2.22

•

"Father Knows Best"

Halle sat on the ledge of her bedroom window. With one foot propped and her head leant against the frame, wrapped up in a towel from her morning shower, she smoked a joint. She knew she shouldn't — that she was taking a pretty big risk by lighting up at home — but she couldn't deal with Emily's judging stares, and Halle couldn't handle it any more.

For a while, Halle could pretend she had worked through the mass of anxieties on her chest. At least until the joint was smoked through and she came down from its healing properties. Then, when reality sank in again, Halle would bottle it up again. She'd keep it all inside her head and really keep inside of it — petrified somebody was going to pull the rug out from under her. The game was unfamiliar and scary, and Halle hated how helpless it made her. So, Halle went back to the one thing wasn't those things or made her feel that way, and that was the weed.

A heavy knock on her door startled Halle. She jumped and almost slipped, having to grip onto the frame with two hands, the blunt between her lips.

"Halle — breakfast in five minutes!" called out her mother, knocking again.

Halle plucked out the joint and squashed it out on the wall outside the window. She then threw it far, into the shrubbery surrounding the house.

"Halle!"

"I'm coming!" Halle yelled back. "Just gotta dry my hair, down in a minute."

After getting ready quickly, Halle shut the window and blew out the candle that she lit before her shower. She hoped the smell would mask all the funkiness of the weed, and as long as Halle played sober, it would work.

Morning in the Brewster Household had changed overnight. The usually tense and sparse kitchen now was full. It was only like that briefly or when one of them was in trouble and mandatory family breakfast was then enforced. Myles sat at the kitchen-island with Riley, eating breakfast with her like he used to; their parents flitted around each other, perfectly in sync — if one went one way, the other went the other.

Halle came in with a grin on her face, skirting around everybody else to pinch a triangular piece of toast from the rack and then making her way over to get coffee.

"So, Hal, are you excited?" Nick Brewster asked his daughter.

With the slice of toast in her mouth, mid-pour of her morning coffee, Halle's brows went up. She lifted her hand and tore the toast, leaving a small piece in her mouth. Chewing, she asked, "Excited for what?"

"The father-daughter dance," Nick said. "Don't tell me you forgot?"

"Oh, yeah." Halle was a little slow. Her brain ticked slowly over the information. She was feeling a little dazed and felt the cogs in her head whir into action. "Must've," she said, with a shrug. She smiled and raised the cup to her lips. "But, yeah, sure, excited is a word."

Myles chuckled and joked, "Yeah, a word Halle wouldn't use to describe the father-daughter dance."

"You're still up for going, aren't you?" Nick questioned Halle, a slight frown on his face. Nick Brewster already felt like Halle had grown up too fast over the past two years — much more than he wanted. He just craved to have one night with his daughter, one where he could still imagine she had some say over her life.

Halle nodded and answered, "Yeah, I'm still up for it," which caused her father to smile in return.

"Ooh, eight o'clock," Luisa announced abruptly. She took only last sip of her coffee and then clattered the cup down into the sink. "I have to love you and leave you because—" she moved to kissed her son's head, and then Riley's afterwards, "I have a train to catch."

"You visiting Nana?" questioned Halle, picking up her head. At the mention of a train, Halle immediately knew what it meant.

"Yeah, I thought I pop in and see her, it's been a while," Luisa explained. She smiled sweetly at her eldest daughter, making her way over to her, and said, "No need to worry, it's nothing to worry about." As she kissed Halle's head, Luisa added, "You know, I really think those meds are working." She played with the curls framing Halle's face. "You're so much calmer and less tense lately. I really think they've got the dosage right this time."

Halle hid her need to scoff and plastered on a smile for her mother. "Yeah, I think so too." Luckily, before it was obvious that he smile was fake, Halle's phone chimed in her pocket. "Sorry — it's probably Spencer," she lied, "we have a presentation third period."

"Oh, well, good luck," Luisa said. She tucked the stray curls behind Halle's ear and smiled widely. "Let me know how it goes, I'll pick you up after Cheer."

"Okay."

Halle watched as her parents said goodbye with a quick peck and then her mother left the kitchen. Nick tried rallying his children, reminding them that they also needed to hurry up or they were going to be late, while Halle was busy checking her phone.

DO YOUR MOM AND DAD KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING MURDER MOVIES? BET IT WOULD KILL THEM TO FIND OUT.--A.

A chill shot down Halle's back. Any steady feeling she had vanished with one text. She chewed the inside of her cheek the whole car ride to school and almost lost her head when her brother had to call her back because she forgot her gym-bag. Halle was in a tizz, stressed and shaking.

"Hey, did you guys—?" Halle's question was cut off the moment she found her friends and was met with their cell-phones and worried gazes. "You got it too?" she asked. Aria, Hanna and Spencer stood around in the courtyard, between two pillars, as they were already discussing the latest text.

