Н’Нˆð‹Ð•Ð„Н‘ Н’НÐ‘НˆðÐ†Ð’ | H. Marin 1

italics – flashbacks

xxx

Cassandra sipped from her red solo cup and laughed along with her best friends. Alison was nowhere in sight, and everyone was enjoying themselves at the moment. She kept sneaking glances at Hanna, secretly hoping the blonde would return them. 

Unknowingly to her, Hanna was also looking at her and wishing that they were by themselves so she could talk to her about her recently discovered feelings. Over the course of the past months, Alison had been extra harsh to Hanna and constantly making comments about her weight and Cassandra wouldn’t allow that. 

She would stick up for the blonde and reassure her that Alison was lying to make her feel worse about herself. That resulted in the duo becoming closer and even developing some strong feelings for one another. It was strange to Hanna because she had never thought of herself as anything other than straight and attracted to guys.

At first, she tried denying her constant heartache for the brunette and took it as a friend crush. Everyone had friend crushes, right? Nothing was weird about it. 

“Hey, are you good?” Emily whispered to the blonde, leaning over and giving her an anxious frown. “Yeah, just thinking.” Hanna said, giving her a reassuring smile. She looked over at Cassandra and saw her playfully making fun of Spencer and her addiction to schoolwork.

“I mean, what happens if you get a 92 instead of a 100? Are you gonna go into cardiac arrest?” Cassandra teased, watching the perfectionist give her a mocking glare. “Very funny.” Spencer fake laughed, getting the others to giggle.

Hanna blushed when Cassandra caught her staring at the brunette and gave her a big grin. Suddenly, the lights flickered off and Aria reached for the flashlight and clicked the on button. 

“Someone’s out there.” Aria stated, giving her friends a concerned face. The door opened on its own and the girls glanced around the room.  “Guys.” Hanna mumbled, the five girls standing up and huddling together. 

Aria moved the bright light towards the door and then something flew at the window, breaking the glass loudly. They all gasped and continued forward. 

The silence was deafening as they reached the front, the windy night and cold rain making them shiver. 

“Gotcha!” Alison yelled, popping through the door with a grin as the girls screamed in response. 

“That’s so not funny, Alison!” Spencer scolded as everyone laughed at the false scare. “I thought it was hilarious, girls.”  she giggled and they all sat back down. “Did you all download the new Beyoncé?” Hanna asked.

“Not yet.” Alison sighed. “I’m loving her new video.” Emily smiled, hugging her knees to her chest. “Maybe a little too much, Em?” Alison snarked, Emily’s face turning in a pout. She faked a laugh and Cassandra rubbed her leg comfortingly. 

“Your turn.” Alison announced, handing the cup to Aria. The brunette with pink streaks in her hair took it and chugged it confidently. “Woah, Aria!”

“Take too much, and you’ll tell us all your secrets.” Spencer pointed out and Aria rolled her eyes. “Friends share secrets. That’s what keeps us close,” Alison said, “Drink up.” 

“Trying to get us drunk, Ali?” Cassandra smirked. “Only you, Cassie.” She teased, passing another cup to the other brunette sister.

Thirty minutes passed by, and everyone was passed out besides Hanna and Cassandra. The blonde was petting Cassandra’s hair quietly, thinking of how to share her emotions without getting rejected. The two enjoyed the calm moment before Hanna spoke up, “I’ve been feeling things lately, Cass. I don’t know how to say it without seeming like an idiot.” She whimpered, tears briming up her eyes out of nervousness. 

“Hey, what’s up? You can tell me anything. I can keep a secret.” Cassandra promised, lifted herself up, sitting across from Hanna. “It’s really bad, Cass. Like, if I tell you, I’m afraid you won’t see me the same and I can’t live with that-” she rambled, anxiety filling her stomach and her palms started sweating. 

Cassandra cut her off and grabbed her face, pulling her into a short, brief kiss on the lips. When she pulled back, she was prepared to apologize, not wanting to scare her best friend. “I’m sorry, you were just struggling with your words, and I hope you were going to confess to liking me, otherwise this would be awkward.” she joked, though the butterflies in her stomach increased. 

When she kissed Hanna, it felt like pure sparks. Sure, that sounded corny and probably inaccurate, but it wasn’t. Cassandras has kissed many men before, none of them gave her that tingly sensation and want to have more than just one kiss. It didn’t feel real and maybe it was wrong that she enjoyed kissing her best friend, but she couldn’t help it. 

