62 - Into the School

A/n: Hey! For some reason this chapter keeps jumbling up in the order of the chapters and showing up in random places between other chapters, and I haven't been able to fix it. So, if you're a first time reader, this chapter should be read after the chapter "James" (towards the end)

XXXXX

The assortment of noises coming from Alison's room was so rowdy, that when Jason came home at 6 PM to gather the last of his things for his move on Wednesday to his new apartment, he walked in, heard the high-volumed laughter and screams, rolled his eyes knowingly, and promptly exited the house to go crash at Cece's for the night.

It was always like that with the five girls. Their gatherings would start out casual; talking about upcoming events - this time, it was the upcoming Rosewood 5k - catching up on gossip and watching movies or playing games. It was all very typical. Then, as the hours would go by, they would put on some music - never quiet, low toned music, because Hanna would object - start rummaging through each other's closets, and for some reason, there was always, always a cause for the fact that they were laughing loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear. Not just laughing, chortling their hearts out.

This time, it was because Aria, on her sugar-induced high, told her friends a story from her childhood. It was a story about how her uncle had taken her bowling when she was six years old, and how, not knowing the rules of the game, she had sat on her bowling ball, and dragged her body further down the lane, pulling the ball with her until she almost reached the pins, at which point, she had turned to her uncle, asking, "What now?"

She added how it had taken three employees and her uncle to convince her that that was not how the game was played, and to further explain the dynamics of bowling. Needless to say, her uncle had needed to buy her two slushies and a lollipop to stop her from crying.

The very second she finished telling the story, three girls burst into roaring laughter, grabbing at each other for much-needed air, but Emily only patted her on the back sympathetically when Aria innocently asked, "What's so funny?"

Hanna, of course, had to answer, guffawing heavily, "That place probably had you banned for a decade."

"No," Aria retorted pointedly, huffing to herself. She crossed her arms and muttered lowly, "The ban only lasted seven years."

At this point, Emily had to join in the laughter and even Aria cracked a smile, and shortly later, was laughing with the rest of them.

"Wait, but," Spencer started, gathering the other girls' attention as their uncontrollable cackling quieted down to occasional giggling. Spencer had the most quizzical face when she continued, "Back in summer vacation, when we went bowling-"

"I came in last, remember? I still suck at bowling." Aria nodded.

"Oh. Right."

The smallest brunette pouted exaggeratedly, and the other girls 'aww'ed at her, not quitting on their chuckling.

Alison was the first one to hear the scratching on her bedroom door, mostly because she was the one who sat closest to the door, as the five of them sat in different positions on the relatively large bed. She got up to open the door, and Pepe came bursting in excitedly, frenziedly running first towards Emily, who Alison was convinced he loved more than her. She couldn't blame him, per se.

"Hey, it's my best friend!" Emily happily called as she bent down to pick up Pepe and bring him to her lap. He was getting bigger and bigger every day, but Emily's strong arms lifted him like he weighed nothing. "Hi, boy!" she whispered and smiled as he licked her palm.

"I thought I was your best friend," Hanna and Alison chided at the same time in an equally needy tone, then proceeded to glare playfully at each other before bursting into giggles all over again.

"Fine," Emily answered, shrugging, then turned to 'whisper' to Pepe, "it's still you, buddy."

Alison rolled her eyes playfully, taking a sit on the bed. "He probably wants to go for his walk," she remarked, finger-combing through his brown, gray, and white rich fur.

"Where's his leash?" Emily asked, scratching the dog's stomach as he flipped over, vying for attention like the little diva he was.

"It's-" Alison halted mid-sentence, and the girls looked at her in varying degrees of confusion as her eyes widened dramatically and she cupped a hand over her mouth. "I can't believe it," she murmured in despair to herself, beginning to pace around her room. "God, I am such an idiot."

Alison had her hand clamped over her forehead as she walked, eyes darting around as she chanted a chain of low-toned curse words, and Emily moved the puppy to Spencer's lap, before shifting to the edge of the bed.

"Ali," she called out concernedly. "Alison, what's wrong? Talk to me."

