"Ew, loser Mona is following us again," the fifteen year old queen bee stated, rolling her ocean-like blue globes at the small brunette who was walking towards her and her posse. "Ali, be nice," Aria Montgomery commented, "she's a really sweet person. I sit beside her in world history."
Alison DiLaurentis turned her head to Aria, "do you want to be a loser, too?" the blonde snapped. A small frown fell on Aria's lips as she shook her head and stayed quiet. "I didn't think so," Alison replied, "now let's go before she catches back up with us."
Alison turned on her heel and started walking towards the glass doors to leave Nordstrom. Spencer Hastings gave Aria a small arm squeeze before following Alison, with Hanna Marin following shortly behind of Spencer.
Aria released a disappointed sigh. Sure, she loved Alison but sometimes the blonde could be so cruel and heartless. It was funny actually. Alison wasn't the nicest girl in the world, in fact she was extremely intimating and rude, but she had a way about her that made you crave her acceptance. One second she had the power to make you feel special and the next you were wondering if she ever even looked at you at all.
Emily Fields grabbed Aria's hand from behind of the shorter brunette, pulling her away from her thoughts. "It's okay," Emily's soft voice started, "I like Mona, too. I sat beside her in earth science for a week before we were assigned seats. She is really sweet."
Emily's smile was warm and bright and it was so weird how a girl like Emily Fields could be friends with a girl like Alison DiLaurentis.
Aria returned a smile to Emily before they followed their three friends out of the luxury store and into the mall halls again.
"There's a party tonight," Alison smirked, "we all should totally go." Spencer groaned, "We can't tonight, Ali. We have lacrosse practice in the morning, remember? We're running five miles just to start practice. Ian is going to kill us."
"Oh, whatever. All you would have to do is bat those brown eyes at him and he'd—,"
"Alison," Spencer warned, cutting off the blonde before she could continue her statement. Emily, Hanna and Aria glanced between each other confused.
The girls were used to this. Someone would say something, Alison would respond back with some type of comment, and someone would cut Alison off before she could say too much in front of the other girls.
"Whatever, who cares anyway? We're the best two on the team even though we're sophomores. We're going to rock varsity," Alison confidently replied. "Five miles is a lot to run, we only run one in swimming," Emily commented, thinking out loud.
"That's because you're not a land sport, Em. I'm sure you swim way more than five miles. Swimming is so much harder than lacrosse," Spencer replied. "I wish I played a sport, but I'm not good at them," Hanna said, her eyes absentmindedly roaming inside the display windows of store they passed.
"Well then you've got to stop eating three bags of Lay's Sour Cream and Onion chips a day and get your ass off the couch," Alison chuckled. A silence swept across of the group. "Oh come on, I'm kidding," Alison offered, turning to loop her arm with Hanna's, "but seriously you could definitely be great at sports if you tried, Han. It just might take a bit more work than others."
Emily's eyes found Aria's again as they shared another look of disappointment, thinking the same thing. Why were they so close with someone who could be so cold?
"You know, I don't like sports either Han. That's why we make the best fans. Every athlete needs fans, or without them they are nothing," Aria ended with a underlying serious tone in her voice, eyeing Alison. The blonde caught Aria's hidden message and her lips turned into upward smile, deciding to play along, "she's right. Fans are very important. Every star needs them to remind them how great they are."
Spencer and Emily weren't naive to not catch the double meaning of the conversation between Alison and Aria. Emily looped her arm with Aria's as they walked behind of Alison, Hanna, and Spencer. The taller brunette gave the shorter brunette another warming smile as they shuffled into Coach to look at the fall collection of purses.
Hanna and Aria took off on one side of the store featuring hand bags while Alison and Spencer spilt to the other side of the store to look at pocketbooks. Emily strayed alone walking by tables of items and looking at the lit up display cabinets of designer handbags.
Shopping wasn't really Emily's thing, especially not in stores like this. Emily didn't really carry around pocketbooks. The most she carried on her was her phone and a bit of cash her parents gave her to spend out with friends.
