Disclaimer: Don't own Pretty Little Liars
Author's Note: This story has been in development for a while but thanks to my new Beta Paraddicted, it finally has been published so expect an update about one a week. This is a heavy AU expect a lot of OOC and other things- though it will be a bit dark and the rating might change down the road. Hope you enjoy!
Spencer Hastings dreaded the sun rising as she lay in bed.
She had been up since 3am, wondering what was going to happen on her first day of her junior year. She had picked out her clothing the night before, and had made her lunch, but it didn't matter because she knew she was not ready to face whatever the day held. It would be the first time in a long while that she would be going to school alone.
It had been a really crappy summer.
From her long stint in rehab, to Alison throwing her out of the group, Spencer's life had completely unraveled and now, she was lost. Her family was now focused on Melissa and her coming child, they were blinded by how alone Spencer right now. There was no one she could turn to.
If it wasn't for her pride, she'd consider showing up on Alison's doorstep and begging her to be let back in. But every time that thought started to gain strength, she'd remember what Alison was now making Hanna do in order to stay thin. It repulsed Spencer to her core, but there was nothing she could do since no one believed her. Being a drug addict made sure that no one believed you when you actually were telling the truth.
It was another hour before her alarm went off, though the noise downstairs was loud enough to wake anyone up. Melissa and her new husband were staying in the barn until their new place was remodeled so it was a full house. While the rivalry between the sisters was not as intense as before, they still rarely got along; especially with their parents always siding with the elder sister.
Deciding to stop delaying the inevitable, Spencer got up and walked over to her closet where her outfit for school was hanging up. It was a very conservative dress with a white skirt and pink over shirt to cover her arms. After getting dressed, she put on a pair of white shoes and tied her hair into a pony tail. She applied only a little makeup to enhance her complexion but without over doing it and making it flashy.
Everyone, except her mother, was at the table eating breakfast when she entered the kitchen; it looked as if she had left already. They all looked at her their conversation coming to a halt, but Spencer ignored them and went straight for the coffee. As she drank, she looked at the clock and figured getting to school early wasn't a bad thing, since it meant that she'd get there before too many other students arrived.
Putting the empty coffee cup in the sink, Spencer grabbed her lunch from the fridge while doing her best to ignore the various looks of curiosity and concern from her family. It had been only a few days since she was back home and everyone was still walking on egg shells around her; except for Melissa who treated her as she usually did.
Spencer had packed her backpack last night, and left it in the kitchen near the table. Still ignoring everyone in the room, she placed her lunch into her pack and made her way to the door. She was almost out of the door before her father spoke up.
"Aren't you even going to say goodbye?" asked Peter Hastings, obviously annoyed at his daughters behavior.
"Goodbye; have to go to school," Spencer said sarcastically before she opened the kitchen door to leave. Her father spoke up again and his words stopped her.
"I have to head to the office; I'll take you," Peter said, and Spencer could have sworn she saw a smirk on Melissa's face. Wren kept his face neutral and just concentrated on his food, not wanting to get involved and incur the wrath of his wife.
"It's not far, so I'll just walk," Spencer claimed, she did not want to be embarrassed further by being dropped off by one of her parents.
"Get in the car Spence," ordered Peter, losing his patience. Spencer ripped opened the door and headed to the car.
It was a few minutes before her father got into the car all the while Spencer just tapped her fingers in frustration. She just wanted to go to school alone, and not have to deal with her parents if she didn't have to. She knew that giving them the silent treatment was immature, but given her lack of support in her family, it was all she had to really get back at them.
Peter's eyes darted from the road to his daughter continuously as they drove, but she just stared out the window and did her best to ignore him. Contrary to what Spencer believed, Peter really did care about his daughter and only wanted the best for her. While Spencer had been crushed by what Alison had done to her, Peter had been secretly elated since it meant that she was no longer affiliated with that family.
Though it had hurt him to see Spencer fall into drugs to cope; he had no problem blaming it on Alison.
"So your mother and I were talking; we think it might be good for you to get involved with some sort of school sport to keep you occupied. Plus it would look great on your application to UPenn," Peter suggested, glancing at his daughter to get a reaction.
"Fine; I'll try out for Lacrosse," Spencer said her voice devoid of any emotion. She was going to do it anyways, but she didn't to involve her parents in her school life.
Peter just muttered under his breath and sighed.
