Hey! Thanks for all the feedback! Here comes chapter 4! I don't know how long this story will be, but I have still a lot of ideas, so hopefully this journey will last a little while.

The morning sun rose slowly, but Aria had not managed to sleep at all. She saw Hanna moving and was sure she would wake up any minute. Should she tell her about what she was thinking? Had Hanna talked to Spencer since the - since her being dumped at the alter? Or had Emily, or had Ali? If they didn't they would have said something though, right? What if they had noticed something was off with her, too? Would they tell her? Looking over at Hannah she sighed. She figured it would be better to keep it for herself at the moment. Maybe she could try to slip Spencer's name into some conversation in the morning and see Hanna's reaction. She still didn't know anything yet and the last hing she wanted was to bring her friends into some sort of danger. She needed to figure out if it was Spencer that paid her those nightly visits but at the same time she hoped she could do so without giving away that she knew something was off.

"Morning." Hanna's eyes squinted because of the bright light and Aria tried to give her a smile.

"Hey, you. Feeling better?" Hanna nodded, leaving the bed in one move and turned to Aria, while changing into her normal clothes.

"A little. Thanks for letting me stay, but I think I will have to face the madness at some point."

"You're leaving already?" Aria sat up in bed. She wanted to talk, she wanted to mention Spencer, so she could see Hanna's face and now it would just seem weird to talk about her.

"Yeah, I think I just want this to be over with. This whole fighting thing is driving me mad. We're still on for that brunch thing on Sunday with the girls though, right? ", Hanna zipped up her jacket and slung her bag over the shoulder.

Aria nodded lightly. "Okay, sure. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Will do." Hanna smiled and gave her a small wave, while Aria stayed motionless in bed, starring at the ceiling and thinking about what she should do next.

…

Spencer could tell Alex was pissed. The way the English girl moved and aggressively threw their plates with some slices of bread to her and Ezra gave it away. She thought about asking what was wrong. Somehow Spencer had given up on the fact that she would be out of this place soon. She was slowly losing hope that her friends and family would find out about Alex. She wished Aria would, but as the days passed she wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Have you spoken to Toby?", she finally asked, she needed some answers and what was the point anyway? Spencer figured it couldn't really go worse than this.

"I don't give a fuck about Toby.", Alex ranted out and Spencer's lips closed. "Did you talk to Aria last night?", she asked then, feeling like she was pushing Alex's buttons but she wanted to know if her friend was at least physically okay.

"I spent the night with her again. I think she likes my hands. She couldn't stop touching them last night.", she grinned, but Spencer could sense a cold behind her shining eyes. Had Aria noticed something? Had she said something? Was that the reason Alex looked so angry? And what did she mean by Aria touching her?!

"How is she holding up, with Ezra?" Spencer glanced over to Ezra's cell. His shutter was down again, so he couldn't hear them and Spencer wondered if she could bring Alex to talk.

"Doing great. She didn't even talk about him at all.", Alex smiled widely again and Spencer furrowed her eyebrows for a moment, before nodding. She looked down on her slices of bread, picked one and took a bite. Even though she hated this place, she didn't want to starve to death. Spencer found it weird that Aria hadn't talked with Alex about it. It seemed off for Aria to not tell Spencer, but maybe she was just trying to deal with things on her own. She tried to think about what Alex had said. Why would she say Aria liked her hands, though? She looked down at her own hands for a moment, feeling Alex's eyes on her, when suddenly something inside of her snapped. She tried not to give away any emotion and stopped looking at her hands, picking up another slice of bread, waiting for Alex to be out of sight.

…

After feeding the two captives, Alex went up to the living room and let out a gutted sigh. She needed to talk to Aria. Everything was starting to get so much harder and more confusing. The more time she spent with Aria, the more difficult it seemed for her not to make any mistakes. She had to make sure Aria didn't suspect a thing. And she needed to talk to her about Ezra. It was time for Aria to move on. It was time for them to move on. Together.

Hey, sorry I left last night. Emergency at the Lost Woods...Can I come over? I will bring coffee. – S

She pressed send and hoped for Aria to answer soon. She was excited to spend time with her.

Alex was obsessed with her and she felt a pull towards Aria that seemed to be out of this world. Never had she imagined feeling so drawn to someone in her life and if she was honest with herself she was scared. The whole plan started off with going after Spencer and her friends for revenge, never had she pictured herself falling for one of them. But since she got Aria to work for her – she chose her back then because Cece had told her she was the closest to Spencer – she was fascinated by her. She was not only captivated by her beauty, but by her whole appearance and her strength. She loved strong women. Bloody hell, she was one herself.

Can we meet at the Brew? I'm in town. - Aria

Alex smiled. Of course she would have preferred to go to Aria's place and try to make a move, but she was still joyful to see her. She was the one thing that was making her smile. Genuinely smile. And even though her dark soul longed for more twisted torture sometimes, all she really wanted was to have someone who loved her, a family.

