Chapter Three: To Kill a Mocking Girl
Trinity, Hanna, Spencer, Aria, and Emily walk through the woods.
"Whose idea was this, again?" Hanna asks.
"Emily's mom." Spencer answers.
"The shed was me." Emily says. "My mom just said we should do something for us."
"Well, couldn't we do something without mosquitoes?" Hanna swats around.
"They're not mosquitoes, they're gnats." Aria says.
"Whatever! They're small and annoying, and they're flying up my nose."
"Well, they're attracted to your perfume." Trinity says. "And your hair product and your lip gloss."
"So, what are you saying, I attract flies?"
"Gnats." Aria corrects her.
"Okay." Hanna says. "This has been bugging me for a while. Trinity, why are you emancipated?"
"Hanna!" Emily says.
"It's okay." Trinity tells her before turning to Hanna. "I'm an orphan."
"What?!" Spencer and Aria asks.
"I'm sorry." Hanna says.
Trinity shakes her head. "It's fine. When I was three I was in a car accident with my parents…I was the only survivor. But my parents being busy planners that they were, set up a failsafe just in case they didn't live as long as they planned to. Instead of spending years in the foster system, I was allowed to choose where I wanted to live…" She looks at the girls. "My family owns a lot of houses. If I ever got bored of one place then I was allowed to move to another."
"Who took care of you?" Aria asks.
"My family has caretakers for each house. They didn't choose their caretakers randomly. They chose people they trusted. They were given guardianship and were still paid." Trinity answered. "It's not like I grew up unhappy." She shrugged. "I was eligible for emancipation when I turned sixteen, so I filled out the papers, got a few signatures and it was done.
"What about funding the police department?" Emily asks.
"When Alison went missing, I made some calls. I wanted them to find her. A lot of good that did though." The girls fall into silence at that.
"How did you meet Ali?" Spencer asks.
"Well…" Trinity trails off. "The last town I lived in was so small and out of the way. It was basically the town where everybody literally knew each other. Alison's grandmother came to visit one of her friends and dragged Alison along with her. There were barely a handful of teenagers in town; her grandmother just pointed her to the nearest one. I was just sitting in my backyard playing my guitar when I see the blonde girl staring at me."
"And you guys just became friends?" Hanna asks.
"If she wanted to find something to do in that town she had to trust me. The whole reason I chose to live there was because it was so quiet. So I took her through the woods and to the waterfall."
"Waterfall?" Emily asks.
Trinity nodded. "It was part of the land I owned. We spent most of the time swimming. I taught her how to play chess and piano. Even a little bit of Latin."
"You taught Ali Latin?" Spencer asks in disbelief.
"She was actually good at it." Trinity said. "Other than that she'd just like me to read to her. Though she always called my books, dark, sadistic, and depressing."
"What did you read to her?" Hanna asks.
"A lot of murder mysteries. They were never the same though. Some would involve adultery, schizophrenia, corruption, incest-"
"Why would you read that?" Hanna asks. "Why would Ali want you to read her that."
"It was like a game between us. We'd stop after each chapter, take all the information in, and then we'd guess who the killer is."
"You did this for fun?" Aria asks.
Trinity shrugged. "Like I said, it was a small town."
"Why do I feel like this is the wrong way?" Emily asks.
"No, this is it. I remember that tree. It's the halfway point. There's 136 steps left to the shed." Spencer says.
"Have you been out here since…Alison?" Emily asks her.
"Me? No. No way."
"But you remember that tree." Aria said.
"You guys, it's not that weird. I mean, we came out here in eighth grade like, every day…even after." Hanna tells them.
"I think this is totally the wrong place to do this. Whatever you call it…shrine." Spencer says.
"It's not a shrine." Emily defends. "It's just a place to remember Alison. What's wrong with that?"
"Doing it way out here makes it look like we have something to hide." Spencer tells her.
"You're worried what other people think?"
"Well, aren't you? Do you really want to give that creepy Detective more reasons to question us?"
"Hanna, why are you so quiet?"
Hanna looks up. "I'm trying to keep the bugs in my nose and out of my mouth."
"You're allowed to have an opinion on this." Emily tells her. "You too Trinity.
"You want my opinion?" Hanna asks. "I say we hold off and not remember her 'til we know for sure she's not still here."
"What!?" The girls ask in disbelief.
"What are you talking about?" Aria asks.
"You think she's still alive?" Emily asks next.
"Hanna, they found her body." Spencer tells her.
Trinity stares at Hanna for a moment and shrugs her shoulders. I personally wouldn't put it past her. She thinks. Ali always loved to play tricks. She thinks of them as a test of loyalty. If she was a great manipulator before I met her, God only knows what she's like now.
"Stop." Aria says. "I'm officially scared. Can we just not…"
"You know, you asked for my opinion. I don't believe she's really gone." Hanna says.
"We went to her funeral!" Spencer says.
"Yeah, and when we left we all got a text from her." Hanna defends.
"It wasn't her. Someone is messing with us." Emily tells her.
