Emily, Spencer, and Hannah left me at the makeup station as they all went to do work, steal liquor, and put on their dress. I'm almost done with my makeup and about to start on my hair when I see Ali's mom who looks like she is in a daze walk into the room. She doesn't see me and walks straight to the entrance to the stage, right behind her, looking down at the floor was Jason. He looks up just as he is right in front of me and comes to a stop. Our eyes meet and I still can't tell if he forgives me for what happened on Wednesday, I didn't text him during the week, hoping he would keep to his word of finding me before the show started. I open my mouth to say sorry again but he continues walking with his head down. I turn around and watch him walk away, my mouth still partially open. I watch him get in line behind his mother, and as Hannah walks back into the room, he turns around and looks back at me.
"How was stealing champagne?"
"They were out," she replies bitterly, meaning there was more to the story than that but we didn't have time for a heart to heart. I look back at Jason and see him watching me still, he fixes his tie and stands up straighter as he catches my eye, trying to convey an unsaid message. I give him a half smile, one that doesn't reach my eyes and was pleading him to forgive me.
Before long we were all dressed and in line to walk down the runway. The first set of clothes were beach clothes, mine was a long white beach dress with a large hat, that's neckline went down to my belly button. When I put it on I was worried I would be self-conscious with my red bra showing, but when the light hit you and everyone is cheering for you, all nerves go out the window. I gained the kind of confidence Ali always had. Hannah and I walked all the way down the runway, posing and smiling at the cameras, I didn't even notice where Jason was sitting until I turned around and saw him watching me closely. Once backstage, it was a rush to get your next clothes on and redo your hair and then back on stage. My second outfit was more slutty and black, my hair half a foot off my head, but now I was more loose with everything we were doing and did a better pose at the end, smiling at everyone and hearing several of my male classmate shouting my name, it helped when I turned around and slapped Spencer's ass as we walked off. Backstage, the four of us tried to re-tame our hair as we got into Ali's dresses.
Hannah and I walked out first, Emily and Spencer right behind us. We were smiling for the first time at one of Ali's memorials, actually grateful to be doing something for Ali without her criticisms breathing down our backs. The photo slide I made was simple and I kept out almost all of the photos I showed Jason, keeping to the ones everyone likes and already knows. Once the four of us were at the end of the runway, we had a few seconds of looking around the crowd with shy grins on our faces and holding each other's hands, before the music suddenly changed from slow instrumental to scream-o where some woman was screaming. "Wake up everybody, because the bitch is dead!"
People started screaming, and getting up from their seats, looking around. Spencer pushed past me towards where Noel Kahn's DJ station was, and Emily and Hannah started trying to talk over the noise, to figure out what happened, walking away from me without me realizing it as I watched Jessica freak out and almost have a panic attack. I stare at the image of Ali as fire goes on the screen and "Evil Bitch Monster" is written on it. Spencer finally pulls out all of the plugs of the speakers, and turns back to look at me, all eyes were on me as I was the last one on stage. Mrs Dilaurentis stands up from her seat and leaves the room, I watch as Jason looks up at me in pity but follows his mom.
Everyone left pretty quickly afterwards, the models grabbed there stuff and left, almost taking my clothes with them, and Spencer, Emily, and Hannah all went home with their boyfriends/girlfriends, while my parents left with their parents, forgetting they were my ride home. I was in the back cleaning up my space, already on edge when I heard someone approach me from behind.
"Did you want this back?" Noel asks sarcastically, sneering at me as he holds up the CD that caused this mess. "I'd hate to leave something laying around that could get you and your friends in trouble." I narrow my eyes at him and cross my arms.
"I assumed that was yours, Noel. It only took Spencer ten seconds to shut it down. You just stood there acting shocked. Next time don't look so guilty when you sabotage an event."
"Listen, Montgomery," Noel says, stepping closer to me, grabbing my arm, and using his height to intimidate me. "You-"
"Is there a problem here?" Noel steps back immediately and looks to who interrupted him with a glare. I turn my head and see Jason turn the corner and walk up next to me, giving Noel a much scarier glare.
"No." Noel grinds out. Jason raises an eyebrow.
"Whats that?" I look at the CD Noel tried to give me.
"The unplanned finale," I answer him, staring at Noel as Jason watches me, then grabs the CD from Noel and breaks it. Noel looks at me, then Jason, and walks away.
