| “ | That's the beauty of this, girls–I got you all into trouble, but you were the ones, ultimately, who sealed your fates. | ” |
— Nick
| ||
Nicholas "Nick" Maxwell is an ex-boyfriend of "Alison DiLaurentis", whom she was secretly dating instead of Ian Thomas. In Deadly, he is revealed to be the Third "A" (Real Ali's helper and boyfriend).
Physical Appearance
Nick is described as a boy with "brown eyes, a sloped nose, and a pointy, clean-shaven jaw." He has brown hair, dark eyebrows, and thin lips. He is described as being very tall and handsome.
Biography
In Ali's Pretty Little Lies, Nick runs into Courtney (posing as Alison) after her field hockey practice. Courtney doesn't recognize him because she never actually met him, but she plays along so he doesn't figure out that she's not actually Alison. During the conversation, he mentions that, during camp, Ali wrote on a wall that he's a good kisser, which sparks Courtney's interest in him, leading her into giving him her number. Eventually, they go on their first date, where he takes Courtney to play paintball and she develops a huge crush on him.
During their third date, he blindfolds her and surprises her with a picnic at Floating Man's Quarry. There, she is overwhelmed with the fact that her sister "Courtney" is coming back and tells Nick that she has a twin, excluding the fact that she is not actually Alison and that she switched places with her twin. Nick offers comfort and understanding to her situation.
After that, she goes to the bathroom where she runs into Ian. Ian demands that she kiss him like she promised to in exchange for making him kiss Spencer. Although she refuses, Ian kisses her anyway. Nick catches them and leaves Courtney without giving her a chance to explain herself.
In Deadly, Nick is revealed to be the Third "A" (Real Ali's helper and boyfriend). He had been the one helping Real Ali murder Courtney and stalk Emily, Aria, Spencer, and Hanna. He also reveals his several aliases: Tripp Maxwell (Iris's alleged boyfriend), Derrick (Emily's friend during the summer she was pregnant), Olaf (Aria's accomplice in Iceland when she stole the painting), Phineas (Spencer's dealer that got her hooked on Easy A), and Jackson (Hanna's bartender the night she crashed her car with Madison.)
Nick and Ali try to kill the girls at their hideout (an abandoned house hidden by woods). Nick is knocked out by Emily, and the girls pass out as a result of Nick and Ali having pumped poisonous gas into the air in an attempt to kill them. Ali gets away before the police arrive, arrest Nick, and rescue the girls. Nick is charged with the murder of Tabitha Clark because a video of him beating her to death was sent to the police, among other evidence. Ali had sent in the video to cover herself in case Nick told the cops that she was still alive.
Notes
- Nick went to the Preserve with Ali-as-Courtney and Iris. He was there for borderline personality disorder.
- Iris claimed to have dated him, but it is later implied that she had an unrequited crush on him and that he was actually dating Alison.
- Nick is the one Courtney was secretly dating before her death, not Ian.
- Nick was the first and only person that Courtney trusted with her secret (her twin).
- Nick has used several aliases throughout the series.
- He was Tripp Maxwell (Ali-as-Courtney's and Iris's alleged boyfriend from the Preserve).
- He was Olaf (whom Aria kissed in Iceland and stole a painting with).
- He was Phineas (Spencer's dealer that got her hooked on Easy A).
- He was Derrick (Emily's friend and coworker during the summer she was pregnant who introduced her to Gayle).
- He was Jackson (Hanna's and Madison's bartender the night they got into a car accident).
- Nick is revealed to be the Third "A," Ali's accomplice in killing Courtney and stalking the girls.
- He is the one who killed Tabitha.
- Nick has not appeared on the TV series.