2.10

•

"Touched By An 'A'ngel"

Sat with Aria in the cafeteria, the two were enjoying their slow morning together. Halle had picked up Aria earlier before school and the two grabbed a coffee, chatting while they waiting for the others to show. They were in the middle of a conversation when Emily broke it up, obliterating whatever they were talking about. The pair were both unsuspecting to Emily's high-rate rant when she immediately found them.

"Why are your phones off?" Emily asked before she had even sat down. She planted herself opposite them, her tone accusatory.  "I was trying to reach you both all night."

"It's off," Halle answered, baffled by the sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry, I was avoiding Ezra's call," Aria said. "We're still arguing about Jackie."

"Forget Jackie. I need to talk to you about Jason," said Emily, determined and strong in her approach.

Halle shot back, "Well, I need to talk to you about Jason."

"What?" Aria was lost. "Why do we need to talk about Jason?"

"He kissed me," said Halle. She got it out quickly, not dancing around it; she ripped off the band-aid. Halle bit the inside of her cheek after, nervous, especially when Emily had an outburst after.

"Halle!" Emily scolded, eye large in shock. "Why would you do that?"

"It caught me off-guard, okay?" Halle defended. She tried to put herself across as innocently as she could. "I didn't know he was gonna kiss me. I knew he was thinking about it, but I didn't think he'd actually do it, and I spent the whole night with my stomach in knots over how to tell you guys," Halle confessed.

"You could have just told us," Aria comforted. "I've been with you all morning, you should have said, Hal. Wait, what are you gonna tell Eric?" she asked.

"Do I even tell Eric? I didn't tell him about the video and he hasn't found out about that," Halle pointed out, facing Aria.

Annoyed at how relaxed her friends were being, Emily blurted out to them, "Jason had pictures of Aria— And you!" She saw both of them turn to look at her, baffled. "Creepy pictures," Emily elaborated gravely.

Stunned, Aria sat up in her chair. "What?"

"Spencer and I found a dark room in his woodshed, okay?" Emily told them seriously. "He developed photographs of Aria sleeping."

"Sleeping?!" Aria screeched, suddenly a lot more alarmed than before.

"Sleeping or drugged," Emily said flatly. There was no in between according to Emily; she left no room to negotiate.

"And the photos of me?" Halle asked. She was completely blindsided by it all — bewildered by what Emily was telling her. A mix of both mortified and confused. Halle didn't know how to feel about Jason the best of times, how was she supposed to feel now?

Emily said, "Those looked old, like they had be developed a while ago. They were hidden away in a box, we couldn't tell where you were. It wasn't your bedroom or any of ours."

"Okay, well, I'm officially terrified," Aria said, arms wrapped around herself for comfort.

"Good. Okay, it's about time," Spencer stated. She slide in next to Emily at the table, already jumping down their throats about their lack of cautiousness around Alison's creepy brother, especially Halle's. "Are you really surprised? Jason had a video of you, of course he has photos," she shot harshly at the girl opposite her. "And for the record, I never brought Jason's whole act." Spencer rushed through her rant as she backed up her point with obvious evidence, while at the same time being disturbed at the facts themselves. "I mean, hanging around here, pretending to be concerned about at-risk youth. He used your brother and your..." Spencer looked at Halle again and said, "Well, I don't know what he used for you, but—"

"Hold on," Aria cut in. "He really did help Mike," she defended. She had to, at the very least, give Jason credit for that.

"So he could get in you house," argued Spencer.

"And use you to get to Halle and kiss her," Emily pointed out. Her mouth feel open as soon as it came blurting out, knowing she had just outed it to Spencer without permission.

Spencer's head whipped around to question Emily and then her eyes shot back to Halle. "Wait, what?! Wait, you're kissing him?"

"It was one kiss, Spencer," Halle said fiercely. She gave Emily an irritated look and  sarcastically muttered, "Thanks, Em. That's two-for-two, I'll trust you to tell Hanna."

"I didn't mean to," Emily said quietly.

Deeply concerned, Spencer said, "Halle, he's dangerous."

"Yeah, you keep on telling me," Halle snapped. "You lot haven't stopped telling me since he came back!" Halle saw their shocked faces at her outburst and imagined the questions they'd have if she confessed to kissing Jason back. There was no way she could ever openly tell them how she was feeling if this was their reaction to a single kiss. "Fine," Halle sighed and said, "I hear you. I'm just.... I'm just gonna go." Plucking up bag that hung on the chair, Halle stood up and walked away, desperate to get far from their judging stares.

"What's going on?" Spencer asked the pair still at the table, the moment Halle was gone. "Did you two know about this?" she asked insistently.

