Hey guys! Welcome back for CHAPTER TEN of Electricity! I can't believe my dumb little story is officially in the double digits chapter-wise. That's so amazing. And what's even more amazing are my readers! I'm so glad you guys have hung around this long, even when I didn't update in months. I'm very lucky to have you guys and all your support. Oh great I'm getting mushy but yeah! I'm so proud of this story and I'm really lucky to have you guys. Like I said last chapter, I'm moving towards the end of November (hopefully), so I'm really gonna try my hardest to get this chapter out before I leave, because I don't know when I'll be able to update again once I've moved. But I don't want to make any promises. I also don't want to rush the chapter, because then it ends up not being good writing. So we'll just play it by ear. But I think for now, I've said enough. Let's get to chapter 10, shall we?

Two jealous, bitter girls walked upstairs; two confused and slightly flustered girls came back down. Noel and Andrew were not waiting for them once they reached the bottom of the staircase. Once Spencer and Aria reached the final step, they stood next to each other for a long second, eyes searching for their respective suitors.

Spencer spotted Andrew first, a little pang hitting her heart when she noticed how uncomfortable and lost he looked all by himself in a crowd of drunk teenagers. She turned towards Aria, tentatively placing her hand on the shorter girl's shoulder.

"Uh…I think I should probably go talk to Andrew," Spencer said.

Aria's eyes widened a bit in alarm. "Y-You're not gonna talk to him about…?" she trailed off, knowing Spencer would know what she was referring to.

"No, of course not," she answered, shaking her head quickly. "I mean…we're going to have to talk about it eventually but…I don't even know what I'm going to say and this party probably isn't the best setting for this kind of conversation."

Aria relaxed, but only slightly. She didn't even want to know what would happen after Spencer and Andrew talked about the incident upstairs. Nodding, she looked away, "Right. And I guess it'd be rude of me if I didn't at least say bye to Noel so…I should look for him, too." Her eyes made their way back up towards Spencer's, "But I'll call you this weekend."

Spencer's face brightened slightly before she nods, "Okay." She lingered there for a second, eyes dipping down toward Aria's lips. Does she dare sneak another kiss before leaving? No. Spencer was brave, but not that brave. Instead, she gives her friend a weak smile and wave before turning away, heading for Andrew.

As Aria watched Spencer walk away, she let out a deep sigh. She hadn't been able to fully register the situation she found herself in with Spencer, and she doubted that would happen here. But that didn't stop their kiss from running through her mind about 70 times a minute. She had to assure herself more than once that the kiss actually had happened. But she still felt Spencer's lips on her own. And now, Aria felt the annoying desire to feel them again…and again.

She was pulled out of her girl kiss-induced daydream by the sound of loud obnoxious, but strangely familiar, drunken singing that kept getting closer and closer. She looked to her left to see Mona and Hanna walking towards her with their arms around each other. As they approached her, Aria recognized the song they were singing as one by Gwen Stefani that came out forever ago. She gave her friends an amused smile, furrowing her brow. "I was going to ask if you two were having fun but…I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say that you guys are having fun," she chuckled.

"Oh my God, Aria," Hanna slurred, "This party is the best! Me and Mona were playing truth or dare, and she got dared to-"

She was cut off by a giggling Mona, gently nudging Hanna in the side with her elbow, "Han! Shhhh!" she exclaimed playfully, her hand going to Hanna's shoulder, attempting to retain her stability through her drunkenness.

Hanna looked over at Mona, shrugging with playful innocence. "What?" she asked, pretending to be oblivious. But the grin that came to her face proved that she was anything but.

Aria's eyes shifted back and forth between the secretive duo. Finally, she chuckled, shaking her head, "Fine, then. Don't tell me," she said, pretending to be offended, "But either way. It's clear that neither of you are in any shape to drive home so…" she paused, holding her hand out, "Can I have the keys, please?"

Mona scoffed, and then pouted, "But we're not ready to leave yet!" She protested, looking to Hanna to back her up.

"Speak for yourself, Mona," Hanna said, holding her hands up, "This party's getting a little too crowded for me." She asked, turning to look back at her friend with that same grin.

It didn't take much more convincing for Mona to drop the car keys into Aria's hand. "Should we at least say goodbye to Bridget before we leave?"

Three pairs of eyes looked around for the hostess of the party. When Hanna spotted Bridget, she nudged Aria in the shoulder, pointing towards the girl standing on top of a table about to take her top off. "Something tells me she won't even notice if we leave."

"Whoa," Aria said awkwardly as she averted her eyes once Bridget was ditching her top. "Yeah, let's just go." And with that, Hanna was leading her friends towards the door. She could have sworn that she heard Mona shout "Take it off, Wu!" as they excited, but Aria was too focused on leaving to care much. On their way out, Aria's eyes searched for Noel, wondering where he had ran off to after she'd left upstairs with Spencer. It didn't seem that Hanna and Mona were going to allow her to look too hard for Noel. She'd have to remember to call or text him sometime tomorrow.

