Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Advance Warning; things are changing in my life which might affect the update time of my stories; I will try to keep on schedule though with one update per week. Also, a special thanks to Paraddicted as always for the pre-read.
Spencer lay in bed while watching the clock.
As she stared up at her ceiling, she could hear her heartbeat going off in her chest as the excitement was building up.
It would be another twenty minutes before her parent would be asleep given that they had just taken their sleeping medication. The lights in the barn had gone out but that didn't mean that Melissa and Wren asleep; her sister had always found it hard to immediately fall asleep. That meant that Spencer would have to wait for at least an hour before sneaking out. Given what she was about to do, it was crucial that she not be detected. What was to occur tonight would set the stage for a series of event to come; possibly changing things here in Rosewood. Both she and Mona had been planning this for a week and did their best to make sure that nothing would hamper their hard work.
It had been a busy week since the two had come home from Ravenswood; the experience having an impact on their lives. While the personal stuff between them had been put on the back burner for their plans; it was still a point of slight tension between the two. While there hadn't been any more subtle flirtations between the two teens, they knew that their relationship was changing; though they would not speak of it out loud. There was just too much going on to deal with trivial things like that at the moment; especially when they had almost had another moment on their last night in the creepy town. Spencer still became red faced when she thought about it and had to shake her head as well as think about something else.
Specifically, the ghostly encounter they had in the Graveyard.
According to Mona, she had spoken to Bethany Young; though she was quite dead. While Spencer was hesitant to believe that her friend had spoken to a ghost, the amount of creepy things that had happened was too much to ignore. The mysterious blonde had not been seen since and their tracking had put Alison back in Rosewood which negated the idea that it was a prank by their enemy. The fog they had encountered seemed to vanish as quickly as it appeared and no other resident had seen it; which confused the teens even more. While there was a chance that Mona had simply hallucinated that she saw the dead teen because of the bump on her head, her friend was adamant that the encounter had happened.
From what Bethany supposedly said, she had been indeed killed by Alison and buried underneath the gazebo. The blonde hadn't gone into specifics but she seemed to indicate that she had been hit by a shovel and then buried the night that there had been a party at the DiLaurentis House; the last sleepover Spencer had attended before getting kicked out of the group. The taller teen remembered that Alison had been late and covered with dirt; which she had then shrugged off. Bethany had confirmed that Alison had killed her out of jealously; but for entirely different reasons. It seemed that the DiLaurentis family had a few dark secrets; some which seemed to connect with Toby's mother and a third sibling of the family that no one knew about.
Mona hadn't gotten all the details and her memory was still a little fuzzy; the consequence of hitting her head in a graveyard. All they had was that Jessica DiLaurentis might have been responsible for Toby's mothers death and the name of her oldest son; someone by the name of Charles. Bethany had apparently been his friend and wanted to know what had happened to him; convinced that he didn't kill himself. She had escaped Radley in order to confront Jessica when a blonde had hit her over the head with a shovel; then burying her. While she didn't see who had hit her, the only blonde that came to mind was Alison.
Given these recent revelations, if they were true, the plan was to make sure that the body would be unearthed. The two teens still believed that it lay underneath the gazebo and their best plan was to burn the sucker down; which could help in its discovery. While it had been tempted to leave an anonymous tip that Bethany was buried there, the DiLaurentis family was too powerful for the police to simply show up and search their property. By burning the gazebo down, it was hoped that when the investigators showed up they would find the body on their own. From there, they could start pushing Alison's buttons until she did something to expose herself.
As for Caleb; Mona decided to let him be for the time being. Though Spencer wanted to out him to Hanna, Mona convinced her that having him as a potential ally could be beneficial. They knew more about him than he knew about them, thus they had the advantage. The teens knew he was working for Jenna and that he disliked her as much as he hated Alison; genuinely having feelings for Hanna and not liking how Alison treated her. There was a chance that he could be their way to get her away from Hanna; though she would probably be furious that she had been used by him in order to spy on her friends. As much as they hated the idea, Spencer and Mona figured that it would be in their best interest to smooth things over for the couple.
It was a full hour before Spencer got up, figuring that everyone was well asleep by now. Rising from her bed, she grabbed the black clothing that was safely tucked underneath and changed into it; making sure she put on her gloves. She then went to her door and slowly opened it, making sure that it didn't creak even though she had greased the hinges earlier. The hallway was dark but there was enough light coming from the windows to provide just enough illumination for her to see. Sticking to the sides of the hallway, Spencer made her way and passed her parent's room; stopping briefly to make sure they were asleep. Hearing them both snoring, Spencer continued on her way and walked down the stairs; avoiding the steps that would have given her away.
