Spencer drove and drove. Finally, she saw Aria's car. A thrill rushed through her and she jumped out of her car, running over to Aria's, only to find the key gone from it and it empty. Groaning, she looked around, wondering where on earth her friend could have gotten to. She looked towards the well-lit roads and knew that if her friend had any shred of logic she wouldn't have gone that way. Then, she turned toward the forest.
'Bingo,' Spencer thought, beginning to head into the woods. But it was no easy task travelling through it and looking for someone in it. The deeper she got, following the trampled undergrowth and shallow footprints, it became harder to tell where she was going as the trees tended to grow closer together deeper in these parts. Just when she thought she should give up and look again the next day, she saw a clearing up ahead, and a shape. But just as she got close, the shape was gone.
Spencer heard the rustle as the shape she had seen tried to go deeper into the woods, but she broke into a run. The figure, now, Spencer could see that it was human even through the darkness, began to run as well, but Spencer was faster, and grabbed her wrist before she could go any farther.
"Let go of me! Let go of me, please!" Aria cried hysterically, struggling against Spencer, who merely pulled Aria into her chest and held her there. Aria clung to Spencer, though she tried to pull away, her body couldn't seem to do what her mind told it to. Instead, it acted on its own accord, listening to her heart instead.
Spencer sighed. "Aria…" she said. "This isn't just about you; it's about all of us. We've all been a target, and you were always there for us. It's only fair that we're here for you while 'A' is after you specifically, alright? Hiding won't help anybody; you know that."
Aria looked into Spencer's eyes and Spencer was taken aback by the dark, empty void that filled her eyes. "I don't know what I know anymore Spencer," Aria said, her voice shaking. "Nothing seems real to me. I'm confused. Living is so hard. I can't do it anymore Spence. I just can't do it."
"Stop…" Spencer whispered, "Aria, living is hard? Cut it out. You need to snap out of this, you're scaring me."
"We're all going to die anyways. We'll never know who 'A' is; we'll die before then." Aria said monotonously, her eyes staring blankly at the ground in front of her, unaware of Spencer's horrified stare that bore into her.
"Come on," Spencer said, forcing her voice to stay steady, "we're going back to my house Aria. We've finished everything in school for this year, so I'm not going to leave your side. We will find out who this 'A' is and we will survive. I promise you that. I don't want to hear any more talk of wanting to die."
Aria nodded blankly and followed Spencer numbly back to her car. Aria got in her own car and followed Spencer back to her house, knowing that it would be stupid now to try and run away again. When they got back to Spencer's house, Spencer helped Aria to lie down on the couch, and went to get her a glass of water. Meanwhile, Aria had a new text message.
'It seems you're the only one who realizes how this game is going to play out. –A'
Aria shut her eyes and leaned her head back against the pillow behind her head. She set her phone down on the table beside her and stared at the ceiling. Spencer walked back and handed the glass to Aria, who moved her eyes from the ceiling to the water before taking a tentative sip. Spencer sat at the foot of the couch, and then looked at Aria, who was now staring at her hands.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Spencer asked. Aria merely glanced up at her. For a moment, her face betrayed no emotion, devoid of life, and Spencer was terrified. But then Aria gave a weak attempt at a smile, and there seemed to be a new light that lit her eyes.
"I'd love to." The girl said in a soft voice. Spencer smiled at her and turned on the TV, popping in a movie. The two of them sat and watched it. Eventually, Aria pulled herself out of her moping state and sat up, interest filling her eyes with a little more light than had been in them before. She seemed a little livelier, and Spencer was filled with relief. However, she had no idea how long that relief would really last.
It was extremely late when the movie ended, but since Aria and Spencer were ditching the last few days of school, they silently agreed that it honestly didn't matter. When it ended, Aria leaned her head against Spencer's shoulder, feeling a little groggy but not too tired as she'd gotten quite a bit of sleep earlier.
"Aria," Spencer said cautiously, her eyes searching Aria's expression carefully as she made sure that she didn't say anything too rash that would set the fragile girl off. "What you said in the woods- you can't seriously think that. You can't lose hope." Aria looked at Spencer sadly.
