Emily Fields drove down the winding road that led to the entrance of Rosewood, the town she swore she would never go back to. She explained it away to everyone who asked, her mom and dad, Spencer and Aria, that it was too much, the memories held too much weight. That wasn't the case, of course. She was everywhere in Rosewood, every tiny corner of every place. At times like these, Emily had to remind herself that everything that had conspired between them had been years ago, and that the past was the past. Welcome to Rosewood, Pennsylvania, the sign read, and Emily felt every feeling but welcome as she entered her former home.
"You must tell me how Yale's treating you." She cooed to an astute looking Spencer Hastings as they made their way to their old corner of The Brew. Her friend hadn't changed at all, her brown hair was neatly pinned behind her ears, she was rocking a cream and black button up, very law student of her.
"As good as expected, by that, mediocre. You don't understand the struggles of being at the top of your class, while juggling an apartment and man. I'm just exhausted." She chuckled, her voice still contained the classic Hastings rasp.
"How's Toby? Are you still in cohabitation mode?" This made Spencer raise an eyebrow, and she shook her head.
"If cohabitation mode, you mean spending all of our nights slaving over textbooks and blueprints, while eating thai leftovers, yes we are." Emily took a brisk sip of her latte, tasting the light balance of hazelnut and cream. They didn't have these in San Francisco, that's for sure.
"I have to commend Ezra on these lattes. Top notch." She raised her mug, clinking one with the taller girl. Just as they did this, a petite brunette, with an all too familiar smile, came rushing into the cafe. "Aria Montgomery Fitz, speak of the devil." Aria rushed over to the corner couch, her arms outstretched and her gaze wide. She and Emily had a long and tender embrace, full of nostalgia and comfort. Aria and Spencer did the same, and they all settled in.
"You guys have no idea how much I've missed you. Phone calls and texts just aren't enough. I need my Hastings and Fields updates at least once a week." Her auburn eyes crinkled at the corners, she still looked like a 16 year old to Emily and Spencer.
"What do you want to know?" The olive skinned girl asked, her muscular legs crossed.
"How's swimming? Especially, how are those California girls, much better than the ones in Rosewood?" Emily winced at this question, and memories of her, Emily's first love came flooding from every corner of her mind. Her pale blonde hair, her aqua eyes, the slight husk of her voice when she said her name. She had to snap out of this, Aria was giving her a pained look. "I'm sorry Em, I know that's a touchy subject."
"It's fine, that was three years ago, this is now," she sighed, "San Francisco is better than I've ever imagined. UCLA is a dream come true, but there is someone in my life." This made Spencer raise her eyebrows in wonder.
"Who is this someone? If you're back to Paige, I will pop a-" Emily stopped her before she could continue on her semi tirade.
"It's not Paige, I promise, Spence. She's coming here soon, you guys know her pretty well." The girls continued to converse, the comfortable energy of Rosewood wrapping around all of them. An hour past, and Aria was halfway through her Hawaiian honeymoon horror story when the door swung open. Who was walking through that door, but Hanna Marin.
Her golden blonde locks were swept into an intricate braid on her shoulder, tiny aqua hoops hung from both of her ears. Emily noticed that she'd aged wonderfully, she had became a gorgeous women. The brunettes heart was frantically beating underneath her coat, as they locked eyes. Time stopped momentarily, the air crackled with tension. Aria, her face in a state of awe, leaned over to Emily. "I had no idea she was coming." This didn't matter at the moment, as Hanna awkwardly made her way to the counter of The Brew. Her movements seemed stilted and nervous as she bought two of Ezra's famous double fudge brownies. She plunked by Spencer's side of the couch, wrapping her in a tight hug. Hanna then leaned into Aria's side, breathing in her scent.
"You don't understand how hard all of this has been without you." She whispered into her onyx hair. Hanna pulled away from her, and slightly shaking, wrapping her hand around Emily's wrist. "Long time no talk, Em." The room was ripe with fog like anxiety, as the other girls waited for her response.
"Yeah, three years, and complete lack of communication. I'd consider that a long time, Hanna." Emily refused to look at Hanna, whose hand was still holding her wrist.
"It's college and New York, you know how it is. Life gets in the way sometimes." She murmured, chewing on the brownie quietly.
"Do I really know how it is? Because if I remember our last conversation well enough, you told me that life just wasn't that simple. That we all need our own lives, am I wrong?" Her voice had a biting undertone, this was Emily's rarely seen angry side. Hanna rolled her eyes and exhaled, playing with her hands.
"Guys, can we be a little bit more mature about this, seriously? Hanna, we would love to hear about NYU." As Hanna began to talk, a incredibly infamous women waltzed in, a bewitching smile dancing on her pink lips. Alison Dilaurentis was absolutely beaming, she made a beeline straight for Emily. Hanna's jaw hit the carpet at what happened next. As Emily grinned at Ali, the former queen bee gave her a swift peck on the lips. She intertwined her hands with the swimmer's and looked at the rest of the shell shocked group. "So, where do we begin?"