To my Spanish speaking reader: Gracias por su sugerencia. Estaba pensando lo mismo :) Gracias por su apoyo, mi amor.
To everyone else: Welcome to Prom night…. I've split this into three continuous chapters.
I. Prom Night
II. Slow Dances & Reminiscing
III. Last Goodbyes
I was originally going to put this all in one chapter but then I don't think you guys wanted 16k words in one chapter soooo I did you guys the favor in splitting it into three chapters. These long awaited chapters are quite lengthy so I suggest that you find a quiet area, get your snacks, drinks, relax…and get ready to read.
"BUT 16K WORDS?! WHY...WHY THE HELL IS IT THAT LONG?!"
Read on and you shall see why :)
CHAPTER #14: I. Prom Night
Italics means thoughts, emphasized word or action. Bolded is a flashback. (….) is an indication that time has passed.
Veronica Hastings pulls out a saran-wrapped tray of cooked goods she had sitting on the top shelf of the fridge, passing it off to Ashley.
"Wow," She chuckles to herself as she sets down the tray with the other plates of finger foods on Veronica's kitchen island, "Is that all seafood? That looks delicious."
"Do you want me to run it out to the girls?" Ella points towards Veronica's backyard.
"Oh, God, no." Mrs. Hastings makes a long face, "This is for us. They're having nachos."
Ella and Ashley laugh to themselves seeing that the moms will be eating fresh and delicious food while the girls are stuck with the likes of chips, "Did Spencer give you a hard time about having us here?" Ella asks Veronica as she grabs the wine glasses, "I know Aria was not thrilled that I was gonna be 30 feet from her prom."
Veronica cocks her head slightly to one side, bringing her eyebrows together, "You were closer to her when you were her English teacher."
Ella ponders then points her finger in agreement right when a low rumble drifts into the kitchen making all the women stop in their tracks. Ella lifts her head up to hear the noise before she sets her sights back on Veronica, "What was that? Was that thunder or music?"
"That….was probably Hanna parking…." Ashley quietly responds in embarrassment through her forced smile at Ella. Before the moms could comment on that possible revelation, Pam walks quickly into the kitchen with a plate of food brought from home.
"Sorry. I wasn't expecting to know both the cops out front." She apologizes as she sets her plate down with the other plates of food.
"Did that get us any insider info? Are they closer to finding him?" Ella asks with a glint of hopefulness.
Pam lets out a sad sigh, "I'm afraid that would take more than a pecan sandie. Besides, these aren't high-ranking officers so they wouldn't know anything."
"Well," Ashley rises up, "as long as they stay awake for the next three hours I am just grateful they're out there."
Everyone nods in accord as Veronica pops open her wine bottle and sway it in front of her like a hand model, "Would anyone like a glass of Cabernet?"
"Uhm, I don't think so."
"Not tonight."
"No, I'll-I'll pass." The mothers politely turn down the offer.
"Well," Veronica smiles to herself with lowered eyes, "I'm not driving." She gives a smug look to the other women before she pours herself a glass.
Ella scrunches up her face in resisting temptation as she watches Veronica pour the bottle from high into her glass. She tries to hold herself until her mouth moves before her brain could stop her. "You know, since it's open..."
"I'll have one." Ashley finishes Ella sentence with a wave of her hand.
"…Me too." Pam joins into the guilty pleasure as she flashes a tight, closed-lipped smile.
Veronica's face lights up with glee as she pours three more glasses of wine for her little party of four.
…
As everyone stand in front of Melissa's fireplace taking group pictures, Emily every so often glances over by the door, waiting to see Alison walk through at any given moment. She knows that she didn't drive her point home as much as she wanted to but she really hopes that Alison comes around and spends the last coming days with her friends that's been through it all since the beginning with her. However, with every picture snap and every clock tick, the hopes are slowly let down with no sign of Alison anywhere.
"Where is Alison," Hanna speaks up as if she was just in Emily's thought process, "She should have been here by now."
"She's probably on her way." Aria responds as she looks over at the gallery of pictures on her phone, "If we know Ali, she's still going to take the opportunity to make a certified DiLaurentis entrance." She mocks as she gives a formal bow down.
With Ezra looking over at his camera, Toby on a stepping stool to hang up a small disco ball, and Caleb managing over the drinks and snacks, Aria walks over to Ezra to see how his camera is coming out with pictures.
