The rain was coming down hard in the town of Rosewood. It was the last night of summer and Nikki, Olivia, and Claire were waiting for April to get to Olivia garage. They were on the second floor.
"Where is she?!" Olivia complained.
"I thought you'd be happy to be away from her" Nikki joked. Though their was some truth to it. April and Olivia were always fighting. They were too alike with goals and interests and complete opposites with their looks.
They were both loaded and trying to be the best at absolutely everything. But April was tall with golden blond hair and darker blond highlights, dark blue eyes, perfect skin that was always tan and boobs. Olivia had black hair that fell to a centimeter past her shoulder eyes that were dark enough to be black but was technically brown, she had freckles, was extremely pale, flat chested and was fairly short.
"Yeah, but it's been all summer. I wanna see the girl." Olivia said.
"Gone to long without a fight?" Claire asked. Olivia just smirked, Nikki laughed. Nikki had hazel/brown eyes blond hair that fell two inches below her shoulders. She had glasses, zits, freckles and her hair was almost always in braids or pigtails. April had decided that Nikki was the nerd of the group and since then all Nikki had wanted was to be more like April.
"Well her wait is over" said a voice from outside the door, a voice the girls knew to well.
"APRIL!" All three girls said at once as she entered the room. She hugged each girl, formed a truce with Olivia for at least the night. Then she went back to Claire. April was wearing a flowy red shirt, skinny jeans, and the same scarf she always wore. It was sky blue with royal blue O shapes.
"So we have the whiskey and lots of bags of chips... for some reason" Claire said as she gave April a "tour" even though all that was up there were some old couches, a tv, things the girls brought up, and all the girls had been up there a thousand times.
"Did you eat any?" April asked Claire with a smirk. Claire got quiet after that. The girls didn't notice.
"So where were you all summer?" Nikki asked.
"I was everywhere girls!" April said happily. The girls spent the night drinking and laughing and talking about summer.
A few hours later Nikki and Claire woke up in the second floor of Olivia's garage alone.
"Where's April and Olivia?" Claire asked.
"I don't- wait do you hear that" said Nikki cutting herself off. Claire listened and heard it. It was coming from down stairs.
"April!? APRIL!" Olivia was yelling. Nikki and Claire got up from where they and ran down the squeaking stairs. Olivia's parents cars were parked in the garage and standing in between the cars with her back to her friends was the screaming Olivia.
"Olivia." Claire finally cut her off.
Olivia turned to them with a worried look on her face.
"I woke and she was gone." Olivia said. You could hear the panic and fear for her friend in her voice.
"Hey." Said Claire in a calming voice as she went to go hug her, sensing her friends worry. Claire was by far the sweetest and most innocent looking of all the girls. Everything from her milk chocolate hair to her hazel eyes to her light freckles made her seem innocent.
"It's gonna be ok nothing bad is gonna to happen." Said Nikki as she went to go join the others. But she wasn't even fooling herself. They could all tell something bad had just happened.
** 1 Year Later **
The remaining three girls had lost touch after April had disappeared. Nikki completely changed how she looked. She styled her hair so it was wavy loose curls, she wore contacts instead of glasses, and got rid of the acne. She was close to perfect and popular. Her and her friends were practically queens of the school.
Olivia tried to forget the past. She became the captain of the basketball team. She stayed friends with Claire for awhile but they started to grow apart. She made other friends. Dylan was captain of the boy basketball team and Kristina who was also on the girls. The reason Olivia and Nikki lost touch with Claire was because Claire did something they were scared to do. Remember April.
Claire, not unlike the other girls, had been one of the popular girls before April disappeared. The other to did things that still made them fairly well known. Claire didn't. Claire became that shy girl that sits in the corner. She would read a lot, and keep to herself. She didn't really have any friends.
Exactly one year later was the first time the girls really saw each other, they ran into each other in the hallways on the first day of school during their lunch periods.
They just looked at one another, for three girls that used to be so close they couldn't look more different in that moment. Nikki was in a short trendy dress, Olivia was in a basketball uniform, Claire was in a baggy sweater and had a stack of books.
"Long time no see." Nikki finally broke the silence.
"Yeah" Said Olivia, but both seemed distant when they spoke.
"It was today." Said Claire. She spoke quiet enough that the others could barely hear her.
"Wow, way to be a downer." Nikki snapped.
"We were all thinking that." Olivia defended Claire.
"You don't know what I was think-" Nikki started but Olivia cut her off.
"We were ALL thinking that." She said. The three stood and stared at each other for awhile until they were interrupted by Dylan looking for Olivia.
"Hey, Liv, were we gonna play one on one?" He asked.
