Admittedly, out of all ideas I could've come up with on my first PLL fanfic, this is probably the WORST idea. I loved and regretted writing this.
Well, it was either this or a Saw-style torture dollhouse made by A or an angst-ridden fic about Mona. And I'm more in the mood for a happy story.
I just really wanted to write something PLL-related.
A few weeks passed since the arrest of CeCe Drake, a.k.a. Charlotte DiLaurentis. While Spencer Hastings, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, and Emily Fields have all left Rosewood to move on to the next stages of their lives, Alison chose to stay to help her sister. Frequent visits at the hospital where Charlotte is being kept just to talk to her and help her feel like she's actually loved. It's a very slow progress, but Alison prefers a slow progress over no progress at all. Speaking of progress...
Alison is currently standing just outside the Rosewood Police Department, waiting. She saw another police car arrive. Exiting the car is a familiar face, a face that Alison has been wanting to see for a while.
Lorenzo Calderon, in uniform.
He didn't even notice her as he entered the station, much to her disappointment. Then again, she's standing quite far and hiding under the shade of a tree. Maybe she didn't want to be seen or she expected him to expect her.
"His suspension was cut short when we brought in Charlotte," said a familiar voice.
That voice belonged to Toby Cavanaugh, who approached the former Queen Bee of Rosewood High. Alison isn't the only one of her circle to stay in Rosewood. Toby too had decided to stay. He needed a degree and he wanted another chance with the Rosewood PD. Alison was sorta thankful that he chose to stay. Despite their awkward and troubled history in the past, she and Toby have started to treat each other like true friends.
"Not in uniform today, officer?" Alison asked.
"No, not today," said Toby.
"This looks suspicious, doesn't it?" Alison said.
"With you, everything is," Toby joked.
"Spencer's sense of humor still stuck to your funny bone?" Alison joked back.
Toby smiles a little before reverting back to serious mode, saying, "You two haven't talked since you broke up, not even at prom."
"There wasn't much time," said Alison. "I didn't even know he would show up."
"Spencer was the one who convinced him to give you another chance. He wore a tux on that special night and he was looking for you," said Toby. "I know you want to focus on Charlotte and college, but he's not going anywhere and neither are you. Don't waste this second chance."
"Trying not to," said Alison. "But I think I'll wait when he's on his lunch break. I don't wanna make a scene in the precinct."
"Smart," Toby replied. "But if you ever need help, then you can always come talk to me."
"Thanks, Toby," Alison smiled.
Later that day, Lorenzo headed to The Brew for lunch. After he ordered his meal and drink, he saw a familiar face in his peripheral vision. Alison DiLaurentis. Sitting on the exact same chair where they shared a meal together for the first time. It's hard to forget that day. Alison was sharing her feelings about being in prison and telling him why she went to church. To say these things to him, a total stranger, yet she still wanted to talk about it with him, even though he was worried it was too sensitive a topic to talk about.
Lorenzo takes a deep breath as he approaches the blonde.
"Is this seat taken?" Lorenzo asked awkwardly, gesturing to the empty chair across Alison.
"What if it is?" Alison teased.
"Just asking," Lorenzo replied.
Alison chuckles in response. She gestures him to sit down, telling him that it's okay. Lorenzo sits down and faces her with uncertainty. Uncertain of what to say to her or how to even begin. Alison, however, seems just as hesitant to speak first. After a little while, Lorenzo spoke.
"You were waiting for me, weren't you?" He guessed.
"What makes you say that?" Alison asked, pretending to sound innocent.
"I saw you outside the precinct this morning," said Lorenzo. "I'm sorry I ignored you."
"You weren't ready. I understand," said Alison.
"But I was ready. A few weeks ago," said Lorenzo. "Spent a lot of money on that suit."
"I'm sorry," Alison apologized.
"No, don't be," said Lorenzo. "With what happened with your sister, I understand if you needed time and space."
"But you were ready to give me another chance?" asked Alison.
"Your friend Spencer, she told me that what you did to me pales in comparison to what you did to her. If she could forgive you for worse and still be your friend, then who is to say I can't forgive you?" Lorenzo answered.
