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~0.5: kAhn pArty~

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"Whose idea was this, again?" Hanna asks as the five girls walk through the woods. Leaves and tree branches crunch under their feet as the sun's heat warms their skin.

"Emily's mom," Spencer says from behind Hanna. Emily leads the way to the shed, where they plan to honor Alison. Aria and Alexis follow behind Emily, and Hanna and Spencer follow behind the Montgomery twins.

"The shed was me. My mom just said we should do something for us," Emily explains, walking deeper into the woods. Alexis thinks making a place for them to remember Alison is sweet, but to do it in a shed where no one will see seems weird. The shed holds memories of their friendship with Alison in eighth grade when they would hang out, but it still didn't seem like the right place.

"Well, couldn't we do something without mosquitoes?" Hanna complains, swatting gnats away from her face.

"They're not mosquitoes. They're gnats," Aria corrects as the girls descend a hill.

"Whatever! They're small and annoying. And they're flying up my nose."

"Well, they're attracted to your perfume, your hair product," Spencer says. "And your lip gloss."

"So, what are you saying, I attract flies?"

"Gnats," Aria corrects again.

"Why do I feel like this is the wrong way?" Emily asks, clutching onto her messenger bag. They stop walking, standing in front of the tree in a circle.

"No, this is it. I remember that tree," Spencer says, pointing at the towering tree ahead of them. "It's the halfway point. There's 136 steps left to the shed."

"Have you been out here since...Alison?" Emily asks.

"Me? No. No way," Spencer says, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But you remember that tree," Aria says, pointing behind her to the tree.

"You guys, it's not that weird. I mean," Alexis says, defending Spencer. "We came out here in eighth grade, like every day—even after."

"I think this is totally the wrong place to do this," Spencer says. "Whatever you call it—shrine."

"It's not a shrine. It's just a place to remember Alison," Emily says, shrugging her shoulders. Alexis shields the sun out of her eyes with her hand. "What's wrong with that?"

"Doing it way out here makes it look like we have something to hide," Spencer responds.

"You're worried what other people think?"

"Well, aren't you?" Spencer asks. "Do you really want to give that creepy detective more reasons to question us?"

Hanna walks away, and the four girls follow her.

"Hanna, why are you so quiet?" Emily asks her as they all follow her.

"I'm trying to keep the bugs in my nose and out of my mouth," Hanna answers.

"You're allowed to have an opinion on this. You too, Lexi. You've been quiet too," Emily says, looking over her shoulder at the brunette.

"You want my opinion?" Hanna says, turning around. "I say we hold off and not remember her till we know for sure—she's not still here."

"I agree with Han—wait, what?" Alexis says.

"What are you talking about?" Spencer and Aria say in unison, looking at Hanna like she's crazy.

"You think she's still alive?" Emily asks.

"Hanna, they found her body," Alexis says, clutching onto her purse.

"Stop. I'm officially scared. Can we just not—" Aria says, and Hanna cuts her off.

"You know what! You asked for my opinion. I don't believe she's really gone," Hanna responds, turning around and walking away.

"We went to her funeral!" Spencer shouts, walking after her.

"Yeah, and when we left, we all got a text from her." The five girls continue to walk through the woods to the shed, listening to Hanna's crazy theory.

"It wasn't her," Emily says.

"Someone is messing with us," Alexis says, stepping on a ton of branches—all of them snapping under her feet.

"How do you know? And what about all those nasty messages? I mean," Hanna asks. "How does this 'A' person know stuff only Ali knew?"

"Okay, this conversation is giving me a hive," Aria says, swatting gnats away from her face.

"That's a bite. Mosquito," Hanna says, turning around and facing the girls.

"Spencer, have you gotten any more messages?" Emily asks, facing Spencer.

"Haven't you?" Spencer says as all the girls hear tree branches snap.

"What was that?" Emily whispers to Aria. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I heard that. I'm standing right next to you," Aria answers. Alexis looks through the bushes and leaves, trying to see who is spying on them.