"Uh-actually it's alright, it could of have been better." He tests his shots with putting the camera to his face and taking a snapshot of Hanna and Emily talking. He brings the camera back down and looks at his results, "I knew I should have brought my other lenses."
Confused, Aria peeks over at his camera screen, "The picture looks fine to me." She looks up at Ezra, "What's wrong with it?"
"Well, for starters look at the proportions of everything," Ezra points to the screen, "I brought a couple of lenses in my bag but forgot that I took some out and didn't put them back. Look how this makes everyone look with the wide angle I got. It might not matter but I want to be able to fix this up and send it to everyone after tonight's over." Aria takes the camera out of Ezra's hand and inspects the pictures he takes more closely to see what he's getting at. "Look at the quality of the glass, the maximum size of the aperture, and all the other characteristics." Ezra continues explaining.
"Ok…" Aria confirms with him, "If you have to run out and go grab it, then do it quick please."
"It's not like I'm going to miss anything." Ezra teases which causes him to get a slap on the arm.
"Where are you going?" Caleb butts into the conversation as he puts his hand on Ezra's shoulder.
"Just to get different lenses," Ezra lifts up his camera, "I'll be back, it shouldn't take long."
"Oh, let me come with you. We could use some drinks."
"But…we…have drinks already?" Aria responds with a confused look as she glances behind her with the drinks and snacks.
"I mean drinks. What's prom without someone spiking the punch, right?" Caleb laughs as pats Ezra on the back. Both Aria and Ezra look at Caleb with non-understanding gazes. "C'mon, guys. Look at where we're at. We owe it to ourselves to be able to let loose a bit."
"I mean…" Aria tilts her head from side to side as she debates the idea with a small smile starting to appear at the creases, "You're not wrong."
"But I don't think it's a good idea…" Ezra grimaces as he looks in-between Caleb and Aria scheming.
"You can't get in trouble if you didn't know." Aria persuades attempts to persuade him, "It is prom, after all." Seeing that he's quickly losing the battle between the eager teens, Ezra eventually nods his head causing the two to quietly clap in victory.
"Drinks it is." Caleb grins with squinted eyes of joy before he turns to Ezra, "When are you leaving?"
"Right now, actually." Ezra pats his left pocket to hear the jiggle of his keys, "Let me just set this down and we should be ready to go." He walks off with Aria following after him when Toby walks by.
"Hey," Caleb stops him, "Ezra and I are heading out to get his camera lens and to pick up a few drinks. Want to come join?"
"But…" Toby looks back apprehensively, "who's going to watch over the girls while they're in here?"
"We're coming right back. Besides, their moms are keeping an eye out. Everything will be fine." Caleb uses his attempt to persuade Toby this time. Seeing the Caleb is right and he doesn't have much to worry about, he does want to be able to give this prom some kind of life even if it means getting alcohol in everybody's system so they can all sit down, tell jokes and laugh. Toby nods in full agreement.
"Yeah, I'm in."
…
As the boyfriend crew explains to the girls the reason for their quick departure, Caleb and Toby wait on Ezra's mark since he's the one driving and ultimately the one who is buying the alcohol.
-Concurrently-
Walking the close distance between her house and Spencer's, Ali hikes up her dress as she walks from the side of the Hasting's house to the back. Hearing the music faintly bumping in the background, Alison knows it's most likely that everyone is already there and that she can't just discreetly hold up a wall. In the same thought, Alison wants everyone to stop and stare. To see her in her final prom form, even if only a handful of people are going to see it. Finally making it to the back of the house, a flash of lightning lights up the sky just as she looks towards the back windows of the house. She sees Emily's mother leaning against the window, looking out into the distance just when Alison comes into sight. Alison gives a friendly smile and a wave to Pam who then returns the gesture with a sympathetic face.
…
"Alright, girls. We're heading out and should be back in 10 mins. 15 tops." Ezra announces to everyone just as Caleb leans against the door. As soon as he puts his hand on the doorknob to leave, Alison and her long golden ball gown emerges from the other side of the door to make everyone stop and stare. Just as she had predicted.
Everyone collectively make compliments seeing Alison dolled up in her prom attire, however, one person in-particular stands her position with her eyes widen, drifting down every sequin, every design, every accessory in pure amazement. Taking the opportunity to talk to Alison alone with the girls saying their goodbyes to their boyfriends, Emily walks up to Alison standing by the snack and drinks table.
