Chapter 2: Welcome to the Nuthouse

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I'm having so much fun writing this story because Ali is such an interesting character. Thanks to those who have read and reviewed thus far. It means a lot to me that you're sticking with this and giving it a chance.

Heather: I want to keep this as close to the books as possible, though I do think I'll have her have second thoughts like she did before she killed her sister. I guess it just depends on where I go with this. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: Pretty Little Liars and all related characters belong to Sara Shepard. I only own the plot and nothing more.

Ali was still upset as they pulled up to the Preserve-at-Addison-Stevens mental hospital. Her parents found a parking space and got out. Ali considered running away, but she knew her parents would catch her. She got out, and her mother handed her the suitcase that was her sister's. She followed her parents inside. The lobby was very pretty, but Ali knew that looks could be deceiving. A nurse was waiting for them and she smiled at Ali.

"You must be Courtney," she said. "I'm Denise. We're so happy to have you here."

"I'm not Courtney," Ali corrected her. "I'm Ali. My sister is ruining my life."

Denise looked confused and looked at Ali's parents.

"Don't mind her," Mrs. DiLaurentis said. "She's always saying stuff like that." Then she turned to her daughter. "Honey, we have to leave now. I know you're not happy about this, but you know it's for your own good, right?"

"No, it's not," Ali replied. "Courtney took my life, and now she's out there wreaking havoc. You have to go back and bring her here. She can't get away with this!"

"Courtney, you know that's not true," her mother said. "Now, be good and we'll visit you in a couple of days, okay?"

Ali turned away from them. How could they do this to her? Didn't they recognize that she wasn't Courtney? Weren't parents supposed to know their children inside and out?

Her parents tried to hug her, but she pulled away from them. With sad looks on their faces, Mr. and Mrs. DiLaurentis left the facility and drove away.

With a smile, Denise turned to Ali. "Okay, Courtney, I'll show you to your room now," she said cheerfully.

"For the last time, I'm not Courtney," Ali said. "I'm Ali."

"Whatever you say, dear," Denise said. She led Ali away from the lobby and through a door where the patient rooms were. The place looked miserable, and Ali was angry that she had to stay here. Denise prattled on about the rules and the schedule Ali would keep while staying with them. She confiscated Ali's cell phone, which felt like a fate worse than death for Ali. How as she going to talk to her parents and convince them that she didn't belong here? She surrendered the phone and then Denise opened a door to her room.

The room was plain and not very nice looking. A girl sat on one of the beds and looked up when the door was opened. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, but the biggest thing about her was that she had scars all over her.

"Courtney, this is your roommate, Tabitha," Denise said. "I'm sure you'll get along just fine. I'll leave you two to get acquainted and then I'll take you to your first appointment, Courtney."

Ali glared at her and when Denise's back was turned, Ali gave her the middle finger.

Tabitha smiled. "So you're my roommate?" she asked.

"Yes, but I don't belong here," Ali said. "My sister Courtney is the one who should be here, not me. She made the switch and took over my life."

"She sounds like a real bitch," Tabitha said.

Ali was startled. "Wait, you believe me?" she asked. "You really think I'm telling the truth?"

"Yeah, I do," Tabitha said. "You don't look like someone who belongs here anyway. Why did your parents send you here?"

"Because they're stupid," Ali replied. "What are you here for?"

"I have a lot of behavioral problems," Tabitha replied. "I'm pretty reckless and always got in trouble back home, so my parents sent me here."

"Parents suck," Ali grumbled.

Tabitha laughed. "Tell me about it," she said. "But you're cool, Ali. I really like you a lot."

"Thanks," Ali said. "I like you, too. So where'd you get the scars?"

"From a fire when I was eight," Tabitha said.

"That had to be bad," Ali told her.

"It was, but I'm used to it now," said Tabitha. "People used to make fun of me for it, but I just held my head high and waited until I could get them back."

'That's what I want to do with my sister," grumbled Ali. "I'm so tired of her, and she needs to pay for ruining my life."

