"She seemed okay" Hanna told Spencer as they walked arm in through the town square. It was late afternoon and the sun was still dangling proudly in the sky, pools of light following them as they walked by.
"Yeah well, I wouldn't be so sure" Spencer argued "this is Emily we're talking about. It took her weeks to open up about Maya, remember?"
"And this isn't Maya" Aria interrupted "this is her own father. That's gonna hit her harder than Maya ever did" The three of them had finally met up that morning after Hanna had dropped Emily home, just waiting for a call from Emily to say she wanted to see them. It was an odd way of reuniting; they hadn't been all together in so long.
"No, obviously I'm not saying she's dancing through poppy fields and singing Hallelujah. I'm just saying, from what I could tell, she seems to be holding it together" Yet despite her words, Hanna still felt sick at the pain she knew her friend was feeling.
"And Paige?" Spencer pushed "you know, the girlfriend she abandoned at the airport?"
"That was Paige's fault" Hanna stressed "she bought up you-know-who"
"What, now A's out the way we have to deal with Voldemort too?" Aria said bleakly "what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Alison" She said quietly, looking over her shoulder to be sure she was no where in sight "She said something about not wanting Emily to see her while she's here" Spencer scoffed so loudly that the neighbouring elderly couple looked up from their ice creams with a stern stare.
"Alison and Emily haven't seen each other since your birthday" Spencer argued "what is there to be worried about? We all know how that ended" Hanna just shrugged.
"It's not my business. I just know that's what she said and Em got pissed" Spencer frowned, but otherwise dropped the subject. For a while they walked in silence. The town felt different now. Everywhere they looked and every corner they turned a new terror would flash in front of their eyes, memories of torture and manipulation and blackmail. Spencer shook her head viciously as if that would wipe them from her mind. They finally arrived at the Marin house, ready to take their heels off and just be with each other in a way that they hadn't been for so long. But they couldn't ignore the absences of their other two friends.
"Has anyone spoken to her recently?" Aria whispered, as if she knew what they were doing was wrong "I know Emily hasn't but-"
"No" Spencer interrupted "and I don't think we should feel bad about that" Her voice was stern, not even a tremble at the words that came out of her mouth. Hanna frowned, but whether it was out of disapproval or concern no one could tell.
"I didn't say that" Aria said defensively "I just think the situation has changed. It's not about Charlotte anymore it's about being there for Emily"
"Aria, no" Spencer shot "it's not just our problem, okay? Alison hasn't reached out either"
"That's because the last time we saw her the pair of you had a screaming match and she's been scared to speak to any of us ever since" Aria pointed out less than delicately, earning herself a harsh glare from Spencer.
"That sounds an awful lot like defending her, Aria" But before the brunette could respond, Hanna placed a hand on her lips and shushed them.
"Can you stop arguing like a married couple and focus, please" She demanded. Spencer opened her mouth to argue back, but snapped it shut again as Hanna stared her down unapologetically. "The funeral is in two days" She told them emphatically "I think Emily is lying to herself when she says she doesn't need her there" The room stiffened for a minute as they all knew was Hanna was referring to.
"Whatever went on between them is long over, Han" Spencer said quietly "Emily has Paige now" Hanna scoffed as Spencer took a gulp off coffee.
"Let's see how long that lasts" Hanna muttered under her breath. "we need to go and see Ali" she said confidently "and I'm going whether you guys want to come or not. We owe it to her. She saved our lives. A lot." It took a few seconds for Aria to follow on, and she apologetically stared a Spencer before she said anything.
"Me too" She spluttered "I think Emily needs as many as people as she can get. Besides, we have a lot to talk about with Alison- we may as well do it while we're all in town" Hanna could see Spencer's nostrils flaring ever so slightly as she heard the news. Her eyebrows arched in the left corner and she crossed her arms across her chest, sighing heavily.
"Fine" was all she replied "you guys are too good for this town"
…
"This was your brilliant idea, I think you can knock on the frickin' door, Hanna" Hanna and Spencer were squabbling as the familiar sounds of gravel under their feet broke the silence of the air. But the issue was clobbered as the door flung open and Jason stood behind it, shirtless with a trash bag in his hand. It took him a second to register the three girls stood on his drive, but when he did his face quickly turned sour.
"Jason" Spencer called as he began to turn away without even acknowledging them "wait. We didn't come to see you"
"Good" He yelled back, still not taking the time to walk down and greet them "then go" He looked Spencer in the eye before turning around to go back inside, yanking open the door with unnecessary force. All three of the girls shared a glance before Aria took a deep breath and took a step forward.
