2.07

•

"Surface Tension"

Stood in Hanna's kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand, Halle relished in letting the heat pass from cup to the palm of her hands. It was one of the comforts she really tried to savour as of late. A wasn't giving her room for much else, not even enough to breathe. Every time Halle closed her eyes, she felt A's hand crept up around her neck, restraining her airway. Oftentimes, she woke up choking, gasping for breath.

"I thought you were getting your own room," Aria commented. She referred to how Emily was currently living with Hanna while Mrs Fields stayed in Texas with her husband. A fake letter from the Danby scout written by A ensured Emily stayed in Rosewood and ultimately the game.

"Yeah, that was the lead argument in Hanna versus Halle," Halle added. It was nearly Halle's family that Emily stayed with, but with the free guest bedroom, Hanna inevitably won.

"That was before the pipes went off behind the walls," Emily said, accepting a coffee from of Hanna.

"They have to fix the pipes and put back the wall back in, so we're roomies till then," explained Hanna.

"It'll be fun," Emily said, smiling.

Hanna was beyond excited. She was practically beaming, grinning ear-to-ear. "It's gonna be like a sleepover that never ends!"

Th other three   all exchanged a look between them, already dreading the outcome of a sleepover that never ends for the two girls. Halle wondered how long it would stay polite and exciting. Every sleepover reached its end eventually, when the other person had overstayed their welcome.

"Has Garrett called you about Ian's message?" Spencer asked, quickly breaking up the looks before either picked up on it.

"Not a sound," Emily answered.

Uneasy, Halle asked them, "We do trust Garrett, right?"

"We dragged Garrett into this, we gotta trust him," Aria replied.

"We're trusting him with Ian's ten-thousand-dollars, and I could've used some of that to replace Melissa's ring," Spencer said, guilty chewing away at her face.

"And if they traced the money from Ian to you?" Hanna returned, pointing out the obvious. "How would you explain?" she asked.

"I just don't like waiting," Spencer said, her feeling just as nervous as Halle did. "You know, if we're too quiet, A will get bored and stir the pot."

"And if we say something, A's gonna smack us down," Hanna shot. "I don't wanna walk into another A-stravaganza like that fashion show."

"I don't know about you guys, but my folks are on my back more now than they were about Ian in the bell tower," Halle retorted. "I don't think they're buying the whole 'it's a stupid prank'."

Emily grimaced, "God, the look on Mrs DiLaurentis' face."

The doorbell rang, and Hanna left to go answer it.

Aria moved to get a refill of coffee. As she poured it from the pot, she said, "This isn't about making us look like bitches anymore, isn't it?"

"No, it's about keeping us quiet," Spencer stated flatly.

"Why?" Aria asked.

"Because A may be the one who really killed Ali," Emily inserted. "I mean, that's what we're all thinking, isn't it?"

Halle agreed. "Why else go through all the trouble of setting up Ian to the police? Only we know that confession is crap, the police don't." She said, "Areally just want us to fear her. Ais getting off on making us squirm — likes watching us try to figure out the most excessive game of cluedo ever."

"You guys." Hanna came into the kitchen with a large hamper in her arms, sighing. She put it down on the island, and Emily moved to pluck out the card.

"'What fun. Two little liars under one roof. You're making it so easy. A'," Emily read aloud, and Halle felt the hand around her neck again.

Hanna groaned. "It's not even good candy," she said, slamming one of the boxes into the trash.

•

Halle was walking between lessons when Aria caught up with her. Aria linked her arm under Halle's and smiled sweetly up at her as they both continued walking. Halle gave her the side-eye and asked, "Why am I sensing you're about to say something I'm not gonna like?"

"Because I might be," Aria replied sheepishly. She sighed and asked, "What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"I have cheer-practice until half four and then... nothing.," Halle responded. "Why?"

"I kind of need you to come to dinner at mine," Aria told her.

Halle pulled her brows together, baffled. "Why? Wait, ain't Briefcase having dinner at yours tonight?"

"For the last time, it's Ezra," Aria reminded her dryly.

"Honey, I'm never calling him Ezra — like, ever," Halle informed her lowly. "It's Fitz, Briefcase, Sweater-vest, or nothing at all."

"Those are my only options?" Aria asked, and Halle nodded. After a moment's thought, she decided, "I can deal with Fitz."

"Good. Glad that's sorted, I would've been so hung up over if it wasn't," Halle replied sarcastically. She knitted her brows together, a vertical line appearing in the centre of them. "Also, doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose of him going if I go? They'll never see it the way what you want them to. They'll just see Fitz with two ex-students. Trust me, you don't need me there."

