Thank you all for the reviews jariafan, Boris Yeltsin and DamonplusMyrnin for the triple review ;)
Quite a few time jumps in this :) This chapter marks the end of Season 1! Season 2 will be up shortly! I have completely messed up the storyline here – especially the last part… but hey… ALSO, someone returns a little than they are supposed to…
the reason why
your head is running wild again
my dear, we still have everything
and it's all in your mind
— pink
She had never felt heartbreak before.
But then again, she never got to know how being heartbroken felt like.
But ever since Jason disappeared from her life again, she'd been feeling down, almost as down as when she first realised Jason was gone – no, more.
And it hurt.
She was being the typical overdramatic sixteen-year-old. Silly her, it wasn't really heartbreak. After all, she and Jason hadn't even been together officially – they'd never agreed on some boyfriend-girlfriend thing. In other words, they had hooked up.
But… Aria had felt something whenever she was with him. She felt – as cliché as it sounded – sparks fly whenever their lips touched and mingled, whenever they got lost in each other's eyes filled with such… love.
And there she was, being her overdramatic self again. Love – really?
Aria missed him. The littlest of things, the most meaningless of things, she missed. She missed the way he always called her 'Ar', the sweet sound which managed to wind its way into her heart. His hands which always got tangled in her hair; the hands which also tried to tame her locks, although they failed miserably each time. She missed the way he held her, whether it was for a millisecond or if it was for an hour.
All the same, she missed it. Missed him.
Grow up, she said to herself, you're probably one of millions of girls he's hooked up with. He's probably already forgotten your name – and anyway, you never stood a chance.
She seriously had to stop – following her thoughts, she never stood a chance.
And she never would. If she had, Jason wouldn't have left. Piling everything on Jason was mean and untrue, but at the moment, it was all she had to help her forget about him.
Think other boys, she thought, you're no longer stupid little dorky Aria with her spunk. You're… Icelandic Aria. No, better, you're…
"Hey! Listen up, Aria!" Hanna snapped a finger in front of her face, immediately pulling her away from her thoughts. "Did you even hear me?"
"Wh-what?" Aria mumbled, still in her daze. "What?"
"God, listen!" Spencer sighed noisily, glaring at her.
Emily looked at Aria curiously. "Are you alright? You've been a little out of it since… since Jason…" She stopped herself, as if to shake off the very thought. Aria was relieved beyond belief – it was still a secret.
"Yeah, like Em said, you've not been yourself since Jason left Rosewood…" Hanna's voice also trailed off, and Aria sucked in their breath, desperately hoping they were still as oblivious as before…
"Is it something about him leaving? You did mention something about being friends…" Spencer started, but when she saw Aria's arising blush, her eyes widened and she added, "Maybe… m-more than friendship?"
"What? No!" Aria's blush only deepened, and she buried her face in her hands. "That's… that's crazy. Friends – friends only."
Spencer nodded slowly. "Okay, good. Anyway, carrying on…"
But Hanna hadn't quite let it go. "Spencer, you could be right – maybe… maybe you and Jason were more than friends…"
Aria shook her head fervently. "Yes, maybe. Meaning no, no, and guess what? No. Spence, what were you saying?"
Hanna and Emily exchanged a look, only making Aria even more nervous.
"I said no. We're just friends – no, not even that at the moment." She crossed her arms.
"You know, when someone says they're 'just friends', they mean the exact opposite." Hanna pointed out.
"Did you guys kiss?" Emily said, going straight to the facts.
Aria's mind slipped to their first kiss, back when Alison was alive, when his lips on hers spun her around, and then it slipped to their second one, right in front of that rock-climbing centre. The kiss had been perfect – every little thing about it had been just… perfect. Without realizing, she said, "Yes," It took her a matter of time to realize what she had said. "I mean, no! No! We didn't!"
All three of her best friends now stared at her, and she shifted uncomfortably.
Spencer was the first to break the silence:
"You and… and… Jason. You guys…" Spencer looked around, before hissing, "Aria, he's dangerous."
"You don't know him," Aria noted. "You know Drug Addict Jason, not… the new Jason."
"So you two were together." Spencer stated.