"Yeah, one sec." Looking up to face him. Nikki turned around to look at him.
"Hey Dylan." she said smiling at him.
"Hey. You coming?" He asked brushing Nikki off like she meant nothing.
"Yeah. Bye Claire." With that Olivia left with Dylan. Claire went the direction Olivia had come from.
"She's dead, Claire." Nikki called after her. Claire froze but didn't turn around. "You knew that right?" Nikki questioned further. Claire turned around.
"I'd just never heard anyone say it before." She explained her shock. Then she turn back and kept walking leaving Nikki there alone. Just then she got a text from an unknown number.
Wrecking friendships, wrecking family's. You do it all, don't you?
~A
"April?" Nikki asked quietly to herself, but out loud.
"Hey hey miss Nikki." Violet said cheerfully walking up to her.
"Hey." Nikki said trying to shake off the text, but she kept wanting to look back at it.
Olivia had been in the gym with Dylan after seeing the girls again. Dylan had black spiky hair and sapphire blue eyes. He was a tall handsome athlete which made most girls in the school have a huge crush on him, but Olivia saw him more as a brother than a boyfriend. Dylan was a senior. Olivia was one of his best friends, especially since most of the other jocks liked to hang around Nikki and her friends Violet and Tina. Dylan couldn't stand any of those three because they reminded him of April. April and Dylan were an item before she disappeared, and April wannabes really weren't his type. He and Olivia played basketball for awhile but when Dylan saw how out of it she was he stopped.
"You seem out of it." He said more like a question.
"I've just... gone to long without a coach yelling at me." Olivia joked.
"Avalon! Valentine! Stop braiding each others hair and get back on the court!" Dylan mocked the old coach by saying what he would always say to Olivia and Kristina.
"But coach Michaels is gone!"
"Thank god he hated me."
"Don't take it too personally. He hated everyone."
Dylan smiled. "Yeah I know."
"But really is something wrong?" He asked. A concerned look on his face.
"Yeah I just... I just have a lot on my mind."
"April?"
"Yeah April. I just can't believe it's been a year. I mean, most of me has come to terms with the fact that she's dead, but there's that small part of me that thinks one day, out of the blue, she'll show up out of no where. Like she's been their waiting, just waiting, probably with some guy." Dylan put his hand on his chest and stumbled backwards as if he'd been shot.
"You offend me." Said Dylan. Olivia rolled her eyes. She climbed to the top of the bleachers and looked out the window. Nikki was standing on a bench that Violet was sitting on and was making some stupid grand statement. Tina was there too, she had Scott's, one of the jocks who also happened to be one of Violet's exes, arm around her. The other jock, Tyler, was leaning on the bench. Olivia watched them.
"You know, if you ever wanted an April that would never leave you... Well she's right down there." Said Olivia gesturing to where Nikki was standing.
"No. No way. Never." Said Dylan.
"Oh come on! It's not like you can do any better than someone like that." Olivia said laughing while coming down from the bleachers. Dylan once again put his hand on his chest.
"What is it with you today?" He asked sarcastically.
"Well, I have to suffer through my sister coming back with a new ring tonight so..." Said Olivia.
"A ring. Did she at least get a guy to go with it this time, or is it just a ring?"
"Well it's Cynthia so you never know. I just really need to not be at my house tonight." Olivia said as she walked over to the bleachers to get her stuff and leave. Dylan started to laugh.
"No really can I come to your place tonight?" Olivia asked.
"You really want to come over and hear my dad yelling at me about college."
"I'd rather that than my parents fawning over Cynthia again and again, and again, and again, and again..." Olivia could have gone on forever but Dylan cut her off.
"She you're sister, Olivia." Said Dylan and Olivia frowned and looked for her phone.
"I know, so can I come over?" Olivia begged.
"Liv, you need to deal with her."
"I know. Do you think I can at least get her to look bad somehow."
"Cynthia? Good luck with that. See ya." Said Dylan as he left. But Olivia was not paying attention because before he spoke she had received a text.
Oh, the sister has a new man! Give him a kiss from me, that is, if your not to busy with the ones from you. ;)
~A
"Oh. My. God." Olivia's jaw dropped at the text.
Claire always sat alone in a quiet corner of the library. She would spend most of her lunch periods there alone. This one was the same as always. After lunch she made her way to the chemistry lab for class. She went and sat at her desk as class started. Other students in the came in, found their lab partners and talked till class started. Claire was still sitting alone. It wasn't till after class had started that she walked in. Her hair was long, dark brown, and curly with a dark purple streak. Her clothes were all black, a leather jacket, combat boots, ripped up fishnets. Her bag was leather with lots of chains. Her face was covered in black makeup, lots of eyeliner, lots of mascara, and black lipstick. The one cool thing about all the makeup was that it made her eyes stand out; they were the color of aquamarines, and beautiful. Claire couldn't help but notice that everyone was looking at her; they all thought she was a freak.