"How do you know? And what about all those nasty messages? I mean, how does this 'A' person know stuff only Ali knew?" Hanna asks.
Trinity shrugs again. "Maybe she kept a journal." She says but her comment goes ignored as Aria speaks louder.
"Okay, this conversation is giving me a hive."
"That's a bite. Mosquito." Hanna tells her.
"Spencer, have you gotten any more messages?" Emily asks.
"Haven't you?" Spencer asks. The girls stop as the hear branches rustling.
"What was that?" Emily asks. "Did you hear that?"
"Yes, I heard that. I'm standing right next to you." Aria says.
"Hello? Is anybody out there?" Hanna calls.
"It's probably a rabbit." Spencer says.
"Hello?" Hanna calls again.
"It's a rabbit, Hanna. It's not gonna answer you."
"Can we just get to the shed?" Emily asks.
Trinity goes to follow in the direction of the noise but Aria grabs her wrist. "Where are you going?" She asks.
"I'm going to see what it is." Trinity says.
"By yourself?" Hanna asks. "Are you crazy?"
"Look," Trinity says. "If it's a rabbit, it's a rabbit. If it's not, I'm pretty sure that I can take them. I'm not running scared." The branches rustle again, this time louder.
"Okay, that is definitely not a rabbit. Someone's out there." Hanna says.
"Let's turn around." Emily says. Aria tightens her grip on Trinity's wrist when she tries to follow the noise again. The girl's cellphones ring.
Heads up, BFFs. It's open season on liars and I'm hunting… -A
The girls quickly leave. Trinity rolls her eyes as Aria tugs her along, refusing to let go of her until they are out of the woods.
Hanna walks in her kitchen to see Wilden standing in front the refrigerator, dressed in only a towel. "Morning." He greets.
"Where's my mother?" Hanna asks, annoyed.
"I guess she ran upstairs for somethin'. I'm trying to figure out what makes this stuff spreadable. You want a waffle or somethin'?"
"No. Thanks." Hanna sneers as Ashley walks into the room.
"There she is. It's canola oil!" Wilden holds up a canister from the fridge.
"Darren, why don't you get dressed? I'll take care of breakfast." Ashley tells him.
"Yeah." He nods, and walks out of the room.
"So what, he lives here now?" Hanna asks.
"Take out the milk." Ashley ignores her question.
"Is this a permanent thing?"
"Would you keep your voice down, please?"
"God, it was one pair of sunglasses, and they were last season's."
"Hand me the waffles."
"Mom, you don't have to do this."
"Do what?"
"Squeeze his grapefruit."
"We will talk after breakfast."
"I don't eat breakfast, and neither do you." Hanna tells her.
"Look. Until he gets the store to drop the charges for your shopping spree, we're not kicking anyone to the curb. The last thing we want is an enemy on the police force."
"I get it, okay? But I didn't count on having to buy him a father's day card, either."
"Hanna! The situation is delicate. By the way, if you're buying anyone a card, it should be me."
As their talking, Wilden is hiding around the corner; listening in to their conversation.
Aria sits outside a restaurant with her parents. She holds up the book that their reading for English 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.
"Well, you're pretty far into it." Byron says.
"Yeah, I've got, like, 60-some pages left, and I don't want it to end." Aria says.
"You should read her biography next."
"The father-worship thing becomes a lot clearer." Ella notes.
"Well, I would worship both of you a lot more…if you got me another one of these." Aria points to her plate.
"Uh, the poppy seed? We'll split it. Make sure your father doesn't drink all my coffee, please." Ella says before walking into the restaurant.
"Do you like your teacher?" Byron asks.
"What?" Aria asks with a look of shock.
"Your English teacher. Do you like him?"
"Oh! Yeah. Uh, he's okay."
"What's his name again?"
"Mr. Fitz. Hey, maybe I'll…I'll check out that biography at school. What's it called?" Aria says, trying to change the subject.
"I've got a copy of it in my office. I'll bring it home. It might inspire you."
"To what, write a novel?"
"You've got it in you."
A blonde woman walks from across the street, towards their table. "Byron?"
"Hey! Hi. How you doing?" He asks in surprise with a hint of nervousness.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." She says, looking between him and Aria.
"No, no, no, that's okay." He says.
Aria looks at the woman; remembering who she is.
Flash Back
Aria stands and watches in shock as Byron sits in the back of the car, kissing the woman.
Present
"Uh…" Byron struggles. "Um, Aria this is, uh, Meredith Sorenson. She also teaches in the department, uh, my department, and this is Aria, my daughter."
"Oh, Aria! Hi. Of course you are." The woman smiles before turning back to Byron. "Did you get my message?"
"Yes I did, and I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to call you back." He says.
"That's okay, they just need he referral by Monday, and…"
"I'll get to it as soon as I get back to campus. Is there an e-mail, or…"
"Here." She bends over, holding her folder for him to write in. He writes his information on a napkin. "So, how does it feel to be home? This town must seem a little dull after spending a whole year overseas." Meredith asks Aria.
"Not really." Aria says, watching as the woman stares adoringly at her father.
