They had gotten out. The Rosewood police department, stupid as they may be, had managed to find the five of them. They had escaped, but Alison couldn't help but feel that they hadn't taken everything with them. All five of them seemed to have left a bit of themselves in that "house," and Alison wasn't sure if they would be able to get it back.
A new song started to bump out of the speakers in the club and Alison felt the bodies around her adjust to the new tempo. She glanced around herself and sighed. She was tired of this place; despite the loud music, strobes, and writhing bodies, it provided very little distraction from Alison's troubles.
She walked off the dance floor and went to lean on the bar. Maybe if she found someone to buy her a drink. She had, after all, taken an irritably long bus ride to get here, and she'd be dammed if she didn't get something out of it. She took a quick look around and spotted someone; navy blue jacket, dark hair, fit jeans…fit body. They should work.
She looked long enough to catch their eye, and when she had, she threw them her signature crooked smile and raised an eyebrow. It seemed to work, as they began to rise from their chair as if to approach her. She smirked to herself and then suddenly someone grabbed her arm and began to pull her away.
Stumbling after the intruder, Alison turned around, preparing to give them a piece of her mind and found the back of a familiar head leading her back towards the dance floor. Alison frowned, she shouldn't be here. They stopped in the middle of the dance floor and Emily turned around to face Alison.
"What are you doing here, Emily?" Alison yelled, "You shouldn't be here." Alison turned back toward the bar but Emily grabbed her arm again. She could barely hear her over the music.
"Keep your eyes on me."
Alison frowned. "What? Emily, that doesn't make any sense. Come on. We have to get out of here. It's not safe." She tried to lead Emily away again but the brunette's hands landed on her waist and pulled her close.
"Shut up and dance with me." Emily began moving with the music, the front of her body pressed close to Alison's. This is what Alison had been thinking about. Ever since the girls had been rescued from A's lair, they'd been different. It was like they'd lost the most important parts of their personalities. Alison, ever attentive to every detail even remotely on display, hadn't seen Emily smile since they'd found them. Actually, she hadn't seen any of them really smile.
The song changed again and Emily pulled Alison even closer. They could feel the other breathing now. Alison's eyes widened. She hadn't been this close to Emily in several weeks. Her arms moved to Emily's shoulders. She looked up into brown eyes as they moved down to meet her blue and Alison's breath caught at their proximity.
It pained her to see the girls the way they were now. She wished she could do something to help ease whatever pain A had caused in their time in his dollhouse. It was her fault, right? She had done something to this man, to make him who he was; she just didn't know what it was yet. Looking up into Emily's eyes, Alison could see the pain. She could see the past several years and all that her friends had gone through while she was hiding. She could see the pain she had caused even before that. Moving with Emily, their bodies pressed together, swaying with the music, Alison could see it all. She could even see hope for the future, or maybe that was a reflection.
They had learned a lot. Ever the game master, A had littered his dollhouse with clues. He had to know his time was almost up. He had to know the girls had almost figured it out. Alison wasn't going to give up now and neither were Emily, Spencer, Aria or Hanna. They had lost too much, given up too much and at this point, damn, were they angry about it. Despite Emily's recent behavior, Alison could still see a fire in those eyes and maybe it was still glowing hot enough to burn A.
Emily spoke again, "You're holding back." Alison laughed. She leaned up and pecked Emily on the cheek and then leaned into her ear.
Still needing to yell over the music, Alison said, "Shut up and dance with me." When she fell back down onto the heels of her feet, still looking towards Emily's face, she could have sworn she saw the ghost of a smile dance across her mermaid's lips before Emily grabbed Alison's hand and twirled her around. When she was back to facing Emily, Alison wrapped her arms around the taller girl's shoulders and stared up into Emily eyes again. As the two lost themselves to the music, Alison smiled up at the beautiful brunette pressed against her chest, and Emily smiled back.