Chapter Two: The Jenna Thing
The girls sit at a table at Apple Rosegrille.
"Why was Jenna there?" Aria asks.
"I guess she's back." Spencer said.
Trinity has a confused look on her face. "I don't get it." She said. "What is so important about this Jenna chick?"
The other girls look at each other, unsure about what to say. "It's a long story." Hanna says.
"I'll tell you later." Emily said. Spencer shot Emily a look at that. Emily shrugs her shoulders, sending Spencer a 'what?' look.
"That cop acted like we were suspects or something." Hanna said, changing the subject.
"Do you think we looked guilty?" Emily asks.
"Why would we? We haven't done anything wrong." Aria says.
"Except lie about the Jenna thing." Hanna says. Trinity rolls her eyes, still wondering what the hell 'the Jenna thing' is.
"We promised we'd never bring up the Jenna thing again, remember? It never happened." Spencer looks at Emily when she says this.
"Have you found a way to forget? I still wake up sometimes in the middle of the night." Aria says.
"Aria, it was an accident." Spencer tells her.
Hanna pulls out her flask and pours a bit into her drink. A man across the room stares at her as she does this. "It's medicinal." She says. He continues to stare at her. "Cramps!"
"I don't get it. How does "A" know something about me that only Alison knew?" Emily asks.
"Ali knew all of our secrets, but…we never knew any of hers." Aria says.
"Yeah we can see that." Hanna says, gesturing at Trinity.
"Hey," Trinity said. "I don't know why Ali never told you guys about me. Especially given how much she told me about you guys-"
"Ali told you stuff about us?" Spencer asked.
"Yeah." Trinity nodded. "Nothing damaging though, she actually wanted me to like you guys. When she used to ask me to visit she'd tell me who I'd get along with most." Trinity looked at Spencer. "She actually said that me and you would have a lot in common."
"Me?" Spencer asks. "Why?"
"Her exact words were that we were both rich girl bookworms that spend most of their time studying things no one cares about."
"That sounds like Ali." Hanna said.
"But you guys told her everything and she told you nothing personal?" Trinity asks.
"I knew some." Spencer said.
"Go on." Aria says.
"Talk." Hanna urges her.
"I can't." Spencer says.
"Spence! No, you are not gonna drop a bomb like that and just clam up!" Aria tells her.
"She'd so kill me if I told you." Spencer says.
"She's dead." Hanna says. The table goes through a brief silence at that comment.
"Ali was seeing someone that summer." Spencer reveals.
"I knew she was keeping something from me!" Emily says. "From us."
"Well, why didn't she want us to know?" Aria asks.
"He was an older boy, and he had a girlfriend." Spencer said.
"Who was it?" Emily asks.
Spencer shakes her head. "She never told me his name."
"That's only half the secret." Hanna says.
"It's more than you ever got from her." Spencer shoots at her.
"How is that Ali told us nothing, and we told her everything?" Aria asks.
"Because she made us feel like we were part of something special." Emily says.
"We were." Hanna agrees.
"I miss that." Aria says.
"Me too." Spencer nods her head.
"I think I had a different relationship with Ali than the one you guys had." Trinity said.
"What do you mean?" Aria asks.
"Alison was my best friend…my only friend really." Trinity shrugs. "She had this attitude when we hung out. I noticed that it was different from the one she shows when she's in public. If we were in town there was this ice queen persona and when we were by ourselves she acted like…"
"Like what?" Spencer asked.
"Like she was free." Trinity said. "Like there was no worries, no problems… she was just free."
The girls look at her, unsure of what to say to that. They sit in silence before it is broken by Emily's voice. "I miss Ali." She says, fiddling with the bracelet Alison gave her.
"I can't believe you still wear that." Hanna says.
"Ali still wears hers." Emily says before pausing. "Wore. And Trinity does too."
"You have one too?" Spencer asks. Trinity holds her wrist up, nodding. "When Ali didn't come home that night, I knew something terrible must have happened, but there was always some part of me that imagined someday she'd just show up."
