I'm a day late, I know, and I'm SORRY! School is just so blech. But on the bright side, I'm at 300 reviews because you're all so fantastic! Seriously, though, how did I get so lucky to get the best, most consistent reviewers ever? Now, some of you got the references, so I'm here to reveal those answers. I hope it's alright if I stop giving shoutouts to those who got them right, just because it takes SO much time. But you know who you are ;)
"We're team Sparia!" 2x25. That is all.
"You're not going to stop staring at me like a lost puppy until I say yes, are you?" 3x09 Cece to Spencer.
The entire "You're no slouch" convo between Wren and Spencer was from 1x02 before they kissed (has anyone heard from ShadowsOnTheMoon? Is she breathing?)
Now to respond to your reviews:
Ayoungnovelist: Yep! You got it!
Forever Courage: That could be possible! You're right to be suspicious of Scorpius, I'll say that ;)
Sarah: Team Sparia is perfect. And haha, I never thought of that! I love those candy striper outfits, though. They were hilarious. And Spencer's at the point where her mind is just all over the place and she's not thinking straight. Like, "This mentally insane guy just said DiLaurentis. Let me chase him around the asylum until he answers my question appropriately". That level of not thinking straight. Also, congratulations, I think you got all of the references! :D And indeed, Neville just got a lot more interesting, haha. He'll actually have a chapter coming up with one of the PLL characters! Not gonna say who, though ;) Thank you so much for your review, it made my day!
TotalCowGirl: You will see more of Neville in an upcoming chapter!
Silver-Infinite: The PLL character came from the English colonies where they don't have British accents. Hopefully you understand better now ;)
Renesmee27: Yep, you got it! Thanks for the review :)
Ava B: Well, you got 2 out of 3, which is still pretty good! :) and typical Spencer. When she's in the zone, you can forget about reasoning with her. Aria is gonna have to suck it up for now :P
PrettyWitchyVamp: Hahaha, Ezria IS that annoying kid! That's hilarious, good metaphor! And you know Spencer, she doesn't always have her priorities straight. I love when any of the liars bicker! That's why 4x02 was my favorite episode this season. And indeed, Wren is here to shake things up at Hogwarts (and possibly for Spoby, so I guess I better prepare for the Spoby shipper death threats now :/). And no way, I like Ezra as board shorts. It makes him relevant, and I'm just gonna keep shipping Ezria either way, so you know ;) and wow, your favorite chapter? Well I'm blushing now, so thanks for that!
Spobyistruelove: Two days? That takes dedication. Thank you! It's been a blast to write, so I love how people are enjoying reading it! And I update pretty frequently (at least I try to. School is starting, so it's a bit harder), so you won't need to worry about that! And there will be PLENTY of Spoby to come, so buckle your seatbelt!
UngluckLiebhaber: I love Dobby, too! I do a pretty solid impression of him, too, so he's close to my heart automatically. And your daughter is automatically awesome for doing that. And Scorpius and Mike were the only two to be petrified! You didn't miss anything. That doesn't mean others aren't in the infirmary for being sick and little things like that. Besides, taking care of two people at the same time is hard work. Pomfrey has got her hands tied.
WideOpenSpacesGirl045: Heh heh... sorry :/ I will tell you right now, though, that Spoby is endgame. Does that make you feel a little better? And glad Sparia made up for that (they always do ;)) Thanks for the review, and hopefully you'll like this next chapter just as much!
Goldenheart11: Jeez, the wrath I'm getting from you Spoby fans is scary, but also entertaining ;) and aww, I feel special! Spoby is endgame, though, I will say that now. No need to worry!
Titanium Wolf: That I did! I thought it was some nice juxtaposition, haha.
Sgdp1261: You know me, I cannot RESIST the Sparia! And congrats, you got all the references! Nice work :D and thank you for not threatening me for putting Wren in like all of the Spoby fans (although I love the Spoby fans still!). And I thought the HALEB shippers were bad... I'm putting my life into my own hands with this story 0.o and I had to put that baby bunny line in, I couldn't resist! It's just so... SPARIA! And HAHA "Christmas time for the A team". Can you just imagine all these people in black hoodies, like, GIDDY over torturing the liars, opening presents, having a BALL? Like, Mona, skipping around a Christmas tree decorated with the liars' faces... oh man. Thank you for putting that picture in my head. THANK YOU!
