of the house and then we realized we liked the same music and ended up sitting on the floor, listening to our favorite bands and drinking whisky for like, a few hours, I guess. And well, then this song came on and he kissed me and well, BOOM." The blonde shrugged, biting her lip. "He's five years older, so... that isn't that bad, right?"

"Oh la la. Whisky and romance. I like it." The pair stopped before crossing a street, waiting for the sign to say it is safe for them to walk. "Five years isn't too bad, I mean we are eighteen now after all. But, I say that whatever makes you happy goes. It's not worth it to hang around with people that don't like you for who you are."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Hanna swallowed hard, an alarming thought suddenly crossing her mind. Did Mona think she was single or was she not oblivious to the fact that she had cheated on Caleb for no good reason? Nervously fiddling around with the very bracelet she had lost during that certain night, she carried on. "Sadly, this thing comes with a whole wagon load of problems."

"Like the fact that you have a boyfriend?" Mona deadpanned. "Like I said, whatever makes you happy. You're not really that serious with him, are you? Have you ever talked with Caleb about if you're exclusive?"

"Uhm yeah, Mon, I'm pretty sure Caleb and I have decided on being exclusive quite a while ago." Hanna stuttered, surprised. "And I guess we're pretty damn serious and, well, I just don't think he deserves this. That's why I've decided to pretend last Friday night never even happened and stay with him."

"Obviously that isn't going so well if you're talking about it to me. We haven't really talked in ages, and this just pops out of your mouth at me? Sounds like your subconscious is telling you something." The light changed to allow the girls to cross the street but Mona waited for Hanna to move first.

Without a warning, tears filled Hanna's eyes and even the fact that she was in public couldn't stop her anymore from sobbing violently. Not having shed a single tear all this time had apparently taken its toll on her. "Look, Mona, I just - I just can't deal with this anymore. I can't hurt Caleb like this and I've tried so hard to bring myself to forget Wren but you've witnessed how well that has turned out so far. And by now, it seems like, no matter what I do, someone's going to end up getting hurt and I, I, oh God, I'm just such a horrible person. Oh, and Spencer caught me leaving Wren's apartment on Saturday morning and ever since then she's been playing these morbid little mind games with me and - oh God, Mona, how do I get out of this?" By now, her mascara was running down her cheeks, leaving dark grey streaks on its way down her chin.

Mona stepped back to her friend and pulled a tissue from her L. Credi bag, then gently wiped Hanna's cheeks, her expression completely softened by the reaction she had been given. "Shh. Let's go inside somewhere. We can sit and talk. Okay?" Mona smiled a little, offering another clean tissue to her friend. "And remind me later to have a chat with Spencer. Dark and conniving is my thing, she can't have it." Mona tried to get Hanna to smile, even the tiniest bit.

"Okay." Hanna croaked, her voice suffering hard from all the sobbing. In fact, her lips actually formed the slightest hint of a smile when she took the tissue from her former BFF and quickly wiped away as many tears as she dared to, too afraid to worsen her already severely damaged look.

Mona guided Hanna to a bench and sat down close to her. "Now, come here." She took a few more tissues and digged a water bottle out of her bag. "We have to fix this before I can talk serious to you." She poured a little bit of water on a tissue and gently dabbed at Hanna's cheeks. "Close your eyes, hon."

Despite the state she was in, Hanna couldn't help but giggle softly when she closed her eyes. "Thank you. You're... you're a good friend, Mona." She bit her lip, suppressing a few more sobs that made her whole body shake.

"No more crying, okay? Promise. A little bit is allowed, but we have to return to our diva state." Mona smiled as she cleaned Hanna's face of any makeup. "That's better," She handed Hanna the water bottle, "drink up. Re-hydrate. Then we'll talk." Mona smiled, the words Hanna offered her warming her heart. She truly hoped she could convince Hanna to forgive her of her past sins against their friendship. Maybe helping Hanna work through her problems would help.

"You're right. We're too fabulous for tears, aren't we?" Hanna grinned. After taking a few sips from the bottle, she closed her eyes to take one final deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's talk." She chimed, breathing out calmly and slowly.

