Story Information

Written: 2005
Status: Unfinished
Sequel to: There Goes My Life, Hannah's Song
Number of Chapters: 5
Zac and Aimee’s daughter Hannah is all grown up and ready to experience life on her own. First stop: college in NYC.

Author's Note

I started this story back in 2005 after I finished Hannah's Song the first time. Then while I was trying to write this story, I decided that I wanted to rewrite Hannah's Song and this story got put on the back burner. After I finished the second version of Hannah's Song, I didn't feel like this story was needed and I decided not to write anymore if it.

Chapters

Chapter 1

Hannah Hanson slipped her key into the lock on her door and entered her dorm room quickly.  In the week that she had been living at the New York University dorms, today was the craziest of them all.  With two days before classes started, the dorms had come alive. 

She was glad that, with her mom’s help, she had been able to talk her dad out of forcing the college to give her a private room.  She understood his concern about security, but she was already one step ahead of him, having filled out her paper work under the name Hannah Spencer.  The only people who knew about her true identity were the admissions counselors.

Sitting down at her desk, she picked up a picture of her family that her parents had demanded be taken before she left for school.  Brushing a tear from her cheek, she put the picture down and turned to look at the door when she heard the handle move.

“Oh!  Good you’re here!”  A dark hair girl smiled as she came into the room carrying a couple bags and pulling a suitcase behind her.

“Let me take something,” Hannah said rushing over to her roommate and taking two of the bags from her.

“Thanks,” the girl smiled as she dropped the rest of her bags on her bed and held her hand out in Hannah’s direction. “I’m Olivia Bradely, but you can call me Livi.”

“Hannah H- Spencer,” Hannah replied catching herself.  “Nice to meet you.”

“This is exciting isn’t it?”  Livi asked as she looked around the room.  “I’ve been dreaming of coming to this school since I was 6.”

“Where are you from?”  Hannah asked her.

“New Jersey, but shh,” Livi laughed as a man that Hannah assumed was Livi’s dad brought in a couple boxes.”

“Thanks David,” Livi smiled as she smiled at the large man.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”  David asked Livi.

“Oh right,” Livi replied with a grin.  “Hannah this is my brother-in-law David, David this is my roommate Hannah.”

“Nice to meet you,” David said nodding in Hannah’s direction before looking at his sister-in-law.  “Are you going to help bring the rest of your stuff up here?”

“Will you get it for me?”  Livi asked with a grin.  “Please?”

“Fine,” David sighed before leaving the room.

“He seems cool,” Hannah stated as she leaned against the wall.

“He really is,” Livi agreed.  “Do you have any brother-in-law’s?”

“No, I’m the oldest,” Hannah stated with a shrug.

“Oh, I’m the baby,” Livi told her.  “David is married to my older sister and they’re 35 or 36.”

“Seriously?”  Hannah asked surprised.  “My parents are only 34.”

“Wow, your parents married young,” Livi replied.  “Where are you from?”

“Oklahoma,” Hannah stated.  “But that has nothing to do with my parents getting married young.”

“I never said it did,” Livi said holding her arms up in defense as David walked back into the room.

“Okay, this is all of your junk,” he said as he put the box down.  “I’ll see you guys later.  Nice meeting you, Hannah.”

“You too,” Hannah waved and watched as he left the room closing the door behind him.  “My dad got my mom pregnant when they were 15 and they got married when I was 6.”

“Well that’s cool,” Livi stated.  “It’s probably better that they married each other and not other people.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Hannah shrugged as she sat down on her bed.

“Do you mind if I put on some music?”  Livi asked her.

“Go ahead,” Hannah replied as she grabbed a book of her night stand.

“Do you like Hanson?”  Livi asked her.

“What?”  Hannah asked looking up from her book.

“Do you like the band Hanson?”  Livi repeated.  “My sister was a really big fan of theirs and I literally grew up on their music.”

“Not as much as I did,” Hannah thought before nodding.  “Go ahead, my mom listened to them all the time.”

“Is that where you got your name from?”  Livi asked Hannah as she started to unpack.

“Excuse me?”  Hannah asked confused.

“Did your parents name you after Zac’s daughter Hannah?”  Livi asked her.

“Uh, no, it was a family name,” Hannah replied before going back to her book.  “This could be interesting.”

