R is for Rivals
Title: R is for Rivals
Fandom: Pretty Little Liars
Characters: Spencer, Melissa. Mentions of Alison, Ian, Peter, Wren.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers through S5.
Summary: Spencer and Melissa wonder exactly how the rivalry between then had developed as much as it did.
When Spencer remembered that the reason she recognised Kate Randall was from the photos Melissa sent her from horse riding camp, the satisfaction at knowing she had a way of keeping Kate off Hanna’s back was tempered by the thought that if Melissa was working at that camp now, she probably wouldn’t have sent Spencer that text. It seemed hard for her to remember, by that time, that she and Melissa had once had the kind of relationship where they would share and laugh about things like that.
Melissa had been class president when she was in freshman year. Spencer remembered her talking about how it had been a landslide victory, and her father had replied that of course it was, because how could it be anything else for a Hastings? Spencer hadn’t thought much of it until she decided to run herself and Alison had told her that it was really close and there was a chance she wouldn’t win. After the whole thing was over, Spencer had wondered whether Alison had really known anything of the kind or whether she was just saying that because she wanted Spencer to believe that Alison was the one who had ensured Spencer’s victory. She was never going to know for sure, but Alison was certainly capable of that.
If that had been what Alison had in mind, it had had an effect that Spencer didn’t think Alison had counted on. It had reminded Spencer of how everything had seemed to come so easily to Melissa, and how she had always felt like she was playing catch-up. Some of it was silly, like her parents telling some great aunt or other that Melissa had walked at an earlier age. But after years of hearing about how perfect Melissa always got the top grades, how her election as homecoming queen was also a landslide victory, it no longer felt silly to her any more. Every time her parents talked about some academic achievement of Melissa’s, the inevitable response was something about whether or not Spencer would follow in her footsteps, and her father would reply “Of course she will. She’s a Hastings.” And Spencer knew that nothing else would ever be good enough. Melissa had achieved everything first, and whatever Spencer did, it felt like Melissa had already done it better.
When Ian had come along, and had started to show an interest in her, there was a part of Spencer that felt like she was finally getting one up on Melissa for the first time. But in the end, once Ian had ended things with Melissa and briefly started dating Spencer, the guilt about Melissa had got to the point where if Ian hadn’t ended things first, she would have. Spencer had kept picturing the look on Melissa’s face, and the disappointment that would come from their parents, (and ended up seeing them for herself anyway after what happened with Wren), and knew she had to put their relationship first. Of course, when Melissa had come home and moved into the barn despite her parents having promised it to Spencer, there were a few moments there where she’d wondered why she’d bothered.
There had been times over the years when Spencer had seriously wondered if she and Melissa would ever repair their relationship. But now, as she watched the video and knew exactly what Melissa had done in the belief that she was protecting her, Spencer finally understood that the sisters loved each other despite everything.
She just hoped that one day she would get the chance to tell Melissa so.
Melissa does remember.
She doesn’t know why she told Spencer she couldn’t remember the day she’d defended her against some kid who was picking on her. Was she just lashing out at her for all the things she’d been saying about Ian at the time which it turned out she should have taken more notice of anyway? Or was there more to it than that, did the issues between herself and Spencer go deeper than the Ian thing?
She’s thought about it more than once, tried to pin down where it all began. She knows when she first consciously realised it; it was when Alison accused Melissa of trying to outshine Spencer. But it must go deeper than that; Melissa wonders, if their relationship had been stronger, whether they would have been able to brush off Alison’s comments and stay close as sisters. And if anything, Alison’s comment hadn’t come completely out of nowhere. Peter and Veronica Hastings had always encouraged the girls to be the best, and the way they went about it was always going to encourage them to become rivals. It hadn’t started out being about them outshining each other, but over time it had become clear that it was never going to turn out any other way.
Melissa had wondered often why Alison had bothered. Alison always seemed to have had a purpose for everything she did, and Melissa had been unable to work out why she would have cared about the Hastings sisters’ relationship. Once she found out what had happened between Spencer and Ian, it made her wonder if Alison had been trying to play them off against each other in order to divert attention from her own relationship with Ian - not that it had worked, since Melissa knew Alison was after him anyway.
But in the end, Melissa knew she couldn’t blame Alison entirely for the deterioration in her relationship with Spencer. Her parents and the way they had brought them up had to play their part, as did Melissa and Spencer themselves.
