Hanna Marin knows what Hanna Marin means (numbtothedanger) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-10-18 09:54:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, caleb rivers, hanna marin |
Who: Caleb and Hanna
What: Misconceptions and (minimal) truth telling
When: 18 October 2015
Where: Hanna’s house to Caleb’s hotel
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Caleb walked up the familiar path to Hanna’s house. This time he didn’t stand out in the neighborhood quite as much. He was dressed nicer than his normal attire. He didn’t own a suit, but instead of his usual jeans and t-shirt he had on black pants and a collared shirt, no tie - Caleb didn’t own one of those either. He was dressed up by Caleb standards.
He rang the doorbell and waited for Hanna to answer, a small smile on his face knowing the girl was bound to look stunning. Of course she always did, but he had a feeling he was in for a real treat today.
Hanna wasn’t quite sure what the etiquette for a space wedding was. She also wasn’t completely convinced they would be in actual space. However, she had read enough strange things on the network to figure why the hell not. Especially since she was going with Caleb, so it was bound to be fun regardless of if they were just going to be on a spaceship or shuttle or whatever or actually somehow in space.
Weddings were fun (when they weren’t between your father and his skank new wife and you were stuck involved) because they meant you got to dress up and Hanna always loved a good reason to dress up. She eventually decided on a beige with black detailing dress. It was flirty but respectable, more simple in terms of design, more about the light fabric and black straps and waistband, being paired with black pumps and a black clutch. Because of the detailing on the back, she opted for a high bun, channeling Audrey Hepburn and simple makeup and then hoop earrings.
Less was more in today’s case.
Hearing the doorbell ring, Hanna did one last check to make sure everything was in place and no fashion disasters were about to take place before grabbing a shrug just in case she needed it and heading down to the door, smiling as she opened it.
“Hey.”
His smile only widened when he saw her. Of course she looked gorgeous. He didn’t think it was possible for her not too, but he also knew with a wedding she would be more dressed up than usual and he was right. Not that he cared about that sort of thing, but still there was no denying she looked good.
He was speechless for a moment, finally responded to her. “Hey,” he replied that smile still on his face. “You look,” he paused trying to think of the right word. “Beautiful,” nothing else fit. “You ready?”
The moment was noted and Hanna was slightly amused though her smile softened slightly as he said she looked beautiful. Hey, what girl didn’t want to hear that? She of course knew that she looked good, but there would always be that small bit of insecurity, the voice in the back of her head that said she chose the wrong dress or should have done something else with her hair or makeup. Things like that.
“Well thank you. You look good yourself.” And he did. It was subtle and it worked for him. Hanna didn’t see him as a suit type person in general, so what he had on definitely worked for him. “That I am.” Stepping outside, Hanna locked up as her mom was out for the time being.
“Thanks,” that was the polite thing to say to a compliment after all, but Caleb knew he probably wasn’t dressed for proper ‘wedding guest standards’/ However it was the best he had and the best he could do. Not like anyone was going to be paying attention to him anyway. Weren’t weddings all about the bride or something?
Leading back to his car he held the door open for her again, before walking back around to the driver’s side and climbing in himself. He still wasn’t sure how this whole space thing was going to go, but it was a new experience and it sounded fun. But wait, he was forgetting something. “Shit!” Caleb said once they were on their way. “I forget the present,” he was going to have to go back to the hotel and get it.
It was indeed the polite thing. And usually not proper wedding attire but depending on the couple and all of that, things of that nature tended to be a bit undetermined. Location and all of that. And given Hanna was fairly certain there was no handbook on weddings in space attire, she figured Caleb would be fine in that regard.
New experiences were always a good thing. Though hearing that Caleb had forgotten the present caused Hanna to just laugh. What? It was amusing! And such a guy thing to do as well. If she knew the bride and groom, she would have gotten something but as it was sort of last minute and she was just a plus one, it didn’t seem as pressing.
“Good thing we have time to get there.” They had the time at least to go get it which was the important thing.