Aria hesitated. It was too late now – she couldn't back out; she'd said too much. "Not officially. Can we please stop talking about this? It happened. Past tense. It was… it was nothing. It was just a simple one-time thing – with only a handful of kisses – and it won't happen again. He left. We've moved on."
It was silent for a while again.
"I'm sorry Spencer's being really shallow," Emily said, edging towards Aria. "I'm sorry."
"No reason to be sorry," murmured Aria. "Whatever happened between is over now. It happened. And there will never be a repeat of it. Okay, Spencer?"
As if on cue, Spencer's laptop made a funny sound, and all their attention was drawn to it. Spencer was the first to move, picking it up and placing it in front of them, on the kitchen table.
"Email," said Spencer, in an almost inaudible voice.
With attachment.
It was probably just some timetable for Spencer's… extra studies? It couldn't possible be A...
Spencer moved the mouse onto the attachment and with a small, shaky breath she clicked on it.
"Wanna see more? I know you want to."
It was unmistakably Alison, sitting on the Kissing Rock, wrapped up in an old scruffy jumper and probably nothing else but a skimpy little top.
"If the girls knew I was seeing you…" the Ali in the video continued. "God, they would not stop talking about it." she paused. "I wish they were more mature but… We don't have a lot of time – I have to get back before they wake up." Ali dropped her head down, a smug grin sewn onto her face. "I know you wanna kiss me."
Spencer paused it there, and turned to the other girls. "This is the same video which the policeman showed us a few weeks ago, around the time of Mona's party." Hanna stiffened. "The one A sent them."
"And there's more," Hanna pointed out. Spencer nodded and resumed the video.
Alison stood up, her arms reaching out towards the mystery man in front of her. The camera turned around… Ian.
Ian freaking Thomas.
The camera shook and the Ian in the video smirked, saying, "Come closer,"
Just like Ian had asked her to, Ali came closer, the camera moving towards him. At that, Ian's hand covered the lenses and Alison fell onto a ground with a muffled scream.
"Oh my fucking god," Aria murmured.
The camera had long dropped onto the floor and Alison's hand came into view, flying in from nowhere. It grasped the dirt on the ground until finally – finally – it stopped moving.
Things had plummeted from bad to worse. Since that video…. god, that video… none of the liars had been able to concentrate. Especially Spencer – Ali's murderer was freaking married to her sister, currently living in the Hastings' household!
And talking of households – Aria's was beyond being able to explain. Ella had moved out almost one-and-a-half months before, and yet Aria had found her mother and father… in the library… together. This was crazy… her parents… having an affair with each other?
"Aria!" Hanna exclaimed as they sat down for lunch.
"Y-yeah?" Aria asked. "Hm?"
"What am I going to do?" Hanna said miserably. "He's crashing at school. Yet I don't completely trust him… but then again, I do…"
"Sorry?" Aria asked again. "Wait, I thought Ian was married to Melissa and lived at their house…"
"No!" Hanna said louder. "I'm talking about Caleb – we saw him at the library. He was sleeping in the library. He was living in the library."
But Hanna's desperate shouts to claim her attention was all in vain, as Aria's mind had already slipped away.
"Trouble in paradise?" Jason asked Aria has she trod through the kitchen in a tank top and yoga pants.
Aria gave Jason a dirty look before opening the fridge; he seemed to have noticed her angry expression."You could say that."
Jason laughed, propping his legs up onto the table in front of the telly. "You know, I really don't get girls. They fight about the tiniest of things and god, the revenge. Backstabbing little bitches, some girls are."
"Excuse me?" she scoffed.
"I said some girls." Jason pressed. "Anyways, what's your big 'backstab Ali' plan?"
Aria sighed, opening the can of soda. "I'm not trying to get revenge on Ali. Although I should, I'm not."
"Why the hell not? I know what she did; I'd do something absolutely horrible. What aboutfilling her pencil case with slugs?' he suggested.
Aria took a seat near Jason. "You know, she's not all bad."
"Oh yeah?" Jason raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah. She's a pretty good friend. At times. I'm not going to fill her pencil case with slugs… I'm just really, really, really pissed at her." Aria took a sip from the soda and spat it out almost immediately. "What the hell is this?"
"Soda, I guess?"
