Which Aria Is It Anyway?
Chapter 7.
Weeks had passed, and more episodes had occurred. It was frightening that they were still going on, that with the medication she was on they hadn't been minimized, but she felt a lot less scared because she didn't feel alone anymore. She had Alison whom had provided an alternate name for her other personality, and she had Wren.
She had grown quite close with Wren, and it was wrong on so many levels, but somehow she didn't care. How could it be wrong when he was one of the few people who actually cared what happened to her? When he always comforted her after an episode? When the look in his eyes never faltered, despite knowing what Pumpernickel was capable of? He cared just the same, and he understood her.
It had been a long time since she'd last had that with someone. The person that sprung to mind was Ezra, and he had turned out to be a liar. Wren wasn't. She could feel it in her heart that he was truthful with her, especially since she now knew what a true liar looked like. She wouldn't be betrayed like that again.
If Ezra hadn't betrayed her, if he'd been who she thought, would he have stood by her? She doubted it. Although she now understood that she was a seperate person from Pumpernickel, and that she ultimately wasn't at fault for her actions, she had learned the actions that Pumpernickel was responsible for. Ezra was no psychology major, and he probably wouldn't have been able to perceive the situation.
So therefore she put her faith in Wren. Wren who'd held her tight after Pumpernickel had attempted to escape thrice, and had dried her eyes when she'd learned that her alter ego had attempted new assaults. Wren who'd bandaged her hand when Pumpernickel had smashed the window in her room again, and had tried to break out of Radley once more to get to her friends. Wren who'd stopped Pumpernickel when she had attempted to get to Alison's room to likely do unspeakable things. Wren was always there for her.
Maybe she was falling too far, too fast, but she didn't care. At this point, and she knew she was being bigoted, she felt like she deserved a happy ending. She deserved that for once everything turned out alright. Her medication was for some reason not working yet, but she still had him, and she was thankful.
Wren had been the official escort on her nightly outings ever since the Samuel Goodman affair, and tonight was no exception. She stood alone in the common area as Wren had stepped off to take an, in his words, important call. She had enough time with her thoughts as it was, but she knew he would be back soon.
In the darkness and the still of the night, Radley seemed haunted in a way. Maybe it was because of the history the place had, and deaths that had occured because the staff hadn't done their job properly. She couldn't explain it, but she had a horrible feeling something bad would happen soon. It didn't make sense... Maybe she was just afraid of the dark.
"I know what we agreed, but she's not ready." Wren's voice broke the silence in the air from the other room, and although he spoke in hushed tones she heard him clearly. After years of hunting clues and eavesdropping on conversations, she automatically leaned against the wall, closely to the room Wren was having his conversation in. "No, I haven't changed my mind."
There was a pause while he listened for the reply, and Aria could only imagine what the person was saying, and what the conversation actually was about. She had never been the one to piece that sort of things together, and draw a conclusion from random pieces of information, and get them to have a literal meaning. No, that person had always been Spencer.
"You're wrong. I haven't." Wren voice became more and more agitated with each word he spoke, but it remained in the same hushed tones. He listened to the other person, and then he continued; "Like I said; she's not ready. You can't haste these sort of things." Another pause. "I haven't the faintest clue when it will be. You'll just have to wait."
He sighed deeply as he listened to the other person's argument. It was clear that the person on the other line was impatient and irritated for some reason, although she still hadn't heard a word the other conversationalist had said, but it was evident in Wren's voice that he didn't particularly enjoy the discussion he seemed to be having at the moment.
"I've tried. I'm still trying, but as I've said; you'll have to be patient." There was another silence, longer than the others had been, before he spoke again. "I can't. No, not tonight or tomorrow. I'm busy here at Radley. I can't just drop the ball on my responsibilities." He sighed, and listened to another response from the person. "I haven't forgotten. I've already told you that I haven't changed my mind. I promise you that we'll succeed eventually, but all good things take time."
There was another long pause, and then he appeared to be completely fed up with his conversation. "I can't have this conversation now, especially not when I'm here. I'll take care of my end of the deal. Goodbye!" He finished the exchange, and hung up the phone. He stepped back into the common area before Aria had the chance to run away from the door, and she would have a hard time explaining away that she'd eavesdropped. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough, I guess." She said, accompanied by a mild shrug as she had no estimation of the time. She smiled innocently, a trade that she had perfected over the years. "Whom were you speaking with, and what was the conversation about?"
