•

"Blood Is The Black"

Labor Day weekend passed painfully. The pit in Halle's stomach had opened up wide and grew into a dark, black abyss. She was now tip-toeing around it, terrified of slipping off the edge, constantly on edge as she waited for the next attack. Only, Halle hadn't realised when she entered her English class with Mrs Montgomery just how hard this new A's first shove would be.

"The author goes to great lengths to establish Hedda Gabler as a strong, proud woman," voiced Mrs Montgomery. She travelled across the classroom, handing out the reading assignments to every student as she spoke. "Someone who could never live with the threat of being blackmailed."

Halle pressed her lips together, hating the fact she could draw similarities between herself and a woman on a page. An unsettled feeling loomed within, and she knew the girls felt the same. From her seat, at the far row's back desk, Halle saw it clearly in the tense shoulders of her best friends.

"But Hedda was pushed to take a desperate action," Mrs Montgomery said, placing the hefty leaflet down in front of Halle. "And while she may have been brave, we see it as tragic." Mrs Montgomery reached the teacher's desk and observed the class. "What might be really tragic is if some of you don't start taking some notes," she said, and students began shuffling about to grab a pen from their bags or find a clean page to write on. "Sorry — Senior year is not all about skipping classes and dancing for the security cameras at Walmart. That's what your weekends are for." Moving to the chalkboard, the English teacher advised the class, "You might also want to research some of his other plays and see how they were received at that time."

Suddenly, Emily tore herself from her seat and bolted up. She grasped at her bag, knuckles white at the furious grip she had on it; her breathing was short and audibly sharp.

"Emily," said Mrs Montgomery in concern, "is everything all right?"

Halle's eyes darted to the floundering swimmer. Emily was having trouble, stumbling over her speech and possessions. She shoved her things in bag. "C—Can I be excused?" she asked, clearly upset. Emily didn't wait for a respond. Instantly, once she was certain she gathered everything up, Emily fled the classroom in a flash.

Without hesitation, the three friends that were present were out of their chairs and hurrying after Emily. They ran into Hanna, who was running late, in the hallway; she was caught off-guard, having had Emily brush past her to hide out in the bathroom. "Wait, what's going on?" Hanna asked them.

"We don't know, just come on," said Spencer.

Halle's hand was the first to collide with the door, it swinging open. She rushed in and found Emily wringing her hands under the cold water tap, shaking still. "Em," she began softly. "Em, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Hey, talk to us," Spencer said, breathless.

Without a word, an uncomfy Emily simply passed over what appeared to be a necklace to Aria.

"What's that?" asked Hanna.

Horrified, Aria's eyes bulged. "Are those teeth?" she asked upon inspection, only to have Hanna take the object from her. From its dangled position, the five were able to see clearly the aged and rotting teeth, pulled from a skull and threaded between letter-cubes.

Dead Girls Can't Smile.

Panicking, Emily whimpered, "Hey, will you please just get rid of it?"

As a disgusted Hanna dropped it into Spencer's palm, Aria asked them, "Are they Alison's?"

"My god, I can't breathe," gasped Emily through sharp, short breaths. She was hyperventilating, suffocating on the air around her.

Halle tried to comfort her, coaxing her to take deeper breaths. "Hey, it's okay, just breathe," Halle said, focusing on Emily.

"What—" fumed Aria hotly, "it wasn't enough to steal her bones, now we're gonna get pieces of her delivered to us?"

Spencer eyed the necklace, inspecting it closely. "Guys, these probably aren't even human," she lectured.

"No, they're totally human!" argued Hanna profusely.

"How do you know?" Spencer shot back.

"Because I worked at a dentist's office, Spencer," Hanna hissed.

"For two days, answering phones," countered Spencer.

"Yeah, and there were teeth everywhere," Hanna chided. "Even the friggin' bathroom key was shaped like a cuspid."

