Your Heart Speaks Loudest.

In my mind love and you are synonymous

In my heart, you'll always be love…

...

Hanna's phone sent a jarring ring through the kitchen of her flat, intersecting the conversation she was presently having. Turning abruptly, she glanced over the screen before pressing the call end button.

"As I was saying," she smacked her lips "she was wearing this bright yellow dress with these horrible, obscene- "

"Okay, Han, who we are talking about?" Emily asked, her face puckered in confusion.

The blonde girl's mouth opened in slight disbelief "The girl across the street from my store! Have you been listening to me?"

Emily stared at the dark coffee floating in her mug "It's hard to concentrate when you're phone keeps ringing every five minutes." All excitement from telling her gossipy story faded as Hanna stirred uncomfortably on her stool, clearing her throat to relieve some of the looming guilt that she felt. Emily's eyes narrowed, her interest was perked by her best friend's sudden uneasiness.

"Who was it? She probed, careful not to reveal her itching curiosity. "Was it Caleb?"

Hanna sucked in a large breath "Umm, no." She shuffled again "It was Spencer."

"You know Han, you can't avoid her for the rest of your life" Emily said warily "Sooner or later, you'll have to speak to her."

"I'm hoping later." Hanna mumbled under her breath.

This did not escape Emily's ear. She studied her best friend; taking in the faint semi circles (beneath layers of concealer) that resided under her eyes, her over tanned skin and the way she fidgeted nonstop with her fingernails. Was Hanna feeling guilty? But why? Maybe, she was avoiding Spencer because she hired Toby. Surely Hanna knew it was Toby she was hiring when she did, Emily had concluded.

A catapult of questions streamed through her mind, one in a particular taking a special dominance on the tip of her tongue.

"Why did you hire Toby?" Emily heard herself say.

"What do you mean?

Hanna was quick with her response, a sharp defensive edge attached to it. She searched mindlessly for a task to preoccupy her sweaty, trembling hands, and when she found none, she returned again to nervously peeling the recently applied nail polish from her fingernails.

"You did hire him didn't you? Why?" Emily pressed

Hanna looked up, a feigned calm atop a mesh of worry, fear and reluctance on her face. Nipping her lip eagerly, she resisted the words that threatened to leave her mouth, only conceding when she realized that Emily's persistence was unfaltering.

"I wanted him to come back to Rosewood." she blurted.

"Why?"

Their eyes danced together for a moment, anxiety frothing over on Emily's face.

"Because I wanted to make things right."

"Right?" Emily queried "What do you mean, right?

A pit of resistance forming at the back of her throat, Hanna gulped loudly. She dashed her focus to the place -mat in front of her before she spilled her soul

"I know the reason why he left." she confessed.

Hanna could practically hear the wheels turning in Emily's head, a fire of thoughts ignited there. The dark haired girl stumbled to find the right words "But, I-we- Spencer- that night-"she failed to formulate.

"I've never told Spencer." Hanna offered, before she added dully "God knows I wanted to so many times"

"So why didn't you?" Emily asked her voice underlined with slight anger that sprung from her confusion.

Hanna became irate "It's not my place to tell her."

"You're her best friend, Han. You two spent three years together, how you could not tell her."

"It's complicated okay?"

"How so?

A beat of silence past with just the unsteady rise and fall of the girls chest. Though a mere second, it was enough though, to put Emily teetering on the verge of real anger.

"I promised Toby." Hanna said weakly "I gave him my word".

Emily's urgent need dissolved, the sad edge to Hanna's voice was enough to cause her to twirl with remorse.

"I felt bad okay?... I felt guilty and somehow responsible. So when we decided to move back to Rosewood, I thought it'd be the perfect … I wanted to make things better for her- for both of them, and I thought that if I got Toby to come back then I could persuade him to tell her the truth" Hanna confessed.

"What is the truth?"

A heavy silence fell over them. Hanna stared directly at Emily, her face conveying the need for her unburdening. She had carrying around this guilt, this weight for so long that the thought of someone sharing it with her, seemed nothing short of ideal. But shouldn't that person be Spencer? She thought. She had come so close to spilling it all last year, when Spencer had been so broken and wanted to find Toby. It was inches away on her tongue but she had thought, however to the mounts of collateral damage that her confession might cause. This lie had become a tangled web, with many intermediates and grey shaded areas and when truth and lies were set side by side they were hardly distinguishable. And though it was unfortunate that this great decision had befallen her, she had decided, with great regret that moving on would be a better option for Spencer- that it would be better for everyone.

"Hanna?" her worry washed friend interjected her thoughts.

