Disclaimer: I do not own PLL or any of the characters.
In the middle of a small town in Rosewood, a young Emily Fields is playing a game with the rest of her friends. It's a good afternoon of fun in the park where the kids are enjoying their little game of tag.
Emily together with her friends, Paige McCullers, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery and Allison DiLaurentis were joined by the group of boys lead by Noel Kahn. What seemed like a fun and harmless game turned into a harsh one when the two groups of friends started playing together.
Their game of tag turned into a hide-and-seek game. Emily is the tagger while also seeking for the rest of her playmates when she tripped in the pavement and hit her knee on the rough surface. The rest of her friends were still hiding and a few of the other kids around the playground were busy playing their own game.
Emily tried to stand and lift her own self from the ground to continue playing but she stumbled and went falling back to the ground, further scratching her knee.
Noel Kahn found her playmate and started approaching her, wondering why she wasn't playing anymore. When he saw her banged up knee, he smirked and started taunting her.
Skinny Emily!
Scrawny Emily!
He continued jeering at the poor girl until his friends heard the commotion and started teasing Emily with him. Her friends are nowhere in sight and she's wondering where they could be so that she could help her.
Emily's friends never came around. She thought they must have left the playground and went back to their respective homes leaving Emily to fend for her own.
The kids continued taunting her with names and she doesn't know how to fight back. She bowed her head low and prayed that they would stop. She's also praying that her knee wouldn't hurt that bad anymore so that she could stand up and go home. She wishes she listened to her mom when she told her not to play in the park today.
Skinny Emily!
Scrawny Emily!
Noel and her friends chanted even louder bringing Emily to tears. She doesn't understand why boys could be this mean to her. She wishes her dad was also here so that he could teach her to fight these bullies.
Emily wishes for a lot of things but it never came. They continued harassing her with hurtful jeers and all she could do is to cry with her head down, shielding her face.
Skinny Emily!
Scrawny Emily!
The jeers of the pack of boys and the sound of a quiet sob could be heard in a distance to those who could just pay close attention to.
-x-
Not too far away in the park, a young Spencer Hastings is sitting at a bench too engrossed with reading a book. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone, the title simply read.
She's now reading the part when the wizards and witches are being sorted to their rightful houses. Spencer is simply lost to their world that she isn't fully aware of her own reality.
When she finishes the current chapter she's reading, she closes the book to take a break and observe her current surroundings. The sun is almost setting and she wonders how long she must have been sitting at her spot. She noticed that the park was almost empty and that a few children who were playing earlier are left encircled at one spot near the swings.
Spencer stands up to leave. Her mom would start looking for her at this hour wondering where she must have gone to but she couldn't help but be curious on what the troublesome boys were up to now.
She spotted Noel, Sean and the rest of their friends. Spencer thought that these boys are looking for problems now. She carefully creeps closer to their spot and saw a tiny girl sitting in the middle of the circle and she looks like she's crying judging from her posture. She inches more closely to their place and heard what they are telling the poor girl.
Skinny Emily!
Scrawny Emily!
She tripped!
What an idiot!
Skinny Emily!
Scrawny Emily!
What a looser!
Stand up!
Get up!
You are being weak!
Get up little girl!
Don't be a weakling!
Spencer had enough of what she heard. She balls her right fist and decides to approach the bullies. She knows what she will do to these kids to teach them a lesson.
"Hey idiots!" Spencer yelled.
"Get away from her!"
Emily looked up to see who could be her savior but she was surrounded by her tormentors and couldn't see past them.
"Back off, girl!" Noel said.
"You're the one who should back off!" she yelled.
Emily wondered if that could be one of her friends who came to her rescue. It could be Paige or Allison since they are the one feisty enough to fight back. She silently thanked the unknown girl who came to her rescue. Emily is still crying and figured she should dry her tears first before facing the one who is saving her.
"Ouch! Oww! Oww!" one of the boys yelled in hurtful agony.
"Stop hitting me with a book!"
Immediately the boys scamper off the playground leaving the two girls alone together.
"Are you okay?"
Emily looks up to see the outline of the unknown girl who saved her. Her eyes are still watery from crying and that makes her eyesight blurry and slightly hazy. Emily looks down to wipe the tears in her eyes as quickly as she can.
"That's a stupid question of course you're not okay." Spencer continued talking.
Emily, with her eyes clear this time glances up to see a girl probably the same as her age with slightly curly and dishevelled hair, holding a book with her two hands. She's slightly bending to pear closely at the girl she just helped.
A pair of chocolate brown orbs meets a pair of chestnut brown ones.
Spencer smiled and extends her hand.
Emily sniffed and took the strangers hand into hers then she stands up with Spencer's help.
Emily smiled shyly and slightly wobbled on the pressure on her left injured knee.
"Hey, Careful." The other girl urged. "We can sit for a while if you want."
Emily nodded and slowly took Spencer's hand in hers and led her to their destination.
"We can sit here." Emily gestured at the opening of a cemented structure.
"Okay." Spencer said.
"After you."
-x-
"So what is this place?" Spencer broke the silence.
"This is my favourite place in the park," Emily answered. "The igloo house."
"This is not an igloo house." Spencer said.
"An igloo house is made of blocks of ice not cement bricks."
Emily pouted sadly. Spencer noticed and she told herself she was being mean to the stranger beside her and vowed to be nicer. The quiet girl had enough for one day.
