That evening. Caleb is sitting on the porch, absent-minded, while having a beer.
Toby gets out of his pickup truck after parking. He is heading the front door of the house that he shares with his girlfriend when he spots Caleb. He goes and sits down next to him.
Toby "Hey!"
Caleb "Hey..."
Toby "Bad day? Too much work maybe?"
Caleb "No, I'm doing well with the house…" he says and takes a sip from his bottle of beer.
Toby "So?"
Caleb "Everything is fine" he hands Toby the bottle. He has a knot in his throat but he doesn't feel like talking to Toby about Chocolate and what just happened.
Toby takes the bottle and drinks some beer before handing it back. He knows Caleb is not doing so well, but he won't keep asking, he barely knows him after all, and he also knows it must be hard for Caleb to be back at his dead grandfather's house.
Spencer comes out from the house next door and approaches them.
Spencer "Hey Caleb" she greets him with a smile on her face.
Caleb "Hi…" he starts to say but doesn't remember her name.
Spencer "I'm Spencer"
Caleb "Hi, Spencer" he smiles slightly at her.
Spencer "Nice to see you again, I'm glad you are back"
Caleb "Thanks"
Spencer turns her gaze to Toby now "Hey, babe… we gotta get going"
Toby nods and looks at Caleb "Well, I'll see you tomorrow… if you still want me to help you with the house and the renovations…"
Caleb "Sure! See you tomorrow" he forces a smile.
Toby stands up and starts walking away along with Spencer. But before they reach the pickup truck, the couple exchange a few words and then Toby approaches Caleb again.
Toby "Hey, Spencer and I are getting together with some friends… I thought you might join us if you want, we are meeting for dinner"
Caleb "Thank you, man… but I'd rather stay at home"
Toby "You sure? The guys are pretty cool, they won't mind if you join us tonight, come on, I'm sure you will have a really good time"
Caleb "I'm not really in the mood right now… maybe another day, but thank you anyway"
Toby "OK, then… bye"
Caleb "Bye"
/
Hanna arrives at Alison's house, where all her friends are getting together for dinner. They all are already there and as always, Hanna is the last one to show up. Punctuality is not her thing. She stands at the front door and rings the doorbell. But although Jordan is not there accompanying her as he was supposed to, she's not alone, Chocolate is there by her side, and she couldn't be happier.
Emily opens the door and a huge smile appears on her face when she sees the dog "Han! Is that…?"
Hanna nods "Yeah" she says, smiling even more than Emily "It's Chocolate"
Emily "Oh my god!" she yells happily while hugging Hanna "When did you find him? and where? why didn't you tell me?" she asks when she pulls away from Hanna and then she hugs the dog and strokes his fur "Hi baby!"
Hanna "Well, actually, he was the one who found me and not the other way around… it was just today… and I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you all here"
Emily "I'm so happy for you, Han" she says and starts laughing because Chocolate starts licking her cheek "He remembers me!"
Hanna "Of course he does!"
Spencer shows up there too "Oh my gosh! Chocolate!" she says and the dog runs happily toward her "Han! You found him!"
Hanna "Yeah… kind of… he found me, to be honest"
Everyone else greets Hanna and Chocolate too. They are really happy to see the dog again, and not only because they all love that adorable huge dog, but also because they know how much Hanna suffered while he was missing.
/
The group is sitting at the table now, chatting while having dinner.
Aria "So, this guy just went away?"
Hanna "Of course he did, no one messes with my baby boy and I made it very clear"
Ezra "Yeah, I can perfectly picture you yelling at that guy"
Hanna "Of course I did, he was a jerk, who keeps a dog knowing that it has an owner? And even worse, he took the dog out of Rosewood"
Emily "Well, but it seems like he took a good care of him, he looks beautiful"
Hanna "That's not the point, he kept a dog that wasn't his"
Spencer "Maybe he had a reason, didn't he tell you anything?"
Hanna shrugs.
Toby laughs "I'm sure she didn't even let the guy talk"
Hanna "Are you seriously defending the freaking stranger who took my dog?"
Spencer "Of course not, we were just saying…"
Hanna "Good, because he was an asshole"
Hanna's phone starts to ring. She takes a look at the screen and sees that it's Jordan the one calling her.
