Chapter Eleven- The Saga of Moving On
Gripping on to her seat in sheer fear, the blonde found herself completely enticed by the movie so much so that she thought she had become a character. Looking over at his date completely caught up, all he could do was laugh to himself at how scared she got easily, which in his book was always a good thing because that meant she needed to be protected. Extending his arm out for the classic arm wrap around the shoulder, he soon found that his maneuver would be useless because she was all ready clinging to his chest with her face burrowed in it as deep as she could possibly could. Noticing the closeness they had going on, Maya let out a smile as she could see that Hanna had loosened up a bit around her blonde Casanova and was beginning to become comfortable. It wasn't long before Hanna had realized the position she was in so in a quick motion she straightened herself up in the seat so that she didn't appear to be all over him, but Emily and Maya knew better. After the movie the girls waited in the lobby while Kaleb went to go get the car since they had parked so far away due to an attempt to avoid paying the ridiculous theater parking.
"So Hanna….." Maya said in an intrigued tone as she moved in closer towards Hanna "I saw you and Kaleb get close" she smiled
"It was a scary movie, nothing to make of it" Hanna said
"But you still hid away in his strong embrace" Maya teased
"It was a knee jerk reaction. If I would have hidden away in your knee jerk reaction would Em have cause to worry" Hanna joked towards the end
"Maybe, but then I know what side your on so I wouldn't have thought much of it. How did Lucas take the news of you moving on?" Emily asked
"I actually haven't quite told him and won't tell him because I haven't moved on as you say. Kaleb knows what the deal is, this is just friends hanging out….the only couple are you two" Hanna replied
"He drove an hour out of his way just to take you to the movies….it's a date in his mind" Maya said
"I brought my two trusty friends, hence not a date" Hanna replied "Look, Kaleb is a great guy but I'm not ready for the single dates" she said
"And this all stems from Lucas?" Maya asked
"This stems from me having too much going on to be in a relationship, so Kaleb and I will just remain friends" Hanna said
"Has he tried to kiss you?" Emily asked
"He's kissed me on the cheek, but nothing further than that" Hanna replied
"Then I think you have yourself a problem because trust me, he thinks you two are headed towards datesville" Maya said just as Kaleb pulled up out front "Your chariot…I mean our chariot awaits" she joked as her and Emily couldn't help but tease Hanna.
Happy that he was finally caught up in his English class as far as grade wise, Lucas ran over towards Alton and immediately picked him up to spin around. Caught off guard by his friends need to spin him around, Alton looked on a Lucas to see the excitement on his face only to realize that he had probably received good news about his English class. Giving an sarcastic nod of overwhelmed happiness Alton soon return to sifting through his notes for his next test he had in his following class. Scanning the hallway for Hanna, Lucas soon gave up hope that Hanna was in the hallway since he hadn't run into her but knew he'd see her in the next class. Casually making her way over like she always had, Lucas couldn't tell the difference of if Alton and Spencer were together or just simply loved picking on each other to no end. More than interested to see there interaction as a couple, Lucas braced himself and even contemplated filming their first public appearance as a couple.
