"Em... Emily" Hanna called out yet again trying to get her friends attention.
Emily snapped out of her daze and looked over at Hanna apologetically. She'd been finding herself getting sucked into her own imagination several times over this past week and she put it down to two reasons, the first being the mysterious new blonde she had met. She hadn't seen Alison since that evening and had even gone to Spencer's for a "coffee and a chat" several times over the course of the week. Spencer obviously knew the exact reason for Emily's spontaneous visits, not that they didn't see each other without invitation but rather that Emily had been keeping to herself a lot more than usual recently. The amount of visits she had received in a short space of time would have been seen as rather random by the smart brunette had it not been for the new neighbour that had caught her friends attention at the start of the week.
The second reason being one that she tried her hardest not to think about but it was particularly hard at this time of year. Yes Paige had broken Emily's heart however Samara had completely destroyed it. She had done the one thing that could completely break any man or woman and there was absolutely no way of Emily ever getting over it. When it had happened it took both her mother's and all of her friends hardest efforts to get the brunette back to as close to herself as she could ever be. It had taken months of trying before they had seen any type of results, during those months Emily had walked through life like a zombie. She was completely unaware of her actions throughout the day and her emotions had been completely shut off.
Emily sighed whilst trying her hardest to focus on what Hanna had been trying to tell her for the past 10 minutes but found her mind drifting off yet again especially when a blonde haired girl walked into the coffee shop that they were sat in but to Emily's disappointment it hadn't been Alison. Hanna eventually gave up trying to converse with Emily, knowing full well what time of year was rapidly approaching and even after 3 years she knew Emily was still as raw about the event as she had been when it happened. Instead of talking she pulled her friend into a warm and tight embrace and just sat there enjoying her company.
There were two times of the year when all of her friends made sure Emily was never left alone for any longer than a few minutes. The anniversary of her dads death and the day that the event that would not be spoken about had happened. Hanna then quickly realised that although the event would soon be upon them that there may also be another reason for Emily's lack of focus. And after seeing Emily get slightly excited and agitated all at the same time at the sight of another blonde woman walking into the coffee shop, Hanna knew she was now on the right tracks.
Hanna had never seen Emily this worked up over a girl before and she wasn't sure if she should be worried or excited for the brunette. The fact that anyone was able to pull any sort of reaction from Emily especially at this time of year was something to be marvelled at and Hanna was eager to meet the new resident of Rosewood. Spencer had called both Hanna and Aria after seeing the interaction between and effect that Alison had on Emily. Even from the short moment that she had witnessed the two sharing Spencer saw a flicker of something in Emily's eyes, she saw hope and that was something she had doubted that she would ever witness Emily feel again. In fact the brown eyes had lightened by several shades until Spencer had mentioned Alison and at that point the flicker of hope faded and Emily's eyes darkened once again.
Spencer had been right when she had mentioned that Emily and Hanna were friends with benefits however that had never come in-between the friendship the two of them shared. There was no romantic feelings from either side, they knew what to expect and not expect from each other in and out of the arrangement. And it had been agreed that as soon as one of them felt the need to put an end to the agreement that it would happen instantly with no hard feelings and no ill effects on their friendship.
Out of the group of four they had always been the closest to one another and their arrangement was just a way for both of them to release their pent up emotions. For Emily it was a way to hide from the grief and coldness she felt and for Hanna it was a way for her to destress after her work had taken a toll on her on any given day. They were both only one phone all away from being the comfort each other needed and it always ended with them lying in one another's arms and talking about anything and everything. Hanna was the only girl that Emily stayed with after the deed until morning and they often ended up having breakfast and spending the rest of the day together.
Hanna worked for the fashion industry in Philadelphia which was the closest city to the town they lived in, Rosewood. Travel only took an hour or so depending on the traffic and the time of day. Her schedule was hectic and she spent her days trying to please her bosses and various designers whilst running around arranging models and getting everything and everyone to work together. As stressful as her job was, Hanna wouldn't give it up for the world. She loved her job and had worked hard throughout high school and college to be in the position she was today. The pay itself was reward enough but just being surrounded by fashion and all it entailed was what Hanna needed.
The group of four had all separated at the age of 18 whilst they headed to college to try and further themselves and achieve the careers of their dreams. All of them except Emily that was, whilst Spencer studied law, Aria studied English literature and Hanna studied Fashion, Emily had stayed behind in Rosewood and eventually found work with the accountancy and passed all her exams that she had needed to take within a year.