"Trust me, I do," Aria firmly said. She suddenly stopped, outside of Halle's class. Aria pulled her friend aside, next to the wall. She sighed, "but my mom invited Jason. He was here at school today, and she was talking to him and she invited him to dinner."

Halle blinked a couple times, taking in the information. She asked curiously, "And why does that mean I have to go?"

"Because you'll be a distraction for Jason," said Aria, faking her way though it with a smile. She explained, "They'll couple you up, so then my parents might couple me with Ezra in a social setting." Her hand opened, displayed out, as she asked, "So, what you do think of my plan?"

"Well, it ain't ideal," Halle shot.

"Please," Aria pleaded, pouting a little. Her knees bent as she hung onto Halle's arm.   "I am begging you. Jason will automatically gravitate to you, so that'll leave me with Ezra. Please, it's the perfect plan."

"No, the perfect plan would be to not date your teacher," Halle shot back without thinking. She halted, realising exactly what she had said. "Sorry, I didn't mean that."

Aria gave her a look. "Could you be more open-minded about me and Ezra?"

Halle rolled her eyes and said, "Aria, if I was any more open-minded about you and Fitz, my brain would fall out."

"Okay-- Okay, I get it." The petite girl let out a long sigh. She turned to press her back against the wall, throwing her head back in defeat. "Am I an idiot to ever think this would work?" she asked.

"No, no, you're not an idiot." Halle fought against every bad feeling in her body that told her that Aria's relationship was wrong because the other girls were being supportive. It still didn't sit easy with her, but Halle wasn't really the moral-centre for things when it came to making choices. "Never call yourself that, okay? You're not an idiot, you're just... you're just..." Halle saw Aria crane her head forward to look at her waiting for Halle to finished. Halle gave a sigh, caving in at the sight of her friend's large eyes. "What time?" she asked. "What time do I need to be there?"

Aria squealed in happiness. She jumped up, hands gripped at Halle in eager excitement. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She said, "Seven— Thank you so much. You're the best!"

As Halle watched her friend merrily make her way down the hall, Halle shook her head and realised how deep into another crime she had fallen. Halle was now an accomplice in making the relationship work, and she had to face Aria's parents knowing about said-relationship.

"I'm so screwed."

•

Much like their daughters, the mothers congregated around the kitchen island in the Marin household. This time coffee and A's Welcome-hamper were switched out for iced-tea and coffee cake, but the conversation was still the same. Only, the parents didn't know who was pulling the strings.

"I had a feeling you would call," Ashley said. They all shared the same feeling of inevitability.

"Did the girls say anything to either of you about what happened at the fashion show?" Ella asked Ashley and Luisa, having been the one to call the both of them.

Luisa sighed and said, "Halle said it was bad joke, a stupid prank gone too far. Said she didn't know who did it, and she doesn't care to know either. Can't say I share in that," she commented after, striking a common nerve with the mothers.

"I didn't press Hanna on it," said Ashley regrettably.

Ella understood. All of the women understood on some level. Ella chose to ask next, "What do you think that was?"

Ashley gave a knowing look, handing off a plate to each of the women. "Well, you know about mean girls. We have them when we were in school," she said

"Not like this, we didn't," Ella remarked, as Ashley led the pair to the patio with drinks and cake in hand.

"No, far from this," Ashley mused in agreement.

When they took a seat, Luisa confessed to them, "Nick and I have a theory. It's not pretty one."

"Go on," Ashley said, eager to hear.

"We think that there is a mean girl and that our girls are being bullied," Luisa said. "We have, uh, a parent-teacher thing with their old English teacher... a Mr Fitz."

"Oh, Ezra, yeah," Ella stated.

"Yeah, him." Luisa said, "He mentioned that he thought Halle was being bullied then, and I haven't been able to shake it. Nick keeps telling me to calm down and let it sort itself out, but I can't. I can't let this one go."

"Yeah, I don't think this just started," Ella agreed, finally feeling seen by another parent. "I think it's been going on for a while, and we're just now noticing it."

As hard at it was to admit, Ashley nodded along. "I think you're right."

"You do?" Luisa asked, relieved to hear it.

"Alison? Hanna and Halle being hit by that car?" Ashley explained, "Ian in the bell tower, everything else?" She was a mix of both baffled and shocked she hadn't put it together earlier. "It's easy to get paranoid. Start seeing connections where they aren't any connections," she said.

"I just know if I didn't speak to another parent about this, my head was going to explode," Ella divulged.

"Who else have you talked to?" Ashley asked.

"Well," Ella sighed, "Emily's mom is in Texas, and..."

"And you really don't want to be having that conversation over the phone," Luisa finished knowingly.

"Nope," said Ella.

"The Hastings?" Luisa then asked.

Ella shot her a grave look. "You're kidding, right?"

