***Chapter 67***

**Aria's POV**

"Wow, Spence. Kinda harsh." I commented, eyes darting over to Emily, who had always been Ali's biggest supporter and protector.

"Not wrong though." Emily responded with a shrug, causing us all to turn and stare at her. "What? Ali tends to make things more dramatic. It's kind of her thing."

"Yeah, we just never thought we'd hear you say it." Hanna replied, causing Emily to shove her away from the pillow that had been against her shoulder.

Emily rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed by our shock. "Just because I support her doesn't mean I don't see her flaws."

"Wow, Em. You really are the ultimate ride or die." Hanna said, shifting back over to lean against Emily, who didn't bother to shove her off again.

"Speaking of, let's get the movie going." Spencer got us back on track, hitting play on the tv before moving Hanna's legs so she could sit down on the couch.

Hanna temporarily pulled her knees up towards her chest, letting Spencer sit down and grab the remote. But as soon as she was settled back, Hanna's legs went over Spencer's lap, her feet landed a few inches in front of my face. I flinched backwards, making sure she didn't accidentally kick me in the face. But after she stopped moving, I settled back down on my pillow.

"Nice pedicure." I complimented, noting the bright blue polish that was on her toes, a far cry from the more neutral french tips on her hands.

"I'm telling you, Martha is great. She might even have some openings if we want to get in before prom." Hanna tilted her feet downwards towards me so I could better see the metallic sheen on her toe nails.

"Really?" Spencer asked. "I wouldn't be opposed to a spa day for prom prep."

"Are we just talking mani pedis?" I wondered, knowing that there was every chance they had something way more in depth in mind.

"I mean, I'm going to get my hair done and get a facial." Hanna informed, sitting up enough to grab a container of Chinese food. "But we could all get our nails done together."

"Speaking of prom, do you all have your dresses figured out yet?" Spencer asked, looking between us.

"I found this incredible black dress and a crown that I think will hit the theme just right." Emily said, taking a bite of what looked like orange chicken.

"Ooh, nice I'm excited to see the crown. You going for princess or queen?" Hanna asked, tilting her head back to look at Em.

"You'll just have to wait and see." she promised, smirking at the secret. "What about you,
Hanna?"

"I'm thinking more a Rapunzel vibe, my mom and I picked out a dress months ago. I'm just trying to get Caleb to wear the suit I picked out."

"What's wrong with the suit that he wont wear it?" I asked, skeptical since he tended to go along with her fashion whims.

"He doesn't want to wear the ascot." Hanna complained, which was totally reasonable for him to avoid. " Don't give me that look. It totally completes the look. And wouldn't work with a regular tie."

"What do you have him wearing a smoking jacket or something?" Spencer questioned, her pitch raising in surprise.

"It looks good." Hanna defended, earning a laugh from me. "What are you getting Toby to wear?"

"A regular tux was already pushing it for him. So that's gonna have to work." she laughed.

"What fairytale character are you going for, Spence?" Emily asked.

"Not totally sure yet, I've got a great dark green dress. I'm just deciding between accessories. So maybe evil witch or maybe more mermaid."

"You're saying you haven't decided yet?" I couldn't believe that, Spencer was the consummate planner, it wasn't like her to leave something like that up to the last moment.

"I haven't made a final decision yet. But I do have two very solid plans, both would look

Amazing. And would match the Toby's tux." she said confidently, before turning her gaze to me. "Well, Aria?"

"I kinda want to just surprise you guys." I started, knowing they would instantly get my outfit as soon as they saw it. "I will say I'm going old school Disney princess though."

"You're no fun." Hanna pouted, ruining the effect by eating some fried rice.

Spencer gave me a look but just sighed. "If that's all you're going to give us. I'm putting the movie on then."

I shrugged and watched as she hit the button. I settled more into the couch, eating more of the noodles before putting them back on the table and grabbing some veggies. We worked our way through the mountain of Chinese food and popcorn that was on the table, leaving only a few containers partially filled. By the time that the Thunderbird was soaring off the cliff, I was half dozing on the couch. I felt a nudge to my side, and I realized that I had closed my eyes and the credits had already finished.

"Are we up for another movie? Or are you passing out early tonight?" Spencer asked me, having apparently been the one to wake me up.

"I'm good for another movie, what do you have in mind?" I sat up, knowing that if I kept laying down I would just fall right back to sleep again.

I looked up at the screen and, seeing that someone had already queued up another movie.

"Jennifer's Body? Seriously? Isn't that a horror movie?" I asked, looking between them wondering who exactly had made that choice.

"It's on our ride or die theme. I'm sure it's not that bad" Hanna justified, hitting the start option on the remote before I could say anything else. "Besides, it's got that chick from Mamma Mia."

"Okay, but if something goes bump in the night, I'm not going outside to check it out."

I settled back against the seat back, sitting up and moving the blanket off my legs, for once I felt warm and completely relaxed. I had forgotten how good and safe spending time with my friends made me feel. It should have been obvious, but given the time spent separated in the dollhouse, it hadn't felt like it would be safe anymore.

"Don't be ridiculous, Aria." Hanna dismissed my concern easily. "That's Emily's job."

Emily gasped, throwing a pillow at Hanna, while I laughed with Spencer. I couldn't remember the last time that Emily had been the one going to check something out. Instead, I shared a knowing look with Spencer.

"It'll be fine." Hanna laughed as she pushed the pillow out of her face.

Spencer got up briefly to clear the table and dim the lights while the opening credits started. She passed me another sparkling water as she sat down. I cracked it open and tasted the mild lemon overtone, not enough to really count as a flavor.

