Pretty Little Liars: Paying the Cost

Chapter 3 of my Pretty Little Liars story, enjoy.

Reviews

Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, yes indeed :)

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pretty Little Liars or its characters.

Season 1: Episode 3

Sitting up in her bedroom, biting her lip as she checked her phone, Emily was confused and worried.

'I don't get it...before Ben got too...too aggressive, we usually would make out with no problems.' She wondered. 'So why did I start not feeling like that, did I just know something wasn't right, that he was going to...or-'

"Emily."

She jumped and looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway of her room, looking at her worriedly.

"Mom?"

Pam Fields approached, still worried. "Is everything okay, you've been rather...quiet since you came home from school. Did something happen?"

"I...It's nothing mom, I'm just distracted, what with hearing about that dead girl and everything that's happened since well...yesterday."

"Oh I know, it's crazy, hearing that Alison returned and now this poor girl that died…" Pam hesitated, as if wondering if she should say it. But she changed her mind and instead spoke gently. "Listen, it'll be alright. You know if you need anything you can always ask me, right? I'm just downstairs."

She gave her daughter a reassuring smile and Emily did her best to return it. But Emily knew her mother didn't know the full truth and she was hiding it, regardless she couldn't help but wonder as her mother left.

She quickly contacted Maya via text. "Thanks for coming to see me at practice today."

"No problem, you looked amazing, like a graceful dolphin." Maya replied relatively quickly.

"Don't let the coach hear you say that, we're supposed to be sharks." Emily texted back, smiling, yet also confused.

The text conversation continued while Emily wondered why she felt so warm inside, wondering what this was she was feeling.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, at the Ericson home, Ryan smiled lightly as he finished checking through the photos he had taken with his camera.

'It's looking good, but I'm not sure...I don't think this will work for my project.' He mused. 'It feels, wanting, like I'm missing something.'

He shook his head and tried to turn his mind to other things, heading down for dinner. He still had time to find what he was lacking for his project. Downstairs, already about to begin their dinner was his parents, his father Carl, who Ryan mostly resembled while his mother Michelle had dark hair but Jamie had her eyes.

"Hey mom, dad." He greeted them.

They both smiled and he sat down while Michelle set down the third plate, now they all had their dinner set and began to eat.

"So, how was school?" Michelle asked. "I know things can't have been easy today, what with the news and all."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, it was very distracting, for the teachers as much as the students...still, we managed, somehow."

"Just be careful, alright." Carl spoke up. "Just don't take any risks."

Ryan nodded in agreement but then saw his father's expression darken.

"Speaking of risks, you don't think, she hasn't-"

Ryan flinched and Michelle looked at her husband sharply, so he dropped the subject and they all seemed very focused on their dinner after that.

XXXXX

Tony smiled lightly as he replied to a text from Spencer. The two of them had befriended each other from their first meeting. His father Carlo, who wasn't back from work yet, had recently joined the same law firm as Spencer's family and they had moved to Rosewood as a result of that. Now he was at home, relaxed and his smile widened when he hard his dad return. Heading downstairs he saw his mother Connie too, rather like his friend Ryan, Tony was a mix of his parents in appearance. They all greeted each other cheerfully, ready for dinner and another pleasant night. A lot of people said that in Rosewood, a family's reputation was everything, but for the Bruno family, all that mattered to them was that they had each other and could rely on each other in times of trouble if necessary.

"How have you been, Tony?" His mother asked cautiously. "I mean, you haven't-?"

Tony shook his head. "Not lately, mom. I'm...I'm doing okay."

Connie nodded, still looking anxious.

Carlo gently cut in. "It's okay, you'll be fine, we're all here for you, remember that."

Tony sighed but nodded and said nothing more, waiting for dinner in silence. Nevertheless, he appreciated his parents concerns.

XXXXX

Emily wasn't sure what was driving her to do this, she was waiting outside the school, practically ignoring the students that passed, as well as their strange looks towards her. She was uncomfortable, just as she had been yesterday, due to having to dress and style herself like Mona had instructed her. It just didn't feel right on her, didn't feel like the right fit.

"Em, you waiting for Mona and the others?"

