"We should have left this town behind for the weekend" he said after a few minutes of silence.
Spencer and Caleb were sitting up on her bed watching old cases of murder investigations on YouTube. Empty boxes strewn with breadcrumbs and remnants of cream cheese lay between them on the sheets. Spencer normally would have had a panic attack at just the thought of the mess, but it was her day off, and she relished the idea of not having to worry. They were on their 9th video now, and the food, cool breeze, and comfortable pillows were making her slightly drowsy.
Her head perked up at the sound of Caleb's voice. "Didn't you just go to Miami ten days ago, though?" she asked while reducing the volume of her laptop.
"Yeah but you weren't there" he said simply, looking at her. Her eyes widened and she pretended to adjust the pillow behind her lower back.
"Uh, I meant you haven't taken a vacation in so long. Did you really wanna stay holed up in your apartment on the off chance that you get more than half a day to yourself?" he quickly backtracked.
"Caleb, I honestly am not in the mood to go to some other city and explore. What's the point in spending money on air tickets and sleeping the whole time when I could do the exact same thing right here? I'd rather stay in and… appreciate the beautifully crafted interiors of my humble abode, if you will" she finished with a giggle, shaking her head.
He laughed along with her. "Fair enough, I guess that's just my crazy need to 'not stay in one place' talking"
"You should be grateful! I'm teaching you the art of blissful domesticity and the simple pleasures derived from it"
"Alright, thank you so much, Miss Spencer Thesaurus Hastings"
"I will actually hit you with my pillow, watch out"
She narrowed her eyes and attempted to glare at him before they both burst out laughing.
"You know, you could be intimidating if you wanted to" Caleb said, taking their coffee mugs and getting up. "Refill?"
"Oh, yeah. Thanks." She got up and followed him to the kitchen, sitting on one of the table stools. "If this is going to be some shit-talking about how dead my eyes are, you're dead to me."
"No, no I mean it. I've seen you at work, you know. You can be pretty terrifying when you're in a bad mood" he spoke as he moved around.
"Well, yeah. It's part of the job description" she laughed, toying with her finger nails. "Influencing people's decisions is not an easy task"
"Never seen you shy away from a challenge, though" he said, bringing her mug back and sitting next to her.
"Wait what about yours?" Spencer asked, pointing to the single mug he placed in front of her.
"No thanks, there's only so much of your coffee I can take" he said with a smirk.
"Please, it's not that strong. You're just weak" she bit back, taking a sip.
"Maybe I am" he muttered. Spencer raised an eyebrow at him, but he simply smiled back.
They sat like that in silence for a couple of minutes. Spencer could almost feel Caleb's eyes darting back and forth before settling somewhere deep on the surface of her soul. It was at times like these that she had no idea what he was thinking, and even if she did know, she refused to let her mind go there. She was Spencer Hastings after all. She was the controlled, level-headed, tranquil…
"So, uh, I saw that Hanna got engaged" Caleb said in what Spencer assumed was an attempt at nonchalance.
Shit. Spencer froze and gripped her mug involuntarily. "Yeah…um… Aria texted me about it" she said, turning to face him with a smile before looking back ahead.
Again, it was silent. Spencer hated this, awkward silences were never something she had to deal with, with Caleb, whom she was comfortable with. However, recently she had been starting to get slightly hyper aware of her changing feelings towards him.
"I, uh, don't really know much about them together but Jordan seems like a really nice guy" Spencer said, desperate to avoid the prolonged quietness. Caleb nodded absently to her comment.
"Hey" she tentatively placed her palm on his knee and fully turned to face him. "It's okay to…feel whatever you're feeling"
He stared at her for a while before saying, "No, no I'm good." He sighed. "I'm not upset or angry or anything. I'm happy for Hanna. I guess it's just a bit, weird? I don't know."
"That's normal! I mean, you have a history together, way before New York even happened. Honestly if it was Toby I'd probably feel a bit strange myself. Toby and Hanna meant more to us than just a couple of high school romances."
Caleb was staring at her again, this time a bit more intense, as if his eyes were trained on hers. She hurriedly continued, "But that doesn't mean we let them dictate our lives either. Sometimes, it's good to take the plunge, to explore your options in places you were never looking at before."
His eyes sparkled with something Spencer couldn't identify. "You always know how to say the right thing" he softly, shaking his head in awe.
"Well, I'm not sure about that, but I always try to be honest." Spencer's cheeks were flushed as she laughed, rushing to hide her face behind her mug.
Suddenly Caleb's hand was an inch away from her face. He gently pushed some stray hair behind her ear, his fingers lightly caressing her bangs as they moved. Spencer swore her heart stopped beating.
"I really like your new hair. The fringe suits you a lot"
Spencer bit her lip, but couldn't stop from grinning. "Um, thanks. Just wanted to switch it up I guess. Sometimes change is good" she said, shrugging.
Caleb smiled back. "Change is good" he repeated.
Spencer finished up her coffee and moved to the sink to clean up.
"Does that mean you'll change your lifestyle a bit and travel with me again sometime?" came his voice from behind her.
Spencer grinned as she rinsed her mug. "Of course. I'm gonna need you around, you're far more efficient than a local tour guide."
She felt a light touch on her shoulder. "That's very flattering. Although this tour guide says that we're missing more psycho killer stories as we speak, so we should get back to that"
She just laughed as Caleb moved back to her bedroom. "I'll be right there" she called.
The rain had stopped a while ago, and the sun was shining brightly, the sky a deep blue. How fucking cliché, Spencer thought with a smirk to herself. She wiped her hands dry absently, shaking her head slowly before moving away to her room.