"Why are you taking that off?" Aria asked as they all walked into Hanna's house.
"I'm not. I'm trying to keep it on. Believe me, I don't wanna see the autograph that's under it." Hanna said.
"Messing with it will just mess up the sticky part, Han." Katherine said.
"Well, we can get you another sticker." Spencer said.
"Yeah, this time, why don't you try something mellower like, save the planet." Aria said.
"Hey, there were not a lot of choices, okay? It was either Humpty Dumpty or Jesus is coming. Look busy." Spencer said.
"Oh, god, it's still there." Hanna said, peeling off the sticker.
"Hanna, quit messing with it." Katherine said.
"Right. Yeah. Sorry." Hanna said, smoothing it back down.
"Kat's right. Don't look at that. Look around you, you're safe, you're home, and you're alive." Spencer said.
"No, I thought I was safe in my hospital room, too. You know, what's going on with Noel Kahn? Is he A? Have you talked to him?" Hanna said.
"For fucks sake." Katherine groaned, irritated that it was brought up.
"No, I avoid him. I keep telling him I'm busy." Aria said.
"With your teacher?" Katherine asked, giving Aria a look and using a tone that Alison would've killed to master.
"Busy freaking out every time I look at him." Aria said.
"Right." Katherine muttered under her breath.
"Yeah, well, try being run over by him." Hanna said.
"Oh my god. Noel did not run you over. He isn't A." Katherine said, her voice raising.
"Who got you this panda? Sean?" Emily asked, changing the subject so Katherine wouldn't get in a fight with the other girls.
"Lucas." Hanna said.
"Oh, sweet." Emily said.
"Anyone else starving or is it just me?" Hanna asked.
"You mom said she left a special dinner for you in the fridge." Spencer said.
"Pass." Hanna said, making a face. "No, I want a pop-tart." Everybody tried to hold in a laugh. "What? I've been on hospital food for three weeks. I wanna eat something that doesn't look like it's already been chewed."
"Okay, well, why don't you eat while we go get the rest of your stuff." Aria said.
"I'm gonna go. See you later." Katherine said, walking out the door and going home.
...
"Gatsby was more than just a pretty face." Ezra said at the front of the class.
"Like Katherine, she's got a pretty everything." Justin Michaels said, winking at Katherine who just rolled her eyes from her seat next to Noel.
"Anyways, he was ambitious, ruthless, charming, and the themes of change and loss are central to both novels. Did everybody get their papers back?" Ezra said. "Perfect!" He said as the bell rung. "See you Wednesday. Oh, chapters one and four. No study guides, please. Read the man, not the blogger."
"What a piece of shit." Noel whispered to Katherine, who nodded in agreement.
...
"Mr. Fitz?" Noel said, walking into the classroom with Katherine right behind him. She really didn't want to be there but she also wanted to see how this would go down. "Got a second?"
"Sure. What's up, Noel?" Ezra said.
"Wanted to talk to you about something. These comments on my paper. Pretty harsh."
"Oh, I wasn't trying to be." Ezra said.
"I worked really hard on this." Noel said, making Katherine snort but she quickly covered it up with a cough.
"I'm sure you did but you clearly hadn't read all of the material." Ezra said.
"I think I know enough to get a better grade than this." Noel said, hinting about the whole thing with Aria.
"What are you asking me to do, Noel? Change the grade? 'Cause that's not gonna happen." Ezra said, standing up.
"Mr. Fitz, you don't want me to bring the principal into this, do you?" Noel asked. "Take another read. You may have second thoughts. I think it deserves this." He said, turning the C into an A.
"After all, I'm sure that's what you give Aria on all her assignments." Katherine said, making Ezra's jaw clench and his face go read. "Looks like your face healed. Pity." She said before the two left the classroom with smirks on their faces.
...
"Hey there." Aria said as she walked into Ezra's classroom. "Turns out there's this surprise party for Hanna so I'm thinking, I'll just go there first and then come by."
"You're not coming over." Ezra said.
"Why? What happened?" Aria asked.
