Wired

chapter 16

"So, you ready to study?" Noel asked, kissing Aria's lips quickly. "Yeah, let me just get my books from my bag," Aria told him with a smile. She reached into her bag and pulled out her English book. However, she noticed something sticking out of it. It was a note... from Ezra. I'm not sorry for kissing you. I still love you, Aria. I know you have feelings for me, too. Why else would you have kissed me back? But I'm going to let you make a choice. You have to pick between Noel and me. You have 24 hours to make your decision. -Ezra. Noel glanced over and saw her distracted. "Is everything okay, babe?" Noel asked. She nodded her head and said, "Yeah, it's just a note from Emily. She told me she's busy tonight, so I shouldn't come back." Noel laughed and asked, "Oh, is she having some hot lesbian sex tonight?" Aria rolled her eyes and said, "Hilarious, Noel." Noel chuckled and said, "Well, it's a good thing you're staying here tonight, or you'd be intruding on her sex life." Aria chuckled and kissed him. "How about we enhance ours?" Noel asked, tugging at her shirt. Aria felt guilty about Ezra. She couldn't have sex with Noel when she was battling her feelings for Ezra and him! "Not now, Noel. We were going to study," Aria reminded him. Noel nodded and kissed her. "Oh right. We can have fun later," Noel said, and opened his own book.

"Shouldn't you be going to meet Andrew for his stupid talk with you?" Toby asked, cupping her cheeks. She smiled and said, "We have some time." She leaned closer to him and kissed his lips gently. "Spencer, you shouldn't. You have to make an official decision before we do this again, because I won't stand for the whole cheating thing that I put you through last time," Toby explained to her. "It's not cheating because I'm not dating Andrew this time," Spencer reminded him. "I know, but it still feels wrong. You have feelings for him, and we can't be together until you sort things out with him... or me, if you pick him," Toby told her. Spencer laughed and asked, "You think I'm going to pick Andrew?" Toby shrugged and said, "I don't know. Things have been confusing between us lately, so I don't really know what to expect from us." Spencer kissed him passionately before saying, "The feelings I have for Andrew are so small that they're practically nonexistent. There's no decision that needs to be made because I'm in love with you, and you're the one I want to be with." Toby gazed into her eyes and said, "I love you, too, Spencer." Spencer cuddled up to him and said, "I'm going to go end things completely with him when I go to talk to him tonight." Toby grinned and asked, "Things can finally be normal with us again?" Spencer nodded and pecked his lips. "Good, because I've been missing being steady. We've been so on and off lately. I just want my girlfriend back," Toby said, squeezing her hand. He leaned in to kiss her, and started to crawl on top of her again. "Toby, Toby, no," she stopped him, giggling. "Hmm, what happened to having time?" Toby asked, chuckling as he kissed her neck. "Well, as much as I love this, Hanna is going to be back from her date with Caleb soon, and we don't need another situation where someone walks in," Spencer told him. "I know! I can't believe we forgot to lock the door," Toby said, laughing hard. "Okay, just put your pants on, Tobes," Spencer said, and kissed his cheek. "Will there be time for kissing after we get dressed?" Toby asked hopefully. Spencer laughed and answered, "If we're fast enough to get done before Hanna gets back, then yes, yes there will be." Toby grinned and said, "Well, then I'm rushing!"