"Alison…You look," Emily's approaches the blonde with her eyes still set on her dress, "you look gorgeous."
Alison turns to the side and takes in Emily's prom outfit choice, a long and fitting black and grey formal gown worn with a black crown and long black earrings to match. "Thank you," Alison's eyes meet Emily's with a small polite smile, "You look nice as well."
Emily smiles back as she bows her head down before she looks back up, "Thank you for coming, honestly. This really means a lot to me."
Alison pauses as she subtly tilts her head to the side, "I didn't come to this for you, Emily." Alison shakes her head, "I came for me. For my friends. That's it."
"Oh…" Emily lowers her voice with her mouth hung open, forgotten and hurt by Alison's words. She willed her eyes to look into her face even though they strained to turn away with a forced, strained smile. "Well, that's good. Always put yourself first. That's….that's good. Good for you." Emily awkwardly fumbles out with the blonde's verbal blindside. "I'm glad you came anyway so…I hope you enjoy yourself." With no place to run in the small living room of the barn house, Emily bows her head and looks at her phone, walking over towards Hanna to leave the embarrassment moment shared with Alison.
…
Sitting outside on the back stoop with the nice, warm breeze of the night, all four mothers gaze at the barn house playing loud music while their daughters try to celebrate what should have been the best night of their lives. Ashley, instead, looks at Veronica, trying to find the words to beginning talking.
"Veronica, I'm sorry." Ashley shakes her head, "We shouldn't have made you tell that story about Peter and Jessica."
"Believe me, it was easier telling it than living it." Veronica responds back with a nonchalant attitude.
"Amen." Ella speaks up as she looks up at the dark skies, "Been there, done that." Hearing what she said with the alcohol starting to get to her a little bit, Ella turns to face the other mothers, "I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?"
"What's worse is I can't even spend time out here anymore without being reminded of that woman." Ella and Ashley synchronize in a head turn as they look at Veronica with furrowed brows and eyes as question marks, "That's where the dog dug her up." Veronica points to the uneven patch of grass covered by scattered leaves.
Pam takes in an uneasy breath as she cringes, bringing the wine glass to her lips, "I completely forgot."
"Well..." Veronica breathes in heavily with her eyes fixed on Jessica DiLaurentis burial spot in her yard, "some of us can't." With a strike of lightning in the distance followed by a rumble of thunder, Veronica and her wine glass rise to her feet and walks back inside of her house through the back door, leaving the others with sorrow-stricken faces.
"Should we check on the girls?" Pam asks as her eyes drift back to the barn house.
Ashley looks back towards the house behind her with a worried expression, "I think we should check on our host. The girls are fine." Following Ashley's lead, the remaining two get up and walk back inside to console Veronica as she begins to finish her wine at a faster rate than any of them.
"Veronica, maybe you should eat something." Pam suggests out of concern.
"This is a beautiful tray." Ashley chimes in as she taps the tray of untouched finger food. "I love it."
Veronica takes the remaining of the Cabernet bottle and pours what's left in her glass before she starts laughing to herself, "It wasn't bad enough that this bitch tried to steal my husband but her sicko son had to bury her in our backyard!"
The mothers sit at the kitchen island uncomfortable with Ashley trying to derail the conversation as she taps the plate tray, "Is it crystal?" She asks with Ella turning her drunken face towards her with pouched lips.
"J-just…ten feet away from my lilacs." Veronica angrily recalls as she nizzles her lips around the wine glass, taking a gulp of the red wine.
"Maybe we should put on some music." Ashley smiles with another attempt to sway the inevitable, looking at Ella for co-agreement who all she does is nod her head with her eyes drifting back to her drink.
"This deranged freak tried to frame my entire family."
"Maybe it wasn't Charles…" Pam lowly whispers loud enough for all eyes to be shifted on her, "I mean, I know that he put our daughters through hell but I'm just saying that maybe we can't pin all of this on him."
Ashley eyes narrow at Pam, not understanding her train of thought, "You can't possibly be defending-"
"No, no, not at all," Pam quickly recovers to defend herself with a slight slur in her speech, "I'm just-I'm just saying that….maybe somebody else buried Jessica out there."
"Like who?" Veronica rolls her eyes in Pam's direction.
