The Liars go to college!

1

Spencer

Crammed in her tiny Georgetown dorm room, Spencer Hastings had textbooks, homework, and papers all over the place. The entirety of her bed was covered. She had her laptop open to watch the online lectures, and of course, a freshly brewed cup of coffee sitting on the table next to her bed. Her roommate was often annoyed with how cluttered things got whenever Spencer turned into a stress ball and started extreme studying for an exam.

"How many times am I gonna walk into a room that looks like this?"

It sounded like somewhat of a joke, but Spencer knew that her roommate Hazel was actually getting pretty fed up with the way she kept things while she was studying. She wasn't the organized, pristine Spencer who had all her stuff together all the time in high school. Her things were still organized overall, but she went all out when it came time for a big exam.

"Well, I have a midterm tomorrow. Sorry, not sorry."

Hazel rolled her eyes, and then hopped onto her bed.

"You're so boring, Hastings," Hazel commented. "I mean, I knew that I was getting a studious roommate when I agreed to room with you, but I thought we'd at least do fun things together. I thought I'd get to know the wild, interesting side to you. I thought that I wouldn't judge a book by it's cover. But really, you seem to be just like the cover."

"Wow, I'm offended," Spencer shook her head. "Look, I'm not here to be messing around. I'm here to get good grades, and guarantee myself a successful future."

"We're all smart people here. That's how we even got in," Hazel sighed, laying back down onto her bed. "But that doesn't mean we can never do anything fun."

"Yeah, well my life isn't all that interesting, so you're out of luck. Maybe you should just find a new, interesting roommate," Spencer said in a snide tone.

Hazel decided to end the conversation there, letting her eyes shut. Maybe she'd take a nice power nap. After all, she'd just come from her afternoon classes, which were all too long for her. Just before she could shut her eyes, there was a knock at their dorm room door.

"I guess I'll get it, since apparently you're too busy napping, and I've got nothing to do today... other than study for a huge midterm..." Spencer muttered sarcastically. She pushed her papers aside and got up from her dorm bed, walking towards the door. She heard Hazel laughing quietly, but it soon turned to silence, and she was back to trying to nap.

Spencer gripped the golden door knob, and pulled the door open. Her eyes went wide.

"Toby."

Immediately, Hazel's eyes shot open, and she sat up in her bed. She didn't know too much about this topic, but she knew that Spencer had mentioned his name before. She knew that he was an ex-boyfriend of hers, and that they had dated for a long time. Spencer didn't really talk too much about why they broke up. All Hazel remembered was that he used to occasionally visit during their first year at school, and he'd spend time with her. Somewhere during the beginning of sophomore year, he stopped visiting. Spencer had casually said that they broke up, as if it didn't bother her, but Hazel saw her bawling her eyes out several times. She didn't really talk much about him after they broke up. It seemed to be a sore subject for her.

It felt ironic that Hazel was talking about how boring Spencer's life was, just when her ex-boyfriend showed up at their door. Hazel couldn't say that she was disappointed to see some drama in Spencer's life. It was interesting for her to watch go down.

"What are you doing here?" Spencer asked, still in shock.

Hazel analyzed him. He was wearing a gray jacket, khaki pants, and black sneakers. He was dressed well. He had his hands shoved in his pockets. He looked rather nervous to be there... probably nervous to see how she reacted to him being there.

"I came to see you," he responded.

Spencer glanced back at Hazel, noticing that she was interested in this. She shot her roommate a glare.

"Can we talk outside?" Spencer bit her lip.

Toby nodded his head. Spencer turned back to look at Hazel again, giving her the same glare. Hazel snickered quietly. She wished that she would be able to hear what they talked about, but decided that she'd just badger Spencer until she gave her the details after it was over. Spencer stepped outside of the dorm room with Toby, shutting the door behind them.

"Toby, you shouldn't be here," Spencer said sternly.

"There are a lot of things that I shouldn't do... but I'm doing it anyway," he smiled.

"I'm serious... what are you doing here right now?" she asked.

"I told you: I wanted to see you, Spencer," he repeated.

