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~1.0: thAt's immortAlity, my dArlings~

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"I was afraid she wouldn't get it done in time for the memorial," Aria says, helping Spencer push a large box into the living room.

"And this was someone from your mom's gallery?" Hanna asks, looking at the mock-up ideas for the memorial.

"Right." Emily pushes herself off the couch, going to help Aria and Spencer. Alexis sits across from Hanna on the sofa bench, looking through documents related to the memorial.

"Where is your Mom?" Emily asks.

"There's an apartment above the gallery, so she's staying there," Alexis says, putting the documents back in the folder and standing up. She walks over to the box, standing beside Emily. "For now."

"That's kind of weird, isn't it?" Hanna asks, looking up at Alexis and Aria. "Your Mom moving out."

"Yeah, like my dad should have left. That's what you'd expect," Aria answers.

"Aria," Alexis says, calling her out on her insensitive comment.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that," Aria says, sighing. "The whole thing just sucks."

"I know," Hanna responds. Spencer hands the last screwdriver to Alexis, and she starts to remove the screw in the corner of the box facing her.

"Did anyone call Shelly Leonard?" Emily asks, removing her screw.

"Done. And I told her if she plays anything depressing, I will kick her in her cello," Spencer answers, and Alexis chuckles.

"Oh, what about the program?" Alexis asks, looking up from the screw in her hand to Spencer.

"Almost done, but we should finish it...before Ali's brother arrives." Just by the mention of him, Alexis gets goosebumps. She stops a shiver going up her spine, looking away from Spencer. How did he still have this effect on her after a whole year? She didn't know.

"When is that?" Aria asks, handing her screw to Spencer.

"Tonight, and he wants to see us in the morning."

The morning?! Oh god.

Alexis keeps a straight face, trying to hide that she is internally freaking out. She hadn't seen Jason in a year, and that last time they saw each other didn't end on good terms. Alexis hands Spencer her screw and screwdriver and slides her hands into her black ripped jeans pockets.

"Okay, you know what? I barely remember Jason," Hanna says, getting up off the sofa bench and standing beside Aria.

"We didn't know him. He was just Ali's older brother," Aria responds, shrugging.

"Down the hall," Emily says.

"Behind a closed door," Spencer finishes.

"With his hardcore punk music, vibrating the floorboards," Alexis says, a smile creeping onto her face, but she stops it; all the girls giggle at her comment.

"How did he get into an Ivy League school?" Aria asks, handing her screwdriver to Spencer.

"I don't know. It must have been affirmative action for goths and emos," Spencer says as the girls lift the top of the box off. They put it on the side and look into the box—a black fountain with six figurines on the rim.

"Wow," Hanna says.

"It's beautiful."

"Pedestal's already out there, next to the bench, this goes up Friday morning," Spencer explains.

"Do you think Jason will like it?" Emily asks.

"Of course, he'll like it, Em," Alexis answers, grabbing her hand.

"And years from now, people will see this memorial, and that's all they'll ever know about Ali," Aria says. "She'll be the girl they dedicated the bench to, and we'll all be gone, but Ali will still be remembered."

"That's immortality, my darlings," Spencer says, imitating Alison.

"I wish we could just choose the age that we wanted to be and...just stay there," Aria says, sitting in her beach chair between Hanna and Alison. Alexis lies beside Spencer on her pink towel and looks over her shoulder at her twin.

The sun beams onto her skin, making her feel all warm inside. She draws hearts in the sand ahead of her.

"The only way to do that is to die young and leave a beautiful corpse," Alison says, smiling.

"Don't joke," Emily responds beside her.

"It's not a joke," Alison says. "Oh, come on. Haven't you guys ever thought about how deliciously tragic it would be to die in some incredibly mysterious way? That would be superior."

"I don't think any of us has thought about that, Ali," Alexis challenges, and Alison glares at her.

"Is that really how you want to go, Alison?" Spencer asks.

"Not just yet."

"Don't talk like that," Hanna says.

"It's gruesome," Aria says.

"It's not gruesome. It's immortality, my darlings," Alison says, making eye contact with Alexis.

"Where did she get that from? A movie?" Aria asks.

"Ali was a movie," Spencer answers.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

Alexis walks quickly up to Spencer's house, coffee in hand. She was already 5 minutes late to this meeting at Spencer's house with Jason. She woke up this morning not knowing what to wear or how to do her hair. Not that he'd care. It's been a year. He probably already moved on. Why did she care? She's moving on to, right—with Josh. Alexis opens the door, walks in, and shuts it behind her.

