Alison and Emily sat on Alison's bed watching TV.
"You know" said Alison "These romantic stories are all a huge pile of crap"
"Really?" asked Emily "And why is that?"
"Because none of it is real. Don't you love stories that have real endings? Like the ones where they all die, or the girl goes for somebody else?"
"Well then that makes you sad, doesn't it?"
"Well yeah but at least it's true. It's educating you on what real life is going to be like when you grow up."
"But love stories are so much more fun than real ones"
"Take The Notebook for an example...Allie so would have gone for her rich fiancee in real life but in the story, she goes for a shaggy old country boy like Noah"
"Well yeah because Noah was really hot"
"But the other guy was really rich...and also kinda hot"
"Well who would you have gone for Ali?"
"Oh please Em, I wouldn't have just gone for somebody. I would...compromise.
"You would cheat?"
Alison giggled.
"Oh my gosh Ali! That is so wrong!"
"No it's not. It's smart"
"What would you have done if they found out?"
"I would run away"
"And where would you go?"
"I'd find people"
Alison and Emily both stopped talking and eased into an awkward silence.
"Well I'm not exactly a sucker for a love story, but I think it would be cool to live one" started Ali again.
"Live one?"
"Yeah. Fall in love, dance under the stars, re-unite with them wherever you went"
"Your waiting for your Prince Charming?"
"Sort of"
"Does that make you Cinderella, or the ugly sisters?"
"Ugly?"
"No I didn't mean ugly...god I didn't mean ugly"
"So what did you mean?"
"Well the ugly sisters were only going for Prince Charming to marry their way into royalty. To gain fortune and make them look good."
"Yeah, so?"
"But Cinderella went for him because she was in love with him"
"How do you know"
"What?"
"How do you know that Cinderella was really in love with the Prince. How do you know she didn't just marry him to make her look good"
"I..I just know"
"How?"
"It's just the story, Ali"
"Well I guess nobody really knows apart from her."
"But we can't ask her because she doesn't exist"
"Exactly. It's not real. None of it is real
Later that night when Emily and Alison were both lying down trying to get to sleep, Emily turned on her lamp and sat up looking startled.
"Ali" she whispered
"Hmmmm...what is it Em? Why are you awake?"
"I've just been thinking a lot about what you said. About how Allie chose Noah over Lon Hammond"
"Yeah...so what"
"So what if she had chose Lon"
"What about it"
"What if she had chose to marry Lon and left Noah. Wouldn't Noah be heartbroken?"
"Well yeah of course he would be. Allie was the love of his life"
"So it would have hurt him"
"Of course"
"So why would you want her to chose Lon"
"I never said I wanted her to. I just said in real life, she probably would have done"
"Well not everybody is like you Ali"
"Meaning what?"
"Not everybody is a gold-digger"
Alison sat up and stared right at Emily.
"I'm a gold-digger?"
"Well no I just mean..."
"Meant what?"
"I meant that you go with what you want on the outside rather than the inside"
"Explain"
"You chose what you want to make you look good and feel good on the outside, and you turn down what you want and is good for you in the inside"
"What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about"
Alison stopped dead.
"No, Em. Not back to this. I've already told you I'm sorry about what happened in the locker room."
"Are you though?"
"Yeah. I really am"
"I don't believe you"
"Want me to prove it?"
"Go on then"
Alison leaned in and kissed Emily on her lips and Emily didn't pull away. Emily opened her eyes and looked at Alison for a while.
"I...uhm...what was that for"
"You were right Em"
"About what"
"I only do things to make me look good. I tell you I like boys because that's what is expected for girls"
"Your point is?"
"And on the inside, I don't really like all the rich boys like Noel Kahn"
"You don't?"
"No. I...I like you. And I'm tired of pretending I don't"
"What do you mean?"
Alison kissed Emily again. This time it lasted longer.
"You see Em?"
"See what"
"This is a real love story"
"It is?"
"Yes. It started off rough. It had its' ups and downs but eventually..."
"It's a happy ending"
"Exactly"
"Is this our happy ending, Ali?"
She smiled.
"Yeah. I think it is"