"Hello?" Hanna calls out. "Is anybody out there?"

"It's probably a rabbit," Spencer says.

"Hello?" Hanna calls out again.

"It's a rabbit, Hanna. It's not going to answer you."

"Can we just get to the shed?" Alexis asks, crossing her arms in fear, and more branches snap in the distance.

"Okay, that is definitely not a rabbit. Someone's out there," Hanna says, looking at Spencer.

"Let's turn around," Emily says. The five girls turn around as their phones go off. They all pull out their phones reading the new 'A' text.

Heads up, BFFs. It's open season on liars, and I'm hunting -A

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Alexis sits beside Aria and her dad at the Grille for breakfast across from her mother. She cups her hands around the white espresso cup ahead of her.

"So, Mom, you're still showcasing my paintings at the gallery tonight, right?" she asks with a smile.

"Of course, if you're still coming to the gallery tonight, both of you?"

"We are definitely still coming to the gallery tonight," she says, smiling at her sister. Aria smiles back, happy to see Alexis happy for once.

Alexis sips her coffee and watches Aria hand To Kill A Mocking Bird over to their dad, the book filling with tabs and annotations. The one thing Alexis never did with her books was annotate them—a minor difference between the two twins, who were almost too similar. Another difference is how fast they read. Aria is practically done with the book, while Alexis is only halfway through.

"Well, you're pretty far into it," Byron says, looking through the book.

"Yeah, I've got, like, 60-some pages left," Aria says, and their dad hands the book back to her. "And I don't want it to end."

"You should read her biography next," Byron suggests.

"The father–worship thing becomes a lot clearer," Ella says, nodding.

"Well, I would worship both of you a lot more...if you got me another one of these," Aria says, eating the crumbs of her poppy seed.

"Oh! Me too, Mom, if you order me another espresso," Alexis says, smiling and finishing the rest of her coffee.

"The poppy seed? We'll split it. And one espresso for you, Lexi," Ella responds, getting up. "Make sure your father doesn't drink all my coffee, please."

Alexis watches her mom enter the Grille, smiling before picking at her chipped nail polish.

"Do you guys like your teacher?" Byron asks, making Aria look up, stunned.

"What?" Aria asks.

"Your English teacher. Do you like him?"

"Yeah, he's good. Definitely has an interesting taste in books," Alexis answers, looking from her father to Aria's book.

"Oh! Yeah. Uh, he's okay," Aria says, smiling.

"What's his name again?" Byron asks, drinking his coffee again.

"Mr. Fitz. Hey, maybe I'll check out that biography at school," Aria says. "What's it called?"

"I've got a copy of it in my office. I'll bring it home," Bryron says, and Alexis looks to her right, seeing a blonde woman crossing the street—straight toward them. "It might inspire you."

"To what, write a novel?" Aria jokingly asks.

"You've got it in you."

"Byron?" the blonde woman says, clutching her bag and looking directly at the Montgomery twins's father, even though Alexis has been staring at her since she crossed the street. Alexis looks at the blonde woman questionably, and Aria looks over her shoulder.

"Hey! Hi. How are you doing?" Byron says nervously, placing his cup back on the table.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt," the blonde woman responds, looking down at Aria and Alexis for a split second.

"No, no, no, that's okay," Byron says, and Alexis watches Aria face her dad with an annoyed expression. "Um, Aria, Alexis, this is Meredith Sorenson. She also teaches in the department, uh, my department, and this is Aria and Alexis, my daughters."

"Oh! Aria and Alexis! Hi, of course you both are," Meredith says, pushing her hair behind her ear. The twins look at her and smile at the same time. "Did you get my message?"

Byron looks over his shoulder before looking back at Meredith to answer. "Yes, I did, and I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to call you back."

"It's okay. They just need the referral by Monday."

Alexis and Aria look at each other with questionable looks before looking back at Meredith.

