Thanks for the review, Guest, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. KooshGID, thank you, I really appreciate your reviews. Sgdp1261, it's totally okay, please don't feel obligated to reply to every single chapter; thank you for the gratitude, you're so sweet. And do let me know if this ends up making you cry; I've never brought anyone to tears with my writing, so that would be kind of a milestone for me. ;)
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December 20th
Spencer argued with herself for twenty minutes before she slowly sat up and finished getting ready. So she and Aria had fought. It wasn't the end of the world. She should go and find her, apologize, and talk things through. She looked at herself in the mirror on the way to the door, and hoped that it would be so dark and crowded at the party no one would notice how pale she was, how her eyes were red from crying, or how she couldn't quite keep the fear out of her eyes. Had Aria really left her?
When she arrived at the party she was underwhelmed. She'd thought it would be big, loud, and exclusive. But as she walked across the dirt path all she saw was a group of people huddled around the entrance, talking quietly. She approached them and cleared her throat.
"Yes?" said one of the girls, who was busily spraying hairspray into her already over-styled hair. "Can we help you?"
"I'm looking for Jordana's party," Spencer explained. "Do you know where it is?"
"If you don't know where it is, you obviously weren't invited," the girl scoffed.
Spencer blinked, wondering where this girl got her arrogance from. If she was out here, it probably meant she wasn't cool enough to get into the party either.
One of the other girls, who looked sort of mousy and even had a squeaky voice, took pity on her and said, "It's over there, through the front doors, up to the second floor."
"Thanks." Spencer turned on her heel and strode off, ignoring the laughter drifting up from behind her. They thought she wasn't cool enough to get an invitation either.
A burly guy wearing nothing but a tutu answered the door. "Name?" he asked.
"I, um." She hesitated. "I came with a friend, only she's already here."
"So you didn't really come with her." The guy gave her a condescending look, which was only slightly less intimidating due to his apparel.
She didn't bother replying to that. "Look, I'm Aria Montgomery's plus-one. Can you let me in or not?"
He checked the name against his clipboard, scribbled a quick note, and then opened the door wider. As she stepped through she made sure to flash a big smile at the gobsmacked group of girls.
The door closed behind her, and suddenly she realized that the party was big, loud, and exclusive. Even from downstairs she could hear the sounds of laughter, singing, and general chatter. There was even the occasional cheer or chant – some kind of drinking game, she assumed. She ascended the stairs, not sure what to expect. She'd never really been big on partying, and she'd never turned up to a college party by herself; usually she was with Aria, or Emily and Hanna. She didn't even know anyone here.
That didn't seem to matter. As soon as she reached the second floor, offers started flooding in. Several people handed her drinks, which she turned down, and someone else invited her to play shot roulette. She didn't even bother being polite in her refusal.
This pattern carried on for the next ten minutes as she searched desperately for Aria. The party seemed to span the entire floor; most of it was in the hall, but a few rooms had open doors too. There were a lot of people here, but nobody seemed sober enough to know their own names, let alone be able to tell her where Aria was. She was considering giving up when she finally saw that familiar figure in the back corner.
But almost as soon as she saw her, she also saw him. Mr Business. She'd only met him once, and formed an instant but seemingly irrational dislike of him. Even if he'd been perfect she still would have disliked him, simply because he was with Aria and she wasn't. And here he was, with her. Again.
This scene was painfully familiar. Who was she kidding? Why had she thought she stood a chance? She wasn't good enough for Aria, she never had been. She'd only been fooling herself when she pretended otherwise. She'd just been a fling, an experiment, and now Aria had gone back to her roots. Back to him.
She felt sick. His hands were all over her; she was leaning into him. The party raged all around her, but Spencer stayed still, strangely calm. Everything moved in slow motion. The singing in Spencer's heart turned into a scream. She would never get Aria back.
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The night's not over yet. What do you guys think will happen next? Or are you scared to find out? :p