Lovely Little Liar

{ 24. Invitation }

A/N: OH MY GOSH!! I AM ALREADY ON SEASON 1 EPISODE 10 (LMAO STILL A LONG WAY TO GO). I would just like to say thank you for reading this work, I honestly don't know how to write, I mean, I do write stuff, but long stories like this one is usually a no-no for me. I'm just that inconsistent, that's why I am so glad that I have reached this far. 24 chapters, so happy, yes!!! 

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The storm has passed, and the girls are now all together at the hallways of Rosewood High. 

"Okay, I need to ask you guys something and I need you all to be totally honest with me." Hanna told all the girls. 

"Okay?" Kathlyn answered, weirded out by Hanna. 

Hanna sighed and then proceeded, "Is this side of my face fatter than this side?" She pointed first on her left cheek then to her right one. 

"No." Kathlyn and Aria simultaneously said. 

Emily, on the other hand, has her attention focused to something or someone else, "Is that Ian?" 

The girls then all looked at where Emily was looking, and Spencer was the first one to speak, "Yeah."

"I heard he's the new field hockey coach." She continued. 

"Does your sister know he's back?" Kathlyn asked Spencer. 

Ian is Melissa's ex. 

"Honestly, they looked cute together and I don't know why she broke up with him." Hanna commented. 

"She didn't." Spencer retorted, "He broke up with her." 

While the rest of the girls are talking about Ian and Melissa, Kathlyn's attention went to someone else — to the guy who just walked by Ian. She was about to follow the guy but Mona appeared. 

"Hey! This first one's for my bestie, then this one's for the queen, and one for each of you — my bestie's other friends." Mona enthusiastically told the girls. 

"Oh, uh. What's this?" Emily asked the girl who just gave pieces of paper to each of them. 

"Oh, nothing. Only an invitation to the most awesome birthday party ever! Camp Mona." Mona sassed. 

"Camp Mona?" Kathlyn asked, more like rhetorically. 

"Oh! Don't let the camping part scare you." Mona looked at Kathlyn and then back to the rest of the girls, "It's 'glamping' not 'camping'" 

"'M' is for Mona and massages, not mosquitoes." Mona even added. 

Before any of the girls could ask for more information, Mona left when she saw Riley and Naomi, some of her 'minions' to give their invitations. 

"Why is she inviting us to her birthday party?" Spencer asked Hanna. 

"Shed knows that we're friends again, and she's just trying to reach out to you." Hanna told them. 

"I'm gonna have to pass, though." Spencer said. 

"I got a lot of stuff to do this weekend." Emily said. 

"Me too." Aria also reasoned out. 

And then Hanna looked at Kathlyn, "I'll try, but no assurance."

At the same time, all their cellphones beeped. 

"Camp Mona's a scavenger hunt and I'm the prize. Come and find me, bitches."

— A

"I guess I am going, then." Kathlyn blurted out after reading the message. 

"We have to have a plan." Spencer added. 

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"Ethan!" Kathlyn shouted, earning curious glances from the other students. Ethan, on the other hand, stopped and looked at Kathlyn but then proceeded into walking again. 

Kathlyn ran after him,  "Hey."

The brunette walked alongside Ethan, but the latter wasn't paying her any attention. 

"I'm sorry."

Still no response. 

"You're being immature. I don't get why you're mad."

With that, Ethan stopped and finally looked at the girl. 

"Immature?" Ethan asked the girl. 

"N-no. I mean, I just don't understand." Kathlyn stuttered. 

Ethan sighed. They walked together towards their classroom. Obviously, they were too early so no other students are inside. Only the two of them.

Upon reaching their table, Ethan stopped and faced the girl. 

"I'm mad because I can't be myself." Ethan confessed, but Kathlyn still has no idea of what it is all about. 

"Why? I mean, you can be yourself. No one's forcing you to be someone else."

"Really?"

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Start of Flashback

Ethan just got out of their lockers area when he saw Alison standing.

"Do you really think you stand a chance on Kathlyn?" Alison asked the young man.

"What are you talking about?" Ethan replied. 

"No. You don't stand a chance." Alison continued.

"Kathlyn goes for mature men. She's not the type of girl that would fall for teen jocks." Alison added. 

"I don't—" Ethan interrupted, but only to be interrupted also by Alison. 

"I know it's not me you are stalking. You are such a creep, though." Alison said. 

"You stalking her? Major turn off." Alison walked closer to Ethan, who was standing there like a statue. 

"What more once she finds out your secret?" Alison raised her eyebrows and then walked away, swaying her hair. Ethan was left there, speechless. 

End of Flashback
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Ethan was snapped back into reality when Kathlyn called his named. 

"Hey, you know you can talk to me, right?" Kathlyn asked Ethan. 

Ethan nodded and then unknowingly, he was staring at the young woman's mesmerizing eyes. Their faces moved closer... and closer, until their lips touched. Kathlyn was shocked, but before she could react, the warmth on her lips was gone and Ethan was already walking away from her and out of their classroom. 

Not knowing what to do, she just watched the retreating back of the young man who just kissed her. Kathlyn has a reputation to uphold. And Alison played a big part on that reputation. 

People thought that she goes for mature and older men. They thought that she has been to a lot of relationships. People see her as someone who can date many men but won't give her heart to someone so carelessly. All of them are just lies Ali made for Kathlyn's reputation. 

Kathlyn has to have that kind of record for people to see her as the queen bee, as a cheerleader, she can't be someone who people cannot see as part of the chic troupe. So, Alison helped her. 

But the truth is, Kathlyn has only been in one relationship, a really complicated one. And Kathlyn's definitely a virgin, although she had her first kiss way back in seventh grade. Because of Ethan's confusing action, Kathlyn can't help but think about things.

"Why did he do that?"

"Does he like me?"

"Why did he get mad?"

"What do I do now?"

"How do I face him?"