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Two things going on. Number one, we get to see the Lily Kane of it all: What an episode of this show would be like if Alison were around and not dead. Score. And second, we get to see little hints and secrets about what happened later, with a bunch of kisses from the writers who know we eat this shit up. On both counts, total success. As a stand-alone Halloween Special, I can see why you would watch this strange mess and think, "I would like to watch this strange mess on a weekly basis," so I guess it's a homer, because even if you didn't know the deal... You kind of would know the actual strange mess deal. You wouldn't be making your decision based on false info. But since you're reading this, we'll assume we're already in this together.
So Noel Kahn's having a party -- already two awesome things -- which means we all have to pick costumes. Aria's like too overwhelmed to deal with Halloween or the awesome of Noel Kahn because she just saw her dad making out with that student of his and now we have to run off to Iceland. (Mikey and Ella both don't appear, which is a bumster.) Hanna's in her fat suit and totally bored by that adorable cop putting the pre-move moves on her mom. Spencer's wearing these ridiculous nerd spectacles and trying to jockey for some kind of school social position I never figured out. And Emily, as usual, is pretending to fuck boys while wanting to fuck girls... Namely Jenna, which is the most interesting thing of all in the whole episode, because girlfriend looked smoking hot. (Maybe it's just the delicious cuteness of a girl who hasn't yet molested her siblings or brainwashed the cops, maybe it's her ownership of eyeballs, but either way you get where Em's coming from.)
Alison gets niggled by her brother about the weird voodoo dolls and A messages she's receiving, Emily gets niggled by Ali about wanting to fuck the new girl in town, Aria has weird feelings about her gross dad, and Spencer acts like Spencer but in a sad fashion. Ali solves all of those problems in her usual grody way, and then it's time for the party. The show seems to want us to care, so I'll tell you: Emily is Sacheen Littlefeather for some reason, Aria is somebody from The Craft, Spencer is Mary Queen of Scots for obvious reasons, and Hanna is Britney from the "One More Time" era, because she so fat and that jacket covers so much of how fat.
Jenna and Alison come as different Lady Gagas, which makes for a funny early-moment convo where they both talk about "Lady G" and you start thinking that "Lady G" is the new "website page" until later when a Gaga song plays and they all talk about it. Noel Kahn wears nothing like a Lady Gaga costume, but clearly wishes otherwise, because he would rock that shit. There is, at this point, a feint at a storyline where Noel Kahn is pretending to stalk Alison so that she can scare the other girls into thinking she's being murdered, but it's all this elaborate Halloween trick that consumes half the episode.
But not in a wasteful way, because obviously Alison would do that anyway, but what's this? The actual person chasing her into the abandoned house and fighting her in front of the Liars isn't Noel at all, but possibly Mona or Lucas, the former of whom shows up in nerd-gear that's even less believable than Hanna's fatsuit (and the latter of whom is even cuter than usual). Basically, it's even more about Noel Kahn than usual, and even less about him than usual, because that's how this show rolls: Alison thought she was playing a trick, but really everybody is A, and everybody murdered everybody, and that is true now, it was true in 2008, it will be true ten years from now when this show is still on and still being all, "But who is A?"
So now everybody is back in play, because half the people at this party are wearing the same (terrifying) baby-doll burlap-sack costume, and literally everybody in town mentions that Alison deserves to die after videotaping herself with one dude, getting a sweater from a second dude, having an affair with a third dude and a lesbian, and then getting hit in the face by like four different people including their own sisters. So no, Noel Kahn was supposed to be her accomplice but was too busy being Noel Kahn, so that part was played by literally one of the thousands of other creeps in town, so way to go not killing anybody for the fourth year in a row, Noel Kahn. Please visit again soon.