Eventually they arrived at school, and there were only a few kids outside. Before her father could get in a word, Spencer got out of the car, and practically ran towards the building without so much as a thank you or goodbye. Peter just shook his head and drove off, deciding to take Veronica's advice and give his daughter a few days to herself in order to adjust.
As expected, Spencer was met with stares and whispers as soon as she entered the halls of Rosewood High. She wasn't sure what got out first, Alison dumping her from the group or her stint in rehab. As she quickly walked to her locker, Spencer could hear the snickers being thrown her way which meant that she was now at the bottom of the social ladder.
She originally didn't care what anyone had thought about her in the beginning; before Alison. But being in Alison's circle of friends had made her popular, despite being the brainy one of the group. It had benefited Spencer a lot from being invited to parties that she normally would never have been invited to, to no one saying a single bad thing about her.
Spencer had gotten so used to it that, that it never occurred to her what would happen being at the bottom.
She felt relieved when she opened her locker and found nothing had been tampered with. People at the bottom had a tendency to be pranked very often with locker tampering being the worst of it. There were still pictures of Alison and Spencer on the locker door, so she gathered them quickly, stuffing them into her backpack so that they could be thrown out later.
At one time Spencer had loved Alison. Alison had been the sister that Spencer had always wanted, and the best friend she had ever had. Now that love had turned to hate during Spencer's time in rehab, and the blinders that she had on were no longer there. Spencer fully understood that Alison was a bully, and only considered her friends as dolls.
By the time Spencer was done packing her bag for the day, Alison and the other girls came into full view.
Despite her being the Devil, Alison looked gorgeous in a blue dress that showed off her figure pretty good. She was sporting black high heels, and a new velvet purse that looked pricy as well as flashy. The smile she wore was a total facade, and her eyes showed the manipulative girl that she really was. When Spencer caught her eye, Alison just smirked like she did to people she considered losers.
Beside Alison were the rest of the girls; trailing slightly behind so that it was clear; Alison was the leader of the group. Aria was wearing a pure black dress with black boots indicating that she was still in her Goth phase. Emily was in a pair of blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a white halter top that showed just a little cleavage; Spencer had no doubt that it was Alison who picked out the top.
It was Hanna that had gone over the biggest makeover of them all, and Spencer wasn't sure whether to be amazed or disgusted. She had lost weight, that much was obvious to Spencer; how she lost the weight was what really worried Spencer. Hanna was wearing a similar dress to Alison but way more revealing and slightly lighter in color; she was also wearing high heels which also matched Alison's which meant that they were picked out for Hanna.
Unlike Alison, the rest of the girls avoided eye contact with Spencer. She wasn't sure whether it was out of guilt or to not incur Alison's wrath. None of them had visited Spencer in rehab, and they hadn't even returned any of her letters or phone calls. Spencer had felt the betrayal, she needed her friends, but her anger was more directed at Alison than the rest of the girls.
The bell rang and Spencer shut her locker and headed to her first class. The one good thing her parents did for her while she was in rehab, was to make sure that she wasn't in any classes with Alison or her former friends. While she would never tell them but, she was appreciative since the pain of Alison was still fresh in her heart.
Spencer walked into her first class and sat in the front row. In the past, she always sat where Alison sat which was in the back so that she could do what she wanted. Now Spencer was free to sit where ever she wanted without having the distraction near her. As the rest of the class filtered in, there were stares and silent conversations but nothing that was too bad. One girl who caught her eye seemed familiar, but Spencer could not place the name to the face.
The first two classes went by without a hitch, Spencer ignored everything that went on around her, her concentration and focus purely on the teachers. She took notes and answering as many questions as possible, Spencer was smart and had no problems showing it. Without being stuck in regular school drama, she could now focus on her future.
By the time lunch came around, Spencer was starving since she failed to eat breakfast. Wanting to have little contact as possible with Alison and the group, she found herself a lone table outside, isolated from the rest. It was nice out so Spencer didn't have to worry about the weather. Taking out her lunch and a school book, Spencer read while she ate.
It was a few minutes before she was started by a voice; "Can I join you?"
Spencer looked up see the same girl from her first class standing there and smiling at her; in fact, Spencer was sure she was in her second class as well. There was a familiarity to the short girl that Spencer could not place, and it took a few seconds before Spencer was shocked in realization.
"Mona?" asked Spencer as she stared hard at the girl.
