Early Saturday morning was when Spencer, Hanna and Ivy ended up at the hospital. Their plan was to sneak into Hilary Reynolds' room and replace the note with a different one with a time and location to meet, so that they could catch the person who Garrett was writing to.
Hanna was eager to get there. Spencer and Ivy had to practically run to catch up with her, as she was speeding round the hallways, like she was racing someone to the destination.
"Hanna, slow down." Spencer called out to her as she and Ivy struggled to keep up. "You almost tripped over a catheter back there that was still attached to someone."
"Yeah. Slow down. We're gonna get to the room. It's not like it's gonna move." Ivy added.
But Hanna wasn't listening to their complaints. She was scanning the numbers on the doors and muttering under her breath, "312, 312..." when she spotted it round the corner, she informed the others, "There it is."
Spencer pulled Hanna back before she could do anything drastic. "We need to have a plan." She declared.
"We have a plan. Exposing "A."" Hanna reminded just a bit to loud, that the other two were worried they would be overheard.
"Inside voice. Okay." Spencer dropped her voice to a whisper. "What is the plan exactly?"
Hanna rolled her eyes, and replied just slightly quieter than before, "We're going to replace Garrett's note with a fake note that we wrote."
Spencer stared right back at the girl. "Yes. I know that part. I came up with it, remember?"
"Yeah. I was wondering why you were asking me that." Hanna started to turn away and go round the corner, but Ivy stopped her.
Ivy grabbed ahold of Hanna's arm, halting Hanna in her steps. "But we still need a place to lead "A."" She reminded.
"Rosewood church, by the organ in the main sanctuary, tonight." Hanna decided.
Ivy and Spencer glanced over at each other in question, before turning back to Hanna with raised brows. "How did you come up with that?" Spencer wondered.
"I have been living there since my mom signed me up to sort through spandex shorts and granny panties."
"Won't the church be locked?" Ivy queried, tilting her head.
Hanna nodded. "That's the point. It's deserted at night."
"So when Lucas shows up—"
Both Ivy and Hanna turned to Spencer with scoffs. "It's not gonna be Lucas!"
"Yes, it will, he had the pills." Spencer reminded.
Hanna threw her hands up in the air. "Fine! Then I'll show up with a paddle and finish what I started at the lake." She told.
Spencer stared at Hanna in awe. "Whoa. What happened to the girl who wouldn't get out of her sweats?" She wondered. Reaching into her back for a notepad and pen, Spencer raised an eyebrow in questioning.
Hanna threw a glare Spencer's way as she replied, "She traded them in for fatigues." Hanna took the notepad and pen from Spencer. "I'll write it."
"Are you sure you know how?"
"Yes. I've been forging my mom's signature since seventh grade in P.E." Hanna replied.
Nodding, Ivy glanced back at Spencer. "She has. I've got her to sign a couple of letters to teachers when I forgot my homework." She informed.
Within a couple of seconds, Hanna had fully replicated the handwriting and changed the message completely. She turned the page around, for the girls, letting them gape at it.
"Wow. This is really good." Spencer said.
A smile slowly rose on Ivy's face. "I told you."
Checking to see that the cost was clear, Hanna then snatched the note out Spencer's hands, and ordered, "Yell if you see anyone, all right?"
"Are you sure that you want to do it?" Spencer stared at her with uneasiness.
"This "A" broke me and Caleb up, do you understand? They're gonna have to pay for that." Without a second thought, Hanna spun around and headed in the direction of Mrs Reynolds' room.
"I have a feeling this is gonna go wrong."
Spencer nodded. "Yep."
The two waited patiently outside the room, pretending to be using the vending machine that was nearby, as they subtly glanced over at the door.
Ivy was about to yell out profanities at the machine when her snack got stuck, but she was interrupted by a voice over the speakers, that notified, "Blue team to I.C.U. Blue team to I.C.U."
Spencer and Ivy's stunned gazes met, both of them beginning to panic, worried for their friend that was about to be caught at any minute.
Thankfully, Hanna swiftly left the room, running towards the girls and whispering, "Go! Go! Go go go! Come on!"
