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Chapter 9: The Perfect Storm
The Liars, barring Emily, were convened around the island at the Hastings' kitchen, studying for their SATs that would be taking place the next day despite the raging, tumultuous storm brewing outside, and memorizing a bunch of ridiculously grueling vocabulary words that Spencer had meticulously jotted down in flashcards like the nerd she was. In all honesty, Hera found the English section of the SATs completely pointless; nobody would use such exaggerated terms in their daily lives and throughout their professions.
Groaning out loud, Hera slammed a flashcard on the table and reached out for the nearest energy bar that Spencer sensibly foresaw its usage and offered to the three other Liars, "Exactly how many words do they expect us to learn in one freaking night?!" It was more of a rhetorical question since Spencer barely batted an eyelash in her direction, her undivided attention on Aria who had been chivvied into testing her, "Stringent?"
In the blink of an eye, the donnish Liar responded, "Uh, tough. Inflexible."
"Also could be defined as strict, precise and exacting which describes you to a T, Spence," Hera drawled out between bites of the bland energy bar that, in her opinion, served absolutely no purpose. Aria tried suppressing her laughter as Spencer half-heartedly glared at the blonde-red Marin twin. Hanna unknowingly, capsulized on her twin's previous thoughts and groaned, "It's not like you're actually gonna use them."
Hera mentally patted Hanna on the back, a smug grin on her face, "Exactly! It's completely pointless, a bore and such a waste of our precious time!" While the Marin twins loudly bemoaned over the future purpose of having a large repertoire of jargons, Spencer narrowed her gaze on Aria who immediately grabbed the nearest flashcard, "Meretricious?"
"It's not like you go to college and then you start speaking a different language," Hanna continued. Spencer, incapable of putting the Marin twins on mute, snapped, "It's about getting into college. Meretricious. Um… oh, phony, flashy!" The brainiac triumphantly pumped a fist in the air, garnering herself three collective eye rolls.
"Pretentious," Hera added nonchalantly, throwing the wrapper in the garbage and grudgingly returning her attention to the neat stacks of towering flashcards. God, Spencer was such a compulsive neat-freak and a nerd to boot.
The sound of moaning diverted Hera, Aria and Spencer's attention away from their studying and onto Hanna who had vacated her seat on the island and was currently munching on leftover and practically stale cookies from the counter. Spencer scrunched her nose in disgust as she stared at Hanna in disbelief, "Uh, Han, why are you still eating that?"
"Because it's here," Hanna retorted, the 'duh' palpably implied in her tone. Spencer grimaced, her black orbs basically watering with revulsion, "Put it in the garbage!"
Hanna returned to her cookie, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke with her mouth full, "Then I'd have to stand over the garbage and eat it." Trust Hanna to have a witty retort in her sleeves; Hera jumped up from her seat and yanked Hanna towards the garbage before smacking the cookie inside, "Look Han, I know when you're nervous you binge-eat, but that's seriously not healthy. If you're gonna binge-eat, then at least let it be edible."
"Besotted?" Aria's voice permeated the air as a sullen Hanna basically got shoved onto her seat beside a victorious and still grossed out Hera.
"Infatuated, enamored, in love with," Spencer dished out. Aria hummed in agreement and once again, Hera imparted her own lingo of the word with a mocking British lilt, "Hmm, could be defined as smitten." Spencer was beginning to get annoyed with the constant interruptions the Marin twins commenced, and just as she opened her mouth to berate them, Hanna snapped her gaze toward Aria, her blue eyes gleaming with interest, "What did Noel say to you after the memorial?"
Spencer facepalmed before snarling through gritted teeth, "We are taking the SATs in less than 12 hours. Can we focus?!" Hanna did the motion of zipping her mouth shut and Hera snorted, "Jeez, Spence, trust me, you do not need to know any more big words."
"Uh-huh, you're like a walking encyclopedia." And as an afterthought, Hanna added, "You're already scary enough."
The donnish Liar gaped at Hanna with an offended expression, "I'm not scary…" She promptly whipped her head from Hera to Aria, black orbs widening slightly, "Am I scary?"
"A little," Aria confirmed with a weak smile. Hera and Hanna snorted and in unison, chanted, "Try a lot!" successfully managing to offend Spencer even more than before. Taking advantage of Spencer's flabbergasted state, Hanna continued her previous inquiry, "Hey, I saw Noel Kahn hug you. And he did not wanna let go."
Regaining her wits, Spencer murmured, "Talk about not wanting to let something go." Hera and Aria smirked at the biting remark while Hanna hissed at her and persistently confronted Aria, unwilling to rest until she was given details. "Why can't you give him a chance? He's smart, he's cute, his Dad owns like half of Rhode Island, and he's got great lips," she concluded with a dreamy smile. Hera grimaced, deciding to add in her two cents as she stared solemnly at a conflicted Aria, "If I were you Aria, I'd keep Noel at arm's length. He and Chad are best friends, not a good combination if you ask me."
