Disclaimer: Still don't own it
By the time I had calmed down, Caleb had a lot more to clean up than just the paint.
Though nothing was destroyed, I had knocked enough of the furniture around, and as well as other things off the walls to keep him busy for a while.
As he cleaned, I stayed outside so I that I could sooth my rage. The one good thing I knew now was that my emotions could affect the environment around me; which I already knew but I didn't realize just how much. The power of my rage enticed me and I planned to explore this in greater detail.
Maybe even use it at will so that I could avenge my death on my own.
It took Caleb most of the night to completely finish with everything. While I was still outside, he had fallen asleep on the couch so I just sat in the chair watching him. Even in death, I wasn't fond of Caleb but since he was the only one who could see me, he was my only hope to catch my killer.
Which was another thing about being dead that sucked; being forced to rely on others because I was powerless. It was a feeling that I hadn't felt in years, and I hated it because it brought back to the days before Alison first left. Of course I was already dead so it wasn't like Caleb could get rid of me. This meant that I had to depend on him and help him bring down A and Alison; if the two weren't the same person.
As the sun rose and light peaked through the window, I looked at the clock as saw that it was almost time for Caleb to get up for school. As I sat there, I pondered on whether to try and wake him up, since no alarm could be heard or let him sleep after the night's events. I was tempted to just let him sleep in so that we could just work on finding out information on my murder; but having Caleb flunk and get yelled at by Hanna wouldn't do me any favors.
Though it would be funny to watch since he was always too self-righteous for my tastes.
Before I could wake him up, I heard a car pull up and a door slam. Getting up, I moved to the window quickly and saw that it was Hanna. She was dressed in her jogging attire, which was cute, and I was surprised that she was skipping school given that it was almost the end for her. Hanna couldn't afford to have her record hurt like this.
She opened the door with a smile which faded when she caught Caleb on the couch with just his boxers on. Then there was a slightly mischievous grin as she just strolled over slowly. The way she was looking at him, I wondered if I would have to take a walk given that I did not want to see an intense Haleb moment. Spoby was bad enough to see when it was at such low intensity.
Lucky for me, Hanna's mood seemed to change, and she just kicked the couch with a loud bang, waking Caleb up. I smirked at his obvious surprise and embarrassment as he tried to compose himself. I don't think he was ashamed that his girlfriend caught him in his underwear, but that there would have been a chance that Hanna wouldn't have been alone. I knew for a fact that Paige and Emily liked to jog in the morning, which meant Hanna could have invited them along.
"What are you smirking at?" Caleb snarled as he looked at me. I sighed since he obviously forgotten that he was the only one that could see me.
"Excuse me?" Hanna asked, seeming quite irked at his attitude, thinking that he was talking to her.
"She can't see me you twit," I said, giving him an annoyed look.
"Sorry, thought you were making fun of me," Caleb quickly responded, trying to sound as apologetic as he could. Hanna seemed to buy that and looked around.
"Why does everything look so clean and smell nice? And why are you on the couch dressed like that?" Hanna inquired, looking confused. I was curious to what he was going to say.
"A paid me a visit last night and tried to steal my laptop," Caleb answered, telling Hanna the truth. I was surprised that he didn't try to lie about it since I would have.
"Are you okay? Did A take anything?" Hanna asked, concerned and sitting down next to him on the couch.
"No, I was warned and managed to chase her off," Caleb answered with a smile. Hanna looked at him funny and I once again sighed by his idiocy.
"What do you mean you were warned? Also, it was a she?" Hanna asked, once again confused.
"I heard her try to come through the window, she was trying to take the screen off; also there were boobs," Caleb answered, slightly embarrassed by saying the last part.
"Nice save," I complemented and he shot me a glare when Hanna wasn't looking.
"I thought you said that laptop didn't hold anything important?" Hanna said, looking over at the device on the table. I shot him a confused look.
"Yeah but we can't let A know that and she would find it suspicious if I didn't try to stop her from taking it," Caleb explained, the look he gave me almost seemed apologetic. I understood but it was annoying that I had seemed to be tricked as well.
"Well lock it up; we have a morning jog to do," ordered the blond, standing up and placing her hands on her hips.
"We actually have no school today; can't we just sleep in," whined Caleb and I snorted. The look that Hanna gave him was priceless and I smirked when he wilted under it. He then got up and went to his room to change.