Hanna "Excuse me, guys… It's Jordan, I've been trying to contact him all day long" she says while standing up from her chair.
Chocolate, who is lying on the floor next to Hanna, stands up as well and follows her to the living room where she sits on the couch, and the dog lies down on the floor next to her again.
Hanna "Hi, baby" she says on the phone.
Jordan "Hi, Han… I'm sorry, I saw your missed calls, but I was pretty busy"
Hanna "It's okay baby, I assumed that"
Jordan "So, what did you need?"
Hanna "Nothing… I just wanted to tell you some good news… great news"
Jordan "Huh? And what are those great news?"
Hanna "Chocolate got back home today, baby!"
Jordan "Really? That's great, Han!"
Hanna "Yeah, I'm so much happy"
Jordan "I'm very glad to hear that… I'm sorry about what happened this morning… I was just trying to protect you, you have to admit the chances he would appear were really low"
Hanna "Yeah, I know, don't worry… babe…"
Jordan "Yes?"
Hanna "I won't go there to Washington tomorrow…"
Jordan "What? Why?"
Hanna "Because Chocolate just got back, I won't leave him"
Jordan "Really, Hanna? You promised me you would come tomorrow, I really need you at that dinner… my father is trying to win those politicians over, he needs their support, we need to make a good impression, I need my fiancée there with me"
Hanna "I know babe… but… Chocolate is finally back with me, I don't want to be away from him, not even for a minute"
Jordan doesn't answer, so Hanna proposes a solution.
Hanna "Maybe I can take him there with me…"
Jordan "That's not an option, Hanna… your dog is huge… and my father is not a big fan of animals, we can't bring him here"
Hanna "Well, I won't go there then"
Jordan "You promised me you would come tomorrow"
Hanna "That was before Chocolate got back to me"
Jordan "Leave it with your mother"
Hanna "It? It? Are you serious?"
Jordan "Sorry, leave him with your mother, you can go for him in a couple of days"
Hanna "You don't get it, Jordan… I can't, I can't be away from him now, we are back together after a whole year"
Jordan "No, I get it pretty well, you are letting your fiancée down because of a dog… he won't even notice that you are away, he is a dog"
Hanna "I can't believe you are actually saying such a thing"
Jordan "I can't believe you are breaking your promise, I need you here"
Hanna "I thought you would understand me" she says and hangs up on him.
Hanna sighs and tilts her head back, resting on the couch backrest. A few tears escape from her eyes, but before she knows it, Chocolate places his big paws on her thighs and starts licking her cheeks.
Hanna "God, I missed you" she wraps her arms around the dog and presses her face against his furry neck "I'm not leaving you, baby boy"
Hanna remains there with Chocolate for minutes without realizing. Emily shows up there and sits next to her on the couch after a while.
Emily "Hey, you okay?"
Hanna nods "Yeah…"
Emily "So, why were you crying?"
Hanna "I wasn't crying"
Emily "Your eyes are reddish, Han… it's that or you suddenly became allergic to dogs…"
Hanna sighs "Fine, I just had a fight with Jordan"
Emily "Oh…"
Hanna "I promised him I would go there to Washington tomorrow but now that Chocolate is back I just don't want to be away from him"
Emily "That's okay, Han, it's completely understandable"
Hanna "Yeah, but he is right, I promised him I would be there for him… I'll call him back… I should apologize to him" she takes her phone from the coffee table.
Emily "Don't"
Hanna looks at her confused.
Emily "You are always apologizing to him, even when it's not your fault. And believe me, this time he is the one who needs to apologize to you"
Hanna "What? How would you know? You weren't even here when I was on the phone with him"
Emily "Don't you see? He is the one who was supposed to be here with you and not the other way around, he was supposed to come here and spend some time with you, your mom, and your friends, because you are marrying him and we barely know him. He was supposed to spend a week here but he left after just a couple of days. He can't get mad at you for not being there for him when he stood you up first. And I'm sorry, but he knows how much Chocolate means to you, he should support you, he should be happy as fuck to know that you have finally found him"
Hanna "He is happy for me… it's just that… his father is important to him, he just wants to give him a hand, and I promised him I would be there… I'll call him now, I guess my mom can take care of Chocolate for a couple of days"
Emily "Suit yourself" she raises her eyebrows.
