23. The Eye Of The Beholder

The five friends sat outside Lucky Leon's Cupcake shop, drinking coffee while Daniella told her friends about the guy who mistook her for Vivian.

"He called me Vivian, because I was wearing this red coat, when he first saw the coat he thought I was Alison's alter ego, Vivian" Daniella explained, still wearing the red coat.

"When we noticed you didn't come back, he was gone" Emily informed.

"He was cute from the back" Hanna added.

"You would have found him cute from the front as well" Daniella told Hanna, "He's definitely more your type then mine, anyways, he told me that for the past year he was in Florida".

"What did you tell him, exactly?" a curious Spencer asked.

"Nothing much" Daniella admitted, "Just the fact that I was a friend of Vivian's and I hadn't seen her in a long time, the last time I saw her she ended up giving me this coat".

"Can I see that number again?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah, here" Daniella said, handing Spencer the piece of paper the guy gave her.

"Thanks" Spencer said, unfolding the paper and reading what the guy wrote, "Duncan Albert?".

"He said he met her in Brookhaven?" Emily asked Daniella.

"Yeah, and that to in a bookstore" Daniella replied, "The bookstore is a couple places down that creepy doll shop".

"Well, whoever Duncan is, he's connected to Alison and what she wanted in Brookhaven" Spencer concluded.

"How do we know that he wasn't just some guy she flirted with in a bookstore?" an apprehensive Emily asked.

"I don't think Alison wasted Vivian on flirting" Spencer replied, "When she put that wig on, she wanted something".

"She was looking for A" Hanna realised.

"Duncan was part of that trail" Emily added.

Daniella stared at the paper that had Duncan's name and phone number, "I'll call him" she said after a moment.

"Dani, you don't have to" Spencer said.

"Any one of us could've been wearing that coat" Emily added.

"But it wasn't any of you" Daniella reminded, "It was me".

Spencer opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, her eyes landed on a black car, the confused girls looked in the direction Spencer was staring at, and to their shock they saw Jenna come out of the car, but that wasn't the shocking part, the shocking part was the fact that Toby was with her.

Spencer quickly stood up and stared at her ex-boyfriend in both shock and longing, she hadn't seen him since they broke up because of A.

"She had the operation" Hanna realised, seeing the bandage under Jenna's glasses.

Toby looked towards Spencer, but without any reaction, he walked away with Jenna, making the hope in Spencer's heart crush away.

"Spence?" Aria called out, wanting to know if the Hastings girl was okay or not, but Spencer didn't say anything, she just simply sat back in her seat, she didn't know what to say, she was too shocked of not only seeing Toby again but also seeing him with Jenna.

***

"It's really old, like six months" Mona informed, handing Hanna an old phone of hers after her mom refused to buy her a new one, "But it works pretty good for an antique, the number bills to my account, so your mom never has to know".

"Oh, Mona, you are a lifesaver" Hanna said, as Mona went around and poured a little bit of hand sanitizer on each of the girls hands.

"Well, what's the point in doing something for someone if it doesn't make you look good?" Mona asked, "I'm already number one on the speed dial, ciao".

"If only we could harness Mona's sense of entitlement we could light the Eastern seaboard" Spencer said, after Mona had walked away.

"Yeah, well, I don't care, I got a new phone and didn't have to go through Caleb" Hanna stated, "He's safe in Montecito".

"Did you get through to Duncan yet?" a curious Emily asked Daniella.

"Yeah, we're meeting up after school" Daniella informed, "We're gonna met up at the school courtyard".

"That sounds safe" Spencer said, just as the bell rang for their next class, the five girls said their goodbyes to each other and walked in separate directions to their respective classes.

***

After school ended, Daniella met up with Duncan at the school courtyard, currently they sat on a table taking.

"Were you in Brookhaven looking for Vivian?" a curious Daniella asked.

"Can I ask you a question first?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah, sure" Daniella replied.

"Is Daniella your real name?" Duncan asked.

"Excuse me?" a shocked Daniella asked, wondering why Duncan was asking her this, "Of course my name is Daniella, why will I lie to you?".

