005 — the devil you know
season two —
episode five
WAKING UP IN THE ARMS of Jason is how Aspen always wants to feel in life after coming home from last nights horrors.
Aspen couldn't let go of Jason's figure once she woke him up from the police station to come pick her and her vehicle up as she was unable to drive due to stress and anxiety running through her views.
Said girl rolls onto her side seeing the male gazing into her dark brown eyes.
"Morning gorgeous" Jason's scratchy morning voice Aspen adores to the bone mumbles.
"Morning handsome" Aspen smiles moving the loose piece of his dirty blonde hair out of his face and groaning seeing the time on the clock.
Last night all five girls agreed to meet in the courtyard before school to discuss what went down the previous night.
"I have to go to school" Aspen groans seeing the smirk on Jason's face seeing her scrunched annoyed face.
"You're nearly graduated, only a few months left" Jason smiles pecking the blonde's forehead before jumping out of the bed walking into the girls ensuite to use the bathroom.
All while Aspen checks his shirtless back and butt in his sweatpants out walking away from her bed.
"Fuck me" Aspen mutters feeling the stupid high school crush starting to resurface for the male she calls her ex boyfriend.
Jason walks back into the bedroom from the bathroom fully clothed now seeing the pout on Aspen's face.
"Go shower" Jason motions to the bathroom where Aspen failed to notice the running water inside.
"Gosh, thank you" Aspen quickly states pecking his cheek and walking into the bathroom not bothering to close the door for privacy since the male has seen it all anyways, and the shower curtain covers it all.
"I've gotta run to the office, I'll pop by during lunch and we can sit together?" Jason suggests.
"See you at lunch, Jay" Aspen mumbles with her toothbrush in her mouth hearing a soft chuckle and the door to her apartment closing from the hallway.
"I'm so fucking screwed" Aspen mutters to herself thinking about the man who in a way broke her heart before Alison's disappearance.
After finishing her shower and doing her morning skincare routine and organising an outfit for the day.
Aspen sighs to herself preparing for all the sympathetic stares from Ian's suicide letter stating he did in fact do awful things to her and what Spencer mentioned him saying was true.
ARRIVING AT THE HIGH SCHOOL and seeing the others waiting patiently for the senior.
"Hi, I'm so sorry, let's chat" Aspen encourages sitting on the desk beside her cousin being shown the suicide note left by Ian at the incident scene.
"Is this a suicide note or a confession?" Aria wonders looking at the iPad, "It's both" Spencer mutters.
"Emily, how do you have this?" Aria asks leaning closer to the others.
"I sent it to her, I took a picture with my phone before we called the cops" Hanna explains.
"It's weird, why would Ian kill himself just as he was about to skip town with Melissa?" Emily wonders.
"Maybe he realized he was gonna get caught, he couldn't hide forever, even with Melissa and Wren's help" Spencer states.
"He was probably desperate" Aria shrugs.
"Look, who cares why Ian did it? The important thing is, Ali's killer is dead and we're no longer people of interest" Hanna mutters.
"Why am I not feeling relieved right now?" Emily mumbles in question.
"Oh, Em, come on, for months, we've been about as welcome in this town as a cold sore, and plus, now people know that we've been telling the truth and now know about the horrible things Ian did to Aspen, and Ian is out of our lives for good" Aria states looking at Aspen who's remained silent this whole time.
"Yeah, but A isn't" Emily states, "Can we please just slay one dragon at a time?" Spencer wonders noticing Garrett walking into the courtyard behind them.
Aspen frowns seeing the man in uniform quickly shutting off the iPad with the note picture on it, "Hey" Spencer smiles.
"Hey" Garret nods looking at the five girls around the table, "What are you doing here?" Aspen wonders curiously.
"I just came to return some evidence we took from the field hockey office" Garrett explains looking at the blonde senior sympathetically.
"Hey, um, look, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you all had to be the ones who found him" Garrett states.
"Melissa's the one who found him" Spencer mumbles, "I'm sorry, then again, could have been worse" Garrett explains receiving confused looks from around the table, "What do you mean?" Aria asks.
"Bodies decay, he'd been dead at least a week, give my best to your family, and Aspen; I'm so sorry" Garrett states.