"There she is!" Jason's deep voice fills her ears almost immediately as she looks up at him—a smile on his face. He looks down at her, and she takes in his looks. His slightly longer hair frames his face, broader shoulders, perfect white teeth, and pink lips.

"Jason, uh...hey," Alexis says, looking at the other girls. She walks up to him and pulls him into a hug. His cologne invades her nose as she breathes his scent in. She pulls away from the awkward hug and stands beside Spencer. "Sorry, I'm late."

"No problem, I was just saying you've done some lovely work on the memorial," Jason responds, looking from Alexis to the other girls. "I might have done one or two things differently, but we can adjust that along the way."

Alexis listens to him talk, trying hard not to stare. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop. Jason's presence captivates her.

"Here's a copy of the program for the dedication."

"Oh, I e-mailed you the program that we worked up," Spencer says, side-eyeing the girls.

"Right. I saw the draft—this just fine-tunes it. Uh, let's see..." Jason responds, passing each of them a program. "If Shelly Leonard's going to play something, I don't think we can give her more than three minutes. I remember she's somewhat of a showboat with that cello."

His smile and laugh are still the same as she remembers. His green eyes meet hers, and she sheepishly looks away but notices the smile on his face.

"Jason, wait, what are you saying?" Alexis says, following Jason off her porch.

"I'm saying I can't do this anymore, Lexi," Jason responds, turning around. He stares straight into her eyes, not looking anywhere else. "It's just too much right now."

"She was my best friend, Jason. I think I understand what you're going through."

"No, you don't! You think you do, but you don't. You've never understood me. I was just some ploy for you to get under my sister's skin. A way of showing her she can't control you!"

"That's not true, and you know it." Alexis crosses her arms, tears swell in her eyes.

"I don't love you, Lexi. Not anymore," he says coldly.

"Jason..." she says, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Goodbye, Lexi," Jason says, looking away. He walks away, not wanting to hear or see her cry. She needed to hate him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left. That was the last time she ever saw or heard from Jason. The next day, he and his family were gone without a trace.

Alexis shakes the memory out of her head, focusing on what Jason is saying.

"Then, uh...oh. Is this—the picture for the program?" Jason asks, holding up the beautiful picture they chose of Alison.

"Yes. It's everyone's favorite," Emily answers, smiling.

"It's the one I would've picked," Jason says, looking at the picture. He paused for a second, and Alexis could see the sadness in his eyes. Despite him and Ali not getting along, she was still his sister. He loved and cared for her.

"I thought I was going to be able to get my whole family out here, but...you know, last minute, my mom, um—" Jason says, chuckling. "It's crazy talking about this, isn't it? When I think about her, I think about you—the six of you, in her bedroom, laughing, keeping secrets. Long time ago."

Alexis watches him walk over and grab his coffee cup near Spencer's coffee maker. She likes to think the 'you' was meant for her before he corrected it, but she removes those thoughts from her brain instantly.

"I want each of you to speak. I'd rather hear from you than Mrs. Slocomb from the PTA."

"The PTA was a lot of help," Spencer says.

"What about the rain?" Jason asks, looking at Spencer.

"The rain?"

"Forty percent chance before the weekend."

"Oh, um, they said we can use the school's multipurpose room if we have to move the ceremony inside," Alexis says, leaning against the island. Jason's gaze falls back on her, and she shifts her weight—regretting saying anything.

"Great," he says, still looking at her. "People think this dedication is about closure. There won't be closure until they find out who did this to Alison. The cops in this town have been jerking my family around for more than a year—no more of that. I'm here to get some action, and this memorial is going to help me get it."

Alexis glances at the girls and drinks from her now cold coffee.

"Oh, and I'm adding..." Jason says, grabbing the program ahead of Emily. He pulls out a red pen from his suit pocket and writes a name at the bottom of the paper. "One speaker to the program."

"Jenna Marshall?" Emily asks, seeing the name, and Alexis looks at Jason confused.

"Wait, you want Jenna to speak at the dedication?" Hanna asks.

"That's right."

"Why?" Alexis asks, pushing herself off the island. Jason looks at her and swallows before answering.

"She asked me if she could," Jason answers, looking away.

"Jenna asked to speak?" Emily asks.

"Is there a problem?"

Spencer straightens out, quickly coming up with a believable lie. "I-It just didn't occur to us that Alison and Jenna were that close."