What we learned: Even less than usual, except that Alison was being effed with by A before she even died, which is exciting to think about, and that Noel Kahn is adorable in a bear suit while Lucas was cuter before/now and Mona was a nerdy nerdy two by thirty. Emily was totally turned on by wicked-hot Jenna back before Ali stole her eyeballs, and was also totally nice to Toby when he didn't have a rapeful sister raping him all the time. There was once a party where Hanna didn't assault a Christian or lose her lasagna/money or steal any cars or vomit on any debutantes or get run over. Aria was even cooler when she had pink stripes in her hair, which is like two wrongs making a right, and Spencer was pretty gross before life turned her into a razorblade suitcase, for which we thank life a million times.
Everything else is just Ali manipulation and waiting for January. But when I say Noel Kahn was dressed like a doctor, I hope you know what I mean. Recap by Friday.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!This is how I heard the story: A girl was so full of light and dark that she gathered a circle around her. Witches, princesses, ladies and queens; it doesn't matter anymore. She told them the truth and she told them lies. She wanted them to be strong, and she wanted them weak. She was terrified of being alone, and alone was all she was. She left a mark on them, like a scar or a bruise; she made them strong, and she made them weak. And this is the story she told:
"This is how I heard the story: The twins played so nicely while they waited for their parents to get home," she said.
But the girls in the story didn't play too nicely, for too long. Girls never can. They aren't allowed. Something gets in the way, always. And eventually you realize your parents are never coming home, and you're all alone. Alone is all you are.
There was a doll. They were dolls, playing with dolls, and there was -- especially -- a specific doll. Twice the size of every doll on the table. The most perfect, the most beautiful one.
"But they wouldn't get to go trick-or-treat that night," she said. "Or ever again."
She was interrupted by her friend. Not her favorite, but probably the weakest. Her friend was babysitting, and that was why she was telling the story that she told. This is how it went, once the baby they were sitting had given his wide-eyed permission:
"She lifted the knife high into the air," said the girl, raising a knife high into the air. "And then plunged it, deep into her sister's chest! A sick smile came across her face, as she watched the blood ooze out of her sister's heart." Her parents watched, terrified, in the story the girl was telling; the twin still standing smiled, beatific. The most perfect, the most beautiful one.
"And they had no choice but to send her away to a home for the criminally insane. And that's where she remained... Until yesterday, when she escaped and vowed to return to Rosewood and stab to death every child who dares to go trick-or-treating on Halloween!"
The girl stabbed the pumpkin on the table, and that was the story the girl told. That was one ending, to the story of the girl.
Alison asked Emily, of course, which Britney Hanna should be for Halloween. Should she be the Cute one? Or the Bald one? Emily and Aria knew Hanna could be whatever she wanted, but Alison wasn't so sure. She wanted them strong, but she wanted them weak. Spencer wore glasses, but not like a hipster. Like something that hasn't been born quite yet.
"Spencer, you're worse than my father," Alison laughed, so Spencer put away her Blackberry and pretended.
"Sorry. But I did just procure nine votes from the debate team." For Hanna's benefit, she explained that procure means "to obtain with special effort." Before she could explain "obtain," Alison snapped at her again. And that was the story that Spencer told.
"I think that Hanna should be who she wants to be," Spencer smiled, and Alison allowed it. "But you better wear the tightest skinny pants you can fit your big butt into," Alison said. This was another story Alison was already telling. They didn't see fit to stop that story yet.
Emily received a text from Ben, who wanted her to be a Sexy Cop for Halloween. She wanted to be an Indian Princess; she wanted to do whatever Ben wanted her to do. And that was the story that Emily told.
ALL THAT TESTOSTERONE
Noel Kahn and his friend drove up, and Alison told a story about Noel Kahn, fucking sheep. He laughed, because he understood her jokes, but he warned her that not everyone would understand her jokes. That someday, someone wouldn't take too kindly to her jokes. He was good at many things, but Noel Kahn didn't understand that Alison never told jokes. Only stories.
Noel Kahn smiled at Aria Montgomery, and invited them to his Halloween party. The girls were mad for it, because he was Noel Kahn. Four years later they'd be telling a different story; for now, they were thrilled. And Alison was thrilled, that they were thrilled, so she made fun of them. This is the world you can have, if you are mine, she was saying. That was another story she liked to tell.
