Spencer chose to sit on the corner couch of the coffee shop. She didn't want to run to or engage in any conversation with some acquaintance. She needed a temporary escape as she waited for her three best friends to arrive. Thoughts of everything that has happened during the past few years flooded her mind. She was trying to deal with copious unfamiliar feelings at the same time. Spencer Hastings felt scared, weak, hopeless and alone.

How do I tell them? Should I tell them?

She knows that she owes her three best friends the truth, but does she have the courage to tell them?

We're still not over Ali's disappearance. How can they deal with me bailing on them as well?

Alison DiLaurentis was the fifth member of their posse. The fierce blonde girl disappeared more than two years ago. She was the leader of their group. She brought them all together. Spencer and Alison have had their discordances in the past, as both have strong personalities. Of the four of them, Spencer was the only one who can stand up to Alison, and this often resulted in an exchange of harsh words between the two. Still, the two remained good friends. Unbeknownst to everyone, Spencer still hopes that Alison will come back someday. She didn't want to accept the idea that the girl might be dead. Differences aside, she truly loved Ali. She is one of her best friends after all. Spencer is fiercely loyal to and protective of her four best friends and isn't one to hold grudges.

If Alison was here, she'll probably laugh at how pathetic I am; of how weak I've become. Spencer thought.

Spencer was pulled from her thoughts by a soft touch her on the shoulder. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice her best friend Aria as the smaller brunette sat beside her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Aria asked softly.

Spencer wanted to tell her everything, but she couldn't find the words. She didn't know where to start. As she was miserably trying to talk to Aria, Spencer suddenly found herself face to face with a girl from her past.

"Spencer…" the girl breathed out, her name flowing sweetly from the girl's lips. Before Spencer could respond, the girl yanked her from the collar of her blazer and pulled her in for a kiss. The blonde girl's lips felt so sweet and familiar, that Spencer almost gave in to the kiss. Overcoming the initial shock, Spencer gently pulled away from the blonde.

"Cassie. What are you doing here?" Spencer asked as she held the dimpled blonde's arms.

"I was in town. I wanted to see you so I went to your house. Melissa said I'd find you here. I just wanted to say hi." Cassie casually replied, smiling sweetly at Spencer.

"And by that you meant shoving your tongue down her throat?" Emily exclaimed as she strode down inside the coffee shop, interrupting the two.

"Em!" Hanna grabbed her best friend's arm, startled on the usually meek girl's action.

Surprised by Emily's sudden outburst, Spencer shot the tanned girl a questioning look, but the tanned girl ignored her, focusing only on the stranger that is now holding Spencer's hand.

"I'm sorry." Spencer began, giving the girl an apologetic look before turning to the other girls and introducing them one by one. "These are Emily and Hannah. You already met Aria. Guys, this is Cassie, my ex-girlfriend."

"Wait, what? When did this happen?" Emily almost shouted; a mixture of surprise and confusion on her face. Hanna stood beside Emily, slack-jawed, too astounded to say anything.

"Couple of years ago. " Spencer answered calmly, trying to understand why her tanned friend is freaking out more than Hanna is. Hanna is usually more upfront than Emily. Spencer never discussed her sexuality with her best friends or anyone else for that matter, except for Aria. It really wasn't a big deal to her and nobody ever questioned her before anyway. She never expected this kind of reaction from Emily though, as the swimmer was openly gay, hence she should be more supportive of Spencer.

"And you never told us, why?" Hanna asked, finally finding her voice.

"Spencer and I dated for a just a few weeks. I never got the chance to meet you guys. Except for Aria. I met her once." Cassie interrupted. Spencer gave her a slight smile, silently thanking the blonde for trying to save her from the abrupt third degree that her two best friends are putting her into.

Aria sat on the end of the couch, silently watching the exchange between her best friends with amusement. She had always thought that Emily liked Spencer. She'd seen the longing looks from the swimmer when Spencer wasn't looking, the twinkle in her eyes whenever Spencer smiles at her and the glares that the tanned girl unconsciously gave Aria whenever Spencer was hugging her or kissing her on the cheek. She never confronted the tanned girl about it as she wasn't sure if she read the signs right, but now it seems that her suspicions were quite accurate.

