Content Warning: Strong T. Dick jokes, F-bombs, and Fisticuffs, oh my! (I think this'll be the last time I mention it, so… you were warned...)

A/N: It's three in the morning, but I woke up with an editing bug and managed to finish proof-reading this chapter. There's no harm in posting in now, right?


"What do you mean Aria's in trouble?" questioned Alex, her spine going rigid. Was she going to have to go stand guard in the girl's room all night? She would, too, if it meant Aria was safe.

"I wasn't going to say anything yet; I had to be sure. But after your fistfight with Fitz, I'm pretty sure the circumstances have changed." Spencer paced back and forth as she spoke, arms crossed over her chest and her head tilted toward the ground. She was making a clean spot in Alex's floor, plowing through the clothes and food wrappers like a bulldozer. Alex wasn't complaining if it meant Spencer could clear the entire floor. She debated telling her to pace around the whole room, but decided Aria was more important at the moment.

"Alex… don't freak out… but I saw Fitz following Aria."

Alex chewed on this info a moment, her sleep-deprived brain trying to process exactly what "following" constituted. "So… what? Details, Spence."

"Right, right," Spencer ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Not just following her, but following her. Stalking, almost. He had a camera, ducked out of the way when she would turn around. I was across the street just doing some homework in a cafe when I saw him for the first time. About a week ago. He was being pretty discreet about it, like he'd been doing this a long time, but I know what I saw, Al."

"I know what I saw, too. He definitely wasn't being a very nice guy," said Alex, gruffly. "The stalker motif fits."

There was something red and searing lighting up in Alex's chest, branding a tattoo over her heart. It seemed to be a lust for vengeance of a kind that she'd never felt before. This wasn't a need for a petty revenge plot—like saran-wrapping Spencer's doorway or shaving off her ex's eyebrows—but something violent and consequential. She wanted Fitz to pay for trying to hurt Aria. With jail time or blood, she wasn't sure yet. Maybe both, if she could get her hands on him before the cops.

"Did you follow him? See how far he followed her? If he followed anyone else? Met someone? Did you find out where he lives?" Alex crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight back and forth to each foot while attempting to think of something useful to ask. Her brain was on overload, and it could've been layered with cobwebs for all the help it was, so she looked to Spencer. "Anything about him besides his name is Mr. Fitz, he teaches junior English, and has a penchant for stalking teenage girls?"

"He went straight home after following her for a while. I managed to get the building address. We'll have to snag a key or play on someone's sympathies to get in." Her sister was in full business mode now, and her bloodshot eyes took on an excited, alert quality reminiscent of a hard-boiled detective. It was the same look she got when they were younger—the one when she was about to force Alex to play their Clue board game. Alex half expected her to roll out the "It was Professor Plum, in the Dining Room, with the candlestick" line right on the spot, but no one had been murdered. Spencer was just thinking up ways to successfully break and enter. And that didn't have a cool line to go with it.

"And I got quite a lot of research done on him. What did you think I was doing in my room all day?"

Alex shrugged. "I dunno. Sulking? Reading the dictionary for fun? Something boring probably."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "I was trying to find out more about Fitz. There's not much. In fact, it's almost suspicious how little there is."

"Huh." Alex considered this a moment. "So… you want to find out more? Preferably by doing a little recon mission?"

That definitely got Spencer to light up.

"Yeah, of course," said her twin. "As long as you promise not to break anything."

Alex smirked as some nasty part of her imagined the glee that would come from destroying Fitz's apartment. "I'll try."

"Good." Spencer nodded. "We'll talk details tomorrow. Try to come up with a plan."

There was a lull as Alex agreed, and Spencer sobered a bit.

"Hey… I'm sorry I didn't say anything about this sooner. Before everything happened. But at least you're not locked up, right?"

Alex lifted an indifferent shoulder. "Right. But anger management is going to be a bitch to handle."

"Well, on the bright side, maybe it could do you some good," Spencer teased, a tad hesitant. "You are the one that flipped the coffee table over losing at Need for Speed. "

"First of all: when are you ever looking on the bright side of things? And second: anyone else would be pissed. You took twenty bucks from me that day, Spencer."

"You mean, I won twenty bucks. It's not my fault you're horrible at racing games."