Just as they got outside, Aria's eyes landed right on Spencer as she got into Andrew's car. She pursed her lips, gulping a bit. Never had she felt such an odd mix of fear and excitement before. A flustered kiss and a brief chat about their feeling for each other did not equal a happily ever after. But at least it wasn't time to throw in the towel just yet.

As Aria's eyes followed Andrew's car while it drove down the street, Hanna was already pulling Mona towards their own car. "Wait," Aria said, snapping back out of her thoughts, "Do you guys even remember where we parked?"

Aria's question caused Hanna to pause. Mona, who hadn't gotten the message to stop walking, had bumped right into Hanna with a loud giggle. Hanna began to search for the red BMW they had arrived in. She squinted her eyes, "It's too dark to see!" She whined before grabbing the keys from Aria. "Here. I'll just push the panic button."

"No, don't do that!" Aria gasped. But it was too late; the loud alarm was already ringing throughout the street. Flinching, Aria plugged her ears, "Hanna, do you know how late it is? People are trying to sleep!"

Hanna shrugged nonchalantly, "Whatever. We found the car, right?" she replied, giving her friend a big grin before handing the keys back.

As soon as the keys were back in her possession, Aria quickly turned off the alarm and hurried toward the newly located car. Hanna and Mona staggered a few feet behind her, holding onto each other for balance. "Your hand's on my ass, Mona," Hanna informed her friend.

"Whoops," Mona replied, feigning innocence. Both girls slid into the back while Aria took the driver's seat, and a few seconds later, they were driving away.

"Did you see Spencer with Andrew tonight?" Hanna asked, "What'd you think of that?"

Aria kept her eyes focused on the road, but her mind was taken right back to a few minutes ago up in Bridget's bedroom. "Uhh…I dunno. I thought they hated each other," she answered.

"I thought so, too," Hanna replied, rolling down her window, "I think it was around the time that you left for Iceland. They were studying together for a few weeks and…next thing y'know they're official. My best guess is that she was feeling a little lonely after everyone drifted apart," she added with a shrug.

Aria looked back at Hanna through the rearview mirror, eyes widening a bit. "They've already been dating for a year?" She asked, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Pretty close. Didn't think they'd make it past a few months. I figured they'd drive each other crazy by now."

A silence settled over the car that Mona broke a few seconds later, "I think they're kinda cute together in a nerdy way," she said, not even bothering to try to keep her eyes open now as she curled up into a little ball in the backseat. "They have this whole…power couple thing going on. Not like Jay-Z and Beyoncé but like…Bill and Hilary Clinton, y'know?"

Aria nodded a bit, "I just…never really saw them as friends, I guess. I always saw them as opponents…or rivals or something."

"Yeah, but she seems happy. And that's all that matters, right? I mean, I guess she's happy. You know Spencer. She's never done anything she didn't want to do."

It wasn't long before the car was pulling into Hanna's driveway.

"You're staying here tonight. Right, Aria?" she asked.

Aria shrugged and nodded, "Yeah, if you'll have me."

"Always," Hanna answered, as if the answer should have been obvious. If either she or Aria had been paying attention, she would have noticed the small pout that came to Mona's face.

The trio got out of the car and headed for the front door, led by Hanna. Once she got the door unlocked, she looked from Aria to Mona, her finger held up to her lips, "Shh…" The three girls tiptoed inside and upstairs to Hanna's room where they all let out a collective, tired sigh.

"I am so glad I can take these shoes off," Mona groaned, kicking the high heels she'd been wearing to the side before plopping herself down on Hanna's bed.

As Hanna and Mona were getting comfortable in bed, Aria headed to the bathroom. When she came back out, Hanna was already passed out, but Mona was lying next to her, still awake (barely), typing away at her phone. When she saw Aria reemerge from the bathroom, she sat up a little.

"Hanna's already asleep," Aria said as she walked into the room, grinning weakly, "Why am I not surprised?" As she headed towards the chaise lounge by the window, she added, "She was always the first to knock out at slumber parties."

Mona breathed out a quiet laugh. A brief silence followed before she asked, "So…did you have fun at the party?"

Shrugging, Aria answered with a nod, "Uh…yeah. It wasn't bad, I guess. How about you? It looked like you and Hanna were having a good time."

A sheepish smile came to Mona's face as she looked away. A second later, she was getting off the bed and moving towards where Aria sat so they could continue their conversation at a quieter volume. "I think we had a little too much fun."

Aria grinned, "At a Bridget Wu party? There's no such thing as 'too much fun'."

Mona looked down at her hands in her lap, silent with hesitation for a long second. Finally, she looked back up at Aria, "Have you…Have you ever thought you knew a friend, and knew how you felt about a friend, but then suddenly something happens…and it changes everything?"

The question stunned Aria speechless for a moment. She stared back at Mona, lips slightly parted, as her brain tried to figure out a response. The truth was Aria knew exactly what that felt like. She'd been experiencing it on and off for the past year. When she finally spoke, she asked, "What brought this on?"

Mona stared at Aria for a long second, vulnerability etched onto her face, "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone. Not Spencer. Not even your mom. Okay?"

Aria nodded, brows rising expectantly as she waited for Mona to continue.