"Jason" she called, his hand still firmly gripped on the handle. It loosened when he heard her voice "please" It took a moment for his hand to drop finally and turn back, walking over to them so that they were all finally eye to eye. Spencer exchanged a look with him for a moment before attempting a smile. He didn't return it.
"She's inside" He said "is it important?"
"I don't know if you heard-" Aria began, taking control of the situation before Spencer could yell her way into the house.
"heard what?" He said, his voice even as paid attention to Aria and only Aria.
"Emily's dad was killed" Jason's face fell immediately as the words broke the tension that had settled across the group. He nodded quickly.
"Yeah, I wondered why she wasn't here" The shock drenched his voice, but he managed to stay composed; his mind quickly turning back to his sister.
"Her and Alison haven't spoken in a while" Spencer cut in "I don't know if you two have-"
"She's mentioned it" Jason confirmed "seemed to think it was all your fault, somehow" It came out like venom.
"So, Ali doesn't know? About Wayne?" Hanna interjected, standing in between Spencer and Jason before one of them snapped. Jason just shook his head.
"If she did, she didn't tell me"
"Could you tell her we want to see her?" Aria asked quietly as silence stretched on. Jason sighed defeatedly and motioned to the front door.
"She's in the kitchen" He told them, grabbing keys out of his pocket and walking over to his car "we were going to go and see Charlotte, but I'll go alone" And with that, he climbed into his car and sped away out of the drive, leaving the three of them all with quickly beating hearts and sweaty palms as they walked towards the front door.
…
The five of them surrounded the Dilaurentis living room, scattered around the sofa and arm chairs in an unsettled and disjointed manner. Spencer and Alison were yet to make eye contact as Hanna stared at Ali in awe- not realizing how much she had missed her.
"Shall I start, or-" Hanna said, earning herself 3 eager glances as the awkward silence was finally broken. "Ali, we don't know if you know this but- but Emily's dad was shot" At her words Ali's face trembled, her hand moving to her heart as she softly closed her eyes in shock.
"Is Emily okay?" Was all she said, her voice weak from worry. Hanna and Spencer exchanged a glance, and Spencer took the lead.
"Not really" she said honestly "that's why we're here" Ali sighed, suddenly crossing her arms across her chest and staring at Spencer with that look that the latter really had not missed. It was powerful, and frankly it scared her.
"You have nothing else you want to get off your chest, Spence?" She sneered, suddenly taking Spencer back to that dreaded day last year. It was Hanna's birthday party, and all of them had been able to make it into New York for the night, they had been out of Rosewood for less than two months.
"I don't want to hear this, Alison!" Spencer screamed at the blonde who stood proudly with a drink in her hand, Hanna and Caleb preoccupied on the dance floor, Aria with Jason in the corner and Emily stood between the two feuding friends "i don't care that Charlotte is doing better. I don't care that you're beginning to feel like a family again. I don't care that you think she's sorry. None of us do" While the words she were saying were true, Emily couldn't help but place a restraining hand on her chest to keep Alison's face from falling even more.
"Spencer, not here" She muttered "not on Hanna's birthday, okay?" Spencer growled uncharacteristically, the alcohol swimming to her head and destroying all sense of rationality that may have remained.
"Stay out of it, Emily" she ordered, shoving her aside as she all but squared up to Alison.
"I know it's hard, Spencer. But I care about her. And if you cared about me, you would too" Alison's voice remained steady, she seemed cautious of the environment and Emily was thankful for that.
"Do I need to tell you I don't care one more time?" She spat. "I do not care about Charlotte Dilaurentis. I'd rather see her dead than walking around these streets after what she did to us. To me." She enunciated each word, loudly, almost battling with the music that blasted around the pair of them. Hanna looked up from Caleb, noticing the tension that clouded the area.
"I'll be two seconds" She muttered to Caleb, dashing away from him before he could question her.
"You'd rather she was dead?" Alison repeated in disbelief "take it back" She demanded, her stature gaining strength as she powered over Spencer. The brunette took two steps forward, closing the space between them as she crossed her arms over her chest. Aria had appeared now, noting the way Spencer's fingers were crushing into her arm; she was going to explode.
"Spence, what's going on?" Aria asked her gently, placing a hand on her arm and trying to soften her gaze,
"No" Spencer ignored her, and despite her drunken state, the authority that radiated out of her was deafening. People around them began to notice the commotion, but it didn't discourage either of them.
"If you're asking me to choose between you and her, that isn't going to happen, Spencer. She's a part of my life. Accept it" Emily's glance flipped between the pair of them, she grimaced at the sight of Ali's left eye twitching; it was a sure fire way to know that she was close to the edge.
