12. Salt Meets Wound

"Why do you keep taking that stupid sticker off?" Daniella asked, placing Hanna's crutches in her kitchen.

"I'm not taking it off, I'm trying to keep it on" Hanna replied, "Believe me, I don't want to see the autograph that's under it".

"Well we can get you another stick" Spencer offered.

"Yeah, this time, why don't you try something mellower like, save the planet?" Aria said, looking at the sticker that said, humpty dumpty was pushed.

"Hey, there were not a lot of choices, okay?" Spencer defended, "It was either, humpty dumpty or Jesus is coming, look busy".

Hanna peeled the sticker and looked at the message under it, "Oh, god, it's still there" she complained.

"Hanna, don't, okay? Don't look at that" Spencer said, kneeling beside the Marin girl, "Just look around you, cause you're safe, you're home and you're alive".

"No, I thought I was safe in my hospital room, too" Hanna reminded, she looked at Daniella, "So, what's going on with Noel Kahn? Is he A? Have you talked to him?".

Daniella sighed, "Once" she replied, "He's been calling, but I've been avoiding".

"Why?" Emily asked, "I thought you were giving him the benefit of the doubt".

"I tried, but it's not that easy" Daniella replied, "I'm trying to get our relationship to work but I can't get rid of that nagging feeling in the back of my head that keeps telling me maybe Noel isn't the guy I though he was".

Spencer put her arm around Daniella and side hugged her, knowing her best friend was feeling extremely overwhelmed right now.

Emily, sensing the same thing, decided to change the topic, "Who got you this panda?" Emily asked Hanna, holding a panda plushie in her hand, "Sean?".

"Lucas" Hanna corrected.

"Oh, sweet" Emily gushed.

"Anyone else starving or is it just me?" Hanna asked, changing the topic from Lucas.

"No, your mom said she left a special dinner for you in the fridge" Spencer replied, as Aria opened the fridge.

"Mm, pass" Hanna said, "No, I want a pop-tart, what? I've been on hospital food for three weeks, I wanna eat something that doesn't look like it's already been chewed".

"Okay, why don't you eat while we go get the rest of your stuff" Aria said, placing Hanna's dinner on the dining table, "Kay?".

After grabbing the rest of Hanna's stuff, the four girls made their way back to the Marin's kitchen, where they saw Hanna by a cupboard, a box of lasagna in her hand, looking worried.

"Hey, so if you're gonna stay down here tonight we were--".

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, down here's good" Hanna interrupted Aria.

"What happened?" Spencer asked, seeing the food boxes on the floor.

"Nothing" Hanna quickly replied, "Just knocked a few boxes down", Daniella bent to pick them up, but Hanna stopped her, "No, no, no, you don't have to clean, you can go, seriously, my mom's gonna be here soon, so".

"Hold up" Daniella said confused, "You want us to leave?".

"You don't have to put on a brave face for us, okay, we get it" Spencer assured, "If being alone is freaking you out we can absolutely stay--".

"No, no, no, I'm just, I'm fuzzy" Hanna said, "And I think it's from this pain medication, yeah, I need a nap".

"Okay, can we help you to the couch?" Emily asked.

"No, you've done enough" Hanna replied, "Seriously, you guys, go".

"Okay, call me?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Hanna replied.

"You can call me anytime as well, I'm always on my phone" Daniella said, giving Hanna a smile.

"You know you have to boil that first, right?" Spencer asked, gesturing towards the box of lasagna Hanna was holding on to so tightly.

"Yeah" Hanna replied.

After exchanging their goodbyes with Hanna, the four girls finally left the Marin house, leaving behind an extremely worried Hanna, who had discovered money in the lasagna boxes.

***

Emily, Spencer and Daniella walked in their school hallway.

"I'm just not sure I wanna be there" Emily said, talking about the dinner between her parents and Maya tonight.

"It'll be fine" Spencer assured, "Just make sure, Maya doesn't do all the talking".

"Yeah, if she starts saying something you know your parents won't like, then you should jump in and save her" Daniella said.

"Spencer, Emily, Daniella, wait up!" Mona called, running over to the three girls, "I just found out that Hanna's mom's got some bank thingy in Scranton and won't be home till really late, so, I wanna do a surprise party, you know, welcome home, Hanna, we love you, with or without your spleen, I've checked with Mr. Hanna and Sean is totally down with it".

"They didn't take out her spleen" Emily clarified.

"Really?" Mona asked, "Oh, then I'll just change the theme".

"Mona" Spencer said, stopping Mona from walking away, "I'm really not sure Hanna's up to hosting a bunch of people at a party".

"Oh, please" Mona said, "She's been socializing with IV bags and bedpans, she'll love it, if you guys don't want to come, I'm sure she'll understand".

After Mona walked away, the three friends looked at each other.

"I guess, we're going to a party" A very amused Daniella said.

***

"He did what?" Daniella asked shocked.

