Mona was out of mental institution and was coming back to school.

"Why would she think of doing something like this? Is she planning something?" Aria had invited me over and the two of us were sitting cross-legged on her bed discussing the issue.

"I have no idea. But if she's still sending those A messages…we can't forget what happened. She tried to kill Spencer."

"I know-"

"Am I interrupting girl talk?" Mike walked in, his duffel bag over his shoulder.

I stood and glanced at it before asking where he was going.

"To my mom's for the week. I told you remember?"

"Oh. Right." I nodded, and pouted. "So you're leaving now?"

"I would say you could come and hang with me today, but Mom wanted to go somewhere with me and watch me practice or something, I have no idea. Plus, you came over to hang with my sister today, not me. I know I have to share."

I smiled at that and pecked him on the cheek. "Alright. Don't forget to call me tonight to set up our movie date this weekend."

"As if I would." He scoffed and gave me a quick hug before waving to his older sister and left.

"So he still knows nothing?" I turned on Aria, closing the door after Mike.

She nodded. "I can't put him in danger…Mads, we have to protect him from A."

I remembered the text I'd gotten after Noel kissed me…if Mike ever found out…what would he do? Would he go off the deep end again?

I nodded, a lump in my throat and sat back down, and soon the other girls arrived and we all discussed Mona.

The next day at school, everyone was being so rude to Mona and treating her with such…evil. She deserved it but still…I pitied her.

When Mona opened her locker and everyone recorded her putting that brain in the garbage…I got so agitated I took a few phones from some jocks around me and threw them in the trash after the brain. I turned on the crowd who stared shocked at me. "Go get em." I sneered, and flipped my hair off my shoulder. "If I see any videos or pictures of this online, so help me, because I will track you down and destroy your social reputation."

I could do that. Just because of whom my sister had been. Funny how power fell to me, even though I never really used it.

I shouldn't have been helping Mona, but this whole thing was so incredibly wrong on so many levels. There are funny pranks, revenge, and then there's just being an asshole. Why stoop to her level?

Noel glared at me as I passed through the parted crowd and came after me.

"Hey! Hey! Freshman, who do you think you are?" He grabbed my forearm and spun me around to face him.

"I'm Madeline DiLaurentis. And whether you like it or not, people will always listen to me around here. I have the same amount of power around here as you. My grade doesn't matter, and I have a name as already stated."

"Do I have to silence you forcibly? When you will learn to just let things happen?" I could feel his breath on my face.

I still glared. "You don't get to tell me what to do. And you don't get to dictate how to ruin someone's life. There's a difference between getting back at her for what she did, and just being as crazed as her. That was a real knife Noel. Pinned in her locker. If I were to report this, do you know how many rules would have been violated and how many strikes on certain people's permanent records would appear? I suggest you let this go and keep people from putting this up online…or you'll be the one stuck in detention for the rest of the year." I pulled my arm out of grip, resisted the urge to spit in his face and sauntered away.

"Damn." He whispered in admiration as I left, and I smirked at how primitive he was.

I got home later to find Jason sulking around.

"Jason? What's up?" I put my things down and crossed over to him.

He seemed conflicted and looked towards me as if I were a stranger. I froze. Was he high?

"Why did you come back to Rosewood." He seemed regretful, as though he knew I would have been safer back at my study program.

I sighed and said, "Because I like to give people the benefit of the doubt before cutting them off. Everyone deserves a second chance."

He took this in for a moment, and crushed me to him in a bone-breaking hug.

"I'm sorry I've been such a terrible guardian to you. Mike takes better care of you then I do." I stood shocked for a moment, unsure of what had brought this on, and not sure I wanted to know, before wrapping my arms around him and just taking in the rare moment.

I was up in my room doing homework when I got a message from Hanna about checking my social networks, so I immediately stopped working on my term paper and went online to see a video of Mona saying all this stuff that would immediately gain some major points from other members of the student body. I suddenly felt way less bad for her, and closed the laptop in disgust.

The next day at school, I was sitting in class wondering where Mike was as his chair was empty when he came into the classroom looking exhausted and angry.

I stood up subconsciously and most of my classmates turned to look at me, and I sat down, embarrassed.