Mona sat silently for a moment, watching Hanna compose herself. "Let's start with the easy. Where do you see yourself being in ten years, even five years? Don't think about anyone else, just you. Where do you want to be in life?"

Wanting to visualize her dream future as realistically as possible, Hanna closed her eyes again, humming for a moment. "Okay, in five years, I want to have graduated from the fashion institute. I'll be working for a popular designer, preferably in New York. Then again, in ten years, I should have managed to be the head designer of the brand. Or I might even found my own label. Wouldn't that be the most awesome thing ever?" She beamed and opened her eyes again, smiling at Mona from ear to ear.

"It would be." Mona smiled back, feeling accomplished by helping her friend's mood turn around. "You'd be really good at it, too. The business aspect of it all." Mona paused, letting that sink in before continuing. "Keep that in mind, close your eyes. Visualize it. Who do you see there in New York with you? Who are you coming home to?"

Obediently, Hanna's lids fluttered shut again, a tingling sensation building up in her stomach. She saw the door to her apartment in Manhattan swing open in front of her and quite frankly, every little detail about it felt real. She didn't only see the apartment; she could smell its scent and hear its typical sounds. She abruptly opened her eyes again, running her hand through her hair to keep herself from freaking out. "Oh God, Mona. It smells like disinfectant and Broken Social Scene is playing when I step inside." She was breathing as if she had actually just fled from her future apartment and taken all the stairs down to get out of the skyscraper.

Trying to keep her expressions neutral, but hopeful for her friend, Mona carried on: "So, now you know the guy. Right?" a smile slipped onto her lips "Now we just need to figure out how to get him and only him. I think you should just be frank with the other guy, honestly. Explain it, of course. I don't see us together in my future or something like that, be nice but not too sappy." Mona waves her hands in gestures as she talks, becoming animated as she helps her friend work through her woes.

Hanna nodded, unable to let go of all her doubts whatsoever. "But... what if he won't be in my future either way?" She whispered, clearing her throat. "What if I leave Caleb and then- I mean, Wren has already figured out what to do with his life, in fact he's doing what he wants to do right now and well, maybe he doesn't want to give up what he has here for me when the time comes. Caleb, on the other hand... This is just too- No, I can't take this risk, I just can't." Her voice had risen drastically throughout this realization and her breathing still wasn't back to normal.

"If you don't take the chance, then you'll settle for what won't make you as happy as you can be." Mona's voice was soft, as if she was calling a scared animal to come back to her. "You deserve the chance to be so extremely happy every day that all you want to do is celebrate your life. If Wren makes you feel that way, then you should at least try to have it."

"But what if it doesn't last?" Hanna squeaked, looking down at her hands. "How can I even know that he actually makes me feel that way when I hardly even know him? Well okay, to be fair, I do know quite some things about him but - I'm sure you get my point. What if this is just me being a horny little slut, about to make the worst mistake I could possibly make? Can you promise me that this is not going to happen?"

Mona pressed her lips together in concentration before answering, then slowly replied. "When you saw your future apartment, you didn't say you saw him. Just that it smelled like disinfectant and Brocken Social Scene was playing. How did that mean it was Wren you'd be going home to? To be fair, your subconscious must be telling you which thing you prefer. If it was Caleb, leather would have chocked you to death." she couldn't help but chuckle a bit "And honestly, you're a little more mature than a horny little slut. I mean, you know where you want to be in your career and you're pursuing that. Where's the guarantee that you'll make it in the fashion industry? Trust. That's what. What makes romances any different?"

Hanna sighed, slowly but surely calming down again. "Well yeah, no leather. And I can't stand the smell of disinfectant, but he makes it smell incredibly pleasing. And to top it all off, Broken Social Scene was playing when I first set foot into his apartment. It was Wren; there is no doubt about that." She let out a hollow laugh and closed her eyes again, immediately seeing herself walk into her future bedroom where a fairly disheveled Wren, who had apparently just woken up, greeted her with a boyish grin and pulled her down onto the bed with him. She quickly snapped back out of her little fantasy. "You can't have romance all planned out. You can't have anything planned out where other people are that deeply involved. It's too unpredictable."

"How will you ever know what would really happen unless if you give it a shot? You have to plant a flower to let it bloom." Mona smiled and leaned back, knowing now that she had done her job sufficiently, she had planted the seed. "Anyways, are we still going shopping?"