They had all returned for Christmas' and summers however knowing that they each had to separate from one another at the end of the holidays made it slightly hard to enjoy themselves in the moment. The only other time they had all reunited was during the situation involving Samara and despite Emily's protests all three of the other girls had returned immediately to comfort the brunette. Hanna had stayed back in Rosewood the longest thanks to how far ahead of her college schedule she was and the ability to submit most of her work online. They had then all returned permanently one after the other, Hanna first followed by Aria and finally Spencer, each completing their degrees after the given time and gaining jobs in their preferred professions.
Their lives were hectic and it meant they had hardly any time to catch up as a foursome and so it became tradition that the weekends would be spent as a group. Nothing would come between this unless it was work. They had all agreed and so far no one had let the others down. This was why Emily's extracurricular activities took place on the weeknights and left her feeling physically and mentally exhausted by the weekend.
As Hanna and Emily sat their waiting for Aria and Spencer to join them for a Saturday afternoon coffee and catch up they cosied up to one another and just enjoyed the silence. None of the group was in a relationship nor had been in one since high school. Spencer deemed her job too important to focus on silly things such as love, Aria was a hopeless romantic and was looking for the real thing that she never seemed to be able to find and Hanna spent all her free time either sleeping after a busy day at work or with Emily which left her with no time to meet new people.
It was this that kept the group so close because they had no one else to depend on except each other. No matter what time it was or what else was going on they would drop anyone and anything and come running should one of the others need it. They had known each other throughout their entire school lives and wouldn't know what to do if one of them left Rosewood. It would be like losing a limb.
The years that they had been separated had been hard on each of them and at one point or another each of them had considered quitting what they were doing and running back to Rosewood and to the comfort of each other. However they had stuck it out and prevailed and the time spent apart had only made them closer once they had reunited.
The door to The Brew opened and in walked Spencer and Aria who were having a full on debate. Upon seeing the others they fell silent with Spencer heading to the counters to order the coffees and Aria walking over to the sofas that Hanna and Emily were sat on. Breaking apart from Hanna, Emily sat up with a look of concern on her face as she greeted Aria. Aria just shook her head in response and laughed.
"Spencer is adamant that coffee is one of your five a day. Apparently I shouldn't have disagreed with her" Aria said as she took her seat and a wide grin appeared on her face.
Hanna and Emily chuckled in response and made small talk before Spencer returned and set the coffees on the table for all four of them. She took a seat next to Aria on the sofa that was opposite Emily and Hanna before trying to continue her debate with Aria. Aria held up a finger to Spencer's mouth to silence her, passing Spencer her coffee and they silently decided to agree to disagree. A Hastings without their coffee was not something you wanted to come across and they all knew it. Once Spencer had had an adequate fill of coffee the conversations continued and they filled each other in with their weeks at work. The conversation flowed easily between the four of them and even when no one had anything to say at a particular moment they just fell into a comfortable silence.
Tearing her eyes away from the group Emily found herself staring at Alison who was oblivious to the gaze upon her and had just entered The Brew alone. Before she knew what she was doing Emily had stood up and was making her way over to the blonde who was glancing around nervously and taking in her surroundings. She had spent the last week sorting out her house, unpacking boxes and decorating a couple of rooms that need some attention therefore she hadn't had a chance to explore the town yet and had taken the weekend as an opportunity to do so.
"In need of some fresh air at a more appropriate time I see" Emily quipped once she had reached the blondes side.
Alison jumped slightly as the voice caught her off guard, she had been studying the menu above the counter considering all the options available carefully. She recovered quickly though and smiled at the sight of the brunette who had seemed to shy away after her initial confident conversation starter.
"What would you recommend?" Alison asked as her attention returned to the menu and she made her way to the counter.
"Don't ask Americano to recommend anything, her choice of coffee never changes hence my nickname for her" the blonde at the till interrupted as Emily still hadn't managed to find her voice again.
The blondes name badge read CeCe and she caught Emily's eye and winked before looking back at Alison in anticipation of her order. Emily shook her head and wondered if she should just walk back to her friends with her head down in shame. Alison however simply stated that she'd like two Americanos and handed over her money to the server before getting into a small conversation with CeCe. The two seemed to hit it off quickly and Alison was in need of a friend or two in this town and CeCe seemed like a suitable candidate.