"I knew they were connecting, but I promised I wouldn't say anything," Emily told them, feeling guilty for both not speaking up sooner and for breaking a promise to her best friend. Emily knew Halle could have been in real danger when she first heard about Halle and Jason, but now she knew Halle was in actual danger.

Sighing, Spencer said, "It's okay."

Aria pressed her lips together anxiously. "Guys," she started, and the two opposite her looked directly at her. Aria gave over the information she knew now, what she felt terrible for keeping to herself. "I knew Jason liked her, that's why I invited him to that dinner. And he said something at the fashion show... You guys, I think Jason came back to Rosewood for Halle."

"What?" Emily asked.

"We know it's not a new thing, her and Jason," Aria explained. "Them kissing now is a new thing, and I didn't know anything about that until just. But..." She asked them seriously, "What if Halle didn't tell us the whole truth, when she told us about her playing with Jason that summer?" Aria continued, "We've all said it, Halle knows Jason best. So, what if she likes him back? Would that be so bad?"

"Yes!" Spencer was persistent. "He took that video of her! And now this?! He's a creep, Aria, and Halle needs to stay away from him."

"You don't think we we're being too harsh? Telling her she can't see him?" Emily asked, a frown on her face.

"Sometimes you have to have hurt someone to help them," Spencer replied. "Halle'll thank us in the long run, when she realises who he is."

•

Just before the bell rung for next period, Aria sought out Jason and found him in the hallway, chatting with another student. Jason spotted her just as he was saying goodbye and acknowledged her, thinking she'd be the one to really help him when it came to Halle.

Aria made her way over to him in annoyed strides. She had trusted Jason, and he was proving her wrong — that he was a creep like her friends had warned her he was. Most importantly, Halle was far too close for comfort, and none of them understood why. "Can I talk to you?" asked Aria.

"Hey, yeah, what's up?" Jason asked.

Aria unloaded onto him abruptly, almost talking over him. "Why do you have those photos of me?"

Confused, Jason's brows furrowed. "What?"

"My friends said they found pictures that you took of me sleeping," Aria told him. Unnerved and rushed, she asked him, "How did you even take them? Did you, like, climb and ladder up to my window and—?"

"Wait, hold up," Jason cut in. He asked her lowly, "Your friends are the ones who broke into my darkroom?"

"So what?" she said, agitated. "The point is they found the photos — photos you didn't want found."

Jason shook his head, rounding her as he took in the information. He was in disbelief. "Man, I swear this town never changes." The bell rung, and students started to disperse to their classes. Jason turned to face her and remarked, "People would rather sneak behind your back than ask you a direct question."

"I'm asking you a direct question right now," Aria argued back. "Why did you take them and when?"

"I didn't," said Jason, his stare hard. "Ali did."

Taken aback, Aria struggled to comprehend what he was saying. "Why would Ali take pictures of me sleeping?"

"Got me," Jason replied. He was too sure either. "I don't know what goes on at slummer parties. Look," he explained further, "I found a roll of film in the house, so I developed it."

A part of Aria wanted to believe him, but something inside of her wasn't completely convinced. Aria wanted to believe Jason. She knew her friends would nag at her if she didn't question him on everything, so she continued. "Okay, well, why were all the pictures missing when my friends went back there? Spencer said the whole darkroom was gone," Aria said.

"That equipment is expensive, so I moved in into the house until I could get a new lock," Jason informed her. "And the prints were gone because I was having them framed. As a gift — for you," he said. "I was doing it to apologise for stepping over the line with your brother and to thank you for what you said at the fashion show."

"Oh," Aria's face dropped.

"So," Jason began. He looked at her and asked, "Anything else you want to excuse me of?"

"The photos of Halle," Aria spoke softly. She questioned him, "Did Ali take them too?"

Jason dropped his head, his voice went quiet. "No, they were mine — from that summer." Suddenly, worry kicked in. Jason's stare got more intense, alarmed. "Wait, does Halle know? Does she think what you and your friends thought?"

Aria sighed and reasoned, "Jason, you have to admit this just all looks really bad."

"Yeah. I can see that," Jason said, nodding his head. He was remarkably calm for what she just excused him off — he had gotten a firm hold on his anger since that summer — but there was disappointment on his face too. He started to walk away when Aria called out to him again.

"Jason — Why do you have them? The photos of Halle, I mean," she added as he faced her again. "Why did you keep them? If she was just playing with you."

Even now, hearing those words, Jason grimaced. It hit a nerve. He was sensitive over the subject of him and Halle from that summer, and not for the same reasons as Halle. Jason replied, "These are really the questions you should start asking your friend instead of me. I'm not the one hiding things, that's all Halle. She's a better liar than you guys think."

•

PLAN TODAYFOR A BRIGHTER TOMORROW.