"Come prepared to be scared," said Noel Kahn. He was part of Alison's story, but they didn't know that yet. "I'm happy we'll be together," Alison said, which was part of the story: Give them just enough to think she loved them. She wanted them weak, but she loved them too.
They wanted to get ready for Noel Kahn's Halloween party at Spencer's house, because she had the biggest bedroom. It was door to Alison's house, but the bedroom was bigger. It had less secret spaces. It had less secrets, then. But they still had to ask her if it was all right, and she told them that it was.
313 MOCKINGBIRD
Going past a scary house, Emily spotted a person in the window. In Rosewood, Spencer explained, people went into that house all the time. Teenagers, as a rite of passage. Aria was no stranger to intuition, she's a Gryffindor after all, so she told her story plain, and this is the story she told:
"I wish they'd just tear this place down already. Every time I walk by here I get the creeps. I can't explain it. I just... I feel like something really bad happened here."
Alison shushed her, shamed her; she didn't like stories about haunted houses and she didn't like stories today, because of the story she wanted to tell. Outside the Mockingbird house, there was a truck, a van, a wagon for the criminally insane: Radley Sanitarium. A door opened, and nobody came out.
1313 Mockingbird Lane is where the Munsters lived; Radley was the last mockingbird they might have killed, when it was the vogue to kill a mockingbird. That's part of the story.
Alison made fun of Aria, again, and the girls kept moving. Alison kept moving.
CAVANAUGH
"Are you moving?" Emily asked Toby, as he took boxes in and out of the house. He was always so sad. He was big; he was full of secrets. His mother had died a year ago; his father had just remarried. Emily picked up a snow globe and wondered what her daughter was like. The evil stepsister.
"She gets what she wants," said Toby, and that was the story Toby told.
COSTUME STORE
One story caught Alison's eye, and she tinkered with the package for a while. She heard movement, but there was nothing. When the hand wrapped itself around her mouth, she screamed; the boy was wearing a plastic mask. It was utterly clear, but you still couldn't quite see the person behind it. The second-scariest kind of mask.
"Admit it," laughed Noel Kahn, "You were scared." She laughed, putting on a mask of her own, and he promised that he'd be all hers for Halloween, when the time came. When she told her story.
Someone plucked, picked at a burlap cowl, with a baby-white mask attached. This was all the rage, that year. Every year, that's what it's about. This year, it was the scariest mask.
The evil stepsister stood near the costumes Alison was looking at: Lady Gaga. Jenna was beautiful, wearing less than even Alison. She was intimidated, and she didn't know why. Jenna could still see; Alison was only beginning to obsess on her, her beauty and her body. Jenna didn't even know who Noel Kahn was; she'd only been invited to the party.
Alison and Jenna sniffed at each other; they tussled briefly over Lady Gaga and when it was over they both thought they'd won. Alison wanted her. She wanted her weak, and she wanted her strong. And this is the story they told:
Jenna: "I thought I was being original..."
Alison: "You still have time to pick something else. Maybe I'll see you there?"
Jenna: "I know who you'll be."
Alison: "And you'll surprise me."
Jenna knew who Alison was before they started talking. Alison still had no idea. And Alison thought Jenna would wear something else; she had no idea she'd just confirmed Jenna's costume for all time. The story of Jenna is a long and tragic one, but it begins here: When Alison warns her, and she disobeys.
Alison received a strange text message then, from a stranger: "I'm watching you," the text said. She turned around, 360 degrees, looking at all of her friends: They were consumed with their costumes. And when she'd come back to where she started, there was the burlap baby-face mask, staring right at her. Inches away. She hissed, bucking forward: "Freak!" But the creature didn't move. Alison's life was like that, but no one ever knew.
HASTINGS
Alison: "You think I'm photogenic? My grandmother was a sweater model. I look like her? Of course, she's old now and she smells terrible. But I don't have to see her much because she lives in Georgia. My turn!"
Ian: "It's HD, so... The image is perfect, right?"