The girl walked over to the teacher, Mr. Brooks's, desk and handed him a note. He red the note and then looked back at the girl.
"Take a seat, Ms. Cook." He said as he gestured to Claire's desk. She started walking back to Claire's desk. A guys hand reached out to touch her but she slapped his hand away with her bag.
"Don't touch me." She glared at him. She spoke with a tone scary enough to get everyone to look away get back to work. The girl sat where she'd been told to, next to Claire.
"Hi. I'm Claire." Said Claire.
"Melody." Said the girl.
They worked on the project for awhile. Then the bell rang.
The girl ran from the room far too quickly leaving Claire alone and confused. And then she got a text.
Everyone is always running away from you. Strange too, your soooooo sweet! :)
~A
Claire just stared at the text, remembering.
**flashback**
April walked up the stone path that lead to Claire's house. She walked on to the porch, past the swinging bench, to the door and rang the bell. When no one answered after three seconds, she rang again, repeating this until Claire's grandmother came to the door.
"Hey Mrs. R." April said with a some what fake smile, the women just rolled her eyes.
"What do want April?" Claire's grandmother, Victoria, asked.
"I'm just here checking on my bestie."
April said as she tried and failed to look innocent.
"Well, she's fine so-" Victoria started but was interrupted by Claire, who had been watching the kitchen.
"Just let her in, grandma." Said Claire in a voice that sounded like she could break in to tears at any moment. Victoria moved aside and back up stairs. April ran down the short hallway and into the kitchen where Claire was.
"Oh, Claire bear." Said April as she hugged her friend. Claire just started sobbing in her arms.
"W-why would h-he leave?" Claire got out through sobs.
"You don't want to know." She said in a sympathetic voice. But Claire still heard what she said.
"What!" Claire pulled away from April. April stayed quiet.
"Why did Bret leave, April?"
"Look Claire, your sweet and he really likes you but..."
"But what!?"
"But sometimes scared little boys want their girlfriends but don't want to deal with their girlfriends problems and think it's easier to runaway and say that it's 'long-distance'."
"Long-distance is a fancy way of saying break up. Especially when the guy chose to move away and- wait! Did you just say I made him leave?"
April stood there, silently.
"I made him leave." Said Claire before she started to sob.
"Look honey." Said April "You're parents thought he could help you and said that as long as he was here you should be doing better. He figured if he left he couldn't be blamed
for the fact that you still don't eat. But their are things we can do."
"Like what?" Asked Claire.
April walked over to the fridge, opened the door and pulled out a pint of ice cream. Then she got a spoon and handed it to Claire who had almost stopped crying.
"EAT." April demanded. Claire did nothing. April opened the pint and got a spoon full.
"Open." She said as if Claire were a baby.
"I'm not a baby!" Claire laughed.
"But you're so cute like one." April joked back.
"Ugh, decide if your gonna break my heart or fix me." Said Claire after they laughed for awhile.
"I think I've proved I can do both." Said April. Claire opened her mouth to say something but April pushed the spoon in her mouth before she could. It took time but eventually Claire swallowed. April put more ice cream on the spoon.
"Next." Said April as she held up the spoon.
**End Flashback**
"Ms. Raymond." Mr. Brooks interrupted her thoughts. Claire turned off her phone looked up.
"Class is over." He said. Claire looked around to see she was the only one in the room and then left.
Olivia was in the garage, on the second floor. After April had gone missing Olivia decided to turn the garage in to a loft. Her parents said that if she got A's in all her classes and they were all AP she could do it. So she got the grades and that summer she made the garage into a loft. She was up stairs with headphones in when she heard someone walking around beneath her. After a few minuet the door slowly opened.
"Hey Liv!" Cynthia walked in.
"Thea." Olivia went and hugged her cousin. Seconds after Cynthia push her away and look around.
"The place looks nice. I thought it would look awful but... It's ok." Cynthia smiled.
"Glad you like it." Olivia said, still confused about why Cynthia was there. Cynthia probably would have started talking about what she hated about the garage but a loud crash can from down stairs.
"What was that." Olivia jumped
"Oh that's just Lewis." Cynthia said and Liv got confused. Lewis was a childhood friend that she had thought she'd been in love with. They had gone on a few dates but she had thought she was over him.
"Why is Lewis here?"