"Hello Spencer; long time no see," Mona said, her voice gentle and sweet.
The last time Spencer had seen Mona was just before the sophomore year ended, and it was not on good terms since Alison had played a pretty brutal prank on the short girl. The prank had been so vicious that it had been a heavy contributing factor in Spencer standing up to the Queen Bee. During her time in rehab, Spencer had felt guilty for not stepping forward when it came to Alison's numerous victims.
To say that Mona looked different was an understatement. She had gotten rid of the glasses and had gone with contacts. Her hair was not braided and flowed down, past her shoulders. Her attire was more stylish than what she wore in the past, with a green and white sweater vest with matching skirt. The skirt went down to her knees and showed off a bit more of her legs than before. Mona was also wearing makeup but it wasn't overly done and flashy like Alison's.
"Can I sit?" Mona asked again, her voice staying gentle.
Spencer nodded and Mona sat down across from her, taking out her lunch. It consisted of veggies and rice, clustered together inside a microwavable container. When Mona started eating, she occasionally glanced at Spencer, which was caught on but ignored at first. Deciding to try engage in conversation, Mona spoke up.
"I'm sorry about what happened," Mona said sincerely, catching Spencer by surprise.
"What do you mean?" asked Spencer, clearly knowing what the smaller girls meant.
"For losing your friends and what happened to you during the summer," Mona answered with a sad smile. Mona wasn't really sad for Spencer but knew how to fake it. Spencer didn't say anything, but looked like she was trying to hold it together.
"I had a crappy summer too; spent it in Radley," Mona admitted shyly and Spencer looked up at her classmate, startled.
Everyone in town knew about Radley Sanitarium which was located at the edge of Rosewood. It was for those who were mentally disturbed, and had other issues. Spencer knew about the place from Alison, whose mother was on the Board. It was said that once you entered Radley, you never came out.
"I had a breakdown at the end of the school year, and had to spend some time there," Mona explained before Spencer could ask.
Spencer now felt even guiltier she had a clear idea of what led to the breakdown though Mona had yet to say it.
"I'm sorry," Spencer said, truly meaning it.
"Well "Crazy Mona" seems to be a slight step up from "Loser Mona", so maybe it's for the best," Mona stated with a fake laugh.
Spencer didn't know what to say about that, and just kept silent. A part of her was glad that she wasn't the only one damaged at school right now, and she secretly hoped that Mona would take some of the spotlight off of her. But there was some guilt too since once again, it proved that Alison was a monster, and Spencer hadn't and couldn't do anything about it.
The rest of lunch was spent in silence, with Mona reading a book and occasionally looking up to smile at Spencer. Spencer herself didn't know what to say to the smaller teen and kept to herself, out of guilt and suspicion that Mona was taunting her. If anyone had a justifiable grudge against Spencer right now, Mona would be that person; especially since Spencer no longer had a group to protect her.
The rest of the day was mediocre, and Spencer was quick to learn that she shared all her classes with Mona, and none with her former friends. The smaller teen had taken up sitting next to Spencer in almost every class, though Mona seemed to only concentrate on the class itself and not on Spencer; which the taller girl was grateful for.
If there was one silver lining, it was that Spencer hadn't seen Alison and her posse since the initial encounter in the morning. The term "Druggie Spencer" had come to her attention in overheard whispers from other students; no doubt created by Alison to further isolate her. It was as if Alison deliberately wanted Spencer alone, with no group to call her own.
Which was funny since Spencer had no intention of ever becoming a part of a group again.
When school ended, Spencer quickly made her way to her locker, and gathered her things into her bag before exiting school. She ignored the rest of the students, as they made their way to their cars, bikes, or family members waiting for them in front of the school. She caught a brief glance of Alison and the group piling in Emily's car and taking off.
After ten minutes of waiting, it was apparent that no one was coming to pick her up from school. She wasn't surprise that her family had forgotten about her or just didn't care though Spencer wished she had brought her bike. The bus had already left, and all there was to do was just walk home. It was about a mile away, so it shouldn't take her that long although, it was starting to get chilly.
She walked for about six minutes before she heard a car come alongside her. Looking over, Spencer was surprised to see a classic blue and white car from the last century stop just ahead of her, the passenger side window rolled down. A familiar voice came from the car just as she walked right next to it.
"Care for a ride?" asked Mona with a smile.
Please R&R!