"Thanks" Aspen replies softly, "Yeah" Spencer nods the police officer leaves the courtyard.
Shocked faces are left around the table, "A week, no, that's impossible, he was texting Melissa" Hanna whispers, "No, he wasn't, I'm betting it was A" Emily states in realisation.
"Why would A pretend to be Ian and then lead us there to his body?" Aria questions.
"Does it matter? The guy was scum, and now he's dead scum" Aspen shrugs finally joining the conversation.
"Who cares if A found him first?" Spencer mutters, "What does A want?" Emily wonders frustrated.
"You know what I want? I want to enjoy my life again before A finds another way to ruin it" Hanna snarls packing up her things into her bag and departing the table as the others do the same, turning to see Emily staring into space.
"Are you coming?" Spencer wonders.
"No, you guys go ahead" Emily states seeing Aspen still sitting beside her, "Em, what is it?" Aspen asks.
"We now know A is involved, doesn't that make you nervous?" Emily asks, "Yeah, but not as much as Ian did" Aspen explains biting her lip.
"Could we just please take a break from looking over our shoulder?" Spencer suggests gently tapping Aspen's shoulder before leaving the two cousin's sitting at the table.
"Okay Em, talk to me" Aspen encourages.
"I just have this really bad gut feeling" Emily explains getting up from the table alongside Aspen.
Hearing her phone chime with a text message, Emily grunts annoyed before showing the text message to Aspen who's already looking at her curious.
HEY EM, IS IT JUST ME? OR DOES
THAT SUICIDE NOTE LOOK FAMILIAR? — A
"Oh for fuck sake" Aspen snarls over A's bullshit.
"Look, I've gotta get to class, but text me if you need me okay?" Aspen suggests seeing Emily nod in reply.
ASPEN MAKES HER WAY OUT of school smiling seeing Jason's car's coming towards the school, "Hey" Aspen chuckles getting into the passenger seat.
"Hello Asp" Jason smiles driving off towards the brew for some food and a coffee, "So what's been going on?" Jason asks sitting opposite of her at the brew sipping away on his coffee.
"Well, I have a free afternoon, since the funeral is tomorrow and I basically had to fake being unwell to leave school early, so the sad and noisy people can stop looking at me like I'm some lost cause" Aspen rambles forgetting she's rambling to her ex boyfriend.
"Asp, Asp, hey breathe" Jason interrupts seeing her panicked breathing before hearing her phone ringing beside them.
"It's Spencer mother, this won't take long, I promise" Aspen quickly answers the phone call saying of course to coming to the funeral only in support for Spencer and Melissa not giving a single fuck about Ian's death.
Sitting back at the table seeing Jason looking at her with his curious eyes.
"Want me to take you home? You look exhausted, I've just gotta stop by mine first" Jason explains seeing Aspen already nodding.
Jason frowns seeing the black hooded figure walking up to his window with a sleepy Aspen in the passenger seat.
Jason sneaks up to his quickly stopping the person from breaking one of his windows.
"In the car, now, and in the back" Jason orders pointing to his car before grabbing what he needed from the doorstep and walking towards his car once again.
Driving towards their next destination to drop the now nervous and grumpy teenager in the back home to the Montgomery house.
Aspen and Jason stand beside one another ringing the doorbell with Mike behind them.
"Hey Ria" Aspen waves once Aria answers the door shocked to see the two of them standing at the door before stepping aside to let Mike into the house with his now pissed off older sister.
"Mike, what were you thinking?" Aria snaps not receiving a response from her younger brother.
"Hey, Mike" Aria shouts to the rude and disrespectful Mike walking away from her.
"He broke into your house?" Aria asks Jason shocked.
"Never got in, actually, I caught him at the window, the house was dark, I'm guessing he thought no one was home which was true" Jason explains.
Aria sighs, "I'm really sorry, he's—he's never done anything like this before, Spen, you know that, but thank you for not calling the police" Aria states seeing Aspen nod.
"Don't worry about it" Jason shrugs, "I really don't know what to tell you, look, if—if I tell my parents, they are gonna flip out, but if I don't, then he's" Aria explains.
