Avery, Aria, Hanna and Emily stood below the staircase in the Hastings House, looking around the spick and span living room, awkwardly. After a gruelling couple of days, Spencer was finally back home, and needless to say, the girls didn't know how to react. Were they supposed to pretend like nothing was wrong?
"Maybe she's just as nervous about seeing us as we are about seeing her", Aria said, as she paced around.
"Guys, she's the exact same Spencer that we saw last week", Hanna tried to reason.
"No, the Spencer we saw in Radley was not the Spencer I know", Avery rebutted, "This Spencer is fragile. I think we should tread lightly, instead of ambushing her."
"Em, we're not just here for her, we're for you, too", Hanna looked at the taller girl with a comforting smile on her face, as Emily nodded.
"Do we talk about him?", Aria wondered, "Do we bring it up?"
"I don't want to say anything that could put her back there", Emily sighed, "I know they said they found Toby, but they sent that second body to the state coroner for a reason. I mean, maybe there's hope."
"You know how I feel about hope; breeds eternal misery", Spencer's voice sounded from atop the stairs, "We lost Toby a long time ago. We just didn't know it."
The girls stood stunned, as they watched Spencer waltz down the stairs. Like she didn't have a care in the world. They expected Spencer to come down lugging all her baggage with her, but the Spencer that appeared was a completely new person. Not an ounce of the person they saw last week was visible.
"Oh, you've got to love the Hastings!", Spencer continued, picking up a crumpet from a platter on the dining table, "I just get released from a mental hospital, and they welcome my friends with tea and crumpets."
"What's the difference between a crumpet and an English muffin?", Hanna questioned, out of the blue, making Aria nudge her, "Hanna, does it matter?"
"I'm just making conversation", Hanna defended herself.
"An English muffin is a baked bread. It's made of dough. And a crumpet is a griddle cake. It's made of batter", Spencer answered.
"How are you, Spence?", Emily asked meaningfully.
"I'm all right", Spencer nodded.
"You know, you don't have to pretend to be okay for us", Avery assured.
"Yeah, if this was the act you had to pull off to get out of there, then...", Aria trailed off, when she saw Spencer shake her head softly, before turning to Emily, "Do you remember when you were in the light house, Emily? And you had to make that choice? It was either him or you? I wasn't as strong as you were. When I saw Toby in the woods, like that, I just gave up."
"So what changed?", Hanna frowned, "You seem like you're back to yourself."
"I decided I didn't want to be victim anymore. That's not who I am", Spencer paused, and grabbed 4 cards from her bag, "Here."
"What's this?", the girls took one each, and examined them.
"My parents told all of their friends that I went to Radley for exhaustion, so they want to throw a soiree to make sure that everybody knows that I'm all better now. Could really use some support. Can you guys please come?", Spencer pleaded.
"Of course", Avery said promptly.
"Sure. Yeah, you know we'd do anything for you", Aria nodded.
"I'm counting on that", Spencer smiled. Momentarily, Avery wondered if Spencer had really become better.
»» ««
Avery stood in the hallway of Rosewood High, once again. This time, she was actually there for a reason; Rosewood Day and Rosewood High had a swim-off the next day, and wherever sportspeople go, cheerleaders follow. Avery was wearing red and white, the colours of Rosewood Day, and felt out of place in the hallway decorated with streamers of blue.
"Did Malcolm tell you what she looked like?", Spencer asked Aria, who responded in the negative, "No, he just said she was a friend of mine, and her name was Alison. That's all I know."
"Well, look, you have to talk to him, find out more", Hanna added.
"Yeah, like did she have dark hair, horns, and a tail?", Emily rolled her eyes, motioning to Mona who was sitting nonchalantly.
"Guys, no, we are not using Malcolm to get to Mona", Aria shook her head, "You know, the last time I saw Ezra I could hardly face him."