Halle stared at the poster for longer than she should have. Out of all the college posters stapled up, that was the one that kept her attention. She hadn't heard those exact words, but the sentiment had been drilled into her since she was a sophomore. Halle remembered the day her mother sat her down and told her that cheer couldn't just be for fun anymore — that it was the one thing that was going to carry her to college. Halle was never even given the chance to be anything else. It wasn't a wonder why she made it her whole personality; she wasn't allowed to be any different.

"Do you reckon it get any more condescending?" asked Noel. He appeared beside her, scouting out his own options at the college fair. Halle hadn't seen or spoken to Noel since the night of the fashion show, having cornered and accused her of that stunt.

"Can I help you?" Halle asked him. She wasn't interested in any humour he wanted to spring on her, having seen how flippant he could be with her nowadays.

"I was only starting a conversation, Hal," Noel said, laughing off the sharpness of her tongue.

"Well, the last time that happened you were threatening me and Aria," she shot back at him.

"I wouldn't say threatening, call it a cautious accusation," replied Noel, grinning down at her. He knew too well that she'd forgive him, but this time she didn't smile or laugh. Halle's face was neutral, stubbornly quiet. "Come on, Hal," Noel said. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry."

"Except it doesn't matter, Noel," Halle said. She turned to look up at him, meeting his eyes. "You accused me of doing that to Alison — to her family. You know how that would hurt me, and you did anyway."

"It was bad move," Noel said sincerely. "And I could give you some lame excuse, but I won't waste your time because we both know you're too smart to buy into it," he added, seeing a hint of a smile curve onto her face. "I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for hurting you."

Taking in his apology, Halle nodded. "Okay."

"Okay? That's it? You're not gonna scream or knee my in the groin?" Noel asked, a trace of humour behind his voice. "What happened to you?"

"I'm just not mad," Halle said easily, and she really felt that was the truth. At that moment, she didn't want to fight. She was anger or anxious, tense or irritated. Halle was calm, steady like she always wanted to be. There was a certain air of peace floating around her. A part of her honestly thought getting suspended from the cheer-team was a good thing; her and mother talked things out, so the majority of the pressure had gone, and Halle was learning to face the consequences. There was nobody to blame for herself. She understood that now.

"So, we're good?" Noel checked.

Halle shrugged and said, "I have much bigger things to worry about than you being a dick, Noel. You're literally at the bottom of the list of things I'm worried about. So, yeah, we're good." She gave him a quick side-glance, adding, "At least, you're good with me."

"Is that the only list I'm at the bottom of?" Noel asked her.

She narrowed her eyes, slightly lost at his question. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." Noel shook his head and grinned down at her, eyes then scanning the room. "So, are you going straight to UPenn, or are you actually looking at some others?" asked Noel.

"There's a few I'd like to look at," Halle told him. "Kentucky offers full-ride scholarships for cheer, so that's something."

"Hal, it's not like your parents can't afford college," said Noel, chuckling. "You live on Bridgewater," he stated, as if that was solid enough justification — that Halle's family could never struggle paying for anything. Not that Noel would have much experience; he exuded rich, filling up most of his personality like Halle's was with cheerleading.

"Yeah, well, there's other factors," Halle mentioned.

"Like what?" Noel questioned. He raised a brow up at her, curious.

Halle fought back her want to motion to all of her. Instead, she put on her best, most convincing smile. "Nothing. Let's just go look at these things, get it over with."

"We can skip, I know UPenn is where I'm going," said Noel. The pair had started walking, browsing over the college booths. "No matter the cost, or which door my parents use to get me in."

"You know, before you got suspended, Noel, you weren't pretending to be smart," Halle pointed out, "you actually were."

"Kinda hard to go back to that when the actual criminal gets to walk back in here like nothing happened," Noel said. His eyes went over to the Hollis booth, where Mr Fitz stood greeting ex-students as he chatted up the college he now worked at. "I was the one who lost, he keeps winning. Fitz should be in jail," he said bitterly.

"We'll factor out your attempt at blackmail, then," said Halle sarcastically. "Don't throw stones in glass houses if you ain't innocent party."

"Take your own advice, Hal," Noel returned. He gave her a look and said, "You're not an innocent party either."

"No, I'm just judgmental," replied Halle, a proud smile on her face. "There's a difference."

Noel shook his head, grinning down at her. "Hate to say it, but I'm gonna disappoint you and skip," he said. "This isn't for me. Catch you later, Hal."

"Okay," Halle said quietly, as Noel ducked down to kiss her cheek. He shot her another smile before he escaped the bustle of the college fair. Halle watched after him, noting his joking attitude as he boasted to his friends about skipping early. As much as she hated to admit it, Halle put a lot of faith in Noel and losing said-faith hurt her, not that Noel noticed.

She thought back on Noel's confession last year. The nice day they spent together in the city and the fancy restaurant where he told Halle he liked her, and how she told him in return that he was a risk she would never be willing to take. It wouldn't have gone that way if Noel took himself seriously.

