"Wow," Kurt said slowly to Hanna, unable to refrain from staring at Caleb Rivers, "you really undersold it."

Hanna snickered. Caleb frowned in confusion.

"You are gorgeous," Kurt murmured. It was true. Caleb was gorgeous, from his tanned skin to his sleek body to his high cheekbones, he looked like he had just stepped out of a Wilhelmina Ford portfolio. Kurt had no trouble imagining the lean form his clothes barely hid.

He didn't feel guilty in his appraisal, nor did he feel as though he were being unfaithful to Sam. He was still allowed to appreciate genuine beauty, which Caleb had in spades, and one look between Hanna and her boyfriend made clear to everyone how deep their relationship ran. Kurt wouldn't be surprised if they married sooner rather than later, perhaps while even still in college.

He felt his heart ping. He and Sam had used to look at each other the exact same way.

He either didn't notice or chose to ignore the dark look Puck shot their way, or the worried puppy eyes Mike was sporting.

Caleb fought the light blush on his cheeks and smirked. "Wow, so two whole people think I'm gorgeous." He stepped closer to Kurt. "Be careful or I might get a big head."

Kurt blinked. "Well, whoever said that was a bad thing?" he coyly asked.

It took Caleb a moment to glean the meaning, but then his eyes widened and the blush became more furious. "Hanna neglected to mention the identity of her new friend."

"Apparently it's a little game she and Aria like to play."

Caleb pulled a face. "But Aria's the nice one!"

"Hey!" Spencer shrieked after sucking down her third cup of coffee. Kurt wondered if she regularly had an IV infusion of the stuff.

Caleb laughed as he ducked Emily's fist.

"I guess I'm not gorgeous," said a mournful Toby.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, Blue Eyes," Santana purred. "You're a stud of the first caliber." She fluttered her lashes. "So what's the story with you and Hastings? I'm guessing the entire star-crossed lovers slash wrong side of the tracks deal."

"There's nothing wrong with Toby's tracks!" Spencer exclaimed.

Kurt peered over at the boy in question, nodding. "I can definitely agree with that."

Toby grinned.

Caleb pouted. "I'm feeling very abandoned here."

Kurt laughed, somewhat in disbelief that he was flirting with two gorgeous boys his own age who had their own stunning girlfriends and were unthreatened by his oh-so-scary gayness. They were even flirting back! It was ... such a nice change, a welcome one.

"Well," Kurt murmured, "we'll just have to do something about that, won't we? Come closer and we'll talk about Hanna behind her back while right in front of her."

Hanna scowled and punched both their shoulders. "That's what we do to other people."

"It is?" Aria, Emily, Toby, and Spencer demanded.

Caleb put his face so close to Kurt's own that their noses were almost touching. "Just how close would you like me to get?"

Kurt gave a shy smile. "On the advice of counsel, I decline to answer on the grounds that I might incriminate myself."

"Very wise," a cheerful Peter interrupted, stepping in between them and spiriting Kurt away for a discussion about some legal matter regarding the estate.

Caleb stood there, blinking, as he watched at them walk away. "I think I was just ousted by another suitor." His pout grew. "My ego is wounded."

"Don't you start, too!" Spencer hissed. She'd had about enough of her father's shenanigans.

Caleb rolled his eyes and sidled up to his girlfriend, greeting her with a brief but breathless kiss.

Hanna giggled. "Hi."

He raised a brow. "You could have warned me."

She traced a finger down the center of his chest. "That's no fun." She paused and her eyes filled with concern. "Did it bother you? His flirting, I mean." She blushed. "I might have told him you were a twenty-three on a ten point scale of hotness and Kurt is a big flirt, but I'll ask him to dial it back if you want."

He shrugged a shoulder. "Didn't bother me at all. I'm very secure with who I am, Han, and, I mean, come on, it's Kurt Hummel. He's stupidly beautiful."

She turned smug. "That's exactly what he said about me."

He leaned in and kissed her nose. "Then he and I have the same awesome taste."

She smirked and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Apparently he and I do, as well."

He gave her a wry grin. "How about that?" He licked his lips. "You actually want me to kiss him, don't you?"

She shivered but tried to hide it.

His grin became a leer. "Well, there's a kink I never saw coming."

She swatted him and averted her eyes. "Oh, shut up," she muttered.

