2.09

•

"Picture This"

Dreams were fleeting. They came and went and were forgotten soon after they happened. Slipping from the memory's grasp, it wasn't very often Halle could remember her dreams. The good ones faded faster than any bad dream she might have had. Only, Halle struggled decided where her latest fell.

Jason turned to her, propped up on his elbow. He was leaning over her, the corners of his mouth turned up. "Where were we?"

Halle jolted up in bed. A bolt ran straight up her back, and she gasped awake. The alarm clock beeped still, having startled her awake. She groaned and slammed her hand down on the top button. She heaved a heavy sigh, running her hand over her face. "Well, that was new."

By time breakfast came around, Halle's dream hadn't fallen out of her mind. She was still spinning, her brain in overdrive as she tried to figure out why the dream came up now. Jason had been back for a while and she had closer encounters than last week. If anything, Halle thought she should've have one after the fashion show, when he confronted her about wanting to kiss him.

Halle did want to kiss Jason. That night especially. Halle thought for certain she would have if Aria hadn't interrupted.

She got lost up in her thoughts, her fingers touching her lips as she tried to remember how it felt to kiss Jason. It had been so long. Her eyes were hazed over, sparkling with the ghost of his kiss. The dream only added to the fantasy.

"Halle — Halle!" Luisa clicked her fingers in front of her daughter's face, causing Halle to snap out of it. "I asked you to put those on the table," said her mother. She looked down at the bowl of strawberries cut up into neat triangles.

"You know, we really do have to do this," Halle said.

"Do what?" asked Luisa. She busied herself with plating up the last of the pancakes she had cooked that morning.

Glancing at the dining table through the shutter-doors, it decorated with a full spread, Halle cringed knowing it was her doing. "Family breakfast," she said.

"Well, we wouldn't have to have one if you kept your fists to yourself," Myles said purposefully, his snide commented aimed at Halle.

Halle shot him tight, sarcastic smile in retaliation. She went to flip him off too, but her father came up behind her and his hand closed around hers, keeping her from swearing. Nick Brewster looked at her, giving her a knowing stare, to which Halle only rolled her eyes at.

"Okay," Halle said. "I'll take them." She stood from the bar stool and glanced at her mother across the counter. "Anything else?"

"Oh — Oh!" Luisa flitted around the kitchen, grabbing the glass jug full of fresh orange from the side, and handed it over to her daughter. She smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

Biting back a witty comment, Halle put on a smile and took the juice. She carried both it and the bowl of strawberries to the dining table. She saw Myles was already sat down, busy texting, while Riley was smothering her pancakes with maple syrup.

"You are aware that the syrup's the side, right?" Halle asked jokingly.

"It's sugar!" Riley said merrily, eyes wide as she already started on the incline of a inevitable sugar-rush.

"Well, that's not my problem," Halle muttered.

Nick came into the room soon after. He grinned at his family, his three children all sat down together. "Morning, kids," he greeted. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Riley's head. "You want some pancakes with that, Riles?"

"Alright, alright, everyone sit," declared Luisa Brewster. "I have more pancakes now that everyone is up and downstairs." She placed the large plate down in the centre of the table, smiling like she didn't know the reason why they were all sat at the table that morning. "Let's eat."

"It looks amazing, sweetie. Thanks," said Nick, appreciative of his wife. He adored his wife's cooking, but he always thought breakfasts were her specialty. When they first started dating, he dreamt often about her maple-bacon and spiced eggs. Then, they had children and pancakes became the go-to family breakfast no matter the occasion. Even if wasn't necessarily his favourite, Nick made do because it made his children happy.

Luisa was hardly sat down two minutes — and Halle had only just dug into her food — when cheerleading was brought up. "So, I spoke to Coach Rhodes," Luisa began.

Myles let out a loud groan. "Do I really have to be here for this?"

"— Yes."

"— No." Halle spoke over her mother, causing the woman to shoot her a look.

"This is a family breakfast," Luisa pointed out.

"No, it's not," Myles argued. "This is you trying to make Halle sit through a serious conversation about her fighting where she can't talk back because we're here and bad behaviour spoils the pancakes. Come on, Mom, we ain't kids anymore," he said, as nicely as he could.