"Okay, well, I'll, uh…I'll send that before lunch." Byron says.
"Thanks. I'm so glad I ran into you." Meredith says before turning to Aria. "Nice to meet you. Welcome home." She turns and leaves.
"Why can't she graduate?" Aria asks, watching her leave.
"She has. I told you. She's now a teaching assistant. Not mine, but her office is across the hall. I can't pretend like she doesn't exist, Aria. It's a small college."
"Mm, not small enough."
Veronica is talking to Melissa as Spencer walks into the kitchen. "You can't avoid seeing people, sweetie. It is what it is."
"And what's that…sad? Humiliating? Pathetic? All of the above? Just…take someone else. I don't want to have to explain a wedding that's never gonna happen to every last club member." Melissa whines.
"Morning." Spencer says as she moves to get a plate.
"Hey." Veronica greets.
"Excuse me." Melissa says, standing up and opening the trashcan. She throws in wedding magazines one by one.
"Where's Dad?" Spencer asks.
"He left for the office." Veronica tells her.
"Already? So he ran without me? Why didn't he just knock on my door?"
"He was busy. He was helping Melissa dispose of some things that…Wren left behind."
"Unfortunately, you weren't one of them." Melissa sneers at her.
"How many times am I going to have to say it?" Spencer asks her.
"Oh, girls, please!" Veronica groans. "I can't arbitrate on one cup of coffee."
"Who's calling the paper to pull the announcement? It was hard enough changing my status on Facebook!" Melissa says.
"I'll take care of the newspaper." Veronica tells her.
"What about the engagement dinner? Do I have to make that call?"
"No, honey, of course not. Just look up the number and I'll leave a message." She looks at Spencer who is making her way towards the door. "Where are you going?"
"I'll eat in my bedroom." She says.
"Oh, no, you won't. I just dry-cleaned your bedspread. Sit at the table."
"I don't think I'm welcome."
"That's never stopped you before." Melissa sneers.
"I did not invite your fiancé to kiss me Melissa. For the last time, he made the move on me!" Spencer says, frustrated.
"Spencer, please." Veronica says.
"Right, you just sat there like a throw pillow with your tongue down his throat!" Melissa yells.
"Look, I get it! You're upset and I feel for you, but don't dump it all on me. Maybe you should be asking yourself why Wren felt the need to…I'm sorry. Okay? I'm not perfect, but I don't want to be accused of something that I didn't do!" Spencer yells back.
"Oh, stop please. Both of you! Go get dressed for school. You can take your muffin to go." Veronica says.
Spencer picks up her muffin and tosses it into the trashcan before leaving the room.
Mona and Hanna stand across the street from the school. Mona finishes putting on lipstick before holding it out to Hanna. "Ah! Totally love this color. We should've stocked up on a few more tubes."
"Well, I only have two hands. Keep it." Hanna says.
"Why, is your mom asking to see receipts?"
"It's hilarious." They hear Sean say.
"Sean! What's so funny?" Hanna asks.
"Nothin'. Noel's just out of control. Mm, you smell good." He puts an arm around her.
"Save something for tomorrow night." Noel says.
"What's tomorrow night?" Mona asks.
"Noel's parents are leaving town." Sean tells her.
"It means the party of the year is officially on. Think big, think wild, think parental units in a different time zone." Noel smiles.
"I gotta get to practice. Save that smell." Sean says before leaving with Noel.
"So, the pressure's on." Mona says.
"What do you mean?" Hanna asks.
"Not all of us have a Sean to wear to that party, and I'm not gonna spend the night guarding the bushes so you can jump each other's bones."
"Okay, we're not gonna be doing it in the bushes."
"Whatever. Have you guys even done it yet?"
"It's not a race, Mona."
"Okay mom, seriously. No one's pushing you to be natty ho, but you guys have been going out for months. If you're not together in that way, how do you know you're together-together? How long can you wait before you lose him?"
Trinity and Emily are locking their bikes up when Maya walks up.
"I was going to offer you a ride, but your bikes are faster than my car." Maya smiles at Emily.
"We passed you? I didn't even see you." Emily says.
"I saw you. You took that corner on one wheel." Maya grins at Emily, her eyes lingering. Trinity frowns a bit at this.
Ben runs up behind Emily. "Got ya!" He kisses her neck. Trinity briefly looks away.
"Ben, stop." Emily squirms uncomfortably.
"Fine. I can wait one more day. Well, you guys heard, right? Noel's doing his cabin party tomorrow night." He smiles.
"Is this one of Rosewood's pagan rituals?" Maya asks.
"Kinda. There was definitely some howling last year." Ben leers at Emily.
"Why don't you guys come with us? Please, come. It'll be fun." Emily asks. Ben's smile dies a little at this. Trinity smiles and nods.
Aria walks down the hallway as Ezra passes her.
"Good morning." He greets.
"Hi." Aria says. Spencer opens her locker and her books fall out. Aria bends down to help her pick them up. She looks at one. "Russian history?"
"Yeah." Spencer says, stuffing her books back into her locker.