"Is A talking about the NAT video?" Aria asked them.

"Of course," Hanna stated. "A knows we have their cellphone."

Emily came over, her phone in her hand and a fearful look on her face. "You guy get that text from A?"

"Yes!" Hanna answered sharply, as Emily came to stand beside her and Aria. "And now Melissa's threatening to kill our parents," she added, aiming her words pointed at Spencer; her arms folded over her body.

Spencer dropped her voice, speaking through a clenched jaw. "I already told you, Melissa can't be A."

"No — Alison was getting texts from the law firm your sister interned at," argued Hanna.

"Yes, but she explained that," Spencer protested pleadingly. "Melissa just wanted Ali to leave Ian alone."

"So, what?" Aria shot, "What, I got chased by a hobo for nothing?"

While Spencer's brow furrowed in confusion, Emily was already poking a hole in Melissa's defence. Emily said, "That still doesn't explain why Melissa got into Garrett's car."

"Do you think that Garrett told her about the video?" Aria asked. Concern consumed her voice. "Because if she knows that she's on it, and if she is A—"

Spencer cut her off. "You guys, my sister is not A."

"Why not?" Halle asked stubbornly. "Why are you so certain your sister wouldn't do this?"

"Because I— I watched her fall apart when we found Ian's body," Spencer reasoned, causing the four to exchange looks of deeper pity. "She had no idea that he was dead. She wouldn't just text herself from her dead husband's phone and then lose it like that. Could we—?" She stopped and exhaled forcibly. She begged her friends, "Could we please just breathe for a second?"

"No," Hanna said, baffled that Spencer would even suggest it. Hanna argued firmly, "We have a video of four people who could've killed Alison. Okay — they were in her bedroom the night she died." She snapped, "Can't we get in trouble for withdrawing evidence?"

"I think you mean withholding," Halle corrected.

"Look," Aria was softer, more relaxed than the others. "Spencer's right. We've jumped the gun before and we've gone to the cops."

"And we ended up looking guilty," Emily finished.

"Yeah, and they already think we stole something from the morgue," Spencer reminded, adding to the list of things the police were stacking up against them. "I don't think that we should give this to them."

"Then, what's the point?" Halle snapped.

"I'm sorry, what?" Spencer asked.

"What's the point?" repeated Halle. "I mean, we're spending all this time trying to crack A's phone for this video — endangering Caleb while we're at it—" she stuck up a finger each time she listed off a new reason, "lying to everybody we love — and for what?" Halle threw her hands up in defeat. "What's the point? We never give anything we have that's good over to the police, things we can actually prove, so why are we bothering?"

"Because we need to find out who killed Ali," Emily gave strongly.

"Do we?" Halle asked hopelessly. "Because right now it just feels like a game that we're never gonna win."

The weight of Halle's words hit them hard. She said what everyone else was too afraid of — the thing they all dreaded.

"Look," Spencer began again, breaking their discomfort. "I know that I'm asking a lot, but I think that I might have a way to find out more." She asked them, "So, can you guys just give me a chance to get into this?"

With a few understanding nods, their answer was gifted to Spencer. She'd get to ask the questions she wanted first before they did anything — no police yet. Admittedly, Halle hoped they would owe her the same time to sort things if her family were involved. Halle just thought it was grating on her now. She didn't see the point in solving the mystery anymore — they were too many loose ends and unanswered questions. Ones that only one person would be able to give, and that person was dead.

"Halle Brewster, please report to the office. Halle Brewster, report to the principal's office."

Aria looked to the cheerleader in confusion. "What did you do?"

"How do I know? I've been here with you guys the whole time," countered Halle, shrugging. She tucked her phone into her bag and said, "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

•

On unknown territory, Halle was careful to make herself look presentable. She had never — not once, even with all her fighting — been summoned to the principal's office via the sound system. She made sure to pull down her skirt more, impossibly trying to fix its length last minute. She took a deep breath and went to walk straight in, through the already surprisingly open door.

She was startled to a stop. Her feet halted in the doorway, noticing Jason first. He was sat forward on the bench seat, up against the wall with his forearms rested on his thighs. It frightened her, terrified that he was there. That terror grew into bewilderment when she slowly stepped into the office to see Principal Hackett behind his deck but also Coach Rhodes stood near the large filing cabinet and her father, who was sitting in one of the two chairs placed in front of the desk.

"Okaaay..." Halle drew out the word, unsure and baffled by the intensity. "What's going on?" She looked to her father for the answer. "Dad?"

"Come in, Halle, take a seat," said Principal Hackett, more formally than if she was passing him in the hallway. Dread filled her, and Halle knew she was in some sort of trouble.

"Hey," Nick Brewster said quietly. He reached for Halle's hand as she passed him by to take a seat beside him. At least he was reassuring her; and the most comforting one in the room.