Alison: "I like what I see."
Ian laughed, sweetly. Spencer and her sister appeared downstairs. Melissa loved her sister's acceptance speech, which Alison knew wasn't easy. Spencer just wanted the speech to be good.
Alison: "I guess that's what happens when you've got a perfect older sister."
Melissa: "No, Alison, that's what happens when you're a Hastings. I didn't make the rules. Besides, Spencer deserves to win. Her agenda is top-notch."
That was the story Melissa told. It was important that she say these things to Alison, in front of Alison; it was important to say these things in front of Ian. To Ian. Spencer was impressed. Alison was bemused; she knew how much the sisters hated each other. She knew how much you could hate.
Ian: "So Melissa, did you tell Spence what we decided on for Halloween?"
Melissa: "Bonnie and Clyde!"
Spencer smiled. For now.
HOLLIS COLLEGE
Aria shoved past a boy on the way to her father's office. He was young, and he was pretty, but she didn't notice him. He was just an undergrad back then, with a penchant for Modernist stories about small-town life.
In her father's office there was a girl reclining, a girl named Meredith, and this was the story she told: "I needed a quiet place to read," she said. She lay in that room like she owned the place. Byron, Aria's father, showed up soon enough. "Hey, Meredith," he said. That was the story he told. Aria didn't have time for coffee, so they said goodbye to Meredith.
Aria: "What's her story?"
Byron: "Students crash here all the time."
Aria: "Because you're so cool?"
Byron: "Yeah. Because I'm down with that.'"
It was funny. That's one of the stories he tells best.
MARIN HOUSE, AT NIGHT
Hanna was eating her usual amounts of popcorn, watching scary movies on cable and afraid to answer the telephone. Her power flickered, and the phone rang again: "Were you at the costume shop today?" asked Alison. "Did you send me a text?" Downstairs, the bell was ringing, and her questions made no sense, so Hanna said goodnight.
Downstairs, Ashley Marin was back from the Rosewood Grill, in the custody of Officer Darren, who'd noticed the number of martinis she'd drunk, and wanted to take her home. Hanna told him goodnight, and took her mother to the couch.
Ashley apologized for their circumstances, and Hanna told the story of her father: How he had deserted them, how he should rot in hell. Even on the edge of sleep Ashley told her to be kinder to her father, and Hanna covered her mother with a blanket, and told her mother's favorite story. And this is the story she told:
"You remember what I told you, right? She's pretty ugly... Hideous. And don't even get me started on her big ass."
LUNCH
And this was the story she told: "If you ignore it, it will go away."
She was talking about Mona, but she wasn't really talking about Mona. That's how her stories always worked. She wanted them honest and she wanted them to lie. If you ignore it, she wanted them to understand, It won't ever go away.
They were talking about Ben, and the story he told. Hanna heard from a boy she loved that Ben was telling everyone he'd slept with Emily. That was a story she began to tell, herself, now that the option was available. Aria wanted to stage a protest, Hanna was shocked because Emily was such a prude, but Alison knew it was a lie. She wanted her to lie, and she wanted her to tell the truth. Mona sat at a table with Lucas, because that was the story that was being told.
"Shy on the streets, sexy in the sheets," Alison smiled; and Emily smiled back. "I knew there was something different about you," Alison said. And that was a story they told together. She always loved Emily most, because Emily loved her the most; she made Alison feel less alone.
AFTER SCHOOL
Mona chased them through the streets, Alison and Aria, and they laughed with their yogurt and kept running. They came upon Aria's father's car; it's a story she's told before. Meredith, and Byron staring back at them. At his daughter, while Alison laughed.
DILAURENTIS HOUSE
Someone was watching. Alison scribbled in her journal, secrets and plans. Her brother entered, without knocking, and she slapped her book closed. A sick smile came across her face, and he demanded cash for that night's beer.
