Rosewood, Pennsylvania - Friday Night Into Saturday

[new_it_girl]

It was a holiday weekend and Emily was back from Haiti. This definitely was cause for celebration and distractions from the upcoming anniversary. It also required beverages their parents would disapprove of. What? Celebrations weren't the same if they couldn't toast it with alcohol. Who cares that it was creepy outside due to thunder and lightning. Not that it mattered. Spencer's house was perpetually creepy all on its own.

Hanna	"Em, you and I are the only ones who had anything worth talking about this summer," Hanna said smugly. "I mean, Aria took some boring picture class and Spencer went to college."
Spencer	"I took a full load at Hollis," Spencer replied somewhat indignantly. "And Aria beat out a thousand applicants for a space in that photography class."
Hanna	Hanna ignored that and made a big deal about Emily and how many houses she helped build, as if that was a much bigger deal than college classes.
Spencer	"Okay, Miss Productive," Spencer scoffed. "How much of your list did you actually do?"
Hanna	Hanna pulled her little notebook out. Art class and expansion of vocabulary were the only ones she checked off. Those were accomplishments for her, especially the last one.
Aria	"Was that a car?" Aria asked when she heard a thud. She looked slightly unnerved.
Hanna	"No, it was just the wind," Hanna assured her.
Aria	Aria's attention was elsewhere by the time Hanna finished that sentence. Emily was pouring something from a flask into her drink. "Whoa, careful Em, they're already pretty strong."
Emily	"Maybe for you," Emily replied. "You're a pixie. I've gotten really good at this." The others didn't know what happened in Haiti, but Emily certainly wasn't the same. The grieving process had likely been intense for her.
Spencer	It was forgotten for the moment as all of their phones rang simultaneously. Spencer rolled her eyes. "Show me your boobs. A."
Aria	"Does Mona have a ten-year-old brother?" Aria wondered.
Hanna	"Are these ever gonna stop?" Hanna sighed.
Spencer	"Eventually we'll be old news," Spencer said, trying to be reassuring.
Aria	"And then Garrett will go on trial and we'll be news again. Or Mona will start talking and we'll be news again," Aria said, ruining the illusion of reassurance.
Emily	"Or I'll show someone my boobs and we'll be news again," Emily said, waving her red cup around drunkenly. The girls laughed nervously as Spencer grabbed the flask right out of Emily's hand. She protested, mumbling something about this being a party.
Hanna	"You're right, Em," Hanna replied, holding her cup up. "Welcome back."
Aria	"You're never allowed to leave for an entire summer again," Aria added.
Spencer	"To making it to senior year!" Spencer announced, clinking her cup with Aria's and Hanna's.
Emily	Emily was somber. "Not all of us made it."
Spencer	"I'm sorry, Em," Spencer said sympathetically. "I didn't mean it like that."
Hanna	Hanna squeezed her hand. "You know that we're here for you."
Emily	"To Maya," Emily said before taking a sip.
The Liars	"To Maya," they all said, holding their glasses up.

Hanna	Hanna was shaken awake hours later by Aria. "Where's Emily and Spencer?"
Aria	Aria looked around. "I don't know."
Hanna	Hanna held her head. "Ugh. I need an aspirin and a trough of water."
Aria	"Emily?!" Aria shouted.
Spencer	"She's gone," Spencer replied as she was walking down the steps. "I've looked everywhere."
Hanna & Emily	Hanna immediately reached for her phone, dialing Emily's number. She somehow deciphered what drunken Emily said, figuring out she was at the cemetery. When they arrived, Emily was standing in front of an empty grave, a shovel at her feet. Alison's empty grave. Hanna comforted her as she collapsed by a nearby tombstone.
Aria	"How can she not remember anything?" Aria whispered, staring down at the empty coffin.
Spencer	"She's totally out of it," Spencer replied, her voice also at a whisper. "She's still drunk."
Aria	"You don't think she had anything to do with this, do you?" Aria asked.
Spencer	"No!" Spencer replied, her whisper now with an added incredulous tone. "She could hardly stand." Spencer asked for Emily's phone. Once Hanna handed it over, she started looking through past calls. "Em, you got a blocked call at eleven? Who was it, do you remember who you talked to?"
Emily	"I think I remember leaving your house," Emily slurred. "Next thing I know, you guys are calling me and I'm here."
Spencer	Spencer glanced closely at Emily's phone. "What, that can't be right. It says at midnight she got a call from my phone." She pulled her own phone from her pocket. "Oh my god, somebody called Emily from my phone. Somebody was in my house. You guys, this is a set up."
Hanna	"What was that?" Hanna asked when she heard a twig snap in the distance.
Spencer	"We need to get out of here. Now," Spencer ordered, grabbing the shovel as the others helped Emily to her feet and out of the cemetery.
Hanna	While Spencer took Emily back to her place, Hanna and Aria were on evidence burial duty. "If I never see another shovel again, it'll be too soon," Hanna complained as she wiped the handle of finger prints with her jacket.
Aria	"Who would do this to Emily," Aria wondered as she and Hanna began covering the shovel with dirt. "Who would do this to Ali?"
Hanna	"Some twisted psycho," Hanna said, shaking her head.
Aria	"The only twisted psycho we know is locked up at Radley," Aria pointed out.
Hanna & Aria	For a moment, Hanna felt guilty for not mentioning her visits with Mona. It quickly dissipated, though. "Let's get out of here." On their way back to Spencer's, Hanna spotted Lucas wandering around outside...at four in the morning? He looked suspicious. Aria agreed. What was he doing out there? Of course, anyone would probably wonder why they were driving around at this hour.
The Liars	When they returned, Spencer explained that they were going to her family's lake house. In the morning, Spencer came up with an alibi. They talked about their summer vacation, roasted marshmallows, and went to bed early. Last night never happened.

[NFB, NFI; Warning for dark themes and serious creepiness; dialog from 3.01 "It Happened That Night."

This is the first of about ten canon catch up posts between now and Halloween, so expect some spamming ;)]