1.21

•

"Monsters In The End"

All five girls sat in The Applerose Grille. Huddled around a table, they discussed the latest drama in their lives. This time it was to do with the case the police were actively building against Spencer. A forensics report came back and reported fibres of the sweater Alison DiLaurentis was wearing the night she died were found on Spencer's bracelet. The very same bracelet Alison gave each of them, after they had their first shared secret.

The Jenna Thing.

"Do you think somebody rubbed that sweater on your bracelet?" Aria asked Spencer curiously.

"Somebody?" Emily questioned Aria incredulously. "Try Ian," she put in strongly. "He's doing everything he can to make you look guilty," Emily said to Spencer. "Your parents should hire you a twenty-four-hour bodyguard."

"What about Jenna?" Aria asked this time. "What if she paid Caleb to get that bracelet?"

"Wait, hold up." Halle immediately straightened up in her chair, a stormy look in her brown eyes. "When was Caleb in Spencer's house? If he wanted to do that for Jenna, it'd be me or Hanna getting our bedrooms ransacked by the police."

"He doesn't need an invitation, Hal. He broke into a vending machine with a spork," Aria fired.

"And you're dating our teacher, what's the bigger crime?" Halle retaliated, argumentative. She was determined to fight Aria on this one, even if the blows were low. "Petty theft or paedophilia?"

"Hey!" Aria was shocked at her friend's reaction. Hurt by it, Aria shook her head and said seriously, "That's not fair."

"No, what's not fair is that the guy was breaking into vending machines 'cos of his crappy home-life and suddenly in your head he's breaking into houses and planting evidence," Halle argued back fiercely. "That's prejudice profiling, Aria."

"No, it's not," Aria fought back.

"Uh, yeah, it is!" Halle said stubbornly, "I've been on the receiving end more than a few times to know what it is."

While Halle sat back carelessly, wanting to avoid the conversation now she had said her peace, Spencer rose in hers. Her body was up-straight, like a surge of electricity had shot up her spin. "Guys," she said, alarming waking in her voice, "I think somebody's watching us."

The five of them looked to where Spencer was staring, out of the wall-sized windows. Across the road from the Grille, stood several scarecrows fashioned to look like humans.  "Those?" Emily questioned. Even though they unnerved her, Emily explained it away, "They're for the Founders Festival."

"Man, if that's what Rosewood's founding family looked like, how'd they ever get anyone to move here?" Aria commented sarcastically.

"And why were they allowed to reproduce?" Spencer asked dryly.

Emily turned everyone's attention back to the table and continued the previous conversation. "Guys, if Caleb was—"

Hanna, who had yet to speak, halted eating the plate of nachos in front of her. Before, she had been barrelling them in despite the words of comfort her best friends tried to reassure her with. "Can we stop using the  C-word?" Hanna had snapped at them.

Aria nodded. She tried, "We know this is hard for you, okay? But we have to talk about Cal— him."

"If we wanna help Spencer, we have to know what Caleb knows," said Emily, lowly looking to her side at the blonde.

Spencer shifted in her seat. Her eyes were firmly on the scarecrows as panic rose in her chest, making her heart beat faster. "Guys, there is definitely somebody out there."

"Maybe if Emily and I cornered Caleb," Aria suggested, talking fast. "Not in school, somewhere's that's Jenna-free."

"Yeah, that's a no," Halle said, shutting it down immediately. "No offence, but you two—" she looked between Aria and Emily, sat opposite each other, "are the least intimidating people I know."

Hanna spoke, irritated at the bickering, "If Caleb's gonna talk to anyone, it's gonna be me."

"Will you do it?" asked Emily, leaning in.

Taking in the blunt reality of her doomed love-life, Hanna nodded slowly. "To help Spencer, sure."

Quietly, Spencer said, "Thanks, Hanna."

Deciding they were done, the girls stood up from the table. Spencer stayed sat, staring out of the window intensely while her friend picked up their things. Halle had said a quick goodbye to her boss, handing in her apron for the night.

"Spencer?" Emily called for the Hastings girl's attention. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," said Spencer, clearing her throat.  She didn't dare take her eyes off the scarecrows even as she stood. Spencer just had this creeping feeling someone was watching them. That was the thing about A: paranoia came with the territory, and somebody was always watching.

Halle caught a lift home with Spencer, reassuring the Hastings girl the entire ride home it was nothing. "It's just that feeling you get," Halle mentioned, "you know, when you're in a dark room and suddenly every shadow or silhouette is a person."

"But every shadow could be A,"  Spencer argued, just as they pulled up outside of the turning point for her driveway.

Sighing, Halle said, "Just go try and get some sleep, we can't have your pretty little brain melt in on us."

"You think I'm being paranoid, don't you?" asked Spencer, groaning.

