"I don't know Em...are you sure you want to do this?" Hanna says with a worried expression.
"If it's too hard for you Ali can stay with me."
"I can handle it, it'll be okay. I'd like to spend some time with her and forget for a little while..forget that she was gone and all that's happened."
Emily reaches for her water bottle on the kitchen counter and starts picking at the label nervously, not looking at Hanna.
"Listen I know all of this A business is over, but it doesn't change the fact that we're trapped in one of Ali's lies again. Just be careful, and don't let her rope you in. Remember who you used to be and how she made you feel...not just the good but the bad too." Hanna says, a little worriedly.
"I've changed and she has too. We were young and that doesn't excuse how mean she was sometimes, but we're not 16 anymore and a lot has happened. We've grown up and she's not going to push me around, I've come too far to go back to the person I used to be."
Hanna takes Emily's hand and puts on her most sincere Hanna face and her most sympathetic Hanna voice and says,
"I know you still love her. I saw how you looked that night at the theatre, it's like we interrupted something between you two. I want more than anything for you to be happy, I just think you deserve the best of everything, and I don't want her to break your heart again."
Emily slowly exhales and nods her head, knowing that this is dangerous, that Ali can send her spiraling and consume her in all the wrong ways and definitely in the right ones. But there's this feeling in her chest, her body is alive again and the possibility of being with her sends her to a place no one else can take her. She loved Paige, but Alison...Alison is everything she could ever want. Ali is home.
On her way out of Hanna's house, Emily walks a little faster than needed to her car, keys already in hand. She needs to get home fast, think about how to approach Ali. Should she bring anything up? Should she wait for Ali to bring it up?
Emily's heart is racing a little and wait - does she have butterflies? She can't imagine how she'll get through sleeping in the same bed as Ali, or where their relationship could even be headed. She couldn't let her back into her heart so easily, she couldn't be so vulnerable so quickly.
All Emily knew was that Ali had kissed her outside of the barn, in her haze she had felt like she was in heaven, her head in a beautiful blond's lap with her lips on hers. She didn't know what it meant, she just knew that for the first time it was Ali kissing her, not the other way around.
As she pulls into her driveway and shifts into park, Emily sighs into her seat and closes her eyes, wondering how she could avoid getting her heart dragged through the mud, which seemed inevitable with Alison. She fumbles for her keys and makes her way to her porch when she hears laughter coming from inside. She opens the door and is surprised to see Ali and her mother, sitting in the living room and giggling over coffee.
Ali runs up to Emily and gives her a hug, a short one, but with a little squeeze at the end.
"Em! I'm so happy you're here. I hope you don't mind that I came by earlier, I just couldn't be home anymore and I wanted to see you."
She smiles her little crooked Ali smile, you know, the kind of smile that's all in the eyes.
Pam gets up from the couch and hugs her daughter,
"I'm going to get started on dinner. I'll call you down in about an hour?"
"Sure that's fine." Emily says, and she leads her friend up the stairs to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
When Emily turns around Ali is already on her bed, her hair splaying out across the pillow. She props herself up on one arm and motions to Emily to come sit on the bed. Emily makes her way over and sits the farthest she can from Ali.
Ali takes notice and cocks her head to the side, staring at Emily with those all-knowing eyes.
"So what are we going to do tonight Em? Pull out some old pictures and reminisce? Watch a movie? Ignore each other?" She lightly punches Emily's shoulder with a smile.
Emily laughs a little and relaxes, Alison's teasing is familiar right now, and Emily needs familiarity amidst all the chaos that she's experienced.
"How about for now we just watch a movie or something and then after dinner we can do whatever you want." Emily says.
Ali smirks and tosses the remote beside her to Emily.
"Okay, but you pick the movie. I always like the ones you choose."
Emily's heart takes a little leap, she can never tell if Ali's just complimenting her as a friend or if there's anything more. Is she reading too much into it?
Emily looks through her dvd's and puts on a movie she's sure Ali hasn't seen,
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona? What's this about?" Ali says,
"I thought you said you always liked the ones I chose, just trust me. It's good."
"Fine." Ali says, getting comfortable in the bed while Emily sits upright, completely opposite from Alison's casual relaxed position.
Both girls are quiet during the movie, but Ali moves a little closer to Emily and rests her head on her arm, placing her hand around it. Emily looks over at Ali but she is paying attention to the movie, not shifting her gaze from the screen. She slowly strokes Emily's skin with her thumb. Emily feels heat from being this close to her.
Just as Emily is about to open her mouth and say something, her mother knocks on the door. Alison moves away from Emily and sits upright,
"Dinner's ready, why don't you two come help set the table?" Pam says.
At the dinner table, Ali keeps the conversation going with a story about the worst meal her mother ever made and Pam is completely charmed by her. Emily stares at her from the corner of her eye, sneaking glances at her, watching her eyes light up as she talks, as she laughs.
As they're eating their meal, Ali slips a hand under the table and rests it on Emily's thigh. Emily jumps, unnoticeably to her mother but very noticeably to Ali. She looks over at her with questioning eyes but Ali just smiles.
By the end of the meal, Ali is drawing circles with her fingers on Emily's bare thigh, but Emily doesn't want to let her have all the power. She puts her hand over Ali's and keeps it there, but Ali interlocks their fingers.
This can't just be a tease, Emily thinks. It has to be real.
Pam gets up to clear the dinner table and the girls tear their hands apart, lingering on their touch for a second too long.
"You said after dinner we could do whatever I wanted." Ali reminds Emily.
"Don't make me regret it."
"Let's go for a walk," Ali says.
Emily follows her outside, curious to see if they'll finally talk about how they both feel.
Ali is a block ahead and Emily tries to catch up, when she turns the corner and sees that Ali is nowhere to be seen.
"Boo!"
Emily jumps back and instinctively pushes Ali, making her fall on the cement.
"What the hell Em?"
"I'm so sorry Ali are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you..it's just some leftover reflex from all the A paranoia."
"It's okay just help me up...I think I scraped my leg."
A bit of blood pools on Ali's knee and Emily helps her up and leads her back to the house. Once inside she brings her to the bathroom to help her clean it up.
Ali sits on the bathroom counter while Emily wets a cloth and applies it to the wound. Ali winces a little and Emily looks apologetic. She doesn't want to see Ali in any kind of pain.
Once she puts a bandage around her leg Emily turns around to leave and Ali grabs her by the arm,
"Wait, Em."
Emily's breath catches in her throat and she slowly faces Ali.
"Thank you, for taking care of me."
"Always. I'm going to go take a shower in the guest bathroom, I can run you one in here."
"Why are you still so nice to me? After everything?" Ali says.
"You're my best friend."
"You're mine too Em, forever."