Disclaimer: Still don't own it

This chapter is a little intense at the end and I apologize if I was too brutal with what happens to Spencer; Please leave reviews to let me know what you think and if I handled the emotional part well. A Special Thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read.

Spencer waited patiently for Noel to arrive.

Melissa had already left for the dance; as one of the chaperones for Homecoming, she had to get to the school early.

As much as Spencer didn't want Melissa to be anywhere near the dance, it was because of her that she was even allowed to go. When Spencer first proposed going to the dance with Noel, the answer had been a definite no by her parents. But Spencer kept pressing until it was announced by Melissa, who just stormed into the conversation, that she would be helping with the running of the dance.

It had been amusing as Hell to see Melissa's eyes bulge when it was suggested by their father that Melissa could watch Spencer at the dance. When the older sister started to object, it was a quick look from Peter that silenced Melissa; sealing the deal for Spencer. While it was a bit aggravating to see that Melissa was going to be watching her all night, it still meant that she was going.

Besides, there was always the chance that Melissa would do as she always did and just ignore her.

Spencer's mother had gone with her to pick out the dress since she had yet to get her allowance back. It was of the first mother-daughter outings that the two had gone on in a long time; the last being a few years ago and even then it was for an event involving Melissa. It was nice that Spencer and her mother could go dress shopping; it actually felt like a family thing.

The dress that they had picked out was a little more conservative than what the other girls would be wearing at Homecoming, but still made Spencer noticeable. It was white and satin, coming down the knees and showing a tiny bit of cleavage. After arriving home with the dress, Spencer had hung it up in her room so that it would not get any wrinkles and be fresh for the day of the dance.

When that day had come, Mona had come over to help Spencer with her makeup and hair. The smaller teen still wasn't going, which Spencer didn't press her on, and gave Spencer one last bit of warning about Noel. While the taller teen was grateful that Mona cared about her well being, she felt that her friend was going a bit overboard and that there was nothing to worry about. From what Spencer could tell by observation at school, Noel was on the up and up.

After helping Spencer with her makeup, Mona had helped with the hairstyle which came out rather well. Spencer was wearing her hair long, but slightly curled as more of a style. It was naturally colored but Mona had gone through it for any greyness or dead hair. She had even been gentle with the curly iron; far more than Alison had ever been when she used to dress Spencer up for the dances.

After Spencer was ready, Mona had left for home; offering to drive Spencer to the dance if she had wanted. Spencer had turned down the offer, saying that Noel was going to pick her up. She now waited in the front room with her father, who was watching the basketball game, for her date to arrive. She sat there nervously while Peter was fixated on the television.

She felt nervous; which she should be. This would be her first time going to any school event since the last school year. Spencer had originally planned to avoid going to any of these events; opting to focus on just graduation and nothing else. But the chance of sticking it to Alison was just too much to pass up; especially after what Alison had done to her all those months ago.

The doorbell rang and Spencer jumped up to get it; with only her and her father being in the house. Spencer's mother had to work late and Wren had his internship with the local hospital tonight. That meant that she only had to worry about her father and her date, instead of the rest of the family. Making it to the front door before her father, Spencer opened up to find Noel standing there with flowers.

"Wow, you look great," Noel said as he checked Spencer out after handing her the bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you," Spencer said nervously, still in wonderment that she was going with Noel Kahn to the dance even though it was just for revenge.

"Ready to go?" he asked, looking at the time with his cell phone.

"Yeah, just let me grab my jacket since it's supposed to rain tonight," Spencer said, as she turned to head back to the front room while Noel waited in the entry way.

"Is that your date?" Peter asked as he put the game on mute and walked towards his daughter.

"Yeah; we're leaving," Spencer said as she grabbed her things.

"Hey," Peter said, stopping her "You have fun tonight and don't let Alison get you down." He did it in such a caring and fatherly way, that Spencer nearly fainted.

"I will; thank you," Spencer said with a smile, kissing her father on the cheek. She then left him and headed back to Noel.

He must have borrowed the car from a family member because Noel had a red corvette parked in front of the house. Being a gentleman, he opened the passenger side door for Spencer before getting in himself. He then peeled out onto the road a little faster than Spencer would have liked but found it exciting none the less.

"Nice car," Spencer said as Noel drove.

"Thanks; my brother Eric loaned it to me for the night," Noel informed her with a smirk. From the way he sounded, it seemed like that there was a chance that Noel had the car without his brother knowing about it.

"So how do you want to do this?" Spencer asked, becoming all business.

"We hang out together all through the dance and act all cuddly in front of Alison. We may have to plant a few wet ones to really get to her," Noel said, giving Spencer a look that was almost a leer.

"Just on the cheek; we don't want to go overboard and make it unbelievable," Spencer stated dryly. Noel smiled and nodded, but Spencer suspected that he was disappointed. While Noel was a perfect way to get revenge on Alison, he was still a slime ball in a ways. It was another few more minutes of silence before Noel spoke up again.