"Yeah, I didn't know either," Jason responds. "Jenna called and...said my sister was a lot of help to her after her accident."

What?

"Well, concentrate on what you're going to say. Leave the rest of it to me," Jason says, packing his stuff. "Now, I'm going to have a talk with Detective Wilden and find out why they haven't located Toby yet."

Jason walks past, sparing one final glance at Alexis. Spencer follows him to her front door.

"Did we just get fired?" Hanna asks.

"Shh! Keep it down!" Aria whispers.

"Why is he talking to Jenna?" Emily asks, keeping her voice low.

"I don't know," Aria answers, shrugging her shoulders.

"What does she have to say?" Emily asks, and Alexis sighs.

"This is turning into a nightmare," she says, drinking her cold coffee, and Spencer walks back into the living room.

"What else did he say?" Hanna asks, facing Spencer.

"Nothing. He just kept smiling like he was running for office," Spencer answers.

"Spence, why does Jenna want to speak at the dedication?" Aria asks.

"Why does Jason want her there?" Alexis asks, accidentally letting her thoughts slip out. "I mean, he clearly knows they weren't friends."

"We can't let Jenna speak," Emily says.

"Well, how are we going to stop her without looking like bitches?" Aria asks.

"How are we going to stop her at all?" Spencer asks back. "In case you guys didn't notice, we just got patted on the head and sent off to play."

"You know what? You need to stay on top of him," Hanna says. "Find out what's going on."

"Why me?" Spencer asks.

"Because you're the big organizer. You've got the laptop of all knowledge, and he's going to need some of that," Aria says, and at that moment, Alexis comes up with an insane idea. One she should've kept to herself.

"Jenna could get up there. She could tell about the fire and Toby," Emily says. "She could tell about everything."

"I'll do it," Alexis says, and all the girls look at her.

"What?" the four of them say in unison.

"I'll keep tabs on Jason. Find out what he knows," she answers, gulping down the rest of her coffee, and the four girls look at her like she's crazy.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

"God, Jenna-the-jerk is looking at us," Alison says, lounging on her beach chair.

"Then let her look," Alexis responds, laying her head on her arms. She closes her eyes and soaks in the sun.

"It's a very second-string crowd she's with," Aria says.

"Why doesn't she just take her D-list gang and go home instead of creeping me out?" Alison suggests.

"Jenna's here. Where's Toby?" Emily asks.

"Out in the woods, sacrificing squirrels," Alison answers, laughing.

"God. Don't you ever get tired of shooting at the low-hanging fruit?" Spencer asks.

"Give it a rest, Ali. Leave Toby alone," Alexis says, keeping her eyes closed. She can still feel Alison's eyes burning into the back of her head. "He's not a freak like you think."

"Don't ruin a perfect day, Spencer. You too, Lexi."

"It is perfect," Hanna says, looking at the girls.

"Friends forever," Emily says, making Alexis smile.

"Yeah, even when we get really old," Spencer says, smiling.

Alexis returns to reality, noticing that she's been looking at Toby for the past five minutes. Luckily, he had his back turned so he didn't see her staring. Her phone buzzes in her hand, and she looks down, seeing a text from her worst enemy—A.

Subject: The Dedication

Do it right. I'll be watching. Like Tom Sawyer. –A

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"Well, that was painless," Jason says, leaving Principal Hartman's office. Alexis, Spencer, and Emily follow him up the hallway.

"Not for Principal Harman," Spencer mutters.

"He means well, but he needs to know who's in charge," Jason says, all alpha male-like. What the hell is his problem?

"I think we all know that," Alexis responds coldly.

"Okay, is there a problem?" Jason asks, turning around and maintaining eye contact with her. Alexis looks at him but doesn't answer his question. The tension grows between them.

"There's no problem," Emily answers for her. "You're Alison's brother. You should have the final say."

"But you're not the only one dealing with this," Alexis says harshly.

"See, there's that closed door again—the secrets of the girls cuddled up in Alison's bedroom," Jason responds. "Do you think that means you knew her better than I did?"

"No. It just means we knew her in a different way," Emily says, causing Jason to turn his attention to her. Alexis lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding and crosses her arms. The tension in the hallway—suffocating her. She just hopes Spencer and Emily don't notice.

"Right here." Alexis hears Wilden's voice. She looks past Jason's towering body, seeing Wilden, the Janitor, and another police officer standing ahead of Toby's locker.