"Your notes didn't help much" Alton sighed as he handed the paper to Spencer who didn't pay much attention to him
"And yet you still use them. Yeah, they don't help much" Spencer laughed to herself
"Okay, this is me trying to help you" Alton laughed "My notes are always precise and informative" he said
"Because you have no life" Spencer quickly replied
"Please, don't go that route because both know how that will end" Alton said as Spencer just flashed a sarcastic smile towards him
"What are we doing tonight that you felt the need to text during AP?" Spencer asked
"There is a Star Trek marathon down at the comic book store tonight, I figured we could go" Alton said as he closed his locker
"Star Trek marathon? Alton, really?" Spencer asked him
"You wanted date night, I'm giving you the ultimate date night. If your lucky I might even get you a Star Trek shirt because I know your new to all things Trek" Alton said
"And the sad thing is that he's really serious" Lucas laughed to himself
"I wanted a date, not a boredom fest" Spencer declared
"This is a date. I had to suffer through flashcard trivia, and by the way…you soo got sanctimonious wrong" Alton said
"That wasn't a date it was a study session" Spencer said
"And I have proven my point. Study session in your mind is a date, well Star Trek is a damn good date in my mind" Alton said
"Well since you like your date plans so much than you take yourself out" Spencer said before she stormed off
"And I'm not getting you a shirt!" Alton yelled out to her as he watched her storm off
"You clearly don't know how to date" Lucas laughed to himself as Kate made her way over towards them
"Hey guys" Kate smiled as she greeted them in her usual chipper self
"Hey" Lucas smiled
"I just wanted to know if you were coming over for dinner tonight?" Kate asked "We're having steaks and those go quickly so a headcount is always best" she said
"Uh…I have a late practice tonight" Lucas replied
"Oh, okay. Well I'm sure Hanna will bring you something" Kate replied as she slowly backed away "I'll talk to you later" she said before she walked away
"That's just nasty" Alton declared as he looked on at Lucas
"What?" Lucas replied
"You break up with Hanna and then start with her step sister. That's nasty, and something seems off about Kate" Alton said
"Like what?" Lucas asked
"She's too damn chipper….dammit, Spencer has me swearing" Alton said
"She's actually pretty nice" Lucas told him
"Pretty nice? She practically stalked you her whole time since being here" Alton said
"She did not" Lucas quickly objected "She doesn't have any friends and I just happened to be nice to her" he said
"And you so happen to be the guy she's all goo goo over" Alton replied as they began to walk towards their classes "So how are things on the home front?" he asked
"Things are pretty…normal, I guess. My dad moved closer, Hanna is helping my mom out, and I've been paying the bills" Lucas said
"With your money from the software?" Alton asked
"No, my summer earnings are covering most of the expenses. Luckily Il Futuro will be debuting soon so I can start to make up for it" Lucas said
"Now see…why can't you get a girl like Hanna, instead of Hanna's family member" Alton pointed out "Here's a thought, why don't you date Hanna again? You two clearly know each other and you have so much in common" he said
"Hanna and I have finally reached a point where we're able to look past the hurt and pain of the break up, now we're okay and friends" Lucas said
"Friends? You two are really riding on that one, huh?" Alton asked
"Because it's the truth" Lucas laughed as they continued to walk
Making her way home after the typical evening dinner at her father's, Hanna was more than ready to snuggle up underneath the covers until it'd be next winter for her to come out. Locating the neighbors trash can out front on her walk home she quickly threw away the plate that her father thought her mother might want, which only made her more upset because her mom hated steak. Coming up on her house, Hanna quickly noticed Kaleb's car parked out front of her house, her eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she started on a mad dash over towards her house. Her mind began to race when she saw that he wasn't standing out front on the porch, poking her head inside the house she noticed that Lucas was sitting on the sofa. Making her way inside the house, she flung her coat off in hopes of trying to buy enough time to find Kaleb but she was surprised to see him sitting on the sofa.