The second was Coach Rhodes. The only other female there tapped Halle's shoulder as she crossed the office to shut the door. It was meant to assure her but only unnerved Halle more.

"I've asked Coach Rhodes to be here for support, and Mr DiLaurentis has experience in this sort of matter. He counsels a small group of students here with potential substance abuse," revealed Principal Hackett, shocking Halle into her seat.

"Substance abuse? Halle?" questioned Nick, dryly chuckling. "You've got to be joking. I thought I was called down her because you had more information about that leaked video."

Halle sank into the chair. She cringed, picturing their guilt-stricken look upon Jason's face. He was just behind her. Halle could just turn around and see it for herself, but she was sure it'd break her to see him so angry with himself. Halle told no one it was Jason behind the camera; she'd gladly take that secret to the grave.

"The school received an anonymous correspondence with a concerned student accusing Halle of using drugs," informed Principal Hackett, as he handed over the letter to Halle's father.

Halle sucked her teeth in annoyance. She glanced over at it, peeking at the words just enough to catch the sender. This was A. This was A's next move, to knock Halle off the board. Halle was bitter with brewing rage — make her blackmail her father to get back on the team and then get her kicked off soon after, proving once more that A had total control.

"Who's A?" Nick asked seriously, eyes hard. He looked to Halle, a scowl on his face. "Do you know who A is?"

She didn't have to lie. Halle said, "No, no idea."

Hackett continued, "An accusation like this isn't take lightly, and it's not the first time the school has had trouble with Halle — starting fights, terrorizing students, breaking school property."

Sophie from the cheer-team, Paige McCullers in the hallway, launching that chair at the wall in front of Jason.

"You're forgetting we've taken issue with the school as well," countered Nick Brewster strongly. "You do remember it was was your school's system that allowed my daughter to be put on display for the whole school."

"And the school dealt with that matter, Mr Brewster," replied Hackett.

"It shouldn't have happened in the first place, your system shouldn't be able to be hacked," Nick said.

"Yes," agreed Hackett but he grimaced afterwards. "And I believe that matter has been handled."

Nick nodded shortly. The video wasn't a bargaining chip anymore. It was already used to get Halle back on the school team. They had no leverage over the school; if Hackett wanted her off the team — or out of school — he could do. So, Nick changed his tactic. He tossed the letter back onto the desk and said, "Anyway, you don't have any evidence to punish Halle, that's just an allegation."

"That's what we thought, but the anonymous student was more than willing to provide such evidence," Principal Hackett said. He reached into his top drawer and put down several photographs of Halle smoking — once at Hanna's house with Maya and another at Wright's park, with Noel obviously cut out strategically as he was still a student at Rosewood High.

This was Halle's battle with A, nobody else's.

Stunned speechless, Halle reached for the photographs. Any hope she had of her father getting her out of this vanished. A frown came to rest on her face as panic swept in, corrupting her with fear.

Her father took the photographs from Halle and looked them over. Nick shot Halle a glowering stare, irritated but still cool. Again, Nick threw them back on the desk and said, "You can't prove she was smoking anything more than a cigarette."

"Yes, I thought you might say that," Hackett responded. He sighed and added, "But until it's been properly investigated, I think we should remove Halle from competing at Nationals—"

"What?!" Halle bolted up in alarm.

"Come on, Nationals is next week," Nick defended. "She missed the last competition, she needs this for college scouts."

"We can put a stop to this right away," suggested Principal Hackett.

Eagerly, Halle said, "Then let's do that. I wanna compete, I have to compete."

"With consent from both you and your father, Halle," Hackett said pointedly, "we can sort this matter right now without punishment and we can throw out the accusation entirely." The principal then placed a plastic cup in front of her, onto the desk, a challenging look in his eyes.

Halle's confidence waned suddenly. All the air left her, and Halle knew for certain she was utterly screwed. "You're playing," she said, shocked.

"You can't be serious," commented Nick Brewster.

Coach Rhodes was outraged. "This is a little extreme, don't you think?"

"I don't want drugs on this campus," declared Principal Hackett sternly.

"She hasn't brought drugs onto campus, she's been accused of smoking a little pot," Coach Rhodes shot back.

"Are you defending her using drugs?" questioned Principal Hackett, thinning brows raised at her.

"No, but I'm asking you stop demonizing her for a little weed, she's not snorting cocaine off of school toilet seats," Coach Rhodes said fiercely.

Hackett looked directly at Halle, who tried to make herself seem small in the seat she was in. He said, "Then she wouldn't mind proving it."

Halle's mind raced. She could say no. She had every right to refuse. But if she did, was that proving her guilt? Halle was guilty. She couldn't risk it. Halle smoked that morning; it was still in her system. It was too dangerous, especially since her father was going in so heavy for her.