"Would a phone call not be sufficient?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Well, you can't hang up on me if I come to your door, can you?" he joked. He looked at her sadly, but kept the smile on his face. "I thought I could come see you again... I miss you."

"You came all the way here to tell me that you miss me?" she raised her eyebrows. "Come on! Don't tell me that you don't think that this is ridiculous!"

"Weren't you the one who said that you and I would still be friends after we broke up?" Toby raised his eyebrows. "Look, I like D.C. You go to school here. I know you... we're friends. Can't we just hang out?"

"I have a midterm tomorrow," she shook her head. "I can't be... distracted."

"Hanging out isn't that distracting," he objected. "You know what is distracting, though?"

Spencer raised her eyebrows, waiting for his response to his own question. But to her surprise, he took a few steps forward, and pressed his lips against hers. He rested his hands on her cheeks, kissing her so softly that she couldn't bring herself to hate it. She kissed him back, and she hated herself for it, but she did it. She let her hands fly to his torso, gripping onto him tightly, and pulling him in for more. She couldn't deny that she missed the way his lips felt against hers. It felt right to be kissing him again.

"Toby..." she muttered, stepping back from him, knowing that it wasn't right to do this when they hadn't talked about anything since their break up. "We can't... we shouldn't."

"And why not?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Are you seeing somebody else?"

"No... but that doesn't mean that we should. My point still stands: I have to study for my midterm!" she reminded.

"Well, I'm in town for a few days," he grinned proudly. "So, once you get that midterm all finished up... and I know you're gonna ace it, like you always do... you can just give me a call, and we can spend some time catching up."

Catching up was sure to be anything but a "friendly" day out. She knew she would fall into old habits and end up doing something she might regret, like how she just kissed him back. She couldn't help but act like a fool around him sometimes. He still made her weak in the knees, even after the year that they had been broken up.

The only problem was that... she had sort of lied when she said she wasn't seeing somebody else.

There was this guy in her economics study group who she had a somewhat complicated relationship with. He liked her, and she sort of liked him back. They spent a lot of time together, kissed a few times, and they never really discussed what they were, but it would be a lie to say that they were nothing. They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend or anything, but they weren't nothing at all.

And she felt bad that one of them was going to get hurt when they found out about the other. She hoped that she could just keep her mouth to herself and resist Toby. Then maybe she wouldn't have to tell him about the other guy.

Aria

"Everyone says the new professor is super cute."

Aria raised her eyebrows as she turned back to look at her friend, who was also a classmate of hers. They had met in their English class, and they had a lot in common.

"Kendall, you're kidding me... he's probably just a little bit younger than Professor Lowe. I'm really upset that he's leaving, actually. He's been a great professor all year. I've learned a lot from him," Aria sighed.

"Yeah, he's been a good professor, but he got a better job offer, and I'm happy for him," Kendall reminded, smiling. "People say that the new professor's really nice, so it should still be okay."

"Well, we're about to find out, aren't we?" Aria laughed.

They stepped into the nearly empty lecture hall together, heading to their usual seats. Aria pulled out her copy of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, which she assumed that the new professor was going to pick up with. Then, she waited patiently. She laughed internally at the thought of everyone saying that the new English professor was super cute. It reminded her of high school, when she made some not-so-good life choices. Choices that probably could have jeopardized her future.

Kendall was seated next to her, with her own copy of the book in front of her. More students filled up the lecture hall as it got closed to the class's starting time. Aria stared at the book in front of her, tracing circles with her finger on the front cover as she waited. Eventually, it was time for her class to start.

"Hello, wonderful students," an all too familiar voice said cheerfully. "As you may already know, Professor Lowe has left Hollis College, and is quite obviously no longer going to be your English professor. So, then there's me!" He chuckled quietly. "My name is Ezra Fitz. However, you should probably address me as Professor Fitz."

Immediately, Aria's head shot up. No way. It couldn't be.

She didn't know why she was so surprised. He had left Rosewood for some time, but apparently he was back.