"Luca…Kaleb!" Hanna said surprised to see him as Kaleb quickly rose to his feet "What are you doing here?" she asked
"I just came from the Hastings dinner" Kaleb said
"Oh, so you were in town to see Spencer. How nice of you to stop by" Hanna said trying to play like she only knew Kaleb through Spencer
"Yeah, why wouldn't I come by to see you?" Kaleb asked
"Because…Luke what are you doing here?" Hanna asked
"I saw him standing on your porch, and I still had that key. He said that he knew you so I let him in" Lucas said "We ended up talking about comic books and just loss track of time" he said as both Kaleb and him both laughed over their conversation
"Luke is it?" Kaleb asked to make sure he was calling his name correctly before continuing on "He like Justice League as well. We were actually talking about this years Comic Con" he said
"If you would be able to score some tickets I would greatly appreciate it" Lucas said remembering their conversation
"It shouldn't be a problem. My dad gets them all the time and just gives it to me" Kaleb said
"So you made friends with Lucas and just came from Spencer's. Thank you so much for the visit….the both of you" Hanna said as she grabbed both Lucas and Kaleb's hand to lead them over to the door
"How long have you two known each other?" Lucas asked breaking away from Hanna's grip just as Kaleb was about to answer before Hanna quickly cut him off
"Long time friends. You know how growing up I just happened to know everyone in this town" Hanna lied
"Funny, I don't remember Kaleb" Lucas said as Kaleb looked at her confused
"Because Kaleb was more of Spencer's friend" Hanna lied yet again to Lucas "Luke, I really hate the idea of your mom being left at home alone" she said trying her best to get rid of Lucas
"Yeah, your right. I have stayed over here quite some time. I guess that's what Comic Con can do to you" Lucas laughed "It was nice to meet yet another long list of friends of Hanna's" he said extending his hand towards Kaleb
"Nice to meet you too" Kaleb said shaking his hand awkwardly as to what was really going on before Lucas left the house causing a bit of relief for Hanna to know that her thing with Kaleb would remain a secret
"What was that about?" Kaleb asked "About us being long time friends, I barely even met you" he said
"Oh, that was because I really like to keep my life private. I mean as long as we know what we are to each other" Hanna said
"And what are we?" Kaleb asked "We've been talking for two weeks, and we've been going out every weekend…but I have yet to realize what we are to each other" he said
"Now where is this coming from? I told you I wasn't ready" Hanna said
"Yeah, well I want to at least know that this is headed somewhere. Hanna I like you…I like you a lot so much so that I love hanging out with you. I didn't go by the Hastings, I came because I saw this funny commercial and I just got in my car to come down to see you because I thought by me telling you about the commercial you would smile" Kaleb told her
"Really? I mean you burned all that gas to come down here" Hanna asked completely missing the point of what he was talking about
"The point is that I like you and I want us to actually date exclusively" Kaleb said "And I'm sorry…but until then, I don't think we should hang out anymore" he said pulling his keys out
"Kaleb, c'mon…I just need time" Hanna said
"And I want to give it to you but I have this feeling like your waiting for some sort of confirmation that makes it okay to be with me, and I can't do that anymore…either your in this or out" Kaleb said before he finally had just gotten so frustrated that he had to leave in order to avoid saying anything further that might hurt Hanna.
"Kaleb…." Hanna said a few moments later as she raced out the door to see him in get in his car and pull off "Wait" she said to herself as she felt more confused than ever.
Angrily turning the corner he felt like he was on a full head of steam and once he laid eyes on his target his emotions had gone through the roof. Spencer stood at her locker sifting through her notes as she did last minute prep for her test, completely oblivious to Alton as he came towards. For a moment he stood in a mad stance as she just completely ignore him, he shifted back and forth trying to determine which stance would get the point across that he was upset. And to his surprise after what felt like a lifetime he still continued to stand in the same stance until he finally began to clear throat to catch her attention. She casually glanced towards him like he was an after thought before she just returned back to her notes. Finally realizing that he would have to start off the conversation Alton grabbed the notebook and took it away from her grasp.
"What?" Spencer turned to ask conveying she wasn't in the mood for their banter
"I waited last night. I even scored middle seat…middle seats are the hardest to score and you just never showed up" Alton complained
"I never said I would show up" Spencer replied
"Uh, you kind of have to" Alton said
"And in what universe do you believe that logic, that I have to show up" Spencer said to him
"The one where we're dating and we're suppose to go on dates" Alton replied
"No, that wasn't a date. That was something you probably had planned for Lucas and you to do but he had practice and so you just substituted me" Spencer said
"That….sounds absurd" Alton said doing his best to lie but realized it wasn't working out to well because it was essentially the truth
"But it's the truth" Spencer said "Just say it" she said
"Look I love Star Trek and I wanted to share that with you" Alton said
"I can appreciate that if I was the original person you wanted to go with, but I wasn't" Spencer said
"But its about as long as we're together right?" Alton asked
"Wrong, it's about putting effort into finding out what that person likes and doing it because of them….I hate all things Star Trek but I would have suffered through for you" Spencer said "I may be a lot of things that would make me a lonely shrew, but I know I'm worth a lot more than what your treating me as" she said closing the door to her locker
"What your worth? I treat you like a queen" Alton declared
"Letting me combo it at Mcdonalds is not my idea of being treated like a queen" Spencer replied
"Well I hate the fancy restaurants and I just can't throw money around like its nothing like the great Hastings" Alton said
"Don't…don't do that. Don't throw my family name at me because I'm not that type of person. I never asked you to dine me in the fancy restaurants, all I want is to feel like I'm your girl…like being with you means something….like being your girlfriend is not some death sentence into cheapness" Spencer said
"Spencer, you know what you mean to me. I've told you" Alton said
"Well now is the time you show me" Spencer said before she walked off down the hallway leaving Alton to think upon the conversation a bit longer than he anticipated.