"I guess that might just be the best method to get my mind off of this mayhem." The blonde giggled slightly and got up. "Thank you, Mona. For all of this." She bit her lip, unsure whether to simply go for it or not, before she pulled the girl into a tight hug.

Mona hugged back immediately, wrapping her arms around her best friend tightly. "It's nothing, really. I've been bored, nothing much to do lately. You fixed that dilemma for me." She giggled a little and took Hanna's hand again. "Where shall we go?"

"Up to you. That's the least I can offer you as compensation for the precious time I stole from you with my horrifying love life" Hanna grinned. "You totally have to tell me about yours later, by the way. I haven't heard of any guy in your life after Noel." She raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"After hearing about your love triangle, I should strive to stay away from anything with a cock and testicles." Mona rolled her eyes, „there's no one, and I honestly don't mind it at all." The pair finally crossed the street and went right into the King James Mall. "Tiffany's for old time's sake?"

"Or you could just take one of my guys from me and we can all be happily ever after." Hanna suggested nonchalantly, but soon burst out laughing. "Tiffany's sounds perfect to me."

Pulling Hanna behind her, Mona walked - chuckling only a bit at Hanna's suggestion - into the store and went straight for the sunglasses. "Remember?" Mona grinned. "I bet you couldn't still pull it off."

"Seriously? You're trying to put up an emotionally instable girl with a past habit of shoplifting to theft? I am very disappointed in you, Ms. Vanderwaal." Hanna teased.

"It would get your mind off things, for sure." Mona perused through the options, moving on to the diamond jewelry. "I've done it a few times, here and there," she whispered, "just to make sure I've still got it in me to perform."

"Oh really?" Hanna asked sarcastically. "Watch and learn." As inconspicuously as possible, she grabbed the pair of sunglasses she liked the most and strode off to the counter, seemingly interested in a diamond necklace located right next to the engagement rings.

Mona watched from the corner of her eye, then ushered a boy behind the counter over to her in order for him to show her a piece under the glass.

In the meantime, Hanna had thought of a way to have what was still visible of her puffy face and red eyes work for her and was completely in character once she addressed another shop assistant.

"Excuse me, could I take a look at this necklace perhaps?" She sniffed, her voice shaky.

"Of course, Miss. Are you alright?" The lady behind the counter showed her the necklace, looking at her worryingly.

"Oh yes, no worries. It's just," Hanna looked away and took a deep breath, her eyes beginning to water, "my granddad passed away last night and I'm buying this to wear at his funeral." She sobbed, shaking her hand as if she was trying to hold back the tears. "I'm sorry, I'm alright, I'm alright." The blonde took another deep breath and reached out for the necklace. The shop assistant quickly handed her a tissue and Hanna dabbed her fake tears away. "Thank you. Do you have matching earrings for this?" Her lip quivered and she gripped the tissue tightly.

"We do, in the back. Let me just get them for you real quick." The woman gave Hanna a reassuring smile and disappeared.

Hanna let the necklace glide through her fingers before she put it back and probed the sunglasses up in her hair.

She took a good look at the earrings after they'd been laid out to be shown to her, slightly blowing her nose, before she gave the shop assistant a weak smile. "I'm afraid I can't buy these now. Don't get me wrong, they are lovely but I can't purchase such beautiful things for such a- such a sad occasion. Wouldn't that be kind of… morbid?" She sobbed. "I'm so sorry that I've wasted your time."

"Oh no, no worries, Miss. Just come back once you feel better. My condolences, by the way. Do you want me to put these aside for you?"

"No, thank you, that won't be necessary." Hanna shook her head and turned to go. "Have a good day." She pulled the sunglasses on, headed to the door and stepped out of the shop, Mona following her a few steps behind.

"I hope you took notes." Hanna smirked and threw the tissue into the nearest trash can.

"Impressive." Mona gave her an acknowledging nod. "Now, how about we hit up some more stores and later, we could head over to my parent's brand new beach house. Only if you want to, of course."

Hanna did not even need to take the time to think this offer through that would obviously come with a fair amount of trouble attached to it. "Count me in."