"I'm your new English professor, and I want to give you all a warm welcome. I'm excited to see where this class goes, and what kinds of interesting discussions we're going to have. That's the beauty of English and literature... we get to have some real, raw discussions in here. I'm extremely excited to meet all of you, and get to know you throughout the rest of this year. I'm sure you're all wonderful intellectuals," he continued. "A little bit about myself: I used to teach English at Rosewood High School. I did that straight after I got my teaching degree. I've taught at Hollis College before, but I did go back to Rosewood High School eventually. Then, I took a decently-sized break from teaching, and went on a trip to South America with Habitats for Humanity. It was an enlightening trip, and I learned a lot during my time there, but I ultimately couldn't stay away from the teaching world, so I applied for another job with Hollis College. And here I am! Back in the teaching world!"

Aria was practically chewing her lip off at this point. She hated how she knew the inside of this story that he was telling. He left Rosewood High School to teach at Hollis before so that they could continue their relationship and lessen the legal repercussions of it. He went back to Rosewood High School after they broke up for what felt like the millionth time. They tried their relationship so many times, but it didn't seem to work. When Aria graduated from Rosewood High School, Ezra had informed her that he was going to do volunteer work with Habitats for Humanity. He had been meeting up with Nicole Gordon from the program, and she had gotten him on board with the idea.

Aria had been jealous of Ezra and Nicole. She wondered if Nicole was something more than a friend to him at the time, but he assured her that she wasn't. Aria wondered if things had changed after they spend all that quality time together on their trip, but she knew she didn't really have a right to know. It was truly none of her business. They had broken up almost four years ago.

But of course, Aria had ended up back in his English classroom!

It was like history was dying to repeat itself.

She tried to avoid his eyes, not wanting him to notice that she was in his class. She didn't need a repeat of what happened when he found out that she was his student on her first day of junior year.

But eventually, he finished his speech, and he scanned around the lecture hall to get a good look at his newest class. And he saw her... sitting there. His eyes were almost bugging out of his head, and Aria was afraid that he was going to say something and make this worse than it already was. Several of the students were already wondering why he was giving Aria a big, bug-eyed stare. Aria was expecting him to say holy crap, like he'd done all those years ago.

Luckily, he didn't do it. He stayed silent, but his eyes were fixed on hers.

"Moving along..." Ezra swallowed hard. "In my understanding, you were analyzing Darl's characterization in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, am I correct?"

There was a chorus of "yes" mumbles, but Aria was too busy freaking out to participate. She wondered if the other students were still wondering why he stared at her for so long. The last thing she wanted to do was have to rehash her past with him, and have everybody know that she used to date her current professor... illegally, while he was her high school teacher. Rehashing that past would bring the risk of tarnishing her professionalism and her career. She couldn't start her future off with a student-teacher relationship scandal.

Kendall seemed to have noticed something. The brunette leaned closer to Aria, tapping her gently and subtly.

"What the hell was that about?" she whispered.

"Nothing... I don't know," Aria shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he recognizes me. He was my teacher in high school."

"Oh," Kendall nodded her head, but she sounded like she was in disbelief. But then again, who the hell would buy that their professor gave her a nice, long stare just because he recognized her as one of his former students? It just wasn't a likely story.

Aria felt like she used to be a better liar than this. After all, she did get away with hiding her relationship with him for quite some time.

When class ended, she didn't stay for one moment. She didn't want to be interrogated by any students, or Professor Fitz, for that matter.

Hanna

Hanna happily walked into the loft she shared with her boyfriend.

"I'm back!" she enthusiastically announced, dropping her bag on the couch.

Soon, her boyfriend emerged from the other room, throwing a shirt on as he did so.

"Hello, love," he greeted with a huge smile. He was so genuinely happy to see her. He kept walking towards her, and greeted her with a short peck on the lips. "How were your classes today?"

"Great... but you know what's greater? The way you smell!" Hanna exclaimed.

He chuckled quietly. "Well, I just showered, Hanna."

"Well, I like it. A lot," Hanna told him.

"I like you... a lot," he joked back.

Hanna smiled wider. She really did find her Prince Charming, didn't she? His name was Jordan Hobart, and he was handsome, sweet, funny, successful... and not to mention, had the loveliest accent that Hanna could never get tired of hearing.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again, this time longer and with much more passion. He rested his hands on her waist, deepening their kiss.