Hanna "You know what? If you don't like Jordan, just say it"
Emily "Fine. I don't like Jordan"
Hanna "You don't know him"
Emily "Yeah, and whose fault is that?" she says while standing up from the couch and leaves the room, going back to their friends.
Hanna snorts and grabs her phone to call Jordan again.
/
Next morning. Saturday.
Hanna is finishing packing her suitcase at her mom's house when someone rings the doorbell. She goes down the stairs and answers the door, but as soon as she gets to see the person standing at the front door, her face becomes serious.
Hanna "What are you doing here?"
Caleb "I just wanna talk to you"
Hanna "I told you to stay away from here"
Caleb "This is not fair, you know? You didn't even let me explain myself. I told you I didn't mean to take your dog away from you. It just happened and I am-"
Hanna "Save it. It wasn't fair for me either, do you have any idea of how hard it was for me? It was a whole year wondering where the hell my dog was. Just leave me alone"
Caleb "I just want to see him… I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye"
Hanna "Well, that's not my problem" she says and slams the door in his face.
And as soon as she turns around, she finds Chocolate sitting there and wagging his tail while staring at the door.
Hanna "Let's go, baby" she says while going up the stairs, but the dog remains sitting in front of the door.
/
Caleb is very frustrated. He parks at his grandfather's house, which is his house now, and gets out of his car. When he gets to the front door, he finds Toby there.
Toby "Hey! Where were you? I was waiting for you, I thought you had overslept or something like that" he says with his toolbox in his hands.
Caleb "Hey…" he says, sounding not very excited.
Toby "Did you change your mind?"
Caleb "No… it's just that… I'm not in the mood right now… can we start later?"
Toby shrugs "Sure… it's your house after all… are you okay?"
Caleb sighs and nods "Just trying to deal with this crazy girl who has my dog… well, it's her dog, but still"
Toby "Wait, what?" he asks confused "What girl? Thought you didn't know anyone in the town… and which dog? Do you have a dog?"
Caleb "Wanna go in for a coffee? It's kind of complicated" he says to him while opening the door.
/
Some minutes later. Caleb has told Toby the whole story about how he found Chocolate a year ago and his recent encounters with his actual owner.
Toby "Wait a minute… Is this girl blonde? blue eyes?… pretty face?" he asks and takes a sip of coffee.
Caleb "Yeah, she is… beautiful face, indeed… but there's something wrong with her… she's fucking crazy, in fact, she is just as crazy as she is beautiful, or even more… she only yelled at me"
Toby bursts out of laughter "That crazy girl you are talking about is Hanna, she's one of my best friends and Spencer's"
Caleb "Well, I feel sorry for you… be friends with her must be…" he doesn't finish his phrase but his face expresses it all for itself.
Toby laughs again "Hey! It's not that bad… she's an amazing person, believe me"
Caleb just raises his eyebrows.
Toby "So… you were the guy who had Chocolate all this time…"
Caleb "It seems so"
Toby "Wow… if I had only known… you have no idea how hard it was for her while he was missing" he says now, becoming serious "She was so sad… she was looking for him for a long time"
Caleb "Really?"
Toby nods.
Caleb "I feel really sorry about that… it wasn't my intention to cause any a pain to anyone… I guess I wasn't thinking so clearly when I took the dog with me… I just wanted to get the hell out of the town, I left right the morning after I came here, and I would have left before if it wasn't for that storm"
Toby "Yeah, I know you were having a really hard time… don't worry, I'll talk to Han, I'm sure she will understand sooner or later, she is a little bit stubborn sometimes, but she's a good person, actually, she is one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. Let me talk to her"
Caleb "Thank you, man… I would really appreciate that, I love that dog, I know he belongs to Hanna, but I feel him mine, he has been my dog for a year… I can't just forget about him, stop seeing him… what am I supposed to do? Pretend like he was dead?"
/
Hanna finally gets her stuff packed and takes it downstairs. She finds Chocolate still sitting in the same position in front of the door as if he were waiting for someone. And Hanna knows what's going on, she knows who he is waiting for.
Hanna "There's no one out there" she says to him and opens the front door "See" she says while going out.
The dog follows her out and takes a look around, like looking for someone.
Hanna sighs "You love that stupid guy, don't you?" she caresses the dog's head.