"Actually, quite the opposite." Halle explained, "Spence, we are literally being stalked by a cyber-bitch who knows everything about us that Ali did, and we're just waiting for all our secrets to be outed. You have every right to be paranoid," she assured.

Sparing a glance to Halle, Spencer's brows knitted together. "You never told us what it was Alison had on you," mentioned Spencer. "She knew about Aria's dad having an affair with a student, Hanna's eating disorder, and Emily being gay. She even knew about me and Ian. So, what did she know about you?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Halle returned smartly. A ghost of a faint smirk then fell over her lips. She gave a laugh and jokingly reassured Spencer, "I'm playing. I'm playing with you, Spence. Jeez, ease up would you." She said, "Ali knew about the drugs."

"And the video," Spencer reminded her. She saw Halle drop her gaze. "You still don't know who made that video?"

Jason.

It was Jason.

Halle couldn't say that though. Instead, she shook her head. "No, like I said before, I was trashed," she put in. "I was pretty out of it back then."

"Do you remember any of That Summer?" Spencer questioned.

Jason, she wanted to say. She wanted to say Jason. Halle remembered him and all their little moments that cropped up in between everything Alison had the girls doing. In the midst of the fun and troubles of that summer, Halle found a safe place. Whether it was at the Edgewood Motor Court, or Jason's bedroom, or the woodshed in the DiLaurentis' backyard — Halle found a place of safety, and she wasn't entirely sure it was the place. Rather the feeling of warmth and familiarity she got whenever she was with Jason. Maybe it was because they were the same, and it was unexpected for Halle because she fell into place with Jason in a way she had never fallen in with anyone before. 

That sort of intense connection to Halle was like playing with fire; she liked the sensation of a flickering flame dancing on her fingertips and the burning feeling of his hands on her skin. In those moments, everything that made Halle burn, made Jason burn too. They were twin flames, burning for each other — burning with each other. Halle remembered every moment she felt that fire and every moment since had just been poking at embers, with the flickering glow of them not yet extinguished from her yet.

But Halle couldn't say that, so settled with, "I remember some parts, mainly you and the girls."

"That must awful," Spencer replied, "to just be drawing blanks like that."

"Yeah, awful," Halle agreed in lie. "I should go." Her fingers tap the pizza-box on her lap and she said, "I'm gonna put my pajamas on and eat this in bed while watching re-runs of The Hills."

"Reality TV will rot your brain," Spencer said.

"Why do you think I watch it?" Halle jested. She unbuckled her seat-belt and let it fall back. She was about to get out when Spencer spoke up again.

"Hey, do you know anything about Maya's family selling the house?" Spencer asked. "My mom mentioned something about it being a closed-sale, nothing about it public."

"Why? Is that weird or something?" Halle asked. She wasn't about to tell her about Jason moving back and that her father was helping him to do. Her dad asked Halle not to.

"In Rosewood it is," laughed Spencer.

Managing to get out her own laugh, Halle pushed herself to forget her fears. It won't be so easy ignoring Jason when he moves back. The lies won't get easier to tell either. Everything could come unravelling undone around Halle and slowly but surely, the perfect world she created could implode from underneath her. Halle wouldn't be able to laugh any of it off after Jason moved back; she couldn't avoid the lie when it lived across the street from her.

After their quick goodbyes, Halle and Spencer parted ways. Halle climbed out of Spencer's car with her pizza and started for her house. She walked the little way from Spencer's driveway to her own. The moment she rounded the bend in the road, the first thing she saw was that freaking house. It was empty again. Alison's ghost roamed the halls tirelessly. There was never any closure around her death, so Alison would never be at peace. Neither were the people who knew her.

Alison was cold in the ground, and Halle wondered what her body looked like now. Had her skin sunken around her bones yet? Was porcelain now green, decaying and festering? Did she even look like Alison anymore? Would Halle recognise her?

The pizza made her sick. Her stomach had turned. Halle was glad to have eaten before because eating right now didn't sit well.

As Halle walked up her driveway, she pulled her keys from her jacket-pocket. They jangled as she walked. In the porch light, the bushes around the house were lit up. The closer she got, the more she saw and then spied Caleb by the side of her house, leaning against the wall. He looked at her and gestured up to her bedroom window — his usual way in.

Halle entered the house and put her keys down in the bowl by the door. It was the only way she assured she didn't lose them; they were always put in the bowl. She walked in and did her normal happy hellos to Pacha, stroking him with a smile on her face, before she ventured further in. Halle found her parents in the living room and greeted them with a softer smile than she did for the dog.

"Hey," she said.

Both her parents looked up at her. They were both sat on the couch together, watching some game show her father liked watching. Her mother sat next to her father, pressed into his side while she read a book and he played along with the show. There was a sense of comfort with them. The air was calm. They were still, just existing together side by side without conversation.

"Hey, Hal, good night?" Nick Brewster asked his daughter.

"Yeah, yeah, it was good," Halle answered.

