•

"Please, Do Talk About Me
When I'm Gone"

Halle stood in the Hastings' kitchen at the counter, making up sandwiches for the girls, as she chatted idly with Hanna and Emily. Spencer and Aria came in, pushing a large crate, with all their strength as it was rather heavy. Aria said, "I was afraid she wouldn't get it done in time for the memorial," referring about the stature she had commissioned for Alison — one the girls were yet to see.

"And this was someone from your mom's gallery, Hal?" Hanna asked, her flicking through a magazine. Feet on the sofa, the blonde was comfy without the manual labour her friends were doing around her.

"Yeah. Aria and her mom sorted the whole thing, though," Halle said. "My mom is just the woman with the contacts."

Aria agreed. "Right."

"Where is your mom?" Emily asked the small girl as she got up to help.

"There's an apartment above the gallery that Halle's mom offered her to use. So she's staying there, for now," said Aria.

"Kind of weird, isn't it? Your mom moving out," Hanna commented nonchalantly, meaning no harm.

Yet, Aria meant harm with her next words. "Yeah, like my dad should have left, that's what you'd expect."

Halle gave her a look. "Easy there." She motioned to Hanna's hurt expression; Hanna knew it best what Aria was feeling — she had a parent leave too.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't meant it like that," said Aria. "The whole thing just sucks."

"I know." Hanna gave her friend a sad smile.

Emily started to use a screwdriver, like Aria was, to undo the crate. She asked, "did anyone call Shelby Leonard?"

"Done," Spencer claimed. "And I told her if she plays anything depressing, I will kick in her cello."

"You did?" Emily asked.

"Well, I said Halle would, but the threat is still there," Spencer said.

As Halle went to rebut, she stopped. Halle thought about it and shrugged, it was true. She would be the one to kick in a cello.

"Oh, what about the program?" asked Aria, handing over a screw to Spencer.

"Almost done, but we should finish it before Ali's brother gets here," said Spencer.

And Halle's interest peaked. Jason. The thought of him alone made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She remembered feeling his breath there. She felt hot, flustered, so cleared her throat. "When is that?" she asked, trying to focus all her attention on buttering the bread but she failed.

Spencer told her, "tonight. And he wants to see us in the morning."

"God, you know what?" Hanna put down her magazine, this had become more interesting. She walked over to her friends, smiling. "I barely remember Jason."

"We didn't really know him," Aria replied.

"Halle knew him best," Emily commented, still working on opening the crate.

Halle put down the knife. Her attitude had switched. She had gone on the defensive. It was her secret, after all. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Emily chuckled softly and said, "just you knew Ali the longest. You were friends with her before all of us, you must've known Jason better than us."

"You spoke to him at the funeral, didn't you?" recalled Spencer.

"Yeah, I did. Yeah, but that was just out of politeness," Halle justified. "My sympathies, you know. He's Ali's older brother, doesn't mean I knew him."

"Well, he asked specifically that you'd be here more than anyone," said Spencer.

"Guess you're more than one DiLaurentis' favourite," joked Hanna. She saw Halle's tight face and explained, "Mrs DiLaurentis."

"Oh," Halle nodded.

Emily shrugged. "You know him best."

"I knew Ali, not him," Halle answered. "He was just Ali's brother down the hall."

"Behind a closed door," Spencer added.

"With his hardcore-punk music vibrating the floorboards," recalled Emily, and they laughed.

"How did he get into a good college again?" Aria asked.

"I don't know, it must've been affirmative for party boys and stoners," Spencer answered, just as the girls managed to get the lid off the crate.

Inside was the top for Alison's memorial. Made of metal, it was a birdbath and along the rim were six figures. Two perched on the end, the next stood with its arm out, two more on the dish huddled together and the last, on its knees and reaching across for the arm of the standing figure. It had uttered the girls silence. They took it in, how stunning it really was — how it was exactly what Alison would have liked.

"Wow," Hanna wore a large smile.

Halle's arm curled around Hanna's own one and she rested her chin on her shoulder — a slight hug. "It's beautiful."

"The pedestal's already out there, next to the bench," Spencer told them, but her eyes remained on the memorial. "This goes up Friday morning."

"Do you think Jason will like it?" Emily asked.

"Of course he'll like it," Hanna stated, still smiling.

"You know, years from now, people are gonna see this memorial and that's all they'll ever know about Ali." Aria said, "she'll be the girl they dedicated the bench to." She smiled softly. "And we'll all be gone, but Ali will still be here."

Spencer, too, wore a smile, as she quoted Alison's words back at them, "'that's immorality, my darlings.'"

They were by the lake, it was the beginning of summer break. The girls sat in the sun, on the bank of the lake. Spencer laid on her stomach, on a towel and Halle was on the sand too, sat on a towel with her arms behind her, propping her up to look at the others, all sat on fold-out chairs.

