Emote Control - no worries. And that's exactly right; the girls don't have the best history with the police, so unless they had some serious evidence, and were prepared for their secrets to be public knowledge, they'd be reluctant to go to the authorities about Spencer.
Runawaybaby555 - had to add some Haleb in there. ;) Apologies to your Sparia heart; I hope you like the chapter and I don't give you a heart attack!
Forever Courage - messing with Ezra is the one sure way to get on Aria's bad side (well, that or going after her family). The relationship between all the members of the A-Team is complicated at best, so there's always going to be tension, especially between Spencer and Mona.
insertnameherex - I have to admit, I do love the teasers. ;) On one hand it would be fun to be on the A-Team, but in another it would be terrifying/morally wrong/etc. So writing about it as far as I'm willing to go. XD Thanks as always for the review.
SwanQueen4055 - thanks!
ComeOnWe'reTeamSparia - I hope this chapter's to your liking! There'll be plenty more Sparia scenes this story, so stay tuned.
Aerize - 'evil' Spencer is fun to write, but you'll see that she's not all bad... well, she's not a robot at least.
Sgdp1261 - I love drama too! So while writing this story was hell on my Sparia heart, it was also incredibly fun. I hope you like the chapter!
Now. This flashback, in case you can't tell, is from the S2 finale, during the masquerade ball, after Mona and Spencer go to A's lair. I think that's the only thing that needs explaining here. Enjoy, and I'll see you next chapter.
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The car slammed to a stop and Spencer felt herself being flung forwards. Her seatbelt stopped any serious damage, but she rubbed her shoulder as she turned to glare at Mona. "I know we want to be dramatic, but did you have to do that so suddenly?"
Mona just grinned in response, enjoying the thrill. She glanced out the window and saw bright lights approaching. "Get out," she said to Spencer, who quickly complied. They had to make this convincing, after all.
Spencer stumbled around the car, trying her best to convey a sense of terror. Mona leapt out after her, but pulled up short as the approaching car failed to slow down. As she scrambled away Spencer squinted and saw that it was Hanna behind the wheel. The other girls were shouting at her, telling her to stop. She briefly wondered how they would have reacted if they'd found out Spencer was in charge of all this – would they try to run her over too?
Hanna brought the car to a stop a few feet away from Mona, who stared at it for a moment before letting out a shriek and sprinting towards Spencer. Hanna, Emily, and Aria jumped out of the car, eager to race to the rescue, unaware that they were the ones who would soon need saving.
Mona tackled Spencer to the ground while the girls watched in horror, too far away to do anything.
"Ouch," Spencer grumbled, making a show of trying to throw Mona off her. "Did you have to make that hurt so much?"
"All part of the plan, remember?" Mona murmured in her ear. Then she grabbed Spencer's shoulders and pulled her, growling, "Get up!"
Their fight sequence wasn't exactly choreographed; they were winging it, which meant they were mostly running on instinct and emotion. As Mona shoved Spencer against the tree, she realized she was definitely going to be sore tomorrow.
Spencer heard one of the girls shout her name, and she let her eyes flicker to meet Mona's gaze, waiting for the signal. Mona nodded her head, just slightly, and Spencer took that as her cue. She pushed Mona away, watching as the other girl lost her footing on the cliff and grabbed for the tree.
They hadn't planned this far ahead, but Spencer knew she couldn't go out of her way to save Mona now. They'd set this whole thing up so that the girls would know Mona was A, and that Spencer was innocent (although she doubted they even suspected her; she had quite a solid charade going on). The goal here was also for Mona to end up in Radley, because that's where she needed to be for the next part of the plan. Any serious bodily harm would definitely get in the way of that.
Spencer grabbed Mona's arm and tried to haul her back up, but Mona pulled away a bit – not so obvious that the girls would notice, but obvious enough to make it clear what she wanted. Seeing Spencer's hesitation, she mouthed two words: Let go.
In that split second, Spencer made her decision. Later she would always tell herself that she knew Mona wasn't going to die, that she planned it out and knew she was going to be okay, but there was always that part of her that wondered if she would have been willing to sacrifice Mona if it meant keeping her cover.
