Chapter Fourteen- Revelations and Realizations (part two)
[Lucas's Dream]
Clenching on tight to his pillow he felt some what of a relief to know that he was no where near close to waking up, which meant that he would finally get the sleep he needed for the day. Feeling a bit of tugging going on beside him he didn't think much of it because then that would cause him to open his eyes and nothing at this point was going to make him open his eyes after the day he had. Flipping the pillow over to the cool side made him feel even more at peace but yet again the tugging persisted and he had hoped that it would stop but the more he hoped the more it continued. His eyes fluttered open to see an open closet door that held a closet full of clothes, for a moment he looked on strangely because there was never a time that he had filled his closet when all he wore were graphic t-shirts so it had to have meant that she was starting to pass her side of the closet over into his. Rolling over onto his side he found it a bit odd that thing he kept feeling tug on him wasn't even beside him, looking down at the blanket that covered him he saw a little hill arise on his leg. More than thankful that it was not in the region where hills usually rise, he slowly sat up in bed before he lifted up the blanket to see a bunny on his leg.
"Charlie!" Lucas called out as he quickly grabbed a hold of the bunny and made his way out into the hall and into the living room where he saw his son watching cartoons
"Good morning daddy" Charlie said in the cutest of tones knowing that his father was upset about something
"Guess what I found in the bedroom?" Lucas asked as he showed Charlie his pet bunny that had been missing for the past two days
"Jumper!" Charlie said excitedly as he jumped up to make his way over towards his pet
"Now that I've had my rude awakening with Jumper, why don't you get ready for school? You know your supposed to be doing that instead of doing this" Lucas said before he directed his son in the direction of his room just as Hanna came out of the bathroom with her toothbrush in her mouth
"Uh, what do we say Charles?" Hanna asked the little boy as he quickly ran off to his room
"Love you mom, gotta get ready for school" Charlie said in a rush to get ready
"Your up early" Hanna smiled as she walked over to him to give him a quick kiss "What madness has Charlie gotten into?" she asked as they made their way into the kitchen
"Found Jumper. In the bed" Lucas said as he poured himself a cup of coffee "I'm surprised you didn't feel it, why didn't you feel it?" he asked her
"Because I don't try to sleep in when I should be getting ready for class. You know its something you should try" Hanna laughed
"I love you. I love you. I love you" Lucas kept saying to himself as Hanna just looked at him strangely
"Not that I'm not enjoying you proclaim your overwhelming love for me, but what are you doing?" Hanna asked
"I'm trying to remind myself that I love you, and that your not jealous of my schedule. You know the schedule that allows me to stay home until the afternoon" Lucas boasted as he sipped on his coffee
"Laugh all you want to but it will catch up to you, Charlie is a handful and he's bound to pull a fake sick day so he can play that new game you just had to get him" Hanna said
"And I'll be prepared for it because you can't fool me. I'm unfoolable" Lucas laughed
"Keep telling yourself that" Hanna laughed as she grabbed his cup and took a sip "You know our little marathon we had last night?" she whispered into his ear as he just smiled thinking about last nights activities
"Yes" Lucas smiled as he pulled her closer towards him
"You were fooled" Hanna said before she quickly flashed a smile as she broke loose from his embrace to grab her car keys "Have a nice day" she smiled as she grabbed her book bag on the way out of the house
"Aw" Lucas groaned knowing that she got the best of him "Hanna. Hanna. Hanna" he kept calling out thinking she was still by the door.
[Present Day]
Standing over the young boy squirm around in his sleep while he called out his ex-girlfriends name, all Alton could do was just shake his head in disbelief about his friend that this is what it came down to…calling out his ex-girlfriends name in his sleep. Taking a few moment to think about what he should say or how he should handle telling Lucas that it's pretty that he's calling out her name after all that happened the previous night. Nothing seemed to shock him anymore when it came to Lucas and Hanna because they pretty much kept things in the neutral zone of friendship, and at first he contested it but seeing Hanna with Kaleb only made him realize that maybe things were only in the friendship zone between them. Finally realizing that this was the point where he should wake his friend up before Hanna and the girls came back from going off to see Kaleb at his dorm. Giving him a quick nudge only to realize that it wasn't working he had to resort to the last option, reaching over to grab the bottle of water he slowly poured the water on to Lucas. Popping up immediately from his sleep he looked around as if he had to familiarize himself with everything.
