It took me a while to figure this chapter out, but here it is! Thanks to PLLForever48, Quindecim, Deserttail, Jmcncrlsd, and Guest for reviewing. I appreciate the support and I hope that you enjoy! Please R&R to let me know what you think!

Chapter 4

It was three days later when Spencer stopped in front of room number two at the Lost Woods Resort, pulling out her phone one last time to check the blocked text message.

Meet Friday at four. You know the place.

Her mind flashing back to the last time she was here, back before her whole life turned upside down, Spencer raised her hand and knocked on the wooden door, feeling her purse quicken. She was wearing the black hoodie, the hood pulled loosely over her head. She was about to go to her first "A" meeting.

Once she entered through that door, she would officially be on the other side.

Panic seized her, and she was just thinking about taking off running when the door swung open and Mona stood in front of her, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. "Come in," she said, gesturing for Spencer to enter.

She did so, with much reluctance, a shudder passing through her as she took in the creepy décor of the place. The blown-up photographs of Alison, the eyes stabbed through. The photos of Spencer and the others papering every wall. The wooden dollhouse sitting in the corner, four familiar-looking dolls inside.

"Coffee?" Mona asked, shutting the door and grabbing a mug from the table.

"No," Spencer said faintly, shaking her head. She felt a little like she had just entered another dimension. "I'm…good."

"I'm surprised you came," the smaller girl went on, pouring coffee for herself and sitting down in the chair in front of the desk. "I was beginning to think I might have to use…other methods to get you here."

Spencer's heart rate quickened. "Of course I came," she snapped, too quickly. "I'm part of the team now, aren't I?"
"It's not going to be that easy," Mona said darkly, setting the mug down hard on the desk. "I need to know that your loyalties have really changed."

Spencer stared at her, speechless. It was still difficult for her to wrap her mind around the thought of shallow, fashion-obsessed Mona actually being an evil mastermind, just as smart as Spencer herself.

Maybe even smarter.

She forced that awful thought out of her head and swallowed hard. She would do whatever it took to prove that she was fully on the "A" team if it meant clearing any guilt from her name. "What do I have to do?"

"I need to get that phone back," Mona explained, examining her fingernails. "It has more information on it than any of the others."

Spencer winced at the thought of multiple "A" phones, but nodded along, frowning. "You want me to steal it back."

"Wow, you catch on quick."
Spencer pushed the hood off of her head, folding her arms to hide the fact that her hands had just started to shake. "And if I do, I'll gain your trust?"

Mona smirked a little, not meeting her eyes. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Just get the phone back, and we'll see."

…

Hanna was on her way to her locker the next morning, debating whether to spend the next ten minutes before class started studying for a science test or texting Caleb (although really, it wasn't much of a debate), when she spotted Spencer through the windows. She was sitting alone in the quad, sipping coffee and fiddling with her hands.

Hanna frowned and started toward her, her brow furrowing. Spencer had been acting strange ever since the night of the masquerade. She had been even more jittery than usual, always checking out of conversations and acting like she was on another planet.

But Hanna couldn't really blame her. That room at the Lost Woods Resort had been their biggest lead on "A" to date. They had been so sure that they were going to find something there linking them to their tormentor, Spencer most of all. She was probably just still dealing with how to move on and try again.

"Hey," Hanna called, taking a seat across the table from Spencer. "How's it going?"
Spencer didn't respond, still staring listlessly down at the coffee cup in her hands. There was no indication that she had heard, so Hanna snapped her fingers and said loudly, "Spence!"

The brunette girl jerked in surprise, a bit of coffee sloshing out of the cup. "Hey," she said in surprise, her eyes finally focusing on Hanna. "Sorry, I didn't – I didn't hear you."
"Yeah, I figured," Hanna grumbled, setting her purse on the table and pulling out her phone. "What were you thinking so hard about, anyway?"

"Nothing," Spencer replied immediately, averting her eyes. "It's just…it's been a crazy week, you know?"
"I know," Hanna agreed, casting her eyes down to the table. "I thought once Garrett was arrested we'd finally start putting an end to this."