"God," Aria groaned. "I wish we could just choose the age that we wanted to be and just stay there," she said.

"I totally get that. I'd be twenty-one forever," Halle claimed jokingly, and Aria laughed.

"Oh, legal-age, Halle? Shocker," Alison sneered, trying to lace her venom with laughter. "Can't imagine what more you could do that you don't do now." Alison joked, "you'll die a year after twenty-one, overdose most likely."

A laugh left Alison, but none of her friends with remotely amused. None of them called her out on it either. They all knew Halle had picked up the habit of taking drugs at parties — parties her friends didn't even go to, the ones Halle had been going to with the seniors on the cheer-team after she made the team. No one dared comment on it, apart from Alison.

Halle decided to ignore her. She focused her attention on Aria and repeated, "like I said, I'd be twenty-one forever."

"The only way to do that is to die young, leave a beautiful corpse," Alison claimed proudly.

Emily gave the popular blonde a look. "Don't joke."

"It's not a joke." Alison saw the uncomfortable reaction her friends got from her words and she thought they were being ridiculous. "Oh, come on." Alison insisted, "haven't you guys ever thought about how deliciously tragic it'd be to die in some incredibly mysterious way?" She sat back in her chair. She assured, "that would be superior."

"Is that really how you wanna go, Alison?" Spencer asked her seriously.

"Not just yet," she replied.

"Don't talk like that," Hanna fretted.

Aria was quick to agree. "It's gruesome."

"It's not gruesome." Alison told them with a coy smirk, "That's immortality, my darlings."

•

"Oh, Halle," Luisa Brewster called out to her daughter the moment she heard the front door. Halle sighed and dropped her bag to the floor. She rolled her eyes at Pacha, her caught in the middle of giving him a fuss as beckoned into the kitchen.

Still, Halle went. "Yes?"

"You got these today," her mother said, and Halle's eyes moved to what she was talking about.

On the counter, proudly in bloom, was a bouquet of flowers in a vase. Pink tulips — her favourite. Halle moved closer and plucked out the note sat wedged in one of the tulips. It was still sealed. She pulled the card from the envelope, the thought of her mother respecting her privacy settled her, but comfort only lasted so long.

Now A was in Halle's life.

Dinner tonight?
Jason.

He remembered. Halle found herself biting down on the inside of her cheek, to stop the smile that threatened to break out across her face. He remembered — remembered her favourite flowers — and she only told him once, a very long time ago.

Luisa smiled at her daughter's melting composure. "He's a keeper," she said.

Halle blinked. Blinked several times before she turned to her mother. "I'm sorry?"

"The flowers. Eric's a keeper," Luisa said. "Such a sweet boy."

"Oh." Halle smiled anxiously; the pit in her stomach impossible to ignore. "Yeah, Eric's a good one, Mom," said Halle, and she slid the card back into the envelope and then into the pocket of her jeans. "He actually wants to go for dinner tonight, and I know you don't really like me going out on a school night--"

"Halle, it's okay, you can go," Luisa told her, softly cutting Halle off. She saw the quizzical look on her daughter's face and she sighed, smiling. "Honey, I want you to have fun, enjoy time with your boyfriend. Lord knows you need it. You need him," she said. "Like I said, Eric's a good guy — a keeper. He's the best option for you in this town." Luisa cupped her daughter's cheek. "Such a small-minded town. The only way you'll ever been respected is if you're in a Kahn's arm."

"The only way, I know."

"Well, the very best way," she told Halle. "His dad is a judge, Halle, a high judge, respected too. And Eric is following in his footsteps, top of his class at UPenn," said Luisa. "You will have the best life, baby, one I've only dreamed about giving you."

"Mom, I don't—"

"Woman of our stature don't make it far in towns like this without help, Halle," Luisa informed. "Eric is that for you. So..." she moved her hand away and smiled. "I think you should the wear that pretty, little dress with the red polka dots, the one you wore to grandma's birthday last year."

Halle mustered up a tiny smile, only the corners of her mouth moving. "Sure."

Then, Nick Brewster entered the kitchen, calling out his hellos to his family. He put down his briefcase on the side and kissed Halle's temple endearingly. "Hey, Hal."

Smiling up at him, Halle said, "Hey, dad."

Nick noted the flowers immediately and his brows raised in pleasant surprise. "Eric finally got you your favourite then, maybe he isn't entirely useless."

"Oh, less of that," Luisa scolded her husband. "Eric is perfect, the perfect gentleman. He always gets her flowers."

"And this is the first time he's ever got her tulips. In a year, he's never once for her pink tulips — they're her favourite," he explained. "Right, Hal?"

Halle nodded. "Right."

"Well, he has now, and they're beautiful," Luisa said. She firmly pushed Eric for Halle onto her husband, had done since he first showed up at the house and Luisa found out exactly who he was. He was a Kahn — that meant something in Rosewood.