"Because Vivian did" Duncan informed, "Her real name wasn't Vivian, and if you're her friend, you'll know her real name".

Daniella looked at Duncan in shock, she didn't expect him to know Alison's real name, she thought he was as clueless as Jonah, but turns out she was wrong.

"Alison" Daniella said after a moment of silence, "Vivian's real name, is Alison".

"We have a winner" Duncan said, "So where is she?".

"You don't know?" Daniella asked.

"Know what?" a confused Duncan asked.

"About Ali's death" Daniella informed, immediately causing a shocked and upset look to form on Duncan's face, "I'm so sorry, she disappeared the year before last, on Labor Day weekend".

"Disappeared?" Duncan asked, finally speaking up, "What happened?".

Daniella looked around, not sure if this is the right place to be having this conversation, "Duncan, I'm not--".

"What happened to her?" Duncan interrupted, desperation shown clearly on his face.

Daniella sighed, "She was murdered and no one found her body till a whole year later".

An overwhelmed Duncan stood from his seat and turned his back to Daniella while trying to process what she just told him, "Do they know who did it?" he asked.

"No" Daniella informed.

Duncan faced Daniella, "The cops must have some ideas".

"Yeah, this isn't a town where you should trust the cops" Daniella said, "We certainly don't".

"Who's we?" a confused Duncan asked.

"Me and the rest of Alison's best friends" Daniella replied.

"You're the one who kept the sketching book" Duncan realised, "The artist, she talked about you, there are five of you, right?".

"Wait, Ali talked about us to you?" Daniella asked, not knowing how to feel about this.

"Yes" Duncan confirmed, "She talked about you guys a lot".

"Duncan, was there anyone else Ali talked about?" Daniella asked, wondering if Alison told Duncan about A, "Someone that terrified her?".

Duncan looked around in vary, "Look, maybe we shouldn't be talking about this here".

Daniella observed Duncan's expression, "You didn't just meet her at the bookstore, did you?" she asked, realising Duncan knew Alison a lot better then he was showing.

"No" Duncan replied, "We spent a lot of time together that summer".

"In Brookhaven?" Daniella asked.

"Near Brookhaven" Duncan clarified.

"Can we meet up there then?" Daniella asked, really wanting to know what else Duncan knew, what did Alison tell him.

Duncan hesitated for a second, not sure if he should accept Daniella's offer or not, "I'll call you" he finally said, he turned to leave but he stopped and faced Daniella one last time, "The weekend you said she disappeared, I saw her that weekend".

***

"Duncan saw Ali that weekend?" a shocked Spencer asked, as the five girls walked on the sidewalk together, while Daniella informed them about her and Duncan's conversation.

"Are we sure we believe him?" Hanna asked.

"Hanna, you didn't see the expression on his face when I told him that Alison was dead, he was so devastated" Daniella replied, "That expression alone tells me that whatever he said is the truth".

"Em, you okay?" Hanna asked the Fields girl, who was walking a bit behind the four girls, lost in her own thoughts.

"Sure" Emily simply said.

Suddenly the girls eyes landed on Garrett who was speeding away in his car.

"Why is Garrett in such a hurry?" a curious Spencer asked, just as all their phones beeped at the same time.

"Where there's smoke, there's payback, A" Emily read out the text A sent the five girls.

"Guys" Aria said, she pointed towards Jenna's where the girls saw Toby and Jenna come out, firefighters right behind them.

"Wait, what's going on?" a confused Hanna asked.

"I don't know" Spencer admitted.

"What are they talking to the fire department about?" a suddenly scared Aria asked.

"They're talking about that night" Emily realised, as Toby gestured towards the garage.

"The Jenna thing" Spencer whispered.

"Are you serious?" Hanna asked, wondering if their secret was finally going to come out in the open.

"What could Toby be possibly telling them?" a confused Daniella asked.

"I did such a good job of screwing him up he might say anything Jenna wants him to say" Spencer replied.

"That we were the ones who blinded Jenna?" Hanna asked.

"Alison and us" Emily added.

The five girls stood on the sidewalk watching Jenna and Toby talk to the fire department officers, all wondering if Jenna was finally going to get her revenge on them.

