Keep Your Friends Close

"" is the 10th episode in Season 1 of Pretty Little Liars, airing August 10, 2010 - and the 10th episode overall.

Synopsis
At school, Mona hand delivers invitations for her birthday party on Saturday to select friends in the hallway. Of course, Hanna plans to go, but the rest of the Pretty Little Liars are not planning to attend Mona's party, not caring for attitude-driven Mona all that much. They apologize to Hanna, but then "A" sends a message that she will also be in attendance and that the party is a scavenger hunt for her.

After school, Hanna discusses with her mother their strapped financial situation. Ashley doesn't want to reveal just how deep their money problems are, but Hanna gets an idea when she presses redial on the house phone to hear that she just called a mortgage company. Then, Mona comes over, hoping to convince Hanna to ditch school with her and celebrate her birthday by going shopping at designer stores. Ashley, though tight on cash, proudly forks over $100 to her daughter when she hears Hanna refusing to join Mona based on the fact that things have been tight for them lately. Not completely allowing, Ashley does comment on the ditching school portion.

At the Montgomerys' household, Byron is struggling to keep up with his new responsibilities as a single parent. Aria is attempting to work on the overwhelming pile of laundry. Things are also still awkward between Byron and Ella, as the latter has asked him for space.

At the Hastings' residence, Melissa lets Spencer know that she's aware that Ian is back. She wants to know why Spencer didn't tell her, but Spencer counters that it's not as if they are friends. She reveals that he has asked her out, but she turned him down, as she's still getting over Wren and doesn't trust Ian after he broke her heart. Spencer apologizes about Wren, but Melissa doesn't take it to heart. Then, Spencer flashbacks to the previous summer when she had been practicing her field hockey swing on the front lawn. Ian had walked by, and, under the pretense of correcting her technique, put his arms around her waist and leaned in to kiss her neck. Surprised, Spencer had turned around to face him, and this too ended in a kiss - series of mouth kisses. Then, Alison had called out from where she was standing a few meters away; she had let Spencer know that she saw her kissing her sister's boyfriend. She had called it disgusting and basically called Spencer a skank to boot.

In school, Aria stands in the cafeteria, talking to Noel. He asks her out, and she accepts, planning a date for the weekend. Her budding feelings for him are complicating her relationship with Ezra even more. Ezra sees the two talking, then makes a snide remark about him being on the football team when Aria walks by alone. Aria defends Noel's character and the appeal, but he makes as if he doesn't care if Aria has feelings for someone else, but is clearly jealous.

Next, the girls are called to the principle's office, once agin, for questioning by the police. This forces Hanna to text Mona that she has to renege on their shopping date, as she is forced to sit in the office at school; Mona had warned her that she wouldn't be forgiving if Hanna backed out, and sure enough, Mona texts back: "Screw You." Then, an FBI agent named Agent Cooper shows; she has been enlisted as the representative of the FBI to assist the Rosewood Police in the murder mystey. Her approach in questioning is far milder than that of Officer Wilden. She does not seem accusing, rather wanting information. She shows them footage (sent by an anonymous source to the Rosewood Police Department) of Alison on the day that she disappeared. In the video, she is calling to someone (a guy) and teasing him that he wants to kiss her. She asks the girls to provide as much information as they can to illuminate the finding. The girls are cooperative. Hanna, ever the fashionista, lets Agent Cooper know that she is positive that the sweater Alison takes off in the video did not belong to her.

And, having given Hanna the entire contents of her wallet that morning, Hanna’s mother Ashley grows increasingly desperate about their financial situation. When a (dying) old widow with no heirs named Mrs. Potter, who consistently frequents the bank once a year, comes over for her annual visit, Ashley thinks quick and steals money from the safe deposit box. Her plan is to return the money when she is able without the loss being detected.

Later, after being questioned by Officer Cooper, Noel walks up to Aria's locker to ask her about being called to the principle's office. She is nonchalant about it and in general until she opens her locker, and book of poems falls out onto the floor. It has a note from "A" telling her to read page 22, which has a free verse poem written by Ezra Fitz. Noel asks her what it is, but she is so entranced by it, she doesn't care that he is suspicious and brushes him off to find a quiet spot and peruse the poem. She is so moved by it, she marches up to him in his classroom and tells him that he is hypocritical for wrting what he has and then denying their relationship. Ezra listens without answering much as Aria digs into him. Then, Noel appears in the doorway of Ezra's classroom and asks what's going on. Aria replies that nothing is going on and leaves Ezra fuming. Noel glowers at him before turning too, and Ezra heaves a book across the room in frustration.