"Well," Mona gulped, looking down; "at the party…there was a small group of us playing truth or dare. I was dared to kiss Hanna, and I thought…'What's the harm in that?' We'll kiss, laugh it off, and we won't even remember it the next morning." She lifted her head back up, turning towards Aria, "But that's not what happened; at least not for me. Ever since we kissed…I don't know…it wasn't even that long ago but it didn't feel like a harmless drunken kiss between two friends."

In that moment, Aria knew exactly what Mona was feeling, and it made her heart hurt for her new friend. She knew exactly how it felt to be that confused, to question everything about yourself; who you are, who you like. It's terrifying and all Aria could do was tentatively rest her hand on Mona's back.

"I mean, am I straight? I thought I was. How can one simple kiss make me feel so weird? And it's not like I can talk to her about because—"

"What if she doesn't like you back?" Aria finished Mona's sentence.

Mona nodded, looking back down, "And…what if it ruins our friendship? I can't lose Hanna. She's been the only good friend I've ever had."

By now, Mona's voice was rising slightly out of worry. Hanna turned in bed, groaning a bit. Both girls turned towards her, but thankfully Hanna stayed asleep and Aria turned back toward Mona with a faint smile. "You're important to her too, Mona. From what I've seen, your friendship is strong. If I were Hanna, I think I would want to know." Aria paused, subtly wincing to herself. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she'd been in this situation before or not, but she suddenly felt rather self-conscious in regards to the advice she was giving Mona. But if she was going to finish this, she was going to have to stick the landing. "Just…give it a few days, okay? Once you're both sober, you can get a better feel for the situation. But don't count yourself out yet."

Mona smiled sweetly at Aria before nodding, "I hope you're right," she replied. However, the look on her face was full of uncertainty.

Aria stared at Mona for a long second, opening her mouth as if she were about to speak. In all honesty, there were a ton of things that she wanted to say to the girl – some of those things not pertaining to the current situation at hand. But she found herself unable to find a way to start that conversation. Was she supposed to put everything that happened during the Ali days in the past? More importantly, what had Mona seen that day she tried to chase her and Alison down; the same day Aria found out about her father's affair? No, right now definitely wasn't the right time to discuss events that happened more than a year ago. Whether or not there'd ever be a right time was yet to be seen.

Instead, Aria pursed her lips, looking away, "Uh, we should…probably get to sleep. Y'know…in case Hanna wakes up."

Mona nodded slowly, looking away. She could tell Aria was about to say something, and she was trying extremely hard to hide her frustration when Aria didn't say it. "Right," she answered, a forced smile on her face, "Thank you. I know this is…a pretty unusual topic."

Not as unusual as you'd think.

Mona concluded with a nervous laugh before standing up and telling Aria good night. Aria smiled weakly, eyes moving to the ground. Who knew that one hushed conversation with Mona Vanderwaal could bring up so many questions and thoughts into her head?

Sleep came easily to Aria that night (or rather, morning), despite her busy mind. She woke up before Hanna and Mona, her eyes moving directly towards the two girls still fast asleep on the bed as she sat up. She stared for a second, her lips slowly curving into a faint smile as she noticed Hanna's arm draped around Mona. If she hadn't been feeling Déjà vu from her conversation with Mona last night, she was definitely feeling it this morning. And of course, seeing those two together brought back memories of the night Aria shared Spencer's bed with her the night Ali's body was found.

Aria decided that she'd let the girls sleep, and walk herself home. She slipped her shoes on and grabbed her purse, but just as she was heading towards the door, she heard someone start to stir in bed. Pausing, Aria turned her head back slightly, catching Hanna slowly pulling her arm away from Mona's torso and sitting up. "Hey, where are you going?" Hanna asked groggily, rubbing at her eyes.

Aria turned back around toward her friends, "My mom called a few minutes ago. I told her I'd be home soon," she lied. "I didn't wanna…disrupt you two so I thought I'd just…sneak out before you two woke up, but I guess that mission failed," she finished with an awkward chuckle. That part was actually true.

Hanna glanced down towards Mona, who had her back to the blonde, before looking back at Aria. Her cheeks were turning red at a noticeably fast pace. "That…that…wasn't what it looked like."

Then what was it? Aria thought to herself, but didn't dare say out loud. Instead, she smiled lightly and shrugged her shoulders. "Don't sweat it, Han. No explanation needed."

Hanna pursed her lips, looking down sheepishly. Aria's eyes moved towards Mona, who still had her back to Hanna, but her eyes were open, looking right back at Aria. They exchanged knowing looks before Mona closed her eyes, resuming her act of pretending to sleep. Aria turned her attention back to Hanna, giving her a quick wave. "I'll talk to you guys later, okay?"

"You don't need a ride home?" Hanna asked. But from the look on her face, and the way that she made absolutely no movement off the bed, it seemed as if Hanna didn't really want to leave where she was.

Aria shook her head, "Nah, it's fine. I can use the walk. And I think Mona needs you here more than I do. She's looking a little cold."

Hanna looked up at Aria with a deer-in-the-headlights expression. She knew she'd been caught, but she smiled weakly at her friend anyway.

Without another word, Aria turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Once she was out of the house, she exhaled deeply, wrapping her arms around herself to shield off the chilly mid-morning Rosewood air. Her day was officially beginning, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for it.