"Charlie. Where is Charlie?" Lucas babbled as he got up to put on his pants while Alton just looked on at the bottle wondering what exactly her poured on his friend
"What the hell are you talking about?" Alton asked "Who is Charlie?" he asked
"Who is Charlie? We're in Jamestown still are we?" Lucas asked as he slowly began to realize that he was dreaming
"Yes, we are in Jamestown but your in crazy land" Alton replied slowly as he looked at his friend "Why don't you sit down so we can talk" he suggested to his friend as Lucas did as he was asked
"I don't know what the hell to do anymore. I mean it feels like everything is caving in" Lucas sighed "I can't believe she hid this from me…" he said before Alton cut him off
"She as in Hanna?" Alton asked
"Yes. She kept it from me" Lucas said
"What did you keep from you?" Alton asked
"A baby. Hanna was pregnant, I overheard Emily and her last night talking in the kitchen about what happened last night and she slipped up and said it. I couldn't sleep so I took something to help me fall asleep and I guess that….I don't know. I just don't know" Lucas said burrying his face in the palm of his hands
"Okay, first off, take it easy on yourself. Is Hanna still pregnant?" Alton asked
"No, it was purely in past tense" Lucas said
"What if they were just talking like the what if scenario? Like Lucas was so crazy last night that it's a good thing you never had a kid with him" Alton suggested
"No, it was something that only Em and Hanna knew. Was it when I was away? Did she tell you anything?" Lucas asked her
"I would have told you, but this is my first time hearing about this" Alton said "So were you dreaming about the kid or something?" he asked
"Yeah, I mean it just felt so real to me. His name was Charlie…he was a spitting image of me but with Hanna's blond hair. I woke up and found his rabbit….Jumper, I think was the name" Lucas described
"That sounds pretty vivid" Alton said "Are you going to tell Hanna that you know?" he asked
"I don't know" Lucas replied
"What do you know? Because all I'm hearing is I don't know…do you know anything as of now?" Alton asked
"I know that I don't know anything Alton! But I'm sorry if I'm in neutral right now because my ex girlfriend just dropped a bombshell that apparently she has no plans on telling me about it….so I don't know!" Lucas replied
"Okay, okay. Clearly your in no mood to confront because the last conversation you two had ended with her calling you a jackass. This conversation needs to be better, it needs to be understanding" Alton said
"Your right. I should just apologize for last night and then ask her about the baby" Lucas said "Or should I pretend that I still don't know but conveniently talk about baby things evoking guilt and….sorrow." he said
"Don't ever be a lawyer" Alton quickly told his friend as the girls made their way back inside carrying shopping bags.
"Good morning Alton and Lucas" Maya smiled as she joined them in the living room only to notice the sofa was wet "Why is the sofa wet?" she asked
"Wet dream" Alton quickly said "Guess it got real" he then said hoping it would add to the believability of the lie
"Yeah, you need to work on lying" Maya laughed as Emily, Spencer, Aria, and Hanna came over to join them each taking a seat where ever available "You look like you just woke up" she turned to ask Lucas who's hair was a mess
"Your hair is a mess and flat, you just woke up" Hanna replied "Not that I care your awake" she said letting him know that she was still upset with him
"Yeah, my hair gets messy when I sleep. I guess its my leftover baby…hair" Lucas said putting emphasis on the baby part of the word as Alton looked at Hanna quizzically to see if it had any effect on her
"So….I got you a tie for you suit. The one you had doesn't really work for you" Spencer told Alton as she got up from her seat
"What do you mean? its my lucky tie" Alton said as he followed behind her
"Lucky for what?" Spencer asked as they headed upstairs to where they couldn't be heard any longer
"We should probably go get something to eat" Emily suggest to both Maya and Aria "I'm starving" she said
"Yeah, we'll catch up with you guys later" Aria said as she followed Emily and Maya into the kitchen leaving both Lucas and Hanna behind
"Why do I feel like that was the planned departure so we could talk?" Lucas asked as he wrapped the blanket around his shoulders
"Because it was" Hanna said "So…what was up with yesterday? Where did that come from?" she asked
"It came from a guy who got embarrassed on television and just wanted something to lash out about" Lucas sighed "I honestly don't know, people have just been getting in my head" he said
"Like who? Alton" Hanna asked
"No, but I just want to put this behind us. I want to make sure that this doesn't happen again and to do that we have to be honest with each other about everything, no matter what the other may think I want us to be honest" Lucas replied
"I think that's a good idea, and we should be if this friendship is ever going to work" Hanna said
"So we should try it out…this honesty thing" Lucas said "Is there anything I should know that you feel I should?" he asked her
"No. I've told you all that you need to know" Hanna said as all Lucas could do was look at her hoping that she'd find some strength in her to just tell him instead of continuing the lie