"Did you eat?" he asked.

Her mother took off her glasses and gestured to the back of the house. "There's some leftovers in the refrigerator," she said.

"Oh, I'm good thanks. The girls stopped by work, we had dinner on my break," Halle told them. She then brought the box up to show them the pizza. "Thanks anyway. I'm gonna head up. I'll probably do my homework and then go bed."

"Okay, honey," her mother said with smile. "Sleep well."

"Night, Hal," said her father, smiling also. He turned to his wife and asked, "Can I have those?" He was referring to her glasses, and then he took them to see the TV screen better. "I can't see that letter."

"Where are your glasses?" Luisa asked her husband. "You have your own," she said.

"I left them on my desk," Nick Brewster said. He squinted his eyes at the screen with his wife's glasses now on his face. "Oh, it's E — thought it was F."

"You're so blind," laughed Luisa.

Halle's heart thumped at the sight, it swelling in her chest. She understood that because of her parents that she hadn't felt what they had. For sure, Halle had had the butterflies and the overwhelming nerves of a first-date, but she had never had the stillness her parents had together. Love was calm and settled. Sometimes, it was unsteady but most of the time, it was comfortable silence while sat on a couch together, each doing their own thing but doing it next to each other.

"Night!" said Halle, turning on her feet. She heard her parents both chorus the same back to he r before Halle took to the stairs. Sparing a look back, she saw her dad lovingly place her mother's glasses back on her face, making sure to untuck the woman's curls from behind the frames too. Her mother then smiled up at him before settling herself closer into his side, muttering something about him getting another pair of glasses for the living room.

Halle shut her door the moment she entered her room, kicking off her shoes by the door. She walked in, dropped the pizza-box on her bed, and then switched on her radio to cover the sound of Caleb climbing through the window. Halle knelt on the orange cushioned-sofa under the large window and opened the window.

With a few huffs and grunts, Caleb hauled himself through the window and climbed into Halle's room. His foot caught on the ledge and he stumbled, crashing down onto the sofa. They both paused, silence. Over the music, they waited and listened out for any movement downstairs.

Nothing. Thankfully.

"You need to watch your step," Halle warned. "I'm not getting in trouble because you've got big feet."

"Halle, I just climbed up a drain-pipe, forgive me for stumbling," Caleb shot at her sarcastically. He shut the window and fell back comfortably on the sofa. "I still can't believe you did that climb wasted."

"And barefoot," Halle remarked. Seeing him raise his brows at her, she gave him simply, "I couldn't exactly do it in heels, could I?"

Caleb immediately spied the pizza-box and looked to Halle with pleading eyes. "For me?" he asked.

"Sure, help yourself," Halle said. She handed him the box before she flung herself down carelessly on her bed, groaning when she collided with the soft plumpness of the mattress.

With a mouthful of pizza, Caleb asked her, "Long shift?"

"Long life," Halle replied, rubbing small circles on her temples. She felt a headache coming on

"Have you spoken to Hanna yet?" he asked. Caleb was at the point of desperation now, constantly asking about Hanna. "She's not answering my calls or texts, she won't speak to me."

Halle looked at him from where she lay and said, "Caleb, she doesn't even like us speaking your name around her."

"I've said I'm sorry, I don't know what else to do," he complained. "I just... We had a good thing."

"And you messed it up," Halle told him. She sighed and advised him, "Just give her space, let her come to you. Don't hound her with messages and don't keep calling her either. Just... arggh..." She groaned in frustration, hating that she put herself in this position. "Just stop chasing her down, she'll come to you in her own time."

"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?" Caleb.

Halle stared up at the ceiling, not sure of how to answer. "I don't know... I don't know... Maybe..."

"Thanks, you're so helpful," said Caleb sardonically.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Halle shot him sarcastic smile. "Remember whose couch you're sleeping on."

"That reminds me," Caleb began. "I'm thinking of leaving." He watched her sit up to face him as he reached for another slice of pizza. "If this thing with Hanna doesn't work out, I don't think I can stay here. Rosewood is her, you know?"

Rosewood was Hanna for Caleb. Rosewood was a person, and if Rosewood was a person, then who was it for Halle? She never thought of Rosewood being more than a town she wanted to escape; it was never a loved one like it was for Caleb. For Halle, all roads led to the DiLaurentis house. She still couldn't help but look at it every time she came or left her own house. Maybe it wasn't leading to that house for Halle but rather someone inside of it. 

Alison. Or Jason. Halle wasn't sure.

"I get that," said Halle quietly. "So, where would you go?"

"Arizona," Caleb said. He gave a shrug. "It's the last place I know my mom was at, not that I'll go looking for her or whatever." He tried to stay casual over it, but his indifference to the subject wasn't convincing.