"Hey. Why is it your favourite place anyway?" Spencer asked.
"This is where I feel safe," Emily simply shrugged. "My secret place."
"Then why did you bring me here if this is your secret place?" Spencer curiously inquired.
"Because I trust you." Emily answered like it's the easiest question in the world.
"You helped me out there when no one was around to stand up for me."
Spencer smiled but then she takes note of how her companion appears unhappy.
"Don't be sad," Spencer cooed, trying to soothe the girl. "I don't want you to be sad."
"Please don't be sad," Spencer continued. "Tell me why you're sad so that I know what to do."
Emily took a deep breath and launched, "I was playing with my friends and I was happy but then they left me alone and my playmates started teasing me." Emily sniffed.
"They were mean to me."
"Hey didn't I help you kick their asses?"
"You were the one who kicked their asses with that book." Emily said. She looked at the book she was holding and moved her sight to look at Spencer. Emily has read "Harry Potter" and she cannot help but notice that the other girl matches the description of Hermione. Untamed curly hair, brown eyes and she could be as intelligent as Hermione, Emily concluded. She looks really pretty too when she smiles. Emily couldn't help but be fond of the unknown girl.
"So don't be sad hey," Spencer patted Emily's shoulder. "You'll kick their asses tomorrow."
"I do not know." Emily said.
"I'm Scrawny Emily. I'm weak."
"No you're not weak! You'll kick their asses tomorrow, you'll see." Spencer said.
"Now don't be sad."
Spencer moves closer to Emily and kisses her in her lips. However the kiss was brief and gentle, it was an innocent kiss too. Spencer just wanted to remove the sad pout on the other girl's lips. She smiled at her and Emily couldn't help but beam back to her savior.
"My mother told me that a kiss makes everything better." Spencer said.
"Do you feel better now?"
"I do." Emily answered shyly, suddenly feeling flustered.
"And I'm glad that you do now." Spencer smiled.
-x—
"Spencer!"
"Emily!"
"Where the hell are you? Spencer!"
"Emily! Sweetie? Are you here?"
Pamela Fields and Melissa Hastings are shouting their names alternately and at one point the sounds of their names combined that brought snickers to the two girls. They both don't want to leave each other's side in their secret place. Having been acquainted, the girls talked about the books that Spencer and Emily both have read respectively. Spencer has read more books than Emily and she told her about the books that Emily should read.
"Tomorrow, I'll let you borrow some of my books!" Spencer said.
"We'll trade books!"
Suddenly two pairs of flash lights hovered in the semi-darkness of their hiding place that made Emily squeal.
"Emily May Fields!" Her mother's voice boomed at the opening of the igloo house. "Come out there! I've been looking for you for hours!"
Little Emily had no choice but to obey to her mother's demand.
"You don't know how worried I was young lady!" Pam Fields scolded her child. She scanned her daughter's reaction and noticed the gash on her knee. "What happened to your knee? Did someone hurt you?"
"I fell." Emily answered meekly.
Spencer who was observing the interaction from inside the igloo finally took notice of her sister, Melissa who is a few inches away Emily's mom looking at her.
Not to be outdone from Pamela's outburst, Melissa took the cue to make a scene.
"Spencer! I have been worried sick!" Melissa's voice rang in the almost deserted park.
Spencer rolled her eyes.
"Don't be so dramatic." Spencer got up from where she sat in the igloo and walked out to the cool fresh air. Being with Emily in the igloo house, she didn't notice how compressed the air was inside. Probably because she was enjoying her company that she didn't notice the tricky barrier of air and the time.
"You could have been lost!" Melissa retorted.
"But the house is just 20 footsteps away." Spencer pointed a little finger to the street as Emily followed the direction of where Spencer is pointing at.
Spencer's house is just right in front of the park. It is that huge house Emily sees every day when she passes by her friend Allison's. In Emily's eyes, the house looked like a mansion where a Prince or Princess lives.
She looks at Spencer wondering if she's a Princess too.
"C'mon we've got to go. Mom has been looking for you."
"Okay." Spencer followed the direction of her older sister to her house. She looked at Emily and her mom and waved a goodbye.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Emily! I promise!"
Emily untangled herself from her mom and ran as fast as she could to Spencer.
"Spencer!" she called out.
Spencer turned around.
"Emily!" Pam Fields called for her daughter who was running away from her.
Emily continued running with her little legs until she reached Spencer who was waiting for her.
"I forgot to say thank you for helping me earlier!" Emily was slightly out of breath holding both Spencer's arms.
"It's alri—" Spencer's reply was cut off when Emily sent her lips crashing to the other girl's lips. Just like their kiss earlier it is brief and chaste, although the difference was just a simple gesture of thanks.
Emily ran back from where her mother stood, shock and amusement etched in her face in seeing her daughter's antics. Spencer stood from where she was standing, her fingers touching her lips.
"I'll see you tomorrow Spencer! Bye!" Emily called out.
Pam carried a grinning Emily home. They were not aware that Veronica Hastings witnessed the scene from afar. She closed the blinds of the window while Spencer made her way to her house.
-x-
The next afternoon, Emily is waiting for Spencer in the park. She was very excited to show her new friend the books she has read but she never came back.
It was days later she finds out from her friend Allison that the Hastings' have left Rosewood. Sadness enveloped Emily as she unconsciously touched her lips.
"Spencer.." she whispered softly.
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