"Sit down." Hanna commanded her friend. She took a heavy breath, the thought of telling something and they feeling that it would incur overrode her hesitance. She needed to tell someone, she decided.

"Promise me that you won't tell anyone…"

"Promise." Emily gave a definite nod, leaning forward expectantly "Go on, I'm listening." she urged.

Aria sent her hand through her thick wavy hair and checked her watch again. He was late or maybe he wasn't coming.

She had called him twice today- first, to make arrangements for their meeting and the second time, to confirm that he was still coming. It had been nearly 20 minutes since she had arrived at the coffee shop two doors down from her art studio and she had been all kinds of nervous. She felt as though she was going into barred territory and was somewhat uncertain if this would count as meddling.

However, this nudging, irritating feeling had dominated most of her days since he had arrived and turn Spencer's life up-sided down. She felt as though she needed to do this need to do this. She was her best friend after all, and it pained her to see her distraught. Hopefully, she thought, she wouldn't make matters worse.

I will be hard and assertive. Straight to the point, she mused. However all her tenacity faded when she saw Toby, his blue eyes scanning the crowd in the wildly pack store. With her insides turned to mush, she unconsciously slumped slightly in her chair, hoping that he wouldn't see her, but when she peeped up from under a mesh of her hair, she found him standing, one hand on the table and a questioning look on his face.

Bolts of embarrassing color swept up her neck, as she straightened herself, repositioning in a normal manner. She tried to assume an air of professionalism to 'sweep' their embarrassing introduction under the rug, but Toby already had a smirk on his face.

He was the first to speak, as he took the seat opposite hers "So you wanted to talk to me?

Aria jolted "Um, yea." Then to add a feel of normalcy, she added "But I have to warn you might not like it"

The messy haired man sighed bracing himself for a long and overdue scolding from one of former best friends. The how could you and the stay away from her, and the why the hell did you come back speech, he sulked. However he was instantly astounded when he heard what she had to say.

"You have to take the job!" she burst out. 10 points for getting straight to the point, minus 5 for alerting the whole coffee shop, she thought smiling nervously at her neighbor.

His reply was almost instantaneous as he surged with confusion "What? Why?

"Because it's only way, you'll see Spencer everyday" she whined .Did I really just say that? Minus 100!

Toby's confusion excavated and he could think of no proper reply. Maybe this was temporary insanity on her part, he thought.

Aria took the reins, her determination setting in "Why did you come back to Rosewood, Toby?

"Because I was offered a job" He said matter of factly. So matter of fact, that Aria felt the reins slipping from her hands.

"And you didn't stop to think that you'll run into Spencer?" Back on track!

"Well, yes I did, but- but- "What the hell was this, a witness stand?

"Well then maybe there was part of you that wanted to run into her, after all Rosewood is a small town, and the chances of seeing her would increase if you were working with Hanna"Lawyered! Aria did a mental gig.

Recognizing his defeat, Toby fell silent. If he was being honest, his heart had led him here. He had tons of job offers back in LA, but when he heard of the chance to come back to Rosewood, with a chance that'd he see her there too, his heart had leapt from his chest and before he knew it, he was packing his few belongings into a suitcase, on the first flight out to Pennsylvania. His heart, however had ceased up, when he saw how furious Spencer had been. It was once thing to imagine things; it was another to witness them.

For the first time, since then Toby wondered if he could take the job

Hell, the whole coffee shop wanted to know, if he'll take the job, as they were just as engaged in the loud, animated conversation, the two strangers in the corner were having

Assuming a more understanding tone, Aria began again "I considered us very close friends once upon a time" she squint her eyes for affirmation in his. Something of a knowing look past between them, a private knowledge, only shared between them. Aria's mind diverted off the freeway for a moment. I was hoping he would forget! Selective amnesia, if that was a thing! But now he's looking at me, with his sympathetic eyes!

She steered back to her present mission "That's why I feel comfortable enough to say this." She breathed out, heavily "I've seen you and Spencer together, and I've seen you apart. You guys have something special, something real, and something that's worth fighting for. It may take a while to get back there, but if you're willing enough you will. A line of triumph ran across the girl's face as she saw Toby considering her words. She wanted to get the point across to him as much as possible and now that his walls were crumbling, she aimed to see them vanish all together "Your heart speaks loudest Toby; all you have to do is listen"

They spoke only with their eyes for a moment, until Toby diverted his eyes back to the table in front of him.

Had I won, she thought?

Spencer shifted through the contents of the large wooden box: an old chap stick. A chop stick? One high heel shoe, a gold bracelet….a silver one…. a stringed one….