"Myles, go," said Halle after. When her mother gave her a stern look, Halle quipped back, "I don't even wanna be here, don't make him sit through it as well. Myles, just go."

"Thank you," her brother said. He made a prayer with his hands, mouthing the same words again. "Love ya." He then picked up a couple pancakes, taking a bite out of one, and then skipped out on breakfast with his family.

Seeing that was how it was, Luisa stopped eating herself. She clasped her hands together and rested her chin on them. "Riley, honey," she started sweetly, "if you wanna leave too and eat in the front room, you can."

"Is this where the food is staying?" the eight-year-old asked.

"Yes..."

"Then, this is where I'm staying," Riley replied. She cut a large triangle out of her pancake before she shoved it into her mouth, chewing in happiness. A little sugar-dance took over her body as she did so, seemingly unbothered by everything going on around her.

"Ignoring that," Luisa said. She moved her attention back to her eldest daughter and mentioned, "I called Coach Rhodes this morning and we had a chat about your future on the team." Halle was fully prepared for her mother to fight tooth-and-claw to get her back on the team, but Halle was certainly not expecting what came next. "And I suggested you take a couple weeks to think about what you want," Luisa revealed, surprising her daughter greatly. "Maybe—" She sighed in defeat. "I know I put too much pressure on you, and, honey," Luisa reached for Halle's hand and squeezed it lovingly, "if you don't want it anymore, that's okay."

Halle felt vast relief wash down over her. "Thank you," she breathed out. "Thank you." Halle nodded and then said, "I do wanna compete still and wanna be on the team, I just maybe don't want UPenn."

"And that's okay, too," said Luisa. "There is plenty of other colleges that would be a great fit for you."

"There is another thing," Nick reminded, and both his wife and daughter looked at him. "While your mother and your coach came to the same agreement, Principal Hackett hasn't," he informed Halle. "He's keeping you from the team until he thinks you're ready."

"And when's that?" Halle asked. Suddenly, all the weight on her chest returned and she was itching to fight back. "What if he decides I'm never ready? That I shouldn't ever get my spot back? I wasted two months healing from broken ribs to not only get back to the level I was on but better — stronger. That's ridiculous," said Halle. "I hope you told him where he could stick—"

"Ah, ah, ah!" said Luisa, raising her voice over Halle's. She shot Halle a hard look, her eyes briefly flickering over to her youngest, who was still engrossed in her pancakes.

Nick gave a sigh and said, "We don't really have a leg to stand on. I'm afraid with your track-record, he's in the right to refuse to put you back on the team."

"So, it's his way or no-way — great," Halle muttered. She then took a leaf out of her sister's book and shoved food into her mouth, chewing hard. For every step Halle took forward, she was hurled back two more. At that point, Halle didn't need A to mess up her life, everyone else in it — including herself — were doing a fine enough job at it without A's help.

Although, knowing A was loitering, waiting for the precise moment to attack, didn't leave Halle any more assured. Halle shared just as much with Emily when they met up at school later. At the very least, she wasn't the only one going through a hard time with the devil and its game.

"Hanna's right, Em. No one owns you, not even A. The bitch is just trying to scare you," Halle told Emily as the pair made their way through the school hallway. She and the girl gave each other their phones back, after trading their latest texts with another.

"Well, it's working," Emily replied honestly. "I mean, Ahas my bloodwork, and who knows what the bitch is planning for you now you're not on the team. That text is threat, Halle," Emily warned gravely.

"All A-texts are threats," countered Halle.

"Did you talk to Coach Rhodes yet? She might reconsider your suspension, now they're going to State," Emily said.

"I'm still suspended," said Halle. "They only just placed, she had to change the routine without me there. Coach knows she need me if she stands any chance of getting us to Nationals, but it's not her decision." Dryly, Halle told her friend, "Principal Hackett is the one keeping me from the team." She rolled her eyes and mentioned, "He said I'm not a team player, that it would be bad example to put me back on the team."

"You shouldn't have hit her," Emily said.

Halle stopped her by grabbing Emily's arm, pulling them both to a halt in the hallway. Firmly, she said, "Em, no one, I repeat no one talks smack about my girl and doesn't get her ass served for it. You're my best friend, I got you for life."

Emily smiled widely in response. "I got you, too."

