Hey guys! This was supposed to be a oneshot, but it got too big so I decided to split it. This is based on "Mine", by Taylor Swift. Enjoy!


I walked into the café carrying my favorite book, "The Great Expectations", in my hands. The edition was a hard-covered one, totally worth my money. Anyway, it's my first weekend here in California since my classes at Pepperdine began. Most of my teachers and colleagues seemed stiff and self-righteous, but it was the best I could afford, so I had nothing to complain about. On the other hand, my English course seems amazing! I've always liked reading and writing, but what I like the most about college is the opportunity of getting away from my mess of a family. I worked hard to go to California: I scored a full scholarship and saved some money while I was in high school, all because I wanted to cut ties with my family. The money is barely enough for a month, so I'm kinda looking for a job right now, preferably in a library.

"Hi, what can I get you?" A tall dark-haired waitress approached my table and asked. This girl is fit, even with all those layers of clothing covering her body. Her brown eyes had a sweet shade of chocolate and she had me staring. She looked at me as well and I smiled awkwardly at having been caught, not knowing exactly why that girl made me nervous. She was only memorizing her face or something. It's unlikely of her to appreciate a total stranger – or a girl for a fact. No way, she must be straight.

"I'll go for tea and a slice of apple pie."

"Okay, I'll get that." She smiled and I found herself smiling back, something I didn't do quite often. Her smile seemed so tranquil, so serene, so sweet… Everything about her seemed sweet.

Five minutes later, she was back with a mug of tea, a slice of pie and a piece of paper. "That guy told me to give you this." She handed me the piece of paper and it read "Wanna hang out later, blondie?" I looked up to see her pointing to a dark-haired boy with a charming broad smile and baby blue eyes. Typical college womanizer. He saw me looking at him and waved, his posse cheering along as he thought he was done with the chasing. But here's one thing he didn't know: Alison DiLaurentis never falls for the chase.

I handed the paper back to her and rolled my eyes. Boys were so immature all the time. Seriously, how can people start a relationship with that kind? Okay, not all boys are like that, but love is always bound to fail anyway. It's impossible for two people to stay in love for the rest of their lives. Love brought immeasurable pain. "Tell him I'm not interested."

"Oh, okay." She nodded obediently, went back to him and delivered the message as I tried to peacefully read "Great Expectations", only to be interrupted by a loud slam on my table.

"Excuse me?" A male voice asked.

"What do you want?" I didn't even flick away from her book.

"I'm Noel Kahn," He said as if that made him better than everyone else.

"So?"

"I figured you didn't know who I was, that's why you declined my invitation," He was also an arrogant asshole. "So, asking again, would you like to go on a date with me, Hot Blondie?"

I looked at him totally bored. "Still not interested."

"Come on, just one date! I promise you won't regret it!"

"Excuse me, she said she's not interested," Much to my surprise, that waitress appeared again, "Leave her alone!"

"Go back to the kitchen, waitress!" Noel raged, "There are a lot of dirty dishes for you to wash!" He and his posse laughed, making her shrink in where she stood and I boiled in rage. How dare he think that he's better than everyone just because he was born to a rich father?! I picked up my mug and threw hot tea on Noel what's-his-name, who squealed, "What the hell?!"

"I'm sure that she's nicer and more dignified than you are! Now, fuck off unless you wanna go home with a purple eye!" My outburst scared him and his group and he left. I bet he didn't expect that the quiet bookworm girl would explode at him like that, but I just can't stand people who patronize the others.

"Thanks for that," The waitress shyly spoke. "Not many people stand up to Noel, and even fewer girls refuse his advances. I guess that money can give you a lot of things, except for decency."

"Never mind," I just shrugged, trying to focus on my book instead, hoping that the waitress got the clue and left, "He would never get something out of me in that sense. I don't believe in love or relationships."

She made a strange face as I said that. It seemed as if she found it funny. "I wouldn't call what Noel does love."

"Love, sex, whatever. I don't know why we bother with it if it never lasts."

She finally laughed, her grin the sweetest sound I've ever heard, "Guess you're a skeptical, then."