"I'm just... I'm gonna go get ready," Halle told her folks. "I'll wear the dress, mom," she said, and then she leaned up and placed a kiss to her father's cheek. Sadly, Nick Brewster was right about Eric still. He never had gotten her pink tulips.

But Jason had.

Jason DiLaurentis was sat in The Grille, at one of the tables in the back, by the window. It was secluded, away from others, so he and Halle could talk properly before he was to see all of Alison's friends tomorrow. Admittedly, he was surprised that Halle said yes to dinner. To be alone with him. No Eric. No girls. Just them, at a table set for only two.

It was like their summer, and what a summer that was for them.

The girls were walking home from the lake, the sun now setting low. They were going to Spencer's, all giggling and chatting. Apart from Halle. She walked behind, her mind still playing over Alison's comment. "Halle, where are you going?" Hanna asked her, the moment she realised the curly-haired girl wasn't by them as they opened the back gate to Spencer's.

"Oh, uh, I'm not feeling too great." Halle lied, putting her hand to her head. "I think I had too much sun. I'm just gonna head home."

"But I rented the Notebook," Spencer said, trying to convince her to change her mind.

"And I brought marshmellows," Aria said. "We were gonna make s'mores."

"Some other time," Halle said. She gave them a small smile. "I think I'm just gonna go lie down."

"Boring," Alison sang. The leader of the group was already over it, pushing past the others and heading towards the house without anyone.

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow," Spencer said, regretfully having to take off after Alison.

Emily smiled and said sweetly, "I'll text you later, see how you are."

"Thanks." Halle smiled at them and urged, "now, go. Go enjoy Ryan Gosling's face." They all laughed, said their goodbyes again, and then Halle took off down the road for her own house.

Halle had just had enough of Alison. She couldn't take another comment. And as she walked away, her eyes met with Jason's figure, him just leaving the house chatting on the phone to someone. He saw her and held up his hand, causing her to walk towards him rather than her own house.

Jason ended his call and looked straight at her, tucking his cell away in the pocket of his shorts. Halle hadn't seen or spoken to him since the night she and him got high together, after her date with Eric Kahn. Admittedly, since then, she had been seeing Alison's brother in a new light — one where she found even the stupidest things attractive about him. "Brewster," he greeted. He glanced behind her. "No pack of wild wannabe Heathers with you, I see," he teased.

"No, they've gone to the Hastings', gonna wanna a chick-flick and make s'mores," Halle told him

"And you?" he asked her. "Why aren't you there?"

"You think I'm the type that likes chick-flicks?" Halle mused, a smirk on her face.

Jason gave her unconvinced look. He was also smirking. "Every girl likes chick-flicks, half the reason they have unrealistic expectations and deluded fantasies," he remarked.

Halle joked, "talking about your experience with girls? Are they always disappointed when it comes to you?"

His raised his brows at her, amused. "You worried about my love-life, Brewster? That's cute," he said. He looked at her, taking in the little shorts and small tank she wore over her bikini, and he said, "if you're not hanging with the girls, does that mean you're free?"

"Depends," she flirted. "Make it worth my time and maybe I can make myself free."

A chuckle left him — she was something else. Halle was going to ruin his life, and Jason was going to let her, willingly. He told her, "I was just about to go to the woodshed, get a little buzzed, if you're interested."

That was the deciding moment for her, and Jason gave it to her. The day by the lake, after taking one too many of Alison's snide digs, Halle decided she would teach Alison a lesson, and it involved playing with Jason. Alison already knew Jason liked messing with Halle; it annoyed Alison, and an idea presented itself to Halle.

Halle was going to make Alison the fool, and she was going to do it by playing with Jason. It would be harmless. The guy was in his first year college; he wasn't about to let one of Alison's friends get to him. He was a big boy. Jason could handle his feelings — well, Halle thought he could.

He was about to check his watch when Halle walked in. Halle, in the pretty polka-got dress her mother told her to wear, looked beautiful. She made Jason visually swallow. He stood as she approached, her flashing a quick smile to one of her fellow employees.

Damn, he cursed himself after he had forgotten she worked here.

They greeted each other amicably — a small hug but no kiss to the cheek, though he went to — and then, they sat down opposite one another. "I completely forgot you worked here, I wouldn't have chosen it if I remembered," he said. "And I picked you up from here god knows how many times That Summer."

"It's fine." Halle wanted him to stop talking about that summer. "At least I know what's good," Halle joked to try and ease herself — and him.

"If I'm being honest, I didn't think you'd call," Jason said.

"Neither did I," Halle confessed to him. "And, uh, thank you for the flowers, they're beautiful."

