AN: So Last chapter was really intense, and I'm really happy about the reviews. This chapter won't be as eventful, but it will begin to segue into the thematic elements of the story. I have the entire story planned out. The stories for Spencer and Hanna will pick up immensely next chapter, and Aria's will follow. Emily's will take a bit longer, but it's an emotional set up. Please read, review, and recommend!

SPENCER'S POV

The car ride to Harvard is mostly silent.

Toby drives the two of us in his truck to Harvard, and we barely say a word. I told him about the fingers, and the note, and the two of us are frightened to a point where we just don't know what to say.

Well, I know what Toby wants to say. He wants to tell me that A is no longer going to hurt us since we're all moving in different directions. He wants to explain that the note was a final threat. But I can tell he doesn't want to say it because even he isn't sure he believes it.

Though we say nothing verbally, our eyes say it all. His bright blue eyes, while full of fear, shimmer more brightly than ever before. I know he's excited to leave a town where he's always been considered an outcast, a felon. He is looking forward to starting over, to living with me in a place where no one knows his tattered past.

I, too, am looking forward to the escape. College will hold adventures that don't necessarily involve chasing evil masterminds. Toby and I will be living in a house right near campus together, and he'll be working on construction nearby. We'll get to experience the world. Together.

While I know he's excited, he seems… off. As I continue looking at him, I notice beads of sweat surfacing on his forehead. He looks like something is troubling him.

"Everything okay?" I ask, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah," he answers breathily. "I'm fine." He doesn't meet my eyes when he speaks, just keeps his eyes locked on the road.

"Toby, seriously, is something wrong?"

Again, avoiding eye contact, he replies: "No, I promise Spence. Everything is great. Perfect. Look at us. We're heading off to a city where nothing can hurt us. And we're together. That's all I care about."

I shrink down in my seat, my expression contorting into confusion. Why does he look so nervous? I'm worried there's something he's not telling me.

Of course, in our relationship, someone was always not telling someone something.

"Spencer, don't worry about me," he says, as if reading my mind. "Everything is-"

"TOBY WATCH OUT!"

A car swerves in front of us, and Toby jerks the steering wheel, but it is too late. A giant CRASH sounds, and my world turns black.

ARIA'S POV

Welcome to Ezra free life, population Aria.

I think I may regret moving here.

I arrived at Carnegie Mellon University just hours ago, and I thought it would be pleasant to not have to worry about relationships while I'm away, to not be tied down. But I miss him.

I suppose that's expected. I mean, I broke up with him yesterday. I shouldn't immediately be over someone I was with for so long. I can expect a bit of moroseness. I just don't want to be one of those girls who goes crawling back to her boyfriend because I was too sad to leave him for a minute. I'm not one of those girls.

I need a distraction. I strike up a conversation with my mom about college classes and activities as we bring boxes up to my dorm room. We discuss campus tours, extra curricular activites - anything. And when the conversation dies down, I come up with something else. I just need to keep my mind active and out of the Ezra territory.

I am wondering what to do during the college days to keep my mind off of that subject. The activities fair seems like a plausible excuse, so as my mom sheds her last tears and hugs me one last time, she leaves, letting me free to roam the campus grounds.

A skinny, blonde girl at a booth for "Glee Club" smacks her gum and waves me over. She looks like she hasn't eaten anything since the 20th century. Her pants, probably triple-zeros, seem to be falling down her hips because of her lack of weight, and I suddenly feel sad for her. To see someone so insecure she refuses to eat just breaks my heart. I hesitate for a moment, knowing there was no way in the world I'd ever join a club that consisted of people like her, the gum-chewing, anorexic type, but I thought it would be a way to get my mind off of things for a bit, to let someone fill my mind with scattered thoughts.

"Hey, any interest in singing?" the girl says between bubbles. Her name tag reads Myra.

"Well, I sing a bit, but-"

"Great! We've been looking for new members for quite some time! I'm a sophomore this year, but last year, as a freshman, we had so few people we couldn't qualify for competitions. You should audition!"

Myra hands me a flyer with information about tryouts, and I find myself reconsidering. It would be an interesting way to keep focus on something other than Rosewood.

"I'll be there," I say with a smile. Myra grins back, and blows a big pink bubble.