"You know, it's okay to want something more than what you have... or what you know," said Halle, realising the words she had heard before. Mr Fitz said them to her, the day of the storm, when she gave him all the reasons why she should want the future everyone had made for her.  "It's okay to want, Caleb."

"I want Hanna," he offered, gulping hard. Caleb tossed down the pizza slice and added sadly, "But I hurt her and because of that, I lost her."

Halle nodded, understanding. "Yeah, I get that." Halle confessed aloud to him, in the safety of her bedroom walls, "I've lost people I hurt, too."

"Have they forgiven you?" asked Caleb.

The corners of her lips twitched. Halle said, "I thought so, but I'm not quite sure now." She thought about her last time seeing Jason and the crappy text she sent him knowing it wouldn't be enough for him. The one she knew wasn't enough but still sent. Jason disappeared on her after that one. "Guess I'll let you know when I find out."

•

"A key?"

Halle had a raging headache. With her head in her hands, she tried to take in the new information without screaming. And Halle wanted to scream. Her head felt like it was going to explode. Thoughts went a hundred miles-per-hour, zooming around and bowling into each other. Over and over until she couldn't tell one thought from another.

Her hands shook as she tried to carry the coffee-pot over to the kitchen island. Spencer was stood at the end of the counter with the other three sat down at the island, eyes focusing ahead to where Halle stood, now holding her wrist with her free hand to stop the steady the pour.

"A key for what?" Spencer asked suddenly. They were in the kitchen in Halle's house, with food and snacks out. Her parents were out for datenight, so it was the natural place her friends gathered for their update.

"That's what I said," Hanna stated. She and Caleb finally spoke and she asked him about what Jenna wanted — why he was spying on her.

"Was it a key to Ali's house? Her locker at the tennis club?" asked Emily, giving up the couple of suggestion she plucked from the top of head.

"Why would Jenna want that?" Aria doubted either of them would be what Jenna wanted. She shot, "What was she gonna do, sniff Ali's old sweat socks?"

"She could do." Halle remarked, "Girl is blind, she gotta use her other senses to get off."

Hanna scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Ew."

Halle put down the coffee pot with a shrug. Vast relief passed over her as she did so, grateful her friends hadn't seen her shakes.

"Officially disturbed," Aria clarified, her face too screwed up.

Casually, Halle moved back and leant on the counter. She gave another shrug and said, "Just saying."

Spencer brought the conversation back around, picking up her cup of coffee and holding it close to her chest. "If Jenna's A, she's looking for any information on us she can get," explained Spencer.

With a single nod, Halle mused aloud, "And she used Caleb to do it."

"You know, I cannot believe he went through my closet — my nightstand!" said Hanna, irritated. "What a jerk."

"He's a total creep," Spencer agreed whole-heartedly.

"He's an animal," Emily disapproved with the tone of hatred.

"Hold up." Halle glanced between them warily. "Can we lower the pitch-fork? He made a mistake — a pretty freaking bad mistake, but—"

"He looked through your stuff, he didn't invade Poland," Aria quickly put in. She was on Halle's side for this one, defending Caleb. It surprised Halle, especially after what she said yesterday.

The entire defence confused Spencer. "Why are you both sticking up for him? He broke her trust," claimed Spencer flatly.

"He went behind her back," Emily stated, firm.

"He did that with Halle, too," Aria offered, her hand out motioning across the island to the cheerleader.

Spencer gave her a hard stare and fired back instantly, "Did he stick his hand in her panty drawer?" She stopped, seeing each of her friend give her looks of disgust. Spencer had gone too far with that one. "Sorry."

Overlooking it, Aria explained sheepishly to the group, "Okay, all I'm saying is that somebody can look through someone else's stuff that they know they're not supposed to be looking through."

Halle saw straight through. She deadpanned and said, "Cut the crap. What gives?"

"Yeah," Spencer agreed, crossing her arms over her chest as she faced Aria head on. "You wanna translate that into speech?"

Aria took a deep breath and told them all, "I saw Ezra's website page." Briskly, she defended herself, "Look, I knocked his desk and his laptop screen came up."

"So?" Spencer questioned her, confused. Sarcastically, Spencer commented in jest, "Big deal. What's the juiciest thing on his status update? 'Ezra Fitz has joined the Mark Twain fan-page'?"

"How about he has a double life?" Aria put in glumly.

"Wait, I thought that you were his double life," said Hanna.

"Fine — triple life." Aria sighed, "There was this picture of him cozying up to some girl wearing an engagement ring in Italy."

Raising her coffee, Halle remarked, "Italy is pretty romantic."

"Not helping," Aria said through gritted teeth.

Curiously, Hanna asked, "What's her name?"

"Jackie," Aria stated.

"How do you know she wasn't his cousin?" Emily asked.

"Because in picture number three, they were licking each other's gelato," Aria shot back.

Halle smirked, raising her mug to meet her lips. "Cute."