Halle felt she got on better with Noel than with his brother; there wasn't much of a discrepancy between them. People could actually refer to them as high school sweethearts, the phrase often thrown around in Rosewood. Noel got Halle's jokes and her cocky — and sometimes — self-depreciating humour. Halle figured her and Noel could've been pretty happy together, if he got himself together. She never would have looked at Eric Kahn, and sadly the only reason she did was because Noel wasn't the safe option. Still, Halle wanted the best for him, but Noel never seemed to want the same for himself. Halle couldn't afford the same luxury, so she went along with the fair.

She gravitated towards the UPenn booth first. Halle chatted politely with the faculty, putting her best self forward. She displayed the her she knew a college like UPenn would want — the good student, the junior captain of the cheer-team, the curious and engaging mind. Halle played each part well, at least she did when she wanted to. If her interest was gone, so was she. Oddly, that mentality didn't just stick to her education.

"Interesting choice, Brewster," Jason commented. He settled in next to her, his own file in hand. The annoying part Halle was barely used to was Jason being everywhere now; she couldn't escape him, not even at school. No place was safe from Jason. In fact, Halle often thought he had tainted her whole world.

Without looking up at him, Halle stubbornly picked up a brochure, smiling at the member of staff there. She said to Jason, "I told you I wanted out of Rosewood the moment I could."

"And you wanna go to UPenn, Pennsylvania?" he asked knowingly, peering over at the glossy college program.

Halle snatched it up. She hid it from his gaze, shielding into her chest. She looked at him with hardened eyes. "What's it to you? Are you my guidance counsellor now, too?" She said sharply, "No — So, you really don't have a say in where I go to college."

"You can't tell me UPenn is your big escape," Jason said. "What happened to wanting out of Rosewood?"

"This is out of Rosewood," Halle stated, her brow furrowing.

Jason called her bluff. "It's less than an hour away," he said. "You're better than that, Brewster. Even that guy, your old teacher... Ezra Fitz said you were," Jason then mentioned, causing Halle to crane her neck back in shock.

"You spoke to Mr Fitz about me? Are you kidding?" Halle was in complete disarray, wondering who the person in front of her was. It added on top of what her friends told her that morning. The Jason that Halle knew from that summer never would've gotten involved so personally with her life. All of sudden, Halle's calm, relaxed mood was gone. She was furious. "You're meddling in places you don't belong," she shot at him.

"I didn't seek him out," Jason told her lowly. He tried to keep his voice down, not keen on attracting a crowd or anyone hearing. Jason gripped her elbow and pulled her aside, retreating her backwards into a quiet corner.

"Hey — Hey!" Halle yanked her arm away, eyes darkening as they narrowed.

"I didn't— I didn't ask him about you, he mentioned at that dinner that never happened that you were thinking of settling," Jason explained to her. "I don't want you to settle. The last thing I want is for you to settle, you'd be miserable if you did, Brewster."

"Who do you think you are?" Halle asked him, growing deeply irritated at his words. "Going around kissing me — telling me I deserve better?"

"I can tell you're better than most things," Jason defended. "UPenn, and what's at UPenn."

Halle's jaw locked. "Leave Eric out of this."

A cocksure smile came across his face, teasing her. "Who said anything about Eric? Don't remember mentioning him, but if that's what your mind goes to..." he remarked.

Raising her finger at him, Halle warned Jason, "Don't put words in my mouth."

"Are you gonna tell him?" Jason then asked her, and she dropped her hand.

The crease appeared between her brows. "Tell him what?"

"We kissed," Jason said.

"No, you kissed me, there's a difference," Halle argued. " A pretty big difference, actually."

"You kissed me back," replied Jason smartly.

"No — No, I didn't!" Halle was lying through her back-teeth. Even she knew it was a terrible lie. Still, she told it. "I didn't, I have a boyfriend."

"You kissed me, I felt it," Jason told her.

"Okay, maybe I did," Halle snapped, giving in. "But you have no right coming over here and talking like you have the high-ground. I might have kissed you back for, like, a split second, but you are so much worse than me. You have photographs of Aria sleeping. Like, what is that even about? One teenager not enough for you?"

"Hey, whoa, whoa." Jason was taken aback by how quick it took for her to go on the offence. His brow furrowed, eyes hardened. "That's not fair, it's not like that, it was never like that." He heard her scoff, and Jason grew annoyed. "So, I don't even get a chance to explain myself with you, you're just gonna accuse me of something you know nothing about?"

"I think I know plenty," Halle countered, keeping her face indifferent to him.