Leaning back in his chair he looked on at the girl using her pencil to tap away at the pages of her book. He did his best to focus on grading his papers but found the constant tapping sounds of the pencil to be flat out annoying in every sense of the word. Leaning forward in his seat so that he could look sternly at the girl to show that he had reached his point of annoyance and wanted her to cut it out. Looking up at him she dropped her pencil in hopes that he wouldn't be so upset, but knew when it came to him it probably wouldn't help much. Continuing on his task of grading paper, making it his goal to finish by the end of the day so that he could at least enjoy the rest of his night. Going back to her original task at hand she began to flip through the S.A.T. practice book to read some of the interesting questions but only found herself losing focus by the minute.
"Hanna really? I mean seriously, you need to prepare" Mr. Smith said unable to control his emotions
"Sorry. My head is just not in it today" Hanna replied
"And in a month from now will it be because the S.A.T's are no joke. We're not just sitting in this room for the hell of it" Mr. Smith said
"Gee, can you get any meaner" Hanna replied
"No, I'm just telling you the truth" Mr. Smith said
"And I think the truth is that since Luke and you aren't so tight that its finally getting to you" Hanna stated
"Oh, the nonsense you kids come up with these days" Mr. Smith said
"Admit it. Lucas was like your little buddy in a town full of old hags" Hanna said
"Lucas is the one who stopped speaking to me" Mr. Smith quickly replied
"Don't you sound like a teenage girl" Hanna laughed
"Can we please get on with the task at hand" Mr. Smith said
"No, no since you get to be brutally honest, I think I should be allowed to as well" Hanna said "Lucas and you should just drop the silent treatment" she said
"There is no silent treatment" Mr. Smith replied
"You know he needs you, right? In some odd way your like family to him" Hanna said
"Family? How so Hanna?" Mr. Smith sighed as he began to massage his forehead
"Because even though you ride him like he's so damn perfect, he depends on you because you believe in him" Hanna said "You see the potential that sometimes he can't at times" she said "So just suck it up and talk to him" she then added
"Suck it up and talk to him, you give such great advice" Mr. Smith said sarcastically as he went back to grading his papers "I take it by the Lucas babble that you head is on Lucas, hence the annoying tap" he said
"Finally, we can talk about me" Hanna said letting out a deep sigh of relief
"You know I always knew that befriending Lucas would lead to encountering his strange friends, and then they'd think I was there friends as well" Mr. Smith sighed
"I met this guy…" Hanna said before Mr. Smith quickly cut her off in mid sentence
"Do not finish your sentence. I'm a teacher, a paid professional, and I'm not some love expert or teenage angst solver" Mr. Smith stated
"I still love Lucas, but I know we'll never get back together because of what I did. I've more than accepted that and due to recent events have thought we had hope to work back to being together…I know delusional but I've realized more and more that we're just meant to be friends. Now I met this great guy and he wants to be official, but I just feel….guilty. I feel like I'm cheating on Lucas, and I don't want to hurt him again" Hanna babbled until she began to realize what was at the root of what she was feeling
"I'm going to regret this….do you in your heart of hearts think that you two will be together again?" Mr. Smith asked
"I want to….so badly, but I just feel like we had our chance. Now I just don't want to put my life on hold for something that may never happen" Hanna said
"Hanna you know what's best, you just don't want to do it because your stubborn" Mr. Smith said "Now can we please get back to work" he proclaimed
"You know you really should get a girlfriend, and after that have lots of sex because that is about the only thing that will stop you from being so cranky" Hanna said
"Oh for the love of God!" Mr. Smith groaned loudly in pure agony of being swept up in the annoyance of Hanna Marin
Joining Aria at the diner, Spencer was in need of some friendly conversation and some advice because everything school was driving her off the wall crazy. Letting out a deep sigh as she took off her jacket, Aria could tell that her friend was not in the greatest of moods but then again all things Spencer it was normal. Ordering her usual caramel mocha it appeared that she wasn't that frustrated because Aria could always tell how upset Spencer was by the drink that she ordered. Playing with the sugar packets as Emily made her way inside the diner with a smile plastered from ear to ear as she took her seat beside Spencer.