Later, Hanna is abruptly dumped from the guest list of Mona’s birthday party, because she ditched Mona and also due to an alleged text sent by "A" to Mona, spreading the rumor that Hanna got liposuction to lose weight. Apparently the rumor made its way to more than just Mona, because an overweight girl randomly approaches Hanna and asks who her doctor was; Hanna jokes it off to this stranger, but not to Mona. Mona is so upset she even embarrasses her (former) friend in front of Naomi and Riley, as she disinvites her from the party. Later at her party, Mona goes so far as to relishe in how she treated Hanna, bringing up how she dissed Hanna in front of her friends to her party guests! At least Spencer and Emily are supportive and comfort Hanna about the falling out; it is ironic that Hanna mentions that Mona was her friend when the Pretty Little Liars were no longer, and now that she is in a fight with Mona, she has them to fall back on. Is it one or the other?

Meanwhile, Spencer tries to mend fences with sister Melissa at home. When Ian comes over to the Hastings' residence, hoping that Melissa will finally give him another chance at a date over coffee, Spencer races after her and tells her to go for it with Ian. Melissa is persuaded, and Ian nods in her direction.



Emiy's father comes home early from his tour in Afghanistan, while Emily's mother deals with the photos she's seen of Emily and Maya kissing by being cold to Maya. She privately talks to her husband about the findings, totally distraught.



That evening, the girls plan to attend the party, and Hanna plans to secretly stake out the woods near the party, should "A" rear her head. Aria and Spencer arrive at the party together, taking in Mona's huge stack of presents, as well as the massage and makeover tents, in addition to the lavish dessert and refreshment stands. Mona welcomes them to "Camp Mona" and hands them custom-made T-shirts for the occasion.

Emily drives to the party separately. When she parks, Toby pops his head up from the backseat and tells a freaked out Emily he needs to finish telling her what he started at homecoming. With the two alone in the woods, He professes his innocence and claims that he met Alison the night of her death and gave her his sweater when she got cold. Then, apparently, she had joined another guy in a car, who Toby did not recognize, and the last time Toby remembers seeing Alison, she was alive. He also explains that the tattoo commemorating September 1 was celebrating his freedom from Jenna, not Alison. Later that night, Toby is discovered by the police and arrested when they find him corner him, hanging beside the church.

At the party, Emily fills the others in on Toby's  confession before they start roasting marshmallows and getting their hair done in crazy '80 'dos. A text from "A" sends Spencer back to the woods near the Kissing Rock, where she finds a woven bracelet with the name "Jenna" planted there. The next text from A tells them they are looking in the wrong places, so Spencer figures they should visit the right ones - or "Wright" park.

Later, Hanna goes to the woods to serve as lookout for the girls should "A" arrive, and sure enough, she finally spots who she think is the elusive "A," writing on the back of a car that Aria has stepped into. She is oblivious to the fact that it was Ezra Fitz with Aria in his car. He has come to reconcile with her, and the two resume their relationship, kissing passionately. (Obviously, Aria's pending date with Noel is off.) The writing on the car reads, "I See You," but Aria  and Ezra  are too busy to notice. Hanna's discovery yields possibly fatal results, though, because when turns around to head for the parking lot, she’s quickly hit and flung by a unknown SUV, whose driver doesn't stop to assess the damage.

Guest Stars

 * Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh
 * Brant Daugherty as Noel Kahn
 * Eric Steinberg as Colonel Wayne Fields
 * Ryan Merriman as Ian Thomas
 * April Grace as Agent Cooper
 * Nia Peeples as Pam Fields
 * Helen Slayton-Hughes as Mrs. Potter
 * Samantha Cutaran as Naomi
 * Rya Meyers as Riley
 * Julianna Rose as Female Student
 * Kevin Hoffman (V) as Football Player

Featured Music

 * "Lover Take Me" by Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians
 * "Crush" by Aidan Hawken
 * "Chocolate & Cigarettes" by Angus & Julia Stone
 * "Uh Oh (I'm Falling)" by Shelly Fraley
 * "Where the Road Meets the Sun" by Katie Herzig and Matthew Perryman Jones
 * "Dig With Me" by Allie Moss
 * "BlackLight" by One Call
 * "Out of Reach" by Matthew Perryman Jones

Memorable Quotes
How would you rate this episode? 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star