One Too Many Lies - A Pretty Little Liars Fan Fiction

Chapter Six: Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind

Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Alison had said to Emily.

But, what if one of them isn't dead? Maybe they're both very much alive. Aria is sure she knows who A is. Will she tell the others? Or is A really going to blackmail her  into not telling a soul?

What if Aria joins the A Team? At this point, it wouldn't be surprising. She's letting A control her life. She's not doing anything she really wants anymore. A is controlling her. And Aria isn't doing anything to stop it.

- - - -

Aria pretends that she never even got a text, and tries her best not to seem worried, or upset. Even though she's feeling both of those emotions.

"We're running late, Aria," Emily says. "I need to get to work, let's go."

"Sorry," Aria says. "It hasn't exactly been a great day for me."

Emily nods. "Sorry. I'm just really paranoid about getting fired and all."

Hanna suddenly has a huge smile on her face.

"What's that smile about?" Spencer asks her.

"I just realized this," Hanna says, the smile still on her face. "None of us have gotten any A texts in awhile. This could be over."

"I think this is probably A's big break," Spencer says. "Not ours."

"Can we at least take some time to appreciate the fact that we're not being tormented?" Hanna asks.

The smile still hasn't left her face.

"Wait," Emily says, facing Aria. "You haven't gotten any texts, have you?"

Aria just shakes her head. Obviously she's lying. She's aftaid that if the talks, she'll sound like she's lying.

They all keep walking, thinking that Aria's telling the truth. All of them except Aria. Only Aria knows that she's lying. She hopes it stays that way.

Not telling them is worse than keeping it from them. The sooner they find out, the less mad they'll be. Aria tries to push herself into telling them the truth. Not now. This isn't the time, or the place.

- - - -

When they get to the cafe, they realize that Aria isn't as fine as she seemed before.

Aria can't shake all of the thoughts from earlier out of her head.

"Aria," Emily says, bringing all of their drinks to the table their at. "Are you sure you're okay? You can tell us the truth."

Aria nods, and puts on her most convincing smile. "I'm fine."

"You don't have to pretend," Hanna says. "We're your friends."

"Han," Spencer replies. "She said she's fine. Give her some space."

"Thanks, Spence," Aria says, actually really thankful that she doesn't have to keep acting like that, and they'll finally give her space.

- - - -

Aria almost decides to leave, but she realizes that it will just make her seem shady again. She needs to hide her secret for as long as possible.

"Aria," Emily says, sitting in the empty chair beside Aria. "You're not fine. You say you are, but you're not."

Aria nods. "You're right. I'm not okay."

They all look at her, waiting for her to say what's bothering her.

On one hand, Aria wants nothing more than to be able to tell them what she knows. On the other, she can't tell them. She can't tell anyone. She can't risk letting A do whatever they want to do to her. Whatever A wants to do could involve killing someone. Or all four of them.