Love, Secrets and War~

6. Never Letting Go

The shiny paper slips through my fingertips as I fold yet another programme for the upcoming fashion show. The glossy sheen of the special paper making it hard to grasp, let alone fold. I'm doing this under duress. It is mainly due to the fact that I have taken a real dislike for the hostess of the event. Mona. And if it wasn't helping out Spence and for charity, I would have bailed out on this before I was even roped in.

"Why would A show us that part of the video?" Aria asks.

"To keep us distracted for when the next attack is launched," Hanna points out.

"Or to tell us there's more to what happened that night," I add.

"Guys, Ian tried to kill me in the bell tower to get back his perverted videos and he went after Ali for the same reason. Plus, he assaulted Alyssa."

"Yeah, but A had us convinced that Ian killed Alison," Emily argues, "and now it's, what, two miles from the Kissing Rock to Ali's house."

"2.4," I interrupt.

Emily rolls her eyes but takes my correction on the chin. "Thanks for that exact distance, Alyssa. I mean, did she turn off the camera and walk home in the dark alone?"

"Yeah, someone could've been waiting for her and surprised her when she got home," Hanna adds morbidly.

"Like who?"

"Like Ian," Spencer says, "just because he didn't kill Alison at the Kissing Rock. Doesn't mean he didn't do it an hour later." She is still adamant that it is Ian that killed Alison, she just wants this to be over, so she isn't that open to the idea that someone else ended Alison's life.

"If Ian didn't kill Ali, did A?" Hanna asks.

An uncomfortable silence follows Hanna's words as we let that sink in, like an uncomfortable blanket trying to suffocate us. I know that Mona didn't kill Ali. I saw Mona that night, all she was guilty of was skulking in the shadows.

Hanna notices that she has made the situation uncomfortable and breaks the tense silence. Directing her attention to Aria. "So, uh, did you invite Ezra to the show?"

"No, he's out of town presenting a paper at a conference," Aria replies. The small smile on her face grew to a full-blown grin when he was mentioned. "Did you invite Caleb?"

"Why would I do that?" Hanna resorts, immediately going coy.

"Because you kissed him," I point out, causing a blush to form on her pale cheeks.

"How was it?"

Hanna smiles, running her hands through her hair as she divulges the details. "I wore the total wrong kind of gloss. The kind that looks wet, but it's really sticky."

Emily pulls a face. "Ooh, the wads of hair get stuck in your mouth."

"Hmm, it's all fun and sexy till somebody hacks up a hairball," Aria deadpans, her gaze directed downwards as she folds yet another program.

"Hey, could we keep folding? I needed these done yesterday," Spencer orders, making me pick up some and start folding again. I fold too violently, and I feel a flash of pain on my fingertip. A crimson spot blossoms upon my finger. Shit. Papercut.

"Spence, do you have a plaster?" I ask, "one of your programs just savaged me."

"Should be one in the top of my bag."

"Talking about guys," Emily says turning to look at me. "What is going on with you and Jason?"

I pause. Not knowing how to answer Emily's question. Instead, I just wrap the plaster around my finger slowly.