"Are you sure?" Lucas asked again with a bit of sadness in his voice that she seemed to quizzically question in her mind before she slowly rose to her feet
"I've got to go meet Kaleb real quick. I'll be back to get ready for tonight" Hanna told him "What are you going to do?" she asked him softly
"I think I want to get some rest. I'm tired….I couldn't sleep and seeing as tonight will be a long one, I should get some rest" Lucas told her before she just nodded her head
"Well I'll see you tonight then" Hanna smiled weakly before she left the house. For a moment he just stared at the door hoping that she felt compelled to come back inside and talk but then he knew with these games she wouldn't know to do so. Laying back on the sofa once again he just stare up at the ceiling for a while as if he were trying to focus on something solid so that he could think, but knew he was letting the day pass him by. His eyes became heavy to where he couldn't stop himself even if he wanted to from falling back into a deep slumber.
[Lucas's Dream]
Holding a big gulp in his hand as he laid back looking on at the clock, he had found the key to passing the time until school let out for Charlie. It had become his month routine so far and on occasion he suggested to Hanna to stop by the corner liquor store to pick up the cherry flavored big gulp and twizzlers then she'd be guaranteed to have a good time when she sat in the car waiting for Charlie to be let out. She always laughed at him saying that boredom got the best of him, but he had on occasion found a medium gulp in the car on the days she'd drive his car. Looking at the corner inside the cup he felt a bit of sadness to know the fun was going to end but was relieved once he saw Charlie running up to the car wasting no time getting in.
"Hey buddy" Lucas smiled as he played with the boys floppy hair
"I got two dollars and I want some candy" Charlie declared excitedly as he showed the money to his father
"Where'd you get that from? Did mom give you that?" Lucas asked
"I saved it" Charlie replied
"You saved it. So you want to spend the money you saved on some candy?" Lucas asked his son as he started up the car and pulled off out of his parking space
"Yup" Charlie replied as he put on his seat belt "Can we?" he asked
"I don't know, last time you got candy before dinner you were up all night. Plus we got grandma, grandpa, and your great grams coming in….you know how great grams loves to cook for you" Lucas laughed
"I just want a lollipop" Charlie said
"A lollipop? Just a lollipop or is this a set up for me to pull over so you can get something else?" Lucas asked
"I just want a lollipop and a soda" Charlie replied
"And now a soda has been added to the mix, now I know your gonna change your mind once I pull over which is why….we can't" Lucas told his son "Your gonna have so much cake in you tonight that it won't even matter what lollipop you got because grams cakes are the best" he smiled at his son
"Can I have ten pieces of cake?" Charlie asked
"I don't know about ten but I can get you a fair amount to leave you satisfied" Lucas said
"Did you get mommy's present? You know she's been saying how she wants that neck thing" Charlie asked his father
"You mean a necklace. Yes, I picked it up right after she left because I'm good like that. The fam and friends are coming into night to celebrate her birthday, which will land me in your mother's good graces" Lucas said divulging his plans for the evening to his son
"So does that mean you and mom will make whoopee?" Charlie asked his father which nearly caused him to swerve out of his lane in shock by what his son just asked
"Uh….where did you hear that word from?" Lucas asked regaining control of the car as Charlie sat up in his seat
"Kenny told me his parents made whoopee to make his baby sister. What does it take to make whoopee? Will great grandma be making it?" Charlie asked
"Aw horrible images are coming to my mind. Charlie lets stop talking to Kenny and pull out one of your books to read…" Lucas said before his son cut him off
"But I don't want to read right now" Charlie pouted
"Read. Now" Lucas said in a demanding tone that caused his son to go through his back pack lazily "Forget whoopee. Don't even say Whoopy Goldberg or any of that to your mom because then she's gonna think Uncle Alton taught you that" he said
"Uncle Alton told me whoopee takes a man and woman…" Charlie quickly replied before Lucas interrupted him
"Charlie. Read. Now" Lucas said gripping onto the wheel before Charlie reluctantly began to read his book "I'm going to kill Alton" he said to himself knowing this would be a long drive home
[Present]
Swiftly sitting up on the sofa as he awoke from his dream, Lucas began to scan the empty living room to hear and see that he was still alone at downstairs while the girls were upstairs hanging out until it was time to get ready. Getting up from the sofa he made his way inside the kitchen and began to rummage through the fridge grabbing what he needed to make a sandwich. Separating his meat from his spread down to his bread, Lucas was ready to make himself a gourmet sandwich if need be because he was starving. After finishing up making his sandwich he grabbed his sandwich and soda then made his way to sit at the table before his cell phone began to vibrate. Looking on at the caller identification he was surprised to see that it was the rehab centers number that showed, which immediately scared him as he answered.