"I'm sorry," Aria said earnestly. "I'm so sorry. I did mean it when I said it Spence. I have faith that we can find out who 'A' is… but we've had so many close calls. Spencer, I don't know how to deal with this. This is new to me. I've never been targeted like this before. Sure, I've known the dangers, but this is all new to me, I mean, they almost killed me. Spencer… I'm… I'm scared."
The tall brunette looped a gentle arm around the shorter one's shoulders and smiled at her softly. "I know you're scared. We've all felt this way. I don't know what 'A' has told you, but I will protect you. Not 'I will try.' No, I will." Spencer felt her heart rate speed up again. She knew what it meant, but she couldn't bring herself to fully say it. "I really love you," Spencer said, hugging her friend gently.
"I know Spencer. Thank you."
MEANWHILE
Emily and Hanna were sitting and discussing all of the recent happenings that had been going on, when Emily got a text from Spencer saying she'd found and brought Aria back. Emily was quick to inform Hanna, and the two of them could relax and simply be a couple once more.
"I don't want to go to school tomorrow," Hanna groaned as she rested her head on Emily's lap. "School's practically out for summer break. I don't get why we always have to go for those last few days. We don't do anything!"
Emily nodded in agreement but then said hesitantly, "It's still important to go to school though." Her voice was calm and smooth, like water over stones. It held reasoning, and to most people, it would probably seem soothing. But Hanna was used to that tone of voice, and she wasn't buying it. So, she continued to attempt to convince Emily of her idea that they didn't need to go to school the next few days.
"Not if we're not doing anything," Hanna pointed out, pouting slightly. She rolled over so that her head wasn't on Emily's lap anymore and instead, her face was buried into a pillow. She groaned once more, as though that said absolutely everything to prove her point.
"Then let's just not go," Emily said, laughing, her eyes filled with a slight mirth. Hanna smiled brightly, glad that Emily had so readily taken the bait. She hugged her girlfriend and then sat back and threw her hands up over dramatically into the air.
Hanna laughed and said, "Thank you for understanding me!" Emily laughed at her dramatic show that she put on to show her utter thanks.
"You're adorable, Hanna," Emily said through her giggles. Hanna smiled brightly at Emily and hugged her slightly, her joy rolling off of her in waves that seemed to affect everything around her. The lights in the room seemed brighter, the colors more prominent, and Emily felt automatically happier.
The two of them settled down finally and made ramen noodles (which involved quite a bit of Hanna flinging noodles at Emily's face to get on her nerves) and then went to watch a movie, or some show. Emily had to wrap her hair in a towel because it got wet due to all the water and noodles that were launched into it.
At the Hasting's household, Aria and Spencer decided to go to bed. However, when they were in bed, Aria suddenly realized that she really wasn't tired. She pouted and looked up at Spencer, who tried to avoid looking at her adorable pouty face, but finally looked down at her and regretfully asked, "What?"
Aria smiled brightly. "Will you read to me?" Spencer laughed at her innocence, her heart seeming to skip a beat as she agreed to reading to the wide awake girl. She began reading, and Aria listened intently for a while before sleep tugged her eyelids closed and she fell asleep. Spencer smiled fondly at her as she put the book that she'd been reading to the side and shut out the lights.
Spencer knew that she had feelings for Aria, but she couldn't seem to come to terms completely with it. She was afraid to tell Aria, partially because she feared rejection and partially because she didn't want to do anything that could potentially break the girl that seemed to be made of china. She knew that it was there though, even though she didn't tell her friend.
Spencer sighed and waited a while before she felt tired, and then fell asleep, not very surprised to have a dream of the little dark haired girl who was so irresistibly endearing. A smile stretched lightly across Spencer's face as she dreamed, and for once, Aria wasn't woken by any terrible nightmares.
Chapter nine. Fluffy fluff everywhere. We need drama. This is a terribly short chapter. I'm so sorry. Longer next time. I'm very tired.
You shall love this fluff. You shall love it and you shall never let it go.
Sort of how I love you guys when you follow, favorite, and REVIEW. So, uh, yeah, do that, thanks.
Until next time,
-England