"How many AP classes does it take until your brain explodes?"
"I'm already drowning in there."
"Why, what's drowning for you, B+?" Aria asks, sarcastically.
"First paper's due Monday, and I've written two words. My name."
"Well, what's going on? Hey, you're not still freaked out about what happened in the woods yesterday, are you? Look, we do not have to do this thing for Ali until we figure…"
"No, it's not just that. It's…it's everything. Is there any chance your family wants to adopt me?"
Emily walks down the hall with Trinity and Maya by her side. She sees Toby leading Jenna down the hallway.
Flash Back
Toby carrying Jenna out of the burning garage.
Present
"Who is that?" Maya ask.
"Toby Cavanaugh." Emily answers. Trinity nods her head, remembering the name from when Emily filled her in about the 'Jenna Thing'.
"Who's he?" Maya continues.
"He's, uh, an older kid who used to go here and got sent away to a reform school or something."
"Why?"
"He had a…he set fire to a garage, and his stepsister... she was in it."
"Should I be scared?" Maya smiles teasingly.
"What? No." Emily tells her.
"See you later."
"Bye." Emily says before her and Trinity walk up to Aria, Spencer, and Hanna.
"He's back, too? When did that happen?" Aria asks.
"Maybe she needs help sending radioactive e-mails." Hanna guesses.
"Yeah, or he may be sending a few of his own." Spencer says.
"It could be Jenna." Trinity says. "You could do it by voice or have a keyboard in braille."
Wilden walks up to the group. "Hanna."
"Cops on campus too." Aria says.
"I just spoke with your principal, asked him if we could have a chat." Wilden said, avoiding looking at Trinity.
"No, I have to get to class." Hanna says.
"Don't worry. You've been excused. Let's go." He and Hanna walk down the hallway.
"What is going on? Why just her?" Aria asks.
"Probably thinks she's the easiest to crack." Emily says.
"She is." Spencer tells her.
"It doesn't matter." Trinity says. "Anything she says without an adult present can't be used in court. He's blowing his whole case by refusing to speak in front of your parents and lawyers."
"Whisper, whisper, whisper." Jenna says as she walks by. "Almost feels like Alison's still here."
Flash Back
The girls run away from the burning building.
Present
The girls watch as she walks by.
Wilden stands in an empty classroom with Hanna. "I keep coming back to this ninth grade shaft, of you and Alison on the steps."
"What about it?" Hanna asks.
"Well, you made a lot of changes between ninth and tenth grade. Lost some weight, started styling your hair like Alison's."
"Is that a crime?"
"No, just an observation."
"No, she helped me make those changes."
"Did she, really? Did she ever regret it? Start seeing you as her competition?"
"Nobody competed with Alison. You'd be stupid to even try."
"Why?"
Flash Back
Alison and Hanna sit in the school cafeteria, staring at Sean. "Ask him. You'll never know unless you ask. Now." Ali tells her.
Hanna gets up from her seat and walks towards Sean. "Um, Sean? Did you hear about the party at Noel Kahn's?"
"I heard." He nods.
"I don't know. I was thinking about going, so I'm just wondering if you want to go too, with me." She says as Ali walks up behind her.
"Everybody's going. She's going, I'm going. Why aren't you?" Ali smiles at him.
Sean's face lights up at the sight of Ali. "Oh, yeah, no, I guess I am."
Present
"What about this guy? Did she ever talk about him?" Wilden asks.
"What?" Hanna asks, breaking out of her thoughts.
"Stay with me, Hanna. It's important."
"Why? What's the point?"
"The point is I'm trying to flesh out the details of that summer."
"So you can ask me how much weight I lost? By making it look like hefty Hanna wanted Alison dead so I could replace her?"
"I'm not questioning you as a suspect, Hanna. We're just having a chat. Besides, one can't underestimate how much the past informs the present."
"Really. So, you're still that same party boy you were in the class of '96? Did you call me down here to do keg stands?"
"Wow, looks like somebody's been doing their own homework."
"I like to know who's joining us for breakfast. And, by the way, my tenth-grade picture isn't even in that yearbook. I had mono and missed the deadline. Now, my makeup picture is in my living room,
which you must've seen while you were wearing a towel. Is that how the police build their cases these days?" Hanna asks, walking to the door. She turns and looks back at him. "Trinity's my friend and you've already pissed her off. I'm pretty sure if I asked for a favor she'd come through for me." She leaves the room.
The rest of the girls wait in the hallway by their lockers. "What are you doing? Is that a new phone?" Spencer asks Aria.
"Yeah," Aria says. "I'm checking my Kin. I'll just write on Hanna's wall from here."
"If she's not answering texts, what makes you think she's checking Facebook?" Emily says.
"It's worth a try." Trinity says.
"What's going on?" Hanna asks as she walks up.
"We've been trying to get ahold of you. What happened in there?" Aria asks.
"Nothing, just the same old stupid questions." Hanna tells them.
"You were in there for an hour, Hanna. What else did he ask?" Spencer asks.