"Yeah. I used to think that maybe she'd just…run off with some guy." Aria says.
"She was laying on a beach somewhere." Emily smiles.
"Or getting a tan out by the pool with that hot lifeguard." Hanna laughs.
"Ohh. Yeah…what was his name?" Aria asks.
"Who cares?" Hanna says. "Save me!" She mimics.
They all laugh softly before they hear a tapping noise. Turning in their seats, they see Jenna enter the building. As she takes a seat at the bar, the girls pay for their drinks before standing up and exiting the building.
Hanna and Ashley are getting ready to leave for the morning. Ashley shakes an empty carton above her coffee cup. "That's the last of the milk."
"It's on the list." Hanna says, moving to the mirror to check her makeup. Ashley comes to do the same when they hear the TV in the backround.
"…Over the area right now with a lot of warm air, but we've got a cold front moving in from the west right here behind me. In other news, Rosewood detective Darren Wilden held a press conference this morning."
"The coroner did release his findings this morning, and although Alison DiLaurentis' body did show signs of a blunt-force head trauma, the cause of her death was suffocation."
Ashley turns off the TV before more could be said. "Are you okay going to school today?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine." Hanna nods.
"I don't want to think about what the police are saying, and you shouldn't either. Try to remember Alison as the beautiful girl you knew."
"I'm really sorry, mom." Hanna says.
"For what?" Ashley asks with a confused look on her face.
"The cop."
"It's over. Okay? We won't be seeing him again." She tells her as Hanna puts on some lipstick. "Is that amber rose? It's a good color for you."
"I had to look twice to make sure that was Hanna." Ella tells Aria.
"Right?"
"That was some funeral dress. Her mother didn't get that from curvy girl."
"Who shops at curvy girl?" Byron asks, walking in.
"No one, anymore." Ella says. "Do you not have time for breakfast?"
"No. I'm probably gonna be late tonight too."
"Late nights already? We just got here."
"Yeah. What's that about?" Aria asks.
"What's it about? Being gone for a year, playing catch-up, faculty meetings, changing my curriculum, demanding students." He lists.
"Maybe your family's demands should come first. I'm gonna be late. Love you, mom." Aria says before leaving.
"What was that about? You guys were getting along so well when we were away. I don't get it." Ella asks after Aria leaves.
"Well, you know, she's…she's a teenage girl, Ella. Aren't they all moody and unpredictable?" He asks. They both chuckle at the comment.
Emily is sitting on the couch on her porch. Trinity walks up the steps and joins her. "Hey." She greets.
"Hey." Emily smiles.
"Are you okay after yesterday? I know it's a dumb question, but you knew her a lot longer than me and-"
"No, I…I understand." Emily nods.
"Can I have a sip?" Trinity gestures to the tea in Emily's hand.
"Do you want your own?"
"I'd rather share yours." Trinity says, taking the mug from Emily's hand, closing her eyes as she takes a sip.
"You look tired." Emily says as Trinity hands the mug back.
"I haven't gotten much sleep. I spent most of the night unpacking and I kept coming across pictures of me and Alison. And then I see the posters everywhere…"
"Someone should take those posters down." Emily nods. "It hurts way too much to look at them." She says looking down.
Trinity pulls Emily into a hug as Pam jogs up the steps. "Is everything all right?" Pam asks.
The girls pull apart. "Mom, this is Trinity Clairborn." Emily introduces her. "She was a friend of Alison's."
"Trinity hi." Pam greets.
"Hi." Trinity shakes her hand.
"Well, I would say welcome to the neighborhood, but…" Pam trails off.
"It's kind of hard when your neighbor's backyard is the crime scene of your best friend." Trinity says.
"Still?" Pam asks.
"Yeah." Trinity nods her head. "People come by to feel close to her. They light candles and leave teddy bears. I get it. It still feels like her house. The family that lives there now decided to stay at a hotel for the rest of the week. Give it sometime to fade."
