A/N: Set after Emily moves in with Hanna. Slightly AU. You'll have to pretend either that Caleb never came back or that Hanna never took him back when he did come back. Please forgive me for any mistakes, a lot of this was written at ridiculous times of the night/morning. Also, please forgive me if anyone is out of character, this is my first time writing anything for PLL.


Emily had made herself a promise when Alison was still alive that she wouldn't ever fall in love with one of her friends again. However, when her best friend is Hanna, that promise is hard to keep.

How could someone stop themselves from loving Hanna? It was an easy thing to do, and despite her insecurities she had guys lining up for a chance to date her. Emily knew it couldn't happen, hence why she loathed that she couldn't stop her feelings from growing, especially since she'd been staying with her - sharing her bed. She had decided that she needed a distraction and so, in an act of desperation, she had decided that distraction could be found in dating Samara.

Emily stared at Hanna's sleeping form through the darkness. Her captivated gaze danced over Hanna's stunning features, as though memorising something imperative.

"You're so beautiful," she whispered into the silence.

"Huh?" Hanna said drowsily, startling Emily.

"I think I'm going to ask Samara out." WHAT? Emily had no idea where that came from; it was the first thing she could think to say. Hanna turned to face Emily fully looking slightly...hurt? No, that couldn't be right. Emily must have been misreading her expression due to the lack of light. Hanna was silent for a moment and Emily wasn't sure she was going to reply.

"You should," she finally said. "She's pretty." Hanna tried to smile encouragingly.

"I won't if you don't want me to, Han."

"Why wouldn't I want you to? You should do whatever makes you happy. We've had this conversation before, Em," Hanna smiled. Emily was hesitant. Hanna didn't seem too thrilled, although it might've been because she had been woken in the middle of the night. Instead of pressing, she changed the subject.

"I'm sorry I woke you," she said apologetically.

"It's okay, Em, you could wake me up in the middle of the night to talk about the weather if you liked. I'd listen," Hanna smiled sleepily, her eyes closed again. Emily beamed at her affectionately.

"I'd listen to you if you decided to talk about grass in the middle of the night," Emily giggled.

"I'm glad it's mutual," Hanna chuckled into her pillow. With that, they each turned their back on each other to sleep, but neither of them did, Hanna awake dreading the thought of Emily dating Samara and Emily running through the possible reasons Hanna hadn't seemed very happy about it.


The next day, Emily woke up alone in Hanna's bed. Strange, Emily thought, as Hanna usually needed to be pretty much dragged out of bed in the mornings. She made her way downstairs and found Hanna in the kitchen, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of toast.

"You're up early," Emily said in way of a greeting.

"I couldn't sleep," Hanna replied absently.

"I didn't kick you, did I?" Emily said jokingly. Hanna half smiled for a moment and then returned to her distant thoughts.

"No, just, my mind wouldn't shut up."

"Oh. Well, do you want to talk about it?" Emily was concerned. If it was keeping her friend up, then it must be serious.

"No, it's okay. I'm going to go take a shower, okay? " Hanna dismissed the line of questioning and hurriedly left, leaving Emily very confused.


The ride to school had been quiet. Hanna seemed withdrawn and Emily was worried. She wondered if there was something wrong that Hanna wasn't telling her, or if she had done something to upset her friend. She made a note to ask her about it later as they approached Spencer and Aria at a table in the cafeteria.

"Good morning!" Spencer greeted them as they sat down opposite her.

"Ugh, how can you be so chipper?" Hanna retorted irritably as Emily returned the greeting.

"What's up with you?" Aria questioned, amused.

"Don't mind Sleeping Beauty here. Somebody didn't get enough sleep last night," Emily teased, trying to ease the tension between them. Hanna could see the question in Aria and Spencer's faces, so she interrupted them before they could ask.

"I just drank too much coffee before bed, that's all," Hanna said dismissively. Emily shot Hanna a questioning look that she pretended not to notice.

"Well I slept like a log. It's amazing how well you sleep when you're not being harassed via text message," Spencer joked.

"Don't jinx it," Aria said warningly. As if on cue, Emily's phone buzzed in her hand. Everyone looked at it as though it was about to explode. Emily regarded it tentatively and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's just Samara," she reassured her friends. Aria and Spencer exchanged looks and smiled at Emily, while Hanna was overcome with an odd sensation of jealousy. She knew the conversation was about to turn to Emily and Samara, and she couldn't listen to it.

"Oh! I totally forgot! I have this thing I have to talk to Mr Riley about before class. I'll see you guys later?" Without waiting for a response, Hanna was out of her seat and across the room before the others could realise she had even spoken.

"Well that was abrupt," Spencer remarked.

"And vague," Aria added. Emily just looked towards the door, wondering why Hanna had so blatantly lied to get away. She didn't even have any classes with Mr Riley. Her phone buzzed again, catching her off guard. She opened the text message and her stomach dropped.

Hey Em, looks like Hanna has a secret that she doesn't want to share. Doesn't she know how selfish that is? Maybe you could ask her. Shame she's avoiding you –A.

"Tell me something I don't know," Emily sighed.


Emily had finally managed to track Hanna down during their joint free period before lunch and Hanna was just about to slip out of sight again when Emily called out to her.

"Hanna! Will you stop and talk to me?"

"What?" Hanna said a little more harshly than she intended and was immediately regretful when she saw the hurt in Emily's face.

"Did I do something wrong?" Emily asked in a small voice. Hanna hated that she had been avoiding Emily, and the way she was looking at her did nothing to ease the guilt.

"No, of course not, Em. I'm just in a weird mood today," Hanna lied reluctantly.

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?" There was fire in Emily's eyes and Hanna wasn't sure if she was scared or excited by it.

"I'm sorry, Em. I didn't mean to upset you. In fact, I was avoiding you so I wouldn't upset you. You know what I'm like when I don't get enough sleep. It's not pretty," Hanna explained, trying to tempt a smile out of the beautiful brunette. It worked and Emily's anger melted away.

"Well, you could've just said so earlier and saved me all this worry."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise," Hanna said seriously. "Want to go grab some lunch?" She finished winningly.

"Okay, but you're buying!"

"Deal."