"All we have to do is show Mona's picture to Malcolm", Avery tried to reason, as her eyes fell on a poster searching for a babysitter for the boy.
"He'll confirm that Mona took him and the cops will take her loo-loo head back to the nut farm", Hanna crossed her arms.
"Hanna! That is so out of line!", Avery exclaimed, shooting Spencer an apologetic look.
Hanna bit her lip, "Sorry, Spence. My bad."
Spencer shrugged, like she didn't take any offence, and frowned, "I don't know, it seems like a really bold move for Mona. The risk being seen like that? It feels desperate. Like maybe she's trying to get caught."
"Okay, well, Malcolm is off limits, okay?", Aria reminded, as she began walking forward, "Gotta get to class."
Hanna examined the poster once again, before tearing it down, "I can use some extra money."
"Did you not just hear Aria?", Emily's eyes narrowed.
"Em, kids love me", Hanna scoffed, "I'll make a game out of it."
"Says the girl who once gave peanut butter to a severely allergic Jackie Forrester", Avery rolled her eyes.
"I was ten, Avery."
"Doesn't matter, he had to go to the ER", Avery countered.
Just then Shana walked up towards them, waving at Emily, "Hey, Emily."
"Hey", Emily looked surprised, "What, uh, what are you doing here?"
"Our coach arranged for us to practice here this morning", Shana replied, "But I say if it's water, it's wet, right? A pool's a pool", She paused to look at Spencer, "I don't think we've met."
"Uh, Shana, this is Spencer", Emily introduced the Hastings girl, who eyed Shana's uniform up and down, "Uh, you swim for Rosewood Day?"
"Amongst other things", Shana shrugged.
"She's crazy good at playing the violin", Avery added.
"Will you be at the meet?", Shana asked Spencer.
"Yeah. Wouldn't miss it."
"I'll look for you", Shana smirked, before turning to look at Emily with her hand outstretched, "Good luck, Emily."
"You, too", Emily shook her hand. Shana smiled at Avery, before heading towards the pool. Hanna huffed in sheer annoyance, "I hate her. Because she flirts with everyone but me."
"Shana's bad news, Wherever she goes, trouble follows."
»» ««
Avery tagged along with Hanna because Avery didn't trust her with kids. Plus, she liked babysitting. They sat down at a table in the Grille, where Ezra was waiting for them.
"So, Aria didn't tell me you were interested in the job", Ezra wondered.
Avery quickly shrugged it off, "Oh, we didn't tell her because we didn't want her to feel pressured into making you give us the gig."
"So, Malcolm's seven, right?", Hanna grinned as Ezra nodded, "What's he into? Fast cars and fast girls?"
Ezra just raised his eyebrows in nothing, but pure judgement, and Avery jabbed Hanna in the side, before faking a laugh, "Hanna's joking."
"He's into trains", Ezra said warily.
"Oh! Well, all aboard the Hanna express", Hanna clapped.
"Um, are you guys a team or...?"
"Yeah", they exchanged looks to confirm before turning back to Ezra, "Yeah."
"Do you have a resume, or anything?", Ezra looked dubious about letting the two girls babysit.
"Mr. Fitz-", Avery began.
"Ezra", Ezra corrected.
"-Ezra, you've known us for how long now?"
"I haven't baby sat since I was 15, but my mom's in New York, Caleb's out of town, so, I have a lot of time to kill and will be free almost all the time", Hanna added, "And I could use the extra money."
"Would you rather leave Malcolm alone with a stranger who claims to be an expert babysitter, or would you rather it be us? You know us well enough to know that-", Avery continued listing off reasons why they were the perfect fit, before Ezra cut in, "Okay, okay. I have an appointment tonight, so, if you're free, we can give it a test run. See if it's a good fit."
"Well, it will be, promise", Hanna grinned.
"Malcolm's in good hands", Avery assured.