"I can understand how you're not sleeping." Emily says.
"You know, Trinity, why don't you just spend a few days with us? You could sleep in Emily's room."
"Thank you." Trinity smiles.
"Mm-hmm." Pam nods.
Trinity turns to Emily. "Wanna get some lattes before heading to school?"
"Sure." Emily says.
Aria walks through the school hallway, and sees Ezra. "Can I talk to you?"
"Yeah, of course." He smiles.
"I'd like to transfer out of your class."
The smile on his face dies. "Can you come inside for a minute, please?"
"Yeah."
They enter his classroom. "I understand where you're coming from. I just…wish that you could stay in the class."
"This isn't an easy decision. But I feel like it's the right thing to do."
"I can keep my feelings in check."
"I can't. And even if I could, I don't want to. It's too hard to sit in this room every day and call you Mr. Fitz. Okay? I can't pretend like I don't know you. So…will you sign it?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm…I'm sure." Aria says. She watches as he grudgingly signs the paper she just handed him. "Thank you."
"Mm-hm." He nods, watching her as she leave the classroom.
Hanna and Mona stand by their lockers, watching people pass by. Mona turns to Hanna after seeing a girl pass. "Okay, I am all for boob jobs, but when I see those, I want to 'moo.'" They chuckle.
Hanna looks over Mona's shoulder, seeing Sean at the end of the hallway. "I'll see you at lunch." She says before walking over to her boyfriend, giving him a kiss before they join hands and walk away.
Emily puts her books in her locker, closing it only to receive a kiss. She jumps back and sees that it's her boyfriend; Ben.
"What's wrong?" He asks.
"You surprised me."
"We still on for the movie?"
"My mom invited Trinity to stay with us tonight."
"Ohh…what kind of jammies do you think new girl wears?" He asks.
"How would I know?"
"I'll see you at practice."
Emily watches him go before hearing a voice over the school intercom. "Will the following students please come to the office: Emily Fields, Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Trinity Clairborn."
They gather in the hallway and Aria's phone rings. "Wait. It's from 'A.'" She says.
Hanna peeks over Aria's shoulder. "Dead girls walking." She reads.
The girls sit on a couch in the office, Trinity sitting on the arm of it. Detective Wilden looks at them with a file in his hand. "So let's see…you thought you heard her scream."
"I-I said that, yeah." Spencer says.
"And when you three woke up in the barn, Alison was gone, and so was Spencer."
"Yes, I woke up before them, and I realized that Ali was missing, so..." Spencer trails off.
"So you went looking for her."
"That's what happened." Spencer nods.
"I got that. So, what's up? Was this a slumber party, or…?" He asks.
"Is this an interrogation?" Trinity asks.
"No, just a routine follow-up." He asks.
"You know that we are all minors." Trinity says. "You can't ask us anything without an adult present."
Wilden look at her. "Well Ms. Clairborn," He looks down at the file before looking back at her. "It says her that you are emancipated." The girls look at her at this news. "You're considered an adult in the eyes of the law."
He ignores Trinity and turns back to the girls. "Why did you guys all fall asleep?"
Trinity rolls her eyes. "Enough of this." She says standing up. She turns to the girls. "Come on, you guys already gave your statement when Ali went missing."
"I know, and you see, the thing is, it's almost exactly what you said last year…almost like it was rehearsed." Wilden says.
Trinity turns back to him. "It sounds like the truth." She tells him, before taking a step closer. "All I know is that you can't approach me again without probable cause or a warrant."
"That sounds like you have something to hide Trinity." He says.
Trinity shakes her head. "No it sounds like that I have something better to do than be harassed by some rinky-dink small town cop who likes to show that he's wearing big boy pants." The girls head snap to her in shock, never seeing this side of Trinity before. "Approach me again without the necessary means and I won't only have you out of a job. But you won't even touch anything that will give you authority. Mall cops will look down on you."