"Hello" Lucas replied anxiously
"Hey son" Lucas's father laughed giving Lucas a bit of relief
"You scared me. I thought something was wrong" Lucas sighed
"Nothing is wrong, just the fact that we can't watch a decent movie in this place" Lucas's father replied
"I sent those movies you liked, what happened to them?" Lucas asked
"Alice took them. She did let me keep the The Little Mermaid though" Lucas's father replied
"Fish out of water, seems to fit your situation. I'm sorry, I thought they'd let you watch those" Lucas said "I'll read over the guidelines and see if I can get some in" he said
"Don't worry about it son. I'm fine without the movies, I just need something to gripe about" Lucas's father said "I saw my therapist today, she says I've been making progress in my sessions. I got something like depression that fuels the drinking, can you believe that?" he laughed
"Sounds about right with everything that happened. How long will it be before you get out?" Lucas asked
"It'll be a while, it's going to be a while before I see the outside. Your mom has been coming to visit regularly to the point where they think she's a patient with leaving privileges" Lucas's father said
"Can you blame her? She misses you, we all do" Lucas said "Hanna and her have become best friends. Mom has called three times and two of those times have been to talk to Hanna" he said
"Yeah, Hanna has been a rock for this family. She's been good to your mother and I'll forever be grateful to her for that" Lucas's father said "I did a lot of things while I was drinking that I'm not proud of and I hate that your friends saw that side of me" he said becoming teary eyed
"Its okay. Hanna is used to the bad stuff, she's got her own share of family drama…that's why we're there for each other" Lucas said
"Yeah, well you got yourself a good one Luke. She's been there through the bad…and not to many people stay for the bad" Lucas's father told him "I owe you a lot. I owe you more than I've been giving you" he said
"You don't owe me anything. You're my father" Lucas said
"No, let me take the blame in this son because I do need to start doing that….its owning up to your mistakes thing we're learning. Your mom has told your grandmother about what's been going on and it nearly broke her heart. She did a lot of crying and then I did a lot crying, it was just a lot of crying Luke" Lucas's father said
"I can imagine. Your not in any kind of trouble are you? I mean this call sounds a little like your righting your wrongs" Lucas said
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just starting to realize how much my family means to me and how I hate that these walls are separating us. I'm just…I'm sorry that I've done this to you guys" Lucas's father said in between tears that he did his best to contain as all Lucas could do was freeze in the moment
"If your looking for me to blame you then you won't get it. I happen to think I have a good father, sometimes even great. No one asked you to be perfect and I don't expect you to be….I just hope someday that I'll be half the father that you are" Lucas told his father as the tears welled up in his eyes
"That makes me…it makes me happy to hear that from you Luke. Aw, your making the old man cry here" Lucas's father said trying to gain control of himself "You doing good in school?" he then asked wanting to change the conversation
"Yes, I'm all caught up in school and I've sent off my applications" Lucas told him
"Good, good" Lucas's father smiled "You're a braniac so you'll probably get into any school you choose but I think I know where your headed" he laughed
"It's been painfully obvious for months now" Lucas joined along in the laughter "But I seem to not be a braniac at all things. I think people can see things more clearly than I ever can" he sighed
"What's that suppose to mean?" Lucas's father asked
"I'm just at this point where I feel like what did make sense doesn't anymore, and its all happened in the course of a week" Lucas told his father "One minute things are perfectly fine as they are then its not anymore" he said
"Aw, girl problems" Lucas's father laughed "Yeah, your not a brainiac in that department" he laughed
"Thanks" Lucas replied
"Luke, you don't have to be a genius when it comes to girls. They're complicated but not so complicated if that makes sense. If your ever in doubt about anything just go with your heart…it'll always lead you whether you want it to or not" Lucas's father said