"What are they doing?" Spencer asks, and Jason turns around.

"That's Toby's locker," Emily answers. Jason walks up to Wilden, the girl following behind him.

"Thank you," Wilden says, and the Janitor walks away.

"Detective Wilden," Jason calls out. Wilden looks from Jason to the girls before looking into Toby's locker.

"Huh, you'll find this interesting," Wilden says, pulling stuff out of Toby's locker. "We're having a look in Toby Cavanaugh's locker."

"Why? Do you think he's hiding in there?" Jason asks.

"He's a suspect."

"Well, your investigation better turn up more than Toby Cavanaugh's old gym socks."

"You made it quite clear the other day. You weren't happy with the pace of the investigation," Wilden responds. "You said you wanted action. I'm trying to give that to you."

"Yeah, you've got nothing. I realized that yesterday," Jason says, crossing his arms.

"You know, sometimes, Jason, we withhold information on the progress of an investigation to avoid any interruptions."

"The only reason you're tearing this kid's locker apart is because he's not around to object."

"Toby Cavanaugh called your sister's cell phone the night she disappeared," Wilden says, and Alexis stops her jaw from dropping to the floor. "I checked the phone records. She took the call."

"Toby called Alison the night she died?" Emily asks.

"He did, or somebody else did using his phone," Wilden answers. Alexis looks at Spencer and Emily, a mix of confusion and shock on her face. Why would Toby call Alison, and why would she answer?

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Alexis puts her bag on her shoulder, checking to see if she has everything out of her locker. When she is sure that she has everything, she closes her locker and walks up the hallway.

"Alexis!" a voice calls out behind her. She turns around and sees Jason walking toward her.

Shit.

"Jason, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you," he says, standing ahead of her now. "Alone."

"I can't do this right now, Jason," she responds, turning around.

"Lexi, just listen to me for one second." Jason grabs her arm lightly, making her face him.

"What?"

"I just wanted to ask how you're doing?" Jason asks.

"How I'm doing?! Really, Jason? That's all you want to ask me," Alexis snaps. "You left me when I needed you, and this—you know what, never mind. I gotta go."

"Lexi, wait!" Jason yells, but she doesn't. He watches her storm off. He regrets breaking her heart, the one girl he loved, but he had no choice. It was better this way.

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"What movie do you want to watch?" Josh asks, sitting beside Alexis on his couch. He places a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of them.

"I don't mind. You pick," Alexis says, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. Josh walks over to his DVD cabinet, looking through different movies.

"So, this memorial?"

"Alison's. Me and the girls want to dedicate a bench to her," she says, mouth full of popcorn. "So, we and other people can remember her."

"That's nice of you," Josh responds, grabbing a movie. He takes the disk out and puts it into his DVD player.

"Yeah, Jason helped us with planning everything."

"Jason?"

"Her older brother. We never really knew him." Lies.

"Well, I hope you like Jaws," Josh says, smiling. He sits beside her, taking a handful of popcorn.

"I don't mind Jaws, thank you very much," Alexis responds, leaning back into his couch. Josh wraps an arm around her, pulling her into his side.

"Good, because it's one of my favorites."

About halfway through the movie, Alexis's phone goes off. She pulls it out of her pocket, reading the text from Spencer.

S.O.S. – Spence

"Shit, Josh. I'm so sorry. I actually have to go," Alexis says, standing up. "Maybe we can finish the movie another time."

"Is everything okay?" he asks, standing up beside her.

"What?" Yeah. Memorial planning emergency, Spence needs me." Alexis packs her stuff, and Josh walks her out the front door.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

"Wait, so she tried to pin it on you?" Hanna asks as the girls walk into Spencer's living room.

"That's what she told Jason," Spencer says, sitting on the sofa bench with a brown pillow in her lap.

"But why you?" Emily asks, rubbing her neck.

"Because Spence could stand up to her, and Alison didn't like that," Alexis answers, crossing her arms. "Honestly, I'm surprised she didn't pin it on me and Spencer."

"God, this is officially insane!" Hanna exclaims and sits on the couch. Spencer puts her head in her hands, and Alexis sits beside her—her hand resting on Spencer's back.

"Is that what she told Jenna when she was at the hospital?" Emily asks, sitting beside Hanna.

"I don't know. I mean," Spencer answers, lifting her head. "I don't think so, but I don't know."

"Okay, so—so one minute, she's trying to cover it up, and then she's ratting us out to her brother?" Aria questions, because if Alison told him that, what else did she tell him?

