Title: Breaking Melodies

Summary: "What do I do now? Everyone is falling apart and I can't do anything about it."

Pairings: SpencerToby, EmilyMaya, HannaCaleb, AriaEzra.

Genre: Angst, romance

Author's Note: Hey guys! This will be a multichapter fic and be warned, it's rather angsty. I hope to give it a happy ending though. Thanks so much for reading :) Love you guys!

::

(Spencer)

Oh Spence, you didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you? –A

You glare at your phone and bite your lip until you taste blood. Emily wraps an arm around your shoulders and leans her head against yours.

Hanna sighs, "I thought we were free from her."

You frown, "We're going to have to tell Aria."

"Unless A already has," The blond chimes in with a grimace. Emily stays silent and you can practically see the fear and sadness radiating off of her.

They still hadn't found Maya's killer and the girl was barely holding herself together. You're just lucky you have Toby to help you stay sane. Hanna has Caleb and you know that Aria's safe place to land is where she is right now- Ezra's house.

You pull yourself out of your friend's comforting embrace and stand to face your two best friends, "No. Guys, come on. Maybe it's just some sick jerk playing a joke on us. You know as well as I do that as soon as Mona got locked up in the Looney bin, the press went wild covering this story. Don't freak out about it yet. And if it does turn out to be A…well, we've survived this long and we have each other. We can do this."

Hanna is nodding thoughtfully and Emily looks a lot less terrified than she did a minute ago and you smile reassuringly to hide the uncertainty you feel.

You really wish you could believe yourself.

::
You walk into the school building and glare at anyone who looks at you for a second too long. You didn't almost fall off a cliff to become the latest gossip. You smile as you see Hanna greet Caleb with a kiss before tugging him towards the computer lab. Ever since she began dating the teen geek, your blond friend has been a lot more interested in photography and editing software. You're proud of her. After seeing some of her pictures, you realized that she had a gift for it.

You open your locker and smile at the pictures over the door. There is one of you and your best friends huddled together on Aria's couch making funny faces and you still laugh at the memory. Next is a collage of you and Toby at the fair. You touch your fingers to your lips and then press your hand against your favorite picture. It's all of you. You and Toby. Emily and Maya. Hanna and Caleb. Aria and Ezra. You're all smiling. You remember when it was taken.

Before A killed Maya.

Before everybody thought Toby was a murderer.

Before Aria's parents got divorced.

Before Hanna got hit by that car and ended up in the hospital.

And before your entire family fell apart.

You sigh.

You miss when the worst thing that could happen was getting a bad grade on a test.

::

"Spencer! Chica! Spence!" You hear Aria screech across the cafeteria and you turn towards the small brunette as she comes barreling towards you. Before you know what's happening, you find yourself pulled into a hug and you pat the girl on the head with a laugh.

She squeezes you tightly before releasing you and straightening her jacket, "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. What happened to Team Sparia?"

You smile sadly, "Yeah, you've been busy with Ezra. It's okay though. Hey, have you seen Hanna or Em today by any chance?"

Her eyebrows knit together and she shakes her head in confusion. You sigh, "Aria…I got a text message last night. From A."

"No," your friend shakes her head rapidly, "Mona is in the asylum. She was A. There is no more A." You can tell that she's starting to panic and you do what you do best. You wrap your arms around her and hold your own emotions back as she cries. Aria has always been the strongest after you, but ever since her parent's divorce and everyone found out that she was dating Ezra, she's been more delicate than usual.

"Why can't she just leave us alone?" Aria whispers into your shoulder and you close your eyes to keep your own tears at bay.

"I don't know, Ari. I don't know."

::

After showing Aria the message from A, your phone is already at your ear before the small brunette starts crying again.

"Aria needs you," You tell him, and exhale in relief when he says he is on his way. Five minutes later, you leave your friend in the capable hands of Ezra and walk to the library to collect your thoughts. It is there that you realize you haven't seen Emily all day. This worries you because you know for a fact that she prefers to stay with you during school. You've always been fiercely protective of the girl. She's your best friend and she's the most sensitive. After Mona, the four of you have been the school's biggest scandal.

You close your eyes and think of Emily's safe place. It comes to you and you snap your fingers in realization. Of course, why didn't you think of it before?

By now, you're beyond worried about the girl and you run across the school, ignoring the crowd's confused stares, and slide to a stop in front of Maya's old locker. Emily's hand is pressed against the metal and you can see the tearstains on her cheeks from where you're standing.

She turns to you with haunted eyes, "I miss her."

"I know," You whisper and catch her as she collapses into your arms. It reminds you of when they found Maya's body and you held your best friend for hours as she sobbed.

Your phone beeps and you maneuver Emily to one side and pull it out of your pocket.

She knew too much. She had to die. It's not my fault Em decided to tell her everything. She never could keep her mouth shut. –A

::