"What if my heart is to beat up to lead me anywhere?" Lucas asked hypothetically
"Your alive right?" Lucas's father asked
"Yes" Lucas replied
"Then it'll lead you" Lucas's father said as Lucas took a moment to think before he sighed
"That really didn't help" Lucas groaned as he lay his head down on the table
Kaleb and Hanna walked hand in hand down the streets of Jamestown, Hanna found herself falling even more in love with Jamestown to where she wished and hoped that she'd get the opportunity to even attend any college close to the community. Looking on at the girl, Kaleb knew that Hanna was enticed with all things Jamestown and he selfishly hoped that she would just decide to up and move here after her weekend here but he knew he had to show her more than local shops and dorm rooms to convince her. During their time together Kaleb did his best to ignore the constant phone calls that he was sure was from Mona and even occasionally had to tell Hanna that he was ignoring his friends call because he wanted to be with her and not get sucked into anything he couldn't get out of. When Hanna stopped off at a local trinket store it gave him opportunity to call Mona back to see just what she wanted.
"It's rude to ignore my calls" Mona answered the phone
"Yeah, well I was with Hanna. What do you want?" Kaleb asked as he watched Hanna closely from outside
"A is getting impatient and needs to know if your making any progress" Mona said
"Okay, so that's your reason for calling like an idiot" Kaleb replied annoyed with her
"No, I call because you've seemed to go off the grid lately like your some excited boyfriend who can't wait for his girlfriend to come into town. Newsflash, your suppose to be playing her" Mona said
"And I am. Believe me, Hanna and her friends deserve what's coming their way" Kaleb replied "I've been doing my own research, and it appears someone has been digging" he said
"Like who?" Mona asked
"I don't know, that's what I was trying to figure out" Kaleb sighed "The crime scene has Alison written all over it but if they keep digging into Toby then it'll all begin to connect" he said
"Toby is dead in an ocean somewhere…he's no threat anymore" Mona replied
"And that's exactly why I'm the brains between us" Kaleb said
"Well tonight would be a perfect opportunity to present to A that your more than capable of handling Hanna and friends" Mona said "Then after tonight the countdown begins" she said
"Yeah, yeah" Kaleb said as he saw Hanna heading out "Stop calling me. I'll see you soon" he said just as Hanna walked up to him before he hung the phone
"Who was that?" Hanna asked
"Some of the guys back at the dorm. They want tickets to the party tonight" Kaleb said "How do you know Jason by the way?" he asked as he put his arm around her shoulder while they walked down the street
"He's the brother of my best friend, Alison" Hanna replied "She died a few years ago, but…its still fresh it seems" she said
"It always is" Kaleb said "I never knew Jason even had a sister or even family for that matter. He's always been this distant figure in school, larger than life at times where you think he created himself" he said
"He's morphed into something we never thought he'd turn out to be, I'm glad for him because most families let a death tear them a part" Hanna said
"And Alison? Tell me about her?" Kaleb asked "That's if you don't mind?" he asked
"Ali was the queen bee. She created the title queen bee in my eyes" Hanna laughed "She was the glue that held us all together, she was everything to each of us" she said "It came as a shock to us when she died but even more so when the body was found" she then said
"Well I'm sorry, I know it's a couple of years late but I wish I would have known you then so I could be there for you" Kaleb said
"You're here now, that's all that matters" Hanna said leaning up to give him a quick kiss "Come on, show me around your hometown" she said leading the way
[Lucas's Dream]
