I am sorry for the long wait, I've been a little stressed ..But I am back now!

So, It looks like Aria and Spencer are finally happy, but we will see how long their fairy tale bliss will last?

Also, Alex isn't to amused about finding out what those two have been up to...There will be some danger ahead of us! Or will she fight her inner demons?

Hope you enjoy!

...

"Dear Ms Hastings,

We regret to inform that we - "

Letting out a frustrated groan, Spencer shut the laptop down with force, not caring if it broke something at all. She was tired of this. She was tired of failing. She had never really experienced rejection in her academic career before, and she didn't know how to handle this. It was not that Spencer didn't know what it felt like to be second best. She and Melissa had always competed about the silliest of things and it wasn't seldom that Melissa would beat her in almost every situation – in game and life – but other than her, she had always been the best in everything she did.

She had worked hard to be valedictorian in high school, had worked her ass off at university - when everybody else was drinking their brain cells away - to be at top of her graduating class and she had fought to have an internship at one of the most important law firms in Washington. She had been unstoppable then. That was until Alex had shown up again to steal Cece's game and had crashed the life she had tried so hard to rebuild. Once again, she had been chained to the town she had been so glad to leave behind, and even though moving back to Rosewood had had its perks – Aria being the most important one – she couldn't help but wonder how many sacrifices she had had to make since her first day back. Not being able to follow the path she had one planned, she had decided to work for her mother's campaign and try desperately to find out the truth about her messed up family. Now, it seemed like one of the biggest mistakes she had ever made.

Lack of work experience. A gap in her CV. The amount of time that had passed since she had actually worked or studied anything law related. It was always one of these reasons that shattered the last bits of hopes she had. If it wasn't for Aria's constant kind words, she would have given up a long, long time ago – She just didn't know how much longer she could take it.

She couldn't wait to be home soon and have a relaxed weekend with her friends and Aria. Away from all the stress and away from all those tiring thoughts of not being good enough.

She was in desperately need for some vacation. At the same time, she would have never believe that one day she would actually be glad to go back to the one town she hated most.

…

"Hey, tiny.", sounded the tired voice through the speaker and Aria rolled her eyes at her nickname.

"Why do you always call me that?", she asked with fake annoyance, hiding a smile.

"Oh, please. You love it. Now tell me how that meeting went yesterday? Any news? Did they like the new pages you sent them?"

Aria's heart warmed at Spencer's word. She missed her already. It was barely a week ago since they had been together, but the following weekend couldn't come soon enough. And even though they were miles apart, Spencer always tried to be as involved as possible in her career as a small writer and all her projects she had going on. She knew that Spencer's life was busy enough right now; having interviews any other day for different law firms while impatiently waiting for them to call or write back with a job offer - and still she had time to focus on what Aria was doing. Aria sometimes wondered how she got so lucky to date her best friend.

"They liked it, but they want me to work faster on the next ones.", Aria sighed, thinking of how stressful next week will be.

"Don't stress yourself too much, Ar. And don't let them stress you. I am sure they will love whatever you give them."

"Yeah, let's hope so. So, any news on that interview two days ago? I know you loved the firm and you said the boss was quite nice."

"Still no word.", her tone shifted and Aria knew Spencer was holding back. She hated when she did that. Spencer had always been someone hard to get through, but Aria wasn't going to let it go this time.

"What it is?", she tried, she didn't like it when Spencer felt so out of reach.

"I got rejected by two other firms, yesterday. Again. I am tired of failing.", her voice was so small Aria almost didn't hear it. But when she did, her heart broke for her girlfriend.

"Babe.", she sighed. "I am so sorry. I don't understand – how can they not hire you? You have the best grades of your class!"

"It's not enough. They are looking for someone with practical knowledge, and the last year all of us have been in Rosewood, and yeah I've been helping out my mum but I didn't really invest time in my career, so..."

"It was not your fault!", Aria practically ranted. And for a moment she thought Alex was to blame. It was because of her that Spencer had to stay in Rosewood and couldn't continue to look for a job in DC. She wanted to hate Alex, she did - but she couldn't. And if she was honest with herself, she actually missed her – as a friend. But it was still a hard topic to address to Spencer, and she didn't feel like either of them nor their relationship were ready for Aria to go to visit her again.

