Summary: Sydney came out to have a good time tonight and she's honestly feeling so attacked right now. Just an exploration of Sydney's possible dynamic with Mona, Jenna, and Lucas. One-shot.
Author's Note: Sorry (not sorry) for rehashing the Tumblr joke. But Mona's line about not being an amateur stuck with me, as well as Sydney's intriguing shadiness, so this resulted. Got any theories about Sydney's/Melissa's/Team Mona's involvement and motives? Hit me up with those or with reviews, especially concerning characterization/inaccuracies. I don't own any of these folks or the show, because if I did Sydney/Lucas would maybe be a thing…
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"Sorry I'm late," Sydney slips into the room with a smirk, not sounding very sorry at all. Wrapped up in her own pride, she misses the anger on Mona's face, the discomfort on Lucas', and the scoff escaping from Jenna's. "I had to take care of something. Just wait until you hear about it."
Jenna chuckles dryly beside her, leaving Sydney a little confused.
"Oh, we heard," Mona says darkly, startling the swimmer. She turns to face the wall of TVs behind her - each screen flickering with live surveillance footage - and jams a button on the remote in her hand. Every set powers off with a hiss, except the largest screen in the middle of it all. Sydney recognizes the clear image of the Sharks' female locker room.
Sydney's definitely confused now. "What's th - ?" Lucas shakes his head and sets his hand on the girl's shoulder in an implicit warning to stop talking. He's learned the hard way about what happens when something dissatisfies the young Vanderwaal, and he can tell that Sydney's not about to make things better for herself.
Mona presses play. The four of them watch (well, Jenna's just listening) as Paige comes into frame and retrieves a towel from her locker. Paige keeps her eyes down, looking as if she'd love nothing more than to get home, get showered, and get to bed, when Emily suddenly pops into view as well.
"You need to give me those names, Paige," Emily demands. "The ones conspiring with Mona."
Paige sighs. "I can't tell you. Especially after the way Alison treated her."
Sydney's about to speak up again - 'guys, I saw everything, I took care of it, don't worry' - when Lucas presses harder into her shoulder, urging her to keep quiet. Sydney frowns, but she shuts her mouth and keeps watching.
Paige and Emily start arguing about whether they can trust either Alison or Mona. "Boring." Mona fast forwards until the two finish their conversation and leave the room together. Not a minute after they're gone, Sydney strolls over with a scowl on her face, a clear indication that she heard everything.
"But wait, there's more." Mona skips past an hour, frowning at the screen. As they wait in silence, Sydney observes her partners in crime. Even with her signature pair of sunglasses obscuring her eyes, Jenna looks bored, idly making her way through a bag of sunflower seeds. Lucas grimaces at the deliberate way Jenna lines up seed shells on the edge of a table, unconsciously tightening his fingers into Sydney's shirt.
73 minutes of footage later, Sydney has tiptoed back into view with a pair of disposable gloves and her handbag clutched to her chest. She quickly opens the lock - Paige had foolishly trusted her with the combination - and retrieves a baggie from her belongings. Grimacing, the swimmer empties the dead rat into the locker and shuts it before scuttling away.
Finally, Mona turns to face Sydney, who quickly wipes the grin off her face.
"A rat? Really, Sydney? Did you think I wouldn't know? I have eyes everywhere! Could you be any more obvious?" Mona seethes.
Sydney blinks as Lucas' hand slides away. "I was just trying to - "
"Trying to ruin this whole operation just as it's beginning? Because that is exactly what you are doing." Mona's eyes are wild and lined with fear, lashing out in desperation at the temporary lack of control. Both Sydney and Lucas shrink back as Jenna keeps chewing. "Lucas knows. Jenna knows. Everyone on Team Mona knows that you do not stay on Team Mona for long if you're going to do things without Mona's approval. Especially something like that. A rat! I'm no amateur when it comes to keeping people silent, Sydney. And that is not the way you do it!"
Sydney's astonishment is palpable. She'd thought this stunt would secure favor from Mona, not a threat of removal from the group. "I-I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Sydney stutters as she wills her cheeks to stop heating up. She glances around for support or at least sympathy from the other two in the room. Lucas frowns at her with a wide-eyed helpless look before turning to stare at a corner of the room, and Jenna is smiling as she finishes off her snack.
"Of course it won't." Mona sniffs and plasters on a smile, although an undercurrent of menace darkens it just a little. She presses a button and the TV screens return to displaying their normal footage. "Well…now that we've addressed that...we can get down to business."
Suddenly, Mona's phone beeps and she glances down. "Oh, I have to take this," she says, leaving the room. "Hello?" The door clicks behind her.
Still red-faced, Sydney pulls Jenna away for a little chat. "I thought you were on my side," Sydney mutters, angered by her embarrassment. She tries to keep it from sounding like an accusation, but Jenna's dangerous smirk tells her that the underlying message has been communicated.
"You know, after this – " Jenna taps her sunglasses. " - I've learned how to pick a side. And I always stick with the winning side. Don't take it personally; surely you understand how things work around here...Sunflower seed?" Jenna offers, shaking the baggie.
"No. I'm good. Thanks," Sydney responds tersely and walks away, sitting down next to Lucas.
"You ok?" He asks quietly, fiddling with his phone.
"Yeah, I guess." Sydney sighs. "Mona's just really…intense." More like crazy.
"And she knows how to get what she wants," Lucas chuckles without much humor. His thumbs falter on the phone's screen as he looks up at Sydney. "Can you please not try not to get on her bad side, though?" He lowers his voice to a whisper. "Between you and me, I think we're the only sane ones leading this operation, and I'm not looking forward to spending free time with Mona and Jenna by myself."
Sydney laughs softly. "Yeah, understood."
Lucas nods, turning back to his phone. Jenna smacks on her seeds in the background, and Sydney stares at the door, mulling over her involvement with Team Mona until the evil mastermind of it all comes back inside. Mona smiles sweetly at her, winks cheekily as if their previous confrontation was just a dream. The swimmer chuckles in disbelief, rising to join the others as they regroup, and not for the first time Sydney wonders about what she's gotten herself tangled up in.
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