"Good, you better," replied Halle, laughing a little.

Over her friend's shoulder, Halle then took notice of Jason. He came down the hallway talking to a student. Emily saw him also, her immediately turning to Halle and asking lowly, "What's he doing here?"

Jason made eye-contact with Halle as he passed by. He smiled warmly at her, his hand coming up in a small wave. Halle offered him a smile in return, her heart racing within her chest. She tried her best to pretend she didn't feel it when she turned to face Emily again. Halle said, "He counsels kids on substance abuse."

"Why is he waving at you?" Emily asked her, confused.

"Could be several reasons, Em," Halle said. "There's the fact we had dinner the other night. Or... Could be he was kinda there when I threw a chair at a wall," she revealed sheepishly. She now felt bad, at least about that outburst.

Emily's eyes bulged. "You what?"

"It was after I got suspended, and I was angry," Halle justified. "I hit a wall with it, not somebody's face if that helps."

"In what world would that help?" Emily shot back, baffled by the suggestion.

"Hopefully this one," Halle said shortly.

"Is something going on between you two that you haven't told me about?" Emily asked, suspicious. The last time Halle was telling them about Jason, she told them about how she played with him over that summer to get to Alison — that he was the one recording her in that video. Yet, Halle noticed how Emily said 'me' and not 'us', and the last time Halle told Emily about Jason was when she was confronted over having dinner with him.

Maybe it was safe to tell Emily. Maybe Emily could keep this secret.

"No..." said Halle, feeling her cheeks go warm.

Any amusement Emily might have got through teasing vanished. Quick, Emily picked up on it and asked, "Then why are you blushing?"

"I am?" Halle's hands went to her cheeks, covering her face. They were hot. "Oh, my god, I am."

"Why are you blushing, Halle?" Emily asked again, more serious this time.

"I had a dream about him last night," Halle confessed before she started to walk away.

Slightly stunned, Emily pondered what her best friend had said for a brief moment and then took off after her. "What kind of a dream?" Emily asked her.

Halle kept her eyes ahead, trying not to think too deep into the details. "The kind that involved us kissing in a bed, naked." She grimaced as she said it out loud, not daring to look at Emily's reaction. "No more needs to be said."

"Oh, my god! You had a sex dream about Jason!" exclaimed Emily, making Halle stop again.

Shushing Emily, Halle said in a hushed whisper, "Can we not to this here? Anyone could hear us."

"How could you do that?" Emily asked, whispering too.

"I can't control what my brain does when I'm sleeping, Em," argued Halle firmly. "It's not possible. My brain can't even produce the right amount of chemicals when I'm awake!"

Emily dropped her voice low, "Halle, he might be a killer."

"I don't believe he is," Halle defended. "Besides, Jason is no more dangerous than we thought Toby was a few months ago."

"Okay, Toby was never linked to a weapon that could have dented Ali's skull," Emily retorted.

"No, the police found a cardigan stashed in his closet with her blood on it!" raved Halle madly, making sure to keep her voice quiet as not to drawn in onlookers. "There was plenty of people in and out of the DiLaurentis house that summer, not just Jason."

"Look," Emily sighed and continued, "I know Eric being away at college is really messing with you, especially after your diagnosis."

"This has nothing to do with my bipolar," snapped Halle.

"No, this have everything to do with you wanting to play with fire," Emily shot. "You have a good thing with Eric, you love each other. So, why are you dreaming about Jason when you have Eric?"

"Because I don't have Eric," admitted Halle sadly. "Things are really strained right now between us and honestly I'm not even sure I care. I've spent since the fashion show to now dodging texts and playing phone-tag with him because I don't wanna have to deal with it. And it's like a constant lie with him, having to keep this and A all a secret. and I can't do it anymore — I can't do it," Halle confessed. After her body gave a groan, finally released of the built-up tension from carrying that on her chest.

Emily told her friend seriously, "None of us like lying, okay? But you guys, you love each other. Do not let A ruin your relationship. That boy adores you, you shouldn't have to lose that because of A." She suggested, "Drive out to the city this weekend and surprise Eric. Try to reconnect, you'll be back to normal after that, you'll see."