Hanna bristled slightly at her twin's comment and her face turned red with anger, "What's that supposed to mean? Sean's close with both Noel and Chad, and he's such a sweetheart!"
"Yeah, and he's like, the Reverend's son. He doesn't count, Han. He's a saint not a sinner," Hera retorted with an eye roll, prompting Hanna to shrug in silent acceptance. Recovering, Hanna suddenly blurted out, "But come on, you guys have to admit that Aria and Noel would look amazing together."
Beginning to feel uncomfortable, Aria's almond-shaped eyes beseeched Hanna, "Can we drop it? Please? I'm not looking for anything more than a friend." The girls would have a bitch fit if they realized the reason behind her hesitation. It's not like Aria could just confide in them over her forbidden feelings for their English teacher, Ezra Fitz. Yes, she used to have a major crush on Noel back in the days before the whole Alison bedlam ensued, but ever since she met Ezra in a bar, she could no longer deny her strong feelings towards him. The only reason they weren't together was because it was illegal.
Hanna, not one to take a hint, opened her mouth filter, "Why? I mean, don't you have enough on Facebook? Besides, don't you want someone real? Someone you can, I don't know, scratch and sniff?"
Spencer gaped at Hanna in a horrified trance while Hera burst into laughter. Aria shook her head in amusement, "A boyfriend isn't a dog, Hanna. You did not just compare Noah to a dog." Feeling pity for Aria's plight, Hera halted in her laughter and relocated the spotlight onto Spencer, hoping that Hanna would drop the Noah Kahn match-making business for now, "What is going on with you and Sexy Alex? Is he back from that tournament?"
It was a miraculous wonder how much one guy could transform Spencer, their fierce and hardcore scholar best friend, into a pile of mush and actually overlook the fact that they should be studying for their SATs. "Yeah. He's back," she giddily revealed. "And it's good. Actually… it's sooo good. I want it to last but, but I'm afraid I'm gonna blow it."
"So when can we officially call him the boyfriend?" Hanna smirked suggestively; nothing like boy-gossip to produce a mischievous spark in the orbs of the youngest Marin twin. Before Spencer could deem a response, the door opened and Veronica Hastings materialized in front of them, laden with a few grocery bags.
"Hi, Mom," Spencer smiled. Simultaneously, Aria, Hera and Hanna politely intoned, "Hey, Mrs. Hastings!"
"Hi girls," Veronica smiled at them, her expression fond. "Oh, what smells so good?"
She was referring to the freshly baked garlic bread Aria, Hera and Spencer baked for dinner while Hanna graciously observed them, as a glorious reprieve from forcing their brains into absorbing over five hundred vocabulary words. Hanna pointed at the Tupperware beside the stove, "Garlic bread. Want some? We made extras." Hera, Aria and Spencer pointedly glared at Hanna's innocent mien. She didn't do extras, they did while she lazily commented from behind.
A smile, a cross between wistful and bitter, materialized on Veronica's face, the onyx orbs Spencer inherited gazing forlornly at the Tupperware. "I can't. God, I miss food. Eat some butter for me, will you," she parted them with a grin before disappearing to the neighboring room to answer her abundant inbox. Spencer gladly returned to the flashcards while the other three grudgingly mimicked her, and the ambience was completely silent until Veronica returned, shrewd onyx orbs scrutinizing the girls in confusion, "Where's Emily?"
Not worried in the slightest over their friend's absence, Spencer shrugged, "She's probably on her way over. She told me she'll be coming later on after dinner."
Once again, the Liars, barring Emily, congregated at the Hastings House as Veronica was the parent elected to escort the girls to school to perform their SATs exam. Arriving, thankfully not drenched from the brewing storm due to the ingenious creation of umbrellas, Hera groaned aloud, "I cannot believe they are making us take out SATs right now. The weather outside is atrocious enough and they predicted a major storm still!"
Widely known by the entire Rosewood population of Hera Marin's disrelish of anything unrelated to summer and the warm breeze, Hanna, Spencer and Aria ignored her cantankerous disposition and instead, concentrated on the familiar sexy boy approaching them. Hanna gasped pleasantly and shot a profusely blushing Spencer a pointed glare, "You didn't say Alex was taking the test here, too!"
"Why did you think I wanted my Mom to drop us off and leave?" Spencer murmured from the corner of her mouth before directing her full attention on Alex who pulled her flush against his chest. Hera's incessant grumbling under her breath was put on pause as she gaped dumbstruck at the lip-locked couple alongside Hanna and Aria, both of whom were mirroring Hera's current visage.
Hanna fanned herself, "Whew! Can you two feel the heat around here?"