***

Next morning, a panicked Daniella ran to her locker, the school halls completely empty as the bell had rang ten minutes ago, but because she had slept in, Daniella was running late.

"I'm so screwed" Daniella said, quickly opening her locker and taking her books out for her first period, just as she shut her locker, someone placed their hands on her waist and forced her to face them, the person then smashed their lips on to Daniella's, for a second Daniella panicked but when the familiar smell hit her, she put her hands on the back of the person's neck and pulled them into a deeper kiss.

After the need for air became more then their need for each other, Daniella broke the kiss and smiled at boyfriend, "My knees feel like jelly right now".

Jason chuckled, he held Daniella by the waist and pulled her against him, "I've got you" he assured.

"Someone will see us" Daniella warned, looking around and making sure the hallways were empty.

"No one will see us" Jason assured, kissing Daniella cheek, "So I actually came here to talk to you about something".

"What?" Daniella asked.

"I've got some of Alison's things" Jason informed, "I've been through 'em, but I'm not really sure what to do with them".

"What kind of things?" a curious Daniella asked.

"They're in a bag that was left in the house when we moved out" Jason informed, "Emily's friend Maya said her family found them so she dropped them off at the house".

"Wait, what?" a shocked Daniella asked, "Maya dropped the bag off? Did you talk to her?".

"The bag was on the porch" Jason clarified, "And then I saw in the paper Maya was missing, is that true?".

Daniella nodded her head, "Yeah, it's true" she whispered, "So what exactly did this bag have in it?".

"Just some of the things from her room" Jason informed, "I just thought you and your friends might wanna have a look".

"That would be great" Daniella said.

"Great, I'll drop it off later, okay?" Jason said.

"Okay" Daniella said.

Jason smiled at his girlfriend, and after placing a kiss on his girlfriend's forehead, he walked away, leaving behind a smiling Daniella who was still thinking about the kiss they just shared, somehow, someway, everytime she kissed Jason it always felt as magical as the first time.

***

After school Daniella, Spencer and Emily met up with Jason at the Hastings house.

"Maya said this was in the attic, like it was hidden" Jason informed, placing the bag on the counter.

"Have you looked inside?" a curious Emily asked.

"Just enough to know it's Alison's" Jason replied, he turned to his girlfriend only to see her looking like she was going somewhere, "You going somewhere?".

Daniella closed her eyes and realised she totally forgot to tell Jason about Duncan, "Uh, yeah" she said, making Jason give her a questioning look, "I'm going to meet Duncan".

Both Emily and Spencer face palmed hearing Daniella, she couldn't keep a secret from Jason even if she tried.

"Who the hell is Duncan?" a confused Jason asked.

"Long story, will tell you when I get back" Daniella informed, quickly turning to leave but before she could Jason grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him.

"Where are you going Dani?" Jason asked.

Daniella sighed, "Hallow Acres, and before you ask, yes it is safe, and yes I will tell you who this Duncan is once I get back, but right now I really need to leave otherwise he will leave".

"Dani--".

"Don't worry about me" Daniella interrupted, "I'll come over after, I promise".

"If you don't come over--".

"I will" Daniella assured, "I'll come over and explain everything, I promise but right now I really need to go, bye, love you".

After placing a kiss on Jason's nose, Daniella rushed out the Hastings house.

Jason looked at Emily and Spencer, "I'm guessing if you I ask you two about Duncan, I'm not going to get anything, am I?".

"Nope" Emily replied.

"Just, don't get suspicious of Dani" a concerned Spencer said, "She's not doing anything wrong, she's actually trying to do something right".

"I'm not suspicious of Dani, I trust her more than anyone" Jason said, "I'm just concerned for her, especially considering all the attacks on her".

"She will be fine" Spencer assured, "She's a lot stronger then people give her credit for her".

"Yeah" Jason whispered, still very worried for his girlfriend's safety.

***

"Hey" Daniella greeted Duncan, walking over to him at the airfield he had called her at.

"You're late" Duncan stated.

"Because this place is not easy to find" Daniella defended, "By the way, you and Ali came to this airfield?".