On her walk home, Aria seemed unable to evict the thoughts of Spencer from making their usual presence in her brain. She wondered where Spencer was, what she was doing, and whom she was doing it with. The answers to those questions came quicker and more unexpectedly than she thought. As she strolled down the sidewalk, she heard the sound of a car slowing down. And soon enough, that car had come to a stop right next to her. She took a break from her walk and turned to see a fancy car that only the Hastings would own. The window rolled down, and she saw Melissa Hastings inside, a friendly smile on her face.

"Aria!" she said, taking her sunglasses off, "I'd heard that you were back from Iceland, but I didn't believe it. Didn't think anyone would want to come back here after living in Europe," she chuckled.

Aria looked past Melissa to see her younger sister sitting in the passenger seat. Her head was down, but she was looking at Aria from the corner of her eye. She returns her vision back to Melissa, forcing a smile on her face. "Uh, yeah. Iceland was great but…Rosewood's home, I guess."

Melissa grinned and glanced over at her sister sitting next to her, "Well, I'm sure Spence is glad you're back. She was so…mopey this past year." Upon hearing this, Spencer's eyes widened. She looked like she'd hit Melissa over the head with a blunt object right about now if she had one – and if there were no witnesses.

"Well, um…Alison's disappearance might have contributed to that," Aria offered with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders.

Melissa's eyes shifted away, looking as if she had never even considered the idea of someone being sad that Alison wasn't around. Finally, the expression was gone from her face, a chipper smile taking its place. "Well, we should get going. We have some shopping to do for a dinner party tonight." Melissa paused, narrowing her eyes a bit. "You should come, Aria – maybe bring your parents, too."

Aria looked toward Spencer once again, attempting to gauge her reaction to Melissa's proposition. She prayed that Spencer would look her way so she could silently ask for permission. "We'll see," Aria answered, eyes moving back towards the older Hastings daughter, smiling.

"Well, I'm sure Spencer would appreciate you showing up. Since Andrew isn't going, she wouldn't have anyone to complain about everything to," Melissa teased, although Aria was guessing she probably meant it.

The information regarding the lack of Andrew at this party suddenly made it more enticing to attend. Aria wasn't sure if she'd get some alone time with Spencer, but at least she wouldn't have to watch her interact with Andrew if she did happen to come. With a nod, Aria finally responded, "I'll talk to my parents."

Seemingly pleased with Aria's answer, Melissa smiled brightly, "Hope to see you there," she responded before putting her sunglasses back on and pulling away from the sidewalk. Aria watched the car speed off down the street, a heavy sigh passing her lips once again.

By the time Aria returned home, the rest of her family was already at the kitchen table for breakfast. Her dad was talking about a few students in his classes. Her mom seemed to be paying attention, but Aria was unsure of whether or not that interest was genuine. Mike was listening to his IPod, fingers drumming along to the beat against the table. Aria had hoped to get upstairs to her room without being noticed, but once again, she was unable to make a clean getaway.

"Oh, there you are," she heard her mom call from the kitchen, seemingly thankful for the break in her husband's storytelling. Aria walked away from the staircase, heading towards the rest of her family in the kitchen instead.

"Yep, here I am," she replied, "I stayed at Hanna's last night after the party. Sorry I didn't call or text."

Ella waved off her daughter's apology, "I wasn't too worried. Figured you were staying with one of the girls. How was the funeral?"

Aria furrowed her eyebrows, a tiny ironic smile coming to her face, "It was…exactly how a funeral is supposed to be like, I guess," she answered, shrugging, "Morbid, depressing…you know."

Mrs. Montgomery nodded with a somber smile, "Well…actually, I was more or less asking about a specific boy who dropped off flowers for you yesterday but…"

"Noel? Oh, uh…he wasn't at the funeral. But I did see him at the party."

Byron rolled his eyes to himself, taking his newspaper and leaving the room. Ella, however, found her interest piqued. "Oh, you did, huh?" she asked, grinning and raising a curious eyebrow, "Did you guys…hang out or anything?"

Aria figured that if they were going to have this conversation, she was going to need a cup of coffee. So she headed towards the coffee maker, shrugging along the way. "We talked – and that's all we did."

Ella turned, following Aria with her eyes as she walked further into the kitchen, giving her daughter an expectant look, "And? What did you guys talk about?"

Aria rolled her eyes, an embarrassed smile playing at her lips as she poured herself some caffeine. "Mom," she muttered, although she was mostly dodging the question because she couldn't really remember what she had discussed at the party with Noel. Other events that had happened later in the night had kind of taken over her memory.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry," Ella responded, putting her hands up in mock surrender before standing up and heading out of the room.

Aria hesitated for a long second, but stopped her mother before she left. "Wait. Uh, I saw Melissa Hastings on the way home. They're having a dinner party tonight and we're invited." She looked down at her cup of coffee, shrugging again, "So, yeah. I was supposed to let you know."

Ella thought about the proposal for a second, smiling a little, "I guess it wouldn't be terrible to spend the night with a bunch of stuffy, rich folk," she teased, her smile growing, "Especially if they're cooking."