"It's nothing, you're welcome." Jason gave her a smile and then he watched as she decided to divert her eyes down at the menu. He had a feeling she didn't want him to smile at her; she didn't want to meet his gaze. That was why she wouldn't kiss his cheek when he went in to do so with her. So, Jason tried to busy himself with the options on the menu, too, but Halle spoke up, catching all of his attention.

"Did you tell anyone?" she asked. "About That Summer? About us?" Halle said, "I mean, I know what you told the police, but I didn't know if you told anyone else. Have you?"

Jason shook his head. "No."

"I've told no one either, not even the girls," she said.

"Let's keep it our secret then," Jason said, smiling small. He asked here, "does anyone know you're here?"

"No, I haven't told anyone," she said, glancing up at him. "My mom thinks the flowers were from Eric and..."

"That's where she thinks you are, with him," concluded Jason, and Halle nodded, her eyes back on the menu. Jason said, "I didn't expect you to still be with him, if we're still being honest with each other."

Halle looked up at him properly now. "Why?" she asked curiously.

"I just... I didn't think you would." Jason said, "I thought the charm would have worn off by now. He's too..." he chuckled, "well, he's Eric Kahn, I didn't think you would want that."

"When have I ever given you the idea I wouldn't? Maybe Eric Kahn is exactly what I want," she replied.

Jason shook his head again. "No. No, I don't think he is."

Halle was amused. She, with her elbows on the table, clasped her hands together and rested her chin upon them. "So, tell me. What do I want?"

Jason put the menu aside and looked at her staring back at him as she waited for an answer. But, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction. "You want the duck first," he said.

"That's not..." Halle stumbled. She questioned him with a single look, her right brow quirked up at him. He was right, she did want the duck.

It was Jason's then to be amused. "Shall we order then?"

•

Halle sat on a stool in the Hastings kitchen, at the kitchen-island, as Jason spoke to them. He was overseeing the memorial plans they had done. Everything was planned, down on paper and splayed out in front of him. Spencer had even shown him a finished art-tile, one that would be going in the ground around the bench.

"You've done a great job, really," Jason said.

"You sound surprised," Halle replied. She quirked up her brow at him, a slight smirk on her face. She was messing with him, in front of the girls. She and him had slipped back into old habits at dinner and she only wondered how he'd react now, daring him to engage further.

Jason's eyes were glued to her face for a moment. "Always with you." He looked away. "My mom and dad, and I are really grateful." Jason tried. He really did, but his stare kept flickering back to Halle.

Emily picked up on something. She felt some kind of tension between Halle and Jason, the way they interacted with each other. She gave Halle a look, but before she could respond, Hanna walked in from the back door.

Jason turned. "There you are, got all five of you now."

Hanna forgot. She forgot Jason was meeting them that morning, it was clear in her face by the surprised smile she tried to disguise as a happy one. "Jason. Uh..." It was uncomfortable. The girls and him were never close. He was a stoner, locked away in his bedroom with his stoner buddies. They didn't know him and something about him always unnerved them. "Sorry I'm late."

"Yeah, fine. I was just saying you've done some nice work on the memorial," said Jason. "Might have done one or two things differently myself, but we can always change that along the way." This was where the classic DiLaurentis arrogance seemingly came into play; he took over like Halle had no doubt he'd do. She knew him best, and he needed it to be perfect. But it wasn't out of arrogance with Jason. It was because his father was no doubt waiting for Jason to screw it up — Ken DiLaurentis always made Jason out to be a screw-up. "Here's a copy of the program for the dedication," he said, and he began to hand them to Emily to pass around.

Spencer sat a little straighter. "Oh, I emailed you the program that we worked up," she said with a smile.

"Right. I know." Jason said, "I saw it as a draft and wanted to fine-tune it. I thought it was better this way, the way my family would want it." He glanced down at his plan. "Let's see. Uh, if Shelly Leonard's gonna play something, I say we don't give her more than three minutes. I remember she's something of a showboat with that cello," he tried to joke, but it failed. There wasn't any humour in his words, nor was there in his tone. He was flat, one-layered, and closed off from the girls. "Then, Uh... Oh." Jason stopped.

"What? What's wrong now?" Halle asked, and it earned her a kick from Spencer.

Jason picked up the photograph the girls had picked out of Alison. She was beautiful, happy and smiling. "Is this the picture for the program?"

"Yes, it's everybody's favourite," Emily mentioned.

"It's the one I would've picked," he told them. Jason paused, and then he spoke again. "Getting my mom and dad down here was the hardest part, especially after selling the house. It's been, uh..." He chuckled uncomfortably; him in visibly distress. "It's crazy talking about this, isn't it? When I think about her, I think about you," he confessed, eyes on Halle again. For a moment, he didn't speak; he was only looking at her. It wasn't until she cleared her throat and diverted her eyes down, Jason continued. "The six of you in her bedroom, laughing, keeping secrets. I don't remember much about That Summer, but I remember you," he finished, and her eyes went back up to him.