I pondered whether to go with them on the jog. It wasn't like I couldn't keep up since I was rather fit; though it didn't matter since I was now dead. It would also be rather boring just hanging out here all day given that the cabin was almost in the middle of nowhere. Since I could no longer sweat or feel tired, there were no disadvantages in doing the jog with them.
When Caleb was done changing, they left the cabin with me following close behind. I could tell he was surprised that I was going with them, but given Hanna's presence, it wasn't like he could say anything. In fact, he couldn't even tell me that I wasn't allowed to with them, though I was not sure he would have.
Hanna drove while Caleb was in the passenger seat. I was in the back just taking in the view, recognizing every street we were on. Before I began my life as A, I made sure to explore every bit of Rosewood so that I could have the advantage. I wonder if the new A had done the same thing after I was dethroned.
"So I invited Emily and Paige to go with us; we are meeting them at the starting point," Hanna announced as she turned on a familiar street, Caleb gave Hanna a look.
"What? I'd thought it would be nice to have company for a change," Hanna said defensively at Caleb.
"Are we still going to breakfast?" Caleb asked and I realized that he hadn't eaten yet.
"Yeah, but I am not sure they are going with us; I think Emily has to manage practice with the swim team," Hanna informed. I had forgotten that Emily was now the assistant coach for the Sharks; at least it kept her closer to Paige than Alison.
After another couple of minutes, we made it towards our destination which was right in the middle of the residential area of town. As the car slowed, I saw Emily and Paige standing alongside their car. Both were in similar jogging attire as Hanna, though their blue sports bras were a bit less flashy than Hanna's; a lot less cleavage shown as well.
"Hey," Hanna said to the two as she and Caleb got out of the car.
"Hey; thanks for inviting us," Paige said, Caleb gave Hanna the look again, and Emily and Paige looked at each other amused.
"Let it go; be glad for the eye candy," I said with a smirk and I swear Caleb nearly glared at me sideways.
I watched as all four did their stretches and I decided to join in; more to annoy Caleb than anything else. I think he was annoyed that I was going with them, as well as the fact that he couldn't say anything to me since he would look like a madman if he did. Thinking about it, I realized that Caleb being the only one I could communicate with could be a problem if I annoyed him too much. I decided to keep silent during the jog and just follow along from behind.
Rosewood was always a jogging friendly town and the sidewalks were wide enough for everyone. The area where we were located was fairly empty with it still early in the morning for anyone to be up; there was the occasional car that passed us but nothing that would have caused problems. I was wary of any blue vehicles given what happened last night.
As the group jogged, I made sure to move slightly slower but still keep up to overhear the conversation. While I would have liked to hear them brainstorming ideas on how to combat A, I suppose it was alright to hear the occasional gossip about everyday life. As I listened, I frowned and there were times I wanted to cry. Caleb must have sensed that when he occasionally looked back to see if I was still there and he graciously changed the subject a few times.
"So did you get rid of Sydney yet?" asked Hanna and the comment had my full attention.
"She's a great swimmer Hanna; can't get rid of her because she and Jenna are now part of Alison's posse," Paige chided and I just stopped, flabbergasted; if it was possible, my jaw would be on the ground.
"What?!" I screeched, or at least I think I did. I stopped dead and just stared at the group as they continued on. Caleb, to his credit, stopped and lied about pulling something. While he pretended to rub his leg, he looked my way and actually seemed concerned.
"Who else?" I snarled at him, moving right through Paige who just shivered and rubbed her arms.
"Jenna, Cindy, and Mindy," he answered quietly, caught off guard by my rage and no one appeared to have heard him. I collapsed onto the ground in front of him, my face going through a swirl of emotions.
I think the main emotion I was feeling was betrayal; yeah, that was it…betrayal. Out of all the people that should not be in Alison's new group, those bitches should be at the top of the list after what Alison had done to them. Even worse, I had organized them in order to protect them and this is how they repay me, by joining the enemy who killed me.
I screamed in rage and there was a gust of wind that swirled around us. While it wasn't strong enough to really cause any damage or knock anyone down, Caleb still felt concerned and told everyone to continue on without him; which they did despite Hanna's reluctance. I was on my knees, pounding my fists into the ground as tears rolled down my face.