"Damn, I gotta get me some guy," Hera commented with a suggestive smirk, prompting Aria to laugh loudly and link arms with her. Suddenly, with the silence of a ghost, Chad materialized behind them with Noah and Christy in tow. "All you had to do was ask, babe," Chad grinned, his steamy grey orbs lewdly raking her body, probably undressed her – the perv! Disregarding her nuisance of an ex, Hera snappishly retorted, "In your dreams!" before embracing a delighted Christy, one that the older girl enthusiastically returned, angering Chad further as he had always despised the close bond Hera had with his older sister.
"Attention all students. The SATs will be held today," some dude on the PA announced, eliciting a collective groan from the horde of assembled students.
Once Christy released Hera from her embrace, she greeted Hanna and Aria since Spencer's lips were still connected with Alex's before turning a heated glare onto her cowering brother and amused Noah. Chad Delaney was an obnoxious, arrogant pig who could only be intimidated by his elder sister first and his parents second, and Hera thanked all that was Holy for befriending the daunting Delaney sibling; regarding Hera as a little sister made it easy to put a tight leash on the troublesome Delaney and Noah if needed.
"Chad! Noah! Off you go, scoot! I don't want to hear you were bothering the girls again. Good luck!" Christy called after their retreating backs. With a conspiring smirk, Christy gave Hera one last hug, "Well, my shift at the hospital begins soon. Good luck girls!"
"I like her," Hanna mused.
Just as Christy departed, Veronica ambled in, her eyes intent on her purse while she mumbled under her breath, "Nobody here can make a decision to save their life. It's absurd." Gotta love silver linings; the second Veronica walked in, Aria elbowed Spencer in the gut, separating the two smitten teens apart and they both shifted uncomfortably once mama Hastings finally lifted her gaze, her onyx orbs widening on Alex in recognition. Spencer pulled Alex closer and introduced them with a nervous smile, "Mom, this is Alex Santiago. Alex, this is my mother." Staring meaningfully at her mother, Spencer stressed out, "Alex that I went to homecoming with."
Regaining her composure, Veronica forced a smile at Alex, and the four Liars noticed the surmounting tension between them; almost as though Veronica and Alex had a beef with each other. A few nerve-racking minutes later, Alex hastily excused himself from the group, leaving behind a relieved Veronica and a curious Spencer.
Acting as though the past few minutes weren't torture, Veronica casually addressed the girls, "Rosewood students should register in the library, half the school isn't here yet, and may never make it."
"Hey guys!" Emily waved, approaching the group and immediately becoming on the receiving end of a plethora of hugs. "When my Mom dropped me off, we saw a huge tree on Saw Mill Road and they've closed off York Street," she informed them matter-of-factly.
The words barely escaped Emily's lips when the familiar voice of Detective Darren Wilden permeated the air from behind, causing the Liars and Veronica to turn around for the latest confrontation. "That wasn't because of a tree. York Street's been closed since last night," Darren's navy blue orbs seemed to burn through Hera before they flickered over to Emily who had become peculiarly silent all of a sudden.
"Why?" Veronica took charge, scrutinizing the Detective with solemn onyx orbs.
Not pausing in his scrutiny of a meek Emily, Darren replied, his voice oddly detached, "Somebody decided to pay a visit to Alison DiLaurentis' memorial and destroy it. Shattered the tiles, broke the bench."
"What?" Aria snapped. Simultaneously, Spencer inquired, "When did this happen?"
Veronica maintained skin contact with her daughter in hopes of calming her down, while the Marin twins were busy studying Emily's odd behavior, taking in the fact that she didn't seem surprised – something Darren took note of as well. Providing a response to Spencer's snappish inquiry, Darren said, "We had to cordon off the area, it's an investigation, and now our number one priority with Jason breathing down my neck."
Hera's gaze snapped over to Darren, icy orbs widening in shock, "Jason's still here, in-, in Rosewood?" Her bewildered question coupled with the tone in her voice finally had Darren sparing her eye-contact and Hanna recognized the pain in his visage, confusing her further, but before Darren could respond, Veronica barked out, a stern quality reeking of disapproval in her nuance, "Spare them the details. They're about to take their SATs!"
Darren's face morphed into an impassive mask and he gave them a diminutive nod, his navy blues burning into Hera's icy ones, "Right, good luck on the test, ladies."
"I'll meet up with you guys later," Hanna murmured, separating herself from the other four Liars. Spencer linked arms with Hera and Aria, "We should probably go to the library." But Darren's interested gaze lowered to the ground, taking in the soles of Emily's sneakers that were coated completely in mud and he extended an arm out in front of her, stopping her movement, "Give me a sec, would you?"
Emily's stance turned rigid and she gave him a stiff nod, gesturing for her suspicious friends to leave, "I'll meet up with you in the library."
But Hera's thoughts were in turmoil; Jason never left Rosewood and Darren was still hounding them, and now… now Alison's memorial had been completely trashed by a highly probable perpetrator… 'A'.