"Nothing. He just took a couple calls, and I just sat there, waiting for him to shut up."
"Well, is he gonna question all of us alone now?" Aria asks.
"Who knows? Look, let's do this at lunch, okay? I have to hit the ladies' before my next class." Hanna says before walking away.
"Is she being weird?" Spencer asks.
"She's being weird. I'll see you guys at lunch." Emily says before walking away.
"Bye." Spencer says to Trinity, before walking away as well.
Aria walks into Ezra's classroom. "Hey." She greets.
"Hey. Are you here to ask about the homework assignment?"
"Do you have plans this weekend?"
"I'm thinking we should talk about the homework assignment."
"So you do have plans."
"I don't."
"Okay, well, there's…this opening at the gallery where my mom works, and I promised I'd help out, so if you're free…" She trails off.
"Do you think that's wise, hanging with you and your folks, a parent-teacher conference over free wine?" He asks.
"Okay, fine. It's a bad idea. What... if we met up afterwards? I could tell them I'm going to Noel Kahn's party."
"Maybe you should." He says. "Go to the party."
"Why…would I want to do that?"
"So your classmates don't suspect you've lost interest in your peers."
"Too late. Ezra, I want…Oh." She says when her hand touches his. They stare at their hands for a moment before jumping back when a woman opens the door.
"Ezra…oh, Sorry. Excuse me." She says.
He stands from his desk. "No, it's fine. Come in, Mrs. Welch. Um. So, are we clear about the homework assignment?"
"Yes, totally. If I have any questions, I'll reach out to you." Aria nods.
"Great."
"Thank you, Mr. Fitz." She says before leaving.
Trinity walks into the music room and sets her sheet music down. She turns around when she hears shuffling behind her. "Oh." She says when she sees Maya. "I didn't know anyone was in here."
"It's okay." Maya says. "I was just packing up. You're in band?"
"Choir." Trinity corrects. Maya nods. The avoid eye contact in an awkward silence. "Maya." Trinity says. Maya looks at her. "Do you…like Emily?"
"Yeah." Maya nods. "She's great…but you don't mean as a friend do you?" Trinity shakes her head. "Well yeah. I do like her."
Trinity grimaces a bit. "So do I."
Maya smirks. "Is this where we throw down? Whoever wins gets Emily's heart."
Trinity shakes her head. "No…but I guess this is where we draw battle lines."
Maya zips up her guitar case before walking to the door. "May the best woman win."
Trinity smiles at her. "I will."
Maya frowns before leaving the class.
Trinity watches her leave before turning back to her sheet music. She sorts through a few songs before her phone beeps. She takes it out and frowns at the message.
ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE.
LOOKS LIKE EMILY'S HEART IS UP FOR GRABS. I HOPE SHE'LL CHOOSE YOU. –A
Spencer and Wren sit on the steps of his apartment building. "Did your sister send you here?" He asks.
"God, no. She has no idea I even called you. Things were never great between us, but…now it's like the hurt locker. It just gets worse every day." Spencer tells him.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"So, you're living here now?"
"Squatting. It's not exactly the Hastings manor, but I have a whole sofa to myself."
"Wren, I need your help."
"We only have the one sofa. Can you sleep on a Ping-Pong table?" He jokes.
"Look, I need you to tell them what really happened." Spencer tells them.
"I tried. They won't return my phone calls."
"I know I'm not completely innocent in all of this. I've done a lot of stuff that I'm not proud of, but…not that night. I never wanted you guys to break up."
"I don't think it would matter what I said. Once your parents decide how they're gonna think of someone, it's royal decree. You're brilliant, you're rubbish. There's very little in between."
"Could you at least try my dad again?"
"Spencer, put your efforts elsewhere. My guess is that your jail sentence will be commuted the moment you score a winning point or ace a test."
"This might not be that simple."
"Give it time. Look, I know I made a bloody mess of it, and I'm sorry for putting you in the middle of it. But perhaps my real mistake was falling for the wrong sister."
"Um, I should go. It's just the 4:00 train, and I have this huge paper to write that's due Monday."
"You gotta get back to that wretched place called home, right."
Emily walks into the girl's locker room, slipping her towel off and opening her locker. She goes to take her swimsuit off before she hears a clattering noise. "Hello? Hello? Anybody here? Hello?" She turns around to see Ben. She jumps back in shock. "Oh, God!"
"Damn! You're jumpy." He laughs.
"How did you get in here?"
"Walked."
"Yeah, well, if somebody catches you…"
"I'll take my chances. Besides, we need some alone time." He slides the strap of her swimsuit down.
"I…need to get dressed." Emily says, uncomfortable.
"Don't bother."
"I can't do this now. My mom's expecting me." She squirms away.
"What's up, Em? Last week you were all over me in my car. This week I'm some marching band geek with funyun breath. What's going on?" He asks.
"Nothing. I've just…got a lot on my mind, okay?"
"All right. Maybe you need to relax." He kisses her neck.
"Ben, I can't do this right now." She tries to push him away.
"What?" He asks, holding her wrist.