"Hey," he whispered, leaning in while his eye skirted their surroundings, "I'm just teasing. We've talked about this. I understand."

"I'm not ready to kiss another girl," she hissed. "Not after what Alison did to Emily."

His eyes darkened. They all loved Emily. She really was the sweetheart of the group.

"And I will never be ready to kiss Lucas," he said with reproach, "no matter how shy or nerdy he is, or how nice he's been to you, which, really?"

She huffed. The issue of Lucas, she suspected, would long be one standing between them. He probably was on A Team but, were it true, she doubted it had been his choice. She knew, she absolutely believed, that he liked her and never wanted to hurt her. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what A was holding over him. She wanted to help him, she did, because he was like her, like how she used to be, like how she still was, both before and after Alison's intervention.

As much as the other girls claimed to have had the scales removed from their eyes where Alison was concerned, Hanna believed only she really had Alison's true measure. Alison had been awesome and terrible in many ways and, no matter what they said, the girls were still somewhat held in her thrall.

They recognized that she had been secretive and manipulative and an all-around bitch, but she was, for them, some kind of glamorous iconoclast, the jaded prom queen who saw through everything. Whether or not they wanted to admit it, Hanna had always seen through Alison, but had been content enough to follow her because being Alison's lap dog had been better than being the outcast always looking in.

In many ways, Hanna still felt like an outcast, although she was no longer quite as alone. She thought that was what had drawn her to Mona, what still drew her to Mona. And, yes, perhaps she was somewhat blinded by Mona, not because she saw her as some unobtainable ideal as she had Ali, but because she knew Mona, she understood Mona.

She was Mona.

Just not quite as desperate and yearning. Not anymore.

Mona really hadn't been treated that badly by Alison. Certainly there were others who had been treated far worse, those who didn't have Mona's intelligence or creativity or money. Alison had resented Mona because she saw not who Mona was, but who she could become. The opportunity had always been there, but Mona hadn't had the courage to seize it until Ali was gone, and that wasn't the fault of Alison or anyone else.

Mona really was such a whiner most of the time. A truly amazing sociopath and tyrant, but a whiner nonetheless.

"Hey," Caleb said softly, "where did you go?"

Hanna repressed a sigh. He didn't understand Mona or their relationship and never would. Caleb would always believe that Hanna was a victim, sometimes a willing victim.

She may have been victimized, but she had never been, and never would be, anyone's victim. Especially Mona's victim.

Still, there was part of Caleb, of most boys their age, who saw in themselves the need to rescue a damsel, to be Prince Charming. Well, Hanna had been rescuing herself for a long time now, but she still played roles. She often wondered why she did.

She might not have Spencer's intellect, but she was no dummy. She had aced the SATs. Her grades were more a reflection of her lack of interest than lack of ability.

She could never be the girl next door Emily was, but she also wasn't the coldhearted and dizzy bitch she sometimes portrayed. She played the role because someone needed to; because, even Spencer, for all of her big brain, often couldn't see the forest for the trees; because when Emily set aside her sweetness after being walked on as much as she had, she could become as ruthless as Ali; because Aria, despite all of her passion and romanticism, could often be a depressing realist.

So it was up to Hanna to provide the balance, to be the foil, to make sure they didn't get sequestered into the roles Alison had long ago selected for them.

Sometimes it was utterly exhausting being the only one who could see things clearly, so she would often pretend she couldn't see anything at all. The girls needed a follower so that they could lead but, unlike Alison, Hanna was mostly content to lead from the shadows. She didn't need the glory; she just needed to be needed.

And as for Caleb and herself and their little confessions ...

"You and Kurt would be hot," she admitted, "and I'd totally be down to watch that kind of awesome action, but no pressure. I know I pushed you on Lucas, mostly because I hate seeing him so lonely, but you're not responsible for making him feel better and neither am I. He has to want to do that for himself ... even if he does stare at your butt more than he ever did mine." She shrugged. "Besides, Kurt isn't lonely. He's grieving."

A look of compassionate surprise flared in his eyes. Wow, did he really think she was averse to the feelings of others? No, she knew Caleb saw her, the real her, more than anyone else did, but she sometimes had a tendency to leave the mask in place even in his company.

