Hey guys! Loving your support of this fic! Please review!

"Okay, I'll just jump right into it. Tell me about the book."

"Which book?"

"Ezra, you know damn well which book. Not the one about Nicole, the one about Ali. You know, the book for which you stalked group of teenage girls as part of your research?"

Ezra's cheeks reddened. "Is this a safe space or not? I thought you said no judging?"

Spencer crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the wall. "You're avoiding my question."

"I am not – " Ezra sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I just wanted to write a good story, Spencer. I didn't know Alison was fifteen when we first met, and after I found out I broke things off, I swear."

"Continue."

"And then she disappeared, and I just…"

"Became obsessed," Spencer said bluntly.

"No. Look, I'm a writer, and her disappearance was the perfect story. Come on, Spencer. A young, pretty white girl goes missing in one of the safest suburbs in America? It's what stories are made of."

"Alison is a real person!" Spencer snapped. "When she was missing, she was real. She wasn't a fictional character you could just claim as your own. And for that matter, neither is Nicole."

"What do you want from me, Spencer?" Ezra deadpanned.

"What I want is for you to man the hell up and admit who you really are, and what you are," Spencer shot back. Her head began to throb, and she pressed her fingers deep into her temples.

Remember your breathing exercises. One, Spencer inhaled slowly through her mouth and held her breath, Two, Her chest fell as she exhaled through her nose, Three, Spencer inhaled and exhaled. And repeat. One. Two. Three.

"Are you OK?" Ezra watched Spencer carefully.

Spencer's mantra breathing exercises did nothing to ease her headache, but it did settle the uncomfortable feeling gnawing at the pit of her stomach. "I'm fine," she managed.

Ezra rubbed his cheek with his hand. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean by your last question," he started, "but I think it's my turn now to ask a few."

"Okay," Spencer agreed. You're probably going to regret this little deal, a voice in the back of her mind nagged. Do you ever learn to just shut the heck up? "Ask away," she said, waving her hand in a circular motion that seemed to say get on with it already.

Ezra cleared her throat. "Why the hell is Alex doing this? What does she want with Aria?"

Spencer rolled her eyes. "Wow, didn't see this one coming."

"Can you not be cynical for once?" Ezra asked flatly. "Spencer, please. I'm trying to actually connect with you here."

Spencer huffed. "Cynicism is an art."

"Of which you have mastered, just like everything else," Ezra chastised in a tone, that was both condescending and sincere. "Look, if we're going to be stuck here together we need to be civil. Biting my head off isn't going to help anyone."

"Speak for yourself," Spencer grumbled.

Ezra glared. "Spencer.."

Spencer sighed in defeat. "Fine." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug and offered Ezra a tight smile. "Alex wants to take over my life. She thinks she can replace me, like some twisted modern day version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

"Hey, that's a great film," Ezra half-joked, in an attempt to lighten the tense mood with his former student. "It could be worse."

Spencer stared at Ezra. "In what way could this possibly be worse?"

"Ever see The Thing?" Ezra asked cheekily.

"Good point." A smile tugged at the corners of Spencer's lips. She got up and stretched her long legs, bending over to touch her toes and stretch out her back.

"God, this sucks," she grumbled. Spencer walked over to the camera across the wall from her bed. She stared into the lens, biting her lip.

"Mary?" Spencer ran her teeth over her lip. "Alex?"

Complete silence.

Spencer groaned and dragged her nails through her hair with a tired sigh. "I have to go to the bathroom! You can't keep us caged up like animals! Please just let me out to use the bathroom…"

Spencer waited. And waited. But nothing happened. Mary didn't come down, nor did Alex. It made her wonder if anyone was even watching the cameras. Defeated, she slumped back down on her bed. "Well, that did a whole lot," she spat.

"At least you tried," Ezra offered with a small smile.

"Oh, yeah, I feel very––"

Clank!

A door down the hall slid open with a loud bang, and Spencer and Ezra looked at each other. Footsteps echoed down the hallway and Spencer tensed. "Mary?" she called out.

No response.

Ezra scratched his wrist anxiously. "Alex?"

Nothing.

Fear shot through Spencer and anxiety prickled up her spine. "H-hello?"

"Spencer.." A shadow came into view.

Spencer jumped up so fast she smashed her knee on the underside of Alex's chair. Ignoring the pain, she stumbled over to the door and wrapped her fingers around the large air holes.

"Toby," she breathed. "H-how did you find us? Thank God you're here. I don't know what the code is, but I'm sure if you –––"

Toby held up a hand to silence her and Spencer immediately fell quiet, confusion rippling through her.

"We need to talk."

"Toby, what the hell are you waiting for?" Ezra spoke from behind him. "Get us out of here."

Toby pulled out a generic-looking smartphone (probably one of those pay-as-you-go phones from a low-end department store) and punched in a number and put it on speaker. It rang twice before the person on the other end picked up.

"Yeah? Are you there? Say hello to my partner in crime, guys."

Spencer's blood turned to ice, and she could practically feel her veins clogging up. She stumbled back, hand at her throat. She had only heard it for about a day, but there was no mistaking to whom the voice belonged — Alex.

More to come, guys! Love you all!