Chapter 2

“Mom, you have no idea how weird it is,” Hannah said into the phone.  “In the first 2 days she was there all we did was listen to Hanson.  She even asked if I was named after, well, myself.”

“I’m sorry,” her mother Aimee Spencer-Hanson replied trying not to laugh.  “Who would have thought your roommate would be a fan.”

“I’m just happy dad gave me the key to the apartment here in Tribeca,” Hannah sighed as she looked around the apartment.  “It’s the only place I can get away from Livi.”

“If worse comes to worse, you can always move into the apartment,” Aimee told her daughter.

“I’m thinking about it,” Hannah confessed.  “But I promised dad I’d wait a couple weeks to see if things got better before I moved out of the dorms.”

“That’s wise,” Aimee agreed.  “How are things at school other than Livi?”

“Okay, I guess,” Hannah shrugged. 

“Have you met any people you might want to be friends with?”  Aimee asked.  “Any cute boys you’d want to date?”

“Mom!”  Hannah laughed as she turned red.  “Even if I had met some cute guys I wouldn’t be telling you about them.”

“Ah, come on,” Aimee begged.

“Nope, not happening,” Hannah stated shaking her head.

“You haven’t met anybody have you?”  Aimee asked her daughter.

“I’ve met a couple people,” Hannah stated.  “Just nobody I want to hang out with.”

“I could come out and we could meet people,” Aimee suggested.

“No thanks,” Hannah said quickly.  “No offense or anything, but it would be weird having my mom help me make friends.”

“Okay, well just let me know,” Aimee told her daughter.

“I will,” Hannah smiled as she heard somebody talking to her mom.

“Hannah, I hate to cut this short, but apparently your sister stuck something up her nose,” Aimee sighed.

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later, mom,” Hannah replied.

“We love you,” Aimee told her daughter before hanging up.

“I love you too,” Hannah replied as she put the phone down and gathered her stuff.

~*~*~

“Is that what you’re wearing tonight?”  Livi asked as she looked over at Hannah’s jean skirt, flip flops and pink tank top.

“What’s tonight?”  Hannah asked confused.

“The party at Sunter House,” Livi stated.

“Oh, right, I’m not going to go,” Hannah shrugged.

“Aww, come on, Hannah, don’t be a party pooper,” Livi sighed as she put her lipstick in her purse.

“Oh well,” Hannah shrugged.  “Have fun tonight.”

“I will,” Livi smiled as somebody knocked on their door.  “You sure you don’t want to come?”

“Positive,” Hannah confirmed.

“Well night then,” Livi replied with a smile.  “Don’t wait up.”  She opened the door and withour another word slipped out.

Hannah sighed and pulled a box out from under her bed.  She ran her hand over her baby blanket and pulled out a CD of songs her dad had recorded for her years ago.

She carefully pulled the CD out of its case and put it in her discman.  She quickly pulled on a pair of sweats and turned the light off before climbing into bed.

She pressed play and laid back with her eyes closed.

“Hey princess,” she heard her dad’s voice say through her head phones.  “I made this CD to remind you of how much I love you, even when I’m far away and can’t talk to you over the phone.”

Chapter 3

“Hey, Hannah, come hang out with me at the coffee shop,” Livi said to her roommate as she grabbed her bag.  “It’s open mic night.”

“No thanks,” Hannah replied politely.

“What’s your problem?”  Livi asked crossing her arms.  “You’re always moping around her like a lost dog.”

“I don’t have a problem,” Hannah retorted.  “I’d rather get my school work done now so I don’t have to be up all night.”

“Yeah well it wouldn’t hurt you to have some fun every once an a while,” Livi sighed.  “See ya later, don’t wait up.”  With that, she opened the door and sashayed out.

“I never do,” Hannah muttered after the door closed.

In all honesty, she would have loved to go to the coffee house, but the combination of going with Livi and the risk of being recognized stopped her. 

She sighed deeply and went back to doing her math homework.

The shrill ring of her cell phone pulled her away from her studies, a short time later.

“Hello?”

“Hey Hannah Banana,” her mother’s voice echoed.

“Hi, mom,” Hannah replied rolling her eyes.