Alex's arms lifted slightly, helpless as she tried to produce a comeback. Then she slammed her palms back against her thighs, her sweatpants muffling the noise. "I'll have you know that I spent hours upon hours building my thumb strength and honing my driving skills. It's totally unfair that you won. And mom hated that table anyway."

"Al, you broke two of the legs off it and kicked in the glass. I don't think she hated it that much." Spencer moved past Alex toward the door, throwing a scoff over her shoulder. Alex could hear the grin in her voice. "And you call me a sore loser."

Rolling her eyes, Alex started to tell Spencer to just get out of her bedroom. It was late, she was pissed off at Fitz, her head was reeling with this new information, and her heart was still beating quick with the memory of Aria asleep at her side. She wished she could've stayed there beside her and forgot about the world for a little while longer, but right now Alex was just happy to have a bed to collapse in.

Only she paused on her way to throw herself onto it and wheeled back around. "Hey, Spence?"

Spencer turned, lifted a brow. Her eyes looked so sleepless, her posture utterly exhausted. But she looked more relaxed, more certain than Alex had seen her recently. Maybe getting things off her chest had helped. "Yeah?"

It wasn't characteristic of her, but Alex found herself moving forward to wrap her arms around her sister. Neither of them were touchy-feely types of people—in fact, no one in their family was—but it was nice to see Spencer recollecting herself. And after all that had happened, Alex could use a good hug too. So she held on tight, practically lifting her twin off the ground, and Spencer snorted as she returned the embrace.

"You gonna be alright, Al?"

"Yeah, maybe," Alex mumbled. "I'm glad you're okay, Spence."

"Well, I won't be long if you crush my rib cage."

A mischievous grin blossomed on Alex's face, and she doubled the crushing power of her hug, lifting her twin off the floor with some effort and spinning them. "Oh, but I looove you sooo much, Spencer!"

"Please put me down." Her sister's arms flapped helplessly as she struggled, and Alex complied—if only to avoid breaking her own back. Spencer sighed dramatically as her toes touched the floor again. "I'm starting to think you're actually trying to kill me, Alex."

Alex grinned. "It's annoying, isn't it?"

"Definitely."

"Good." Alex held on a second longer, then finally released Spencer, lightly shoving her backward by the shoulder. "Now get the hell out of my room."

"Fine. Jeez." Spencer held up her hands in a peacemaking gesture, returning her sister's joking smile, and tiptoed backwards out the door. "Goodnight, Alex."

"Night, Spencer," said Alex, closing her door quietly as her sister slipped into the hallway. She took in a few calming breaths a moment before flopping onto her bed and stretching out. Almost completely relaxed, she started when the door creaked open.

Spencer poked her head in. "Hey, did you say you were at Aria's?"

Alex groaned and dragged a hand down her face, annoyed. "Go away, Spencer."

"Were you?"

"Yes," grouched Alex. "Why does it matter?"

"Did anything… happen?"

"No!" said Alex firmly, finally turning her head in the direction of the door. "Why would you ask that?"

Spencer smirked. "No reason."

"Leave." Alex pointed in the general direction of Spencer's bedroom.

Apparently obliging, Spencer closed the door. Then it was opening again, and Alex felt all her general contentedness turn to a burning, murderous rage.

"Alex has got a cruh-ush," sang Spencer, in a whisper.

Alex pushed herself upright, grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it at the door. "You're going to fucking die if you don't go to bed, Spencer."

Finally—finally—Spencer disappeared for good, a smug smile on her face as she pulled the door shut again. Alex shook her head as she listened to Spencer's footsteps recede down the hallway. She waited until she heard her sister's door click shut, then sunk into her mattress again.

Her mind wandered to Saturday, to something much easier to think about than mandatory anger management and reconnaissance missions and stalkers. The dinner party. What she'd wear, what Aria would wear. The food. The people. What might happen at this event.

Maybe the hosts wouldn't kick her out when they saw her. The word about her scuffle and subsequent sentencing would probably be spread all around town by then. And her wrapped up knuckles just confirmed the story.

But she had to remind herself that she was going with Aria on her arm. She'd make everything better, distract her from judging looks and snarky whispers, act as a buffer. Alex was going to try to have fun, even if she had to force it. Maybe she could even work up the courage to tell Aria how she felt. Who knew?

