"I'm telling you, she's in love with Aria! I should have known! How could I have been so stupid?!" Emily said as she tapped herself twice on the forehead. She phoned Hanna about an hour after Spencer left. The swimmer was pacing back and forth on her room as she spoke with her best friend.
"Relax Em. Stop pacing! I can hear your footsteps from here." Hanna said. She was getting ready for bed when Emily called. She heard Emily sigh on the other end of the line. "Did she tell you this? I mean, did she say Aria's name?" Hanna asked gently.
Emily let out another sigh and sat by the window. "No, she didn't say her name. She just said and I quote "You know her very well". Who else could it be?"
"Emily! You're just jumping into conclusions! Maybe she was referring to me." Hanna said, laughing a little.
"Hanna!" Emily shouted as she picked up one of the pillows beside her. If Hanna was there she would've thrown the pillow on the blonde's head.
Hanna moved the phone away from her ear a little as Emily's response stung her ear a bit. "Just kidding! I was just trying to lighten the mood. Seriously Em, maybe she was referring to you. I'm pretty sure she likes you too. I've seen how she looks at you."
"Don't you get it? She's been interested in girls all along. She even had a girlfriend, for Christ's sake. Don't you think that if there was any chance that she might have liked me back, she should have told me by now?" Emily explained. She was sure that Spencer would've kissed her earlier before they were interrupted by Aria's call. But why? Why would she kiss me? Emily thought to herself. She was really confused and Hanna's words are not helping in any way.
"She does like you. Maybe she just never had the guts to admit it." Hanna's tone was more serious now. She pulled up the covers and climbed into bed while she held the phone to her ear.
"C'mon Hanna! This is Spencer Hastings that we're talking about. Gutsy is her middle name. She's dauntless. She can do whatever she wants and can say whatever she wants. She can very well rule the planet as far as I'm concerned. She's like the queen of the universe, or the biggest and brightest star. She's Cleopatra reincarnated or maybe even Aphrodite, or…"
Hanna chuckled and interrupted Emily's rambling. "You really got it bad, don't you?"
"You have no idea. But she's not even interested in me!" Emily sighed as she pulled her legs up to her chest and leaned against the window on her side.
"You said she almost kissed you."
"Almost, but then Aria called and she totally ditched me! Just like that!" Emily snapped her fingers as she spoke.
"You know how those two are. Maybe Aria needed to see her right away, that's why she couldn't stay. You're overthinking, Em. Just talk to Spencer about it." Hanna knew that Emily was crazy jealous of Aria and Spencer's closeness. She would probably feel the same if she has any romantic feelings for either of the two. Spencer and Aria were friends even before Alison introduced the two of them to her and Emily. They shared a close bond. It was a sisterly bond, but Emily's feelings for Spencer have been clouding her judgement.
"I can't. What would she think? That just because I found out that she's into girls, I suddenly want to date her?" Emily explained.
"I'm sure Spencer's not going to think that way." Hanna said.
"I don't know, Han." Emily sighed dejectedly.
"You know what? You're turning into Spencer. You think too much. Just sleep on it for now and we'll figure it out tomorrow. We should get to bed. We have school tomorrow." Hanna said as she tried to stifle a yawn.
"Fine. Thanks, Han." Emily said. She wasn't sure if their conversation helped at all but she was glad that she can always count on her best friend for patiently listening to her as she vented out her frustrations.
"Goodnight Em. Seriously, get some sleep." Hanna said sweetly as she turned the lamp light off her night table.
"I will. Goodnight Han." Emily replied before hanging up. She leaned back and stared out the window. It's going to be another long and sleepless night.
"Hey." Aria said as Spencer walked up to her. She jumped down from the hood of her car and gave the taller brunette a hug.
"Been waiting long?" Spencer asked as they walked from Aria's car to her house.
"Not really, just a few minutes. I could've picked you up from Emily's, you know." Aria said as they entered the Hastings' kitchen through the back door.
"It's okay. It's just a short walk. So what's up? Is everything okay?" Spencer asked as she eyed the smaller brunette with concern.
"Yeah. Why?" Aria replied nonchalantly.
"You said you wanted to see me."
"Do I need a reason to see you?" Aria smiled and lightly punched Spencer in the arm. "I just miss you. I just wanna hang out and catch-up. I haven't had much time with you since you came back."
