Ethan's Pov

The girls and I were at Aria's house. She's really sick so we're there to help her feel better.

We're all in the living room. Aria was on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her while Spencer and Emily were sitting on chairs.

I poured some tea into Aria's cup. I sniffed it and nearly gagged at the smell.

"What is this?" I asked.

Aria sighed as she took the cup from me.

"Some kind of herb thing. It's Meredith's cure-all recipe" Aria said. 

"I don't think it's working. You look terrible" Spencer said. 

"Thank you" Aria sarcastically said.

Aria took a small sip before sighing as she set the cup down on the table next to her.

I sighed and sat down on a chair next to Spencer.

"Oh, God. I couldn't have picked a worse time to get sick" Aria groaned. 

"Have you heard from your dad?" Spencer asked. 

"He left a message, but I haven't talked to him since he left for his conference" Aria said.

We heard the front door open and I turned around to see Hanna walking in.

"Hey. How's the patient?" Hanna asked, sitting on the couch next to Aria.

"Not great" Emily said.

"Well, I brought over everything that helps me when I'm sick" Hanna said.

She opened her purse and went through it before taking out a few things.

"Trash. Ginger ale. And three seasons of 'Saved by the Bell'" Hanna smiled as she listed of all the things.

The girls and I laughed fondly and shook our heads at her.

"Thank you, Hanna" Aria smiled.

"Are you sure you want to stay here by yourself?" Spencer asked. 

"Guys, I'm fine" Aria said.

"You don't look fine" I added. 

"So I've heard" Aria sarcastically said. 

"You sure you don't want us to drive you to your mom's?" Emily asked.

"No, it's her week with Mike, so the guest room's already taken. And besides, I promised Meredith that I wouldn't tell her about Ali's diary until we talked to my dad, so if I just stay away from her, it's easier to keep that a secret" Aria explained.

I rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning back against the chair.

"I can't believe we're trusting Meredith" I scoffed.

Why the hell are we trusting the homewrecker in the first place?

When did Aria begin trusting her? Doesn't she hate her?

"I think she's really just as devastated as I am" Aria shrugged.

"You're not giving her the pages, right?" Hanna asked. 

"No, they're hidden in a safe place, and they'll stay there till my dad gets home. Then we'll give him the chance to tell us the truth" Aria explained. 

"And if he doesn't?" Hanna asked, worried.

Aria sighed as she glanced at all of us, seeing the worry on all our faces.

"I don't want to believe that my dad could have hurt Ali. But if he did do it, this is a family secret that I can't keep" Aria said.

I frowned and gently patted her shoulder, hoping to give her some comfort.

I just really, really hope that Mr. Montgomery had nothing to do with Alison's death.

The Next Day

Alyssa and I met up at the park. We're currently sitting on the bench together, watching people pass by.

"Is Aria feeling any better?" Alyssa asked.

"No, if anything I feel that she's getting worse. And Meredith's tea isn't helping either" I sighed.

"Why is Aria even trusting her?" Alyssa asked, confused.

"I don't know. I guess she believes that Meredith is confused and devastated as her" I shrugged.

Alyssa scoffed at that and rolled her eyes, causing me to chuckle.

We both sat in comfortable silence. Alyssa had gone to the brew before meeting me here and got herself some coffee.

"So, I was thinking that maybe we should do something fun together" Alyssa suggested.

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" I asked.

Alyssa smiled and opened her mouth to say something, only to stop and slowly close her mouth.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion when I saw that her lips turned into a frown. An angry frown, for that matter.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

"Turn around" was the only thing that came out of her mouth.

I raised an eyebrow at her before doing what she told me to do.

I immediately regret it.

Because I saw a smiling Mona walking towards us, a bag in her hand.

"Oh you've gotta be shitting me" I muttered under my breath.

Is she following us? Because it honestly wouldn't surprise me if she is. 

After all, she's known to be a good spy.

"What is she doing here?" Alyssa asked.

"I don't know. I'm honestly convinced she's following us or she hacked my phone to find out where I am" I sighed.

I grew more annoyed when Mona was walking towards us, the smile still planted on her face.

"Can't we be alone for at least a few minutes? Why does she have to ruin it?" Alyssa angrily asked.

I sighed and sent her an apologetic look, gently rubbing her shoulder.

I seriously hate that we can't seem to get some alone time, especially after everything that has happened.

More importantly, why is Mona so damn interested in whatever Alyssa and I do?

I snapped out of my thoughts when Mona was a few feet away from us, her arms behind her back.

"Hey, Ethan. Fancy seeing you here" Mona smiled.