"I was having a disagreement with one of my colleagues," Wren explained. "You see, I'm dividing my time between Rosewood Memorial and Radley, and we have someone in critical condition, and we don't quite see eye to eye as to how we should treat her. I keep telling my colleague that it will take some time, and that things won't be fixed with the snap of a finger. We have to be patient with the situation." He paused, and looked at Aria in a weirdly suspicious manner. "Why do you ask?"
Aria shrugged again. "Just curious, is all." She sighed deeply, and offered Wren one of those sympathetic smiles that she'd received too many of herself. "Is your patient going to be okay?"
Wren shook his head, clearly upset. "Sadly, I doubt that she will survive."
She'd been in a relationship with someone much older than her before, but she'd never been with anyone who attempted to save people's lives on a daily basis. Back then it had been more in the lines of; oh, it took you hours to grade a stack of papers? Well, that sucks. What was she supposed to do now that Wren had confided in her that he might be losing one of his patients? She did the only thing she could thing to do as she was at a loss of words, and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.
"Is there something I can do?" She questioned as she let go of the grip that she'd had on him, and he smiled sadly while shaking his head. "Please, let me know if you think of something. I'm here for you, okay?"
"I know," Wren said, and his smile tranformed to one of appreciation. "And I love you for it."
Aria blinked, taken aback by the statement for a brief moment. "You... You love me?"
"Yes." He confirmed, his eyes shining with the same love that he'd just expressed. "Is it too soon?"
Aria giggled softly while shaking her head rapidly. "No, of course not. I think I may love you too."
Wren leaned down, placing a tender kiss on Aria's lips. "Did that make you certain?"
"Maybe." She teased, and he kissed her again more passionately. "Fine, I surrender. I do love you, no doubt."
He pulled her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her tightly. There was meaning behind that action, she could tell. It was more than the love that they'd expressed to each other... It almost felt like relief as if he hadn't expected her to say it back, and he was overwhelmed by the feeling that she had. So she returned the embrace, holding onto him even tighter.
"Perhaps we should call it a night, and get you back to your room." Wren whispered in her ear as they were still holding onto each other, and she shook her head no. "I don't want to either, Aria, but your treatment comes first. Remember, Dr. Sullivan's first visit is rather early in the morning."
"You're probably right." Aria gave in, letting go of Wren. She pouted lightly, her large eyes tranforming into her infamous puppy dog look. "I just wish I had more time outside of the room, and I wish I didn't have to wear these insufferable Radley robes."
"I know what you're trying to do, Aria, but it won't work this time. I've stretched the rules as far as I possibly could for you." He informed her, and she huffed loudly in annoyance even though she understood. She just impatiently awaited the day she'd finally be released from Radley, and he understood her as well. "I apologise. We can discuss it more at another time, but at the moment we must get you back."
Wren led Aria the familiar way back to her room at Radley as he had now done a countless amount of times, and it was the part of these nights that they both hated the most. It only took a couple of minutes, and then they had to say their goodbyes.
"I'll see you again tomorrow night, won't I?" Aria asked, gazing pleadingly at Wren even though she already knew the answer.
"Of course." He smiled, and softly kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." She replied as Wren opened the door to her room. She went inside, and he closed the door behind her. The same procedure as always, and she went straight to bed, and fell asleep right away. She had been very tired, and her senses were far from their peak.
Maybe that's why she was unaware that she was being watched again by a hooded figure on the outside of the recently fixed window of her room. The person was waiting for the right time to strike...
Which Aria Is It Anyway?
She wasn't a people person. She had never really fitted in with her peers. She was an outsider, but she had always been comfortable by herself. It was when she was involved with other people that she felt less. She hadn't the faintest clue what the reason was, or what had happened to make things that way, but they were.
She'd entered the classroom, and seated herself by one of the desks. She would sit there and wait for the bell to ring. She had no interest in spending recess with her classmates, and she knew they felt likewise.
She was okay with this. Perhaps she was a little lonely at times, but she was okay. Besides, she was there to learn, not to befriend people. Her mother wished she would, but she wasn't all that interested. Sure, it would be great to have at least one friend... She was still okay, though.
She must have dozed off because suddenly she could hear chattering along with sniggering, enough to send shivers down her spine, and make her feel extremely uncomfortable. She opened her eyes, and saw that a group of her classmates were now in the room with her, Alison standing in the center between them with a smirk on her face.
"Did you have a nice nap, Sleeping Unbeauty?" Alison said, and the students around her laughed viciously at her mean joke.