"Noel blackmailed Ezra to give him a better grade in english otherwise he is going to tell people about us" Aria informed, sitting on her sister's bed.

"Are you sure Noel said that?" Daniella asked, "What if your boyfriend misunderstood him?".

"Even if Ezra did misunderstand him, you need to talk to him" Aria replied.

"Why me?" Daniella asked, not wanting to talk to Noel.

"Because you're his girlfriend" Aria replied, "And until you break up with him, you're going to have to deal with him".

Daniella looked at Aria in shock, "Wait, you think I should break up with him?".

"Dani, you're avoiding him like the plague" Aria replied, "And it's clear you're scared to be in his company".

"It's not that I'm scared, I'm just being careful" Daniella defended, "What if Noel does turn out to be A? Then I'm so screwed, so I want to be hundred precent sure that he's not A before I fully trust him again, before I become normal with him again".

Aria sighed, "Whatever you decide, just be careful, Noel might be dangerous".

"I know" Daniella whispered.

***

Daniella entered Hanna's house, to see her welcome home party in full swing.

"There you are!" Noel said, walking over to the oldest Montgomery after seeing her walk through the door, "Where you been? Sean got this amazing picture of Hanna's face when we surprised her, she might have peed herself, it was classical".

"You promised Noel" Daniella said, confusing Noel, "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone about what you saw in Mr. Fitz's car, that you would forget all about it, but you haven't".

"Back up, what are we talking about?" Noel asked.

"Don't" Daniella warned, "Don't pretend to be oblivious Noel, because we both know that you're not, I can't believe you actually tried to blackmail him".

"Blackmail?" Noel asked shocked, "Is that what he said?".

"So you never demanded him to give you a better grade?" Daniella retorted.

"I didn't demand anything" Noel defended, "I asked him to take a second look at my essay, I mean, haven't you ever worked hard and thought you deserved something better than what you got?", Daniella stayed silent, "Wow, if that's the story he put out there then you've really gotta wonder who this guy is".

"I'm starting to wonder the same thing about you" Daniella stated, she turned to walk away from Noel, when Noel grabbed her wrist, in a very tight grasp.

"Don't walk away from me, Dani" Noel warned.

"Noel, you're hurting me" Daniella said, trying to get her wrist out of Noel's grasp but failing miserably.

"And you're hurting me" Noel snapped.

"I didn't do anything" Daniella snapped back.

Noel pulled Daniella closer to him, "I'm not an idiot, Dani" he said, "You are distancing yourself from me, and I don't like it".

Daniella looked at Noel, for the first seeing a completely different Noel, a Noel that scared that crap out of her.

"Noel, please let me go" Daniella said.

"I waited for you for a long time, Dani" Noel said, "I'm not going to let go of you this easily".

"Noel, let go!" Daniella snapped.

"She said let go, Noel".

Noel and Daniella turned around to see Spencer standing there, Noel glanced between the two friends and after a moment let go of Daniella's wrist.

"This isn't over" Noel told Daniella.

After Noel walked away, Spencer walked over her best friend, "You okay?" she asked.

Daniella looked at Spencer, "No" she whispered.

"Come here" Spencer said, pulling the extremely scared girl into a hug, "It's going to be okay, Dani".

"I don't think it is" Daniella whispered, her mind going back to Jason and his words about Noel not being the guy she thought he was.

***

After making sure Daniella was okay, Spencer went to look for Alex, who ended up breaking up with her due to a misunderstanding created by A.

"You should talk to Alex, Spence" Daniella said, as the two girls sat on the stairs, with Daniella reading the message A sent Spencer.

Point, set, match!
-xo A

"About what?" Spencer asked, "I can't undo this without telling him about A, unless you think I should go into the kitchen and ask A to put down the piece of pizza and call Alex himself".

Daniella sighed, "Look, I admit, Noel might not be the person we thought he is, but we still don't know for sure that he is A".

Spencer looked down at Daniella's wrist, where a bruise was forming because of Noel's tight grip, "Whatever he is Dani, you need to stay far away from him, he might not be dangerous to the rest of us, but he is dangerous to you".

Daniella covered her wrist with her sleeve, "Trust me, I don't plan on going infront Noel anytime soon" she said, "And can we go back to A, do we even know what A wants from us?".

"You know what happens when you stick five lobsters in a tank and cut off their food supply?" Spencer asked.

Daniella nodded, "The lobsters start to eat each other" she replied.

Suddenly Noel appeared infront of the two girls, he looked at Daniella, who looked down at the floor, while Spencer glared at him, "Can I get to the bathroom?" he asked after a moment of silence, "Is there a magic password?".

Daniella didn't say anything just scooted away from Spencer, making way for Noel, and after giving the Montgomery girl one last glance, he went towards the upstairs bathroom.

Daniella looked at Spencer, "If he is A, what are we going to do about it?" she asked.

"I have no idea" Spencer replied honestly.

***

Presenting 1x12 of Pretty Little Liars . . .

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