Emily stood there awkwardly watching the encounter still not having spoken anything other than her introduction to Alison and wished the ground would swallow her up. She was brought out of her vivid imagination of that exact thing happening as Alison called her name and handed her one of the coffees. There was a slight awkward silence where their eyes flitted between one another and around the room before Emily finally cleared her throat and managed to talk.
"You didn't need to buy me a drink blondie" her confidence returning with every word she managed to get out.
A shy smile appeared on Alison's face and she headed towards the exit before turning back around to face the confused brunette.
"Are you going to join me?" Alison smirked before turning on her heels and leaving the establishment.
It took Emily several seconds to comprehend what Alison had just said but as soon as her brain caught up she found herself following quickly in the footsteps of the blonde and out into the street.
"Shit" Emily exclaimed as she had finally reached Alison. The blonde had been facing the door to The Brew in a happy anticipation of the brunette following her outside but now she looked at Emily in confusion with furrowed eyebrows.
"Two seconds" Emily stated before turning around and heading back inside quickly and with determination.
Walking back over to her group of friends that had been sat making small talk between one another whilst waiting patiently for her return Emily gained all of their attention instantly and she suddenly realised she didn't know how to explain what was going on. She never lied to her friends, no matter what any of them were dealing with they had complete trust with one another and that meant no lies ever.
They had been caught in one too many a lie back in high school and it had almost driven a wedge between the group. The fall out that had occurred had been massive and ended up with several months of no one talking to anyone else. After all was said and done they managed to get their friendship back on track and no lies was another of their rules that they had instilled into their way of life with each other.
Emily stood in front of them all with her mouth opening and closing several times before taking a deep breath and going to speak. The others watched her intently and having witnessed Emily's previous interaction with Alison at the counter silently and in slight awe of the command Alison seemed to already have over Emily they waited for what they knew would be spoken next.
"I've got to... umm... got to go..." Emily struggled to get out as her eyes darted between her three friends that stared at her intensely. They were making her nervous and she stuttered over her words and she tried to form the sentence in her head before it left her mouth jumbled once again.
"Just go with her Em" Spencer stated firmly before giving Emily a smile and nodding in the direction of the door.
Hanna and Aria also smiled at Emily in encouragement and Hanna added in an exaggerated wink for good measure. Emily returned the smiles back before nodding more so to herself rather than her friends and turning around and walking out of The Brew as she tried to summon back her confidence.
Her thoughts kept going back to alcohol or cigarettes as an attempt to calm her nerves but there was no way of getting alcohol right then and she didn't want to put Alison off with her dirty habit. Instead she forced her hands into her pocket to keep them from shaking nervously and made her way over to Alison who was still stood in the exact same spot Emily had left her in.
"Sorted?" Alison asked as she walked away from Emily and crossed the street after checking both ways for oncoming traffic. She hadn't waited for or needed an answer knowing full well that the fact the brunette had returned was enough of a signal that Emily was going to follow her wherever she chose to go.
Emily followed quickly behind Alison before catching up and falling into a steady rhythm beside the blonde. She was unsure of where they were heading but stayed silent as she just enjoyed the situation the day had presented her with. Having started the day in a slightly lower than average mood with only the prospect of seeing her friends able to put a slight smile on her face she was now unable to wipe the stupid grin that had managed to spread across her face. Her stomach fluttered every time the blonde spoke and she found herself hanging on the end of every word that came out of her mouth. Emilys mind was finally free from thoughts about the dreadful day that would soon be upon them and instead her head was filled only with the sight and sounds that consisted of Alison.
Emily finally realised that they had ended up back at Alison's house. Having been completely caught up in the blonde and not paying attention to any of her surroundings during the journey. Emily was pretty impressed by how quickly they had managed to get there and also slightly disappointed at the same time as she was now unsure as to what the next interaction would be. They hadn't spoken a word to one another for the entire walk and that made Emily doubt if she would be invited into the blondes house now that they had reached her front door.
Emily stood behind Alison as she rummaged through her purse in an attempt to find her keys. Emily waited patiently not sure if she should try and strike up a conversation and prolong this interaction between the two of them. By the time Emily had come to a decision Alison had managed to find her house keys and was jostling them in her hand as she watched Emily's inner battle that was etching itself on her face in a series of expressions. Wanting to put Emily out of her misery Alison made sure she was the first to speak.