"Do you think you can do that?" He asks.
"I know I can." Trinity nods. "Why don't you look up that name Clairborn? As in the one of the richest families on this continent. As in the same Clairborn that funds the Rosewood Police Department." Trinity smiles at him. "I don't think your boss will be happy to find out that the department lost one of its biggest funders because one of his men didn't know how to follow the rules."
Wilden says nothing, continuing to stare at her but Trinity can tell that he is shaken.
Trinity turns to the girls. "Let's go." She says before turning back to Wilden. "We're done here." The girls pick up their things before exiting the room, Trinity shoots one last look at Wilden before leaving.
The girls sit around the lunch table. "What was that this morning?" Hanna asks.
Trinity looks at her. "What do you mean?"
"The way you took on Wilden." Aria says.
Trinity shrugs and looks down. "It was nothing." She says before looking back up. "I'll see you guys later. I have to talk to one of my teachers." She says as she picks up her bag and leaves the lunchroom.
The girls watch her leave. Hanna turns back to the group. "Okay, in front of cops she's a badass but in front of us she's shy?"
"Did the way she acted feel familiar this morning?" Aria asks.
"Alison." Spencer says. "She acted a lot like Alison."
"Well now we see why they got along so well." Hanna says.
"It's nothing." Emily shakes her head.
"Did you know that she was emancipated?" Spencer asks her.
"Did you know that she that was rich?" Hanna asks.
Emily shakes her head. "It never came up. We've hung out a few times but mostly end up talking about Ali."
"What else do you think she's keeping from us?" Aria asks.
"Guys!" Emily said. "We just met her, it's not like she's going to spill all of her life's secrets just because we knew Ali."
The girls calm down at that. "Right." Aria nods. "But what about Wilden? He knows we're lying."
"Lying is not a crime." Hanna says.
"It is when you're giving false statements to the police. It's called obstruction of justice." Spencer tells her.
"Oh, please! We lied about drinking. But the truth that matters is we don't know anything about what happened to Ali that night." Hanna says.
"We also know about someone who might have wanted to hurt her." Spencer shoots back.
"We should have told the police the truth about Jenna's accident the night it happened." Emily shakes her head.
"I wanted to, remember?" Hanna asks.
"We had a chance to do more than just tell the truth. We had a chance to stop Ali." Aria says.
"But we didn't. And telling the police now about what happened to Jenna isn't going to make her see again. It'll just ruin our lives." As Spencer finishes talking, the girls hear the tapping of a cane.
"Oh, my god, she's back in school too?" Hanna asks.
Aria stands up and walks to Jenna. "Jenna? Hey, it- it's Aria. Do you…want to come sit with us?"
"Sure." Jenna says.
"Okay." Aria says, leading her over to the table.
"Thank you."
"So you're gonna be between Hanna and Emily, And Spencer's right across from you."
"Thank you."
"Yeah. And here's a chair."
"So…this would be Alison's chair, right?" Jenna asks as she sits down.
"No." Emily says. "We're not even sitting at that table."
"You know, she came to visit me in the hospital after the accident."
"Alison did?" Spencer asks.
"Mm-hm." Jenna asks. "Everyone misunderstood Alison, but I knew exactly who she was."
"When did you get back, Jenna? We heard that you were in Philadelphia, a school for the…visually impaired." Spencer tells her.
"You can say 'blind,' Spencer. It's okay. It's not a dirty word." The table goes silent at Jenna's words. "Wow. It's so quiet. You guys used to be the fun table. What happened to you girls?" She chuckles.
Flash Back
The girls are in Alison's bedroom, laughing, trying out clothes, and having fun. Alison looks in the mirror before her eyes focus on something. "I see you!" She turns around and goes over to the window. "Oh, my god, I can't believe it!"
"Who was it, Ali? What did you see?" Emily asks.
"He was in that tree, spying on us! I am so creeped out!"
"Who was it?" Spencer asks.
"It was that perv, Toby Cavanaugh." Alison tells them.
