After watching a video showing that Mona had been alive this whole time, Tanner immediately released Alison. Then, Toby recruited the blonde to help them find the dollhouse. They took three days to find it and schemed a plan to save the girls. For once in their lives, their plan worked and they finally managed to get the five girls out of the dollhouse.
Traumatized, Mona and her mother fled to another country and the police wouldn't give many details about it. However, the five remaining girls agreed that, if they were all to flee, Charles would hunt them down one by one. They needed to stay in Rosewood because, together, they were stronger.
After some resistance, they finally convinced their parents to stay around. At the moment, the girls, their boyfriends, and their parents were all at the Hastings' in a big reunion discussing A.
"I still think we should get them out of the town" - Byron said - "It's not safe for them to be here"
"Taking them out of town might drive Charles even crazier" - Veronica stated.
"Either way, I'll hire private guards!" - Peter decided - "I will not have my daughter walking alone on the streets until this lunatic is arrested!"
"Dad! I can't have someone on my heels all the time!" - Spencer whined.
"Until we find a better solution, this might have to work" - Kenneth spoke.
"I disagree" - Alison said out loud and everybody looked at her - "Charles bribed my fellow inmates to threaten at jail. Who's to say he can't bribe a security guard?!"
"I can pay them better" - Peter challenged.
"I still have iron burns on my elbow, Mr. Hastings" - Ali rolled up her sleeve to show up her scars - "I don't want to pay and see" - And that seemed to end the conversation.
"Well, I think that you girls should never be alone from now and on" - Ashley changed the subject.
"This one's easy. The girls are always around each other" - Pam chuckled.
"And the boyfriends can help too" - Toby smiled and laced his fingers with Spencer's.
"Cheers, if you're not single!" - Emily smirked and rolled her eyes.
"You don't need a date when your dad's in the army, Emmy" - Wayne said sternly.
"Thanks, dad. I might die single now" - She pouted and the group allowed themselves to laugh.
"Well, I'll try to hack into Charles' computer again to see if I can find anything" - Caleb said, picked up his computer and begin to work as the room dispersed.
The girls gathered together and began to talk.
"We'll definitely need the boys" - Spencer calculated - "We're five"
"Again: cheers if you're not single" - Emily rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, Em" - Alison said - "I'm single too" - And she winked.
"Okay, so you guys can be each other's date!" - Hanna suggested quite clumsily. Emily blushed and Ali cleared her throat.
"You guys would make such a cute couple!" - Aria said and the two girls became even more uncomfortable.
"Emily, you can always call Paige if you want" - Spencer pointed out while she observed her two friends - "No doubt she'll make you company"
"She's in Cali, Spence" - The swimmer remembered.
"There's no need to bother Paige" - Alison chimed in, as the thought of Pigskin hanging out with her Mermaid made her burst in jealousy - "I can make Emily company if she wants"
"Oh, that's so sweet, Ali!" - Aria cooed.
"It's not like you have the bulk to protect someone, Ali" - Spencer arched her brow.
The blonde's face twisted in annoyance. It seemed that no one would ever appreciate just how far she'd go just to keep Emily safe. It's true: she even considered giving herself up to Charles if this meant the brunette would be safe and sound.
"I've spent two years in the run, Spencer. And I've dragged Emily out of a barn once. I can take care of myself" - She snorted.
"Fine. I just don't think it's clever to keep two targets together" - Spencer conceded.
"Well, it will be harder for Charles to take me and Ali down if we're together" - Emily spoke, remembering the time she saved Ali from A's grip. The brunette didn't remember where the source of her strength came from, but she knew that she had to stop A in time to save the blonde. Mostly: she knew she'd do it again, if Charles dared to attack Alison.
"Just don't get too cozy with each other" - Aria winked.
"Aria!" - Em whined.
"A-Aria, stop it!" - Alison stuttered - "I-I'm straight!" - She lied, even though she knew that she was totally gay for Emily. She watched a flicker of hurt run across Emily's face and Ali knew that the brunette was remembering that night. The night Alison had her in her arms.
That night haunted Ali in all her dreams and nightmares. She remembers the taste of Emily's lips and the confidence in which she kissed her. She remembers Emily's surprise at her sudden turn of tables. She remembers Emily arching her back under her touch and the way she scratched her back…
"So was Talia" - Aria pointed out, interrupting her train of thoughts.