When the blonde turned to look at her helplessly and shook her head lightly, Emily had no choice but to pull her gently by her hand, guiding her to sit sideways in her lap. Their friends tracked Alison's movement with worrisome eyes and Pepe whimpered caringly as Emily tried to catch the girl's gaze.

"What's the matter?" Emily asked in the softest of voices, tucking a blonde strand behind Alison's ear and cupping her cheek.

"I left the stupid leash in my locker," Alison mustered weakly as she dropped her forehead on Emily's shoulder.

"That's it?" Emily asked incredulously. "Oh, my God, Ali, I thought something horrible had happened."

"No, Emily, you don't get it," Alison said in frustration as she lifted her head, exhaling shakingly. Emily squeezed her hip, indicating to explain the situation to her. Alison took a deep breath, "I can't take Pepe out without his leash, he's a puppy so he runs away, Jason's tried that already, we had to search hours for him. And if I don't take him out, he'll just pee inside the house, and if my mom finds out, he'll be out of here before I could blink. She'll send him back to that animal shelter for all she cares. On top of that, it's Saturday, the school's closed for another two days. So either way, I'm screwed."

"Ali," Spencer prompted in an uncharacteristically tender voice, "why is the leash at the school?"

Alison sighed, "We lost our first leash so Noel promised to bring me one from when his brother had a dog. I put it my locker and then I guess I just forgot to take it at the end of the day."

Aria nodded, mumbling to herself, "And there's no way to get into the school until Monday. And the only pet store in town is closed on the weekend."

"Not helping, Ar," Emily vocalized patiently, rubbing her hand in circles on Alison's back, soothing the distraught girl.

"Sorry," the artsy brunette mouthed in response.

"Why not take him to the backyard?" Emily questioned curiously.

"We have synthetic grass back there and my mom takes care of her vegetable garden next to it like it's some shrine. She would notice in a second if Pepe... you know, did his business there." Alison answered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

It was plain silence that stretched for a few seconds as they all thought of how to comfort Alison, and Spencer patted the little creature's fur fondly as he sprawled across her lap. And then, just like a light bulb went suddenly on in Hanna's brain, she quipped up.

"Screw it," she bristled, "let's break in."

Spencer, being the most rational one, instantly let out a panicked, "What? No!"

"Yeah, Han, forget it," Alison agreed with the witty brunette, dismissing the idea. "I'm not letting you guys get into trouble over this. That would be even worse."

"No, Ali, just hear me out, okay?" Hanna tried in a calmingly honest voice as she held up her hands. "Like you said, either we spend hours searching for Pepe in the dark, or your mom takes him back to the shelter. What have you got to lose here?"

"We could get arrested, Hanna!" Aria voiced, her distress palpable. The rest of the girls except Hanna nodded along in acknowledgment.

"We'll be there for ten minutes tops. Just to get the leash and get out. It's not like we're breaking into the principal's office or anything," she shrugged helpfully. Hanna knew the girls were mostly convinced as she stared at their contemplative faces, she recognized that she just needed to give them one more push and they would go along with her plan. "Look, I would normally not suggest this but, there's a reason Emily got Pepe for Alison, okay? He helps her. We can't risk Mrs. D taking him away," she pointed out truthfully.

Emily nodded in agreement, "As much as I'm against this, Hanna's right. You guys know me. You know that under any other circumstances, I wouldn't agree, but," the brunette glanced at her utterly broken-looking girlfriend, silently conveying the message to her friends, "we need this."

Alison knew Emily changed her statement from, "Alison really needs this," to, "We need this," and she knew the others felt it too. Everyone understood what Emily meant, even if she didn't directly say it.

"Don't we have cameras in the halls?" Alison inquired.

Spencer shook her head, rolling her eyes, "Our amazing principal didn't think it was vital."

"Even if we were to get in," Aria cautiously stated, "how would we exactly do that?"

Hanna gave Spencer an imploring gaze that only the witty brunette knew the meaning to. Spencer helplessly exhaled, rubbing her temples at what she was about to say. "I have a key," she uttered lowly.