Halle nodded, seeing her friend's point, though she wasn't sure what normal was for her anymore. Halle wasn't even sure it was what she even wanted to hear, not when the voice niggling at her, telling her to end it, was growing louder. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Em," she said, sending her a small, appreciative smile. "Can we keep this conversation between us?" Halle asked. "I don't wanna face all the questions."

"If you promise to stay away from Jason," Emily agreed. She gave Halle a look, telling her she was serious. "No more waving in the hallway or dinners at the Grille, okay? I know you don't think he's dangerous, but he could be, Halle. I don't wanna be visiting you in the hospital, again."

A wasn't the one ruining her relationship. Halle was.

•

At lunch, Spencer was filling the girls in on the latest she found out about why Jenna Marshall was at the hospital when Emily was there. Spencer told them, "She's getting tested to see if she qualifiers for a prosthetic cornea transplant."

"English, please," Aria requested.

"They're gonna see if they can replace the damaged part of her eyes," Spencer said.

"What are we talking about?" asked Hanna, clueless.

"Jenna," Aria stated.

Hanna whipped her head around to see Jenna eating her lunch alone. Grossed out, she exclaimed, "They're taking out her eyeballs?"

"No, it's not the whole eyeball," Spencer said. "It's just the flap over the pupil."

Halle scrunched up her nose, pushing away her chip-packet. "And I'm done," she said, grimacing.

"Yeah, can we not talk about eye-flaps while eating, please?" Emily asked, slightly put off her lunch too.

"But do they really think that this can work?" Aria asked Spencer eagerly.

"I don't know." Spencer glanced over to Jenna before she explained, "Toby said she still need to take more tests to see if she qualifies, but it's possible."

"Wait, so if Jenna gets her sight back, does that mean we're off the hook for...?" Hanna questioned.

"No, we're still gonna burn in hell for that one," Halle said dryly.

Spencer added, "If you break somebody's leg with a baseball bat, even if that leg heals, you could be charged with assault."

"She wouldn't come for us," Emily said. "She still thinks we have Ali's tape."

"But we don't," Spencer pointed out, "and that'll be much easier for her to figure out if she can see."

Aria lowered her voice, "Look, guys, maybe it she can see again, we can stop all this whispering." Somehow, Aria was still hopeful for a truce. "She'll lose her taste for revenge."

"Or gain it," Halle returned. She wasn't so hopeful. Halle was bitter and a bitch, just like Jenna was.

"It's already so bad," Emily complained. "How can it get worse?" she asked, impossible for her to imagine anything more that A could do to them.

Halle, on the other hand, overthought often. She shot back, "A will have a fully-functioning assistant in the shape of an ex-blind girl that we helped blind."

"And she will be able to aim a gun," said Spencer bluntly.

"That too," Halle instantly agreed.

Hanna sighed and said, "They're right. Jenna's scary enough with four senses. Can you imagine what she's gonna be like with all five?" she asked, and the five wished they'd never find out.

•

After school on the Friday, Halle took on Emily's suggestion and drove out to the city. She went to the UPenn Campus and surprised her boyfriend. Eric was happy enough to see her. He instantly lit up — he'd been wanting her to come out and see him for a while now — and promised to show her great time, which meant showing her off to everyone he could possibly introduce her to. Granted, they were all people who would prove to be useful for Halle to know if she ever did join him at UPenn.

That night, Halle laid awake in the dark. Her bare back faced Eric as she tried her best to let sleep take her. She was tired, she knew that. Her body knew that, but still she couldn't sleep. Her racing thoughts kept her awake, planning perfectly how she could keep up with the pretending. She was breaking under the pressure, the weight of the last year collapsing down on her chest. Her life was make-believe. Never before had Halle felt more like a doll than in that moment, and she finally understood why A found it so easy to play with her.

Halle was already in a dollhouse of her own creation.

"The squad captain liked you," came Eric's voice. He spoke in a whisper; his breath on her skin made goosebumps appear down her spine. "She thought you were good." He kissed her shoulder. "You'd fit in here," he said. "Halle?"

"Yeah?" She kept her voice quiet.

"I wish you were here all the time," Eric confessed. "This is the closest we've been in months."

With her back to him, praying for sleep to take her — this was the closest she and her boyfriend had been in months.

How sad.