Then, it hit her. A bright idea lit up, and Halle answered before she could second-guess it. "I'll do it," she said, snatching up the cup. She got up fast and turned, eyes meeting Jason's. Halle had forgotten he was in there. Her cheeks went hot in embarrassment. This was mortifying, and Halle had no choice but to go through with it.

"They'll be a complaint on your desk by the end of the day," Halle had heard her dad warn Principal Hackett as she went to leave.

"I look forward to it, Mr Brewster," replied Hackett.

In a hurry, Halle's fast feet slapped against the floor. It was deafening. Halle had two minutes, if that. This had to work. She ran two corridors and up a flight of stairs, almost tripping up them, but Halle didn't slow. She only gained speed. She ran all the way to Spanish and stood at the small, square window panting heavily and waving dramatically.

Her panicked eyes met Emily's confused ones through the glass. She rapidly shook her hands, beckoning to come out.

Emily asked the teacher to use the bathroom and met a heaving Halle out in the hallway. Concerned, she asked with worry, "What's up? What's wrong?"

"A set me up, Em," Halle said, alarmed. "A set me up, and—" Halle covered her face with her hands, sweltering under the bright strip-lights, and began to plea. "And I hate that I'm doing this, but I really need your help right now, because Principal Hackett and my dad are in his office waiting on like — I have, like, two minutes."

"Okay," Emily nodded along and asked, "what do you need?"

With shaking hands, Halle held up the plastic cup. "I need you to pee in the cup," Halle said, eyes watery and brimmed with desperation, pleading.

Something darkened within Emily, eyes bulging as the rest of her face tightened with frustration. "Oh, my god, are you serious?"

Halle began to panic more, crushed she was asking. Her speech rambled, words overlapping and morphing into a jumbled mess. Halle chewed at her bottom lip, the walls around her beating. "I need— this is important, I wouldn't ask — I need you, I need your help, I need you to pee in the cup. Pee in the cup, Em," she stammered.

Emily gripped Halle's shoulders and shook the girl to a stop. She looked deeply into Halle's pacing eyes, hearing the shortness of her friend's breath. "Are you high right now?"

"Em, please," she begged pathetically. Her eyes watered, filling with hot tears. "Please, they're gonna kick me off the team, Em. I can't— I can't not be on that team. Can you please pee in the cup?"

There was no other option. Caving, Emily gave a small nod and Halle breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Halle only hoped it would work.

•

The first thing Halle saw when they pulled into the driveway was her mother's car. Instant dread crept up on her, and Halle knew too well that she was about to be in for a world full of pain. She couldn't escape this.

Her dad wasn't letting up either.

Nick Brewster pulled Halle out of school for the day the second the two lines appeared on the test. Negative. It was the most extricating five minutes of her life. Ticking away, Halle felt her life was ticking away with it. Emily's pee in a cup Halle had presented to her principal; her father, coach and ex-something in the room as she did so. They all waited for the result, which was painful.

After her dad unlocked the front door, he stepped aside and ushered his daughter inside first. He followed her in and locked the door behind her. Nick called out, "Lu?"

"Upstairs!" yelled the woman.

Halle wanted to disappear. She could tell just how furious her mother was just by the harsh tone to her shout. But Halle was mistaken to think the anger was limited to verbal. When Halle arrived upstairs, she heard banging from her bedroom. Her wide eyes darted back at her father in alarm before Halle broke into quick haste.

Rounding the door, Halle walked into the destruction her mother had reeked on her bedroom. Clothes were torn off the hangers in her wardrobe, sprawled over the floor; the drawers of her dresser had been yanked out, their contents spewed all over; the trunk under her bed was out and open, it too not spared from her mother's claw tearing at its insides.

"Mom!" exclaimed Halle, horrified. "What are you doing?!"

On the ground, among the havoc around her, the woman snapped her head up and her furious eyes bore into her daughter. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm being your mother!" said Luisa loudly. She shoved a drawer she finished searching chaotically. It bashed into another, the wooden knob falling off at the impact.

"Are you kidding me? Mom, you're wrecking my room— Dad!" Halle yelled out for her dad, who came sweeping in and was more shocked by the mess than Halle had been previously.

"Luisa—" he tried.

The woman's hand shot up, pointing at him sternly. "No, Nick, don't you dare. Don't you dare play the good guy right now. I need you to be on my side with this."

"I'm not on anybody's side," Nick explained.

"She was caught with drugs," argued Luisa.

"No," corrected Nick, as his wife went back to routing through Halle's belongings. "Somebody has accused her of using drugs."

"I'm not using drugs — and there ain't any drugs in here either," said Halle stubbornly. "Would you— Stop!" she screamed, seeing her mother frantically scrambled through the drawer. "There ain't anything here!"