"What's wrong with you?" Emily asked as she looked over at Spencer
"Who do you think" Spencer fired back
"See, I don't understand you two…it's like you love to fight with each other. It's the essence of your relationship" Aria laughed
"Well the essence of our problem now is him being so damn cheap" Spencer said "And don't mention the Hastings expectation because I clearly am not using them when it comes to dating that perv" she said
"Most boys our age can barely afford Hometown Buffet, so what exactly are you expecting?" Emily asked
"I want a nice date…hell a first date. I want him to put thought into a date whether it be Star Trek marathon at the comic store, if he put thought into it then it'd be fine. I just want a date in which for one night I feel like wow! I have a great guy" Spencer said
"Well when you put it that way I can understand that" Emily agreed
"And that's all I need. As long as I have Em's approval then I'm good" Spencer laughed
"And mine is no good?" Aria asked
"Em is like a human form of a saint, it's the closest thing I'll get to whole truth and honesty" Spencer said just as Hanna stormed in looking just as upset and confused as Spencer as she took a seat beside Aria. "Let me guess Lucas problems?" she asked
"Why do you guys have so much problems with the only guys we really talk to?" Aria asked
"Because we're the idiots that have fallin for them" Both Spencer and Hanna answered
"But last I checked, Lucas and you aren't together anymore" Aria said
"But I'm guessing this falls under the Kaleb tree though" Emily laughed
"Aw, Kaleb. I liked Kaleb" Spencer smiled
"Kaleb told me that he didn't want to hang out anymore until I made up my mind as to what we were" Hanna said "Can you believe that?" she asked in disbelief
"Yes" Aria, Spencer, and Emily replied
"But I'm still not over Lucas" Hanna groaned
"And how many times have you told me that you don't think Lucas and you won't get back together…too many times" Emily said
"Yeah, well I'd still be with him if it weren't for A" Hanna said "Sometimes I have the urge to just tell him because then I'd stop feeling like I'm really cheating on him by liking Kaleb" she said
"Let's hypothetically say that telling Lucas about A was an option…you think that you'd still be together?" Aria asked
"Yes" Hanna replied "But since I slept with Noel…guys, I just want to know is right of me to move on, I mean what if" she said
"Hanna there are always going to be what if's in life, but you can't put your life on hold" Emily said
"If Lucas and you are meant to be then you'll find your way back to each other" Spencer told her
"I'm hating this conversation more and more, which is why I will be more than glad to change it. Have you heard the news about Jason?" Hanna sighed
"Ali's brother Jason?" Aria asked
"Jason is apparently throwing a huge Winter party over in the Jamestown region" Hanna said "Kaleb was telling me about it" she said
"Is it the family party because Ali's parents were always splashy in that department" Emily said
"It's just a party thrown by none other than the big shot" Hanna said
"Remember how Jason use to be compared to now? God, Ali always use to make fun of him when we'd go over" Aria said
"Among everyone else she's made fun of. Well good for Jason, I'm glad he's living his life" Emily smiled
"Guys, Ali was horrible at times but she didn't deserve what happened to her" Hanna said
"Yes, but eventually we have to move on. What happened to Ali happens to a lot of people around the world" Spencer said
"With Toby dead you almost feel like justice has been served, I mean you hate to say that but an eye for an eye" Aria said as the girls just all looked at each other