"So when is your contest? Did you find out the location info yet?" Hanna's voice cut across the opening of the movie.

"It's Friday night, at the Rhodes Gallery downtown. And I'm hoping you guys can come." I shifted on the couch, feeling momentarily awkward asking, ridiculous as that was.

"Absolutely." Emily assured, voice cutting over what seemed to be a quiet moment between Hanna and Spencer. Or that could have just been me feeling uncomfortable as the screen turned into a weird alt band show.

"Wouldn't miss it." Spencer's tone sounded like she was hiding something, the way she was hesitant to answer and rushed it out.

I gave a sigh. "Spencer?"

"It's the same day we have the meeting over at the Carissimi Group." Hanna admitted, and the hesitancy suddenly made sense. "But we will be there. No stress."

I gave a nod, knowing that they could at least sort of see me in the darkened room.

"Do you mind if I invite Sarah?" Emily asked after a moment.

"Sure, why not?" I answered after a moment.

It was kind of a weird place to bring Sarah, not really a date but also bringing her more into our dynamic than she already was. So far, she had only really been friendly with Emily, the rest of us not really being on her radar. Or it could have been that we didn't know how to act around her. I hadn't spent any time with her, and it seemed a lot to overcome her being held in the bunker for the last couple of years and having to learn about us to survive. I shivered at the thought of what she had gone through, trying to push the thought aside so that I could go back to enjoying the easy night with my friends, instead of dealing with everything that had happened to us over the years.

"What's going on with you and Sarah?" Hanna asked. "You know, since she moved back to Courtland and everything."

I could practically hear Emily's hackles rising at the question, it was enough to put her on the defensive.

"Like I said, we're friends. And we still see each other sometimes." she reiterated what she had said earlier in the night.

"So like dating see each other? Or more let's get mani pedis see each other?" Hanna tried again.

"Hanna, you can get mani-pedis on a date." Spencer pointed out.

"You know what I mean." she defended.

Emily gave a huff. "We're just friends, besides she spent 3 years trapped underground being tortured. I'm pretty sure there's more on her plate than dating."

"Are we actually going to watch this movie or not?" I reminded them of the movie that was still playing, where apparently they were sacrificing Megan Fox to Satan? I wasn't totally sure what exactly was happening there. And it seemed like Emily needed an out from this conversation.

"Yeah, should we rewind?" Spencer asked, already reaching for the remote. "I feel like we're missing something."

"Nah, leave it. This is more fun." Hanna waved her hand at Spencer.

I gave a shrug and settled back against the couch. I couldn't argue, and it would probably be less likely to freak us all out if we were missing part of the story. Though I didn't think I would end up in a situation where a band was trying to kill me to become famous. Our problems tended to be more grounded than satan worshiping.

Hanna was probably right in the end, after the movie ended with Needy somehow becoming part sucubus and breaking out of the insane asylum she had been sent to, I definitely wasn't scared. But it really was in the theme of a ride or die movie, so it was a good choice for the night.

"Are we sleeping out here or in the house?" Emily asked, moving Hanna's head off her shoulder and getting up from the couch. I was surprised that she had managed to stay still through two movies and continued being a pillow.

"Out here, there's not exactly enough room for all of us in my bed." Spencer answered, getting up from the couch and starting to collect the empty drink cans.

"Like that's ever stopped us before." I shot back, knowing that we had managed to fit the four of us plus Alison in all of our bedrooms in the past, it just meant getting creative with sleeping arrangements.

"The bed in the next room should be big enough, and I made sure there were clean sheets earlier." Spencer argued, pointing to the adjoining space.

I raised an eyebrow, we hadn't spent a sleepover out here since the night Ali went missing, not since Spencer had converted the barn into an apartment and it had promptly been taken over first as a place for Melissa to live and then as a guest house and storage unit. But following her finger, I found a large King sized bed sprawling across the middle of the room, plenty large enough for the four of us, especially if we squeezed in tight. There were still boxes of stuff piled around the room, enough that Melissa really should think about downsizing or getting a real storage unit.

"Wow, this'll work." Hanna's voice came over my shoulder as she followed behind me, arms loaded with the blankets from the couch.

"I don't know that we're going to need all the blankets, not with four of us sharing body heat." I commented, helping to unload her arms and tossing them on the bed.

"Of course not, they're for you." she informed with a smile.

"Haha." I rearranged the blankets across the bed anyway, throwing a couple of the blankets up towards the headboard.

I went back out the main area, collecting up some of the remaining pillows that had sprawled over the room while we had been on the couch. Spencer came back in from the house, and looking around I realized that all the food and dishes had been cleared away.

"You need anything from the house before bed?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm just gonna go brush my teeth." I grabbed my bag of toiletries and headed for the house.

The air outside was thick with humidity even this late at night, and aside from the wind in the trees, it was still and quiet outside. I shivered with discomfort, feeling overly exposed despite my warm pajamas. I moved quickly for the house, breathing out a sigh when the door closed behind me. I washed my face and brushed my teeth quickly, wanting to get back to the others. Sure it was irrational, but I felt safer when they were nearby. Especially since I had left my phone in the barn.

Once I got back out to the barn, I felt the tightness of my shoulders and back ease. Like someone had been watching me while I had been outside, but I was safe again now. The lights were turned out in the main area, but the door to the bed room was still open, and the yellow light streaming through led me there easily.

"So who's in the middle?"

***End Chapter***

A bit on the lighter side again, hope y'all enjoyed. Let me know what ya think.