Author's Note: This is the final chapter of the story! Thank you all for your reviews, favorites, and follows! We've had so much fun writing this that we're already planning our next story. It'll feature one of our favorite friendships, Sparia, so keep an eye out for that and hopefully we'll have it up soon. Thanks again!
Toby leaned over to Ezra and whispered, "I still don't think this is a good idea."
"I know," Ezra whispered back, anxiety building in his stomach as they came closer to the door. "As soon as Aria finds out we're here, she'll murder me."
"Dude, with Aria and Spencer involved we're sure to be dead men within the next ten minutes."
Raising his fist to knock, Caleb didn't hesitate any longer and pounded once, twice, three times. "I wonder who that could be," he heard Spencer say along with some stomping as she approached the door. When she opened it, she was met by Caleb smirking proudly in front of her, and Ezra and Toby looking like a couple of deer caught in headlights behind him. "Caleb, Toby, and Ezra? What are you doing here?" She was completely flabbergasted.
"We're here to do what you girls have been doing all night, and that's to party!" Caleb claimed, not mentioning the real reason that they were there to crash.
"Erm, okay...," Spencer mumbled, opening the door wider so they could pass through. "Hey guys, guess who decided to drop by!"
Aria was in the middle of sipping her drink when she saw the boyfriends enter, and she nearly choked when she saw Ezra. "What the heck?" she grumbled annoyingly, coughing irritably from the liquid stuck in her throat.
"What's going on?" Hanna asked, secretly fuming, while Emily simply giggled at the dramatic scene already splaying out.
"We want to liven up this little get-together," Caleb said. "You girls are just sitting around gossiping about us –"
"YOU WERE SPYING ON US?" Hanna shrieked.
"I told you not to come here tonight!" Spencer cried.
Toby and Ezra groaned simultaneously. That was it. They were dead.
"Look, these two had nothing to do with this. I talked them into it," Caleb said quickly, remembering his promise to take the blame.
"It doesn't matter! If we wanted you to come, we would've invited you!" Aria said. "It isn't funny, Em!" she added to Emily, who had started to laugh even harder.
"But you should've seen the looks on your faces when they walked in!" Emily said. "I really wish I had a camera."
There was a silence as Emily's laughter gradually subsided and the other girls glared at their boyfriends. "Well, uh, I guess we'll just leave now…" Toby said awkwardly.
"No, wait!" Spencer cried after the retreating boys. Reluctantly they turned around, guilty puppy-dog looks on their faces. Realizing what she said, Spencer groaned then sighed. "Since you came all this way...," she said while crossing her arms at her chest and rolling her eyes, "...you can stay."
"All right!" Caleb whooped as he stormed in and tackled Emily and Aria, who both squealed from surprise, on the couch. "Slumber party!"
"I'm too old for slumber parties," Ezra pointed out, and Hanna, who was sitting on the floor next to his standing figure, playfully slapped his legs with a pillow. "Hey!"
"Aw, Spence, you're the greatest!" Toby cooed before wrapping her in his arms and squeezing her shoulders. "Um, thanks?" Spencer mumbled, though she could barely breathe; her lungs were being squashed by Toby's stabbing elbow.
Next Toby saw the pile of people on the couch and joined in, causing Aria and Emily to shriek again. "Hey, Em," Toby said with a salute to the friend he was currently crushing.
"Is this what teenagers do?" Ezra asked, curiosity piqued. He shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well join in!"
Spencer and Hanna raised their eyebrows at each other, not knowing whether to laugh or do something when Ezra plopped next to Caleb and right on top of Aria.
"This is so unfair," Aria huffed from under Caleb and Ezra. "You guys are six feet tall-"
"On a good day with a breeze," Ezra interrupted.
"-and I'm puny enough to be squashed like a bug."
"But you have a big heart, sweetie!" Spencer called out in encouragement and gave her a thumbs-up. Aria just glared at her, ruining the Sparia love.
Deciding to have mercy on his small girlfriend, Ezra got up and moved to the floor. "Playing truth or dare, gossiping, piling up on the couch… What else do you young people do at parties these days?" he asked as the other boys rearranged themselves as well to give the girls more room to breathe.
"That we can tell you about?" Hanna said. "I'm joking," she continued quickly when Ezra raised his eyebrows at her. Ezra decided to let it go, even though he suspected the teenagers' previous get-togethers hadn't been totally innocent.
"Well, I guess we just hang out and talk about whatever we feel like," Emily said. "School, extracurricular activities, people we've been crushing on…"
"Excuse me?" Toby interrupted.
"She means our current dates, of course," Aria put in. "…Most of the time."
"Wow, you girls are simply hilarious tonight," Caleb said sarcastically.
"That's what you get for crashing our sleepover," Spencer said.
"Okay, everyone, how about we play a game?" Aria suggested. "We could continue truth or dare, or we could start a new game."
"Let's play a new game. I think the four of you have shared plenty about us for the night," Ezra said.
"But I was hoping to hear some of Toby's juicy secrets!" Caleb protested. "They only talked about me and Ezra!"
"Hey, Ezra revealed enough about me earlier," Toby said.
"Enough, boys!" Emily laughed. "I think a game is a good idea."
"How about..." Hanna's eyes roamed the room before widening. She pointed at something across the room. "Karaoke!"
"Ooh!" all the girls squealed. The boys groaned, "Really?" as Spencer set it up the karaoke machine to her TV. Aria volunteered to go first. In fact, she had the perfect song in mind...
