Pretty Little Liars: the next generation

Alone Together

13

Alone Together

Lucy sat in the dark, quiet house. Aria and Noel were out on their anniversary dinner, and Cody was out with the guys. She had nothing to do.

Ping! There was a text from Sasha. An idea hatched in Lucy's head. She replied, asking Sasha if she wanted to come over. Sasha immediately wrote back, and said she'd be there in ten minutes.

Lucy felt good. It was nice to have friends.

At 8:30 on the dot, the doorbell rang. Sasha. Lucy flung open the door. Sasha stood there, her honey colored curls fanning around her face. She held a large tote bag by her side.

"Come in," Lucy said, stepping away from the door to make room for Sasha.

Sasha stepped in, and kicked off her flip flops. She set down her tote bag.

"So, is anybody else home?" Sasha asked.

"No," Lucy said slowly.

"Are you sure?" Sasha challenged.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Lucy said bewildered. "Why?"

Sasha didn't answer. Instead, she reached into her tote and pulled out a bottle of something.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Is that..."

"Vodka," Sasha answered. "Hope you have sprite and lemon juice. I love vodka sprites."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Lucy said walking into the kitchen to fetch the bottle of lemon juice, two glasses, and two cans of sprite. "We'll have to wash out glasses afterwards," she whispered.

Sasha nodded, and opened the bottle. It fizzed a little. She gracefully poured some in each glass. Lucy cracked open the sprites and added them as well. Sasha squeezed the lemon juice in. The girls mixed their drinks.

Sasha took a sip. Lucy just sat there, holding her drink. "Try it," Sasha urged.

Lucy raised the glass to her mouth, and took a dainty sip. "It tastes like sprite," she commented. "Except way more fun."

Sasha twirled around, doing a little dance. "I knew you'd like it. You really are cool."

Lucy took another small sip, and set her drink down on the table. She dusted her hands together. "What should we do tonight?"

"Hmm," Sasha said, kicking her right leg back and forth. Then, she stood up. "I know. I just have to make a few phone calls."

A half hour later, everyone was gathered at Lucy's house.

"What's going on?" asked Shay. "This better be good, because I had to sneak out. And I'll tell you, that wasn't very easy."

"Yeah. Why are we here?" Ashley mumbled.

"Guys, quit your questions, and listen up," Sasha ordered.

Everyone fell silent. Lucy held her breath. After three long beats, Sasha finally spoke.

"We're going to prank Earnest Dewey."

"Who's that?" Troian asks, questionably.

"Yeah, what kind of nerd is that?" Ashley said.

"You should know," Sasha said, looking squarely at Ashley. "Penny Boy."

"Oh."

"Who?" Lucy asked, still confused.

"You'll see when we get there. Here are black hoodies, jeans, and masks," Sasha says, pulling five of them out of her enormous tote.

Forty five minutes later, the five girls entered the woods. Sasha insisted it was the shortest route to his house. The trees made big, heavy shadows. A raccoon was illuminated in the moonlight. Dry leaves crunched under their feet. There were thin wisps of clouds that hung in front of the moon, making it look eerie. Lucy felt like she was at the climax of a scary movie, where someone was sure to die. She shivered, and followed the other girls into the dark woods. There were alone, but together. Leaves crunched. Twigs snapped. They sounded far off in the distance. Lucy's gaze shifted. Maybe they weren't quite alone. It sure seemed like somebody was out there.

"Troian!" Lucy whispered.

Troian's head snapped up. "Huh?"

"I think someone's out here," Lucy said, motioning to where she'd heard the noise earlier.

Troian crossed her arms over her chest. "You're just being paranoid."

They walked a little further, and Lucy smelled something. Cigarette smoke. She could just make out a trail of black smoke, as it curled around. There was rustling in the bushes. A flashlight snapped on, and the girls saw the beam of light.

"Guys!"

The four of them swiveled their heads around. The circle of light traveled from trunk to trunk, lighting up bushes, trees, and leaves.

"We should get out of here." Shay was shaking so badly, her teeth were chattering.

Lucy felt goosebumps on her arms, and it wasn't from the weather. It was fifty degrees outside.

Footsteps were coming closer.

Ashley and Sasha ran away. Troian and Shay froze. And not knowing quite what she was doing, Lucy dove into the bushes.