"If you say so."

"Well, I believe in happy endings," She spoke in a dreamy sigh, "I think love is against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness… against all discouragement that could ever be."

Did I hear it right? Did that waitress just paraphrase my favorite book? It was just too much of a coincidence. No, she probably saw my book cover, it's all a big joke. But, even if she saw my book cover, how many people could recite Dickens by their memory?

"You like Dickens?"

"Yup. Great Expectations is, like, my favorite book of all time."

I smiled and then I showed her my book cover. She just chuckled, apparently surprised at this coincidence. "Pip gets Estella in the end."

"I know. It's my favorite book. I've read it, like, a thousand times." I said, quite excited to find someone who shared an interest with me and who didn't seem so self-righteous.

"Dickens loves happy endings and so do I," Something in the way she spoke made blood rush to my cheeks, but I stopped myself from blushing, "I'm Emily, by the way."

"Alison."

"You look like you're new around here," She commented, "Are you a freshman?"

"Yes," I didn't like to share personal information, but something about her made me feel safe. Maybe it was the broad smile or her sweet eyes, I don't know. There's something about her I can't quite figure out. "Came all the way from Georgia."

"Cool! I came from Rosewood," She laughed at my I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about face, "It's a really small town in Pennsylvania full of preppy kids. I wanted to escape from that and ended up waiting tables in California. I'm in Pepperdine too, by the way."

"What's your major?"

"Biology. Yours?"

I don't know why, but I kinda hoped she'd say English. This way I could have an excuse to meet her in other opportunities. "English."

"Seems fitting," She remarked in an almost flirty way. "I mean, you do look like a library rat."

Wait, is she making fun of me? "What did you say?!"

"I-I'm just..." To my surprise, she stuttered, "You look like you're intelligent and conceited."

This time, I could not stop the blush creeping into my cheeks. "T-Thanks."

"Fields, come back here! You've got tables to serve!" Her boss yelled from the kitchen pantry.

"Shit, I gotta go!" There she went with that broad white smile again, "I hope I see you around some time."

"Wait!" I stood up from chair quite abruptly and she stopped on her tracks. I tried to find an excuse to talk to her again. "Do you know where I can apply for a job?"

"The city library needs someone, I guess. This would be appropriate for you."

I smiled in joy, "You don't know how much I'd appreciate that!"

"I can take you there… if you want to, I mean." Emily shyly suggested to me.

"That would be nice." I smiled timidly too, my heart doing things inside my chest it never did.

Emily scribbled down something on her small notebook and then she tore one piece away. "Here, it's my number. Call me whenever you wanna go," Her boss yelled again, "I really gotta go now. See you around, Ali!" And she left to take out some orders, leaving me completely flabbergasted behind.

Ali. The way my name rolled off from her tongue had something special. I repeated that small chunk on my head, trying to reproduce Emily's exact sweet tone, but I always failed in the end. I was so deep in thought that I closed my book and left my apple pie untouched. So many strange things happened today, but of one thing I'm sure: I'm gonna call Emily as soon as I get home.


Eight months later, Emily and I were like best friends forever. I called her one day after she gave me her number, but not without freaking out first. She told me she was free from work on Fridays and that she was going to pick me up in front of my college after my class was over. It seemed like punctuality was her forte because she was at my classroom doorway before the professor let us out.

Emily paid all my transportation fees because I didn't have a card though she didn't appear to mind and none of us had cars. We arrived at the library and I applied for the job, with Emily making me blush saying that she's never seen someone who could recite as many book lines as I could (says the girl who recited Dickens from her memory). I thought our little trip would be over by then, but Emily invited me to have dinner with her at her favorite restaurant. They served seafood there and I learned it was her favorite cuisine. The food was indeed delicious and she told me more about her.

