I waved to my parents as I got into the car, knowing they'd be watching. It had been a week since Ian's funeral and I was barely allowed to leave the house. I hadn't even been allowed to go to Jason's. So how Mona managed to have them agree to a study session at her house was beyond me.

"Trust me; I'm glad for the excuse to get out of the house, but how come you insist on studying at your place?" I came right out and asked her.

"That's what I told your parents, but that's not what we're going to do." She stated and immediately my curiosity peaked.

"What are we going to do?"

"Someone has obviously been framing people for Ali's death, and I'm trying to figure out who it is. And since you're the smartest person I know, I figure you can help me."

"I guess it makes sense to study at your place then. Have you figured out anything yet?"

"We have theories, but we can't exactly prove anything." She informed me and she sounded frustrated by that fact.

"We?"

"I have a few others that are helping me, you'll find out who when we get to my place." She answered and I found her vague reply a little annoying.

"So what are your theories?" I asked.

For the rest of the drive to her place, Mona filled me in on her various theories. Some I had already figured out, and others I wanted to kick myself for not figuring out.

"You have quite a set up." I told Mona after she showed me around her guestroom.

"Thank you, I wish I had more room though. It might get cramped if all four of us are in here together."

"So there are two others? Will they be here today?"

"Yes, to both of your questions." She answered. "And actually one of them is here now."

"Hey, Mona, hi, Spencer." I heard a male voice greet us and enter the room.

"Mike?" I asked in surprise. "I'm surprised that you're here."

Mona had told the girls and me that she was dating Mike but I didn't expect him to be in on this.

"Yeah, and I'm here to help Aria." He replied.

"I believe you, but I also think the time with Mona is also a factor." I teased.

"Oh, you're one to talk, considering that…"

"Mike!" Mona cut him off. "She doesn't know yet."

"I don't know what yet?" I asked them.

"You'll find out when our other partner gets here." Mona informed me.

"Well, is there anything that I can know now?" I demanded.

"We think that Garrett is helping Jenna frame everyone." She told me.

"Jenna? Why do you think Garrett is helping her?"

"One, they're dating. Two, the police didn't come up with their theory on their own. Jenna probably told it to Garrett and he told his colleagues." Mike answered me.

"He's right; the story is pretty absurd and sounds like something Jenna would come up with." Mona agreed.

"What is the story?"

"The cops think that Aria and Hanna helped bury Alison." Mike answered me again.

"Okay, forget absurd that's ludicrous!" I shook my head in disbelief. Were the police in this town really that dumb?

"That's the tip of the iceberg. Wait until you hear why the police think that." Mona continued. "Hanna did it because so she could replace Alison and be the popular one."

"Hanna would never do that to Ali. Sure, all of us wanted to be like Alison in some way, but we wouldn't want to replace her." I defended my friend. "Do I want to hear Aria's part in this?"

"Aria helped whoever did this because they knew she had a crush on Noel. If she helped them get rid of Alison, they would fix her up with Noel." Mike told me.

"Again, Aria wanted to be Noel, but she wouldn't take it that far. She wouldn't trade Alison for a shot at dating Noel Kahn." I stated. "Wait a minute, they promised to fix Aria up with Noel. Who could promise something like that?"

"Well, if it really happened, which it didn't, the person was probably bluffing." Mike shrugged.

"I think you're on to something, Mike." I told him. "None of this really happened, Jenna and Garrett made it up. And when they made it up they must have had someone in mind that could have made that promise to Aria. I think Ian was involved."

"Weren't he and Garrett friends? Why would Garrett want to pin the blame on him?" Mike asked.

"Think about it. This theory came up right after Ian died. I think he came back to Rosewood to help Jenna and Garrett with their plan to frame everyone. Maybe he didn't do something he was supposed to and they punished him for it. Since he's dead they can accuse him of whatever they want and he can't say otherwise." I explained.

"I thought something along those lines when I find out he was dead." Mona agreed. "But the questions is, are Garrett and Jenna the only ones behind this?"

"And don't forget another important question. How are going to find any proof of this?" Mike pointed out.

"That would be where are other partner would come in. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." Mona stated.

"Does this other partner even exist?" I asked since I had been here over half an hour and it was only me, Mike, and Mona.

"Yes, he does and he's coming right now." Mona replied and I heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Hey," Someone said quietly as the door opened and I knew the voice immediately.

"Toby!" I said as I headed towards the sound of his voice.

His arms wrapped around me and I felt whole again for the first time in a week.

"I've missed you so much." I told him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I know; I've missed you too, Spence." He said and placed a kiss on top of my head.

"And that would be my cue to get out of here." Mike mumbled.

"No, that would be their cue." Mona corrected him. "You see, there's not much we can do today. So why don't you go and hang out somewhere since you've been separated all week."

