Chapter 1

Labor Day meant three things: The end of summer vacation, the last days of warm weather, and the perfect opportunity for one more party.

Five girls were taking full advantage of that fact as they danced around in Spencer Hastings' barn, blasting music and grabbing handfuls of buttery popcorn from the bowl on the table. Four of the girls were full of smiles and laughs, but one perched on the edge of the couch wasn't quite up to the fun.

Saige Bosler checked her phone for the fifth time. Still nothing. She glanced nervously at the door to the barn and gnawed on her thumbnail, even though Alison always said that it was a disgusting habit.

But Alison wasn't here. And that was the problem. Saige set her phone down and watched Spencer and their other friends, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, and Emily Fields as they laughed and danced around the room. None of them looked the slightest bit concerned over the whereabouts of their missing leader.

They were used to this. Ali had plenty of secrets, plenty of other places to be. She'd been ditching them more and more lately. They knew to expect lateness from her, with only a vague explanation when she finally did show up.

But it was different with Saige. They told each other everything (well, almost everything). Saige couldn't remember the last time she didn't know exactly where Ali was, exactly what she was doing and who she was with. That's how their relationship worked, because that's what being best friends meant.

Saige looked once more at her phone and felt another prickle of nerves. If Ali had ditched the sleepover without inviting Saige along, something wasn't right.

At last, Aria sat down on the couch and looked up at her. "Where's Ali?" she called above the music.

"Yeah, you guys are usually joined at the hip," Spencer observed.

Saige shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. She didn't tell me."

Her four friends exchanged glances. Even though they were all best friends, everyone knew that what Ali and Saige had was special.

But before anyone could question it, or start to worry, the music abruptly shut off and the lights flickered. "What was that?" Hanna cried, just as the lights completely cut out.

"It must be the storm," Spencer said, grabbing a match and lighting a nearby candle. Aria clicked on a flashlight.

The storm could explain the power outage and the sound of the wind whistling outside. But when a loud bang resonated through the barn, all five girls leapt to their feet.

"I think someone's out there," Aria whispered frantically, gesturing toward the door.

"Seriously?" Emily squeaked.

"It's probably nothing," Saige tried to reason, but even she felt her heart hammer as the girls huddled together. They walked slowly toward the door, screaming as another loud knocking followed the first.

They stopped, Aria holding out the flashlight to illuminate the entrance to the barn. As they watched, the door began to creak open. Saige's stomach turned over.

"Gotcha!"

Alison DiLaurentis bounded into the room, her blond hair flowing out behind her and a radiant smile on her face. Everyone shrieked, falling into each other in relief. "That's so not funny, Alison," Spencer gasped.

"I thought it was hilarious, girls," Ali crowed, leading the way back into the barn.

Saige followed, slapping her a high five. "Oh my God," she breathed, pressing her other hand to her chest. "That was awesome." As the girls settled back down, with Ali and Saige squeezing into one chair, she leaned over and whispered, "Where have you been?"

Ali hesitated so briefly that Saige almost missed it. "My mom was acting like a psycho," she muttered back, in a voice low enough that the others couldn't hear. "You know how she gets."

Saige gave her a sympathetic look. Ali's mother, Jessica DiLaurentis, was majorly intense about ninety-eight percent of the time. It made her eternally grateful for her own laidback, easygoing parents.

"We thought you weren't going to show," Emily said, grinning at Ali in obvious relief.

"Calm down, killer," Ali joked. "I don't have to be by your side every second, do I?"

Saige chuckled – Emily was more loyal to Ali than anyone, and usually she owned that with pride. But Emily bit her lip and looked away, the smile slipping off of her face.

"Let's get this party started," Ali said, bumping her shoulder into Saige's. "Somebody turn the music up!"

Spencer did as she asked, and Ali grabbed a bottle of tequila and an empty glass from the table. She gave the bottle an approving look. "Nice work, Han. I guess that baggy sweater really did do you good."

Hanna gave an obviously forced smile, and Saige turned her head away to hide a wince. The nice part of being Ali's number one best friend was that she never had to worry about being the victim of Ali's snide comments and sometimes nasty jokes. But it also meant that she didn't feel comfortable speaking up when Ali made fun of someone else.

By the time she turned back, Ali had filled the glass and was holding it out to her. "Want to start us off?"