"Look, I found a bunch of film hidden in Ali's room and developed it," Jason told her firmly. "Ali took those photographs of Aria, and they were gone because I was having the prints framed as an apology to Aria. I was trying to be nice to your friend because, like I said last night, I care about you. I told the same thing to Aria earlier, you can ask her."

Realisation sunk in slowly. "So, it was misunderstanding?"

"Yeah. But it's nice to see how quick you are to label me the bad guy," Jason fired. "Makes me wonder why I keep making the same mistake." He scoffed again, going to turn away, but stopped instead. He looked her in the eye and said strongly, "None of this would be a problem if you told the truth about us, about what happened that summer."

"Jason, I can't—"

"Yeah, I know. You're unavailable," Jason finished, disappointment on his face.

He walked away from her after, and Halle let out a deflated sigh. She opened her mouth to call out his name, but couldn't bring herself to do it. There was a deep want to apologise yet she struggled with those. She didn't like admitting she was wrong. Often, she dove into the opinions of her friends and went with them, not stopping to realise her own feelings. It was a habit she got from being friends with Alison and how she followed her blindly into battle. And then somebody actually was blinded. Halle thought she had gotten over it, but it was clear to her that she hadn't.

After, her cellphone pinged. Dread filled her, eyes closing at the thought of the next taunt. Halle pulled the mobile from out of her bag and read the latest text on her screen.

What a girl wants isn't what you need.Too bad for Jason.-- A.

•

Turning onto Bridgewater Terrace, Halle was surprised when she saw Mr Fitz's car pulling out. Her brows drew together in confusion, wondering why he would be out here. Halle then caught sight of Aria sat in the passenger seat of the car, and it only made her curiosity grow. She took to the bend slowly, rounding the road, and spied Jason stood outside the DiLaurentis house.

In a hurry to catch him, Halle parked up behind her mother's car and exited the car. She knew he saw her. She saw him roll his eyes and go towards his porch steps. Halle called out his name, "Jason!" she had her hand up in the air, trying to grab his attention. "Jason — please!"

His back tensed. He never liked to hear her plead. Jason breathed in and out deeply before he turned back to her. He stared back at Halle, jaw locked in annoyance. He hadn't wanted to see her after their conversation earlier, but Jason couldn't escape Halle. All roads led back to that street, and they were neighbours after all.

Halle stopped, staring back at him. Jason was looking at her, expectantly waiting, and she had no excuse for the way she behaved. Judging herself guilty, Halle said, "I should've let you explain earlier, when you said Alison took those photos. I guess I let my friends tell me how I should feel without... without deciding for myself how I feel... about you," she added.

"Yeah. But you did," Jason said shortly.

"I shouldn't have said what I said, I didn't mean it," Halle replied. When she got nothing but a small nod of acknowledgement from him, Halle concluded sadly, "You're still angry with me."

"Can you blame me?" Jason asked her. "You said some pretty damning things."

"I know, and I feel terrible—"

Jason cut her off. "Just tell me you're sorry," he said. "I know that you hate apologies, and I won't make an idiot out of you, but just tell me you're sorry. Then, we can move on."

A little smile tugged at the right corner of her mouth, hearing him say that. She wondered how it could be so easy for him to forgive her — why it was always so simple for them. Every moment with him, Halle felt herself slipping further into the space he made for her. Halle felt she fit better there than anywhere else. She knew Jason was right — no one knew her the way he did.

Sucking up whatever pride was left, Halle told him, "I'm sorry."

He nodded once and accepted her apology. "Okay then. That's all I wanted."

"Jason," Halle called out again, halting him from turning away once again. "Why come back here?" The thought of him coming back for her had been circling around in her head since Aria said it. Halle wondered if it was true. Her heart skipped at the thought that Caleb thought of Hanna as Rosewood, and Halle knew now if was a person, Rosewood to her was Jason. She just needed to know if it was the same for him — to hear him say it. "You left. So, why did you come back?" she asked, more clearer this time.

Jason simply told her, You're the type of girl a guy comes back for, Brewster." He smiled when he saw the one break out on her face — the smile so large that Halle tried to fight it back. They were both creatures of habit, slowly falling back into the two people they were together two summer ago. Biting the bullet, Jason then asked, "Do you wanna have dinner with me?"

Still smiling, Halle bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, I do," Halle said happily.

The house was physically empty apart from a few pieces of furniture. Halle wouldn't ever say it was the emptiest she had ever felt the house be; she had been there after Alison disappeared. It had been cold back then, the unsettling reminder of Alison lingered over the place. The house felt haunted, but without its ghost. Bare-boned, Halle still felt Alison everywhere.

"I don't have much in," Jason said. He offered, "We can order in. Pizza or Chinese?"

Halle almost felt like she had been caught doing something she shouldn't. She looked to him, stumbling to keep her voice neutral. "Uh, yeah, Chinese sounds good."