"Hey — shut up!" Halle yelled, causing the two to stop bickering. "Just let me think!" Halle took a moment, racking her brain for some sort of solution but came up with none. Instead, she just attempted to keep the peace. "Okay," she said, more coolly now. "Even if they are real teeth — which I'm ain't saying they are, yet—" she added in quickly, first for Spencer and then for Hanna, "the threat is still there."

The sound of students outside caught their attention, and the group briskly scampered into one cubical to hide. Aria and Spencer stood either side of the toilet, Emily and Hanna either side of them with Halle in the middle, closing the door to behind her. It was cramped, but it was safe.

"Look, guys," Aria began gravely, "Halle's right. Real or not, this A is working overtime to frame us. First the call to Emily from Spencer's phone, then the cemetery photo, and now—"

Emily's face turned over with guilt. "It's all my fault."

"Em, stop," Hanna replied instantly.

"No—" Emily shook her head and raved in frustration, "that whole night is like a black hole, I still can't figure out how I got to Ali's grave."

Snatching the necklace, Aria stated, "We need to give this to the police."

"We can't," Spencer maintained. "We already lied to them about the lake-house."

"Yeah — that was a huge mistake!" protested Aria firmly. "We kept digging ourselves in deeper. Burning those photos was one thing — these are teeth," she said, holding the necklace up in a tight first. She was met with their silence, the four distrusting of the police after experience.

Halle sighed and inserted, "I don't know about you guys, but Wilden was up my ass trying to catch me in lie."

"What?!" Hanna's eyes went wide, shock clear in her features. "Wilden interviewed you?"

"Yeah, he took my statement..." Halle realised soon enough, by the alarmed expressions her friends were giving her that it wasn't the case with them. "He didn't take... But why me?"

Spencer recalled, with a sigh, "Do you not remember the last time he questioned us? You went off script and tried to challenge him. He thinks he can trip you up over a lie."

"That must be why, Hal," Hanna said quietly.

"Okay — we should at least tell our parents," Aria suggested abruptly.

"Tell them what?" Spencer ranted back, "We have no idea what this A knows. Are you ready to explain every lie we've ever told since Ali dead?"

"Guys—" A frightened Emily cut in, "you don't have to protect me, okay? I can take the blame for all this."

"Emily, stop," Aria spoke.

"Em, that's exactly what we do," Halle said strongly. Her hand slid next to Emily's, her pinky grasping around the swimmer's one. "We protect each other, over everything."

"You're not in this by yourself," Spencer told Emily.

"Yeah, but you know what," Hanna mentioned purposefully, "if you could remember something else from that black hole besides an old car, I mean, that'd be nice."

"Hanna," warned Aria, glaring.

"What? I'm just saying, it'd be helpful," Hanna defended, a stubbornness behind her tone.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Emily couldn't stand to stare at the teeth any longer. "Okay, can we just get rid of that?"

Aria brandished it still. "We can't toss this, this is evidence."

"Look, I'll put it in my locker until we figure out what to do," Spencer offered reasonably.

"So, what? Now your locker's safe from A?" Hanna threw back.

Halle acknowledged her point. "It was put in Em's bag."

"Okay, just give it to me," Hanna said, trying to snatch it from Aria.

The petite girl put up a fight. "No, I'll put it in my purse—" In the tussle, the necklace slipped. It plunged down into the toilet with a splash. Gasping, Aria accused, "Hanna."

"Look, I will get it," Spencer said.

"No, wait!" Aria's hands flew up to stop Spencer, alarmed. "You can't just dive in there. These things have sensors."

Spencer's brows furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"You just have to be really careful," advised Aria.

"Well, if you would like to," sassed Spencer.

"No," Aria returned, fast.

After a collected sigh, Spencer began to crouch down. Emily shoved herself into the corner of the cubicle, stiff and eyes bloodshot. A slow-moving hand itched its way closer and just as Spencer passed the bowl's surface, the bell rang. Spencer's hand shot back, and the toilet flushed. They gasped, startled, and with the swirling water went the Dead Girl Can't Smile necklace.

•

Later, at lunch, the conversation naturally drifted back to the necklace. Spencer was practically kicking herself in frustration. "I can't believe we lost it," she voiced.