Pouring over their books, the three Liars were finally joined by a distressed Hanna who wasn't in the willing to share the source of her bad mood. Suddenly, Aria snapped, unable to keep her worries in any longer, "I cannot believe Ali's memorial was trashed! I mean, just when you thought that 'A' would give it a rest, you know…"
Huffing in annoyance, Spencer pushed her flashcards away and massaged her temples, "It's like Toby had to kill Alison all over again."
"Toby?" Hera snapped, "Spence, we've been over this already. There's no way it was Toby. 'A' wanted him out of the way, why would 'A' want him gone if he wasn't innocent?" Spencer shrugged, too stubborn to admit she may be wrong and Hanna, with the subtlety of a stampeding rhinoceros commented, "Besides, his motorcycle was totaled. Isn't he dead?"
Aria grumbled and propped her chin on the palm of her hand, "Well, I hear more from Alison now than when she was alive. Anyways, like Hera said, I thought we decided 'A' wasn't Toby. 'A' was happy to have Toby out of the picture."
Hera raised her hands in the air, "See! Thank you, someone that has sense! Hallelujah!"
Spencer didn't look impressed in the slightest, her sharp gaze flickering from Hera to Aria and back again, "How do we know that Toby didn't send that text?"
"And why are we suddenly trusting 'A'," Hanna aggressively pointed out. "'A' made a fake bracelet to mess with us." Having had enough with the plethora of guesstimated insinuations, Hera slammed both hands on the table, producing a loud bang and prompting the other Liars to jump in their seats and stare at her questioningly, "Can we just stop. Just stop! … We're running around in desperate little circles like a psychotic hamster on a wheel! We're getting nowhere you guys, I say we just give up and leave it for the police to figure out!"
Her words engulfed them in a tension-filled silence before one by one, they all nodded in mute agreement and returned to revising for their SATs. Silence ensued for a couple more minutes before Aria suddenly called out, "Emily! Hey. Where have you been?"
Flipping around to stare at Emily as she took a seat between Hera and Spencer, Hanna's brows knitted together in concern, "Yeah, why weren't you at Spencer's last night?" Sending the girls a strained smile, Emily adorned a sheepish expression, "I know, I'm sorry. I didn't get out of practice till really late, so I went straight home and crashed… So, what did I miss?"
"Well, we studied," Spencer informed her.
Hanna snorted and pointed at Spencer and Aria, "They studied, and we annoyed them." She gestured toward herself and a sheepish Hera, prompting eye rolls from the other two and an amused smile out of Emily, "And as you've already heard, Alison's memorial got trashed."
"What did Wilden want from you?" Hera curiously demanded, ignoring the identical pair of eyes belonging to her twin that was burning a hole in the back of her skull. Just as Emily opened her mouth to formulate an excuse, Aria gasped out loud, her hazel orbs locked on two particular people on the other end of the library, "What's my Mom and Jason doing here?"
"Jason?" Hera and Spencer intoned; Hera sounding nervous while Spencer leaned more toward the suspicious side.
Ella Montgomery must have noticed the multiple pair of eyes connected to her person, for she gestured to Jason to walk alongside her and the duo approached the five dumbstruck Liars' table, the SATs all but forgotten at the weird predicament. "Mom, what are you doing-, why are you here?" Aria stammered after accepting her mother's embrace.
"Oh, I tried calling you, but your phone must be turned off for the test," Ella smiled, waving at the other girls. "They called and said they needed proctors. I'm on the sub list."
Tilting her head to the side, Aria uncertainly asked, "Since when?"
"Since they cut my hours at the gallery and I'm paying rent to live above it. I filled for an application last Monday," Ella smoothly replied. Spencer and Hera however, were more concerned over Jason's odd appearance, and just as jade green orbs connected with Hera's icy ones, Spencer spoke up in a tone of false innocence, "Oh, are you a proctor as well Jason?"
Averting his gaze from Hera, Jason smiled at Spencer, "Actually, no I'm not. I decided to prolong my stay in Rosewood since the police in this town are incompetent. I applied for a job and Mr. Tamborelli offered me the position as the school's guidance counselor."
Hera vividly froze in her seat, her lips parted in shock and eyes widening on Jason as his words hit home; the boy she moved on from a childish crush to highly enamored to an obsessive degree would be in Rosewood High… she would constantly be in close proximity to the man of her dreams, a person she's been trying so hard to get over. Hera Marin didn't know whether she wanted to celebrate and do the Cha-Cha, or repeatedly bang her head on the desk till her brain imploded. Instead, Hera flashed Jason a warm smile, "Wow, that's-, uh, congratulations, Jason. I'm sure you'll excel in it."
Jason smirked at her, and Hera felt a foreboding feeling echo in her veins at the hidden meaning behind his reaction, "Thanks, Hera. I'm hoping to help students by showing them that there is life after high school."
"Isn't that great," Ella beamed. "I for one commemorate Jason for what he's doing."