“Sorry about this,” he said giving Hanna a sheepish smile before finding a place to turn the car around and head back to the hotel. “My place isn’t too far,” Hanna seemed understanding and also amused by the whole situation. The tables had turned a bit, it was usually him that was amused by her actions. He didn’t mind it though.
Soon enough they were at the hotel he was staying at. It wasn’t all that fancy, but it also wasn’t a motel. It was a chain where he could easily hack into the system and put himself as a guest that had already paid. That’s how he got by a lot of the time. Parking the car he got he looked back over at Hanna, “this should only take a minute. You’re welcome to come in.” Leaving her in the car felt rude, even if his room was a bit of a mess.
It was nice to not be on the receiving end of the teasing for once. She easily gave back when Caleb started teasing her, but it was a nice change to be the one who got to be amused by something that was happening. “Really, it’s fine. I don’t mind.” Even if she was totally smirking in amusement.
Or… they could end up at a hotel. What… the hell? As Caleb parked, Hanna just sat there for a moment feeling exceptionally confused. Why the hell would they be at a hotel if they were supposed to go back to his place to pick up a present? Perhaps it should have connected that he might be staying there since he had just moved to the area but most people didn’t move unless they had a place to stay?
“Woah. I agreed to be a plus one to a wedding, there was nothing about a pre-wedding quickie.”
It wasn’t her fault that it looked the way it did. So she just sort of looked at Caleb, slightly offended he thought she would be down for that even though he didn’t do relationships. She had some self respect, thank you very much.
Caleb didn’t quite understand the offended look on Hanna’s face. She just said this was all fine, but then she started talking and it clicked.
Shit. Had he not told her he was living in a hotel at the moment? Yeah, this probably looked bad then.
“No!” he blurted out before realized that sounded a bit rude. Like he might be repulsed at the idea of sleeping with her which definitely wasn’t the case, he just didn’t bring her back here for that. He wasn’t that much of an ass.
“That’s not -, I mean - “ he was having trouble getting his words out. Now who was the flustered one? Yes definitely a turn of the tables.
He sighed disappointed in himself. “I live here,” he finally said still not doing the best job at explaining the situation.
Any other situation and Hanna would have been proud of herself for managing to make Caleb flustered. However, given she was pretty sure this was some ill conceived attempt to get her to sleep with him? Less with the amused and arms were crossed as she waited for an explanation.
Which apparently was that he lived in a hotel. Okay. That… was odd. It made sense since he said he wasn’t from the area even though Hanna still didn’t understand why you would move somewhere if you didn’t have somewhere to live. But it at least was feasible?
“Right. Okay….” She was wary but she also relaxed slightly with the answer. “Do you need a place to stay? I mean, our basement is empty and my mom never goes down there. If you’re needing to save money because it’s stupid expensive here?”
Hanna still seemed unsure about his reasoning, and he couldn’t blame her really. He probably should have mentioned the living in a hotel a lot sooner. It just wasn’t something he bragged about.
But then she offered to let him stay in her basement. That he wasn’t expecting. It was a sweet gesture and he was relieved she seemed over being offended, but that would just be odd. “That’s okay. It’s free here too. And I wouldn’t have to worry about your mom coming at me in the middle of the night with baseball bat,” he teased. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble,” he added with a bit more sincerity.
Caleb wasn’t stupid, he had a feeling the free part was going to bring up more questions for Hanna, but lying to her about it felt wrong. Maybe he’d get lucky and she wouldn’t ask. “Let’s go get the present,” he said hoping to distract her as well as show her that he was in fact telling the truth and this wasn’t a ploy to get her in bed.
“My mom wouldn’t...well, maybe she would…” Who knew. If Ashley heard something and went to investigate, it was possible, Hanna just didn’t see her mom having any need to go into the basement, so she had offered. But she gave a small smile when he said he didn’t want to get her into trouble. “You wouldn’t be.”
At least, she didn’t think so. Her mom would understand, she herself had an..unconventional… past. Letting someone stay on the couch in the basement until they got settled shouldn’t be a big deal.