She was born to a lieutenant and a secretary in the small town of Rosewood. She has three best friends, whom she met as early as kindergarten. They were named Spencer (school-freak, studying Law in Washington), Aria (artsy girl, studying Creative Writing in Boston), and Hanna (crazy blonde girl, studying Fashion in New York). Even though they all decided to go to different places, they all kept contact on a regular basis. Emily also told me that she was a lesbian and everyone knew that, which surprised me a little, considering that our college wasn't exactly the most open-minded one though I saw that as a sign of strength in her. Emily had the courage to face the world, who might as well slap her in the face and tell her she doesn't belong in there. I would've never done something in that away.

Emily told me that she used to swim for Rosewood High and that's how she got her full scholarship and now she still swims for Pepperdine. Well, that explains her toned and athletic body, but I refrained myself from looking in case she thought I was a freak or something. She mentioned her ex-girlfriends as well: Maya (who cheated on her with a guy and then ran away to San Francisco) and Paige (who was very jealous of her and wouldn't have her even looking at a random girl on the street). She's been single since she came to California, about two years ago, unless you counted a few random hook-ups she had in the parties.

Then, she asked me about myself and I didn't know what to say. I felt ashamed because Emily's life was so colorful, so lively and so rich compared to mine that I didn't even think that she'd be interested in what I had to say. I told her that both of my parents were real estate agents and that I used to play soccer back in Georgia, but I didn't do it on a competitive level like she did. I told her that I got my full scholarship for academic merit, to which her mouth hand in a big O and she complimented me, which made me feel funny inside. I didn't tell her about my messed up family or how both of my siblings died because I didn't want to spoil her sweet smile there. It was so precious to me in such a small piece of time.

Then, once again, I thought that our moment was over, but Emily invited me to take a walk on the beach, where she basically threw me into the water. I stood up mad at her only to have her tackle me down into the sea again, her grin so mystic that I stopped struggling. I imagined her swimming in the ocean, her powerful arms cutting across the waves as moonlight reflected on her hair. She was like a mythological Mermaid, so beautiful and so hypnotizing that she could drive sailors to insanity. Mermaid? It's surely fitting, but how did I come up with a nickname like that?

"Hey, are you okay?" She stopped rolling around and asked.

"Yes, I'm just a little tired, that's all." Then she suggested we went back to Pepperdine. She called a cab (because it was too late to take the bus) and paid for our ride, even though I insisted we split it. When we were back, she realized I was wearing a now see-through white shirt all soaked in sea water. Therefore, she took me to her apartment and lent me one jacket – her old Rosewood Sharks jacket. Eight months later and I still have it. I tried to give it back to her, but she just claims it looks better on me anyway (don't know why she says it, though – it looks one or two sizes bigger than me).

"Hey, are you there?" Her voice startled me, taking me back to where we are now – my apartment, my couch, picking up a horror movie to watch.

"Yes, I'm fine," I said, but then more words came out of my mouth and I don't know why they did it, "I mean, can you believe it?"

"What?" She curled up on the couch as she ate popcorn. Emily taught me how to make popcorn because, guess what, I've never watched a movie with my family or friends.

"I'm friends with the waitress that recited Dickens from the back of her mind."

"I guess some people are just destined to meet," Emily mused, looking straight into my eyes and that made me feel something strange in my stomach, like… butterflies? "Want some popcorn?"

I ate some popcorn too and the movie began. Horror movies weren't really my favorite, mostly because I liked foreign dramas and they never did manage to scare me in the end. But that doesn't seem to be the same for Emily, we were barely halfway through the movie and she'd curled up against my shoulder and jumped whenever a zombie appeared onscreen. I thought that I'd be annoyed by that, but I actually found that quite adorable. Adding to that, her chest would brush against my arm every time she jumped and it made me feel weird in a good way.

"Why do you like horror movies if they scare you?" I asked once the movie was over.

"I guess it's because I get scared in a good way somehow." She lifted her head from my shoulder and finally realized where she was. Our eyes met for an instant and she blushed, making me blush too. She let go of my arm and sat in a straight position.

"Hum, it's late now," I looked at the clock. It was past 1 AM and I needed to get back to my dorm, "I gotta go. Thanks for the movie, Em. It was quite entertaining."

Before I stood up, however, Emily grabbed my arm, "Ali, can you stay here tonight?"