Hanna tried to imitate a train whistle (and failed miserably), before laughing again. Poor Ezra looked freaked out, and looked like he was about to reconsider, but only sighed in defeat.
»» ««
Avery laughed along with Malcom at something he was watching on TV, while Hanna sighed exasperatedly, before nudging Avery. Avery, who had almost forgotten what they had come for, widened her eyes in understanding before looking at Malcolm, "Do want to play a game?"
"Come on, it'll be fun", Hanna tried to convince Malcolm when he shook his head.
"My dad said I can watch cartoons", Malcolm replied.
"Fine", Hanna crossed her arms, "But you should know that watching TV rots your brain. It's your choice if you want to grow up to be stupid."
"Hanna!", Avery exclaimed.
"Just sayin'."
Avery looked at Malcolm, who looked traumatized at what Hanna said, and shook her head, "What Hanna means to say is that too much TV is bad for your eyes. We could play something."
Hanna smiled triumphantly when Malcolm switched the TV off, and took her phone out of her pocket, "Okay, let's play 'guess who'. I'll show you a picture of a person, and you tell me if you know them. Okay?"
Malcolm nodded, and smiled when he saw the picture on Hanna's phone, "That's Aria!"
"See! You're good at this", Hanna complemented, before swiping to a picture of Mona, "Okay. Do you know her?"
"No", Malcolm frowned.
"She didn't take you to the carnival?", Avery questioned, her face furrowing in confusion, "Isn't this Aria's friend, Alison?"
"Nope."
"Is this Alison?", Hanna showed Malcolm a picture of Melissa, and then Cece, but received only a confident 'nope' in reply.
"What about this person?", Avery selected a picture of Toby, making Malcolm giggle, "That's a boy", he paused and looked at the phone longingly, "Can I play a game on your phone?"
"Sure."
Hanna and Avery exchanged glances; they had exhausted their list of A suspects, and Malcolm hadn't guessed any of them, which meant that there were more people in the game than they had envisioned. What a bust. While the boy was busy playing on Hanna's phone, Avery and Hanna moved to the kitchen to discuss what had just gone down.
"We struck out!", Hanna whisper-yelled.
"He's seven. Maybe he's confused", Avery suggested, even though it wasn't plausible.
"Can I have some pop tarts?", Malcolm requested. Avery nodded, and opened the kitchen cabinet to pull out a box of pop tarts for Malcom. Hanna chuckled and looked at Malcolm, "No wonder I was a fat kid. When my dad cheated on my mom and left us to start a new family, I had a box of these a night. But I would get some peanut butter and that frosting in a can and have a party."
Avery rolled her eyes; there was no way Ezra was going to let them babysit Malcolm again if he told Ezra the things Hanna told him. It was amusing to her, and luckily Malcolm didn't look like he had heard what she said. Suddenly, he gasped, "Alison's right here."
"What?", Hanna and Avery walked towards Malcolm, to see that he was looking at a picture of Alison and Spencer together.
"She's in this picture! It just popped up."
"That can't be who you saw", Avery shook her head. Unless Alison was the daughter of God and resurrected from dead, which was obviously not even an option, there was no way Alison could have taken Malcolm to the carnival.
"That's Aria's friend, Alison", Malcolm repeated with surety.
"No, Malcolm, that girl's...", Hanna trailed off.
"I remember her pretty hair. That's her", He pointed at Spencer, "With the blue shirt."
"Spencer?"
"That's Alison", Malcolm grinned.
Avery felt her insides twist. Spencer was a part of the A team? She was the one who kidnapped an innocent seven year old? Why? How long had she been doing this?
»» ««
"I mean he said she was the girl in the blue shirt", Hanna pressed, as the girls, minus Spencer, gathered in the Marin house.
"This is crazy", Aria's eyes widened, before turning to Emily, "And you're saying, that Shana knows Jenna?"
"And that the both of them are meeting up with Melissa and concocting a plan against us?", Avery scoffed, "This is crazier than crazy. I mean, Radley's looking better every day."
