Pretty Little Liars- 20 Years Later (A Next Generation Story)

One | The First Secret

Lightning struck outside the Hastings' Barn. Night had fallen, but you could still see the dark clouds looming in the sky. Down at ground level, wind blew the fallen leaves into a whirlwind of shrubbery, occasionally raking across the doors to the barn.

Not that you could call it a barn anymore. At least twenty five years had passed since it had been converted into a small house of its own, but the modern interior made it seem brand new after all this time. The chuckles and giggles from inside the house could be heard from across the lawn, emanating from the five teenagers inside.

"How did your parents afford a place like this anyway?" asked Alice Valentine, tucking a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she spoke. "Is this the Hastings privilege I've been hearing about, Victoria?"

Victoria Hastings rolled her eyes discreetly. This was obviously another dig from Alice- she knew that Victoria preferred the name Tori, and that she thought the name Victoria was overly pretentious. Even from across the room Victoria could see the look in Alice's eyes, like a predator luring it's prey into a trap.

"No." She replied. "My grandma bought it with the house. It was renovated for my mom about twenty-five years ago. My parents moved into the house as soon as my grandparents moved out, and so I chose to live in here." Victoria, or Tori, spoke as matter-of-factly as possible in order to annoy Alice, and clearly it had worked. Alice had pursed her lips together and furrowed her brow, clearly not expecting Tori to actually have an answer. Nevertheless, Alice straightened out her red blouse and rubbed her hands against her white jeans, regaining her composure.

"Why?" Julia asked. She had been sat in an armchair in the corner of the room, her baggy jumper pulled over her curled-up knees to preserve body heat, which had also made her seem small and timid, like a cat curled up into a ball. Julia Fitz was inquisitive, but no way near as inquisitive as Tori was. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, which seemed to fall apart as she walked to the kitchen to get some water.

"Why what?" Tori asked over her shoulder. Julia bent down as she opened the door of the fridge, pulling out a small bottle of water and closing the door behind her.
"Why did you want to live in here?"
"I don't know." Tori shook her head. "I guess I like having my own space. Gives me room to think. More importantly it saves me from speaking to my brother and sister."
Julia smirked as she sat back down. "Fair enough." She snapped her head to the side as something caught her eye. "Hey, guys, cut it out!"

Leo Rivers and Adam Dilaurentis were sat on the floor to the side of the room, pelting each other with popcorn kernels, laughing as the kernels got stuck in their hair.
"What?" Leo laughed. His blonde hair full of kernels and scruffy from all the play fighting. He straightened himself up and leaned against a sofa. "We're only messing."
"More like making a mess!" Tori giggled.
"I think you can handle a few popcorn kernels." Adam laughed, his curly brown hair bouncing as he stood up, letting the popcorn roll off him and onto the floor. He brushed himself off, then crashed down into a sofa.
"Yeah." Leo added. "No harm in that."
"Come on Leo." Alice shook her head and spoke in a condescending tone. "Boys don't like it when you do that."

This seemingly innocent sentence immediately put Leo on the defensive. He stopped laughing and looked down, rubbing his right arm with his left hand.
"I'm gonna go check on the pizza." He said, before making a quit exit. As Leo exited, Alice's phone buzzed. Still laughing, Alice checked her phone, then stopped laughing almost at once. She cleared her throat and recomposed herself before producing a cup full of liquid from behind her back.
"What do you guys say we make this party a party?" she asked, biting her lip playfully as she passed the cup to Tori.
"To Sophomore year!" Alice exclaimed, urging Tori to drink. Tori took three big gulps, before passing the cup to Adam, who did the same. When the cup came to Julia however, she only took a sip. Alice interrupted immediately.
"Come on, Julia." She hissed. "No one likes a prude."
Julia looked around, but no one stopped Alice. Julia knew if she didn't drink she would end up getting a mouthful from Alice.
"Drink up!" Alice said, now in a much sweeter tone. Julia took a sip, which turned to a gulp, followed by two more. Leo soon entered, and one by one, the group began to fall asleep.