Unbeauty is not a word, Aria thought to herself, but didn't dare to utter those words. Instead she stood up without a word as she'd decided to bolt. She had no wish to stay in that unwelcoming environment. She wanted to make a run for it, but as she began to move something restrained her, and she fell to the floor as the laughter from Alison's minions intensified.
That's when Aria noticed that someone had immaturely tied her shoelaces to one of the table legs. She knew all eyes were on her, and her face became red and flustered as she attempted to hold in the tears. She had to untie the laces, and get out of there as fast as possible.
She tried to untie her left foot first, but she couldn't unfold the knot. No matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't budge. She panicked, and as a result she became more and more upset, to the point where she couldn't hold in the tears any longer.
Suddenly Alison stood right in front of her, smirking in a way the entire school knew meant that she was up to no good. Aria had no idea why Alison would do this to her. It seemed very out of the blue, especially since she couldn't recall a time they had ever interacted. People often said Alison was cruel, now she knew why.
"Poor, little Aria. Can't untie a knot to save her life."
She woke up feeling very uneasy as usual. The day she awoke from a dream about puppies and sunshine, she'd throw a party for Alison and herself. She assumed that the dream was another one of Pumpernickel's memories that Aria had decided to forgive Alison for, regardless of its contents.
She sat up straight, and removed the covers from the bed to get up, and stretch her legs after a long slumber. She stood up, and gasped when she noticed that she wasn't alone in her room. She had company; Melissa Hastings to be exact, sitting in a chair before her.
Figures. When was the last time I woke without a surprise visitor? But that wasn't what Aria said. "Melissa, you scared me." She chose to go with those words instead.
It seemed very strange that Melissa would visit her. The only conversation Aria remember having with her was when Garrett had been arrested for Alison's murder, and Melissa had demanded Aria's frozen yoghurt as well as wanted to know the flavor.
She didn't like that Melissa was there. It couldn't be good, it never was when she was involved. Aria sat back down on the bed, and awaited to be told the older Hastings sister's reason for being there. There definitely had to be an agenda.
"You need to stay away from Spencer. You're toxic, and I have to protect my sister from that. You're dangerous for her to be around, and I know she's gonna get hurt with you in her life."
Right to the chase there, wasn't she? "Melissa, I agree that I was dangerous, and that I have hurt Spencer in the past, but I'm getting treatment. I'm gonna get better. I would never in my right mind hurt Spencer or the other girls." Aria assured Melissa, but sitting there in Radley robes in a mental institution, she doubted the impact her words would have on the older girl.
"You can't control that. I have to protect Spencer, and I'll do whatever it takes!" Melissa spoke fiercely, and her eyes were piercing with... Well, Aria would have defined it as craziness, but it probably wasn't the emotion Melissa wanted to portray.
"How come every time you say you wanna protect Spencer, you always opt for the cray cray route?" Wrong joke, wrong time. Aria could tell Melissa clearly wasn't amused. She had to choose a different tactic. "Look, Melissa, the two of us don't really know each other that well, and we never will. We don't have anything in common, except Spencer." She sighed deeply before she continued; "Do you know what your sister calls her friendship with me? Team Sparia. I would never hurt the other half of that team. In fact, I'd go out of my way to protect her. I'd go out of my way to ensure that my shadow side will never get her hands on Spencer. I'm in here, I'm getting treatment. Eventually my medication will suffocate my unwanted visitor. I won't hurt Spencer, I swear."
They sat in silence for a while, and then Melissa sighed. "I believe you." There was another silence, and then Melissa completely flipped 180. "You have to be very careful with whom you trust in here, Aria. Someone in here is not who they pretend to be. I learned that the hard way, and I don't want that to happen to you."
"Who is this person?" Aria enquired, but got no response. Melissa sat there tight-lipped, and Aria guessed that she said more than she should have. The person she'd talked about had to have something on her since she didn't want to name names. "Fine, you can't tell me, but can you nod if I say the person's name?"
"What's going on?" A voice interrupted the conversation, right as Aria was about to interrogate Melissa. The voice belonged to Alison who stepped into the room as Melissa stood from her chair, determined not to divulge anymore new information.
"Be careful, Aria!" Melissa repeated, and she retreated from the room.
"What was that about?" Alison questioned as she occupied the chair Melissa had been seated in moments ago.