“Just because I’m two-thousand miles away doesn’t mean you’ll get away with rolling your eyes at me,” Aimee scolded in a teasing tone.

“I know, I know,” Hannah grinned.  “So what’s up?”

“Well I was calling to see how classes went today,” Aimee replied.

“And?”  Hannah inquired.

“You know me too well,” Aimee chuckled.  “I was wondering if you had changed your mind about me visiting.”

“Not yet,” Hannah replied as she clicked the top of her pen.

“Oh come on,” Aimee begged.  “I could come spend the weekend with you and we could go to some clubs.”

“Are you serious?”  Hannah asked shocked.  “You wouldn’t let me go to the mall with Zoë when was I was 13.”  Aimee laughed. “Who are you and what have you done with my mother?”

“I know you’re going to party and I would feel better if I was the one with you instead of some random person from the city,” Aimee confessed.  “So please, what do you say?  A mom and Hannah weekend like we used to have all the time.”

“You’re not going to give up until I agree are you?”  Hannah sighed.

“Nope,” Aimee smiled.  “We can go shopping.”

“What does dad think of all this?”  Hannah inquired as she closed her math book.

“Doesn’t matter what he has to say,” Aimee chuckled.  “He gets to stay home with your siblings.”

“Fine, come visit me,” Hannah sighed as she glanced at her calendar.  “How about next weekend?”

“Why not this weekend?”  Aimee replied.  “I can get a ticket and be there Friday at 2pm.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then, I guess,” Hannah responded.

“Well I need to get the little ones in bed, your father just riled them up,” Aimee sighed.

“I did not,” Hannah heard her dad retort.

“Tell everybody I love them,” Hannah told her mom.

“I will,” Aimee smiled.  “I’ll see you in a couple days.”

“Bye mom,” Hannah replied before hanging up.

~*~*~

Two days later, Hannah exited her family’s apartment and walked down the hall to the elevator.  She pressed the down button and waited for the doors to open.  Once they did, she step on and pressed the Lobby button.

“HOLD THE ELEVATOR!”  She heard a male’s voice call as the doors started to close.

She put her foot in front of the door to stop it from closing and watched as the twenty-something, and very attractive, male ran to get on.

“Thanks,” he said breathlessly as he stepped past her.

“No problem,” Hannah said with a smile as she moved her foot back into the elevator.

“Are you new around here?” The man asked her.

“Yeah, something like that,” she smiled as she held out her hand.  “I’m Hannah Spencer.”

“Nice to meet you, Hannah,” the man replied shaking her hand.  “I’m Ryan Leigh.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Hannah said politely as the elevator came to a stop.

“See ya around,” Ryan told her as they stepped off the elevator.

“Ya,” Hannah nodded as she walked outside to hail a cab.

Twenty minutes later, she paid the driver and went into the airport to wait for her mom.

She waited for ten minutes before seeing her mom walk out of the gate.

“Mom!”  She called as she ran over and gave her mom a hug.

“I think you’ve grown,” Aimee teased as she kissed her daughter’s cheek. “Now we can pass as sisters even more.”

“Nobody will think we’re sisters if you’re kissing my cheek,” Hannah pointed out as the two of them left the airport.  “So how is everybody?”

“Everybody is great,” Aimee smiled as she and Hannah climbed into a cab.  “Maggie misses you dearly, when she found out I was coming to visit you, she went on a drawing spree.”

“Aww,” Hannah grinned.  “I’ll have to put them up in my dorm room.”

“Are you staying at the apartment tonight?”  Aimee asked as they got out of the cab several minutes later.

“I’m planning on it,” Hannah smiled as she and her mother entered the building and went up to the apartment.

“So have you found any clubs for us to go to?”  Aimee asked her daughter as soon as they got upstairs.

“Yeah there’s this place down the street,” Hannah replied as she sat down on the bed and watched her mom unpack.

Three hours later, Hannah sighed as she sat on the couch waiting for her mom to come out.  “Come on, mom,” she called impatiently.

“I’m coming,” Aimee called back.  “I just need to find my shoes.”

When Aimee came into the living room a few minutes later, Hannah’s jaw dropped. 

“Mom, you can’t wear that!”  Hannah exclaimed when she saw her mom wearing a form fitting black halter dress.