Bagilia: Well, I was GOING to congratulate you on being my 300th reviewer, but since you're not talking to me I guess I can't really do that now, can I? ;) See what you've driven ME to? It works both ways, honey bunches.
audryadn: Thank you so much! I love Hannily, so you'll see more of them, of course ;)
And now... the moment you've all been waiting for... THE HALLOWEEN BALL! Enjoy this chapter, you bunch of lovelies, and don't forget to review at the end!
Later that night, it was finally time for the Halloween ball. Students were dressed eloquently, dressed grotesquely, dressed in all kinds of attire. The Great Hall looked much like it did earlier, although now the lights were dimmed to nearly total darkness, with the exception of the moonlight outside shimmering off of the chandeliers and lighting up the rest of the room. Students slowly started to fill the room, complimenting each other on their costumes while filling their goblets with punch (although Noel Kahn had managed to sneak in butterbeer, and was selling it to anyone who asked). The evening was just getting started, but everyone was already having a good time.
Emily pulled the hood of her thin, black silk cloak further over her head with one hand while she held Paige's hand tightly with the other. Paige turned to smile at her, her perfectly white teeth almost the same color as her newly pale skin, of which it took nearly 5 coats of bleach-white eyeshadow, nearly using up all of it, to get to that shade. Emily smiled back before turning to look around the rest of the room, but she still felt Paige staring at her, so she commented on it. "What?"
"You're just so damn beautiful," Paige said earnestly.
Emily just smiled. "Well, look who I'm talking to," she said coyly. "I've never seen anyone make dressing like a dementor look so sexy."
"Neither have I," Paige responded. "Until tonight."
"So, you mean when you looked in the mirror," Emily joked bluntly, only to earn a playful shove and a laugh from Paige. All of their tension from earlier was gone, and they had this one night to enjoy themselves. To be together.
Or, so Emily thought.
Across the room, Emily could clearly spot Maya, downing what she could assume was butterbeer, dressed as a pixie with very revealing taste.
Emily bit her tongue and squeezed Paige's hand a little tighter. It was going to be a long night.
"They sure look happy," Aria commented as she set her goblet of punch down, glancing across the room at Paige and Emily's grand entrance. Hanna followed Aria's gaze, and she caught sight of Paige laughing while she playfully slapped Emily, and Emily just grinning along in genuine happiness.
"Yeah, they do," Hanna agreed. Emily had been complaining for a while to the girls that Paige was distancing herself from her, and she was worried. But things seemed fine between them right now, so Hanna and Aria hoped that meant that they had worked things out.
Hanna straightened the wrinkles on her house elf costume, and Aria, who was dressed as a black cat, pulled her tail up front so she could smooth out the mohair. They both looked fantastic, but they wanted to look especially fantastic for when they got to see their boyfriends later on. Aria finally put her tail back into place before looking up at Hanna. "I assume you've dressed to impress for when your man enters the hall?"
"Of course," Hanna said with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. "And you?"
"Maybe just a little," Aria said with a smile as she looked over at the other side of the room, where she spotted Ezra at the punch bowl, with a fake wig of curly brown hair, a quill tucked behind his ear, an awkwardly pretentious blue cloak draped around him, and a book in his hand.
Aria rolled her eyes. Gilderoy Lockhart. Of course.
"Who is he?" Hanna asked, confused.
Aria laughed. "Some author we both love making fun of."
"Well I'll gladly give you something else to make fun of: what is on Toby's head?"
Aria turned to see what Hanna was pointing at, and laid eyes on Toby and Spencer, dressed in different robes from their own, and different hair for that matter. Spencer had teased her hair so that it protruded outward, puffy and frizzy as anything, and Toby wore what looked like a bright red mop on his head, along with penciled-on freckles on his cheeks.
"Exactly what are you supposed to be?" Hanna asked as the couple walked up to them.
Spencer smiled. "I'm Hermione Granger, and he's Ron Weasley," she said happily.
