1.05

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"Reality Bites Me"

The liars had slept over at the Hastings' house. Spencer didn't really want to be alone, and neither did the others. A had proven their point — they couldn't escape her that easily. Aria was sat on the sofa, still clutching the letter her mother had given her last night in her hand. "A sent this letter to my mom," said Aria, in bits over the shattered parts of her life.

On a stool, sat next to Hanna, Emily told the girl, "you know, it's not your fault, right? It's your dad's mistake, totally."

"No, it is my fault," Aria argued.

Spencer halted her movements. She looked at her friend with a firm gaze. "You did not hook up with her and then ask your kid to cover for you," she said, harsh but honest. She past the soft cream cheese spread over to Halle.

Halle took it from Spencer and offered out her opinion,  "Spencer's right, you may have played your part in it being a secret, but your dad is the one at fault here."

"Ali said I should've told my mom right after it happened," Aria told them, wishing she had done that at the start before the secret came up to bite her in the ass.

"Ali?" Emily questioned. "Alison knew?"

"Yeah. She was with me," Aria stated, sipping at her coffee.

"So, Alison saw this Meredith person?" Spencer asked, her and Halle sorting out breakfast for the girls.

Hanna almost choked on her own amusement. "Meredith? Her name's Meredith?" She saw Spencer nod, and Hanna claimed, "ew, that's not even a cute girl name." She found it oddly entertaining. "I'm seeing big pores and mousy roots."

Halle stopped what she was doing to scold the clueless blonde. "Han, it's a little soon to start the jokes," she said, "kinda like pouring salt into a fresh wound."

"Does that hurt?" Hanna asked curiously.

"Wanna find out?" Halle asked rhetorically, a hard look on her seemingly still face.

Hanna shook her head. "No. I'm sorry, but if you're gonna cheat, you might as well do it with someone who deep conditions her hair occasionally," Hanna amused.

"Here." Spencer placed a bagel on a plate and shoved it at the girl. "Put something in your mouth besides your foot."

As the plate touched the surface in front of Hanna, the blonde realised how hurtful her words may have been to Aria. She span around slowly to face her. "I'm sorry, okay? Look, all I'm saying is that when my dad left, laughing sometimes helped. So did crying," she added truthfully.

"My father hasn't left, guys," Aria said defensively. She got up from the sofa and joined them at the kitchen-island, bringing both her coffee and the dreaded letter with her. "I mean, this happened over a year again."

"Yeah, but he's working with her now, right?" Halle said bluntly, eyes on the fruit she was chopping up. She was unaware of the nervous silence brewing around her as she continued to talk. "I mean, who's to say it died out, hmm? That feelings aren't still there? They might just be lying, underneath, and all it takes a coffee, maybe one late night at the college together, and they're back at it again. You see it happen all the times in the movies."

"He wouldn't," Aria snapped, and Halle's head shot up at her tone.

Halle glanced at the others. Emily, Hanna and Spencer were stuck in an uncomfortable silence. "Oh... when should I have stopped? Or should have I kept quiet the whole the time?"

"Closer to the latter," Spencer said quietly.

Aria was in shock. She looked at her friends in panic. "You think he's gonna leave?"

"Look," Emily tried to be supportive, "whatever happens, we're here for you."

On hearing that, Spencer was reminded of last night, how they all clubbed together like they used to. She liked the support of friends — real friends. She said, "thank you guys, for staying here. I couldn't have been here alone."

"When's your family getting back?" Hanna asked her.

"This afternoon," Spencer replied.

"You can stay at mine until then, if you like," Halle said. "It gives my dad a reason to get off my back for not having friends."

Spencer smiled gratefully. "That'd be nice, thanks."

Aria shot Spencer a look, "aren't you gonna clean off the mirror before they get here?"

"Want me to come with?" Emily offered, seeing Spencer hesitate, and Spencer nodded.

"We should all go," Aria said, putting down her mug on the counter. She and three of her friends began to move, but Hanna stayed put, on the stool.

Hanna said, "you know what? it doesn't take five of us to clean a mirror, so why don't you four go and I'll wait right here?" she suggested, far to lazy in the morning to do manual work, especially cleaning.

"Fine." Aria carried on moving towards the staircase. She used reverse-psychology to get under Hanna's skin. "Okay. You stay down here. Alone."

Spencer was ahead of the others, leading the way, but she popped her head around the corner to remind Hanna, "but make sure you lock the door."