"I'll get to it as soon as I get back to campus," Byron says. "Is there an e-mail, or..."

"Here." Aria and Alexis watch Meredith take out a green binder, walking over next to their dad. Aria rolls her eyes, and Alexis looks at her sister with a questioning look, but Aria doesn't notice.

"So, how does it feel to be home? This town must seem a little dull after spending a whole year overseas," Meredith says, looking between Aria and Alexis while their dad writes the e-mail on a napkin.

"Not really," Aria says. Alexis doesn't get a chance to answer before Byron finishes writing, and Meredith closes the green binder.

"Okay, well, I'll uh....I'll send that before lunch," Byron says.

"Thanks," Meredith says, looking Byron up and down. Alexis furrows her brow. Why the hell is she checking out my dad? "I'm so glad I ran into you. Nice to meet you both. Welcome home."

"Why can't she graduate?" Aria says, watching Meredith walk away.

"She has. I told you. She's now a teaching assistant," Byron says to Aria, glancing at Alexis—checking if she's catching on to Aria's comments. Alexis pulls out her phone, texting Joshua to meet her at her locker before class. She smiles at her phone when he texts back: I was planning to. "Not mine, but her office is across the hall. I can't pretend like she doesn't exist, Aria. It's a small college."

"Mm. Not small enough," Aria says, drinking her coffee. Alexis looks up from her phone and sees Ella walk out with another poppy seed and an espresso.

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"So, how did it go with Melissa?" Alexis asks, holding her books in her arms.

"She hates me," Spencer says, leaning against her locker.

"She doesn't hate you, Spence—" Spencer gives her a really look, and Alexis tensely smiles. "Okay, maybe she hates you. But maybe it'll blow over. Just give her time."

Spencer opens her locker, three books falling out as Aria walks over, standing beside her sister. The three girls crouch down, each picking up one book.

"Russian history? How many AP classes does it take until your brain explodes?" Aria asks, handing the book to Spencer.

"I'm already drowning in there," Spencer answers, pushing the books back into her locker.

"Why, what's drowning for you, B+?" Alexis asks, leaning against the lockers.

"First paper's due Monday, and I've written two words—my name," Spencer says, and the three of them walk down the hallway. Alexis links her left arm with Spencer's, looking at her best friend.

"Well, what's going on? Hey, you're not still freaking out about what happened in the woods yesterday?" Aria asks, walking beside her sister. "Look, we do not have to do this thing for Ali until—"

"No, it's not just that. It's—it's everything," Spencer says. "Is there any chance your family wants to adopt me?"

A clacking cane sound fills the girl's ears as they look up, seeing Jenna and a boy with her. The three girls watch them walk past as Hanna walks up to them. Memories of that night return in Alexis's mind. She remembers seeing Toby carrying Jenna out from the garage as the six girls ran away. Emily walks over, meeting up with the other girls.

"He's back, too? When did that happen?" Aria asks in a whisper.

"Maybe she needs help sending radioactive e-mails," Hanna says.

"Yeah, or he may be sending a few of his own," Alexis says, watching Jenna at her locker.

"Hanna," A voice says behind them, making the five girls turn around. Wilden. "I just spoke with your principal. I asked him if we could have a chat."

"No, I have to get to class," Hanna says.

"Don't worry, you've been excused. Let's go." The bell rings as Wilden and Hanna walk away towards the office.

"What is going on? Why just her?" Alexis asks, turning back around and facing the other girls.

"Probably thinks she's the easiest to crack," Emily whispers.

"She is," Spencer says as Jenna walks past.

"Whisper, whisper, whisper. Almost feels like Alison is still here."

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Alexis, Aria, Spencer, and Emily all stand by Hanna's locker, waiting for her to leave the office with Wilden. She puts her phone back into her pocket, checking the text she sent Hanna an hour ago. She leans against the locker, holding her books in one arm.

