Thanks to Fun With Typing, RHatch89, karma3825, nick2951, and Pinkpoodle8 for reviewing! I hope you all enjoy this chapter...I was planning on waiting until tomorrow to upload it, but I'm so excited for you guys to read it that I bumped it to today! Let me know what you think.

Chapter 36

It's not until a few days later that I finally manage to work up the courage to tell the other girls what I know.

I know it's terrible. I should have sent them all a text on my way back from Ravenswood, held a meeting as soon as possible and told them, oh, what is just possibly the biggest thing to ever happen. I feel terrible for keeping this secret for longer than even a few hours.

And yet something has kept me from telling them. Part of it might be the "A" message I got right after the reveal. There's no way around it – it was definitely a threat.

But mostly I'm just afraid of their reactions. They clearly still don't trust me, despite inviting me along on their trip to Ravenswood a few days ago, when we first discovered the lair. There's a good chance they wouldn't believe me, would think that I'm just trying to freak them out, or even that I'm still working for "A" alongside my sister.

Especially Aria.

In the end, it was my thoughts of her dating Ezra – or maybe not, I'm usually pretty unsure of their complicated relationship status – that snapped me out of my crazy line of thinking. I need to tell her the truth before something terrible happens.

For the first time in three days, I don't feel anxious as I stand at my locker, glancing around as I wait for the four girls to appear, inevitably traveling in a pack, as always. Lately I've spent all of my time in the hallways darting from class to class with my head down, rushing into the bathroom or around a corner every time Ezra comes into view.

My biggest relief is that he's not one of my teachers. I don't think I could handle being taught how to interpret English literature by "A."

I catch sight of Spencer coming down the hallway. My stomach jumps with nerves, and I take a deep breath before plunging into the crowd of students and barreling toward her, sure that the others must not be far behind.

"Spencer!" I call, and she turns just as I rush up to her. The first thing I notice is that, amazingly, she's alone. Of course. The one time I want to talk to all of them, they're not together.

The second thing I notice is how awful she looks. Her eyes are red and puffy, like she hasn't slept in days. Her arms are folded across her chest, and she looks a little twitchy, almost like she can't focus on me.

"I need to talk to you," I go on when she doesn't greet me.

"Viola, now's not really a good – "

"No." The word comes out harsher than I expected, but I continue, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the bathroom. I lock the door behind us before she can leave – finally, the lock, which I always thought was ridiculous, can come in handy.

"I really have to go," Spencer mutters, glancing at herself in the mirror and quickly averting her eyes.

"No," I say again, leaning back against the sink closest to the door. "This is important. I wanted to talk to all four of you, but this can't wait. Spencer…" I take a deep breath and let the words spill out before I can rethink this. "Ezra is 'A.'"

For a moment, she stares at me, unblinking. I feel my shoulders droop in disappointment, sure that's she's going to roll her eyes and tell me that I'm ridiculous, that I must be lying or up to some trick.

Then she bursts into almost uncontrollable laughter, her hand flying to her mouth.

My jaw drops at her reaction. "What?" I demand when she doesn't stop, almost like she can't stop. I watch her as she tries to get her laughter under control, growing more concerned. There is definitely something going on with Spencer, and as soon as we sort out this whole Ezra mess, I'm going to find out what it is.

"Oh my god," she gasps finally, shaking her head and pressing a hand to her temple. "This is great. This is just fantastic."

There is a definite edge of sarcasm to her voice that isn't lost on me, but I'm having trouble comprehending this. Completely perplexed, I step closer to her. "I really don't get what's so funny about this," I complain, crossing my arms. For days, I've sat on this huge secret, debating when and where to tell them, and this is the reaction I get?

"I'm sorry," Spencer says, letting out another quick burst of laughter. "But seriously? You couldn't have told me this any sooner?"

My confusion over her attitude is quickly dissolving into annoyance. "I just found out a couple days ago," I insist. "I've been freaking out about it ever since. It's not so easy to spill a secret like this, you know. But I swear." I hear my voice getting higher as I feel my desperation increase. She has to believe me. She has to. "Ezra is 'A.'"

Spencer turns away from me, resting her elbows on the edges of the sink and her head in her hands. "I know!" she groans, her voice muffled, and I freeze.

"What? You do?" This is not going the way I thought it would.

"Ezra is Board Shorts," she confirms. I have no idea what that means, though I'm sure it has something to do with "A."

I choose not to ask about that, saying only, invigorated now that someone else is on my side, "Then come on! Let's go tell the other girls, right now. Then we can figure out a plan to – "

"I already told them," Spencer says, straightening up and facing me again. I'm shocked to realize that her red-rimmed eyes are shiny with tears. "Yesterday night."

I'm beginning to put the pieces together, going off of her tone and expression. "And they didn't believe you?" I say slowly.

She presses the bridge of her nose between two fingers, closing her eyes. "What do you think?" Her voice comes out quiet and hurt, and when she opens her eyes, a tear escapes down her cheek.

I stare at her for a long moment, my concern growing. I have no idea what evidence Spencer found, or what she told the other girls, but I'm beginning to get an idea of why they found her story hard to believe. "Spencer…" I reach out, placing my hand on her arm. "Are you…are you doing okay?"

"God!" she cries out, jerking away from me, and I jump, startled. I have never seen her so jittery and emotional, not even last month, right before she was institutionalized. I'm getting more worried every second. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Because," I answer slowly, folding my arms instead of reaching out to her again, "you look…well, you look kind of like you're doing drugs or something." I laugh, meaning this as a joke, but the smile fades as her face crumbles into tears. "Oh my god," I murmur, my eyes widening. "You're – you are, aren't you?"