"Are you sure?" Aria asks.
"Yes, I'm sure! He was right there! I bet he saw us all naked."
"Should we tell someone?" Aria asks.
"I mean, we could. But I have a better idea." Alison smirks.
The girls walk in the shadows of the trees, towards the garage to Toby's house.
"Are we sure he's not in there?" Aria asks.
"He's not, okay?" Alison tells her. "You've got the lighter, right, Spencer?"
"Let's wait a second." Emily says.
"What, Emily?"
"I don't want to do this."
"Fine. Go back. You're on your own." Alison says.
"Okay, maybe Emily's right. We should just call the cops. They'll take care of it." Aria tells her.
"Where's the fun in that? Girls; Toby Cavanaugh is a freak, and we need to teach him a lesson. If he thinks he can come and spy on us while we're in your bedroom, Emily, he needs to know that his little domain is no longer a safe little hideout. Who knows what he does in there all day, that little freak."
"Are you sure that it was Toby?" Spencer asks.
"Yes! And it's a stink bomb, for God's sakes! We're not nuking the place. Now, let's do it. Give me the lighter." Alison holds her hand out. Spencer hands her the lighter and Alison the bomb and throws it in the garage. She looks around before her eyes widen and she quickly closes the door. The girls are quickly running away as the garage explodes behind them. They turn around in shock.
"Ali, what did you do?!" Spencer asks.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Alison says. "Let's go!" She urges when none of the girls move.
Present
All the girls' cellphones chime. None of them move to answer. "Aren't you gonna get that?" Jenna says, picking up Spencer's phone and holding it towards her.
Spencer takes the phone and looks at the message.
If only she could see how guilty you look… -A
Ezra stands in front of the class. "Okay, people, let's take our seats."
Mona walks through the open door and looks up from her phone. "Am I late?"
"It- it's Mona, right?"
"That's right, Mr. Fritz." Mona smiles. The class chuckles at her words. "What?"
"Take your seat, Mona, please."
Mona takes her seat next to Hanna. "It's Fitz, not Fritz." Hanna tells her as she sits down.
"Oops." She chuckles.
"If the mockingbird represents the idea of innocence, what characters are innocent? Take a second. Jot down your ideas. We'll discuss." Ezra tells the class. Aria enters the class, swiftly dropping a paper on Ezra's desk. He looks down to see the word 'DECLINE' in bold red letters. After Aria takes her seat, she and Ezra share a look before continuing on with class.
Hanna and Sean are studying at her house. She gets up from the table to grab a can of soda. She walks over and refills Sean's glass.
"Thanks." He says. She puts her arms around him and starts to kiss down his neck. "Hanna."
She pulls back. "What?"
"It's too hard to stop if we go there."
"Oh, come on, Sean. It's just us two. It's okay." She says before kissing him.
"Come on, Hanna, I…"
She gives up. "You do like me like that, right?"
"Yes."
"I mean, maybe you…still think of me as just a friend, the girl I used to be."
He kisses her. "Do you kiss your friends like that?"
"No."
"Look…I like the girl you used to be, just like I like the girl you are now."
"Is this waiting thing something you really want, or is it because of your dad?"
"No, it's me. It…It's my choice." He says before Ashley comes in the house, talking on her cellphone. "Hi, Mrs. Marin." He clears his throat.
"We'll submit the loan docs in the morning. Okay. Great. Thanks." She hangs up. "Hi. How's the studying going?"
"Fine." Hanna tells her.
Ashley smiles. "Sean…please tell your dad we really have been trying to make it to church, but I've been working on the weekends…"
"Oh, yeah, no." He nods. "I'll let him know, Mrs. Marin. But it's okay. I mean, he understands. He works on the weekends too."
The doorbell rings.
"Cute preacher humor." Hanna smiles.
"Look who stopped by for dinner." Ashley says.
Wilden steps into the kitchen. "I brought Thai takeout."