Somehow, the silence that followed resonated more with Ashley than anything else she had heard. "Hey, I'll tell you one thing," she said confidently. "I think we rolled over way too quickly on that therapist deal. Separating the girls--" she shook her head, "I am not gonna do that again."

Luisa felt that, too. "There's no chance. If anything, that pushed our girls further away," she claimed.

"It seemed to make sense at the time," Ella tried to reason.

"Right, that wasn't about helping anyone," Ashley stressed strongly. "That was about Peter Hastings. Never met a problem he couldn't buy off, one way or the other."

"Want anything more sensitive handled with that family," Luisa picked up her drink and said, "Peter's not the way to go. You gotta go straight to Veronica." Her shoulders slumped, and Luisa said helplessly, "Sometimes I blame myself. I put Halle smack-bang in the middle of the Hastings' and the DiLaurentis', the rock and the hard place."

"Which is which?" Ella asked dryly.

"Depends which way you turn on the street," Luisa fired, and both of the women sat around the table seemed to agree.

•

Aria was the one who greeted Halle at the door. She was slightly stunned at the cheerleader's appearance. Halle in a dress wasn't an entirely rare thing, but it was a pleasant surprise.   "Wow," Aria said, taken aback. "You look amazing."

Halle stood in the doorway holding a plate of brownies covered in foil. She wore a pretty, purple dress with thin straps and a pink cardigan over it. Awkwardly, Halle was still standing there under the porch light. She asked, "Can I come in, or am I entertaining Jason out here on your porch with the moths?"

"No, no, come in," Aria said, ushering her inside. "Did you have to dress up so much? You're gonna show me up."

"Aria, you're in a little black dress, and it's a dinner party," Halle reasoned with her friend. "I can't just rock up in my usual denim jeans and a top. I think your parents expect something a little more than that tonight."

"Yeah, you're right," said Aria. She looked a little freaked, out of her depth. "I'm just really nervous."

"Well, how's Fitz doing?" Halle asked.

"Good, he got my dad the scotch he likes and is drinking it with him," Aria offered out, as if it was something miraculous.

Halle didn't have the heart to tell her that it was expected, since Fitz was a dinner guest in their home. Instead, Halle gave her friend a reassuring smile and handed over the plate of banana pudding over to Aria to give to her mother. She didn't even dare speak in case her voice gave her away

"Hey, Halle. You look nice." Byron Montgomery came over to greet her with a polite smile, welcoming her further into a house she had been in many times. He led her into living room, gesturing to the guests already there. "Halle, this is Elliot and Nancy Partha," Byron said, "I work with Elliot at Hollis. And of course, you know Ezra Fitz."

"I usually stick to calling him Mr Fitz," Halle joked.

"Yes, yes," Byron laughed and said, "that's right." He explained to Nancy, "Halle is one of Aria's friends, she was in Ezra's English class when he taught at Rosewood High with Ella."

"Hello," Nancy said with a kind smile. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Halle agreed.

"Sorry about him," said the woman, apologising for husband who was on the phone. "He's on the phone to our babysitter. Separation anxiety," stated Nancy, laughing.

"New baby?" Halle asked, trying to seem interested in other people's children. She wasn't. Halle was just thankful the baby wasn't there, so she didn't have to hold it or pretend it didn't resemble a burrito when swaddled. Halle was sure she'd hate the night a lot more if she had to deal with a baby. She didn't even like her sister when she was first born; that was why her parents got her a dog.

"Yes. Our first," Nancy said, smiling. "Do you like kids?" she asked Halle just as Aria handed her friend a drink.

Halle mustered up a smile, wishing it wasn't water in the blue-stained glass and rather something stronger. "I suppose," she said, feeling her jaw clench momentarily. "I have a little sister. She's eight, so bit of difference. We don't fight over clothes and boys, so there's that."

"Bet she was like a doll to you," Nancy jested, though the word doll made Halle queasy.

"Something like that," Halle mused, her smile slipping a little.

"Do you want kids?" asked Nancy, far too invested in her own joy in being a new parent to realise Halle was a literal teenager.

Halle choked on her drink. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, trying to be as polite as she could be. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, new mom-brain," laughed Nancy. "I ask everyone that now, it's so silly I know. You're practically a baby yourself, sorry."

To make sure the woman didn't feel bad, Halle found herself answering. She damned the part of her that has gone soft from her friends; the fact she cared about stranger now really bugged her. "Um, eventually, sure," Halle said, awkward. "Not in the foreseeable future. Maybe in fifteen years, when I'm thirty. I'd like to finish high school and college first before... Before I think about that."

Mr Fitz seemed to pick up on Halle's uncomfortable nature, so he changed the subject. He asked Halle, "Have you thought any more about college yet, Halle? I know you were pretty set on UPenn when we last spoke about it," Fitz said. He told Nancy Partha, "Halle is a remarkable student, very smart, great writer."