Suddenly on Emily's radar, the tanned girl turned to the smaller brunette. "Aria! You knew about this and didn't tell us?"

"It wasn't my place to say. Besides, as Cassie said, it was just a few weeks. They broke up and Cassie left." The smaller brunette calmly explained with a shrug.

"Why did you leave Spencer?" "Why did you guys break up? Hanna and Emily simultaneously asked.

"Guys, can we just sit and have a normal and peaceful conversation about this? I'm sorry, Cass." Spencer suggested as she sat on the couch, pulling Cassie's hand so the blonde can sit between her and Aria.

"It's alright, babe." Cassie smiled at Spencer as they sat.

"Babe? Spencer just said ex-girlfriend! Babe?!" Emily repeated, eyes narrowing and eyebrows scrunching. She knew that she was acting irrationally, but she couldn't help the words coming out of her mouth. She's not Spencer's girlfriend anymore! How dare she call Spencer babe! Ugh! And how dare Spencer keep this from me!

Hanna plopped on the chair across from Aria, putting a hand over her mouth as she tried to hide her grin. Although Emily's sudden change in demeanour was a surprise to her, she didn't want to intervene as she just wanted to sit back and watch with amusement as to how this little drama will unfold.

"Sorry. Old habits die hard." Cassie smirked at Emily, keenly expressing that she wasn't intimidated by the tanned girl.

Spencer put her hands to her head, massaging her temples. Her head was starting to throb and she was getting nauseated from this debacle. Spencer noticed that Emily was still standing and silently fuming for reasons that she has yet to understand. "Em…" Spencer took the tanned girl's left hand and linked the girl's fingers with her own, giving the swimmer a pleading look. Surprised at the action, Emily relaxed a bit and sighed as sat on the armchair beside Spencer, keeping their fingers entwined.

"To answer your questions, Emily," Cassie began, "First, I had to transfer schools because my dad got a job offer in New York. Second, well…I had tough competition. It's hard to be with someone whose heart belongs to someone else. Well, at least I had my chance with Spencer, even if it was just for a little while."

Spencer gave the blonde an apologetic look.

"It's alright, Spence. I'm over it." Cassie said, lightly rubbing Spencer's left arm.

"Doesn't seem like you are." Emily mumbled.

"Wait, you transferred schools? Did you go to Rosewood High? I'm sure I've never seen you before." Hanna suddenly interrupted.

"No, I went to Hollis." Glancing at her watch, she added "Well, I better get going. I just wanted to drop by and see you for a while. Walk me to my car, Spence?" Cassie asked as she got up from her seat.

"Sure." Spencer replied, reluctantly letting go of Emily's hand.

"Bye guys. It was nice meeting you." Cassie waved and smiled at the three girls as she started to walk out of the café.

"Do you really have to leave so soon? Can't you hang out with us for a while?" Spencer asked as they crossed the street towards Cassie's car.

"Spence, if I stay there a minute more, your girlfriend will rip me up to shreds." Cassie chuckled.

"Girlfriend? You mean Emily? She's not my girlfriend."

"What? Why? Don't tell me you're still hung up on me." The dimpled blonde joked. "C'mon Spence, she's the reason why you and I didn't work out, right?"

"I just… I never got the chance to tell her how I feel, you know. Besides, she was dating this girl Maya back then." Spencer explained as they approached Cassie's car.

"Are they still together now?" Cassie asked carefully, her eyes narrowing a little.

"No." The brunette replied, looking at the ground.

"So, you're both single?" Cassie asked incredulously.

"Yes." Spencer replied, still looking at the ground and biting her lip.

The dimpled blonde stared at her in disbelief. She slapped the brunette's arm to get the girl to look her in the eyes. "Well, what are you waiting for? If you don't wanna be with her I'm gonna kidnap you and take you to New York so I can have you all to myself. I'm serious."

"You still haven't changed, Cass." Spencer laughed, shaking her head at the blonde's folly.

"Ditto. After all these years, you still take my breath away, Spencer Hastings." Cassie smiled, her eyes conveying adulation as she gently held the brunette's face with her hands. "Seriously. Go get your girl, Hastings!" the blonde added.