"You're thinking this place really hasn't changed, aren't you?" Jason asked knowingly. Halle let out a small sigh at that, telling him without words that she was. "I know the feeling," Jason said. "I thought I'd buy this place and not recognise it. Can't understand how Maya's family didn't rip it apart, or how they'd even wanna live here after what happened," he added. His hand reached out and touched the dark-wood skirtings to the archway, contemplating his own thoughts. He said them aloud to Halle. "This house has brought nothing but misery for my family. I don't have many good memories here."

"Then why buy it?" asked Halle softly. "You could've bought any house in Rosewood, why this one?"

Jason looked to her, his hand falling from the wall. "I was looking for answers."

"Did you get them?"

"I got some. Better than nothing," Jason replied. He sucked in a sharp breath, pulling his eyes from her to scan the hollow room. "You think this place could ever have a second chance?"

His words sank deep with her. His question was one of two halves. The first was very clearly him speaking about the house and the lack of goodness to come out of it. The second was a lot more difficult, with Halle's mind going to Jason himself. She knew he had done a lot of things he wasn't necessarily proud of, and Jason was only just coming to terms that he didn't have to be the same person he was, but she felt strongly in second chances.

Halle promised him, "One day, this house is gonna have the family it deserves." When he turned to her again, Halle gave him the softest of smiles. She meant what she said, and she meant it about him too.

Not long after her sweet comment, the pair were sat on the couch, facing each other with their backs to the arms of their seats. Takeout boxes were in front of them, in the middle seat of the couch, as they caught up on what they had missed. Halle found out about Jason's time at college and how he got sober; Jason got told more about Halle's diagnosis and he asked after her grandmother, which made Halle's heart do the weird, fluttery thing she never got used to. They talked for what seemed like hours, and it reminded Halle of how they started.

It was far from how they ended.

Halle felt a nauseous. Her stomach was knotted and her hands were shaking. She was unclear whether it was from nerves or the cold.. The weather had switched drastically since Alison returned home Labor Day weekend. Where the day had been warm and dry, the night came with a storm. Thunder clapped above her, and Halle realised all summers end eventually.

A rustle came from behind her. Halle whipped her head around, her arms crossed over her body. "Jason?" she called out. Her voice shook, on edge since the sky greyed over. She turned back to the shed, wondering whether she should just head to the Hastings' barn already and skip out on Jason.

Just as she went to pull out her phone, a hand reached out and touched her waist. Halle jumped, gasping. She shot around, shaken, and was faced with a now-chuckling Jason. He laughed at her, "Easy there, Brewster. Didn't think you'd the the type to scare easily."

"You have no idea," Halle muttered.

"So, you wanna light up now?" Jason checked in. He went to reach up to the top of the shed's frame, going to grab the key he kept above there.

"Actually, I'm not staying," said Halle. "The girls are waiting for me at Spencer's, but I needed to talk to you first."

"Yeah." Jason stopped. He folded his arms over each other, stood back watching her under his usual intense stare. "Look, I knew this was coming, and I understand things have to change now my sister's back. I know she's not gonna like that we're hanging out, but I think we can handle Ali."

Only, Halle knew that wasn't the truth. Jason was underestimating his sister; he always did. He didn't know the power Alison possessed — the hold she had over people. Halle was stuck under Alison's thumb, living in fear of being squashed out. There was a time Halle would have taken that heat, but with the new friends she had found and kept close in her heart, Halle couldn't risk Alison getting rid of her. Halle couldn't risk losing them over Jason.

"I wanna end this," Halle told him. She met his eyes only after she said it, keeping her chin up. She held her ground with conviction, proving she meant what she was saying. "We were alone this summer, and we both liked partying and getting high. It made sense that we'd do it together, but it doesn't make sense anymore. Ali's back and summer's over... So, we should be, too... Over," she said, finishing with less strength than she began with. It was like the more she looked at Jason, the less will she had to see it though. Looking at Jason made her not want to do it, but Halle had to. She had no other choice. Alison was going to ruin her if she didn't.

Jason took a step back, the wind being knocked out of him. He was confused, trying to wrap his head around what she was telling him. "Where is this coming from? Did Ali say something to you?" he asked, figuring that would explain it.

Yes, Halle wanted to scream, yes!

"She didn't have to," Halle said to him instead. "I've realised this was just a series of bad choices. We both knew this would have to end at some point, this wasn't ever gonna go further than this."

"What is this?" Jason asked her. He grew annoyed, disbelieving of what he was hearing. Suddenly, the girl he had spent the summer getting to know better than anyone was hard to reach — impossible for him to read.

"This — Our... Our friendship," she explained. Halle found it hard to a put a label on it. She found it hard to know exactly what Jason was to her; he certainly wasn't just Alison's brother after their summer.

