A Month Later
Ethan's Pov

A month has passed since the complete disaster me and the girls were involved in. The police weren't able to prove much, even with the shovel they showed us that day. Luckily, mom was able to get us community service instead of us serving jail time.

Thank you, mom. 

Right now me and the girls were picking up trash at the Southfield Playground, wearing orange jumpsuits.

To say we were tired, annoyed and disgusted would be an understatement.

But I would rather be doing this instead of spending time in jail for something we didn't do.

"Only an hour and thirty minutes to go" Hanna said, trying to look on the bright side.

"I think it's more like two hours, but who's counting?" Aria sarcastically asked.

I rolled my eyes and continued picking up whatever trash I could find at this playground.

"How many hours you got left?" a girl with black hair asked.

"Six months" a girl with brown hair scoffed.

"But your momma's not a big-shot lawyer getting you and your pals community service for tampering with evidence" the black haired girl sarcastically said.

This made me glare at her but I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying anything.

"I thought you said they killed somebody" the girl with brown hair said.

"That's what the cops think, but the cops can't prove it" the girl with black hair said.

"Cops are stupid" the brown hair girl scoffed.

This made me stop what I was doing as I turned around to glare at them, Emily doing the same thing as me.

"We didn't do anything!" Emily yelled in anger.

"Yeah, so if you could keep your mouths shut, that would be amazing" I angrily said.

"Don't talk to them!" Spencer yelled at both of us.

"We'll talk to anybody I want to" Emily said, turning to glare at Spencer.

"No, you won't" Spencer angrily said.

"And who's going to stop us?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at my sister.

"The three of you just shut up. I don't want to hear it any more!" Aria yelled, annoyed.

I rolled my eyes as me and Spencer went back to picking up trash.

Emily sighed in annoyance before walking towards Spencer.

"Did you at least think about my idea?" Emily asked.

"It was a bad idea when they arrested us, it's a bad idea now" Spencer scoffed, not bothering to look at her.

"Spence, we finally have something solid. Why won't you use it?" I asked, backing up Emily.

"Because you can't make a deal with a rattlesnake" Spencer angrily said.

"You can if you have something the rattlesnake wants" Emily snapped and I nodded.

"Can we stop talking about snakes?" Hanna asked, annoyed and disgusted.

I rolled my eyes and went back to the trash, but stopped when Spencer turned around to look at me and Emily.

"Listen to me. We're not going to be making any kind of a deal with A. That's final" Spencer sternly said.

I glared at my sister in annoyance as Emily let out an annoyed laugh.

"Maybe for you. The rest of us don't have lawyers for parents" Emily said.

Spencer turned around and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Meaning what?" Spencer asked.

"Meaning your mom may have gotten us a deal, but if they ever figure out a way to charge us for killing Ali, she'll throw the rest of us under the bus to save you. And you'd let her. Ethan would rather rot in jail with us than throw us under the bus, unlike you" Emily angrily spat at her.

Spencer's eyes widened and her jaw dropped while Emily smiled mockingly at her.

Emily turned around to go back to picking up trash, when Spencer threw her bag at her.

My eyes widened as some white liquid and other garbage got on Emily's orange suit.

Emily turned around and looked at Spencer in shock. The shock was replaced with anger as Emily threw her bag and stick on the ground before lunging towards Spencer and shoving her into a tree.

"Hey! You guys, stop!" Aria yelled.

They ignored her and continued fighting. They both fell to the ground but didn't stop and continue going.

"Whoa! Spencer, stop!" Hanna yelled.

Spencer pulled at Emily's hair as Emily did the same thing to her.

Me, Aria and Hanna tried stopping the fight but they wouldn't budge.

The two cops that were watching over us ran towards Spencer and Emily and quickly pulled them off of each other, holding onto them so they wouldn't attack each other again.

Spencer got free from the cop that was holding her and tried lunging towards Emily again, but the cop quickly grabbed her and held her back.

The Next Day

It was the next day and I was currently at school as I walked into Mrs. Montgomery classroom.

I made my way towards her and took out my extra credit report and handed it to her.

"Um, this is my extra-credit report on Vonnegut" I said, giving her a small smile.

"Thank you, Ethan. I look forward to reading it" Mrs. Montgomery nodded.

I smiled at her and nodded. I turned around to head to my seat when Spencer walked towards us.

Me and her glared at each other before I rolled my eyes and walked past her, ignoring the concerned look from Mrs. Montgomery as well as a few other students.