But if Caleb was wanting Hanna to miss the comment about it being free, he was going to be disappointed. She had her arguments prepared, and as she had mentioned being able to save up, saying it was free?
“Wait, how is it free?” That seemed a bit more pressing than getting a present. Like, they were going to need to get it so as not to be late but being able to stay in the hotel for free? “Is it...some sort of company sponsoring you thing where they reimburse you?”
She knew her father’s business sometimes reimbursed trips, so it was possible at least?
He wished it was that. That would be nice. Maybe he could just go with that. But again lying to Hanna felt wrong. “Do I look like someone who has a company paying him to stay in a hotel?” Actually, that might be something that Stark did, so technically maybe he was. Either way he couldn’t help cracking another joke before getting more serious.
“Look,” he began turning to face Hanna still in the driver’s seat. “It’s not entirely legal,” there he said it. It was the first time he had openly admitted it to someone. “I can take you back home if you want.”
“Well it’s not like I know where you work, so how would I know?” Because really. Some companies might be more lax with how their employees dressed. Still, it did actually mean something to Hanna that, even though she had inadvertently given him an excuse to use, Caleb was telling her the truth. Not in detail, but she could tell that this wasn’t something he normally (or if ever) told someone.
“Why would I want you to take me back home?”
That was almost more insulting than thinking he was trying to get laid. Actually, no, it was more insulting.
“Do you honestly think that matters to me?” She then smirked slightly before shrugging, “I mean, you can’t have forgotten how we met. It hasn’t been that long.” Yes stealing clothing was different from...however it was he was staying in the hotel for free. But the fact remained, it wasn’t like she was some beacon of following the law and felt that it was a deal breaker.
“I work at Stark Industries,” he said answering her first point. That was something he could be honest about. “The job is fairly new,” and he was saving up to get his own place. Trying to go legit. But Hanna didn’t need to know all of that.
Caleb found himself smirking in return. How could he forget how they met? That would probably be etched in his brain forever. The things he had done were a lot darker than shoplifting, though he had done his fair share of that when he was younger too. Hacking into a hotel to get a free stay was only the tip of the iceberg but it Hanna could accept that, then maybe he could tell her more someday. But not enough to put her in danger.
“You make a good point,” he replied his smirk transforming to a smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl like you, Hanna Marin.” It was true, she was full of surprises. He could tell there was something different about her when he caught her shoplifting, but every time he saw her he learned something new and he liked it. She was one of a kind.
A small nod was given as Caleb offered where he worked for her first point. Stark, she heard a lot of good things about them but she wasn’t really scientifically inclined or the like so she didn’t look into it. But she knew of the company (of course she did) so that made sense. And if it was still new that could explain why they weren’t paying for his hotel. Hopefully this wouldn’t come back to haunt him though.
“I am known to have them from time to time.” The trick of course would be people actually realising that fact. Usually they acted shocked and she would just be proud of herself. So she just shrugged nonchalantly before smiling. “Yeah, I kind of am one of a kind aren’t I?”
Hey, nothing wrong with knowing your strengths and being confident. Yes, most of her confidence was a front as she figured out who she was while being who everyone thought she was. But it worked and hey, most times she could even believe it herself.
Caleb wasn’t shocked, just amused. like he was most of the time around Hanna. But really he shouldn’t have been surprised that she wouldn’t think differently of him from just learning that little bit about him. “You took the words right out of my mouth,” because she had. That was exactly what he had been thinking.
With that he opened the door to get out of the car, before shutting it he turned around leaning down a bit so he was at eye level with Hanna. “You coming?” to get the present of course. Not have sex. Like she originally thought.
And as it seemed Caleb agreed with her assessment, Hanna just grinned all proud of herself. Sure, there was a chance he was just being nice but whatever. He agreed that she was one of a kind and who wouldn’t want to have that verified?
“Yeah, I’ll come in.”
Not like it really mattered since it was just getting a present. But hey, getting out to stretch her legs before..however long it took to get to where this spaceship was? And sitting in someone’s car (regardless of how short a time) was a bit awkward. So she got out of the car as well and went to join Caleb so they could go get the present and then on their way.