"Can we guys please talk about something else other than my life?" - Emily snorted, visibly annoyed.
"We can always talk about how A wrecked our lives again" - Spencer smirked - "It's so therapeutic"
"Guys! I think I've found something!" - Caleb called out.
"What did you find, Caleb?" - Spencer asked.
"I hacked into Charles' computer again. Apparently, he cleaned everything he had, but he left a video" - He told.
"A video?" - Peter was baffled.
"Did you run a scanner on it?" - Ezra asked.
"Yes. Three, to be precise. It's clean" - Caleb shrugged.
"So, what do we do then?" - Hanna asked.
"I think we'd better watch the video. Whatever it is, Charles wants us to see it" - Wayne spoke.
"I'll get the projector. Toby, can you help me set it up, please?" - Peter started to move.
"Of course, Mr. Hastings!"
It took a while, but they finally managed to set up the projector and connect it to Caleb's computer whereas the rest of the big group settled down.
"Ready or not, here we go!" - Caleb pressed play and waited.
The video started inside a closet. Apparently, Charles was spying on someone. Then, suddenly, Alison recognized the wooden door: it was her closet! Please, don't tell me it is what I think it is! she prayed.
A black gloved hand opened the wooden door slightly and it revealed a dark bedroom with two people lying on a bed with their backs turned to each other. Emily immediately recognized the scene. No, no no! Not that! she thought, as her mind immersed in a memory.
"Ali, are you asleep?" - Emily asked and shifted to her other side to watch the blonde's back. She didn't even know why she asked that. Maybe it's because she found it totally awkward to be lying on the same bed as Ali. But why should she? They used to do that all the time when they were younger! Were things really that messed up between them?
Alison wasn't asleep either, as she couldn't relax with the brunette being so close to her as they were right now. She considered pretending to be sleeping so she could escape a conversation which could possibly make or break them. However, when she felt Emily's eyes on the back of her neck, she found it impossible to pretend.
Slowly, she turned around and scooted over to Emily, her blonde head invading her pillow. Emily backed away a little as if she still hesitated. They looked at each other, but none of them found the courage to speak. Instead, their eyes just roamed over their faces.
Then, Emily took a sip of boldness and leaned in, closing the space between them as she kissed Alison. Damn, Ali still had the same taste as three years ago. Damn, her lips still tingled at this soft brush of mouths.
Ali just closed her eyes and allowed herself to be kissed. Emily pulled away a second later wanting to check the blonde's reaction. Alison opened her eyes into her own brown orbs and that gave her a little more confidence. She ran her hands through those blonde locks as they leaned in for another brief kiss as if they were testing waters.
Surprisingly, Alison put her hand on her hipbone and rolled over Emily, kissing her more forcefully than ever before. Emily dug her hands on her hair as Ali tried to deepen the kiss. Em opened her mouth and shuddered when her tongue brushed against Ali's in a heated dance.
"Ali, that's your bedroom!" - Kenneth recognized too - "What was that creep doing there?!"
"I-I don't know" - She stuttered. Charles on my closet isn't the creepiest thing on this video, she thought.
"Can we stop this? It's making me uncomfortable" - Emily asked and Ali could tell she was totally nervous, probably foreseeing what was to come.
"Really, Em?! This video might tell us a lot about Charles" - Hanna scolded.
"Ali, are you asleep?" - Emily's voice spoke was heard from the screen. Damn, it seems that Charles had a nice audio set too.
"Emmy, what were you doing there?" - Wayne wondered.
"Guys, turn it off, please!" - Emily begged when she saw Ali rolling to her pillow. She knew what was going to happen.
"Wait! You kissed Alison?! Why didn't you tell us?!" - Hanna asked when Emily leaned in.
"Guys, just turn it off!" - Alison asked too.
When they were too breathless to kiss, Alison latched her lips on Emily's neck. She didn't want to stop because she knew that, once she did, they would be confronted by their harsh reality. Instead, she just stayed there and sucked on her neck.
The brunette tilted her head to the side and allowed Ali's advances on her. She knew that what they were doing (or about to do) was wrong, that they should probably talk first, but having Alison like this was a dream, and one she didn't want to wake up from.