"Attention all students, please return to the library for your SAT," the same dude announced on the PA. Hera groaned and facepalmed herself. "God I hate that guy. I'm totally not ready! Are you guys ready? 'Cause I certainly am not!" she started hyperventilating, forgetting Ella and Jason's presence in her worried state. Spencer narrowed her eyes on her, "Well, maybe if you didn't waste time lounging about yesterday, then you wouldn't be so nervous."
"Oh, shut up! Nobody likes it when you tell them 'I told you so,' can you just fo-" Hera's rant was interrupted by the clearing of Ella's throat, and all five Liars remembered they had an audience. Jason bit the inside of his cheek to suppress his laughter while Ella chuckled softly, "Well, that's our cue to leave. Good luck girls. And Hera, I'm sure you'll do well, sweetie, just have faith in yourself."
Hera couldn't help but admire Jason's nicely firmed behind in those tight jeans as he walked away from their table; the thoughts 'fuck me' resounded in her head like an annoying echo as she readied herself for the SATs.
It had been an hour since the announcement and it was slowly becoming clear to the Liars that they had a long wait until the SATs test would be distributed. Despite the fact that Hera recently started to freak out about being unprepared, the delay was killing her. Desperately searching for a distraction to calm down her nerves, Hera's gaze connected with the back of Darren who was currently conversing with one of the teachers.
"God, he's freaking me out," Aria whispered to the other girls, receiving two nods of agreement from Spencer and Aria. Ever since Hanna discovered the secret dalliance between her twin and the sleazy detective, she had become less outspoken about her aversion to him, and Hera appreciated it. Unlike the other Liars and even Hera herself, Hanna had personally perceived the level of devotion Detective Wilden held for her twin, and it was palpably obvious that – in Hera's words – he was absolutely smitten.
Glaring at his back, Spencer hissed, "Whose locker is he poking into now?"
"He's desperate," Hanna remarked, matter-of-factly. "Ali's brother is breathing down his neck. I mean, Jason isn't leaving Rosewood anytime soon, not until the killer is caught." Emily shifted nervously and leaned forward conspiratorially in case they were overheard, "Ours too. I mean, what if Jason told the police Alison's version of what happened?"
Hera immediately shook her head in negative, "Em, if Jason was gonna snitch, he would've a year ago."
"Besides, after Hera here gave him a tongue-thrashing and bluntly laid all the facts out in the open, he now knows that story's bogus," Spencer grinned, her onyx orbs twinkling gratefully at the smirking Hera who looked satisfied with herself.
A shadow suddenly engulfed their table and five pairs of eyes snapped up to meet Darren's gaze head-on. "Sorry about the memorial. I know how hard you girls worked," Darren commented. "Shocking though. Something like that could happen and nobody saw anything." The accusation was rolling off him in waves which only succeeded to annoy Spencer further, "Everybody here was studying for the exam that we're about to take, so you might wanna look for eyewitnesses somewhere else."
"Unless you're back to blaming us again, Detective. It's funny how you always seem to point fingers at us, disregarding the fact that there are nearly eight-thousand civilians in this town that could have easily done what you constantly accuse us of doing," Hera snapped, her eyes hardening in the perfect replica of a glacier, and Darren found himself missing the days when her eyes were warm, reflecting a pure cloudless sky and staring at him with complete affection and lust. Spencer, Emily and Aria gaped at the blonde-red Marin twin, stunned beyond belief; Hanna sighed at her twin's nonchalance that would end up revealing her secret. Darren however, brushed off her words and gave them all a flinty stare, "So you were all studying together?"
"Yes," was the collective response.
Hanna rolled her eyes in annoyance and added, "We were all at Spencer's."
Darren raised an unimpressed brow, covertly altering his orbs in the direction of Emily's muddy sneakers, "All of you?"
"Yes. All of us," Emily brusquely stated, garnering herself suspicious stares from the rest of the Liars. Due to Hera's intimacy with Darren, it was palpably obvious to her that he hadn't bought Emily's alibi and was merely humoring her until she let her guard down before striking; it was classic Darren. Swallowing harshly and fearing for her docile best friend, the second Darren left, she stared solemnly at Emily, "Why did you lie to him, Em? Don't give us some crap about crashing early, what's going on?!"
Evading eye-contact with the four girls, especially Hera's steely gaze, Emily shrugged, "I told you, I went home."
"Then why didn't you tell him that?" Hanna retorted, unwilling to let Emily get off that easily, but apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Emily glared at her and venomously hissed, "What happened to all of us sticking together?" And with that rude remark, she harshly got off her chair and turned her back on them. Spencer called after her, "Where are you going?!"
Glancing at them from over her shoulder, Emily sarcastically shot back, "To the restroom. But if you don't believe me, we can all try and squeeze into one stall."