“I don’t have anything else,” Aimee smiled as she grabbed her clutch purse.  “Besides, I’m out here to help you find a boyfriend.”

“Mom,” Hannah sighed as she followed her mom out to the elevator.

“Come on, kid, we only have a few hours to get our groove on,” Aimee smiled as she hit the down button on the elevator.

“Oh god,” Hannah groaned as she laid her head against the wall.  “This is going to be a nightmare.”

An hour later, Hannah sighed as she watched her mom dancing with two twenty something’s. 

Upon arrival, Aimee had tossed back several drinks and the effects of those drinks were starting to get to her.

“Hannah?”  She heard a voice say from in front of her.

“Oh, hey Ryan,” she greeted after looking up.

“Are you old enough to be here?”  Ryan asked as he sat down at the table with her.

“I’m here with my mom,” Hannah replied with a frown.

“Where’s your mom?”  Ryan asked.

“Over there on the dance floor,” Hannah replied pointing in the direction of her mom.  “The one in the black dress dancing with the two guys.”

“That’s your mom?!”  Ryan exclaimed looking at her mom and then back at her.  “How old are you exactly?”

“18,” Hannah replied with a smile.  “She’s 34, she and my dad had me when they were 16.”

“Oh, where’s your dad now?”  Ryan asked her.

“At home with my younger siblings,” Hannah sighed as she glanced at her mom.  “I wish she would come back over here, I want to go home.”

“Do you want me to help you get her out of here?”  Ryan asked Hannah.

“Please,” Hannah nodded as she got up and walked over to her mom.  “Come on, mom, it’s time to go.”

“Ah, don’t be a party pooper, Hannah-Banana,” Aimee said as she tried to get her daughter to dance.

“No, mom, it’s time to go,” Hannah sighed as her eyes met Ryan’s.  She watched as Ryan grabbed the two purses off the table and walked over to them.

“Who’s this young stud?”  Aimee asked as Ryan took her other side.

“This is Ryan, mom, he’s lives in an apartment on our floor,” Hannah informed her mother as they walked out of the club.

“You should date him, Hannah-Banana,” Aimee giggled as the three walked back to the apartment.

Hannah smiled apologetically at Ryan as they navigated Aimee into the building and to the elevator.

”I feel like I’m floating,” Aimee informed the two of them as the elevator started.  “This feels cool!”

“Mom, you gotta be quiet, people will be trying to sleep,” Hannah told her mother as the elevator doors opened and they stepped off.

“Whoa, I feel dizzy,” Aimee muttered as she leaned against Ryan’s shoulder.

“Which apartment is yours?”  Ryan asked as he picked Aimee up.

“4D,” Hannah replied pointing in the direction of her place.

“You said you were new in the building,” Ryan said as he followed her down the hall.  “Are you new as in the old owners sold or are you just staying here?”

“My family owns this apartment,” Hannah replied as she unlocked the door and entered the apartment.

“She’s a Hanson,” Ryan realized as she carried her mom into the apartment and set her on the couch.  “She’s Mac’s niece.”

“Thanks for your help,” Hannah smiled at Ryan as they walked over to the door.

“No problem,” Ryan replied with a shrug.  “My apartment is right across the hall if you need me.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said before closing the door.

Chapter 4

After making sure Aimee wasn’t getting into anything dangerous, Hannah went into the kitchen and called her dad.

“Hello?”  He answered on the fourth ring.

“Mom’s drunk,” Hannah said quickly.

“What?!”  Zac exclaimed surprised.

Hannah sighed and quickly told him about her evening out with her mother, living out everything that included Ryan.

“Oh god,” Zac groaned.  “Make a pot of coffee and I’ll call somebody and have them come over.”

“Thanks dad,” Hannah replied before exchanging goodbyes and hanging up.

Hannah glanced at her mom, who was dancing to a song on TV, before starting a pot of coffee.

She was turning the machine on when she heard a knock on the front door.  She quickly left the kitchen and made it to the door before her mom did.  She looked through the peephole and opened the door confused.  “Dad?”  She asked starring in disbelief.

“I bought dinner,” Zac said holding up a bag.

“What are you doing here?”  Hannah asked as she shut the door behind him.

“Well it hit me after I got back from taking your mom to the airport that she was coming out here to help you find a boyfriend,” Zac told his daughter.  “And that’s the last thing I want you to have.”