On the wall beside her bed was a story: Two beautiful girls, with her brother between them. Three portraits, Alison, and Jason, and Alison reversed. And this was the story she told:
"This is how I heard the story: The twins played so nicely while they waited for their parents to get home. But they wouldn't get to go trick-or-treat that night. Or ever again. A sick smile came across her face, and this is the story she told:
"'This is how I heard the story: The twins played so nicely while they waited for their parents to get home. But they wouldn't get to go trick-or-treat that night. Or ever again.'" And that was the story she told. And that is the story she told.
"We're making a movie," he said. They were always making movies, in their secret club; she wasn't interested, she had secrets of her own.
Alison: "What kind of movie?"
Jason: "If I told you that, I'd have to kill you."
There was a package on the porch for her; he dropped it roughly and she made him leave. Inside the box was a voodoo doll, with the biggest and most beautiful heart. It's my turn to torture you, said the note attached. That was the story it told.
She pried away the vent at the baseboard, and pulled out an old wooden box. The most particular, beautiful doll. Inside was a locket, when you pulled back the head; she stuffed the note into its neck and replaced the box inside the vent. She knew all her own secrets, and stories; she hated when people told stories of their own. Alison shivered.
MARIN
Ashley was looking at want ads, when her daughter came home. She wasn't yet working at the bank, and Officer Darren was a boozy, fuzzy memory. "I could be a maid for the Hacken family," she laughed, "Or a nursemaid for a dirty old man." She circled an entry for the bank teller job, as the doorbell was ringing. To work in a bank you must have a spotless record, and she hadn't done anything yet. Her story was clean.
At the door was Officer Darren. Ashley left Hanna in the kitchen and went to the door. He had the mail in his hands; he was stopping by to check on her. She was embarrassed. "We're both fine," was the story she told. He flirted, he was beautiful; she thought he'd misunderstood.
Darren: "You should watch yourself on the roads out there."
Ashley: "What are you suggesting?"
Darren: "People are unpredictable, that's all."
Ashley rolled her eyes, and came back to her daughter.
Hanna: "What was that?"
Ashley: "That was ... A horny cop. But I think he gets it. I'm sure we won't see him again."
That was the story she told. Hanna wasn't so sure. People are unpredictable.
HASTINGS
Spencer needed the most interesting costume; she needed to know she'd tried the best. Alison came over for a private chat, even though Spencer loved her least -- Aria was done hanging out, after their yogurt date -- and this is the story she told: "I've got a friend on the election committee. I thought for sure you were a shoo-in, but... They're still counting. It's going to come down to a handful of votes."
Spencer hyperventilated. Her parents were already planning the party, they'd booked half the club.
"Wake up, Spencer. The big sister act is just that, an act. And she's such a martyr with the Hastings family crap. She works so hard to be perfect because she doesn't want your parents looking beyond the glow of her halo. She doesn't want them to see you."
Spencer: "Melissa's just trying to survive in this family, just like me."
"Are you sure about that?" Alison asked, stabbing a pin into a cushion, like a voodoo doll. "Because it feels like she's winning, and you're not." Spencer was nearly weeping with fear; she wanted her weak. "Look. If you really want this, I can make it happen."
It wasn't that she wanted it, Spencer protested: She needed it. And that was all Alison needed to hear.
MONTGOMERY
Byron was nearly shuddering when Aria made it home, looking for her mother. And this was the story he told:
"What you saw was the end of something, not the beginning. She's transferring out of my class. I won't see her again... I'm hoping that it's enough for you to realize that you don't need to tell your mom about this. I made a mistake. But it doesn't have to be any bigger than it is right now."
"Would you still think it was a mistake if I hadn't seen you with her today?" his daughter asked; he turned it on her too brilliantly even for Aria to see it happening: "All I'm thinking about right now is your mom, and this family. Aria, you have every right to be mad at me. I'm just hoping that this can be less about that, and more about protecting your mom."
And that was the story he told. And he wept. But that was the story she told, too.
FIELDS
"I know a doctor if you want to go on the Pill! You can't be too careful, Emily. I mean, Juno was a cute movie, but I wouldn't want to live it."
