coffin kisses » jason dilaurentis

eight: panic! at the dance-a-thon

"I thought so, too," Jo simply said. It was tiring, she'd admit, to have A and her friends prying. Although, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Lying came too easily and burying the truth even more. "It was Riley calling from my dad's phone."

"Maya and Emily are up there," Hanna told her, explaining the quiet giggling they could hear from upstairs. She flipped through old comic books, nodding to the other boxes. "Grab a boxcutter. We're going through Ian's things."

She sat back on the couch, knowing better than to put her hands on his belongings, as she thought back to Rita's words: I thought my daughter knew how to wipe down fingerprints. That sly son of a bitch would come after her with hellfire and brimstone if he knew she and her little friends were snooping. He would always end up on top—a lot like Alison in that way. "Is this the best idea? How the hell are you going to explain yourself if he walks in?"

"He's having dinner in Philly with Melissa's friends," Aria explained as she read the old newspaper with Ali's face on the front page.

Aria pulled out an old camcorder. She looked it over before deeming it useless and placing it back in the box. From the couch, Jo was frozen. The memories flittered through her mind like an old grainy movie. She was fifteen again, in lust and over her head. She didn't think about it twice when the boys watched her through the open bedroom window, Garret's parallel with her own. She thought it was worth it for the adrenaline rush as she took off her shirt. Little did she know that harmless little home movie would grow, causing her to do everything in her power to prevent a premiere.

She pushed the thoughts out of her heading, focusing on a mantra instead: one battle at a time. She could only try to shut so many people at once.

Emily tip-toed downstairs, Maya trailing behind with her hand clutching at Emily's. They all smiled at one another as Maya gave the girls hugs. As she made it to Jo, she paused for a minute before leaning in just the same. Jo smiled as she thought back to the fleeting thought that she once had that Maya was A with being the only one to know about the drugs in the bathroom. But the only thing she had ever been guilty of was loving Emily in a time that didn't want to let her.

With one last kiss, loving and pure, Maya left Spencer's home and Emily. Emily closed the door softly behind her, making her way beside Jo on the couch. She leaned her head in the older girl's lap as Jo brushed her fingers through her hair. "I don't even know how to thank you, guys."

"Where are they sending her anyway?" Spencer asked as she taped another box closed, realizing there was nothing to be found within his stuff.

Emily sighed, "Someplace called True North."

"Shit!" Jo breathed before she had the time to stop herself. Emily shot up with a bewildered look in her eyes.

She rushed out, "What? What does that mean?"

"It means they sent Betsy Berger there for huffing spray paint," Hanna explained. The other girls shot her a look that said she should've kept her mouth shut. Emily was already deathly afraid of losing Maya and Hanna sealed the coffin. "She came back as a drummer in a gospel band."

Jo reached over and smacked Hanna's arm. "Don't listen to her, Em. She's going to be just fine. It's not like she needs to have some 'Come to Jesus' talk for smoking a little weed." 

Jo soothed Emily, who still looked unsure with her words. "Betsy Berger was just going off the deep end, that's all."

Aria nodded in agreement. "She's amazing, Emily. You don't have to worry."

From the coffee table, her phone vibrated, shaking the glass with a loud buzz. She opened the new message, reading out loud for all the girls to hear.