"Put an end to what?" a much more upbeat voice cut in. Aria slid into the seat beside Hanna, with Emily right behind her.

"Are you guys still talking about what happened at the masquerade?" Emily asked, her voice low. She glanced around, as if making sure that no one was in earshot.

"Yeah, don't you guys think it's time to move on?" Aria added, resting her elbows on the table and leaning forward. "Why is this any different than the other thousand times we've tried to get information on 'A?'"

"Because we've never been this close before," Hanna insisted, amazed that her friends weren't as unsettled as she was. Lately, it seemed like Aria and Emily – especially Aria – cared just as much about their love lives as they did about tracking down "A" and finding out what happened to Alison…maybe even more.

As much as Hanna loved Caleb, she couldn't imagine putting aside her focus on "A," unless it was to keep him safe. And she knew, like a sharp punch to the gut, how well that always worked out.

"We know that Alison stayed at that place as Vivian right before she died," she went on in a whisper. "And we still have 'A's' cell phone. We can't give up now and just let 'A' win, not when we're this close."

At the mention of the phone, Spencer's head snapped up, her eyes suddenly focused again. "You still have the phone?" she asked, seemingly oblivious to Hanna's alarm.

"Um, yeah, of course I do. Why?"

"I need to borrow it," Spencer said intently, her eyes locked on Hanna's. "Just for a few days."

Aria and Emily both leaned forward, their attentions caught. "Why?" Emily asked. "Did you find something?"

"No," Spencer said slowly, tapping her fingers almost erratically against the table. "But I, um, I was reading online about some tips for hacking into phones. I think I might be able to get some more information out of it."

"Wait, I thought Caleb said that 'A' totally wiped it clean," Aria interjected, shaking her head. Hanna flinched instinctively. She still felt a twinge of anger every time she thought about her friends coercing Caleb into helping them crack "A's" phone, even after she'd begged them not to. The last thing she wanted was "A" targeting him again.

"Yeah," Spencer went on, glancing around at them. "But nothing's gone forever, right? I don't know for sure, but I might be able to get something out of it. It's at your house, right?" She looked over at Hanna. "Can I come over and get it later?"
Hanna hesitated, even as Aria and Emily began to smile, on board with the new plan. "I don't know if that's such a good idea," she protested, feeling the slight tremble in her voice. "What if 'A' finds out we're messing with it again? We know how badly they want it back."
Spencer paused, her eyes wide and shining with what Hanna recognized as the look she got whenever she was invigorated with a new plan. "So what if 'A' does find out? It's not like they can make our lives any worse than they already are."

"She's right, Han," Emily added. " 'A' almost killed me last month with those steroids. We need to take whatever lead we can get."

Hanna looked between her friends, all three of them watching her with eager expressions, clearly ready to jump onto a new possible lead. "Fine," she relented at last, sighing. "I'll bring it over to your house tonight. We can work on it together."

The triumphant smile on Spencer's face fell at Hanna's last words. "Oh, um, actually, I'm…going out with Toby tonight. And anyway, we don't need two people for this. Why don't I pick it up on my way home? I have a secret hiding spot in my room, it'll be safe there."

"Are you sure about that?" Hanna asked without thinking. "Does Melissa know about this hiding place?"

Spencer winced, her expression darkening. Hanna exchanged a glance with Aria and Emily, shrugging. To her, it seemed obvious that, even if Melissa wasn't Alison's killer, she was involved somehow, as much as Spencer tried to deny it. And Hanna wasn't sure she liked the idea of their biggest – and only – clue toward "A's" identity being in her reach.

"It'll be fine," Spencer said sharply. "Melissa doesn't know about it."

"Okay," Hanna blurted, surprised that Spencer didn't even try to defend her sister like usual. But then again, nothing about the way Spencer was acting was normal right now. There was definitely something going on with her.

And for some reason, Hanna couldn't shake the feeling that it had to do with a lot more than just the cell phone.

...

So Spencer has her first task to prove that she's officially on the team, and Hanna is beginning to suspect something. Again, let me know what you think. Next chapter should be up someone next week.