Hanna spots a little box placed next to the door and picks it up. It has some dog toys inside, a couple of dog collars and it also has a note, which Hanna takes and reads "Chocolate's stuff. He loves the little red ball" that's all the note says.
Hanna takes the little red ball and shows it to the dog "Hey! Go for it, baby" she throws it into the house, but although Chocolate follows it with his eyes, he doesn't even move a muscle to go after it, instead of that, he just turns his gaze back to the street, like if he were still expecting to see Caleb.
Hanna "Alright, let's go look for that freaking guy" she finally gives in and goes get the dog's leash.
/
Hanna has been walking around for twenty minutes now.
Hanna "You don't have any idea of where this guy lives, do you?" she says to Chocolate after passing by the same street for the fifth time. She thought the dog would remember how to go back to the guy's house, and maybe lead her there, but it's pretty clear that he doesn't.
Hanna "You suck at orienting yourself, you know? Are you sure you are a dog?" she teases the dog "Can't you use your nose or something?" she adds amused while stroking one of his ears "Okay, let's just go to the park… I think I still have some time…" she says and checks the time on her phone.
/
Later.
Hanna is sitting under a tree, just chilling in the park, Chocolate lying next to her as they watch people passing by, going here and there. She is absent-minded in the summer breeze, stroking the dog's fur. That's the same spot they were hanging out a year ago before he went missing and that gets Hanna thinking a lot. She looks at the dog and he answers by wagging his tail at her, as he always does, happily.
Hanna "Shit, I can't leave you" she mumbles and takes her phone. After getting no answer, she leaves a message on Jordan's voicemail "Hey, babe… I… I know I promised you I would go there, but I can't… don't get mad at me and call me back when you can… I love you… please, don't get mad" she repeats again before putting her phone down.
/
A couple hours later, Hanna is parking at Spencer's house, she texted her friends letting them know she would stay in Rosewood after all, and asking them who would like to get together for lunch, but only Spencer was free.
Spencer "Hey! You stayed!" she smiles at Hanna after opening the door for her and moves to the side, making some room for her to go inside.
Hanna "Yeah" she smiles back while stepping into the house "And I'm not leaving any time soon… at least not until I figure out what to do with Chocolate…"
Spencer "What to do?"
Hanna "Yeah, I mean… pets are not allowed in our apartment building in New York, so I guess Jordan and I will have to find another place to live" she answers as they head to the large kitchen.
Spencer "Oh, right… so, he is okay with you staying here?... and moving to a new apartment?"
Hanna "Well, we haven't talk about it yet, but we don't have much of a choice, what are we supposed to do? We can't just sneak Chocolate into the building and keep him a secret, he's such a huge dog"
Spencer laughs "He's such an adorable enormous bear… I'm so happy he's back, I'm really happy for you, Han"
Hanna "Thanks… me too" she says smiling. "Where's Toby, though?"
Spencer "He's at the next-door neighbor's house… he is giving him a hand with the house, the guy just moved in"
Hanna "The house where that old man that passed away last year lived in? The one who Toby used to hang out with sometimes?"
Spencer "Yeah… that one… this guy is his grandson… he came last year to visit his grandpa just to find out that he had passed away three weeks before, and well, Toby had to tell him the bad news…" he tells Hanna while taking some vegetables from the fridge.
Hanna "Really? What a shitty situation"
Spencer nods "Yeah… Toby and I were leaving to spend the weekend at my parents' lake house and when we came back on Monday and Toby went visit him, he was already gone… He didn't come back until yesterday morning" she starts to wash the vegetables in the sink "Anyway, he seems a nice guy… Toby also invited him to come to Ali's with us last night, but he wasn't in the mood"
Hanna "Yeah, it must be hard to come back to your dead grandpa's house"
Spencer "I guess…"
Hanna "Want some help with that?"
Spencer "Nah, I got this… it's just a salad… so, is everything okay with Jordan?" she asks again
Hanna "Yeah, why?"
Spencer "I don't know… I'm just asking… you had a fight last night, and well, now you stayed in Rosewood, and-"
Hanna "Emily is so gossipy! Jordan and I are fine. I stayed here because I just found Chocolate and I'm not leaving him behind" she says annoyed.