Who'd guess that tough Emily Fields would be afraid to sleep alone after a horror movie? Never mind, I couldn't say no to her. It's like she makes me do things I thought I was unable to do for other people. It's like she likes being my first thought when I wake up and my last one before I go to bed. What is this she makes me feel?


Four months later, Emily invited me over to spend the holidays with her family. I politely declined, stating that I didn't want to invade a moment that should be hers and her family's, but she basically ignored that part, saying that she wouldn't let me spend the holidays alone once again. Therefore, she just dragged me back to Rosewood, her hometown, and it didn't do much to dissipate the strange sensations I got when I was with her.

Her parents weren't surprised when she arrived home with a friend in tow. Mrs. Fields was friendly enough but eyed me suspiciously, as if trying to determine whether I was Emily's girlfriend or not. Mr. Fields, on the other hand, was a kind and honored man. I was truly interested in hearing his stories of war and tragedy. The Fields family was everything I wished I had when I was younger: they had their problems, just like all families had, but they were united above everything and that's all that mattered in the end.

I made sure to pick generous Christmas gifts to both Mr. and Mrs. Fields. I had to thoroughly search for a present to Emily that met my expectations; the one I did buy was a snow globe with the Eiffel Tower inside of it. Emily had mentioned to me that she dreamed of going to Paris, so I thought that was a good idea for a gift. Paris was one of the many passions she and I shared too. The gleam in her eyes when she saw the globe was more than worth each and every penny I saved to buy it.

On the other hand, I was more than happy with the homemade sweater Mrs. Fields gave me. I'd never got one of these when I was a kid, mainly because my mother would rather spend her time cheating on my father than doing something for her kids. Emily gave me a gold Eiffel Tower bracelet, one that looked considerably expensive, and it made me chuckle how we were both in synchrony when we picked up our gifts. Christmas with Emily's family made me want to be a Fields too, but I knew that was impossible unless we… no, that's preposterous!

Emily's friends were going to celebrate New Year's Eve at Spencer's lake house, and Emily convinced me to tag along so I could finally meet her friends. Emily looked gorgeous as always, with her white leather jacket with a black shirt underneath, black pants, and combat boots. She was even more radiant than usual, given that she was going to meet her friends after a long time.

"You look great." She casually leaned by the door as I finished the last touches to my hair. I wanted to look perfect and impress her friends. I was wearing a white cardigan on top of a lavender shirt with a gray scarf, blue jeans and leather boots. I hope they don't think I was too much strange, or too much awkward, or too much conceited.

"I'm just finishing my hair," I said absentmindedly, not even noticing she coming up behind me and snatching the curling iron away from me, "Hey!"

She place a strand of my hair behind my ear and said, "You look beautiful." I turned away and blushed, picking up my purse so we could go.

Mr. Fields lent Emily his car so she could drive us to Spencer's lake house. When we arrived there, three women were already waiting for us. The first one was a tall woman with a Venetian nose, curly brown hair and brown eyes, though hers and Emily were in a different shade (Emily's were in an unmistakable tone of chocolate while her friend's were in a more solid tone, like coffee). Beside her, there was a small woman with short straight hair, hazel eyes and a pair of feather earrings. The last one was a blonde woman with baby blue eyes and straight blonde hair. She looked strikingly similar to me, but my face was rounder and my eyes were one shade darker than hers.

"Spencer! Aria! Hanna! I missed you so much!" Emily went to hug her as I was finally able to put their names to their faces, whilst feeling like an outcast. I didn't belong there and I won't ever do. Why does Emily keep dragging me into stuff like that?

"Emily, will you leave your friend standing?" The girl I recognized as Aria pointed at me and, suddenly, Emily jolted back to my side.

"Guys, this is Alison, my best friend from college. Ali, those are Spencer, Aria, and Hanna, my best friends back in Rosewood!"

"Hey, Ali! Nice to meet you!" Aria was the first to step forward and hug me. From what Emily had told me, Aria studied Creative Writing. Perhaps we might get along in due time.