That was the story she told. Emily admitted she'd never slept with Ben; she had no reason to do so. "Then why is he telling people he took the VIP tour to Neverland? What aren't you telling me?" And this is the story she told:
"It's no big deal. Eventually we'll do it. So people can think it now, or they can think it later. Can we just keep this between us? I don't want to keep having this conversation."
Alison smiled, and caressed her friend's arm. She wanted them weak; people are unpredictable.
SCHOOL
Alison grinned, and told Spencer she'd taken care of it. Nobody knew what she meant but Spencer.
Alison grinned, and asked after Aria's mother; nobody knew what she meant but Aria.
Lucas slammed into Alison, slopping soda on her shoes. He shivered and whimpered and rubbed at her shoes, and she hissed at him until he stood. It was just an accident. "Is that what the doctors told your mom and dad at the hospital? I've heard the stories about you, Hermie."
Mona was watching, and Mona was paying attention. Lucas straightened his back and said his name, aloud, but Alison kept walking. This is the story she told:
"You'll always be Hermie to me. Do you still have both? Come on, girls." Only Hanna asked, because only Hanna would ask, so she explained: "Parts, Hanna. He's half-guy, half-girl." Mona was paying attention, and Mona was watching.
"One day she'll get what's coming to her," he said. Mona heard that part too. Mona made a decision, then.
Spencer's victory was announced a few minutes later; Alison didn't say anything, but her smile took the credit. Two votes up.
HALLOWEEN
Alison looked adorable in her "One More Time" costume; Alison looked hard and silly and mean in her Lady Gaga. Spencer's body was long as a swan. She saw a burlap baby outside the window, and jumped into the air. Alison watched longer than the rest.
Downstairs, Spencer's doorbell was ringing; she didn't want to go alone so they all went down together. Alison kept Aria back, pinning her against a wall.
Aria: "Ali, I'm kind of dealing with a lot right now. Can you cut me some slack?"
Alison: "I knew your dad would talk to you out of it..."
Aria: "I'm so over thinking about this. I just want to go to a movie, and bury my face in a vat of popcorn."
Alison: "You committed to this party, Aria. There's gonna be a gazillion people there.
Aria: "Nobody's gonna miss me."
Alison: "I will."
Aria: "Well, I appreciate that, but..."
Alison: "You know, it wasn't easy scoring you an invite. A week ago Noel Kahn didn't even know your name."
Aria knew that; she understood the story Alison was telling. But the bit caught her by surprise anyway: "I didn't tell the girls about what happened. I'm sure you appreciate that. Are you sure we're the only ones who saw them? I'd hate for your mom to find out from someone else..." Aria couldn't believe it; Aria could easily believe it. Both.
"Trick or treat," Alison smiled. She needed the story to be complete. She wasn't above telling that story, if it meant Aria would be there for the story. A sick smile came out, like a moon from behind the clouds. And this was the story she told, and was telling:
She lifted the knife high into the air, and then plunged it, deep into her sister's chest. A sick smile came, across her face, as she watched the blood ooze out of her sister's heart.
THE GYNECOLOGIST
Is the doctor in? "Actually," said Noel Kahn, "I'm a gynecologist. Care to make an appointment?" He identified the Liars in the circle as quickly as he could: "Hot Chick, Britney, Hot Witch, Hot Indian Chick... And, uh...?"
Spencer was dressed as Mary, Queen of Scots. "She was born to be queen," she explained to Hanna and Noel Kahn, "But her cousin stole the throne, and then she was accused of treason, and her family had her executed." This is the story Spencer would tell; it is the story she tells and has told.
But the truth is that Mary was only queen of Scotland for a short time, and only after she'd claimed Elizabeth's English throne as her own, and it was Elizabeth that eventually jailed and killed her -- not her sister at all. Elizabeth, of course, being beset by Catholic Marys everywhere she looked. By sisters and cousins that were nearly her.