Spencer "Emily didn't tell me anything, you looked so sad when you came back after talking with him last night… and it happens every time you guys fight on the phone, so I just-"
Hanna "Well, we are fine" she cuts Spencer off "I'll be right back, I need to take a puff" she says and goes outside, because she knows Spencer hates the smell of cigarette in her house.
/
Hanna is sitting on a step at Spencer's and Toby's house's entrance, smoking her cigarette when she sees Toby coming out from the house next door, and right after him, THAT guy. Yes, she can't believe what her eyes are seeing, but it is what it is, that's clearly him, the guy she has kicked out from her house a few hours ago, and the same one she has gone looking for with Chocolate after realizing that her dog had a certain attachment to him, and after considering that it seemed like he had taken a good care of Chocolate and that she hadn't been too fair to him. And now that Spencer just told her a little bit about her new neighbor and she puts the puzzle pieces together she can't help feeling even more guilty by realizing that maybe he was having a really hard time a year ago when he found her dog, and that she definitely should have given him a chance to explain himself before blaming him for stealing her dog.
Toby and Caleb go back inside after taking a table and a couple of chairs out of the house, leaving the front door of Caleb's house wide open and without even noticing Hanna. She takes the opportunity to get back into Spencer's house. She goes right back to the kitchen.
Spencer "I'm sorry Han, I didn't mean to upset you" she turns to look at her and finds Hanna taking her purse "Are you leaving? Don't go, I'm sorry"
Hanna "It's okay, Spence… I'll be right back… there's something I need to take care of" she says while leaving the room in a hurry.
Spencer follows her to the front door "Where are you going?"
Hanna "I'll be right back" she yells once she is out the house and walking to her car.
Spencer "Hanna, what the fuck?" she yells back, but Hanna is already in her car and she drives away.
/
A few minutes later, Hanna parks her car, but this time, she parks it in front of Caleb's house. The front door is still open and there is some more furniture outside the house now. Hanna gets out of her car and goes open one of the rear doors.
Hanna "Okay, baby… go say hi" she says while moving to the side, letting the dog out.
Chocolate jumps out of the car and runs right into the house. Caleb and Toby are in the kitchen, having some water while taking a break from their hard work when the dog shows up there and throws himself toward Caleb, standing on his hind legs and pressing his paws against Caleb's chest.
Caleb "Hey buddy! What are you doing here?" he says to the dog while stroking him with his free hand, completely surprised to see him.
Toby "Maybe he ran away from Hanna again"
Caleb "Well, if that's the case, you are taking him back to her, I don't want to have that freaking crazy bitch yelling at me again. I already had enough of her and I definitely don't want to have anything to do with her" he says as he places his glass in the sink "Hi buddy" he greets the dog again, taking the dog's ears in his hands and squeezing them softly.
Hanna "That's not needed…" she says, standing at the door frame of the kitchen and making Caleb go white "Sorry, the door was open and I just let myself in. You can keep him for a little while… I'm having lunch with Spencer, and I'll come for him later when I leave" she says and walks away.
Caleb "Shit, I screwed up" he says to Toby once Hanna is gone.
Toby "Yes, man… I told you, she's a good person"
Caleb "I'll go apologize to her" he says, leaving the room too.
Caleb "Hey, Hanna" he says when he catches up with her outside "I'm sorry, I didn't-"
Hanna cuts him off "Just go back with Chocolate before I change my mind" she only says and turns around to go on her way back to her friends' house.
Caleb turns around and goes back to his house where Chocolate is waiting for him at the front door.
/
Spencer "Hey, what was all that?" she asks to Hanna when she gets back in the kitchen.
Hanna "This guy, your new neighbor, he's the one who found and kept Chocolate" she says as she has seat at the kitchen island where Spencer has set the table.
Spencer stares at her. "Caleb?"
Hanna "It seems so… I saw him coming out from the house next door with Toby and I recognized him… I just went for Chocolate and took him there with him and Toby… I'm picking him up later"
Spencer smiles at her "That's great, Han" she says while handing her a plate of salad "That's really kind of you"
Hanna shrugs and takes the plate "I'm not so sure if I did right"
Spencer "He's a nice guy… Did you talk to him?"
Hanna "No" she says and takes a bite of her food.