"Same here" I muttered under my breath.

Her eyes then wandered over to Alyssa and I saw her body stiffen, as well as her lips being pressed into a thin line.

Alyssa must've noticed the action because she clenched her fist at her side, biting her lip. 

I placed my hand on top of her shoulder, gently rubbing it, hoping that would calm her down.

Fortunately, it worked. Alyssa slowly unclenched her fists before turning to me, a small smile on her face.

I sent her a small smile back and gently nodded.

We turned back to Mona and I furrowed my eyebrows together when I saw Mona glaring at Alyssa, a weird glint in her eyes.

"So, Mona, any reason why you're here?" I asked.

"Oh, I just went to run some errands and get myself something to eat" Mona smiled.

I hummed at that and nodded.

"Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting anything" Mona said, looking between Alyssa and I.

"We were just talking, making plans to hang out" Alyssa said.

Mona smiled at that, but I could tell it wasn't a real one, a fake and tense one.

I cleared my throat before standing up. I offered my hand to Alyssa and she grabbed it, allowing me to pull her up.

"Well, we really should get going" I said.

"Agreed. It was nice seeing you, Mona" Alyssa said, trying to be polite as she could.

At Hanna's House

Emily, Spencer and I met up with Hanna at her house. We're currently in her bedroom, doing our best to comfort her.

We got her out of her dress and got her to change into some more comfortable clothes.

She went to her interview for Corin but A tricked Hanna and attacked her. She's unharmed, just shaken up.

Emily and I were sitting on her bed while Spencer searched up Corin's store online.

"Corin moved her store to Society Hill a month ago" Spencer said.

"Did you tell Mona you applied for a job there?" Emily asked. 

"No, she applied months ago online" I said and Hanna nodded.

"Yeah. Mona's just doing this to get back at me for cutting her off" Hanna scoffed.

"No, it wasn't her. I saw her at school around four" Emily shook her head.

Then who the hell...?

"Then it was her minion" Spencer said. 

She shut Hanna's laptop as she stood up and walked towards us.

She sat down at the edge of her bed as she grabbed Hanna's phone to check the text. When she was done looking at it I grabbed the phone to look at it myself.

Next time you'll be left faceless

- A

"Is she threatening to cut your face off?" Spencer asked in concern.

"Or throw acid at her" Emily added.

I gave the two of them pointed looks before turning to Hanna.

"You guys, come on" Hanna scowled, clearly annoyed.

I sighed and shook my head as I gently rubbed Hanna's back up and down.

I turned to Emily and saw her looking at the key Hanna showed us.

Apparently A dropped it in the store. Guess we're lucky.

"Should we give this key to the cops? There's a numerical code on it. Maybe they could trace it" Emily suggested.

"Even if they could trace it, are you ready to talk about Mona 2.0?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah. That's what we would have to do if we turned it in" I added.

"For all we know, it's not just Mona and her Minion. Maybe she's built this whole A army. We still don't know what her endgame is" Emily said. 

"I do. It's to cut my face off" Hanna bitterly said.

"Not to mention she's not leaving Alyssa and I alone. She seems to be everywhere we are" I angrily said.

Why the hell is she always wherever Alyssa and I are?

Why can't she leave us alone? Didn't she get the hint that I wanted nothing to do with her?

"I get it. I hear you guys, but she still has all those pictures of us at Ali's grave" Spencer said.

"You know what? I don't care anymore. She has to be stopped" Hanna said. 

"You're right. But this decision is going to affect all of us. Aria has to be in on it too" Spencer said.

"Has anyone talked to her today?" I asked. 

"I tried her phone, but all I get is voicemail" Spencer said.

"Me too. She's probably still sleeping" Hanna said. 

"Let's just wait. We'll talk about it in the morning" Spencer said.

Emily nodded as she handed her the key. Spencer got up and walked to where her purse was.

"I gotta get ready for tonight" Spencer said.

This made the girls and I glance at each other as we had knowing smiles on our faces.

Today is Spencer and Toby's anniversary and it's fair to say that Spencer is extremely excited. She set up an amazing and romantic dinner for Toby with the help of mom and I.

I'm so happy for my sister and my best friend.

"Spence, sis, have fun tonight" I smiled softly at her.

"Yeah. We'll worry about all this tomorrow" Emily reassured her. 

"Thanks" Spencer smiled at us.

"If you really want to surprise Toby, have on five-inch heels and nothing else when he walks through the door" Hanna smirked.

This made the three of us turn to her, giving her 'what the hell' looks.

"What? I've heard guys like that" Hanna defended, shrugging her shoulders.