"Seriously, stop it. Hey, you're acting strange. Ben, get off me! Get off! Stop it!"
Trinity walks down the hallway towards the locker room when she hears Emily yell. She breaks into a run, not seeing the person following behind her. She enters the room to see Ben holding Emily against the lockers, kissing her neck. She pulls him away from her, pushing him against another set of lockers, and delivering a hard right hook to his face. He swings his fist in retaliation. Trinity steps back, barely dodging the hit. Toby suddenly runs from behind Trinity and pushes Ben back against the lockers, punching him in the stomach.
"That's enough! Okay? Stop." Emily yells. Trinity stepping closer to her.
Toby locks Ben's arm behind his back and holds him against the wall. "Is this creep a friend of yours? Is he the reason you're acting like this?" Ben asks.
"Ben, get over yourself, okay?" Emily says.
"Get over myself?" Ben asks in disbelief.
Emily gathers her clothes up. "It's done. We're over." She yells.
Trinity steps closer to Ben as Toby continues to hold him against the wall. She leans in to whisper in his ear. "If you ever touch her again. I. Will. End. You." She steps back and walks over to Emily and leads her out of the locker room.
Aria walks into her mother's art gallery to see Ella talking with Meredith. "The owner refuses to use a computer, which is only mildly irritating, because half of these contacts died during the Reagan administration." She turns to see Aria. "That was fast. This is my daughter, Aria. Also known as my savior, because when I got here, there were about three cups. Thank you, my dear. Uh, this is Meredith. She works with your dad."
"We've met, actually. Nice to see you." Meredith greets.
"Meredith just wandered in. She's looking for somebody who shows alternative art." Ella explains.
"And your mother's been very helpful. Thank you so much, Ella." Meredith smiles.
"Oh, you're welcome. So, we'll see you tonight?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Okay."
"Tonight?" Aria asks, hesitantly.
"Yeah," Ella smiles. "I invited her to the opening, which may be a success now that we don't have to eat Cobb salad with our fingers. Thank you. I'll see you later." She walks away.
"For Sure. Bye-bye." Meredith smiles.
Aria steps towards Meredith, speaking lowly. "You can't come tonight."
"Why not?"
"You know why not, and so do I…but my mom doesn't."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Meredith shakes her head.
"Look, I saw the way you were looking at my dad yesterday. I have eyes, so just find someone who's available. My dad isn't."
Ashley, Wilden, and Hanna stand around in the kitchen.
"How are you getting home? If there's any drinking, I will pick you up." Ashley asks.
"Or I could take you, if you don't mind riding in the squad car. I wouldn't use the cuffs." Wilden jokes.
"I'll be fine, thanks." Hanna rolls her eyes, leaving.
"What? It was a joke." Wilden calls after her.
"So, have you heard from the store? Are they prosecuting or…or not?" Ashley asks as she looks in the refrigerator.
Wilden notices that Hanna left her bag on the table. He walks over and lifts the bracelet that Alison gave her from her bag. "No, I haven't heard, but I have a call into them, so…"
Ashley turns around to see him standing over Hanna's bag, holding the bracelet. "What are you doing?"
"Where have I seen this before? It's nice. Is that from you?"
"Alison gave it to her."
"That's right. She mentioned that at school today." He nods.
"Why were you at her school?"
"I was interviewing Hanna again. That's my day job."
"Why was my kid being questioned a second time?"
"Because she's close to the victim, and because kids keep secrets."
"Not mine." Ashley shakes her head. "And if you're thinking she knows more than she's letting on, you're out of line. Sticky fingers is a long way off from what you're talking about."
"Okay, easy mama bear. It's just a routine investigation." He smirks.
"Well, then you're gonna need a search warrant to go through her purse." She takes the bracelet and puts it in Hanna's bag before closing it and setting it far away from Wilden.
"So, can I help with dinner?" He asks.
"Yeah." She says, picking up the pizza box and holding it out to him. "Have it someplace else. Breakfast, too."
Maya, Emily, and Trinity walk towards Noel's house. "Come on, lighten up." Maya tells Emily.
"I should've stayed home." Emily says.
"Why, 'cause you broke up with somebody? What are you supposed to do, spend the rest of the school year hiding under your bed?" She asks.
They enter the doorway to see Ben standing in front of the foosball table. "There he is." Emily says. He turns around and Trinity glares at him.
"Did you do that to his face?" Maya asks. "Damn. It's a good color on him."
"Hey, Em." Hanna greets.
"Yo, what just happened?" Sean asks, as Ben stops playing.
"So, you decided to come after all." Ben says. Trinity clenches her fists.
"Yeah, I did. Just not with you." Emily says, before walking past him.
Spencer stares at the blank word document on her laptop before looking at Melissa laptop next to her. Pausing for a minute Spencer transfers Melissa's homework on her laptop and puts her name where Melissa's was once written. She turns the laptop away at the sound of Veronica entering the house along with Melissa. "Hey. Hi, how was the club?" She asks.
"Chilly. Nobody who works there can figure out a thermostat. Did you eat?" Veronica asks.