"I'm good," Saige said immediately, giving her a look. Ali knew she avoided drinking whenever possible, and she also knew why.

With anyone else, Ali would have pushed her buttons until she gave in. But never with Saige. "Fine, party pooper," she teased, then leaned forward to Aria instead. "Your turn."

Aria grabbed the glass and took a long sip. "Careful, Aria," Spencer laughed. "If you drink too much you'll start spilling all your secrets."

"Friends share secrets," Ali said with a smile, squeezing Saige's hand. "That's what keeps us close."

…

A crash of thunder woke Saige several hours later. She sat up groggily, rubbing at her eyes until she could see well enough to look around. Hanna and Emily were curled up on either ends of the couch, and Spencer and Aria were slumped on the floor. All four of them were fast asleep.

But someone was missing. "Ali?" Saige whispered, climbing out of the chair that they had both fallen asleep in. After a quick look around the barn, it became apparent that Ali was gone – and the door was wide open.

Lightning lit up the room and Saige shuddered, fumbling for her phone to check her messages. Nothing from Ali. She felt a prickle of annoyance that morphed quickly into concern. Ali wouldn't duck out of a sleepover without at least telling her, at most dragging her along. She just wouldn't.

So what had happened?

Saige walked to the door and peered out into the Hastings' sprawling yard. It was completely empty, almost eerily calm despite the oncoming storm. "Ali?" she called again, taking a few reluctant steps outside.

She glanced in the direction of the DiLaurentis' house next door. The light in Ali's room was on, and she felt her nerves settle down. Maybe Ali hadn't felt well and decided to go home. Maybe she'd forgotten her phone in the barn so hadn't been able to text Saige and explain.

That had to be it. Saige walked across the Hastings' lawn and wiggled through the bushes that separated the properties. She scooped two pebbles from the DiLaurentis' flowerbed and tossed them at Ali's window, their secret code for when they wanted the other to sneak out at night and talk.

Saige stared up at the window for a few endless minutes, tapping her hand against her thigh anxiously. Why would the light be on if Ali was asleep? And anyway, she slept lightly – and always woke up when Saige threw pebbles at the window.

She turned away, pressing a hand to her fluttering stomach. It was only then that she finally let herself consider the possibility that something was wrong. Maybe the best answer would be to go tell Ali's parents that she was missing from the sleepover.

Conflicted, she pulled up a new text to Ali: Where r u?

The message went through, but no reply came. Saige looked back at the barn, unsure. If something really had happened to Ali, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't do everything she could to find her. And that meant telling Mr. and Mrs. DiLaurentis, maybe even calling the police.

But on the other hand…what if Ali really did ditch the sleepover? Maybe she was hanging out with the older girls she'd recently started texting. Or maybe…Saige grimaced, pressing a hand against her mouth. Maybe she was with Ian. They'd been at Hilton Head together just this morning, after all.

As she walked slowly back toward the barn, Saige thought back to a conversation she'd had with Hanna a few weeks ago. When they were out shopping, Hanna had stared at her reflection in the dressing room mirror, her stomach puffing out over a pair of too-small jeans, and confided in Saige that she worried that Ali was getting ready to ditch them.

Saige always figured she was safe from that fate. She and Ali were too close for either of them to ever move on from the other. But now she wasn't so sure. If Ali was off meeting up with her secret older boyfriend without even telling her, was their friendship really as tight as she thought?

"Saige?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, for a moment thinking it had been Ali calling out to her. But it was Spencer, standing at the door to the barn. She'd walked all the way back without even realizing it.

Saige walked over quickly. Aria stood beside Spencer, looking worried. Hanna and Emily watched from further into the room. "Where's Ali?" Aria called.

"I don't know," Saige admitted for the second time that night, folding her arms. "I woke up a few minutes ago. I was just out looking for her."

"You couldn't find her?" Emily spoke up hoarsely. Her face was white with fear.

Usually Saige would have rolled her eyes – obvious, much? – but she was too frightened to do anything but shake her head.

Spencer looked past her, staring out at the vast, dark yard in front of them. "Ali's gone," she said, her voice quiet and trembling. Saige felt her heart drop like a stone into her stomach at actually hearing it out loud.

And that was the beginning of the end.

...

Toss me a review and let me know what you think of this so far. I have some ideas for how this story is going to go - and it's not going to be the exact plot of the TV show by any means. Feedback gives me motivation to keep writing!