"Lewis is my fiancée." Olivia was shocked. Olivia
"Oh. Why is he in here?" Olivia asked trying to sound casual. Inside she was shore she could hear her heart breaking.
"Why wouldn't he be? We are gonna live in here."
"WHAT!" Olivia was now felt furious instead of betrayed.
"Oh of cores if Cynthia wants something she gets it instantly from OUR PARENTS! They offered ME THIS, NO YOU." Olivia lost it.
She ran back into the main house where her parents were sitting in the kitchen.
"WHAT THE HELL!" She screamed to them before she ran up stairs to her room. She heard her mother calling after her.
She collapsed on to her bed in a heap. She hated her sister. Hated her for how she was beautiful and smart and talented and all the other reasons most people really loved her for. She knew most of her hate came from a jealous place, but she wanted to be the girl parents was talking about all the time.
"Olivia." Her mother was standing in her door. "I know you wanted to move into the garage, but Cynthia and Lewis are a couple and need a place to stay, so with think its right that they get the garage."
"No, she gets the garage cause she's Cynthia."
"That's not true, if you were in her place and she in yours, you would get the garage."
"There's only a garage to live in cause I gave up my summer to do that!" Olivia was close to tears at that point. She was surprised that her mother saw that and actually hugged her. It didn't last long before they both pulled away.
"I can't give you back the garage. But I won't make you come dinner tonight if you don't want to."
"Thank you SO much." Olivia smiled for what felt like the first time in years.
"We'll be back soon." With that her mother left her room and soon she heard the front door slam shut. She was alone in that house.
A few hours went by where nothing happened. But after a while she heard a loud banging on the back door that made her jump. April. She was almost ashamed that that was the first thing to come into her mind. She approached the door shaking.
"April?" She whispered under her breath. Then she got to thinking, what would she do if it was April? She still had no clue when she opened the door. But it wasn't April.
"Hi. Can we talk." Claire asked. She was motioning to the pouch with a copy of today's paper.
There were two lounge chairs on Olivia's back pouch. There was a small glass table in between them that Cynthia had already put all her wedding magazines on. You could see the garage from there and the hot tube that the girls spent everyday in the summer in. Claire looked around taking in the yard she knew so well like it was the first time.
"You like the yellow ones, right?" Asked Olivia coming outside with too Gatorades, a yellow and a red. Not that she needed to ask. April had turned her in to waitress that summer, so she knew everything they ate and drank.
Claire brought herself back to reality. "Yeah, thanks." She said.
"You came here about that?" Olivia pointed to the newspaper. It was headlined with the words
**APRIL McCARTHY: ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY**
"They say it like its a good thing." Claire said.
"They also compare her to someone so..." She shrugged, but Claire knew what she meant. April never wanted to be like anyone.
"I still miss her." Claire said.
"You know it's weird" said Olivia "she drove me crazy but it's been a year... And I still don't know what life's like without her. I've never been so lost."
"Do you really think she's dead?" Claire brought up timidly. Liv looked down and was about to lie and say she did but she looked up and saw the look in Claire eyes and saw it.
"You've got them too. The messages... Form... A." There was a long pause.
"Only April could have possibly known what that text meant." Just then Claire's phone buzzed. To two girls looked at it unsure of what to do. Finally Claire looked at the text.
"It's just my grandma. She's want's me home." Said Claire. As much as Olivia hated to admit it, she let out a small sigh of relief when she found out it wasn't April.
"You want a ride?" Liv asked.
"Yeah. Thanks."
The girls got in Olivia's car and started to drive but they didn't get far before cop cars and giant crowds of people started to block there way.
"What's happening?" Claire asked.
"I don't... wait, isn't this April's house." They both looked at the house.
"You don't think they..." Claire didn't need to finish her sentence for Olivia to know what she meant.
"Only one way to find out." Olivia jumped out of the car but Claire stayed. She pushed through the crowed to get to the house. After a few minuets she came back.
"What's happening?!" Claire scream asked. The look on Olivia's face should have told her everything she needed to know, but it didn't.
"They- they found April." Olivia sounded close to tears but Claire didn't notice.
"Well where is she? Is she inside? Where's she been for the past year? Why'd she-"
"Claire!" Olivia cut her off. "It's not like that."
Nikki had a picture of her April and the other girls that she kept on her night stand most of the time but when she found out she just held it and sobbed.
She hadn't been out of the house sense she'd got that call from April's mom but today she had to. She was in all black.
"Nikki." Her mother called up to her. She started to walk downstairs missing more of her then she ever thought she'd lose.
There was only one thing going through her mind. She was almost ashamed of what it was though. It wasn't Oh poor April! or Who did this to her? No those would be normal things to think. Nikki's was different.