"You planned this didn't you, Mona?" I asked suspiciously.

"I didn't plan anything. You're both here to help me because you're smart and Toby's smart and can keep an eye on Jenna. But right now I don't need your help so there's no point in you staying here." Mona replied and she sounded too innocent. "Oh, but I promised your parents that I would have you home by nine o'clock. So watch the time."

"Thank you, Mona." I told her to show her that I really appreciated it even though she didn't want credit for it.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I guess you're welcome. Now, get out of here. I don't want to see you again until I have to drive you home." She instructed with fake annoyance.

"Come on, Spence; let's go before The Mona Monster changes her mind." Toby laughed.

"Are you okay, Spence? You've been quiet." Toby commented and pulled me away from my thoughts.

"Have I?" I asked still a little distracted.

"Yeah, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, just some of the things Mona said." I shrugged.

I had a lot of mixed feelings about helping Mona. I wanted to find out who was doing this to us, but I was worried about who we were dealing with. Mona thought that Toby living in the same house as Jenna was an advantage, but I saw it as a disaster waiting to blow up. But I knew Toby wouldn't stop looking because of that. He didn't care what happened to him; he just wanted to make sure the police didn't suspect me.

I was both grateful and a little annoyed by how much he wanted to protect me. But I wanted the same for him, and because of that, sometimes our good intentions backfired. And a fight or argument with Toby was the last thing I wanted. He was my best friend and now the best boyfriend; I didn't want anything to happen to our relationship.

"We'll find proof of who's doing this, Spence. Sooner or later this will all be over, and with you helping us it will be a lot sooner." He assured me as his arm circled around my waist.

"I'm worried, Toby." I told him quietly. "Look, I'm glad both of us are helping Mona, it gives us an excuse to be with each other. But if Jenna really is behind this and she find out that you're helping…"

"Jenna will never know." He promised.

"Yes, she will, Toby. She found out about Caleb giving a ride the night you were arrested and she'll find out about this. We were lucky when she and Alison found out about us being friends. She could have tried to break us up but she chose to ignore us. But she's not going to ignore this, not when protecting me is the reason you're doing it. So please, I don't care if you help Mona but don't go digging for dirt Jenna. I don't want to give her a fresh reason to break us up."

"It's never gonna happen." He stated confidently.

"Toby you say that now but we both know what she can do. What if she…"

"Spencer!" He interrupted me. "It's never gonna happen."

Toby distracted me from my worries by kissing me and we ended up making out in his truck. We only stopped when his phone beeped with a new text from Mona.

"I have to get you back to Mona's." He said and I knew he was just as disappointed as I was.

The drive back was short and it was over before I was ready.

"Hey, Toby," I called out as I heard him open his door and get out.

"Yeah, Spence?"

"Look, I know you can't help living in the same house as Jenna, but please stay away from her if you can. I've never had a safe place to land before two years ago, but now I feel like I do. So I want you to stay safe. I don't do it well, but I can handle it if you're away. But I can't handle something happening to you."

"Nothing's going to happen, Spencer, not to me, not to you, and not to any of your friends. And don't worry about me; I'll do the best that I can to stay safe." He said kissing my forehead. "But you have to do the same, because you're my safe place to land. I can't handle something happening to you either."

"I will, and I love you."

"I love you too, Spence, I love you too." He replied kissing me again, this time on the mouth, before opening my door for me.

"Hey, are you okay?" Toby asked as he sat down beside me in the library.

"No, not really." I sighed.

If anyone else had asked, I would have told them I was fine and given them a fake smile. With other people I felt the need to hide my feelings and appear perfect and strong all the time. But with Toby I let down my guard and the walls around me disappeared.

"Want to talk about it?"

I nodded and started to tell him about the fight I had with Melissa and my parents. It was the same old story and same old ending, just different circumstances.

Again, if it wasn't Toby, I would have told them no and changed the subject. But with Toby I didn't have to hide the imperfections in my life. With him I didn't have to appear strong, I could fall apart in front of him and he would help me pick up the pieces.

"They're wrong; you shouldn't try so hard to be Melissa. There's a reason that people are different. It might say that Melissa is smarter than you on paper, but in life, you're the smarter one. You go out and you show people who you really are, but Melissa just hides behind the perfect appearance and does exactly what your parents tell her to."

Toby and I had known each other for a month now, and he already knew everything there was to know about me. He had seen me at my worst and still chose to be friends with me. At first I didn't know what made me want to be friends with him. But I did now. Everyone is different, and there was definitely something different about Toby. He made me feel safe.

See I told you Spoby wouldn't be separated for long. Who was surprised that Mona was the one to help them out? Next chapter has another new POV, this time it will be Jason's. I'm really excited about it. And Jason has a flashback as well. One that you don't want to miss if you want to know what happened after the two week deal ended. See you on Friday.