Sitting at his desk finishing up the last of his mid term papers an overcoming feeling of joy came over Lucas as he was just glad to be done with school for the evening. For a while he had been struggling in school due to problems at home, but he had to admit that since his dad had gotten placed into rehab he felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders and he could breath again. A light breeze blew in to his room which always helped him to remember a change in season had come, looking across over at the bedroom window he had always stared into he could tell that she hadn't made it in yet. Hanna had become a permanent fixture over at his house to where he just came to expect her to be over because how much she helped out with his mom. Lucas's mom loved it when Hanna came over because it made her feel like she a little bestie that she could gossip with about neighborhood happenings, and since she helped so much he felt like he managed to frequent in and out of her house and her dad's house for dinner. Lucas was unsure if Hanna's father like him but now that he had seen him regularly he had come to like him. Noticing Kate walk up the sidewalk he couldn't help but wonder where she was coming from. Getting up from his seat he made his way out to where he was standing on the level portion of his roof.
"Your coming in late" Lucas whispered to Kate catching her off guard as she scanned the area to see where that voice was coming from "I'm up here" he laughed
"Are you standing on your roof?" Kate asked
"Yeah, kind of. I have a level part on the roof, its like a mini balcony" Lucas laughed "So where are you coming from?" he asked
"I went by that comic book shop you told me about. I got caught up and loss track of time so ended up buying the ones I couldn't finish" Kate smiled
"See it becomes addictive to you" Lucas laughed "Thanks for looking over my paper, I just finish rewriting it and its better now" he said
"Your very welcome" Kate smiled "You write so beautifully that I hate to mark it up" she said
"Oh, no. I hate the writing part…I just take thought and put it on paper but the key to that is organizing the thought" Lucas said "Having an extra set of eyes does help" he said
"Maybe some time we should go to the comic book store together then…you know extra set of eyes" Kate smiled
"Then it that case I'd have to bring Alton along because he gets upset when I turn going to the comic book store into an event" Lucas laughed
"Is he like your wingman or something?" Kate asked
"He's my best friend and that's sort of our thing. We could take in cheese fries at the diner if you wanted to…that's very non event for me" Lucas suggested
"I'd like that a lot" Kate smiled just as Hanna pulled up into the driveway and she quickly noticed Lucas's eyes shift over towards Hanna's direction. Not knowing the two of them had been in conversation, Hanna felt as if she had walked into an awkward moment once she got out of her car.
"I got your mom's medicine" Hanna said holding up the white pharmacy bag in her hand
"Oh, I completely forgot that it was ready today" Lucas said realizing he had forgotten
"I figured you'd be wrapped up with your paper, so I just picked it up. I was over at the diner with the girls so I just got you a burger with cheese fries on the side" Hanna said just as Lucas made his way down the grapevine to come over towards her, which only made things more awkward with Kate standing nearby
"Aw, your heaven sent" Lucas said as she handed him the bag and he went right to eating his cheese fries before a moment of silence came over them
"Well I have to do some homework. I'll see you in the morning" Hanna said before she turned to walk into her house leaving Lucas and Kate outside
"Do you want a cheese fry?" Lucas asked her trying to break the awkwardness between them
Finishing up getting dressed after a much needed tennis session with her trainer, Spencer felt the stress of all things college build up so that she needed to hit something. Her parents had made it a point to say that she was going to a top notch school at social gatherings so it just felt like added pressure that she felt like she couldn't live up to whether she admitted it or not. Throwing her hair back into a pony tail as she grabbed her tennis bag and sweater she made her way out of the locker room. Walking down the hallway she greeted the other members of the club like she always had expecting to hear crowd noise coming from the dining area of the club but to her surprise she didn't. Observing the abandoned feel of the club, Spencer set her bag down to see candle lit pathway towards the balcony where the staff stood waiting. Her interest had peaked to see that the staff had all made their way outside for some apparent reason before Alton made his way in from the corner of the room dressed in a nice button down shirt with dress slacks. Covering her mouth in surprise at how nice she looked, Spencer immediately began to blush.