"Welcome, Alison!" Spencer treated me with more formality than Aria as her gaze inspected me, looking for signs to suggest whether I could be trusted or not. On the other hand, Hanna said nothing. She just kept on looking at me, as if trying to read my mind. I was afraid that she was going to flip out and say I didn't belong in here (because I don't) or that she'd somehow guessed that I have feelings for Emily and then Emily wouldn't correspond and then she'd back away consequently.

"Are you Emily's girlfriend?" Hanna blurted.

"W-What?!" I blushed furiously and stuttered.

"Hanna!" Spencer reprehended while Aria just chuckled and Emily slapped her own forehead.

"It's just that I saw you two walking so close to each other when you were coming here that I just wondered," Hanna explained herself, "Also, Emily talks about you all the time."

"Hanna!" Now Emily was blushing, "Leave Ali alone!"

"They'd make a cute couple," Aria opined, "Plus, Ali is pretty and she seems nice."

"She's totally girlfriend material." Spencer nodded.

"Okay, guys, stop!" Emily tried to take control of the situation, probably once she realized that my face looked like a swollen tomato. "Ali and I are just friends, okay?!"

Just friends? I don't know why, but these two words were like a thousand knives ripping through my heart. That totally meant Emily had no interest in me beyond friendship, right? But, let's be fair, why would she? I'm a bland, dull bookworm while she is a walking goddess.

Dinner proceeded without any further inconveniences. All of Emily's friends went out of their way to make me feel included in the group and that really made me glad because not for a second did I ever feel like an outcast. Once again, I felt the impulse to belong in this group, but I knew that I couldn't. Emily's friends were nice enough, but they were her friends. Besides, I didn't want to be so clingy. Anyway, we went outside to see the fireworks and have a few drinks (in Hanna's case). Spencer, Aria, and Hanna walked closer to the lake while I sat closer to the house, not wanting to intrude into their sacred friendship.

"Why are you sitting there all by yourself?" I expected Emily to go with them; after all, it's been ages since she's been with her friends. However, she decided to just take a seat by my side and watch the fireworks' reflections on the water.

"You can go with your friends if you want. It's the first time you see your friends in ages and I don't want to interrupt anything." A cold breeze blew directly onto us and I shivered. I'm not used at all to Rosewood's cold weather.

"Are you cold?" No, please, don't tell me Emily is going to lend me another jacket in front of her friends! It's not that I don't want her to, but they'll think wrong things about us again, and I'll probably blush and then one of them will see that I like her and then they're gonna tell her and then…

I just denied with a vague head gesture, but she didn't seem convinced at all. Surprisingly, she wrapped an arm around my shoulders and brought me to her side, making me lean against her. I was about to protest when I felt the warmth coming from her skin spreading through my whole body, as if protecting me from the cold gales. I raised my head to see her, but she was looking to the other side. However, I could still see a faint blush on her cheeks and I smiled, resting my head on her shoulder as she began to rub my arms, creating goosebumps on the surface of my skin.

Several fireworks cracked into the sky, painting Rosewood with a handful of colors as they announced the arrival of the New Year. Emily dug her fingers into my hair, gently tugging my head, "Happy New Year, Ali."

I looked up to find her sweet chocolate eyes gazing down at me, her breath so close to me that it drove me insane. Overall, Emily was a rollercoaster of new sensations to me: her sweet eyes, her comforting warmth, her vanilla perfume, her slightly minty breath, the outline of her muscles close to my cheek. There's no way for one to remain positively sane once they've been exposed to a woman like this and I'm no different.

"Happy New Year, Em," I muttered as the hand that was tangled in my hair moved to brush my cheek. Her eyes darted to my lips for a second before traveling all the way up to my eyes again. She had looked at my lips. My lips. Her lips. I never really paid attention to her lips; now I have to see them, I have to memorize the shape of her mouth and fantasize about the taste of her lips.

