Summary: After Aria makes a huge mistake, her sanity begins to spiral, and when Spencer finds out why, she wishes she hadn't. Aria's happiness is circling the drain; and the girls are struggling to help.

Aria walked into school with her eyes downcast, silently going to her locker and avoiding any of her friends if she could. She didn't want to talk to them right now. She didn't know what she'd say. When she got to her locker, the petite brunette got the books she needed for first period and headed to class, where she sat, much to her annoyance, by Spencer. She just had to hope Spencer wouldn't question her.

Sitting down next to her friend, Aria tried as hard as she could to avoid making eye contact. But finally, she had no choice but to look up at Spencer, for she had prodded her at least three times in the shoulder. Her eyes met Spencer's and Aria gripped the edges of her chair so tightly her knuckles turned white. She waited for what her friend would say.

"Aria, hey, are you okay?" Spencer said in a soft tone, her eyes misty with worry for her friend. Out of all of the friends, Aria endeared Spencer the most. Like how Hanna and Emily seemed to get along the best with each other, Aria and Spencer got along with each other. "You seem… I don't know, out of it. And where were you last night? We all stayed over at Hanna's. Why couldn't you be there? We tried calling, you know."

Aria nodded vigorously to the first question. "I'm fine, Spencer." She swallowed and said, "And, you see, I… I… well, actually I…" luckily, she was saved from her moment of awkwardness by the teacher walking into the classroom and the class beginning. As soon as it ended, Aria slipped off and hurried down the hallway, her heart pounding against her chest. She couldn't tell her friends where she was. She just couldn't. She had to think of an excuse, and fast. But what excuse could hide what really happened?

"Come on, Aria, it'll be fun." Aria was nervous. Why should she go to a party with the girl that she had technically taken part in blinding? She looked at the devious smile on Jenna's face. She seemed serious enough. Aria's eyes searched Jenna's expression for anything that might give away an ulterior motive, but she found none.

She sighed. "Fine, Jenna. I'll go to the party with you. But don't tell anyone, okay? I don't want to get in trouble." The look on the blind girl's face was nothing but sheer joy. However, if you were to look just a tad bit closer, you'd see the hate and mischief that she was hiding.

So, later that night, Jenna and Aria went to the party. It was typical; lots of people, dim lights, drinks, drinks, drinks everywhere. Jenna seemed to maneuver her way around surprisingly well, given that she was blind, and Aria soon lost her, getting sucked into the large group of people. People offered her drinks, and she politely declined, until finally she gave in. She was at a party. She might as well have a little fun.

It started out as just one drink, but one turned into two, two into three, until she was too drunk to count. She climbed a staircase with a wobble in her step, giggling every time her foot would slip a little. When she got to the top, though, she did slip. But something- no, someone, caught her fall. It was another girl; an innocent girl.

Aria's brain didn't register that the girl was falling and she was standing. The girl screamed, tumbling down the stairs, and hit her head off a lamp at the bottom. The lamp fell and shattered, and there was blood. There was a lot of blood. Aria just laughed. She didn't understand. Her drunken brain couldn't process that she'd killed someone.

When Aria awoke, she was at home. She didn't remember what had happened after she pushed that girl. She… she'd pushed the girl. Aria shot up in bed. She killed someone. She checked her phone. Missed calls from Hanna, Spencer, and Emily. But then her phone went off again.

'Little Aria... let's play a game! I want to see how long it takes you to snap. You can't tell your friends about what you did, and you can't tell them about this game; this message. The consequences will certainly be fun for me! –A'

"They'll find out sooner or later," Aria murmured to herself, her voice trembling. Just then, she was aware of a presence next to her. Spencer.

"Who will find out what?" Spencer asked her eyes narrowed as she glared down at Aria. "What's up with you huh? Where were you last night?" She noticed how Aria visibly paled, how her hands began to shake, and her eyes seemed to grow to twice their normal size.

"I-I'm sorry," Aria stuttered, "I'm sorry Spencer I can't tell you. It's not even that important. My phone died, and well, I had family issues." She came up with the quick excuse on the spot, hoping it would get Spencer to keep from asking. She saw the suspicion in Spencer's eyes; she wasn't normally so secretive about family issues. She usually liked to confide in her friends. But Spencer nodded anyways, deciding to head off and ask Hanna and Emily about what was going on with Aria.

Aria sighed when Spencer walked away, and tears gathered in her eyes. Students headed into their classes, but Aria stayed by her locker. She slid down the wall and held her face in her hands, leaving her locker open, ignoring the bell that signaled that next period had begun. She had a throbbing headache still from her hangover. It was a Friday, so Aria decided to ditch for the day.

When the girl got home, she crawled into her bed and fell asleep, not wanting to think about her mistake, or A's threat, or Spencer's suspicion and the fact that Spencer was probably telling Emily and Hanna about her strange behavior. She just closed her eyes, shut it out, and let her mind be drawn into sleep.

Aria woke up to her phone going off. She didn't realize she'd slept that long. Hanna was calling her. She sighed and picked up the phone. "Hey, Hanna," she said tiredly, rubbing her eyes and sitting up in bed. Hanna's voice was a little concerned.

"Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" When Aria said she wasn't sick, Hanna went on. "Good, good. We're all spending the night at Spencer's. You can come, can't you?" Aria looked down. She didn't want to seem suspicious by not going, but if she did go, they could find out. Taking a deep breath, she made a decision that could potentially change everything.

"Yeah, of course, Hanna," Aria said in the steadiest voice she could muster. "I'll meet you there in ten." Hanna agreed and hung up. Aria looked in the mirror and saw the darkness of her own eyes, slightly disturbed by it. Was it a trick of the light? No, those eyes; they looked like the eyes of a murderer. Aria turned away and quickly got her things together before hurrying out of the house, heading to Spencer's.

She forced down her nervousness before she entered the house. What happened tonight could mean life or death- literally- for Aria and her friends. And it all depended on if the truth managed to get out or if it managed to stay hidden.

So, what'd you guys think? Please review! You'd make me the happiest girl alive. I already have chapter 2 written, but I won't post it until this story gets some attention; you know how that is. Why write a story and publish it if no one reads it, yeah?

Give me ideas, share your opinions, I love critiques and will accept hate with open arms; because hate can be helpful! So please review, follow, and favorite! Future chapters will be longer.

Xoxo,

-England