AN: I hope you guys like this next chapter! I tried to make it fun but theres also a lot of feels and bonding throughout! What I need to know from you guys if you want me to keep this going: are you tired of the games yet? do you want me to have them finish up early on in the next chapter or would you like another chapter dedicated to truth or dare or whatever else? I can't really think of something else they could play but I'm more than happy to do another one if someone has an idea for another they can do! ALSO what questions do you have about the never have I ever's do you really want answers to?

"Wow, dark much?!" Spencer replied, raising her head to look at Alison who shrugged as the others looked at her with a mix of shock and amusement.

"Whatever. Someone save me from this torture, who's next?" The brunette whined, tired of being the butt of the joke as much as she was happy Ali was finally starting to have fun with them like they used to. Ezra had the next turn though it took him a moment to come up with something, having run out of anything good to say.

"Okay, okay, uh..Never have I ever bragged about something I have not done." He settled on finally after some prodding from the brunette at his side.

Ali, Spencer, Hanna and Emily all take a drink, eyeing each other curiously as they did so, wondering what the others were referring to. Wondering what of what they knew of each other was just for show. For this question and a few others where more than one person had taken a drink, therefore leading to no answers, Hanna was starting to think a game of truth or dare was most definitely in order.

"Never have I ever flirted my way out of a speeding ticket." Toby said on his turn with a knowing glance at Spencer who, with a guilty look on her face took a drink along with Ali and Hanna.

"Alright, I got a good one." Spencer tipsy declared as her turn rolled around, a chuckle leaving her lips as she looked around the room, eyeing everyone as if she were about to catch them out in a dirty secret. "Never have I ever given a lap dance to a total stranger."

No one drinks.

"Oh, guys, come on, really?" Receiving various amused looks and shrugs, the brunette gives a light scoff and takes a drink herself. "I don't know whether to be disappointed or proud of you all right now." She mumbled into her cup with a feigned pout as she shoved Alison to remind her it was her turn.

Pursing her lips in thought, the blonde hummed in thought trying to make the others nervous until a frustrated Spencer insisted she get on with it.

"Never have I ever said an "I love you" without feeling it." She decided finally.

Em, Toby and Aria all drink, all with guilty looks on their faces as they avoid the other pairs of eyes in the room.

"Never have I ever kissed someone and regretted it." The former swimmer offered on her turn, though it wasn't true. She knew it was technically cheating but she wanted to see what the blonde would do as she watched her carefully out of the corner of her eye. Though the answer she received only left her with more lingering questions as Alison lifted the cup to her lips, followed quickly by everyone else around the table.

"Never have I ever been engaged." Caleb shrugged, as bored with the game now as he had been when it started. Ezra drank of course, as they all expected but as Alison hesitantly followed suit the room once again erupted with questions for the blonde.

"Ali, are you serious?!"

"When?!"

"To who?!"

"For how long?!"

"Was this when you were on the run?"

"Nah, uh." Alison teased with a light chuckle. "Ezra drank too, so you're just gonna have to wonder."

"Oh, come on."

"You can't just drop a bomb like that and then leave us hanging."

"Spill!"

"I can and I will, those are the rules. Sorry." Alison shrugged, the clear opposite of sorry. "Pretty sure it's your turn, Han."

"Are yo— fine! But after this, I declare a new game." She warned, to which Ali gave a slight nod, though she was a little nervous to what this new game would have her confessing if she decided to continue on in this suddenly truthful spirit the night had her taking on,

"Never have I ever lied about my "number" to avoid judgement."

Ali, Em and Aria all drink, two having lowered their number a little, or a lot from time to time and the other having lied to cover how much she wasn't doing.

"New game!" Hanna declared, receiving a few groans, most notably from Caleb.

"I'm out for this one, babe. I'm going to get another beer." He tried, getting up and hoping he'd be allowed off the hook.