Hanna blushed a bright red and took a deep breath. “No! No- I… I liked it. Can we maybe… do it again?” she stuttered out, praying that Cassandra would say yes. 

Cassandra chuckled lightly and went in for another kiss, this time it was longer and showed off the emotions both women held for each other. Hanna smiled and relaxed into the kiss, reaching up and cupping Cassandra’s cheeks with her soft hands. 

“I’m glad I met you, Han.” Cassandra muttered after their short-lived make out session. She leaned her head back on Hanna’s chest and closed her eyes, hoping to doze back off. Hanna giggled and laid back down, hugging Cassandra tightly. 

An hour later, Aria woke up with a confused expression, ignoring her best friend cuddling her sister, she noticed Spencer and Alison were missing. She tapped Emily’s foot. “Em.” Said girl woke up and rubbed her eyes, Hanna and Cassandra waking up as well. Cassandra got off of Hanna quickly, not paying attention to Hanna’s hurt eyes. 

“Where’s Ali and Spencer?” 

Aria shook her head, “We don’t know.”  She got up slowly and Spencer came back. “Ali?” she called out. “She’s gone.” Spencer frowned. “What do you mean she’s gone?” Cassandra questioned, raising her brow. 

“I’ve looked everywhere for her,” Spencer paused, “I think I heard her scream.”

xxx

One Year Later

Cassandra glanced at her old bedroom, she sighed and played with the hem of her dress. “It’s weird to be home, isn’t it?” Aria asked her sister. “We were gone a year.” Cassanda pointed out softly. 

Their mom walked into the room after hearing their conversation. “When you’re sixteen, that’s a long time.” Cassandra sat down on the box filled with her junk from Iceland. “I still think about her every day.” she said, Aria nodding in agreement. 

“Why don’t you ladies call your friends?” Ella suggested, “They don’t know we’re back from dad’s sabbatical.”

“On the news they’re calling it the anniversary of Alison’s disappearance, like it’s a party or something.” Aria shrunk her nose up in disgust. “I get everyone had a problem with her, but it’s still not right.” Cassandra added. 

“Why don’t you give them a call?” Ella repeated, “You six were inseparable and those feelings don’t just go away.” 

Mike runs past the room. “I need a ride to lacrosse!” he shouted. Her mom handed a phone to Cassandra with a chuckle. “Fine, I’ll take him. C’mon Aria, you’re coming.” They headed downstairs, avoiding the cluster of boxes. 

She slipped her leather jacket on and her purse. Ella and Mike left the room to look for his lacrosse equipment that he could never keep track of, leaving Aria, herself and their dad. “Listen, I know coming back here brings up a lot of memories. You, okay?” he asked. 

Cassandra scoffed. “Dad, we’re keeping your secret, okay?” He sighed and sipped from his mug. “I mean, are you okay with Alison?” he stared at the ground guiltily, his daughters both simultaneously rolling their eyes and heading out to the car. 

Once they got to school grounds Mike practically hopped out of the car. “Excuse me. What time am I picking you up?” Cassandra asked. “Uh, six.” he guessed. “Alright, we’re grabbing food.”

He gave a thumbs up and ran into the school. 

“Contacting them after a year isn’t going to do us any good, is it?” Cassandra asked, looking at her sister in the rear-view mirror. “I don’t know, I mean we practically ghosted them for a year without telling them anything. We ignored their calls and messages as well.” Aria shrugged. 

“You’re right.” Cassandra frowned, the urge to contact Hanna and the girls slightly disappearing. She shouldn’t have ignored them. Especially Hanna. They shared a kiss and then the next week Cassandra was being shipped off to Iceland with her family, leaving no room to explain what happened. She winced at the memory of listening to the first voicemail Hanna had left her, the loud crying and begging for her to come back. 

How heartbroken Hanna felt, it made her sick to her stomach. She couldn’t fathom that, even though she was also going through it. Hanna had left tons of voicemails, each time she got more and more angry with the brunette. Cassandra should have deleted them and not thought about her, but she couldn’t. 

Hanna was all she thought about during her time in Iceland. How bad she wanted to reach out but didn’t. She was terrible. It shouldn’t have ended how it did. Maybe, there could be some reconnection and they could talk things out. 

The blonde blocked her number a couple months later, probably deciding that she didn’t want to spend her time wasted by holding onto that little string of possibility that the brunette would message back. It was crazy how one night could ruin everything. 