"You guys, seriously," Aria whined. "What do I do?"

Sensibly, Emily suggest, "Be honest with him—"

"Awful idea," Halle cut in.

Emily shot her best friend a glare, continuing to offer Aria support. "—Explain what happened and see what he says."

"And remember, people can look guilty of something even if they're completely innocent," Spencer reminded.

That was the moment Hanna finally snapped. She sat up on the stool and started to rave hotly. "You know what? Screw that! Make a fake profile, friend Jackie, comb through that skank's page and nail his ass to the wall."

Halle's eyes widened as she swallowed her coffee. "Wow," she uttered, surprised at how angry Hanna was still.

Hanna saw the shocked faces of her friends and settled back down. "Or you do what Emily says."

"Or..." Halle offered up her own advice, "You can do nothing. Sweatervest-Fitz doesn't know you saw his page, right? So, you don't tell him you did."

Spencer gave Halle a look of are-you-serious and then asked, "Why are you the one in the longest-lasting relationship again?"

Shrugging, Halle said, "Search me."

The girls stayed and finished their coffees before they left. Halle saw them out, standing on the front porch and watching until she could no longer see them. When they had gone, Halle called out to the bushes. "Okay, you can come in now."

Caleb appeared with a smile on his face. He came out from where he hid, behind the wall of the house, and walked up the porch, following Halle inside. He shut the door as she was already walking back into the kitchen, at the rear side of the house. "So, your parents are gone for the night?" he asked.

"At least until ten," Halle answered. She looked up from the sink, where she had just put the coffee-mugs used by her friends, to see Caleb enter the kitchen. "There's still some coffee in there if you want some," she mentioned.

"I'm good thanks," Caleb responded. He sat down on one of the stool, nervously tapped on the side. "So... What did you girls need to chat about?"

"You," Halle said plainly.

He wasn't expecting her to be so blunt with him. "And?"

"I don't share the secrets of my coven," Halle replied. When Caleb gave her a pleading look, Halle sighed and said, "Nothing good."

Caleb nodded slowly, taking it in. "Great," he said. "It's a good job I bought that ticket for Arizona, then."

Immediately, Halle stopped what she was doing. "You bought a ticket?" She did her best to hide her disappointment; a part of Halle really wanted Caleb to stick around. Halle had grown rather attached to boy opposite her, and she liked having a new friend. Sarcastically, she joked, "I don't have to get you a going-away present, do I? Because that's lame."

"Who says lame?" Caleb asked, chuckling.

"Me," Halle said boldly. She laughed with him for a moment before it died out. She sucked in a breath and put of a sad smile. "So, does Hanna know you're leaving?"

"There's no way Hanna ever gonna forgive me, which I don't blame her," Caleb admitted. "I just wish she knew what I want to tell her."

Without hesitation, Halle suggested, "Write her a letter."

"A letter?" Caleb asked, unconvinced.

Halle thought back to the summer before last. She wrote Jason a letter after they kissed a few times. He had gone away to Cape May and there was stuff Halle couldn't send in a text. It was far too personal. So, she sent him a letter detailing everything she was feeling in that moment. Guilt. Sadness. Regret. There was two sorts of regret: the type she felt for betraying Alison and the other knowing she shouldn't kiss Jason again. She did kiss Jason again, and there were more letters sent back and forth that summer.

A had the first one. A probably had the others, too. Halle wouldn't put it past the bitch.

"Yeah, a letter," Halle said, shaking her thoughts of Jason away. "It's better than a text or email. Just write her a letter and give it to her."

"Okay, I'll give it a go," Caleb said.  He smiled at her. "Thanks, Cheery."

"You're welcome, Stalker."

Caleb shook his head, laughing. "I think maybe we need new nicknames."

"Nah, I like calling you out," Halle returned, a smile of her own of her face. She was going to miss him, but she wouldn't tell him. She never told anyone how she really felt, in fear it would backfire. Telling Caleb to stay would backfire, and Halle couldn't risk the blow up.

•

The Founders Festival was an annual event, one Halle Brewster's family participated in every year. Usually, Halle could get away with just showing her face and putting on a few smiles, but this year her mother had a different idea. To keep up with appearances, especially after the incident with the trophy, Halle was no forced to help out at the Church's booth. So, Halle found herself stood around fake smiling for the Reverend and his wife as she helped sell cupcakes to raise money for a new church bell.

Luis Brewster, an active member in the Rosewood community, helped also. She wore a warm, pleasant smile on her face while she chatted and networked with other Rosewood residents, always managing to twist their hand into making a donation for the church. She was happiest when thriving in her community. Luisa Brewster actually liked living in Rosewood; Halle couldn't stand it. 

The woman turned around to find Halle stood hunched over one of the tables, running her finger along the icing of a cupcake. "Stop eating the cupcakes," Luisa said, scolding her daughter. "You're supposed to be selling then, not eating them."