Spencer meets my eyes, and for a second it looks like she's actually about to confide in me. But then the moment passes, and she tears her eyes away, turning away from me. "Viola, I already have half the town on my back. I don't need you acting like my mother, too."
I shake my head, brushing my hair back and choosing my next words carefully. "Okay. Whatever. The point is, I believe you. Ezra really is 'A.' I went back to the lair the day after we found it, and he…caught me."

"Then why don't you try telling them that?" Spencer says, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out who she's talking about: The other girls. "They're through listening to me."

Now it's my turn to bark out a laugh, totally out of my control. I clap my hand over my mouth, embarrassed. "You think they'd believe me and not you? It seems like they've made up their minds. And anyway, you guys would all probably assume that Mona and I are still his little lackeys, anyway."

I'm wondering if she'll support this, and hoping that she argues, but she does neither, walking over and unlocking the door. "I've gotta get to class," she mumbles, wiping a hand across her face. "I'll…I'll just – I'll just talk to you later, okay?"

"Wait!" I cry, unable to believe that she's not even willing to work with me, to combine our knowledge to prove to the others that Ezra really is up to no good, but she's gone, rushing down the hallway with her head down.

I push out of the bathroom and stare after her. There is no doubt in my mind now. Spencer is definitely taking something, judging by that conversation alone. And I know for a fact that unless the other girls somehow come around and start believing her, I have no chance of convincing them.

…

It's lunchtime, but I'm not hungry in the slightest. In fact, I can't really remember the last time that I actually had the desire to eat when lunch rolled around. So instead I've taken to just wandering around the school and the quad, avoiding whoever I'm most concerned about on any particular day and thinking.

Today I'm thinking about Spencer, and what's going on with her. I'm thinking about Mona and the memory that just resurfaced, while at the same time trying not to. But most of all, I'm thinking about Aria, and how horrible it's going to be when she realizes that her secret boyfriend is actually our relentless tormentor.

I round the corner near the quad, taking in a breath of fresh air, when I spot Aria standing a few yards away. She's facing perpendicular to me, so I can only see one side of her face, but she looks shocked.

Then I turn my head in the direction that she's looking, and I see why. Both of our siblings, my older sister and her younger brother, are standing close together a few feet away, gazing at each other with their hands intertwined.

I roll my eyes and walk over, all thoughts of Ezra temporarily out of my mind, for once. "They talked on the phone until almost one last night," I call out quietly, and Aria spins around, her eyes widening. "It was super annoying." This is true, and also probably the real reason why I couldn't fall asleep last night. But this has been the last thing on my mind amidst everything else.

"I – I don't…I didn't – " she stammers, clearly having trouble comprehending this. "I didn't know they were…"

"Seeing each other?" I finish, raising my eyebrows. "Just for a couple days, I think. Since that party that Mike threw? Mona came back from your house all giggly and dreamy and weird, and now I guess they're in love or something."

Aria looks a little like she's going to throw up. "Do you know anything else about this?" she asks, her voice filled with suspicion.

I shake my head and hold out my hands. "No. I've just never seen her like this. It's kind of freaking me out."

But she doesn't look convinced. "There's something going on with this."

I can't help but smile, amused. "What on Earth could Mona possibly gain from dating Mike?"

Aria stares hard at me for a moment, her eyes fixed firmly on mine. "Would you date a guy two years younger than you?"
I open my mouth to say yes, but hesitate, thinking this through. Honestly, most of the boys in my own grade act like third graders. Let alone freshmen… "Um…"

"Exactly."

I feel like we're reaching the end of this conversation, and all at once Ezra pops back into my head, the look on his face when he opened the wardrobe and caught me. "Aria," I blurt, taking hold of her arm.

She turns back to me, frowning. "Yeah?"

And suddenly I can't do it. Every bit of confidence floods right out of me, and my arm falls back to my side, my mouth hanging open. I can't tell her now, not here with all these people around, not without her friends to help her through it. Telling her now would crush her.

So I take a deep breath and say, "Nothing." Then I turn and walk away before she can respond.

…

I'm lying on my bed later that afternoon, on top of the comforter, lost in thought. I thought about driving to Ravenswood after school, to break back into the lair and find definite proof that Ezra's "A," dangerous or not. But something tells me that I wouldn't find it if I did, not after I broke in. "A" doesn't take chances. Odds are, that apartment has been long cleared out.

My cell phone chimes with a text, breaking me out of my daze. I consider not even looking, dreading another text from Ezra. I don't think I can handle another cryptic threat right now.

But my curiosity wins out and I scoop the phone off of my nightstand, relieved when Emily's name pops up on the screen.

Spencer told us what you said. We believe you – we have a plan. Meet at the zoo in half an hour.

The zoo? I bolt upright, a combination of relief and anxiety flooding through me. I have no idea what this plan could possibly be – something to prove that Ezra really is "A," obviously, but what do lions and tigers and bears have to do with this?

But I'll do anything to end this once and for all, so I swing my legs off of the bed and pull on my boots. Hopefully the hardest part of this will be convincing my mother why I suddenly need to go to the zoo after showing no interest in years.

...

Just more confirmation that I love scenes between Spencer and Viola. Probably because Spence is my favorite Liar. Next, Viola accompanies Hanna and Emily on their mission to bring down Ezra.