Oh, little liars.
Season One, Episode Nine.
The next day.
Claire rushed into the hospital; this was not how she expected to start her day. She was beyond thankful for the teacher's workday, as she did not need the stress of school on top of this mess. She walked up to the front desk, "Aria Montgomery." She said with a rushed voice, "She's on the third floor, room 321." The lady said as she smiled a bit. "Thank you." She said before heading over to the elevator.
Claire bit her lip as she pressed the button before she checked her phone. She bit her lip harder, and she had no spoken to Jason since the day before. She had no idea what to say, but she still clicked on his name and dialed the number. She needed to know that he was okay. She took a deep breath and waited, and she waited to hear his voice. "This number has been disconnected. Please try again later." The automated voice said, causing Claire to frown. She hung up in confusion, and she would have to head over after checking in on Aria.
She slid her phone into her back pocket, stepping into the elevator along before noticing another girl stepped inside. One of Alison's rivals, Destiny Gilmore, "Surprised to see you here." The blonde said, from a distance, one would say, she and Alison could be twins. Claire scoffed a bit, "One could say the same thing about you. How are you and the evil Disney princesses?" She asked curiously as they had been silent since Alison went missing. "Better than you...I'm sorry for your loss." Destiny said as she eyed Claire, "Me too." The Marin girl said as she looked up at the floor number.
Destiny was one of Rosewood's prominent mean girls, almost as bad as Alison. "She was a bitch, but she didn't deserve to die.." The blonde said, although Claire stayed silent for a moment, "It's complicated for me." Claire admitted as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Claire stepped off the elevator before looking back at Destiny; she waved before heading down the hall to find Aria's parents and her friends in the waiting room. "How is she?" She asked as Ella stood up and hugged Claire. "We are lucky Noel found her." Ella said as she could not be more grateful for the boy. Claire hugged back for a moment and pulled away, looking over to see Noel sitting in the waiting room. "I'm sure that she will be okay. She's a tough one." Claire said with a smile before she decided to walk over to Noel. "Knight in shinning armor suits you." She teased a bit before sitting down next to him.
Noel raised an eyebrow at his ex, "It was luck. I'm surprised you aren't trying to kill me." He said as he watched her for a moment before Claire looked over, and he looked away. Claire had so many questions, but she wasn't sure that she wanted the truth. "Why? Why, Kate?" She blurted out without thinking; Noel sighed and leaned back. He thought about her question before crossing his arms. "Truthfully...I felt like we drifted after Alison. I just...it was a moment of weakness and I regret it." Noel admitted that it would never bring her back to him, but he still cared for Claire.
Claire took in what he said; it stung but not as bad as she thought it would. "I'm sorry for pushing you away." Claire said as she looked over at him, but Noel shook his head. "I fucked up, and I'm sorry for that." Noel said as he loved Claire, he loved everything about her. From the way she carried herself to the way she fiercely gave herself to everyone she loved. "Maybe we can try to be civil? Friends?" Claire said as she held her hand out. Noel chuckled and reached over, shaking her hand. "Friends." He said as it brought him some comfort to know that she does not entirely hate him anymore.
Across the waiting room, Hanna sat with Spencer and Emily. "They aren't murdering each other, that is a plus." She said with a slight chuckle. Spencer looked over and raised an eyebrow, "Did you guys know that she was talking to Jason DiLaurentis?" She asked as Ian was filling her head with doubt. It was like he knew exactly how to get under her skin, "No?" Emily said as they both looked at Hanna. "She likes him, he likes her." Hanna said simply as she didn't see an issue. "Hanna, he's not a good guy." Spencer said with a frown and crossing her arms.
"We're not exactly innocent Spencer. My sister is happy. Do not ruin it." She warned them as she could see it, "She deserves to be happy. And Jason makes her happy."
Spencer sighed and crossed her arms, "I would still be cautious." She told Hanna as she looked towards Claire, she might be a little out of line, but Claire was always looking out for everyone else. "If he tries anything, I'll kick his ass." Hanna reassured them as she leaned back, "But for now, we need to focus on other issues...like A." The blonde told them as she wanted to know who this person was.
"So we are certain that we have a creepy stalker?" Emily said as she looked at them, "100%. And Claire's necklace is the first clue." Spencer said as she sighed, "That location could be anywhere in Rosewood." She told them, sliding a hand through her hair.
"I say we meet tonight, we can try to locate wherever this is." Emily suggested as she leaned up a bit. "It's Friday night, our parents won't question it as much."
"We can meet at my place." Spencer said they all agreed to it before the doctor walked into the waiting room and over to Aria's parents. She quickly stood up, walking around along with the others.