"No, don't, he knows he's been busted" Jason explains.
"Um, why—why didn't you? Call the police?" Aria questions, "I've seen enough cops in my house for one year" Jason states.
"Right, anyways, thanks again" Aria chuckles, "Yeah" Jason nods, "Bye, bye Spen" Aria winks looking in-between the two of them.
Jason looks around before walking back with Aspen to his car, "Now, let's get you home gorgeous" Jason smiles starting the engine to the car and driving towards Aspen's apartment.
Jason leads Aspen upstairs to her apartment as the tired girl fell asleep in his car once again.
Aspen mumbles words instructing the male where her keys are for the front door and mumbles apologies for being so lazy.
"All good Asp, the amount of times you looked after me" Jason chuckles remembering the not so fun times of their relationship, "I remember that time of our lives" Aspen groggily mumbles.
"I miss you" Aspen whispers as the male takes off her shoes and moves back the covers of her bedsheets.
"I miss you too, Asp" Jason admits looking down around the woman he adores and still loves, seeing her falling back asleep, "Stay again" Aspen sleepily pleads not wanting to be alone.
"Of course Asp" Jason whispers kissing her forehead and snuggling under the covers beside her, feeling a presence laying their head on his chest and wrapping their arms around his torso securing themselves.
ASPEN WAKES UP HEARING the birds chirping outside her window, smiling feeling the hard chest underneath her cheek, "Asp, you awake?" Jason wonders quietly.
"I'm awake" Aspen nods sitting up slowly looking down at the male, before leaning down and attaching her lips to his earning a surprised grunt from the male who smiles into the kiss once relaxed.
Aspen smirks into the kiss, "I wanted to do that last night, but fell asleep" Aspen pouts, "Same here" Jason chuckles leaning him and connecting their lips for the second time this morning.
Aspen runs her long black nails along his torso tracing heart and star shaped patterns into his skin.
"I've gotta go to school, hate to kiss and run, but feel free to stay in bed" Aspen smiles getting up from the bed stretching her long legs and arms noticing her nipples through her shirt due to the cold breeze inside her apartment.
"I will stay in bed" Jason nods slumping back onto the pillows and smiling to himself about kissing his girl again.
"I'll see you after school, or even after the funeral" Aspen explains finishing getting dressed for the date and leaning forward bringing him into another kiss.
Spencer, Aspen, Hanna and Aria all sit in the classroom before class, "Ian didn't commit suicide, that entire suicide letter is made up of A texts" Emily states after rushing up to them.
"What?" Spencer questions.
"How do you know that?" Aria asks, "When I read it again, a couple of words stuck out to me, on a hunch, I checked my old text messages" Emily explains.
"Come here" Emily state's motioning towards the back of the classroom.
""I k*lled Alison, "I lost my temper because she knew too much, "There's only so much you can bury, "It won't be that easy, "but I know how to get rid of the pain, "I can't run from the law, come and find me. Ian."" Aria reads aloud.
"So these are the parts from the texts" Hanna states shocked.
"There are only six people that know about these texts, us and A" Emily states, "It means that A wrote that suicide note" Emily reveals.
"How did you figure this out?" Aria asks stunned, "Please, I've been watching Wheel of Fortune with my mom since I was 3" Emily voices.
"If A wrote this, that means that Ian never actually confessed to killing Ali in writing, only confessing in a weird way of what happened to Aspen" Spencer mumbles.
"It gets worse, Logan Reed, the guy who dropped off the money for Ian the night of the sting? Well, I know where he works, we need more answers" Emily states agreeing with the others that she will go back and talk to Logan immediately.
In which Aspen quickly excuses herself and goes to her class feeling nauseous and lightheaded.
Aspen walks into the courtyard seeing Aria waving her over with Mike standing beside her.
"Hello?" Aspen says unsure walking towards the siblings.
"Mike has something to say to you" Aria states before looking at her brother.
"I'm sorry for throwing you into Spencer's cabinet, and for injuring your hand" Mike genuinely apologies.
"Wait, it was you?" Aspen asks shocked and a little disappointed, "He also took Emily's camping gear, which he will be giving back" Aria snarls.
