Spencer

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Spencer." Spencer's head snapped up at the sound of her name, and she glanced down the long dining room table at her mother. Veronica raised her eyebrows and shot a look at the spoon in Spencer's hand, which she had been absentmindedly tapping against the rim of her soup bowl without even realizing.

Spencer dropped the spoon and looked away. The middle-aged businessman sitting beside her father made a joke about trade stocks, and the table erupted into laughter. Spencer hid a groan. She liked a good economy joke as much as the next honors-level eighth grader, but sitting through one of her parents' endless dinner parties wasn't exactly her idea of a good time.

She'd begged her mother to let her skip this one and hide out in her room instead, but Veronica had been adamant that Spencer attend. "Several of our neighbors will be there," she'd said firmly. "What will they think if our own daughter would rather barricade herself in her bedroom?"

In Spencer's opinion, they'd understand that the last thing a fourteen year old girl wanted to do was spend the evening with a bunch of upper middle class lawyers and businesspeople, but her mother never saw these things from her perspective. And when she'd complained that they were allowing Melissa to skip dinner, Veronica reminded her that Melissa had a very important final to study for and couldn't be distracted.

Spencer had a geography test the next day, but she didn't bother to bring it up. Her parents always played by a different set of rules when it came to her sister.

She didn't even mean to do it, but as her eyes swept around the table, they settled on the girl sitting directly across from her, the only other person in the room without a full-time career and a pension plan.

Before Spencer could look away, Alison DiLaurentis' eyes lifted from her phone. She furrowed her brow at Spencer. "What are you staring at?"

"Nothing," Spencer stammered, quickly grabbing her spoon and taking another sip of her soup. Spencer hadn't known that Alison would be coming to this party until she showed up at the door with her parents and had to be pressed by her mother to even say "hello."

Spencer had been surprised that the DiLaurentises had even been invited. Though the families had lived next door to each other for years, there had always been a strange tension between them. Spencer's parents insisted that the DiLaurentis family was just jealous of them, but Spencer had always gotten a feeling that there was more to the story. Even last week, right before the invitations had gone out, she'd heard them arguing about including their next-door neighbors. Something about "distancing ourselves" and "keeping up appearances."

But Spencer wasn't quite sure why Alison had come along. None of the other neighbors or colleagues had brought their children. And Alison obviously had no interest in befriending Spencer – she'd spoken less than three words to her over the past hour.

Jessica DiLaurentis, Alison's mother, glanced over, possibly hearing the girls' voices. "Alison," she said sharply. "Phone away, please."

Alison opened her mouth, her eyes narrowed as if she was getting ready to fight. But Mrs. DiLaurentis cleared her throat, and she just let out a labored sigh, as if she couldn't imagine a situation more painful.

"These phones," an estate lawyer beside Alison's father said with a laugh, setting down his glass of wine. "My son might as well glue his to his hand."

Despite the lighthearted tone of his comment, a slightly awkward silence settled over the table. Alison looked dangerously close to retorting. Spencer's mother coughed. "Spencer, why don't you and Alison go on up to your room?"

Spencer stared at her mother, feeling the air leave her lungs. Go hang out in her room…with Alison DiLaurentis? She'd have rather suffered through the rest of dinner. She hesitated. Her father met her eyes. "Go on, Spence."

Feeling trapped, Spencer slid her chair back and stood. She smoothed down her skirt. "O-okay." She shot a glance over at Alison, who was slowly rising to her feet as well, an indecipherable expression on her face.

The girls were silent as Spencer led the way up the stairs and into her bedroom. Spencer stood awkwardly near her bed, watching Alison gaze around the room with the same scrutinizing look she wore just before criticizing someone's outfit or making fun of their glasses in the halls at school. Her eyes locked onto the multitude of blue ribbons pinned to Spencer's bulletin board. "Wow. Impressive."

Was she being snarky or serious? "Most of those are just from horseback riding," Spencer said dismissively, then wondered why she felt the need to downplay her success in Alison's presence. "And, I mean, some academic awards."

"Hmm." Alison perched on the edge of Spencer's bed and pulled out her phone again. "No wonder I never see you hanging out with anyone."

Spencer flinched as the blonde began texting furiously once again. Irritation suddenly flared in her chest. Alison was a guest in her house, was sitting here in her room, and she could barely be bothered to even look at her?

"Why'd you even come tonight?" The words spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them. "It doesn't exactly seem like you want to be here."

Alison raised her eyes from her phone, her eyebrows shooting up. Spencer folded her arms and tried to look strong and confident, and not at all like she was petrified that the meanest, most popular girl in school was about to destroy her in her own bedroom.

But to her immense shock, Alison just lowered her phone and offered Spencer a slight smirk. "Honestly? My dad busted me sneaking in way after my curfew last night." She spread her arms out, indicating the room. "So this is my punishment."

Spencer tried to ignore the fact that Alison had basically just insulted her to her face. "At least it's only once," she said, sinking down into the chair at her desk. "My parents make me go to all of their stupid dinner parties."

Alison tilted her head and glanced toward the window. The roof of the barn was barely visible. "I didn't see Melissa down there."

For some reason, Spencer was surprised to hear Melissa's name come out of Alison's mouth. They'd lived next door to each other since Spencer was in kindergarten – there was no reason why Alison wouldn't know at least a little about her family. But Alison's world at school was so different that Spencer supposed she subconsciously figured that their home lives took place on different planes of existence, too.

"She's out in the barn, studying," she answered, trying to keep the twinge of bitterness that she felt out of her voice. After all, it wasn't Melissa's fault that Spencer could never seem to measure up in her parents' eyes.

"Sure she is," Alison said with a snort. Before Spencer could question her, she went on, "Don't worry, I won't tell your secret."