"Alison isn't bringing a date," her date informed.

"Really?" Spencer asked, slightly shocked.

"Well she likes to be the life of the party so Alison isn't content on sharing the spotlight with anyone else," Noel said and Spencer agreed with him. She wondered if any of her other former friends were bringing dates; she doubted it though since that meant that Alison would not be at the center of their lives.

After about ten minutes of driving, the two reached the school and surprisingly found a parking spot in the front. Getting out of the car, Spencer felt a slight chill in the air as the darkened sky lacked any stars. The weather report called for heavy showers tonight and she hoped that the rain would wait until she was home in bed.

Taking her arm in his, Noel and Spencer made their way to the school entrance.

There were other students alongside them, some talking in hushed whispers, glancing in their direction. While she put on her fake smiles and greeted everyone, she felt that her fellow students were confused that she was here with one of the most popular guys at school. Noel just shrugged off the people with his signature smile, and Spencer was glad that he could do that.

The school had gone all out with the decorations; brightly colored paper banners lined the halls towards the gym where the dance was being held. At the entrance of the gym sat two of the chaperons who were there to check the teens in. On the wall next to them were the rules for the dance; which was the normal set of guidelines for any school event. There were several lines in bold print that stated that drugs and alcohol were forbidden under any circumstances.

This wasn't a problem for Spencer but she had wondered if Noel was going to obey those rules; it was a part of their agreement but he was always a wild card.

"Shall we?" asked Noel as he started to lead Spencer into the auditorium after checking in. She nodded and was led inside.

It was loud inside the auditorium and Spencer winced as she tried to focus on what was going on around her. She and Noel were still getting stares but everyone seemed more focused on their own thing rather than them. There was still no sign of Alison, but Spencer suspected that she would be making a grand appearance sooner or later. She also didn't see Melissa and was curious to where she was at.
Then again, Spencer could actually care less where Melissa was as long as she stayed away and left her in peace.

"Want a drink?" Noel asked, yelling over all the music and talking.

"Sure; something diet if they have it," Spencer said. Noel nodded and headed to the punch table to grab them drinks.

She huddled in the corner by herself, giving the occasional polite smile to those she knew. As more people showed up, the room began to get tighter, and it was hard to keep to herself while she waited for Noel to return. Spencer was starting to regret her decision by doing this; wondering if it was too late to escape. Perhaps she could fake a sickness and get Noel to take her home.

Noel was making his way back to her with their drinks when a familiar face entered the room; Alison had finally made an appearance. Dressed in a long golden dress that went down to her knees and matching high heels, Alison seemed to be surveying the room. Next to her was Hanna who almost mimicked the blond down to the dress; but unlike Alison's dress which smoothly fit her, Hanna's seemed a little bulky especially with her chest.

Aria and Emily were dressed in similar styles, though the colors were plainer than what the other two members of the group were wearing. While Aria went for the black dress, Emily was wearing white that made her look rather nice in Spencer's opinion. Unfortunately, it was the hairstyle that was the turnoff; like Alison, all the girls seemed to be wearing a ponytail even though the hairstyle didn't match a couple of the girls.

Alison's eyes met Spencer's and the two gave each other a hard look until Noel returned with the drinks. After that, Alison began to smirk at her former friend and Spencer narrowed her eyes; trying to hide her confusion at the change of behavior. The smirking was unsettling her since Spencer knew that look rather well; it usually meant that some sort of scheme was being hatched and she wandered if it was at her expense.

"Wanna dance?" Asked Noel as he eyed Alison and motioned to the dance floor. Spencer, startled, looked from Alison to her date and nodded. He then took her hand in his and the two made their way to where the couples were dancing.

Once they were on the dance floor, Noel held her close while they slow danced to the soft beat of the music. Even though they were just pretending, Spencer felt happy at being this close to another human being for the first time in months. Keeping the façade up, she placed her head on his chest and wondered how it looked to Alison.

Unfortunately for Spencer though, she missed the connecting smirks between Alison and Noel.

The dance went on for another ten minutes before Noel had to make a trip to the bathroom. While she waited for him to return, Spencer decided to go check out some of the booths that had been set up earlier. Walking over to them, she saw a few familiar game booths and even a fortune teller. They were manned by various teachers and that is where Spencer finally spotted her sister.

Melissa was manning one of the games with another teacher; pretty miserable by the looks of it with the clown outfit she had to wear. She had to take the student's money while they were given a ball to throw; winning a prize if they hit anything. It took every ounce of will that Spencer had not to go over and play, just to force Melissa to be polite like she had to everyone who came to the booth. There was always that look in her sister's eyes when she was forced to do something and Spencer could see it full on currently, trying not to laugh at the situation.