"Oh, my God!" Spencer laughed as she just looked at him
"What? Why are you omg'ing?" Alton asked with a bit of laughter in his tone as he pulled her into a hug
"Because you never dress like this. It's always graphic shirts and jeans" Spencer laughed
"Well I wanted to look nice for my girl. Show you how unpredictable I am" Alton laughed as he held her close
"Is all of this for me?" Spencer asked jumping up with excitement
"What? The staff and dinner?" Alton asked as she shook her head in excitement "No. I was going to take you to Arby's…it's a step up from McDonalds" he said before Spencer quickly punched his arm causing him to hunch over in pain
"I can't believe you!" Spencer scolded him as he could do was laugh
"I'm just kidding" Alton laugh in between moans of pain "No more tennis for you because your becoming hella strong" he said standing straight
"Is this really for me Al?" Spencer asked
"Yes. This is for you, all of this is for you. I wanted to show you that I do like you a lot and that I want you to feel honored to be my girl" Alton said before he leaned in to kiss her cheek
"Thank you. I love it" Spencer replied giving him a quick kiss
"Does this mean I'll get some tonight ? because I read when you make a grand gesture that it will lead to good sex" Alton asked as he grabbed her hand to walk her over towards the balcony
"You always manage to ruin the moment. Why should I even give you any? Why are we even discussing this?" Spencer asked
"Because…I need some incentives to keep doing this stuff for you" Alton laughed
"How about the fact that I won't be pissed with you, that's good incentive" Spencer said
"Oh, you'll always be pissed at me, that's just us" Alton laughed as he pulled her into another quick kiss as he lead her to her seat
With her hair pulled back into a ponytail Hanna looked on at the task they had yet to complete and hoped that God would give her strength to survive the day. While Lucas's dad had been in his funk a lot of the lingering effects still remained on the house so that every corner seemed to hold a memory of something bad. Wanting desperately to help Lucas's mom recover both physically and mentally, Hanna had the idea of repainting her bedroom just to give it some bit of a new look. She knew that she couldn't erase every memory but she hopes that with the new paint in would make her remember the good over the bad. Lugging in the two big paint buckets, Lucas quickly began to hate Hanna's plan because it required such physical labor. With a smile plastered all over her face, Hanna was eager to take on the challenge and conquer it.
"For a smart guy you suck at physical labor. Suck it up Luke" Hanna laughed as she walked over to grab her roller brush
"Next time I should just run off so I don't have to be sucked into your plans" Lucas said
"Well you'll feel proud when you realize that you have taken part in helping your mom feel better" Hanna smiled
"Your just on that kick of making all feel good" Lucas laughed "So I have to tell you that I have officially gotten back on track with my English class" he said as he twisted off the top of the paint bucket to pour into a tray
"Luke that's great" Hanna smiled "All you needed was help" she then said
"I wouldn't go that far but it is nice to know you have my back" Lucas said as he dipped his brush in the paint and began to pain the wall
"And I always will. So are you all caught up in school? Nothing to worry about" Hanna asked
"Nothing to worry about. All I have to do is just send an application into Winthrop because I've basically been a student and go there next fall. College will be a breeze to get into" Lucas said as Hanna felt a bit of sadness for a moment before she just shook it off not wanting it to show that she was stressed out over college "So this Kaleb guy? How long have you known him?" he asked
"We've known each other for a while" Hanna said
"He seems like a nice guy. He even sent me the tickets to comic con like he promised" Lucas smiled "A guy that keeps his word" he laughed
"Yeah, he keeps his word" Hanna replied "Do you think we should be talking about that? You know other people with each other?" she asked
"Why not? I mean we're friends and friends should be able to talk about that" Lucas said "Think of me like Spencer, Aria, and Emily" he said
