Spencer Hastings strolled casually into the halls of Rosewood High. Her cocoa-colored waves swished from left to right against her bare back. The heels of her shoes clicked in perfect rhythm against the newly waxed floor. She could see a hunched-over secretary packing up her things through the transparent office door. She jogged to it, pushing the entryway open and nearly tripping over the carpet.

"Hi. I'm so sorry but I really need my transcript."

The woman looked up at her through a pair of bifocals.

"Now."

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I need to get going."

"Please?" Spencer felt her toes curl uncomfortably in her pointy heels.

Picking up a few more things, she shook her head, letting a few loose strands out of her elastic and stuffed some papers into an oversized purse. "Sorry, I'm required to leave the office by a certain time and I'm already running late."

"I know, it's a lot to ask but I really need it right now. I was supposed to mail my grades in yesterday."

"One day late and two days late isn't much of a difference."

Spencer sighed. Clearly, no one would understand the importance of what she was trying to accomplish. "Thank you...for your help."

Spencer was never one to show her true colors when she was angry, not since the last time her patience proved thin. What could she do? Her mind wandered back through the wreckage, trying to remember a less complicated time. However, her mind rested on something much more painful.

"I can't believe I'm going to be stuck here. I always thought I would be the one off to an Ivy-league university, gushing all about my latest discoveries to you over a Skype date."

"I know, Spence."

"Aria, come on you know that out of any of us, I deserved to be away from-"

Aria glared at her.

"You know what I mean. I was dreaming of dormitories before I even knew how to spell, and before 'A' screwed with all of us."

"But 'A' happened, to everyone, in a big way. 'A' didn't take this experience away from me, Hanna or Emily because it wasn't as important to us."

"Don't you get it?" Spencer stamped. " 'A' can't follow you to UCLA, Aria! 'A' can't follow Emily or Hanna either. 'A'' can't be in four places at once. I am the one that 'A' is going to be after, not you."

Aria shook her head. "You KNOW what 'A' is capable of. None of us are escaping! We are in just as much danger as you are."

...

She shook away from the memory just in time to realize the secretary was shooing her out.

"You can come back tomorrow, the office opens at eleven. Go along so I can lock up."

Taking a few deep breaths to calm her boiling blood, she waited a moment to reply, "Yes ma'am"

Her eyes lowered and she left with nothing but a racing pulse. Then, as if it were clockwork, she heard the dreaded beep.

You can run but you can't hide. -A

Squeezing the bridge of her nose between her pointer finger and her thumb, her eyes shyed away from the taunting message. When was she going to accept the fact that to everyone in Rosewood, she'd always be the haunted soul who was best friends with Alison?

The liar.

The Hastings family would never be able to recover from all of the events since Alison's death. Spencer could never recover from the whirlwind of deceit coming from all sides. She never felt like anyone was in her corner.

"Spencer."

She knew that voice, even after all this time it gave her butterflies. Her eyes locked with his, but her mouth was pressed closed. This was not the time.

"I can get the tran-"

"Shush!" A hand flew over his loose lips.

"Relax. Mrs. Lydon is already gone." He was barely audible beneath her hold.

"No."

"No what?"

"Stop it, Toby."

He ran his fingers through his hair. He had waited so long to hear her say his name again. "Before you go on with your lecture about me following you like a lost puppy, I'm here mapping out the school's new extension. They need more space, a new biology lab."

They stood there in silence. Not sure how to proceed.

In true Spencer fashion, she made the first move and brushed past him. "Good."

"I have the master key. I can get into her office and bring it by after I-"

She cut him off without turning around, not missing a step. "I'm not going home."

"Where are you going?"

Suddenly, her head spun in his direction. "I don't have to answer to you anymore."

Her eyes burned and her body weakened. God, 'A' was a bitch. Everything was ripped away from Spencer just as it became tangible. Right when things were falling into perfect harmony, her still-beating heart was ripped from her chest. All because she had decided to give in. She caved. After everything Spencer and the rest of the girls had been through, it was never a good idea. When Mona offered her a place on the team...she turned it down. It wasn't until Toby had convinced her that she should take...whoever the "As" were up on the offer that she actually considered it.

It was right after CeCe came into town. Everyone had an uneasy feeling about that girl, she knew something. She was up to something, no doubt. That's when Spencer found out that Toby had been on the "A" team for weeks, trying to uncover as much as he could to help the girls, he didn't want to see them get hurt. He should have known better than to expose his secret. Sure, Spencer would have been livid but the result of his carelessness was much worse than he anticipated.

Recalling even the smallest detail of the incident still made her stomach turn. She remembered the words that were hissed from behind her.

"We know that you know, Spencer."

She got the same shiver in her spine as the memory rolled through her mind like a film.

"Your choice, you can join the 'A' team now...or we could settle it another way."

"What other way?"

"Well, Toby betrayed the team...so I guess he'll have to take one for the team."

"You wouldn't."

"We would."

It seemed like there was no other choice. Joining the team would save Toby, and keep 'A' away from the two of them. Right?
Wrong. Everything came crashing down, starting with the very moment Spencer said "Fine. I'll join you."