Aria looked back up at her mother, matching the smile on Ella's face, "You know they're probably not the ones doing the cooking, right? They probably hired Wolfgang Puck or something."

"Hey, as long as it's not me in that kitchen, I couldn't care less who's making the food," she chuckled, "I'll go tell your father."

Aria smiled lightly as her mom left the kitchen. Once Ella was gone, she left the room as well, heading up to her room as planned previously. With the hand that wasn't holding a cup of coffee, Aria managed to pull her phone out of her pocket, already preparing a text for Spencer.

Hey. You wouldn't be against me and my parents coming to that dinner party tonight would you?

As she pressed the send button, Aria realized that she probably should have asked this question before telling her mother about the party. But maybe – just maybe, she was a little too excited about the idea of seeing Spencer. She sat down on her bed, waiting semi-impatiently for a response to her text message. A minute or two later, her phone chirped, indicating a new text.

Not at all. You actually want to come?

Aria had never thought so much about how to reply to a message in her entire life. She didn't want to seem too eager.

Of course I do. If I don't show up, you'll be the only person there under the age of 45.
Well, I guess Melissa will be there, too. But she already acts like she's 50 :-p

Aria smiled weakly to herself, somewhat satisfied with how she responded. She didn't have to wait much longer for Spencer to text back.

Oh so you're doing me a favor, huh?
I guess I'll have to repay you somehow…

Aria's eyes widened when she read the messages, her smile slowly growing. She could feel pinkness prickling up to her cheeks. Was Spencer actually flirting – or was Spencer suggesting that she'd help Aria with her homework or something? It was kind of hard to convey through text.

I definitely wouldn't mind. And I'm sure I'll love whatever you come up with.

Pursing her lips, Aria attempted to downgrade the grin on her face, not wanting to get her hopes up in case Spencer's intentions were more innocent than she hoped.

I think you'll be quite pleased.
See you tonight.

Aria set her phone down next to her on the bed, biting her lip in an attempt to fight the giddy smile that was making its way to her face. Spencer had to have been flirting, right? She wouldn't play games like this – she wasn't Alison. And maybe it wasn't too terrible for Aria to get her hopes up. Optimism was her thing, and if things didn't work out, she'd have plenty of time to be bummed out about it later.

The hours up until the dinner party went excruciatingly slow. Most of them were spent picking out the perfect dress. She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard, but she wanted to make Spencer speechless, which was a difficult feat in itself.

Aria settled on a red dress that was probably too daring for a boring dinner party, but she couldn't think of a better excuse to wear it than attempting to wow Spencer. Once she was ready to go, Aria headed downstairs where her parents were already waiting for her. After a few words to Mike, who was going to a friend's house for the night, the three of them were off to the house of Hastings.

Aria fidgeted in the backseat the entire short drive to the party. The butterflies in her stomach were not unwelcome as a little smile crept its way to her face. She wondered if Spencer was as excited and nervous as she was at this moment.

She totally was.

Spencer stood in front of her mirror for what felt like months as she stared at herself and the white dress she had finally settled on after auditioning about 7 others. She knew that the guests would be arriving soon, but she didn't care about a single one of them except for the girl who would be arriving with her parents in the blue Subaru.

She turned her head toward the door when she heard a knock. "Come in," she said, to which her mother obeyed, standing in the doorway with a proud smile on her face.

"Lovely dress," she commented.

Spencer turned toward Veronica completely, giving her mom a little smile, "Oh, this? It's just something from the back of my closet," she replied, chuckling nervously.

After taking a few steps into Spencer's room, Mrs. Hastings said, "Well, you should wear it more often. It compliments you well." A brief pause settled between them before she asked, "So. Are any of your friends coming over tonight?"

Spencer pretended to think about her mom's question, when really, the answer was quite simple. She hadn't invited Emily or Hanna and Mona. "Uh, I think Aria and her family will probably be here."

Mrs. Hastings raised her eyebrows and nodded, "Oh, that's wonderful. It'll be nice to see Byron and Ella again. And, of course, you'll have Aria to keep you company."

The mention of spending the evening with Aria brought a faint smile to Spencer's face as she nodded as well, "Yeah. They're not here yet, are they?"

"Not that I know of," Veronica answered, shaking her head, "But you should come down anyway. Your father's old friend is here. You know – the one who's in the head of admissions at Upenn?" Her mother smirked, knowing that Spencer had been dreaming of going to school there since she was in diapers.

Spencer chuckled softly, scratching the back of her head, "I should go talk to him, huh?"

Veronica shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, your dad's already doing a pretty good job of talking you up, but…it probably wouldn't hurt if you went down there and said hi." And with that, she was turning around and walking out of the room, her daughter following a second later.

As Spencer entered the living room with her mother, she instantly spotted her father standing by the liquor cabinet, sharing a drink with Upenn's dean of admissions.

"Ah, here she is!" Peter said as he invited Spencer over, "Your ears must've been ringing. We've been talking about you; all good things, of course."

The admissions guy, whose name was Mr. Pennythistle, if Spencer remembered correctly, held his hand out, "It's good to see you again, Miss Hastings. I believe the last time I saw you, you were about five years old."