Halle smiled appreciatively at her ex-teacher, silently thanking him and hoping her understood.

Then, she replied, "Some. My dad went to NYU, but my mom went to UPenn and my boyfriend also goes there, so it still seems like the obvious choice."

"What does he study?" Nancy asked.

"Law and Politics," Halle answered, seemingly proud of her boyfriend. "His father's a Judge, so that's who he takes after."

Elliot Partha picked up on the last part as he ended the call. "Wow, you're settled, then," he commented, picking up his drink from off the coffee table.

"My mom thinks so," Halle agreed, hiding her lack of smile behind the blue-stained glass.

Just as Byron Montgomery then brought up that Halle was heading for Regionals with the cheer-team, the doorbell went. "No, please let me," Halle suddenly said to Aria. She was quick to stop the petite girl from passing. Her eyes were large, pleading with her friend. There was nothing Halle hated more than talking about herself.

Halle's heels clicked against the mahogany and carried her to front door. Foolishly, she expected to open the door to Aria's brother, but she was left awestruck when she was faced with Jason. He wasn't  expecting to see her there either.   She opened the door, and Jason's breath hitched in his throat. His entire being softened, relaxed at just seeing her there. Jason managed to mouth a silent, "hey," before Halle finally remembered why she was asked to the dinner party in the first place.

"Hey," she returned. Halle opened the door more and moved aside. "Come in, everyone else is here."

Jason smiled, stepping inside. "Yeah, sorry I'm late."

"Well, you bought flowers, so I think Mrs Montgomery will forgive you," said Halle with a smile. She shut the door behind them. When she turned back around to him, she realised now close they were in proximity, trapped together in the small foyer of the Montgomery home. "We should..." Halle swallowed the lump in her throat. Her eyes fluttered to a close, and she composed herself.   Opening her eyes, she met his gaze. "We—"

"Halle," Aria interrupted the pair again. She was starting to make a habit of out it. She came over to the two, smiling when Jason held out the flowers to her.

"For your mom," he said.

"Thanks," Aria said, smiling politely. "Come on, I'll introduce you."

Jason did the common courtesies. He thanked Ella and Byron Montgomery for having him over; that it was nice of them to host him. Deep down, Jason knew it was because Ella took pity on him. Either way, Jason did a fine job at holding his own, faking that he belonged. All the while, he kept glancing over to Halle. Often, he smiled in her direction, with her eyes drawn to him just as much as his were to her. He finally went to speak with her just before dinner when Halle was whisked off by Aria.

Upstairs, Halle listened in as Spencer ranted down the phone to Aria. Spencer spilled an extravagant story about Toby finding a broken hockey stick near the property line while he was cleaning out the shrubbery and how it was the stick Spencer had lent to Alison that summer. "That's the same stick that Toby found buried behind my house," Spencer told them.

"Are you sure?" Aria asked.

"Absolutely the same," Spencer stated, certain.

"How did it get in your backyard?" asked Aria.

"Well, you don't bury old sporting equipment, but you do bury murder weapons," Spencer hinted.

"Is she serious?" Halle asked, rolling her eyes. She aimed her voice at the phone — to Spencer. "Are you serious?"

"It was in Ali's room the summer she was killed. Anybody could've used it," Spencer informed.

"Anybody?" Aria questioned.

Sat in the Hastings' backyard, near the start of the summer, Alison was starting to express a new interest in Field Hockey and went to Spencer about it. Aria and Halle were sitting watch the pair, lazily throwing a tennis ball back and forth from the two deck-chairs.

"It's just an old practice stick I used sometimes," Spencer explained, as she handed over the wooden stick adorned in the Rosewood colours. "It was Melissa's."

"It'll do," Alison said. She accepted it happily enough, taking the bent position as if she was actually playing.

Spencer chuckled. "No, it's like this." She took the stick back and proceeded to show her the correct hold, crouching with bent knees and one hand further down.

"Oh." Alison accepted it back and copied what Spencer had just shown her, picking it up fairly quick.

Curious, Aria asked, "Ali, when did you become so interest in field hockey?"

It was Alison turn to laugh. "I'm not." She stood up straight, shooting them a devilish smirk as she purposefully added, "Yet. I'm just considering my options."

"It must be a boy, then," Halle said confidently. She shot a wink in her best friend's direction and said, "Only plausible reason."

"Of course!" Aria teased the blonde too, "You have to be interested in someone who's interested in field hockey." She threw the ball at Halle, the cheerleader catching it, as the two shared a laugh.

Spencer wasn't so amused. "Boys don't play field hockey," she stated.