"I'll pay for it," Halle mentioned. She sucked the icing off her finger and then ran it over the remaining frosting, repeating it again.

"You could at least look like you want to be here," Luisa shot.

Halle retorted, "I don't want to be here."

"Then pretend," said Luisa firmly.

"I'm trying, it's just really hard," Halle replied, pealing back the wrapper at last.

She took a bite out of the cupcake just as another person came up to the booth. Halle shrugged and gestured for her mother to take over, chewing obscenely to embarrass the woman into doing all the talking. It worked. Halle didn't have work the booth so long as she was eating. She was just there and supposed her mother should be grateful enough for that. Halle had just tossed the finished wrapped into the trash when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her, lifting her up off of the ground.

"Ughh!" she groaned, suddenly feeling nauseous. "Put me down, I feel sick."

"What a nice greeting," muttered Eric Kahn sarcastically. He chuckled when he put her down again, her turning around to face him.

"Shouldn't have stuffed you face with frosting, then," Luisa Brewster remarked, brows raised at her daughter in a telling-off sort of way.

Rolling her eyes, Halle clarified for her boyfriend, "I had one."

"Yeah, you still got a bit— here, let me." Eric reached out with his thumb and wiped at the corner of Halle's mouth. He then put his thumb to his our lips, sucking off the pink icing.

The action itself made Halle rush with warmth. Her breathing quickened and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Within a second, Halle was up on her tiptoes and crashed her lips upon Eric's. He stepped back, not ready for his girlfriend's brashness, but his hands soon found their place on her waist. Eric pulled her closer into him, giving into her. The exchange even managed to get Halle's mother to ease up, the woman smiling to herself.

"Oh, my — let me divert my eyes," giggled Mrs Ackard. Her extremely high-pitched voice cut through the air and made Halle pull away from Eric, craning her head around to see the Reverend's wife approaching them.

Still wrapped up in her boyfriend's arms, Halle pressed her lips together and said her apologies to Mrs Ackard. She wanted to shy away and hide her head away in Eric's chest, but her eyes caught onto another person. Ian Thomas was following Mrs Ackard, holding a couple boxes for the woman. Halle tried to step away from Eric, feeling suddenly uncomfortable under his watchful gaze, yet her boyfriend had a tight hold on her.

"Don't apologise, I like to see young love," said Mrs Ackard. She motioned to Ian behind her and mentioned, "You know, inside the tent, we just on about how Melissa and Ian didn't have a church wedding."

"Biggest Christening the town's ever seen though," jested Ian, sharing a smile with both Mrs Ackard and Halle's mother.

"They were young love once," Mrs Ackard said to Halle directly. "Now, they're expecting a baby."

"What else would they be expecting?" murmured Halle sarcastically.

Luisa shot Halle a hard glare, wearing a false for the Reverend's wife. "She's kidding," Luisa covered easily, "our Halle likes to think she's a comedian."

"Yes, I like thinking I'm funny," Halle agreed, monotonous, while she put on a smile as equally fake as her mother's one.

Ian placed down the box on one of the empty tables of the booth and then looked to Halle. He smiled at her, asking, "So, what'd you reckon to that, Hal?"

"Reckon to what?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"A big church wedding," Ian stated plainly, his lips pulled up into a sly smirk as he looked between her and Eric Kahn.

Mrs Ackard immediately jumped in. "Oh, Halle, you'd make a beautiful bride," she compliments enthusiastically. "White would go so well against your skin."

Across from her, Halle found her mother. The once false smile now did it's best to hide the grimace Luisa Brewster was now experiencing. They both felt the intensity of the Reverend's wife and were made to uncomfortable at the comment, not that it was the woman's intention. It was just how it was in Rosewood.

Eric, feeling his girlfriend stiffen in his arms, knew too well Halle's growing discomfort. He knew from dating her, all the pressure and scrutiny he never even knew existed before. He heard every comments now and knew how uneasy she got over them. Still, Eric Kahn played the perfect guy. He chuckled and smiled and said, "We're too young to be thinking that far ahead, Mrs Ackard. There's not wedding for us yet."

"One day," said Mrs Ackard, beaming. "Your wedding will be the talk of the town."

Halle looked pleadingly to her mother and asked, "Can I go now?"

Luisa gave a slight nod. "Of course, go enjoy the festival."

Yet, just as Halle went to lead Eric away from the church booth, Ian spoke up. His words made Halle turn back, staring at him with a sick feeling looming deep in her stomach. "Watch out for the fun-house, apparently it's scary this year," Ian warned in jest, but it unnerved Halle. Ian made it sound so sinister even with a tone of niceness or when joking. Everything Ian Thomas did now made her uneasy. He was a creep, and Halle knew that already.