She smiled to herself at the thought, even as an unfamiliar nervousness bubbled up in her stomach. Things were definitely going to shit in almost every other area of Alex's life, but at least she had a decent chance with Aria.


In the morning, Alex was leaned in close to the bathroom mirror, applying her signature thick eyeliner. She didn't have anywhere important to go, really, since she was suspended from school, but Friday was her favorite day of the week. And Hanna had called her that morning to see if they could head to the mall at noon.

Lucky for Alex, Hanna didn't mind ditching. A large part of Alex's morning had been spent looking for something decent to wear to the dinner party. But half of her closet was laying all wrinkled on the floor and the other half wasn't acceptable in formal situations, and Hanna just so happened to be looking for something to wear on her date with Caleb. So off to Rosewood mall they went.

A sharp, sudden knock on the bathroom door had the tip of the eyeliner pencil skidding in a jagged arc across her temple, and she swore. "Yeah?"

"Is my phone in there?" called Charlotte's voice.

Alex glanced around the bathroom for any sign of her sister's phone, but couldn't spot it. "I don't see it anywhere."

"Can I come in and look?"

"Yep." Alex grabbed a makeup wipe to take care of the stray line on her face, and scowled at Charlotte as she cracked open the door. "You messed up my eyeliner."

"Boo-hoo." The older blonde went to work searching for the phone, looking under stray towels and random pairs of underwear, and rifling through baskets of cosmetics. "Jesus Christ, where is that stupid thing?"

Alex paused her eyelining to watch her sister tear up the bathroom. "Is it in your pocket?"

"Nope."

"Fall under your car seat?"

"No."

"Did you leave it in your apartment?"

Charlotte sighed. "No, I checked all over the place."

"Did you sleep here last night?"

"I did not."

"I don't know what to tell you, then," said Alex. "Is it in the couch? Your old bedroom?"

"Help me look."

Begrudgingly, Alex abandoned her eyeliner and followed her sister down the hall. The air in Charlotte's old bedroom was still damp with morning dew, a fresh scent wafting through the open window their mother had no doubt cracked this morning. Birds chirped, a soft light was settled on the hardwood floor, and there wasn't a trace of dust to be found. The room looked like it hadn't been touched in a while, even though Charlotte occasionally spent the night. It looked far too childish for her sister, lacking the chic decor in her apartment. The walls were a light pink, the furniture a pure white, posters of obscure models and actors were plastered across the back of the door, and a few stray boxes were stacked in the corners, memorabilia stuffed inside.

Charlotte was already kneeling to look under the bed, so Alex wandered around in an attempt to look like she was actually searching. No phone seemed to be laying about that she could tell, but she had something more important tugging at her mind.

"How did you know you were bi?"

Alex winced at the sound of her sister's head smacking the bed frame, but she didn't have to look over her shoulder to know Charlotte was out from under the bed and staring at her.

"What?"

"How did you know that you liked guys and girls?"

"Well…" Charlotte was quiet a moment. "I don't know. I never really thought too hard about it. I just… dated who I wanted to date, and sometimes that was a girl. Why?"

Alex studied an ornate jewelry box on her sister's dresser, pretending to be casual. "Just curious."

"Are you questioning?" She heard Charlotte sit down on the bed.

"Define "questioning"."

"Okaaay. Do you want to kiss girls?"

"There's one in particular, yeah."

"Uh huh. But you're also attracted to guys?"

Alex shrugged. "Sure."

"But you're not positive that you like like girls?"

"Just the one so far."

"Well," huffed Charlotte, a bit forcefully. "Don't rush yourself with choosing any labels, that's all I can say—but, yeah, it sounds like you're questioning, Lex."

"Cool."

A silent beat passed. "So who's the lucky gal?"

Alex bit her lip, the answer popping to the forefront of her brain. She hesitated, but ultimately decided it wouldn't hurt to tell Charlotte. Her sister could keep a secret. "Umm… Aria."

"Montgomery?"

"How many other Arias do you know?" Alex turned to look at her sister and raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious at her answer.

Charlotte chuckled. "None. Just… wow, nice taste, sis. She's cute."

A bit bashfully, Alex nodded, and turned back to the jewelry box. "Yeah. Yeah, she is."

"Are you gonna go for it?"