"You don't have to play the game to be interested," Alison then told her.

"Alison!" Jason's shouts came through the woods, coming towards them through the path between the two houses. He strolled into view, seemingly tense. "Mom wants you."

Halle took a deep breath, steadying herself. It was shortly after Halle made the decision to get back her friend. Her and Jason was slowly becoming a regular occurrence, but Halle lived in dread praying Alison didn't know about the times her best friend went and smoked with her brother.

"Why?" Alison asked.

"I don't know. She didn't say why, okay? Just go," Jason said, clearly irritable. "I got better things to do than hunt you down."

"Like what?" questioned the blonde.

Jason plucked the hockey stick straight out of his sister's hands, far too easily. "What's this for?" he asked, taunting her. He felt the wood, passing it over to his other hand.

"It's for me," Alison said, her voice small.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, amused.

"Give it back," she said, reaching for it.

Jason kept it from her, holding it back. "Oh, yeah?" He liked toying with her. It was a constant battle between the two siblings. It was a vivid reminder for Halle why she chose to get at Alison this way. Nothing would hurt Alison more than if a friend chose Jason over her and nothing would deflate Alison's ego more than if a friend got with her brother.

Alison tried again. "Give it back, Jason."

"Or what?" he asked at last. Jason dared her to  challenge him, but she didn't. Instead, Alison reached for it once more only to have him pull his arm back further. In a snap judgement, Jason brought it back and threatened her with the stick. He swung it back, scaring Alison enough to think he would do it but never did.

His sister jumped back, flinching.

"Be careful!" Spencer yelled, shocked at what she had just seen.

Halle was equally so. She stood up from the chair abruptly, the ball falling to the ground, and stared the boy down. "What are you playing at?" she asked, horrified at what he had done. She snatched it from him, learning fast this wasn't the side he wanted to see. Jason had a uncontrollable temper, which sent him to anger quickly when he was loaded, but he was good looking and made revenge on Alison that much sweeter. It was poor judgment, Halle knew, but she still played the game.

He saw the look Halle was giving him. Jason couldn't shy away from the shame in her eyes. He'd have a hard time explaining this one away if he ever wanted to continue their friendship.

Alison made a grab for the hockey stick. With Jason distracted, Halle serving as the perfect one, Alison snatched the stick back and swung at her brother.

"Ooh!" Jason caught it easily, dodging ever so slightly. A smirk came across his face, and he laughed at her.   He kept his grip tight and remarked, "Too bad. You're not gonna get a second chance, Ali."

Immediately, Spencer inserted, "Jason was in the house That Summer." The girl had no other evidence than one incident throughout the whole summer, where both Alison and Jason were chaotic and aggressive towards each other.

"Okay, but so was Ian," Aria argued.

"Yeah, but Jason says he can't remember the night that Ali disappeared, and I'm starting to think that is awfully convenient," snapped Spencer.

"Spencer, I saw him that night," Halle fumed, "and I told you that. I told you what happened. He was passed out. There's no way he was competent enough to dig a hole and bury a hockey stick," she spat.

"Before, Halle — before!" Spencer exclaimed.

"How, Spencer? How?" Halle asked, her voice raised. "Jason was already blacked-out when Alison was with Ian."

Aria realised how personal it was getting for Halle; she understood the connection was more than any of the others realised, more than Halle ever dare to digress. "Spencer, look, this could just be A playing with us again," Aria reasoned.

"Except that we didn't find this, somebody else did," pointed out Spencer. "And if my dad hasn't stopped Jason from building that fence, no one ever would have found it."

"What's your dad saying about this?" Aria asked over Halle's exasperated sigh.

"I haven't spoke to him yet," Spencer said. "He's in a meeting. He won't be home till late."

"Well, maybe keep the lynch mob set for Jason on hold until after you've spoke to your dad," Halle shot.

"Halle—"

"Jason didn't do it!" Halle raged. "Jason didn't kill Ali!"

"How do you know?" Spencer asked, irritated that her friend wasn't even attempting to see it from her point of view.

"I just do," Halle said fiercely. "He isn't capable of that."

"How do you know?"

"Because I do!" snapped Halle harshly. "Jason didn't hurt Ali, so find someone else to point your finger at since Ian ain't good enough for you anymore."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Spencer asked, insulted.

"It means, I'm not following you down the rabbit hole with this one, Spencer, you're wrong on this," Halle said.

"Aria? Halle?" came Ella Montgomery's voice, calling them from downstairs.

"Hey, we gotta go," Aria told Spencer, as Halle was already out of the bedroom door.

"Think about this. Think about what this means," urged Spencer. "I'll think about it, bye," Aria said.