Hanna's date with Caleb went well. They had so much fun, and connected again like nothing ever changed. "I had fun," Hanna said, smiling at Caleb. "So did I," he said. "I should get back to my dorm," Hanna told him. "Hanna, we had a good date. So where does that leave us?" Caleb asked. "What do you mean?" Hanna asked. "You know exactly what I mean," Caleb said, folding his arms. "Well, of course I still have feelings for you, Caleb! But you hurt me once. I don't want to be hurt again, especially while I have to deal with taking care of my baby without Ryan's help," Hanna explained. "Ryan is an idiot for leaving you with the baby, and I am an idiot for ever leaving you for Ravenswood. Miranda wasn't worth it. I would never hurt you again," Caleb quietly said, stepping closer to her. "I want to be with you, but I don't know!" Hanna cried. Caleb leaned closer to her and kissed her. He pulled back and said, "Everything about being with you feels right to me. Don't you feel that, too?" Hanna nodded and said, "Everything does feel right." Caleb smiled and said, "Then I think we should be together again. I'm not going to hurt you. I was stupid." Hanna bit her lip and said, "Caleb..." Caleb shook his head and said, "What we had before was a great thing, but it was just a silly high school relationship! This time, I want to do it for real. I want to make sure we do it right this time. I want to be there in every way possible for you. You don't have a daddy for that baby, and you need one. I can be that daddy." Hanna smiled and asked, "You'd want to be my baby's father?" Caleb smiled back, nodded, and told her, "Of course. I'm that serious about it. This time, I want a serious relationship. I'm committed, and no Ravenswood crap is gonna take me away. If you let me have one more chance, I can be everything you want me to be. Especially your baby's father. He can become our baby instead." Hanna couldn't believe what she was hearing. It made her so sure about being with Caleb again. She knew, at that moment, that he was forever. She leaned in and kissed Caleb again. "I want to do this thing for real, too," Hanna told him. "Then, let's do it," Caleb said, smiling. "Good night, Hanna," he mumbled and kissed her head. Hanna couldn't stop smiling as she walked back into her dorm room.

When she walked in, she saw Spencer and Toby in the middle of a kiss. Hanna grinned brightly and asked, "So, is everything all patched up? Are you two crazy kids back together?" Spencer nodded and answered, "I guess so. We're still working everything out, but... we're pretty much there. There's one last thing I have to take care of with Andrew, so I should get going." Toby said, "I'll walk with you until I get to my car." Spencer nodded and they got up and started walking to the door. "How was the date?" Hanna asked. "It was perfect. Thank you for everything, Hanna. I finally have my feelings figured out," Spencer told her, and gave her a hug. "Well, you go fix those things with Andrew and be with your real man!" Hanna exclaimed, smiling at her. "Han, you think I'm going to go without asking you about your date? I'm returning the favor. How were things with Caleb?" Spencer asked, laughing. "I thought you would never ask, and they were amazing. I don't know if we're back together yet, but we're fixing everything. I want to be with him, he wants to be with me, and we want to try this again. A more adult relationship now that I'm in college. He's got his life figured out, and he wants to take care of the baby with me and be the father than Ryan backed out of being," Hanna explained. Spencer smiled and exclaimed, "I know he hurt you with the whole Ravenswood thing, but I'm so glad he's changed! And he's helping you take care of the baby? He's become a much better man." Hanna nodded and said, "I know. I don't feel alone in this parenting thing anymore now that I have him." Spencer nodded her head and said, "You've always had us, too, Hanna. We would have gladly helped, and we still will." Hanna smiled at her and said, "Of course, but I want my little baby to have a father. He or she would love to have friends around, but I want my child to grow up with a man who they can call daddy." Spencer smiled back and said, "Well, I'm glad you found your peace. Toby, let's get going." Spencer and Toby walked out of the dorm room.