Her.

He remembered her.

That was what he meant, and Halle knew it. She spoke softly and truly, "Long time ago."

"Yeah." Jason nodded. He swallowed the lump in his throat. His gaze on her was like fire, burning her skin and melting flesh. Halle felt bare under his stare, his eyes were enough to leave her nervous and fidgeting on the stool. Jason spoke again lowly, "I want each of you to speak. I'd rather hear from you than Miss Slocomb from the PTA."

"The PTA was a lot of help," Spencer replied.

But the conversation was dropped, by Jason. When he decided it was over, it was over. He moved on. It was what annoyed Halle about him. "What about the rain?"

"The rain?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah, they've given a forty-percent chance before the weekend," Jason told her.

"Oh, um, they said that we could use the school's multipurpose room if we have to move the ceremony inside," Spencer informed.

"Great. People think this dedication is about closure," Jason touched the engraved art-tile, "there won't be closure until they find out who did this to Ali," he said. "The cops in this town have been jerking my family around for more than a year, no more of that. My father is here for some action and this memorial is gonna help us get us."

"I thought you said you didn't trust the police in this town," Halle said, speaking before she thought. She remembered the countless times Jason was hauled in for questioning, how long some of the interrogations were — it made him feel like he was the one they were after.

"I don't, but we need answers," Jason replied. "They may not listen to me, but my dad, they're gonna listen to him. Oh," he remembered something else. He picked up a pen and scribbles down a name. "And I'm adding a speak to the program."

Emily peeked at it and her eyes widened. "Jenna Marshall?"

"Wait, you want Jenna to speak at the dedication?" Hanna questioned, confused and on-edge.

"That's right," he told them.

"Why?" Aria asked.

"She asked if she could," said Jason.

"Jenna asked to speak?" Emily said.

Jason glanced between them. "Is there a problem here?"

"It just didn't occur to us that Alison and Jenna were that close," Spencer explained.

"Yeah, 'cos they weren't," Halle countered under her breath, her face tight, and another kick was given by Spencer in hopes of shutting Halle up.

"Yeah, I didn't know either." Jason said, "Jenna called and said my sister was a lot of help to her after her accident."

"Yeah, probably to make sure she definitely couldn't see," mumbled Halle.

"Okay." Jason's eyes landed on Halle, his voice stern. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Halle briefly glanced to Spencer and saw her glaring with flared nostrils. Halle shook her head. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Jason didn't want to drop it though, but he saw that none of the girls were going to give him the answer her wanted, not even Halle. He sighed. "Just you girls concentrate on what you're gonna say, leave the rest to me." Jason picked up what he brought with him: a coffee, his keys and some papers. "Now I've gotta go pick up my father from my Aunt Carol's, he wants a talk with Detective Wilden and find out why they haven't found Toby yet. I'll see you around," he said, but it was only for the curly-haired brunette on the end, who had gotten up and moved to the sink to avoid him passing her.

Spencer took charge, escorted him out through the house. Instantly, Hanna snapped her head around to the girls. "Did we just get fired?"

"Shh," scolded Aria. "Keep it down."

"Why is he talking to Jenna?" Emily asked.

"I don't know, but it's not gonna be good," Halle said. "The bitch is blind, still has her tongue."

Emily asked, "What does she have to say?"

"This is turning into a nightmare," Aria groaned.

"Smell the coffee, it already is one," Halle retorted.

Hanna noticed the moment Spencer walked back into the kitchen. She was quick to ask, "what else did he say?"

"Nothing." Spencer sighed, "he just kept staring like he knew I was lying."

"Spence, why does Jenna wanna speak at the dedication?" Aria asked, panicking.

"And why does Jason want her there?" Hanna asked.

Emily stated firmly, "we can't let Jenna speak."

"Well, how are we gonna stop her without looking like bitches?" Aria questioned.

"I have no problem looking like a bitch, I'll do it," Halle offered.

"Um, you and your loud mouth are doing nothing. First Detective Wilden and now Jason — do I need to tape your mouth shut?" Spencer shot at Halle. "And we can't stop her," she said. "In case you didn't notice, we just got patted on the head and sent off to play."

"You need to stay on top of him, find out what's going on," Hanna instructed Spencer.

"Why me?" asked Spencer.

"Because you're the big organiser," Aria said. "You've got the laptop or all knowledge, and he's gonna need some of that."

"Jenna could get up there," Emily presented their fear, "she could tell about the fire and Toby. She could tell about everything."

•

She found Jenna Marshall in the student library. Halle knew Spencer told her to stay away — to keep her mouth shut — but she couldn't sit back and do nothing. So, Halle approached the blind girl slowly and watched her work, wondering how best to confront her.

Halle didn't have time to think before Jenna sensed someone was there. She stopped typing and her head picked up. "Hello?"