"I'm actually ready to check in", Hanna shuddered.
"We're going to figure it out-", Emily tried to reassure the girls.
"I've already got it figured out", Hanna interjected, "Spencer's part of the A-team. Game over."
"Today it's me and Ezra. Tomorrow it'll be you and Caleb, and someday it will be Avery and Jason", Aria shook her head, "And then it's going to be your turn Emily, so get ready to say goodbye to Paige, 'cause I promise you, A's going to take her from you."
"Why would Spencer do this to us?", Emily shook her head sadly.
"Guys, I don't believe that Spencer's on the A-team. I thought about it during the ride here, and there's no way she is against us", Avery backed Emily up, "That's so not like her."
"Yeah, if she is working with Mona then there has to be more to the story."
"We don't know what happened in Radley. But Spencer went in there at rock bottom. And she came out like a shiny new penny"
"Are you thinking...shock treatment?", Hanna whispered.
"No!", Aria rolled her eyes, before nodding, "Mona spent a lot of time in Radley. And maybe she made some friends. And maybe Spencer talked to some of those friends."
"Mona asked Spencer to join the A-team on the night of the masquerade ball. Did Spencer finally take her up on it?", Emily wondered, "If yes, why now?"
"There's a way to prove that Spencer's still with us, and if Mona's watching, it won't put Spencer at risk", Hanna said, before she walked towards the speaker on the shelf, and played a peppy dance music.
"A dance party Hanna?", Aria raised an eyebrow, "That's your idea?"
"Look, A was everywhere before Spencer joined the A-team", Hanna defended her actions, "Do you really think we're meeting in secret?"
Avery smirked, "Hanna Banana, we don't give you enough credit for being smart."
»» ««
Spencer spotted a girl in a red coat, exactly like the one A usually wore, in the courtyard of their school, and swiftly began following her...till she reached the washroom, and had Red Coat cornered. Spencer gulped and reached out to pull her hood of the coat down, when the person themselves turned around and-
"Hanna?", Spencer looked at her quizzically, and then looked at the other girls who were exiting washroom stalls one by one, "What is this?"
"You followed me here, that means you don't know who she is, either", Hanna sighed in relief.
"And if you don't know who she is, that means you're still one of us", Aria smiled softly, while Spencer looked torn between what she was supposed to do, whether she was supposed to break down and confess or if she should refute their claims till they gave up.
"Look Spencer, whatever it is, no matter how deep you're into this, you know that you can tell us the truth, right?", Avery reached out to hold Spencer's hand.
"We want to help you", Emily pressed.
Spencer exhaled sharply, "Mona came to see me at Radley. And when I found Toby in the woods, she'd planned the whole thing. She wanted to break me so that she could put me back together. Like her own Humpty Dumpty. Mona made me an offer I couldn't refuse", Spencer paused and looked at Emily, "She told me that Toby was still alive."
"Toby's alive?", Emily's eyes widened.
"And it's true. It's true, he's been working with Mona because he found out about red coat and Mona's the only person who knows who she is."
"And you've seen him?", Emily reconfirmed.
"Yeah. Last night. He's on our side", Spencer smiled, a smile that looked like the first genuine one in a long time, "You guys, he always was. But this party tomorrow, it's a set-up. Red coat just wants us all to be together."
"Why? What's she gonna do to us?", Aria grimaced.
"I don't know."
"We're not going to let it happen. Okay, whatever it is, we're one step ahead of her, finally, and there are two of us on the inside", Avery grinned gloriously.
"And when were you going to clue us in on your double agent status, Nikita?", Hanna joked.
"I'm the one who sent you the picture of me and Ali. And you did exactly what I needed you to do because Mona watches my every move. You've found a way to get to me without her knowing about it", Spencer looked a tad bit smug.
"So, instead of Red Coat waiting for us tomorrow, we'll be waiting for her", Emily nodded.
