This idea popped into my head a few days ago and I haven't been able to get it out, so here we go. I'll try and balance when I update this with when I do "Sister, Sister," although that story will probably be more frequent since a lot of it is already written. Hope you guys enjoy - please review to let me know what you think!

Oh, and as for the finale, I was pretty...underwhelmed. For both this story and my other one, I will most likely be changing some things so that they, you know, actually make sense.

Chapter 1

Being friends with Alison DiLaurentis is like being on top of the world.

She makes you feel like you can do anything, like when she's by your side, you can get away with whatever you want. She's the sort of person who has power, even at fifteen years old. And she knows it.

Back before Alison, I was nobody. I was the girl who sat in the back of the class and didn't talk to anyone, who got average grades and was an average field hockey player, who had a few casual friends but no real group to call my own.

Everything changed the summer before freshman year. I was at a rummage sale at the church, picking through clothes and holding up a teal blouse, when I heard a voice behind me.

"Oh, honey. That is really not your color."
I recognized her voice before I even had to turn around. Alison stood behind me, wearing a cute dress and actual heels even though it was a Saturday afternoon, her arms crossed and a pair of sunglasses on her head.

I glanced behind me, positive that she couldn't have been talking to me. I'd been in the same class with Alison for years, and the last time she acknowledged my existence was back in third grade.

But she raised her eyebrows, walking over and taking the shirt out of my hands. "I'm doing you a favor," she said, tossing it back onto the pile and beginning to search through it. "That color, with your hair? I don't think so."

I frowned, picking at a strand of my dark red hair. I didn't think it would look so bad, but I knew better than to argue. After all, I was wearing yoga pants and a plain green crop top. What did I know about fashion?

Alison pulled a pink tank top out of the pile and held it up, smiling. "Now this is more like it." She handed it to me, practically forcing it into my hand. "Get it. Seriously."

I finally managed to regain the function to speak. "Um. Thanks."

She turned slightly away, but stopped before taking a step. "You're Hayden, right?" I nodded, and she smiled again. "I'm Alison."

From that day on, I was officially part of her group, which then consisted of her, Spencer Hastings, and Emily Fields. Aria Montgomery joined a few days after me, and Hanna Marin about a week later. I hadn't realized it at the time, but Alison had built the perfect group.

The next year was the best of my life. Somehow Alison got us all fake IDs, and we spent freshman year ditching kiddie parties for frat parties, switching out Coca Cola for beer, and sneaking into our rooms hours past curfew.

Suddenly I was waking up half an hour earlier to do my makeup before school. Clothes became very important, at around the same time that boys did.

I was one of the most popular girls in school.

Now don't get me wrong. I saw how Alison treated people. Every time she called little Mona a "loser" or referred to poor Lucas as "Hermie," I had to bite my tongue. At first it was easy not to call her out on it. As long as I wasn't the target of her abuse, life was good.

But after a while, it wasn't so easy. I found myself rolling my eyes behind Alison's back, trying to stop her from berating our classmates. She clearly didn't like it, but as long as Spencer called her out along with me, I thought I was safe. I thought my place in our group was secure.

Until she found out my secret.

Alison had secrets on everyone. That was common knowledge. Alison learned our secrets and held them over our heads, threatening to tell anyone and everyone at any moment. For all of freshman year, I had no secrets. Aside from stunts I pulled with Alison at my side, my life was boring. There was nothing for her to find out.

But then, at the end of that summer, something happened. Something that made Alison so angry, it wasn't enough just to hold it over my head.

I was out of the group.

And it didn't happen slowly, either. The day after she found out, she invited the others to her house and made sure that I found out about it. And when she scheduled the annual big Labor Day sleepover, I was not invited.

I told myself that I didn't care, that there were a million other things to do that night besides sleep over in Spencer's stupid barn.

And yet, here I am.

I lean against the side of the barn, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to force back tears. I feel desperate and crazy, creeping around out here when it's starting to get dark. But I can't help it. Those girls were my friends for so long, and they dumped me, just because Alison told them to.

I squat down and peer in the window, watching Alison hand Aria a drink. I'm not even sure what I'm doing here. On my way over, I decided I would just barge in and hope for the best. Maybe they'd even ask me to join them.

But now that I'm here, with this possibility right in front of me, my courage has disappeared. It's bad enough that I've been cast out of the group, right before the start of the school year. I don't even want to think about what she'll do if I ruin her perfect sleepover.

I take a deep breath and move away from the window, trying to gather any bravery that I have left. I walk around the side of the barn and put my hand on the door handle.