A/N: Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! I suck, I know, but I've just dived into summer, which means, new roleplays have started, and I also started a summer class, and I have just been swamped, but as compensation, you get a little surprise at the end. That does not mean skip to the end now to see what it is. Don't ruin it! I won't keep you, just...enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still don't own PLL, and after all this time, I still don't own Drew Van Acker either. Ugh. I do get to claim Ade though!
"Adriana! Ade!"
Mona.
Stopping, Ade inhaled deeply and put on a smile. This girl...god she was persistent.
"Yeah, hi, Mona."
"So, everyone is talking about your return to Rosewood, and...I was thinking, we should throw a party! A welcome back party!"
Ade stammered. Mona wanted to throw her a party? Sure, she'd always been civil to the girl, friendly, even, but that didn't mean they'd been friends. And now...a party?
"Oh come on, it'll be fun! Please?"
If it will get her off my back... "Fine. Why not. A party sounds nice."
"Great! I will plan the whole thing. Do you think Spencer would let us use her lake house?"
Ade rolled her eyes slightly and shrugged. "You'd have to ask her."
"Speaking of Spencer, you heard Jason moved back in next door to her right?"
"Yeah, pretty sure that's old news by now."
"So...?"
Ade rose a brow. "So, what?" Lifting a water bottle to her lips, she looked at the girl.
"Jason! Are you guys dating again? I'll need to know whether or not to invite him." Ade choked, coughing and spluttering water.
"Um...we never really...dated." That was true. Them dating would imply that they'd been a couple, meaning one on one dates, valentines day presents and romantic gestures, none of which had been a part of their little relationship. However, Ade could easily see where Mona was coming from. It was the same place the entire student body had been a year ago. She and Jason had practically been joined at the hip, sometimes more literally than others, and one was rarely seen without the other. Jason would pick her up from school (at least on the days she went), and she'd always hang around him and his friends. But they weren't a couple. What they'd had been more physical than emotional, even if neither of them could deny that there had been a fair amount of emotion put into all of it.
"Seemed like it." Mona shrugged. Ade could only nod, wiping the water away from her lips.
"Well, if you want to invite him, go ahead."
"Awesome! I'll catch up with you later kay?" She smiled. Dear god that's terrifying.
"Sure." Anything to get you to go away.
And off she went, strutting down the halls with a smile on her face.
Yeah, she scares me. Ade blinked twice before turning and making her way down the hall.
"Hey Adriana...I heard you were back but I had to see it with my own eyes." A voice caused her to stop. Can I not just go to my locker? Rolling her eyes, she turned to face none other than Noel Kahn. That alone was cause for another eye roll, and a sigh.
"Nice to see you too Noel, I guess."
"You look different."
"No shit."
"I like it."
She almost choked in laughter, but instead, she hid it under a chuckle. "Nice try." Turning, she'd barely taken a step before he was up beside her, almost blocking her path, but still just enough to keep her from getting away.
"Oh come on, don't be like that. I know you and Jason aren't a thing any more-"
"So, what? You thought you'd give it a go? That kinda thing usually has to be two-sided, or at least that's what I've heard. And sadly, I was never one to swoon for all your bravado and testosterone, that was my sister, but hey, even that's changed. You had her, you lost her, and now you're going for her sister. At least we can say you're persistent."
He looked taken aback. Ade had never had that hard a time reading people, but Noel Kahn was an open book, and a boring one at that.
"Leave her alone, Noel." And suddenly there was Toby.
"We're just talking. Actually I think she just tried to psycho-analyze me."
"That wasn't psychoanalysis, Noel, that was just me stating the facts."
The look in his eyes was almost formidable. And in the next moment, he was backing off. Thank god. "Whatever..." And away he went.
Turning to Toby, Ade smiled. "I just want to go to my locker. I want to go to class, I want to learn, and I want to be a model citizen in this town! God, these people..."
He just laughed. "You're such a liar."
"Yeah, that was all total bullshit, but I really do want to go to my locker. These books are heavy." In her arms, Ade held all of her new textbooks, from all of her classes.
She almost yelled out in joy and relief when Toby took some of the books from her arms. "Oh you beautiful wonderful human being. You deserve cookies. I'm making you cookies." Another laugh.
"Last time you tried to make me cookies they turned into hockey pucks."
"I forgot they were in the oven!" She couldn't help but smile. This was what she needed. Just a light, good-natured moment with a friend. Toby had seen her at her best, and he'd seen her at her worst. He'd still been her friend even when she was hanging out with Ali, most likely because he knew that she hadn't really wanted to, and he knew that Ade would never, no, could never turn into one of Alison DiLaurentis's mindless minions. She talked back too much for that.
Looking to her side to smile at Toby was a mistake. She figured that out when she crashed into someone, sending a couple of the books from her stack tumbling to the ground.
"Shit."
"You know, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to use that sort of language in school."
Looking down, Ade sighed. Jason. Well, at least nowadays he was a gentleman. Look at him, picking up her books.
"Never stopped me before."
"I know..." He smiled down at her. It was a half-smile, but she took it. She also took her books, when he handed them to her. "Thanks."
She wanted to say something else to him, but now wasn't the time. Nor was it the place.
"I should probably go. I'm working with-"
"The at-risk kids. I know. My sister told me. Quite the turn-around. Couple years ago, we were the at-risk kids."
"We went way past at-risk."
Ade chuckled, shrugging her shoulders and giving a nod. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed Toby standing there awkwardly. Here he was helping her and she was making him stand there.
Turning back to Jason, he seemed to understand what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth. "I'll see you later?"
She smiled and gave a nod. "Yeah...sure."
With that, he walked off, and the moment was over.