Aria laughed. "It tastes almost as bad as Spencer's coffee."
Jason propped up an eyebrow but all the same laughed along with her. "So I'm guessing Spencer doesn't make the best coffee?"
Aria gave Jason a look that screamed really?. "You could say that."
"Earth to Aria?" Hanna asked, interrupting Aria's thoughts.
Blushing, she turned towards her best friend. "I'm really sorry, Han."
"Hm," Hanna rolled her eyes. "Will you please help me? I'm in a sort of crisis at the moment. Should I or should I not trust Caleb?"
"Who?" Aria asked grudgingly.
Hanna shook her head in disbelief, and pointed towards a tall guy with long, dark hair, leaning on a bin.
"The new kid?" A confused look flickered on Aria's face, until realization dawned on her. "The guy we saw in the library! He's sort of sketchy. But then again, he does have that bad boy strike."
Hanna stifled a laugh. "Moving on so soon?" she took a pause. "You were thinking about him, weren't you? No, not Caleb… Jason."
"What?" spluttered Aria. "No! How could you even consider such a thing?"
Hanna laughed again. "You lie most… eloquently. Are you sure you and Jason aren't still seeing each other? In secret?"
"Who's still seeing each other?" Spencer plonked herself down on the seat between Aria and Hanna. Spencer seemed worn-out, and she was holding a small slip of paper.
"No one is," Aria said quickly, covering up her nervousness. "Anyway, what's that?" She took the slip from Spencer and examined it, her eyes widening as she read the address.
"Shoot… you weren't meant to see that." Spencer started.
Hanna too got the slip and read it and re-read it. "Toby…"
"I'm tutoring him French." Spencer tried to explain.
"Yeah, we see that." Aria muttered. "But why?"
"Look… we know that it wasn't Toby who…"
"The last time we heard of Toby was when he almost tried to kill Emily!" Hanna exclaimed.
"Carrying on… we know that it was Ian, not Toby. And I feel really bad so… maybe I could help him?" Spencer said, although she seemed unsure herself.
"Oh, so he isn't the 'devil in disguise' anymore?" Aria questioned.
"I felt bad about that," Spencer admitted. "I want to make things right. We… although mostly Alison… we threw him into juvie… for something we did."
Hanna stopped for a few seconds, processing the information. "Does Emily know?"
"Last time I checked, Emily was hiding away in one of the changing rooms, desperately trying to avoid Paige McCullers and her dodgy bracelets." Spencer said.
"Who?" Aria asked. "Doesn't Emily swim with her?"
"Yeah, she does… but…" Hanna then smiled. "Oh, you mean Dora the Explorer?"
And even with A, and Toby, and Caleb, and Jason, the three of them laughed – almost, almost being reminded of when they were normal teenagers.
She wondered if she would ever see him again. Maybe – when everything with Alison pulled over, and they had gotten to the bottom of the mystery… but she wasn't even sure if that was going to happen.
She sighed and turned over onto her side, staring out into the broad daylight. She blew a stray piece of her hair out of her face, and reached out for her phone: one new message.
I'm at the Brew. Meet me here?
—Jason
Aria's jaw dropped open. This was just an illusion, wasn't it? Because surely – surely – Jason was not back in Rosewood. Hastily, she typed back.
You're back!?
—Aria
She gathered up her stuff and walked to her bedroom door, nibbling on her lip as she waited for a reply.
Yep
—Jason
No, it wasn't an illusion, because Jason DiLaurentis was indeed back.
She smiled inwardly, leaving her house. The walk to the Brew seemed almost as quick – partly because she was running; partly because she was just so… excited.
"Jason." Aria smiled as she saw Jason standing by the window. He looked the same – he was still as good-looking as ever, with his strikingly green eyes and dirty-blonde hair which stopped at his chin.
"Aria," Jason caught sight of Aria and he too smiled. "Hey, Ar." He brought Aria into a quick hug.
"You're… you're back… in Rosewood." Aria stated, gesturing around them. "I just… I thought you'd left for good."
Jason sighed, shuffling his feet. "Yeah, I'm back… and this time, I'm staying. I moved back to the old house...you know, the St. Germains moved out and everything." They both nodded – Maya had been sent to juvie after Emily's mom found out that she smoked weed. The whole St. Germain family moved away with her.