As the night waned on with the party dwindling down to just Lucas's family and Charlie doing his best imitations of his favorite cartoon characters, Lucas began to observe that Hanna wasn't even in the room anymore. Scanning around in what felt like a panic to find her he was happy to see her standing out on the balcony but wondered what caused her to leave. Picking his moment to get up and head outside so that his mom or grandma wouldn't question if things were okay he soon slid the sliding door behind him before he walked up behind Hanna to give her a quick kiss on the back of her forehead. Turning to face him she had a smile from ear to ear but they couldn't take the attention from the tears that were in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Lucas asked as he pushed a strand of hair away from his face "Tell me what's wrong?" he asked again
"I really loved the party" Hanna said
"So it made you cry?" Lucas asked
"No, I just really loved the party and my necklace. I loved Charlie's poem comparing me to Jumper, whom I'm pretty sure is missing again, I just loved it all" Hanna cried
"Tears usually mean bad things, but I don't understand yet why your crying" Lucas said
"Because I wish this were all real. I wish that we were this happy, I wish we had our baby, I wish we had the bunny, but most of all I wish you'd just realize what's been in front of you all along" Hanna cried as Lucas just looked on with confusion as to where this was coming from
"What are you talking about? Hanna where is this all coming from?" Lucas asked as he pulled her close to him "What am I suppose to realize?" he asked
"That none of this is real, we're not even real" Hanna said
"No, don't say that! This is real, we're real" Lucas protested "We have to be" he said
"Why? Because we make sense when its plain and simple to you" Hanna replied "You have a son, simple. We're together, simple. You clearly love me, complicated" she said
"What? No. I love you, it's not complicated at all. What would be complicated about it?" Lucas said
"Because I hurt you and now your not even connected to how you even feel about me anymore" Hanna said
"Where is this all coming from? This doesn't make sense. We're suppose to be enjoying your birthday but instead we're talking about something I'm not even fully grasping at the moment. I mean this is real" Lucas said before Hanna moved in closer towards him
"This is all a dream. This is life if we would've had a child, this is the way that you dreamed us to be but none of this will ever be real if you don't realize" Hanna told him
"What does this mean? I feel like this is the damn Colbie Cailat song where she realizes…or the guy is suppose to realize, but someone is realizing something" Lucas said "I don't know its one of those songs you made me listen to" he said
"Colbie Cailat. I do love her" Hanna smiled "But this is more than a song, this is about you and me, this about you questioning that voice inside of your head that's making you crazy" she said
"All the voices drive me crazy, including you" Lucas shrugged "So now I'm even being attacked in my dreams" he said "This is all just great" he then added as he leaned on the rails of the balcony
"Your looking to a dream to fulfill something that's missing in your personal life, and that's crazy. All I'm telling you is to just realize…" Hanna said before Lucas cut her off
"That'd we be perfect for each other and we'll never find another" Lucas sang along "I know the damn song" he replied
"Your words not mine" Hanna said before she walked over towards the door
"If this isn't real than what am I suppose to do? Do I at least get to see my kid or see my family, you even, do I even get to kiss you?" Lucas asked as she slowly turned to look at him to see how defeated he looked
"Go home Lucas. That's your life, that's what is real" Hanna said before she went back inside
[Present]
His eyes fluttered open to see Alton standing over him with a concerned look on his face. Slowly sitting up on the sofa where he lay most of the day away, he looked around to see that everyone had gotten ready for the party as they were all dressed in their formal wear. Knowing that he should get up and get ready he wanted to take a moment to just process everything he had dreamed about feeling like his dreams were some sort of guidelines to his present if he just focused in on it. Fumbling with his cuff links as he sat across from his friend, Alton secretly wished that he had the chance to sleep the day away like Lucas but he was too busy accompanying Spencer around the town for last minute items. Sometimes Alton wished that Spencer wasn't so dead set on task management, so much so that he envisioned himself tearing up her calendar that way for one day she would have to just wing it.