Halle did her best to smile, turning her head to see him in the dark. She pouted her lips and let Eric reach down to kiss her. Still, she said nothing. Her heart broke for him, but it didn't beat for him.

Eric pressed his head to her back, his arms wrapped around her body to pull her closer. "You really can't stay longer?"

"I have to leave in the morning, the whole suspension from the squad-thing has my parents crazy," Halle told him, lying. "I'll come back when I next can."

Softly, Eric said, "It's not like you to risk your place on that team, Hal. I feel something changing. I feel you changing, and I can't do anything to stop it. I feel you slipping away. You're not like you anymore."

Jason's words repeated in her head. You're different from before.

Only, Jason meant it in a good way. Eric meant in the way of saying she wasn't who he needed her to be. Her entire family meant it that way, too.

"You still love me?" she asked him, her voice smaller than it had been.

"Of course." Eric kissed her shoulder again and said with smile she felt against her naked skin, "You're my girl." He was met with silence and for the first time, Eric felt scared her might lose her. He asked Halle, "You're still my girl?"

"I'm still your girl," Halle promised him, guilty and untruthful. Halle was never his girl — never completely. And she never would be as long as Jason still had that summer. Jason had that part of her that no one else had. In the dark of her boyfriend's dorm-room, Halle was terrified that no one ever will have it other than Jason DiLaurentis.

Jason.

She dreamt of Jason again.

Halle dreamt of him in the place of her boyfriend. Eric's face faded into Jason's. His hands on her body became Jason's hands. His breath was now Jason's. It was Jason next to her, knowing how to bend her to his will. He knew every edge of her soul, touched her dark parts and made light shine through the cracks.

"You can't stop thinking about me, can you?" Jason asked her, his hot breath on the shell of her ear.

The doorbell made Halle's shoot open. This was her third Jason-dream. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw his face. She saw herself with him. Sometimes it was flashes of them that summer, sometimes it was her imagination entirely. Either way, Halle knew dream-Jason was right.

Halle couldn't stop thinking about him.

It was Emily who awoke her from her mid-afternoon nap; Halle had crashed the moment she returned home after a rough night's sleep with Eric. The swimmer was now pacing back and forth at the foot of Halle's bed. The loose floorboard creaked every time Emily trod on it, and it was often. Halle was sat up in bed watching, listening to her friend's unsettled rant.

"Quinn told Samara what she saw, I know it!"

"What could she have told her?" Halle asked.

"I must have looked like I was giving Zoe my number," Emily said.

"Em, you did give Zoe your number," reminded Halle, having just heard what happened — from out of Emily's mouth.

Emily groaned, "I'm better at buffing at cards."

Halle sighed and said, "You need to call Samara back. She already called you twice since being here."

"Because I'm afraid to pick up!" Emily snapped quickly.

In an attempt to calm her friend down, Halle said calmly, "Just call her back. If Quinn did say something, you need to squash it because this — this makes it look worse by not talking to her. All you've gotta say is that it was you trying to make friends with her friends and Zoe seemed like the one who'd give you the chance before the others."

A heavy sigh came out of Emily, understanding fully where Halle was coming from. What Halle said made a lot of sense. Realisation hit Emily slowly. "Hey, that's a really good lie. How did you think of that?"

"I'm not the best at lying, but I do know how to tell a pretty convincing one," Halle reasoned.

Emily took a seat on the edge of Halle's bed and said sincerely, "I'm sorry for barging over. How was your night with Eric?" she asked.

"Good, I think," Halle said. "Just... I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, yeah? That kinda night?" Emily teased, smirking.

Halle chuckled and said, "No, I can't sleep if I'm not in my own bed."

"So, no more Jason?" Emily asked curiously. She saw Halle subtly shake her head and Emily's eyes widened. "Another Jason dream?"

"Try two more," Halle confessed. She groaned loudly and lifted a pillow to bury her head into, groaning once more. "Why do I keep dreaming about him?" She dropped the pillow from her face and said, "I mean, I had a nice time with Eric. We had fun."

"But you keep dreaming about Jason," Emily reminded her.

"Em, it means nothing," said Halle seriously. "It's only a few dreams. I'm not actually thinking about him like that."

"When people show up in your dreams, it's not because they want something from you." Emily told her, "It's because you want something from them."