"Should one of us go talk to her?" a wide-eyed and deeply concerned Aria whispered. Spencer shook her head knowingly, "No. She'll talk when she's ready." At that moment, Spencer's phone rang and she beamed at the Caller I.D. and wasted no time in answering Alex. Hera on the other hand, muttered an excuse to the girls and rushed out of the library. She didn't trust Emily alone with Darren out there; Emily may have lied about her whereabouts, but no matter what, the Liars stuck together, and knowing Darren's tactics and firm resolution, Emily wandering off alone was the perfect opportunity to get cornered by him, and Hera was adamant in remaining by her side for moral support; Darren didn't intimidate her in the slightest.
Going by Emily's parting words, Hera immediately ducked into the restroom, "Emily? ... Emily?" Huffing out loud, she opened every single stall before groaning aloud, "Great. She lied to us… again!" Biting her lower lip in thought, she decided to try the locker rooms since Emily spent most of her time there before and after swimming practice. Despite the fact that the school was filled to the brim with many students, the empty hallways were extremely eerie, especially when combined with the earth-shattering racket of the abysmal weather outside. Her icy orbs located the entrance to the locker rooms but just as she took a step forward, heavy footsteps resonated from behind, prompting her body to stiffen and halt mid-way.
Please don't let it be 'A', please don't let it be 'A', please don't let it be 'A'; the mantra echoed in her head and her heart pounded violently against her ribcage. Hera was at a stalemate; should she run for it, or should she apprehend whoever was stalking her? Unfortunately, the decision was already made for her when two strong hands gripped her waist in a bruising hold, her body was swiveled around and her back was forcefully slammed against the wall, all in the span of five seconds. Damn that was going to leave a fucking bruise. Whimpering in pain, Hera was unable to get a look at her attacker as soft lips roughly attacked her neck, sucking and licking and biting and Hera found herself rendered useless as she tried pushing her assailant away.
"Let GO of me! Leave me ALONE! STOP IT!" Hera shrieked. She hated being demoted to a damsel in distress, but all the self-defense lessons she took in California sailed out of the window in her shock and panicked state. And then, Hera's eyes widened in terror when her assailant let out a satisfied moan, the familiar sound hitting her like a ton of bricks, "CHAD! LET GO OF ME!"
Enraged, Chad disconnected his lips from her neck and slapped her across the face, his gray orbs dilating with lust and murderous rage, "Shut up you little bitch! I swear to god, if your screaming brings attention, then I'll-"
"You'll what?"
Chad stiffened, his hands tightening on her waist and despite the agonizing pain and the definite bruising he was leaving her, Hera breathed a sigh of relief at the voice that had always sounded euphoric to her. Heavy footsteps approached them and Chad was promptly thrown off of her, banging harshly against the opposite wall.
Jason DiLaurentis really made an imposing figure when angered; his jade green orbs darkened in fury, and his sharp, prominent features were blazing, and a vein could be seen throbbing on his forehead, his knuckles clenched to the extent they turned bone-white.
"If I see you within close proximity of Hera, I'll report you Delaney. I'm sure Christy would be ecstatic when I tell her of your deplorable actions. Now, LEAVE!" Jason boomed. Chad instantly scampered off with his tail between his legs. Nobody was suicidal enough to talk back at, challenge or disobey Jason DiLaurentis who was notorious for packing a punch; it was a well-known fact that a myriad of people who angered Jason were sent to the hospital for days with broken bones, a concussion and once, Jason managed to beat some dude up, leaving him in a two-month coma.
Once Chad departed, Jason turned around to face Hera who unconsciously had tears streaming down her face. His jade orbs flickered from her puffy eyes to her tearstained cheeks and lastly, to the large hickey on her neck. "Hey, hey, you're okay. You're okay," and the next thing she knew, Jason pulled her into a comforting hug, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her, allowing her body to shake with harsh sobs. Hera hated herself for appearing weak; she trained herself especially for any possible scenarios with Chad, not wanting a repeat of the past, and yet, here she stood, a damsel in distress crying in the arms of the man she was deeply in love with.
Hera couldn't even savor the fact that Jason rescued her, stood up for her and initiated skin contact with her. That he held her in his arms! She was too ashamed and enraged and in the throes of self-hatred. Slowly, Jason softly pushed her backwards and stared solemnly into her eyes, "Hera. Be honest with me. Has this happened before now? Did Chad ever force himself on you?"
"No," Hera smoothly lied, and it took all the willpower she could muster to maintain eye-contact while keeping her façade in place. "Chad's just-, he's just bitter over our breakup. And in denial. It's nothing, just forget it ever happened."
Jason stared at her incredulously, "Forget it? Damn it, Hera. This isn't a joke, he was hurting you!"
"I KNOW!" she screamed, eliciting a silence around them as she inhaled and exhaled aggressively. "I know," Hera said in a softer tone. "Just please, don't-, don't tell anyone. Promise me that you'll keep what you saw between us. …Please."
