A/N: If you listen to "Stand By You" by Rachel Platten while reading, your heart will explode from the sheer cuteness. Just a suggestion….

"Freak!"

Aria hit the ground hard, hands splaying out to catch herself before she got a mouthful of grass, and winced at the pain that shot through her left wrist upon impact. Struggling just a little, she rolled herself onto her back and looked through tears up at the clear sky. Her fingers curled around her injured wrist and she gingerly tested it, twisting for just a moment before a cry slipped from her mouth.

"Look at that," a voice laughed. A silhouette blocked out the picture-perfect expanse of blue above her, blonde hair swinging perfectly in its ponytail as the girl gazed triumphantly down at Aria. "It has feelings."

Aria squeezed her eyes shut at the laughter that started up around her and defiantly sniffed her tears back. That comment stung, and her wrist hurt, but she knew better than to feed the cruel beast that was Alison DiLaurentis. Crying always made things worse, brought down an unjust wrath of taunts that wouldn't stop until a teacher intervened, and even then it would be days before the jeers of "Crybaby!" stopped.

And, anyway, Aria was eleven, come July. She could handle herself.

The tiny brunette used her uninjured arm to push herself into a sitting position, and Alison stepped back, a confused look crossing her face for a moment before she pursed her perfectly lip-glossed lips and haughtily flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. The laughter of Ali's posse petered out as Aria stood up, her expression stubbornly neutral, and Aria felt a little surge of triumph.

But Alison wasn't having any of this insubordination.

"What are you gonna do?" lilted Ali, crossing her arms over her chest and peering challengingly down at Aria.

Aria shrunk under the blonde's gaze, hating herself for it as she caught the flicker of victory in Alison's eyes.

Ali shoved the smaller girl's shoulder, smirking now. "Huh, Freak? Gonna run to the teachers? Go home and cry to mommy?"

"No," Aria responded. Her voice was small and she suddenly wanted to run away again. But she stood her ground, eyes trained on the dirt underneath Alison's pink Nike sneakers. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed her sketchbook abandoned under the oak tree a few yards away and hoped Alison didn't go after it, too.

Alison was having too much fun punishing Aria for her defiance, though. "No?" She laughed. "What? Are you going to fight me, then?"

Aria stared determinedly at the ground, unsure what to do. No one in the cluster of kids around them offered her any help. She certainly couldn't fight Alison. The Queen Bee had made sure to let everyone know she was practicing with the sixth graders for field hockey tryouts next year, while Aria was only average in P.E. and one of the shortest in their grade. She wouldn't stand a chance.

"Come on!" Ali shouted, shoving Aria again. "Do something!"

Aria pulled her injured arm closer to her chest and bit her lip.

"Hey, Ali, look at this!"

Everyone whipped their heads toward the oak tree, where a kid named Noel Kahn had wandered over and picked up Aria's sketchbook. Her stomach lurched as she saw him flip eagerly through the pages and she rushed over to yank it from his grip.

He held the sketchbook above his head, way out of her reach, and smirked. "What's in here? Something embarrassing?"

Her face burned. It wasn't embarrassing so much as personal. Like looking into her mind. "No!" she cried, standing on tiptoe, struggling to grab it. "It's just―"

"Over here, Noel!"

Aria watched in horror as he looked over her head to Alison and tossed the book carelessly to the blonde she-devil. She whirled around just as Ali caught it and opened to the first page, and Aria prepared to be humiliated.

Another voice called suddenly across the playground, freezing Ali in her tracks. "Give that back, Alison!"

Up marched a lanky, glasses-sporting brunette, her voice condescending as she laid eyes on the scene. Alison just rolled her eyes at the newcomer, but Aria knew she was most likely saved. While Spencer Hastings may not have gotten in with the sixth graders to practice, she was still tough enough to play field hockey and loved competing—and mostly winning—against Alison in everything from math class to gym. The brunette seemed a little oblivious to Ali's relentless smacktalk behind her back, but Aria figured it just made Spencer a stronger person for not gossiping back.

"What do you want, Hastings?" Alison impatiently shifted her weight to one foot, the sketchbook temporarily forgotten as she glared at Spencer. "Didn't mommy and daddy teach you to keep your nose out of other people's business?"

Spencer lifted her chin, undaunted by Alison's taunts. "It is my business." The taller girl looked over at Aria and smiled. "Aria's my friend."

Aria blinked, stunned. She didn't think Spencer even knew her name.

"You've got to be kidding me." Alison let out a short, harsh laugh, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Four Eyes and the Freak are besties? Priceless."

"That has a certain ring to it, don't you think, Hastings," Noel added, chuckling. He theatrically swung his arm out and looked dramatically into the distance. "Four Eyes and the Freak."

Spencer just gave him a little sarcastic smile. "It does, doesn't it, Kahn?" She shook her head and turned her attention back to Alison. "You know, Ali, one day you should quit with your dumb nicknames and learn some good insults."

A chorus of "oh"s and gasps started up from the group of kids around them, and Ali took a step closer to Spencer. Aria could see the rage burning in the blonde's eyes and hoped a fight didn't break out.