"I don't want anything from Jason," said Halle, doing her best to assure herself and her friend of that. "I'm sure I don't."

•

At the Grille, Halle was just about leave after her shift finished when the the door opened. A bright smile broke out on her face. "Hey, Stalker," she greeted Caleb, jacket on and a takeout bag in hand. "if you want food, I only have a slice of cake so we'll have to share." When she got no reaction, Halle met his glossy eyes and worry washed over her face. "Caleb, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong," said Caleb honestly. "I called my mom." He wore a smile, but his eyes were tearful.

"Oh!" Whatever it was she thought, Halle didn't expect to hear that instead. She put aside the bag and moved to grab his hand. "Come, Sit." Halle stumbled over what to say, blindside by what he laid on her. She guided him down opposite at the table, sitting to talk. Halle held Caleb's hand in hers, enveloping them up as she smiled reassuringly, urging him to talk. "Tell me about it. Tell me about her. How'd it go?" she asked, wanting to know everything.

"We talked for ages, it was really great," Caleb told her happily, smiling through his tears. "She's really funny, Halle, you'd love her."

"Did she say why? Why she left you?" Halle asked him.

Caleb shook his head, swallow the lump in his throat. "We didn't wanna ruin it," he said. "She did apologise for not finding me sooner, that she always wanted to find me when she was settled."

"Caleb," Halle began seriously. She squeezed him hands, holding them just a little bit tighter.

"That woman hired a freaking private investigator to come and find you. She wants you in her life, she'd be crazy not to." Halle smiled again, unbelievably happy for her friend. "So," she asked, "what's gonna happen now?"

"I'm gonna go meet her," Caleb answered. His teary eyes held Halle's gaze from across the small table, watching herswater gradually as realisation sunk in.

"That's why you're here, ain't it? You're saying goodbye," Halle said.

"It's not goodbye, I'm coming back," Caleb promised.

"Does Hanna know? Have you spoken to her?" Halle asked next.

"No," he said. "No, I'm going there now. I just had to speak to you first." The more Caleb spoke, the more emotional he got explaining. Even thinking about saying goodbye was tearing him up. "I know Hanna's gonna be the hardest goodbye, and I'm probably not gonna want to go through it again after, but I knew I wanted to see you, so—"

"Don't," Halle said, softly cutting him off. She did her best to smile, ignoring the water creeping over her eyes. "You don't need to say anything, I know. I get it, and I'm so happy for you, Caleb. So happy."

"I'm gonna miss you, Cheery," Caleb said.

Halle's voice cracked. "I think I'm gonna miss you more, Stalker."

Holding back tears, Caleb mentioned, "I should get going."

"Oh-- Oh, okay." Halle kept nodding, blinking back the waterworks. She stood with him, her hand still holding his. Without another word, she let go and threw her arms around his neck. She held on tightly, not wanting to let go. Halle squeezed her eyes shut, feeling Caleb hold her back. She gave herself ten seconds with him. She thought it was reasonable. Ten seconds. Ten long seconds, and then Halle let him go. Halle stepped back, both of them close to crying. "You'll call me when you land?"

Caleb nodded. "Yeah, I'll call you."

"Okay, go." Halle gave him a pained smile, forcing her tears to stay back. She playfully pushed his arm, urging him to leave. "Go, I'll see you soon."

Quickly, Caleb came back in and planted a kiss to her temple. He held it for a moment before he tore himself away, heading out of the door fast.

Not wanting to see someone walk away from her — leave her — Halle turned her back to the door. She cupped a hand over her mouth, muffling the sob that escaped her. The moment he was gone, she broke down. Tears spilled from her eyes, coating her cheeks; her body trembled as she choked back another cry. She didn't like it when people left now. It had never affected her before. After Alison, Halle didn't show much much emotion, but since the girls entered her life again and Halle started to form unlikely friendships as well, she became the kind of girl that cried when someone left. She was too afraid they'd never walk back through the door again.

Alison wouldn't.

When the tears soaked up, enough to clear her vision, Halle reached up her hand and dabbed away the wetness. She sniffled, pinching her nose to wipe away any unwanted mess. Halle composed herself as best as she could and plucked up her takeout bag, With the weight of the cake slice, Halle decided she wasn't hungry anymore.