•

When Halle returned downstairs, Jason could tell she was annoyed. The conversation around him was fickle; it wasn't hard for his attention to drift to the girl. His eyes watched as she travelled into where the two women were chatting — how Halle purposefully greeted them with smiles and exchanged a few words before she took herself over to the open wine bottle. She poured herself a glass, downing it contents, and then filled it again with water.

Some part of him felt relieved to see she wasn't opting to drinking the whole night. He was still worried though; he had seen people go down the road of self-medicating with alcohol before. Jason was one of them. He was just hoping his time away from Rosewood hadn't spoiled his chance of fixing whatever he left behind with Halle.

The doorbell rang, interrupting the evening. Aria moved to answer it, her stood on the edge of the males' conversation, and opened the front door. Halle's eyes caught sight of the distant flashing blue and red sirens. She was suddenly aware of Officer Maple stood on the porch, and her feet crossed the room when she heard Aria call out for her parents.

Both the Montgomery parents came to the door, meeting the police man now in their home. "Hi, Barry," said Ella calmly.

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's about Mike," Officer Maple said. "He's okay, but we have a situation."

"What kind of situation?" Mr Montgomery asked, causing Halle to edge closer to hear better.

"Looks like he broke into a house," said the officer.

At hearing the news, Aria instantly felt guilt. She slowly retreated into herself, backing against the wooden beam. She felt sick knowing she should've told her parents.

"He what?" Mr Montgomery questioned, shocked and in need of clarification.

"Over on Madison."

"There's got to be some kind of mistake," said Ella.

"I'm afraid not, it's Mike. He must have thought the place was empty," Officer Maple told them. It sounded awfully similar to the other night, when Mike tried to break into Jason's place. "Homeowner grabbed him and called us. He's at the station now. If I could get you to come down there..."

"Uh, yes, of course. Do you want to stay here?" asked Mr Montgomery, his hand on his wife's back.

"No, no, we'll both go," Ella said, a little shaken. She moved to grab her coat and bag, panicking. "Aria," she said. "Aria, please stay here."

Shortly after the Montgomery parents left, the Parthas fled the dinner party too. They had the common decency to use their baby as an excuse when telling Aria, but it wasn't convincing enough for Halle to buy. Still, Halle put on a smile and bid the couple goodbye as she helped box up the food into tubs.   She had to admit, she wouldn't know who to react either. It was embarrassing, and Halle wasn't even sure why Jason stuck around.

Halle saw Aria cross the house, from kitchen to the living room, towards Jason. Aria offered him coffee, which he gladly accepted, and they struck up another conversation. Oddly, Halle felt jealousy bubble up inside of her. She said she moved on, but she hated the feeling that someone else had hushed and secret conversations with Jason. It didn't feel right, watching and then seething with envy. Halle wished the thought of that before she told herself to shelf whatever she felt with him. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so terrible.

"So, are you close with Jason as well?" Fitz started. He moved to bring over the unused cutlery, his eyes on the pair in the living room also.

"He's Alison's brother," Halle gave. She diverted her stare down to the tubs, fiddling with the locks. "I wouldn't say we're close."

"Are they?" he asked, gesturing to Aria and Jason.

Halle glanced over again and shook her head. "I wouldn't know."

As Halle carried on cleaning up, Fitz took himself into the living room. He waited there for Aria to return. After her quiet conversation with Jason, Aria took herself upstairs and had been up there for quite a while. Halle had dismissed her ex-teacher from the kitchen, saying she'd handle it and gifted him with another glass of scotch to get him out of his way. Halle was aware of the painful situation she was putting both males in.

"So, you teach at Hollis?" Jason asked, breaking the silence first.

Fitz picked his head up at that. He turned to look up at him, answering. "Yes."

"Is that how you know Professor Montgomery?" Jason wondered aloud. He saw stood at the fireplace, his arm leant against the mantle as he nursed a coffee.

"Yes, and I taught with Ella at Rosewood High this year," Fitz informed him.

Another brief silence befell over the two, yet again broken by Jason.

"Did you have Aria?" Jason asked abruptly. He noted the strange look the English professor gave him, and Jason chose to elaborate. "In any of your classes," he said, explaining his question.

"Yes, I did. And Halle," Fitz mentioned. He wasn't an idiot; he had picked up on the looks sent across the room by both Jason and Halle. Fitz had a very clear idea it wasn't as innocent as either parties presented. "She's a good student. Very complex."

Jason raised his brows at that. "Complex?"

"Halle wasn't like any of my other students," Fitz said. "In fact, I don't think she's quite aware of how much potential she has. You seem close," he remarked after.

"She was best friends with my sister," Jason said.

"If you are close, you should really think about telling her about the options she could have," Fitz suggested. "She's much bigger than Rosewood, than Pennsylvania really."

