A/N at the end of the chapter. You'll see why when you get there. In the meantime, enjoy.
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"Sorry I'm late," Aria said breathlessly, dumping her bag on the ground and sliding into the seat beside Alison. They'd agreed to meet at the diner at four, and although it was only ten past Aria was apprehensive; she was never sure whether Ali would be in the mood to laugh things off or whether she would use them as an excuse to attack her. "I had to drop Mike off to lacrosse training."
"That's okay," Alison said, glancing at Spencer. "Family comes first."
Spencer bit her lip and gave Ali a hard stare. Aria busied herself flicking through the menu, and Emily and Hanna followed suit. Nobody said anything else until the waitress arrived. Hana placed her order last, and she looked at Ali as if for permission.
"I'll just have a burger and some fries," Hanna said tentatively.
Ali cleared her throat. "Are you sure, Hanna?" she asked sweetly.
Hanna froze, and Aria could see her trying to hold back tears. They all jokingly teased each other at points, but nobody besides Alison ever mentioned Hanna's weight. She was way too sensitive about it, and teasing her about it crossed the line between friendly mocking and being outright cruel. Aria reached under the table and squeezed Hanna's hand. Her friend gave her a surprised look, but then her features hardened and she set her jaw, looking Ali right in the eye.
"Yes," she said clearly. "I'm sure."
Ali kept watching Hanna even after the waitress had gone. Normally Hanna wouldn't stand up to her, and it seemed to bother her that she'd done it this time.
"You should watch your step, Hanna," Ali said, stirring her strawberry maple milkshake with her straw. "If you step on a crack it might not be your mother's back that breaks."
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Throughout first period Spanish the next day, Aria found her mind wandering. She'd been able to lay the matter of her father and Hanna's mother to rest, but that didn't mean she was suddenly in the clear. There was always something else to worry about, some reason to watch her back. And Ali's warning, more than ever, was weighing on her. Aria herself had kept things from her friends; it wasn't fair for her to assume that her friends never kept things from her. It may have just been the fact that she was nervous, but she felt like her friends were acting a little strange. Hanna seemed more distant and, if possible, even more flaky than usual; Emily was skipping classes, and she always seemed like her head was somewhere else; and the fact that Spencer had hidden her meeting with –A from them still made her feel unsettled.
But she couldn't bring up her concerns with her friends, at least not all together. And she would feel much too sneaky if she spoke about each of the girls with the others. So she made the decision to keep her doubts to herself. At lunch when her friends pointed out that she was unusually quiet, she brought up the one topic on which they were all on the same page.
"I'm just wondering about… the other day," Aria said, her eyes tracking a bunch of guys who were kicking a ball back and forth between them. One of the boys missed by an inch, but he'd raised his leg so high for the kick that he ended up falling over. As he hit the ground Aria was struck by the sudden urge to giggle. She bit her lip and turned back to her friends. "Do we know anything more about how Mona got out of Radley?"
"She hasn't been released," Hanna informed them, twirling a strand of spaghetti around on her fork. "I went to see her this morning. She wasn't pretending to be catatonic or anything anymore, but she wouldn't talk to me. She wouldn't even look at me. I stayed for as long as I could, but she didn't say a word the whole time. I'm sorry, guys."
"It's okay," Spencer said reassuringly. "It was always a long shot that she'd talk anyway."
"Yeah," Emily said. "You did your best. But the question is, what do we do now?"
Although she knew she was probably going to regret it, Aria also knew there was one thing they needed to focus on now. "I think we should try to find out what was in the style studio," she said. "It was important enough for Mona to break out of Radley to try to steal, so I think we should get to it first."
"Chances are Mona's going to try again," Hanna pointed out. "So the sooner we get to it, the better."
Aria sighed. "This is going to be one of those days where I end up doing something illegal, isn't it?"
The thought didn't actually bother her as much as it should have. She'd broken into the school, into offices, into yards, and she was almost becoming accustomed to it.