All eyes turned to Spencer at once for confirmation and she nodded, answering their unasked question.

"Why do you have a key?" Alison asked.

"The principal decided he was finally going to trust the president of the student council with things that were more important than what color to paint the lockers-"

"You mean, you're the one who decided the color of our lockers? Damn it, Spence, couldn't you have made them blue or pink or something? Anything's better than that ugly pseudo-cream color," Hanna tactlessly cut in, grimacing along with her words. The other girls - except Spencer - cracked an amused smile.

"-so he gave me the key," Spencer continued as if nothing happened, except she was narrowing her eyes vindictively at Hanna, who smirked mischievously in response. "I guess I never told you because I've never had to use it. But now..." she trailed off, her eyes straying to Alison.

"Are we really doing this?" Aria asked, searching for affirmation and looking around at the girls she perceived as her sisters.

"You really don't have to," Alison amended, staring at them in a serious manner, "it's my problem, I'll fix it."

"That's bull, Ali," Hanna disagreed heatedly.

"You know what, Hanna's right," Aria nodded, all her hesitation gone. "We're a team. Either we do this together or we don't do it at all."

A beaming smile slowly grew on Emily's lips as she gazed at their little group. They really were a family.

"We still have to figure out how to get through the back gate," Alison reminded. "Your key is probably for the actual door of the school and not for the gate, right, Spence?" she asked the brainy girl, who nodded in confirmation. "We can't exactly go through the front door."

Hanna smirked with a dangerous glint in her eye, "I think I know someone who could help us with that."

Twenty minutes later, Emily was biting the tip of her fingernail repeatedly as she sat on Alison's bed, this time being soothed by Alison. The three other girls took it upon themselves to take down every picture on Alison's bulletin board, using it as a command board and filling the space with pinned sticky notes and Aria's drawings of the two entrances to their school and the structure of the halls in detail, with a red mark circling the place where Alison's locker resided. The queen bee thought it was all borderline comical, but she loved her friends so much offering their help.

When the door swung open, five pairs of eyes turned to look at the intruder as she breezed in with silent ease, setting what looked like a four-ton laptop on the bed as the girls gathered around her in a semi-circle.

"Thanks again for doing this, Mona," Alison voiced in appreciation.

"You needed help, and I'm happy to give it," Mona shrugged, flashing a small grin in Alison's way. "Now, I checked what you asked me to on the way here," she said, opening the laptop which immediately popped open a dozen different screens with green-colored programming codes and windows of some sort of hacking software, the lines of text running nonstop. Emily and Alison exchanged a bewildered yet impressed look. "The back gate is mostly for workers of the school. Teachers, janitors, councilors, stuff like that. They are each given the entrance code. I personally don't know the code, so we have no choice but to mess up the electrical circuit momentarily, just long enough to open the gate and get in, then you can use Spencer's key for the door itself," the girl explained, typing away expertly on her computer.

"I can't do it from here, so here's what I suggest." Mona continued, reveling in the feeling of having every girl's absolute attention on her. "I will drive you there in my car, then I'll open the gate for you and wait outside while you go do your thing. Understood?"

"Understood," they chorused together in varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"I can't thank you enough for doing this," Alison said to the girls and glanced at the floor somewhat shyly, watching as Pepe curiously sniffed Mona's shoes.

"How about you finally let us take a look at that diary of yours?" Hanna playfully offered.

"No way!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Hanna laughed lightheartedly, dodging the hand that came her way as Alison rolled her eyes but couldn't fight off her smirk.

"I still don't approve of what we're doing," Aria said, causing everyone's eyes turn to her, "but since this is an emergency... Let's at least do this right."

X-X-X-X-X

"So how much did you pay for that computer?" Spencer skeptically asked as she waited with Emily and Mona outside the latter's black Range Rover for the three other girls to come out of the house.

There was a dangerous glint in Mona's eyes as she answered, "Let's just say, there's a reason I did so many babysitting and summer jobs before I bought it."

Spencer's eyes widened comically but Mona merely laughed humorously.

Emily squinted at the screen, pointing at a particularly long code, "What's that for?"