Spencer grabbed Ivy's arm, as Hanna dragged her off. "Leave your snack."
————————
"Do you understand?"
"No."
Spencer sighed, checking her mirrors, so she could park her car. Ivy had gotten a phone call when she arrived home, and it was Spencer, who told the girl that she was coming to pick her up, and that she would explain the situation on the way.
After Ivy had climbed in the car, Spencer had began to explain their situation. Although she was talking so fast that Ivy didn't really comprehend what she was saying.
Turning off her car, Spencer spun to the girl in the passenger seat. "I'll explain it better." She stated, earning a nod from Ivy. "So, we are going to meet Jason - your boyfriend."
Ivy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know that. Thanks for stating the obvious, Spencer."
Spencer held a finger up to silence her. "I wasn't finished yet. We are going to talk to him." Spencer began.
"About what?"
"I'm about to get to that part." Spencer replied. "We're going to talk to him about Garrett's case. He's the victim's family. He's gonna know a lot more than we will."
Ivy sighed, shivering slightly, but leant into herself to try and generate heat. "Spence. I don't think we should be asking him any questions about it, he's emotional." Ivy pointed out. "It may not seem like he cared at all for his sister. They didn't get on very well, but behind those nasty comments, horrible pranks, or shocking actions they did to torment each other, there was still a brother who cared deeply for his sister. A brother who would protect his sister at any cost. That bond they had was different to mine and your perceptions of siblings, but what they had was special. They would kill for each other. And I don't think it's a good idea getting Jason involved in all of your questions." She stated, picking the skin around her nails, as she waited anxiously for Spencer's reply.
Spencer's lips pulled into a line. Ivy was expecting Spencer to shout at her. To yell, and argue with her. But when that never came, Ivy was shocked. "I know. I know. I thought about this for ages and ages before I finally had the guts to go for it. I sent him a text. And I would totally back off if he didn't want to talk, but just incase, on the off chance that he would, I messaged him. He got back to me, and that is why we're here. He wants to talk to us."
Ivy's lips morphed into a small smile. "Okay. If he agreed, that's fine. I was just worried for him."
"I know. You kinda freak out when Jason's feelings is hurt, or he's in threat of danger." Spencer informed, opening the car door and climbing out.
Ivy scoffed, and followed after her, catching up with the girl, who was walking across the street when Ivy reached her. "I don't freak out."
A laugh fell from Spencer's lips as they stepped onto the sidewalk. "Yes, you do. Pretty much every time his name is mentioned, you go into protective girlfriend mode."
"Uh—"
"I'm not gonna argue with you further. You know that I'm right." Spencer pointed out, glancing back at her as she led the way.
Huffing, Ivy folded her arms in annoyance, continuing after Spencer. "Where are we even going anyway?" She wondered, her eyes bouncing around their surroundings.
"The Buzzin Deli." Spencer nodded to the small shop in front of them.
"Ooh, can we get something?" Ivy peered in the window, admiring all the delicious food that sat inside.
Spencer sat down on the bench, not paying attention to the girl who was looking into the shop like a weirdo.
If you were watching the two girls, it would look like a tired mum working away on her devices, while her energetic daughter bounced up and down, pleading for a sandwich. It was a funny scene to glance at.
Spencer looked up from her IPad to face Ivy. "We can get something after we meet Jason. This is more important."
"Okay..." Ivy trailed off, disappointed, and sitting back down beside Spencer.
Before Ivy could question what Spencer was doing, a familiar voice made Ivy grin, and look up to find Jason, staring down at them with a huge grin. "Hey."
Ivy jumped up from her seat, and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. "Hi." She breathed into his shoulder, a smile pulling at her lips.
After releasing from each other's grasp, Jason placed his hand on Ivy's cheek, looking down at her as he wondered,"So what's up?"
Spencer jumped in, alerting Jason of her presence, "We need to talk to you about Garrett. His case." She clarified.
Ivy sat down on the bench, gesturing for Jason to do the same so the conversation would be a little less awkward. So he did. "Then you know... about the evidence." Jason stated.
"So it has been thrown out?" Spencer queried.