"Someone should go with you," Spencer suggested. "I mean, if you want, I could -"
She broke off as her cell buzzed. It was second nature to be suspicious of any texts these days, especially if they were all together. At least all of their phones hadn't gone off, which would be cause for instant alarm. Aria instinctively looked around, just in case it was –A. When she turned back to Spencer, her friend's face had fallen and she was staring at the screen with a sort of mute horror.
"Spence?" Aria asked. "What is it?"
"I -" Words seemed to fail her and she just shook her head slowly, handing her phone over to her friends, who crowded around to read it.
Your little boy toy's getting too close to the truth. Break it off with him or I'll break something of yours – like a limb, maybe. Or one of his. –A
"Oh god." Aria felt her heart breaking for her friend. All of their relationships had suffered because of –A; this wouldn't be the first time Spencer had been forced to break up with Toby to keep him safe. But every time was more difficult, more heartbreaking. And there was always the knowledge that this time it could be permanent.
Spencer wordlessly shook her head, as if the thought of breaking up with Toby was too awful to contemplate.
"Oh, Spence," Emily said gently, pulling her friend into a hug. "I'm so sorry."
"That sucks," Hanna agreed gloomily. "What are you going to do?"
"What choice do I have?" Spencer took her phone back and read the message again, and again, and again, until Aria snapped the phone shut to stop her obsessing. "I'm going to have to break up with Toby. It's the only way to keep us both safe."
Aria frantically searched her mind for something comforting to say. But she couldn't think of anything suitable for the situation. Saying 'It'll get better' or 'You'll get through this' felt not only untrue but deliberately dishonest. She had no way of knowing things would be okay; in fact, with all that had happened lately, she was becoming more and more confident that things were not going to be okay.
"I need to go." Spencer shot up from her seat, grabbed her bag, and started walking off.
Aria shot a look at the other girls, then dashed after her. She caught up with her just outside the main building, gently touching her arm. Spencer jumped like she'd been electrocuted.
"Are you okay?" Aria asked without thinking. That was a stupid question. Of course Spencer wasn't okay. "I'm sorry. Forget I asked. But just… we're worried about you."
"Don't be." Spencer shrugged off Aria's hand and her concern in a single gesture. "I'm fine. Everything's peachy. I'll just go break up with the love of my life."
"Spence -"
"Don't. I'll just – I'll talk to you later."
Before Aria could respond, Spencer slipped through the doors and got lost in the crowd of people surging down the halls. Aria stood there, feeling confused and helpless, until the bell rang and Hanna and Emily came up to her.
"How is she?" Emily asked.
"She's…" She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just shook her head.
"We should go and visit her after school," Hanna said. None of them shared her afternoon classes, so unless they saw her in the halls they wouldn't get a chance to talk to her until after school.
The other girls nodded.
"But right now, I'm late for class," Hanna added, already on her way through the doors. "See you guys later?"
"-A is really starting to piss me off," Aria muttered. "I'm going to find out who's helping Mona, and what they're planning, and I'm going to stop them."
"We," Emily corrected. "We are going to stop them."
Aria felt a surge of affection for her friend. "You up for a little breaking and entering?"
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The rest of the day passed quickly. After school Aria met up with Emily and Hanna, and they drove over to Spencer's together. Melissa let them in, and they made their way up to her room. Aria hesitated at the door, uncertain what she was going to find on the other side. If Spencer had already broken up with Toby, she could very well be a mess. And if she hadn't, then she would probably still be a mess.
Spencer was sitting cross-legged on her bed, a kind of vacant look in her eyes. She was wearing sweats, which was never a good sign, and she'd taken off all of her makeup. Her friends approached her hesitantly, and she looked up and tried to smile; it was a sad imitation, though, and it made Aria's heart ache.
"Hey," Aria said, sitting down beside her. Hanna and Emily settled down on the other side, and for a few moments there was silence. Aria looked around the room. All traces of Toby were gone; photos, gifts, cards. The only thing left was the rocking chair he'd made Spencer, but she'd covered that with a blanket. Any reminder of him, of what they'd had and what she'd lost, was too painful.