She looked up and shook her head. "Ah, no, actually...I was waiting for you, Ali."

Alison paused. "For me?"

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come to a party at the weekend." Emily blurted out. "Noel Khan's hosting and it's supposed to be good. I just, think it might be good for you to fully integrate with the Rosewood social circle again and the party should do just that."

Alison smirked. "Sounds like a plan to me. Noel Khan always did host the best parties, I'm guessing that hasn't changed."

Emily nodded in confirmation as they reached her locker.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys there." Ali said.

Emily shrugged but nodded as she opened her locker and paused, before pulling out a familiar looking scarf with a note pinned on it. It read 'Felt this looks better on you than me, hope you like it.' It was from Maya. She closed her locker to see the girl herself standing there smirking.

"You need to stop doing that." Emily said, suppressing a laugh. "Are you sure about this, I'm not sure…"

Maya laughed. "C'mon, like I said, it suits you better, now, let's get to class."

Emily finally laughed and followed while Ali went to her locker, also smiling at what she had seen. Unaware that both she and Emily were being watched by a girl, a girl with long blonde ringlets and grey eyes named Amber Walther.

At lunch, Emily was making her way to her usual table, wondering what was going on and why she was getting so many glances, some smug, some sympathetic. Then she reached the table and saw Mona seated at the other side, in the middle while the others sat on either side of her and Emily knew right away what this was. Mona's 'Court'.

"What-?"

Mona shook her head. "Don't play these games, Emily. Sit down."

Mona's voice brokered no argument so Emily sat down.

"You know full well what's expected of you, of all of us here but you actually were caught, by a reliable witness, fraternising with someone who you know is not supposed to be spoken to." Mona remarked venomously.

Emily was aghast at this. "Excuse me, you-"

Mona cut her off. "You were all told, we cannot allow Alison to ruin what we have here. You still choose to end up talking to her when you were supposed to leave her invisible."

'This is ridiculous, is Mona really going to be so petty...I've had enough of this.' Emily thought angrily.

"Well, there's nothing else for it." Mona remarked. "You can no longer be part of our group, you need to leave and get out of our sight. Now."

Emily calmly stood up. "Fine by me, I was about to leave this group anyway. I can't stand it anyway, how petty it all is."

With that she turned and stalked off, leaving Mona shocked and outraged. But then, as if to increase her bad mood, she found Ben standing up ahead, glaring it her and she knew right then there was only one thing to do, she had decided enough was enough.

XXXXX

"So...how did it go?" Maya asked.

Emily sighed and shook her head. "It's over, Ben and I broke up, he freaked out when he saw the scarf and started arguing with me. I was done with all that nonsense so I just broke up with him."

"Seems like you've cut all ties." Maya replied. "What are you going to do now?"

They were both at a shop, looking for suitable outfits for the party Emily had just that very morning told Alison about.

"I...I don't know." Emily admitted. "I don't even know if I should go to the party tonight. I mean, I spoke to Alison about it, even invited her...but what if she doesn't turn up?"

Maya gently shook her head, getting closer. "Hey, Em, listen...it's gonna be okay, everything will work out fine and if Alison doesn't show up to the party after you invited her...That's her loss, yeah."

"Maya, I-"

That was all Emily got out before they acted spontaneously and without thinking and kissed. It lasted only a few seconds but it was enough and they both quickly parted, shocked, eyes wide as they realized what they had just done.

XXXXX

At home, the same time that evening, Alison was upstairs, on the computer, biting her lip as she flicked through the images.

'This is crazy...Bethany Young, killed by the Rosewood serial killer. Same method as the others, hidden somewhere public, without being seen...Yet she looks just like me.' She wondered. 'The other three, they look just like...Oh my God…'

She grimaced, noting that with the exception of Spencer, each of the dead girls resembled one of her old friends, one who looked like Hanna, one like Aria and another like Emily. Before she could even properly register all that she had just discovered, her phone beeped, indicating a text. She picked it up and read it, surprised and also rather horrified by what she read.

"Welcome home Alison. Do you like games? I do and you're already playing mine without even realising it. Have fun. A."

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.