"You should join my sorority, too! You seem like a really nice girl, and I'm sure all the girls would love to have you." Myra hands me another paper with information about her sorority, as well as her phone number.

"Call me if you ever want someone to show you around campus, or just hang out."

I smile, and begin to walk away, when I turn back. I realize she may be the answer to my prayers.

"You free tonight? I'd love for you to show me around town, not just campus."

Myra's face lights up. "Absolutely! You can come the bar I work at for a bit, then we can go downtown."

"Sounds great," I reply. I begin to walk away, and Ezra's name doesn't even enter my mind.

HANNA'S POV

Room 204, Fairbanks Dormitory, New York School of the Fashion Arts and Merchandising. My home for the next four years.

The stress bubbles inside of me. I don't know how I'm supposed to be able to do this.

I'm not worried about students being 'smarter' than me or anything like that - I got into this school after professors begged me to come. I have a passion for fashion, face it. I'm just worried about how someone like me, with my past, will get along in a school like this. Girls here will be snooty, competitive, worried about being the best, the skinniest. If girls find out I was fat, or that I'm not completely dedicated to selfishness, I'm not going to survive. After receiving that special… gift from A, it's all that's been on my mind. I know that A is relatable to the devil on my shoulder, a nagging at the back of my mind trying to make me insecure and feel alone, but A was right. I was fat. I was unpopular. And that is not the type of girl people accept at a school like this.

All of my stress begins to melt when I see my roommate. An everyday, average girl sits at the bed across from what shall soon by mine. She has long, dark, curly hair and bright teeth that smile kindly at me.

"Hey, I'm Keirson, your roommate!" the brunette exclaims with a grin.

"I'm… Hanna," I say. I'm relieved to have someone like her as my roommate. I hardly know her, and I already know we'll be close. She isn't the snobby girl I was worried about.

"It's awesome to meet you. I was worried I'd have some stuck up fashionista as a roommate, but you look really cool," Keirson says.

I breathe a sigh of relief. "I was worried about the exact same thing."

We chat for a while, getting to know each other. She seems energetic when she talks, but her eyes look tired. I notice she keeps pinching or grasping her stomach or left side.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"Huh? Oh, the stomach. Yeah I… Uh… I got my appendix out a couple of weeks ago."

"Isn't the appendix supposed to be on the right? You keep pinching your left."

"It… hurts all over."

Suddenly I felt the burgeoning friendship fade away. This girl was hiding something.

"Are you sure?" I ask again. When Keirson stands up, her shirt lifts a bit, revealing a stomach covered in scars red scratches.

I wince to muffle a gasp. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice. Now I knew what she was hiding, but I wanted to know why she just didn't tell me there were scars. I'm pretty positive that an appendectomy wouldn't result in scars like that.

I ignore it, not wanting to ruin a possible new friendship with who may be the only friend I find at this school.

Kerison stands at her desk, her shoulders slumped. She looks stressed, like something is bothering her. She really surprises me when she whips her head around and says, "How would you like to go to a party tonight? There's one at a fraternity in the southern part of the campus."

Even more to my surprise, I reply with a "Yes."

EMILY'S POV

My roommate is beautiful.

Flowing blonde hair, pink lips, blue eyes - absolutely beautiful. Her skin looks so soft, and her three piercings along her ear lobe give her an edge.

Her name is Chae, short for Charlotte. Everything about her name is absolutely beautiful.

When she speaks, her voice has an eloquent resonance that makes me tingle.

Something about her… It's special. Beautiful.

"Hey, so you're name is Emily, right?" she says in a light German accent.

"Yeah," I answer nervously.

"That's really pretty. You are too," she winks.

I feel myself blushing. I turn away before she notices and continue unpacking. At the bottom of my suitcase is a picture of Maya. I pause to look at it for a moment, my heart sinking.

"Is that you girlfriend?" Chae asks. I start; I had no idea she was looking over my shoulder.

"Oh, uh, well, yeah - er, no - I mean, she was but, she… died." I hang my head so Chae can't see the tears welling in my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Emily. I got out of a relationship similarly. My girlfriend was arrested after robbing a bank."

It takes me a minute to register what she says, and then I feel myself looking up at her, mouth gaping open. Chae said her girlfriend.

My beautiful roommate is a lesbian.

Like me.