"What are you doing?" she asks as she watches Aria take out her new phone and go onto Facebook.

"Is that a new phone?" Spencer asks.

"Yeah. I'll just write on Hanna's wall from here," Aria answers, swiping through Facebook.

"If she's not answering texts, what makes you think she's checking Facebook?" Emily asks.

"It's worth a try," Aria answers, shrugging her shoulders. Aria types in a message and Hanna walks up to them.

"What's going on?" Hanna asks, causing the four girls to look up in shock.

"We've been trying to get ahold of you. What happened in there?" Aria asks, letting Hanna get to her locker.

"Nothing, just the same old stupid questions."

"You were in there for an hour, Hanna. What else did he ask?" Spencer asks, leaning against the locker next to Hanna's.

"Nothing," Hanna answers, shrugging. "He just took a couple calls, and I just sat there, waiting for him to shut up."

"Well, is he going to question all of us alone now? Because I'm so not being in a room with that creep alone," Alexis says as Hanna closes her lockers and turns around to face the girls.

"Who knows? Look, let's do this at lunch, okay? I have to hit the ladies' before my next class," Hanna says, leaving no time for the girls to stop her before she walks away—toward the bathroom.

"Is she being weird?" Spencer asks.

"She's being weird," Emily says, pushing herself off the lockers. "I'll see you guys at lunch."

"Yeah, I got to go meet Josh before class, so I'll see you guys at lunch," Alexis says, walking away from Spencer and Aria. She turns right and walks down the hallway, seeing Joshua leaning against the locker next to hers.

"Hey!" Alexis exclaims, jumping in front of Josh.

"Hi," he says, flinching, his eyes wide.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." She opens her locker—puts two books back, and grabs her History textbook. Josh watches her with a smile on his face, admiring her. She closes her locker, looking up at him.

"It's okay," he breaths out.

"Okay, so I loved our little coffee date at the Grille, but I seriously think we need to hang out outside of the Grille."

"A date? Is that what it was?"

Alexis's eyes widen, and her heart drops to her stomach. Her cheeks heat up, turning pink, and she pushes a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Oh! Not like a date-date, just a regular friend date," she says nervously.

Josh laughs. "You're cute when you're flustered. And I'd love to hang out. Maybe we could study at your place?"

"Yeah, yeah, that would be cool." Alexis takes a breath, looking down at her boots. Her face lights up as she looks back up at Josh. "Do you know Noel Kahn?"

"I've seen him around, yeah, why?"

"He's having a party tonight, you should come. Everyone's going. It's like a Rosewood High tradition."

"Are you going?" he asks, knowing the answer.

"Yes, I just said everyone—"

"Then I'll be there." They smile at each other before the bell rings for their next class.

"Great, I'll see you at the party," she says, smiling and walking away—clutching her books to her chest.

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Aria pulls up to Noel's cabin, turns off the car, and gets out. Alexis fixes her jacket as she gets out. The two twins walk into the cabin, immediately bumping into crowds of people. Music is blasting as Sean and Ben play foosball, hollering in the middle of the room. People dance with blue and red solo cups in their hands.

Aria leaves her sister's side, going to speak with Hanna, who looks annoyed. Alexis looks around for Josh, walking towards the kitchen to see if he's there. She bumps into someone, Noel Kahn.

"Looking good, Montgomery," he says, a blue cup in his hand, looking down at her with a smirk. "Glad you could make it to my party."

"Hi, Noel," she says, rolling her eyes with a playful smile. "And I wouldn't miss it."

"Remember, my last party, the one we kissed."

"It was spin the bottle, Noel, and we were 14," she says, looking past him and spotting Josh in the kitchen. "Now, if you will, excuse me, I have a friend to meet."

She sidesteps past Noel and walks over to Josh.

"You made it!" she shouts over the music, stepping into Josh's eyeline.

"I made it!" he shouts back, a red cup in his hand. He sizes her up before meeting her eyes. "You look great! Want a drink?"