Aria shrugged, struggling to make sense of the strange situation that had just occurred in the room. "I don't know. It was a bit weird, actually. One moment she warned me to stay away from Spencer, and then suddenly she was warning me about a person that wants to hurt me. She did a complete 180. It was like she had a split personality or something."
Alison chuckled lightly. "It's not contagious, you know."
Aria huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "It damn well should be! And I'm not talking about the 'you can get it, too' flu sort of contagious. No, it should be a 'passing the torch' sort of contagious. I'm sick of the burden."
"I hardly think it works that way, Aria. Besides, I thought it had gotten easier to deal with?" Alison asked, looking slightly concerned.
"It has," Aria confirmed. "But that doesn't mean it still doesn't suck turtle ass."
Alison chuckled again. "Where did you get that analogy from? Hanna?"
Aria merely shrugged at that question. It seemed more retorical anyway. "I just don't understand what Melissa meant." She then said, looking at Alison for answers. She'd never been one to put the pieces of a puzzle together herself.
"How am I meant to know?" Alison questioned, a confused look on her face. Aria shrugged again. "What did she say exactly? Maybe we can piece it together then."
"She told me not to trust just anyone. That someone in here is not who they pretend to be. That she learned it the hard way, and I should be very careful!" The shorter girl recited what she remembered had been said during Melissa's visit, but things still didn't make sense. "I wonder what she meant by that?"
"Well, who've you dealt with in here?" Alison asked, moving from the chair to the foot of the bed to be closer to Aria while they tried to figure things out. "The answer has to lie there."
"I haven't dealt with too many people in here. I'm an annoying mix of fragile and dangerous, remember?" The shorter girl smiled sadly, and the blonde reached out, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "But there is Dr. Sullivan. She's helped us in the past, but I'm not entirely sure that I trust her these days. Then again, I'm fairly certain that Melissa wasn't referring to her. There doesn't seem to be a connection, you know?"
Alison nodded. "Go on."
"Then there's Wren." Aria continued at her friend's urging. "He..."
"... used to be engaged to Melissa, didn't he?" Alison questioned, and Aria confirmed it with a nod. "It was a pretty bad break up from what I've heard. Spencer really got in the middle there, and Melissa did learn not to trust him the hard way."
Aria didn't like how Alison made Wren sound. To be honest, Aria thought that Melissa was the problem in that equation. Yes, Wren and Spencer shouldn't have done what they did, but afterwards Melissa took it to a whole other level. She got really nasty, and later on took advantage of his kindness. Plus, Wren had their backs in the whole Ian situation.
Aria wasn't being biased. She wasn't putting him up on a pedestal because she loved him. She had gotten to know him. She knew she could trust him. He'd shown her so much kindness while she'd been at Radley, and she truly believed that he was one of the good guys. Alison had to be barking up the wrong tree.
"I trust Wren!" Aria exclaimed, surprising herself with the outburst. The statement had been meant to be delivered calmly. Alison cocked an eyebrow, and looked at Aria suspiciously. "It's just... He's helped me a lot while I've been in here. He's gone out on a limb for me several times. He could never hurt me, Ali, I just know he couldn't. I'd trust him with my life."
Alison could tell from the passionate tone in her friend's voice that she truly believed in Wren, and although she didn't know the man personally, she chose to trust her best friend's judgement. "Fine," She sighed. "Who else?"
"Does Samuel Goodman count?" Aria joked half-heartedly when she drew a blank.
Alison smiled softly at her shorter friend. "Look at you being able to joke about Pumpernickel. That's progress, I guess. But no, I don't think he counts. It was one night, and it was at Pumpernickel's vacancy."
"Then there's nobody else." Aria concluded after she'd been deep in thought for a good, few minutes. "Nobody."
Alison expression suddenly turned into a tortured one, like she'd been cut deeply by Aria's words. The shorter girl looked at her friend with concern, and this time she reached out, and gave Alison's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Nobody else but me." Alison whispered hoarsely, sounding just as broken as she looked. "Melissa had to have been talking about me."
"What, no!" Aria objected, but she was cut off immediately.
"Think about it, Aria. According to Melissa, I'm the big, bad wolf. She thinks I'm toxic, and she wants to get rid of me at whatever the cost." Alison listed the reason why she'd been the person Melissa had spoken of, and Aria became more and more upset with each word that Alison spoke. "I have to be the person she warned you about. She even stopped talking when I entered the room. She thinks I'm dangerous, that I'm the one you can't trust."