Keeping to the darkness, the teen headed to the entrance to the garage, opening the door slowly without making a sound. Like her room, she had also greased the hinges as well; doing it in secret so that she wouldn't arouse suspicion. Once she was inside, she went past her parent's cars to her secret exit, though she stopped to grab the materials she needed. Mona had provided her with a gas can and flint; getting them through the internet so that they wouldn't be traced back to them. Her friend had several dummy accounts as well as addresses so that she could get special items without anyone knowing. Once Spencer grabbed the materials, she moved the boards so that she could get out.
Like in the house, Spencer stuck to the shadows and made her way towards the back of the DiLaurentis property. She had to move very slowly since the family had recently installed motion sensor lights because of the last time the teens had broken in. It was by luck that Mona had found out since it would have caused them problems if they had been caught by them. The teen knew from back when she had been a member of Alison's posse that Jessica was easily aroused by light; thus would be awake instantly and checking things out if one of the lights went off. Mona had gotten a hold of the specs of the lights as well as their placements around the property; finding that there were none near the gazebo. This would allow Spencer to do what she needed to do and then escape back to her room without detection.
Seeing the first light and the blinking of the sensor, Spencer got on her hands and knees, pushing the gas can with her body. She had to stick pretty close to the bushes and made sure that she didn't cause too much shaking from the plants. Once she was clear, Spencer moved along the side of the house, keeping low in case someone was up. There was only darkness inside and it appeared that both parents were well asleep; Alison was spending the night at Emilys which was another reason why Spencer and Mona had chosen tonight to act. The blonde had been acting very paranoid lately and had been seen spying out her bedroom window on occasion. If Alison saw her sneaking about, it would be all over for them in a heartbeat.
The Gazebo came into view and Spencer darted forward while avoiding the areas illuminated by the light from the moon. She had hoped for a cloudy night and had been tempted to put things off until the weather had been a little more cooperative; but the timing was too important to put off for too long. Thankfully, the gazebo was covered in darkness and Spencer was able to freely move about; especially since no one's room overlooked the area she was at. Since Jason was still living out of town, no one occupied the space directly above her; which was covered by heavy drapes. Unscrewing the cap to the black gas can, Spencer poured the contents all over the wooden shelter while making sure none got on her clothing. With only a little left, Spencer backed up and created a trail until it was empty.
She then used the flint to create a spark; taking off as fast as she could before the flame reached the Gazebo.
As the teen hurried back the way she came, she made sure that the gas can was included in the area where the fire would be centered. It had been made of a cheap plastic so it should melt easily; though there was no worry for the police finding their fingerprints since both teens had been extra careful. It took her a minute to be clear of the property and she could already see the orange glow in the distance. Once she was inside the garage and closed up the boards behind her, Spencer entered the house proper and silently made her way back to her room as the lights from next door suddenly came on. As fast as she could without disturbing her parents, Spencer darted to her room and closed the door just as the light from her parent's room came on. Once inside, Spencer changed out of her hoodie and back into her sleeping attire.
She had just stuffed her things back underneath her bed when Spencer suddenly heard the sirens blaring. The teen lay there in bed as the lights from various emergency vehicles illuminated her room, pretending to be asleep. While she was giddy and feeling the rush of what she just did, Spencer was doing her best to calm her mind. She had to appear shocked about what just happened since it would be obvious that her family would be questioned about the arson; given that everyone in town knew how much Spencer and Alison hated each other. Granted, the burning of the Gazebo would be a little too random for the teen to be a suspect for; it didn't hurt to be prepared.
Spencer heard the door to her parent's room open and listened as their voices seemed slightly panicked. While there was a bit of space between the two properties, a fire could still be considered something to be alarmed over. There was a knock on the front door and Spencer heard her father rushing down the stairs while her mother was on the phone; possibly calling Melissa to warn her since it was faster than rushing over to the barn. After waiting a few more minutes, Spencer got off the bed and put on her robe in order to pretend that she had just woken up; disheveling her hair to add to the fake out. After quickly smelling herself to make sure that there was no trace of gasoline on her body, the teen opened her door to the hallway. It was empty and she then made her way downstairs.
"What's going on?" Spencer asked with a fake yawn while her mother was looking out the window. Her father was nowhere to be found and she assumed that he might be outside given that the front door was partially open.
