As always, thanks for the reviews; you guys are great. Which makes what I'm about to say harder. A couple of you mentioned the idea of stopping this story when Sparia gets together, and picking up with a sequel. I can deliver half of that - this story will stop when Sparia actually gets together. However, there will not be a sequel. I'm really sorry, but I just can't do it. This was way out of my comfort zone anyway, because it's all light and fluffy and definitely not my usual area; and it's proven a lot harder than I expected. So unless you want a sequel where everyone dies horribly, I'm afraid you're out of luck. I hope y'all understand. I wrote this because it was a prompt (from someone who appears to have stopped reading anyway) and because I wanted to see if I *could* write fluff - and the answer is a resounding no. So we've got a few more chapters, and then Fearless will come to an end, and that will be it. Sorry again.

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In all the time Aria had been keeping this secret, it had never occurred to her that one of the other girls might be keeping something too. Could it be possible that Hanna was in a similar situation? But that didn't make sense, because last Aria had heard, Hanna was dating Lucas - and what's more, she seemed very content with that. Which meant that it made very little sense to run into Hanna in a place like this.

"You okay?" Vanessa asked, reappearing at Aria's side.

She jumped slightly, so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't heard the other girl approach – not that she would have anyway, because the music was still so loud it was actually starting to make Aria's head hurt. The appeal of the bar was wearing off, and even with her new friends here, she couldn't help but think that she might be better off just leaving now. Still, part of her – the curious part that more often than not got her into trouble – wanted to find Hanna and talk to her. She'd lost sight of the blonde, but she would probably be able to find her easily enough.

Of course she wasn't sure she did want to find her, because then she would have to explain her own presence here. And she didn't think that I'm secretly in love with one of our best friends would be the kind of explanation that wouldn't need elaborating, and god, she did not want to talk about it now.

"I'm fine," she said to Vanessa now, but still letting her gaze sweep across the room in case she caught sight of her friend. "I just thought I saw someone I knew."

"That girl of yours?" Vanessa asked, a smile playing around her mouth.

Aria shook her head quickly. "No. She would never be caught dead in a place like this."

Giving up on her search, Aria turned to Vanessa. She was about to apologize and say that she needed to leave, but then she caught sight of another familiar person – and this one was expected.

"Finally," Aria muttered under her breath. In answer to Vanessa's questioning look, Aria explained, "I just saw the friend I was meant to be meeting here."

"Gotcha." Vanessa tapped her nose knowingly – or at least she tried to, but she was more than a little intoxicated and ended up almost poking herself in the eye.

"Easy there," Aria laughed, reaching out a hand to steady the other girl.

"Want me to leave you alone to meet your friend?" Vanessa asked, already looking around the room, presumably for Dani.

Aria considered it, and then said, "No. I want you to meet her. C'mon."

When they reached her, Emily was leaning against the bar, and Paige was standing beside her. They were both drinking what looked like root beer, and they both looked a little flustered. Emily saw Aria and rushed toward her, an apology written all over her face. "I'm so sorry we're late," Emily gasped as she reached her. "There was a – oh. Hi. Who's this?"

Emily's eyes were darting between Aria and Vanessa, and Aria had the sudden urge to set things straight, to tell Emily that this wasn't what it looked like. Then she wondered why she was so quick to correct her assumption; what did it matter if Emily thought Aria was interested in this girl? Aria knew by now that she didn't have a chance with Spencer, so why shouldn't she have a little fun?

Vanessa resolved the issue for her before Aria had made up her mind. "Vanessa," she said, extending her hand to Emily, albeit somewhat shakily. "I've been keeping Aria here company while she waited for you. She's pretty cool – it's a pity she's not interested."

Emily shook her hand, bemused. "Emily," she said, and then added, "and this is Paige," as her girlfriend came over to join them.

"We're sorry we're late," Paige said once the introductions were over. "The car got a flat tire and we couldn't figure out how to change it, so eventually we had to get my dad to do it for us."

"Talk about embarrassing," Emily added with a self-deprecating laugh. "You'd think we'd at least know how to change a tire by now."

"It's not a prerequisite, you know," Vanessa said cheekily. "They don't check your credentials before they let you in here."

Emily laughed, her hand slipping into Paige's while she took a sip of her drink. "Good to know."

Vanessa started to respond, but her phone began to ring again. She groaned. "One second," she said, and answered with, "For the last time, we used the shot glasses last Halloween, so unless you want an aftertaste of vinegar, don't use them tonight."

She rolled her eyes, held up a finger to indicate that she'd be with them in a minute, and then slipped off to find a quieter place. Aria turned to her two friends, feeling suddenly and inexplicably exhausted. Maybe it was all the dancing earlier, maybe it was the shock of seeing Hanna here, maybe it was just these ridiculously high heels she was wearing, but something was definitely off.

"Sorry," Emily said again. "Although… it seems like you were enjoying yourself."

She accompanied her words with a suggestive look toward where Vanessa had disappeared, but Aria just rolled her eyes. "She's just a friend," she said. "Nothing happened."

"Mhm," Paige said, making it clear she didn't believe it.

Aria shook her head, choosing not to argue with them, and her mind yet again drifted back to Vanessa's words. Is she worth the risk? She wouldn't mind taking a risk, but if it meant potentially losing Spencer, how could she possibly justify it? But if meant potentially winning her, then how could she justify not doing it?

"Something on your mind?" Emily asked.

Aria shrugged, not wanting to get into it. There were no words to explain what she was thinking or feeling, or the way that even though nothing had happened between her and Vanessa, it still felt almost dishonest – but how could it be cheating when the person she was attracted to had no idea she felt that way? She hadn't done anything wrong, but she still felt the tiniest bit guilty. And then there was the question of Hanna's presence here. She debated bringing it up with Emily and Paige, but decided against it – and, on the off-chance Hanna had seen her here, she hoped the other girl would do the same. Aside from Emily and Paige, she didn't want anybody to know she was here.

"Well, now we're here, what do you want to do?" Paige asked. The music had reached a lull since they were in the process of changing DJs, which provided an opportunity for them to talk.

But Aria didn't want to talk. She didn't want to dance, and she didn't want to drink. She just wanted to go home and curl up in bed. "I'm kinda beat, guys," she said. "Maybe we can just go home?"

Emily and Paige shared a startled, slightly disappointed look, but neither of them tried to persuade her to stay. "You sure?" Emily asked. "We only just got here."

"And I've been here for an hour," Aria pointed out, but there was no bitterness in her voice. As tired as she was now, she was actually almost glad she came. But her enthusiasm for the club was waning, and she would much rather be at home now. As soon as she said goodbye to Vanessa and Dani she could go, and she could be alone. She could lie down in her bed and read a book and definitely, definitely not think about Spencer.

"Okay," Emily said. "Let's get going then."

What Aria needed now was to be alone, somewhere quiet, so that her thoughts could wander – even though she had a feeling she knew where they would end up.

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Next chapter things really start happening, so stay tuned.