Just then, Halle appeared by the stairs. "Aria!" she called up them. "I'm leaving now, I put it all in the refrigerator, okay?!"

"Yeah! Okay, I'll call you later!" Aria shouted back.

Halle waited at the bottom of the stairs. She had hoped to hear footsteps coming towards her, but there was nothing. "Okay, speak later!" Halle shouted back. She turned, smiling at both Mr Fitz and Jason. "Goodnight. Nice to see you, Mr Fitz," she said.

"Ah, I should actually get going too," Jason said. He put down his cup, placing it on the mantle. He straightened out his jacket and said, "And they're gonna want us when they get back. I'll walk out with you."

"Okay. Goodnight, Mr Fitz," Halle repeated.

"Goodnight, Halle," Fitz replied.

The two neighbours exited the house. They both looked at each other after Halle shut the door before taking to the porch steps, walking down. "Eventful evening, huh?" she asked. "Not exactly what Aria had planned."

"What had she got planned?" Jason asked, interested more in talking with her than the actual answer.

Halle put on a smile. "Oh, nothing. Passing comment kind of thing," she said, lying easily.

"Yeah, when you speak to Aria, tell that it's not her fault this happened," Jason said sincerely. "I tried telling her back in there, but I think it'll mean more coming from you," he explained, just as they reached his car, parked on the street. He glanced at her, getting his keys out of his pocket. "Do you need a ride home?" Jason asked.

Halle bit back a smile, her tongue poking out between her lips. She fiddled with her hands as she suggested, "I was thinking we could go grab dinner."

"I thought you had boyfriend," Jason countered.

"It's only dinner," she reminded him.

"Okay," said Jason. "Let's go."

•

Halle threw her head back in laughter, her hand covering her face in embarrassment. She was sat in Grille, opposite Jason on one of the tables for two. Halle had just ordered a selection of the starters and sides for them to bring out, so the two could pick at them. She was having more fun that she intended to, but that was how it always was with Jason. They reminisced about their childhood; Jason loved reminded her of Avril Lavigne obsession she had back in the sixth grade when she tried so hard to learn to skate only to end up in the ER with a fractured wrist.

"God, I should have a loyalty card for the hospital," Halle jested, as she reached for her drink. "I've put my parents through hell with the amount of times I've been in the ER."

Jason had been staring at her, intensely drinking her in. He compared her to the version he remembered from that summer in his head and suddenly said, "You're different."

Her laughter stopped. She looked to him, the little line between forming her eyebrows out of question. "What?

"You're different, now," Jason repeated, adding clarity to his comment.

She waved it off. "I'm still the same girl I always was, people don't change." She popped an olive into her mouth and simply said, "At least, I don't think they do."

"You have," he told her. "You're different from before."

Halle rolled her eyes at him, irritation glassing over them. "Don't baby me."

"I'm trying to give you a compliment," reasoned Jason, chucking at her immediate reaction. "But you never did too well with them back then either. You hated it when I tried complimenting you," he mentioned.

"Well, don't take it too personal. I hate it when anyone gives me compliments, not just you," she quipped back, diverting her eyes down to her drink, messing with the straw in it.

"Why? You're beautiful," Jason gave easily.

Her body tensed in the chair, shoulders now rigid. Halle cringed, face fighting, as she waved her hand about and shook off his words. "No, ew— stop."

"Take the compliment, Brewster."

A change Jason's voice made Halle pick her head up. She met his eyes across the table. The slight curve at the right corner of his mouth: a sly smirk aimed at her, a sign of him daring to take her on. It reminded Halle of that summer, how he always challenged her; that was the part Halle enjoyed most. That was her favourite side to him.

Halle often wondered if Alison knew how the bullying squashed Jason's playfulness; she was always calling him a loser or making slights about his drug-problem. And it was a problem. But Halle also wondered if Alison knew there was a version of her brother where he didn't get angry when he was loaded — where he was affectionate, kind, loving.

Sitting back in her chair, Halle crossed her arms over chest. "No."

Still, he pushed. "Take it."

"No."

"Take it, Brewster," Jason fought back, a glint of mischief behind his greens.

"Will you shut up if I do?" Halle asked, not wanting to continue the conversation further.

Jason smiled triumphantly. "Yeah.

"Fine," Halle conceited. "I'll take your stupid compliment, but I ain't happy about it."

"Good. Was that so hard?" Jason asked, smirking still.

Halle broke into a smile, cheeks warm and full. "Painful so."

"You made it that way," Jason returned. "Should've just taken the compliment in the first place."

"Well, when you're friends with Alison, you're suspicious of everything," said Halle, a sourness mixed with self-depreciation. "Even compliments can be lies, she taught me that."