Spencer shook his hand, smiling politely, "I'm glad you could make it," she responded.

"I hear you're interested in attending Upenn in a few years.."

With a nod, Spencer said, "Absolutely. It's my first choice."

"And it's only fitting that Spencer continue the legacy of Hastings graduates, of course," Peter chimed in.

"Yes, and from what your father's told me about your stellar accomplishments, we'd be lucky to have you," Mr. Pennythistle agreed – or at least that's what Spencer thought he had said. Her brain kind of went fuzzy when she heard her mother greeting the Montgomeries at the front door.

Her heartbeat started to quicken, head slowly turning towards the foyer as she saw Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery standing there conversing with her mom. And there she was – standing right behind her parents, smiling politely at Veronica. A tiny, flustered smile broke onto Spencer's face. Aria certainly was dressed to kill.

Almost as if she could hear Spencer's thoughts, Aria turned her head, looking straight at her friend. She gave her a flirty little smile and a simple wave of her hand. Spencer bit her lip, waving back.

"Spence?"

Spencer flinched, jerking her head back towards her father and his friend with smile that clearly showed how caught off guard she was. "I'm sorry – what?"

Peter gave his daughter a quizzical look, "Your major. Looking to follow in our footsteps and study law?"

Blinking, Spencer attempted to get back on track, "Uh, actually…I was thinking about taking the medicine route. Y'know…helping people with real problems," she said, laughing uncomfortably.

Her father obviously did not get the joke, but he was going to pretend like he did. He let out a fake chuckle, patting Spencer on the back, "Ah, you know Spencer. Always a comedian," he said, before turning his head towards his daughter, giving her a sharp look that only she could see. His eyes flickered toward the door, seeing Aria's family, "Uh, looks like your friend's here. Maybe you should go say hi." Translation: GO. AWAY.

Spencer didn't need to be told twice. Her little quip had caused an unexpected, but perfectly welcome, reaction. With a nod, she smiled at Mr. Pennythistle once again, "Right. Well, it was lovely to see you, sir. I hope to talk to you again."

"Oh, we will," Mr. Pennythistle replied. Thankfully, he wasn't as turned off by her joke as her father was.

She tentatively headed towards the front door, where Aria's mom and dad stood, talking to her mother. Aria's eyes flickered towards Spencer, silently excusing herself from the conversation. Spencer gave Ella a little wave and a smile before turning her attention towards Aria.

Aria gently took Spencer by the arm and led her towards the kitchen, where the chef was too busy to pay attention to some seemingly mindless chat between two teenage girls.

"Hi," Aria said shyly, head dipping like a lovesick teenager – which, in a way, she kind of was.

"I kind of feel like the word 'beautiful' isn't strong enough to describe the way you look," Spencer replied, in an equally sheepish low voice.

Aria blushed, looking away, but saying nothing.

"I'm really glad you're here," Spencer continued.

Aria's eyes slowly made their way up to Spencer, "Me too," she answered. "I just…kind of wish everybody else wasn't here."

Spencer giggled, which made Aria's heart flutter. The two girls hadn't even noticed how close they were standing to each other until Spencer's mom walked into the room, causing them to practically jump apart.

"Girls, dinner will be ready any minute. Go take your seats in the dining room," she said as she walked by, patting Aria on the shoulder as she did so.

The teenagers stood there for second longer, eyes locked on each other. Finally, Aria stepped away, her hand brushing against Spencer's, fighting the urge to lace her fingers with the taller girls'.

They took seats across from each other at the table – Aria sitting by her dad, Spencer sitting by her mom. She didn't dare sit next to her father. He was probably still ticked off at her from earlier, so Veronica seemed like a much safer alternative.

Once everyone was seated, a couple servers emerged from the kitchen with hands full of food dishes. Spencer hadn't realized how hungry she was until she saw all the food. Then she remembered she hadn't eaten in at least 24 hours.

As soon as the food was set on the table, Spencer wasted no time greedily filling her plate with various entrees, oblivious to the way the rest of the guests watched her with mildly amused looks on their faces.

Upon looking up, Aria's face was the first one Spencer saw. The petite brunette bit her lip, obviously trying to hide a smile, but the expression on her face was filled with subdued adoration. Spencer didn't dare look at her parents. She could already feel the heat of their annoyance towards her radiating against her skin. Spencer offered the tiniest grin in return before looking back at the rest of the people at the table. "Sorry, missed lunch," she explained with a light chuckle to which a few people returned her quiet laughter.

As soon as everyone had food on their plate, the dinner began. And of course, they couldn't get through five minutes before somebody brought up Alison.

"So Spencer, you and your friend were friends with the Dilaurentis girl, right?" asked a woman who had been friends with Spencer's mother since college.

Spencer nodded with a tight discomforted smile, "Uh, yeah. And actually, her name was Alison."

The woman shook her head, tilting it to the side, "Such a tragedy, isn't it? Especially at that young of an age."

Peter cleared his throat, "Well, sometimes…when you act in a certain way, there are consequences to those actions. Maybe she should have learned to treat people a little better."