"And if we're lucky, this will all be over with", Aria added.
"Cannot wait for this nightmare to finally end", Avery huffed. But she didn't know how far away from the truth she really was. It had only started.
»» ««
"It's perfect timing, actually", Avery said, as she slipped on her heels, "I need a pick-me-up."
"That place is really nice", Aria said appreciatively, looking at pictures of the glass fixtures and the chandeliers at The Lodge. The Lodge wasn't a lodge; it was more of a fancy party hall.
"It's the Hastings", Emily smiled, as she patted her dress down, in front of Avery's full length mirror, "Were you expecting 'donuts and dogs'?"
"How can you afford new Miu-Mius?", Aria frowned as she looked down at the shoes that donned Hanna's feet.
"Oh! I borrowed them", Hanna shrugged, "The store gives full refunds for returns."
"That's if you don't wear them", Emily rolled her eyes.
"Doesn't say that on the receipt."
"Hanna!", Avery laughed out loud, and threw a pillow at Hanna, before the four girls burst into peals of laughter. From an outsiders point of view, they looked like nothing but four carefree girls, just living their life.
An hour later, it was as though they had flipped a coin. The whole 'dressing up' scene was staged, to convince Red Coat that they didn't suspect a thing. They'd discarded their fancy clothes and heels in the car, and changed into comfier clothes, that blended better into the foliage that covered The Lodge.
"You guys, I'm serious about not taking back those shoes", Hanna exclaimed, as the four girls neared the Lodge.
"Hanna, quiet!", Emily warned, "We've got to get inside before Red Coat shows up. If she knows we're onto her, we'll never find out who she is."
"Are we sure we trust Toby?", Aria wondered.
"I don't. Not yet, but Spencer does", Avery replied simply, "And do we have a choice?"
"If it all goes according to plan...", Aria trailed off, not wanting to jinx it. Avery nodded and opened a window, and climbed through it, the others following suit. They creeped around, until they reached a balcony where they were close enough to see what was happening between Mona, Toby and Spencer, but too far to actually hear what was going on.
They watched as Mona exchanged words with Toby, and Toby dragged a struggling Spencer outside. In normal circumstances, they would have been worried, but they knew it was all part of their plan. Spencer and Toby were going to catch Red Coat in her act, while they were going to distract Mona. Avery hoped that Toby keeps his word.
»» ««
Mona looked into a mirror, and fluffed her hair smilingly. She looked so condescending and self-satisfied.
'Not for long', Avery thought to herself as she stepped in front of Mona and blocked her path, "Going somewhere?"
The other three circled the ravenette threateningly. They had her surrounded; Mona couldn't weasel her way out of their confrontation. The said girl's nose flared in anger, "You're making a terrible mistake."
"That's not how we see it", Emily crossed her arms.
"Because you don't see! You have no idea what's going on here!"
"We know enough", Aria countered.
"You and your army are going down, bitch", Avery seethed.
Mona's eyes widened at something behind Avery, and the four girls followed her line of sight, only to be met with the sight of orange flames just outside the window. It was rapidly consuming the woodwork on the window, climbing rapidly, destroying everything in its path.
"What have you done?", Mona whispered.
From there on it was a full-blown panic. The girls rushed around, trying to find a signal, to call the fire force. The fire had destroyed one part of The Lodge, and was smothering the room with its smoke and soot.
"Mona, try your phone!", Emily instructed over the chaos.
"Nothing!", Mona worried.
"How can you not have a signal?", Avery yelled, "We saw you make a call."
"It's her. Don't you get it?", Mona looked around with fright, but at the same time, marvel at what A was capable of, "She can do anything. She's everywhere and she's nowhere."
"Come on, let's get out of here", Hanna said, and began running to the back exit. To her dismay, it was bolted shut. Avery ran her hand through her hair, what else did they expect from A? Just then, a burning pillar fell inches away from where the were standing, causing a bedlam of screams, yelps and incoherent yelling.
