Chapter 1
High School.
For most, it's supposed to be the best time of their lives, with all the romance, the drama and the teachers that made each class memorable.
For those who are lucky enough, or unlucky enough to be home-schooled, they miss out on most things, but the one thing everyone should be lucky enough to miss out on, is bullies.
For Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields and Spencer Hastings, being bullied was the only memorable thing that occurred in the start of their high school experience. Wait, I shouldn't say memorable. It was more like nightmarish.
To understand the hardships of these 4 girls, but more specifically Aria, we need to take it back after Alison DiLaurentis went missing, but before her body was discovered.
Aria Montgomery: Before
Family life for Aria wasn't great at this time. Small instances could tear this family down, like a deck of cards falling from their built tower. It all started after Alison was confirmed missing. To relieve stress from her disappearance, the Montgomery family spent a year in Iceland, however, the infidelity instigated by Byron Montgomery, is a big part of the reason the family moved away.
Before, during and after the year in Iceland, Byron had desperately asked for his then 15, now 17 year old daughter to keep the horrible secret from everyone, especially her mother Ella. Hoping this would keep their family together, Aria regrettably kept the secret for a year, unfortunately being unable to keep it much longer when Ella was tipped off about the affair that Byron instigated with his college student, Meredith.
After the Montgomery family had returned to Rosewood, trouble began for Aria, as a very dangerous threat made themselves known as 'A'. This mysterious person not only knew about the affair between Byron and Meredith, but knew of a new relationship, a relationship brewing between Aria and her newly appointed English teacher, Mr Ezra Fitz. The newly brewed relationship didn't stay hot for long, as the knowledge that he could end up in an orange jumpsuit, and she could possibly be expelled, forced Ezra to end the relationship as fast as it started.
But did I forget to mention that 'A' was also close to exposing this secret to Aria's parents? Well, 'A' might not have exposed their relationship, but 'A' certainly ruined Byron and Ella's marriage. Through a letter sent by 'A', Ella was clued in as to what Byron and Aria had been hiding and she was devastated, not only about the affair itself, but the idea of Byron forcing Aria to keep the secret.
Aria's love life after Ezra didn't go down so well.
Noel Kahn: Her first real boyfriend after Ezra, was great at first, but due to 'A's mercilessness, he died. Jake: A karate instructor, protected Aria as much as he could, even teaching her a few things, but the wrath of 'A' was too powerful to hold off, and Aria ended the relationship, not wanting him to end up the same way as Noel. Jason DiLaurentis: Brother of Alison DiLaurentis, knew about 'A' and because of this, ended the relationship, as well as the fact he was dating one of his sister's best friends. Holden Strauss: A fake boyfriend, someone she pretended to date in order to keep her illegal relationship with Ezra private. Wesley Fitzgerald: Even though they kissed, it was a bad match, seeing as he was Ezra's brother. Connor: Even worse than Wesley, being one of Mike's dumb jock friends, never going further than a kiss. Riley: A random college dude that Aria met while her and her dad were up in Syracuse for a work conference. Andrew Campbell: They kissed a few times, but she never felt in love with him. Liam Greene: They worked together for a while, Liam being her dad's old assistant.
Aria Montgomery: After
Roughly 6 months ago, Rosewood welcomed back a previously missing, then dead, Alison DiLaurentis. Being Alison, she made up a fake story to hide the real story, the real story being that 'A' made her feel threatened, so she ran away before being abruptly 'murdered' then rescued, resulting in Alison staying hidden in plain sight. Once she returned to not only Rosewood, but to school, trouble started, when she seemingly threatened Mona, and slapped her. A week later, Mona was brutally 'murdered', both Alison and Hanna were arrested.
Aria Montgomery: Current
Aria currently sat in a jail cell. 24 hours ago, Alison and Hanna were convicted of Mona's murder, but Aria, Spencer and Emily were also convicted, like Hanna, everyone saw them as accessories to the murder.
"Aria?" She could hear Emily crying in the cell next to her.
"Spencer and I are here Emily. It's ok. Everything will be ok. Spencer's mom won't let us rot in here." Aria couldn't stop shaking.
"I'm not so sure. My mom told me that the case was so far stacked against Alison, that we were bound to end up in the cross-hairs. She even looked at the evidence. Our escape from this hell-hole is not very likely." Spencer dampened the already horrible mood.
"Alright ladies. Time to go." Each cell's doors were pulled back, three officers handcuffing Aria, Emily and Spencer, taking them to the closed off van that intended to send them away to a correctional facility. Hanna, who had been put with the girls, filled everyone in on what to expect in prison, but what she failed to mention was the van only being 10 seconds away from being hijacked, the girls being taken hostage by 'A' in what seemed to be a demented, real life dollhouse.