How can I be her if there's no her to be?
Claire walk up the stairs to the church. It was raining. There were lots of other people there to "celebrate April" but Claire couldn't figure out how anyone could find a way to use the word "celebrate" when talking about a fifteen year old who died. She might have felt less alone or less scared if she hadn't shown up alone, but her grandmother said that Jovie, Claire's little sister, was to young to see that, and to young to stay home alone (even though she was 11). So Claire walked in alone.
"Oh, Claire!" Said the familiar voice of Monica McCarthy, April's mother.
"Mrs. M I'm so sorry."
"Well. She would have loved all these people." The sadness with witch Monica spoke made Claire want to cry even more. It was true, though. Almost all of Rosewood seemed to be there, including many reporters.
"I asked the other girls to sit up front, if you could join them... It's what April would have wanted." Mrs. M continued.
"Of cores." Said Claire.
Claire walk down the alley. When she was at the foot of the stairs leading up to April's coffin, she froze. April's coffin. The thought terrified her. Inside that box was one of her best friends. Someone she loved. How could she go on now that she truly knew? Who could-. Before she could go off on too far of a tangent, a hand held hers. It was Olivia's. As the two girls eyes met they both could see tears. When Claire finally looked away from Olivia to see Nikki next to her with the same look in her eyes. Sadness. Fear. Lose.
Claire sat in the row with the other girls.
"Guy this is gonna sound really stupid, but tell me she's wearing the scarf?" Said Nikki, referring to the blue scarf April had worn not only the day she disappeared, but everyday sense she had gotten it.
"Yes, she was." Said Olivia. "And that's not stupid." She said the last part so sadly and quietly Nikki and Claire could barely hear.
"You know it started out as mine... Till she stole it." Claire said. All three managed small chuckles on the last part.
"I guess that's why she loved it so much." Said Nikki sadly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Claire got very defensive and confused Nikki.
"She loved you like a sister, Claire." Nikki explained. Claire nodded and was about to respond when Olivia cut her off.
"Nikki did you get one?!" Olivia blurted out.
"One what?" Nikki asked.
"A text from A?" Olivia lowered her voice and then Nikki did too after pausing for a minute and looking around.
"I'm not the only one?" Olivia nodded her head but Claire was turned the other way looking at something and seemed petrified.
"Claire what-" Olivia stopped when she saw her. She was a tall girl with chestnut brown hair. She wore a black dress and sunglasses covering her eyes. She had her arm linked with a man the girls had never seen. But they knew that girl to well.
"Is that who I think it is? Casey Grey?" Said Nikki. She breathed the name as if it was her biggest fear. Before any of them could say anything else, Monica McCarthy came and sat next to Claire.
"Did you see that Casey Grey was here? I didn't know she and April had been friends." Said Monica.
"They weren't." Said Olivia just as the service started.
It was still pouring down rain when the three girls walked out of the funeral home. Most everyone had started talking but the girls were silent. Soon they were approached by a women with long brown hair, brown eyes, and looked very official.
"Claire Raymond, Nicole Davis, and Olivia Avalon." She looked at them. When none of them said a word she continued. "I'm detective Lawson. I'll be investigating the murder of April McCarthy. I will probably need to speak to all of you at some point."
"We all talked to the police when April first went missing." Said Olivia.
"Yes I know. We will be reviewing you're statements, and may need you to give new ones. This has now become a murder investigation and rest assured, I will find out who did this." With that detective Lawson left. The girls watch her leave until another person got in there line of sight while getting in a car. Casey Grey. As the girls stared at her she turned her head. Then she lowered her sunglasses to reveal two hazel eyes. She made eye contact with all of them, waved, and then got into the car.
"You don't think-" Claire started.
"She wouldn't." Said Olivia.
"Why not its not like she has anything more to loose." Said Nikki.
Ring
Ring
Ring
All the girls looked at each other in fear and then looked at there phones.
"Oh my god-" Said Olivia.
"It from-" Said Nikki.
"I got one too." Said Claire. They all read the text out loud in unison.
"I'm still here bitches, and I know everything.
~A"
Hi guys. This is my first fanfic and its an idea I've had for a really long time (like, before the christmas episode aired) but I've never gotten around to writing it because I kept changing things in my head. I know it started a lot like the actual PLL but it will become more different as time goes on. I'm going to try to update as much as I can but I have a fairly busy schedule right now, hopefully I will have more time in the summer. I apologize now for any spelling mistakes I have made or might make in the future. Feel free to review with an ideas or just how you think the story is going so far.
Hope you liked the first chapter!