Her hand was slapped away as Mona hastily gazed at the screen, her eyes darting as she read the lines. When she finished, she sighed in relief. "Careful, Emily. One mistake in this code and the police would be able to track us down. And we don't want that, do we?" she asked rhetorically.

Emily rubbed her hand in silence as she muttered something under her breath.

"How do you know so much about this, anyway?" Spencer suspiciously questioned as she crossed her arms.

Hesitation seemed to cross over Mona's features, but before Spencer could get her answer, she heard the front door open followed by Emily's disbelieving laugh.

Out came Alison, Hanna, and Aria, dressed head to toe in black, sporting dark beanies and of course, black-colored jewelry. It reminded Emily of the time she was younger and watched 'Lara Croft - Tomb Raider'. She had completely freaked out back then because she'd gotten her first celebrity crush on Angelina Jolie and hadn't known what it meant about herself.

Spencer smiled in amusement, "What happened to you? Did you rob a goth store while you were in there or something?"

Alison gave her a sarcastic smile with an uttered, "Funny."

"We're dressed for the occasion," Hanna retorted in her 'Well, duh,' voice.

"Of course you are," Spencer scoffed in disbelief, laughing appropriately.

Before they got into the car, Alison ran off to lock the front door, returning with the pup in her arms. They all stared at her oddly. "What?" she asked, "I don't want to leave him all alone in the house."

The ride to the school was cramped, to say the least. There were six of them - seven, if you counted Pepe - and Mona's car, as specious as it was, could only fit five people. Spencer sat in the passenger seat with Pepe, whom she'd really started to endear, in her lap, while the four other girls sprawled across the three seats in the back, although Alison was more in Emily's lap than anything. Her girlfriend's steadying hand on her hip made Alison feel a little less nervous about what they were about to do.

X-X-X-X-X

Spencer bit the inside of her cheek, feeling something that resembled uncertainty for the first time in her life as she walked alongside her friends. They paced the pathway that led to the back gate of the school, huddled in a bunch.

"I still can't believe we're doing something as completely stupid and reckless as breaking into our school on the weekend," Spencer shook her head as she rubbed her temples, sensing the beginning of a terrible migraine.

Emily pinched her wrist and she yelped, turning to face her in surprise.

"Sorry, but Ali's guilt isn't getting any better, Spence," Emily hissed semi-apologetically in a quiet tone, and Spencer glanced at Alison who had her head cast downwards, eyes woeful.

Spencer sent an apologetic look Emily's way, and the girl shrugged in return, because really, she knew Spencer didn't mean it that way. Hanna sensed discomfort floating in the air, and her eyes darted between the girls a couple of times before she chose a playful approach, because it always worked.

"Whatever, Spence," she dismissed, "you're having fun, aren't you? For once in your life, break the rules a little. 'Operation: Doggy Leash' is on the go." Hanna nudged her shoulder lightheartedly and wrapped her arm around Alison's, bringing her closer, doing greats to the other girl's appreciation.

Much to Hanna's relief, she saw both girls cracking a smile, and glanced behind Spencer's head to see Emily mouthing the words, "Thank you." She nodded her head and sent a smile in her best friend's way.

Once they reached the gate, Aria turned back to search Mona with her eyes, as the other girl waited patiently in her car with Pepe for confirmation. They had agreed to whistle to let her know when she could activate her program that was designed to mess up the electrical circuit of the gate's security system. When Aria attempted to whistle, letting out a weak, and not to mention, pathetic sound, Alison stifled her laughter into Emily's shoulder as the shortest girl huffed in frustration.

"Okay, short stuff," Hanna laughed out loud, much to the other girls' dismay since they wanted to do this as quietly as possible. "Why don't you let someone else do it," the bubbly blonde said, throwing an imploring glance at Emily. The swimmer nodded and turned to Mona's distanced car, sticking two fingers in her mouth and blowing, creating a whistle sound like she knew how to do. Aria pouted as she stepped into Spencer's offered hug.