Jason shook his head at her. "Not yet, but it will be." He answered.
And then Spencer came out with the words Jason never expected, "Look, I think I might have a way to make sure that Garrett's case doesn't fall apart." She paused for a brief moment, then continued, "But I'm at a dead end, and at this point the only person who might be able to help me is you."
Jason was silent for a couple of seconds, taking it all in. But when he fully comprehended what Spencer had said, he nodded, and replied, "What can I do?"
"Do you know somebody named April rose?" Ivy wondered. When Jason shook his head, Ivy sighed. "So you've never heard of her?"
The girls just about gave up hope when Jason shook his head again. "No. I don't think so. But to be honest, there were so many girls hanging around us at the time I could have met her and not even known it."
"And by "us," you mean..." Spencer trailed off.
"Garrett, Ian and I."
Pressing her lips together, Ivy nodded. "Right. The N.A.T. Club."
Jason's head snapped to face her. "How'd you know about that?"
Ignoring Jason's questions, Ivy queried, "Do you think that she could have been one of the girls that you filmed?"
"Well, I didn't film any of those videos." Jason confessed.
"Yeah, but you watched them. Didn't you?" Spencer accused with a pointed glare. "How did you get that honor without doing any of the grunt work?"
"It was my idea."
What Jason said didn't necessarily shock her. Jason was pretty much high throughout his entire high school life. Although it was quite illegal and creepy, filming girls, Ivy knew that without a doubt, Jason would never do that again.
In high school he was surrounded by people who influenced his horrific decisions. He also had a terrible home life, and the only way he could forget was getting high.
And he had changed. Jason had changed completely. He had matured greatly, and was recovering from Alison's death, drug and alcohol abuse, and many other traumatic things.
"Look, like I said before, I was messed up. Despite High school only being a few years ago, it is still all just one big blur." Jason admitted, looking down at the floor in a look that Ivy recognised as guilt and sadness.
Ivy reached and picked up Jason's hand, holding his hand in hers, rubbing circles on the back of his hand.
"Do you think she could have been in one of the videos?" Spencer asked.
Jason shrugged. "It's possible. Or maybe she was just one of their "employees."" He suggested.
Ivy's eyebrows furrowed. "What does that mean?"
"I think Ian and Garrett were paying girls to set up their friends." Jason responded. But he quickly continued with, "I don't know. At that time I had kind of walked away from it all."
Spencer leant back against the bench, questioning her half brother, "So were you guys the only members?"
"Officially? Yeah. But Ian had help. There's no way he could have filmed it all on his own." Jason stated. "You know, at times, I even thought maybe he was filming it for someone else."
This made Ivy and Spencer glance over at each other. They hadn't expected that at all. The idea hadn't even crossed their minds.
"Anyway, I need to go. I'll catch up with you later." He stood to his feet, picking up his backpack and throw in the strap over his shoulder. He glanced down at his girlfriend, and wondered, "You coming?"
Ivy smiled at him. "Yeah." She checked over to see if Spencer was okay with her leaving. Spencer nodded at her with a small smile, letting her know that she was okay with Ivy leaving with her boyfriend.
"Bye, Spencer." Ivy waved as the couple made their way down the street.
When they were out of ear shot of Spencer, Jason turned to Ivy, and said to her, "I can't believe you didn't say anything about the N.A.T club." He glanced at her.
Ivy shrugged her shoulders. "Well, to be honest, Jason. I don't care about it. It was in the past. You were literally high all the time. You weren't in a right frame of mind, and I know that deep down you didn't mean it. And I also know that the Jason I know would never do such a thing. I have faith and trust in you."
Jason looked down at the floor with a smile. He was totally in love with Ivy. In his eyes she was the most perfect person in his life. She forgave him no matter what he did, because Ivy knew that he would never hurt her. That's what he loved about her. Sometimes he would mess up, and sometimes Ivy would get frustrated with him, but at the end of the day Ivy always forgave him.
"Since you asked me a question, can I ask you one?" After a nod from Jason, Ivy continued, "Do I freak out whenever you're put in harms way?" Ivy crossed her arms, staring up at her boyfriend in query.