"Thanks for the tip" Spencer chuckled, shaking her head.

"Spence, I swear to god..." I trailed off.

"Bye" Spencer giggled before walking out of the room.

I scoffed under my breath before turning to Hanna, giving her a deadpan look.

Hanna just shrugged, still smirking, before turning away from me as she ran her hand through her hair.

A Few Minutes Later

Emily, Hanna and I left the house to head to the pharmacy to get something for Hanna's arm.

She hurt it when she got attacked in the store so we're hoping to find something that'll help.

"Buttercup, does it still hurt?" I asked, worried. 

"Yeah, a little" Hanna sighed.

"Kyle Bown, on the boys swim team, he can bend his wrist all the way to his arm, and it doesn't even hurt him. I think he's double-jointed" Emily chuckled.

Hanna and I glanced at each other as we began to laugh.

"And you're telling us this because?" I asked in amusement.

Just as we were about to enter the pharmacy, we spotted Meredith inside.

We quickly backed away so we could see and hear what's going on through the window.

"What do you mean you can't refill it?" Meredith asked.

"You refilled this prescription last week" the man said.

"Yeah, I know, but I...misplaced my pill bottle" Meredith said. 

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Clonazepam is a class 3 medication. You can ask your doctor to call in another prescription" the man explained. 

"I don't have time to call my doctor. I need those pills now" Meredith said through gritted teeth.

"There's nothing we can do for you tonight. We're closing in a few minutes" the man said.

"Great. That's just great" Meredith scowled.

She looked around the place for a few seconds before her eyes landed on a few boxes.

She walked over to them and grabbed a handful. She walked back over to the guy and set the boxes down on the counter.

"Ring me up" Meredith demanded.

Emily and Hanna glanced at each other before turning to me.

"Ethan, what's clonazepam" Emily asked.

"It's most commonly used for anxiety, but some people also use it to help them sleep" I explained. 

"Either Meredith is a major insomniac or she's trying to knock out a cow" Hanna said.

When we saw Meredith exiting the pharmacy we quickly turned around so she wouldn't see us.

When we were sure she was gone we turned back around as we looked at each other in worry.

"I do not like the idea of that homewrecker nursing Aria back to health" I scowled. 

"I'm calling her again" Emily said.

She took her phone out and dialed Aria's number before putting her phone to her ear.

"Straight to voicemail" Emily sighed, hanging up.

"Come on, we need to head over to her house and get her out of there before Meredith arrives" I said.

The two of them nodded and we quickly began walking to Emily's car.

When we got inside Emily quickly started the car before driving off.

I bit my lip before taking my phone out. I began typing before sending the text. I sighed before placing my phone back in my pocket. 

At Aria's House

Finally, we arrived at Aria's house, Emily parked the car in front.

The entire ride here it had begun raining, the storm might hit soon. We're lucky that we arrived before it got worse.

The three of us exited the car and walked towards her house. Once we were close Hanna knocked on the door.

"She has to be here" Hanna said.

"Aria! Aria, are you in here?" Emily called out to her.

Nothing.

I looked around before walking towards one of the plants. I stuck my hand inside before taking out the spare key.

"Here's the key" I said.

I used it to open the door. Once it was open the three of us walked inside.

I looked around before placing the key under the mat. I glanced behind me for a second before walking inside, shutting the door behind me.

"Aria?" Emily called out to her, again. 

All of a sudden the lights went out. We're only able to see a bit because of the fireplace.

The three of us glanced at each other before I nodded upstairs.

"Come on" I said.

The three of us began walking upstairs, we were doing our best to be quiet just in case.

"Aria?" Emily, once again, called out to her. 

We walked down the hallway before heading inside her bedroom. Nothing, it's empty.

"She's not here" Emily said.

"I'm calling her" Hanna said, taking her phone out.

She dialed her number before placing her phone to her ear.

We jumped in fright when we heard a loud buzzing noise from behind us. We spun around and saw Meredith standing behind us.

"Meredith?" Hanna asked. 

"What are you kids doing out in this storm?" Meredith asked. 

"Where is Aria?" Hanna asked.

I glanced down and my eyes widened when I saw Aria's phone in Meredith's hand.

Where the hell is Aria? What did Meredith do to her?

"She went down to the basement to look for some flashlights" Meredith said. 

Bullshit.

I don't buy that for one second.

"She has been down there a little while. Maybe we should check on her" Meredith suggested.

The three of us glanced at each other fearfully before we watched Meredith leave the room.

We all swallowed thickly before following behind her. We all walked downstairs before Meredith opened the door to the basement.

She gestured for us to walk inside and we did, quite hesitantly, might I add.