Luisa's mad eyes flashed up to her again. "Trust me, it's better for you if you're quiet right now, Halle, if you know what's best," she warned firmly. Luisa shook her finger up at her daughter, accusatory. "I know that you experimented two summers ago with Jason DiLaurentis, but what I don't know is why somebody would accuse you of doing drugs now!"

"Keep your voice down," Nick told his wife, collected.

"Don't tell me what to do, Nick," Luisa snarled. She started on him, "Why do you do that? Why do you always have to swoop in and be the hero in every situation with her?"

"Because she's my daughter and I'm not — never for a second — going to let her think I'm not on her side," Nick contended. "That I'm not somebody she can turn to when she needs me, and right now, she needs us, Luisa."

"She needs to tell us the truth," Luisa threw back. She reminded her husband, "I have been saying the same thing since parents' evening, when Mr Fitz told us about a bully."

"A bully?" Halle was adamant not to be the one to send her parents straight on the A-hunt. She returned strongly, "There is no bully."

"Oh, come on, Halle," Luisa stressed, "I know there's a bully, there's somebody giving you a hard time and for some reason — unknown to us — you won't tell us why. There's too many things that aren't adding up."

A high-strung and frightened Halle screamed out, "I ain't being bullied!" For extra cover — to make certain her mother would be distracted by another thing over A — Halle threw out an avid and upsetting claim. "Not unless you're counting you being up my ass all the time — but guess not!"

It was an explosive comment, and Halle watched as her mother lit up with hostile and maddening rage. "Why you—"

Nick cut Luisa off, fast and forceful. He made sure the next words, driven by blazing anger, would not leave his wife's mouth. "Enough!" he yelled, silencing both of them. It was rare Halle's lost his cool but the two of them — her mother and herself — had shattered his usual calm exterior. His eyes appeared black, too far gone to return to neutral. Nick Brewster was livid. "Halle, apologise to your mom right now — now!" he snapped, seeing her go to argue but putting a firm stop to it instantly.

Quietly, Halle squeezed out a small, "Sorry."

"And you." Nick stared at the woman he married — was raising three children with — and was appalled. His dark eyes were full of misery, deeply hurt by her actions, and Nick had enough of them. "I've kept quiet long enough while you push and push and push her." He met his wife's horrified expression, taken aback by his confrontation, but Nick persisted. "You pushed her into that relationship with Eric, you pushed her into cheerleading, into thinking she's only capable of being great at one thing and to give up all the things she's not great at — even if she loves them, because you think she'd been wasting her time."

"That's not fair," Luisa defended fiercely.

"Do you remember when she just graduated the third grade?" Nick asked her abruptly, causing Luisa to stop in confusion. "We had to that ceremony at the school, and they asked asked every kid what they wanted to be." Nick stared her down. "Do you remember what she said, what she wanted to be?"

Luisa bit her tongue and nodded. "Of course," she said. Her voice was much quieter than before. "She said she wanted to be a popstar."

"A popstar," Nick repeated. "And do you remember what you told her in the car?" He zeroed in on her and said, "You told her that it wasn't realistic, and if she wanted to do music, she should learn the piano."

"She was eight, every eight-year-old wants to be something ridiculous," Luisa argued, "Myles wanted to be a soccer player, for Christ's sake! They grow out of it, she would've grown out of it — and she did learn the piano."

"She was eight!" snapped Nick loudly. "And she didn't grow out of it, you beat it out of her." His weighty words and blunt approach shocked both his wife and daughter, but Nick continued. "You have always been too hard on her, Lu, you're suffocating her."

"And you're smothering her, all the time," Luisa reasoned. Helpless, still on the floor surrounded by the mess, she pleaded, "Sometimes I want to be the good guy, the one they like, but I have to be the bad guy with them because you're always the good guy, Nick. Someone has to be the parent here, not their best friend. And I push them — I push her, because that's what my parents did to me, because I couldn't afford to do something just because I liked doing it — I had to be great, so I could go to college and get a good job and have this life."

Amongst all the shouting, Halle looked up at her ceiling and prayed for the fight to be over. Immense guilt crippled her. Halle hated herself passionately — hated that she dragged her parents into the place where they were forced to come head-to-head because she was such a screw-up — because she couldn't tell them about A.

She wouldn't tell them.

Halle almost wept. She wanted to, especially when her dad crossed the messy floor and reached her mother. Nick held out his hands to Luisa and helped her up off the floor, pulling her into his arms. They embraced with closed eyes, his arms around her with their foreheads pressed together. An exchanged of whispered apologies passed between them; Nick went first, then Luisa.

The weight of A had never felt heavier on Halle.

Sighing, Nick pulled back and turned to Halle. He ran a hand over his face and said, "I'm not going to be able to write a cheque and make this go away. You might have passed that test, but Hackett's going to be watching you now, closely. You have to be seen being perfect — the model student."

Over-eager, Halle nodded several times. She agreed with her father. "Course."