"I'm sorry Aspen, I really am, I didn't mean for you to have that injury" Mike apologises motioning to the girls hand in a brace.
"You can't keep doing this Mike" Aspen states, "I won't, I promise and please thank your boyfriend for not calling the police" Mike says seeing the shocked look on Aspen's face at the mention of her boyfriend.
"What just happened?" Aspen asks once Mike walks away from the senior and his older sister leaving both girls confused, "Boyfriend?" Aria smirks.
"Nope, not happening" Aspen shakes her head walking out of the high school to go back to her apartment and boyfriend to get ready for the funeral to support Spencer and her family.
ARRIVING AT THE CHURCH where the funeral's currently being held, Aspen, Hanna and the others walk inside hearing the bells ringing.
"Who's ringing it this time?" Hanna mumbles, "Hey" Spencer says softly from behind them, "Hey" all girls reply smiling at the brunette.
"Thanks for being here" Spencer states mainly looking at Aspen who nods.
"How's your family doing?" Aria asks noticing Melissa staring blanking at her feet with her hands laid against her pregnant stomach.
"Do you think she'd mind if I went up to her?" Aspen wonders seeing Spencer nodding her head.
Aspen walks off towards Melissa noticing the police at the doors, "Hey, I just want you to know, I'm here for you, okay?" Aspen says softly to the mourning wife.
"Thank you, Aspen" Melissa mumbles softly taking the blonde girl's hand, "It's no problem at all Mel, I'm gonna go sit down, okay?" Aspen explains.
Melissa nods sitting beside Mr and Mrs Hasting softly smiling at Aspen, who returns to the gesture and walks towards her friends who are already seated.
The service was extremely short and the burial ceremony was quite quick as well, as everyone stands outside departing from the church, the blonde is embraced tightly in a bone crushing hug seeing a head of brunette head.
"Thank you for coming even through everything Aspen" Melissa whispers.
"Of course Melissa" Aspen replies nodding as the Hastings leave the church and Aspen notices Jason sitting on the stool in the graveyard.
"Who's he waiting for?" Emily asks coming up beside her cousin, "I don't know, maybe he came here for the same reason we did" Aspen shrugs not knowing about the male coming to the funeral.
"To spit on Ian's grave?" Emily shrugs, "To get closure" Aspen frowns.
"Well, I still think he's creepy, even if he wasn't hiding Ian, the guy's a freak, and he always has been" Emily mutters receiving a glare from Aspen
"Em, his not a freak and to be honest his allowed to be here, Ali was his sister, and his my boyfriend so, I'm gonna go comfort him now" Aspen mutters noticing Aria sitting beside him now.
Walking up to the two of them in the middle of a conversation, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Hey" Aspen mumbles pecking his cheek shocking Aria who eventually smirks.
"I'm gonna go, my parents are gonna be looking for me, thank you again Jason" Aria smiles leaving the couple together.
"See ya" Jason waves, "Bye Ria" Aspen smiles waving at her best friend.
"Hi, baby" Jason smiles seeing Aspen sitting beside him, "Thanks again for, helping Mike out, why are you so willing to give Mike a free pass?" Aspen asks.
"I don't know, maybe it's 'cause Ali used threaten to turn me in all the time" Jason explains seeing Aspen smile, "Did she ever?" Aspen smirks.
"Ali was too smart for that, even as a kid, she was fearless, she needed to be, I was always jealous of that, of her, I guess that's why my parents can't even look at me anymore; they know they lost the wrong kid" Jason mumbles.
Aspen frowns grabbing his hand, "Jay, don't say that, maybe you coming here today was a mistake" Aspen suggests.
"Just the opposite, actually, you don't know how good it feels to know it wasn't me, I don't remember a thing from the night Ali died after our fight, I blacked out and woke up the next morning with a wicked hangover and a piece of my heart left broken, and this" Jason explains handing Aspen a note.
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID
"Who gave you this? What does this mean?" Aspen wonders, "I don't know, but, it almost destroyed me" Jason admits.
"You thought that you killed her?" Aspen asks shocked.
"Like I said, I was jealous, and when I got loaded, I got angry and our breakup ruined me, but—Ian's confession has changed everything, he did it, not me" Jason mumbles.
