A/N~ Prepare to hate Ali a lot more, guys.

"Leave her alone, Alison." I snapped.

"Who asked you, Hastings?" Alison scoffed. I took half a step towards the bitch, but Aria's grip on my hand tightened. I glanced at her questioningly, and she shook her head pleadingly. I stood next to Aria again. "Whipped." Alison smirked. I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath, forcing a smile onto my face.

"What is it Ali?" Aria asked, clearly wanting to get the conversation over with.

"Shall we start with why you fucked the English Lit teacher?" Alison simpered. God, I wanted to punch her. Aria held me tighter.

"I didn't have a choice, Ali." Aria told her.

"Sure you didn't…" Alison pretended to agree. "And now you're saying he raped you? God, you're pathetic," Alison spat. "You were asking for it." She hissed.

"That's not true." Aria said firmly.

"Oh, Ezra." Alison moaned in a breathy imitation of Aria. "I love you so much. Please fuck me."

"Just one swing to wipe that smirk off her face." I whispered in Aria's ear. She shook her head, tears beginning to well in her eyes.

"I'll do anything to get an A." Alison laughed. "Oh, did he make you call him sir? Fuck me, Mr Fitz." She cackled.

"One little swing." I pleaded.

"Probably begging to be fucked." She mocked. "And now you're saying it was all him? You're a dirty little liar, Miss Montgomery."

"I'm not." Aria whispered.

"You are. What happened? Realised you were gay for Hastings here and wanted to run off into the sunset with her? You've destroyed a man's career, all so you can run off with that whore." Alison finished, glaring at me. Aria's grip on my hand remained surprisingly strong.

"Spencer's not a whore, Ali, so don't refer to her as one." Aria said through clenched teeth. I forced myself to calm down so I could squeeze her hand reassuringly, and saw her become less tense.

"Really… And how many people's boyfriends have you stolen? You sister counts as two, because… Well, you know why. And wasn't Toby with someone before you wrecked that and picked up the pieces. The pieces you wanted, anyway." The bitch mocked, her smirk stretching from ear to ear. "And now you've screwed up Aria and Ezra. Amy other couples you'd like to ruin? Emily's parents are out of town."

"There's more to it than that." I told her.

"I'm sure there was. Just like there was more to Aria and Ezra." Alison laughed cruelly. "When do you two plan to stop lying? Honestly." Alison scoffed.

"Shut it, DiLaurentis." I growled.

"Make me, Hastings." Alison spat. I felt, rather than saw Aria's wince.

"Fine." I responded, my free hand lashing out suddenly and swiftly, slapping Alison across the face. The skin on her cheek immediately began to redden. She stood, stunned and I grinned, both at the shocked look on her face and at the sense of triumph that accompanied it. "I won, DiLaurentis."

"Did you?" Alison asked, nodding to the space next to me.

"Aria?" I asked. There was no response. Alison smirked. "Where did Aria go?" I asked the first person to pass us. He pointed towards the janitor's closet and carried on walking. "Aria?" I heard a whimper from behind the door, and pulled the handle gently. "Aria?" I asked, peering into the gloom of the closet. I took a few steps in and I heard a whimper behind me. I looked at the corner I had passed and saw her crouched there. "Aria." She looked truly terrified. Alison, a voice in the back of my mind whispered. She did this. I knelt in front of her and reached out to touch her. She shrank away from me and her eyelids slammed shut. Tears began to fall from behind her closed lids. "Aria?" I repeated. "Aria? What is it?" She looked at me fearfully. It wasn't Alison. It was me. I did this. "Aria, please talk to me."

"You… you… h-hit her." Aria whimpered.

"Alison?" I frowned. Aria nodded. "Aria… she was sort of…"

"Asking for it. I know." Aria continued. "But…"

"But what?" I prompted.

"But… look, this is stupid. Let's just go to class and-"

"But what?" I repeated.

She took a deep, shuddering breath before she continued. "When you did… that you reminded me of…" She froze and bit her lip, unable to continue.

"Him? I reminded you of him?" I frowned. She nodded, words clearly failing her. "He used to… so when I hit her, it reminded you of…"

She nodded. "Please don't say it."

"I'm so sorry, Ar. I swear to you, I'll never lose control like that again. I'm really sorry. You were trying so hard to stop me. I should have listened. But I promise you that I will try my hardest to never lose control near you, or lash out at anyone again." I swore. She gave me a watery smile, her eyes drying. I opened my arms and she leaned into me. "I'm sorry, Ar." I whispered, kissing the crown of her head.

"It's okay. I'm sorry for overreacting." Aria muttered, pulling back far enough to wipe at her eyes.

"Don't apologize. If anyone's overreacting, it's probably me." I sighed. "I shouldn't have hit her. I didn't think. You probably had the right idea, trying to speak to her."

"It's okay." Aria insisted. "If it helps, I sometimes want to slap Ali, too."

I smiled, and slowly stood up. I extended an arm and pulled Aria up. "Um, Aria… you might want to…" I gestured to the bottom of the dress I had lent her. When did I get so awkward? She blushed and pulled the skirt down, smoothing it over herself.

"Crap." She muttered. "Do you have anything that could hold it?" She asked.

"No. Sorry."

"Shit." She cursed. "It's fine. I just… won't curl into a foetal position in the middle of class." She finished, bowing her head. "I must have looked so dumb." Aria muttered, her cheeks red beneath the curtain of thick brown hair.

"No. Not at all." I assured her. "The most embarrassing thing it did was remind me how tiny you are." I teased lightly.

"Shut up." She murmured. I reached out slowly and gently brushed her hair behind her ear. The bell rang.

"Okay. You ready?" I asked for the umpteenth time. "Cause I think we could get the day off."

"I'm ready. Definitely. But I need you to trust my judgement because I'm trying my hardest to get through the day and while I appreciate that you're trying to make me feel as comfortable as possible and reminding me that it's perfectly fine to be overwhelmed sometimes, I need you to stop saying that because I have to do this and the more you suggest going home the more I doubt myself. Okay?"

"Okay. I'm sorry, Ar. I won't do it again." I apologized immediately.

"Don't be sorry. I know you're just reassuring me. Just… tone it down, okay? Please?"

"Of course." I said immediately, feeling like a jerk.

"Thank you." She breathed, hugging me quickly before pulling away.

"No problem." I muttered, looking down.

"Hey, look at me." She urged. I did. "I really appreciate it, but if you treat me like I'm made of porcelain I might start to believe it. And I can't be porcelain. I have to be unbreakable. Like… titanium or something."

"Platinum is the strongest metal known to man." I intoned automatically.

"Then platinum." She decided. "Platinum works."

"Okay. If that's how you're coping, then I won't do that again. I won't mess with it. But you don't have to be strong all the time, Ar."