Hanna leaped up off the stool, swiping her mobile from off the counter. "Right. You spray, I'll wipe." She hurried over to catch them by the stairs and the brief amusement her friends had vanished the moment her phone started to chime. Hanna sighed. "Well, the creature's back. We should've never unblocked out phones."

"And risk A writing my letter somewhere else? No, thanks, I'll take the explosive texts any day," Halle retorted, as she and the others got closer to Hanna to read the message.

EVER WONDER WHAT'S GOING ON WHEN YOUR BACK IS TURNED? --A.

Emily saw the little paper-clip symbol connected and pressed Hanna, "Open the attachment."

Opening the link, Hanna moved her cell to show off the loading video. When it played, it displayed Hanna and Halle both in Spencer's room chatting — their chatter indistinct. Then, they both looked to the side and moved slightly as the others came into shot.

"That's us," Aria whispered, her brow furrowed in confusion. The camera the moved, showing off the mirror, coated red in A's message for them. Panic set in as Aria quaked, "was that shot from inside your closet?"

They stopped the video and all looked up the staircase in fear. In realisation, Spencer said, "A was watching us. Let's go," she said, her foot on the first step.

"Wait." Halle called out for her friends to stop. She retreated back and plucked up a fire-iron from by the fireplace. "Okay, now go."

"You have the weapon," Emily shook.

Halle saw how her friends pressed themselves against the wall, all waiting for her to go first after she picked up the metal rod. "Oh, you big babies," she shot at them as she past and took to the stairs firsts, them slowly following behind her.

When they approached Spencer's room, Halle let Spencer twist the handle and push the door open slowly. Then, Halle was the first in, the fire-iron held in a firm grip and across her body protectively. They crept inside, one behind the other. Halle gave Spencer a little nod, and the both of them reached out their hands and pulled open the closet doors quick.

CRASH.

Gasping, they jumped back. Halle smacked down her make-shift weapon. But it was just a box. A box that had fallen from the shelf and startled them. Aria, somehow, managed to settle her nerves before anyone else and her eyes caught onto something. "Guys." She went further and picked it up from off the floor inside the closet. "Check it out," she said.

It was a lipstick, and naturally, she took the lid off and rolled it up. Aria spared a glance to the group and it confirmed her suspicions too — jungle red. Taking initiative, Aria swatched the shade on the back of her hand and then held it up against the mirror.

They were right.

It was the same.

Jungle red.

•

Even at school, the girls couldn't escape what had happened. It was the only thing occupying their minds. Spencer kept her voice low as she rummaged through her locker, shooting Aria an odd look. "You cannot seriously think that a blind girl broke into my house. That would take more than a talking GPS."

"Well, I didn't say that Jenna was alone," Aria said, her eyes darting around the hallway to see if anyone was listening in.

"Let's not go to the Toby place, okay?" Emily said.

"Why not?" Aria persisted. "You guys think her guide dog left its lipstick behind?"

"No, but I think you left behind the rational side of your brain this morning," Halle countered back. She asked, "why would Toby take Jenna with him? If it is them, he wouldn't exactly bring her along for a break-in. I don't know if you're aware, Aria, but she's blind — she's hardly a good lookout," Halle fired.

"Maybe it wasn't Toby," Emily suggested softly.

Spencer gave her a look. "Well, do you wanna ask what your lab partner he was doing last night? If, you know, maybe he took a break from sitting on his porch and pulling the heads off squirrels?"

"Spencer." Yet again, Mr Sheldrake interrupted the girls mid-conversation. He smiled at the groups. "Sorry, ladies, I didn't mean to interrupt." He did, thought Halle. Mr Sheldrake said, "but I hope you're as proud of your friend as I am." The teacher held up an envelope to the Hastings girl. "Congratulations," he smiled. "My instincts were right. This just makes it official," he said, passing over the envelope over to Spencer, and afterwards, he slipped away from them.

"What's that about?" Aria asked her.

"An essay contest," answered Spencer. She shoved it into her locker and shut it.

"Wait, did you win it?" Emily asked, confused to why Spencer hadn't check. "Aren't you gonna at least open the envelope?"

Halle scoffed, amused. "Why should she?"

"Spencer wins an award for waking up," Hanna joked, and the bell rung. "Oh, good luck, Hal," she said quickly, and the other versed their support too.

Emily's hand brushed her shoulder. "You'll totally get junior caption, you're one of the best."