The butterfly effect was something Cassandra often had on her mind. What if they never had a sleepover in the barn behind Spencer’s house? Would her and Hanna have ever kissed? Would Alison have gone missing?

One simple event can lead to a cascade of other events. 

xxx

“Aria? Cassandra!?” Emily said the names of her ex best friends that she’d thought she’d never see again. “Emily?” Cassandra repeated, smiling at the tan-skinned girl who held a soft spot in her heart. 

“When did you guys get back?” Emily asked, hugging the two warmly. “Hey! Yesterday.” Aria answered. “I almost didn’t recognize you! Aria without the pink streak and… wow Cassandra! You had a major glow up.” It was true, Emily didn’t even believe it. 

Cassandra started lightly curling her hair, framing her face beautifully. Her bright blue eyes held nicely with the mascara coated above them. Her lips had filled out and her body was still skinny but also held a nice curve. Her jaw had sharpened, and her teeth had gotten significantly whiter than before. 

She also developed a sense of style, wearing a cute crop top with short-shorts and a matching purse. She had cute jewelry on, complimenting her skin well, and she was just gorgeous. Cassandra giggled and felt her cheeks bright up. “Thank you, Em. You also look totally stunning. Like you cannot tell me you’re single!”

Emily gripped her purse. “I actually do have a boyfriend, maybe you remember him. Ben, on the swim team?” Cassandra furrowed her brows at the mention of him. He was, to put it shortly, a pig. He didn’t suit Emily at all, she was such a sweetheart, and he was every other man in Rosewood. 

“Wow, I do. Interesting choice, Em.” 

Emily smiled and changed the subject. “You guys should have called. It’s so weird running into you here.” Cassandra suddenly felt guilty again and Aria noticed. “Well, we kind of lost touch, Emily, remember?” Aria defended; she didn’t like seeing her sister so upset over something she had no control over. 

“That’s what we had to do.”

“I saw a poster of Alison today,” Cassandra sighed. “It’s awful.” Emily shook her head. “I mean, we all know she’s dead, right?” Aria shrugged. “I just never heard anyone say it.”

“Because we didn’t want to hear it.” The blue-eyed girl explained. The bell rang and they walked to first period English that they surprisingly all had together, so they sat down next to each other. 

“I hear the new teacher’s really hot.” Emily gossiped. Cassandra smiled which fell short quickly when a certain blonde walked into the classroom. Her jaw dropped at the sight of Hanna Marin in the flesh. She was gorgeous, even more so than before. She had lost a lot of weight and had an aura of confidence practically smelling off of her that everyone noticed. 

Before she could even comment, her sister beat her to it. “Is that Hanna?” It seems like she wasn’t the only one shocked at the new appearance. 

“She’s the “it” girl now,” Emily confirmed. “And where there’s Hanna, there’s Mona.” Cassandra’s jaw dropped for the second time today. “That’s Mona?!” 

“Wow. Talk about a makeover.” 

Hanna made eye-contact with Aria, and she gave an unpleasant wave and tried to maintain the bitchy alter-ego she seemed to want to achieve. But her face faltered and turned into a frown, just for a moment, when she saw Cassandra right next to her. 

It felt like a dream, and for Hanna, not a good dream. A total nightmare. It was a nightmare because the girl she was in love with is not only back, but also a total babe now. She looked like she came straight out of a Victoria Secret modelling agency. When she caught Cassandra staring at her she focused on Mona who was snapping in her face. 

Some things never change. 

“What’s up with her? You two fighting?” Aria questioned. “We didn’t just fall out of touch with you two, we all fell out of touch with each other.” Spencer walked in the room and gave Hanna a little smile before making her way to her seat. 

“There not so close anymore either.” Emily explained. “So, they’re friendly, but not friends.” Aria summed up. 

Cassandra took her binder out of her purse and waited for the teacher to start speaking. She had to admit, he was a decent looking man. He seemed to shape up well and didn’t look like a complete slob like some of the teachers from when she was here. 

“Holy crap.” he gasped, staring dead in the eyes of her sister. 

Wait, what?!

The whole class turned behind them, gaining Aria’s attention. She finally glanced up and had a stunned expression. Her phone started ringing and she quickly grabbed it. “Sorry.”

Cassandra squinted her eyes at him and then her sister. “What the hell was that about?” she interrogated, not enjoying whatever awkward moment it felt like she was interrupting. 

“Nothing.” Aria shook her head.

Before she could question her further, she felt her phone buzz and she picked it up, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. 