"Aria? Are you down here?" I called out to her.

The three of us jumped when the door slammed shut. We spun around and heard the door being locked.

We all ran upstairs and tried opening the door but nothing worked.

"Oh, my God, it's locked" Emily gasped.

Hanna and I began pounding and kicking the door, trying to get out of here, while Emily began looking around.

"Let us out you crazy bitch!" Hanna yelled, kicking the door once more.

I grunted in annoyance and slight pain, curling my hands into fists.

"Guys" Emily called out to us.

She managed to find a flashlight so we could see better, given that it was pretty dark down here.

"What?" Hanna asked.

"I don't think we're alone down here" Emily whispered.

The three of us glanced at each other before the two of them huddled closer to me. With that we slowly began walking downstairs.

Emily used the flashlight to look around so we could see better. We also need to know if Aria is really here.

A gasp escaped Emily's lips as Hanna and I looked at her.

We saw her staring at something, causing us to turn around and look at what she's looking.

Our eyes widened and gasps of our own escaped our lips at what we were seeing.

It's Aria. And she was lying on the ground, unconscious.

"Oh my god. Aria!" I yelled.

The three of us ran towards her as we crouched down in front of her.

"Aria! Aria, are you ok?" Emily asked.

"Aria, come on. Wake up" Hanna begged.

I bit my lip as I glanced up before looking back down at my unconscious friend.

"Come on! Wake up!" I desperately yelled.

A Few Minutes Later

Finally after a while Aria managed to wake up. But we're still trapped down here.

Emily and I began looking around, trying to find a way out, or trying to find some weapons to defend ourselves.

Hanna and Aria sat on the steps as Hanna tried comforting her.

"It's gonna be ok, Aria" Hanna reassured her.

"No, it's not. You guys don't get it. She lost it. She's crazy" Aria said.

"No shit" I muttered.

Emily and I continued looking around when we heard footsteps and a few thuds from upstairs.

"What is she doing up there?" Aria asked, confused.

"If Spencer was here she'd say that she was pacing while she plots her way to get rid of us" Emily said.

"She'd probably be right" Hanna nodded.

"There's four of us and one of her. Let's give her the pages and then we'll take her down" Emily said.

"Take her down?" Aria asked in disbelief.

"I have no problem opening a can of whoop-ass on that woman" Hanna said.

Aria opened her mouth to say something when I beat her to it.

"Guys, don't worry. Before we came here I texted someone for backup. They should be here soon" I said.

"Backup? What backup?" Hanna asked, confused.

I leaned my back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Just wait" I smirked.

Alyssa's Pov

I finally arrived at the Montgomery house. I'm just glad that Ethan sent me the address, otherwise I would've had some problems getting here.

When he texted me saying that something might go wrong and he'd need backup, I was incredibly worried.

He told me that Meredith was plotting something and she was most likely doing something horrible to Aria.

I knew I couldn't trust that woman. Not only is she a homewrecker, but she may also be a lunatic.

I got out of my car and quickly ran towards the Montgomery house, trying my best to avoid getting wet.

"Where is it?" I muttered under my breath.

I crouched down and when I looked under the mat, I smiled in satisfaction.

I grabbed it before standing up. I unlocked the door before setting the key in one of the flower plants.

I quietly walked inside, shutting the door behind me.

It was basically dark inside. The lights must've went out because of the storm, which makes sense.

Luckily the fireplace was on, so I don't have to worry about tripping or bumping into something.

Now I just need to search this place and find Ethan and the girls.

And if I so happen to run into crazy Meredith, I'll be ready to fight with everything I've got.

I decided to check upstairs first. Maybe they could be in Aria's room. 

If not, I'll check downstairs.

"Alyssa, what are you doing here?" Meredith asked.

"For a visit. Now, where are Ethan and the girls?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"What are you talking about?" Meredith asked, trying to play innocent.

"Cut the bullshit. I know everything, especially about your affair with Mr. Montgomery" I scowled.

Her innocent act slowly disappeared and was soon replaced with her true colors.

I walked closer to Aria's bed, placing my hands behind my back.

"Not to mention Ethan texted me earlier, before he came here" I said.

I felt something on Aria's bed. It felt like a book, and a heavy one too.

"Now how about you tell me where they are and we'll all be on our way" I said.

"That's not happening. And I think it's better you come with me" Meredith said.

"Yeah, that's not happening either. I'm calling the cops" I scowled, reaching my hand into my pocket to take my phone out.

A scream escaped from her lips and she ran towards me.

I screamed myself before using all the strength I had to hit her in the head with the book.