"I'm so glad I'm an only child," laughed Tabitha. "If I had a sister like yours, I'd probably want to kill myself."

"Or kill her," added Ali. And that's when it came to her. Courtney needed to suffer for what she'd done, and though it would have been perfect to put her back in the nuthouse where she belonged, maybe killing her would be the better option. That way, Ali would be the only DiLaurentis sister out there. It was perfect. She thought about enlisting Tabitha's help but decided she needed to bide her time first. She had to do this right, and it would probably be a while before she was out of here. But once she did leave, Courtney would pay for what she'd done.

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Denise came for Ali and led her to one of the rooms where the therapists had their meetings with their patients. She told Ali to wait, and Ali did so. Then a man came in and smiled at her. He had dark hair and dark eyes. If he hadn't been older than her, Ali would have thought he was hot.

"Hello, Courtney, I'm Dr. Owens," he said.

"My name is Ali, not Courtney," Ali corrected him.

Dr. Owens looked at her file. "Well, according to this file, your name is Courtney DiLaurentis."

"That file is wrong," Ali replied. "My name is Alison DiLaurentis. Courtney switched places with me and is living the life I used to live."

Dr. Owens studied Ali. "I think I'm beginning to see the problem you have," he said. "You hate being Courtney so you're pretending to be Ali because you want her life. You're suffering from disassociative identity disorder."

"That's a load of bullshit!" Ali cried. "I don't want to be my sister! She's a crazy bitch! I want to be who I am. I'm Alison DiLaurentis and I'm fabulous."

"Your problem isn't unheard of," Dr. Owens said. "You need to understand that being Courtney is okay and that you don't need to be Alison to be happy."

Ali gritted her teeth. Why the hell wasn't this doctor listening to her? Why did he think that she wanted to be someone else? She already had a perfect life that her sister stole from her. "You don't understand," she said. "I'm Ali, not Courtney. This is all some big mistake."

"No, it isn't," Dr. Owens contradicted. "Your parents sent you here for a reason, and you need to confront your problem. It's clear you don't recognize what that problem is, but you will soon, and that's always the first step toward getting better. Look, it's time for us to end this session, but before we meet again, I want you to think about what I've just told you. I'll see you again soon, Courtney."

Ali seethed as Dr. Owens left. Then Denise came back and led Ali to her room. Tabitha was sitting on the bed and smiled when Ali came in.

"How was your session?" she asked.

"It sucked," Ali fumed. "That doctor has no idea what he's talking about. He said I have some identity disorder and that I want to be my sister. Yeah right! I never want to be that bitch. I wish she had never been born."

Tabitha looked at her sympathetically. "Yeah, I know how you feel," she said. "I wish my parents had never been around either."

It was time for dinner, and Ali and Tabitha headed to the cafeteria. Ali noticed that a lot of people were staring at her, but she ignored them and got her food. Then she and Tabitha sat at a table together. Ali looked around again and noticed a guy sitting with a group of other guys. He had dark hair and dark eyes and looked pretty cute.

"Who's that guy over there?" she asked Tabitha.

"Nick Maxwell, but everyone calls him Tripp," Tabitha replied.

"He's cute," Ali said.

"Yeah, but he doesn't date anybody," Tabitha told her. "I don't know what he's in for, but it must be something pretty bad."

Ali smiled. She wanted to get to know Nick because he seemed like a pretty cool guy. Unfortunately, Nick didn't even talk to her, and that made Ali mad. Tabitha assured her that it wasn't a big deal and that they'd meet up with Nick in group therapy the next day.

"Then maybe I'll talk to him then," Ali declared. There was no way that Nick Maxwell was going to ignore the fabulous Alison DiLaurentis. There had to be a way to get his attention, and Ali was the type who always got her way no matter what.

A/N: And that's the end of that chapter. I hope you liked it. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up but I'll try and have it up soon so I can be consistent with this. But I am working on other stories, so if I don't update right away, that's why. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.