"I really am sorry, Lorenzo," Alison apologized sincerely. "I was scared, desperate, and stupid. Charles... Charlotte... she's my family and I didn't want to give up on her. I had to whatever I could to reach out to her, even if it meant betraying those I care about. I didn't mean to make you feel like I was just using you."
"And that's what I've been wanting to ask," said Lorenzo. "What we had, what we could've been, did you really mean all that?"
"Of course I did," Alison answered, just as she started getting teary-eyed. "Lorenzo, my friends may know me the best, but you gave me something very special. You made me open myself in a way I could never have before. For once, I felt normal. No Allison the Mean Girl, no A, no games, it was just you and me. And it felt good. I was an idiot for taking advantage of you that day. Maybe I haven't completely changed, but I want to be the best version of me for you."
Ally wiped her eyes dry, trying her best not to make a scene in the middle of a coffee shop. Although, a few eyeballs were already staring.
"If I have to tell you all the bad things I've done, and I would, I would," Alison continued. "Maybe you'll think even less of me than you already do, but at least you'll understand me better. You came to prom for me, and I can never ever ignore that."
Lorenzo didn't say anything for about a minute. He needed time to really take in what Alison is saying to him. He knew she felt bad, but he didn't how much. What she did - stealing his key card - it was very wrong, but she clearly felt very guilty it.
"How do you want to start?" Lorenzo asked.
"Well, besides eating together right now, maybe we can talk about me taking part of the youth program again," said Alison.
Lorenzo smiled, and Alison did the same.
The barista served Lorenzo's order. Just as the two were about to enjoy a peaceful drink together, they found a note written on the napkin. Alison unfolds the napkin and reads it out loud so Lorenzo can hear it. What she read made her look and feel scared. It said:
Where and when the horses neigh and the cows go moo
- A
Alison and Lorenzo exchanged looks of fear and worry. Is A back? But Charlotte is in prison? Unless she's restarting this game from inside, who is doing this? Are the horrors starting all over again?
Alison goes to Charlotte's hospital to visit her again. She demanded to be left alone with her sister, which wasn't an easy request to accept but it was done. Now that it was just Alison and Charlotte in the room, Alison takes out the napkin and shows the message to her. Charlotte was amused for a second, until she saw the seriousness on Alison's face.
"It's not me, if that's what you're wondering," said Charlotte.
"I know it's not," said Alison. "I just want to know if you would have any idea on who would it be."
"Sorry, but you're out of luck," said Charlotte. "Even if I had any idea, it's not gonna end well for anyone."
"Charlotte, please," Alison pleaded.
"Where and when did you even get it?" Charlotte asked curiously.
"At The Brew half an hour ago," Alison answered.
"With Lorenzo?" Charlotte teased.
Alison looked at Charlotte accusingly, wondering why Lorenzo's name had to be involved in this conversation.
"I watch and learn, remember? He always goes to The Brew for lunch, and look at the time," Charlotte explained. "I also know you like him as more than just a friend on the force."
"That's not important, Charlotte," said Alison.
"Sorry, Ali, but you're not getting anything out of me," said Charlotte. "But one thing is for sure, it's not me. Must be a new A."
Alison went to the Hastings household to check on Lorenzo. It didn't take long for them to figure that A's message was alluding to the Hastings' family barn. Horses and cows come from farms and every farm has a barn. When she got there, she saw Lorenzo was looking at a piece of paper along with Spencer's parents, Peter and Veronica. They adults and the officer saw Alison and knew what she wanted to hear.
"We can't get in," said Lorenzo. "Someone's locked the barn from the inside and stole the key. We're working on alternative ways to get in."
"I wanna get in there and catch whatever psycho is in there as much as you do, but I don't want that barn torn down," said Peter.
"Alison, please tell us you have something," Veronica hoped.
"It's not Charlotte," said Alison.
"But whoever A is now left this taped on the front doors," Lorenzo said, referring to the paper that he found inside an envelope.
Alison takes a look at the paper. There were coordinates written on it. Two sets of coordinates, to be exact. One is for her. The other is for Lorenzo.