"Oh." Spencer didn't intend to sound disappointed, but then she kind'a was. She was about to kiss Emily earlier when Aria called. She had been waiting for that kiss all her life.
"Try not to sound so excited, will yah?" Aria said as she rolled her eyes.
"Sorry. Of course I want to hang out with you as well." Spencer said, feeling a little guilty on how she reacted.
"Wait, did I interrupt something earlier?" Aria widened her eyes and held Spencer's arm. She grinned mischievously as she waited for Spencer's answer. Spencer smiled and motioned for Aria to follow her upstairs to her room. As the two sat on Spencer's bed, they heard footsteps outside the hallway.
"Melissa?" Spencer called. Their parents were away on some business trip and she wasn't sure if Melissa was home or not.
"Spencer? Have you talked to your coach about quitting the field hockey team?" Melissa said as she walked down the hallway towards Spencer's room. She stopped on the doorway with a surprise on her face as she didn't know that Spencer has company. "Oh. Hi, Aria. I didn't know you were here." Melissa smiled at Aria and bit her lip as she glanced at her sister, giving her an apologetic look.
"Hi Melissa." Aria gave the Melissa a polite smile.
"Spence, we'll just uh, talk tomorrow. Goodnight girls." Melissa said.
The younger Hastings smiled and nodded, silently accepting her sister's apology. "Yeah. Goodnight."
"Goodnight Melissa." Aria said as she gave Melissa another smile.
"Spence, what is she talking about? Why are you quitting field hockey?" Aria asked as soon as Melissa closed the bedroom door.
"I-uhm, I just have too much on my plate right now. I need to focus more on my AP classes." Spencer didn't meet Aria's eyes as she spoke.
"Is this Melissa's idea? Is she trying to get you to do things?" Aria had a feeling that Spencer wasn't giving her the whole story. Though they'd kept their promise not to keep any secrets from each other, there were a few instances where Spencer withheld the truth to protect Aria's feelings. They were just small white lies anyways and she would later come clean to Aria about it. That's how their friendship works.
"No, of course not. She's just offering some advice about school." Spencer gave Aria a small smile as she lied.
It was true though that Melissa advised her to limit her physical activities because aside from the occasional headaches, she was having issues with her vision as well. Melissa stated that it wouldn't be a good idea to play any sport if Spencer will continue to have blurred vision from time to time. Though Spencer was initially against the idea, Melissa explained that it will be for her own safety.
"Seriously? And since when do you listen to her? You haven't told me yet why you spent the whole summer following her around." Aria knew almost every fight that Spencer had with Melissa in the past. The siblings grew apart as they got older. Aria acted more like a sister to Spencer than Melissa ever did.
"Melissa's been good to me these past few months. We're just trying to make up for lost time. We both realized that we wasted a lot of time trying to outdo each other all of our lives that we ended up almost hating each other along the way. She's really acting more of a big sister to me now than before. We've learned a lot from each other these past few months than the last 10 years." Spencer explained.
"Is this the reason why The Spencer Hastings is a softie now? Who would've thought Melissa will have this kind of influence on you?" Aria teased. Spencer shook her head and smiled. "I think it's great though. Hanna and Emily actually talked to me about it. Maybe now that you're more affectionate with them, then Hanna will stop calling me your little wife." Aria continued.
Spencer laughed as she thought about Hanna's silliness that drove Aria crazy.
Spencer moved up on the bed so she can lean back on the headboard. "I guess I just realized that you can never take things for granted, you know? Life is too short. We wouldn't be around each other forever. It wouldn't hurt to show the people you care about how you truly care for them." She said after a while.
Aria smiled and moved up on the bed, mimicking Spencer's position. "On that note, how are things with Emily? You said it yourself, life is too short. Have you told her yet?" Aria asked as she eyed the taller brunette.
"Well, I almost did. I almost kissed her earlier" Spencer said shyly, smiling sheepishly at Aria.
"Oh my god! Really?" Aria exclaimed.
"Yes, but then you interrupted by calling." Spencer playfully scowled at Aria.
"Shit! I'm so sorry Spence." Aria said apologetically.
"It's alright. I think you're right though. I mean, all these time you've been telling me that she probably likes me back, I think I felt it tonight. I saw it in her eyes." Spencer said with a bit more confidence than the last time they talked about this.
"I'm so happy for you, Spence!" Aria hugged her excitedly.