"It wasn't like we were gonna hand it over to the cops," Hanna responded.

"I wanted to," Aria reminded, her hand up. "We could've found out who sent it to us — there were fingerprints on that necklace."

"Yeah, mine," retorted a miserable Emily.

"Besides, the cops won't believe us, not after all the lies we've already told," Halle reasoned with Aria. "We ain't got any way of proving we ever had that necklace. It'll just be Senior year's version of a trophy covered in rat's blood to them."

Spencer nodded as she considered that point. After, she zeroed in on the blonde. "Hanna, you have to go back to Radley."

"What?" Hanna asked, confused.

"You need to make Mona talk," Spencer said.

"Spencer's right," agreed Aria. "Mona's never been working alone, and she's probably still giving people orders."

Emily urged, "Find out who else is seeing her."

"You know what — you guys just ripped me a new one last week for visiting her," Hanna threw back in their faces. Annoyance built as she fumed, "Now you want me to go back there with cupcakes?"

"Yes, preferably laced with cyanide," muttered Halle under her breath. When she glanced up from her lunch, Halle realised all four were shooting her hard looks. "Okay, maybe that was a little rude."

A smile graced Emily's lips briefly, eyes meeting Halle's over the table. Then,  she suggested, "If we want answers, maybe we should be focusing on Garrett."

"I will go back to Garrett," Spencer claimed boldly, shifting her gaze to Hanna, "if you will work on Mona." She asked, insistent, "Will you go today? After school?"

Silence fell over Hanna. A somber frown crossed her face, eyes sad and glistening. She kept her lips together; her peeved attitude melted into quiet sadness. Not wanting to be around them anymore, she simply packed up her bag, slotting it over her shoulder, and removed herself without a word. She tossed an empty chip packet into the trash as she went. Hanna was almost free when she froze.

The cane came first, then Jenna connected to it. Stepping back, Hanna gifted Jenna the space she needed to past before she fled. Jenna's cane tapped against the floor, often skipping a step, while she maneuvered across the courtyard.

"Has anybody spoken to her since school started?" Emily wondered curiously.

"No," Spencer answered. She divulged after, "I still think it's really shady that she didn't get back from Music Camp until the first day of school."

"It's no shadier than Lucas strolling around on Saturday night at four in the morning," Aria fired.

"Well, maybe that's their witching hour," Spencer dryly joked.

With a slight shrug, Halle snarked with a tight smile, "We were also out at four in the morning, so maybe that's our witching hour too."

"Wait—" Emily leaned in, "so now we think they're definitely connected?" She made sure to check, "Jenna and Lucas?"

"Em, you saw them talking to that Black Swan person at the masquerade party," Aria reasoned. "Mona could have an entire outfield playing for her."

"Because that's not scary," Halle mused, eyebrows rising as she accepted it.

CRASH.

"Hey, watch it." The girls shot their heads around, and they were met with Jenna Marshall again. The blind girl had bumped into another student, spilling his soda down his shirt. Once the guy realised who it was that had bumped him, after initially being annoyed, his tone changed drastically. "That's okay, Jenna, don't worry about it."

Watching the scene through slightly furrowed brows, Aria voiced her small confusion, "Is it just me, or is she blinder than she was last year?"

After careful consideration, Halle shrugged. She eyed Jenna as she attempted to maneuver herself through unclear territory, and Halle hummed, going back to her lunch, "I don't think so."

Before the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch, Halle and her friends made their ways to their lockers.

•

Cross-legged, surrounded in a pile of papers, Halle sat on her bed as she tried to make heads or tails of A's lair. With the copy of the virtual motel room loaded up on her computer, and items Spencer recalled printed off on paper as well as website listings, Halle combed through every costume shop from Rosewood to Philadelphia trying to find one that resembled the Black Swan.

Comparisons came close, but not certain. Halle stared at the drawing of the black, feather costume, feeling her brain numbing slowly. Her vision went blurry, lids heavy and head throbbing. She raised her hand and pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. Halle hoped to relieve some pressure, but it was no use. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to force back the ache.

