Alison knew when she left that night that things would not be the same, that things would never go back to how they were. She was willing to take that risk to get away from the one person she was afraid of. A.

Alison's POV

No-one ever understood what it was like for Alison the months that A terrorised her. She couldn't tell her friends, she couldn't tell her family. So as always, it was down to her. She hadn't wanted to leave Rosewood, nor had she wanted to leave Emily, Aria, Hanna or Spencer, but it was for the best, and Alison would always do what it took to survive. When she left, A seemed to back off, disappear, but it was never that simple. Alison wasn't that simple. As the saying goes, the calm comes before a storm, and this storm wasn't about to blow over.

It was cold the night Alison received the text, she remembered it well. She lay on a dirty sofa in this abandoned apartment. The windows were smashed, and Ali's plan of trying to cover them with the wood that lay around hadn't worked that well. Wind blew straight through and around the apartment, sending shivers up and through Alison's body. She lay there, her teeth chattering, having only her coat as a form of blanket, her eyes wide open as she glared up to peeling paint of the ceiling. It was quiet, aside from the distant police sirens in the distance which Alison could hear, but she never felt like she was alone. Even though A had gone quiet when she left town, Alison knew better than that. A was watching her, she always was. Eventually sleep began to wash over Alison, exhaustion hitting her like a tonne of bricks.

But exhaustion was not an excuse, it was a weakness. One that gave A an advantage.

Seems the beauty sleep is needed, bitch. I'll be watching, as always. –A

It wasn't until the morning that Alison woke up, a gasp leaving her lips as she sat up abruptly, looking around. The previously empty apartment was filled with pictures of Alison sleeping from different locations over the past few days. From the bus stop, to a motel, to a guy's bedroom, to the abandoned factory and, directly in front of her, pinned onto the wall, was an enlarged photo of her sleeping, last night. Here. A had been following her, watching her constantly. That creep. Alison instantly picked up her phone and read the text. I'll be watching. No no no no no this was supposed to go away. She threw her phone across the apartment, letting it smash into a million pieces. No more tracing her. No more. She took a deep breath and quickly ripped down any of the photos on the walls, gathered up the ones on the floor and shoved them into her bag, she'd burn them at some point, but for now she had to get out. She had to get away.

She knew breaking her phone would mean she couldn't contact her friends, not directly, but she had other ways. Alison wasn't stupid, and she knew to beat A, to get away, she'd have to be more than just smart. She'd have to be manipulative, harsh, selfish and careless of anything else but her own safety. She'd kept secret's before, more than anyone even knew.

Alison left the apartment within minutes of waking up, constantly checking over her shoulder for anyone. Because anyone could be A, and it was this unknowing which concerned her the most. She briskly walked out onto the street and stood there for a short moment. The morning sun was shining, people were on their way to work, some on their way to school, some just out for a stroll in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Everything just seemed so normal, and normality wasn't something Alison was used to. A few passers-by gave her a look, she knew her hair was messy and she looked uneasy, and so soon enough, and complete Alison style, she composed herself, regaining a more controlled and persuasive facial expression. She could do this. She walked down the street, but paused when she spotted a figure, someone in a black hoodie. The figure had its back to Alison, and clearly had no intention to turn around. Alison's mind jumped to a conclusion, the one conclusion possible and she went to take a step forward, she would end this once and for all.

But fate suggested otherwise. A hand reached out, taking hold of Alison's wrist, turning her 180°. Alison now faced an elder woman, perhaps of the age of 60 years old. The elder lady looked at Alison, her hand holding her to keep her from moving, not harshly, just controlled.

"Arent you that girl? The one everyone's looking for?" She spoke, her voice slightly croaky.

"No, I'm not, you must have me mistaken... I must go now" Alison replied, her voice firm, even if deep down she knew she should take better care concealing who she was. She ripped her wrist out of the old ladies grasp and turned back to where the hooded figure had stood. But now? Now there was no-one.

A was gone, but Alison knew it wouldn't be forever. The most recent text haunting her mind.

I'll be watching, as always-A

A's POV

That bitch. Believing she could just leave Rosewood and all of this would go away. A had things planned, of course they did, its how they worked. Alison was not the girl everyone seemed to know and love, she was a manipulating terrorising devil who deserved nothing less than what she was getting, Oh, and she would get it alright.

A was always steps ahead of Alison, steps ahead of everyone and so of course they had been prepared when Alison left Rosewood, A found it almost amusing that she believed running away would do much good. All it did was send her family and friends into a frenzy. She'd left typical Alison style, not giving a damn about anyone else but herself. It made A hate her more. A remained quiet for a few days, giving Alison this sense of breath and control. However as each day passed, A continued to get ready to break that pretty little bitch down. Each evening, A took a photo of Alison asleep, when she was her most vulnerable.

It was a night on the last day of the week A decided to shatter Alison's security of her mind. Dressed in appropriate black attire, A entered the abandoned apartment silently, a small smirk growing on their lips as they saw the sleeping Alison.

Oh how easy it would be to kill her now. But death was too easy. Alison deserved far worse.

Within minutes A was done. The numerous pictures were scattered across the room. They walked over to Alison, kneeling beside her, a small grin playing on their face, triumphantly. They lifted a hand, brushing it against Alison's cheek.

"Sweet dreams, bitch", they muttered, more to themselves than anything.

A would return again, but for now all they could do was wait, and the anticipation was often the best part.

From watching Pretty Little Liars I've always wished way more of Alison's time away was shown, especially with A taunting her! This is just the beginning and so a little slow, but I hope to re-create what I would like to think happened to Alison when she left Rosewood.

I also decided to add A's point of view, as I believe that to be the most cryptic and interesting to follow!

Let me know what you guys think :)

-Kisses, Emily.