"I know these places. One is for a dress store at the mall. The other is a men's wear shop," said Veronica.
"What the hell is going on?" asked Peter.
"I wish we knew," said Lorenzo.
"Please don't tell me we have to go through this again," Veronica said hopefully.
"Should we tell the parents to call the other girls?" asked Peter.
"No, this one is just for me and Lorenzo," said Alison.
"Why?" asked Veronica.
Alison and Lorenzo looked at each other awkwardly, then at the parents, and then stared off into space. Peter and Veronica were confused at first, only to quickly catch on.
"Oh," Peter realized.
"I'm not even gonna say a word," said Veronica.
"Lorenzo and I are gonna go to these coordinates. You two stay here just in case," said Alison.
"Don't worry. It's our barn," said Peter.
Alison rides with Lorenzo to the places where A wants them to go to. Peter and Veronica exchanged suspicious looks as soon as Lorenzo's police car was out of sight.
"Were we convincing enough?" Peter asked.
"You should think about acting," Veronica commented.
At the mall, Alison takes her half of the paper to know what she is looking for. The store owner recognized her and called her. She said that "a friend of hers" saved a dress for her. A beautiful dress. Green top with a white and green skirt. When she tried it on, it fit her very well. It's like I'm going to prom, she thought. She found a note in the dress. It said, "7:00 PM." When she asked the store owner who bought her the dress, the owner said that she is sworn to secrecy. Not wanting to go back to her old ways, Alison left it alone and decided to leave the store with the dress.
As for Lorenzo, he ran into a very similar situation when he entered the men's clothing store. The store owner recognized and said a "friend of his" saved a tuxedo for him. Dark blue of color. It also came with a stylish tie. When he tried it on, he found a note in the tux. It said, "7:00 PM." The tux did look nice, he admitted. It did remind him of prom, though. The tux was expensive, but at least he can still afford a meal outside his apartment. When he asked the store owner who saved the tux for him, the store owner refused to tell, sworn to secrecy. Lorenzo decided to get back to Alison.
Later that day, at 6:30 PM, Alison was at the Hastings household with Peter and Veronica. Alison came down from Spencer's room wearing the dress that was given her at the mall. It was like she was preparing for prom. Walking down the stairs in a lovely dress with two adults waiting downstairs. Those two adults are not her parents, but still.
"You look incredible, Alison," Veronica complimented.
"Thank you," said Alison.
"I don't disagree, but I still don't know what's going on here," said Peter.
"If this new A is anything like Charlotte, you just play the game until you're ready to break the rules," said Alison.
"I can't even imagine how tough this has been for you and the other girls," Peter said.
"We had each other. That's all that matters," said Alison.
Someone knocked on the door. They thought it was Lorenzo, but it was actually Toby. Upon first sight of Alison in her new dress, Toby was wowed.
"You look nice," said Toby.
"I take it Lorenzo told you about A," Alison guessed.
"I came here to see if you were alright," Toby said with concern.
"Where is Lorenzo?" asked Veronica.
"He should be here soon," said Alison.
"I don't know if A is playing matchmaker, but she's doing a good job at it," Toby said half-sarcastically.
"I really want to say something, but I think it's for the best I keep my mouth shut," said Peter.
"Mr. Hastings, it's fine. Besides, what Lorenzo and I are to each other... A is what's important tonight," said Alison.
"Still, whether or not we catch A at the barn tonight, maybe you and Lorenzo should stay dressed like this for the rest of the night," Toby suggested.
"You're horrible at playing matchmaker, Toby," Alison commented.
"Just looking out for a friend," Toby smiled.
"After what I did to you, you're still able to find it in yourself to call me that?" Alison asked.
"What's past is past. And you've changed... more or less," said Toby.
"Gee, thanks," Alison said sarcastically.
"Am I sensing some history here?" Veronica asked suspiciously.
"He wanted to kiss me once," Alison revealed blatantly.
Toby had to laugh out of embarrassment. Considering the parents know about everything now, an almost-kiss from the past is the least dangerous secret that they can know. Peter and Veronica are basically just taking it in strides, chalking it up as typical teenage stuff.
