"Ali. It's time to get up."

Alison opened her eyes, scooting herself up a little in bed. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the still dark room, eyes focusing on Emily. The girl was already dressed, hair braided. Alison couldn't help but roll her eyes at that, giggling softly in spite of herself. Emily had always been the early riser.

"Do I have to?" She pleaded softly, collapsing back onto the bed and burying her head under her pillow.

"Yes, silly." Emily took the pillow, grabbing Alison's arm and pulling her out of bed. "Hanna and Aria are coming over soon. And Spencer's parents have left already, so you can come out now."

Alison had been hiding out in the Hastings home with Emily and Spencer ever since they had returned to Rosewood. No one except Alison's friends knew that she wasn't dead yet, and she was kind of scared for when the town found out. She had genuinely changed a lot in the years that she had been forced to hide out, watching her friends suffer under the hand of A without being able to help them. She had come to regret the way she had treated people. Her friends had been able to accept her back once they heard the full story of what happened to her, but would the rest of Rosewood be so quick to forgive her? She didn't think so. She had given most of the town a reason to hate her. She wouldn't be surprised if they showed up with pitchforks and burning crosses when they found out that she had faked her death.

And then there was Emily. Alison had disappeared at the worst time- the blonde had just received that letter from Emily a few days before. And while some of the things Emily had written had stung a bit, Ali knew that she deserved it, and she knew that it was all true. She never brought the letter up to the other girl, and Emily never asked, but there was a tension in the air between the girls those last few days.

Alison grabbed some clothes and a towel, heading into the bathroom. A half hour later she came out of the bathroom, dressed in clothes she had borrowed from Spencer and running a brush through her wet hair.

"Blondie Bitch?!"

Alison stopped dead in her tracks. Oh no. This wasn't good.

She spun around, trying to channel her old Ice Queen self. The one who could tear anyone down without flinching. Not the one who was bruised and battered and scarred.

"Pigskin." Alison arched an eyebrow at the redhead standing in front of her. Paige had already started shaking. God, could she be any more pathetic? She really did need to learn how to control that temper of hers.

"You're living with them? With Spencer and E-Emily?"

"Oh, me? No, I just sneak into their bathroom every morning for no apparent reason. Yes, I'm living with them, idiot. Got a problem with it?"

"Yes!"

"Emily's not your girlfriend anymore, sweetheart," Alison said with a chuckle. "And what are you gonna do? Rat me out to the police again?"

"She will be soon enough." Paige shook her head. "I love Emily, and Emily loves me. She just needs to stop being so stupid and realize that."

"Oh, I'm sure Emily would just love to hear you call her stupid just because she doesn't wanna date you. Have you ever considered the fact that maybe she just doesn't want you around when she could have me?"

"What do you want with Emily, huh?! We had something good going for us before you came back and ruined it for us."

"God, don't be so dramatic." The blonde girl rolled her eyes, walking over to Spencer's dresser. She grabbed a can of hairspray, spraying it ferociously over her blonde hair to attempt to banish the frizz before she began to brush her hair again. "You ruined it."

"You broke her heart! You shattered it into a million pieces, and I was the one who put her back together again!"

"No, actually, Maya did." Alison glanced over at Paige. "You know, I liked Maya a lot more than I like you. She was funny and pretty and she didn't try to drown Emily. It's a shame she died."

"You don't love Emily." Paige shook her head. "You're just here to fuck with her feelings again because you're hot and popular, and ever since you were born you think you have the right to whatever you want. You think you can just break Emily's heart, and then tramp back into her life and act all sorry and remorseful and try to get her back without having to pay the consequences for what you did."

"How dare you try to dictate how I feel?" Alison's eyes blazed, the unaffected demeanor she had put up to infuriate Paige further now gone. "I love Emily. I've always loved Emily. Just admit it, Pigskin! You never had a chance with Emily, not even while I was gone!"

After getting physically attacked so many times, you'd think Alison would have quicker reflexes by now, but she didn't. One minute, a triumphant smile was on her face as she tore into Paige, relishing in the fact that she was still able to play on people's vulnerabilities and fears just like she'd done in the old days, and the next she was clutching her nose, bringing her hand back to stare at the blood that had gathered on it. She had punched her. The bitch had fucking punched her.

"Alison!"

Both Alison and Paige spun around to look at the door. Emily was standing there, eyes wide. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. She looked at Alison first, worry and concern in her eyes, and then her eyes flickered over to Paige, staring accusingly at the girl.

"Get out."

"Emil-"

"I said, get out!" Emily hissed. "And don't come back. I don't wanna see you. We're over, Paige. You broke my trust, and do you really think coming here and punching my best friend in the face is the way to win me back?"

Paige stepped closer, face kissing distance from Emily's. "I love you."

"Just leave." Emily sidestepped Paige, walking over to Alison and grabbing the girl's arm gently.

"It isn't over," Paige snapped before she left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Girl needs some help," Alison said to Emily.

"Yeah." The dark haired girl let out a shaky laugh. "Here, Ali, you should be resting- you're hurt."

Normally Alison would protest to that, but her nose really did hurt, so she let Emily help her back over to the bed, sitting down on it. "Your nose doesn't seem to be broken," Emily said, looking at it carefully. "Hold on, I'll be right back."

Alison winced in pain as she sat there, waiting for Emily to come back. She reappeared a few moments later, carrying a dishtowel with some ice wrapped up in it.

"Here, hold this to your nose." Ali took it from Emily without a word. "It'll help the swelling go down a bit."

She nodded her head, doing as Emily told her to do. The two girls sat there for a while, Alison holding the ice to her nose, Emily sneaking the occasional glance at Alison. "You know..." Emily hesitated. "I-"

"You what?" Alison asked, looking over at her best friend. Their eyes met, and for the first time they had known each other, Alison was the first one to blush and look away.

"I overheard your conversation- well, part of it, anyways."

"How much did you hear?"

Emily took a deep breath. "Enough. Do you... do you really feel that way? Or were you just saying that to make Paige mad?" Emily looked so hopeful yet fearful at the same time, so vulnerable. Alison knew that she had the power to make or break Emily. She could give her the truth, the answer she knew she was dying to hear, or she could lie to her, break her heart all over again like she had done that day in the locker room that seemed so long ago now. But Alison wanted to tell the truth. She had been through a lot in the past couple of years. Ever since she woke up after being hit with that shovel and had found her mom trying to bury her alive all she could think about was how afraid she was, but the only time she had felt safe was when she was in Emily's presence. She wanted to be with the other girl. And not as just a friend, either.

"I was serious." A wide smile spread across Emily's face, all hints of doubt and fear erasing from her face instantly. Alison took a deep breath. "I love you, Emily. I wanna be with you. I- I can't bear the thought of you dating Pigskin or anyone else. You belong with me."

"Oh, Ali." Alison frowned when she saw the tears brimming in Emily's eyes- what was wrong? Had she said something wrong? But she realized the tears were there out of happiness when Emily continued talking. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that."

She wrapped her arms around Emily, gently pressing her lips to Emily's. Emily smiled into the kiss, pulling back a little before leaning in and kissing Alison again.

Things were finally where they belonged.

Love it? Hate it? Review it? Review it, please! :) As an Emison shipper and a Paily hater, I reallyyyyy hope this is how the rumored Alison/Paige showdown goes down!