Spencer looked up, furrowing her eyebrows, "Yeah, and now Ali will never get the chance to learn how to treat people better because someone killed her."

"Spencer –", uttered Veronica in a frail attempt to intervene.

Peter sighed, "Spencer, you don't understand. It's no secret that Alison DiLaurentis was a not a nice girl. She toyed with people for her own amusement. Something bad was bound to come from that abuse eventually."

Spencer scoffed incredulously, "So what are you trying to say, father? That a teenage girl deserved to die? Look, nobody knows better than I do that Alison was a bully, but -"

"A bully," Peter interrupted, chuckling mirthlessly, shaking his head, "If that isn't the understatement of the century."

Spencer closed her eyes, clearly trying to keep her annoyance at a tolerable level. "May I please be excused?" she asked, standing up and walking towards the backyard before waiting for an answer.

Once Spencer was gone, the adults all slowly turned to look at Aria expectantly. Her eyes shifted between them, an uncomfortable smile resting on her face. "Uh, I should…probably go talk to her," she said before leaving her seat and following Spencer out towards the back. As she headed for the door, she could hear Mr. Hastings say sorry to the rest of the dinner party guests. But he wasn't apologizing for himself, he was apologizing for Spencer. Aria rolled her eyes to herself.

"Spencer?" She called out as she walked across the Hastings sprawling backyard. It was dark, so finding her friend proved to be tricky. That was until she heard a faint voice coming from towards the barn.

"I'm over here," said Spencer.

Aria tentatively stepped towards the barn. As she got closer, she noticed Spencer was sitting in the exact same spot that she sat in last year when they kissed. Aria smiled tightly, standing in front of Spencer without saying a word.

"I'm sorry," Spencer whispered.

"Why?" Aria asked, shaking her head, "If anyone should be sorry, it should be your dad. He didn't have to say what he said. He could have just kept his mouth shut."

"I know, but I could have done the same thing."

Aria smiled weakly before taking a seat next to Spencer with light hesitation, "I think the fact that you didn't only proves that I was right about you being a great friend."

Spencer looked down at her hands, they were shaking slightly, "My last conversation with Alison was not a nice one," she started, "You know how important secrets were to her. Well…she had one on me, and she was more than willing to share that information. And I obviously didn't want her to, so we had a fight." After a second, Spencer realized what her little story sounded like, so she turned to Aria, eyes widened, shaking her head, "I didn't hurt Ali, if that's what you're thinking. But…the fact that my last moment with her was spent in an argument makes me feel just as guilty as if I had killed her."

Aria gently placed her hand on Spencer's back, moving it in a slow circle, "Hey. You couldn't have known that that would be the last time you saw her alive. Apparently, she took secrets from all of us to the grave."

"What did she have on you?" asked Spencer.

At first Aria was a little surprised that Spencer had even asked that. But she was even more surprised by the fact that she was actually considering telling Spencer her secret. Maybe she wanted to make Spencer feel better. Maybe she wanted to lift the weight that this secret had burdened her with off her shoulders. Or maybe she trusted Spencer more than anyone in this world.

"I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours…" Aria bribed, looking up at Spencer with a tiny grin.

Spencer nodded, so Aria began to speak after a sigh. "My dad was having an affair with one of his students," she began, not daring to look at Spencer until she was done talking. "It was about a year before Alison died, around Halloween. She and I went to get some frozen yogurt, and on our way home, we saw my dad's car parked in an alleyway. He was in it with that girl. And I had my dad practically begging me not to tell my mom, and I had Alison insinuating that if I didn't tell my mom, that she would. Between my dad and Ali, I still can't figure out which one of them was scarier." Aria quickly shook off the mildly pained expression on her face as she finally looked up at Spencer, who was already looking at her, sympathy written all over her features. She couldn't believe that Byron would want to cheat on someone as awesome and caring as Ella. More importantly, she couldn't begin to believe how hard it was for Aria to have to keep that secret from her own mom.

"Your turn," said Aria.

Spencer gulped, "Ian Thomas kissed me," she stated simply.

Aria raised an eyebrow, smiling a bit. Surprisingly enough, she didn't feel jealous. "What?" she said with a light chuckle, "I can't believe you didn't tell anyone. With how in love with him you were, I figure you'd be booking interviews for Good Morning America."

"He was still with Melissa when it happened," Spencer replied, shaking her head, "I didn't want to break them up. Ali wouldn't have even known about it, if she hadn't been right there when it happened. That girl…had a real talent of being in the right place at the right time." A humorless smile came to her face as she sat up, "She did the same thing to me that she did to you. She tried to force me to tell Melissa. She said 'that it's what a good sister would do'. Only…I don't think she gave a damn about Melissa. I think Ali wanted to hurt her. There was always some sort of weird animosity between those two."

Aria studied the profile of Spencer's face, "What was it like – kissing Ian?"

Again, Spencer found herself taken aback by Aria's words, "What?" she asked, turning to look at the shorter girl.

Aria shrugged, "I mean…we all knew you had a crush on him. How did it feel to finally get to kiss him?"

Spencer thought for a moment before her face scrunched up, "I dunno…it wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be. Maybe it was because I felt guilty. But at the same time, it kind of felt like how I would imagine it feels to kiss a fish."