"There is a fire next door; it looks like it's on the other side of the property though and I don't see any flames," informed Veronica, sounding relieved. She was dressed in a white bathrobe like Spencer though it was slightly open and showed the older woman's purple pajamas.
"Do we know what happened?" inquired the teen, faking her concerned voice that she had practiced on with Mona. It had been easier than she thought with the added bonus of her mother distracted by what was going on next door.
"No; your father went to go see what had happened," answered the older woman just as Melissa and Wren appeared, coming from the kitchen. Both were in their own bathrobes though in their haste, it seemed that Wren was wearing the bright pink one; causing Spencer to stifle a laugh.
"We saw the orange glow; do we need to evacuate?" Wren asked as he tried to ignore the fact that he was wearing his wife's bathrobe; grabbing the wrong one in the darkness.
"No; the house next door doesn't appear to be on fire and the smoke is coming from the back of the property," stated the older woman as she continued to look through the window.
"What would be back there to catch fire since the garage is in full view? Some sort of shed or something?" asked the British-born individual, seeming to be curious.
"A Gazebo; it was built last summer," Spencer answered, trying to be offhand about it as much as she could. While there was a chance that her mother and sister already knew about it being there, she had a backup lie in place in case they questioned how she knew about it.
"I heard that they built one though have never seen it myself," Melissa said and Spencer could swear that she saw some sort of suspicion look coming from her sister.
"I saw the beginning stages of it back when I was still friends with Alison; they had just made up the plans for it and started the digging," stated Spencer, using a half-lie than a full on one. Melissa seemed to buy it with the nod of her head but the teen was still on guard. The front door opened and Peter stepped inside; wrapped in a blue bathrobe like the rest of the assembled.
"What happened?" asked Veronica as she watched him lock the door behind him and shut off the porch light.
"Someone vandalized the DiLaurentis's property by burning down the Gazebo. The fire department prevented the fire from spreading but it is completely torched. The police found what remains of a gas can and think that this was deliberate," informed Peter as he stood near the door, appearing on edge.
"Do they have any suspects?" asked Wren, curious since no one ever talked about the family next door. He knew about the slight feud with them but nothing more; except for rumors he heard around the office.
"No; though I didn't appreciate how Kenneth was looking our way. We might be questioned by the police if we saw anything so be prepared," said the older man and they all nodded.
"I particularly doubt that we would be suspected in burning down a Gazebo; I would have done it to Alison's room myself," Spencer commented casually; which earned her harsh looks from her family while Wren looked confused.
"Knock it off Spencer," chided her mother while Peter just rolled his eyes and continued to look out the window. He had a feeling that the police might be by tonight but suspected that they would rather come by first thing in the morning.
"What? I'm just saying that we would have more sense than to burn down something stupid as a gazebo. Besides, there are more people out there who hate Alison and her family just as much as we do so why bother with us," the teen simply stated; shrugging and deciding to go back to bed since it was late. She ignored her looks as she left the room and headed back upstairs to her room; closing the door once she was inside. She was glad that tomorrow was Sunday since there would be very little sleep in the Hastings household tonight.
Once she was tucked in bed after taking a peek outside, Spencer grabbed her phone and dialed Mona.
"It's done," Spencer said to her friend while keeping her voice low. She could easily tell when someone was outside her door and Spencer made sure to keep an eye out for potential eavesdroppers.
"Excellent; how did it go?" asked Mona's excited voice over the other end of the phone.
"To perfection; the police are outside and are investigating now. What about things on your end?" inquired the teen quietly as she lay there in the darkness.
"I've sent the tip to the papers so there will definitely be some buzz about it tomorrow; I also sent Alison the A text so I am curious to see her response when I come over," stated the teen and Spencer smiled and wished she could have seen the look on Alison's face when she had gotten the text.
"Bring some treats since my parents will probably be grumpy; there is a chance we might be questioned in the morning," informed Spencer as the sounds coming from outside continued to come through her open windows; though the flashing lights were now a problem.
"My mother just made some cookies so I will bring some over; how do you feel?" asked the teen, curious since this was a step up for her friend since the attack on Aria.
"Good; like I've accomplished something that needed to be done. If there is a body buried underneath those charred remains then it needs to see the light of day," stated the teen with a smirk.
"Agreed; get some sleep because there is more to do tomorrow," informed the shorter teen and then said her goodbyes. Spencer did the same and wished her friend a good night.
As Spencer lay in the darkness of her bed and closed her eyes, all she could think of was her next plan of attack.
Please Read and Review!