"Hera?" Hera's eyes slammed shut at the sound of Hanna's voice and she quickly swiped the remnant tears from her face before disentangling herself from Jason's heavenly embrace. Not only was Hanna approaching them, but the rest of the Liars, and bringing up the rear was none other than Darren Wilden, his navy blue eyes burning with envy at the sight of Jason in close contact with Hera, but upon noticing her bedraggled state and swollen eyes, his expression softened immediately, only to be replaced with concern and confusion.
Hanna immediately placed an arm around her twin, "Her, you're crying, what's wrong?"
"Yeah, Jason. What's wrong?" Darren sneered, effectively snapping everybody's gaze onto him. Jason didn't pay attention to the intruders, but stared intensely at Hera who adopted a pleading look, her eyes imploring him not to squeal. Sighing loudly, Jason dragged a hand through his honey-blonde locks, and shooting one last glance of disapproval at Hera, confidently said, "Nothing. I walked in on Hera distressed over Ali's memorial. Speaking of which-" He glowered at Darren who looked like he didn't believe a word that came out of Jason's mouth, "Did you catch the person who vandalized the memorial or are you just here to watch the students take their SATs?"
The Detective sneered at the quip, "Actually I have Jason. In fact, it's a good thing we can all be here for an update."
"We're supposed to be in the locker room," Emily snapped.
Daren smirked condescendingly at her. "I'm guessing you are used to being in places you're not supposed to be," he suddenly snapped at Emily with a meaningful gaze leaving no room for swindling her way out. "Tell your friends where you were last night. When you weren't studying for the test." At Emily's and the rest of the Liars shocked expression, Darren's lips curled into a smile of smug satisfaction, "See, because I got these really interesting photos. Pass it around, there's plenty more where that came from. At the precinct."
Hera, Hanna, Aria and Spencer gasped aloud once their gaze fell on the picture; Emily looked a wreck, crying over Alison's vandalized memorial, her hands digging into the soil. Jason looked as impassive as ever as he stared at tears cascading down Emily's face and the despondent slouch of her shoulders. "I doubt Emily would destroy the memorial, Darren. You got any other leads?" Jason snapped, prompting the five Liars to stare at him in appreciation and for Darren to clench his jaw in anger.
Darren pointed an accusatory finger at Emily's muddy shoes in retort, "I see you didn't get a chance to clean your shoes either, so the pictures aren't photo-shopped."
But they were definitely a gift from 'A', simultaneously reverberated in each Liar's head.
"That's not why I went there," Emily said softly. Darren arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms against his chest, "Really? So you didn't go back to finish up Toby's handiwork? Or were you covering up his tracks?"
"I found it like that. It was already destroyed," Emily snapped with conviction.
Disbelief flickered across Darren's mien, "Really? Well then, let me ask you a question. What were these doing in your bag? Souvenirs?" In his hands, sat the figurines from the statue displayed in the memorial, "Something Toby asked you to save for his trophy collection?"
"This has nothing to do with Toby," Emily stated. Hera glared at him, "Do you even have a warrant to go through Emily's belongings?" But Darren ignored her, maintaining his stony gaze on Emily, who was currently being questioned by Spencer, "Em, why do you have those?"
Hanna shook her head in denial, her eyes wide, "No, you put those in there, you creep. Emily would never do that, the memorial was her idea!" But even as she said it, Hanna knew that Darren Wilden wouldn't do that, no matter how sleazy he made himself out to be, he would never hurt Hera that way by setting one of her best friends up for murder or vandalism, and by the look on Darren's face, he knew that Hanna was throwing accusations left and right out of desperation.
"Yeah, so I heard. Nice cover," Darren scoffed. Meticulously, he pulled out a worn-out letter from his front pocket and waved it in front of a frantic Emily, "You want me to share this with them? Or would you like to? Go ahead-" he carried on smoothly when Emily became tongue-tied, "-and tell about the angry letter that you wrote to Alison. Which is dated, by the way, three days before she disappeared."
"You had no right to read that," Emily whispered, her mournful chocolate brown orbs never once leaving the letter she had committed to memory due to the hundreds of times she read it over. Aria rubbed Emily's back softly and in an equally soft voice, asked, "Emily, what is in the letter?"
"Tell her," Darren pressed on. "Tell them how you wanted to punish Alison for rejecting you. Tell them how you felt relieved at the funeral. Yeah, she wasn't gonna be around to humiliate you anymore, was she?" And a part of Darren knew that he was blowing off some steam at Emily due to finding Hera and Jason cozying up to each other; a part of him admitted that he didn't believe, not in the slightest, that Emily murdered Alison DiLaurentis or even vandalized the memorial. But he was on a role, and found himself unable to stop talking.
Glaring up at the Detective, oblivious to the battle waging inside of him, Emily confessed, "I went back to that memorial to say I was sorry. There were horrible things in that letter, and I didn't mean them." The last words were directed at Jason who hadn't been able to utter a word in his stumped state, "But suddenly she was gone and I loved her as more than a friend. I just never had the chance to tell her in the right way."