Behind Pepe, who was sticking his head out the window, Mona gave the girl a thumbs up, quickly turning to the computer in her lap. Several moments later, the door made a buzzing sound, insinuating that it was free to be opened, and Spencer quickly pulled on the metal handle in order to enter before it closed again.

They all tentatively trotted in through the rather large metal gate, which lead them to the football field. They had to cross it in order to enter the school from the back entrance, and Alison couldn't believe some teachers had to do this every morning. It did explain why so many of them were in great shape, she mused.

They all walked slowly but surely, all except Hanna, who practically skipped down the field, no matter how much the girls tried silencing her.

Once they reached the door that led to one of the school halls, they used Spencer's key and hesitantly pulled it open, Emily peeking her head in before nodding once in approval, and they all came in, completely muted.

The halls were, as expected, empty, and the only sound they could hear was coming from the vending machines, who also produced the only light in the hallway.

It was safe to say Emily was a little more than creeped out. She didn't really like the halls of their high school in the daytime, so seeing them at night only made her dislike them more. However, she did appreciate the eerie horror movie effect the place had. She knew it was so cliché, but she was certain any minute a killer in a mask was going to jump from Mrs. Bell's homeroom class to their right and attack them.

"Let's just take the leash and get out," Spencer whispered, looking around the hall and behind her suspiciously. The other girls nodded, advancing down the hall.

"Boo, Spencer. You're ruining all the fun," Hanna crossed her arms childishly. "The one time school is actually enjoyable," she muttered as they rounded the corner.

Emily opened the flashlight on her phone since that particular hallway didn't have any vending machines and therefore, no light. Alison, Aria, and Hanna were walking in the front while Emily and Spencer trailed behind, making sure to look around them every few seconds.

There was a low hum and then it got louder, and Emily and Spencer both turned simultaneously to look at each other. Then their eyes darted to the source of the sound, discovering the three girls in front of them giggling and bumping into each other as they hummed and sang some tune. It didn't take long for the two girls behind to realize the tune was really Kim Possible's theme song, and it took an even shorter amount of time for them both to roll their eyes, although they did it fondly.

"Shh, if you're too loud, we'll get caught," Emily murmured, and the three girls quieted somewhat, sending pouts in her way.

"How much do you wanna bet that she's said that to Ali before?" Hanna whispered to Aria who chuckled in response and smacked her arm.

If didn't take long before the three girls got back to their humming as they scanned the deserted halls of their school, making Spencer and Emily, no doubt the responsible ones of the group, stare at them exasperatedly.

"You see that girl, right there?" Spencer asked Emily and directed her gaze at Alison, who happened to be holding her stomach at something Hanna said, trying her hardest not to laugh loudly.

"Yeah?"

"That's your girlfriend," Spencer chuckled easily, loosening up a bit herself.

"You just had to remind me, didn't you," Emily replied dryly in a playful tone and exhaled a large breath in faux-despair.

They turned to look at each other for a moment, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Shh, if you're too loud, we'll get caught," Alison mimicked childishly. Emily narrowed her eyes at her but Alison merely winked mischievously in response with a matching goofy grin.

"You guys! Stay focused!" Aria's whisper was louder than she had intended it to be, and she blushed in embarrassment as she crept down the hall. Behind her, she didn't notice how four girls simultaneously lifted their hands in surrender at the feisty girl, stifling the laughter that was threatening to come out.

They walked around yet another corner, only a few hallways adjacent to the one where Alison's locker awaited, but this hall seemed different. Stranger. Emily silently flipped-out once she heard the sound of steps, and Spencer appeared to have had the same reaction as they both shared a look of dread and grabbed the nearest hands they could find, yanking the other girls into the nearest room, which happened to be the guidance councilor's office.

The two closed the door as quickly and silently as possible, and Spencer instantly turned to peer through the small window in the corner of the door while Emily turned off her flashlight.

"Ow, Spence, at least buy me dinner fir-" Spencer hushed Hanna by clamping a hand over her mouth in terror.

Alison frowned in perplexity. "Em, what's-" Again, she was silenced by Emily's hand on her mouth, as the brunette signaled her with her eyes to stop talking.