"So, you two..." Toby stepped up beside her. While his words were teasing, his face looked a bit, for lack of a better word, worried.
"No...no. I just keep running into him."
"You sure he's not running into you?"
"Do you want to lose your cookies?"
He just laughed, pulling a smile from Ade. She'd definitely missed this.
The day seemed to fly by with classes, going out with her siblings to get frozen yogurt, and laying in her room listening to music. However, once again, she was interrupted by her sister pulling one of her ear buds out.
"Hey, check your phone once in a while."
Sitting up, she raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Why?"
"Because, apparently, that party you said Mona was going to throw you? It's tonight. And since you are the guest of honor, you kind of have to go."
The shock was clear on her face. You have got to be kidding. "That's tonight? She only just talked to me about it today!"
"She's Mona, she does everything in a day. Now hurry up and get dressed."
With a groan, Ade stood up and walked to her closet. Can I never just listen to music?
Ade definitely got her wish that night. Well, in some form. By the time they reached the venue where Mona had thrown the bash, Music was practically causing the room to vibrate.
"ADE!" Not again... Putting on a smile, Ade turned to face Mona. There was no way this girl was really human. She had to be some alien life form. From the future. With secret magic alien powers.
"Wow. Mona, hi. This place is..."
"I know right? Don't you love it? I mean it was all just thrown together last minute, but I think I managed to pull it off."
"Yeah, it's great. Great job."
"Yay! I'm glad you like it! Hey, I'll catch up with you later kay?"
Ade just nodded, and the girl sauntered off.
When she was gone, Ade leaned in towards her sister. "She scares me."
Aria simply pat her hand. "She scares everybody." The two girls laughed, and made their way into the crowd, where person after person shook Ade's hand and offered many "welcome back!"s and "it's good to have you home."s. Do I even know half of these people?
After being at the party for an hour, Ade just couldn't take it anymore. Slipping out a back door, she made her way into the night, slumping against a brick wall and closing her eyes. With a sigh, she tried desperately to banish all thoughts from her head. Even from out here, she could practically feel the music, which was still as lively, and as loud, as it had been when she'd first arrived. Sooner or later, someone was probably going to call the cops. In truth, Ade didn't even know why Mona had thrown her this big party. It wasn't like they'd ever been great friends. Sure, Ade had been nice to her where Alison had been cruel, and on the days she'd actually decided to go to school, during lunch, when she saw the girl sitting alone, she'd sit with her, partly just to piss of Her Royal Bitchness, but they still hadn't really been best buds. And suddenly, Mona was practically squealing at the thought of her being back, and was throwing her parties? Who was this girl? She didn't even look like the same girl! Mona had changed. That much was obvious. But then again, in the last year and a half, a lot had changed.
"I thought the guest of honor was supposed to be inside the party?" Ade practically jumped out of her skin when Jason's voice had broken through her thoughts. Pressing a hand over her heart, she looked over at him.
"Sneak up on me why don't you?" So Mona did invite him... Ade wasn't sure if she was nervous, or excited.
"I didn't sneak. I walked. You just weren't paying attention." He stood in front of her, and out of habit, she straightened up. There was such a height difference between them already, she didn't need to make it worse.
"Sorry. I've got a lot on my mind."
"Clearly. But, you still haven't answered my question." She looked up at him, confusion written in her eyes. "Why aren't you inside?"
"I was, earlier. I needed to get outside, so I did." She shrugged, restraining herself from fidgeting.
Silence passed between them, and, with their history, silence never turned out very...well, needless to say, Ade broke the silence rather quickly. "So, Mona invited you then?"
"Yeah, she caught me while I was up at the school. Told me I should come."
"And you did." Now it was his turn to shrug his shoulders.
"I did." He took a step closer.
"I didn't think she'd be throwing it today. I thought I'd at least have a week to come up with an excuse for why it should be canceled."
"Why would you want it to be canceled?" Another step closer
She just rolled her eyes. "Please, I don't actually know half the people in there, and most the ones I do know couldn't have cared less that I'm back. I don't see why she had to make such a big deal about something so...insignificant."
Another step. "Your sister probably doesn't think that. Or your brother. Or Toby...Or me."
Ade's eyes snapped to his, and she jumped. He was close enough that she wouldn't even have to reach out to touch him. Looking up into his eyes, all words flew from her mind, and her voice went silent, her lips slightly parted. The entire atmosphere around them seemed to be changing, closing in until it was just the two of them.
He leaned in...
She leaned in...
"Ade! Adriana!" The moment shattered when Mona's voice echoed from inside. Mona, I swear to god...
Jason stepped away, much to Ade's dismay, and he smiled. "Tomorrow, meet me at the grill?"
So, maybe she wasn't that dismayed. She smiled back. "Sure."
And with that, he disappeared, walking off into the darkness.
Walking back inside, Ade dashed away to hide from Mona. Luckily, Mona knew how to throw good parties, and therefore, there was a bar. Now, Ade hadn't had a drink in over a year, but tonight, she was going to need it if she wanted to get through this party. Reaching the counter, she looked up at the guy for a minute, and he seemed to understand without her saying a word, and proceeded to put a shot in front of her. She downed it without a second thought.
And when her phone buzzed the next minute, she, at first, thought nothing of it. Until she looked at the screen.
Blocked ID: Careful Ade, you know what happens when you drink and drive. -A
A/N: Ok, so...I've been getting a lot of reviews and likes and follows and favorites and stuff, and...I just want to say thanks. Ok, I never expected any of this. Seriously, I just thought, hey, I'm already writing it, why not share it? And you actually have liked it, and the support a lot of you have given me is just amazing. There are literally no words. Just thank you guys. And I promise I'll try to have the next chapter up sooner than I did this one. And again, sorry!