When it was no use, Halle tossed aside the papers and stood from the bed. She crossed the bedroom and reached to her cabinet of drawers, her opening the left top drawer. Inside, she found her green, velvet jewellery box. She lifted the lid and the top tray, the collection of silver and gold jangling as she did so, and underneath were several orange pill bottles.

Antidepressants, anti-seizure, mood stabilizers, minor tranquilizers.

Picking up the bottle of Ativan, it still heavy and the fullest, Halle pressed down on the cap with her palm and twisted. She was prescribed them first; minor tranquilizers were used short-term, transitional while the doctors found which drugs worked best with Halle. They also helped with soothing instant symptoms: agitation, anxiety and spouts of insomnia, as well as headaches, which Halle was struggling from since Labor Day weekend.

She plucked out one of circular, yellow pills and kept it tucked into a fist while she packed up her jewellery box and tucked it away in the drawer again. Halle went back over to her bed, finding the glass of water on the bedside table. She tossed the pill back into her mouth, took a large mouthful of water and swallowed.

Her phone started to ring. The screen lit up with Spencer's name, and Halle sighed. Diving down, she declined the call, not wanting to deal with anymore A-trouble. Her bed was already a mess with it. Halle glanced down at the bed, taking in the drawing again, and inhaled sharply. As her eyes fluttered to a close, her mobile started to ring again. Her eyes went to it, expecting to see Spencer's name once more, but she wasn't.

Instant relief showered over her. Halle relaxed, and her body practically caved in while she reached for the phone. She answered it with a pleading, "Save me," before she threw herself back on her bed.

"That bad, huh?" Jason's voice comforted her down the line. Just three words, and Halle was lulled into safety and found more solace than any pill.

Eyes flickered to the laptop screen, the lair boldly displayed still. Halle huffed and slammed down the lid. "Is it bad I'm already over senior year?"

"Considering you're not even a week into it, I'd say yes," Jason replied.

Halle pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes closed briefly, and she asked, "How was seeing your parents?" She heard him grunt as a response and threw back the same conclusion he came to earlier. "That bad, huh?"

"Let's just say I'll be glad not to see my father for another month," remarked Jason. there was a switch in tone. After a sigh, Jason began to tease her. From the change, Halle could tell he was smiling. "So it's safe to assumed you're missing me right about now?"

Her eyebrows raised, a smile on her face, Halle said, "You have no idea."

"Trust me, I do," Jason responded.

Staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom, Halle asked, "When are you back?" She mentioned to him, "I'm starting to get a little tired of phone-calls."

"Look out of your window, Brewster."

In a flash, Halle bolted up. Her brows knitted together above eyes wide, and Halle rose from off the bed. She moved to the narrow window to the left of it, pulled the blind-cord and looked out. Anticipation swelled greatly in her chest, and hit its crescendo the second her eyes spied Jason's car. Jason was leant up against it, phone to his ear and a broad grin on his face. His raised his hand up to her, waving.

A gentled smiled landed on her face, taken aback by the gesture. "Damn, you're good," uttered Halle.

"You coming down or not?"

The cellphone was soon forgotten. Halle tossed it to her bed and sprinted out her bedroom, almost slipping at the top of the stairs. Excitement flooded her body, driven entirely by her need to be with him. She leapt down the staircase and her sock-covered feet bounded on the wood flooring, hurrying to get the door open. Once she did, Halle was out and slammed the door behind her. She quickened her pace, down the porch steps and driveway.

Jason, meanwhile, was already smiling at her, and ended their call from his position. Now, stood straight, he tucked his phone into his jean-pocket jet in time. Halle practically threw herself at him. She collided with his body, taking him out if only for a second, but Halle had faith Jason would catch her, and he did. Jason gathered Halle up in his arms, gripping her thighs as her hands found his face. Halle crashed her lips on to his. It was passionate and intense. All her longing overwhelmed her, and Halle surrendered herself over. Her only thought was Jason's lips and what she wouldn't sacrifice to keep kissing him. Hands slipping to his neck, Halle pulled him closer and deepened the already bruising kiss.