"I'm not asking you to choose, Alison. I'm telling you that we're done unless you keep your little stories about your big sister to yourself" The air quotes seemed to be the last nail in the coffin as Alison almost pounced on her, fury blazing in the back of her eyes in a way that she hadn't felt in a long while.
"Spencer" Hanna warned her, watching as Ali trembled under Spencer's words.
"What, Hanna?" She snapped, recoiling under her stern glare.
"Think before you do something you're going to regret in the morning" Hanna didn't let Spencer scare her away, grabbing her wrist so that she was stood in between her and Alison. Emily did the same, pulling Alison away before she could say anything more.
"She's drunk" Emily assured her "she doesn't mean any of this" Despite everything, Alison smiled slightly at Emily's attempt to cheer her up.
"Sure she does, Em" She told her. Emily gulped as Ali took her hand in her own, suddenly the butterflies that had been dormant waking up again at the touch. "You think it too" And before Emily could even attempt to deny it, Spencer shoved Hanna out the way, whose fall was only broken by Caleb's arms as he came to see what the problem was.
"You're being selfish" Spencer said calmly "and I want nothing more to do with you or your sister" she practically spat the word "or your god damn family" It was one of the hardest things Ali had ever had to do to pretend that she wasn't destroyed by Spencer's words.
"Our family, Spencer" She corrected with a smirk. Spencer didn't even reply as she stormed off out of the hall and back to her house; wanting nothing more than to be away from Alison and Rosewood, more than she ever had in her entire life.
She came back to reality, met with silence that followed Alison's question that was left hanging in the air. It took less than a second for her to gulp, and realise what needed to be done.
"I'm sorry, Ali" She said sincerely, after almost a year since that night, a year since they had spoken, she didn't know if the words would have the desired affect "I really am"
"I know" Ali replied, looking down at the floor because she couldn't face looking Spencer in the eye "I'm sorry too. I was so caught up in having a family that I forgot about the only family that's been there for me my entire life" The four of them all smiled as Ali took Spencer's hand. "I wasn't thinking about the pain that hearing about her must have inflicted on you guys. After everything-"
"We've got stuff to talk about" Spencer interrupted "but talk, this time. Soon."
"Right" Ali nodded "not now. Now is for Emily" Each of them nodded their heads in agreement; everyone suddenly relaxing.
"We think she'll come to you when she's ready" Aria said, suddenly standing up and beginning to pace across the room.
"Yeah, if she hasn't reached out already then it will be soon" Hanna agreed, leaning forward and crossing her knees together, leaning her head on the palm of her hand.
"But she's with Paige" Spencer pointed out. Alison frowned as the whole room stilled again.
"I didn't know they were back together" She said breathlessly, not knowing why her eyes suddenly starting stinging, her throat contracting and her palms rubbing together anxiously. Hanna took note of her reaction, laughing slightly to herself but not saying anything. Spencer just nodded. "then it isn't my place. She has Paige"
"It's always gonna be your place, Ali" Hanna told her sincerely. She was met with four confused stares, Alison's face crumbling. "you're her best friend" she clarified reluctantly, wanting to diminish the awkward cloud that had settled over the group.
"You should call" Spencer told her. Ali shook her head, and Hanna sighed as she could feel the enthusiasm slipping away from her, the knowledge that Paige and Emily were back together clearly scaring her away from making any contact. While everyone sighed at Ali's, frankly unexpected, stubbornness and Hanna shot Spencer stares of disappointment for spilling the beans about Paige, Alison's phone exploded into rings. "Sorry" She muttered as she stood up for the sofa to answer "I'll be a minute" As she left the room, the three remaining were quiet for a few moments.
"Spencer" Hanna hissed angrily. Spencer rolled her eyes dramatically, standing up and grabbing her bag.
"Han, I did what you asked me to do. I don't have time to sit her and convince Alison to play happy families with the girl she used to make out with when she was feeling lonely. Get over it. If she doesn't want to help Emily that's her decision. Emily has plenty of help from us as it is"
"Spencer-" Hanna stood up, reaching out for her hand in an attempt to calm her down.
"No, Hanna" Spencer said sadly "I'm not playing this game" And with barely another word she walked out.
"Being back in Rosewood is harder than we thought it was gonna be" Aria muttered as Ali reappeared, frown on her face as she stared at the spot Spencer had just vacated.
"Right" Ali said understandingly "shall I make some tea?" Aria and Hanna exchanged a glance as they looked at Ali's eager face.
"Tea sounds great" Aria said enthusiastically "and-and I'm sure Spencer will be back again soon" Hanna and Aria settled in again as Alison went off to the kitchen, desperately trying to contact Spencer and get her back here.
"So" She said lightly, laying down three mugs and a plate of cookies that she had no intention of eating "it's been almost a year, you guys. I want to know everything"