With a chuckle, Aria looked away, shaking her head, "So does that mean Melissa likes kissing fish?" she asked teasingly.

Spencer giggled in response, shrugging her shoulders, "Your guess is as good as mine.." She paused for a second, biting her lip, "But I guess it's not all completely bad. There had been someone else who I'd wanted to kiss for a very long time. And when I got the chance to kiss her, I definitely wasn't disappointed."

Aria stared at Spencer, butterflies fluttering wildly in her stomach as a grin slowly appeared on her face. "Oh?" she said, quirking an eyebrow, "Well, I'm sure – whoever this person was – felt very privileged to have the opportunity to kiss you, too. And I'm sure she's very sad that she doesn't get to do it more often."

When Aria noticed Spencer's sad smile, she looked down at her hands in her lap. "But…I'm sure she also understands that that can't happen."

"Do you think she knows that I wish I could kiss her more, too?" Spencer asked.

Aria slowly turns her head, looking up at Spencer. "I think she probably always hoped that you did," she responded.

By now, Spencer couldn't keep up with this playful act the two of them seemed to be in the middle of. She wanted to kiss Aria. Now. Spencer slowly leaned towards Aria, but stopped about an inch or two short of her friend's lips. A small, frustrated sigh passed her lips.

Aria, who had been aware of what Spencer was about to do, let out an involuntary whine when she didn't feel Spencer's lips on her own. "Just do it," she whispered, almost hating how pleading she sounded, "Please. It's just us two out here."

"I know. But…if I start to kiss you right now, I won't want to stop," Spencer whispered back.

"I can wait for a more suitable time, if you can…" Aria countered, leaning back slightly.

With a shake of her head, Spencer said, "I can't." A second later, Spencer's hand was moving towards the back of Aria's head, gently pulling her friend's lips closer. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she kissed Aria fervently, her fingers combing through Aria's hair, her head tilting to the side as the kiss deepened.

Aria reciprocated Spencer's actions; her lips parted, tongue flickering out to greet Spencer's as her hand reached up to cup the other girls' cheek.

The kiss continued for a few seconds longer until Spencer pulled her lips away from Aria's, trailing them downward, planting a soft peck to her cheek, then her jawline, stopping at her neck. Aria tilted her head back slightly; eyes slowly open as she let out a quiet giggle. "Is this what you meant by not wanting to stop?"

"I'm sorry," Spencer replied in between neck kisses. Finally, she pulled away with heavy reluctance.

Aria shook her head, smirking faintly, "There's nothing to be sorry about." It was just a second later when she got a crazy idea. "What are you doing tomorrow night? No studying or dates with Andrew planned?"

Spencer took a long second to think before shaking her head, "As far as I know, I'm free."

Aria bit her lip in an attempt to keep the excitement from showing too vividly on her face, "Stay at my house then. We can have…a date night of sorts. And your parents and my parents will assume it's a simple slumber party." She raised a playful eyebrow, finally allowing a smile to play at her lips, "It'll be fun, I promise."

As if Spencer had to consider it for even a millisecond, she nodded, grinning brightly, "I would love to."

Aria giggled, "Then it's a date," she replied, "We should go back inside before they start to worry."

Worrying her parents was probably the last thing on Spencer's mind at the moment, but she still found herself preferring to avoid her mom and dad finding out this confusing thing she had going on with Aria. So she stood up. And when Aria did the same, the leaned down and kissed her friend on the cheek before the two of them slowly made their way toward the house.

Meanwhile, back in Hastings manor, Ella Montgomery quickly stepped away from the window where she watched her daughter and her daughter's best friend engage in some interesting activity. She stood there for a second, attempting to process what she'd just witnessed. She wasn't angry at what she'd seen – she always promised herself that she wouldn't be one of those parents that shamed her children for the way they chose to live their lives. But Ella thought that she and Aria shared everything with each other.

Yeah, if only her tryst with Spencer was the only thing she was keeping from her mother.

And there you have it! Another chapter of Electricity is in the books! Sorry I wasn't able to finish the chapter in time for my move. But in case you're not following me on tumblr (and if you want to, the url is monas-army), I was dealing with a bit of…emotional difficulty upon leaving home. But I wanted you guys to know that I'm officially a citizen of Idaho, and I'm doing great here so far! I already have a job and things are going really great. With that said, my new job (which I start on the 8th) will obviously take a good deal of my free time away, but I'm still going to write! This story isn't going anywhere; there just might be a little longer wait in between chapters. But I will be starting the new chapter pretty much as soon as this one publishes, so hopefully I can get a good amount of it finished before my first day at work. And next chapter we'll get to see some Sparia fluff (maybe some smut), and probably a little angst, too, so I'm very excited to start writing, and hopefully it will motivate me to write this chapter quickly.

Also, I noticed that I'm publishing this chapter on Thanksgiving, so to all of my American readers, I hope you have a great day and eat lots of food. And to all of my non-American readers, have an excellent Thursday (and remember to eat something good too!) Until next time, thank you guys so much for reading! And as always, reviews are highly encouraged