Eventually, when they did break apart, their foreheads pressed to another's, their eyes opened. Smiles permanently on their faces, their breathing heavy, they felt their bodies relax. Through his large-set grin, Jason said, "You really did miss me."

A light chuckled left them both before Halle quipped back, "Shut your mouth, we have about twenty minutes before my mom and Riley get back from the store."

"Twenty minutes..." Jason considered it for a moment and then said, with a smug smirk, "I can work with that." He hoisted her up more, her legs wrapped around his waist, and carried her towards his house.

•

"It was weird, but we got past it," Emily mentioned. She had her first tutoring session with their ex-teacher yesterday, after Aria practically pushed the two parties together.

"Wait, so are you calling him Ezra, or Mr Fitz?" Hanna asked her, as they walked towards their lockers the next morning.

"Neither," answered Emily. "It's a lot easier not to call him anything."

"Oh, that's what your dad does, right, Aria?" teased Spencer, and Halle let out an involuntary snort.

"Just about," Aria responded, rolling her eyes. "This whole 'don't ask, don't tell' thing is not working."

"Or you just don't tell," Halle chimed in.

"Oh, my god, you still haven't told your parents about Jason, have you?" Spencer realised, only a week later than when she last asked.

"Nope," Halle replied shortly. A smile broke out across her face. "But he is back," she told them merrily, "he surprised me."

"You are aware you can't just keep avoiding telling them, right?" Spencer pointed out.

"Yeah, but I do like the idea of not telling them anything about anything," Halle reported sarcastically.

"Yeah, I did that with my mom forever," Emily remembered. "But she finally came around. By time the time I brought Samara over, they were bonding over arts and crafts," she said, smiling fondly along with Spencer.

As Aria reached her locker, she remarked, "Yeah, I don't think my dad's gonna be scrap-booking with Ezra anytime soon."

"No kidding," Halle muttered, amused.

They paused by the locker, allowing Aria to exchange books for their next class. When she opened it, it was the small white envelope hung up at the top that captured Hanna's attention. "What's that?" she asked.

Confused herself, Aria tore it off its hook. She dove her fingers inside and felt around. Eventually, Aria plucked out an earring — a dainty circle, burnish silver with a fake ruby in the middle.

"Is that yours?" Spencer asked.

"Nice of someone to return it," Halle commented, but her indifferent attitude dropped when Aria's complexion changed. "Or not."

Aria looked to her right, down the hallway, and then to the left. Her entire face was ashen, paling by the second.

"What's going on? Whose is that?" questioned Emily.

Swallowing back the lump in her throat, Aria told them, "It was after I found about my dad's affair with Meredith. Me and Alison..." She shook her head and began again, "My dad said it was over, but Alison got in my head and saying it wasn't and she convinced me to break into his office at Hollis — to look around for clues. Ali found these earrings in the couch." Aria closed her eyes and continued, struggling, "I just lost it. I was so angry—" She stopped, hating herself for the next part. "Ali said the only way I could keep my family together was if I showed my dad what Meredith was really like. So, we trashed his office."

"How come you never told us about that?" Halle asked her, a little lost why it was being dredged up now.

"Why would I?" Aria threw back. "I felt like complete crap by time I got home, and I made Alison promise to never tell a soul."

"Okay, so why is it in your locker?" asked Hanna curiously. "You've been hiding it this whole time—?"

"No." Aria cut her off, a terrified look in her eyes. "No, it's just that, you guys..." Glancing down the hallway again, petrified somebody was listening in. This wasn't something she wanted to broadcasting. "Don't you remember when Ali's mom called us before her funeral and she asked all of us if we each wanted to put something... like a keepsake in her casket?"

"And that's what you put in there?" Hanna asked, and Aria went quiet and ducked her head.

Yes.

Halle sucked her teeth. The unsettled feeling from earlier came back, washing over her in a tidal wave of anxiety.

"So, real teeth or not, that was definitely stolen from Ali's grave," Spencer concluded.