"Figure out the baby thing?" Alton whispered to his friend
"Nope, I'm as clueless as I started out" Lucas sighed "But then again that's my life in a nutshell" he said as he got up from the sofa
"Keep hope alive my friend" Alton told his friend "Once a geek, always a geek" he then said as Lucas just shook his head trying to figure out what the hell Alton was even talking about. Just as he made his way over to the staircase he glanced up to see Hanna turning the corner. There had been plenty of times where he would see Hanna do such a regular thing as turn the corner but when he looked he saw her dressed like she was going to a ball as Cinderella herself. For a moment he just froze as he just looked at her and found nothing else appealing to his eye than just looking at her as she gracefully descended the staircase towards him. It was like a dream had come to life.
"Luke. Luke. Lucas" Hanna said trying to get his attention before he finally snapped back to reality
"I'm sorry….I was just dreaming" Lucas said trying to shake off her effect
Swaying to the music that the band played, the room and everyone it were nothing short of elegant from over the top décor to over the top outfits that you'd see at the Kennedy Honors. Holding her close to him all he could do was take in her intoxicating scent that he had come to memorize by heart at this point. Usually he wouldn't have been into stuff like this but it made her happy, it made her feel like she was the bell of the ball and if he were the only one to be the judge of that then he'd have to agree. Making eye contact with him she couldn't help but wonder just what exactly he was thinking about.
"Why are you all smiles?" Spencer asked him
"Because" Alton laughed
"Because what?" Spencer asked him
"Because I happen to be dancing with the most beautiful girl in the room" Alton said looking her in the eyes as Spencer just tried to keep her composure.
"Don't say stuff like that" Spencer laughed
"Why?" Alton asked her "It's the truth. I happen to think that my girlfriend is the sexiest person in this room tonight" he smiled
"The sexiest?" Spencer asked not buying his statement
"You know your really going to have to start believing me when I tell you these things because I want to make a habit out of it. So I want to say I'm in love with you and how beautiful you look every chance I get" Alton told her
"Why do you feel the need to tell me these things?" Spencer asked almost feeling uneasy about hearing it
"Question is why are you so uneasy on hearing these things?" Alton asked her as she looked away not wanting to look him in the eyes "Hey, look. Look at me?" he asked her trying to get her attention before she reluctantly looked towards him "I know your not use to this, and neither am I but you deserve to hear stuff like this because as you so pointed out to me…you deserve to be treated properly" he told her
"So you listen now?" Spencer laughed
"I just started" Alton laughed as she hit him on the arm "Hey, that's not ladylike" he teased "And will you let me lead for once, I feel like I'm the girl in this dance" he said as he tried to control their movement
"Because you don't know how to dance" Spencer said
"How hard can it be" Alton replied before he stepped on Spencer's foot
"Ouch!" Spencer declared "That's why your not leading" she said in between gritted teeth
Throughout the whole night he found himself completely hypnotized by her, he had tried to shake the effect of it all but it all still remained with him. Everyone at the party had been dressed as if this were the biggest formal event ever in this town. Turning the corner he spotted Hanna and Kaleb dancing together out on the dance floor and for an instant he felt as if he couldn't breath, like something felt horribly wrong about the situation. Recalling everything that had happened over the course of a week and as he looked on from a distance at the girl he once loved dancing with another guy. Loosening up his tie he knew he couldn't take the sight anymore not when it became so painful to endure. Stepping out onto the balcony he relieved himself of his jacket as he draped it over his arm as he leaned over the balcony to look out at the stars. Staring out the stars he began to feel a sense of clarity come over him like he was beginning to process his life more clearly than before to where he could begin to realize…..
