A/N: So I got the idea from the movie One Day (if you haven't seen it, it takes place on the same date every year) So I've decided to take that idea and look at where each of the PLL girls are a year apart. This first chapter is kind of just to set things up and then things will progress from there :) I obviously don't own any of the characters from the show. Happy reading friends :)
The sun hung low in the sky, dappling the clouds with pink and orange flecks. The hot summer air was finally starting to cool with the setting sun, though the girls were still desperately trying to cool down sipping iced tea on the Hasting's back porch. For almost a week there had been no suspicious activity around Rosewood and A hadn't contacted any of the girls, and although it was a nice break it had them all on edge knowing something big was probably coming soon. But for now, the girls were brought together solely to spend quality time with one another, and not because they needed to figure out a way to untangle themselves from A's twisted schemes. Spencer, however, did have a hidden motive for inviting her closest friends over, one that she knew was going to shock them and hopefully be forgiven for.
"Hey, I want to show you guys something" she said as she scanned her yard quickly, making sure it was only the four of them. Grabbing her glass, she stood up and nodded towards the door signaling the girls to follow her into the house. Emily, Aria and Hanna exchanged glances as they each wondered what was going on and followed Spencer's lead into the Hastings' house. Spencer made her way up the stairs into her spotless bedroom, where she sat herself down on her perfectly made bed.
"What's going on Spence?" Aria asked, a look of confusion across her face as Spencer proceeded to pull an envelope out of her pillowcase. Spencer pulled a piece of paper out of the envelope and took a deep breath as she prepared to reveal to her friends what she held in front of her.
"I haven't exactly been honest with you guys lately…" she started, causing Hanna to roll her eyes slightly feeling stupid for thinking that A had iactually/i given them a break lately.
"It's not what you think Hanna." Spencer said as she held out the paper to her friends. Emily grabbed the paper from her friend, her eyes growing wide as soon as she saw what was on it.
"Spencer!" She said, looking back up at her friend, who had a nervous smile stretched across her face. "It's an acceptance letter from Oxford University…" Emily said looking over at Aria and Hanna.
"What?!" Hanna gasped as she grabbed the paper from Emily, taking a look for herself, "When did this happen? You're still going to Princeton right?" she looked up at Spencer with a look of concern before looking over at Emily and Aria, relieved to see she was clearly not the only one left out of the loop. Spencer knew she had some explaining to do, after all she did keep a big secret from them – hopefully the last secret she would have to keep from them.
"I'm not going to Princeton… I settled on Oxford as soon as I got this letter back in April." Spencer said, watching her friends' faces and mentally preparing herself for their reactions.
"April?!" Hanna shouted "Spencer that was three months ago, how are you only telling us this now?"
"Han, let her finish" Emily piped up, keeping her attention on Spencer. Of course she was upset by this news as well, but she figured Spencer probably had a good reason for not telling them.
"Like I said, I found out in April…" Spencer explained to the girls how after she had been rejected from UPenn, Mr. Fitz had offered to help her with her college essay. The two of them spent a lot of time over coffee going through different options, applying to different schools and quite honestly becoming friends. One night Ezra came to her with a suggestion, one that he told her she should seriously consider. When he told her she should apply to Oxford, Spencer thought he was crazy – there was no way she was ever going to be able to leave her home, her friends, her boyfriend, and even if she wanted to go she highly doubted her parents would allow it. But, she figured she would humor her teacher and let him explain why Oxford was the best option for her. Of course he listed all the reasons why academically it was a great choice, (which Spencer couldn't argue with), but he said something that got the wheels in Spencer's head turning.
"… he told me he thought it was the best option because it got me as far away from Rosewood as possible…" she continued
"As far away from A as possible." Aria cut in quietly, "we had a similar conversation once." Aria kept her gaze fixed on the floor, swallowing the lump that seemed to form in her throat. It was hard to talk about Ezra, and even harder to hear how he and her best friend had been spending so much time together without her knowing. She tried to pretend like it didn't bug her, but her pain was written all over her face.
"I'm so sorry Aria…" Spencer started, standing up from her bed.
"No, it's fine. I promise." Aria said, finally making eye contact with her friend, a small but forced smile on her face.
"So what? You are just running away?" Hanna cut in, not at all impressed by what Spencer was saying.
"Yeah. I am." Spencer replied rather sharply. "I have had it with A! She has destroyed everything around us! Everything we have done for years now has revolved around A, and every time we think we are close to being finished with it all, someone winds hurt or even worse dead!" Spencer let out a deep breath, calming herself down. "I know it probably sounds crazy, but how much longer can we honestly live like this? Ezra's right, maybe finally running away and giving up on this whole thing is the smartest thing to do." Spencer sat back down on the edge of her bed. Part of her hated that she was giving up; after all, she had dreamed of the day they finally outsmarted A and figured out who was behind this whole fiasco but she also knew they weren't even close and the people of Rosewood were dropping like flies these days.
"So why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Emily asked calmly, placing her comforting hand on Spencer's shoulder. She knew exactly where Spencer was coming from, it was the same reason she had agreed to go to California with Paige.
"I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk 'A' finding out and ruining everything. That's why I have been telling everyone I'm going to Princeton. The only person who knows about Oxford is Ezra… I haven't even told my parents. I hated lying to you guys, but the fewer people who knew the better." Spencer's eyes met Hanna's – she could see her friend was still upset but hoped she would understand.
"Listen…" Spencer started again, taking a moment to look at each of the girls "I think it is best for all of us to get out of Rosewood as fast as possible.
"Spencer's right you guys, is there really anything left for us here? The longer we are here the more people we care about get hurt." Emily said looking towards Hanna and Aria.
"That's easy for you to say Emily, you've got Stanford! What about Aria and I? What are we supposed to do? Just wander off with no plans or money and pray 'A' leaves us alone and things turn out okay? I've got nowhere to go and I would not make a good drifter! I am way too high maintenance for truck stops and park benches!" Hanna shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't want to look at her friends, mostly because she knew they were right and didn't want to admit it.
"I'm just telling you guys what I think, but it's your decision." Spencer let out another small sigh as a silence filled her bedroom. All she had to do was make it through two more nights and hope everything was going to turn out like she hoped.