"She taught people a lot of things, doesn't mean they're true," Jason offered the girl opposite him. "Ali's whole existence was a lie, Halle, she was just better at telling the lies than everyone else. I think she reached a part where she was the lies so much, she actually believed they were true, and then the people around her started living in them too."

What he said hit a cord with Halle, and she decided she wasn't going to live by Alison's rules anymore. Alison wasn't around anymore, so why should Halle have to keep up appearance for Alison's sake? Alison never did for her. In fact, with old memories dug up, Halle was struggling to understand why she was friends with Alison for so long. It was blind-loyalty, thinking the owed things to people because they had been there the longest. She felt the same about Eric.

"I have bipolar," Halle told Jason, without a second-thought. "I'm Bipolar type two." Seeing him caught off-guard made Halle realise what she had done, and she instantly felt foolish, guilty for putting that on him. "Sorry, I, uh, wanted to tell you, but... it's a lot, I know. I shouldn't have put that on you. At least not like that, I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay," Jason said reassuringly. "It's just a little..."

"Shocking," Halle finished for him.

He smiled small, nodding. "Yeah." After, the two broke into light laughter, smiling back at each other. Jason was gentle. Him just being around Halle soothed her enough to let him coax her walls down. He faced her directly. Jason wanted to see her eyes as they spoke. He didn't want to miss anything, and Halle had more tells in her eyes than she thought. "When did you find out?" he asked her.

"When I started to see Dr Sullivan," Halle said. "That night you saw my mom and I come home, and she took the medicine bag... Yeah, I had been formally diagnosed that day."

"Wow, that's a lot to take in," he said in complete honesty. "You're on medication now?" asked Jason cautiously.

"Yeah," she answered.

"And they help?" he asked, showing true interest.

Halle smiled at his concern. "They do," she said. "They take the edge off, slow me down. I still have manic and depressive episodes. They don't get rid of them completely, but they help." She kept the smile on her lips, softer than before, and revealed proudly, "I can have a normal life in between them and somewhat even during. Dr Sullivan explained that my nana was a rare case. That I had been seeing her deal with both Bipolar and Alzheimers, and that's not what's in store for me down the line. It's not written in stone anyway."

"Can I ask you something?" Jason asked, and Halle nodded quickly.

"Sure."

Earnestly, Jason then asked her, "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I don't wanna lie to you," replied Halle, sincerity coating her confession. She meant it, fully. Halle didn't want the ghost of Alison making choices for her anymore, deciding whether she should lie or not. Halle just didn't want to lie to Jason. 

21:46, the clock read on Halle's phone before it died.

She was too busy reconnecting with Jason to notice it had died on her. Most of Rosewood was dead by this time; the Grille was particularly quiet. At last, when she noticed that she and Jason were among the last still in there, Halle eyed the clock on the wall.

Giving out a sigh, Halle mentioned, "I should go."

"Do you want to?" Jason asked her.

"I have a curfew," Halle replied. "Besides, I'd hate to be that person the staff are left hanging around for, I've still gotta work here, you know."

Jason nodded, understanding, but said, "That's not an answer." His eyes locked onto hers, across the table, and he knew he didn't want it to end just yet. "Tell you what," he said. Jason picked up the salt and pepper shakers from the center of the table and hid them behind his back. Sending her a soft smile, he told her, "Pick a hand. Salt, you go. Pepper, you stay."

Halle chuckled at him, disbelieving. "I'm not gonna do that."

"Choose," Jason urged, now laughing along with her. "Left or right?"

The laughter slowly died away when their eyes connected with another's again. Their was a truth behind them, an understanding of each other's longing. A mix of right and wrong — good and bad — love and lust.

Quietly, Halle said, "I don't want to."

She was afraid of both answers and what it meant. If she stayed, it meant tangling herself back into the web of lies, constantly fighting to shield the truth. But if she left... Halle deeply feared that. The ache of what could have happened, what could have been, sat with her and caged her heart in. Halle really didn't want to leave; she didn't want it to be over.

But all summers end, and this was just a repeat. Halle had seen how it ended. She knew it well — too well. She remembered the heartbreak behind Jason's eyes that night, when she ruined him with words. It was hard to break his heart, especially when she knew in breaking his, she was breaking her own. Still, Halle hadn't felt the same since Jason went away, bleeding internally when she cut that piece out of her. The piece Jason had taken up.

"Then, you already have your answer, Brewster," Jason replied.

So, she stayed, and that night, Halle just existed. For one night, she existed with Jason, happily herself and completely comfortable. Halle was still with Jason, and she appreciated that deeply. Though she know the night was fleeting, slowly trickling away from her, it was scorned in her heart as one of the best nights of her life. It was was so plainly obvious she cared about him, and Halle would deny it with every smile.

•