Melissa Hastings (Book Character)

Melissa Josephine Hastings is Spencer Hastings' older sister. Until the conclusion of "Wanted," the two sisters had a long rivalry with each other.

Physical Appearance
Melissa Hastings takes after Mrs. Hastings in looks, with chin-length ash blond hair and blue eyes. She's even sarcastically described by her sister as "a perfect little clone." Not only does Melissa look like their mother, she dresses like her as well. Her style is often viewed as 'stuffy' and far too old for her young age. She doesn't change her sense of fashion until Spencer convinces her to dress more youthfully.

Biography
Melissa has an uptight, simpering personality to match her lack of style. For years, she and Spencer compete for their parents' recognition and Melissa appears to be the favored child who can do no wrong. She always seems to one-up Spencer in everything from academic achievements to extracurricular actives. As she is about five-six years older than Spencer, she's essentially accomplished everything Spencer has done in high school. However, one area the sisters seems to be evenly matched in is romance: every long-term boyfriend of Melissa's seemed equally or more interested in Spencer. This is painfully emphasized in the first novel, in which Melissa's boyfriend Wren Kim flirts and eventually makes out with Spencer. Melissa catches them kissing in Spencer's new barn apartment and immediately informs her parents. Spencer is consequently booted out of the barn, allowing Melissa to reside in it as she did during her high school years.

Shortly after Melissa's high school sweetheart, Ian Thomas, returns from California, the two decide to date once more. However, their time together is cut short by the investigation into the death of Alison DiLaurentis. When interviewed about what they were doing the night of her disappearance, both Melissa and Ian lie. They said they were both hanging out in Melissa's den, but in actuality Melissa woke up during the night to find Ian gone. Eventually, Ian was labeled the prime suspect in Ali's death, which greatly upset her. She always had doubts about his guilt, even after he escaped house arrest and disappeared. When "Courtney" DiLaurentis' existence was announced by her parents, Melissa became suspicious and decided to do some investigating of her own.

Melissa was told about the twins in high school by their older brother Jason DiLaurentis. He had a crush on Melissa during high school and even had a brief relationship with her before she left him for Ian. With this information in mind, Melissa followed Courtney and interrogated Spencer about her. When she learned that the twins were supposedly close, her suspicions further increased since Jason told her differently. Eventually Ali, who was posing as Courtney, caught on to Melissa's investigation and kidnapped her. She was left in a closet with Ian's corpse in the DiLaurentis family's old Poconos home, until her sister and friends freed her. Ali sets the house on fire and the girls barely escape alive. The experience was so traumatizing that Melissa and Spencer promised to make serious efforts at being friendly with each other again.

Melissa is currently engaged to Darren Wilden, someone that Spencer is not likely to covet, keeping Melissa's and Spencer's relationship safe for now.

Relationships
Spencer Hastings: Melissa's relationship with her younger sister has been troubled for years. In "Perfect," it is speculated that the sisters' close interactions deteriorated after Spencer experienced a traumatic memory loss as a child. An armed robber accosted the family during an outing and Spencer, having lost all memory of the experience, was never the same since that day. Their parents apparently worried about her so much that Melissa had to miss several competitions that year. Thus, the rivalry for their parents' attention began.

When she finds out that Spencer plagiarized her AP Econ essay and got nominated for the Golden Orchid as a result, she is enraged, and the two get involved in an argument turned violent. Spencer pushes her down the stairs, and she suffers a broken arm. Their parents force them to spend time together at their grandmother's beach house in an attempt to reconcile their relationship, but it only has moderate, short-lived success. At one point Spencer even suspects Melissa of killing Ali. They are currently on good terms with each other.

Ian Thomas: Ian was Melissa's high school boyfriend and very likely her first love. Though she had long figured out he kissed her sister and had a relationship with Ali, she still cared for him and never truly believed he was guilty. The lies about his whereabouts on the night of Ali's death put a strain on their relationship.

Wren Kim: Melissa's second serious boyfriend, Wren, was planning to move in with her in the townhouse her parents purchased. While Melissa seemed to adore him, Wren didn't seem to feel the same level of affection. He preferred Spencer, though he eventually hooked up with Melissa, which ended the relationship with Spencer, after they broke up.

Jason DiLaurentis: Melissa had a brief fling with Jason and did not care for him the same way he did for her. He was devastated by their breakup and hated Ian for causing it. Though his parents warned him not to tell anyone about Courtney, Jason confided in Melissa during high school and begged her to keep it a secret.