"It's time for Sean to leave." Ashley whispers to Hanna. "Let's eat in the dining room."
Spencer and her father; Peter sit at a café table. "I've decided on the class…" Spencer starts. "I want to take at Hollis. But it's not for credit, Dad, it's for fun."
Peter chuckles. "What's the point of that? Your mom's coming back a day early. She'll be home tomorrow."
Spencer looks at the door to see Aria entering. She stands from her seat and walks over to her. "Hey. I was gonna e-mail you when I got home. How weird was that lunch?"
"I'd say on a scale from one to ten…eleven." Aria says.
"Yeah." Spencer nods. They turn as the see Melissa and Wren enter.
"Is that the new fiancé? Is he as uptight as Melissa?"
"No one's as uptight as Melissa." Spencer chuckles. "I'd better get back."
"All right. See ya." Aria says before look at the waitress waiting to seat her. "Yeah. Thank you."
"Can I get anyone a drink?" The waiter asks as Spencer slips into her seat.
"I'll have a vodka soda." She says as she settles in next to Wren.
"She's kidding." Melissa says before she shoots a look at her.
"I'm gonna have a glass of the house cab." Peter says. "Melissa?"
"The same as my father."
"I actually will have a vodka soda." Wren says.
Trinity looks at the trophies and medals in Emily's room. "You and Spencer must really like to win." She says.
"Winning's great, but if I've done my best, I usually feel good about the outcome, no matter what it is."
"And Spencer?"
"Spencer needs to win."
Trinity looks at a picture. It's Alison in the middle with the girls surrounding her. "I wish I would've been able to meet you guys earlier."
Emily smiles. "Me too."
"Do you have a side?" Trinity asks, turning to look at Emily.
"Sorry?"
"Of the bed?"
"I kind of sleep in the middle."
Trinity chuckles. "I'll warn you now. I'll attempt to stick to my side, but I'll most likely end up on yours. I like to cuddle." Emily looks down, blushing.
Melissa sets her drink down. "Hi/low, anyone?"
"Hi/low?" Wren asks.
"It's a game. You guys don't play it in bed?" Spencer asks.
"Wren, you can play too." Peter tells him.
"I'm a bit lost." He says.
"You'll catch on."
"I'll go first." Melissa says. "We just started our first week of class, and I've already been nominated to serve on the business school's leadership committee."
"Melissa likes to play the game when she's fairly certain she'll win." Peter says. He and Melissa chuckle. As their talking Wren subtly holds his drink towards Spencer. She takes the drink from his hand, taking a little sip before handing it back.
"Guess who I learned that from?"
"Don't go tasting victory just yet. 'Cause the judge ruled on my brief today, and the class action suit against Winslow has been dismissed."
"Oh."
"If I don't play, do I still get another drink?" Wren tells Spencer quietly.
"Spencer…you're up." Peter says.
"Um…" Spencer trails off, struggling to find something to say.
"I'll go." Wren says. "I got a brilliant parking spot today, right in front of the chem lab." He and Spencer chuckle.
"He's just kidding." Melissa says.
Emily lays awake as Trinity sleeps beside her. Trinity turns over, raising her hand to Emily's hip. Emily stares at the hand before softly laying hers on top. This last for a moment before Emily's phone beeps. She gets out of bed gently, trying not to wake Trinity. She walks over to her phone and picks it up from the desk.
Did you get a goodnight kiss? Here's one from me. Xo… -A
Hanna walks into the kitchen to see her mom at the stove. "You're cooking?"
"'morning." Wilden speaks from his spot at the table. "Over easy okay?"
"Of course." Ashley says.
Ben drives his car to school, Emily in the passenger seat and Trinity sitting in the back. "So, Trinity, now that you two have slept together, you've gotten further with Emily than I have. What should I know?" He asks.
Trinity is less than amused. "Good girls don't kiss and tell." She shoots him a fake smile.
"You don't strike me as a good girl." He says.
"Shut up, Ben." Emily tells him.
