Hi everyone! Wow, it's been a while, huh? Please enjoy!
OoOoOo
Alex groaned as she dragged herself to answer the door. "Alright, alright, I'm coming!" she snapped irritably, cursing the fact that Radley had made her a light sleeper. She didn't quite appreciate being woken up at seven o'clock in the morning on a Saturday. She opened the door only for her eyes to meet bright baby blue ones. She scowled and attempted to slam the door in his face.
Toby, however, stuck his foot in the door. "Alex, listen-" he began.
Alex pulled the door open so hard it almost fell off the handle. "No, you listen," she hissed, getting in his face. "You can't just leave every time you and Spencer have a disagreement. That's not how a relationship works." She had seen what Toby being gone had done to Spencer and she didn't like it. Her sister had been an absolute mess.
Toby crossed his arms. "I was trying to protect her," he insisted, quickly losing his patience with this twin. He knew Spencer better than her friends, better than her parents even. And he definitely knew her more than some long-lost twin sister who just showed up two months ago. He didn't trust Alex at all. And with the information he gathered, he's come to the conclusion that she may, in fact, be A.
Alex was about to retaliate when Spencer descended down the stairs. "Alex, who's at the-?" She froze when she saw the man in the doorway. After a few seconds, her face immediately brightened. "TOBY!" She then proceeded to launch herself into his arms.
Toby embraced her tightly, obviously not wanting to let her go. "I missed you, Spence," he murmured into her hair.
"I missed you too," whispered Spencer, close to tears. A month without him had been hell. "Never leave me for that long again."
"I don't plan to." Toby saw the warning look Alex gave him over Spencer's shoulder before she retreated upstairs.
Spencer pulled away. "What were you and Alex talking about?" she asked curiously, picking up on her twin's venomous mood. Her look-a-like was usually much more laidback (not particularly happy, but also not easily angered).
"She doesn't like me," Toby said bluntly. With all the secrets he was keeping from her at the moment, he didn't want to have to lie to her more than he had to.
Spencer seemed genuinely surprised by this. "Why do you think that?" She hadn't noticed any animosity between the two. Not when he had been in Rosewood, anyway.
"I think she's jealous," he speculated. He grinned smugly. "because you love me more than her."
Spencer snickered and playfully shoved him. "Come on, lover boy," she teased, leading him into the house. "You can tell me all about what you've been doing these last couple of weeks over breakfast." Toby followed her dutifully, trying to enjoy the limited moments with her he would have left. Because once she found out the truth, she'd never want to see him again.
OoOoOo
"Did you tell your friends about Mary?" asked Alex as she and Spencer sat in the boutique doing their homework after hours while Charlotte worked. It had become a sort of tradition between the three sisters.
Spencer gave her a look. "Are you joking?" she asked incredulously, careful not to use the words 'crazy' or 'insane.' "They'll totally freak." She was ashamed to admit it, but Spencer was afraid that her friends wouldn't understand the situation. While they were her best friends in the world, Hanna, Aria, and Emily always made decisions with their hearts and not their heads. Completely different from how Charlotte, Alex, and herself went about life. Even though Alex was very emotional, she was extremely smart and thought almost exactly like Spencer.
"You're not wrong," Charlotte pointed out. "I've seen those three. Funny how every time they think someone close to you could be A, you investigate. But when you suggest that someone close to them could be working against the four of you, with good reason too, they're quick to jump down your throat." She scowled to herself; some friends those were.
Spencer blinked. "Have you been spying on us?" she demanded.
Charlotte crossed her arms unapologetically. "I do it out of love," she claimed.
Alex rolled her eyes, deciding to change the subject. "Do we have any idea on who Mona's partner could be?"
Spencer pursed her lips. "Ali?" she suggested quietly. "We know she's alive. Why wouldn't she come home unless she had something to hide? If everyone thinks she's dead, she can control the game from afar, like a ghost."
Charlotte nodded. "That's possible," she agreed. "But she could be hiding because someone in Rosewood tried to kill her."
"But who?" questioned Alex. "A lot of people wanted Alison dead. And I mean a lot, even adults. But who in this town is crazy enough to actually go through with killing someone?"
"Mona," answered Spencer and Charlotte immediately.
"Maybe. Anyone else?"
Spencer pursed her lips. "Do you think that this new A and Ali's 'murderer' are two different people?" she thought aloud. She had always had a feeling Alison was alive, even when they had found her (actually Bethany's) body. It never truly felt like she was gone. She knew what losing someone felt like (Taylor, Melissa's unborn baby for example), and she had never felt that, not even at the blonde's funeral.
Alex stood up suddenly, making her sisters jump. "That's it!" she damn near shouted. "I came back to this hell hole to protect you, Spencer, not shoot darts in the dark! We have to find Alison and force the truth out of the bitch."
"Easier said than done, Alexandra," chided Charlotte. "She's stayed hidden for this long, even with the police after her before they found Bethany's body. Bitch knows what she's doing. We have no idea where she is."
Spencer bit her lip. "No," she agreed. "but I know someone who just might."
"Who?" asked the other two in unison.
"Noel Kahn."
Spencer groaned as she tried to make her way through the thick book. It was a difficult read, even for her. She was about to give up and just go home when...
Noel was arguing with someone on the phone. "I can't keep lying for you, Al-!" He stopped short and Spencer froze. Was he about to say Alison? "Right, right, I'm sorry. I know it's dangerous." He looked around (quite suspiciously, she might add) and Spencer quickly ducked. "No, there's no one here. The library's empty." He was quiet. "Alright, I'll bring it to you tonight. Bye." He left as if nothing happened.
Spencer, on the other hand, was hyperventilating. What the hell just happened?