"Sometimes, I wish I didn't know everything," Veronica commented.
A few minutes later, Lorenzo showed up in his car. The Hastings let him in, allowing everyone inside to see him in his new tuxedo. Alison, for sure, liked how he looked in it.
"You look great," said Alison.
"I can say the same about you," Lorenzo smiled.
"Hey, Toby," Alison called.
Alison gives Toby her phone as she puts an arm around Lorenzo. She smiles at the camera, so Lorenzo does the same. Toby takes the picture. Peter and Veronica really feel like it's still high school in this house.
"Definitely like prom," Alison commented.
"Why the picture?" asked Lorenzo.
"Well, I thought, maybe we can make actual use of these clothes," said Alison.
"Guys," Toby called.
Toby was looking out the window with a grave look on his face. Everyone looked at where Toby was looking at and saw something frightening. A person in a black hoodie walking towards the barn.
"That's A," said Ali.
Toby and Lorenzo take out their guns and head towards the barn with Alison. Peter and Veronica watch from inside the house to see what will happen. "A" was about to open the barn door, until Toby and Lorenzo caught up with him/her.
"Rosewood PD!" Toby shouted.
"Turn around and put your hands in the air!" Lorenzo ordered.
The black-hooded individual puts his/her hands in the air and slowly turns around, allowing Alison, Toby, and Lorenzo to see who he/she really is. As it turns out, it's a she.
"Mona?" Alison said, confused.
"Hi," Mona greeted with a smirk. "You look nice, Alison. You too, Blue Boy."
"I thought you were off to college," said Alison.
"Had some things that needed to be settle. Can't leave quiet yet," said Mona.
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Toby.
"Getting into the barn," Mona answered bluntly. "I have the key."
"What is going on, Mona?" asked Alison.
"Maybe you should tell your boyfriend and ex-victim to put their guns down and let me open the doors," Mona suggested.
"Not until you tell us what you're doing," said Toby.
"We're not in the mood for more games, Mona," said Alison.
Mona decides to just knock on the barn door.
"Is everything ready?" She asked, seemingly talking to someone inside the barn.
"All set!" A voice inside answered.
"Care to open the door?" Mona asked.
Whoever's inside the barn responded by unlocking the door and opening it. It was Mike, Aria's little brother. Toby lowers his gun as Mike lets Mona inside. She tells the others to come on inside. Peter and Veronica went in along with Alison, Toby, and Lorenzo.
What they found inside the barn surprised them. There was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling with colored lights shining off the ball to light up the barn with many different colors. There was Bluetooth speaker connected to Mona's phone. She started playing music fitting for a slow dance. Alison and Lorenzo were stunned by how beautiful it looked. It's like prom, they both thought. But then they were confused again.
"Mona, what is going on?" asked Alison. "Did you set this up... for us?"
Mona approaches Alison as she drops the smirk.
"I hate you, you know that?" Mona started.
"Obviously," Alison replied sarcastically.
"But then Toby and I talked after prom. He told me about Lorenzo," said Mona.
Lorenzo looks at his partner and asks, "Wait, you were in on this?"
Toby smiles and nods, admitting his complicity in this bizarre setup.
"You two wouldn't talk and he was growing concerned," Mona continued. "Then I remembered when Mike and I talked about you. He told me that I couldn't hate you forever. That while I'm here, I might as well try to mend bridges with you."
"And so you decided to set this all up?" Alison asked, sounding touched.
"Took a lot of convincing for Mr. and Mrs. Hastings to allow Mike and I to arrange this," said Mona.
"I almost said no," said Peter.
"But there's no harm, really. It's just a dance," said Veronica.
"But why did you pretend to be A again?" Alison asked the former Radley patient.
Mona shrugs and casually says, "Guess I just wanted to put on a black hoodie again."
"Just for the record, I did not agree to the whole A thing," said Mike. "But it worked, so... I guess all's cool, right?"
"Very cool," Mona said, smiling at her boyfriend.