Ian's warning hadn't been heard though. The pair ignored it and went straight to the fun-house' it was where every young couple went. Giggling while tucked under his arm, Halle enjoyed being with Eric away from the pressures of her mother and others. She wanted to forget all about the white wedding in Rosewood; nothing sounded worse to Halle if was being honest. She was young — a teenager — so why would she be thinking of a wedding? Halle hated Ian for that. He knew exactly what he was doing when he said it and did it to irk her. Halle decided she wasn't going to let it get under her skin. Not when she was still young and could act like it.

They entered the fun-house through the mouth of a clown. Instantly, it was darker inside. Lights flashes and flickered making Halle squint her eyes at the harshness. Music blasted through the over-head speakers and canned, creepy-sounding chuckles sounded around all around them. Parts of the floor rocked when stepped on and the swirling spirals made Halle dizzy. Her head was pounding again.

Another headache.

She groaned aloud, though she was sure it wasn't heard over the constant clatter around her. She was overwhelmed. Her senses heightened as she tried to work herself down and through it. Halle gripped onto the nearest physical thing she could; it just so happened to be her joyful boyfriend, who seemed unaffected by their surroundings. Halle couldn't breathe. Her throat was dry and tightened, and Eric was the closest tether she had to safety. So, she strapped herself to him, clinging on tightly.

To make it go away, Halle thrust herself on him. She dragged Eric to the nearest and darkest corner, and focused herself only on him. Away from the flashing lights, the only warmth came from her body. She was sweltering, her skin burning up and blistering from her heat. She fought against the noise in her head and continued to crash her lips on Eric's, kissing him passionately. She lusted for the safety of him. She craved for his protection. She desired his body on hers.

Halle pressed herself to his chest, hungry for the closeness. Halle wanted him to hold her. Eric gripped and touched. Feverishly, she kept kissing him until lips were swollen and even then, she kept kissing him. They hadn't been so close, so connected in so long, and she needed him to need her. She needed someone to need her the way she ached to be needed in return. Breathes got heavy and shallower. Kisses became hot and rushed, teeth and tongue. Clumsily putting a hand between their bodies, Halle reached for Eric's belt but a larger hand stopped hers.

Eric pulled apart from her, looking at her as though she had grown another head. "Why are you doing?"

"We're having fun," Halle said. She was smiling, breathless under his gaze and the humidity of the room, and tried again.

Eric's hand stopped her. "Not here," he said, chuckling. "Our parents would have a field day if they found out."

"Where's the fun in that?" Halle heard Alison's voice. The words from the night of The Jenna Thing played in her head, worsening the pain. "Halle, you like having fun? Don't we have fun?"

Halle clenched her eyes shut. She squeezed them so tightly it hurt. Her hands came up to her head, putting pressure on scalp. She hoped to ease some of the pain, but it only worsened. She started rocking, shaking uncontrollably. Halle's eyes shot open and landed on the red writing on the wall.

Are you having fun yet?

Alison's laugh followed.

Eric was saying her name, but Halle couldn't hear it. Alison was the only thing she could hear now; everything else merged into muffles of white noise. Fuzzy and in a daze, Halle pushed Eric from her. He grabbed at her arms to keep her in place and tried to get through to her but nothing was. He was saying her name, pleading with her, but Halle couldn't stand it. She fought him and pushed herself from him, stumbling in the dark for Alison.

She stepped back onto the path or the fun-house. She pushed past and through people, not hearing their annoyed complaints. Halle stumbled her way through, desperately searching for a glimpse of blonde. She remember the day in the hospital. Her mother told her it was in Halle's head, but it was real. Alison was there. Then, at the homecoming dancing, in the poster. Alison's blue eyes pierced her skin, judging. Was that Alison too? Alison was dead. No, Alison wasn't dead. Alison was alive.

A sharp pain shot across her forehead, and Halle cried out. The zooming thoughts that occupied her head into overload. She clutched onto a banister to keep her up. Her eyes burned. The lights kept flashing, the spirals kept swirling. Her head was spinning. Dizzy, her sight blurred in an array of light and unclear patterns. She cried out for Alison. The inside of her throat burned as it was bleeding. Her faded into echoes in her head too, muffled by the sound of Alison.

Halle's breathing increased. Quick and rushed, the blood was in her ears. Pounded. Surged. Thumped. It tore into her. Halle couldn't breath. She was struggling to breath. And then the panic set it. Her entire body shook violently from her lips to her unsteady legs. With one final attempt, she tried to focus on her breathing. She did her best to concentrate. In, out, in, out. But that failed to work. Her head lightened and her body convulsed, and Halle dropped to the floor with a thud.

Swirling around her, Halle made out the faint muffles of panic. She heard her boyfriend's voice louder than most. She saw a blur of his face and a blonde behind him before her eyes rolled back and everything went black.

•

When Halle woke, she was met with her bedroom. She had no idea how she got there. It confused her, and her head hurt. Struggling to sit up, Halle winced as she did so. Her mother rushed forward and helped her.