Spencer's brow furrowed. The biggest secret she ever kept was that she occasionally snuck a sip of her mom's wine at dinner when she wasn't looking, but there was no way that Alison could know that, was there? "What do you mean?"

Alison gave a conspiratorial, slightly condescending wink. "Having an older sibling can really suck. I get it."

Spencer realized with a jolt what she was inferring. "Melissa and I are actually really close," she said defensively, pushing up her glasses. Even though they were only for reading, she'd decided to wear them tonight to try and make herself look smarter and more mature in front of all of her parents' lawyer friends. Now, looking at Alison with her perfectly curled hair and flawless skin, she just felt kind of nerdy.

"If you say so." Alison drew the words out slowly. She gave Spencer a look of plain disinterest and went back to her phone.

All at once, a strange feeling of desperation spread through Spencer, from her head to her toes. It was a feeling that, as someone who focused all of her time and energy on studying and field hockey practices and running five middle school clubs, she had never experienced before.

It took her a moment to realize what it was – she wanted to impress Alison. Wanted to be liked by her. Maybe it was because Alison was the most popular girl in school, or maybe because this was the closest thing Spencer had had to a conversation with an actual friend all year, but Alison's bored expression hit her like a punch to the stomach.

She turned her head slightly, her eyes landing on the wall of ribbons and the trophies lined neatly on the desk beneath them. Academic bowls, riding competitions, spelling bees, field hockey tournaments…she'd done it all alone. Kids wanted to partner with her for projects because they knew she'd do all the work, not because they actually wanted to work with her. The only sleepovers she'd ever been to were coordinated field hockey team bonding events. Surreptitiously, she glanced down at her own phone. The last five texts she'd received were all from classmates who wanted homework help.

It had been like this for as long as she could remember. And now Alison DiLaurentis, the most feared – but also most beloved – girl in school was sitting five feet away from her. This was her chance, maybe the only one she would ever get. And Spencer realized, for the first time in her life, how much she wanted to take it.

"Well," she blurted, frowning when Alison didn't even glance up, "I guess it does get kind of annoying. Sometimes it feels like Melissa's held to a totally different standard than I am."

Alison finally lowered her phone again. "That must be awful," she sighed, shooting Spencer an understanding smile. "All I have to deal with is my brother's stupid stoner friends."

Spencer ran her finger along the edge of the desk. "He must have a lot of parties. We can always hear music coming from your house at night. It drives my dad crazy."

She expected Alison to gloat, but to her surprise, the blonde grimaced. "Parties? More like smoky snooze-fests. I can't get out of there fast enough."

There was a slight darkness to her words that Spencer couldn't interpret. Before she could figure out a response, Alison checked her phone again, then hopped to her feet and adjusted her dove gray mini dress, the kind of thing that made Spencer feel incredibly frumpy in her plaid skirt and tucked-in blouse. "Speaking of parties," Alison trilled, "it looks like the one at Sean Ackard's house tonight is just getting started."

For once in her life, Spencer felt clueless, watching dumbly as Alison crossed the room and heaved open the window. "You have to be kidding me," Alison said in wonder. "You have a tree right outside your window, and I've never seen you at a single party?"

Spencer just shrugged, not sure what to say. She'd always been a "stay in and study" type of girl, not exactly a partygoer. And definitely not the kind of person who snuck out of her house. She watched silently as Alison slipped off her dusty pink heels. "Don't worry," she called over her shoulder. "You don't have to cover for me. I just texted my dad that I had a stomachache and slipped out to go lie down at home."

"Oh." Spencer blinked. She was really leaving?

Alison was halfway out of the window, her movements graceful from what was clearly a lot of practice, when she caught Spencer's eye. She frowned, twisting her mouth to the side thoughtfully. Then, before Spencer could register what was happening, she was back on two feet in her bedroom. "Want to come with?"
"What?"

"I said," Alison repeated, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow, "why don't you come with me?"

A strange mixture of exhilaration and anxiety flashed through Spencer's stomach. She shot a glance at the door. "I can't. My parents…"

"Will never know a thing," Alison finished, her smile bright and reassuring. "Trust me. I'm an expert at this. I'll have you there and back before the dessert plates are collected."

Her tone was so supportive, her words so comforting, that Spencer felt her fears began to lift. A sort of nervous thrill took over completely. She'd never imagined going to a party before. In fact, she'd always scoffed when her classmates whispered about stashing away a parent's bottle of tequila or discussed how they could get rides to someone's house on a Friday night.

She'd always figured her disdain was simply because she was above that sort of thing, too mature for musty basements, sloppy drunkenness, and uncoordinated groping in the dark. But perhaps the real reason was because she'd never considered what it would be like to walk into a party with Alison DiLaurentis by her side.

"Okay," she said before she could change her mind. She scrambled up, pushing sudden second thoughts about Alison's intentions out of her mind. They'd bonded. Alison wouldn't have asked her along if she didn't want her there. She had clearly realized that Spencer was more than just the geeky honors student who lived next door.

And even better, it felt like Spencer was finally realizing that, too.

Alison beamed. "It'll be fun," she promised, swiftly reaching over and swiping Spencer's glasses right off of her. She set them on the nightstand, then undid the barrette from Spencer's hair, letting it fall free on either side of her face. "You'll thank me," she murmured when Spencer opened her mouth in protest.

Spencer wasn't about to argue with that. She wasn't about to do anything that might jeopardize this night. She glanced once more over her shoulder, trying to block out the sounds of the adults' laughter and silverware clinking. Then she took a deep breath and turned determinedly back to Alison. "Let's do it."

It's always bothered me that we never found out how Alison and the Liars originally became friends in the show. So I figured I would come up with my own answers! There will be a separate chapter for each girl - Emily is up next. I hope you enjoy this, and please let me know what you think by dropping me a review!