"It's Halle." She straightened up. Now or never, she told herself.

"Hello, Halle."

"I need to talk to you," Halle said.

"Go ahead," Jenna gestured to her to sit down, but Halle didn't.

Bluntly, Halle stated, "it's about the dedication, Jenna."

"Ali's memorial? I thought Spencer was in charge of that?" Jenna said, posing it as a question.

"If you thought that, why ask Jason to speak and not her?" Halle asked pointedly.

"She'd never say yes," the girl in sunglasses said.

"So you rung Jason? How low can you get, Jenna? To call her brother," Halle said spitefully; also in a tone that indicated she cared.

Jenna smirked. "Does Jason look the same? I got the impression he was different. He sounds different."

It caught Halle off guard. "Yeah, he is different, his sister was murdered."

"I didn't mean that, Halle," Jenna replied, and Halle did know what she meant.

Halle joined her at the table. "He's, uh... he's clean, sober."

"Sober." Jenna let out a dry chuckle. "Who would have thought? He was a bad boy, remember? Of course you do. All the drugs and parties. You ran in the same circles, didn't you?" Jenna taunted her. "You know, when I was talking to him, I got the strangest sensation, like Ali was in the room with us."

Sitting up, Halle asked, "what are you gonna say, Jenna? At the dedication, what are you gonna say about Ali?"

"I can see why they sent you," Jenna noted.

"No, you can hear why they sent me, Jenna," Halle boasted. It was her to turn to taunt Jenna. Halle said, "and unlike everyone else, I can see you for exactly what you are, blind or not. Now, one bitch to another, what are you gonna say at the dedication?"

"I was gonna speak from the heart," Jenna claimed smugly.

"If you have one," Halle shot back. She asked, "what do you want, Jenna?"

"What I want, you can't give me," she snapped. "You and your friends are careless, like I told Emily. You're careless and you break things, and you think you're never gonna have to pay for them."

"We are paying for it, Jenna. We're paying for it every day," snapped Halle.

"How much?" Jenna pushed out her question breathily, "who's counting?"

"Look, I get it. We started the fire and it blinded you, and now, you want some kind of satisfaction, some revenge, but I'm telling you this now, I won't let you turn this dedication into some kind of club to beat up on my friends. I won't let you." Halle got closer, gripped onto Jenna's hand and began to threaten her. "You and I both know what capable of. I was friends with Ali much longer than the others and I'm not like them, you know that. I'm not afraid to go against the rules and play dirty."

"What are you saying, exactly?" Jenna asked. She tried to pull her hand away, but Halle kept it there. Halle was much stronger than Jenna and she used it against the blind girl.

"All I'm saying is — first the eyes, then goes the tongue, maybe the nose..." Halle let out a chuckle when she saw Jenna shudder in fear. Halle knew she had got underneath her skin, found the nervous spot, and she let go. "Ali deserves this memorial. We loved her, and you don't have the right to turn it into something else, not in front her brother, not in front of her family."

Jenna felt the chair move, signalling Halle was up. She sought out her chance to get even. "Did you love her? You see, I heard different," she sneered.

"Well, that's about all you can do nowadays, ain't it, Jenna?" remarked Halle, sly like a fox. She went to go, but Jenna spoke again.

"Alison was done with you," Jenna declared strongly. "Did you know that? We talked about it in the hospital. She told me why. She said you committed the ultimate betrayal." Jenna lowered her voice. "Is that why one of you did what you did?"

And then, Halle's phone went off.

LOOKS LIKE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER.
--A.

In a fit of panic, Halle raced out of the library. Her breathing had become harsh and shallow. Quick and frantic. Halle barely took notice of the hard chest she collided with until they were saying her name while they held her in place.

"Halle? Halle, breathe, breathe." Jason had a hold on her. She shook her head wildly, thrashing in his arms.   "Hey, hey, hey." He ducked down to look her in the eyes, his hands on her shoulders to hold her down in one spot. "What's going on?"

"She knows," Halle raved like a lunatic. She was shrieking at him, unable to stay still though he had her stationed. "She knows. She knows, Jason."

"Who? Who knows?" Jason calmly asked.

"Jenna!" Halle was on high-alert, panic coursing through her. "Jenna knows about what we did That Summer."

"She can't, no one knew," Jason promised her.

"Alison did." Halle gulped at the confession she had just laid upon him.

Jason's hands fell from her, his voice quiet. "Ali knew?"

"She had her suspicions about why I was sneaking off all the time. At first, she thought it was Eric, but she figured out it wasn't. She knew, I don't know how, but she caught me one night leaving the woodshed." Halle told him, rash, "it was before you left for Cape May. You remember that night I kissed for the first time? You found me and I was a mess?"

"Yeah," he said.