She sat on the bed frustrated. What had she expected? Something of sentimental value? This was Ali after all.

This morning after drilling her for answers about her wellbeing, Jason had dropped off yet another one of Alison's hidden treasure. They kept popping up everywhere, even after all of these years.

Spencer shrugged. She always got super excited when something from Ali turned up, just to be disappointed with useless nonsense. She laid flat on her back, looking up at the ceiling and then with a new determination, jerked upright.

There had to be something! She unlatched the box once more, sending a putrid, moldy waft through the air. Rummaging carelessly through stack of girlhood paraphernalia, she swore mindless at her bipolar behavior. When she was fed up, she chucked the content unto the bed, deciding to search the box itself instead.

Her finger clicked on something hard beneath the surface of the box, and like she was accustomed to secret passageways, Spencer lifted it revealing rolls of letters there. Why would she hide these? Spencer already knew the answer. Everything was a game to her Alison. The first one was address to Aria- three pages long. She placed it on the bed beside her. Hanna's and Emily's letter were next- both double paged and to her surprise one for Jenna. That should be interesting, Spencer thought. Finally she came to the last one, donned in Alison's bubbly handwriting. Spencer held the tips of the single paper in her hands, eager to find out what Ali had really thought of her. She made a mental note, to count the number of times she called her a bitch.

Dear Spencer…. She grazed over the introduction. Let's get straight to the juicy part she thought. Something about shoes…..

Summer times at her beach house. Skip!

Hot guys from the coffee shop…..

Aha! She cried out loud, at her first 'Bitch Sighting'

Spencer, I know I've been a bitch lately…. Spencer went over the words to make she was reading correctly. The air went insipid and dry as she continued:

…I know it feels like I ditch you ever chance I get, that I don't care about our friendship anymore. And that my pursuit to be fabulous has put a strain on our relationship. I feel us drifting apart and I want to save it, but every morning I say 'this is the day' I feel like in the end I screw it up.

I feel like the reason why we always fight with each other is because of how alike we are: Set, determined, unfettered by emotions. We would almost do anything to get the things we want.

But the difference, the thing that set you apart from me, is that you actually care. It took me a long time to recognize it and I saw your unwillingness to rip someone else's heart out as weakness. It was only when I was lost in my ways that I realized, that it was the opposite. Your determination sprung from passion while mines from greed. Then I began to notice things that I hadn't before like how deeply you love, or how you mull over things for hours, and cry at silly television shows and most of all, how you forgive.

Trust me. I've been on the other end of your forgiveness so many times, and every time when I say 'this is it? This is the last straw. You always surprise me by proving me wrong.

So if I never get to say it again, I love you Spence. And I wish that you always remind the awesome person that you are.

Xo xo, Ali.

P. S. For your eyes only

Wiping the tears away that were trailing down her face, Spencer set the letter down beside her and took up the phone.

Toby grabbed his leather from the hook in this apartment. Aria had become a freaking Buddha- her words had hit home for him and had haunted him since she had spoken them. He had resolved that even if things between him and Spencer didn't work out that there would be a comforting joy in seeing her every day. Still, at the back of his mind, he wondered if this was a lost fight to begin with.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. Simultaneously, putting on his jacket and opening the door, he was suddenly face to face with Spencer.

Toby's heart galloped his arms mid sleeve. "Spencer?" he called, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you."

"Do you want to come in?" he offered, removing the jacket from his broad shoulders.

"No, I'm only here for a while"

Toby fell silent, allowing her to speak.

"I spoke to Hanna earlier today…. I told her I'd do the job"

"Oh."

"Yes, look she told me you are the best at what you do, and I don't want to be the reason she doesn't have the best. Okay? So please don't let me stop you." She breathed unsteadily, casting her eyes onto his welcome mat "And even though this is the hardest thing I think I've ever did, I'm putting Hanna's needs before mines. I'm setting my feeling aside…..to help Hanna…and I hope you can do the same"

Toby looked at her for a moment, reading the flashes of emotions across her face "I can do that" he said softly

"Fine." she replied despite her racing heart and dried throat

"Fine." he smiled

"Monday."

"Monday." he mimicked

She twisted awkwardly on her feet, before heading down the hallway.

Toby watched her, until her shadow, trailing behind her had disappeared. When she had gone, her absence had left an inexplicable hollow, as though she had spent many days there.

He shut the door and leaned against, a new gleam in his eyes.

...

A/N: Playlist: I Know It's Over- Jeff Buckley

Hiya! So this was not my best, still reeling from the flu, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Tell me what you thought.

Much love

-T