•

As Halle entered the girls locker room at lunch, a certain pit formed in her stomach. An unwelcome one that slowly filled with dread and nerves. This was the deciding practice — to see who would get given the junior captaincy this year. The further she got into the locker room though, she noticed team moral was pretty high. All the girls were talking to each other, chattering away about boys and the latest Katy Perry song they were obsessed with.

Why weren't they as worried as she was? Was Halle the only one that wanted to be captain? She looked around and took in the smiles, the giggling and the comradely around her. Why was everyone being nice to each other? They should be ripping another's head off for this captaincy. God, Halle would have sailed her own best friend down the river while she slept for junior captain. She even remembered saying so with Alison the day Halle made it onto the team, towards the end of Freshman year, just before the summer started.

"You know, I have to admit, it's quite cute," Alison complimented. The girls were walking home from school, arms looped together. Halle had just been given her uniform and hadn't taken it off since Coach Rhodes placed it down on her desk for Halle to take. "I usually hate school colours, but on you, they actually work."

Halle laughed, "Glad you think so, because you're gonna be seeing me in this a hell of lot more."

"Better prepare my eyes then," Alison joked.

"Yeah, and your cute ass," Halle said playfully, " cos you're gonna be at every game or event I am, in the stands, cheering me on."

"Aren't you supposed to be doing the cheering?" Alison asked her.

"Yeah, but the cheerleader needs her own cheerleader," Halle said. "And that's where you come in," she shot Alison a smile. "As if I'm gonna be cheering at all these games and not have you there with me, you're my best friend."

Alison gave in, smiling. "Fine. As long as I don't have to sit next to your mom," she said, as they got closer to their houses, nearing the blonde's one first. "Cause you know she's gonna be at every event you are, she's gonna be cheering for you over the teams."

"She's wanted this all my life," Halle replied. "God, I'm so glad got on the team. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't."

"There was no chance of that ever happening," Alison replied.

"I'm telling you, if I had to, I would've have offered you up as a sacrifice if it meant getting on this team," Halle joked.

Alison laughed. "Good-- I'm glad you wanted it so badly." She sighed, "I swear you and me are the only rational ones in our group, only ones willing to sell our best friend down the river to get hat we want," she said.

Halle hummed, "Yeah."

"But you know, your whole personality better not become being a cheerleader," Alison warned, her finger raised jokingly at her friend.

A laugh escaped Halle. "I promise."

"Hey, there you are," Jason DiLaurentis said, on noticing his younger sister and her best friend come up around the bend. He was getting grocery bags from out of their mother's car.

"Here I am," said Alison. She and Halle stopped by the car and Alison eyed him.

"Mom asked for you," Jason told her. "You weren't here when she came back from the store. Apparently, you were supposed to help her take in the bags."

"Well, I waited for Halle, we walked together," Alison said, using her friend as an excuse.

Jason stopped what he was doing, bags in his arms. He looked Halle up and down, drinking in her uniform. When his eyes finally landed on her face, he saw the dipped gaze she gave him. Her action made it easy for him to know what kind of a reaction she had from his stare, but on her lips, she proudly wore a smirk. Halle was a flustered mess yet confident both at the same time; Jason gave her credit for that. He was glad to see she hadn't changed since the time he saw her last, just after Halloween.

"Oh, Alison." Jessica DiLaurentis appeared at the front door to their home, on the porch. "I thought you'd be home by time I got back from the store," she said.

"I just told her that, Mom," Jason said.

Jessica DiLaurentis made her way down to her children. "Oh, hush you," she scolded. "Ali's here now, and with Halle." Jessica smiled at her daughter's best friend, the girl's usually wild curls kept back in a high ponytail.

"Hi, Mrs DiLaurentis," Halle greeted politely.

Jessica immediately saw the uniform and gasped. "Oh, my." She smiled widely at the girl. "You made the team."

"Yeah — found out today." Halle said, "I start on the squad properly in the September, but there's the odd few weekend sessions during the summer, so I got my uniform today. That's why Ali was late," she offered Mrs DiLaurentis, glancing to her side to see her best friend smiling at her. "She waited for me."

"I had to see if she got on the team, Mom," Alison added, her grip on Halle's tightening as her smile got larger.

"Of course, I understand." Jessica sighed happily and said, "you two are such good friends to each other. This friendship is one to last, I'm sure of it."