"Like her husband." Pam looks up at Veronica standing next to her, "I mean, from what I've heard it could be revenge. For all the years she kept this kid a secret."
"Maybe he wanted Peter to discover the body." Ashley regretful adds in as she plays with her wine glass, Ella staring at her with an intent glossy gaze.
"Maybe...we should ask him." Veronica smiles as she sets her glass down.
Pam's eyebrows raise in curiosity, "Who?"
"Kenneth." Veronica enunciates his name as she leans over to Pam a little too close. Her eyes drift over to her car keys in the middle of her island. Ella, who notice Veronica's move before she makes it, tries to grab the car keys but Veronica snatches it leaving Ella to grabs a napkin instead.
"Where are you going?" Ella asks.
"To get an answer." Veronica respond indefinitely before she begins to walk out of her kitchen. Ella jumps out of her chair and jogs, what she believes to be running, towards the front door to stop Veronica.
"What? Wait." Ashley perks up, "No, you can't do that."
"Oh, watch me." Veronica's voice ruminates as she leaves the other two mothers dumbfounded.
Ashley gasps in realization how serious Veronica is and leaves after her, leaving Pam to anxiously gulp a mouthful of wine before she darts out of the kitchen after everyone else.
…
"I feel like we are on Fashion Police right now." Hanna comments aloud as she scrolls though her Instagram feed with the rest of her friends sitting on the couch.
"Well let me be the first to nominate Bridget Woo as worst dressed." Emily laughs as she comes across Bridget's post, "And check this out." She extends her hand as she shows the rest of the girls her phone, "She's 85% tequila and her dress is on backwards." Everyone collectively laughs and makes their own comments at the picture when Emily's eyes find Alison's. Emily's smile begins to fade when Alison looks at her with a lingering face pinched in concentration. Emily scratches the back of her ear as she brings the phone back into her, her eyes drifting back down at the screen.
"Hey," Spencer taps her phone repeatedly, "Did you guys drop your internet connection? I can't refresh my page."
"Just turn the Wi-Fi off and on again," Hanna responds as she looks over Spencer's phone, "My phone does that sometimes."
"Woah." Aria's eyes squint at her phone, "I have no bars nor any internet."
At the same time, everyone looks at the top of their phone to see all their connections and signals turned off, rendering their phones completely useless. Before anyone can comment, the power in the barn begins to flicker before they dim and shut entirely off, leaving the girls in completely darkness.
"Nononononononono!" Aria cries out as she immediately holds onto the person closest to her on her right with her earlier fear coming to the surface as her head spins in both directions frantically.
"It's okay, Aria." Spencer tries to soothe the smaller brunette in distress, "It's probably the fuse box. The storm probably knocked it out. The backup generator should be turning on any moment now."
Silence.
"Ok, can you hurry the hell up and turn it back on manually? This is freaking me out." Hanna hastily retorts as her heart begins to beat uncontrollably fast.
"Ok, I'm on it." Spencer replies.
Silence.
"Aria?"
"Yes?"
"Can you let go of my arm?"
"Oh, right. Sorry." Aria releases Spencer out of her hawk grasp, "I just don't like dark places."
Before Spencer has the opportunity to stand up, the lights flicker back on, illuminating the whole barn once again.
"And there goes the generator." Spencer looks up at the lights from the ceiling, "Doing what it's supposed to do."
The girls let out a silent sigh of relief as the music begins playing again and everything goes back to normal. Hanna looks back at her phone to see the status of her connection didn't change.
"Dammit. The storm must have knocked out our connection too." She sighs as she drops her phone in her lap, "How am I supposed to judge everyone now?"
"Wait," Emily has a sudden epiphany, I think if we turn one of our phones into a hotspot, we can feed off each other's phones for signals or something." Trying the suggestion from the brunette, everyone goes into their settings and tries to tinker with their phone, seeing what they can come up with. Sitting at the edge, Alison looks up from her phone briefly. As everyone is focused on one thing, she feels an eerie feeling. A feeling that she's not sure if it's just a sudden breeze of air or her extra senses trying to tell her something. Deciding to take a brief look over her shoulder, Alison looks towards the door and sees nothing. She checks in the opposite direction as a sweep and sees a figure standing in the corner of the room next to the food and drinks table. Wearing a black men's coat with a large hood and besom pockets, Alison stops in instant terror. Her voice means to warn the girls but her brain takes the reaction sense of freeze as all she could do is widen her eyes. The worst nightmare she has, and has been having since this whole ordeal, is seeing a figure and not being about to move or scream.