"Listen," Nick began. He glanced down at Luisa, eyes then briefly closing as he let out a sombre breath. "If there's anything you want to tell us, you should — now," he said.

This time, Halle shook her head. Her voice was small. "There's nothing." Her hand fell behind her back, fingers crossing over each other as she lied. "I swear."

"Okay, then." Nick said, "Clean up your room, that can be your punishment. Then you can get dressed for this dance."

When they left, Nick's hand on the small of Luisa's back as he ushered her out first, Halle went to the shut and shut it. With her back to it, she slid down the door and curled herself up into a ball; legs pulled into her chest as tight arms kept them tucked in. Her head rested against her knees, and Halle blew out a deep, shaky breath.

Her phone beeped in her bag.

SECRETS WERE MEANT TO BE OUTED. I GAVE YOURS A SHOVE.-- A.

•

The school courtyard was adorned in rows of small multi-coloured lanterns, strung up overhead, while dazzling twinkle lights were wound elegantly around the building. Inside, the cafeteria had been transformed with silks of pink and purple draped from the ceiling to the floor. A white-light dancefloor tinted violent took up most of the space, with balloons tied in three were dotted around it and an array of tables covered in sweet treats and refreshments.

Halle wore her dad's favourite dress, hoping to sweeten the annoyance of the day away for the night. Along with her yellow baby-doll dress with huge puff sleeves and a voluminous skirt, Halle made sure to wear her hair down and curly, just like her father liked best. However, the sourness of the day hadn't worn down and no dress or hairdo was going to ease the taste.

As they danced in a relaxed waltz, a upbeat pop song from the 80s' in the background, Halle could tell her dad was still upset. She hadn't expected him not to be; it had been only hours since she was sent home from the same place they were in now, but the scowl on his face was sucking the whole dance into a dark blackhole. Halle wondered if it would be easier — less painful — if she threw herself into the black abyss, hoping it would swallow her whole.

"You'd never say that this was your school cafeteria," Nick commented. He tried his best — to  keep the night light and enjoyable for his daughter.

"Yeah, no, they really do go all out," Halle remarked half-heartedly, eyes briefly flickering around the room as the deeper pink hues before falling down again.

"To think all I got back in my day was an 'Under the Sea' prom," Nick said, jesting in hopes he might get a crack of a smile. He didn't want the memory of their father-daughter dance to be a bitter one, and Nick didn't want a fake smile either. He knew too well Halle was a good liar — she could smile convincingly but to her father, she still looked so sad.

"You spoke to mom for the first time that night," Halle recalled, having heard the story countless times before. It used to be her favourite, back when Halle thought love was that easy. With Halle, it was proving to be nothing of the sort. Love was the most complicated thing, Halle miserably thought. It almost ruined her. It was still trying to ruin her.

A fond smile smile replaced his frown while he said, "I spent the rest of my night staring at the ceiling of my bedroom, at your grandparents' house, planning on how I was going to ask her out the next time I saw her." He continued, "It was summer after freshmen year of college when I finally saw her again."

"Summer, 1989," Halle stated lowly. She knew the story well, but imagined her parents, especially her mother, as characters rather than the people she knew. In her mind, Halle could never never believe there was ever a time her mother wasn't a tyrant or overbearing. Halle's thoughts were also tainted with her own failed or doomed relationships.

"I was heading to the shops for your grandma and I walked into the movie-rental place, and I look up and there was your mom," Nick reminisced sweetly. "I hadn't seen her since graduation, and I barely knew her in high school. I was with kid with too much hair in theatre club and she was the captain of the cheer team — I thought I stood no chance." He carried on, not noticing Halle's slight withdrawal, "I was terrified and so close to leaving, just walking out, and then she looks up and she looks at me and asked if I had seen the movie she was looking at. That one interaction, and I knew it was over for me. I was goner, I spent that whole summer with her and by the end of it, I knew I wanted to marry her."

Halle felt her heart sink into her feet. "One summer," she said, thoughts consumed with Jason.

"One summer is all it takes," Nick returned. He hasn't realised it wasn't a question, rather a comment to herself. "It did for me."

Glancing up, Halle timidly asked him, "Have I ruined things between you and mom?"

Nick shook his head. He sighed and said, "No, we're fine, we're going to be fine. We all are. Things just got intense, but we'll sort it, we always do."

"It's my fault, I'm sorry," Halle replied miserably. She thought about all the terrible things she had done — to him and others. What she did to Emily today, cornering her and giving her best friend no choice but to degrade themselves to save herself. "You're always getting in trouble for defending me, and I'm always letting you down."

"In no way have you let me down," Nick returned. Fiercely, he held her gaze as he spoke to her. "And what happened today — even if you are doing drugs — it doesn't mean that I am any less on your side or committed to being there for you." He said, remaining firm and never once not meeting her eyes, "My job is to protect you and keep you safe, yes, but it's also to always — always— have my arms waiting for you to fall into them when you need me. That is my job as a father, as a parent."