Rolling her eyes, Hanna let him go, suspecting the other blonde in the room might be a little more inclined to answer her questions if there was less of an audience. With Caleb stepping outside to sit on the patio, it wasn't long before Ezra also excused himself before he could get roped into another game he hadn't played since junior high. Feeling out of place being the only boy left, Toby made an excuse about being a good host and slipped away as well, leaving only the five friends remaining.

"Guess we're closing ranks." Hanna comments, moving closer to the coffee table in the middle of the room and picking up an empty beer bottle from the floor, placing it flat on it's side in the centre of the table. The others all following suit, shuffling so they're all sitting on the floor around the table. This was the way Ali had taught them to play when they were younger and the blonde couldn't help a small smile at the thought that held on to some of their old 'traditions' even if it was something as insignificant as Truth or Dare.

"Who's spinning first?" Aria asks as they all get comfortable. "Game master goes first." Hanna answers, having declared herself such. The self imposed title receives a few eye rolls but no one bothers to argue as the blonde reaches out to spin the bottle, obviously hoping for it to land on Ali as she smirks at her old friend, a dozen questions ready in mind. Falling just short though, much to Hanna's disappointment, the bottle points to Spencer instead.

It only takes a moment however for a devious smirk to appear on her lips however as she thinks of something fun for the brunette. "So how bout it, Spence? Truth or Dare?"

Spencer eyes the blonde wearily, that smirk she was wearing making her nervous to answer either way, though she reluctantly replies truth.

"Who's a better kisser, Toby or Ali?" She grins, her smile widening even further as she takes in the shock horror on her friend's face. Spencer's eyes are wide in disbelief, rendered speechless for a moment as she through a glance back to where Toby was standing out on the porch before looking back at the others.

"I pick Dare." She announced in attempt to avoid answering the question. "Fine, I dare you to answer the question." Hanna rebutted quickly, much to Spencer's dismay. With an exaggerated sigh, the brunette took a large gulp of her drink but otherwise stayed silent.

"Sounds like an answer to me." Aria mumbled into her cup, receiving a glare from her overachieving friend before she turned to risk a glance toward Alison, rolling her eyes when she caught sight of the girls self satisfied smirk.

"Look, Toby is a great kisser—"

"You just prefer blondes." Hanna interrupted teasingly.

"Well, we do have more fun." Ali joined in, sharing a laugh with the only other blonde in the room. Emily stayed silent throughout, her shoulders tensing and her jaw setting as she tried to contain her jealousy, the image of Ali kissing Spencer running though her head starting to make her sick.

Her laughter dying down as she noticed the stoicism from the former swimmer beside her, Ali subtly moved her hand out to rest on the floor beside the brunette's, stopping when their fingers were just touching, hoping to offer her some slight comfort. Emily's breath hitched at the contact, here eyes instantly shooting down to their barely touching fingertips before hesitantly meeting the blonde's eyes to find her offering a soft smile. It wasn't much, certainly not an explanation, but it was enough to calm her at least for time being.

"Spin it, Spence." Aria encouraged lightly, trying to offer her friend an escape from further teasing. Leaning forward to spin the bottle, her eyes lighting up when it lands on the mysterious blonde.

"Ali, I dare you sing for us."

"Yes!" Hanna and Aria agree instantly.

"What if I wanna pick truth?" She teases, keeping her nerves well hidden. The blonde knew she was at least a decent singer and it wasn't as if she couldn't remember the words to at least one song but for whatever reason singing to her four favourite people in the world made her a whole lot more anxious than performing to a crowd of strangers.

"Oh, come on, Ali! I wanna see you do your best Marilyn." Hanna whined, she hadn't been able to stop picturing her friend in that white dress with her hair all done in curls since she was forced to tell them about the play.

Smiling, Alison had an idea for how to give them what they wanted while hiding behind an impression. Clearing her throat quietly, the blonde closed her eyes and tried to channel the same energy she did a year and a half ago before getting up on stage.