"She found out, and we argued That Summer — me and Alison. We fought and she hit me. And I hit her — harder. I gave her a bloody lip," Halle blurted out to him. "She was done with me, and I knew that night she went missing, she was hinting at it — in front of the others — and I knew she was going to ruin my life."

"Why, why didn't you tell me?" he asked her, as though it would have been second-nature to them

"Because we didn't do that, Jason." Halle insisted, "we got high and made out, nothing more."

Jason scoffed. He pulled away from her her. "When does the lying end with you? We talked about stuff. We were close. We were friends. We liked each other," he argued.

"Yeah, and look where that got us," she hissed. "Caught in a big freaking lie. I lied to everyone for you — Ali, the police, my parents, my friends."

"The lie isn't just protecting me though, is it?" he shot at her. "You told the first lie. And from where I'm standing, you're the one who hit her, so who really benefits here?"

Halle gritted her teeth, her jaw clenched. "And you were so high that night, you didn't know what you could've done, or did." The words she spoke matched her dark eyes that bore into him; her hard stare made him remember that night, what she said to him back then.

"I was just playing with you."

Jason took a step back from her. "And why was that, huh? I think I forgot how cruel teenage girls really are." He was mad, furious with her, but his eyes were still soft. Jason was hurt, just like he was the night Alison went missing. "Anything I took that night was because of you."

She saw his pain, and Halle held the knife that caused it. She was heartless, cruel, and so she plunged it in deeper. Driven by her own fury, Halle told him, "it's not my fault you got blackout wasted because got your feelings hurt. It's not my fault you're an addict."

"Yeah, and what are you? If I remember right, we only started because we got high together." He looked down at her in fury. "I don't have time for this."

Halle pulled him back as he attempted to leave. "Make time!" Halle said, "Jenna knows, she knows about us."

"I wouldn't worry about that. Like you said that night, there is no us," Jason growled at her. He went to go again, but she stopped him.

"Jason." Halle stared at him, stood a only a metre away from her, down the hallway. She let out a heavy sigh. "She knows. We can't just leave this."

"I can't deal with this right now, I have a meeting with Principal Hackett," he said, waving her off.

"Jason, this is important," persisted Halle strongly.

"No." Jason shook his head. "No, you're not. I was fool to think you were, Brewster, but don't worry, I won't make the same mistake twice."

•

Halle hadn't spoken to Jason since she 'bumped' into him in the hallway. She did, however, find out that he had seen Spencer —told her that Alison tried to convince him that it was Spencer that started the fire that blinded Jenna Marshall. Jason didn't believe his sister, not even at the time she told him, but he wanted Spencer to know, and none of the girls got why.

Alison's mother wasn't going to the memorial. Jessica DiLaurentis was still struck hard with grief and Ken DiLaurentis only went to ensure Jason wouldn't mess it up. There wasn't another reason. Mr DiLaurentis didn't want to be at the high school and sit through a memorial organised by Alison's friends. But he didn't trust his son enough not to mess it up.

Spencer took to the podium to speak first. She got there, her scrap of paper laid flat for her to read from, but something made her hesitate. She made eye-contact with the girls and they turned their head to see a man had walked in.

"Ian?" Aria questioned in confusion, her voice low.

"Wait, Melissa's Ian?" Hanna asked, whispering.

"Um..." Spencer began, and her returned their gaze to the front. "I can't remember not knowing Alison. Not having her as a friend." She stiffened on seeing Detective Wilden made an appearance too. She carried on, "she was the first person I knew long enough that I felt I could be angry with, without worrying that I was gonna lose her. It made me feel like something was gonna last. And you need that, yeah, especially when you're a kid." Spencer said, "she would've liked that you were all here. She would've have liked the attention. No, actually, she would've loved the attention," said Spencer, sharing chuckles with her friends. "It would have made her laugh. And Ali laughing..." Spencer teared up, "that was amazing."

Hanna was next. She spoke truthfully about her experience with Alison, the hardships of having Alison as a friend. "Friends can be hard on you," she said. "Maybe they expect more from you than strangers. Strangers pretty much see you in the way you want them to see you. You can't fool friends," Hanna said, smiling at the four sat together on the front row. "That's what makes them friends."

"The corner of the park is gonna be a safe place where you go and sit, read a book and just think." Emily mentioned, "you should think about Alison while you're there. She'd wanna make sure you didn't forget out her."

When it was Aria's turn, she talked about loss — the loss of her friend. She said, "when you do something like this, well, a memorial, it's partly because you don't understand what's happened. So you plant flowers and you paint tiles and... somewhere in the middle of it all that work, you stop crying." She nodded, holding back tears. "I guess that's the point."

