A/N: So, I saw a post on tumblr that went something like this - safe haven for gays disguised as a Christian straight camp - and thought it was a good idea therefore I'm going to write about it. There also might be a twist involving the –A we've all come to know.
Basically imagine a world in which almost every female character is a lesbian.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or Pretty Little Liars.
Enjoy.
Sitting at the very front of a bus in the heat of June reminded Emily just how much she hated school buses. Every window was open but it seemed as if no breeze was coming in so the air was stale and unmoving. That, combined with her need to fight back the urge to cry, made it a very unpleasant time. She hadn't been allowed to bring any electronics with her, so she'd been all the more bored. There wasn't much talking happening on the bus either and the main thing that could be heard was some 80's hit being played through the radio's speakers.
Her best friend from school, Samara, had been there to say goodbye before she left. When Emily came out to her, she was barely even surprised. Samara had simply patted her knee and said, "I know sweetie," then suggested they get froyo. Pretty anticlimactic.
Then when she told her parents, the conversation was short and to the point.
"Mom… Dad… I'm gay."
Quick, like ripping off a big lesbian Band-Aid.
They, specifically her mother, hadn't been quite as understanding.
So there she sat, with her head down and her hands folded on her lap. Her only mindset was to get through the next eight weeks. She played with a string that was hanging from the fraying edge of her jean shorts, promising herself that she wouldn't actually cry.
The bus driver told them that they were on their last stop before heading to camp just as they pulled up to a big beautiful house with a large porch.
Emily, who hadn't looked up once yet, found herself gazing through the glass of the bus window to see piercing blue eyes and a head of blonde hair.
The girl who owned those eyes wasn't even looking back at her, which she was thankful for, but those eyes were hard to miss nonetheless, especially with the way the sun shone on them. The blonde was standing on the very edge of the sidewalk and if the bus driver hadn't been careful, he could've bumped right into her.
She didn't look sad, or angry or scared. She didn't look as if she was feeling anything at the moment. Her face was beautifully stoic. Neither of her parents, or her siblings, her friends or even a pet were there to wave her off.
Maybe that was what really got the brunette interested. Or maybe it was the fact that the girl seemed very familiar. Maybe if she just walked closer…
As the nameless blonde gracefully sauntered onto the bus as if she was floating up on a cloud, Emily quickly averted her eyes back down, head tilting down in the process. This apparently got the girl's attention, because after just a few steps she reached Emily's seat and she spoke.
"Do you mind…?"
Looking up, Emily looked into those eyes to see the girl was politely asking about the small space right next to her. Now when she looked at her straight on like that, she knew whom she was. Alison DiLaurentis. The most popular girl in school. And, according to many jealous girls and brokenhearted boys, she was also a huge bitch. So it was a surprise to Emily that she'd ask or even want to sit next to her.
It really didn't make sense that Alison asked about the seat, especially considering that there were many, many other completely empty seats. But she felt special for some reason or another. Because in some weird way, she felt like she'd just been chosen.
She never would've even dreamed that there was a possibility that Alison was gay. Although, she'd only really seen her around a couple of times since the intimidating Alison always had circles of admirers around her who constantly fought to get on her good side. But Emily was never one of them because she tried to avoid social interaction with gorgeous strangers as much as possible since she didn't want to accidentally give away her gayness.
But now of course, everyone on the bus knew she was a lesbian.
Swallowing hard, she quickly shook her head. "N-no. You can sit there," Was her quiet response, scooting over even closer to the window so Alison could have more space.
"Thank you," The blonde evenly replied, sitting right beside her. She tucked her suitcase underneath the seat, making it fit snugly next to Emily's. Then, "You go to Rosewood High, don't you?"
Emily looked up in slight surprise at that before nodding in response. "Yeah. I'm a senior. And so are you…" Trailing off, she bit her bottom lip and briefly debated on whether or not to tell her that she actually knew her name because she didn't want to freak her out. But then again, everyone knew Alison DiLaurentis. "Um, Alison, right?"
Alison gave her a wide, dimpled grin and a short nod. "Mm-hm, Alison DiLaurentis. And you're…Emma?"
The way that Alison asked sounded as if she had genuinely been trying to think of her name and it made Emily want to agree that her name was Emma just so she wouldn't have to disagree.
"Close," The brunette replied with a small smile of her own. "Emily. Emily Fields."
A look of remembrance washed over Alison's face at the clarification. "Right. Emily. You're on the swim team." It wasn't a question because she knew she was right that time. She was always up to date with things that went on at Rosewood High.
Emily practically glowed when Alison mentioned that, because it meant that she somehow noticed her. She nodded. "Have you ever been to a meet?" She knew it was a stupid question because why would Alison DiLaurentis show up to a swim meet? But she wanted to keep the conversation going and that was all she could think of to ask.
"No," Alison answered, as expected. "But I do know you're the best swimmer on the team."
Emily's cheeks involuntarily flushed at the compliment and she averted her eyes again. "Well, I wouldn't say that…" She trailed off bashfully, even though she knew it was pretty much true.
"Hot and modest. Odd combination," Alison commented almost to herself, which made the flush in Emily's cheeks that much more noticeable, before clearing her throat. "So, Emily. No one needs to know that I'm here, right? It'll be our little secret?"