Finally, Halle exited the Grille. She pulled out her keys, looking both way before crossing the road towards where she parked her car. On her way, the phone in her bag started to ring. Juggling the items in her hands, Halle held her keys looped over her pinkie-finger as she went through her handbag for her mobile. Aria's name flashed on the screen. So, Halle sucked in a sharp breath and pretended like moments ago she hadn't been in a state.

"Hey, Aria, what's up?" Halle answered.

Apparently, Halle wasn't good at covering her crying as Aria instantly picked up on something. "Are you okay? You sound like you have cold?" Aria said.

"No, uh, it's cold out," Halle justified. "I'm just walking to my car."

"Oh, okay, uh..." Unsure of how to broach the subject, Aria just came out with it. "So, Jason stopped by earlier." Aria got straight down to the subject at hand; there was no tip-toeing around it.

"He started asking questions about you, if I had seen you."

"Aria, why are you calling me with this? It's not like it means anything, he's probably just asking after me because we grabbed dinner together," Halle reasoned.

"Yeah, but he... He spoke to a youth worker about Mike, okay?" Aria blurted out abruptly. "He's kinda stepping outside of the whole just Ali's brother thing and inserting himself into ours lives."

Halle stopped just as she reached her car. "He did what?" she asked, stunned. "What did you do?

"I lied," Aria said. "I made up some excuse and pushed him out of my house. I'm starting to think he's only interested in Mike because I'm your friend and he's interested in you," Aria said, her speech at an increased speed.

"Aria—"

"Look, I talked to him after the fashion show, and he more or less said he came back for you," Aria admitted to her for the first time, rambling on with everything she had collective gathered. "Jason said he came back to find happiness here, and I'm guessing he meant he wanted that with you."

"That doesn't make any sense." Halle asked, "Why would he come back for me? He's Ali's brother. Nothing more, nothing less," she added, trying to convince her friend further of her lie. She had been doing it a lot recently.

"Halle, what if That Summer meant more to him than you?" Aria asked her.

Closing her eyes, the guilt came sweeping in again. "Aria, I don't wanna talk about Jason right now. I've just had some bad news and right now, I just wanna go home and sleep."

Aria's concern popped up. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"Yeah, and yeah," Halle answered. Her voice wavered again while her eyes started to well up. She coughed, clearing her throat, and said, "I don't really wanna talk about it. Uh, it's not really about me."

"Do you wanna come over? We can watch bad chick-flicks," Aria suggested.

"No, but, uh, would you wanna grab coffee tomorrow morning?" Halle suggested instead, feeling she might be more open to socializing after a good night's sleep.

"Yeah, sure," Aria said, happy enough to agree.

Halle only just put the phone down, thinking she had a break from everyone outside of herself, when she heard her name being called. Why did everyone want her tonight? All Halle wanted to do right now was curl up in bed and cry into her pillow, not be stopping every two minutes to talk. Halle turned her head, spotting Jason's convertible slowing down as he neared her and the sidewalk. He pulled up, cranking down the handbrake.

"Taking a study break?" Jason asked, only to confuse her.

"No, I just finished a shift. Why?" said Halle.

"It's just Aria said you were studying together earlier, practically kicked me out of her house," Jason mentioned. "History, with Mr Banks."

Utterly baffled, Halle's brows knitted together. "But Mr Banks teaches Biology."

"Now, that's what I said," Jason replied. He began to get out of his car. "Well, either way, sounds like more fun than what I've been up to. Had to buy a padlock for my shed. Somebody broke in today," he said, shutting the door.

"Really?" Halle questioned, brows raised. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to break into his shed. She had been in that shed and there was nothing more than two old couches in there two summers ago.

"Yeah," he sighed. Jason joined her on the sidewalk, his feet dragging against the cement.

"Well, it's not Mike," Halle said, "if that's what you're getting at. Aria said he's not left his bedroom since Thursday."

Jason met her eyes, sincerely telling her, "I didn't go there." There was a brief pause before he spoke again. "Listen, I'm glad I bumped into you. I was hoping we could talk." As he talked, Jason spoke also with his hands, extending them out, engaging her physically in the conversation. He was invested, meaning every word he said to her. He said each one with purpose and conviction; he needed her to hear and listen. "Look, I'm sure Aria's already told you by now, and I hope I didn't step out of bounds earlier with your friend. I really was trying to help."