Their dance was interrupted by Aria. She had come over and tapped Halle's shoulder, causing them pair to halt their dancing. "Hey, sorry — it's just, can I borrow Halle for a sec? I'll be really quick," Aria apologised sincerely. The petite girl flashed a smile up in the direction of Mr Brewster.

"It's fine, you go ahead," Nick assured his daughter. "I'll go get us something to drink."

The second Aria managed to worm Halle away from her father and yanked her towards the exit, Halle fumed, "Okay — what the hell?"

"Hanna's here, in her sweats," Aria claimed, and Halle's tune instantly switched. The two girls headed out into the courtyard and met with the ghostly-looking blonde. "Hanna, what's going on?"

"Where's your dress?" Mona asked. The glammed-up and ditsy brunette stumbled across Hanna in a grey cardigan and was horrified.

More importantly, Emily asked, "Where's your mom?" At this point, all five girls stood around, all but one in their pretty dresses, with Mona on the outside looking in.

"Hot on the A-trail," shot Hanna, alarming her closest friends.

"Um, what does that mean?" asked Mona, eyes flickering between them all before landing on Hanna, who imploded immediately.

"It means she found the police report that A sent you," Hanna unpacked onto Mona irritably. "And she thinks it was sent to me. She gave it to Wilden."

"Oh, crap," Halle uttered.

"Why?" Spencer asked, shrilly.

"Because she thinks it's a threat," Hanna ranted madly.

"It is," Emily stressed importantly.

"And I— I don't know, she's just trying to keep us safe," Hanna panicked, struggling to defend the actions of her mother.

"Yeah, but why Wilden?" asked Spencer, causing Hanna to pinch her nose in upset.

"Hanna," Aria said seriously. "Now your mom and my mom are both asking questions about A, and A really doesn't like that."

"Not just your moms," Halle revealed, and four sets of worried eyes frozen on her. She looked up ashamed and felt her stomach turn over when she saw the frustrated look upon Emily's face. "A sent an anonymous letter to the school outing my drug-use and asked for me to be taken off the team, and now my parents... they're asking about A, too."

"Are you serious?!" Aria panicked wildly. "If our parents talk to each other—"

"Or if Wilden comes up with something?" Hanna jumped in, freaked out. She was spiralling down a hole of her own distress, petrified of what was at the bottom. "What if they end up like—?"

"Okay!" Spencer cut her friend off sharpish. Her eyes went to Mona, who stood off to the right of the group, always on the side-lines watching. The tight-knit friendship group became increasingly aware of Mona's presence and then of the heaviness of the A-conversation. "Um..." Spencer started, "Okay, we need a creative solution."

After a few seconds of silence, the original five racking their brains for an answer, Mona raised her hand. She claimed with a small smile, "Well, I have an idea."

Spencer was unsure but went along with it. "Okay, Mona."

"It's gonna require a really big lie, and I'm terrible at that," Mona began, enthralling them all. She asked them, "Which one of you girls is best at hiding the truth from someone who's close to you?"

Without skipping a beat, four of the five — Emily, Hanna, Spencer and Halle — all signalled out Aria confidently. "Her," they chorused.

Aria shot them all a hard glare. "Wow, really? Thanks, guys," she muttered sarcastically. "Halle can lie to," she offered.

"I'm all outta lies right now," Halle defended. "I can barely keep track of the ones I'm already telling. If I tell another, I'll slip up."

Sighing, Aria resigned herself to her task. "Okay, Mona, what's my lie?"

With the plan put into place, Halle had the night free to spend with her father. However, Halle had to speak with Emily first. She grasped at her friend's wrist and pulled the girl in the orange dress to a stop. Halle spoke softly, "Em, can we talk?"

"About what?" snapped Emily. She and Halle stood millimetres away from each other, the air around them intense already. Arm crossed, Emily argued, "You had me pee in a cup."

"I was gonna get kicked off the team," Halle attempted to defend.

"Halle, are you forgetting A almost got me kicked off the team too? A drugged me with Human Growth Hormones and almost ruined my chance of getting into college — and you're doing this to yourself," Emily fought back fiercely. "Halle, I warned you — I warned you about A and what could happen, and like always, you didn't listen. You think you know better, but you don't."

"Em, please," Halle begged, eyes watering.

"Not now," Emily said. She glanced back at her father, waiting patiently amongst the dance-floor, sharply dressed in his Military uniform. "I have to go dance with my dad, he's leaving tonight."

"Leaving? Why?" Halle asked, confused.

"They're sending him away again," Emily told her, her voice wavering. "Afghanistan."

