AN: New AU story! Eventual Emison. Let me know what you think and if you'd like it continued! this is mostly just Alison's side and a lot of set up for the rest of the story, the next chapter will focus on the girls side of it and once that's covered the story will start to really move forward.
The blonde sat with her compact out, painting her lips a striking crimson red she knew the camera's loved. She could hear them screaming her name just outside the door and allowed herself a small smile, they love me. Deep down she knew it was a lie, that superficial adoration was nothing like real love. But it was the closest thing she'd ever get.
A deep breath and she was as ready as she ever was, plastering on the beautiful plastic smile that had everyone fooled as she stepped out of her limousine to greet all her adoring fans. She laughed as their roars of worship grew louder at the sight of her. She was stunning and she knew it. Her wardrobe as always, paying homage to the old Hollywood starlets she so aspired to, her dress form fitting and glittering with rhinestones, she pulled her faux fur wrap over her arms to finish the look. She could feel the jaws dropping and eyes popping as they watched her swaying hips. Alison had always had a perfect hourglass figure and as the years went on she only grew more confident in showing it off.
She pretended to be unfazed by the cameras flashing in her eyes, posing for photographers as they called out to her. The blonde had always been a natural when it came to the spotlight, even on the days she wished she could just crawl up in a ball and hide. Today had started out as one of those days but unlike one of the rare occasions her overcommitted manager would allow her to be at piece, she'd had to pull herself together and get through it. The show must go on. And the premiere of her eighth feature film for the year wasn't one she could miss.
Most would've been exhausted by the hours Alison was working in order to get through nine films in a year on top of a few guest appearances on television shows and the occasional artsy short film, but she preferred it. Being over worked meant she had very little time alone in her Beverly Hills mansion. It was also what had made her one of the biggest stars on the scene and Hollywood's current highest paid actress in a little under three years. Accolades that would've made most people happy.
Alison just felt empty.
Though she did enjoy creating the public image as the mysterious beauty Queen taking the world by storm. In an era where even the biggest and brightest starts could be contacted just by tagging and pressing send, Alison had no social media at all and other than red carpets had never even done an interview. For anyone else it would've been career suicide but for Alison Dilaurentis it only made them love her more. She was untouchable. The kind of star that hadn't been seen in decades and if that wasn't enough to make people obsessed, her history as the small town girl thought dead coming back and making it big had them completely hooked, hanging out for any scrap of information they could get. And though the blonde had grown a lot from who she was before she'd been buried in her own backyard, that kind of attention, the awe filled stares rather than the glares she'd grown used to back in Rosewood made her feel like she was worth something again.
For that she supposed she had her sister to thank.
After the others had all left for college, Alison had stayed behind to be with Charlotte, enrolling at Hollis to study teaching. The blonde had planned to settle into a quite small town life, one the old her would've hated. But after being run out of town in fear of her life, when she was finally able to go home she developed a love for Rosewood she'd never had before. It felt safe. Knowing she had somewhere to go every night, a bed to sleep in and a roof over her head she didn't have to worry was going to be ripped away at any second. She wanted to rebuild and put down roots, get married, have children even —- she'd even picked out names for them. And she wanted to give back, to try and make up for her wrongs by mentoring kids that were troubled like her and stopping them from making similar mistakes, and though she wouldn't admit it part of it was that she missed High School. After being away for years she had this pull to stay even if it meant being on the other side of the desk.
Charlotte had always hated the idea. Said Ali was wasting her talent, apparently once she'd learned she was alive and started looking for her she'd been able to catch a few of the shows Alison had been in under her Vivian Darkbloom alias. She'd never told the other girls about it, or anyone really, but it was one of the only things that kept her sane in those years on the run. She would perform in clubs and small theatres in New York and she'd adored every second of it, acting gave her something to pour all her emotions into before they drove her crazy. She'd only stopped when she started to build up a fan base of more than the usual dozen people and it became a danger to her cover.
For two years Cece had tried to talk her into pursuing it but Ali had always said no, even the few times she'd been a little more than tempted. Because chasing after that fantasy meant leaving Charlotte behind and she couldn't do that. Her sister had been abandoned too many times by too many people, they both had and now all they had was each other, she wasn't about to throw that away.
Then Charlotte died. An accidental overdose they'd said. For the sake of her sanity, Alison had chosen to believe it, to believe the one person she had in the world hadn't left her alone intentionally.
No one had come home for the funeral. Her friends had their reasons, though they sent her their sympathies, Jason was off building churches in third world countries and couldn't make it back in time and her father —- well, he didn't even bother to make an excuse.
So she buried her sister in a half empty church in the company of a few parishioners that had come to be polite and a few of Charlotte's doctor's, Alison realised this wasn't home anymore as much as she tried to make it one. Rosewood didn't love her back. She was completely alone, even the few people in town that didn't outright hate her still wanted nothing to do with her. They all looked at her like she was poison.
Maybe she was.
It was then she decided to live out her sister's last wish. She sold half her furniture and packed up the rest, heading out on the redeye flight to LA. Her first few weeks after settling in she went to a few auditions for roles she thought sounded interesting, not expecting anything to come of it. But just as she had years ago in a tiny little theatre lucky to seat 40 people, the blonde knocked it out of the park, leaving producers and directors to marvel at the depth of emotion she could put into just a few words. She put them all under her spell. When she wanted them to laugh, they howled, and when she wanted them to cry, they sobbed, her audience had no say over the matter as she held them captive.
Managers fought tooth and nail to get her as a client until she eventually picked a woman only ten years her senior who's larger than life personality reminded her fondly of how Cece before she knew of their connection. The bleached up blonde was brash and ballsy and more than a little controlling when it came to where Ali went and who she spoke to but it was comforting in a way. It felt like someone cared.
Something she hadn't felt in a long while now.
It was five years now since her beloved friends had left her behind to start their lives. Four since any had tried to contact her. It seemed even her sweet Emily had forgotten about her. Though she didn't know how, she was everywhere. Every major film, every award show, billboards in every state, appearances on the most popular tv dramas in the country and still, not a word from the four people that had once meant more to her than anyone. Still did, much as she wished it wasn't true.
And on the nights she had the energy to think about it she would still shed a few tears, though after all this time it was a shock to her she had any left. Was she really so awful they couldn't stomach one phone call in four years?
Except that they had, they just couldn't get through.