The swimmer was a laid back teenager, she wasn't like the rest of her friends. Alison and Hanna were into high-end fashion. They loved fashion shows, magazines.. anything and everything fashionable that you could imagine. Spencer was born into luxury clothes as the Hastings family only wore the top appropriate designer outfits approved by country club residents. Aria was into fashion, but more of hipster, edgy style than Alison and Hanna's high end tastes.
Emily was just simple. She was the Plain Jane of the group. She had more of a chilled, athletic look going on. If she wasn't in jeans, Vans, and a flannel, she was in her Rosewood High School swim team athletic apparel and Nikes.
"Em?"
The tan girl looked up to find Alison looking back at her. Emily offered a gentle welcoming smile in response. "See anything you like?" Alison asked, already knowing what Emily's response would be. "No, not really. I mean, the purses, they're nice, but I don't really want them."
Alison picked up a deep red purse from the table and held it up to Emily, "you would look so awesome with this on your shoulder." There was a slight twinkle in Alison's eyes as she reached out to hand Emily the purse. The brunette took the bag from Alison. Though Emily could easily say no to the purse, she couldn't say no to Alison.
Emily slipped the purse down her arm and laid it on her shoulder. Alison stepped closer to adjust the length of the strap. Emily's breath nearly hitched at how close Alison's face was to hers.
Emily didn't understand why she all of a sudden felt nervous. Her hands started sweating and she felt her cheeks burning. What was going on? The brunette didn't dare to shift her eyes to look down at Alison, she was way too close. It would have been too awkward.. too weird.
Alison stepped back and smiled up at Emily, "see? Awesome." Alison put her hands on each of Emily's shoulder and turned the brunette to face a mirror on the wall. "Red is definitely your color," Alison smiled.
Emily looked at Alison in the mirror, she didn't even look at the bag. She didn't care about the bag, if Alison said that it looked good on her, she decided to believe her. Alison wouldn't lie to her, right? A smile wiped across of Emily's lips as Alison was looking back at her in the mirror.
Emily could only wish to be as beautiful as Alison. The blonde was so unbelievably flawless. Alison was always so well put together. If perfection had a definition, Emily was sure Alison DiLaurentis would be it. Alison never had pimples, or messy hair. Her eyes were always bright and she didn't even need braces growing up. Unlike most of the girls in their grade, Alison didn't have an ugly middle school or early high school stage. She was always so physically flawless to Emily.
Emily felt a wave of content flush through her body. When Alison was alone with her she always seemed to feel this way. Emily always felt at ease and so…okay. Like she didn't have a worry in the world. Alison was the only person who could make her feel so happy.
"Ali," Hanna's voice called out, breaking Emily and Alison from their gaze in the mirror. Alison dropped her hands from Emily's shoulder and turned around to face Hanna, leaving Emily to already miss her friend's touch.
"Come check out this bag I found. It would look so great with your nude Louis Vuitton heels." Without looking back, Alison left Emily alone again, holding the dark red Coach purse on her shoulder.
Emily watched with a frown as the two blondes walked away her, leaving her to feel a different kind of disappoint with Alison that she didn't quite understand.
#####
After their after school mall trip, the five girls walked back to Spencer's house to hang out before dinner and the home football game tonight. It was the first Rosewood High School home football game of the year, opening the boy's season.
"You know who's the kicker for the football team?" Alison asked to no one in particular, her entire body laid long ways on Spencer's couch with Emily on the other side, laying the same way. "Isn't it Noel Kahn?" Aria asked a bit too quickly. Alison smiled, "yep. You should talk to him after the game tonight, Aria. I heard from Jackson that he has a crush on you."
"No way, really?" Aria yelped. Spencer and Hanna laughed at Aria's excitement. Aria has had the biggest crush on Noel ever since the fifth grade when he picked up her green crayon one day in art class. Aria saw it as a marriage proposal.
"That's the word," Alison calmly replied, "and he's mega-rich. His parents own like half of Pennsylvania." Aria shrugged with a grin, her hazel eyes big and round, "I don't care how rich he is, he could be dirt poor and I think I'd still love him."