"Ali" - She gasped when the blonde nibbled her pulse point, as her hands snaked under the back of Ali's tank top, scratching her creamy skin and exposing her naked back to the night air.
Alison pulled away slightly only to remove her tank top and then she kissed Emily again as her exposed chest brushed against the fabric of Em's clothes.
"Alison… what is this?!" - Kenneth was as white as a sheet of paper.
The blonde was too stunned to answer while she watched her figure roll on top of Emily on the video. They broke the kiss and then she moved on to her neck.
"Wait! You guys actually didn't do it, did you?" - Spencer pressed and none of them answered, as they were too caught in agony to even react.
"Just turn it off! Please!" - Alison begged when she found the ability to formulate phrases again.
"Did things get past this, girls?" - Pam asked, completely horrified at the thought of watching her baby girl doing all grown up things.
"Ali" - They heard Emily moan on the screen and, suddenly, Ali's tank top was nowhere to be seen. In spite of the darkness, it was possible to see the outline of the blonde's breasts.
"Stop! I will not have my daughter exposed like this!" - Kenneth went from white to red.
Alison's hands hastily found the hem of Em's tank top and lifted it up, temporarily breaking their kiss to strip the girl beneath. Emily raised her arms in order to help Ali get rid of her top and greedily stared at the blonde's chest once they were both half naked.
Their lips met again in a frenzied dance of teeth and tongue. Emily gasped and dug her fingers on Ali's naked back when the other girl's warm hands cupped her breasts.
"You're so beautiful" - Alison declared before trailing kisses down her chest. She stopped when she found Emily's left brown nipple and lavished it with her tongue before sucking it in.
"Oh God!" - Emily's back arched against the mattress and her hands tangled in the curls of Ali's hair.
"If… this is what I think it is, we can charge Charles with pedophilia and invasion of privacy" - Peter carefully propositioned, but he was ignored when the crowd saw Emily's top flying around the room.
"Geez, Em, you let her touch your boobs!" - Hanna was astounded.
"Hanna!" - Ashley reprehended. Things were bad as they were right now; they didn't need Hanna's clumsy tongue to cause more damage.
"You're so beautiful" - Ali spoke on the computer and leaned down to kiss Em's chest.
"EMILY, YOU LET HER LICK YOUR BOOBS!" - Hanna didn't stop with her inconvenient comments.
"HANNA, WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP?!" - Ali snapped. She didn't need Hanna commenting on her every move that night.
"Caleb, turn it off, please! We've seen enough!" - Pam pleaded because she didn't want to expose her daughter anymore.
Emily softly whimpered when Ali let go of her breasts, moving her mouth to her stomach and her hands to the hem of her shorts. In one movement, the blonde pulled down her shorts and her underwear, leaving her completely exposed under the duvet. Ali's hands traveled even further and cupped her center.
"Wait!" - Emily grabbed her wrist and stopped that daring hand.
Alison pulled her hand away and climbed up the brunette's toned body.
"It's okay" - She kissed Emily softly - "We can stop if you want"
Emily analyzed the blonde's azure eyes and realized that, for the first time in their lives, they were crystal clear. It was as if everything that Alison was feeling showed through her intense gaze.
"Alison" - She murmured before she kissed her, trying to transmit all of her doubts and insecurities through their soft brush of lips. Alison seemed to understand that, as she lovingly nuzzled Emily's neck and cheek.
"I love you" - She declared before caressing those bronze lips with her thumb.
Emily felt her chest bubble in happiness with this confession - "Ali"
"What?"
"Don't stop" - She grabbed Ali's wrist again and lowered it back to her center, where she oh so much needed Alison. She didn't care if this was only for tonight and if tomorrow this would be just another of the Queen Bee's lies. Emily just needed Alison right now.
Caleb hit 'stop' on the player, but the video didn't stop. He tried it again and again, but it still didn't work. He tried closing the window, but his mouse apparently couldn't click on anything. His computer screen was frozen on the video stream.
"Caleb, stop!" - Emily begged again.
"I'm trying to, but my computer is frozen!" - He answered while trying all the combinations he knew to solve the problem.
"It's okay. We can stop if you want" - Ali spoke on the screen.
"Tell me this stops right here!" - Aria begged (in vain).
"Caleb, disconnect the projector from your computer!" - Toby oriented and the other boy obeyed. However, the cable appeared to be glued to his PC.