His lips curved into a seductive smile. His eyes darted toward Kurt, who had managed to dislodge Peter from his side and had engaged Toby in a conversation about the architecture of the house and some possible carpentry work."He's pretty hot. And very pretty."

"Don't tease," she cautioned. "You're not trying to get me all ... hot and bothered here, are you?"

He smirked and leaned in. "He got me hard."

She bit her lip. "I love it when we're whores."

He kissed her gently. "Me too."

"Even if it's only in our heads."

"That's the best part."


"It's an amazing house," Toby whispered in reverence, as he ambled along the tour Kurt had earlier provided Ezra and the girls. The Hastings and Montgomerys agreed with his assessment.

Ashley was just hungry.

She was also wondering what her daughter and Caleb were up to. Sometimes she worried that she and Hanna were too close, more best friends than mother and daughter, but she wouldn't have changed their relationship for anything. Hanna could be wild and unpredictable, but those were two qualities she loved most about her daughter; she also shared them.

She often wished she had the friendships her daughter enjoyed, but it had just never happened. She loved Ella dearly, perhaps even considered the woman her best friend, but Ella ... often purposefully, yet possibly unintentionally, blinded herself to the reality around her. Ashley had been taken very aback that Byron's affair had come as such as a surprise to Ella. She was similarly stunned that Aria's relationship with Ezra had so blindsided the woman.

She certainly didn't think she was better than Ella, nor was Hanna better than Aria. They were all very different and those difference were good things, but for all of Ella and Aria's intelligence and pragmatism, they too often got caught up in how they wanted to see things rather than how things actually were.

Ashley herself had seen Byron's midlife crisis looming on the horizon. She had gone through the same thing with her ex-husband. But she couldn't tell Ella that. So instead she just tried to be there for the woman as Ella attempted to stumble back into the dating pool, wading in the untenable waters of being a divorced, middle-aged woman.

As for Aria, well, the signs with her and Ezra were all there, but Ella hadn't wanted to see them. She had instead wanted to trust that Aria knew right from wrong, that she knew how to make good decisions. Ashley believed Aria did know how to do those things. Ezra wasn't necessarily a wrong decision, but an unconventional one. Aria had always been unconventional. Besides, one look at the two of them and anyone could see the love was real. It was shaky and frightened, like a dog abandoned at the pound sensing the probable outcome, but happily-ever-after was also a possibility.

Aria and Ezra could make it if they just trusted enough in each other. They didn't, though, and that too was obvious. The fact of the matter was that if Ezra didn't love Aria, he wouldn't have expended as much effort as he had. No twenty-three year old who looked like that needed to wheedle a sixteen year old girl into bed, let alone stay with her for over a year and counting. He loved her but thought she was too good for him. She loved him but thought she wasn't enough for him.

It was all so painfully ironic and stupid.

As for the Hastings, well ...

She liked Veronica and Peter well enough. They were excellent attorneys, truly brilliant, but they were also horrible parents. It wasn't that they didn't love their children but that they loved them too much. They had ruined Melissa; a more miserable bitch had never been born. Oh, Melissa might be devious and cunning and even ruthless, but she was at heart a dilettante who too often relied on Mommy and Daddy when real life got a little too real.

A woman like Ashley - hell, like Ella - could pull Melissa apart with ease. It was all artifice with that girl. She could take on younger members of the pack like Spencer and the others, perhaps even besting them, but Melissa couldn't deal with the challenge of a real woman.

Hell, she barely dealt with Alison and even then had needed help. That Melissa actually blamed Spencer for Ian and Wren putting the moves on her was sickening. They had been grown men chasing after their fiancée's little sister. Instead of calling Chris Hansen to catch those predators, Melissa had called her parents, who, predictably, blamed Spencer for everything.

Ashley truly felt badly for Spencer, who, being born second, had always felt the distance that existed between her and her parents. Melissa was the golden child and really had done nothing to earn the title other than to live up to her parents' unreasonable demands. But that was Melissa in a nutshell: she went along to get along. Her true motivations were always hidden because she didn't really have expectations for herself.

Spencer, on the other hand, was her own person and she suffered for it. The dichotomy in how Peter and Veronica treated their daughters really was horrible to see. Melissa played the game to win her parents' affection, but they only saw her as an extension of themselves. Spencer was the epitome of her parents' personalities, but also possessed a streak of willful independence they tried to quash at every opportunity - the very same independence upon which they prided themselves. Spencer was simply too much like her parents and they resented for it.