"How'd he take it?" Hanna asked.
Spencer blinked, as if she'd forgotten they were there. "He was confused, mostly. I think he was angry too. But… it's better this way, right?"
Aria rubbed circles on Spencer's back; a role reversal from when she'd nearly been hit by the car. She wanted to be able to comfort her friend, to take away her pain, but the most she could do was just be there for her. It didn't feel like enough, but at least it was something.
They stayed with Spencer for as long as she would let them, but eventually she curled up on her bed and told them she wanted to be alone. It hurt to see her so vulnerable, so broken, but they understood that forcing their presence on her would only make things worse.
"We'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Emily said as they got up to leave.
"And in the meantime call or text if you need us," Hanna said. "We know this is hard for you, and we want to be here for you… you just have to let us."
Spencer nodded, too drained to even attempt to smile. "Thanks, guys."
As they left, Aria forced herself not to dwell on the sight of Spencer – bright, bubbly, down-to-earth Spencer – looking frail and fragile. She had other thing to focus on now, after all. And maybe if today went well, they'd be able to give her some good news. They said farewell to Hanna, and then Aria climbed into Emily's car. Emily slid into the driver's seat, stuck her keys into the ignition, and then hesitated.
"Are you sure we want to do this?"
Aria contemplated, but then she realized she'd already made up her mind. She nodded, watching as Emily started the car. If this could help them get to the bottom of the –A mystery, it was worth a little illegal activity.
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"How do you feel?" I ask.
"Relieved," comes the reply. "I don't have to pretend anymore, and I don't have to hang around any of the girls. That will make things easier."
"I have a feeling the girls won't heed our little warning so I'll definitely need you around," I muse. "They're determined, I'll give them that much."
"Irritatingly stubborn, more like."
"Yeah, well." I shrug. To be honest, I kind of like the fact that they're all so stubborn. If they'd given up earlier, it would have been much less fun. The way they keep fighting, investigating, thinking they can win… it amuses me. Sometimes it's challenging, but I rise to it every time. I stay a step ahead of them, and my reward is that, if my plan works, I'll be able to put all this behind me and stop having to watch my back. "You've got more free time now," I go on. "We'll have to put it to good use."
"What did you have in mind?"
I lean back, considering. There are so many tasks left to do – I haven't got long until the final plan will come into action. There are only a few of us, and we need to get everything done. Time to share the workload.
"Here you go," I say at last, holding out a slip of paper. "You can go and pick these up."
"Right. I'll be back soon."
He pauses at the door, flashing me a smile. "I love your plan, by the way."
I smile back. "Thanks, Toby. Now go on. We have a lot of work to do."
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So, thank you for all the great reviews last chapter. And shoutout to Sgdp1261 for correctly guessing that Toby was part of the A-Team (although I swear you're just suspicious of everyone... which, to be fair, is probably a smart move in Rosewood) - any ideas what's in the box he collected? Or what -A's planning next?
ihavealifeiswear - you will find out who Taffy is eventually. It's an existing character, I'll give you that much. But they may or may not be involved with -A, or even with Ali's death.
Runawaybaby555 - your excitement in your reviews makes me so happy. I like Matt too; he's a fun character. But then again I pretty much like everyone, including all of the A-Team, so that doesn't mean much. I'm having a lot of fun channelling my inner 'A', so I'm glad you like it.
insertnameherex - I like to think that the love/hate is kind of part of the PLL package. Every episode you get more questions and maybe an answer or two if you're lucky. But by the end of this story most of the questions will be answered, so stay tuned.
Forever Courage - it's Rosewood, anyone could be -A. And seriously, who wouldn't make a move on Aria? ;) I'm not really a big Byron fan, but I like to think he and Ashley would have been good together.
Okay. Now for the next chapter, I am unashamed to say that it is one of my favorites. It took a long time to write, but I think it turned out pretty well. It has some Emily/Aria friendship moments, as well as the execution of a fun little -A plan. It will be up soon, of course, so I'll see you all there. ;)