"I'm sorry," she whispered as she let go. And as her accomplice tumbled to the ground Spencer couldn't help herself from crying out. "Mona!"
Her friends reached her then, and she let herself fall into their arms, sobbing and trying to get her breath back. Mona wasn't moving. Spencer wanted to check if she was okay, but she knew that would be suspicious. It wasn't until after the police and paramedics arrived and the girls were talking to Dr Sullivan that Spencer heard the news she was hoping for.
"She's alive!"
She schooled her face into a mask of horrified surprise, matching the expressions of Hanna, Emily, and Aria, but inside she was thrilled.
They were right on schedule.
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When Aria finally regained the use of her vocal chords, all she could manage to choke out was, "What?"
"It's Spencer," said the voice again, so familiar and yet so different. It was definitely Spencer, but it didn't sound like the old Spencer, the one who'd call Aria up to gossip about boys or, more often, talk about homework assignments; but neither did it sound entirely like the new Spencer, the one whose greatest pleasure in life was apparently torturing her former friends.
"What – why do you have Ezra's phone?" Aria sank to her bed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. A moment later she stood up again and started pacing, needing some kind of outlet for her nervous energy. What the hell was Spencer playing at?
"Oh, he lent it to me," Spencer said breezily. She waited just long enough for Aria's heart to sink to her stomach before adding, "I'm at his house right now, actually."
"You're…" Aria sat down on the bed again, her knees shaking too much for her to hold herself up. "You're at his house?"
"Yeah. We were just talking about you." She could tell by just the sound of her voice that Spencer was smirking, and she felt a sudden rush of anger.
She did not like the thought of Spencer alone there with Ezra. She knew what Spencer was capable of, but Ezra had no idea; heck, he'd probably invited her inside, thinking she was just one of Aria's friends. If he knew what she'd done, even easy-going Ezra would have slammed the door in her face.
"What are you doing?" Aria said forcefully, too wound up to go along with Spencer's games or tricks. "Spencer, I swear, if you hurt him -"
"Relax, Aria. I'm not going to hurt him."
Although the words were comforting, her tone was far from gentle. Aria's tight grip on her cell loosened slightly, but she didn't quite let herself feel relieved. "Then what do you want?"
"I just want to talk."
"To who? Ezra?"
She heard Spencer laugh, but it cut off abruptly as if she took a moment to remember herself. "No, Aria. I want to talk to you."
"Then why didn't you just call me, leave Ezra out of this?"
"Would you have answered?"
There was something in her voice that made Aria hesitate. It wasn't quite vulnerability – she was too far gone for that – but it was something softer, like for the first time she was unsure of herself. Aria wasn't sure how to answer; she couldn't bring herself to hate Spencer, although she had tried, but that didn't mean she trusted her, or even that she wanted to talk to her. Trying to move on after what Spencer had done last month was hard enough, but now she was back at it – and she'd already put Hanna in the hospital – Aria knew things were going to be even more difficult.
"You want to talk, Spencer? Fine. Meet me at the Middleton Playground in ten minutes."
There was a brief pause. Then Spencer said softly, "Thank you."
Aria felt something akin to a rush of affection for her former friend, but she pushed it away immediately. She couldn't hate her, but she also knew that she couldn't afford to love her anymore.
"If you hurt Ezra at all -" Aria said fiercely, reminding herself again of what Spencer could – and would – do to get what she wanted.
"I'm not going to hurt him," Spencer assured her. "I promise."
Spencer's promises didn't mean much, but Aria knew it was the best she was going to get. She hung up after a quick 'see you soon', and headed for her car. She got to the playground five minutes later. It was mostly empty, aside from a small group of high school girls playing a casual game of field hockey using what looked like a bread roll as a ball. But across the road were several cafes, which all had people sitting outside them, and there was a steady flow of people across this side of the street. It was bright, in the open, and if Spencer tried something there would be about a dozen witnesses.
She sat down on the swing and gently pushed herself back and forth, wondering what she was going to say. What were you supposed to say to a friend who'd tried to kill you and who'd been trying to destroy your life for months? 'Good to see you, oh and by the way, want to see the scar you left when you pressed a knife against my neck'?
"Hey."