"Thank you for walking me home once again" Alison said quietly keeping her eyes focused solely on the wooden floorboards of her front porch.
Emily shrugged but upon lifting her own eyes to Alison's face she realised that the blonde had not seen her action so was instead forced to try and get a few of her own words out.
"No problem" was all that she managed but for now it was a start.
It allowed for Alison to lift her head and lock eyes with Emily, the fluttering in both of their stomachs returning at once and a wave of emotions hitting them both like a ton of shit. Emily felt physically weak as Alison's eyes bore into her, it was as if Alison was tearing down her walls quicker than Emily could rebuild them and Emily wasn't sure what to do with that knowledge. She had got stuck in a rut and felt that she was doomed to repeat the same mistakes. She didn't want Alison to be one of those mistakes and yet she already knew even if she was asked that she wouldn't be able to walk away from the stunning blonde.
"Until the next silent walk" Alison said with a smirk before lowering her gaze and turning to open the door.
"I can't wait" Emily said in return, having to be the one to have the last word this time around.
Alison allowed it and walked into her house and shut the door softly behind her. She let out a loud exhale of breath that she hadn't realised she had been holding in and slumped back against the door. For someone she had just met Emily sure had a hold on Alison and despite a tumultuous past that Alison wanted to keep behind her and had made her shut everyone else out, emily she thought, could be the one to open up the gates to her heart.
Emily upon watching the door to Alison's house close in front of her hung around for only a couple more seconds before skipping down the porch steps and heading back in the direction of town. She hoped that her friends would still be where she left them as she already felt bad enough for disrupting their time together. It had only been half an hour or so since she had walked out of The Brew and she knew with her quick pace that she wouldn't take long to make it back again.
Once she deemed herself to be far enough away from Alison's house Emily pulled out her packet of cigarettes and put one into her mouth before returning the rest of the pack to her inside jacket pocket. She lit it carefully and took a long drag before exhaling slowly and continuing with her walk back into town.
"That's a dirty habit you know"
Emily looked up with a glare in the direction of the speaker and eventually let her facial expression soften and a laugh escape her lips.
"It still doesn't stop you kissing me though" Emily replied as a smile replaced the glare and she took yet another drag from the cigarette and blew the smoke towards the other persons face.
They coughed out exaggeratedly before slapping Emily on the arm and shaking their head. Knowing full well that nothing they said would make Emily stop her dirty habits or change her mind on any of her view points for that matter.
"I was hoping you'd still be at The Brew with the others Han" Emily said before taking Hanna by the hand and abandoning her walk towards the town and heading in the direction of Hanna's house instead.
Clinging to each other as they walked back they cracked jokes and Hanna filled Emily in on what she had missed after she had left The Brew. Emily spoke quickly about what had happened with Alison seeing as there wasn't really much to say as they had walked in complete silence. Hanna listened to everything Emily said however and was impressed by how much Emily already seemed invested in the blonde.
Once they arrived at Hanna's house they both collapsed onto the sofa and stuck on a Disney movie so that they didn't have to concentrate too hard on what was appearing on the screen. Halfway through the second movie Hanna pushed herself out of Emily's arms and off of the sofa, she headed over to the drinks cabinet and groaned slightly as she realised how low their stock actually was. With the last bottle of alcohol in one hand and the other carrying a glass for each of them Hanna returned to the sofa and placed the items down on the coffee table that sat in front of them.
Emily sent out a text to Aria and Spencer asking them to join if they were free and to pick up as much alcohol as they could manage between the two of them. A smile appeared on her face as she poured the first glass of alcohol that Hanna had passed to her down her neck. This motion physically relaxed her and she sank back down into the sofa pulling Hanna close and getting comfortable for the evening awaiting Spencer's and Aria's response although she had no doubt in her mind that the girls would accept the offer without a second thought.
A/N
Due to the positive responses and amount of views I have already received I have decided to give you the second chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and hopefully you won't have too long a wait before I complete and release the next one.
Any ideas on what Samara did to Emily? I'm intrigued to hear your thoughts, not only on this but on all the parts in the story :)
Don't forget to leave a review or comment! I love reading them all.