"Why?" I asked him, almost pleading with him. I appreciated his look of pity but my rage and hurt clouded my eyes.
"Somehow Alison had managed to turn just about everyone onto her side; including those she hurt directly. The others, who still hate her and still a big chunk of the school, just keep silent and focus on graduation. They consider her the queen despite her being behind your death," Caleb told me and I could hear the sympathy in his voice.
"So she's winning," I stated in a mix of anger and disbelief. I couldn't believe that bitch Alison could sway so many people onto her side. Then again, I could believe because I saw it first hand back during my freshmen year.
"Yeah," Caleb said simply and I appreciated his honesty.
"So what now?" I asked, feeling utterly defeated.
"I don't know; but maybe that is why you are here. Maybe you were sent to help us take down Alison," Caleb suggested. It sounded so cheesy and cliché that I just laughed harshly.
"Then why the memory loss? If someone up there sent me back to help take down that bitch, why give me a hole in my memories that do nothing?" I asked, almost mockingly. He couldn't answer that and I just shook my head.
"Just go; I need to be alone," I said, getting up and walking away from him.
"Where are you going?" he asked me, not sure how to take my sudden departure.
"I don't know; I'll see you later," I answered, loud enough for him to hear as I kept walking. I didn't hear him follow me and quite frankly I didn't care if he did or not; it wasn't like Caleb could stop me.
So this is what Rosewood looked like with my death; an Alison victory. My allies betraying me, and the people I was trying to help stuck in a rut. My poor mother with her only child gone, now having to grow old alone, without any grandchildren. The police ignoring what Alison has done, and instead focused on the wrong people for all the murders in town.
It just wasn't fair.
As I walked down the streets, ignoring any obstacle by going through them, I watched as people came out of their houses and went to work. Some of the people I knew instantly, from the years that I had lived here while some I didn't know. Kids came out to play, and more joggers came out of their homes. Things became very lively as more cars appeared, and drove right through me; which I couldn't care less about.
Eventually, I made my way downtown which seemed to be busier than usual on a weekday morning. Caleb had said that there was no school today, from that I assumed that today was some sort of holiday. Unfortunately, I still had no idea on the date so didn't know what was going on today. Maybe if I listened in on a few conversations, I could get a clue on how long exactly I have been dead for.
Before I could begin my listen in on random conversations, a familiar face caught my eye. He was sitting at a table in front of what used to be
The Brew; apparently it was now some sort of café now by the looks of it. I guess after Zach left town, the place got bought and changed into something else. I wondered if Emily still worked there. I even wondered if they still had the mozzarella sticks that Hanna loved so much.
The place was more colorful than when it was The Brew. The bright red that stained the front of the building was catching, and the title "Café Latte" seemed to match the theme it was going for. The tables and chairs that were on the outside had an Italian look to them, and were a bit fancy though looking quite comfortable. The person I recognized lounged in one of those chairs and I strolled on over.
It was a surprise to see Jason again given his hasty flight from Rosewood after his mother was discovered dead. Even though Alison was his sister and bound together by blood, Jason wasn't blinded by his sister as others were; He was one of the few who knew Alison for the monster that she was. He looked good, and a lot cleaner than when I last saw him; which was by chance since I was getting gas and he just happened to drive by. He was dressed in a pair of slacks with a white t-shirt, very casual which was how I was used to seeing him.
Our relationship was complicated to say the least. I knew he was using me for information and that our friendship was fake; which I didn't mind, since he did exactly what I needed him to in order to distract the other girls. I never hated him and I am pretty sure he never hated me; though I did know he was angry for what I did to Spencer.
Which was quite funny, since what Alison did to her was a lot worse. I'd known for a long time that Jason was a Hastings and not a DiLaurentis. I had learned about it from Jessica and Peter by listening on their conversations. Never bothered to use that bit of information since it wouldn't have amounted to anything, and just locked it up with all of the other secrets that I knew. Plus I liked Jason and saw him as another one of Alison's victims.
From the look of it, he was waiting for someone and I was curious to when he got back into town. I doubted my death would bring him back, and suspected that it was because of what Alison had done to Spencer. As he sat there, I decided to see if he was meeting anyone of importance.
And to my complete surprise, it was Peter Hastings.
Please R&R and a special thanks to Paraddicted for the editing!