When she dropped to the ground I stormed out of the room and practically threw myself downstairs.

"Ethan! Ethan! Where are you?!" I yelled.

Where the hell would any crazy person keep someone?

Wait...

The basement!

Before I could even make my way to the basement, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I felt myself being spun around.

Meredith stood in front of me, ready to punch me, but I quickly grabbed her fist.

I kneed her in the stomach before raising my arm to elbow her in the face. 

She cried in pain and I took the opportunity to shove her away from me.

Meredith stumbled backwards, her back hitting the wall. She held onto her head and glared at me.

"You little..." Meredith trailed off, scowling.

She grabbed a vase and threw it at me. I quickly ducked down, flinching when the vase made contact with the wall, scattering into pieces when it fell to the ground.

I stood up and ran at her. I tried grabbing her by the hair but she grabbed both my arms. She spun me around and shoved me away from her.

I stumbled and nearly fell but I managed to regain my balance.

"Give up!" Meredith yelled, storming towards me.

My lips formed into a scowl and I balled my hand into a fist. Without giving it any thought, I spun myself around, shoving my fist as hard as I could into her face.

Meredith let out a pained groan before dropping to the ground with a loud thud.

I sighed in relief before crouching down in front of her. I grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up.

She let out a small whimper and looked at me, frustrated tears forming in her eyes.

I internally smirked when I saw some blood dripping from the side of her eye.

"Don't ever mess with me. And don't ever mess with Ethan or the other girls again, bitch!" I sneered at her.

I quickly headbutted her and that was more than enough to knock her out.

I sighed in relief before getting up from the ground, making my way towards the basement door.

Ethan's Pov

All four of us jumped when we heard a loud thud coming from upstairs.

"What was that?" Aria asked, worried.

"What is that crazy bitch doing?" Hanna asked.

While the girls were confused and worried, I was completely calm and satisfied. Especially when I already knew who it was.

All of a sudden the door to the basement swung open, creating a loud thud.

Hanna and Aria quickly stood up and huddled closer to Emily and I.

"Ethan? Girls? Are you guys down here?" Alyssa asked.

The girls eyes widened and their jaws dropped when they heard Alyssa's voice. While a satisfied and relieved smile formed on my face.

I knew she'd come. I knew she'd rescue us.

"Yeah, we're here!" I yelled.

I heard Alyssa sigh in relief before running downstairs, a flashlight in her hand.

As soon as she saw me and as soon as I saw her we both engulfed each other in a tight but warm hug.

"Thank you so much for coming" I whispered.

"Of course" Alyssa whispered.

When we pulled away from the hug she cupped the sides of my face, scanning me up and down for any injuries.

"Are you hurt? Did that crazy woman hurt you?" Alyssa frantically asked.

"Alyssa, relax. I'm fine. I'm not hurt anywhere, I promise" I reassured her, chuckling slightly.

She sighed in relief and nodded her head. Her eyes then wandered behind me, landing on the girls.

"Are you girls ok? Are any of you hurt?" Alyssa asked.

They all shook their heads, snapping out of the shocked states that they were in.

"No, we're fine" Hanna said.

"I mean, she knocked me unconscious and practically shoved me down here, but I'm fine" Aria sighed.

Alyssa frowned at that, concern washing through her eyes, before nodding her head.

"Wait, what about Meredith?" Emily asked.

That made Alyssa smirk. She then gestured for us to follow her upstairs.

We did just that, but the girls huddled closer to my side, still on high alert.

Once we were out of the basement and walked into the living room. However, as soon as we got there, we stopped dead in our tracks at the scene in front of us.

The living room was a mess, broken glass shattered around the ground and a few items were knocked over.

However, what caught our attention was an unconscious Meredith lying on the ground.

There was some blood dripping from her eye and I could see a small bump on her head.

All of our eyes widened and our jaws dropped.

"D-Did you do this?" Emily asked, still in shock.

"Well, we both did. She put up a good fight but I had the upper hand. Those self defense classes I took when I was 5 really came in handy" Alyssa smiled.

Damn, this girl is amazing.

Is there anything she can't do?

Aria cleared her throat before turning to me, a serious look in her eyes.

"If you don't ask her out soon, I'll kick your ass" Aria sternly said.

I'm going to assume she made sure that only the girls and I could hear, considering Alyssa wasn't paying much attention to what was being said.

Emily and Hanna nodded, the same serious look in their eyes.

This made me blush before rolling my eyes, gently nudging Aria in the arm, causing her to chuckle.

But, what Alyssa did, it was pretty cool if I do say so myself.

It just makes me more determined to do just what Aria wants me to do.