“ZAC!”  They heard Aimee exclaim.  “When did you get here?”

“Why don’t you go see if the coffee is ready,” Zac told Hannah as he handed her the bag of food.

Hannah nodded and left the room.

“Zacky, come here,” Aimee called to her husband.

Zac grinned as he walked over to his wife and wrapped is arms around her.

“I love you,” Aimee grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

“Not right now, Aim,” Zac told his wife.

“Yes right now,” Aimee replied as she pushed him on to the couch.

“The coffee isn’t ready yet, dad,” Hannah reported as she came out of the kitchen. She stopped when she saw her mom sitting on her dad’s lap kissing him.

Instantly, Hannah felt sick to her stomach, she quickly grabbed her stuff and fled from the apartment.  She closed the door and leaned against the wall, not able to control the shudder that made its way through her body.

“Hey Hannah,” Ryan greeted as he passed her with a black garbage bag.

“Hey,” she replied with a smile, which surprisingly, wasn’t forced.

“Going somewhere?”  Ryan asked as he tossed the bag in the garbage shoot.

“I decided to go back to the dorm,” Hannah replied with a shrug.

“At 11pm?”  Ryan frowned.  “By yourself?”

“My dad showed up, so I decided to head back,” Hannah shrugged.

“Wait here,” Ryan told her.  “I don’t want you going across town by yourself.”

“Ryan, I’ll be fine,” Hannah insisted.

“Please, Hannah, it’s not safe,” Ryan pleaded.

“Fine,” Hannah sighed.

“Let met grab my coat,” Ryan told her.  He quickly ran into his apartment and returned with his coat.  “Let’s go.”

Silently, Hannah followed him into the elevator and then out the lobby door to a waiting cab.

“NYU Dorms,” Ryan instructed the driver.

The fifteen minute drive was quiet as Hannah and Ryan starred out the windows at the passing city.

When the driver arrived at the dorm, Ryan instructed the driver to wait while he walked Hannah to the door.

“You don’t have to walk with me,” Hannah informed him.

“Just let me walk you to the door,” Ryan insisted.

Hannah sighed as she climbed out of the cab and led Ryan to her building.

“HANNAH!”  She heard somebody call.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Livi running over.

“Hey Livi,” Hannah replied, surprisingly happy to see her roommate.  “My roommate,” she said to Ryan.

“Who’s your friend?”  Livi asked looking at Ryan.

“Livi, meet Ryan, Ryan meet Livi,” Hannah said introducing them.

“Nice to meet you,” Ryan nodded in Livi’s direction.  “I’ll see you later, Hannah.”  He gave a slight wave before he got back into his cab.

“Where did you meet him?”  Livi demanded as she and Hannah climbed the stairs to their room.

“He’s a neighbor of my parents,” Hannah shrugged.

“He’s from Oklahoma?”  Livi asked flabbergasted.

“No, he lives in the apartment across the hall from the one my parents own here in NYC,” Hannah replied as she narrowed her eyes.  “And even if he was from Oklahoma, why would that shock you?”

“I don’t know, y’all,” Livi said with a horrific southern accent.

Chapter 5

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there to see your plane take off,” Hannah said into her cell phone.

“Don’t worry about it,” Aimee replied with a smile.  “I’m sorry about the episode Friday night.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Hannah shrugged.  “Just promise me you won’t do it again.”

“After the hang over I had all day Saturday, I don’t plan on drinking again,” Aimee confessed.  “Well I need to go; it’s time to board the plane.”

“Okay, talk to you later, mom, love you,” Hannah replied.

“Love you too,” Aimee replied before hanging up.

Hannah smiled as she tossed her phone into her bag and headed to her vocal lessons.

Professor Lee was her sixty-year-old, hardnosed vocal coach.  When she had told some older students about him being her coach, she was taken aback by their comments on how evil he was.

But to Hannah, he was just an old man that knew what he wanted to hear and would get on your case if you didn’t give it to him, especially if he knew that you could.

“Hello Professor,” Hannah greeted as she entered his office that doubled as a practice room.

“Hello Ms. Spencer,” he replied as he looked up from his lunch.  “Feel free to warm up.  I invited Professor Lansing to join us today.”