"Did he hurt you?" Jason almost demands, taking the arm Noel grabbed and looking for any marks.
"I'm fine, thank you" I whisper, trying to meet his gaze. "Um, do you need any help cleaning up?" I offer, and he nods. I follow him to the stage and where the help were stacking chairs and picking up cups. I gathered up the dresses Ali picked out and put the other outfits in the bags we took them out of, while Jason handles moving stacks of chairs into the storage room and taking down the DJ station. When I'm finished in the changing station, I find Jason sitting on a couch by the bar, looking down at his hands.
"I guess your mom won't be wanting these back." I say, talking about the special dresses. Jason doesn't say anything as I zip up the dresses. "How many times do we have to put her away? It's like burying Alison all over again." I look towards Jason, knowing I'm talking about his dead sister, but also knowing he has to feel the same way by now. Even in death she dictates our lives. "When will people move on to gawk at the next tragedy?" I ask him. He stares at me, in understanding.
"Well if I was a stranger I'd be fascinated by the dark details," He offers.
"That's us, her brother her friends, we're the dark details." I step away from the couch and towards him as he watches me let it out. "Everyone wants to know what we are doing, and why we did things in the past. They won't let us go until they know all of our secrets. This town, I sometimes think it feeds on the lives of everyone Ali touched, and lets the rest of the town move on." I stop talking, setting the dresses down and moving in front of Jason. "Why come back? Why live in that house all by yourself?" I ask him, trying to convey a comforting sense of curiosity instead of how I questioned him earlier in the week.
"I wanted to try to put the pieces together," he tells me, taking a couple steps forward to lean on the couch. "I was looking for something."
"You still don't know who wrote that note," he looks at me in a warning. "What if it has to do with what happened that night?"
"I have my answer."
"Ian, what if he didn't-"
"There are no if's. Ian confessed. Look from now on I need to figure out how to be happy and I'd like to do that here." He shrugs as he says this, and I know he doesn't have a plan or reason for why he is here. That Spencer was wrong. He isn't plotting something, he is just looking for a Happy Ending to his so far terrible life. "Can I drive you somewhere?" He asks politely, offering me his forgiveness.
I smile gratefully and nod. "Yeah, that'd be nice." He smiles back and walks around me, brushing his hand over my arm as he moves close behind me to grab my things. I lead the way out to the parking lot and towards his car that is the last there. He opens the door for me despite his full hands and hands me my purse, placing the dresses in the back before getting in the drivers seat.
The drive back to Rosewood was quiet, Jason didn't speak until we pulled into our neighborhood. "You looked beautiful tonight."
"Thanks, I was surprised when I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be once I was actually walking down the runway," I admit, glancing over to him with a slight blush as I see him smile.
"You all looked like a natural," he compliments again. "I can see why my mom asked you to model."
"She was very persuasive, I can see where Ali got it."
"It never worked on Ali and I though, we use to play our mom better than anyone. I got bored with getting everything I wanted so I turned into the troublemaker, but Ali could never get bored of that." Jason is quiet again for a few blocks. "I don't remember much about the five of you, I was always under some sort of influence, but I remember all the tricks Ali got you to play on me."
"Ali got Emily and Hannah to do those tricks, Spencer and I stayed out of it. I think Spencer was too afraid of what you would do if you found out it was her." I laugh as I remember how easily Spencer gets scared around any of the Dilaurentis.
"What about you? Were you scared of me?" He pulls into my driveway and shuts off the lights, turning towards me and putting a hand on my chair to support him.
"I was sometimes, when you were high or stoned you weren't much of a problem to the rest of us, but when you were drinking," I stop my sentence before I continue, watching a dark shadow pass over Jason's face. "That's in the past Jason. You aren't like that anymore, you worked through it on your own at a young age and that's something to be proud of." I reach up and take his hand on my chair. "You don't scare me, creep me out, or anything. I enjoy being around you actually, no matter what other people are saying."
Jason stares at me, trying to read my mind through my eyes, and I let him, proving I am telling the truth, when he sees that, the smiles and squeezes my hand. "Thank you, Aria." I get a small tingle up my arm when he whispers my name that I brush off as the cold night air.
"Good night," I say, letting go of his hand and opening the door.
"Good night," He looks like he wants to say more, but doesn't know how so before closing the door I smile at him and say. "I'll text you and we can hangout sometime soon, prove to this town that we are more than just dark details."