If you stand in a dark room and speak to a mirror, on a certain night when things are perfect, then wonders and terrors will be revealed to you. You might mistake a stranger for a sister, or a sister for a stranger. A sick smile might come across your face, like the hunter's moon. But even in the absence of light, the mirror will reverse you, to yourself. Alison, and Jason, and Alison reversed. And this is the story she told:
"It's my song! Let's hit the dance floor!"
Jenna appeared, in a red jumpsuit that was everything Alison's hard, black-leather nightmare was not. A better Gaga for a better girl; a better girl poised to take away everything Alison had. Noel flowed toward her like water. Not that she really wanted it, all that much. She just needed capital to give the girls she'd gathered around her. She wanted her, again, immediately. Jenna smiled, over her razorblade sunglasses.
Mona was dressed as Catwoman; Alison didn't recognize her. Mona assured her that one day, she would. And so she did.
"You look great," Alison snarled. "Maybe even better than me." Jenna didn't like the way she sent another kid scrambling with a word. "They're not as dumb as they look," Alison said, and this is the story she told: "They know they need me. I can make it really easy for you to fit in here. If I accept you, everybody does." Jenna knew this story; she'd seen it all happening the first second she came into town. Alison was scared of her, which she liked.
"I really appreciate the offer," Jenna smirked. "But I like to pick my own friends."
They wondered for a moment who was more broken. People are unpredictable.
Mona was dressed as Catwoman; Jenna instantly recognized her. Something about the way she smiled. Mona assured her she was the best Gaga, and they shook hands. A sick smile spread across her face. A sick smile spread across her face, too.
Spencer asked Alison what she'd talked to the new girl about, but that story was over. "She's a slut," Alison spat, and Spencer shook her head and smiled. In three years Jenna would have settled in, begun her own torturous game. Told a story of her own; plunged her knife deep into her brother's chest. And all the time, Alison would've been focused on this idea: Jenna, and sex. Sex and Jenna. Jenna the Slut. Sometimes your sister carries the things you can't. Sometimes you don't even know who she is, until it's too late.
Alison produced the ballots for Spencer; she wondered if Spencer wanted to hear the story that they told. Who'd voted for the Queen of Scots, and who Ali hadn't gotten to yet. But Spencer just destroyed them, and shuddered. It wasn't something she wanted, it was something she needed. She didn't want to look at it. Alison loved this most about her, and hated her the most for it. She wanted them strong, but not too strong. She wanted them honest, which meant looking first at the ugly parts she liked best. Somebody was watching.
LATER
Giant Drag was still playing; they were, and are, pretty awesome. Hanna hated going all the way out to the woods for a beer, but Aria kind of liked the mystique.
Q: "Why can't he have a keg like a normal person?"
A: "Because he's not just a normal person. He's Noel Kahn."
They were ambushed by a werewolf, and screamed; he hacked their phones and disappeared.
CATOPTROMANCY
Jenna danced, and Emily watched, with her arms around a boy. But for a moment, they smiled at each other. Jenna liked being watched, and Emily liked watching. Alison watched her watching, and stepped in; this is the story she told.
"Were you wishing you could taste her cherry chapstick? Don't worry, Em," Alison said. "Your secret's safe with me."
The one that got away, and the one that she could never let go. Forming alliances. If you ignore it, it'll go away. It didn't feel good, being caught watching. It didn't feel good, being caught watching by Alison.
Emily went away. She sat on a bench, far from the crowd; far from boys, and far from girls. Far from eyes. She shrugged when Hanna asked where Alison had gone. Spencer cracked jokes about her costume, and Aria appeared. Emily didn't want to see Alison; the rest of them were lost. They all received a text message: I'm in trouble. Come alone.
They came together. Alone is how they came.
313 MOCKINGBIRD
Spencer knew it was a joke, somehow. Knew it was just another story. But even after -- perhaps especially after -- being caught watching, Emily knew she had to prove herself, so she was the first through the gate.
