Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Pretty Little Liars belongs to the writers and publishers and all of the other wonderful people who help make these books and shows happen. The only thing I do claim is the original character that came all out of my head. I hope you enjoy!
Aria Montgomery walked down the hallway of Rosewood Day like she was a sprinter for the Olympics. She had just got off the phone with Duncan, the guy who had supposedly known Alison/Vivian before she died. Aria still wasn't sure if she trusted the guy but she knew the rest of the girls needed to hear this, especially Spencer. As she rounded the corner, she spotted Spencer and Emily leaning against their lockers. She quickly ran over to them nearly knocking Hanna over who had just walked over.
"Geez, Ar. Ever heard of slowing down for pedestrians." She said smirking. Aria shot her eyes at her.
"Geez, Han ever heard of looking both ways before crossing the street." Hanna's only comeback was her famous eye roll. Spencer looked between the two girls then focused her attention on Aria.
"Before the catfight breaks out, I'd like to know why you were speeding down the hallway like it was on fire." She shuddered as she recalled what recently happened to Jenna. She shook the thought out of her head and waited for Aria to reply.
"Well, I just got off the phone with Duncan." Aria said biting her lower lip as she thought about what he had told her. "Honestly, I don't know if it's true but I thought it might be worth checking into. Especially since Melissa is at the top of our list right now." She rambled as she shot Spencer an apologetic look. She remembered how quick Spencer was to defend her sister. She couldn't blame her though seeing as she would do the same thing for Mike.
"Get to the point." Spencer said while tapping he foot back and forth.
"Let's just say that Ian isn't the only guy Melissa and Alison fought over."
Emily looked from Aria to Spencer then Hanna. "Wait, what?" She asked. Hanna and Spencer looked at Aria as to say keep going.
"Okay so I was talking to him and he was asking me your names. When I told him Spencer's last name he got really quit. Then he asked if it was Hastings as in Melissa Hastings. I asked how he knew her. He said his fried use to date her. That was until Alison made her move on him. Apparently, it was a huge blowup. It ended with Melissa almost taking off Alison's head." Aria continued. Spencer shook her head in disbelief.
"Every time we get closer to figuring this whole mess out something new happens. How could Melissa date someone and no one even know?" She asked.
"Maybe he was someone she didn't want other people to know about. I mean think about it. Look at how your parents reacted about Toby. Maybe this guy had a worse reputation than him. If she wanted to hide him it's kind of easy. Pretend to date Ian while seeing another guy." Hanna shrugged. "If we can even believe this guy's story, it would put Melissa looking a lot guiltier."
Spencer looked down the hallway. The last thing she needed was someone to overhear all of this. For all they knew A could be lurking around. Of course A probably already knew about all of this. It seems like they are always one step ahead in this game of lies.
"If it is true," Emily started. She stopped to choose her words right. "We need to find a way to talk to this guy. We need to hear his side of the story. What really happened between him and Melissa, him and Alison, and finally Alison and Melissa. I'm not saying she had anything to do with Alison's death but with the other evidence stacked up against her..." Emily decided then to keep her mouth shut.
"Basically what Emily is saying is talking to him might prove Melissa guilty." Hanna finished. Spencer cut her eyes toward her.
"Or her innocence." She stated. She looked down at her watch. She didn't really have anything to do after school but she couldn't deal with all of this now. "I have to go study." She grabbed her books and headed down the hallway without as much as a goodbye.
Hanna looked down the hallway at her in disbelief. "School just ended and she's already going to study?"
Aria shrugged. "Maybe she just needs to clear her head."
Spencer sat on her bed with all of her books spread out. She wasn't really studying but she needed to at least act like everything was normal. Her mind was in frenzy. How could all of this stuff happen without her even knowing? Melissa had acted so in love with Ian. Maybe she was and all of this had been a misunderstanding.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of her cellphone. She jumped a little bit hoping it wasn't A with another "I will end your life" message. She read the front screen and to her relief seen it was from Aria. She was reluctant to read it but figured it could be important.
Talked to Duncan again. The guy we are looking for name is Harper Schmidt. He will be at a bar called Dallis tonight. I checked the address. It is in Philly. The rest of us are going to check it out.
Spencer reread the message three times. So many things struck out in her mind. She wasn't sure if Melissa had ever mentioned that bar before but she did find it odd that it was in the same city she lived in. Spencer focused in on the guy's name. It seemed familiar yet distant from her mind. It was almost like she had seen it before but a long time ago and maybe only for a second. As she tried to clear her mind, it hit her.
She jumped off the bed and ran to Melissa's room. She knew her father and mother was out of town and her sister had moved back to her apartment. Otherwise she would have bothered with making sure she was the only one home. As she entered Melissa's room, she couldn't help but stop and look around. It almost brought tears to her eyes that Melissa could actually be a killer. She didn't want to peg Melissa as being guilty yet. Not until she was sure but just the thought gave her chills. She knew that Melissa and she had never gotten along but she was still her sister. She would fight for her until proven wrong. That's what Hastings did.
She continued into the room and over toward the bed. As she started to pull the bed back, she hoped her mind was off and she was wrong. However, with the bed pulled back she could see she was right. In the bottom left corner of the wall, the message I love you- H.S. was carved into the wall.
Spencer looked at it for a second before remembering the first time she had seen it. It was before Alison disappeared and Spencer's parents had decided to take just her to see her grandparents. Melissa stayed behind claiming she had too much school work due the following week and she really needed to catch up. When they returned home Spencer came up to Melissa's room to tell her they had returned. Melissa was moving her bed from across the room to the other side. Spencer caught a glimpse of the writing before Melissa covered it up.
She remembered asking Melissa why she had moved her bed across to the other side. Melissa simply responded by saying she enjoyed the view from that side of the room better. Spencer left her memory and came back to reality. She looked at the place one more time before finally moving the bed back and sitting down. He mind was even more in pieces. The fact that this guy had been in their house without any of them knowing it, without Melissa dropping one single hint. You would think she could have at least Spencer about him.
She realized she was more upset about the fact that this happened without her figuring it out. Spencer always prided her on being the best in everything but this time Melissa really did outsmart her. She realized how stupid it was to be worrying about that now. What really puzzled her is if Melissa really loved this guy and he loved her then what happened to them? She knew there was only one way to find out. She returned to her room and grabbed her cellphone.
I'll be there was her only reply to Aria.
