Prologue
Once upon a time, there were two identical twin sisters, Alison and Courtney DiLaurentis. Growing up, they were inseparable, the best of friends…until one Saturday afternoon, when Alison forced Courtney to impersonate her to the mailman, holding Courtney's favorite doll hostage until she agreed. The following week, Courtney sat at Alison's desk in their second grade classroom. She introduced herself as Ali to the new neighbors who'd moved into the house at the corner.
"She's making me do it!" Courtney had insisted when their parents sat her down in concern, her voice edging on hysterical. "She's making me pretend to be her!"
But when Mr. and Mrs. DiLaurentis cut their eyes over to Alison, standing meekly in the doorway to the kitchen, she just shrugged helplessly.
It was after that day that things escalated. Half of the time, Courtney frantically claimed that she was Alison, to anyone who would listen. The other half of the time, she insisted her sister was forcing her into it. "She says I have to," she sobbed. "She says that if I don't say I'm her, something bad will happen to me and our family and everybody."
The girls' parents grew more concerned with each day. But it was only after Mrs. DiLaurentis came running at the sound of screaming to find Courtney pinning Alison to the ground, her hands wrapped around her twin's throat, that they knew something had to be done. Many horrified phone calls, a series of doctor's visits, and one diagnosis of childhood schizophrenia later, Courtney was shipped off to The Radley, a youth psychiatric hospital.
No one noticed Alison turn away and smile to herself as the car pulled away from the curb.
Courtney spent three long years locked away behind The Radley's cinderblock walls, paying the price for her sister's desire to be the only girl in the house…until an opportunity finally presented itself.
When The Radley closed down and Courtney was to spend a weekend at home before being transferred to the notorious Preserve at Addison-Stevens, she grabbed at the chance to pull off the ultimate switch. All it took was a stolen ring, a matching outfit, and four girls who happened to be in the right place at the right time, and Alison was pushed into the car and driven to the Preserve in Courtney's place.
Courtney became Alison. Alison became Courtney. And no matter how hard "Courtney" raged, how many times she insisted she was Ali, no one believed her. That was the beauty of it. After all, impersonating her sister was the exact reason Courtney was hospitalized to begin with.
For the next year and a half, Courtney stepped into the fairytale life of Alison DiLaurentis. With her four new BFFs at her side, she set trends, captivated boys, and ruled the school. As time went on, her fears of her parents finding out what she'd done slowly faded from her mind. She was a better Alison than her twin had ever been. She had nothing to worry about.
Until, with the doctors' stamp of approval and a new set of meds, "Courtney" returned home.
On the evening of the last day of seventh grade, Ali stares toward the large, dark barn in the neighboring yard. In an ideal world, one where her sister isn't able to convince the doctors that she's better, where she hasn't been released back into her parents' care, Ali would be in there right now, kicking off her much-anticipated end-of-seventh-grade sleepover.
Instead, her friends have gone home, and she's standing at the edge of the deep, dark hole that will at some point provide the foundation for a gazebo, her twin's hands wrapped around her throat.
"Courtney's" blue eyes – which are just a tiny bit bluer than Ali's – are shining with hatred, but there's just a flash of hesitation there, too, and that's all Ali needs.
She manages to twist sideways just enough to take a gulping breath. "Please," she gasps. "You don't have to do this."
Courtney laughs. The sound is harsh in Ali's ears. "Yes, I do. You stole everything from me. Now I'm returning the favor."
"But it doesn't have to be like this," Ali rasps, one last desperate attempt. "Remember how it used to be? We loved each other. We were friends."
"We were never friends." Courtney's eyes narrow, but her grip loosens just enough for Ali to get in another breath.
With a surge of hope, Ali plows ahead. "We were. And we can go back. You can be you again. I'll be me. Just like before."
There's no mistaking the slackening of Courtney's grasp now. "You'd switch back?" she asks. Her voice is full of suspicion. "Just like that?"
Ali takes a deep breath, feels her lungs fill up with air. The rest of her life – and the length of it – could potentially depend on what she says next. "I'd switch back," she confirms resolutely. "Just like that."
There's a long moment of silence, Courtney's hands still wrapped loosely around Ali's neck. Ali's chest is tight with terror. Then, to her immense relief, her twin lowers her arms and steps back, still within reach but no longer right in her face. Conflict passes across her face. "I don't know if I can do that."
It takes every bit of willpower in Ali's exhausted body for her to reach out and take her twin's hand. "Of course you can. We'll do it together, Ali."
Bile threatens to rise in her throat at the mention of her sister's real name, but Courtney's face lights up like it's Christmas morning and there's a pile of presents at the bottom of the tree. An instant later and it's gone, replaced by a look of clearly intentional impassivity. But Ali knows what she saw. "Okay," her sister finally yields.
It feels like every bone in Ali's body turns to jelly. She's light-headed with a combination of relief and uncertainty. She has no idea what the future, or even tomorrow, is going to hold, but for now, she just grips her twin's hand a little tighter and leads her away from the gaping hole, toward the house.
Usually I have stories in mind for a long time before I actually start sharing them. But not this one - this idea came to me after rereading "Ali's Pretty Little Lies" about a week ago, and wouldn't get out of my head until I started writing. This is my first time exploring the bookverse of PLL, and it's certainly been a different experience capturing the book version of the characters. As I'm sure you've already gauged, this story contains major spoilers for the PLL books, so read at your own risk.
Reviews are always what inspire me to keep going, but as this is something unlike anything I've written before, your feedback is especially valuable. Please take a minute and let me know your thoughts!