Ah, now it all made sense to Emily. The blonde has only approached her because she knew they went to the same school, and didn't want word of her gayness to get around via rumor.
"Oh, uh, yeah. Yes. Of course. I wasn't going to tell anyone," She lied, because she had planned on telling her friends once she got back home. But now that Alison had basically asked her not to, she wouldn't, because in all honesty, she was afraid of the girl beside her. Who wouldn't be?
As soon as Emily said that, Alison seemed to visibly relax, even if Emily hadn't noticed she'd been tense before. "Good," She replied before breathing out a "thank you." Emily simply nodded in response with a small smile on her lips.
The pair remained mostly quiet for the rest of the ride, only speaking to complain about how humid it was and their mutual hatred for busses. The camp was a couple of hours from their town and the time seemed to speed up for Emily with Alison by her side. Every so often she stole a glance at pink, bow shaped lips or those crystal eyes she loved so much. Her own chocolate eyes never held the gaze for long, in fear she'd get caught.
Soon enough, everyone was unloading from the bus in the middle of the forest-like area and it was pulling away, leaving twelve girls awkwardly standing there in silence, without anyone there to greet them. Even Alison seemed as if she didn't know what to do with herself.
Emily thought it'd be a good time to take a look around, even though she was firmly rooted in the spot she stood. The first thing her eyes landed on were the log cabins that were presumably for the "campers." There were four of them, three set up in a spacious row behind one larger one that she assumed were for the counselors. There was also a small building set to the side of the larger cabin, with a cross on top of the peaked roof. The chapel. It reminded her of exactly why she was there, and her stomach flipped once again. There were a few other buildings in the area as well, probably a cafeteria, washroom and cabin for indoor activities.
There was a fence surrounding the place and even though there were trees everywhere, there wasn't much foliage within the confines of the fence and camp. There was a big sign over the entrance that read Camp Rüling.
"No one told me I was expected to get in touch with the outdoors," Alison muttered and Emily could swear she could hear nervousness laced into her tone. She didn't take the blonde to be the outdoorsy type.
Before she could answer, a loud voice boomed over the intercoms that were set up around the camp. "Hello campers! I am Doctor Anne Sullivan, the head of Camp Rüling." Twelve pairs of eyes searched for the person who was talking. "You all arrived earlier than expected and myself and the other counselors are quite unprepared. No reason I can't give you your assigned rooms so you can get settled, however." There was a rustling of papers through the speakers before the woman cleared her throat.
"Emily Fields, Alison DiLaurentis, Aria Montgomery and Spencer Hastings, you four will be taking cabin A." Emily's heart skipped a beat, ignoring the other names that flowed from the speakers. How was she supposed to become straight when she was going to be sharing a cabin with Alison for two months?
"Looks like you're stuck with me," Alison lightly whispered with a faint smirk, making the swimmer swallow hard.
"Mona Vanderwaal, Paige McCullers, Hanna Marin and CeCe Drake, you will be in cabin B. Jenna Marshall, Maya St. Germain, Sydney Driscoll and Shana Fring, you will take the final cabin, cabin C." All of the girls quickly located their cabin mates as Doctor Sullivan went on. "You all may go to your respective cabins to settle in and I will be out to greet you shortly. Welcome to Camp Rüling." With that, the speakers went dead and the dozen girls looked a little confused as they walked to their cabins.
Inside each cabin were two sets of bunk beds and four cubbyholes. There were three windows. Inside each cubby was a nametag, one for each of the four girls. Emily took her tag and peeled it off of the backing, sticking it to her chest. Hello, my name is… Emily. The five letters of her name were printed out in black ink and each letter was in caps.
Deciding to be helpful while still wanting to learn who was who since she all but ignored their names being called earlier, Emily took the three remaining nametags, handing Alison's hers first. "Aria? Spencer?"
Both girls abandoned their bags and stepped forward to claim their tags. Aria was the short, cheery brunette with large brown eyes and Spencer was the taller brunette with a preppy fashion sense and a guarded smile. Emily struck up small talk with the pair but Alison didn't pay much attention to any of them after she had her nametag in place and instead, flung her duffle bag onto her bottom bunk. That was when Emily realized that she was literally assigned to sleep on top of the blonde. This would be just lovely.
Emily couldn't help but notice how hands-on Aria and Spencer were being with each other, but she tried her best to ignore it and smile while they spoke. They apparently went to the same high school, Rosewood Day, so they'd known each other beforehand.
"So, do you two know each other?" Aria asked, green eyes flicking from Emily then to Alison, who was still unpacking her things methodically.
"We both go to Rosewood High School," Emily answered once it was clear that Alison wasn't going to respond. Obviously, she had no intentions of making friends there. "But we really just met on the bus ride over here."
Before anyone could add anything else to the conversation, the same loud voice, the voice of Dr. Sullivan, came ringing into the cabin through a speaker in the cabin, telling everyone to report to the area in front of the counselors' cabin.
As the four girls filed out of the place that would be their home for the upcoming months, Emily realized it would be an interesting time.
A/N: Like it so far?