Careful, Ali ➳ Emison

Chapter 18 | The Quiet Before the Storm

A/n: finally, this is it! This was meant to be the last chapter, but since it was so long (about 20,000+ words), I decided to split it into 2 chapters - chapter 18 & chapter 19. I hope you enjoy, and I'm so sorry for the huge wait.  

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The small, dusty room felt even more claustrophobic and stuffy than usual as seven people occupied it at the same time. There was no viable option of cracking open a window since that could reveal that there was someone inside the shed, and they couldn't do that in the danger that A was watching.

"I feel like I'm going to choke," Aria croaked out, looking through cabinets one by one, slamming each one a little harsher as she went.

"Relax, Aria," Emily comforted beside her, "this will all be over soon."

Spencer raised her head upon hearing those words, "That sounds so... surreal."

"Well, I'm just glad you're not going to be in danger anymore," Toby rubbed her arm, before looking up at the rest of the group, "all of you."

"We'll see how it goes," Caleb muttered, being the realistic one in the room. He coughed on some dust that he inhaled, "How'd you guys find this tiny shed, anyways?"

"We used to go to this park after Ali found it," Hanna answered, continuing to rummage through the surprisingly large array of cabinets and drawers in the shed. "That's how we knew there's some good equipment here."

"Got it," Alison declared, and the rest of the group gathered around her as she revealed a cabinet space filled with surveillance cameras and night-vision binoculars, even some audio enhancers that looked a bit rusty yet still usable.

"That'll do," Caleb remarked, impressed.

"You think?" Hanna asked sarcastically, making the rest of them chuckle.

They grabbed all of the available gear they could fit into the empty gym bags they brought along and walked all the way to the entrance of the park, storing the bags in the trunks of Caleb and Toby's cars. They all drove back to town and the girls were dropped off at The Brew upon their request in order to get a quick coffee and regroup for tomorrow, while Caleb and Toby drove to the Cavanaugh house to stash all of their findings for now.

The girls were seated at a table with their drinks in their hands, nighttime engulfing them from outside of their favorite coffee place, when Spencer's phone beeped in her pocket. The girls watched her curiously as she fished it out and opened the message.

"It's from A," she informed seconds later, and for once, they weren't surprised. "They're saying that they hope I hadn't forgotten our agreement," she said as she typed out an appropriate response.

"I hate it when A tries to act like our friend," Emily grumbled, shaking her head.

"The most charming snakes are the ones with the worst bite," Spencer cryptically responded as she put down her phone.

"Who's quote is that?" Aria asked curiously with a hint of amusement.

"I... " Spencer met Alison's knowing eyes, seeing that the blonde was still familiar with the phrase she had once said to Spencer. Alison was trying to become a better friend, and was doing a good job at it thus far - she wanted to leave her past deceitfulness behind - so Spencer's eyes shifted to Aria's and she merely shrugged and said, " ...don't remember."

Alison nodded her head discreetly in gratitude.

"I can't believe it's happening tomorrow," Hanna said, chewing her lip nervously. "After that, there'll be no more threats, no more lipstick graffiti, no more evil cupcakes-"