"It's fine. I just wish you were here with me." It was not often that Spencer showed Aria her vulnerable side, but she loved the moments when she did. It was then that Aria felt closest to her, even though they were miles apart.

"I wish that, too. I can't wait for next week." And she really couldn't. She felt her heart warm at the thought of being in the tall girl's arms again.

"Me too." There was some rustling in the background before Spencer spoke again. "Listen, I have to go. I think my chicken ready and I am starving."

Aria chuckled. "Okay. I will text you later then. Just - Spencer. Don't give up just yet, okay? You are amazing at what you do. I know you, Spence. You are one of the most hard working and smart people I know. And I know if they would take their time to get to know you, they would see what a beautiful soul you are. Someone will see that. And when they do, they won't let you go." She had promised Hanna to convince Spencer to stay in Rosewood, but she couldn't help but try to cheer her up. There was a pause and for a moment she thought Spencer had hung up, when she heard her sigh over the phone.

"Spence -", Aria tried again and she heard some deep breathing.

"Thank you, Ar. For saying that. I miss you."

"I mean it. You are kind, selfless, loyal, intelligent - you fight for what you think is right and you always try to see the good in people even if you doubt them at first. It's just the kind of person you are, how you fight for justice. It's one of those hundred reasons that made me fall for you in the first place. You can't give up on yourself, okay? I know I won't. You deserve this, you worked so hard for this - they are stupid for not seeing the amazing person you are. You are perfect for this job."

There was another pause then, and Aria thought she had said something wrong. It was then when she heard a sniff and she felt bad.

"Did I say something wrong? Spencer, I am sorry if -"

"No!", the lawyer interrupted firmly. "You said it just right.", she chuckled through what sounded like new tears. "I don't know what I would do without you. You are incredible."

Aria blushed deeply, happy that she could make her girlfriend smile. "You could do it. I know you could. But I am so glad I am here to help you out, to cheer you on."

"You know what would really help me out right now?" The older girl asked flirtatiously through the phone.

Aria laughed and decided to play along. "I have no idea. Tell me."

"You, here with me. I like sleeping next to you. You make everything easier."

Aria's smile grew, not having expected an answer this sweet. She felt the warmth of Spencer's words surround her. "That would be nice. I wish I was there, too. You make me brave, Spence. You are my best friend, my safe haven. I miss you."

"I miss you too, babe. God. The things I would do to you if I was there right now."

Aria blushed, feeling heat rushing through her body, before she suddenly started laughing.

"Perfect.", came the fake bitter voice of her girlfriend. "I am trying to turn you on, and all you do is laugh at me.", she pouted and Aria chuckled.

"I am sorry." She let out between giggles. "I am really sorry to have interrupted your adorable attempt on phone sex, but I just remembered your chicken!"

"Shit!", she heard Spencer yell and she heard some more rustling and suddenly coughing, too.

"Are you okay?", she asked through the speaker, a little worried that Spencer burnt down her whole kitchen.

"Well, it looks like I won't have chicken today, after all.", she grunted and Aria started to laugh again. As determined and strict as Spencer was with herself and work sometimes, she was such a dork, too.

"I better let you clean up that mess you made then."

"You are so funny." Aria could picture Spencer rolling her eyes.

"All right, I will text you later, beautiful."

"Okay, have fun cleaning up. And don't be too upset, okay? I will still want you, if you are broke. Cross my heart."

"I don't know if that was you mocking me, but because you just saved my day, you are forgiven for now. Speak to you later, little big one."

…

"Anything?", she asked curiously, eyeing the girl that sat in front of her on the same wooden chair that had been occupied by a certain small brunette for so many times a while ago. Now, it felt like ages go. Alex knew Aria was probably conflicted because of Spencer, but she couldn't help that something else was going on. After all, she had promised to help her through this. And as the weeks passed, she felt like slipping further and further away from her.

"You won't like it.", replied the other woman and Alex could almost see the curves of her lips moving upwards.