“Okay,” Hannah replied as she sat down at the piano and began to play.

Professor Lansing was Hannah’s piano instructor, a woman around thirty-five who had been playing the piano since she was three.

Professor Lansing had been amazed to hear that Hannah had had no formal training that Hannah had taught herself just by listening to music.

“Hello,” Professor Lansing greeted as she waltzed into the room.  “Professor Lee, Ms. Spencer.”

Hannah nodded as she continued to play.  Sitting at a piano, with her fingers touching the cool ivory keys, Hannah was transported back to her childhood and playing on her grandmother’s grand piano.

It wasn’t until she felt a hand on her shoulder that Hannah brought herself back to reality.  She turned and saw Professor Lansing standing behind her.

“That was beautiful,” the woman smiled.  “Did you write that?”

“No, my dad and his brothers did,” Hannah replied, silently praying that her professor wouldn’t recognize the tune.

“Well I really enjoyed it,” Professor Lansing smiled.  “Professor Lee an I would like to talk to you about something.”

“Okay,” Hannah nodded as she glanced at Professor Lee.

“What is your goal here at NYU?”  Professor Lansing asked her.  “And what are your plans for your future?”

“I don’t really know yet,” Hannah shrugged.  “My parents would love it if I graduated.”

“Well have you given any thought to what degree you would get?”  Professor Lee asked her, staring at her through his bifocals.

“Not really,” Hannah shook her head.  “Maybe something in music?”

“Well take this flyer with you and try to think about it,” Professor Lee said handing Hannah a piece of paper.

“Okay,” Hannah replied as she put the flyer into her purse.

“I think that’s all we need to do today,” Professor Lee informed her.

Hannah nodded as she stood up.  “Thank you for the flyer,” she said as she grabbed her purse.

Instead of returning to her dorm, Hannah hailed a cab and went to the apartment.

Because her parents’ flight had left New York at 10am and their connecting flight from Dallas to Tulsa had left at 2:30pm, Hannah was pretty sure that they would be home by the time she got to the apartment.

It was a quarter after five when Hannah reached her floor of the apartment building.

“Hey,” Ryan greeted when the elevator doors opened.

“Hey,” Hannah replied with a smile as they passed each other, her leaving the elevator and him climbing in.

“If I had more time I’d chat,” Ryan apologized.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hannah smiled.

“Later,” Ryan stated as he moved his foot into the elevator.

Before Hannah has the door to her apartment unlocked, the elevator door opened.

“Hey Hannah,” Ryan called.

“Yeah?”  She replied turning to look at him.

“You want to go with me?”  He asked her.

“Where are you going?”  She inquired.

“To an open mic night at my favorite coffee shop,” Ryan explained.

Hannah looked at the door and thought about her night of boredom.  Before thinking twice, she said yes.

“Great!”  Ryan exclaimed.  “Are you ready to go now?”

“Uh, sure,” Hannah nodded before taking a second to relock the door.

“Let’s go,” Ryan said as Hannah walked towards him.  “You’ll love this place.”

“Okay,” Hannah nodded as she stepped onto the elevator.  “Is that your guitar?”  She pointed to the case at his feet.  He nodded.  “Are you performing tonight?”

“Yeah, I play guitar for some people,” Ryan explained after hitting the Lobby button.  “So what do you say?”

“About what?”  Hannah asked as the elevator reached the lobby.

“Me playing my guitar while you sing,” Ryan clarified.

“Ryan, how do you know I can even carry a tune?”  Hannah asked as she looked at him from the corner of her eye.

“It’s your aura,” Ryan shrugged while thinking, “That and the fact that you’re a Hanson.”

“What else does my aura tell you?”  Hannah inquired as they walked down the sidewalk.

“That you’ll be singing with me tonight,” Ryan smiled.

“Okay, fine,” Hannah laughed.  “But if we get tomatoes thrown at us, it’s your fault.”

“Understood,” Ryan nodded as he opened the door to the coffee shop.  “After you.”

“Thanks,” Hannah smiled as she entered the coffee shop.

Summary

This story was going to be the development of Hannah's relationship with Ryan as well as Hannah signing a record deal and putting together an album all behind her dad and uncle's back, not wanting people to say she only got a deal cause she was a Hanson.