“Looks like your plan of coming back to steal another kiss from your ex-bestie is going to be a lot harder than you thought.” -A

xxx

“I’m sorry for stopping over in such short notice.” Emily apologized, sitting on the bench outside Cassandra’s house with the sisters and herself. “It’s fine, Emily. You’re welcomed over anytime.” Aria reassured. 

“Somebody left a note in my locker.” Emily stated. “From “A”?” Aria asked, leaning forward. “Thank God it happened to you two as well and not just me.” Cassandra let out a breath of relief. When Emily and her sister gave her a look she rubbed her neck. “I mean… totally not thankful, it shouldn’t be happening in the first place.”

“Do you really think it’s her? Is it possible?”

“Only Alison could have known.” Emily said. “Known? Known what?” Emily rolled her eyes at the nosiness of the brunette. “It was…”

“Personal?” Aria confirmed. “I really thought she was dead.” Cassandra frowned. “Yeah. Yeah, we all did.”

“Could she really be back?” Emily wondered with a hint of hope. “I think she’s playing with us.” Aria assumed. “Why would she do that?”

“It’s Alison we’re talking about here. Wasn’t that her favorite sport?” Cassandra scoffed. “Should we tell someone?” Aria shook her head, “I don’t know about you… but I can’t.”

“I’m glad you both are back.” 

Aria sighed. “It’s fine, I mean I grew up here, but I feel like a total outsider.” Emily nodded, “Me too.”

“I’ll walk you home.” Cassandra told Emily, they both started walking in peaceful silence until the sirens near Alison’s house caught them off guard. They shared a look before running over there. 

Cassandra stood behind Emily while she gave the new girl who moved into Alison’s house a hug. “What is it?” she raised a brow. “They found your friend.” Maya answered, Cassandra smiled and went to find her. “I knew she was back. Is she inside?”

“Wait!” Maya grabbed Emily’s arm. “I’m sorry. They found Alison’s body.” Cassandra’s grin dropped and she covered her hand over her mouth. She blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall out. Even though Alison could be an awful person at times, she was probably the closest to Alison out of the six. She shivered involuntary when the lifeless body was dragged on a cart by a police officer. 

She saw Hanna in the crowd of people and then she spotted Spencer and her sister nearby. She crossed her arms around her body and looked away from Hanna. 

Something isn’t right with this whole thing.

xxx

The six girls gathered around the church and went inside. Cassandra took a deep breath and walked up to the front, smiling sadly at the big picture of Alison, knowing she would have loved the attention and all of the people that showed. 

She stood in the middle of the hallway and glanced down, Hanna grabbed her hand and silently pulled her in. “Can you believe this?” Hanna asked. “Alison would have loved it.”

“Popular in life and death.” Spencer mumbled. Hanna took a flask out of her wallet and offered it up to Emily, who looked like she was about to burst into tears any moment. “No thanks I don’t-” Emily started. “Today, I think you do.” Hanna cut her off, practically shoving the flask in Emily’s hands, ignoring the disapproved face of Cassandra.

Aria’s cell phone rang, and they tensed up. “Anyone we know?” Hanna said. “No, just my mom,” she paused. “Emily, Cassandra and I aren’t the only ones who got a text from “A” are we?”

“Oh my god,” Spencer whispered and turned around, “It’s Jenna.” They all turned around with their mouth open. A woman and man sat down next to Cassandra. “Did you see that Jenna Marshall was here. I didn’t realize she and Ali were friends.” she said. 

“They weren’t”

After the memorial, the girls walked outside with their arms linked together. “Emily. Spencer. Hanna, Aria and Cassandra.” A police officer called their names. 

“Do we know you?”

“I’m Detective Wilden. I understand you were all good friends with the victim.” The Detective introduced. “Yeah, we were.” Cassandra confirms. “I’m gonna need to talk to each one of you.” He informed them.

“We talked to the police when Alison went missing.” Spencer acknowledged. “And I intend to go over every one of your statements,” he said, “This is no longer a missing persons investigation. It’s a murder.”

Cassandra crossed her arms above her chest as he continued. “Rest assured, I will find out what happened that summer.” he gave them one last stare before walking away. They all quickly turned around in a big circle.

“Do you think he knows about?-“ 

“No. How could he?”

Their phones rang at the same time, and they slowly opened it. “Oh, my god. It’s from…” Cassandra shook her head, “I got one too.” 

“I’m still here bitches,” Spencer started.

The rest of the group repeated the last words, “… and I know everything. -A”