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Chapter 66

I stand in front of the mirror in my bedroom, staring at my reflection and not really taking any of it in. I'm in complete disbelief – that I'm standing in my room holding my prom dress, that I'm even going to prom at all. It seems so boring, so…normal, after everything I've been through.

But in a way, I'm thankful for it. I've only been going to school for a few days now, and it's been hard, to say the least. People have been staring more than ever, and I can officially say that besides my sister and the other girls, I have no friends left.

It's not really their fault, though. A lot of people have come up to me in the hallways, offering awkward apologies and sympathies. Macy even offered to sleep over. But it all seems so stupid now. I'm just trying to get through it, at this point. Nothing else matters as long as Charles is still out there. I'm only going to school so I can get my final report card and be one step closer to getting out of here.

But prom is a different story. It's one of the biggest events of the year, and a place where I can just dance and have fun without worrying. I'm going alone, not with a date, not with friends, nothing, and I'm actually looking forward to having one normal night.

Usually I would assume that something is going to mess with this. It seems like way too much to expect, one night free of "A." But prom is tomorrow night, and so far, so good. There has been no sign of Charles since he sabotaged Aria's exhibit at the art gallery last week, and to be honest, I don't really care. If "A" is going from murder to creepy pictures, life could be a lot worse.

And then Mona bursts into my room without knocking. "Have you heard?" she demands before I can even open my mouth to protest.

My stomach sinks. "Oh god. Heard what?"

"Alison, and Hanna, and the others…they've all been banned from the prom," she explains, her voice low. "The school thinks they're too much of a risk."

I raise my eyebrows, setting my dress down on my bed and folding my arms. "And we're allowed to go?"

She shakes her head and walks over to examine my dress, lifting up the hem and smiling. "You're still going. Good."

Something in her tone is beginning to make me very nervous. "What do you mean, 'good'? What do you care if I go or not…are you even going?"

"Of course I'm going," Mona says intently, pulling something small out of her pocket and closing it in her fist, blocking my view. "But not to get drunk on the punch."

I step closer, my stomach sinking even lower. "What's that…?"

Instead of answering, she smiles, and there's a gleam in her eye that I know well. "I have a feeling that Alison's not going to be able to stay away. Charles isn't going to miss this opportunity. So we need to make sure we're there, too."

My head is spinning. I have about a million questions, but none of this makes any sense, so I settle on, "What?"

"I've been tracking Alison's phone since she came back to Rosewood," my sister explains quickly. "She got a text from Charles, just a few hours ago."

I nod, beginning to fill in some of the information. "Telling Alison to come to the prom?"

"I haven't been able to get a lock on his location," Mona explains, nodding. "It's too remote. But if he's at the dance, I'll be able to figure out…"

"Where the texts are coming from," I cut in, starting to smile. "And if we find that out…"

"Then it'll lead us right to Charles," my sister confirms, grinning. She opens her hand to reveal a small earpiece. "But I need your help. I can't keep tabs on both Alison and Charles all night, especially with a hundred other people around."

I think back on all of the times we have been in a situation just like this one, where Mona has explained some crazy plan and asked for my help. In the past, I always hesitated, afraid, or flat out refused.

But this is different. This isn't crazy. This could actually work.

My smile widens, and I reach out without hesitation, taking the earpiece and turning it over in my hand. "You don't have to ask me again. I'm in."

…

My stomach is in knots the following night as I pace back and forth around my living room. I rub my sweaty palms against my dress, grimacing. Nearly all of my enthusiasm about this plan has drained right out of me.

But at least I get to be alone for a few minutes before I have to plunge into the swarm of people at the prom. My parents aren't here. They'd had a date night planned for weeks, assuming that neither of us were going to the dance. Once they found out that wasn't the case, they tried to insist on staying home.

But I think they deserve at least one night of peace. Especially tonight.

I glance at the clock above the fireplace, fidgeting nervously with my hands. Mona left ten minutes ago, but she told me to wait until eight thirty before I leave the house, just in case Charles is already there, watching. This is only going to work if absolutely no one finds out what we're doing, "A" most of all.

And anyway, I really don't need to be at the prom until nine, at least. While my sister is going to be on the lookout for Charles, trying to track his location, I'm supposed to follow Alison, who, right now, should just be getting to the makeshift prom in Spencer's barn. We guessed it will take her about half an hour at the least to get away from the other girls and parents and make her way to the school.

The clock hits eight thirty and nerves erupt in my stomach. I could always wait, I think anxiously. There's no way Ali will be there yet. It would be a waste of time to go now.

But no. I close my eyes and try to stand taller, shaking my head at myself. This isn't the time to be afraid. We need to put an end to this. Tonight. And the only way to do that is to make sure that I don't screw anything up.

I grab my purse and tuck my phone inside. I'm just grabbing my car keys when the doorbell rings and I jump so badly that I nearly topple over in my high heels.

Startled, I walk cautiously to the door. I can't think of anyone who would be here this late. Everyone I know is either at the real prom or the fake one. I pull open the door and can't hold back a gasp.

"I'm glad I caught you." Justin is standing in front of me, grinning, but I barely notice his face, my eyes sweeping over the black tuxedo that he's wearing. I cannot wrap my head around this. "I was afraid you might've left already."