Allowing her eyes to flutter open slowly, she began to sing. "Happy Birthday, Mister President." She started, dragging out each word just as well as the original in and leaving all the girls smiling from ear to ear, their eyes shimmering with amusement as she continued the song. She'd missed this feeling the most. All their eyes on her in a positive way. Making them happy, making them laugh. Those were the memories she held onto when she was on the run. How much fun they used to have together. How loved they would make her feel.

Her eyes settling on Emily as the song began to draw to a close, she moved her hand to half cover the brunette's in attempt to get her to look up at her. She was somewhat successful, at least enough that she could see the way the former swimmer was blushing and biting down on the inside of her cheek to try and keep the lovesick grin off her face. "Happy birthday to you."

Hanna started around of applause as the last note drew to a close, the others quick to join her and Ali couldn't help but laugh as a feeling of warmth spread over her chest. "Oh, stop." She hushed jokingly as she leaned over to spin the bottle.

"Truth or Dare?" She asked as it stopped on Aria. There was a lengthy pause as the petite brunette tried to weigh her options, deciding which weapon to hand over to Alison, knowing if she still played the game like she used to, things were about to get intense.

"..Dare." Aria decided finally, hoping she wouldn't end up having to run down the street in her underwear, again.

Pursing her lips, Ali thinks hard on a dare. Before she left this would be exactly the situation where she'd be thinking up something totally embarrassing to inflict upon her friend, but nothing like that really seemed fun anymore and she wasn't about to risk what felt like a wonderful new start for the five of them by upsetting her with some pointless challenge.

In fact their night of bonding had her heart warming towards another outsider. One she'd thought about a lot during her few months in jail. "I dare you to invite Mona."

"Wait, right now?" She replied in confusion.

"Seriously?!" Spencer quickly followed, baffled as to why she could possibly want Mona with them after all she'd done. Hanna on the other hand felt a light flutter of hope that all her friends might one day get along despite all their history, that she wouldn't have to try and split her time between them and her other best friend.

"Seriously." Alison confirmed lightly.

"Why?" Emily asked, joining the conversation, her resentment for Mona and all that she'd put she and her friends through not having faded.

"Why not? Keeping her isolated is what started all this in the first place. Maybe now that -A is gone we can all have a fresh start." The blonde replied softly, hoping her explanation would be enough for them to consider giving the brunette another chance, all the while hiding her fear this suggestion might lead to them revoking hers.

"Wow, you have changed." Hanna decided with a breathy chuckle, beyond surprised that she'd even be considering this after Mona set her up for her murder. "I'm not sure she'll show though, last I heard from Mona she was terrified you'd be launching your full scale revenge plan any day now."

"Well, I won't lie and say that doesn't make me just a little happy." Ali laughed, "but as far as revenge plots, there are none. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." She recited, her tone carrying only the slightest of mockery.

"God, if The Alison Dilaurentis is becoming a pacifist, I'm gonna need another drink." Spencer chuckled, refilling her glass.

"Well I wouldn't go that far." The blonde assured quickly, receiving an eye roll from the others as Aria got up to go and make the call.

The others sitting in content silence with one another as they sipped at their drinks, Hanna smiling at Alison when their eyes meet from across the table. It'd been a hard road for the two of them and Hanna would be the first to admit it was hard for her when their mysterious friend came back to Rosewood but after the conversation they'd had when Ali was in jail, the way she'd risked herself to rescue them from the dollhouse and now tonight, the five of them just hanging out the way it should have been in a perfect world. She was genuinely happy to have her back.

"I'm glad you stayed." The always straightforward blonde admitted quietly, causing both Emily and Spencer to smile along with Alison.

She wasn't sure if she meant tonight or in Rosewood in general, but either way after the progress they'd made, her answer was the same. "Me too."

"There, I invited her. Whether she decides to come or not, we'll have to wait and see." Aria announced, once again taking up her seat between Hanna and Emily before leaning over to take her turn at spinning the bottle, laughing when it landed on Hanna.

"Alright, come on, Truth or Dare?"

"Hmm, Truth." Hanna decides.

"Ugh, fine." She concedes with a disappointed huff, having expected the blonde to pick dare. "If you had to pick one person here to make out with, excluding Caleb, who would you choose?"