Emily released her hand at the same time as Spencer, and they each pointed to the window at the top corner of the door. Alison and Hanna took a look, spotting a man in a janitor's uniform. He was wiping the floor, headphones planted on his ears as he began to sway along to the music, not knowing anyone was there, watching him. It was so bizarre, neither of them had really toyed with the idea that some janitors actually worked on the weekends.

"What? What's going on, I can't see!" Aria whispered gripingly as she balanced on her tippy-toes, trying to get a look at what got them all to lose their composure when a few moments ago they'd been fine.

"Oh, for God's sake," Emily grumbled as she moved to stand behind Aria, lifting her by the hips to get her to the proper height. With Aria's feet dangling in the air, she gasped involuntarily and Emily hummed in confirmation, setting the girl down and using the opportunity to swat at Hanna's arm as the other girl snickered, biting at least back five different jokes about Aria's shorter height.

"Well, so much for 'Operation: Doggy Leash'," Spencer grumbled begrudgingly.

Hanna smiled smugly, whispering to herself in satisfaction, "I knew that name would fit."

"No, listen, we just have to wait until he passes us, then make a break for it," Alison said determinedly.

Emily sighed and turned back to look through the window. The man was plenty closer than she remembered him to be as he continued to clean, having dropped his headphones, and as he lifted his gaze to her general direction, her eyes widened to the size of saucers and she ducked.

"Shit," she hissed uncharacteristically through a whisper as she stayed down.

Spencer took her place, opting to spy on the man through the keyhole instead. He began looking around him in paranoia, and she noticed how he hesitantly reached out to put the yellow warning sign indicating the floor was wet, something he wouldn't have done had he still thought he was alone. Spencer closed her eyes in exasperation and sighed; their group was just not built for illegal activity.

When he walked away with his cart of brooms and similar cleaning supplies, leaving the sign there as he again scanned the hallway, Spencer turned to the girls and rested her back against the door tiredly. The operation was turning out to be a lot more difficult than she had initially thought.

"Let's just wait a few minutes until the floor dries out so our footsteps won't leave a mark," Hanna expertly offered, and Spencer nodded, slightly impressed.

Four girls took their seats around the office, fatigued. Emily took one more glance through the keyhole to assure the man was really gone, and then walked over to join them. She sat in the chair next to Alison's and across from Hanna, who, of course, deemed it her duty to sit in the guidance counselor's spinning office chair. Aria and Spencer sat on top of a different table nearby which had most of its surface filled with many paperwork and office supplies.

Emily cautiously reached out to the stack of pamphlets arranged neatly on the table, pulling out the first one. "'Help! I'm In Love With my Step-dad'?" she read out, not stopping the small chuckle that escaped her lips.

"What?" Hanna laughed along, bringing out a pamphlet herself. She giggled hysterically at, "Is That my Period, or Have I Been Shot?'"

"What kind of councilor do we have?" Alison asked in amusement.

"A very practical one, apparently," Emily smiled in humor. "What does yours say?"

"'There's Someone Buried in my Backyard! Twice!; The Proper Way to Mentally Heal.' Please," Alison scoffed and rolled her eyes mockingly.

"What about you two?" Hanna asked the two girls who curiously picked up their own pamphlets.

"'So the Teacher You're Dating Has Been Spying on you for Years'?" Aria read in horror.

"Geez, do they allow her to hand these out to students?" Spencer asked, horrified. "Mine just says, 'So you Have an Evil Twin You've Never Known About'."

Hanna snorted and pulled the last two ones from the pile, taking one and handing the other to Emily. The brunette enthusiastically read, "'So You've Been Secretly In Love With-" she paused, flushing deeply as she glanced at Alison, mumbling lastly, "'-Your Best Friend For Years.'"

Alison caught the expression on her face, and smiled coyly, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to the girl's cheek. Emily blushed further, sinking in her chair.

Hanna surprisingly didn't notice the whole exchange, too entranced by the blue piece of paper in her hand. She gasped, hitting Spencer on the hand to get her attention. She turned the pamphlet over for the girl to see, and Spencer read while laughing, "'Deal With Your TV Addiction: Freaky Foodies Edition'."