"I don't care!" Aria shouted, getting worked up even though she knew that it was bad for her. "To hell with her then. Who's to say she didn't come here to cause trouble, to drive a wedge between us. C'mon, Ali, we know what she's like, and this is exactly something she'd do to stir things up. I don't care what she has to say or what she thinks, I trust you, Ali. Do you hear me? I trust you. You're my best friend, and I trust you!"
Aria stopped her rant, breathing heavily because she was still worked up. Alison silently met her friend's eyes, but she didn't respond to Aria's speech of faith, instead she wrapped her around the petite girl, and hugged her tightly.
"What's that for?" Aria mumbled into her ear, and Alison simply chuckled as she let go of her best friend.
"You just needed to calm down. It seemed like this was a situation that Pumpernickel would take advantage of, and I didn't want that for you." Alison explained, giving Aria's hand a another squeeze. "I'm so appreciative that you have that much faith in me. However, I don't always feel like I deserve it."
Aria offered the blonde a comforting smile. "The past doesn't matter anymore, right? I know you'd never hurt me."
"But I have." Alison murmured softly, tears were in her eyes.
Aria pulled Alison in for another hug and whispered; "Never again."
"So we're assuming that Melissa's words meant nothing?" Alison questioned as they let go of each other, and Aria nodded as a reply. "She was just trying to cause trouble. We trust each other, and we trust the people who take care of us, is that how it is?"
Aria nodded again. "Even if Melissa was the least bit concerned about me, how would she even know a flying fart about what goes on at Radley?"
"Another Hanna analogy, huh?" Alison teased, giggling softly while Aria grabbed her pillow and whacked her lightly with it. "I surrender, Pumpernickel!"
"Not funny!" Aria frowned and stuck out her tongue.
That just made Alison laugh harder. "It was a little bit."
Aria glared at her angrily, but Alison kept making funny faces until Aria gave in and cracked a smile. "Okay, it was a little funny." She finally agreed, chuckling lightly.
"What's going on here?" A voice boomed from the door, and they both jumped up from the bed to face the person who'd spoken. It was Dr. Sullivan, and she seemed less than thrilled. Alison and Aria wasn't supposed to have any contact for both of their protection.
Busted!
Which Aria Is It Anyway?
Disclaimer; I still don't own Pretty Little Liars.
Dedication; I dedicate this chapter to UngluckLiebhaber. Her review was simply amazing, and I thank her for sticking with the story, despite the predictability of Aria's condition. Also for her solid questions, some relevant, and some that made me laugh even though they shouldn't. I also thank her for pointing out to me that it was Melissa and Wilden who put Aria in the box on the Halloween train, but that's something I've changed for this story. She also asked if Melissa knew what was going on, and I can't say that she does, but I was inspired to throw in a short Melissa scene because of her questions. It was short and weird, but maybe Melissa does know a little something after all. I hope you liked the chapter :).
I am so, so, so, so, an infinity of so sorry for the incredibly long delay. I suck. Long story short, I've had some personal things to deal with to prevent me from falling into a depression again. Everything isn't out of the way, but I'm dealing, and I'm getting there. I'll do anything not to get back to where I was. I've come too far. That's my explanation for the delay.
Thank you so much for your reviews. You guys rock, and I hope that I still have some readers left after this delay, and I hope that you'll continue to review. Things will be getting serious from now on, and I won't let you wait this long again. I swear to Pluto and all his moons that I won't.
So Wren had sort of a weird phone call... Does that mean anything? Did he tell Aria the truth? She certainly believes that he did. Maybe because she's fallen in love with him (Aria seems to me like a person who falls hard and fast), and he loves her too, it seems. It's a little weird for me to write Waria, but it's important for this story. All will be revealed in good time.
So there was another flashback where Alison was being mean to Aria. There's not too many of them left, but there's something Alison said that will be very important later on. "Poor, little Aria. Can't untie a knot to save her life!" - very important. Again, all will be revealed in good time. Sooner than you think even. Like I said, things are about to get very serious.
The Melissa scene was short, and she was being extremely weird, but I wanted to plant the seed that maybe she does know something, that maybe there's somebody Aria shouldn't trust. However, Alison and Aria seem to think that she was just being Melissa, and that they shouldn't read anything into it. Are they wrong? Is there someone they shouldn't trust? Who do you think it is? Also, what's gonna happen now that Dr. Sullivan has caught them breaking the rules? Is it really to dangerous for them to hang out together?
Thank you for reading this chapter, I sincerely hope you review. I will be back soon.
Laters,
AK-tutti :)