"I had a visit from your friends, Noel and Katherine. Turns out they aren't that good at keeping promises. In fact, they aren't who you think they are at all." Ezra said.
"Wait, Kat too? Did they say something to you?" Aria asked. "Tell me what happened. Maybe I can fix it."
"Mr. Fitz?" Jenna said, stepping into the doorway.
"What can I do for you, Jenna?" Ezra asked.
"Mr. Mazarra said that you need to sign my absence card." Jenna said.
"Sure. Let me, let me get a pen." Ezra said, walking over to his desk. "Here you go."
"Thank you. Sorry to interrupt." Jenna said before walking away.
...
"Surprise!" Everyone said walking into the Marin household. Hanna was smiling until her eyes landed on Noel Kahn, his arm wrapped around Katherine's waist.
Everyone was talking when Noel, still with Katherine glued at his side, went to open a cabinet and then another.
"Noel, what are you doing?" Hanna asked, wheeling over to them. "Please don't open that."
"Jackpot." Noel said, grabbing the cups and ignoring Hanna. He walked away, snaking his arm back around Katherine's waist.
"That's it, Noel! We're over!" Some girl said, getting off Noel's lap.
"What?" Noel said, confused on why she just got up and left. He looked over at the group of girls a few feet away. Alison looked smug, Katherine was glaring at Alison, but the rest looked confused on what had happened. "Happy now?" Noel asked Alison.
"What happened?" Aria asked after Noel walked away.
"Ali's a bitch is what happened." Katherine said, walking away and going to find Noel.
"I just put Noel Kahn back on the market." Alison said, clearly proud of herself.
"How? You broke them up?" Aria asked.
"We broke them up. Aren't you still crushing on him, Aria?" Alison said.
"What did we do, Alison?" Spencer asked, silently agreeing with Katherine.
"What's with the 'tude, guys" Alison asked. "I did it for Aria. I only kill when we need food. Or when I'm bored. Katherine will get over it."
"There you are. Where've you been?" Noel said when Aria walked into the house. "Sean got this amazing picture of Hanna's face when we surprised her. She might've peed herself. It was classic."
"Yeah, were you getting busy with a certain someone?" Katherine asked, laughing as Noel got a tighter grip on her to help her balance better. She had already had way too much to drink.
"You broke your promise. Noel, you promised me that you would forget what you saw in Mr. Fitz's car but you're not letting it go. Katherine, you're acting just like Noel about it." Aria said, not wanting to entertain them one bit.
"We did no such thing." Katherine said.
"Back up. What are we talking about." Noel said.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. And you can't just blackmail him." Aria said.
"Blackmail? Is that what he said?" Noel asked.
"You never demanded a better grade?" Aria asked.
"I didn't demand anything." Noel said.
"All Noel did was ask him to look over his paper again. That's completely innocent, Aria. Maybe your boyfriend isn't who you thought." Katherine said.
"Haven't you ever worked hard and thought you deserved something better than what you got?" Noel asked. Aria just kept quiet. "Wow. If that's the story he put out there then Kat's right, you've really gotta wonder who this guy is."
"Noel, is there something else going on here? Is there some old grudge you've got against me and my friends?" Aria asked.
"Wow, Aria." Katherine said.
"Noel, Kat, come check this out. Pritzker's got this video of the Barracuda game. It's your shining moment, dude." Sean said.
Noel smiled and him and Katherine went over to the group of guys.
"And so now, Hanna's on top of the Bunny Hill. But I had to, like, hypnotize her to get her to grab on to the tow rope." Sean said.
"Okay, I was freezing." Hanna said.
"You were freaked." Sean said.
"No, Sean, my eyelashes were cracking off." Hanna said.
"She says to me, S-Sean, c-can you c-carry me down, p-please." Sean said, imitating a freezing Hanna. "And I'm like, babe, I'm right next to you. You'll be fine."
"Oh, her trusty St. Bernard." Lucas said.
"And you can snowplow the whole way down, I tell you." Sean said, nobody hearing Lucas.
"And if you fall, I'll drag you back to the bus and get you drunk so I can lick your face." Lucas said, swishing around the liquid in his cup.
