Authors note: Hey! This is the first chapter of hopefully a longish story that I am planning. I unfortunately do not own these characters, though if I did, you just know that Emison would most certainly be endgame. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed it, I love getting feedback. If you have any questions, the best way to get in touch is on twitter which is linked in my BIO page. ENJOY!
Today marked the three week anniversary of Alison's dramatic return to Rosewood. It also marked three weeks of uncomfortable attention for the girls. They pretended not to notice the people staring, talking behind their hands and sometimes even openly pointing. The whole experience was starting to weigh a little heavy on them.
"Not unlike being in a fishbowl" Spencer had commented dryly as she stared down some freshmen who had subtly been attempting to snap a picture of the girls. All subtlety flew out the window however when she failed to turn the flash on her camera off. She quickly fled at Spencer's withering glare.
"If they want a picture so bad they could just go to the yearbook" hissed Hanna, watching the girl retreat with a scowl.
Emily rolled her eyes and faced the group who had gathered at her locker.
"Has anyone heard from Ali?" she inquired, though she thought she knew the answer.
The three girls shook their heads in unison.
Emily sighed inwardly.
Alison was still locked away in her room, refusing to talk to anyone. Understandable considering everything that happened, and yet they were still frustrated. Alison had once again sucked them into an intricate web of lies. And that was not the only problem her return had resulted in. Aria was more paranoid than ever, convinced that "A" was simply biding their time and was going to return soon and expose her for murdering Shana. Spencer although thankfully still had not resorted to the pills, was still dealing with the very real possibility that her father was the one who had killed Mrs. D. Hanna was going through some sort of identity crisis that involved dyeing her hair and swigging from a hipflask wherever she went, she maintained that it was a protein shake, but the others had their doubts. And Emily, well, she was probably more affected by Alison's return than even she realised. Her emotions were constantly shifting, she went from being completely content with Paige, to feeling absolutely nothing in her company. She couldn't even tell if she still wanted to be friends with the other swimmer, she was indifferent to her, which sounded terrible but true.
Her entire being was focused on worrying about Alison, I mean between coming back from the dead only to have her mother murdered in cold blood before a cosy reconciliation could occur, Emily privately wondered how the other girl was really holding up. If she were Alison, she would never leave her room again.
So it came as something of a surprise when the final bell rang at the end of the day and she looked at her phone to find a text from the girl in question. She rushed to her car, tossing her books on the passenger seat and quickly read the text.
Can you come over after school? -Alison
Emily wondered briefly whether she was the only one to get the text or if the others girl would be there too. Shaking her head at this childish thought process, she replied that she was on her way and started her car.
She pulled up ten minutes later, suppressing a jolt of disappointment as she spotted Spencer and Aria's cars already parked in the driveway. She rang the doorbell and Hanna answered.
"Hey"
"Hi" greeted Emily warily. Hanna had been irritable lately, there was no telling which version she was speaking to.
"The girls are upstairs" she informed, making her way towards the kitchen.
Emily shut the door behind her and headed for the staircase.
"Wait, you're not coming?" she questioned.
"I'll follow you up, just gonna grab a drink" she shook her hip flask over her shoulder in explanation.
Emily contemplated waiting for her, but it felt like a magnet was pulling her up the stairs, so in the end she began her ascent.
Upon entering Alison's room, she greeted the girls and looked for a place to sit. Spencer was occupying the armchair, flipping through a book boredly. Aria sat cross-legged on the floor studying her phone. Alison was lounging on her bed, head resting against the headboard, her feet laying out before her.
She noticed Emily's indecision and tapped the bed beside her. Emily shot her a grateful smile and perched on the edge of the bed, her back touching the other girls legs.
Aria slid her phone shut and looked up.
"So, can I ask what this meeting is about?" she inquired, raising her eyebrows in Alison's direction.
The other girl slowly sat up, she was now side to side with Emily their thighs touching. She cleared her throat and fidgeted with the end of her shirt. Emily knew this was a nervous habit of hers but did not comment.
"First I want to thank you guys, for everything you've done for me. I know this situation isn't easy for any of us, but other people would have stopped helping me a long time ago. So thank you."
She stopped for a moment, her gaze falling to the floor.
"Secondly, I want to apologize. I know I've been distancing myself again and it's not okay"
Spencer leaned forward, her elbows now resting on her knees.
"Ali, your Mom just died and you are being hunted by a vicious psychopath, we get it. You are entitled to a little break every now and then, trust me" she reassured gently, sending the other girl a small smile.
Emily nodded fervently.
"Yeah don't worry about it, we know it's not personal. When you're ready to talk about it, you'll talk" she added.