"Sure it is," Jason muttered, making his sister glare at him. This time, he wore the smirk. He knew Halle was lying; he heard Halle herself say such friendship-damning words against Alison, on Halloween night, when he gave her a lift home.

"Oh, those need to go in the freezer immediately, Jason," Mrs DiLaurentis instructed her son.

"Got it. Congrats by the way, Brewster." He sent her a smile. "You always wanted to be a cheerleader, looks good on you," Jason commented as he made his way in the house.

Alison groaned. "God, he is such a perv. Him and his friends," she said in spite.

"Alison," Jessica scolded her daughter this time. "Don't talk about your brother like that."

"I'm just saying, he can be really creepy, Mom." Alison warned her mother, "you should watch him closely. He isn't just smoking weed in room all day, he's doing something else, I'm sure of it."

Halle heard a locker slam shut and it brought her out of her own head. She opened her locker and pulled out the uniform she had folded up in there, on the shelf.

"We could totally get Coach to do a routine to that," said one of the girls, met with a chorus of agreement. Halle glanced back and saw a bunch nodding like those bobble-heads. Oh, to be dim and not have an opinion of her own — that would be easier, especially with A.

"What do you think, Halle?" asked another girl.

Halle didn't pay much mind. "Hmm?"

"What do you think about the song?" asked the same girl.

"Oh," Halle stopped and looked back over her shoulder, putting on a smile, "sure, sounds good."

"Alright, Sharks!" Coach Rhodes came into the room from her office and called for their attention. She stood in the middle of the aisle, where her team was, with a clipboard in her hands. "Usually, girls, I want you to work as a team because that is how we win competitions, but today that is not how it works. You are in competition, ladies, with each other. Look around," she said, moving her finger as she pointed to all the girls. "All your teammates, they are your enemy today. Seniors and the few sophomore I have on this team — they are the only ones helping you today. Your classmates, the girls you joined the team with," Coach mocked them with a little voice before she snapped back quickly, "they are not your friends today. I wanna see blood, ladies. Are you all ready?"

"Yes, Coach," chorused her team.

"Good, let's find out who the real sharks are, shall we?" Coach Rhodes gave them a quick smile. "Uniforms on now. You have five minutes and then I want you on the mats. Go, go!"

In under the five minutes Coach gave her, Halle was out of the locker room and in the gym. She was the third one out and it was luck that she was.

"Good, Halle, you're my third flyer," Coach declared. She clicked and pointed at the seniors waiting beside the mats. "Extension into cradle, please."

"What?" she asked. Halle noticed the two girls that had come out previous sat on the left side of the bleachers — they must have done it already.

"Quick, or I'll pass you over for captain," Coach Rhodes said, as others were starting to enter the gym now.

"Of course." Halle snapped to it. She jogged over to the seniors and smiled briefly. They moved onto the mats and Halle slotted herself in the middle of the three — two spaces either side and one behind.

The girl behind placed her hands on Halle's waist, helping Halle as she took her first jump. Her feet landed in the other two's hands and as they lifted with their legs, Halle stood up quick, keeping her core tight and her legs shoulder-width apart; her arms went up in a v-shape also.

"Good, and finish with cradle," Coach Rhodes called out.

Halle let her bases pop her up while keeping her legs straight. She kept her arms high as she dropped back into the cradle, wrapping around the two side-bases' shoulders. She settled herself down with the help of the others and she gave them appreciative smiles.

Coach Rhodes got Halle's attention. "Good, take a seat on the right," she said, swiping with her hand. Halle barely had time to thank her coach before Coach Rhodes was screaming for the next person.

God, what a woman, Halle thought.

•

At The Grille, Halle came over to the table in which two of her friends were sat at — Hanna and Spencer. "Okay, make it quick, I have, like, five minutes," Halle said, as she slid into the chair next to Spencer.

"I saved it, just in case," Spencer said, taking out a plastic bag that she put the lipstick tube they found in her closet in.

"I'm telling you that's the lipstick Jenna was putting on in the elevator," Hanna insisted.

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked her.

"Yes," Hanna hissed. "It's Alison's colour. Same shade, same tube. But what I'm wondering is why was Jenna in an empty room for an hour?"

"She's a creepy person, it's a creepy thing to do?" Halle countered dryly.

Spencer leaned in, whispering, "I think we should call the police. There are fingerprints on this tube."