"So… why are you back?" she asked.
"Well, I decided I didn't want to live with my parents anymore. And I realised that I just wanted to find out who killed my sister, if he… she… they… are still here… I, um, I needed answers. A lot of them," Jason's voice faltered. "And also because, I guess with all the insanity, I missed Rosewood."
Aria nodded slowly. "Rosewood is one pretty unforgettable place."
"It is." Jason agreed.
"So…" Aria started, smirking. "Are those all the reasons?"
Jason laughed whole-heartedly, before capturing Aria's lips in a sweet kiss. Just like the first kiss – perfect. No other words to describe it except… perfect.
"Aria…" Jason murmured when they finally broke apart. "I'm sorry."
"What for?" Aria asked, confused.
"For everything." Jason admitted. "For leaving so abruptly, for leaving itself. For giving the impression that nothing really mattered to me…"
Aria bit her lip, unsure what to say or do. If she was honest, Jason had put Aria under the impression that he'd thrown whatever they had away.
"While I was back with my parents… I did a lot of thinking," he carried on. "And… I really like you, Aria. And I know that you were under the impression that I didn't but… I do. And I never even considered forgetting whatever we had. So, for that… I'm sorry."
Taken aback, she froze. That was, until, Jason's lips once again were on hers, and they both knew that with that one small movement, all was forgiven.
"Jason and I are back together… well, not technically, because we weren't really together in the first place… What I meant was that Jason and I are together."
All three girls turned to look at Aria, eyes wide open and jaws dropped down. There was a loud crash as one of the torches the liars were holding had fallen down. Aria hastily picked it up and handed it back to Emily.
Way to go, a voice in Aria's head said, you have to go and tell them when you're in the middle of finding out who the hell A is, don't you?
But then again, Aria never really had a lot of common sense – she believed she got it from her father.
They were so close – so close – and Aria had dropped the bombshell. Tactful, very tactful indeed.
"What?" Hanna was the first to break the silence, her shrill voice filling the front garden of Spencer's house. "You… and Jason…"
"When… why… how did it happen?" Spencer exclaimed.
"It doesn't really matter." pressed Aria. "Let's just get back to waiting for Melissa to come."
"It does matter! We're almost getting to the bottom of this and you just casually drop in that you're dating Jason – obviously it has some importance!" Emily said.
"Well, it doesn't, okay?" Aria mumbled. "I just completely forgot about telling you guys for a while and… my head just went, alright?"
"For a while?" Spencer screeched.
"Are you and Jason still seeing each other? In secret?" Hanna mimicked her voice and repeated the words she had said almost one month before. "No my ass!"
"I'm sorry!" Aria said loudly.
"How long have you guys been together? And… we said no more secrets!" Spencer interrupted.
Aria had to be honest now – in actual fact, it had been a very long time she and Jason had been dating. They'd started it of secretive, and were planning on going public soon. The girls were the first people she had told… or, quoting Emily… casually dropped in. "Since… since he first came back to Rosewood and moved in. Almost… a month back?"
"Aria… Jason… he… he can't be trusted!" Spencer said.
"Oh, oh," Bitterness was now evident in Aria's voice. "So going to hook up with who you called 'the devil's spawn' is all right?"
"He's changed." Spencer said. "And he's innocent."
A loud screech caused them to lose attention from Aria and Spencer, instead making them look towards the noise.
"Shit." Hanna cursed. "It's Melissa."
They all ran into the kitchen, or at least, attempted to: they had been caught.
"Slumber party?" Melissa asked, eyeing the four girls. "Cute."
"Four minutes," mouthed Emily, checking her phone discreetly. In four minutes, they were planning on leaving with Garrett Reynolds to the park – that was where they would finally put an end to all the nonsense; that was where Ian was going to be lured into.
Four.
"I remember when I was young enough to have sleepovers. But of course, my little baby will soon be able to." Melissa giggled. "I'm still wondering if it will be a girl or a boy! Ian says he doesn't mind whichever sex, but… I don't know…"
Three.