•

Her keepsake gripped tightly onto Halle's thoughts. Its grasp was iron-glad and consumed her head with zipping thoughts. If this new A was breaking into lockers and planting them to be discovered when they least expected it, then Halle was dreading hers. It ruined a lot of things for Halle — was responsible for bad decisions and even worst mistakes. All Halle could think about was when it would happen; where it would happen; who would be around when she did; how she'd be able to lie it away.

"You okay?"

Jason's question brought Halle out of her own head. They were sat on the front porch of the DiLaurentis house, its appearance much brighter than it was a year prior. The garden was tended to, budding with the last of the summer flowers, and over the summer, Jason had given the house a fresh lick of paint as well as rebuilt the back after the damage from the fire. It was new again, far from vacant and miserable. All the ghosts had been evicted, and this was where Jason was looking forward to spending his life. Like Jason told Halle before, everything he wanted — including Halle — was in Rosewood.

Halle diverted her eyes down to the coffee clasped in her hands. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine, just a little distracted." She looked back up at Jason and mustered up a small, convincing smile for her boyfriend. "Just a lot going on right now, with the girls and...Alison," she finished regretfully.

He swallowed thickly and nodded. "I know the feeling," mused Jason. His cast his eyes down, troubled, a certain undetectable glaze to them ever since he returned, and he bit back any more words.

Chest aching, Halle put aside her drink and her hand came up and landed on his nearest shoulder. It curled up around the back his neck, her feather-touch playing with the ends of his hair, and Halle tried be absolute best to comfort him. For the past two years, Jason had done whatever he could. He kept a strong front, but, on his porch with Halle beside up supportively, he gave into the misery.

"I know we said we'd try to move, and I know me and you — we'll be okay, but..." Jason looked to her, defeated. "But what about my mom? She still needs pills to sleep, and when they don't work, she paces. She paces all night. Right now, I don't think she'll ever get over losing Ali."

"No mother ever does, get over losing a child," replied Halle. Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper. She had hoped to create a safe place — within her words, within her touch. With one hand capturing his and the other tracing patterns on the back of his neck. "But it'll get easier with time. She'll heal on her own, and you've got to let her." Halle's lids shut, and she thought of Emily. Halle thought about what happened last week and let her own feelings speak for her. "There's nothing you can do to ease that for her, and I know how hard that is... for you." Halle looked back to Jason, the hand on his neck holding him more firmly now as she stressed the next part. "But you've done everything you can, Jason. You can't do anymore, and whether your mom shows it or not... deep down, she knows it's you that she can rely on."

A gentle smile tugged at his mouth, eyes on her. Jason was grateful despite the obvious ache in his chest. "I love you."

Halle smiled in return. "I love you, too." Using the grip on his neck, Halle pulled him in close and rested her forehead to his. "We're gonna be alright, you and me. Nothing else is, but we are, promise." Halle gave him a sweet kiss, much different from their heated ones the day prior, and hoped to ease the pain in his heart like it did with hers.

•

The next morning, Halle's peace was completely shattered. She was bombarded with new information — more speculation — and her brain surged. Her back was in constantly knots and her stomach churned so fast, she hunched over. With her back to the group, Halle rested her head against the cool tiles on the wall, hoping the sensation would cool down the throbbing inside her skull.

This time it was Mona stirring it up again.

"'You're still getting them?'" Halle checked, referring to the texts. "That's what she said?"

"That's all she said?" Aria asked, requesting more clarity.

"Isn't that enough?" Emily shot back.

"No." Spencer argued from her position, stressed out and leant up against the wall in the school bathroom. Hanna had just told them what Mona told her all the way from Radley — that Mona knew they were getting texts again. Spencer was adamant, "That is not enough." She looked to Hanna and ordered, "You have to go back to Radley, Han."

"—What?!" Hanna exclaimed, only to be spoke over more sternly.

"— Alone," argued Spencer, talking over the blonde.

"It's not so easy," Hanna defended. "Caleb is all over me."