I sat down and set my books down on my table. I watched as Spencer handed her extra credit report to Ms. Montgomery.

She turned around to head to her seat when she accidentally bumped into Emily, causing her to drop her books.

"Hey!" Emily yelled.

Hanna and Aria came into the room as they glanced at each other before making their way to their seats.

"Sorry" Spencer shrugged.

She rolled her eyes and was about to walk away but Emily stopped her by shoving her books to the ground.

"Stop it!" Mrs. Montgomery yelled as she walked towards both of them.

I spared Aria and Hanna a quick glance before looking back at Emily and my sister.

"I'm tired of making allowances for you guys. You're supposed to be friends. Now go sit down" Mrs. Montgomery sternly said.

Spencer and Emily nodded as they both bent down to grab their books.

Spencer stood up first and made her way to her seat while Emily remained on the ground as she took out her phone.

I heard my phone ring and quickly took it out and saw the text message.

You and Emily were always my favorites. Want to make a deal?

- A

I looked up and met Emily's eyes and saw her nod at me, making me nod back at her.

She stood up from the ground and made her way towards the board. She grabbed the chalk and circled yes on the board, sparing the other girls a quick glance, before setting the chalk down and heading to her seat.

I took out my pen and opened my notebook and began writing.

Late At Night
At The Greenhouse

It was late at night and I met up with Emily outside of the greenhouse. We smiled at each other before walking inside.

When we got inside we saw Spencer, Aria and Hanna there.

Me and Emily walked towards them before stopping a few feet in front of them.

Only a few seconds passed before smiles made their way onto our faces as I took out my phone and gave it to Aria.

She smiled at me before looking at the text I got from A at school.

"You and Emily were always my favorites. Wanna make a deal? A" Aria said before looking up at us.

"A took the bait" Emily smiled.

"That bitch is going down" I smirked, wrapping an arm around Emily's shoulders.

The girls all let out laughs at that as smiles appeared on their faces.

You didn't actually think we hated each other, right?

I would never hate the girls or my sister. And we never stopped being best friends.

We did all of this because we knew it would catch A's attention and it did. Because they actually think we hate each other and are growing apart.

"We pulled it off" Hanna smiled.

"A totally thinks we're not friends any more. They think me and Spencer hate each other" I chuckled.

"They think that we have real evidence" Spencer chuckled.

"Does it bother anybody that we don't actually have anything, we're just making it up?" Hanna asked, worried.

"But Jenna and Garrett don't know that" Aria said.

"I don't know. It just scares me that Emily and Ethan are doing this alone" Hanna said, looking at us in worry.

"No, they're not gonna be alone. We'll be outside" Aria reassured us.

"Yeah, last time I checked, I can kick ass pretty well" I chuckled, earning a snort from my sister.

"Yeah, but it's just the five of us" Hanna said.

"Buttercup, every time we ask someone for help, they end up collateral damage. Like Dr. Sullivan" I sighed.

"Or a traitor, like Garrett" Aria scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"It was so creepy to have to talk to him, but it was totally worth it to rattle the cage" Spencer said and I patted her shoulder.

I sighed before putting my hands in my jacket pocket.

"So tomorrow. And everyone that's watching is going to believe that Ethan and Emily totally went rogue and that they want the box that Jason gave Ethan" Aria explained, a small smile on her face.

"The one with the evidence, that doesn't really exist" Spencer chuckled.

I fondly rolled my eyes at her and ruffled her hair, earning a smack to the arm from her.

"Are you sure that A is gonna follow Emily and Ethan?" Hanna asked.

"Absolutely" Spencer nodded.

"I'm the weakest link. And the weakest link wants some payback" Emily smirked.

I smiled and made my way towards her and linked our arms together.

"I swear once we find out who A is I'm going to punch them for putting me in the hospital, twice. And then I'm going to strangle them to death" I smirked.

The girls all smirked at that and nodded.

Get ready, A.

Because tomorrow you're going down.

The Next Day

It was the next day and I was at school with Emily as we watched students buy tickets for the swim meet.

I looked at Emily and frowned when I saw the heartbroken look on her face.

I know how badly she wants to swim again, but with everything that's happened it's not looking good for her.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and gave her temple a brotherly kiss.

"I know it sucks, but everything will get better tonight. I promise" I whispered.

She sighed and looked up at me as smile made it's way onto her face as she nodded.