Not a single flicker of hesitation danced in his eyes, as he replied, "Yes."
Ivy scoffed. "I do not!"
"Yes, you do. Every time. Without fail."
————————
Ivy and Jason had wandered round some shops after their conversation with Spencer, where they ended up meeting one of Jason's family friends that his mum was close friends with. But when they were finished, they headed back to the car, only to find Peter Hastings leaning against Jason's car.
"Hey." He nodded. "I need to talk to you. Alone." He glanced over to Ivy, making it clear that he did not want her to hear. "It's about Spencer." He added.
Jason shook his head. "Anything you have to say to me, you will say in front of Ivy. She'd not leaving." He declared. With a glare, Jason pulled Ivy, as they tried to side step Peter, but unfortunately he blocked the couple from escaping.
"Fine. Jason." Peter sighed, letting him know that he was going to speak to him in Ivy's presence. "Please, leave her out of this. I need her energy focused on her future, not this trial."
Scoffing, Jason replied, "Maybe you should tell your wife that." He snarked.
"Jason, you're wrong about Veronica." Peter began. Not liking his tone, Jason's grip on Ivy's hand tightened ever so slightly. "She didn't take this case out of spite. She doesn't hate you."
An amused smirk made it's way onto Jason's face. "Well, no, I don't think she hates me. I think she hates you."
Ivy stood there filled with extreme awkwardness. Standing by Jason's side as he conversed with his father, was not something that Ivy found delight in. It was too awkward enough without her even there, never mind her silently standing there.
"Look...I don't want my daughter's life derailed any further. She needs to find a way to, you know, put this behind her." Peter said. He started to list everything, to further back up his points, "The trial, your sister..."
His words were interrupted by Jason, who mocked, "Which sister exactly are you talking about? Because as it turns out, I had more than one."
Without sparing a glance at his father, Jason turned away, and walked towards his car, with his and Ivy's hands still clutching each other's.
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"Anything?"
"Nope. Nothing." Ivy sighed, glancing up at Spencer with a deflated expression.
Spencer and Ivy had been searching and searching hours on end for any sign of April Rose anywhere they had access to, but clearly whoever she was, she just didn't want to be found, which only made the two girls even more desperate to find her.
The pair had tried making connections with April Rose to Garrett, Ian, Jenna, Melissa, and everyone else they suspected of being A. Their theories were a wide variety of crazy connections to their suspects, but they couldn't find any hardcore proof.
The rumbling sound of their stomachs made the girls glance up at each other.
"Do you wanna go take a break, and get food?" Spencer suggested.
Ivy chuckled slightly. "Do I ever?"
The girls swiftly gathered the piles and piles of notes they had obtained, and shoved them into their bags.
"Where do you want to go?" Ivy asked, flinging her bag over her shoulder. She glanced over at Spencer, who was picking up her phone from her desk, shoving it into her pocket.
Spencer followed after Ivy, the two making their way down the stairs. "I don't know. We can see when we get there." She suggested.
Nodding, Ivy grinned at her. "Sounds like a plan."
Just as the two were about to cross the living room, and exit through the front door, there was a knock on the living room door, followed by the person pulling the door open. The girls froze slightly, pivoting around until they had the intruder in their view.
The girls visibly relaxed when Jason walked through the doors.
Ivy went in for a hug, squeezing him as she mumbled, "Hey."
"Hi." He smiled down at her. Although his lips turned into a serious expression when he spoke up again, "I found April Rose." Jason declared.
Releasing her grip on Jason, Ivy peered up at him. "Did you talk to her?" She wondered.
Jason shook his head, making their confusion increase. "It's not a 'her'." He flipped open the book he was carrying, and pointed to an ad at the bottom of the page that read: APRIL ROSE ANTIQUES, with an address inscribed below it.
Spencer spun back around towards the door, and demanded, "You're driving."
Ivy and Jason peeked over at each other, and followed after Spencer.
—————————
The bell rang as they entered April Rose Antiques where they stumbled in on a thick and old scented atmosphere. The familiar old people scent made Ivy grin, and reminisce back to when she and Hanna would visit grandma Marin, and her magnificent house that contained loads of nicknacks that held the stories of Regina's adventures.