"What about you, Spence? You'll be an aunt, even if it seemed otherwise yesterday," Melissa crossed her arms, turning her head to look at the others. "Aria! It's so good to see you! I almost forgot it was you, see, all I remember is when you had pink in your hair!"
"Yeah…" Aria laughed nervously. She averted her eyes from Melissa and looked towards the other girls, giving them a warning by tapping her watch.
Two.
Melissa's smile faltered as she ransacked her bag. "Oh, goodness me, my phone! I think I left it at the church, you know, when Ian promised to meet me, but he didn't…"
"I'll drive you there," Spencer said immediately. "Or, well, I'll drive there and retrieve it."
Melissa's smile returned. "Thank you, Spencer."
One.
So far, so good, their plan was working.
They arrived at the old park at exactly five to nine. It was cold and breezy and too dark for their liking but this was it. This was it. If Ian arrived at the park to take the cash, everything, everything would be over.
"Duck!"
They ducked under the bush, just as a hooded figure walked in through the gate. He approached the second man, the one carrying the money, and he carefully pulled down his hood.
This man – this man was not Ian Thomas.
They watched as the man-who-was-not-Ian disappeared, bearing the money – bearing the failure of their so well thought-out plan. But thinking over, it was obvious. If Ian was the mastermind behind the whole A and Alison business, of course he would have sent a different man.
Her phone.
Her phone was ringing.
Aria got it out as fast as she could, placing the phone on her ear. The caller had been Spencer Hastings, yet she could not hear Spencer Hasting's voice.
Instead there were screams – muffled screams.
"Church," Aria quipped up, already standing, ready to go. "Spencer's at the church – and she's in trouble. I think she's alone with Ian."
Shaken up and rattled, Spencer came out of the church. The girls, who had been worried to wit's end, sprinted towards the brunette, not caring about the police lines, or the cops themselves.
"Spence!" Emily wrapped her arms around her. Aria and Hanna too let Spencer enter their embrace, as they did every bit they could to calm her down.
"He's dead," muttered Spencer mindlessly.
"It's okay, it's okay," Aria said over and over again.
"You had to do it – he was going to kill you." Hanna reassured.
"No," Spencer shook her head fervently. "I didn't kill Ian. Yes, Ian was trying to kill me, but I didn't kill him."
"Spence, what do you mean?" Hanna asked.
"What I mean is, that someone saved me up there. And that 'someone' was wearing all black – just like A." Spencer was still in disbelief. "Ian isn't A, guys, he never was."
The cops followed out of the church, and made their way towards the girls.
"Is this some sort of sick joke?" the oldest-looking cop said.
"S-sorry?" Spencer spluttered. "Look, officers, I'm not making a joke. I was almost-"
"We heard you the first time, okay?" the cop rolled her eyes. "There is no body down there, like you said. Not even blood. Did you make a mistake or something?"
This statement left Spencer speechless. Flustered, she turned to the cops. "I was almost killed in there. He fell down. Someone else pushed him. He is there. His body is there."
The cop shook her head. "I get that you're still a little… jolted. It is only natural for you to hallucinate. We will return to you shortly – you may return to your parents and sister, who I'm sure are wanting to know if you are okay." The cop left with the others back to one of Rosewood's finest detectives.
As if on cue, each of their phones buzzed from deep inside their pocket.
It's not over until I say it is.
Sleep tight while you can, bitches.
—A
They didn't have to look at each other, or talk, or move – for each knew what each was feeling. Dread, fear, regret…
The four girls made their way over the police lines – Spencer being careful to avoid her parents.
"Hey, are you four okay?"
They whipped their heads around, equally confused to why the hell Jason, of all people, was standing right there, at the crime scene.
Aria walked up to him. "Jason?"
"Are you alright?" Jason asked, all seriousness in his voice.
"Spencer…" Aria said quietly.
"Spencer. Are you… are you okay?" Jason eyed her.
"I'm fine," Spencer suppressed a smile, but even a blind person would know that she wasn't.
Aria looked up at him strangely, not quite sure what to think of him suddenly being there.
But then again, seeing him there – that was enough to make her feel safe.
I think I said last chapter that this would be a 'summary sort of thing'. Well… I guess it came out pretty long XD I think it's actually the longest chapter so far! (4K words to be exact!) And… this marks an end to Season 1!