When he pulled back, he commented, "I can see that you missed me today, love..."

"Of course I did, Jordan," Hanna smiled. "I always miss you when I'm away from you."

He smiled wider, bringing his hand up to her soft blonde hair, stroking it gently and sweetly.

"I missed you, too," he informed her. "Well, what did you do in school today?"

"I had some time to work on some new designs," Hanna shrugged her shoulders. "It's not that important."

"But it is important!" he insisted. "Let me see some of your designs, Hanna. You rarely ever let me look at them. Is it so wrong that I want to see my talented girlfriend's work?"

Hanna swooned at his words. "Well, when you say I'm your girlfriend, I might just have to show you what I've been working on." She pecked his lips again quickly. "Let me just grab my sketches from my bag real quick."

She went over to the couch and fished out a large drawing pad, which she had been filling with designs that she had imagined ever since she started school. She flipped to the pages with her latest ones, and handed them to Jordan. He smiled as he analyzed them. He looked like he truly saw potential in them, and that made Hanna happy. She sometimes felt like her career was going to go nowhere. New York was a competitive place to be.

"Oh, Hanna..." he grinned. "These are wonderful. You've got so much talent, you know that, sweetheart?"

Hanna bit her lip. "You really think so?"

She couldn't help but feel insecure about her designs. Of course, she liked what she created, but she knew that there were a million other people just like her who were creating designs constantly, some with exquisite talent. Everyone she met in her classes was extraordinarily talented at what they did.

"Yes!" Jordan exclaimed, stroking his thumb against the paper on the drawing pad. "I really mean it."

"You're not just saying that to make me happy, are you? Because that's worse than telling me that they suck!" Hanna raised her eyebrows.

"They do not suck. In fact, they do quite the opposite," he joked. "I'm so amazed by them that I want to pitch them to my company. I think that you could go so far."

"Jordan... I told you that I don't want you to use your position to help me out. I'd feel too bad about doing that," Hanna sighed.

"Don't think of it that was, okay? I'm not asking to submit it because you're my girlfriend. I'm asking to submit it because I think you've got so much talent, and I don't want it to be wasted. I want the world to see what you create, because it's truly lovely," he explained.

"I know this is a biased offer..." she sighed.

"Maybe a little," he chuckled. "Look, I know it's not the fairest thing that I'm choosing your work, but it's worth a try to show to my boss. In the end, it's not my word that's going to get your work out there. It'll only happen if my boss has the same vision as I do."

Hanna sighed. She still felt bad about it. But, she really wanted to boost her career, and this was an opportunity that seemed like too big of a deal to miss. Her boyfriend had an in with a fashion company, which was exactly the start she needed. Plus, he was the one who had insisted that she submit her work to his boss. And Jordan was right: his word may help getting it in the presence of his boss, but the final word came from his boss. It all came down to whether or not his boss saw potential in her work, too.

"Okay," she nodded her head. "I'm willing to give it a shot if you are... only if you're really okay helping me out with this."

"You know that I'd do anything for you, right, love?" he raised his eyebrows.

"I know that," Hanna nodded her head.

She pressed her lips against his again, then hugged him tightly.

Emily

Emily gulped down a ton of alcohol, and then set her beer bottle down on a nearby table. Then, she plastered a huge grin on her face, walking into the crowd of people who were at the party she was at. She swayed subtly and lightly to the loud music that was playing, not bothered by the invasive volume of the bass. She felt somebody near her, dancing against her. Their soft hands touched her waist, and for some reason, she liked the way she was being touched. It made her forget about everything that was hard in her life.

She turned around to face the person, smirking when she saw how attractive they were. The person was a beautiful blonde girl. She was wearing a tight dress that hugged her curves perfectly. Emily licked her lips. She liked where this was going already.

"Hey..." Emily said, raising her eyebrows.

"Hey," the girl greeted back. It seemed like there was a smirk on her face. "You must be Emily Fields, right?"

Emily furrowed her eyebrows. "Yeah... I am. Why? How do you even know who I am?"