Once the microphone was in her hands, Aria cleared her throat and tapped it with her finger. "Testing, testing," she said into it, flinching when she heard her voice loud and clear. "Okay, let's get this started."
A beat started radiating out of the speakers and Aria winked at Ezra, swaying to the music. "Whoo!" her friends screamed while Ezra bit his lip nervously. What was she doing now?
And then the lyrics began.
Young teacher, the subject
Of schoolgirl fantasy
She wants him so badly
Knows what she wants to be
Inside her there's longing
This girl's an open page
Book marking, she's so close now...
Ezra's mouth dropped to his knees, and Toby and Caleb shifted with smirks on their faces next to her. The girls giggled and snickered evilly in their sleeves, like this song was the best choice to get Ezra put in jail.
Her friends are so jealous
You know how bad girls get
Sometimes it's not so easy
To be the teacher's pet
Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes him cry
Wet bus stop, she's waiting
His car is warm and dry
Loose talk in the classroom
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staffroom
The accusations fly
It's no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabokov
Aria stopped singing for one second to point at Ezra and exclaim, "Literary reference, honey! Stop looking so red!" After saying that, she had to quickly jump back in to finish up the rest of the song.
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
At first, there was no applause, just shock. Then everyone except Ezra stood up, clapped, and whistled for the petite singer as she took a bow. "Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best idea," she apologized to her embarrassed boyfriend. "But hopefully this little country song will make up for it. Hit it, Spence!" And she started belting out the lyrics to "You Sound Good to Me," a new single she'd just heard of. "Full moon, shining like a spotlight..."
Aria sang through the whole song and finished to wild applause from everyone, even Ezra, who had recovered from his embarrassment. She bowed again and handed the microphone off to Spencer with a flourish.
"Oh, no. I'm not going up there," Spencer said.
"Why the cold feet, Spencer? We're all friends here," Caleb said. "Besides, everyone has to sing at some point, so you might as well go now."
"Everyone?" Ezra said.
"Everyone," Caleb repeated firmly.
"C'mon, Spence, I'll go up with you," Toby offered.
Spencer sighed. "Fine. If I have to make a fool out of myself, I guess I'd rather do it with someone else."
She and Toby perused the song list while Emily found another microphone for Toby to use. He tapped it to make sure it was working.
"We're going to slow it down a bit if you guys don't mind," he said. "This is 'As Long As You're Mine' which you may recognize from the musical 'Wicked.'"
The music started and Toby nodded to Spencer, who started to sing the first verse.
Kiss me too fiercely
Hold me too tight
I need help believing
You're with me tonight.
My wildest dreamings
Could not foresee
Lying beside you
With you wanting me
Just for this moment
As long as you're mine
I've lost all resistance
And crossed some borderline
And if it turns out
It's over too fast
I'll make every last moment last
As long as you're mine
After she finished, Toby stepped in and sang some lines.
Maybe I'm brainless
Maybe I'm wise
But you've got me seeing
Through different eyes
Somehow I've fallen
Under your spell
And somehow I'm feeling
It's up that I fell
Finally, they began to sing together.
Every moment
As long as you're mine
I'll wake up my body
And make up for lost time
Say there's no future
For us as a pair
And though I may know
I don't care
Just for this moment
As long as you're mine
Come be how you want to
And see how bright we shine
Borrow the moonlight
Until it is through
And know I'll be here
Holding you
As long as you're mine
Once they finished up their song, Spencer tossed her microphone at Caleb. "You're next, heavenly voice!" she joked as she and Toby sat back down. Aria embraced her in a friendly hug and congratulated her on her courage.
Hanna punched Caleb in the shoulder. "Yeah, you should go! Sing that one song we love so much!"
"Oh, that?" Caleb said with a chill sigh, nonchalantly rolling up his sleeves. There was a chorus of "Yes, please!" after which Toby and Ezra shared a bothered look from the girlish clamor. "Okay, okay!" Caleb yelled over the begging girls. "I'll sing it. It's called 'Find a Way.'" With that, he found the song on the karaoke machine and the music began.
Keep me close when you go far away
Keep this light to see you through
Close your eyes to find a better way
Buried deep to something true
And I'll find a way
I'll find a way to you
I'll find a way
I'll find a way to you
And all the stars are burning in your eyes
Well all the wreckage lays to burn
Could we find a place beyond the lies
Well I'll be here when you return
The karaoke went on for longer than expected. Caleb finished his song, Hanna and Emily both sang, and even Ezra was convinced to do a number after much persuasion from the others. Then there were encores and a few more group performances until eventually everyone just began to sing all together.
It was Hanna who finally looked at the clock and gasped. "Guys, it's getting late!"
"So? We're having fun," Caleb said.
"Hanna's right. We should try to settle down," Toby said. "Why don't we watch a movie or something?"
"My sister gave me the last Harry Potter movie for my birthday. We could watch that. Or one of the others in the series," Spencer suggested eagerly.
Everyone agreed to the movie, so while Spencer went to grab it, the others settled themselves around the TV with blankets and pillows.
"You know, I'm actually really happy that you boys decided to crash our sleepover," Aria said, resting her head on Ezra's shoulder as the movie started.
"Me too," Spencer said. "But next time, maybe you should let us know that you're coming."
"You take all the fun out of life, Spencer," Caleb complained teasingly. "All right, fine. It's a deal."
"Be quiet! I want to hear the movie!" Emily shushed them.
The boys shared a wink before settling in to watch the movie, glad that they had chosen to play poker that night. It had certainly made for an unforgettable experience.
And the Rejected Love Interests never bothered them again.