Ivy was shivering. And it wasn't because of the cold. The place gave her the creeps. She was sure it was a lovely antique shop, but visiting it at night made Ivy tense up. Their previous track records with creepy shops didn't go well, A always seemed to be involved.
Noticing Ivy's muted state, Jason squeezed her into a side hug. "It's okay. It's just an antique shop. Nothings gonna happen when I'm here with you. I'm right by your side." He assured her. Jason placed a kiss on the top of her head, and guided her towards the front desk.
A section of knives and daggers behind glass at the front desk, captured the three's eyes, and they were too busy staring at the beautiful weapons before them, that they hadn't even noticed the old women sitting in the chair behind the desk who was listening to music through earphones. So when they noticed her, the three jumped out of their skin, clutching their chests to stabilise themselves.
"Oh, Hi." Spencer greeted, while Ivy gave the women a small smile and a wave.
"Good evening." Jason fiddled with his hands. He wasn't going to say anything to the girls, but he too was quite nervous to be in this charity shop.
The three exchanged glances when the women stared at the wall, not even acknowledging their presence.
"Good evening, folks." A voice startled them. An old man appeared from behind them, and wandered round the three to the front desk. "I'm getting ready to close. Uh...How can I help you?" He wondered. A smile was gleaming on his face, he was surprised but also pleased that he had customers.
Ivy could tell that this shop didn't get customers very often. The shop was filled to the brim of furniture, weird statues, nicknacks, and even some clothes. It didn't look like much had even left the shop.
Jason was the one to speak up, figuring that neither of the girls would, as both of them were too busy staring off into different directions. "We just came in to pick up something that might have been set aside?" The man stared at him as he nodded, but was yet to reply. So Jason had to ask, "Were you asked to hold anything?"
"Half this shop." The man chuckled. "But I'm not holding my breath anybody's coming back." He admitted.
"Well, you see, a friend of ours dropped something off and asked us to pick it up." Jason began explaining. He paused, realising how vague they sounded. He had to let out a small sigh, before he continued, "But we don't know exactly what it is, and our friend can't be reached."
The old man drummed his fingers on the desk, and sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't know if there's much that I can do. I have no idea what your friend dropped off." He replied. "If I did, I'd happily sell it to you, but unfortunately I don't remember anybody coming in recently with anything." He gave the couple a sad smile.
Ivy felt awfully sorry for the man. She couldn't believe that barely anybody would buy anything from the antique shop. She reckoned that nobody her age would buy anything, but there had to be people that would like some of the historical items that lay inside.
"Ivy. Jason." Spencer's voice caught their attention. Their eyes landed on her standing a few metres away from them, holding a piece of chain jewellery in between a scarf.
Recognising it immediately, Ivy strode over to her. "Is that Ali's?" She wondered.
Spencer gazed at her and nodded.
"You're sure this is it?" Jason queried, looking down at the charm bracelet.
"I'm positive. She never took it off." Spencer informed him.
Ivy nodded, staring at the familiar piece of jewellery. "It was originally a bracelet, but Ali always wore it as an anklet."
Spinning back to the old man, Jason asked him, "Uh, how much do you want for this?"
The man waddled over to them. He squinted at the piece of jewellery with furrowed brows. "I don't know. I've never seen that before." He confessed.
"I just found it on this mannequin." Spencer nodded over to the mannequin that towered over them.
Having become slightly creeped out by it, Ivy took a few steps back from it.
"Must have been brought in here in the past couple of days." The man explained.
Ivy took her gaze off the mannequin to face the man. "Do you have any idea who dropped it off?" She wondered.
"It's..." He started to reach for it, but Spencer moved it out of his grasp before he got the chance. "there's no code, no tags. I can't sell it to you folks. It's a display piece." He gave them a sympathetic smile.
Jason glanced over at his girlfriend, and his sister. The pair looked devastated, and that was when Jason had a solution. "How about if I give you a hundred dollars?"
The man shook his head. "It's not my decision to make."