"All of this just for me. I'm actually tempted to hug you," said Alison.
"Please don't," said Mona. "I'm not expecting to be BFFs right away. I'm just doing this because Toby and Mike talked me into it. Well, it was my plan, but they convinced me to do it even though I thought it was stupid."
"Thanks," Alison smiled.
"I guess Spencer is right," said Lorenzo. "Second chances, third chances, it's all worth it. People tend to surprise you. I guess it all depends what you feel about the surprise."
"Well, I love it," said Alison. "You?"
"I think it's nice," said Lorenzo.
"I guess we should leave these two alone," said Toby.
Toby, Mona, Mika, Peter, and Veronica exit the barn, leaving Alison and Lorenzo alone. The two stared at the colors and listened to the music. They couldn't look at each other due to how awkward they're feeling right now. To think, what they thought was A playing a game with them turned out to be an elaborate method of playing matchmaker. And it was Mona, of all people. Mona is actually helping Alison find love. After all that Alison did to her, Mona actually went out of her way - and spent a lot of money - to make this night special for her. Well, thank Toby and Mike as well.
"Not how I thought this night would go," said Lorenzo.
"But it does give us a chance," said Alison. "We were supposed to see each other at prom. Now, we can make up for it."
"Well, it's a start," said Lorenzo.
"I hope it's more than that," said Alison.
And so, the two get into their dancing positions. Alison with one arm on Lorenzo's shoulder. Lorenzo with one arm around Alison's waist. They joined their free hands together as they slowly started to slow-dance. It's their first dance, so it's understandably awkward. But they just held on to each other and let the music guide them. While it sucked they couldn't do this at prom weeks ago, at least they got to do it now. The smiles on their faces really tell each other that they're happy to have this moment.
"I'm really, really sorry, Lorenzo," Alison apologized again.
"I know," said Lorenzo. "But let's just forget about that and enjoy the night."
"Besides, there's no more A to make me do something like that again," said Alison. "I'd still tell you everything if I could."
"Not now," said Lorenzo. "Who you were doesn't matter now. I'm trying to see pass that. I really am. What matters is who you choose to be in the coming days."
"And that's all I wanted to do. To better myself for the coming days," said Alison. "And with you, it'll be a whole lot easier."
"Even with everything you've got going on?" asked Lorenzo.
"Toby's right. Charlotte is my priority, but that doesn't mean I can't focus on other things," said Alison.
"Well, if you ever want to cancel dates to see her, I understand," said Lorenzo.
"Dates? As in future dates?" Alison asked hopefully.
"We'll see," Lorenzo replied with a smile.
"And I can't wait to see," Alison smiled.
Alison leans in for a kiss. Just to seal this perfect moment. Neither of them know what the future holds for them, but this dance is the first step to finding out. Lorenzo could've spent the rest of his life thinking he was just another victim of Alison DiLaurentis, but she wanted him to see that she wanted him for more than he thought.
Outside the barn, Mike and Mona held hands as they listened to the music inside. Mike wishes they can dress up and dance in the barn together, but this night was for Alison and Lorenzo.
"If you want, we can do this tomorrow night," said Mona, practically reading Mike's thoughts.
"If Mr. and Mrs. Hastings will allow us," said Mike.
"It's just a dance. They'll allow," said Mona.
"It's really nice to see you trying to make progress," said Mike.
"I didn't want to, but I couldn't ignore the voices in my head," said Mona.
"O-kay," Mike said nervously.
"Your voice, dummy," Mona teased. "I just want to be sure I'm doing right by you."
"You've always been," said Mike. "Well, most of the time."
"Only days, maybe a week, until I go to college," Mona said sadly. "I'll miss you."
"Well, you're not gone yet, are you?" Mike said with a smile.
"I guess not," Mona smiled.
Mona and Mike lean towards each other for a soft but loving kiss. It makes Mike proud to see his girlfriend attempting to get better. It makes Mona feel a little better to do something nice for Alison, despite past grudges. Who knows? Maybe they'll become actual friends one day.
THE END
Again, I must express how much I regret this story, but I just really wanted to write it. Something simple but sweet.