Hey guys, thanks for the reviews!
Shout out to:
Lala-Pll-Time, Guest, LAs, Sgdp1261.
I don't have Beta, so any and all mistake are mine and there probably will be a few.
Enjoy!
The third time Caleb pulls up outside the studio, Aria has what seems to be at least 3 fractured bones in her right hand; and is supporting a far from subtle limp.
"Shit Aria!" He exclaims as he turns the car light on to get a better look.
"You should see the other guy," she replies with a slight smirk, pulling her hand away from his concerned gaze.
"Aria you can't keep doing this!"
"What?" The word comes out forced as she slowly pulls her seatbelt over her abused body.
"You can't keep hurting yourself like this."
And those words stop her thoughts in there track. Because out all the thoughts that have been going through her head over the last few weeks. Self-harm was never one of them.
Because she wasn't there to hurt herself.
Because she didn't kick her own knee in;
She wasn't the one causing herself pain.
She was the one protecting herself;
She was the one trying to take control.
And the cracked bones in right hand prove that; because after two weeks and countless losses, Aria had finally clocked her first win.
Thanks mostly to a right hook, which while quite deprecating to herself, was much more damaging to her opponent.
So yes, she admitted she did cause that injury.
But it was in no way self-harm.
It was self-defence.
It was control.
And that's honestly how she saw it.
"I'm fine" She answered staring straight ahead.
"Aria yo…" He was swiftly cut off by the short brunette next to him.
"I said I'm fine!"
And the problem was, she actually believed it.
Two weeks had passed since that night in the car. And since then, a lot of things had changed. Hannah's mum had been cleared of all charges.
Emily's shoulder had started to heal, and she was starting to get back in the pool.
And Spencer had been spending time with Ezra sorting out her college applications.
Things were finally start to return to normal (well as normal as possible in Rosewood). Except for Aria. And her friends were starting to notice, really notice.
"Has anyone heard from Aria today? She wasn't in English." Spencer spoke up as soon as Hannah and Emily sat down at the table.
"Can you blame her, I wouldn't want to listen to my ex talk about books everyday!" Hannah answered, tactlessly as ever.
"Hannah!" Emily said slapping her slightly, giving a reproachful look.
"Seriously guys, she's been acting strange for the last two weeks, don't tell me you haven't noticed!" Spencer insisted, trying to get some sort of insight about her shorter friend.
And with that Emily and Hannah just looked at each other. Because yes they noticed, they just assumed that she was dealing with it.
Or that someone else was helping her out.
Because they were busy.
"Look it's Aria, if she needs us she'll tell us, but apart from that, there's nothing we can really do if she doesn't want us too know"
That sat in silence as they let Emily's' words sink in.
"She'll come to us when she's ready."
And they let themselves believe those words; because if they believed anything else, that would make them the most unreliable friends in the world.
And they can't handle that.
None of them can.
Despite Emily's reassurance, Spencer couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong with her best friend.
But in all honesty she's been having that feeling for the last few weeks.
She just can't ignore it anymore.
Because she thought it was just a phase.
She thought that Aria was just having relationship issues.
But it's coming up on five weeks.
And Spencer can't ignore it anymore.
She can't ignore the winces.
The bruised knuckles.
And most of all, she can't ignore the fact the smaller girl looks more calm and at peace than she ever has over the last couple of years.
And with everything that's going on, that just doesn't make sense.
Because if there's one thing that these girls don't have, it's control.
Because A has taken that away from them.
And as she looks back on it, she realizes how fucked up that is.
Because in the last 3 years her and her friends have lost all sense of control in their lives.
So much so, that when her best friend begins to exhibit signs of having a sense of being in charge of her decisions, even if it's in the smallest sense,
The only explanation is that something is seriously wrong.
And that's just fucked.
But as she looks back on the last few weeks, she realises that she hasn't received a single text from A, and as far as she knows, neither has Hannah or Emily.
And as thankful as she is, (because Emily and Hannah have been in A's spotlight for the last few weeks, and they deserve a break) she's still scared shit less.
Because the inherit absence of A, can only mean two things;
1. A is buying there time, planning something huge.
Or 2. Aria has been on the receiving end of the threatening messages (and decided to keep it to herself).
Either way her friend needed her, because if A was planning something, they needed to stick together. And if Aria was A's next target she shouldn't have to face it alone.
And Spencer would make sure of that.
"There's no need for me to hurt you when you're too busy doing it to yourself. Want to know what your best friend has been up to? See for yourself, 6 Manning Street, tonight 8pm -A"
The text message Spencer received mere hours after her previous revelations, threw all her logic out the window.
Because it didn't make sense,
Because Aria would never hurt herself.
She just wouldn't.
But that fucking message forced Spencer to question everything (as messages from A always did).
Because as much as she didn't want to believe it,
The thing about A was, they never lied.
And if that's the case, then Spencer can't help but think she's been the worst friend in the world.
Because as vague as the message was, the underlining point was clear.
There was something seriously wrong with her best friend,
And she missed it.
And A clearly didn't.
And god Spencer hates that.
She hates that she was distracted enough to allow an anonymous entity to learn more about her best friend than she knew herself.
She hates that she didn't do something when she first saw it.
She hates that it took that message confirmation for her to finally take action.
And yes it could be a trap.
It could be a ruse.
But that's a risk Spencer's willing to take.
Because despite her actions (or lack thereof), over the last few weeks.
She would do anything for her best friend.
And she's going to prove that.
Like she should've done weeks ago.
So what did you think?
There will be a lot of Sparia in the next chapter.
And I know that Emily's shoulder isn't healed in the show, but I don't really want to have to deal with that in this story. Plus she fell on a rock... a rock doesn't do that kind of damage -_-
Please review, it means the world!