"Damn! A set us up!" - He said out loud what everyone knew, but wouldn't say because they were too appalled by the scenes being projected.
"I love you" - Alison heard herself say, and then she felt literally every pair of eyes in this room glaring at her as if she was incapable of loving.
"Caleb, take away your battery!" - Ezra instructed and Caleb did as he was told, fearing hardware damage on his beloved computer.
For a few seconds, the projections stopped and Emily and Alison both let out a relieved sigh. Then, a ghastly white light crept into the Hastings' living room and the short movie returned from where it had stopped, much to the two girls' horror. Charles was projecting from the outside.
"Ah… Ali!" - Emily moaned out loud while Alison's fingers pumped in and out of her in a steady rhythm while the blonde kissed her neck. She'd somehow ripped off Ali's shorts and now her nails were dug hard in her buttocks.
Alison kissed her and swallowed her moans until it was impossible for Emily to suppress her whimpers - "Do you trust me?"
Emily only nodded and threw her head back against the pillow. She whined quietly when Ali's fingers left her center. Alison kissed all her way down, pausing only when her breathing met the hot skin of Emily's center. Her eyes looked up for permission, which was immediately granted. The thought of Ali's head between her legs was too exciting for Emily to refuse.
"God, Ali!" - Her fingers tangled on those blonde tresses as Alison licked her slit slow and teasingly before involving her clit with her tongue. Emily felt her heart race, her legs tremble and her lower stomach burn. She wouldn't last long with Ali anyway. The blonde's tongue proved to be finely skilled and, when she clamped her clit with her lips and sucked it, Emily found herself seeing stars on that exquisite mouth.
"Ali!" -She cried out one last time as her body jerked, her breathing evened and spasms of pleasure sprung all through her body. She couldn't even remember when Ali had climbed up her body and begun to pepper kisses on her jaw.
"I love you" - Alison declared again as she cupped the swimmer's face.
"I love you too" - Emily murmured weakly as she leaned in to kiss Alison, tasting herself on those pink lips.
Alison brushed her forehead with her nose and rolled off of her before wrapping her arms safely around Emily. Contently, the brunette placed her hand over Ali's and allowed herself to have a peaceful night of sleep.
Only that, in the morning, their promises would mean nothing after Mona showed the girls that edited video.
"Ah… Ali!" - Emily blushed hard when she heard her own moan. She couldn't control her tears from cascading anymore whereas Alison hid her face in embarrassment.
"Charles is out there! I'm gonna get him!" - Toby pulled out his gun and rushed out of the door.
"Toby, wait!" - Spencer called out and followed her boyfriend.
"Do you trust me?" - Ali clenched her fists as she heard herself saying. She couldn't even describe how much she hated Charles. How dare he violate her most precious memory? How dare he expose Emily like that?
"Oh my God!" - Aria anticipated as she watched Ali's blonde head climb down Emily's body.
"God, Ali!" - Emily moaned from the screen as a blonde head worked on her beneath the duvet.
"Emmy! This is..." - Wayne was too embarrassed to even look at his daughter. His wife displayed no reaction at all.
"A-Ali..." - Kenneth also had a hard time finding words to say.
"Ali!" - Emily heard herself coming undone and this was just too much. She couldn't stand being humiliated any longer. As much as this night probably didn't mean much to Alison, it meant everything to her, and to have it exposed to all her friends and her parents was beyond cruelty.
"Emily!" - Aria called out as she heard her friend dashing up the stairs. Out of sympathy, she followed her, while the Emily on-screen reached her orgasm, much to the crowd's astonishment.
As soon as their moment was over, the screen disappeared and there was no more ghastly lights creeping through the Hastings' windows. One moment later, Toby and Spencer were back on the house.
"We lost him" - He spoke in a tired tone. Everybody expected silence after that, but they were having none of it tonight.
"ALISON DILAURENTIS, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER?!" - Wayne looked as if he was going to murder her with his own hands (and she had no doubt that he could).
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO MY DAUGHTER LIKE THAT!" - For once in his life, Kenneth stepped forward to defend her… even if it meant to brawl with an experienced soldier.
"Wayne, calm down, please!" - Pam tried to hold her husband down before he did anything he could regret later.
"DID YOU SEE THAT VIDEO, PAMELA?! SHE BEDDED HER!" - He growled.