Jason scoffed. "Yeah, like we were friends. This was far more than us hanging out and getting high, and you know it. That's why you're doing this, you know that now Ali's back, we've gotta decide what this is."

"And I've decided," Halle claimed. "I wanna go back to how it was before. I think it's best for both of us if we do that. We forget everything that happened this summer. I go back to being Ali's best friend, and you go back to being her brother."

"I don't wanna go back to that, Halle," Jason argued fiercely. "Not now I know you, not now we're shared what we have." He gestured to her and said with strong determination, "You feel this, too — I know you do."

"It doesn't matter what you think you felt or you think I felt, it wasn't real," Halle told him. Deciding she was going to have to be cruel, Halle put on her best front. A snarling lip, hard eyes, and a neutral, unwavering face. She morphed into Alison, and Halle crushed Jason under her thumb. "This was a game, Jason. You were a game," she said. "I wanted to get back at Ali, so I played with her the only way I knew how — with you. None of it was real. I was just playing with you."

That moment had the power to haunt Halle for the rest of her life, and it did. She had never felt more ashamed than she did right after she left him that night, especially knowing how he blacked out because of it — because of her. Halle ruined him, and it was for nothing. Halle didn't even win. Alison won. Alison always won. In the end, Halle played herself and she wrecked Jason for it. She ruined the one good thing she had, and it wasn't even worth it.

Feeling her eyes water at the memory, Halle cleared her throat. The guilt now was unbearable. Halle hated herself for that night and what she said to him. She never meant it, but did it anyway because she thought it was more important to keep Alison in her life than Jason. After that night, Halle had neither. And she few months after that, Halle didn't even have her friends.

"You okay?" Jason's voice broke her from overthinking.

With watery eyes, and Halle thought about fighting. She fought all the feelings so far — as best as she could anyway. She felt a shift that night at the fashion show when she almost kissed him. As well as when she did kiss him. The kiss changed everything. Halle glanced up, her dark eyes met his green ones. "You were right... about what I said that night," she said. "I didn't mean it, not really. That summer meant more to me. You meant more to me," she admitted truthfully.

Jason smiled small, nodding along. "I wasn't lying when I said I miss the girl from that summer," he reminded her.

At that moment, with his eyes gazing into her, Halle couldn't think of any other place she'd want to be other than here with him. This was where she was meant to be. All roads led her back to him, back to that summer. All the times she spent with him came rushing back to her. With each look, each touch, each smile — she was always telling Jason she was his. Halle thought Jason had her from the moment he drove her home on Halloween, and she wished so hard that she had never let him go.

"You feel it, don't you?" Jason asked her.

Halle, smiling, told him, "Yeah, I always feel it."

•

An SOS was the reason Halle left Jason's later that night. She had gotten a text from Hanna concerning Emily, and Halle left in a hurry. She kissed Jason's cheek goodbye under the porch light and left him alone in that house. She got to Hanna's in record time. When Halle parked up, she took a minute to prepare herself before she headed in. She had to shake all of Jason off her. If Halle didn't, her answers wouldn't match up to what she had said previously to cover her first lie.

In the bedroom, Halle now sat next to Emily, hugging her in hope of bringing some comfort. When Ashley Marin gifted Emily with her massage certificate that morning to ensure the girl would relax, none of the girls ever suspected Awould use it as an excuse to get its hands around around Emily's neck.

"Here," Spencer said. She handed a teacup over to Emily and said, "Small sips."

"You know what the worse part is?" Emily said, a fusion of both petrified and frustrated. "If I had just looked up during that massage, we'd know who A is."

"Em, don't torture yourself over it," Halle said, knocking away that thought. "You couldn't have known it was A."

"What did the hands feel like?" Hanna asked. "A guy or a girl?"

"I thought a girl, but now I don't know," sighed Emily.

Concerned, Hanna asked Emily, "Do you need to take another shower?"

"No, I think five is enough,"   Emily said, shaking her head.

"Ugh, I could use one," Spencer shivered. She told them, "I've felt gross since I discovered Ian's videos might have more than one cameraman."

"That is so creepy," agreed Hanna, her nose pinched.

Halle stayed silent. She wasn't about to tell them about her night with Jason.

"Yeah, what's even creepier is that one of those guys has a gun and a badge," shot Spencer.

"And a relationship to Jenna," mentioned Emily, "who hates us — and hated Ali even more."

"So which one is A?" asked Hanna.

"Well, that's the thing," Spencer began. She stood up and continued, "Ever since we realised A made Ian's death look like a suicide, we've been thinking A and the murderer are the same person. What if A is group of people, all playing together on the same team?"

"For the same club," Emily added.

Immediately, Spencer told Halle, "You need to stay far away from Jason. Like I said, he's dangerous."