Sure. Meet you in ten. - S

…

Aria tried to stop the sweating of her hands as she sat in the crowded place. The Brew reminded her of Ezra but she tried to not let her thoughts go there and calmed herself down. Spencer – could she still call her that? - was going to be there any second and she couldn't show any doubtfulness. She had to act like everything was normal. Should she tell Spencer about Ezra? Was it possible for her to know something? Her thoughts were swirling again and a part of her wished she wasn't alone in all this. She was still debating telling Hanna, or even Emily and Ali, but she didn't want this to blow over, she needed to be as careful as possible.

"Hey, Aria." Spencer sat down at their table. Her lips turning into her slight smile and her caramel eyes shining. She looked 100% percent like her friend. She embodied Spencer and a cold shiver ran down Aria's spine at the thought of it. What if she really was Spencer?

"Hey, Spence.", she smiled but when a waiter approached them, she sent the girl in front of her an apologetic look. "Do you mind if I go ahead and use the bathroom for a sec? Can you order for me, please?"

Spencer nodded quickly. "What do you want?"

"My usual.", Aria smiled and turned into the direction to the restrooms.

Once inside, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her coffee order was so complicated, not even Hanna or Emily usually remembered it. But Spencer did. She knew by heart. She let out a small sigh and joined Spencer again.

They talked about small stuff, Spencer told her about some problem at the Lost Woods and how she had to call a plumber because there was a leak in one of the restrooms and Aria told her that she had done some grocery shopping and almost ran into Jenna. The way Spencer talked seemed so natural, so much like Spencer and for a brief moment Aria wondered if she imagined things.

"Hey ladies. I got your coffees. Dry soy cap, unsweetened, no foam?" Aria starred at the waiter for a second and then smiled at him, indicating it was hers. He placed the cup down and placed the other one in front of Spencer. She took a sip and inhaled the strong flavor, still a little surprised that she actually got her usual. There was no way this wasn't Spencer, was there?

"How are you feeling, today?" Spencer asked suddenly and Aria decided to jump in and tell her about Ezra.

"Ezra called.", she let out and she could see the surprised look on her friend's face.

"He told me to stop calling, that he needed time. He left Rosewood and he is trying to build a new life at this new place. He isn't gonna come home any time soon. He seemed so cold. I don't know what to think...I just - " Aria's eyes closed briefly, and she felt tears building up in them. She squeezed her eyes tightly, forcing them to stay closed for a minute, trying to not let any tears fall.

She heard a sigh escape Spencer, and saw that she reached out her left hand for Aria to grasp. She did and she squeezed it in hers, but she still couldn't feel Spencer's scar and it freaked her out. Now that she was so aware of it, it was all she could think about.

"I'm really sorry, Aria. He is an idiot." She shook her head and tightened her grip on Aria's hand.

"He doesn't deserve you anyway. He's a fool for leaving you behind and disappearing to New York."

Aria nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Thank you.", she smiled and kept her hand in hers.

For a moment the two women looked into each others eyes, both smiling and holding hands. However, Aria just hoped that the other woman didn't notice the way her teeth clenched, the way her heart raced, or the way her hand gripped the coffee cup as tight as she could. She was now completely sure that this person in front of her was not her friend

Whether it was Spencer herself or some cheap copy of her, she knew it wasn't the girl that held a big place in her heart.

Because Aria had never mentioned anything about Ezra being in New York, but she had.

And Aria swore to God she would find out what was going on.

…

As soon as Alex left, Spencer looked down at her hands and her eyes stayed locked on her left hand for what felt like eternity. She traced the tiny scar that ranged from her thumb to her index finger. If you looked at it, you could barely see it. But moving her fingers over it, you could clearly feel it. Her heart filled with hope, when she thought of Aria and what Alex had said about her own hands. She had said Aria couldn't stop touching them and while it would normally freak her out that Aria had obviously hold hands with the enemy, a part of her, a big part of her, hoped that Aria had figured out it wasn't Spencer's hand she had touched. She doubted Alex knew about her scar anyway and if Spencer was right, it meant that this was one thing that could tell them apart. Aria had held her hand millions of times, had caressed it with soft fingers to comfort her in dark moments and scary times, had squeezed it so tightly at times, Spencer thought it would come off. Aria was there the day she had gotten her stitches, not leaving her side when Spencer was brought to the hospital after that dog had bitten her, holding her other hand and whispering kind words when they rode in the ambulance. She had called Spencer's parents and had stayed with her the whole time until she was finally sent home. Aria knew about that scar. She knew. And Spencer had never had more hope since she had woken up in that wicked place. There was a part of her though that filled with worry. She knew her tiny friend was smart but she couldn't help but fear for her safety. She wished she knew what Aria was thinking. Wished she could know what she was trying to do, what she was planning. Hoping she was figuring something out. She wished she could tell her to be careful. She didn't like that she wasn't able to protect her, all she wanted was to keep her safe.

But mostly, she just wished to see her again, have her tiny arms comfort her and not let go. Feel her heartbeat close to hers and hear her laugh, her voice. Have her, and Hanna, and Emily, and Ali, all of them, enveloped in a group hug and being able to see all of her friends' beautiful faces. She needed to see Aria again. She had to see her again.

"Aria,", she spoke to no one in particular.

"Be careful, please."

- to be continued -

So that's it for now. I'm sure you will like the next chapter, things get a little more complicated then! :D

Feedback is welcomed!