That essay of Melissa’s that Spencer had turned in as her own and won the prize? Melissa had only just missed out on that prize herself the year she turned it in. She’d dreaded explaining to her parents that she had missed out. Melissa still remembered Jason telling Garrett at the time, when he didn’t think she could hear him, that however strict his own father was with him, he was still pleased he wasn’t a Hastings because he didn’t have to face the same pressure that Melissa did. (In other circumstances, she might have been able to laugh about that now.) The crazy thing was, even though a part of her understood what Jason meant, there was another part of her that almost wanted to defend her father. It was just part of being a Hastings, Melissa had accepted that. But when Spencer had won the prize after changing the name on the essay, it had reinforced the message to Melissa that Spencer was the preferred one. Maybe if it hadn’t happened so soon after Melissa had caught Spencer kissing Wren, Melissa wouldn’t have reacted quite as strongly as she did. It had given her a moment’s pleasure to watch Alex storm out of the homecoming dance, knowing that finally she had bested Spencer after what had felt like a long running winning streak for her younger sister. But almost as soon as he had gone, Melissa regretted acting on her impulse. She’d vowed a year earlier that she would try and rebuild her relationship with Spencer, not undermine it.
When Spencer had been taking the pills, there had been a scene which Melissa doesn’t think Spencer remembers. Spencer had screamed something at Melissa about how it was all her fault, about how she felt she had to prove herself to be just as good as Melissa, and that was why she had started taking the pills in the first place. She’d gotten incoherent after that, screaming something about Alison, then their parents. The next morning, she hadn’t appeared to remember anything and Melissa hadn’t wanted to bring it up. But the rest of that day, Melissa had walked around feeling shellshocked, not having realised quite how strongly Spencer had felt, and wondering how they had come to this.
But the day Melissa had seen the body she believed to have been Alison DiLaurentis, none of the history had mattered. What did matter was that Spencer was her sister, and now she remembered the love that had existed between them once upon a time. As she shovelled dirt over the body, Melissa knew that she had to forget the rivalries of the past, and she would do whatever she had to do to cover up what she believed to have been Spencer’s crime.
Fandom: Pretty Little Liars
Characters: Spencer, Melissa. Mentions of Alison, Ian, Peter, Wren.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers through S5.
Summary: Spencer and Melissa wonder exactly how the rivalry between then had developed as much as it did.
When Spencer remembered that the reason she recognised Kate Randall was from the photos Melissa sent her from horse riding camp, the satisfaction at knowing she had a way of keeping Kate off Hanna’s back was tempered by the thought that if Melissa was working at that camp now, she probably wouldn’t have sent Spencer that text. It seemed hard for her to remember, by that time, that she and Melissa had once had the kind of relationship where they would share and laugh about things like that.
Melissa had been class president when she was in freshman year. Spencer remembered her talking about how it had been a landslide victory, and her father had replied that of course it was, because how could it be anything else for a Hastings? Spencer hadn’t thought much of it until she decided to run herself and Alison had told her that it was really close and there was a chance she wouldn’t win. After the whole thing was over, Spencer had wondered whether Alison had really known anything of the kind or whether she was just saying that because she wanted Spencer to believe that Alison was the one who had ensured Spencer’s victory. She was never going to know for sure, but Alison was certainly capable of that.
If that had been what Alison had in mind, it had had an effect that Spencer didn’t think Alison had counted on. It had reminded Spencer of how everything had seemed to come so easily to Melissa, and how she had always felt like she was playing catch-up. Some of it was silly, like her parents telling some great aunt or other that Melissa had walked at an earlier age. But after years of hearing about how perfect Melissa always got the top grades, how her election as homecoming queen was also a landslide victory, it no longer felt silly to her any more. Every time her parents talked about some academic achievement of Melissa’s, the inevitable response was something about whether or not Spencer would follow in her footsteps, and her father would reply “Of course she will. She’s a Hastings.” And Spencer knew that nothing else would ever be good enough. Melissa had achieved everything first, and whatever Spencer did, it felt like Melissa had already done it better.