"Like she wanted Jason to know the fake story in case anything happened to her," Emily says, her arms resting on her thighs.

"Why?" Hanna asks.

"So they'd know who to blame," Spencer answers, rubbing her hands together.

"God, this is still Alison's movie, and we're just filling up the screen."

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

Alexis sits next to Spencer at Alison's Memorial. She watches Spencer stand up and walk to the podium ahead of everyone. Spencer's face goes pale as she looks at the girls. They notice her expression and turn around, following her eyeline. Ian Thomas.

"Ian?" Aria questions.

"Wait—Melissa's Ian? Hanna asks, keeping her voice low. Spencer clears her throat, and the girls turn back around.

"Um...I can't remember not knowing Alison, not having her as a friend. She was the first person I knew long enough that I felt I could be angry with—without worrying I was going to lose her," Spencer says. "It made me feel like something was going to last, and you need that, especially when you're a kid."

"Friends can be hard on you. Maybe they expect more from you than strangers. Strangers pretty much see you the way you want them to see you, but," Hanna says, smiling. "You can't fool friends. That's what makes the friends.

"That corner of the park is going to be a safe place. Where you can go and sit, read a book, and just think," Emily says, looking around the room. "You should think about Alison while you're there. She'd want to make sure you didn't forget about her."

"You do something like this—a memorial—partly because you don't understand what's happened. So, you plant flowers, paint tiles, and somewhere in the middle of all that work, you stop crying," Aria says. "I guess that's the point."

Alexis stands up, fixing her black flannel. She walks up to the podium, taking a deep breath. Public speaking wasn't a strong suit. She grips the podium and looks at everyone before finally landing on Jason.

"Ali would have liked that you were all here. She would've liked–no, loved the attention. It would have made her laugh," Alexis says, her eyes swelling up with tears. She looks at Jason again, who avoids her eyes. She can see the tears in his eyes as he looks away. "And Alison laughing...that was amazing."

She sits down beside Spencer, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Alexis watches Jason help Jenna to the podium. Her eyes follow him as he returns to his seat. His eyes meet hers, and she quickly looks away.

"We think we know who we are, but we don't. Not until something bad happens to us, and then all the useless things fall away, and we're left with who we really are. I learned that from Alison DiLaurentis," Jenna says, pausing.

"My whole life, I thought I knew who she was, but I found out the truth when she came and talked to me at the hospital. I found out that she was the strongest person I had ever met," Jenna continues, and Alexis sighs, letting out the breath she was holding. "And it's her strength that touched so many people and shaped them. That's her real legacy. That's how her memory will endure in the actions of those she inspired in so many different ways. From all of us, thank you, Alison."

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

Alexis sighs, walking into Spencer's house and following the other girls. Alexis leans against the island, clasping her hands together.

"I need sugar," Hanna says, sighing and sitting on a stool by the island.

"Me too," Aria says, sitting beside Hanna, and Emily sits beside her.

"I'm buying," Spencer says, opening her fridge.

"That was my folks," Jason says, standing beside her—this is the closest they've been since he returned beside their hug a few days ago. He looks at Hanna, Emily, and Aria before looking down at her. "They say thanks. So do I."

"You're welcome," Emily responds, smiling.

"And I want you girls to have something. The police returned this to my family," he says, pulling out a familiar pink pouch. He opens it, pulling out an Alison name bracelet. Jason sets it on the island on top of Alison's photo. "I think you should have it."

"The police gave this to you?" Alexis asks, grabbing the bracelet and looking at it.

"Alison was wearing it."

"You mean when they found her?" Hanna asks.

"After listening today, I just...thought you should have it," Jason says, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'll be in touch."

Jason leaves, and Alexis scoots over for Spencer to stand beside her.

"If that's Alison's bracelet, what about the one we found in the woods?" Emily asks.

"I–I don't know," Aria answers.

"Someone made a copy of Alison's bracelet," Hanna says.

"Yeah, and made sure that we would find it," Alexis says, dropping the bracelet on the pouch. 

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

Hi guys!!!! Finally, Jason is here!!!! Rewatching this episode made me realize how much the guy who plays Jason in Season 1 looks like Ian, who plays Ezra. Just a little bit, I don't know. It could just be the dark hair and blue eyes.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it!!! Like I've mentioned, I am taking a short break to work on my Stiles Stilinski fan fic, coming out July 12th!!! So, Teen Wolf fans, stay tuned<3