I've been working on this for a few weeks now, and I think it's just about ready. I'm very excited to share it with you all (assuming anyone reads it, but I really hope they do!). The first chapter is quite short, more of an introduction/prologue than anything, but the other chapters (of which there are nineteen) are longer.

Background: this is set during the start of season three. It starts the day that the girls have the conversation in the bathroom where Emily calls Aria 'Arlene' (episode two, if I'm not much mistaken). So basically it skips the rest of that day and picks up after school. This story's going to be told from both Aria's perspective and from -A's (anything in first person), with some flashbacks at the start of each chapter.

I really hope it all comes together in the end, and I hope y'all enjoy it. Don't forget to review if you want to see more!

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"You can't trust anybody," Alison said, her voice like wind chimes.

"How do I know I can trust you then?" Aria asked, her teasing tone hiding her inner uneasiness.

"Oh, sweetie." Alison turned her attention back to the shoebox she was holding.

Aria noted that she didn't answer the question, but she didn't comment on it. If Ali wanted to keep something to herself, she would. It didn't matter what anyone else said.

"Sometimes it's the ones who you're closest to," Ali mused, pulling a small sequined purse out of the box. "The ones you're meant to trust. The ones who you think would protect you with their lives. They're the ones who'll end up hurting you the most."

"You're in a serious mood," Aria said. It made her nervous when Ali started talking cryptically like this.

Ali looked up at her and smiled. "There's a time and a place for everything," she said, pulling something from the purse. She held it out on her hand. "Here."

Aria looked at it, frowning. "Ali, why would I need this?"

"You never know," Ali replied.

Aria reached out a tentative hand and took it. As she slid it into her pocket, she wondered if she'd just made a big mistake.

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Aria collapsed on her bed after school, kicking off her shoes and letting her bag fall to the floor with a thud. She kept replaying the day in her head as she pressed her face into her fluffy pink pillow. Nobody had seemed suspicious when she'd brought it up. Nobody had given her that I know your secret and I'm going to use it against you look – one she was uncomfortably familiar with. Her friends had just carried on the conversation, talking about Jenna and that night and what had happened to Emily.

But Emily had mentioned something that nobody else knew. She'd said something that nobody could possibly know. Ali and Aria were the only ones who were in on that secret, and Aria had never told anyone. And why would Ali have told anyone? It didn't make sense. Her mind drifted back to that warm spring day, a couple months before Ali disappeared.

Seized with a sudden desire to know everything was okay, Aria leapt from her bed and scurried over to her closet. She shoved aside a row of coats, reaching past her collection of pre-Iceland dresses (she hadn't worn them since Ali disappeared; Ali had always thought they were hideous, and once she was gone Aria had felt it almost disrespectful to wear them) and into the drawer at the back.

Before she had a chance to pull it out, her phone went off. She jumped as if she'd been caught doing something indecent and quickly slammed her closet door closed. Taking quick, shallow breaths, she crossed the room, crouched down beside her bag, and withdrew her cell. The message was short, and it was terrifying.

Uh oh! Looks like somebody's onto you. Better watch your back, Aria. Or should I say Arlene? Kisses. –A

Aria jolted upright, her eyes scanning her room. It seemed empty – although in this town that hardly meant anything. She stood up slowly, her heart beating wildly, and looked out the window. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary there either: a couple of women in bright-colored spandex jogged past, their long ponytailed hair swinging behind them; her next-door neighbor walked by, his Labrador lunging ahead of him to chase a squirrel; her younger brother, Mike, was outside mowing the lawn, sneaking glances across the road – their neighbor happened to have a very attractive teenage daughter who was currently making a big show of collecting the mail.

She pulled the blinds closed and turned around, tugging at the ends of her hair in agitation. Emily knew, even though she didn't seem to remember that she knew. And –A knew, which definitely couldn't lead to anything good. A feeling of dread washed over her as she settled down at her desk and flipped open her Spanish book.

It's going to be okay, she told herself sternly. They know about Arlene, but they don't know everything. And they're not going to find out.

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After I send Aria the text, I wait just long enough to see her reaction – she's so freaked! – before I jump on my bike and start to pedal away. I wave to Aria's brother on the way; he looks at me, confused, but then tentatively waves back. I make my way across town at a brisk pace, taking note of how people look at me. It always surprises me that they can't tell who I really am. They smile and wave, completely oblivious of the havoc I'm wreaking in the lives of those pretty little liars.

They deserve it, of course. But it makes me all sort of warm and fuzzy, knowing that I've kept this secret for so long. Nobody would suspect that little ol' me was just hiding out in Aria's yard to send her a text at the exact moment that would freak her out the most. They have no clue that I've been watching, following, torturing these girls for months. They would never guess that I'm the one behind so much of the chaos that's struck the sleepy town of Rosewood this past year.

And most of all, nobody knows how much I enjoy it.

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