Ella looked at the doctor with worry, "How is she?" She asked as she leaned into her husband, worried that this could lead to worse circumstances. "She is lucky, we currently have her on some antibiotics and she is resting. But she will have to stay overnight for a few days, we want to be sure that the reaction is over."
Ella let out a sigh of relief, "When can we see her?" She asked the doctor, tilting her head a bit. "Right now, only family can see her. You both can see her right away, as for her friends, they are welcome to come back tomorrow." The doctor told them as he handed Ella the paperwork. "Thank you." Ella said with relief as she looked at the girls and Noel. "I will call you with any changes, you girls should enjoy your day off school."
"Of course, Mrs. Montgomery." Claire said with a small smile, although she wanted to see Aria check on her. After saying their goodbyes, they all headed out of the waiting room.
Spencer turned to her friends as they reached the end of the hall, "Tonight, my place." She said, confirming before they all nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Claire told them before nodding and heading onto the elevator. "Bring anything you think could be helpful." Spencer told them as they all knew it was a long shot.
Claire sat in her car, once again trying to call Jason. She bit her lip, suddenly worried, as she knew that he could easily relapse with this news. After trying a few more times, she tossed her phone into the passenger seat and began driving to the DiLaurentis house.
She arrived at the DiLaurentis house and climbed out of the car, heading onto the front porch. She was worried, she knocked on the door. "Is there something I can help you with?" Somebody said, causing Claire to jump and turn around; it was Garrett Reynolds. "I uhh..I was hoping to see Jason." She said to him as he posed no threat to her. "Oh, I'm sorry to tell you...the DiLaurentis family could not bare the news. They decided to leave town for the time being." The officer told her, and Claire's hopeful face instantly fell. "He left...I...we.." She stumbled over her words, "Look, I know guys like Jason...they never really care about anyone but themselves." He said, trying to bring her some comfort.
Claire felt her heart sinking before she rushed past Garrett and towards her car. She didn't want to believe that Jason would just leave, not for a split second. But all of the proof was there, the disconnected phone number, and his house was abandoned. She climbed into the car and felt tears falling. Claire let out a whimper as the first sob finally came out.
Aria sat in her hospital room, and her mind wasn't exactly all there after being attacked by bees. She mainly sighed to herself when the door opened, and she looked over to see her younger brother walk into the room. Mike offered a small smile, holding up a bottle of grape soda and some gummy bears. "Don't worry, I checked to make sure they were vegan." He teased them a bit and caused her to laugh a bit. "Where's mom and dad?" Aria asked curiously as Mike sat on the chair next to the bed. "Dad left, he had some student meeting thing to attend." Mike told his sister, causing Aria to frown. "Student meeting? Today?" She asked as she knew her mind was going to a dark place. "Yeah, mom already blessed him out for not rescheduling." Mike said as he had also noticed their dad's strange behavior lately. "I am sure that he'll be back later today." Mike said as he offered her the goodies he had brought her.
Aria smiled a bit and took them, opening the gummy bears. "Thank you, don't you have practice today?" She asked, a little confused. "Oh no, mom made sure that I was going to be here." Mike said as he smiled a bit. "So what happened?" He asked as it did not make sense in his mind.
"I don't know...I picked up the flowers and the next thing I know is that I'm being attacked by bees in November." Aria said as she tried to understand it. "Do you know who sent the flowers?" He asked as he was a little concerned at this point. "No idea. I didn't get a chance to read the card."
"Mom made the police take the flowers as evidence." Mike told her as Ella was convinced someone did that on purpose. "Did they see who sent them?" Aria asked her brother.
Mike shook his head, "Nope."
Aria sighed as she felt uneasy about the situation. "Do you think somebody found out about.." She trailed off and looked at her younger brother. Mike frowned and reached over, taking her hand. "No, nobody will find out. I swear." He promised his older sister as he knew it was not easy.
Aria smiled a bit, but she knew that wasn't true. Somebody would find out.
Emily sat inside of the coffee shop, trying to piece together what could have happened to Alison. "Lost in thought?" A voice asked, and she snapped out of it, looking to see another girl standing there. "You could say that." Emily said, flashing a small smile, "I'm sorry, I just saw you over here and...well, I'm Maya." The girl introduced herself. "Oh hi, you used to live in the DiLaurentis house, right?"
"Guilty, I recognized you from some of the pictures from when we toured the house." Maya said with a smile. Emily felt a little nervous for some reason. "I'm Emily, are you moving back to town?" She asked as she closed her book, suddenly more interested in this new face.
"Yes, actually, my parents finally decided that Rosewood is home." Maya said as she sat down, "So tell me, what is there to do for a not so newbie in town?"