"On the days I took her flying, yeah" Duncan informed.

"Flying?" a shocked Daniella asked, "You took Alison flying? As in flying in a plane?".

"Usually" an amused Duncan replied.

"Do you even have license to fly a plane?" a slightly apprehensive Daniella asked.

"Yeah, had it since I was sixteen" Duncan replied, "So, you ready?".

Daniella looked at Duncan in confusion, "For what?" she asked.

"To talk about Alison" Duncan reminded.

"Wait, we're going to talk about Alison in a plane?" a shocked Daniella asked.

"Yeap" Duncan replied.

***

Daniella and Duncan were now in the air.

"So how often did Ali come flying with you?" a curious Daniella asked.

"On and off that summer, as often as I could" Duncan informed.

Daniella looked at Duncan, "Can I ask you something?" she asked, wanting to ask Duncan something that has been going around her head for ages.

"Was I in love with her?" Duncan asked, perfectly guessing Daniella's question, Daniella nodded her head, in response Duncan shrugged, "I could've been if somebody hadn't gotten in the way".

"Was it another boy?" Daniella asked.

"That's what I figured" Duncan replied, "At least I had her all to myself up here, it made her feel, safe".

"Ali felt safe in the air?" Daniella asked, right now feeling anything but feel.

"Yeah, nothing could get to her" Duncan replied, "She had control", Duncan thought about it for a moment, he then looked at Daniella, "Do you wanna try it?".

"Excuse me?" Daniella asked, thinking she didn't hear Duncan correctly, cause she swears it just sound like Duncan asked her to take control of a plane, she who can hardly drive a car properly.

"Take the yoke" Duncan instructed.

"No, I'm good" Daniella said.

"You wanna understand your friend?" Duncan asked, "What she was looking for? Take control".

Daniella looked at Duncan, then at the yoke infront of her, she realised Duncan was right, to understand Alison you have to be Alison, so after taking a deep breath, she placed her hands on the yoke.

"Alright, you got it?" Duncan asked.

"I think so" Daniella replied.

Duncan slowly let go of his yoke and Daniella put her entire concentration in making sure they didn't crash.

"How does it feel?" Duncan asked.

"I have no idea" Daniella admitted, feeling both scared and fearless.

"She's sit in that seat, I could just see her face change" Duncan informed, "No masks, nothing to hide from or be afraid of, they couldn't get to her".

Daniella looked at Duncan in confusion, "Whose they?" she asked.

"Maybe a stranger, maybe some boy she knew" Duncan replied, he looked at Daniella, "Maybe a friend".

Daniella looked at Duncan and suddenly the plane jerked forward as she lost her concentration.

"Keep it level" Duncan instructed.

"Just, take the control back" a panicked Daniella said, "This is no longer fun, I want to stop".

"Just a little bit longer" Duncan insisted, Daniella sighed but nonetheless nodded, "I've done some reading since we talked, the papers said a man named Ian Thomas confessed to killing Alison before he committed suicide, left a note and everything".

"That note was fake" Daniella informed, "We don't think Ian was the one who killed Ali, we think he wrote that note because was trying to protect the actual killer".

Duncan stared at Daniella for a second, he then nodded his head and then took back the control of the plane.

"Look, Alison called me from Hilton Head Sunday that Labor Day weekend" Duncan revealed, "She wanted me to fly her from South Carolina to a filed outside Philadelphia".

"You flew Alison from Hilton Head?" a shocked Daniella asked, realising the girls suspicion was right, Alison and Ian were together at Hilton Head.

Duncan nodded his head, "Picked her up that morning, she was different that day, she figured something out".

"Wait, hold up, if Ali was with you, that would mean she got to town six, seven hours before we thought she got back to Rosewood" Daniella realised.

***

After the plane ride with Duncan, Daniella made her way over to Jason's house, she walked over to his back door and knocked, but instead of anyone answering, Daniella heard something smash to the floor, immediately worrying her, she looked through the window and was shocked seeing the house full of smoke.

"Jason!" a worried Daniella yelled.