"Yes, ours," Halle snapped. "Aria could have just licked it and wiped off A's fingerprints that way instead of her touching it all the time. I'm telling you, there are exactly zero amount of traces of A on that thing now."

"Look, if you want me to answer more questions, let me get in the office and see what I can find," Hanna claimed. She glanced across the restaurant and found Toby sat there, reading Catcher in the Rye by himself. It gave her the chills. She turned back to her friends and asked, "have you guys gotten any more emails?"

"Nope," Halle answered.

"Not since this morning. Have you?" Spencer asked, curious to why she was asking.

"No." Hanna shook her head, growing quiet. "Just wondering."

Halle sighed. "I should really get back to work, guys." As Halle stood and turned, she caught sight of Emily walking through the door. "Em," she said, grabbing the girl in question's attention. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Nervously, Emily tucked her hair behind her ear and made her way over to their table. She glanced over her shoulder briefly and then stumbled over her words. "Uh—I was just—I—"

"Hanna had a run-in with Jenna Marshall today," Spencer told instantly. "Sit down. Halle's just leaving."

"I'm not leaving, I'm getting back to work," Halle replied. She moved aside and let Emily take the seat she once occupied. "You fill her in, I've got tables to clean," she said, and she left them to it. Halle went to the front of the restaurant, to grab the spray from under the counter.

From her ducked position, she heard someone cough. Halle averted her eyes upwards and saw Toby Cavanaugh stood above. "Toby, hey," Halle greeted, a little less anxious than she usually would. "Can I get you something?"

"Um, no, I, uh, I'm leaving," he said.

"Okay." Halle gave him a smile as she rose up. "You don't have to tell us, you could just leave the money on the table like you normally do."

"I have done." Toby shifted awkwardly on the spot, like he was questioning what he was going to do next, far too on edge.

"Is there something else I can help you with?" she asked him.

"I—I have this... CD that I wanted to give to, um..." he reached into his bag and pulled it up. "It's for Emily," he told her, and Halle's eyes went to his face questioningly, her brows quirked up. "I—We—We're lab partners," he stumbled out.

"Yeah, I know," Halle said.

"And we— we like the band same and this band is similar, so I said I'd burn her a CD," Toby explained, panicked and rambling over his words.

Halle took the CD from him, holding it in her hands. "Cute. Do you want me to give it to her now?" she asked.

"No!" Toby was rather alarmed by that suggestion. "No, please don't." He begged, "can you give it to her after I'm gone? When your friends—"

"When my friends ain't there?" she finished for him knowingly.

"Yeah."

"I got it." Halle tucked it safely into the pocket of her apron. "I'll keep on me until they're gone, or at least Spencer." She told Toby, "you get stuff past Hanna all the time, but Spencer... she's like a terrier."

"Small and yappy?" Toby questioned, confused.

"No, bites and refuses to let go," Halle joked.

Toby chuckled, a smile crossing his face. "Oh, I get you."

Halle gave him a small smile in return and then she watched him leave before she busied herself with cleaning tables. It wasn't longer before Spencer came over and said her goodbyes to Halle.

And with that, Halle went back over to the table. "Em," she said. Halle took the CD out of her apron and handed it over to her. "Somebody left this for you."

"Somebody?" Emily asked her, eyes drifting to where Toby was when she first came into the restaurant.

"Yeah, just somebody," Halle lied. "It was by the till and my boss said it was for you. I never saw who left it."

"Okay, thanks, Halle," Emily said with a smile.

"Sure thing, I'll catch you guys later," Halle said. She rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm on dish-duty before I can leave."

"Don't strain yourself too much, junior captain," Hanna praised.

"You got it?" Emily asked, wide-eyed.

Halle rolled her eyes again, this time, at Hanna. "No, not yet."

"But she was the first one to complete the jumpy thing," said Hanna.

"You mean the extension into cradle?" Halle questioned.

"Whatever it is, you did it first," Hanna replied.

"Yeah, and so did five other girls behind me," Halle mentioned. "Look, I could stay and chat all day about cheer, but I can't. I've got to get back to work. I'll catch you guys later, bye."

"Bye," Emily said sweetly, her smiling down at the CD she now had clasped in her hands.

Halle glanced back and saw the small smile tugging at Emily's lips. She wondered how Toby Cavanaugh could get such a reaction from her friend, but Halle remembered she, too, found herself smiling because of the same boy.

He walked her home when he thought she was scared of the dark.

If only he knew the truth.

Would he be scared too?

•