"Yeah, I made some pasta if you're hungry."
"I'm not eating pasta. I don't need to be depressed and fat." Melissa sneers at Spencer.
"Good point." Veronica says, not noticing the jab. "I'll make a salad. Let me get out of these clothes." She leaves the room.
"Wren called. He told me you went into the city yesterday to meet him. It was strange. At first I wasn't sure why he was telling me this, but then I realized he's still trying to cover his tracks and yours. Like I'm supposed to believe you took a train down there just to clear your name? You two deserve each other. I thought I was pathetic." Melissa shakes her head at Spencer.
Sean eagerly battles with others at the foosball table. Hanna is behind him, leaning against the wall. "Ooh! Damn. Did you see that?" He asks.
"Awesome." Hanna rolls her eyes. "Look, can this be your last game?"
At that point, Mona walks by with a guy on her arm. "Whatever. Have you guys…? Seriously." She chuckles before continuing on.
"I'll be right back." Hanna says, walking away.
"You punched Ben!?" Aria ask Trinity before looking back at Emily. "He tackled Ben? What was Toby even doing in the girls' locker room?"
"Why are you shocked? Toby's a perv. We caught him peeping through the windows, watching us undress." Spencer says.
"Alison's the one who saw him do that. We never did." Emily says.
"If I could hear Emily from the hallways, that means that he could too. He must've followed me when I started running." Trinity asks.
"What's up?" Hanna asks as she walks up.
"Toby Cavanaugh got into a fight with Ben over Emily." Aria says.
"It wasn't over me. And Trinity was there too." Emily says. "God. Look, he just…saved me."
"For what, himself?" Spencer asks incredulously.
"Ew." Hanna cringes.
"If we hadn't asked you about Ben, would you have told us about this?" Aria asks.
"Toby is not a good guy, Emily. He could be seriously dangerous." Spencer tells her.
"If he's such a bad guy, why'd he take the fall for us?" Emily asks.
"Is this another secret? Do you know something that we don't?" Aria looks between the two.
"Guys, why don't we just, like chill, and talk about this somewhere else? When we're alone." Hanna tells them.
"I…don't even know what 'just us' means anymore." Aria says.
"Yeah, uh…Let's talk about it tomorrow, okay? Are we still meeting up at the shed?" Hanna asks before walking away.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Why not?" Aria calls after her before turning to leave.
"Where are you going?" Emily asks.
"The gallery. I promised my mom." Aria says before leaving.
Trinity sees Maya out of the corner of her eye and turns to Emily. "Have you checked out the photo booth they've got in there?" She gestures at the house.
Emily smiles, thankful for the distraction. "No. Show me the booth." Trinity grabs her hand and they walk back inside the house, Trinity sharing a brief glance with Maya as they pass.
Spencer watches them go before turning and seeing a guy watching her.
Flash Back
Spencer watches as Ali speaks lowly in a furious tone at Toby. "I'll make sure everybody knows!" She points her finger at it. Toby lowers his head at the words. She walks across the street to see Spencer watching her. "Didn't I tell you to stay over there, and let me take care of this? What did you hear?"
"Nothing. Nothing." Spencer shakes her head.
"What's going on? What happened to Jenna?" Emily asks, fear in her voice.
"It's done. We were never here. Let's go." Alison says.
"But…" Hanna trails off.
"But what?" Alison asks her.
"What if we said it was an accident?"
"No, we're not telling anybody anything. Damn it, Hanna. Don't make me sorry I ever included you in the first place. I have gone out of my way to bring your big, wannabe butt into this group. You better keep your mouth shut, unless you want to go back to spending your weekends alone, dance dance revolution and a jumbo bag of chips." Ali spits the words at her.
"Ali, stop it! Just leave her alone." Aria says.
Alison composes herself. "I'm sorry, Hanna. I didn't mean that. I'm just freaked out, guys. This is bad. Really bad. I never would've done it if I thought someone was in there. I just…I don't know what's gonna happen…to us. Can we just go? Come on." Alison tells them.
Present
The guy stares at her for a moment longer before walking away.
"What made you come up here?" Sean asks Hanna.
"I had some time to kill while you were foosballing."
"Hey, I was on a roll!" He chuckles.
"I thought you liked contact sports."
Emily and Trinity sit side by side in the photo booth. "Ready?" Emily asks.
Trinity leans forward, checking her hair and lip gloss in the reflection of the booth. "Wait. I gotta prepare. If this comes out decent, I'm gonna cut mine out and replace the one on my driver's license."
"Yeah, they're always scary." Emily chuckles.
"No," Trinity shakes her head. "I skipped scary. I went straight to Snooki."
"Can I see it? Come on, I'll show you mine. It's probably worse." Emily smiles.
Trinity shakes her head. "No. You're totally gorgeous. You look great all the time."
Emily blushes before looking up. "Uh, which button is it again? Um, this one." She leans forward and pushes the button. "Okay."
