A/N: Hey everyone! This is the penultimate chapter, there is a kiss, a fight, and an A reveal! Review and favorite! :)
When disaster strikes, it hits in slow motion. You don't realize what's going on around you, time stops. Aria Montgomery looked as though an earthquake was destroying the world around. Her large, round eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets, and her mouth was wide open. "Spencer, you have to be wrong. You guys always like to jump on theories, without knowing anything. You have to be wrong." She shook her head in blatant disbelief.
"Aria, I get it, you have no reason to suspect that Ezra is anything but a nice guy. We have proof though, he's been giving Cece Drake checks, huge checks. More than that, he had Ali's journal in his work desk." Spencer walked to Aria's side, she looked down at her shoes, refusing to even look in the other girl's direction. When the tall girl attempted to put her hand on Aria's shoulder, she shook her off, coldly.
Annoyed, Hanna stood up, her arms tightly crossed. "I know how hard this is for you to hear, but you don't have to shut down to us. This news is shocking to all of us." Her leopard blazer was on the back of the kitchen chair, the blonde began to pace.
"If you need time to process this, I get it, but involve us in it. Don't shut us out, we get what we're going through. We've all had people involved in this, I had Paige, Spence had Toby, and Hanna had Mona." Emily's eyes were so full of love and compassion, it was like she was Aria in that moment.
"I need to go get some air," Aria got up from the chair and cracked open the door, "don't you dare follow me." The door slamming behind her. Caleb came out from behind the stairwell, a stunned expression painted his face.
"That didn't go the way I expected it to, it's not your fault, Han. That's alot to take in at once." He took her hand, and rubbed circles on it, calming the clearly stresses girl.
"I'm gonna go, and take the diary with me. There is lots to be learned." Spencer began to leave, giving Hanna a sympathetic smile, and Emily a longing gaze. Hanna fell asleep on the couch that night, next to Caleb. Emily spent the night in Hanna's bed, in her old room, contemplating what A as Ezra really meant, and other, less professional thoughts.
At Rosewood High that morning, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna met at their usual table. Spencer had dark, undereye circles and the diary, marked with post it notes, in her hands. "Is it safe to assume, that Aria's taking a much needed day off?" Emily wondered, looking out at the massive student body.
"It seems that way." Hanna took the journal from Spencer's hand, opening the expertly organized pages. "Why do I have a sense that this is your OCD journal?"
"It's not. I made the pages into marked sections, purple for Emily, yellow for Hanna, red for myself, and green for Aria. The orange sticky notes are for the things I don't understand." Spencer's rigid intelligence never managed to shock the girl's.
"I'll take mine first, maybe read some of yours." Hanna said in a strangely eager way. Who genuinely wanted to read what Alison, queen bee, had to say about them.
"Really, Hanna? I'll read mine first, nothing I haven't heard before." Emily added, trying to protect her friend from the stories about 'Hefty Hanna' that may be in there.
"Seriously Em, I got this, I'll give it to you when I'm done." With that, Hanna, rocking the dark braids, snatched the pink journal from Spencer's hands. Emily stood up to go to class, but Spencer stopped her.
"I know this isn't the right time, but at some point, can we talk about what happened last night?" Spencer's heart was pounding, her fingers trembled slightly, Emily was her best friend, she couldn't ruin that, not even for a romance. Emily's usually calm face was unreadable, her eyes looked almost vacant.
"Spencer, I think we should talk about this. It was a mistake, even the thought of us being anything, never mind kissing, can't happen. You are straight, you know that. Nothing will happen with us, I like girls, you've convinced yourself that you like girls. That's the difference." Spencer felt her own heart being torn apart in her chest, Emily had taken her true feelings, her love for her, and twisted and misconstrued it completely. She felt tears welling up in her brown orbs of eyes.
"Em, stop. You know that's not the case, I'm the opposite of confused about how I feel about you." Spencer couldn't handle this kind of rejection from her best friend.
"Spence, but it is the case. I need to get to class." Emily stomped away, coldly.
That night, Spencer sat on her back porch, imagining what weird stories Ali had written about her, what secrets she may have revealed. She had feelings for Emily ever since the swimmer first became a part of their friend group with Alison, small butterflies but still feelings. They had stayed that way up until this very year, in which they became something more. Her feelings for Emily had became an all encompassing love, it consumed her, every second, every minute. Just as she thought of this, the girl of her thoughts came bounding through the gate. Emily Fields, in all her glory, had showed up after all. "Em, you don't have to be here. I know you have better things to do, then reject me again."
"Spencer, please, for once, stop talking." The raven haired girl grabbed Spencer's hand, stopping her from talking for the moment. "Let me do the talking." She took a deep breath, and continued on. "Earlier today, I got scared, by scared, I mean terrified. Terrified that I'd end up hurting you, or that this would be an Ali situation. Spencer, I love you, and I've been in love with you for so long. I wanted to be safe, and keep this all to myself, but I couldn't. I'm afraid that I'm never going to love anyone the way I love you." As she said those words, she brought Spencer's face up to her own. Her heart hammering, Emily tentatively pressed her lips to the other girl's. Spencer's lip were plush, and tasted a bit like raspberries. She melted into Emily's arms, wrapping her arms around her neck. Spencer gently swiped her tongue on Emily's bottom lip, begging for an entrance. It was like fireworks were exploding between them, wild and passionate. The kiss grew more intense, and Emily grew flustered. She pulled back, a smile on her face.
"You didn't prepare me for that." Spencer's cheeks were a shade of fiery red, and she was grinning from ear to ear.
"You think I was prepared for that?" As they giggled, Emily's phone rung out. It was a text from Hanna, saying "you'll never believe what I found in Ali's diary. SOS, I might know where she is." Spencer's jaw dropped, did Hanna just say she might know where Ali is, she and Emily ran out to the car like there was no tomorrow.
A's POV
The girl's were always so dumb. Thinking that finding Ali would be as easy as an answer in some, very manipulated journal. Sometimes they were too dumb for their own good. On the other hand, there was me, sitting here in the Busy Bee Inn. They will all go here, and find nothing, no Ali, of course. She had thought that she had this running away thing all figured out, but she was wrong. I'm coming for her, and she'll have no idea. Because no one will have suspected the innocent Aria Montgomery, they had no reason to even consider the fact that there closest friend is the one ruining their lives..