[Flashbacks]
"Do you need something?" Hanna said after she opened the door just as Lucas had turned to leave. Turning around nervously, Lucas looked as if he was trying to formulate the right thing to say to explain why he was there
"You. You left your wallet in my car, hence the reason why I know where you live because its on you identification" Lucas said as he pulled the wallet out of his pants pocket as he walked towards her
"How do I know I can trust you?" Hanna asked
"Upper body of Screech. I'm pretty sure you can kick my ass if I tried anything" Lucas smiled at her before she gave in and gripped on tight to her sweater to keep herself warm as she walked across the way to his house while he followed behind her
"True" Hanna smiled "I hope that the reason you stayed appreciates it. I'm very lucky to have a friend like you" she said before she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek as he seemed defeated by the word friend being mentioned
"Hanna, I have something to tell…" Lucas said softly before Hanna cut him off
"Oh, God. I smell horrible" Hanna said getting a whiff of herself "I'm going to take a shower before I repulse you. I'll see you later" she smiled before she turned to leave and walk back over to her house
"I stayed for you" Lucas said to himself as he looked on the girl of his dreams walk away
"Cookie dough?" Hanna said
"Oh, boy. This is going to be interesting" Alton said shaking his head in shame for his friend
"Yeah, cookie dough" Lucas smiled "Everyone loves the cookie after its baked but they never enjoy the dough because they're so focused on the finished product. You, you're the dough because you're the best part of the cookie, and your actually better than the cookie. Michael is a cookie, and so is Moma, there all cookies" he explained in his drunk logic
"It's the Hanna girl, isn't it?" Reese asked
"Yeah, it is" Lucas replied "I know I have a one in a million chance of ever getting to be with her, but I like my one that I have" he smiled
"Something's wrong with me and I don't know why I keep doing this to myself.." Hanna cried before Lucas quickly pulled her closer to him and began to rub her back gently
"Nothing wrong with you. Your perfect just the way you are" Lucas whispered to her before he kissed the top of her head as she cried in his arms
Full of intensity and passion, she was swept in a wave of emotion that she feared who she could possibly be making out with but there was a certain familiarity that became obvious to her when the fireworks that were happening in reality seemed to be exploding within the kiss. Breaking the kiss, she was glad to see that she was right all along.
"There it is again, that spark" Hanna said breathlessly before he leaned into kiss her again
"I'm learning a lot about myself through this treatment, but you mean a lot to me, and although right now I'm not ready, I hope my first time will be with you" Hanna said softly as she leaned into kiss him softly on the lips
"If and when we decide to have sex, being with you makes it memorable enough for me" Lucas smiled
"I get that this is stupid and crazy, everything that makes me a fool in this scenario, I honestly get that, but I want to do right by her. Someone should do right by her. I may never be with her in the future, hell we could have a horrible breakup but I will never be able to say that I didn't do right by her" Lucas said
"Can you get any closer to perfect?" Hanna laughed "This is the best first date ever" she smiled
"I'm glad to hear that" Lucas smiled leaning over to kiss her sweetly on the lips
"I love you so much, so much that it scares me at times" Hanna told him
"Why?" Lucas asked
"Because just when I think you've seen the worst in me, you show me stuff like this" Hanna smiled
"I like you naked" Lucas laughed before he captured her lips with his as he deepened their kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Hanna didn't want any separation between the two
"Who'd ever think that you'd be so sexy" Hanna laughed as she made Lucas crack up as well at the thought of himself even being considered sexy.
"I saw you have sex with Noel Kahn" Lucas whispered angrily as tears began to stream down her face "Now, I have some reasons as to why we shouldn't be together. One, I will never trust you. Two, the sight of you disgusts me. The last and final thing, I want nothing to do with you" he said angrily
"Look, I'm not going to lie and pretend like I'm fine with this because I'm not, but I don't want this to be an issue every time I come in here. So lets make this work, lets find it within ourselves to be mature about this" Lucas told her
"I don't need you to be there! You lost that privilege when you decided to cheat on me so don't act like I'm suppose to lean on you because you finally know the big dark secret" Lucas said angrily
"What do you want from me?" Lucas yelled "What do you expect from me? I never wanted you to know because I knew you'd be like this" he yelled
"Be like what? Concerned about you. I'm sorry that I give a damn about you" Hanna said
"I knew you'd be like this, so I'm more than prepared to be the punching bag for you. You want to be an ass then be an ass but I'm not going anywhere" Hanna quickly replied to him
"I'm sorry for how I acted and how I've been acting" Lucas apologized to her "I guess I just treat you that way because some little part of me believe you when you say your not going anywhere so I just treat you like that because I figure you can take it" he laughed
"Yeah, well you got yourself a good one Luke. She's been there through the bad…and not to many people stay for the bad" Lucas's father told him.
[End of Flashback]
…..In a barrage of memories that came to him it was like he was at the part of the movie where the guy finally got it, finally understood what he was running from all along, what made him question and feel content rather than alive, in that moment he finally got it. He was and still was…in love with Hanna Marin.