"You know what else I heard?" Alison questioned again. The room was silent as the girls waited for an answer, "Sean is a starting receiver." Now it was Hanna's turn to shine with desire, "Sean?! I can't wait to see him play. I bet he's so good."
"Wait, I thought Sean played soccer?" Spencer questioned, "it's soccer season." Alison tossed her blonde curls over her shoulder, "yeah, apparently his soccer coach is letting him do both because Sean could really help out the football team since he's so fast and in shape."
Hanna's smile widened, "he's so perfect." Alison playfully rolled her eyes as Hanna started on a roll about how dreamy her blonde athlete was. Alison's eyes fell on Emily as she zoned out of Hanna's rant.
Alison softly nudged Emily's leg with her foot. The brunette cut her eyes from Hanna and faced Alison, giving the blonde the smile Alison knew she would get. "And who's going to be there for you to drool over?" Alison asked more quietly, only to where she and Emily could hear.
Emily raised and dropped her shoulders in a quick shrug, "I don't know. I don't like anyone." Alison leaned forward on the couch, her blonde curls swinging, "everyone likes someone."
Alison's eyes were playful and light. Her dimples in her cheeks were starting to pop as her childlike smirk wiped on her lips. Emily couldn't help but to smile back in return. Alison's smile was just that stunning.
"We can find you someone," Alison continued when she realized that Emily had nothing to offer up. "What do you like? Tall? Muscular? Athlete? Nerd? I can totally see you with an athlete since you're like the top swimmer in the state. You have to date someone as great as you," Alison said.
Emily brought her hands to her lap and started picking at her nails, "I don't know. I-I don't really know any guy I would even think about dating." Alison titled her head as if she was studying Emily, "well what are you attracted to?"
Emily could feel her cheeks burning all over again and her nervousness coming back. She knew it was probably stupid to get so worked up over such a simple question, but the truth was she didn't know anything about what she did like. She had never really been attracted to any guy she knew. All the guys she liked were celebrities. She had the biggest crush on Zac Efron in High School Musical, and she loved Dylan and Cole Sprouse on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.. she even had a thing for Uncle Jessie on Full House. But when it came down to normal guys in Rosewood, she never had a crush on any of them.
"Em, it's okay," Alison stated, clearly noticing how flustered Emily was getting. "It's okay to not know what you're attracted to. It's actually fun. You get to experiment and see. It's almost like shopping."
Emily laughed at comparing people to shopping items, "shopping?" Alison leaned back against the couch, "mhm. You get to look at people and if you don't like what you see, you just keep walking and go on to the next choice."
"Wait, did someone say shopping?" Hanna cut in, stopping her on-going speech about Sean. "We're going to shop a man for Emily," Alison replied, her smirk reappearing on her face. Emily's smile fell off of her lips as worry shot through her body. Things just went from a funny idea to reality before she could blink.
"Ooo, Em's looking for a boy toy," Spencer joked. Emily shook her head, "Ali's kidding. We're not really looking me a, uh, guy."
"Why not?!" Hanna jumped, "it would be so fun! Emily on the prowl. Single and ready to mingle." Alison and Spencer laughed as Emily tried to force a smile. How bad could it really be anyway? Her friends all had guys that they had crushes on. It was normal for girls to like guys. To want a boyfriend. That's all Emily wanted, was to be normal with her friends. And she did get to pick the guy she wanted. It's like Alison said, she didn't have to be with someone she didn't like.
Emily looked back at Alison. The way the blonde was smiling alone made Emily want to please her. "Okay," Emily surrendered, "I guess I'll just at least look."
Hanna squealed in excitement and rushed Emily to hug her. The brunette's eyes stayed locked on Alison's as Hanna threw Emily a million and one questions about guys of all ages at Rosewood High School.
#####
"Touchdown, Sharks!" the announcer shouted into the microphone. The crowd roared in cheers as the Rosewood High Sharks took the lead 14-3.