We turned back around, only for our faces to drop when we saw Garrett walking towards the table to buy his tickets.

Are you freaking kidding me? Why the hell is he here?

"He follows her around like a trained monkey" we heard Toby say.

We turned around and I smiled when I saw him standing next to me. He smiled at me before we turned back around to look at Garrett.

"It's worse when he comes to the house" Toby said.

"Tell me about it" I scoffed.

"I didn't see Jenna. Is she here?" Emily asked.

"Must be in the girls' room" Toby shrugged.

I nodded and looked back at Garrett, only to see him eating m&m while looking at us.

He smiled at us, making Emily glare at him while I raised my middle finger at him, causing him to look taken aback while I internally smirked.

"Still supporting the Sharks?" Toby asked, looking at Emily.

"They're swimming against Rollins High. Thought I'd make some noise" Emily shrugged.

"And I'm her emotional support" I smiled.

Emily giggled and nodded as Toby chuckled at us.

We began walking away to get our tickets when Toby stopped us, grabbing both our arms.

"Can I ask you guys something?" Toby asked.

"Sure, anything" I smiled.

"What the hell is going on with Spencer?" Toby asked, looking worried and anxious.

This made me and Emily glance at each other before sighing and looking back at Toby.

"You'll have to talk to her about that" Emily said.

"She's not talking" Toby said in annoyance.

"I really can't help you with Spencer. Sorry" Emily said.

She tried leaving but Toby stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Emily. Don't you shut me out, too" Toby softly said.

My heart broke at the tone he spoke. He sounded desperate and he was practically begging at this point.

I really, really, really wanna tell him about A and explain why Spencer broke up with him. But I can't do that.

The last thing I want is for him to get caught up in our mess and end up becoming A's target. I don't want my best friend to get hurt.

"I'm not shutting you out. It's just not good for any of us right now, Toby" Emily softly said.

She got out of Toby's grasp and walked away, leaving the both of us alone.

Toby sighed as he turned to me and I had to bit my lip at the pleading look on his face.

"Ethan, please tell me what's going on with Spencer? Don't shut me out" Toby begged.

"Toby, I'm not shutting you out. But I can't talk to you about Spencer either. Especially when we're not in a good place at the moment" I explained.

"What's going on between you two? You guys barely talk to each other and if you see each other you end up glaring at each other" Toby asked, worried.

This made me sigh as I gently tugged on my hair.

"Me and Spencer aren't really in the best place to be best friends, let alone siblings. We just, need some space from each other, and that's why I can't tell you anything about her when I barely talk to her anymore" I explained.

Toby looked at me in concern and all I could do was give him a small smile.

I gave him a quick hug before turning around and walking away to catch up with Emily.

A Few Hours Later

The swim meet was over and me and Emily were currently walking out, along with the other students, to meet up with the others.

When we got out we saw the three of them waiting for us.

Me and Emily glanced at each other and nodded. Time to put this plan into motion.

Me and Emily marched over to the three of them, glaring at them.

Spencer rolled her eyes at us and tried walking away when I grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Ok, it's every man for himself. I want the box that Jason gave Ethan" Emily said.

"Yeah, where is it? I know you went in my room and took it" I said, crossing my arms.

"Well neither of you are going to get it" Spencer scoffed.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Caleb, Lucas, Garrett and Toby staring at us. All of them confused, curious and worried.

"Guys, Spencer's only looking out for herself. We have to cut a deal with-" I started but Spencer cut me off.

"Shut up, Ethan" Spencer said, raising her voice at me.

"Where the hell is it?" I asked, glaring at her.

"It's safe" Aria angrily said.

"Where?" Emily asked.

"Don't tell them" Hanna said.

"It's hidden, and it stays hidden until I want it found" Spencer smirked at us.

I let out an amused laugh and shook my head at her as I crossed my arms.

"You forget, we all learned how to keep secrets from the same person. I bet I know where it is" I smirked.

Emily nodded as she linked her arm with mine and looked at the girls.

"Good luck" Emily mockingly smiled at them.

I sent them a mocking smile too before the both of us walked away, walking past Caleb and Lucas on the way.

When we were gone we heard our phones ring. We unlinked our arms and took out our phones to look at the message.

See you tonight, BFF!

- A

Me and Emily smiled at each other before linking our arms and walking away.

Late At Night

I managed to get dressed in time and get the box from my room and leave the house to meet up with Emily.