"I'm sure Rose and Hugo Weasley will be more than pleased that you're their parents for Halloween," Aria joked, only for Spencer to stick her tongue straight out at Aria.
"I'm gonna get some punch," Toby said as he placed his hands on Spencer's shoulders from behind. "Do you want anything?"
"I'm good, baby," she said as she craned her head back to give him a kiss. "Thank you though."
Toby kissed back before pulling away, giving a little wave to Hanna and Aria, and then walking over to to the punch station, the chunks of red protruding from his wig flopping up and down as he walked.
"Well, that is quite a wig," Hanna said in an amused tone as she leaned back against the pillar behind her.
But Spencer didn't find any of it funny. "Please don't make fun," she begged. "It was last minute."
"Don't you guys usually plan things out way ahead of time?" Aria asked innocently.
"Yeah, when we're both mentally stable," Spencer retorted. "I've been paying, like, no attention to him lately because I've been so busy pulling my hair out over these fangs and the fucking Chamber... and I think he's noticing, too."
"Aria said you guys snuck into the Hospital Wing earlier," Hanna said quietly. "Did you close in on anything?"
"No," Spencer muttered bitterly.
"Yeah, I didn't find any fangs in anyone's pockets," Aria said.
"And it turns out she didn't even need to search," Spencer added on. "Wren already told me that he's never heard anything about anyone getting fangs."
"Who's Wren?" Hanna asked. Spencer looked up, searching through the crowd, until she found a tall boy with brown hair in what looked to be a pirate's costume, chomping on a cupcake with orange frosting.
Spencer pointed right to him. "Over there. He's Pomfrey's new assistant nurse."
"Yeah, and Spencer left me to scavenge for fangs for nothing while she cuddled up to him," Aria muttered bitterly as she took a sip from her goblet.
"I wasn't cuddling up to him!" Spencer said defensively. "Please don't say I was cuddling up to him." She then glanced nervously over to the punch table, and sure enough Toby was still there, pouring a perfectly filled goblet of punch like the perfect boyfriend he was.
"Okay, you're even more high strung than usual, and that's saying something," Hanna said distastefully. "I'm gonna snag you some butterbeer."
"I don't want - "
"No exceptions," Hanna interjected as she walked away. As soon as she walked away, Emily walked up, sans Paige.
"Well don't you look scary," Spencer teased. Emily did look scary, but she was Emily; she couldn't scare someone away if she tried. It was impossible!
Emily just rolled her eyes. "Not scary enough."
"What's wrong?" Aria asked, catching onto Emily's snark.
"Maya's here," Emily whispered nervously.
"Well that shouldn't be a problem," Spencer said with a shrug. "Didn't you say she didn't want anything to do with you?"
"The thing is... I think she does want something to do with me," Emily said unsurely.
"But you don't," Aria said, finishing Emily's thoughts for her.
"No! I do, but..." Emily smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead and groaned. "Just not in the way she wants me to."
Aria and Spencer just stared at Emily in confusion. Emily huffed again in frustration. "I want to be friends, but she wants something more. But I have Paige!"
"So tell her that," Aria reasoned.
"I tried," Emily said softly. This entire ordeal was wearing her out even more than the fangs. "I think she sees something, though..."
"What could she possibly see?" Spencer asked.
Emily bowed her head and sighed. "That I might still have feelings for her."
"Emily, no you don't," Aria said comfortingly. "You probably just think you do because you were with Maya first."
"And Paige is awesome," Spencer added as she rubbed Emily's arm.
Emily just sighed. "You guys are right. But Maya just keeps popping up everywhere, and - "
"We'll make sure she stays away from you," Spencer offered. "You deserve to have a fun night with Paige, alright? You can't let Maya ruin that."
"I'll try," Emily said helplessly as she stared over at Maya, then over at Paige, then back over at Maya.
She would try, but something told her she wouldn't succeed.
Side Note: Ezra as Gilderoy Lockheart. I mean, would he really be anything else? I doubt it. And spencer as Hermoine was an opportunity I simply could not pass up. This was a bit of a filler chapter, but the next one is one of my favorites :D