Aspen gulps knowing about the whole suicide note being fake and Ian not actually being Alison's killer.
Aspen feels a pang of nausea rush through her body at the thought of her boyfriend being a murderer.
"Come on, let's go back to my apartment and watch a movie" Aspen suggests standing up and holding her hand out for the male to take which he happily does chuckling and wrapping Aspen in his arms pecking her lips a few times.
ASPEN LOOKS UP FROM HER make-out with Jason hearing her phone vibrating knowing it's an emergency being it's so late at night, seeing a text from Emily.
Aspen gasps throwing a hoodie on—that happens to be Jason's and pants on quickly kissing Jason's lips rushing out of the apartment with no explanation.
Jason grunts falling onto the couch and playing the rest of the movie knowing Aspen will be out for a while.
Aspen and the orders walk through the graveyard, "Okay, if we get caught, we are in so much trouble" Aria mumbles from beside Aspen who hugs the hoodie closer to her chest.
"Oh, please, like we're the first teenagers to sneak in a graveyard?" Hanna replies, "It's like chapter one of every Stephen King book" Emily mumbles.
"Guys, not helping" Spencer groans, "Okay, I think we're close" Emily explains, "Wait, stop, I'm not going any further until you tell me why we're here" Aria states.
"I told you, I think A set us up" Emily voices, "And I do too, Emily's right, this isn't over" Spencer states.
"I thought I'd feel differently once we buried Ian, but I don't, and it's because A is still alive and calling the shots" Spencer mutters.
"But what does that mean?" Aria questions and the girls start walking again, "I think A took the body and made it look like a suicide" Emily explains, "Why would A do that?" Hanna wonders.
"So that the confession in the suicide note makes Ali's murder look like an open-and-shut case, at least we got one good thing out of it, Aspen's rapist is dead" Spencer states.
"But that would mean that A was helping us, this whole time, we've been trying to convince the police that Ian killed Ali" Aria mumbles.
"Exactly, and why would A help us when we know that A ultimately wants to hurt us?" Spencer questions.
"Ugh, I'm confused, and I'm stepping on something mushy" Hanna snarls in disgust.
"What Spence means is, how do we know for sure that Ian is Ali's killer?" Emily wonders, "What do you mean? The "kissing rock" video" Aria replies, "And the missing tree" Hanna responds as well.
"A gave us those things, A is the one who handed us Ali's killer on a silver platter" Emily voices, "And whatever A gives, the bitch takes back" Spencer mutters coming to stop at a gravestone.
Aspen bites her lip seeing who the grave belongs to, "Guys, look" Aspen whispers looking at Alison's grave.
Suddenly the video from the kissing rock is playing on a nearby mausoleum, hearing Alison's laugh sends shivers down Aspen's spine.
"I know you want to kiss me' Alison smiles, "Come closer" Ian's voices from the video as a nauseating feeling through Aspen's body, "Where's it coming from?" Spencer wonders looking around the dark and foggy graveyard.
Everyone gasps seeing Alison being knocked onto the ground before picking the camera up once again giggling, "Oh, my god" Emily voices.
"She was still alive" Spencer states shocked, "Thanks for meeting me" Alison says through the video seeing Ian's retreating figure, Alison giggles ending the video there.
All the girls begin walking over towards where the projector could've been, "I definitely think the projector's over here" Spencer explains.
"I don't know, had to be closer" Aria replies, "Are you sure it wasn't further away?" Hanna asks.
"Wasn't it on the ground?" Emily also questions, "No, it was definitely up in a tree" Spencer responds as A rushes off into the opposite direction and Aspen gulps seeing the retreating figure.
Eventually after not having luck finding the projector, the girls separate for the night going back to their homes to relax as much as they can and sleep off any stress.
Aspen walks into her apartment seeing Jason still awake watching television.
"Sorry I left so abruptly, Em needed me, you know how family goes" Aspen sighs making herself comfortable on the smiling man.
"All good baby, I was just watching this show" Jason explains opening his arms for the blonde to climb onto her spot for the night fully deciding that they're sleeping on the couch snuggled together for the night.