Her worst nightmare is now her reality.
"You have unlimited data right, Ali?" Hanna asks with her eyes still glued to her phone screen. Hearing silence as a response within the span of three seconds, Hanna lifts her head up to look at the blonde, "Alison."
Fully ignoring Hanna question, everyone diverts from their phone to Alison, wondering why she's not answering. As inquiring as Aria became, she follows Alison's gaze slowly towards the corner of the room behind them to the find figure who held her silent.
"Shit!" Aria exclaims as she jumps to her feet in complete horror. Immediately shooting a look over their shoulders, the remaining three girls shoot out of the couch in response of seeing their not-so friendly invitee.
"What the hell do you want?!" Hanna shouts at the hooded figure.
"Who the fuck are you?!" Emily spits out with more rage than nervousness.
"And how the hell did you get in here?!" Spencer matches Emily's approach with her voice demanding and eyes filled with fire.
Not answering any of the girls' questions, Charles bows his head down at the direction of the table filled with bowls of snacks and drinks. Seemingly intrigued, he extends his black gloves into one of the bowls and picks up a single nacho before he dips the chip into the hot and melted cheese. The five girls stare in confusion yet dread as Charles lifts the chip into the shadow of his hood and lets out a satisfying crunch.
"Fuck this. I'm getting the hell out of here!" Hanna comments aloud as she scrams to the door. With no questions or hesitations, the other girls quickly follow behind not wanting to be left in close perimeters with their torturer. Expecting to be able to swing the door open, Hanna comes to a roadblock. "Wha-" Hanna jiggles the door handle to only find her fear coming to light. "HOW ARE WE LOCKED IN FROM THE INSIDE WHEN THE LOCK IS ON THE OUTSIDE, SPENCER?!"
As the girls frantically change their eye direction from the door to Charles, Spencer rushes to the front and desperately shakes the door handle only to prove Hanna right.
The door is locked.
Leaving all five girls together with Charles.
"HEEEEEEELP!" Spencer begins banging on the door in hopes of their parents hearing their distress.
"SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!"
"MOM! MOM HELP US, PLEASE!"
As Aria and Hanna join in Spencer's attempt of getting someone's attention from the outside, Alison turns to the unmoved Charles with bewilderment, "Why are you doing this?!" Feeling a sense of boldness, Alison takes a step in Charles direction before Emily grabs her arm to stop her from moving any farther.
"Alison, what are you doing?!"
"There is five of us and one of him. I'm tired of being scared of a shadow." Alison looks at Emily before going back to Charles, "Especially when that shadow is my brother." The pleas for help stop when Alison takes command within the dire situation. With Emily letting of Alison arm, the blonde turn back around towards the figure. "Why are you so hung up on torturing us? On torturing me? If you would just talk to me, Charles. We're…." Alison takes another slow step in his direction, "We're family." Seeing that her words seemed to resonate with Charles, he turns his body in the direction of the girls. The remaining four silently gasp as they notice that Alison is actually getting through to him. Although his face is still hidden in the large hood, they mentally encourage Alison to keep going. "I don't know what happened to you back then but you're still my family," Alison pushes on. Charles ever so slowly begins to walks towards the girls as the four step backwards with every step Charles proceeds with, leaving Alison standing her ground unmoved. "And that's what family does. They talk to each other." Alison stands face to face with Charles who holds his head with a slight bow to stop any light to reveal his identity. Spencer, Aria, and Hanna hold their breath while Emily stands on her defenses, ready to lunge if Charles tries anything to Alison. Alison breathes out, internally shaking but externally strong, not wanting to scare Charles off since she's this close to him, "No matter how bad things get…we talk to each other. Talk to me, Charles."
Charles pulls back his hood with a lift of his head, meeting his gaze with Alison's for the first time unveiled, "Don't be so dramatic, Ali." He scoffs out with a roll of his eyes, "Any more theatrical, I would have thought we were on a soap opera."
The girls' face drops with a shudder that makes every goosebumps and hair rise as the four girls stagger backwards over each other with their mouths extended downwards as far as the human jaw could allow. Their eyes widen in the wild mixture of confusion, devastation, anger, and betrayal as they witness their torturer before them unmasked.
Charles.