Ali wiped a glob of mascara off her eye. "Shit." Her voice rang out as she smudged the black liquid even more. Tonight has to be perfect...she thought. Nick was taking her out for dinner- a candlelit dinner at that. Nick was so sweet and charming, the perfect gentleman. She couldn't believe that she was going out with him tonight. It would take her mind off of her sisters threatening gaze...

Ever since then she looked twice at everything. She couldn't trust anyone it seemed. Ali, or rather, Courtney, fixed her eyelashes with an eyelash curler and set it down.

There. She stood back and eyed her appearance- her bright blue eyes popped with her blue knit scarf that Aria had made.

(Sometimes Aria's knitting came in handy! Just not the bras.) Along with her cashmere sweater, black leggings and combat boots, she felt powerful. Her sister hated combat boots- she thought they were too clunky and blah- but Nick didn't know that.

Nick stared at Ali when she stepped out the door. "Hey." She murmured, peering up at him. "Hey...you." He echoed, clearly astonished with Ali's beauty. He was wearing a simple outfit- dark green sweater, denim jeans, and black Vans. Suddenly Ali felt overdressed, but then Nick held a soft hand out to her and opened the car door for her, and she relaxed.

"So where are we going?" She asked, as Nick started the car. The engine came to life with a rumble and Nick glanced over his shoulder at Ali with a smirk.

"Somewhere." Nick replied mysteriously.

"Well, fine then." Ali teased, grabbing her purse, "I'll be on my way then."

"Hey!" Nick laughed, resting a hand on her thigh. Ali felt all tingly inside and her fingers found his. A pregnant pause passed by, and Ali couldn't help but stare at Nick. "We're here." Nick cleared his voice and stopped the car.

"This place is beautiful..." Ali marveled, throwing her hands into the dark air. The sky was sprinkled with glittering stars. When Ali was locked up, she would look out the window and stare at the stars...

"I wanted it to be a surprise..." Nick explained, sheepishly.

"Aw. Well, it's a very nice surprise..." Ali mumbled, trying to find the right words, biting her lip as she studied his face. His brown bangs fell over his icy blue eyes, which seemed to burn into Ali's soul. It was like he knew everything about her...Nick began to pull out brown paper bags from the car, and Ali hopped onto the car's hood. "Hey, let me put on a blanket first..." Nick insisted. Ali slid off for a moment while Nick laid down a heavy green blanket.

"Seems like you've been thinking about this for a while." Ali teased. Nick's' brow furrowed into a line.

"Of course. Ali..." Nick turned to look at her. "I can't stop thinking about you." he whispered, staring into her eyes. Ali stared at his pinkish bow like lips and smiled. Nick stood out a hand and Ali took it. He reeled Ali in closer to him and she squealed inside. His breath was cool on her face from the night air and his fingers snuck up her waist and to the small of her back where he held her.

Ali let out a relaxed sigh and ran a hand through his light brown hair. His eyes looked like they could melt even the strongest metals- Ali felt vulnerable and her legs were jelly. She was captivated by his beauty. Her fingers touched his lips and Nick smiled. He scooped her up in his arms, laid her down on his car and put his lips to hers. She felt all excited and giddy from happiness. This was the way Emily had made her feel when- Ali stopped herself from going any further with that thought.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked, his skin wrinkling between his eyes in worry. "Nothing. Just...um, shouldn't we be eating food?" she mumbled. Nick grinned and pulled out a sandwich from a bag. "M'lady." he handed her the sandwich and pecked her on the nose. Ali's stomach did a somersault and she took a bite of the sandwich. It was ham and cheese- just the kind Em and her had for lunch the other day.

It was when Em had gotten that look in her eyes, like she wanted to say something to Ali, but then Ali had gone and started talking about a boy that she thought was cute. Ali hated shutting Emily out, but she couldn't bear to listen to what Em was going to say next. Easy, Killer. She had murmured, when Emily had suggested Ali spend the night at Emily's. A flash of hurt has stricken Emily's face for a moment, but then she smiled grimly and covered up by saying she had to go.

Damn it, Alison. Stop thinking about Emily. The real Ali would never be interested in girls. Well, whatever was alive she seemed to flirt with, but usually they had male body parts.

"Erm, Ali? Your sandwich is..uh..leaking." Nick startled her from her thoughts.

"Oh. Shit." Ali shrugged. She turned to Nick, with a bright smile and asked, "Napkin, please?"

Nick gave her a look of amusement. "Hmmmm. That'll cost you three kisses and a hug." Nick grinned mischievously. Something flickered in Ali's eyes. She leaned in close to Nick and pressed her lips to his chin. "Mwah!" she cried out in laughter.

Nick smiled and lifted her chin, planting a kiss on her neck. Ali let out a little gasp and was silenced by Nick kissing her fully on the lips. Ali instantly thought of Emily. Get the hell out of my mind, Em. I don't love you! She screamed inside. Nick slid his arms around Ali and soon they were making out on the hood of his car.

Alison pulled away from Nick and smirked. "Where's my napkin?" She mocked. Nick snorted and handed her one. "Well, thanks to you, now I have mayonnaise all over my sweater." he complained. Ali laughed and looked up at the stars. Again, she thought of Emily. She was going crazy. She tugged on Nick's sweater and pulled him close. She felt his warm breath on her lips and slowly she leaned in, their lips barely touching, yet fireworks were exploding all around them. "I love you." Ali whispered. Only deep down did she know she was talking about Emily.