Something caught her eye and Spencer spotted Aria by herself, sneaking into one of the booth tents. Curious, the teen followed her former friend, looking around to see if any other member of the posse was around. Seeing no one other than the distracted crowd, Spencer made her way to where Aria had entered; nearly gasping out loud to what she saw inside the booth.

Not only was Aria making out with someone, which was completely out of character for the short teen, but it appeared to be with a far older man. What really shocked Spencer though was that it appeared to be a teacher that was locking lips with her former friend; the new English teacher Ezra Fitz. While she didn't have any classes with him, Spencer had heard of his reputation and that half the female student body had a crush on him.

While she spied them making out, Spencer found it amazing that Aria had managed to keep this affair a secret for so long without it being found out. From the looks of them, it appeared that this relationship had been going on for a while; making her wonder if Alison knew about it. When it came to stuff like this though, it was hard to see Alison condoning something like this since she wanted all of her group under her thumb.

What Spencer found a bit disturbing was not only that Aria was dating her teacher, but that they were taking such a huge risk by making out in the booth when anyone could just stumble in and catch them given the age difference, Mr. Fitz could go to jail and Aria's reputation be harmed greatly around town; especially if Alison became angered about the huge secret and kick Aria out of her group like she did with Spencer. She wondered when they met and how they managed to find time to maintain such a forbidden relationship in a town this small.

Seeing that Noel was coming back from the bathroom area, Spencer headed away from the booth and made sure to meet him away from the scene inside. While Spencer could keep a secret, Noel would use something like this to his advantage and people would get hurt. While she disapproved of what Aria was doing, maybe something like this would break her former friend away from Alison's toxic hold.

"So their having a little dance contest and we are first," informed Noel as he led them back to the dance floor. The students had encircled the area and appeared to be waiting for something to happen.

"Wait …what?" asked Spencer, startled, wondering what he was talking about.

"Come on, it will be fun," Noel said, not explaining to her what was happening. He led her by the hand onto the dance floor where everyone was staring.

"Wait Noel, what is this?" Spencer inquired; panic seeping into her voice as they danced in front of the attending student body. Everyone's stares were starting to get to her and she became alarmed by the twisted smile that Alison was giving her.

"Just relax, something fun is about to happen," Noel stated and the change of demeanor was starting to scare her. His tone had become too playful and harsh; something she had seen in the past when he was about to prank someone.

That is when she saw it; a black x on the floor right below them. Looking at the x in confusion, Spencer looked to Noel for an answer when he suddenly pushed himself away from her, leaving her alone on the dance floor. Spencer saw that she was now directly on the x and something seemed very wrong about that. Something caused her to look up and she saw a huge container directly over where she was standing.

Her instincts sounding the alarm, Spencer tried to move quickly to get out of the way. However, it was too late when the container flipped over and its contents poured all over the helpless teens. Spencer was then drenched head to toe, her dress ruined. When her mind finally contemplated what just happened, the laughing started.

Not only was everyone laughing at Spencer for what just happened, she just stood there in total shock. The smell from the containers contents confirmed that it was some alcohol of some kind. Unintentionally, she licked her lips and tasted several drugs mixed in with the alcohol. To her horror, she tasted a familiar drug; one that took her months of rehab to be free of. In her state of horror, she looked at Alison who just smiled at her in the most twisted way possible. She then looked at Noel, who was also joining in on the laughing, which made her conclude that he had played her.

Teachers were stating to break through the crowd and Spencer could hear yelling going on in the background. Melissa quickly hurried to Spencer's side, finding her sister shut down and a mess. While Principal Hackett called for order and demanding answers, Melissa and a friend of hers tried to lead Spencer away from the crowd of students; finding it hard to do given her sister's state.

Suddenly, Spencer violently shoved her older sister away and ran through the students; knocking over anyone was in her way. Before anyone could stop her, Spencer had run out of the auditorium and into the hallway. The attendees, who hadn't been inside when the prank had occurred, looked at Spencer with confusion. Aria was there with Ezra and to her credit; she showed concern for her former friend.

But Spencer was too out of it to care and she then ran to the exit, shoving more people aside as she left the building. She ran into the rain as the clouds had opened up and were causing a downpour. Spencer had left her things inside so she didn't have her jacket to wrap her body with; she was too messed up inside to care. All Spencer knew was that she had to escape and she ran into the parking lot as the rain fell down upon her.

Losing a shoe along the way, Spencer vanished into the darkness and ran until she could not anymore. She didn't know how long she had run for, only that it was for a great while given the distance from the school. She had lost her shoes along the way and her feet hurt from them being unprotected on the streets of Rosewood. She fell to her knees and started crying, staying like that for a while.

By the time she had composed herself, Spencer was cold and feeling sick. She had to get somewhere, but didn't want to go home. Blindly walking down the street, she realized where she was and knew of a safe place to go. Spencer could only hope that Mona was still up and would take her in.

If she could make it.

Please R&R!