The girl blinked.

"I've heard things about you," she said. She leaned closer. They were so close. "People talk about you all the time around here, you know that? The girls here talk about how hot you are. I looked at some photos, and I was surprised that they were so right. I wanted to see you for myself in person."

"And?" Emily laughed, shaking her head.

The girl laughed back.

"Oh, you definitely live up to my expectations," she said.

"That's good. I'm glad," Emily said, her voice flirtatious, practically inviting the girl to come closer to her. "So, are you going to tell me your name, or are you going to be a stranger all night?"

"My name's Jennifer," she answered. "You must come to these things often. You look like a pro out here."

"What do you mean?" Emily laughed. "I was barely even dancing."

"Well, your supposed 'barely dancing' is hotter than any dancing I've ever done, even when I'm trying my hardest," Jennifer joked.

"I'm sure you're not that bad. And to be fair, I used to take dance lessons. I started when I was really young, too. Everyone can learn. Maybe you just need to find the right teacher," Emily flirted harder. She stepped even closer to Jennifer.

She took a leap of faith and planted her hands on Jennifer's cheeks. Getting a good vibe back from that move, Emily leaned in and kissed her. It was short, yet Emily felt like there was a depth to it... a depth that she liked, and that she wanted to explore even more.

"So, since you said that you're not really a party pro, maybe you'd wanna come back to my dorm?" Emily offered, stroking her hand down Jennifer's arm seductively.

"I'm not opposed to that at all," Jennifer bit her lip.

Alison

Immediately after school that day, Alison DiLaurentis went up to her room. She was also attending Hollis College, so she got to see Aria quite frequently. But first, she attended Rosewood State for a year, and then decided to try transferring to Hollis College. She knew that she wanted to stay somewhere close to home so that she could be near her family... especially Charlotte. She wanted to try and build a strong relationship with Charlotte, and support her while she was being taken care of at the Welby State Psychiatric Hospital. She was studying to become a teacher, specifically an English teacher. She hoped that she would be able to teach at Rosewood High School someday.

She wanted to get out of Rosewood, but there seemed to be no purpose to it. She didn't have huge aspirations in life. All she was really looking for was some basic stability. At least, that was what she had wanted before. After the chaos of A and being on the run for a few years, Alison was tired of the games. She was tired of being scared and stressed. She needed some peace in her life, and was hoping that since the A game was no more, she would be able to find that sort of stability. She had a basic plan etched out in her mind: finish school, find a decent job, get married, and start a family.

That peaceful life had been the dream for her. She could live so normally.

She would be married to a nice man, have kids of her own, and maintain a relationship with her sister. It seemed that it was fool proof, and that was why she liked it. There was no risk factor. Life would be easy. It would take some time to get there (to finish school, to find a good man, and all that...), but nonetheless was worth it in the end. It meant no more drama.

But it got boring. The easy life got boring. And sometimes she started to miss when she was surrounded by her best friends. She still had Aria, of course, but they didn't talk that much. They'd go out together sometimes, maybe get a cup of coffee before class some days. But Aria had her own life. She had her own friends, her own aspirations, her own everything. They weren't that close.

And that was why she decided to book a ticket to California. Malibu, California, to be more specific. Right where Emily Fields was partying her ass off in college.

It was a surprise, and also a risky move. She had no idea if Emily still cared about her, or if she even wanted her there.

They sometimes had talked on the phone, but not so much anymore. But for some reason, the thought kept crossing her mind. Alison kept wondering if she should go visit Emily. She wanted to. Emily was one of the only people who she had let her walls down around... she was one of the few people who Alison actually loved.

In the middle of her search for flights to California, her doorbell rang loudly, invading her ears— invading the excitement and fear she had about her upcoming trip to California. She groaned quietly, hopping off of her bed and heading downstairs. She opened her front door, raising her eyebrows when she saw Elliott Rollins standing there. Or, Dr. Rollins, to be more specific.