Toby had been good for Spencer. He had brought her out of her shell, out of her comfort zone, and made her think about things for herself rather than regurgitating her parents' drivel whenever asked to perform. He stood up to Veronica and Peter who, although initially shocked, had come to respect him for it. At least they knew where Toby stood; Ian and Wren had only ever been interested in sucking up.

Ashley wondered what would happen when Spencer finally stood up for herself and refused to play her parents' games any longer. Sometimes she believed that was exactly what Peter and Veronica were waiting for. They loved Spencer fiercely and Ashley suspected they regretted the mistakes they had made with Melissa. They didn't want to repeat them with Spencer but also didn't know how to avoid them. Essentially, they expected Spencer to figure it out on her own, to govern herself with almost no input from them, which was completely unfair. They only interacted when they felt she had done something wrong, which was pretty much just about everything save breathing.

At last there was Emily, for whom Ashley felt a deep love. If she had had another daughter, she would have wanted Emily to be that daughter. The girl was one of the kindest, gentlest souls the world had ever seen, but Emily was also no milquetoast. She knew her mind and she knew her heart, and that set her above most people of any age.

There had been so many moments when Ashley had wanted to run over to the Fields house and shake Pam to within an inch of her life. She didn't know what the hell that woman's problem was, but it was time for Pam to build a goddamn bridge and get over it. Who cared if Emily was gay? She was still Pam's daughter, was still Emily. What did it even matter in the long run?

Ashley had lost count of the nights Emily had to run to her house and they had talked as Ashley held her and stroked her hair. Pam was lucky to have a daughter like Emily, and if the bitch was too stupid to realize that, Ashley had had no trouble pointing it out. Of course, Pam had always just ignored her, so it was left in Ella's hands. Ashley, after all, was a divorced woman, a fallen woman, and didn't fit neatly into the many boxes in which Pam insisted people should willingly place themselves. Ella had still been married to Byron at the time and was thus a more appropriate sounding board.

Emily's love life, however, was a complete disaster. Maya had been sweet but problematic, and her murder had left Emily utterly devastated. Ashley didn't believe they would have worked out in the long run, but the loss of Maya was one which would haunt Emily and color all of her future relationships. For first love to end like that was tragic. She had rebounded much too quickly with Paige, to whom Ashley had never warmed, primarily because Paige would often stare at Emily as though she were a trophy and not an actual person.

Besides, Emily had never gotten Alison out of her system and most likely never would. Oh, yes, Ashley knew all about Alison; the girl had been absolutely shameless in playing with poor Emily's heart. Still, she believed that Alison had felt very deeply for Emily, feelings deeper than friendship. Well, as much as Alison had been able to feel anything.

She was startled to find herself now walking arm-in-arm with Ella toward the kitchen.

"What are you thinking about?" Ella asked quietly.

"Alison. How much I didn't like her and how sorry I am for her death. Regardless of her true motives, she created something wonderful for our girls, didn't she?"

Ella thought about it and at last nodded. Alison had probably brought the girls together for the wrong reasons, but it was hard to argue the outcome. "I think they'll always have each other, even if they're not always as close." She chuckled. "I have no doubt that Aria and Hanna could not speak for ten years and then one would pick up the phone and it would all be later, that same day ... "

Ashley laughed.

The large group made idle chitchat as they carried the takeout into the dining room, an involved process which required several trips. During the last sojourn into the kitchen, the outside door flew inward and a stunning blond stomped her way inside.

For a moment, just a moment, several present would have sworn they had just witnessed the second coming of Alison DiLaurentis.

"Where have you been?" Kurt demanded.

Quinn Fabray looked at the sea of people, blinking in confusion, before finally shaking her head. "Whoever would have thought a town this size had a rush hour?" She pursed her lips. "I'm glad I was running behind. I managed to snatch this right off the presses."

She threw on the counter the evening edition of The Rosewood Observer, whose cover was dedicated almost entirely to a picture of Kurt and Finn saluting their parents' passing caskets, as though they were the nation's new JFK Juniors, the caption reading: Second Sons of the United States Settle in Rosewood.

Kurt's face darkened. "Well," he drawled, "that's unfortunate."