When Ian had come along, and had started to show an interest in her, there was a part of Spencer that felt like she was finally getting one up on Melissa for the first time. But in the end, once Ian had ended things with Melissa and briefly started dating Spencer, the guilt about Melissa had got to the point where if Ian hadn’t ended things first, she would have. Spencer had kept picturing the look on Melissa’s face, and the disappointment that would come from their parents, (and ended up seeing them for herself anyway after what happened with Wren), and knew she had to put their relationship first. Of course, when Melissa had come home and moved into the barn despite her parents having promised it to Spencer, there were a few moments there where she’d wondered why she’d bothered.
There had been times over the years when Spencer had seriously wondered if she and Melissa would ever repair their relationship. But now, as she watched the video and knew exactly what Melissa had done in the belief that she was protecting her, Spencer finally understood that the sisters loved each other despite everything.
She just hoped that one day she would get the chance to tell Melissa so.
Melissa does remember.
She doesn’t know why she told Spencer she couldn’t remember the day she’d defended her against some kid who was picking on her. Was she just lashing out at her for all the things she’d been saying about Ian at the time which it turned out she should have taken more notice of anyway? Or was there more to it than that, did the issues between herself and Spencer go deeper than the Ian thing?
She’s thought about it more than once, tried to pin down where it all began. She knows when she first consciously realised it; it was when Alison accused Melissa of trying to outshine Spencer. But it must go deeper than that; Melissa wonders, if their relationship had been stronger, whether they would have been able to brush off Alison’s comments and stay close as sisters. And if anything, Alison’s comment hadn’t come completely out of nowhere. Peter and Veronica Hastings had always encouraged the girls to be the best, and the way they went about it was always going to encourage them to become rivals. It hadn’t started out being about them outshining each other, but over time it had become clear that it was never going to turn out any other way.
Melissa had wondered often why Alison had bothered. Alison always seemed to have had a purpose for everything she did, and Melissa had been unable to work out why she would have cared about the Hastings sisters’ relationship. Once she found out what had happened between Spencer and Ian, it made her wonder if Alison had been trying to play them off against each other in order to divert attention from her own relationship with Ian - not that it had worked, since Melissa knew Alison was after him anyway.
But in the end, Melissa knew she couldn’t blame Alison entirely for the deterioration in her relationship with Spencer. Her parents and the way they had brought them up had to play their part, as did Melissa and Spencer themselves.
That essay of Melissa’s that Spencer had turned in as her own and won the prize? Melissa had only just missed out on that prize herself the year she turned it in. She’d dreaded explaining to her parents that she had missed out. Melissa still remembered Jason telling Garrett at the time, when he didn’t think she could hear him, that however strict his own father was with him, he was still pleased he wasn’t a Hastings because he didn’t have to face the same pressure that Melissa did. (In other circumstances, she might have been able to laugh about that now.) The crazy thing was, even though a part of her understood what Jason meant, there was another part of her that almost wanted to defend her father. It was just part of being a Hastings, Melissa had accepted that. But when Spencer had won the prize after changing the name on the essay, it had reinforced the message to Melissa that Spencer was the preferred one. Maybe if it hadn’t happened so soon after Melissa had caught Spencer kissing Wren, Melissa wouldn’t have reacted quite as strongly as she did. It had given her a moment’s pleasure to watch Alex storm out of the homecoming dance, knowing that finally she had bested Spencer after what had felt like a long running winning streak for her younger sister. But almost as soon as he had gone, Melissa regretted acting on her impulse. She’d vowed a year earlier that she would try and rebuild her relationship with Spencer, not undermine it.
When Spencer had been taking the pills, there had been a scene which Melissa doesn’t think Spencer remembers. Spencer had screamed something at Melissa about how it was all her fault, about how she felt she had to prove herself to be just as good as Melissa, and that was why she had started taking the pills in the first place. She’d gotten incoherent after that, screaming something about Alison, then their parents. The next morning, she hadn’t appeared to remember anything and Melissa hadn’t wanted to bring it up. But the rest of that day, Melissa had walked around feeling shellshocked, not having realised quite how strongly Spencer had felt, and wondering how they had come to this.
But the day Melissa had seen the body she believed to have been Alison DiLaurentis, none of the history had mattered. What did matter was that Spencer was her sister, and now she remembered the love that had existed between them once upon a time. As she shovelled dirt over the body, Melissa knew that she had to forget the rivalries of the past, and she would do whatever she had to do to cover up what she believed to have been Spencer’s crime.