Jason nodded diminutively at Emily and offered her a small smile before he heatedly addressed Darren, "Giver her the letter back, Wilden. Give it to her now or I swear to God I will rip your head off, and don't think your title as Detective would stop me. You know I'm not one for making empty threats!"
Darren sneered, but he looked shaken; Jason DiLaurentis really wasn't one to mess around with. "Sorry, I can't. We're not leaving until you tell me what you were doing carting around pieces of Alison's memorial. This is police business DiLaurentis, nothing personal."
"They were the only things not broken," Emily squarely met Darren's gaze, portraying genuine honesty in her mien and finally, Darren backed off and returned the letter to a relieved Emily who immediately tucked it into her pocket reverently.
"What's going on in here? Why aren't they with the other kids? Hera, sweetie, Emily, wha-, why are your faces all red and blotchy, have you been crying?" Veronica Hastings may be a hardcore lawyer and anything but a stay-at-home mother, but she was a Hastings and a kickass, astute person with a caring and fond disposition to the Liars, excluding Alison – for some inexplicable reason.
Darren scowled at Veronica in a mixture of annoyance and confusion, "Who are you?"
Her response was to place a protective hand on Spencer's shoulder, "Her mother. If this is the school's idea of keeping my child safe, I'm glad I came. Honey, why are they crying?" she asked Spencer, referring to Hera and Emily. Spencer glared at Darren, "I don't know about Hera but he accused Emily of killing Alison."
"He went through her purse and now he's accusing her," Aria added with venom in her voice.
Veronica raised an inquisitive eyebrow at an unperturbed Darren. "You know, you're lucky Jason happened to be here, otherwise I'd be able to get you kicked off the case for questioning minors without an adult. What century are you in? I would advise you to back off. Anything they've said to you is inadmissible in a courtroom. Period. Let's go Hera, Emily, honey, grab your things," she addressed the girls without taking her sharp gaze off of Daren's impassive one.
"I have a homicide to solve, okay?" Darren informed her.
"Well, if you want to remain in charge of this investigation, I'd advise you to have more than one adult present when you're questioning my girls, that is, unless you want to face me down with opposing counsel," Veronica warned him. Veronica Hastings words should never be taken lightly… ever! Turning to face Jason, she smiled, "Thank you for being present, Jason."
Once the Liars left with Veronica, Jason let out a loud whistle, "You know, I really hope you learned your lesson, because I sure as hell wasn't supposed to be here and you could have easily got into big trouble for interrogating the girls without an adult present."
Darren sneered in response, "Yeah well. I am one hell of a lucky guy, got first row seats watching you cozying up with a minor."
Jason lifted his brows in bemusement, his jade green orbs scrutinizing one of his oldest friends that he lost contact with throughout his drug phase. Shaking his head, Jason tucked his hands into his front pockets and just as he turned to leave, he imparted with a smirk, "If I didn't know better myself, I'd say you're jealous, Wilden."
"Can I have you attention," the Principle announced to the congregated and highly nervous students. "The storm warning has just been lifted, but the SATs will have to be rescheduled."
Tumultuous cheering engulfed the room in response, and Hera groaned into the table, "Ugh, all this studying for no reason! I hate school!"
Saying a quick goodbye to Aria, Spencer and Emily, Hera began searching for Hanna before finally locating her by the lockers in the middle of some captivating conversation with Lucas, previously dubbed Hermy by Alison. "Hey, Han. Let's go!"
"Okay. Bye Lucas," Hanna beamed at the nervous geek and linked arms with Hera, pulling her away. "God, I hate school. The sooner we're out of here, the better." When Hera didn't respond with her usual witticism, Hanna nudged her, "You okay?"
Tearing her eyes from a fidgety Lucas, Hera absently nodded, "I'm fine. Let's get out of this joint." Swallowing the lump from her throat, Hera threw back one last suspicious glance at Lucas' feet before fixating her twin with her undivided attention.
Why the hell would Lucas' converse be all muddy… muddy like Emily's were?
CAST:
Hera Marin – Candice Swanepoel
Hanna Marin – Ashley Benson
Spencer Hastings – Troian Bellisario
Aria Montgomery – Lucy Hale
Emily Fields – Shay Mitchell
Jason DiLaurentis – Drew Van Acker
Darren Wilden – Bryce Johnson
Chad Delaney – Matt Bomer
Christy Delaney – Phoebe Tonkins
Veronica Hastings – Lesley Fera
Ella Montgomery – Holly Marie Combs
A/N: Did you like this chapter?! XD
Yay for Jason! I totally adore him!
As you can see there were many changes; for one, Jason is staying in town; Darren didn't get kicked off the case … I told you I'm shaking things up! XD
Next chapter I'll try and have some flashbacks included… maybe two even! XD
R&R.