"DON'T ACT AS IF EMILY WASN'T ENJOYING IT!" - Kenneth rebounded and Wayne broke free from Pamela's grip, punching the other man right on the face.
"DAD!" - Alison ran to him.
"Ken, are you okay?" - Ashley went over to help him also.
"Gentlemen, please, calm down!" - Ella tried to take control of the situation - "I'm pretty sure we can all talk about this once we've cooled our heads"
"Have you seen this video, Ella?!" - Byron asked - "If I'd seen Aria or Mike like this, I'd go crazy also!"
"You're not helping, Byron!" - She reprehended.
"We need to give this video to the police" - Peter said - "They can charge Charles with this"
"Peter, we don't need to expose the girls anymore" - Veronica argued.
"Please, don't, Mr. Hastings!" - Alison begged - "Emily's been too exposed already!"
"As if you had any problems with exposing people" - Hanna snorted.
"What?!" - Ali asked in disbelief.
"You're not afraid of exposing Emily. You're afraid of exposing yourself!" - Hanna argued.
"I'm not..."
"Come on, Ali, why haven't we heard about this before?!" - Spencer argued - "Emily has always been your dirty little secret! It's always been like this with you two!"
"Don't you dare say what Emily means to me or not!" - Ali growled.
"To think that you just fucked her so you could use her!" - Hanna spat.
"Hanna..." - Caleb already foresaw trouble.
"I did not fuck her, I..." - Alison was about to explain herself when a hand slapped her hard on the cheek.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY YOU LOVED HER, ALISON, BECAUSE YOU AND I BOTH KNOW YOU DIDN'T!" - The other blonde growled.
"Hanna!" - Ashley reprehended.
"You're lucky I'm not an eighteen-year-old girl, Alison" - Wayne threatened. He wanted to hit her as hard as Hanna had.
"Where's Emily?" - Toby asked, finally noticing that someone was missing.
"Upstairs with Aria. She doesn't need to see this" - Ezra answered.
"Alison, dear, I think it's better if you leave now. They'll come around this eventually" - Ella put a soothing hand on her back and Ashley nodded at this too. Ali realized that those were the only adults in the room, except for her dad, that truly cared about her.
But, no, Alison Lauren DiLaurentis wouldn't walk away from this. No, she wouldn't let those people stomp on her and rip away her dignity (or whatever Charles left of it). And, most of all, she wouldn't let Emily deal with this alone. The brunette seemed terribly ashamed of the video and was nowhere to be seen. Alison needed to fix this mess quickly.
Still, her lips were stinging and she found blood on her mouth. Damn, Hanna! There was only so much one could take and Alison wasn't known for her patience.
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP NOW!" - She growled and interrupted the chatter.
Emily was upstairs, hidden at Spencer's bathroom. She heard some raised voices downstairs, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. This video was the worst thing that Charles has ever done to her. The torture at the dollhouse was pretty bad, but she could deal with it. With this videotape, Charles tore away all her dignity, all her shame and the memory of an unforgettable night. It seemed like daggers were cutting through her heart and there was nothing that she could do but cry.
"Emily?" - Between sobbing and thinking, she didn't hear Aria coming.
"Aria? What are you doing here?" - She tried to sound okay but failed miserably.
"I saw you running upstairs and I followed you upstairs. Mind if I seat?" - The small brunette asked.
"No, of course not" - The swimmer tried to discreetly wipe some tears away.
Aria sat down - "Okay. This might sound ridiculous, but how are you doing?"
"I wish I could say I was fine but..." - And Emily broke down in her friend's arms. Aria allowed her to cry all her shame away while rubbing her back soothingly.
"Shh, it's okay" - Aria shushed.
They stayed like this for a good five minutes, when Emily was able to speak coherently again - "How did Alison react?"
"She seemed pretty upset about it, but I left before I could how she handled the situation" - The artsy girl answered.
"She's probably worried about her reputation or something" - Emily spoke bitterly.
"Emily, do you want my opinion on this?" - Aria sincerely asked.
"Sure" - The swimmer shrugged, thinking that Aria would probably tell her that Alison was bad news, no matter how much she'd changed, and that the best she could do was move on from her because Alison would never love her like Emily did.