"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" asked Alex. That was proof, Alison DiLaurentis was alive. And she could very well be A. It wasn't like the bitch didn't have it in her to do so; she was a horrible person.
Spencer shrugged. "I forgot," she said honestly. "I was trying to cram for a test and it slipped my mind. Sorry."
Charlotte waved it off. "Don't worry about it," she assured her sister, patting the younger girl's shoulder. "What matters now is finding Kahn and beating the truth from his sorry little ass." The other two stared at her blankly. "What? No one helps evil blond bitches hurt my little sisters and gets away with it, you can count on that."
"Alison's barely spoken three words to me," Alex reminded her. "and I've never gotten a text from A."
"Doesn't mean I can't protect you."
"So, we'll confront Noel tomorrow and see what he knows," Spencer decided. "Hopefully, he'll lead us to Ali." She prayed that her friend, if alive, wasn't A. She didn't think she would be able to handle it.
OoOoOo
"Are you sure this is the right address?" Charlotte asked, looking at the run down building in disgust as the three girls approached it. She found it hard to believe that dainty, snobby Alison would reside here of all places. "What if he sent us on a wild goose chase?"
Spencer rolled her eyes. "You really think Noel would lie to us after you threatened to shove a mannequin hand up his ass? Which was extremely unnecessary by the way."
Charlotte shrugged unapologetically (she seemed to do that a lot). "He talked didn't he?"
"I still can't believe you took his phone," Spencer said to the other brunette.
Alex smirked, pulling out said device. "Now he can't call her to warn her we're coming."
"What if he already has her number memorized?"
Alex looked at her twin in disbelief. "No teenager has phone numbers memorized, Spencer. Not even you. And if you don't, Kahn sure as hell doesn't."
Spencer sighed and opened the door, knowing that if she knocked Ali wouldn't answer. "Ali?" she called, stepping in. "Are you here?"
"Long time, no see, Spence."
OoOoOo
"Alison," breathed Spencer. She didn't go to hug her nor did she do something drastic like slap her. She was just frozen.
Ali smirked. "Did you miss me?" she asked in a very Ali way. Yet, she was different. She didn't seem malicious or vindictive. She looked genuinely happy to see her best friend.
"I don't know whether to hug you or slap you," admitted Spencer, definitely something Hanna would say.
Ali held her arms out. "I could really use a hug right now," she confessed. Spencer grinned widely and practically ran into her friend's arms. The two embraced tightly, having not touched each other in over two years.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too, Spence." The blond pulled away, then looked at the other two in confusion. "CeCe?"
Charlotte's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That's Charlotte to you," she snarled.
Alison's eyes widened. "Shit," she hissed.
"Maybe we should talk," suggested Spencer, ready to pull Charlotte of Ali if need be.
OoOoOo
"Ali, why didn't you tell us you were alive?" Spencer asked as the four of them sat down together, hurt shining in her brown eyes. "We've been here for you the whole time, why didn't you trust enough enough to reach out to us? Instead, you let us believe you were dead for two years. Two years, Alison. Do you know how upset we were? How upset Emily was?"
Alison at least had the decency to look guilty. "I'm so sorry, Spence. But there was no one I could trust. My mom, she... buried me alive."
Spencer's eyes went wide. "What?"
Alex scowled. "Crazy old bitch," she muttered, earning a jab from her both sisters.
"Why would she do that?" pondered Charlotte. Alison was always the favorite child between them and Jason. Why would Jessica bury her alive? It made no sense. Unless she was covering for someone...
"She kept saying over and over again, 'What have you done,'" Alison continued, beginning to tear up. "I guess she was trying to cover for whoever did kill me. I tried to tell her I was alive, but I couldn't talk or move."
"Then how did you escape?"
"Mrs. Grunwald," answered Ali, twiddling her thumbs nervously. "She used to be a mother at Cicero College. That summer when I was getting those A messages, she was helping me to figure out who it was. She's psychic you know. That's how she knew where I was and came to pull me out of the ground. When she brought me to the hospital, though, I ran away."
Spencer realized something. "Are you the one who pushed Ian off the tower?" she asked. There was no way Mona had done, Mona hated her.
Alison smiled and nodded. "I wasn't about to let him kill you. We're family after all."
"So you knew that Mary Drake was my mother?"
Ali shook her head. "Not until recently," she answered. "but you and I share a brother, that makes us sisters. Well, to me it does. But I am glad your mom's my mom's sister, that makes us cousins." She smiled. "You've always been like a sister to me anyway, you know. Speaking of sisters... can you explain why mine is sitting next to you?"
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I'm not your sister, Alison," she spat. "I'm your cousin, Mary Drake's my mother as well. I'm Spence's half sister."
"And I'm her twin," added Alex.
"I can see that," retorted Alison. She could tell that Alex and Charlotte weren't as happy as Spencer was to see her. That didn't matter anyway. She didn't care what two family rejects thought about her. She mentally berated herself for that; she was trying to be a nicer person, but it was hard sometimes. "I'm just wondering where you've been for the last... forever."
"The Hastings sent me to Radley when I was little," said Alex. "Apparently, when things get too rough, Radley's the way to go."
Spencer took Alison's hand in hers. "Ali, come back with us," she pleaded. "We miss you."
Alison looked wary. "Spence..."
"Please," begged Spencer. "Don't you want to come home."
Alison's blue eyes met Spencer's brown ones and she sighed. She missed Spencer and the rest of her friends so much that she just couldn't say no. "Alright," she agreed. "I'll come home."
OoOoOo
So, how was it? I just took my midterms a few minutes ago and I had some free time so I thought I'd update for you guys. Please review!