"Mona.", she warned. She didn't want to play games. That is not what those meetings were about. She knew asking Mona for a favor wasn't going to be the best idea, but it was the only chance she had and she wasn't about to destroy it. She also knew that getting something from Mona would mean she would have to give her something else in return. These things were never free, but she certainly wasn't about to let her enjoy this too much.

"She is seeing your sister." Her tone was casual, but the twinkle in her eyes told Alex that Mona was just waiting for her to lash out. She didn't quite understand though. She let out a frustrated groan. Was this Mona's way of annoying her? She knew Aria was probably hanging out with Spencer a lot. She certainly didn't need for Mona to come all the way to Philadelphia just to tell her that.

"They are friends, Mona. Of course, they are going to hang out. I want to know if you found out a reason why she is not visiting. Has she talked to anyone about me?"

She grew impatient, waiting for answers.

"You don't seem to understand. Aria and Spencer are not just hanging out. More like they are too busy to talk because they are doing other kind of things.", Mona let out a laugh then and Alex' suddenly realized what she was implying.

"Don't test me, Mona. I am done playing these games with you. I didn't ask you to come up with some lie.", she accused her with confidence. "You can go now. And don't come back" She shouldn't have asked her to spy on Aria. She knew Mona would just come up with some sort of lie just to mess with her head and she hated her for that.

However, Mona didn't move. She crossed her arms and started to laugh. "I knew you would say." She shook her head slightly and turned around to grab her bag, sliding her left hand inside and fumbling around, looking for something inside.

Alex grew nervous and looked anywhere but Mona. She hated how Mona had so much control over her feelings. She didn't want to feel that way. Threatened. Nervous. She knew Mona was bluffing so why did she let her turn into the weak victim?

She finally dared to look Mona in the eye again, her gaze moving towards the object she had just pulled out of her bag. Looking closer, she suddenly felt her breath hitch. Then, time stopped. If she were to ask later what she was feeling at this particularly moment of Mona showing her those pictures the only honest answer would be that she didn't know. Her mind felt blank and she lost all control over her body. She was rooted to the spot. It was almost like she was looking at the image before her through a pair of different eyes, not being able to look away, but not being able to react in any other way either. There she was, the one person who she trusted the most, the one person who made her believe she could switch sides and become one of the good, the one person who had genuinely cared for her - or so she thought. Aria had become so much more than a crush,than a shoulder to lean on, she had become the woman of her dreams. And now here she was, nestling her slim and small frame into an intimate embrace with someone that wasn't her. It hurt. And still, Alex thought she had never seen Aria look more full of life - more beautiful - than in that exact picture. Of course, all thoughts of beauty left her mind the second she noticed whose arms she was nestled in, whose left arm held her torso protectively as not to break her, whose lips were buried in her neck making Aria tilt her head back in pleasure, whose right hand was crawled around her shoulder in desperation and need. She felt sick watching the two lovers being in their own world. She felt betrayed. She couldn't understand what was happening. All she could do was stare at the couple and she felt the sudden urge to strangle the taller woman for stealing her muse. Her sister had no right to take the last thing she had left, the last person that believed in her. She felt anger boil inside her body, fuming with emotions she didn't know she could feel. Before, she had wanted Spencer to forgive her for destroying her and her friends' lives, had wanted for them to finally leave the past behind and move on to become family - Now, all she wanted was to make her suffer; and make her feel like she was feeling right now: Empty, Broken, Dead.

In the background, she could vaguely hear Mona shouting at her to calm down, but Alex couldn't control her heart from racing, her body from shaking. Her hands tore the picture in half and it was then that she felt like she was slipping into darkness, away from the only light that was left inside her.

...

There you go :) Hope you liked the chapter!

So, Alex knows Sparia is real! And by the looks of it nothing good will come out of it.. Will she return to her old ways? Or will her love for Aria stop her from being evil from her? Can someone get through her? We will have to wait..

For now. Thank you so much for reading and please leave a review to let me know what you think!

Side Note: I am so glad there are more Sparia out there now! I feel like recently more people start to write about them and it makes me so happy!

Until next time, much love!