"Why did you even kiss Jason?" Hanna asked, baffled by the information she was told earlier. It came out of nowhere to her — straight out of left field, she thought. Hanna never put that together or even thought it was a possibility.

"I don't know," Halle said with a shrug. "I guess it took me by surprise that time."

"That time?!" Spencer exclaimed. "How many times have there been?"

"Are you really in a position to judge me?" Halle fired at her. "Spencer, you kissed two of your sister's boyfriends. One of them she was engaged to at the time. You don't get to give me crap for Jason."

"Jason is Alison's brother," Emily argued.

"Well, Alison's dead," snapped Halle, sharp-tongued.

"So, what? You're just gonna carry on kissing Jason because she's dead?" Emily asked her, taken aback by Halle's harsh attitude.

"No, but I ain't gonna stop being friendly with him because you've got it in your heads he's dangerous," Halle stated firmly. "He explained why he had the photos, gave a good reason for them, why can't you leave it alone now?" She sighed and explained, "Look, that yearbook was from when they were in high school, right? That was when the NAT Club started, when they were in high school — not us. Maybe Jason and Garrett weren't involved with this."

"You don't know that," Spencer argued back. "You only what to believe that so you can go on kissing Jason."

Halle face fell. "You are way too opinionated for somebody who has zero legs to stand on right now, Spencer," Halle retorted back sharply. "I ain't the only in this room that's crossed some sort of line, and you're not gonna make me feel bad over kissing him."

"So, you are kissing him?" asked Hanna, catching on.

"What about Eric?" Emily said, bringing up the thing Halle felt most guilty over, "You had a great time with last weekend. You said it went really well."

"Yeah, you love Eric," Hanna agreed. "It's always been you and Eric."

Emily paused, taking in her best friend reaction. Halle had sunk into herself, made herself quiet and bit her inside of her cheek. Sadness came over Halle. Cautiously, Emily asked, "You do love Eric, don't you?"

"Of course, we've been together for ages," Halle reasoned. "He's been with me through this past year, got me through most of it."

"That's not what she asked," Spencer countered. She stared at Halle's face, searching for a truthful answer. "Do you love Eric?"

Honestly, Halle told them, "I don't think I'd be with Eric if Alison hadn't gone missing that night, I told him that." Halle could tell it stunned them; they all sat far too quietly for it not to have done. And then she continued, "And Jason and me..." Halle looked at her friends and finally admitted aloud, "It wasn't just a summer, I think I could have loved him."

Silence fell over the room. The three weren't expecting Halle to have say that. Her confession left them speechless, reeling in the aftermath of the unravelling of Halle's lies spanning back all the way to that summer.

Halle was a liar, and Jason was her first secret.

Meanwhile, on the promise Halle would return to him, Jason positioned himself outside. He sat on the top step of the porch, back rested against the brick pillar, a cup of coffee warming his hands. He felt peace since the first time he came back, clarity with his feelings knowing Halle reciprocated them. Sat thinking about the shift that happened that night, Jason knew he made the right choice in coming back to Rosewood.

Yet, while some felt he was unwelcome guest in town, Jason had his own ghosts of high school he didn't want creeping up. Garrett Reynolds was one of them.

It was late when Jason heard the engine of a car roll around the bend of Bridgewater Terrance. He glanced over, spotting the familiar car belonging to Garrett come down the road. Jason's eyes tracked it until it stopped in front of his house. This was never a case of a wrong-turn; it was deliberate visit.

Garrett Reynolds climbed out of his car, a six-pack of cans in her grasp. He walked over to the DiLaurentis house, walking over the patch of grass, heading towards Jason.

"I was wondering how long it'd be before you showed." The comment left Jason in an almost nonchalant way. He was expecting it soon enough.

"In Rosewood, all roads seem to lead back to this house," Garrett mentioned, speaking truly. He took in the whole house as he spoke, feeling the familiar haunting most did when they past it. He then loosened a beer and held it out, offering it to Jason. Jason's usual impassive face became hard, his brows furrowed in questioning. Garrett apologised insincerely, amusement lacing his word, "Sorry, I forgot."

Jason swallowed thickly, watching as Garrett took a seat on the lower porch steps and opened the can in front of him. Jason faced ahead. He asked, "So, what's on your mind?"

"I just wanna make sure we're still cool, Jason," answered Garrett. He raised the can to his mouth, taking a sip of the beer.

"What does it matter anymore?" Jason said, "It's over, right?"

"I'm a cop now," Garrett told him. "It matters more than ever. And it does to you as well, now you're back," he added at the end, making Jason look over to him once again. "I hear you might be getting everything you wanted that summer, Jason. I don't want you to lose it over something stupid."

The thinly veiled threat was about Halle, and Jason felt too protective over what he was so close to having to let it slip away. He wouldn't be doing that again. Not this time around.

•