"We're gonna die!", Mona screamed at the top of her lungs, "We're all going to burn. I'm never going to know who she was!"
"What did you just say?", Aria looked at Mona in horror.
"Red coat. I don't know who she is either."
"Are you kidding?", Avery gaped at Mona. So it was all for nothing?
"You guys, we have to get out of here!", Hanna pressed.
It was the last thing Avery heard, before she felt her knees wobble, and the world blackening. The next thing she knew, someone was lightly hitting her face. She blinked her eyes open and looked around. She was outside, far from the burning Lodge. The girls were all there, except Mona. Avery gasped when heard a loud boom in front of her and watched with horror as it exploded into bits and pieces, before coughing loudly.
Just then Mona came scrambling towards the four girls, yelling maniacally, "Did anyone see her?!"
"See who?", Avery coughed.
"Alison! She pulled me out of there! She pulled us all out!"
"No, you're hallucinating", Aria countered.
"She was here! I swear it!"
"Ali's dead", Emily said bitterly.
"I saw her, too", Hanna piped up, making the girls shoot her a look of surprise. Their attention was diverted by Spencer approaching them with a somber look on her face, "So did I-
-Ali is red coat."
»» ««
The silence in the car ride back to Rosewood, was suffocating. Mona sat in the middle seat silently, looking dejected. What in the world had happened the last couple of hours? Watching The Lodge burn down? Suffocating to the point of passing out? The realization that Alison was possibly alive?
"So all of this started when you were at Radley?", Hanna questioned the ravenette beside her. The latter nodded, "I made a deal with the devil. And she gave me a way in and out of that place. At first it was fun, having a partner. But then the game changed. She stole you from me."
"So what happened that night?", Emily looked at Mona through the rear-view mirror, "Were you there at the cemetery? Did you drug me? Did you take Ali's body?"
"I don't know who drugged you. But I was at the cemetery and so was red coat."
"How could you not see who it was?", Avery scoffed, which made her choke on air and begin coughing again.
"She was wearing a mask. She looked just like Ali."
"That's probably what happened tonight", Aria quipped, "It wasn't Ali. It was a mask!"
"Guys...", Spencer trailed off, her focused on something outside. The other followed her gaze, their eyes widening in process. Hanna gasped.
"Wait, is that-?", Aria began, and Avery completed her sentence, "Wilden's car. The one we pushed into the lake."
"Somebody pulled it out", Spencer said in a low voice. Emily parked the car and the six girls exited the vehicle, scurrying towards the car. A peek inside revealed that the video player was still working like new, and was playing the video of Ashley and Wilden on a loop.
"We've have to get this out of here", Hanna stated resolutely, reaching inside to yank the box out from the wires that connected it to the car. Avery held her arm to stop her, "Wait! There's more."
The girls watched as two figures ran upto Wilden's motionless figure, from when he had been hit by Ashley. They held Wilden's hands and legs and carried him off somewhere.
"It's Jenna!", Aria exclaimed.
"And Shana?", Emily looked at the two figures in confusion.
"They know Wilden?", Spencer's eyebrows pinched together. What the actual hell.
"Guys", Mona called out, from behind the car, "Look at the trunk."
The girls walked over to the back of the car. The stench wafting from inside the trunk was unbearable, and it wasn't the smell of lake water. It smelled rotten, and moldy. Realizing that none of the others were making a move to open the trunk, Avery shakily reached out and threw the trunk open.
Oh, God.
The once familiar pandemonium of the sound of their phones ringing in perfect synchronization, echoed through the empty street. The dread they always felt in the depths of their gut, when they reached out to look at their phone, always lingered around them, at all times, but it increased tenfold when they saw the message on the screens of their phone.
The air around them shifted. Something sinister was lurking.
You're mine, now and forever. Kisses,
-A
»» ««