"So, did you guys get much sleep? 'Cause I wouldn't have." He says.
"I don't know about Emily, but I slept like a baby." Trinity says. "Coming, Em?"
"Um, yeah, I'll catch up to you."
Trinity nods and opens her door. "Bye, Ben."
"Bye." He says. She steps out and closes the door. "We were just messing around. What are you so weirded out about?" He asks before Emily pulls him into a heavy kiss.
They break apart when one of Ben's friends bang on the hood of the car. "Get a room, Ben! And rock it!" Emily steps out of the car. "Lookin' good, Emily." He sees Hanna walk over. "You're looking good too."
"I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" Hanna asks before walking away with Emily. "You okay?"
"Not really." Emily says.
"You know, I never thought of you as someone who'd be so comfortable with PDA."
"Maybe I'm not the person everyone thinks I am."
"Who is?"
Aria walks towards Rosewood Cinema when she sees Ezra standing outside.
He turns around. "Aria."
"Mr. Fitz! Hi!" She greets when her mom walks up behind her. "This is my Mom, Ella."
"Oh, Mr. Fitz. The new English teacher." Ella says.
"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Montgomery." He shakes her hand.
"Oh, please, call me Ella. We're a very informal family. Are you going to see the movie?"
"Yes, I am. It's one of my favorites."
"Oh, Aria's too. She's told us a lot about you. Although you forgot to mention the 'you're very young' part."
"We should get going. The movie's starting." Aria says.
"We'll see you inside." Ella tells him before walking in with Aria. She leans over, speaking in a quiet voice. "And you forgot to mention the 'really cute' part." After getting some popcorn, they take their seats near the back of the theater when they see Ezra walk in, searching for a place to sit. "Mr. Fitz. Why don't you come sit with us?"
He turns to look at them. "Uh…yeah. Yeah, okay. Excuse me." He says as he moves past Aria to take his seat. Ella holds the popcorn bag towards him. "I'm fine. Thank you."
Emily sits by her window when her mom comes in. "You all right?" Pam asks. She sighs when Emily stays silent. "It's all gonna be okay. I promise you. Everything's gonna get back to normal."
"I don't know what normal feels like anymore."
"You've been missing her for a whole year. You know, that's a lot to take on."
"It's not just that. I think there's something wrong with me."
"Honey, there's nothing wrong with you. You lost a dear friend. You need to find a way to say goodbye. What about reaching out to the other girls? Have you talked to them? Have you told 'em how you feel?"
"In some ways, finding out Ali is really gone has brought us back together…but it's still not what it used to be."
"Why?" Pam asks.
"We were friends because of Ali."
"Then use her to get close again. You guys need to find a way to say goodbye together."
Spencer lies on her bed; studying when Wren walks by with a basket of laundry. He stops at her room when he sees her and sets the basket down. "Still having trouble with that bursa sac?"
"I can't take you seriously when you say 'bursa sac'."
"Shall I give you another rub?"
"No, that's…that's okay."
"Yeah, it's late."
"Well, it's early for me. I have a history test Monday and a paper due in Latin."
"Ascendo tuun." Wren says.
"Do you know what you just said to me?"
"Think so. Uh…'up yours'?"
"Yeah. Okay." Spencer chuckles as she stands from her bed.
"That's the only Latin I remember. Can I help with anything?"
"What, with your extensive knowledge of the language?"
"Yeah. You know, I didn't grow up in a family like yours, so I don't know that kind of pressure, but I can imagine it could be unbearable at times."
"Well, you're not exactly a slouch, Mr. Oxford. I mean, that drive had to come from somewhere."
"Yeah. It came from me. My life has been my choice."
"Well, you're lucky."
"I'm sorry. I'm being intrusive."
"No, no. You're being nice."
"Gehry said that the 'hat trick' chair was inspired by an apple crate."
"I didn't realize that you were into design."