But instead of seeing Jason, Daniella jumped back when Jenna suddenly appeared and then fell to the floor unconscious.

"Oh my god, Jenna!" Daniella yelled, she quickly opened the door and entered the Dilaurentis house.

"Dani!" Spencer and Hanna yelled, running over to the Montgomery girl after seeing the smoke through the Hastings kitchen.

Both Spencer and Hanna ran up the porch and helped Daniella drag an unconscious Jenna away, just as the girls were at a safety distance from the house, the three girls immediately ducked down when the house blew up.

"Jason!" Daniella yelled, trying to run into the house but Hanna quickly grabbed her, while Spencer steadied Jenna, "No, let me go!".

"Dani, he's not in there!" Hanna yelled.

"What?" Daniella asked, looking at her best friend in confusion.

"Jason's not in there, I saw him leave" Hanna repeated, "He's safe".

"He's safe?" Daniella asked, tears streaming down her face.

"He's safe" Hanna repeated.

Daniella let out a sigh of relief, when suddenly black dots start appearing infront of her eyes, the stress and the smoke in her lungs caused her to fall unconscious.

"Dani!" Hanna and Spencer yelled, Hanna quickly grabbed Daniella before she could hit the ground.

***

Daniella slowly opened her eyes, and immediately she shut them once the bright light hit her eyes, causing her to let out a small groan.

"Dani?".

Daniella once again slowly opened her eyes and was immediately met with her mother looking at her in worry.

"Hey mom" Daniella whispered, her throat very dry.

"Oh, baby" Ella cried, "Are you okay?".

"I'm not sure" Daniella replied, removing the oxygen tube from her nose.

"Don't remove that" Ella scolded, "There was a lot of smoke in your lungs, you need it".

Daniella knew better then arguing with her mother, so she placed the oxygen tube back on, she then looked at her hand and realised it was bandaged up.

"There was a minor burn on your hand" Ella informed, seeing her daughters gaze on her hand.

"How long was I out for?" Daniella whispered, her head very heavy.

"Twenty four hours" Ella replied, "Your dad just took Mike and Aria home, they were here all night".

Daniella nodded her head, she then looked around the room and immediately her heart sank not seeing Jason here.

"Jason's here" Ella said, seeing her daughter's fallen face, "He's been here the whole time, I tried to get him to go home but he refused".

"Where is he?" Daniella asked, her heart fluttering hearing that Jason stayed with her the whole time.

"Talking to the police about the fire" Ella replied.

Just as Ella said that, a clearly exhausted Jason entered the room.

"Hey Ella, you should really go home, I'm here with Dani" Jason said, not having seen Daniella awake.

"Jason" Daniella called out.

Jason looked at his girlfriend and seeing her finally awake, Jason finally felt like he could breathe again, without wasting another second, Jason rushed over to Daniella and hugged her.

"You're awake" Jason whispered, "You're okay".

"I'm okay" Daniella assured.

Jason broke the hug and looked at Daniella, "You scared the crap out of me".

"You scared the crap out of me" Daniella retorted, "I thought you were in that house".

Jason shook his head, "You have no idea what I went through when Hanna called me".

"I'm sorry, I didn't purposely scare you" Daniella said lacing her fingers with Jason's.

Jason kissed Daniella's hand, "I know, but next time you see a fire, for my sanity, go the opposite direction, please".

"I promise" Daniella chuckled.

While chuckling, Daniella suddenly started coughing, immediately Jason grabbed a water bottle, he helped her sit up and then and helped her drink the water while at the same time rubbing her back, Ella watched the two with a fond expression on her face, though Daniella was the one in the hospital, it was clear to her that Jason was in pain, his everything stopped the moment he heard about Daniella's accident, he stayed by her side the whole time and only left when the police literally came into the room and took him outside, then and there Ella realised Jason was the perfect choice for her daughter.

***

Presenting 2x23 of We Belong Together!

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Daniella deciding to talk to Duncan?

Thoughts on Daniella and Duncan's conversation about Alison?

Thoughts on Jason worried about Daniella's safety when she went to go meet Duncan?

Thoughts on Daniella ending up at the hospital?