"Oh, Em, I had no idea," said Halle, her stomach full of shame now tangling with greater guilt. Her heart gave out for the girl. Halle wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around Emily, but they stayed down by her sides, unsure if that crossed the line right now.

"Yeah." Emily went to spin around, but halted. She faced Halle and said confidently, "You know I'd do anything for you, right?" Her conversation with Jason still rang in the back of her head.

"That's why I asked you and not the others," Halle revealed, disturbed at her own confession. "I went to you because I knew you wouldn't say no."

"Wouldn't, or couldn't?" asked Emily honestly.

Sadly, Halle gave, "Both."

In that moment, Halle realised that A — even though they weren't Alison — they were meant to be her. They were meant to bring out the Alison all five girls had inside of them. The girls reacted in ways Alison taught them to, and A chose to embody Alison — to be her over everybody else because it was Alison who made people to hideous things and hurt more people than Halle had fingers. Often Halle wondered if Alison had deserved what happened to her. Everyone she touched, she ruined or corrupted. Her roots grew deep within them; because if they didn't, all of them wouldn't find it so easy to lie and become her in their worst moments. They were all Ain a way, because they were still holding onto Alison.

•

After an unexpected phonecall, the girls found themselves driving a couple towns over into unfamiliar territory. That morning, the day after the dance, Aria had received a phonecall from Jonah with more information and the friends took the first chance they had to follow up on that. "Wait, Spence. Stop here," Aria ordered, as the car slowed. "I think this is the block."

The car came to a stop, and Spencer parked up on the right side of the road. Each of them climbed out, with Halle sliding out of the middle onto the sidewalk after Hanna. Dryly, the blonde declared, "Welcome to Brookhaven."

To Halle, all small towns appeared the same. It didn't matter how picturesque the looked, with lush greens and tiny little house littering the slightly curved streets. They all had a secrets and tragedy. Rosewood had Alison DiLaurentis, so what did Brookhaven have?

"What did Jonah say to you exactly?" Emily asked. The tension around her and Halle was still there, just lingering over their heads. They barely spoke in the car, even when crushed next to each other in the back.

In her thin top, Aria sighed and answered, "That Vivian Darkbloom's friend, Alison, was receiving texts from more than one number."

"And he gave you that for free?" Halle countered sceptically. She pulled her leather coat close, the breeze a little chillier than she expected it to be. "Like, he ain't gonna show up in a year and demand another two-thousand, is he?"

"I hope not," muttered Spencer, shoving her hands into her coat-pockets. She already was struggling to explain to Jason that the money he gave over bought them an address to a closed-down law firm and didn't lead to who hurt Alison.

"Wait, so does this mean that Melissa was telling Spencer the truth?" asked Hanna curiously.

Aria stopped. She turned back around to face them, crossing her arms from the cold, and said, "Just means that she's getting texts from more than one number."

"So there was someone else," concluded Hanna. "Like the real A." After getting a short nod from Aria, confirming it, Hanna glanced towards the Hastings girl, who looking particularly torn over the new revelation. "Spence, you were right."

"Where exactly are we headed?" Emily questioned, getting a chill from the almost barren street corner.

Aria spared a look over she shoulder and said, "I don't know, Jonah said he couldn't find a specific address or where the text were coming from, but that they originated somewhere in a block radius from here."

"Vague," Halle remarked sardonically. "Always helpful."

Seeming agreeing, Spencer asked, "Do we have any idea of what we're supposed to be looking for?"

"Well, I'm looking for a new phone," retorted Hanna. The girl had tossed her cellphone into a sink full of suds when her mother requested she give it over.

The five decided to have a little gander while stood in their spots. They were near the the centre of town; the main streets were dotted with commercial properties, and one unusual shop-front caught Aria's eyes. "Guys," she alerted them to it. Charging ahead, Aria lead the way down the street and ended up staring a yellow-gold writing.

VAIL'S DOLL HOSPITALBROOKHAVEN ANTIQUE DOLLS & TOYSBOUGHT & SOLD

At the sight of strung-up and dangling plastic baby-dolls, Hanna got spooked. "Oh, my god."

Halle shivered in her spot. "God, people have sleep paralysis demons less frightening than this place."

"Those look exactly like those Creepy Chucky dolls that A sent us," mentioned Emily, noticing the porcelain dolls down at the front.

Dithering, Aria held herself closely for warmth. "I'm freezing," she said, staring at the store window.

Spencer brought out her keys from her pocket and handed them over. "Look, I have something in the back of my car," she offered kindly.

"Thanks." Aria was quick to snatch up the keys and returned back down the street.

Still stood outside the shop, Hanna's nose turned up. "I used to like dolls," she recalled, nervous now at the creepy glass eyes staring back at her.

"I'm over it," commented Spencer, while she folded her arms over one another.

"Me too," Emily muttered.

"Ditto," replied Halle shortly.

"Vivian?"

•