"Yeah. And I appreciate beauty." He said, stepping closer to her. They stare at each other before he leans in, pressing his lips to hers, his arms wrapping around her waist. Neither are aware of Melissa standing outside the room, seeing them through Spencer's bedroom mirror.
They kiss for a moment before Spencer pulls back. "Stop. Stop. We can't…you can't do this. It's not right."
Wren stares at her before dropping his head and leaving.
The next morning Spencer looks out of her bedroom window to see Wren packing his things and leaving the house.
Hanna and Mona walk down the mall parking garage. "This sounds totally gay, but if I saw you struttin' it in that dress and kickin' up those heels, I would think about doing you." Mona says.
"And we love the necklace?" Hanna asks.
"We adore it." Mona says, before they turn to see Wilden standing in the garage, staring at them. "Relax. You actually paid for that. Let's go." She tells Hanna.
"Um, yeah. I'll be right back." Hanna says before walking closer to Wilden. "Are you spying on me?"
"Just doing my job."
"Look, I'll pay for the sunglasses. I'll pick up trash on the highway. I'll do whatever it takes, but I want you to leave my mother alone."
"You see, the thing is, Hanna, I don't care if you were drinking the night Alison went missing. What I care about is you and your pretty little friends knowing who killed her."
"What?"
"Your mom may be hot, Hanna, but she's not hot enough to make that go away."
Aria walks on the sidewalk in the heavy rain as a car pulls up beside her. Looking through the window she sees that it's Ezra. He drives ahead of her before stopping, letting her catch up and enter the car. He drives a little farther before stopping. They stare at each other for a moment before kissing.
Emily sits at a table at the café.
Flash Back
The girls sit in a café. Alison smiles at the girls. "I got you guys something." She says before handing them each a little package.
"What's the occasion?" Spencer asks.
"You'll see." Alison says. "Open 'em." She watches as the girls open their packages, each of them removing a bracelet with their names stitched into them. "We'll be friends forever." She says. She holds her wrist out towards Emily. "Can you put mine on for me, Em?"
Present
Emily stares down at her bracelet.
Aria walks through her front door before going to head upstairs but she is stopped be Byron. "We need to talk." He says. She steps into the living room. "You can't keep doing this. You're not very good at hiding your feelings. And your mother knows that something is up. Look, Aria, I don't like to lie, but sometimes telling the truth does more harm than good. Now, when we were in Iceland, you found a way to let go of what happened."
"Are you seeing her again?" Aria asks.
"She teaches at Hollis, so I do see her, but not like that." He sighs.
"Were you in love with her?"
"I had very strong feelings for Meredith. And my attraction to her took me completely by surprise. I had no intention of being unfaithful to your mother. And you're too young to understand this, but…the truth is, I…gave in to my emotions." They stare at each other for a moment before turning at the sound of Ella and Mike entering.
"Mr. Chung was very happy to see us." Ella told them.
"From the looks of all of this food, I'm sure that he was." Byron said, looking at the bags in their hands.
"We got you kung pao."
"You're…you're not going out tonight?" He asks Aria.
"No. No, I think I'll stay home."
"I like the sound of that." Ella smiles as they take their seats on the couch.
"Is this good? Mm, yeah. You want some?" Byron asks Mike.
"Yeah, thanks."
Aria looks down at her soaked clothes. "I'm gonna go get out of these wet clothes, okay?" She says before leaving.
"Is it good? Try this?" Byron asks Ella.
"No, thanks. I'm good."
"You're good?"
"I'm good."
"You're sure?" He looks at her.
"I am good. I think I got too much food."
"That's fine."
"I told you, Mr. Chung was very happy."
Aria walks up the stairs when her phone beeps. She takes it out and checks the message.
When students kiss teachers, someone gets HURT. That's a promise I'll keep. –A
Spencer jogs down the street before stopping after she turns the corner to see Jenna sitting at a bench.
Jenna's phone beeps and she lifts it to her ear. "Send text now."
Spencer continues to watch in suspicion.