"Here, easy, easy," Luisa Brewster said softly. "You passed out, take it easy."

Blinking several times, Halle cleared her vision. She looked to her mother and asked, "Where's Alison?"

"Alison?" Halle's dad spoke up. He was sat down on the sofa under Halle's window, the one Caleb used to get in and out. He looked at Halle strangely, inspecting her face.

"Yeah, where's Alison?" Halle asked, confused to why they were acting so weird. "She was with me."

"Honey, Alison is dead," Luisa said. She tried to let her daughter down gently, like she had done in the hospital. Helplessly, she spared a glance to her husband and pleaded with him to see how estranged Halle had become form reality.

It hit Halle like a truck. Slowly, she sucked in a breath in the way she was unable to back in the fun-house. In realisation, Halle said, "I was with Eric."

"Yeah, he called 9-1-1," Nick said. "An EMT saw you over, do you not remember?"

"Was I awake?" Halle asked.

"Halle, you had a full conversation with the EMT in the ambulance," Luisa told her daughter.

Halle shook her head, sucking a sharp gasp of air when it hurt. Her head swelled. "I don't remember, it's just... blank," she gave. Halle looked to her mother and asked, "Where's Eric? Is he okay?"

"He's fine, he's downstairs with your friends," said Luisa.

Halle's brows pulled together. "The girls are here?"

"Emily said she text you, they all came around when they got no answer from you," Nick told her. "They've been downstairs since your mom called Emily back."

"Can I see them?" asked Halle.

Luisa gave a nod. "Sure, we'll send them." She then pressed a kiss to Halle's head and stood up from the bed.

"Take it slow though, Hal," warned Nick cautiously, wary of his daughter since he received the phonecall from his terrified wife from the festival. He came over to kiss her head also, getting a soft smile in response from Halle. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Halle replied.

The moment they had gone, Halle scrambled to find her phone. She threw the covers from her and stood up. Her legs wobbled and she had to use the bed to stay afoot. She moved across the room and grabbed the jacket she had been wearing at the festival. She searched the pockets, feeling for her mobile. When she found it, Halle pulled it out and flipped it open to find Emily's text.

I think I found the key.Call me...From: Emily

Halle pressed back and saw a new, unread message. It came from an unknown number and she knew who it was from immediately. As she clicked on it, Halle's heart rose in her throat.

SCARED YET? YOU SHOULD BE. --A.

She heard her door open. Halle looked up from the phone-screen and saw the four of her friends staring at her. "Are you okay?" Aria asked first.

"Yeah, no, I'm good," Halle dismissed. "This is more important — you found it?"

Without a word, Hanna simply raised her hand and showed the memory-drive to Halle as Spencer stated, "We haven't looked yet, we need your computer."

"Because yeah, I found it. I found the key," Emily said, and vast relief fell over Halle.

Now, all in Halle's bedroom, the group of five sat on the bed. Huddled around to see the small laptop screen, they watched one of the videos from the flashdrive they retrieved from Alison's secret storage unit. Emily had recalled a memory from Labor Day, when Alison came over to her house and gifted her a snow globe, hinting at its importance. The key was hidden under the felt-bottom and unlocked another lot of secrets of their small town

"Someone's been spying on us for years," Emily said, her body tense. The words were enough to put all of her friends on edge, just like the video had been doing already. It showed all of them. All six of them. There was music playing in the background but they couldn't hear if over the laughter; all giggling wildly as they tried on clothes.

They were that happy, once.

"And Ali didn't take the video, she's in it," Aria concluded.

"She's in a lot of them," Halle mentioned softly. Her best friend was being stalked, and she never said a word to Halle. Did she not trust her? Was Alison that afraid? So afraid that she never said anything about the videos she unearthed.

Realisation sparked inside of Spencer. She sat up straighter and exclaimed, "Oh, my god, that's July fourth."

"She always said it was Toby peeping on us," Hanna said.

"No, there's no way this is Toby," defended Spencer strongly.

"I'm starting to think the stink-bomb was a less about Toby and more about Jenna," Halle said bluntly. "Ali wanted rid and we went along with it willingly."

It sat uneasy with all the girls. Halle's comment struck a nerve with them, the very same that Alison played on whenever she wanted something from them. They were her playthings, and Alison played them well. She had them all believing it was Toby that night, so much so that they all were compliance in throwing the stink-bomb, which then blinded Jenna Marshall. That started a war in the girls' world, and they were still paying to that.

Alison wasn't.

"Well, if it's not Toby, who is it?" Hanna asked.

"How about why? Why did Alison have these videos?" Aria questioned firmly.

Emily, on the verge of tears, asked in her shaky breath, "Did the person who took this know she had them?"

Spencer then asked the question they all dreaded. A truly deadly one. "Is this why she was killed?"

•