"Alison has always had a soft spot for you" - She began - "Even when we were younger and she was a bitch. She'd always walk by your side, sit by your side and sleep next to you whenever we had sleepovers. She was always looking at you. I never suspected anything because Ali always seemed to be dating boy after boy and I didn't really understand what I saw"
"Things changed, however, when Wilden outed you to us. I started to think: if Emily liked Alison, there is a possibility that Alison liked her back too. I think you thought the same, but we both believed that we'd never get the answer because Alison was dead to us at the time"
"When she got back, you were so conflicted about it that you began to act differently. You were a lot bitter than before. And Alison was trying to get to you, but you didn't give her any openings, though I can't blame you for that. Then Alison went to jail, Charles locked us in a dollhouse, a lot of things got in the way between you two. But it's there, Emily. She has feelings for you too. This video, as wicked as it is, proves that"
"Why do you think that?" - Emily asked.
"She looks at you like you are everything to her. She treated you with extreme respect and she was gentle with you. And more importantly: she's said the words out loud" - Aria pointed out.
"She could've done this to trick me. She could've done this to make me stay by her side" - Emily resisted.
"Em, if she didn't care about it, she would've just got it over with. She would've left you when you told her to stop. But she didn't! She stayed with you and she didn't force you to do anything! As kinky as it sounds, she gave you a head and there are only a few things more intimate than that. If you were only a casual fuck to her, she would've done it the normal way" - Aria argued - "I know why you're resisting but… give Alison a chance!"
Tears formed in those chocolate eyes again, as Emily remembered when she woke up the morning after their deed.
Emily woke up to the morning light creeping into Ali's room. The duvet covered her from waist down, her shoulder was tickling and there was an arm draped over her stomach. She looked down to find Alison sleeping peacefully on top of her and smiled. Last night had been surreal. Emily discreetly pinched herself just to see if she wasn't lost in a daydream.
Then Alison began to shift around on her shoulder and woke up. The blonde lifted her head and looked up at her, smiling sleepily.
"Good morning"
"Good morning" - Emily replied a little bit anxious. She didn't quite know just how to bring up the past night or if it changed anything between them.
"Sleep well?" - Alison made small talk.
"Ali, I..." - The brunette tried to bring up the matter, but couldn't find the words.
"Shh, Emily" - Ali put a finger on her lips - "You don't have to say anything. Last night was… We don't need to change things between us if you don't want to, but last night was… very special to me"
"It was special to me too" - Emily felt her chest bubbling in happiness. For once, things appeared to be working on her life: A was nowhere to be seen and her first (and true, she hoped) love appeared to have feelings for her as well.
Alison leaned in and kissed the brunette, thinking she tasted amazing even with morning. Emily gently ran her fingers through those blonde locks and allowed herself to smile through the kiss.
"As much as I'd like to repay the favor" - Emily gave Alison one last kiss - "We're kinda late for school"
"You don't have to repay the favor… I mean… only if you want to" - Ali looked away and blushed.
"Oh, I do!" - The swimmer chuckled and found her cute.
"Then, if I have a say on this, you'll have all the time in the world to do it" - The blonde smiled.
"Good" - She smiled back and the two girls just stared at each other. But, before they could even consider jumping on each other's bones again, Alison pulled away.
"I'm going to take a bath and get changed. You can grab any clothes you like and we'll go to your house before school" - Alison walked out of bed and sashayed to the bathroom, making sure to sway her hips discreetly, trying to win Emily's attention. She smirked when she felt those brown eyes defiling her in every way possible as she walked.
"Tease!" - Emily mumbled to herself once Ali closed her door. It didn't matter, though. Everything was alright now.
"Why are you smiling?" - Aria noticed.
"I was just… remembering something" - Emily trailed off.
"What is it?"
"The morning after that night" - She told - "Ali was so… Ali. One moment she showed me her vulnerability, her feelings… The other, she teased me and I can remember her smiling all morning long"
"You seem to cherish this memory" - Aria said.
"I do" - The swimmer chuckled.
"Then you know what to do"
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP NOW!" - A scream interrupted and made them jump.
"It's Ali!" - Emily immediately stood up.
"Let's go!" - Aria nodded and they rushed to the stairs.
Surprisingly, the room went silence after Ali's growl.