Alison glanced at Emily, they both knew that sentence had a double meaning, intended or not.
"What I need now" continued Alison, looking at each other them in turn, "is your friendship, your support."
"Whatever you need" assured Aria.
Alison shot her a small smile, then looked down at her lap, seemingly struggling with something.
Emily gently touched her knee in silent support and Alison covered her hand with her own. Emily could feel her hand trembling.
Hanna chose that moment to make her reappearance, her gaze immediately fell to their conjoined hands, she shot Spencer an incredulous look. Spencer simply shooked her head and Hanna took a seat on the edge of the armchair without commenting.
Alison took a deep breath.
"I want to go back to school"
Emily turned to stare at her wide-eyed. She felt Alison squeeze her hand, and she squeezed back.
"On Monday" she finished determinedly.
Hanna's eye practically bugged out of her head. Emily noticed a pink tinge to her cheeks that definitely wasn't there ten minutes ago. She silently wondered how secure the Di Laurentis liquor cabinet was.
"Wait, you wanna go back THIS Monday, as in three days away?" questioned Spencer, who seemed the only one unsurprised at this information. But then again, she had the best poker face.
Alison nodded, biting her lip, letting go of Emily's hand and brushing a stray hair behind her ear.
Emily suddenly thought about how young she was, how young they all were. This whole "A" situation had forced them to grow up early. They were no longer the carefree group of gal pals they once had been.
Spencer seemed to think for a moment, studying Alison thoughtfully. Finally she said;
"If you think you're ready. We'll support you"
"ALL of us" she added, glaring at Hanna who had suddenly opened her mouth to interject. Under Spencer's gaze however, she simply nodded, her lips now pressed together in a firm line.
"I really appreciate it" said Alison gratefully, her voice wavering a little.
"I just need to get my mind off ..well you know"
They nodded their understanding.
For a moment it looked like Alison might cry, but it passed.
"So the real question" she said wiggling her eyebrows "what will I wear? It's not every day a girl comes back from the dead"
It was poor taste, a scandalous statement and yet it was so undeniably Alison that they all burst into laughter.
After an hour of trying on outfits, taking them off, then trying them on again, the girls managed to put together the perfect outfit.
"Drop dead gorgeous" declared Hanna, much to the amusement of the group.
Emily noticed however, that Hanna did not laugh, but took another hearty swig from her hipflask, glaring at Alison who was now modelling her outfit up and down in front of her mirror.
Eventually Spencer declared that she needed to take off, she had a date with Toby that night. Aria also left, claiming that she needed to get home, but something told them that she had no intention of going home, she had been texting someone all night.
Hanna announced that she was meeting Travis and asked Emily for a ride home.
Emily said yes and just as they were about to leave, she heard Alison call her.
She turned to find the other girl watching her with an unreadable expression.
"Can you stay for a minute? I want to ask you something."
"Uh, sure. What is it?"
Alison stared pointedly at Hanna who had been hovering in the doorway.
Hanna shrugged and left the room.
"I'll be in the car" she called over her shoulder.
Turning back to face Alison, she shifted her weight from one foot to another. This was the first time they had been alone together since her return.
Alison patted the bed and Emily resumed her previous seat, her heart racing.
She let out a breath and rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms against her jean clad thighs.
"Everything okay?" she asked, willing her heart rate to return to normal. She could feel Alison watching her.
"I'm fine. It's just .."
Despite herself, Emily turned to face the other girl, noticing that Alison had resumed fidgeting with her shirt. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Alison, what is it?" she questioned, trying to figure out what was going through the other girls mind.
Alison stared at their intertwined hands, seemingly struggling with something. At last, she met Emily's worried gaze.
"I'm not ready .." she began haltingly.
Emily's heart rate increased ten fold, she was not about to bring this up, not now. There suddenly wasn't enough air in the room.
Alison's nerve seemed to fail her and she broke their gaze.
"I'm not ready to go outside just yet, could you maybe walk Pepe for me tomorrow?"
Emily let out a deep breath. She was just overreacting.
"Of course, anything you need."
Alison locked gazes with her once more, Emily could almost hear the cogs working inside her head. She couldn't figure out how she was supposed to feel right now.
Eventually Alison got up and went to look out the window.
"Hopefully I'll be ready soon" she stated quietly.
Emily felt the absence of her body heat.
"Take all the time you need"
It was only later that night, with her thoughts unguarded that Emily admitted to herself that Alison wasn't talking about a dog. She had wanted to say something very different. She also admitted that she didn't know if she wasn't so sure she was ready to hear it.