Halle was last to speak. She pulled a folded piece of paper out from inside her bra and headed up to the podium, trading places with Aria. Halle stood in front of the sea of people and straighten out her speech. She took a deep breath and then opened her mouth. "I'm pretty positive that my life would've been miserable without Alison in it. Ali was—" Halle got choked up. Her friends got worried, thinking Halle was finally going to breakdown — this was her burning star moment, the moment she'd come crashing down. But she didn't. Halle paused, composed herself, and continued. "Ali was my best friend. She brought out the best and the absolute worst in me," she said, sparing a look to Jason. "But now she's gone, and this memorial is all I ever have of her. For the rest of my life, I'll only ever have this... and so do you. It's why it's important."

Her dark eyes fell on Jason. He was looking at her, swallowing the lump in his throat. He knew that some of her words weren't for Alison; they were for him. He sensed her guilt. He felt it from her, especially when she tried to go back to her seat without another glance at him.

With help from Jason, Jenna Marshall was took to the podium next. After his conversation with Halle, he too was wary of Jenna and what she could say. How much damage could a blind girl do? But Halle's fear was enough to make Jason's nervous too; his father was there, sat beside him after all. How would it look if Alison's old brother was fooling around with her best friend, the summer she went missing?

Jenna traced her over the bumps on the sheet of paper she had, and she spoke out confidently. "We think we know who we are, but we don't. Not until something bad happens to us, and then all the useless things fall away and we're left with who we really are. I learned that from Alison DiLaurentis." While she talked, all five girls fidgeted in their seats, waiting for the hit. "My whole life, I thought I knew who she was. But I found out the truth when she came and talked to me at the hospital. I found out that she was the strongest person that I had ever met," Jenna praised, and the liars exchanged looks of confusion. "And it's her strength that touched so many people, shaped them. That's her legacy. That's how her memory will endure. In actions of those she inspired in so many different ways. From all of us, thank you, Alison," she finished, and Halle practically felt the chair swallow her up.

What was Jenna's game-plan?

Was that it?

Was it over?

Halle avoided everyone she could, when it was over. She dodged talking to people, having them voice their sympathies to her. She had enough of that when Alison first went missing, and again when they found her body. Halle had enough sympathies to last her lifetime. She didn't want to go through another moment like this before she had even finished high school.

She gave Ken DiLaurentis a letter from her purse, one addressed to his wife, and then respectfully withdrew herself from the rest of the memorial. She left the school's multipurpose room and was walking down one of the the hallways, towards an exit, when she heard her name being called.

Jason.

Halle stopped and turned. The sunlight came in from the glass windows behind her. Jason could've sworn it was her halo, surrounding her such white light. But he was reminded that the devil was once an angel, too, and Halle was a two-sided coin. Devil or angel — he never knew what he would get with her. She was unpredictable. She did the unexpected.

Jason also had came to a stop. There was a distance between them, physical and metaphorical. The two stood apart helplessly looking at each other, waiting for the other to apologise. But it never happened. "I guess we didn't need to worry about Jenna Marshall knowing," he said.

Disappointment crossed her face, of course that was the reason he came after her. "I guess we didn't," Halle replied.

"We will, eventually." Jason told her, "it's the rule of life. Whatever crap you pull always catches up to you. It's all part of the game."

"Game?" asked Halle.

"The one Ali started," he explained.

"Oh." Halle looked at him with sad eyes. "We're still playing that, aren't we? We're still playing her games."

"She's not done with us yet," Jason replied.

She nodded, speaking quietly. "Yeah, I got that feeling."

Just as she went to leave, he called out to her again. "Why? Why me?" Jason pleaded with her for a truthful answer; he still didn't fully understand why she toyed with him the way she did That Summer.

"I knew it annoyed Ali... that sometimes she caught you looking at me. And sometimes, I caught you looking too. I knew the one thing she'd hate more than anything was if I pursued things, struck up whatever interest you had in and used it to hurt her," admitted Halle honestly, and she saw yet again the consequence of the worst thing she ever did. She played with Jason more than she ever did with Alison, and she hurt him far more than she ever wanted to. "You weren't supposed to catch feelings, it was only supposed to be us hanging out, a little flirting. That was it," Halle reassured. "I never meant for it to turn out the way it did."

"Then why did you say what you did That Night?" he asked her.

Halle shook her head, unable to find the answer. She didn't know the answer. "I—I don't know, I don't," she said. "But if I could go back, I'd just leave you alone. I would have never started something that day after the lake."

"You're a fool if you think that's the day all this started," Jason said to her. "You were annoying Ali with us for longer than that, and you know it."

"Jason," she said gently. Halle looked at the same green eyes, the ones she saw mirrored her own loneliness that summer, and the guilt ate away at her. Halle said, "I want you to know it wasn't all a lie."

Jason scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. Pained, he asked her, "and who does that help now?"

No one.

Not her.

Not him.

Not anyone.

Halle had successfully ruined the one solid thing she had that summer, and it was all to mess with Alison. Only Alison got the last laugh — she always did.

•