Her lips looked like one of Michelangelo's lost sculptures. They were thin, painted in an antique shade of pink, and they looked soft, as soft as a calm breeze at a beach. I darted my eyes back to her eyes too and she seemed a little bit surprised. The astound lasted for about a second only because Emily leaned in with her eyes half-closed. I swear my heart was almost exploding out of my chest. It's been almost five years since I last kissed someone and now I'm about to kiss Emily Fields, the most amazing person I've ever met. My rational side tries to kick in, saying that I don't like girls, that Emily is only using me and that I've been living my life just fine without love in it. However, my emotions (or hormones, who knows?) take control and I close my eyes too, shyly accepting the kiss.

Thunderstorm. That's the only word I can think of to describe the feeling of Emily pressing her lips against mine. I was right: her mouth was one piece of Michelangelo's art and my lips tingled with her softness. My whole body shivered. Emily caused intense reactions on a person with just a kiss. That should be forbidden. Either way, she pulled away and I opened my eyes. Was I a bad kisser? I don't know, Emily just kept looking at me as if she was inspecting my face for any signs of rejection. There weren't, so she moved her hand back to my hair and pulled me to her lips.

We kissed again, again and again, each time a different set of overwhelming sensations. Her hand guided the kiss by gently tugging my head to the direction our lips were destined to meet. Only then did I realize that I was frozen solid against her. I needed to move, needed to make her feel as good as she made me feel. My hand shyly cupped her cheeks, my fingers grazed against her skin as the tip of her tongue brushed against my bottom lip. I instinctively opened my mouth to allow her to deepen the kiss and her tongue found mine inside as they danced along to their own rhythm. The moan Emily pulled out of me with this was inhuman. I was ashamed to whimper against the kiss for something so trivial as that. Now she must think I'm a creep. But then, much to my surprise, Emily moaned too. That was such a raw noise that I wanted to hear it (and make her do it) over and over again like a broken record. Finally, the need of air became unbearable and I pulled away. Emily didn't let me drift further, though, keeping our faces close as she held me by the hair. Then, someone kicked a volleyball at Emily and she groaned.

"Get a room, you two!" Hanna joked and Spencer and Aria laughed. Oh my God, her friends saw me kissing Emily! I don't even know the things they think of me now! Emily bends over me as if she was protecting me from their curious eyes and I hide my scarlet face on her shoulder.

"Told you Emily was going to kiss her." Aria offered her hand to Spencer, who reached a few dollars on her back pocket and gave them to her.

"You are a beautiful couple, girls!" Hanna shouted, "Go back to kissing and pretend we're not here!"

Emily noticed my extreme shyness and shouted back, "Can you guys leave us alone for a sec?"

"We all know what you're gonna do if we leave you two alone!" I curled even more against Emily. Did Hanna just suggest that we… that Emily and I might have sex?

"Hanna, let's go! I think you've had enough tequilas for tonight." Spencer quickly grabbed Hanna's arm and dragged her back into the lake house, Aria shortly following them and finally leaving us alone.

"I-I'm s-sorry about Hanna. She makes a lot of jokes about that." Emily said as she delicately pulled my face away from her shoulder. She looked embarrassed too.

"Didn't you tell them you and me were just friends?" I asked, remembering those two words that ripped through my heart a few hours ago.

"I didn't want you to find out that way." Emily quietly answered, "I rehearsed in front of the mirror so many times, Ali. I didn't know what to say to you, I didn't know how you'd react. But you were standing so close too me now and I couldn't… I couldn't hold back anymore."

"What do you mean, Emily?"

"I've fallen for you," She replied and the words repeated like an infinite loop in the back of my mind. Emily Fields, this magnificent goddess, has fallen for me, the dull, boring nerd girl.

"I've never… done that, Emily." How did this woman leave me hypnotized and scared at the same time? I was fascinated by the things she did, but the power she had over me was frightening.

"Do I make you feel this way?" Emily took my hand and placed it underneath her left breast, making me blush slightly before I realized that I could her stomping heart. It beat as fast as a racing car, but what impressed me was that my heart was beating in the same speed as if they were in synchrony and I nodded silently. "Then there's nothing you should worry about because you make me feel the same way too," She said before kissing me again, entrapping me in a clumsy embrace as she silently begged me to stay. With her lips on mine and her warmth surrounding me, I finally relaxed.


Part 2 is coming up soon!