"Thanks, you look great too! And sure," she says, watching him pour a drink into another red cup. She sways her hips to the beat of the song playing, and her hair bounces on her shoulders.

Josh mixes something up and turns around, handing her the cup. She takes the cup, taking a sip while smiling at him. Her face lights up as she gets an idea.

"Let's go dance!" she shouts, taking his hand and dragging him through a crowd. Josh happily follows her, letting her pull him through the crowd, the alcohol in his system already making him feel a bit buzzed. She takes another sip before turning around and placing Josh's hand on her hips.

The two sway to the beat of the music, occasionally drinking out of their cups. Alexis rests a hand on his neck, pulling him closer to her. He drops his empty cup, placing his other hand on her hip. They sway and laugh together before Josh grips the back of her neck, pulling her in and kissing her. She kisses him back, drops her cup, and wraps her arms around his neck.

They pull away from each other with smiles, and Josh rests his hands on Alexis's hips. Alexis looks over Josh's shoulder, seeing Spencer directing her head toward the back door. She nods at Spencer, getting the message.

"I'll be right back. My friend needs me," she whispers in his ear, and he lets go. She walks past him and out the back door. Alexis meets up with Spencer, Emily, and Aria.

"Toby tackled Ben in the girls' locker room," Emily says.

"He tackled Ben? What was Toby even doing in the girls' locker room?" Aria asks, looking at Emily concerned.

"Why are you shocked? Toby's a perv," Alexis says, crossing her arms. "We caught him peeping through the windows, watching us undress."

"Alison's the one who saw him do that. We never did." Emily says to Alexis.

"What's up?" Hanna asks, joining the girls next to Aria.

"Toby Cavanaugh got into a fight with Ben over Emily," Aria says.

"It wasn't over me, god. Look," Emily says. "He just... saved me."

"For what, himself?" Spencer asks, and Alexis cringes.

"Ew," Hanna says, disgusted.

"If we hadn't asked you about Ben, would you have told us about this?" Aria asks, and Emily hesitates to answer.

"Toby is not a good guy, Emily. He could be seriously dangerous," Alexis says, placing a hand on Emily's arm.

"If he's such a bad guy, why'd he take the fall for us?" Emily asks her, and Spencer freezes.

"Is this another secret?" Aria asks, looking at Spencer. "Do you know something that we don't?"

Alexis looks at Noel's cabin, rolling her eyes when she makes eye contact with Ben. His left cheek is black and blue from Toby hitting him. Despite thinking Toby's a pervert, Alexis is grateful for him practically saving Emily from Ben.

"Guys, why don't we just, like, chill and talk about this somewhere else?" Hanna asks. "When we're alone."

"I...don't even know what 'just us' means anymore," Aria answers. Hanna looks over her shoulder, hearing Sean and Noel laughing.

"Yeah, uh...let's talk about it tomorrow, okay? Are we still meeting at the shed?" Hanna asks and walks away.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Why not?" Aria says, tapping Alexis's arm.

"Where are you guys going?"

"The gallery. We promised our mom, and she's showing some of my paintings, so I have to be there," Alexis explains, backing away. The Montgomery twins walk back to their car, heading to the gallery.

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Alexis stands with her parents, talking to a couple about her painting on the wall behind her. The painting is of a girl with a smear across her eyes. She did the whole painting in black and white, which is unusual since her other paintings are in color.

"Thank you," Ella says, Alexis tuning them out when she sees Meredith walk through the door.

Alexis watches her sister storm over to Meredith. She can't hear what they're saying, but Aria looks mad. She watches the two of them exchange words before Meredith takes the drink from Aria's hand and walks away.

"Excuse me," Alexis says to her parents, walking over to Aria. Her sister turns around to face her, still staring at Meredith. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"

"What?" Aria asks, making eye contact with Alexis.

"I saw you and Meredith. So, what's going on?" she asks, crossing her arms.