He was one of Charlotte's mental health doctors over at the Welby Hospital. Alison had met him a while back, right when Charlotte got placed at Welby. He was a nice man, and he was most certainly fairly charming. He had kind eyes and a kind smile, pale skin, and silky brown hair. He was always well-dressed and professional-looking. Alison was quite fond of him. He was the only one of Charlotte's doctors who Alison actually liked. The rest of them didn't care about Charlotte or her wellbeing; they just cared about getting a nice salary. Elliott cared. He cared about Alison, and he cared about Charlotte.

"Elliott!" Alison greeted, slightly startled that he came to her door. "Hi! What are you doing here? I mean, don't you have to be at work?"

"No, I clocked out for the day since I worked overtime the other night," he explained calmly. "I thought I'd come over to see you, since I have the afternoon off today."

"Oh..." Alison blushed. "That's sweet. Do you need something?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Not necessarily. But I would like to take you out for dinner next Friday. What do you say to that?"

Alison pressed her lips together. It wouldn't work. She was planning on being in California next week, unless Emily ended up kicking her out.

"I... I don't think I'm going to be here next week, Elliott. I'm sorry. I'm taking a trip," she apologized.

"No, don't be sorry, Alison," he smiled sweetly. "It's all good. I completely understand. But, perhaps we could go out for dinner another time, then? Maybe tonight instead? I mean, you're done with school for the day, and I'm done with my work."

"I don't think that's a good idea," she bit her lip. "I actually have a lot of homework that I need to submit online before midnight."

"Alright, that's also fine," Elliott nodded his head, getting the feeling that he was just being rejected. "I hope you're not just saying that to blow me off, and that you're actually busy and going on a trip."

"I am, I promise," she assured him. She did have homework, it wasn't a lie. And she was going on a trip. That also wasn't a lie. "Look, I think you're great, Elliott. You're kind, smart, and funny. I like being around you, but..."

"But?" he raised his eyebrows. "I got the feeling that you liked me, too, but it wouldn't be the first time that my judgment's been wrong about something like this." He laughed quietly, but there was a certain sadness to it.

She tilted her head to the side. "But nothing. You're fine as is, Elliott. I just don't think that this is a good idea. You're Charlotte's doctor. It's just not professional, okay?"

He nodded his head.

"I get it. But with all the progress that Charlotte's making, I think she'll be out of there real quickly. I'm hoping that I'm right, and I'm also hoping that means that you're willing to grab dinner with me sometime after this is all over?" he asked.

"We'll see," she smiled.

"Well, that's better than nothing. I'll take what I can get," he chuckled. "Whether or not you agreed, it's always a pleasure to see you, Alison."

"You, too," she said.

He stood there for a moment, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. He decided to step closer and press a kiss to her cheek. It was soft and gentle, and clearly was nothing more than innocent. Alison kept smiling, looking at him sympathetically as he backed away from her front door. Elliott Rollins was a good man, and Alison knew that. He was the perfect type of man for her to start a life and a family with. He was certainly husband material. She had known him for a long time, so she could tell. It was no secret that he cared about her, or that he had feelings for her... at least not anymore. But Alison couldn't bring herself to say yes to going on a date with him just yet.

She wasn't sure why.

He was, essentially, perfect.

But she was starting to doubt herself— the plan of safety that she had created for herself in order to avoid ever getting hurt again after high school. She didn't really want to ease herself into a domestic, boring life. She was Alison DiLaurentis, for God's sake. She used to be a legend— a wild girl who had tons of fun. She knew she had made a lot of mistakes in her past, and maybe she was too wild, but she couldn't help but miss having a little adventure in her life. She felt like she was having a mid-life crisis even though she hadn't even finished college yet! That was how she knew that her life was just no fun.

And maybe seeing one of her favorite people from her past would help her pick up some of the pieces of who she used to be. Because she hadn't just changed. She was an entirely new person— almost unrecognizable. Some people would say that it was a good thing that she changed herself completely after everything that she had done as a teenager, but she had to disagree. Despite her mistakes, there was some good to her.

And Emily Fields was always the one who brought out the best in her, even when she used to have fun in life. She was hoping that Emily could make her have fun again, but without sacrificing every healthy, good part of her personality that she was able to grow and develop after taking some time to herself.