I take a shaky step back, nearly tripping, and say blankly, "What?"

He blinks, his brow furrowing as he looks me up and down. "Rosewood's prom starts at eight, right?"

"Um, yes," I stammer, bewildered even though it is obvious what he's doing here. "But I don't – "

"I had a feeling you'd be going alone," he says with a shrug, still grinning, clearly pleased with himself. "Actually…I didn't think you'd be going at all. Thought I'd have to drag you there in a t-shirt and jeans."

"Justin." I hold up my hand, resisting the urge to run a hand through my hair, which I worked on for over an hour this afternoon. "I'm sorry, but…what are you talking about?"

"I started playing basketball with a guy from Rosewood," Justin explains, his face going a bit pink. "I gave him some money to get me these." He reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls out two shimmering tickets, the same kind that I have tucked in my purse. "Although I guess you probably have one of your own, huh?"

I shake my head. This is all too much. "You – you came here to take me to the prom?" I ask, my voice quiet. "I…I can't believe this." I shoot a discreet glance at the clock. I should have left over five minutes ago.

Justin's bright smile fades a little. "Well, I mean…yeah. I was going to ask you to Brookhaven's prom, but you'd just gotten out of that…that place, and I didn't think the timing was good. So I just skipped it. Figured this could be our second chance."

I stare at him, blinking just to make sure that I'm not imagining this. Is he under the impression that we're dating again, or what? Aside from a few concerned "how are you doing?" texts, we haven't spoken since the night I escaped from the dollhouse. We've certainly never spoken about going to prom together.

I can't tear my eyes away from his. His grin has dimmed into a hopeful smile. For a second, I let myself imagine going to the prom with him, spending the night dancing and laughing and not wasting one moment thinking about "A."

It would be amazing. It would be…normal.

And it's completely impossible.

"Justin," I say quietly, rubbing uncomfortably at my bare arms. "That's sweet of you. Really."

"Uh oh," he says jokingly, but the hopeful glint in his eyes has turned to apprehension…embarrassment, even. "I can hear a 'but' coming."

I laugh awkwardly, feeling my face heat up. "Yeah. The thing is…we're not the same people that we were back when we met in gymnastics class. I've definitely changed a ton over the past year and a half and…and I'm sure you have, too."

He wrinkles his brow. The smile is completely gone now. "I'm not sure what you're saying."

"I'm saying that we've been trying to make this work between us all year," I go on, perching on the arm of the chair behind me. "And we haven't had much luck, have we?"

He shakes his head, clearly confused. "No…but I thought – after what happened with the kidnapping – "

I know where he's headed and cut him off, as gently as I can. "I know. What you did was amazing, Justin. You spent over two months trying to find me. And you have no idea how much that means to me.

"I just think that…so much has changed, and so much is still changing. I'm still trying to recover from what happened to me, and you…you're going to college in just a few months. You need to focus on that, and I need to focus on me."

"I want to help you, Viola," Justin says earnestly, stepping forward and placing his hand on my arm.

I smile, surprised to find that I don't have even the slightest urge to cry, even though I feel like I should. "I think we should be friends," I declare, speaking the words just as I decide them. "I can't be tied down right now. I don't think I can handle that. And anyway…when has being a couple ever worked for us?"

He laughs weakly, but the embarrassment is gone, his face returned to its normal color. "Well," he says with a smile, pulling the tickets out again, "can't friends go to a prom together, too?"

"They can," I say, holding out my hands. "But I can't. This is something that I need to do alone."

Justin bites his lip but nods, tucking them away and not meeting my eyes. "I'm sorry," I say genuinely, remembering suddenly that this is his senior year. "I'm sorry that you missed out on your last prom."

He wrinkles his nose and waves his hand dismissively. "Nah, don't worry about that. Dances have never really been my thing anyway. I just wanted to do this for you."

I smile and push myself away from the chair. In my heels, I'm only a few inches shorter than him. "Thank you," I say, reaching up and kissing his cheek. "For everything."

"I'll call you," he replies, squeezing my hand and turning to the door. "Maybe we can grab coffee sometime next week."

"Sure," I say, adding silently, And maybe, if everything goes as planned tonight, I'll actually be able to enjoy myself. "Night, Justin."

"Night, Viola. Have a good time."

I smile as I watch him walk down the drive and get into his car. For the first time, I actually feel pretty grown up. Last year, I would have been thrilled to see Justin show up at my door with tickets to a dance, let alone the prom. I would have gone with him and then ditched him, spending the whole night avoiding telling him the truth while searching for "A," or running from "A," or whatever.

Just like I did the night of the masquerade.

Smiling strangely at this odd parallel, I pick up my purse once again and look up at the clock. The smile slips off of my face immediately, replaced by panic. Nine o'clock is fast approaching. Alison is almost definitely at the school now.

I grab my keys and rush to my car so quickly that I nearly face plant on the sidewalk. My relationship with Justin might finally be settled, but other things are most certainly not.

Five minutes later, I cram my car into the full parking lot, realize with a jolt that I left the ear piece at home, and take a deep breath. The fun is just beginning.

...

So Viola and Justin's story is finally settled. But everything else in her life is not. Next chapter is a big one, guys. And that's all I'm going to say. Please review!