But Alison just roughly shoved Aria's sketchbook into Spencer's arms and hissed something quietly into the brunette's ear. Then she stormed off, Noel Kahn and her posse following, and Spencer and Aria were left standing alone beneath the oak tree.

"What did she say to you?" prompted Aria as she made her way to where Spencer was still standing, her face pale.

Spencer handed the sketchbook back and waved her hand dismissively. "Just to watch my back on the way home."

The taller girl nervously shifted her backpack strap and tugged at the collar of her blue button-down shirt, and Aria could tell she was worried. "You should tell someone. That sounds serious," said Aria.

"It's nothing I haven't dealt with before." Spencer shrugged. "I'll just have to hide my glasses so they don't get broken again."

"Spencer!" Aria exclaimed, grabbing the girl's arm with her good hand. "She's broken your glasses before?"

Spencer didn't answer, instead she looked down at the awkward way Aria was holding her wrist and furrowed her eyebrows. "Is your arm okay? I saw her shove you earlier."

"Just a sprain, I think," Aria replied, but her mind was still reeling from the fact Alison had once broken Spencer's glasses. "But are you sure—"

"Come on," Spencer cut her off and gently took her shoulder, leading Aria toward the picnic table the teachers all sat at. "I'll walk you to the nurse's office."

Aria came out of the nurse's office twenty minutes later, her wrist wrapped tightly with an ace bandage, and saw Spencer waving around a yellowed book and talking animatedly with the lady at the office's front desk. The girl waved when she saw Aria, and the smaller girl waved back, a bit surprised. She didn't think Spencer would still be here when she came out.

"Hey! We both have science next period, right? So I thought I'd just walk back with you."

A smile tugged at Aria's lips. How anyone could be mean to Spencer was a mystery; Aria was pretty sure she was the nicest girl in the fifth grade.

They meandered down the hallway in silence, until Aria caught a glimpse of the book Spencer clutched so tightly.

"'The Lord of the Rings'," read Aria. "I didn't take you for a fantasy fan."

She'd seen Spencer at the public library plenty of times, perusing the shelves for both fiction and nonfiction, but she didn't think Spencer would be interested in magic and hobbits and dragons or whatever.

Spencer's ears turned red. "Yeah," she admitted, a bit sheepishly. "I've read the entire trilogy, 'The Silmarillion', and 'The Hobbit'. I kind of love them. The lore is great."

Aria nodded. "Cool. I've never read them, but I watched the movies."

"You raise your hand a lot in English, right? And I always see you reading in the library." Spencer offered the battered paperback. "Would you like to borrow my copy? I promise you'll love it. Then maybe we can hang out and talk about it sometimes?"

Hang out with Spencer Hastings and talk about books? It was more than Aria had ever thought would come out of Spencer defending her. A tiny part of her was reluctant because the girl was so academically intimidating, but Spencer was looking at her with big, zealous eyes, obviously eager to share her opinions on Middle-Earth.

"Sure." Aria took the book and flipped through it. She tucked it under her arm with her sketchbook. "You want to walk home together this afternoon? We could take Alison on as a team if she shows up."

"Sounds like a plan." Spencer thought for a moment, then grinned ear to ear, absently pushing her glasses up her nose. "Every good team needs a name. How about...Team Sparia?"

"Sparia?"

They both laughed at how ridiculous it sounded.

"Spencer and Aria. Sparia," explained Spencer, swinging her arms.

But Aria was already nodding. "I like it."

They reached the fifth grade science classroom and shook hands, a bit awkwardly.

"We'll come up with a secret handshake on the walk home, okay?"

Aria nodded, and suddenly she couldn't help but wrap her arms around the tall, gangly brunette. She still couldn't believe the friend she'd just made. Spencer stiffened in surprise, but then hugged back.

"Thanks for sticking up for me, Spence," Aria sniffed into the crisp collar of Spencer's button-down. "You're a good friend."

Spencer patted her head. "Anytime, Ar." She pulled back, a mischievous grin on her face. "You're the coolest kid under four and a half feet I've ever met."

"Hey!" Aria smacked Spencer's shoulder lightly, but she was grinning, too.

Team Sparia was off to a grand start.

A/N: Okay, this was the most adorable story I've ever written. Fifth grade Sparia is the cutest! I have no idea where this idea came from, but it turned out perfect!

I figured Ali was the big, bad playground bully in elementary school, while Spencer and Aria were sort of outcasts. Spencer's love of LOTR was inspired by that Game of Thrones reference in 4x05: "I could give you the entire Targaryen speech from the end of season 1 but I will not waste my breath." What a NERD, right? Kidding! I loved writing nerdy Spencer. Gangly, glasses, books—reminds me of myself…even now. And Aria, bless her, was short and proud in the face of pure evil. Good thing it wasn't her good wrist that got hurt. Gotta keep practicing drawing! Perhaps she'll let Spencer critique her work.

I may keep doing little fetus Sparia one-shots like this. Maybe tiny Hanna and Emily will join the cast at some point, too, but we'll see!

I hope you enjoyed reading! Please review, it makes my day!