Hanna nodded gleefully. "Why didn't I ever see this before?" she asked, flipping through the pamphlet with interest, which spoke about an unhealthy addiction to the girl's own favorite show, and she couldn't help but think this was directed at her.

Aria sighed, "Okay, guys, I think we can go take the leash now. Mona's still out there expecting us."

Alison nodded along, "And Pepe is still waiting for his walk."

The other girls nodded in agreement, placing down the pamphlets in an arranged pile, the same way it was before. They all walked over to the door, but Emily halted mid-step, making Hanna bump right into her backside.

"Put it back," she said flatly to the bubbly blonde.

Hanna gaped at her surprise, then grumbled something under her breath that Emily couldn't quite catch, but went back and pulled out the blue pamphlet she had hidden in the inside pocket of her jacket, dropping it in the pile grudgingly.

Once they were out the door and moving again, it didn't take them long to reach Alison's locker and Emily pointed her flashlight at it while her girlfriend spun the code.

Hanna leaned her back lazily against the row of lockers next to Alison's, looking bored as ever as she rhetorically said, "Sure, take your time."

Alison rolled her eyes but continued her actions. Emily scoffed, "Look who's talking, Han. You take the entire fifteen-minute recess to change books in your locker and arrange it over and over every day, and then Ali and I have to endure Caleb babbling the whole time about you not being there."

Alison ducked her head, biting her lip and muffling a chuckle, then, at last, opened her locker.

"Well, you chew on all your pens and I can never borrow them," Hanna argued huffily.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Aria questioned in confusion.

"I don't know," Hanna whined miserably, crossing her arms as Emily indulged in her small victory.

Alison took out a purple leash with Scooby-Doo drawings on it, closing her locker and muttering a hasty, "Let's go." Emily smiled and took her hand in her own, intertwining their fingers.

They were dead-focused this time as they crossed the hallways, intently listening to any potential movements or echoes. When they had to talk, they only communicated through whispers and impromptu sign language.

They were getting rather relieved as they got closer to the same entrance they came in through, only a few halls left to go.

Their hope was short-lived as they were about to turn a corner, stopping abruptly with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights kind of look at the sight of their janitor. The man had his back to them, not noticing their presence.

Spencer frantically gestured to the girls to move the other way with some exaggerated hand movements, knowing she could lead them another way that would get them to their designated door, although it would take slightly longer. The girls followed her footsteps hastily and silently, making their grand escape.

It took them by surprise, as they ran through the halls, looking like a group of mad women with a purple Scooby-Doo leash, the fact that in yet another intersection of halls, the man was there again, this time wiping the surface of the vending machine.

As they turned and ran the other way again, eyes wide and scared at the mere thought of being caught, they wondered honestly if he was some sort of man-witch that could swiftly appear anywhere in the time he desired.

Emily couldn't help but be reminded of the running scene from The Breakfast Club, one of her father's favorite movies which then became one of her own over the years. Except, in their case, the janitor wasn't mean to them, in fact, he was pretty much oblivious to their presence, and they weren't technically running away from him, unlike in the movie. It did amuse her that John Bender's Marijuana, in their universe, was Noel's purple Scooby leash.

When they finally made it to their designated door, they couldn't help but release a breath and maybe even one or a few relieved laughs. They exited the door and locked it behind them so it would look like they hadn't been there. Hanna texted Mona and less than a full minute later, the gate made the familiar buzzing sound, and Spencer happily pulled it open, thanking God Mona existed.

They gathered their breathing on the way to the car, then flung themselves into an amused Mona's Range Rover. Emily instantly took Pepe in her arms, lifting him up to her face. "You have no idea what we had to go through for you," she talked to him as if he was a person just like the rest of them. Alison once again wondered if her hyperactive dog could understand them.

"'Operation: Doggy Leash' was a major success," Hanna smirked.

"Geez, what took you so long?" Mona asked, chuckling as she started the car. As they drove out of the parking lot, she muttered under her breath, "Amateurs."