The voice jerked her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Spencer standing in front of her. She'd carefully left a couple of feet between them, like she was almost expecting Aria to attack her – which, to be fair, wasn't out of the question. For a long moment Aria considered calling the police, but then she reminded herself of all the reasons they'd agreed against doing so. At least Spencer had the decency to be wearing something other than a black hoodie.
"Hey," Aria replied, her eyes drifting down to the swing beside her.
Spencer took the hint and settled on it, and they let a few minutes pass by in silence. Aria was on edge; even though she knew Spencer probably wouldn't try anything here, she still didn't feel safe. She couldn't shake the memories of everything Spencer and her team had done, and she couldn't reconcile those with the tender, caring Spencer she'd thought she was friends with. She wasn't sure which Spencer she was talking to here: the one who'd held her as she cried over yet another lost love, or the one who'd held a knife to her throat and admitted to killing one of their best friends.
"Thanks for meeting me," Spencer said at last, looking at her shoes. She was wearing the same kind of clothes she would have worn before: pastel-coloured blouse, sensible black pants, low-heeled black shoes. Her hair was pulled back and slightly curled, making her look more feminine than usual. But there was also a sharpness about her, and Aria couldn't figure out if it was in her features or in her manner.
"Sure," Aria said. She didn't know what else to say. There were still so many questions, so many feelings, and she couldn't even begin to start picking through them. Instead she waited for Spencer to speak again.
"I really wasn't going to hurt Ezra. I just… I needed to get you here."
"Right." Aria glanced at her, but Spencer's gaze was locked on the ground. "Why did you need to talk to me?"
Spencer took a deep breath, then gave her a sideways look. "I don't suppose 'I'm sorry' would cover it?"
Aria considered this, finding that she was a lot more cynical than she used to be – and she had the girl sitting beside her to thank for that. "No," she said at last, feeling her heart break even as she said it. "Mostly because I know you wouldn't be telling the truth."
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Spencer looked down again, feeling a rush of an emotion that she couldn't give a name to – despite the fact that she'd once spent an entire night memorizing vocab lists full of words to describe emotions and feelings. She could think of a hundred different words, but none of them seemed just right. The best word she could come up with was 'twinge'. She felt a twinge, something unpleasant, and when she looked back up at Aria the twinge turned into a sort of squirming in her stomach. She needed to regain control of this situation, and fast.
"Can't say I don't deserve that," she said. "But if you don't trust me, why did you come here?"
Aria didn't respond right away, which made Spencer feel a little better. She'd said just enough to throw her, to shake her up a bit, and that gave her back her advantage. She watched as Aria slid her beaded bracelet up and down her arm, trying to come up with a reply.
"I guess I just… I've missed you," she said after a while, but she didn't raise her eyes.
It was Spencer's turn to be at a loss for words. She'd thought Aria had only shown up because she'd been convinced Spencer was going to hurt Ezra (which she probably would have, if she'd needed to). But here she was, admitting that she'd missed her. Aria may be a good liar, but she could also be painfully honest at times, and Spencer knew it was one of those times now. Her friend had missed her, even after all the horrors she'd put her through. She didn't give herself time to consider whether she'd missed her friend too; that kind of thinking was dangerous, and would only get in the way of her plan.
"I am sorry about everything," Spencer said tentatively. And in a way, she was. "I didn't mean for it to go as far as it did, and I wish it hadn't turned out the way it did."
Aria met her eyes again, an uncharacteristically cynical expression on her face. "You mean you wish you'd gotten away with it?"
"No," Spencer said quickly. "I mean… yeah, I guess. But -"
"Spencer, stop playing games." Aria's voice was sharp; it almost made Spencer flinch. "What do you want?"
"I don't…" Spencer looked down again, dragging the toe of her shoe through the dirt in an abstract pattern. "I don't know."
"If I ask you something, are you going to be honest?"
Spencer's eyes flicked upwards, but Aria wasn't looking at her. "I can try."
"Are you still on the A-Team?" It was phrased like a question, but it sounded more like an accusation.
There was no point denying it; Aria wouldn't buy it anyway. "Yeah."