"Will two hundred make it your decision?" Jason bribed. But the man wasn't convinced, so Jason had to up the price. "Four hundred." The rise in money seemed to silence the man's protests, and he took the money that Jason held out for him.
After Spencer wrapped the anklet securely up in the scarf, the three departed from the shop.
The three wandered towards Jason's car, with the couple holding hands, and Spencer striding for the car ahead of them. The couple were moving in silence, but it was broken when Ivy spoke up, "I hope we end up like them."
Jason threw her a teasing smile. "You're completely mental, and we own a antique shop?"
"No..." Ivy laughed. She gazed over at her boyfriend with a smile. "I hope we end up happy."
"Oh, we will." Jason nodded. "I'll make sure of it." He stated with a strong definite look on his face.
Squeezing his hand, Ivy sarcastically said, "You know I'm dating you for the money, right?"
Jason chuckled. "I know."
———————
It was a freezing cold night in Rosewood. Most people were inside, tucked into their warm beds, but Spencer and Ivy weren't those people. For they stood outside with the wind pinching their skin, as they waited for Jason to finish in the police station.
While they were standing there, Spencer realised she had a voicemail from Toby, and moved a couple of steps away from the car to listen to it.
Concurrently, Ivy was snapping her head towards every sound she heard in the street, too paranoid that something would happen to them, or maybe 'A' was watching them.
Relief washed over her when she noticed Jason wandering back over to them.
Ivy stood up from leaning against the car, and made her way over to him. She greeted him with a smile, then spoke, "Hey. How did it go?"
Shrugging, Jason replied, "As well as it could, I guess." When they had made it back over to Spencer, she joined them, listening to what he was saying. "I told 'em I got an anonymous tip and they seemed to believe me."
"So when will we know when—"
Jason cut Spencer off with a shake of his head. "Nah. He didn't say."
Glancing between her boyfriend, and her best friend, she wondered, "What do we do now?"
"Now we wait."
The three were silent for a moment, just thinking in silence. But it was interrupted when Spencer spoke up and asked, " Um... Do you still have those letters?" Jason's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "The ones that helped you figure out that my dad is our dad." Spencer clarified.
"Yeah." Jason nodded.
Spencer then wondered, "May I see them?"
With a sigh, Jason responded, "Oh, Spencer. You don't want to do that. It'll just...Hurt."
A smile started to break out on both Ivy and Spencer's faces, as they realised the huge differences between Jason and Alison.
Jason's brows pulled together. "What?"
Spencer chuckled slightly, and answered, "Nothing. I was...Just thinking about how different you are from Ali. I mean, the reason that you don't want me to see them is the very reason that she would want me to."
She was right. Alison would tear apart the whole town to get what she wanted, not caring about who she hurt in the process. That was something Ivy had previously noticed, Jason would never do that to the people he loved.
"I wonder what kind of person she would have turned into." Jason stated. "I mean, I see it with the kids I work with, and at first they're all attitude, but you peel back the layers and you usually find a person underneath."
Ivy and Spencer shared a glance as Spencer started, "Yeah, but with Ali, we keep peeling, I just...Always seem to find new layers."
———————
Hey guys! Hope you had a good Christmas (if you celebrate it), but if not, I hope you're having a good holiday.
I have been studying my entire holiday which is always fun. And I'm still gonna fail prelims lmao.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that one of the main reasons why I have literally been updating once a month, is because I had been slowly falling out of love with pretty little liars and my fanfiction. I just didn't have the motivation to do it anymore, but I tried to continue because I didn't want to leave you guys.
Thankfully my passuon for this fan fiction is slowly coming back, meaning that I will be tryibg harder to get chapters out for you guys.
Although, I don't know much about next month, because I have prelims in January, so I will be quite busy, and it will be quite hard to get out good chapters for you to read.
ALSO THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR 97K READS. I'M SO BEYOND THANKFUL FOR YOU GUYS
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was slightly rushed because I wanted to get a chapter out to you soon, so there might be some mistakes (feel free to correct me).
I have also still to go back and rewrite the start of this book, but I honestly don't have the time for it right now, it's a busy busy year.
Thanks for reading :)
- K