Narrowing her eyes at her smirking, giggling friends, Hanna took about a half a minute to think about it before deciding,

"Emily."

"Because I'm gay?" The brunette scoffed in amusement.

"No, doofus, I could've picked one of the guys if I wanted to, remember?" She scoffed in return. "But there's no way I'd hook up with Mr. Fitz, no offence, Ar. And considering we already confirmed Ali is a better kisser than Toby, what'd be the point in that?" She reasoned, receiving a few glares and grumbles from the two brunettes either side of her.

"Then obviously, I considered picking Ali, but her ego is already hard enough to fit into a room." Hanna added, trying to hide her smirk when she heard the other blonde scoff in feigned offence. "Which leaves only you three left to pick from and Aria has teacher cooties so, she's out. Then between you and Spencer, we all know you already have a thing for blonde's and Spence has been macking on with Toby so long now she's probably forgotten how to do it right—"

"Hey!"

"So, there's really only one choice left." She continues, ignoring Spencer's protest as she addresses her tanned friend who immediately bursts into laughter, along with Alison and Aria as her explanation draws to a close.

"Take your turn." Spencer grumbled after a few moments, pretend annoyance at having been teased settled on her features.

Spinning the bottle once more, Hanna finally got who she'd wanting to since she'd suggested the game. But with Alison looking back at her seemingly ready for whatever she was about to ask her to confess, all of the questions she'd been wanting answers to all night seemed to fade to the back of her mind, leaving only one behind. One she'd been holding onto a whole lot longer than just tonight.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." Alison replied, sensing that was the answer Hanna was hoping for.

Hesitating momentarily, she worried what she had to say might ruin the night, half considering letting the issue drop. But such an act would be far too against her nature. "When you taught me how to throw up that time." She began, making sure her tone was gentle rather than accusatory. "How'd you know how to do it?" She asked, remembering how clear her instructions had been. It was as if she were a pro but she'd never seen Ali show any concern about her weight. As far as the rest of them knew, their Queen Bee was as confident as she was flawless.

"Hanna, I don't think—" Spencer attempted to intervene quickly, assuming that this kind of conversation was one the blondes would've been better off having in private, but Alison placed a hand over hers to stop her. Letting her know silently that she didn't need defending.

Clearing her throat quietly, Ali considered lying and saying she'd learned it online or that she'd seen one of her older friends do it before, but she just didn't see the point anymore. It wasn't like she had any chance of maintaining the image of a perfect teen idol she once held tightly to. So instead she lifted her head and looked Hanna in the eyes as she gave her the truth she deserved. "My mom. She taught me when I was 11."

Doing their best to keep their reactions neutral, her friends looked at her with sympathetic eyes as they learned yet another troubling truth about Alison's life they'd previously been oblivious too. Instantly feeling protective at the very idea of her first love having to go through something like that at such a young age, Emily slid her hand out from under Ali's so she could take the girls hand in her own, lacing their fingers together and giving a supportive squeeze as the blonde continued.

"I'm so sorry Hanna. I never should've shown you that. I never should've made you feel like there was something wrong with you, I just.." Eyes drifting toward the ceiling as she started to feel herself getting emotional as she looked back on the way she used to think. At fourteen Alison felt like she already had the whole world figured out and it wasn't until she had to go live in that world all alone that she realised how little she really knew. Realised how much of the Queen Bee was really just a poor imitation of Mommy by a damaged little girl.

"I thought I was helping." She confessed, her voice barely above a whisper, knowing how foolish the admission would sound to her friends.

"I know." Hanna assured, for the first time feeling like she actually understood the other blonde. Feeling like the girl in front of her was less of a dark mystery and more of a person. A real person as opposed to the young blonde they used to follow around that seemed like she'd stepped right out of an old movie screen. A person with problems and feelings. A person she cared about.

Reaching across the table to squeeze the hand still covering Spencer's, Hanna waited for the other blonde to meet her eyes once more before she spoke. "I forgive you."