Emily and Zoey were in bed together after their sex. Both of them felt such a rush when they were together. They put their clothes back on. "Where will you be staying during your break?" Emily asked. "I booked a hotel not far from here," Zoey told her. "So you don't wanna stay over here with me?" Emily asked, biting her lip. "Trust me, Emily, I would love to chill here with you, but I don't want to invade on Aria's space," Zoey explained. "Aria? She won't mind! I told you she's with her boyfriend Noel tonight," Emily reminded. "I can stay tonight, but all the other days, I can't disturb Aria. Plus, I didn't book my hotel for nothing," Zoey said. "I know, but I just like having you here," Emily said, leaning over to kiss Zoey's lips. As they were kissing, Emily's phone rang. The tan girl reached over to answer her phone. "Zoey... it's Paige," Emily announced. "Oh shit..." Zoey mumbled. Zoey continued and said, "She would be mad that I'm here. She was mad that I kissed you when you were leaving, too!" Emily calmed her down and said, "It will be fine. I can handle Paige." Zoey suggested, "Maybe you should ignore it or not tell her about us." Emily shook her head and said, "I'm answering it, and I'm also telling her about our new relationship. We have nothing to hide, and I want all honesty. Paige and I are broken up." So Zoey nodded her head, and Emily accepted the call. "Emily... you answered me. I've been calling you a lot lately," Paige said. "I know, and I'm sorry. I've been busy lately," Emily told her. "I noticed that Zoey coincidentally went to the location of Hollis over break," Paige said. "Yeah, no coincidence," Emily said. "Look, I'm not okay with you dating her. I shouldn't have broken up with you. I still love you. I wanna make us work out," Paige explained. "I'm sorry that you had to break up with me and see me with another girl to realize that, so... I'm done, Paige. We're over, and I want to be with Zoey now. We're trying things out," Emily told her. "You're dating Zoey?" Paige asked. "Yeah, I'm dating Zoey. She wants to make long distance work, and she makes me happy," Emily explained. "Give me another shot, Em. I can handle anything you throw at me," Paige pleaded. "I'm sorry, Paige, it's done," Emily said sadly. "Have you hung up yet?" Zoey asked. "Emily? Are you with Zoey?" Paige asked. "Yeah, I'm with Zoey, and I have nothing to hide about it. If you want to say something to her, say it now," Emily said. "I have nothing to say... Good luck with her, Emily," Paige said and ended the call. Emily smiled at Zoey and said, "I set her straight about us. I made it clear that you're not going anywhere." Zoey giggled and joked, "Well, I am going back home in two weeks." Emily shrugged and said, "Well, you're not going out of my life, so that's that." She leaned forward to kiss Zoey's lips, and then they hugged. "So, we still have the rest of the night together," Zoey said. Emily nodded and said, "There's a lot we can do." "But I have one thing specifically in mind," Zoey flirted and kissed Emily passionately again.

"Spencer, hey! You finally made it," Andrew said, smiling at her. "Hi, Andrew," she quietly greeted. "So, Toby's gone?" Andrew asked. "Yeah, I walked him to his car," Spencer told him. "Great, so now we can talk alone," Andrew said. He stepped forward and kissed her lips hard. She pushed him off and said, "That's not talking..." Andrew smiled and said, "Talking is overrated. I just really need you." Spencer shook her head and said, "I thought we were going to talk about this relationship problem properly." Andrew nodded and said, "Fair enough. Well, I want you to hear me out. All I need to say is... I love you and I want to make this work." "You love me?" Spencer asked, choking. "Of course I love you! I always have. Why else would I have given you the promise ring?" Andrew said like it was obvious. "Andrew..." Spencer mumbled. "You are everything to me, and I want to be with you. I know you have feelings for Toby, but I can give you everything you want," Andrew explained, kissing her hand sweetly. "That's really sweet, but—" Spencer began. "I know, I know, you need time. Please, take it. I just want you to pick me, and if you think about it, you'll see that I'm the better offer," Andrew said. "But, I—" Spencer began. Andrew cut her off and said, "Seeing you with Toby kills me. I love you so much, Spencer. Please don't be with him. Please." Spencer didn't want to hurt him. Her friendship with Andrew would be over if she dated Toby again. "What if I pick neither of you?" Spencer asked. "Well, then, I would work on winning you... but at least you didn't pick Toby," Andrew said. "I would rather be friends with both of you than break somebody's heart to be with someone else," Spencer said, even though it broke her own heart not to be with Toby. She knew that she still couldn't be with Toby until she fixed her friendship with Andrew. "I'm just gonna take time to work out my life before dating again," Spencer said. "Better than nothing," Andrew said. He was proud that he got Spencer not to choose Toby at the least.