"I can't tell you,"

"Like hell, you can't. Aria, tell me—now!"

"Dad, he...he had an affair with—" Aria says, glancing at their parents.

"Meredith?" Alexis cuts her off, shock written all over her face. Aria simply nods, and Alexis sighs. The two twins stay silent before Aria walks away, leaving the gallery. Alexis walks over to her painting, staring at it.

"Wow. That's incredible," Jason says, climbing into Alexis's window.

"You're not supposed to be here," Alexis responds, not turning around to face him. Holding a palette in her right hand and a large paintbrush in her left hand, she stares at her painting, thinking of where to smear the paint.

"Tell me to leave then." Alexis smiles, biting her lip.

"If my parents find out—"

"They won't." He wraps his arms around her waist, looking down at her.

"I'm busy," she says as Jason starts to kiss her neck.

"Oh, don't let me distract you from your work," he whispers, his lips hovering above her neck. He kiss from her neck down to her shoulder, and she sighs in return.

"Fine," she breathes out, placing the palette and brush onto the stool beside her easel. She turns around in Jason's arms—kissing him. She wraps her arms around his neck, fingers sliding through his hair.

Jason doesn't hesitate to kiss her back. She jumps up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and his hands land on the underside of her thighs. He walks them over to her bed—deepening the kiss.

Alexis shakes the memory from her mind, grabbing a cup of water from a nearby tray and downing it like a shot. She walks out of the gallery, desperately needing fresh air to calm the heat inside of her body. Her phone goes off in her back pocket. She pulls it out, reading her new text.

If Aria can't keep her mouth shut, I won't either -A

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"So, she could have it out with Toby. Ali had something on him," Spencer says. The five girls stand in the woods in a circle, listening to what Spencer saw that night of the Jenna thing.

"Besides being a total perv who peeped in our windows?" Alexis asks, clutching the tote bag on her shoulder full of stuff Alison gave her.

"Yeah, something way bigger, and she was threatening to tell everybody," Spencer answers, looking at Alexis. "That's why he took the fall for us."

"Why are you waiting until now to tell us?" Aria asks.

"I don't know. Ali made me promise, and..." Spencer says. "I guess I was scared. I thought if we never talked about that night again. It would just go away."

"Me too," Alexis admits, looking down at her boots.

"Well, it's not going away. Not unless we toss out phones and join the Navy," Hanna says. The mention of a phone and A text makes Alexis remember the text she got last night. She wonders what A meant and what secret they would tell.

"Look, there's five of us and one freak sending messages," Emily says, and the five girls walk through the woods. "If we just talk to each other like this, I feel like it makes it easier to deal with everything."

"I think Emily's right. There are way too many secrets," Aria responds, leaves crunching under their feet. "We shouldn't do this in the middle of nowhere. We should do it where we can see it every day."

"You mean, like, somewhere in school?" Hanna asks.

"No. In town. We should ask if we can put a bench somewhere," Aria answers. "Wait, you know what? Whoever did this to her, if they're still in Rosewood, we should make them look at it every day, too."

Hanna sighs as the five girls stop.

"What, you hate the idea?" Alexis asks.

"No. No, I just..." Hanna answers. "I had a rough night."

Branches and leaves snap and rustle in the distance, making the girls jump. The five girls drop their bags, running towards the noise. They stop, looking around the trees.

"Look," Hanna says, nodding toward something on the ground.

"Is that yours?" Spencer asks as Alexis crouches down to pick up the bracelet.

"Alison's," she answers, looking up at the girls—holding the bracelet around her fingers.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

Hii!!!!! So sorry for the late upload! I hope you guys enjoyed it! This will not be the last time you'll see Lexi and Noel's relationship! How is everyone feeling after that Josh and Lexi kiss??? Let me know in the comments!!

Also, start coming up with ship names! And I included an edited photo of Phoebe to look like the painting I envisioned!

Thank you for the overwhelming support<3