The house was terrible. Scary: A rite of passage. It wasn't funny anymore; it was never funny. They called her name a hundred times. A burlap baby swept behind them. Up the stairs and down the last hallway, pursued by demons, Emily found an unlocked door which contained only a suit with no one inside it. They screamed, but it was only shadows. The room held a dollhouse and a cracked window. At the end of the hall, locked from the inside, Emily and Spencer found Alison. And this is the story she told them all:
"Did you see him? Is he still here? I don't know who it is; he grabbed me at the party. I tried to scream, but he's got a knife. He said he brought me here to kill me. He locked me in a closet, and when he opened it, I just freaked on him. I've been hiding up here ever since. I'm telling you, it's that guy that was watching us at Spencer's. He's wearing the same costume."
She asked them to stay behind, in the room at the end of the hall, and headed out to call the police. "Don't open this door for anyone but me," she said. Her favorite commandment. And when she made sure they could see her, she screamed. The burlap baby slammed her against the wall, again and again, and she screamed. And then she was gone.
The baby stared, and disappeared. The four of them crowded down hallways, shouting her name, terrified. And they found her in a rocking chair, grinning, with a knife.
"Look at you four, you're scared to death! I totally got you. It was a hoax. The zombie was Noel. Happy Halloween." She licked ketchup from the knife, and offered Hanna a little taste. "You guys passed the test. The way you guys came charging in here? I know I can count on you now. If I really need you, you'll be there for me."
And that was the story she told. She led them back to the party. Everything looked different. The younger kids had left, the older kids showed up. Melissa was there with Eric, Noel's older brother. Officer Darren was there, chatting with Jenna. Ian was there, and Alison snuck up to him -- "What's that saying? Boys play with toys, and girls play with boys..." -- but slunk away when Melissa appeared, to kiss him again. Emily got curious about the man chatting with Jenna, and Hanna shrugged elaborately. This is the story she told:
"That's not a costume. He's a real cop." And did Hanna know him? Not yet. Not really. "I've just... Seen him directing traffic."
"Bitch," Lucas spit at Alison, taking off his burlap baby mask as he ran.
"Don't hate me," grinned Noel, taking off his burlap baby mask.
"Are you kidding? It was perfect! The way you shoved me against that wall? You even scared me," Alison gushed. It was a believable story; she liked that. But it wasn't Noel. He was never there. He was stuck at his own party, Eric took his car for beer and he never made it to the Mockingbird house.
Dying to know who I am? asked A. You'll find out.
When the girls asked her who it was, she smiled and said it was a secret. And that's exactly what it was. The burlap babies were everywhere. One of them killed her. And this is the story they told:
"The girls in the story didn't play too nicely, for too long. Girls never can. They aren't allowed. Something gets in the way, always, and you're all alone. Alone is all you are. Boys play with toys, and girls play with boys. But if you stand in a dark room and speak to a mirror, wonders and terrors will be revealed to you. You might mistake a stranger for a sister, or a sister for a stranger. A sick smile might come across your face, like the hunter's moon. The most perfect, the most beautiful one, was interrupted by a stranger. Not her favorite, but probably the weakest.
"She lifted the knife high into the air, and then plunged it, deep into her sister's chest. A sick smile came across her face. The twin still standing smiled, beatific. The most perfect, the most beautiful one. And they had no choice but to send her away to a home for the criminally insane. And that's where she remained. Until yesterday."
And that's the story they told, but this is how I heard it:
"A girl was so full, of light and dark, that she gathered a circle around her. Witches and princesses, ladies and queens. She told them the truth and she told them lies. She wanted them to be honest, and she wanted them to lie. She was terrified of being alone, but alone was all she was. She left a mark on them, like a scar or a bruise; she made them strong, and she made them weak."
And this is the story she told.
JACOB CLIFTON is a freelance writer and critic based in Austin, Texas. He currently recaps Gossip Girl, The Good Wife, Pretty Little Liars and True Blood for TWoP. Jacob can be found online at jacobclifton.com, on Twitter, and on Facebook. IRL work appears in BenBella's SmartPop series of anthologies, most recently A Friday Night Lights Companion and Fringe Science.