"Oh, if that's the case then the last time we slept together…" Hanna said before Lucas cut her off
"I don't want to know about that" Lucas said quickly cutting her off
"I'm thinking of you as Spencer, Aria, and Emily" Hanna laughed "This is what we discuss" she said
"And I'm feeling even more embarrassed to know that they know about our sex life or our past sex life. But we should talk about anything" Lucas said
"Then what's going on with Kate and you? Ever since your auction date I seem to see you two around a lot together" Hanna said "Are you crushing on the evil step sister?" she joked
"She's nice, I mean she's cool to hang out with but I don't have feelings for her beyond friendship" Lucas said
"Then what? Is Beth on your radar still?" Hanna asked
"Not really. I mean we had something over the summer but it was nothing" Lucas said without realizing
"Something like what?" Hanna asked
"We went out on a few dates is all" Lucas said "But I only did that because I was just pissed at you, I think if I wanted to date someone now that it will be because I'm ready to move on" he said
"And are you?" Hanna asked
"I think so" Lucas replied as they both stopped painting to look at each other in mid stroke
"Luke, Kaleb is more than just a friend. We've been going out for the past two weeks and I think at this point I can say that we've been dating" Hanna said unable to hold it in any longer as all Lucas could do was look on at her. For a moment he didn't exactly know how he should feel but he knew he didn't feel upset or sad but just felt like it was time for them to let go of the pain they caused each other. Putting his brush down in the tray, Lucas walked over towards Hanna and quickly pulled her into a hug.
"I'm happy for you" Lucas whispered to her as he just held her close
"Really? Because I don't want to hurt you. That's the last thing I want to do, and I just felt like I've been cheating on you by not telling you…I just want us to be okay" Hanna said nearly coming to tears as she burried her face in the crook of his neck
"We'll be fine. Don't worry about that, we'll be just fine" Lucas said letting out a little laugh as he just held her.
Glad that the school day was over, Mr. Smith was more than overjoyed to go home and just relax before he had to come back to work with Hanna. Erasing the board of the lesson plan to put him the lesson plan for the next day, he found himself checking off the final thing that was on his to do list before leaving. Zipping up his bag, Mr. Smith had an extra pep in his step as he was getting ready to leave before Lucas stepped into the classroom. Caught off guard by his presence, Mr. Smith and Lucas stood in silence for a moment before Mr. Smith put his briefcase down on the closest desk before he and Lucas both took a seat on top of the table tops of the nearest desk towards them. Unsure as to what he should even say to his mentor, Lucas kept going over and over in his head as to what needed to be said for Mr. Smith to feel like he was okay.
"How've you been?" Mr. Smith asked
"I've been doing good. You?" Lucas asked
"Good" Mr. Smith replied
"Were you getting ready to go home?" Lucas asked
"Yeah, but if you wanted to talk" Mr. Smith said
"My dad…he's in rehab. He had a bit of an alcohol problem and things just got out of hand. I tried to make it work but then Hanna found out…" Lucas said before Mr. Smith let out a slight laugh
"And knowing Hanna she probably annoyed you so much that she egged you into actually making the right decision" Mr. Smith laughed "She has that annoying little habit" he said
"Yeah, she does…" Lucas laughed
"She's really a great friend, outspoken, but a great friend" Mr. Smith laughed "So how are you doing?" he asked
"I'm doing good, I swear" Lucas said
"Well I hate that you didn't tell me what was going on…I would have been there" Mr. Smith said "But instead I just put more pressure on you" he said
"No, you were just believing in me. I don't fault you for that" Lucas said
"Do you need any help as far as your father is concerned?" Mr. Smith asked
"I just want to know if we're good?" Lucas asked
"Yeah, we're good" Mr. Smith laughed "Have you checked out that collectors item Justice League that just came out?" he asked
"Are you kidding me? Of course. I even scored tickets to Comic Con" Lucas said as the two carried on as if they had never stopped talking to begin with.