I got in her car and she began driving to the location. To say we were both nervous yet excited would be an understatement. Tonight would be the night that A would be revealed and all of this will finally be over.

Just as long as everything goes to plan, we'll be alright.

We finally arrived at the greenhouse and began looking around us with the flashlights that we brought with us since it was pretty dark tonight.

I held a tight grip on the box as me and Emily walked into the greenhouse, me closing the door with my foot.

We continued walking around before I set the box on a table since my arm was getting tired, especially when I was holding my flashlight with one hand.

"I'm not the only one that's getting the creeps, right?" I asked.

"Nope" Emily sighed.

I groaned in annoyance and continued looking around, wanting to distract myself as best as I could.

This whole thing was making me anxious, I mean I'm happy that we're finally gonna find out who A is, but I just have this feeling in my stomach that something will happen. And it won't be pretty.

I heard a phone ring and turned around to see Emily taking out her phone.

"Is it Spencer or the other girls?" I asked.

"It's Spencer. She said she's almost here but told us not to go in yet" Emily said.

"Too late, we're already here" I shrugged.

Emily sighed and nodded as she put her phone back in her pocket as she continued looking around.

I sighed and began looking around with her, wanting to see if I could find something interesting or useful.

A Few Minutes Later

Ok, I seriously don't know if the girls were here or not, but we're running out of time and A should be here by now.

Emily sighed and walked towards the table where I had put the box. She set her flashlight down and picked it up.

She looked at me and I gave her a small smile. She gave me one back and turned around, only to stop dead in her tracks as she let out a small gasp.

I turned around, only for my breath to hitch when I saw A standing a few feet away from us.

This is it.

"We knew you'd be here. We knew we could depend on you. You listen to us. You're always listening" Emily said.

I nodded as both took a few small steps towards them.

"You know you made a mistake, don't you? It must be driving you crazy. You're afraid we found something, something in this box. Something about you" I said, gesturing to the box in Emily's hands.

A remained silent and we took that as our cue to continue talking.

"Do you want to know what we found? Do you want to see what you're afraid of?" Emily asked, her tone almost a mocking one.

Emily slowly opened the box and showed it to A.

I internally smirked when we showed A that the box was empty.

"Nothing. We found nothing. We lied to you, and you believed us. That was your mistake" I smirked.

Emily smirked and nodded.

A didn't say anything or do anything, they remained quiet and completely still.

Me and Emily glanced at each other, worried and confused.

Why aren't the others coming in? Where are they? Are they even here?

A then ran towards us as me and Emily gasped before Emily threw the box at them as we both began running away.

I gasped when A shoved me out of the way and I fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

I heard Emily yell out in pain and I looked up to see A grabbing Emily by the hair and slamming her into a wall.

A then tried throwing things at her but Emily quickly dodged all of them. Emily tried aiming a punch at her but A wrapped their arms around her neck and began choking her.

"EMILY!" I shouted.

I shot up from the ground and ran towards them and quickly grabbed the figure from behind and pulled them off of Emily.

I spun around and hit them over the head with my flashlight, causing them to grab their head in pain.

I grabbed them by the bottom of their mask and tried taking it off to see who they were, but they kicked my legs from underneath me and I fell to the ground, making me lose my grip on them as I groaned in pain.

My eyes went wide as I began gasping for air when they wrapped their arms around my neck and began choking me.

"ETHAN!" Emily shouted.

She ran towards us and kicked the figure away from me, causing them to lose their grip around my neck and fall to the ground.

Emily grabbed my arm and quickly pulled me up from the ground. I coughed loudly and rubbed my neck.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Emily asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. And you? Are you hurt?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine" Emily nodded.

I sighed in relief before my eyes widened when I saw A behind Emily, ready to grab her.

"NO!" I shouted.

I wrapped my arms around Emily and spun us around so that I was in front of A while Emily was behind me.

I gasped when A grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and used all the strength in themselves to throw me across the room. I yelled out in pain when my head hit the side of the table and I fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

I felt immense pain and when I brought my hand up to my forehead, I felt something wet. I looked at my hand and saw blood. Shit, I was bleeding.

"No! No!" Emily yelled.

I spun around, ignoring the pain that I felt, and saw A using one hand to choke Emily while holding a knife with their other hand.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" I shouted.

I shot up from the ground and sprinted towards them. I quickly dodged when A tried cutting my face with the knife. I managed to aim a punch at them and they weakened a bit, dropping the knife so I had an advantage.