Spencer "You should… I'm sure he didn't mean to take Chocolate away from you"
Hanna "Yeah, I know… after you told me what happened to him last year… I guess he didn't even think it through… but I don't feel like talking to him anyway, I don't care… all that matters to me is that my dog is back with me now"
Spencer "So, are you letting him see Chocolate once in a while?"
Hanna shrugs again "I don't know Spence, let's just talk about something else"
/
Later.
Hanna comes out from Spencer's house and sees a group of guys taking the furniture outside Caleb's house and getting it in a big truck. Toby is standing aside, supervising the whole thing, so Hanna approaches him.
Hanna "What's all this? Didn't he just move in?"
Toby "Yeah, but he is remodeling the whole house, so he is giving away all the old furniture"
Hanna "Can you please go inside and get me my dog?"
Toby "You should go for him yourself, Caleb wants to apologize to you, he is in the living room and Chocolate is there with him too"
Hanna "Please, Toby"
Toby "OK, fine…" he says and goes into the house.
But a few seconds later, Caleb is the one who comes out from the house with Chocolate and approaches Hanna.
Caleb "Hey" he smiles at her as Chocolate greets Hanna like if he hadn't seen her for years although they were just a couple hours.
Hanna "Hi baby" she says to the dog, obviously, with a smile on her face, while caressing the top of his head. Then she looks up at Caleb "Well, we should go now, bye" she just says and she is about to walk away but Caleb stops her.
Caleb "Wait"
Hanna looks back at him.
Caleb "I really am sorry for what happened today, for what I said… I was still mad for what happened this morning. But anyway, I shouldn't have said those things about you, I'm sorry"
Hanna's phone starts ringing.
Hanna "Excuse me, I've gotta take this, it's my mom" she says to Caleb and answers her phone "Hey, mom!"
Ashley "Hanna, I just got home and your baggage is still here, are you leaving later?"
Hanna "No, I'm not going anywhere… I'll stay some more days" she says smiling.
Ashley "Really? That's good news"
Hanna "Yeah"
Ashley "So, what happened?"
Hanna "Nothing happened, I just decided to stay. Anyway, I'm going home now, I'll see you there"
Ashley "OK, see you then, bye"
Hanna ends the call and looks at Caleb "Hey, it's OK. You don't need to apologize to me. I wasn't so nice to you either. I gotta go now"
Caleb "Still, I shouldn't have said those things"
Hanna "It's OK" she says again "bye"
Caleb "Wait" he stops Hanna again "I would like to talk to you, clear things up… I know Chocolate is your dog… when I took him with me, it wasn't my intention to take him away from his family… anyway, I'm very attached to him now, so… I really need to have a talk with you, and-"
Hanna cuts him off "Look, that's not needed. I won't share my dog with you, but If you want to keep seeing him once in a while, we can find a way. I'm leaving now" she says and finally starts walking toward her car followed by Chocolate.
Caleb "Thank you, Hanna" he says to her as he watches her go.
She gives him a brief smile as Chocolate jumps into the car and then she gets in as well.
/
Hanna "Hi, mom" she says while getting in the living room of her mom's house, followed by Chocolate.
Ashley "Hi, honey" she turns down the TV and smiles at her.
Hanna sits next to Ashley on the couch "How was your day?" she asks then.
Ashley "Well, pretty crazy… we are having some issues there at the hotel, but anyway, I'm happy that you stayed…" she says while stroking Chocolate's fur, who is standing in front of her, wagging his tail happily.
Hanna "Yeah, I couldn't just go now that Chocolate is back… and I came here to spend two weeks with you and the guys, after all… I don't feel like leaving earlier"
Ashley "What about Jordan?"
Hanna shrugs "I tried to talk to him, but he didn't answer his phone… he must be busy"
Ashley "Is he coming back here once he's done in Washington?"
Hanna "I have no idea… I hope so…" she says and turns the TV back up.
Hey! First of all, babies are finally married! :D I'm so happy! They are so cute. I can't believe there are only two episodes left :( I'll miss PLL so bad, well, actually, I'll only miss HALEB!
About this long chapter, things between Hanna and Caleb are a little bit better now haha, and I promise they will get closer and closer from now on in the following chapters, and I'll get rid of Jordan at some point, but I still need him for some more chapters. Thank you for your reviews, really! Keep letting me know what you think.
Till next week! xx