Emily smiled a bit and felt herself blushing at that moment, "A lot, but I am usually too busy to even have fun. I'm on the swim team." She admitted as she eyed Maya a bit; she knew it was wrong...girls should not like girls...at least that is what she was taught to believe. "Oh wow, that's kinda hot...we should hang out sometime...just us." Maya said as she was not afraid of her sexuality, "I uhh, I would like that." Emily said as she smiled a little more.
"How about Sunday? We could head into the city?" Maya suggested as she wanted to get to know the girl a little more. "To do what exactly?" Emily asked curiously and raised an eyebrow.
"Explore, hang out...anything." Maya said as she stood up, sliding a piece of paper over. "We can discuss the details later." She said as she winked and waved before heading out of the cafe.
Emily blushed harder than she wanted as her phone went off.
Maya and Emily sitting in a tree...KISSING. -A
Emily felt her blood run cold at that. She looked around for anyone suspicious, but most of the customers in the building were on their phones or laptops.
Emily sighed a bit, shaking her head as she stood up and collected her stuff...she remembered the first time Alison had ever kissed her. It was in the old treehouse behind Emily's house...she stopped for a moment...did A give her a clue?
Emily quickly collected her stuff and ran out of the coffee shop to her car, and she needed to know.
Spencer had been running for a little over an hour; she was trying to clear her head as the last few days seemed to be pulling her under more and more. Her feet hit the pavement as the music blasted in her ears; she kept replaying the night Alison went missing...and the only person who could have hurt Alison that night...or had a motive...was Jason...in her head, it all made sense. Alison and Jason were constantly at each other's throats.
She kept running before she heard the sound of wheels screeching and looked to see Toby Cavanaugh sitting in the driver's seat. It felt as if he could see through her soul...he rolled down the window..."I...are you going to move?" He asked in a cold tone, and he had been accused of Alison's death more than once; he did not need the Hastings family coming after him.
Spencer took out her headphones, "Depends, are you going to tell me what you know?" She asked; crossing her arms, she tilted her head. "Are you going to believe me?" Toby asked the brunette with curiosity.
Spencer thought about his question before reluctantly nodding. "Not here though, tomorrow? After the field hockey game?" She asked as she knew it was her best shot. He simply nodded and watched as Spencer stepped off to the side; he drove by; he did find the brunette attractive.
Emily climbed into the old treehouse, scanning the small area with her eyes before she started to rummage through everything. She had no idea what she was even looking for. She felt like she was going crazy; she was still in love with her now dead friend...and she hated it. Alison had hurt her on multiple occasions...almost breaking her. As she searched for the mysterious clue, she finally made her way to the shelf full of old snow globes. Julia and Emily had collected them over the years; most of them were holiday-related. She reached up, grabbing one; she flipped it over, taking off the bottom. Nothing, she sighed as she fixed it back.
It was no use. A was playing her, but why?
Claire felt numb, angry...her emotions were all over the place. Jason strung her along, just to ditch her...at least that was what it felt like. But it wasn't just Jason that was getting to her...it was Alison, it was her dad leaving...it was all of the things that she let build up. Claire climbed out of her car and headed into the liquor store; she stepped inside and looked around. She needed something strong, strong enough to take away the pain.
She finally decided on something and headed to the checkout, pulling out her fake I.D.
Spencer sat with Emily and Hanna on the floor of her house as they all searched through boxes of snow globes. "Where is Claire?" She asked, a little worried, as she looked at Hanna.
"I'm not sure, she went to see Jason, I think...I'll call her." Hanna said as she leaned back, pulling her phone out of her bag; she bit her lip, seeing that she had a missed call from her boyfriend. She did not feel anything for Sean anymore and did not want to face it; she dialed her sister's number.
Hanna waited as she flipped over a snow globe before frowning as she got her sister's voicemail. "Uhh, she's not answering." Hanna said as she hung up the phone. "She might be a little busy with her new boy." Hanna said as she didn't question it much.
"It's not like Claire to ditch us, not for a boy." Emily pointed out as she sat up a bit. "She could be on her way, she probably lost track of time." Hanna said she knew Emily was right, but she didn't want to ruin her sister's possible happiness.
Jason tilted the bottle back, the alcohol grazing his lips. He quickly finished the bottle and tossed it aside, looking up at the rehab across the road from where he sat. He hated himself for relapsing, but it was inevitable; the guilt had been eating away at him...and now, he had more to fear. What if he actually lost his shit and killed his sister while loaded?
It wasn't impossible as Jason had a temper, and when he was loaded, it was worse.
He knew that Claire hated him by now. He climbed out of the car and headed across the street into the rehab center; he walked up to the front desk.
"I'm Jason DiLaurentis, I'm checking myself in.." He slurred as he spoke and looked at the lady. His father was going to kill him.
Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think? Those are just some of the scenes planned for the next episode.