I kicked their legs from underneath them and they fell on their back. I jumped on top of them and grabbed a hold of their mask. I was about to remove it when they grabbed my arms and pulled us both up from the ground.

They spun me around and slammed me into a wall. I groaned in pain when my, already bloody, forehead made contact with the hardness of the wall. A spun me around before grabbing my arm and throwing me over their shoulder.

I jumped and groaned in pain before gasping when A jumped on top of me and wrapped ropes around me and began choking me with them. 

I screamed in pain and tried shoving them off of me but they were too strong.

"ETHAN! EMILY!" I heard Spencer shout.

A let go of the ropes and shot up from the ground and began running, trying to get out of here.

I gasped for air and began coughing. Emily crawled towards me and quickly took the ropes off of me.

"Ethan, are you ok?" Emily asked, worried.

"Not really" I groaned.

Emily opened her mouth to say something when out of the corner of my eye I saw A grab something and throw it in the air.

I quickly grabbed Emily and spun us around and shielded her with my body, just in time as glass from the roof broke and fell all around us.

A ran out of the room while I removed myself from Emily and slowly got up from the ground. I helped Emily from the ground as she was breathing heavily.

Spencer and Aria ran towards us and began checking up on us.

"Are you guys ok?" Aria asked in concern.

"We're fine! Go!" Emily yelled.

"Come on! Quick!" I yelled.

The four of us ran out of the greenhouse in hopes to catch A before they could completely escape.

I ignored the pain I felt in my body and my forehead, we had another issue at hand and that was cornering A and unmasking them. We have to.

When we ran out of the greenhouse we saw Hanna's car pulling up before she stopped when A got hit and fell on their ass.

A quickly recovered and shot up from the ground and began running.

"You guys come on!" Spencer yelled.

Hanna got out of her car and looked at us for some answers but we couldn't answer them. Not yet, at least.

"Hanna! Come on!" I yelled.

Hanna quickly ran with us as we all ran into the woods, hoping to follow A and tackle them to the ground before they could even think about leaving.

We continued running into the woods but we stopped when we realized that we were alone.

It was dead silent, we didn't hear nor see anything or anyone. The only thing you could hear was our breathing.

Shit! A got away!

"My God, I don't believe this!" Spencer yelled out in frustration.

Emily sighed and rubbed her neck. While I groaned and held my forehead in pain, it still felt wet so it meant that the bleeding was still there. Great.

Aria and Hanna ran towards us when they saw the state that we were in.

"Hey, are you guys ok?" Aria asked.

"Yeah, I think so" Emily nodded.

"Not really" I groaned.

I nearly tripped on air but Hanna grabbed me and steadied me so I wouldn't fall.

"Did I just hit what I think I did?" Hanna asked.

"Yes! And now they're gone! We've got nothing! We've got nothing!" Spencer yelled out in anger and frustration.

Emily sighed and leaned against Aria, trying to catch her breath.

I leaned against Hanna, feeling really tired, I swear I felt like I was gonna pass out.

Hanna grabbed my arm and threw it over her shoulder as she guided me back to her car, the others following behind us.

"Was it Garrett or Jenna?" Hanna asked both me and Emily.

"How could it be Jenna?" I asked in slight annoyance.

"I couldn't tell" Emily sighed.

"Well, was it a boy or a girl?" Aria asked in frustration.

"I don't know! I was too busy getting tossed around like a ragdoll and Emily was close to being stabbed!" I angrily snapped at her.

Hanna continued helping me walk, knowing that I wouldn't be able to because of the pain that I was in.

I felt dizzy but I tried to hold on, I didn't want to pass out, not now.

"Any sense of boobs?" Hanna asked.

"Hanna" Spencer said in a warning tone.

"What? It could be a clue" Hanna defended.

I wanted to laugh at that but I was still in pain.

I looked at Spencer and saw her looking at something. I looked down and saw a phone on the ground.

"That's not mine" Spencer said.

The girls looked at her before they saw the phone on the ground. We all walked towards her and huddled around the phone.

"It's not mine" Emily said.

"It's none of ours" Hanna said.

My eyes widened as me and the girls all glanced at each other.

"Do you think when A bounced off the car-" I started but Spencer cut me off.

"That's A's cellphone" Spencer said as she looked up at us with a small smile appearing on her face.

Small smiles slowly made their way onto our faces. We were given an advantage tonight and that's with this cellphone.