"Wait! Don't celebrate yet. You might jinx it." Spencer laughed.
Aria responded by hitting Spencer with a pillow, laughing along with her best friend.
Spencer sat on their usual table at the cafeteria while waiting for the other girls. She hasn't seen Emily all day. She was starting to get worried that the swimmer was maybe mad at her for what happened the day before. Almost happened. Spencer thought.
"Spencer!" the brunette turned to see Jenna walking up to her table.
"Hey, Jenna! What's up?"
"I just want to ask if we could work on our Chemistry project later if you're not busy." Jenna asked as she sat beside Spencer.
"I actually have field hockey practice this afternoon, but I can meet you after." Spencer said.
"I could come to your practice and wait for you, if that's okay?" Jenna offered.
"Are you sure?" Spencer asked.
Jenna placed her hand on Spencer's arm and smiled sweetly. "Yeah. I can work on a few of my homeworks while waiting for you."
Jenna stood up from her seat as she saw Hanna and Aria approaching. "I probably should get going. I'll see you later, yes?"
"See you later." Spencer said.
"What was that about? You're spending time with her now?" Aria asked as she sat on the chair opposite Spencer, setting her food tray on the table. Hanna sat beside Aria and gave Spencer a disapproving look.
"We're just gonna work on our chem. project later." Spencer ignored the look that Hanna's giving her.
"Don't you have field hockey practice later?" Aria asked.
"I do, but she wanted to come and wait for me." Spencer stated simply.
"It's clear that she wants more than a study session on chem. with you." Hanna finally spoke. She narrowed her eyes at Spencer.
"Don't give me that look. I'm just trying to be nice to her. We know what she's been through. I know it's been hard for her to come back here after what has happened. I'd appreciate a helping hand and if I were in her shoes." Spencer explained.
"You're a good person, Spence. I'm so proud to have you as my best friend." Aria smiled at Spencer and took her hand from across the table.
Spencer squeezed Aria's hand as she returned the smaller brunette's smile.
Emily was on her way over to their table when she noticed the two brunettes holding hands. She was mentally debating whether she will still join them for lunch or just leave. "Emily!" She heard Hanna's voice before she could even decide. Emily let out a frustrated sigh as she walked over to where her friends were sitting.
"Come sit beside me." Spencer smiled, offering the chair next to her.
Emily felt butterflies on her stomach as she returned the brunette's smile and slowly sat beside her. The four of them casually talked about school stuff as they ate their lunch. Emily stole glances at Spencer as they ate. Her mind drifted to their conversation the night before which almost ended in a kiss.
"Em?" Spencer asked again as she tried to get the swimmer's attention. Emily was looking at her with an expression that she couldn't discern.
"Sorry, what?" Emily's cheek flushed as she realized that Spencer caught her staring.
"Hanna asked if you guys want to sleep over at my house tonight." Spencer said.
"Oh, yeah sure." Emily said quickly.
"Okay then. Jenna and I will be working on our chem. project later after field hockey practice but that would only take a couple of hours at the most." Spencer said. "She's my new lab partner." Spencer explained after noticing the perplexed look on Emily's face.
"Oh" Emily tried not to sound too disappointed. She knew she shouldn't feel jealous but she couldn't help it. That's how she felt whenever girls other than her get close to Spencer.
As Spencer and Hanna talked about their plans for later that night, Spencer noticed that Emily was unusually quiet on her side. She wasn't sure if the tanned girl was mad at her because of the previous night. She wanted to talk to Emily about it, but not in front of their friends.
"You okay?" Emily felt goosebumps when Spencer placed her hand on her arm.
"Yeah." Emily replied as she gave Spencer a shy smile. She glanced across the table at Aria. She wasn't sure if there really was something going on between Spencer and Aria, and she didn't want to intrude if there ever was.
Aria smiled and winked at Emily. The swimmer was clearly blushing at Spencer's mere touch. Seriously, how can these two not know that they want each other so bad? Aria thought.
What the hell is going on? Emily thought. Spencer's hand never left her arm, and now Aria is giving her a vacuous smile and a wink.
Hanna was talking to Spencer but she didn't fail to notice the silent exchange between Aria and Emily. The swimmer had a baffled expression on her face. She also noticed that Spencer's hand stayed on Emily's arm as they spoke. Tonight's sleepover is gonna be interesting. Hanna thought.