Thanks for the support, you guys. I really appreciate it. Now onto the chapter. Cue awkwardness in 3...2...1...
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"Yeah, I'm listening," Spencer said, although she wasn't. Her gaze was drifting around the library, alighting every now and then on a book cover or another student before flickering back to the group in front of her. Mona was leading the debate meeting, and she was running them through the next competition they were going to enter. This meeting seemed to have less to do with the actual debating than it did with Mona's organizational skills, because they hadn't even been given the topic yet and the entire meeting consisted of Mona showing off her color-coded folders and alphabetized notes on just about everything.
Andrew, who had been the one to ask (under his breath, so as not to catch the attention of Mona, who was walking them through a game of chess which was somehow meant to represent the process of debating), tilted his head slightly like he didn't believe her, but he didn't push it.
Spencer focused her attention back on Mona, but she couldn't follow her train of thought. She didn't know if this was because she'd missed the start of the metaphor or simply because Mona's train of thought ran on such a zigzagging track that it eventually lost everyone, and she didn't think it really mattered. She watched quietly as Mona moved a couple of pawns so that they were surrounding a queen, and then she triumphantly shoved all of the pieces off the board and beamed at the rest of the team.
Her demonstration was met by silence. Spencer looked at Andrew, who was just as lost as she was, and that made her feel better about tuning out of the first half of the meeting. If Andrew, who never missed (or forgot) a word anyone said, couldn't keep up, then she'd had no chance even if she hadn't been distracted by other thoughts.
These other thoughts, strangely enough, were a debate – and one that was much more important than the upcoming competition.
Hanna knew; Hanna had told her to talk to Aria. Spencer would never listen to any school-related advice Hanna would give her ("I swear, you can just copy the whole paragraph and the teacher will never know; it's so much easier!") and rarely even listened to fashion advice, she had to admit that the other girl knew what she was doing when it came to relationships. Could it really be as simple as just talking to Aria about it?
Coming clean did have its advantages. She could finally shake off the weight of keeping a secret, and she wouldn't have to worry about accidentally giving herself away. There were, however, numerous downsides. There was the possibility of making Aria uncomfortable, to the extent that the other girl might not even want to be friends with her. Assuming that her feelings weren't returned – and she was working on that assumption, just to be safe – then at best she would make a fool of herself, and at worst she could lost her best friend. The only reason she was even considering going down this route was the miniscule chance that Aria might not be horrified and embarrassed, and might even feel the same.
She didn't let her mind wander too far down that path, but she imagined that (very unlikely) scenario would involve days spent curled up on the couch reading in companionable silence, nights spent attempting to cook for each other, sneaking glances during class and sneaking kisses in between. It was definitely an appealing prospect, but the chances of it happening were so slim that she could hardly even let herself consider it.
"… tomorrow, same place, same time, so we can discuss this further," Mona was saying, and then she started clearing away the chessboard, tucking the pieces into a small leather bag that she then rested inside the board as she closed it up.
Spencer blinked, realizing they'd been dismissed. She chatted with Andrew as they made their way out of the room, and Spencer found herself wondering why she ever thought it had been a good idea to join the debate team in the first place. It was to make her look good, she remembered. Her parents had told her it was a way for her to develop skills and character, but what they really meant was that it would look good on a college application. So that, like everything else in her life, had been tailored toward the goal of getting into college and becoming successful and not besmirching the Hastings name like her sister was so convinced she was going to do.
But just once, she wanted to do something just for her, something that she wanted rather than needed to do, and maybe this was her chance to do it.
A bubble of courage rose up in her as she broke off from Andrew and entered the cafeteria, her eyes already scanning it for signs of her friends. She could tell Aria. She could. She could just walk right up to her and say "I like you" and let the scene play out from there. Or she could ask to talk to her privately, and they could go stand against one of the walls and have a whispered conversation that nobody would overhear and that they could pretend have never happened, if they needed to.
The bubble burst as she caught sight of Aria sitting over with Emily and Paige. They seemed deep in conversation, but all of them were smiling, and Aria was even waving her arms around like she was telling a story. Spencer turned away from them, slightly relieved to have an excuse not to talk to her – she didn't want to intrude. So she went and found a seat by herself out in the courtyard, and to her surprise somebody came and sat near her a couple of minutes later.
"Never again," Hanna vowed, unwrapping a chocolate chip muffin and biting into it.
Spencer watched in amusement as chocolate chips sprinkled down onto Hanna's plate. "What happened?"
"Spanish is what happened," Hanna grumbled, swallowing. "Just because I didn't turn in one homework assignment, I had to stay back and do it after class."
"One homework assignment?" Spencer said dubiously.
Hanna glared at her, and then sighed, picking some chocolate out of her muffin and gathering it into a pile on her plate. "Okay, more like five. But it's still not fair."
Spencer just shook her head, well used to Hanna's ranting by now. She found her gaze drifting over to Aria every once in a while, and it wasn't until Hanna pointedly cleared her throat that Spencer realized she hadn't been as subtle as she'd intended.
She opened her mouth to make an excuse, but Hanna just gave her a sympathetic smile.
"You should talk to her," Hanna said, now picking chocolate chips off the pile and popping them into her mouth one by one. "She deserves to know."
"What if she doesn't feel the same?" Spencer asked, not even trying to deny that she'd been watching Aria.
Hanna nearly choked on the chocolate. "What do you mean, if she doesn't feel the same? Wouldn't that make it easier?"
Spencer frowned, coming to the slow realization that they must have misunderstood each other. "Hanna. What do you think is going on here?"
Hanna wiped a smear of chocolate from the corner of her lip and furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought you had a crush on Ezra."
For a long moment there was silence, and then Spencer burst out laughing. God, how could she not have seen it? Hanna didn't know; she'd come to the wrong conclusion; she'd thought Spencer was interested in their teacher. The idea was so ludicrous that Spencer laughed until Hanna slapped her lightly on the arm, and then she sobered up.
"What's so funny?" Hanna pouted.
"S-sorry," Spencer said, wiping a tear of laughter from her eyes. "I just… I don't have a crush on Ezra, Hanna. He's not really my type."
"Then why -" Hanna started, and cut herself off as her eyes darted between Spencer and Aria. Her eyes widened as the realization hit. "Oh."
"Yeah," Spencer said, knowing that this time they were understanding each other.
"You and… You like…" Hanna's words just trailed off as she tried to come to terms with this, and Spencer let her mull it over. Finally Hanna finished her pile of chocolate chips, shot one last look at Aria, and then grinned. "I have an idea."
Spencer narrowed her eyes. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like it?"
"Because you won't," Hanna said unabashedly. "But I think it will help."
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Yah-huh. Hanna's plan's sure to be helpful, right? Any guesses as to where this is going to end up? Hope to see you in the reviews!