"We're so good this year!" Spencer beamed, "definitely going to state!" Emily took another bite of her hotdog as she watched the Sharks line up for a field goal attempt. "There's your man, Aria," Hanna giggled. The tiny brunette clapped as Noel took his position to kick the field goal, "go Noel!"
Emily looked into the crowd of the bleachers. Alison had left the group just after the second quarter started to go get a soda. She hadn't gotten back yet and there was only two minutes to go until halftime. "Does anyone know where Ali is?" Emily asked, looking to her right at her friends.
Spencer shook her head and Hanna shrugged. Aria was too busy watching her fifth grade husband kick, and hit, his field goal. The girls cheered as Emily stood up. "Where are you going?" Spencer asked, looking up at Emily.
"I'm going to the bathroom to beat the halftime crowd," Emily lied. Spencer nodded and focused back to the game as Emily made her way through the sitting fans and to the aisle. As the brunette walked down the steps she scanned the stadium for Alison. Emily had always been more protective over Alison than any of the other girls.
Emily should have known better though, Alison had a tendency to always disappear and come back as if nothing happened. The first couple of times that Alison did it the girls would ask questions, but after Alison would never tell them, they stopped. Alison could be secretive sometimes and Emily didn't like it.
Emily got to the bottom of the stairs and starting walking to search for the blonde. She had to be here somewhere. She couldn't have left unless she walked, they all only had their permits.
Emily twisted and turned through pools of people, avoiding kids with pizza slices and other students from her school walking in groups. She had no idea where Alison could have gone, but she was so curious she couldn't help but to find out.
Emily's phone buzzed in her back pocket. The brunette reached back to pull it out and read her incoming text. I left my wallet in my mom's SUV and my mom has a spare key right under the back of the car attached by a magnet. Can you use it to get my wallet while you're already out, please?!
Emily sighed. She was on a mission to find Alison, not Spencer's wallet. But the brunette couldn't say no to her genius friend. She was already out in the crowd, so it wouldn't hurt anything. Maybe she would see Alison on the way anyway.
Emily walked out of the high school stadium and into the parking lot. Thankfully Spencer's mom didn't park too far from the gate. Spencer's parents were on the athletic booster club for Rosewood High, so they got VIP parking to all athletic events.
Emily found Mrs. Hasting's Escalade and made her way through the parking lot. As she got closer, she noticed a figure moving inside the back seat of the car. There was just enough light from the lightening pole a few feet away to cast a dim light against the dark windows of the SUV.
Emily took a small step closer to the car and noticed one figure pull away from another one. There were two. Someone was sitting on someone's lap in the back seat of Mrs. Hasting's car, and she was pretty sure she remembered Mr. and Mrs. Hasting's sitting behind herself and the girls in the bleachers just moments ago.
Emily hide behind a truck as she leaned closer to get a better look at the figure. She couldn't make out who it was, she could only see their outline. She could definitely tell it was two though, and they appeared to be very close.
Emily's mind went from innocent to completely dirty in all of two seconds.. what if they were having…oh God.
Emily watched as the top figure leaned back into the bottom figure, both of the shadows now touching again. Emily's cheeks started to itch with a burn. She couldn't catch two people having sex. How embarrassing and awkward is that?!
Emily turned away when she heard a door open and the brunette couldn't help but to look back. She nearly gasped out loud when she saw who exited the car. Alison hopped out of the SUV, straightening out her tank top as Ian Thomas climbed out behind of her, smirking.
The swimmer watched with large eyes as Ian grabbed Alison's arm and pulled her back once more before shutting the door. He brought his lips to hers and used his other hand to slide it down her lower back, almost gripping her ass.
Emily's emotions shot in thirty different ways. She was infuriated. What the hell was Alison doing?! Ian was her coach and Spencer's older sister's boyfriend. Emily was so mad that tears swelled in her dark eyes as she watched Alison lean into him and kiss him back, placing her hands on his broad chest.
Emily's stomach flipped. She couldn't watch anymore. She tore her eyes away from Alison and Ian and stormed back off to the football game. She didn't care if she didn't return with Spencer's wallet. She didn't care about anything at all anymore.