"So glad you could join us Mr. Montgomery. Please take your seat. Now, during the French and Indian War-"

Our teacher resumed the lesson as Mike sat down in his chair behind me.

"Mike? What happened?" I hissed and turned to him, a worried expression on my face.

His face softened and he murmured he'd tell me later. I frowned and went to touch his hand as support but he pulled back from me and a shudder of pain went straight through to my heart. Hurt, I pulled back and turned around, pretending to care about how the English colonists were starting to get angry at the motherland and how the war sparked the feud between Americans and Brits.

As soon as the bell rang, Mike was out of there and I shoved my binder into my bag and chased after him.

"Mike!" I grabbed his wrist and he slowed to a stop and turned on me.

"What?"

I was taken aback and I shook my head. "What's up with you? Is something going on?"

"Maybe you should ask Aria. She knows more about Meredith the home wrecker than I do."

I knew all about Meredith. Ali had told me and sworn me to secrecy over our graves, and that I'd regret it if I told Mike or anyone else before she gave the ok to do so. I wondered if Aria knew Ali had told me but I let it go.

"Problems at home? I thought you were staying at your mom's this week-"

"I am…but I just had Meredith last period…and…I had to get out. So I hid in the bathroom for an hour before going to my next class. I panicked."

I sighed and took Mike's hand in both of mine. "Mike." I looked him in the eye. "I will tell that bitch all she needs to hear about how she's ruined a whole family and their lives. It's because of her you have to see a therapist and all these things…I will destroy her if you want me to."

"Mads you can't do that. Why would you? She hasn't done anything to you."

"But she has. She hurt you so much. And she needs to get her karma. I want to do this, because I love you."

He smiled weakly. "I love you more." He tucked a strand of dark hair behind my ear.

We were about to kiss when Noel walked by and exclaimed, "PDA!" Mike broke off laughing with his friend while I glared at Noel. If only Mike knew about how terrible his friend really was.

I called Toby after school to see if he wanted to meet up after he finished work, but he sounded weird over the phone. He sounded distant and strange…as if he was trying to hide something from me. And I realized later I was the only one to notice, probably because we were best friends, but still.

A few days later, I went over to Aria's for homework help and to see how she was doing with her cold, despite the major storm warning.

The door was slightly ajar so I pushed it open to see Meredith standing above an unconscious Aria.

I was about to scream, totally confused as to what was going on when Meredith knocked me out too. I woke up in the basement with Emily and Hanna standing above Aria and me.

We all discussed Aria's dad and Meredith and what she'd done and then the door at the top of the stairs opened. We grabbed makeshift weapons and watched as Mr. Montgomery came down the stairs. "You don't have to be scared." He told us and explained what had happened. He turned on me suddenly. "Please don't tell Mike about any of this. I don't want to pile more problems on him and make him worse. He's made so much progress lately."

I felt so weak then, and it got hard to breathe.

"Mads?" the girls questioned. I panicked. I was keeping so many secrets I'd lost count. And then this Meredith thing and this deal with my sister and Aria's father. There was Noel to think about on top of that along with A and Mona and Mike and Jason and everything else. I panicked. And I somehow blacked out, my brain just seeming to give up on me.

I woke up in my bed and immediately leaned over to check my clock, but it was only 9 in the evening. I sat up and noticed Jason sitting at the edge of my bed staring at me.

"Wait…Jay…why…what…I was at Aria's house-"

"You fainted. Dehydrated I think. Mr. Montgomery called me and asked me to come get you."

"Oh…Jason, I'm so sorry-"

"Don't be. I was worried sick though, on the way over. You were so pale and lifeless on their couch in the candlelight. The power was out, and it literally just came back five minutes ago if you were wondering." He added at the end.

I was speechless, and I had no idea what to say. I'd never blacked out before. It didn't make sense to me.

I threw the covers off and walked over to my window where I could've sworn I saw a figure clothed in black running out of Spencer's house and down the street. There was a flash of lightning as the figure turned their face for a millisecond and I gasped inwardly. I immediately turned from the window and looked over to my brother. "I'm fine Jason, really…Could you just…let me be for the moment? I need to get my geometry homework done."

He nodded and got up. "Of course. If you need anything just call out." And then he was gone. I closed the door behind him and slid to the floor. What had I just seen outside my window?


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