"What did you say?" Sean asked as Katherine and Noel pursed their lips so they wouldn't laugh.
"I mean, so what if they're lousy guard dogs? They're big and they're goofy and if you can get past bucket of drool..." Lucas said.
"I think Hermie the Hermaphrodite needs a jumbo coffee." Mona said, making Katherine laugh.
"I mean, who does not want a big, slobbering beast who can catch a ball in the end zone." Lucas said.
"That's it." Sean said, sliding off the counter and heading towards Lucas.
"Fight, fight, fight." Mona said, standing up excitedly.
"Don't hit him!" Hanna yelled, she knew that Lucas wouldn't stand a chance.
Noel had Miles Scolar hold Katherine steady as he ran in between Lucas and Sean.
"Sean! Sean! Stop!" Noel said, using his arms to push them away from each other. "It's like fighting a kid that needs a telethon."
"Lucas, can I please talk to you outside?" Hanna asked.
Noel walked back over to Katherine and once again, wrapped his arm around her waist. They kissed and Emily's jaw dropped. They had been acting like it all night but now Emily understood. Noel and Katherine were together.
Spencer and Aria were sitting on the stairs when Noel and Katherine walked up.
"Can I get to the bathroom?" Noel asked.
"With Katherine?" Spencer asked.
"I'm pretty sure I can go wherever I want with my girlfriend, Spencer. But no, she's gonna be outside the door." Noel said. Spencer and Aria's eyes widened and they were frozen to the spot. "Is there a magic password?" Aria moved over to let them through.
"Since when are they a couple?" Spencer asked Aria when the two were out of sight.
"I don't know. She's really mad at us." Aria said.
"Yeah." Spencer said, hoping that Katherine would talk to them again soon.
"What are we gonna do if he really is who we think he is? Katherine's known him even longer than she's known you. She isn't going to believe that it's him." Aria said.
"I don't know." Spencer said.
"My god, I missed you guys so much!" Alison said, getting out of the taxi.
"Why are you so tan?" Aria asked, a big smile on her face.
"How did you get so sun-kissed sitting in your grandma's apartment?" Spencer asked. "I thought she was, like, bedridden in a cave."
"Doesn't mean I was." Alison said. "So, we still on for tonight, ladies?"
"Totally, Spencer's mom said that we could use the barn." Aria said.
"Yeah, but there might be a major storm tonight. So, I don't know-" Hanna said.
"It's the last blowout before school starts, Han. Don't bring me down." Alison said.
"It will be fine, Hanna. We're just gonna get wasted and have fun." Katherine said, giving Hanna a warm smile which made her feel better.
"Yeah. Can one of you guys get those? My arms are really sore." Alison said.
"Yeah." Spencer said, leaning down to pick up the bag but she slowed down when she saw the Hilton Head tag.
"Did you have to, like, lift your grandma and bathe her?" Hanna asked.
"Yeah, it was really disgusting." Alison said, a small laugh following her words.
"Did you go to Hilton Head?" Spencer asked.
"Oh, yeah, nana had a day out and she's really into gulf. Don't ask." Alison lied. "So, who's in charge of refreshments?"
"Yeah, your nana." Katherine muttered, knowing all too well that Alison was with Ian. Ian had told her that he was going to Hilton Head, it was never a coincidence if Ian and Alison were at the same place.
"Kat's bringing spiked juice and Hanna stole a bottle of tequila." Emily said.
"Genius. Good job, Han. Hold on to the baggy sweaters." Alison said.
"Alison, what the hell? That was so unnecessary." Katherine said.
"Isn't Hilton Head in South Carolina?" Spencer asked, not wanting a fight to start between the two. "I thought your grandma lived in Georgia."
"It's still the South, Spence. Why so many questions?" Alison said. "Guys, we've got a long night ahead of us. I can't spill every detail the minute I hit the curb. Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it." She said, looping her arms with Aria's and Hanna's. Katherine walked next to Spencer and looped their arms together and then caught up with Emily, looping her free arm around the girls'. Emily smiled and they walked through Rosewood, the town of too many issues.