Spencer returned her gaze. She really liked Cassie. If she weren't hopelessly in love with Emily, things might have worked out between them. "Alright! Alright!" Spencer raised her arms in mock surrender. "Thanks for taking time to see me, Cass." Spencer added, smiling genuinely at the blonde.

"Anytime, Spence. It was really nice seeing you. Keep in touch, ok?" Cassie answered as she pulled Spencer in for a hug before getting into her car.


"You're gay and you never told us?" Hanna immediately asked as soon as Spencer returned to the café and took a seat between Aria and Emily.

Emily glared at Hanna. "It's okay, Spence. We're here to support you, as you did to me when I came out." Turning to Spencer, Emily smiled and lightly rubbed the brunette's arm.

Spencer sighed and rubbed her temples. "Thanks, Em, though I prefer not to be labelled. I really have no gender preference when it comes to love. It's the soul of the person that I fall in love with."

"But why didn't you tell us? Why did you lie to us?" Hanna asked stubbornly.

"I didn't lie. You just never asked me about it." Spencer frowned.

"Aria knew!" Hanna shot back.

"Aria and I have known each other since pre-school and well, she asked. You know how inquisitive she is." Spencer shot back at Hanna. "I think she'll be a better lawyer than me." Spencer added, turning to Aria and grinning at the smaller brunette.

"No way! Courtroom drama's not for me. I just love picking your brain, Spence. There are lots of areas to explore inside that head of yours." Aria ruffled Spencer's hair as she spoke.

"Fine. Just so you know, I'm here for you as well. I totally support you." Hanna said, offering the taller brunette a smile.

"Thanks Hanna." Spencer replied, smiling back at her.

Aria's phone suddenly buzzed, indicating a text message. "I gotta go. My mom just texted and asked me to pick-up Mike from lacrosse practice. Sorry Spence. See you at school tomorrow?"

A part of her wanted to ask Aria to stay, as she wanted to talk about her situation with her best friend. However, her head is really throbbing now. She just wants to go home and curl up on her bed. "No problem Ar. I'll see you at school. Love you."

"Love you too. Go home and take some rest, okay?" Aria ordered as she hugged the taller brunette.

"Yes ma'am." Spencer said.

As Aria got up to leave, Hanna's phone buzzed. "It's Caleb. I have to go meet him. Sorry Em. You can catch a ride with Spencer, right?"

"Sure, Han." Emily replied.

"Bye Spence. Bye Em." Hanna waved as she winked at Emily.

"Are you going to run off to somewhere as well, Em?" Spencer asked as she turned her attention to Emily, missing the wink that Hanna gave to the swimmer.

"Nope. We could hang out here for a while, unless you have other plans." Emily replied, silently wishing that Spencer doesn't have other plans for the day. She was grateful that the two girls had to leave early, leaving her and Spencer. Now that they're alone, maybe she can finally talk about how she feels towards the brunette.

"Actually, I just want to go home and hit the sack early if you don't mind." Spencer said, rubbing her temples.

"Oh." Emily replied, trying to hide her disappointment. "Are you alright, Spence?" Emily asked, noticing that Spencer has been rubbing her temples since the little fiasco with her and Cassie earlier.

"Yeah. Probably still jet lagged. I haven't had a decent sleep since Melissa and I came home." Spencer lied.

"Give me your keys and I'll drive you home. I can walk from your place to mine." Emily offered.

"Are you sure? I can drop you off so you won't have to walk."

"It's just a five-minute walk from your house to mine Spence. Shall we?" Emily smiled as she stood up and offered her hand to the brunette.

"Alright. Thanks Em." Spencer replied, returning Emily's smile as she took her hand.


"Spence?" Emily asked, briefly glancing at the brunette on the passenger seat as she drove from The Brew to Spencer's house.

"Yeah?" Spencer replied, watching Emily as the tanned girl drove.

Emily pulled the car to a stop on a red light and turned to Spencer. "I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. I was out of line. I was just surprised."

Spencer smiled and held her gaze, causing the swimmer's stomach to do flip-flops. "Don't worry about it Em." She replied, grabbing Emily's right hand and entwining their fingers as she did earlier.

Emily hoped that Spencer doesn't notice how she was blushing at the contact. Spencer didn't let go of Emily's hand as the tanned girl drove, both girls smiling the rest of the way home.