"She think you're only helping Mike because she's my friend," Halle relayed to him. "That you're doing it for me." In her hand, Halle's phone started to vibrate again. She declined the call without checking the name, too involved in the conversation she was having already.

"And I understand why she thinks that, she's not wrong." Jason continued, "The truth is, I do care about what happens to Mike and your friends, but... I also care about you," he admitted, leaving Halle slightly stunned at hearing it said so openly. "Look, when I drove you home that Halloween, I had no idea how important you'd become to me."

"Jason..."

He didn't say anything else. Jason bridged the gap between them. He hooked his finger under her chin and brought her lips to to meet him. He kissed her, gently. Jason was tender and sweet with her, his lips moving perfectly against hers. Halle was touch-starved, given the thing she had been craving the most. Two twin flames met and the fire irrupted within the pit of her stomach, setting her whole body alight. The moment his lips hit hers, everything else melted away. The world had gone hazy. It was dull, black and white, while she and Jason were the only thing in colour. She focused in on Jason, and Halle kissed him back.

Only when she felt his other hand come up to cup her face, did Halle remember it was wrong. Her eyes flashed open, wide and startled. She reached out a hand and pressed it against his chest, pushing him back. Jason looked at her, confused. She had kissed him back. He felt it.

"Why?" she asked him. She sounded small — smaller than she wanted to sound around him. Everything about Jason made Halle feel weak. She would make herself feel physically tiny if it meant he would stop looking at her like that, like he could grow to love her. "Why now? I need to know, Jason," Halle gave out. "I need to know why you came back now. Why not a year ago? Or after Alison's memorial? Or two months ago? Why now?"

"I wanted to tell you how I felt," Jason explained simply. "And because I'm ready now, and I came back on the off chance that you might feel the same way."

Halle shook her head, stepping back from him. "I can't do this."

"Why not?" Jason asked.

"You know why, I'm not available," Halle stated.

"But you know that we're supposed to be together," he defended, his voice stronger, more fierce than she had heard it in a long time. "I knew it two summers ago and so did you." He pointed at her, accusatory. "You knew exactly what it was back then, and it scared you so you ran — and I ran, too." Jason took a step closer to her, narrowing the space between them again. "But you said yourself that I would've fought for you if Ali hadn't gone missing that night, you knew I would."

"Yeah, and it terrified me," Halle snapped hotly. "The way I felt about you, even back then, terrified me. It still terrifies me, Jason," she stressed. Halle had never felt more passionate about something in all of her life than she did over this. "I told you months ago that the way you make me feel scares me , because I feel out of control — and I don't wanna feel like that. I told you that, Jason."

Still, Jason persisted. He continued to push her for more. "Why?"

"Because I was scared it was everything I never had before!" Halle finally exclaimed, truth flooding into her words. "Something happened that summer, something changed, and it wasn't a game anymore. And I panicked, okay? I panicked! I put my walls up and I pretended like it never happened. That it was all in my head — because living with the fear of it only being in my head was better — safer! — than it actually meaning something. That I could've fallen for you back then."

Halle heaved a heavy breath, having gotten it off her chest. She sighed and resigned to the fact she had nothing to hide anymore. She was completely bare, with no walls up to guard her. Placing her hand on her stomach, Halle steadied herself under his piercing stare. An intense look of longing passed between them and something shifted.

"Look, everything I want, including you, is right here in Rosewood," Jason told her boldly. "I know you're not available, but you can't tell me that Eric knows you the way I know, Brewster." He was confident in his statement, every fibre of him believed it wholeheartedly.

"You don't know that," Halle argued, "how could you know that?"

"I do know that — I know that because no one else knows me the way you do, so you can't tell me you don't feel the same way," Jason reasonable strongly, and Halle had no more arguments.

The girl gave a resigned sigh. "You're right, I can't," she said. "But that doesn't mean that it's right or it's okay." Halle shook her head, stepping away as water threatened her eyes once again that night. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I won't cheat on my boyfriend, I ain't that girl."

Then, Jason watched as Halle fled for her car, his heart sinking as she went.

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