"We have an unofficial date tomorrow. We're going to a dinner party with Ali and Em, and Aria didn't want to be a third wheel. So we're kind of going… together."

"Good luck." Charlotte sighed then, and Alex could hear her flop back onto the mattress. "You wanna know how my first fling with a girl went?"

Alex turned back around, shooting another curious look at her sister. She went to flop onto her stomach on the bed and propped her chin on her fists, attent. "What happened?"

"Well, she was in my AP English class in high school," said Charlotte, staring up at the ceiling. Her face scrunched up. "And I kind of hated her. But we got paired up on this project, right? And it turns out she was, like, uber frustrated. Things got heated real quick, one thing turned to another, and then we were dating like a week later. In secret—because she was worried about her parents finding out and stuff, and I didn't know what the hell it all meant for my own sexuality so I didn't want to officially come out or anything yet."

"Who was it?"

"Melissa Hastings."

If Alex had been drinking, she would have done a spit take. But she wasn't, so she basically just choked on her own saliva for a moment. "Really!?"

Charlotte laughed at her expression. "Yep."

"That Melissa Hastings? You're temporary college roommate?"

"Luck can be a bitch. You know how awkward that was the first few nights?"

Alex gaped. "That's why you moved back home so soon? Oh, my god. How did you two break up in the first place?"

"A few months after we got together, Mel—Melissa somehow got another stick jammed up her ass. Kind of freaked out, didn't want anything to do with me anymore. It sucked. Can you blame me for not wanting my UPenn experience tainted with that?"

"No, actually." Alex thought a moment, shaking her head in wonderment. "Wow."

Charlotte nodded and continued her ceiling-fan gazing. A long moment passed in silence, until she said, "What were we doing?"

"Uh, looking for your phone?"

"Right." Her sister sat up and reoriented herself. "It's not under the bed."

Alex shrugged and sat up, too. "I didn't see it either."

Charlotte nodded toward the door. "Maybe it's in the living room?"


By noon, they'd found Charlotte's phone in between the couch's seat cushions, and then her sister had booked it out the door to get back to work before her lunch break was over. Alex had finished her makeup and then planted herself on the couch to watch TV, and was currently checking her phone for the occasional text from Hanna.

So we have a third party coming along. Hope u don't mind -H

Not really. Who is it? -A typed Alex, thinking maybe it was one of their friends. She sat back and engrossed herself in Gossip Girl once more, until her phone buzzed again.

Mona -H

Alex let out a loud sigh. It had to be her, didn't it? Did the universe think this shit was funny or something?

They weren't exactly mortal enemies, but Alex didn't particularly like Mona Vanderwaal. She was kind of a bitch. Nice enough, she supposed, but so was Alison. She liked and tolerated Ali because they were cousins, and because Alison was actually making an effort to be a better person for Emily's sake. Mona didn't have those special parameters and, besides, she reveled in bitchery like it fueled her life-source or something. Though Alex supposed being Hanna's friend counted for something. She'd have to play nice, but only if Mona did.

Cool. Can't wait. -A

Feeling vaguely disgusted that Mona was tagging along but mostly glad they were still going shopping, Alex set her phone aside. A few more minutes passed, and then there was a knock on the door that Alex went to answer.

Hanna stood there, stylish sunglasses perched on her face and her hand on her hip. "Ready, Lex?"

"Yeah." Alex peeked over the blonde's shoulder and spotted Mona in the passenger seat of Hanna's car. The petite brunette waggled her fingers and gave Alex a smirk.

This was going to be interesting.


A/N: So normal Spencer's back (mostly), I made Charlissa a thing that happened, and Mona has arrived to the party. Thanks to Boris Yeltsin for mentioning her, otherwise I may have forgotten to make her an element in this story… or not because how can one forget about Mona? And WhyAreYouLaughing, thank you for mentioning Melissa so I could be inspired to fulfill my crack ship wishes. They probably won't be big elements in the overall story, but they will be minor annoyances for Alex, which should be fun.

I've got the main plot points all laid out now and am still feeling really confident about this story, so it should be smooth sailing from here. Still, give me two weeks to update. It's thunderstorm season and lightning has already managed to fry my internet modem once, so I'm low-key scared it'll happen again and delay things. Either way, I'll still try to update on time.

Thanks for reading and see you next chapter!