A tense silence followed. Spencer tried to figure out what Aria was thinking. This whole situation was complicated, and even Spencer, with her 4.0 GPA, couldn't quite make sense of it. There was no reason for Aria to trust her, but that didn't mean that her feelings had vanished. She still cared for Spencer, although it went against all logic and reason. She was probably conflicted: on one hand, here was her old friend, maybe trying to reconnect; on the other, this same old friend was one who had almost gotten her arrested, who'd threatened to kill her, and who'd been tormenting her for months. If she was in her place, Spencer didn't know what she would do – and she didn't like to think about it. All she had to do was keep Aria distracted.
"So you're still after us," Aria said softly, beginning to push herself backwards and forwards on the swing.
Spencer nodded, hesitantly. If Aria reacted badly to this, she could storm off; and if she went straight back home, she could mess up Mona's plan. She needed to keep her here for long enough to make sure the plan went smoothly.
"You're the one who's been messaging me?" Aria surmised.
"Yeah, that was me. But -"
"No." Aria stopped swinging, suddenly seeming more confident. "I don't know why you brought me here, but I can't do this. I just can't. You were my friend, Spencer, and you tried to kill me. You killed Alison. God, even now you're working with Mona and Toby to bring us down. This is all – it's too complicated, okay?"
"Aria -" she began, but Aria was already jumping down from the swing and marching off.
She paused at the edge of the playground, turning back with a look that was equal parts confused and threatening. "If you go near Ezra again, I'll tell the police what you did."
She was gone before Spencer could reply, but that didn't matter much because Spencer couldn't think of anything to say anyway. She turned her attention to her cell, quickly dialling in an all-too-familiar number.
"What is it?" Mona asked without so much as a greeting.
"Aria's leaving," Spencer said, watching her retreating figure. Aria didn't look back as she turned down the street and disappeared from sight. "Do you need more time, or should I let her go?"
"Let her go," Mona replied. "You've done what you needed to do. I'll take care of the rest."
Although it felt a little like she was being shut out, Spencer tried not to let it get to her. Mona was still in charge, so of course she'd want to be the one to see the plan through to the end.
"Do you need me to do anything else?"
"No, that's all." Mona paused, and Spencer pictured her in the lair, casually doing something creepy like playing with the dolls or flicking through photos of the girls. "Although, if you want to go and check out the place Toby found for the last phase of the plan, you're welcome to. Take a look and let me know what you think."
It was a suggestion rather than an order, but it still rubbed Spencer the wrong way. "Fine. Give me the address again?"
Mona recited the address for her, and then hung up. Neither of them were big on goodbyes, which suited them both well. As Spencer headed for her car she called another number.
"Hey Spence," Toby said, sounding slightly distracted.
"Hi Toby." The sound of his voice calmed her slightly, although she was still inexplicably frazzled from her meeting with Aria. "I'm going to go and check out that place you found. Do you want to come with?"
Toby exhaled sharply. "I can't."
"Oh." She wanted to ask him why he couldn't, but she had a feeling he wouldn't answer anyway. "That's okay. I'll just… I'll see you later, yeah?"
"Of course," Toby said. "Have fun."
And then, for the first time in months, he hung up without saying goodbye. Spencer stared at the screen, unsure how to interpret it, and knowing it shouldn't be bothering her this much. First Mona, now Toby. Was everybody shutting her out? It seemed like the only person who actually wanted to talk to her was Aria, which made no sense given their history.
She pulled up outside the right address. It was a cabin, a little off the beaten path but not too difficult to find. She knew she should go in and have a look around, make sure it was suitable for the plan, but something held her in place. She unclipped her seatbelt and looked around, at the lake in the distance, the overgrown weeds spilling onto the path, the skeletal trees swaying in the breeze.
And then, to her utter surprise, she started to cry. She was brimming with some unidentifiable emotion, and tears were the only way to release the feelings she couldn't even begin to name. They flowed freely down her cheeks, and she made no effort to wipe them away. She didn't even try to figure out what she was feeling. She just sat in the car until the tears ran dry and her heart felt empty.
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Thoughts, theories? What's Mona's plan? What's Spencer thinking? What's Aria going to do? What's Toby up to?
You know I love hearing from you guys, so hit me up with your hypothesis and comments.
See you tomorrow! :)