"I don't need to know that," Spencer countered, which only made Hanna turn away with a foul look on her face.

"Well, Caleb's not finding dug-jewellery in his locker," Aria retorted. Finally, she begged the question, "Whose earring did Ali find in my dad's couch?"

"Alison's," said Halle, as if it was the most obvious answer ever. She threw her hand out with the statement.At last, she stood from her place across the bathroom and faced her friends, her head still spinning slightly.

"Okay — one bad thought at time," Spencer stated, repulsing at the very suggestion.

"Wait, you're not gonna ask your mom why she's suddenly defending Garrett?" Hanna brought the conversation back around on Spencer, more scornful since Hanna was the one being commanded around. "I mean, seriously, Spencer, what is that?"

Halle pressed her lips together and gestured out to Hanna, agreeing. "How am I supposed to bring that up to Jason? He's back now, so it's not gonna be long till he finds out and starts asking questions," Halle ranted. "Not just questions about your mom and Garrett, but about that night." Her hands shook, so she wrung them, trying to ease the panicky feeling within. "He's already planning something stupid, I can feel it."

"What do you mean, planning something?" Spencer jumped in, instantly alarmed.

"I don't know," said Halle irritably, throwing her hands up in the air. "Last week, he said that he wants to do something, something that's gonna get people's attention." She sighed and argued, "I don't wanna have to be the person who tells him his biological dad's wife — my best friend's mom — is gonna be defending the bastard who murdered his sister and my other best friend's girlfriend." Halle furiously pointed to herself as she exclaimed, "That ain't my job, Spencer!" An exasperated huff left her, anger deflating as defeat seeped in next. "Like, how has he done it?"

"Who done it?" Aria asked.

"Garrett!" said Halle loudly, lit up again. "How did he get your mom—" she glared at Spencer, "to defend him?"

"He probably told her it's time to lock up Jenna," Emily put in. "She was driving that night, guys. I remembered. Clearly." She recalled perfectly, so confident in herself, "Jenna was driving the car. She was wearing a red coat and black gloves, and she was tying her head up."

"Em, we believe you, okay?" assured Aria, then immediately went back on it. "But honestly, I don't think that you remember anything clearly from that night," she tried, and Emily rolled her eyes in annoyance. "When we picked up up, you kept calling me Arlene."

"It begins with an 'A', doesn't it?" Halle quipped dryly.

"Okay, not helping," Spencer said.

"Guys, she can see," Emily stressed. "She's probably on Mona's payroll."

"Okay—" Hanna put her hand up, halting that idea. "Mona does not have any cash. They won't even let her have floss."

The school bell rang, putting a pin in their conversation. A collective sigh left the group, all realising it was far from over.

"Okay, let's just do this at lunch." Spencer said, slapping her thighs, irritation laced within her tone. "I can't be late again." She walked to the door, opening it to leave. She exited, making it just a couple of yards out when she started to flail about. Her eyes spied Jenna down the hallway, and Spencer began frantically ushering the girls back into the bathroom, backing them up. "She's coming in here! — Jenna's coming in here!" She focused on Aria, her hand extended out. "Where's the earring?"

Aria was startled. "What?"

"Give me the earring, I have an idea," Spencer demanded quickly. Her palm faced upwards, making gimme-me motions and waiting impatiently for it.

"Wait—" Hanna snapped her eyes towards Spencer. "What are we doing?" An abrupt excitement flooded her. Eagerly, Hanna asked, "Do I get to slap her again?"

"No, why do you get to slap her twice?" Halle asked, offended.

"Neither of you are hitting anybody!" Spencer hissed. With the earring now in hand, Spencer positioned it on the shelf between the large mirror and the sinks. She made sure it was perfectly in view and then waved her arms about, reversing the group. "Okay, get in the stalls. Go! — Go!"

Hurrying, the girls headed to the stalls. While Spencer, Hanna and Halle filed into the middle on, Aria and Emily scurried into the one to the right. The doors shut with a couple of soft bangs just before the door to the bathroom creaked open. Spencer kept a tight grip on the hook, holding the door shut as she peered out the thin slits between the door and its frame. As Hanna went high, Halle got low, both of them peeking out them same side.

