Chapter Text
*Bop*
One Sound.
All it took was one sound to turn Aria’s world completely off its axis. Looking around and noticing that only four of them were standing at the bottom of those stairs instead of five broke something in her. The one thing she ever had going right for her. The one person she never hoped to lose was unaccounted for.
She couldn’t fathom how their lives had gotten so messed up.
In the seconds it took them to race up the stairs, almost toppling over each other in pursuit of their missing comrade, Aria thought back on their lives leading up to this defining moment. Trying to figure out where it all went wrong.
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“Aria!”
Aria turned around, coming face to face the tall, tan form of Emily Fields. The girl had changed in the year Aria had been gone. She had grown a few inches since they last saw each other, and Aria could see the definition and muscle hidden under her sweater. If she remembered correctly, Emily’s athletic frame was probably due to her joining the swimming team. Something Emily used to ramble on about often, worrying if she was good enough for the high school team.
“Emily!” She easily matched Emily’s enthusiasm with a hug. Happy to see a familiar face on her first day back.
“When did you get back?” Emily asked. They turned, heading towards the school doors. After her reply that she came back yesterday, the two caught up as they headed into the school. Emily saying how she almost didn’t recognize her without the ‘pink stripe in her hair’. Aria cheeks warmed up just thinking about it. Her past fashion choices being something she wanted to keep firmly in the past.
While she was grateful to have a friendly face with her, the rift from their year long absence quickly took its toll. The conversation had rapidly reached a high level of awkwardness until eventually it fizzled out. The two girls not knowing how to act around each other anymore.
For a second she wished it could be simpler. Wished they never had to part and could’ve stayed the best friends they once were. But things weren’t that simple. Rosewood, and everything in it, had put a chokehold on her family. Before they left, Aria wasn’t sure that they were going to make it. They all needed to get away and Iceland was perfect. It was everything they could’ve asked for and her family flourished during their time there. It had a way of freeing her of the burdens she carried like nothing else could and she would be forever grateful for the time they spent there.
Aria paid little mind of Emily's words as they walked into class, instead stuck in her head reminiscing. She offered the appropriate responses, a slight nod here and a mumbled ‘yeah’ there. She vaguely caught onto Emily’s comment about their new english teacher being hot. The thought left her head as soon as it came in. They sat together, snagging two seats towards the back of the class.
The clack of heels hitting the floor is what caused Aria to tune back into her surroundings. Looking up she saw yet another familiar fast from the past. This one though, was almost unrecognizable.
Hanna Marin. Aria almost couldn’t believe her eyes. Having to get clarification from Emily that she was correct in her assumption that the girl decked out in designer clothing was actually her former best friend. Gone was the shy, chubby blonde girl who liked to wear sweaters and sneakers. In her place was a girl who oozed self confidence. Aria could tell as soon as she saw her that this version of her former friend seemed to command the attention of those around her as soon as she walked into a room. Her clothing only added to her image, making her into every bit of the cliche ‘it’ girl that Emily claimed her to be.
What threw Aria for even more of a loop was who appeared behind Hanna.
Mona Vanderwaal was a sight for sore eyes. Clearly her and Hanna had been drinking the same water because, like the latter, Mona went from glasses and striped turtlenecks to designer clothes and stilettos. The two were quite the pair and Aria couldn’t help but voice her disbelief. “Wow! Talk about a makeover,” the shock was evident in her tone.
Hanna seemed to notice the two of them for the first time since their arrival. She gave them both a look, throwing them a condescending wave before turning to mutter to Mona. No doubt about them. After asking what her deal was, Emily replied that “We didn’t just fall out of touch with you Aria, we all fell out of touch with each other.”
Aria sat back, overwhelmed with the amount of change she was witnessing. She had expected to feel out of the loop after her unexpected arrival back to Rosewood, but never could she have imagined this would be what would be waiting for her upon her return. Of course, to make it even better, none other than Spencer Hastings came rushing through the door seconds later.
She heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of her. Her other former best friend looked exactly the same as she did when she left. Spencer was wearing a navy blue business ensemble, looking every bit the Hastings she was supposed to be. It was clear to Aria that the girl was still the same type A perfectionist that she was before they lost touch, something she was grateful for at the moment.
After everything she had just witnessed, Aria wasn’t sure she could handle anymore drastic differences from her past friend group.
She watched as Hanna and Spencer shared a brief nod in each other's directions, gathering from Emily that the two talked but were not close. ‘Friendly but not friends’ was what she called it.
At that point the teacher decided to head up to the board, leading Aria and Emily to cease their conversation and gather their materials needed for the class. Aria chose to doodle in her book while she waited for the man to turn around. She was so focused on her drawing she missed the uttered ‘oh crap’ of her teacher. Only reacting when the class became so silent you could hear a pin drop. She felt the stares of her classmates on her, causing her to glance around quickly to see what she was missing. Figuring she had missed being asked a question, her gaze made its way to the front of the classroom. Landing straight on the utterly baffled gaze of her english teacher. Who also happened to be the guy she hooked up with in a subpar bar near her dad’s job.
This could not be happening.
Her expression soon came to mirror his own. She could see his neck move as he gulped, surely wondering how they had gotten to this point. She hoped no one could hear her sharp intake of breath, not able to judge how loud it was due to the pounding in her ears she recognized to be her heart beat.
Panic was the only thing she could feel right now, her body frozen in fear at coming face to face with someone who should’ve been a ghost to her. An extra in her story, someone who she met once by chance and was never to be brought up again because they held no purpose in her life.
As she sat there, almost feeling the judgement and accusations in her classmates eyes, the only thought that ran through her head was,
Oh Fuck