"After this damn video, everybody here has attacked me, put words in my mouth and looked down at me! And nobody gives a damn to what I have to say. Damn, I've been exposed too! But no one cares because, after all, I'm the one who stringed poor Emily along. Bullshit! Who are you to talk about MY FEELINGS?!"
No one dared to interrupt the rant - "That night… That night was the best night of my life!" - Alison finally allowed the tears to stream down her cheeks - "I had the girl I'm in love with in my arms and everything seemed so small… Facing A, running… I would do it all over and over again if I could be with Emily, because she's more than worth it, I know. She's way more than I'll ever deserve."
"I was ready to apologize to her for all the terrible things I'd done. I would've spent the rest of my life making up to her in every way possible, but one single mistake… One single mistake, and she was miles away from me again, and this time I knew there was no coming back"
"Still, I held on to that night because this was the closest thing I had from her. It was the closest thing to a relationship that we'd ever have. And Charles ruined that memory!" - Ali clenched her fists in anger - "And Emily probably hates me now, because this is all my fault! I've put her into this mess and I can't even find the words to say how much I regret putting her in danger!"
"I don't hate you, Ali" - A soft voice spoke from the stairway. There stood Aria and a wide-eyed Emily.
"Emily?" - Alison suddenly lost her anger - "H-How much did you hear?"
Aria squeezed Em's shoulder and gestured her to go to Ali. Emily nervously complied, taking breathes on every step she took.
"I heard everything" - She murmured when she was close enough to Ali.
"Oh..." - Is this the part where Emily politely turns her down in front of everybody?
"Is it true? I mean... when you said it was the best night of your life?"
"I..." - Alison was too nervous to answer - "… yes"
Emily smiled and looked down.
"But… you've probably had better nights, right? I mean, you've had other girlfriends, they were all pretty and they didn't hurt you like I did..." - The blonde trailed off.
"Alison" - Emily shut her up by cupping her face - "Stop putting yourself down, okay? That night… that night was the best night of my life too! I even pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming" - They both chuckled.
"Really?" - Alison smiled widely.
"Yes. I love you, Ali, and nothing could ever change that, not even A, not even you dying, not even this video" - Emily confessed.
"Em… I love you too" - The tears that now sprinkled her blue eyes were from happiness.
Emily smiled again before leaning in and capturing Ali's lips for a chaste kiss. The blonde kissed her back with equal softness, wrapping her arms around her midsection to make sure her mermaid wouldn't escape again.
They were too involved with themselves that they barely heard the sound of clapping and whistling until Wayne cleared up his throat. Alison pulled away immediately.
"Mr. Fields..."
"Dad!" - Emily stepped up in front of the blonde, ready to argue with her beloved father if needed.
"Alison DiLaurentis..." - He began sternly - "I think I have misjudged you. Your confession was beautiful and you seem to care deeply for my Emily. And I think that you make her happy, and that's what really matters to me. I'm sorry for the way I treated you and I'm sorry for having punched your father"
"You did what?!" - Emily snapped.
"It's okay, Em" - Ali soothingly held her hand - "Thanks, Mr. Fields. You don't know how much this means to me"
Before they could continue, someone else stepped up to apologize to Alison - "Ali"
The blonde turned around. It was Hanna.
"I'm sorry for saying those things about you and I'm sorry for slapping you" - Hanna seemed to be ashamed of her action. Spencer was beside her and also looked uncomfortable.
"The things you said… I had no idea, Ali" - Spencer mumbled humbly.
"It's just that I… I was afraid of showing it. But now I'm not, not anymore" - Her thumb caressed the back of Em's hand.
"I'm sorry, Emily… for hurting Ali" - Hanna turned to her friend.
"It's okay, I guess… You two just have to pay our pizza later" - The brunette chuckled.
"Then we call a deal!" - Spencer smiled and walked away with Hanna, deciding to allow the couple some time alone. But, of course, Kenneth and Wayne wouldn't allow it.
"Thanks for always taking care of my girl, Emily" - Mr. DiLaurentis said.
"You don't have to thank me, Mr. D." - She replied - "It's my pleasure!" - She looked at Ali and they both smiled.
"Speaking of it" - Wayne began and Emily immediately regretted mentioning the word 'pleasure' - "What do you think of an open door policy, Ken?" - He asked.
"I'm pretty sure we can reach an agreement on this" - Kenneth smirked.
Oh shit!