A couple of initial taps of Jenna's cane were heard, but it soon settled into silence. Jenna hovered the stick above the ground as she approached the sinks. She lifted her arm and plucked out her water-bottle, it clinking against other items inside the large tote. Easily, Jenna ran the faucet, and rinsed then filled her bottle.

Above her, Halle felt Hanna's heavy breathing. The hot air huffed out was starting to agitate her, and Halle glared up at the blonde briefly before turning back to the scene itself. Her dark eyes locked onto Jenna, still at the sinks even though the water had stopped running.

Just as Jenna slid her bottle back into her bag, her movements stilled. After spotting the earring, Jenna Marshall reached out and picked it up. She raised it, lowering her sunglasses from her face to inspect it over. Halle's eyes widened, jaw falling slack. Was there recognition there? Halle couldn't tell.

Intensely, she eyed Jenna while the girl put the earring back down exactly where it once lay and fixed her shades. Jenna moved to the exit, prepared her cane and opened the door. The tapped sounded, and the door swung shut behind her.

Barging out of the stall first, Hanna raved, "You know what, that's it!" she flung her arms out in exclamation, wildly infuriated. "I'm going in for way more than a slap."

"Hanna, stop," Spencer said, as they congregated in the main part of the bathroom again.

"Stop, why?!" Hanna argued back fiercely, biting Spencer's head off in the process.

"Yeah, I'm with Hanna on this one," Halle claimed, and the two banded together, nodding. "I say we throw her in the trunk of a car."

Noticing Spencer's gaze drifted to her, Aria was on the defensive too. "Don't look at me." The petite girl argued, "I'm ready to hang a sign — 'Bitch Can See'!"

"Guys, she doesn't know we know," Spencer pointed out to them.

"Yes, she will do in a minute," Emily persisted.

"No, we don't let her know that we know." Spencer smirked as she explained, "Not yet." Strongly, Spencer told them, finally feeling like they had something solid for once, "We can use this. And we will."

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QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE
I FINISHED WRITING THE SCRIPTS ALL THE WAY UP TO SEASON SEVEN THIS WEEK, FOLLOWING THE SHOW'S STORYLINES WHILE ADDING IN HALLE, AND I'M JUST WORKING MY WAY THROUGH IT ALL TRYING TO REWRITE IT FOR MY VERSION.
THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS I'M DEFINITELY DOING — SOME SMALL, SOME BIG, SOME THAT WILL SHOCK YOU HOPEFULLY🤞
BUT I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT A FEW THINGS, SO I'D BE WRITING SOMETHING YOU'D ENJOY, TOO.

A) LOVE INTERESTS/RELATIONSHIPS.
MAJOR ONES — JASON, TOBY, CALEB, EZRA, PAIGE, EVEN ALISON.
MINOR ONES — WREN, TRAVIS, JAKE, RILEY, COLIN AND JOHNNY, NOEL, TALIA, SAMARA, ANDREW, HOLBROOK ETC.
OPINIONS ON THE POST FIVE YEARS LOVE INTERESTS TOO. I HAVE SOME UNPOPULAR OPINIONS — AND THEY CAN BE A LITTLE MESSY, AKA SPALEB 👀

B) GRUNWALD AND RAVENSWOOD.
HOW DO GUYS FEEL ABOUT THE WHOLE SUPERNATURAL ASPECT? OR GRUNWALD, AND HER INVOLVEMENT THE NIGHT ALISON WENT MISSING?

C) A FOR ANSWERS.
WOULD YOU LIKE THE LIARS TO FIGURE THINGS OUT BEFORE, INSTEAD OF BEING TOLD? THOUGHTS OF ALISON'S TELLING OF THAT NIGHT AND THE INCONSISTENCIES? MRS DILAURENTIS' DEATH? SHANA'S DEATH?

AN UPDATE SHOULD BE
COMING NEXT WEEK.

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