They do a couple joke poses before they look each other in the eyes. They lean in closer, pressing their lips together, Trinity's hand traveling into Emily's hair. The final photo snaps. They pull away from the kiss. "Think there's any pizza left?" Trinity asks standing and exiting the photo booth.
Emily exits as well and turns to grab the photos only to find that the slot is empty. "Where are the pictures?"
"Damn, I told you I break cameras." Trinity teases.
"No, seriously, where are they?" Emily asks.
Trinity puts her hand on Emily's arm. "Probably just ran out of paper. Come on. Let's eat something." She leads Emily around the house.
Sean and Hanna lay on the ground in Noel's shed, kissing furiously. Hand pulls back and reaches into her purse.
"What are you looking for?" He asks.
She holds up a condom. "What do you think?" She goes to kiss him again.
"Hanna, please stop." He says.
She sits up. "You're kidding, right? I mean, you said you wanted it to be special. This is pretty special, if you're not afraid of spiders."
"Oh, it's…I don't wanna do this right now."
"Well, then, where do you want to go? We can't exactly afford a weekend at a five-star hotel."
"It's not about where."
"Then what is it about? Is this about me? Tell me. Tell me why this is not happening, and don't start quoting scripture."
"Why are you acting like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like you've got something to prove."
"Because maybe I do! Maybe you still think of me as that dumpy junior high girl who laughed at all your jokes and gave you cuts in line and followed you around like some groupie."
"No, I…I liked that girl. But…but this one seems…desperate." He says, sitting up.
Hanna stands up. "Any guy at this party would be happy to be with me. Why aren't you?"
Sean stands up as well. "We already talked about this, okay? Take this." He holds his jacket towards her. "It's cold up here."
"Leave me alone. I don't want your stupid jacket." Hanna says. He shakes his head at her before leaving.
The Montgomery's walk around the art gallery.
"Well, you are." Byron says.
"He's just saying this because he has to." Ella smiles.
"No, I…" He continues but Aria loses focus as she sees Meredith walk in. She quickly hand a drink to a guest before walking towards her.
"What are you doing here? Did you forget what we talked about?" Aria asks.
Meredith smiles mockingly. "You talked. I listened."
"What didn't you understand? You need to leave now."
"Listen, sweetie, I'm not in high school. You don't have any say in this."
Mona sits outside Noel's house when she sees Hanna rush past her. "Hanna! Hanna, what's up?" Hanna ignores her and enters Sean's car. "Hanna! Wait, why are you taking Sean's car? Hanna!"
Aria knocks on the door of Ezra's apartment. "Hey. I thought you were helping out at the gallery." He says when he sees her.
"I was. Can I come in?" She asks.
He hesitates. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea."
"I'm s…I'm sorry. This was…a mistake. I shouldn't have come here. I just didn't know where else to go. I'll see you on Monday." She goes to walk away.
"No, wait. Are you…are you okay? Do you need me to drive you home?"
"That's the last place I want to be."
"Why? What happened?"
"Can…can we just…be here for a minute?" She asks. He opens the door wider, waiting for her to step in before closing it behind her.
Trinity drops Emily off at her house. "Goodnight Trinity." Emily says.
"Night Em. See you." Trinity says before driving off.
Emily sees Toby sitting on the steps of his front porch, fiddling with parks from his motorcycle and walks over to him. "Hi. I…I never got a chance to…I just wanted to thank you. I mean…I'm not sure why you…well, it doesn't matter. Again, thanks." She says before walking away.
Toby watches after her before Jenna speaks from where she's sitting on a chair. "Why is she thanking you? Why is she thanking you?"
"It's not what you think." Toby says, going back to work on his engine.
The girls are back in the woods. "Alison wanted us across the street so she could have it out with Toby. Ali had something on him." Spencer explains.
"Besides being a total perv who peeped in our windows?" Hanna asks.
"Yeah, something way bigger, and she was threatening to tell everybody. That's why he took the fall for us." Spencer says.
"Why are you waiting until now to tell us?" Aria asks.
"I don't know. Ali made me promise, and…I guess I was scared. I thought if we never talked about that night again, it would just go away." Spencer tells her.
"Well, it's not going away. Not unless we toss our phones and join the Navy." Hanna says. Trinity chuckles at her comment.
"Look, there's four of us and one freak sending messages. If we just talk to each other like this, I feel like it makes it easier to deal with everything." Emily says.
"I think Emily's right. There's way too many secrets. We shouldn't do this in the middle of nowhere. We should do it where we can see it every day." Aria tells them.
"You mean, like, somewhere in school?" Aria asks.
"No. In town. We should ask if we can put a bench somewhere. Wait, and you know what? Whoever did this to her, if they're still in Rosewood, we should make them look at it every day, too." Aria says. Trinity nods her head but Hanna looks down.
"What, you hate the idea?" Spencer asks her.
"No. No, I just…I had a rough night." They hear a rustling in bushes. This time all the girls run towards the noise. "Look." Hanna says, seeing a bracelet on the ground.
"Is that yours?" Spencer asks.
Aria leans forward to see the name before gasping in shock. "Alison's."