Closing her front door behind her Alison takes a quick glance at the time on her phone. Seeing that it was half past six she figures that her dad is up by now and should be wandering down soon for his coffee soon. Since she was in a good mood she decided to get the coffee maker ready for him so all he had to do was press the start button.
After that's ready she makes her way to the sink and fills a glass with cold water and grabs a can of pedigree from the pantry. She goes over to Pepe's bowls and starts to pour the water in the left bowl. Pepe trots over trying to stick his face into the bowl and drink.
"Pepe wait till I'm done" Alison says sternly. Plopping his butt down in patience Alison finishes up with his food.
After she finishes she stands up and brushes her hands against her jeans and stepping back.
"Okay go ahead"
Not sticking around to watch him eat Alison makes her way upstairs ready to shower away the grime from last night. As she steps through her bedroom door her phone vibrates in her pocket. A wave of anticipation passes through her body and she tells herself to calm down. Taking a seat at her desk she opens the bottom right drawer taking out a new leather bound journal and placing it in front of herself. With that done she reaches into her pocket and takes her phone out quickly opening her new message.
Emily: Alison?
Alison: that's what it says on my birth certificate ;p
Emily: I was just worried that maybe you put your number in wrong or something
Alison: you mean you thought I would have given you the wrong number on purpose
Emily: that's not true!
Alison: hey it's okay, I know my reputation in this town I would have been suspicious too
Alison: I've actually done that before
Emily: really?
Alison: sometimes when a guy won't leave you alone you gotta pretend to give them what they want
Emily: I don't know if I could do that...
Alison: that's because you're sweet, and I'm not, actually word around town is I don't know how to love
Emily: that not true! I saw you with Pepe today and you were so sweet to him and it's obvious you love him!
Alison: :)
Alison: what are you doing today?
Emily: I have to run some errands for my mom later but after that I don't have any plans
Alison: what time are you going?
Emily: around 2 probably
Alison: great! I'm coming along
Emily: you don't have to do that...
Alison: I don't have any plans today, plus I'm trying to make some new friends and lucky you gets to be my first one
Emily: I'm sure you have way more interesting people to hang out with
Alison: get over it Fields you're stuck with me
Emily: okay
Alison: good I'll text you later to see where we'll meet up
Placing her phone down on the desk Alison tries to dispel the smile that had appeared on her face and was failing miserably. Biting her lip she reaches for a pen that was resting in a holder and uncaps it. Opening the new journal she had pulled out and looks at the blank first page. Thinking for a moment she titles her entry "Taking a Break"
Summer. Usually I would be making dozens of plans with all the somebodies of Rosewood. But I've grown bored of hanging out with people I don't really care about. So I've decided that this summer I'm taking a break from being The Alison DiLaurentis. And the first step in that plan is making friends with people I normally wouldn't look twice at. It would be nice to maybe actually find people I enjoy hanging out with, maybe friend aren't as overrated as I first thought.
Actually I think I already have set my plan in motion. I met a girl today while walking Pepe; she was shy and sweet and apparently the captain of the swim team. I don't remember seeing her around school so she must like to stay under the radar, a good first choice since I love the spotlight. I think I'll call Girl Crush, and she is definitely crush worthy, she's honestly super pretty, beautiful really, although I don't think she realizes it.
Anyways GC and I are going to meet up later to hang out, maybe she has other friends I could meet, although I already have an idea on who I should recruit into my new crew next.
Oh and note to self, remember to ruin Noel Khan's life.
Closing the book she contemplates hiding it in one of her secret spots, but decides against it. She figures she won't have any juicy secrets to document in it so she puts it back in the drawer she got it from.
Now time for that shower.
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.
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She and Emily meet in front of the supermarket at two thirteen. Emily's mom was apparently called into work and had asked Emily to pick up some extra ingredients for dinner.
Alison forced Jason to drop her off, even though he complained about it the whole time. Honestly he's so annoying, it wasn't like she made him leave the house, and he was on the way out anyways.
When she got there Emily was waiting for her by the entrance. Gone was her running gear and in its place was an off the shoulder gray T-shirt with light blue capris and gray converse. It amazed Alison how she could just be standing there looking shy and unsure and dressed casually but still seem like a model. The blonde was sure that if she were to take a picture of her in this moment that it would be flawless.
Pulling herself out of her thoughts she threw a thanks over her shoulder as she stepped out her brothers car. He didn't even offer a goodbye as he quickly pulled out of his parking spot and sped off. Typical.
She shakes off all thoughts of her idiot brother as a large grin took over her face when she looked in Emily's direction again.
"Hey Emily!" She called out jogging toward the other girl. Emily's eyes quickly locked into Alison and a relieved smile broke out on her face which caused Alison's grin to falter.
"Hey I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, my brother gave me a hard time about dropping me off."
"It's fine, I'm just glad you're here... Come on let's go in." Emily turned intent to walk to the supermarkets entrance but Alison stopped her.
"Emily wait." Taking a deep breath Alison decides to deal with this now not wanting this friendship thing to be any harder than it needs to be.
"You didn't think I'd show up." It obviously wasn't a question but Alison still waited for a response.
Emily looked like she was caught but her head started to shake in the negative.
"What of course I did why would I-"
"You know, you're not a very good liar Emily. And I would know I'm the queen. But I'm telling the truth when I say that I want to be your friend but it won't work if you keep expecting me to turn on you."
For a moment it's quiet, Alison stands there with her arms crossed protectively waiting for a response while Emily chews her lip in contemplation still slightly turned away from the blonde.
The brunettes' shoulders sag and she lets out a quiet sigh.
"I was waiting for fifteen minutes" Alison silently curses Jason for making Emily wait that long. "And the first five minutes were okay; I just figured you were running late. But then when ten minutes went by I remembered hearing about that time you and some friends invited this girl, Ashley Garcia, to hang out. And she went to the meet-up spot and she waited for you guys for an hour. But you never showed up."
Alison felt guilt gnawing her stomach. She remembered that incident. She also remembers how the next day she tried to talk to them and they just laughed and walked past like she wasn't even there.
Alison wasn't proud of a lot of things she's done to the kids at school, but she usually pushed her guilty conscious to the back of her mind. Instead she would focus on how it would feel good when her "friends" would praise her after every terrible dead, and the satisfaction of once again gaining the attention of everyone.
But right now with Emily standing there with her scared posture and guarded eyes she couldn't help but feel the crushing weight of all the guilt she built up suddenly hitting her.
"So every minute afterward I stood here feeling stupid, I didn't know why I was still waiting for you but my feet wouldn't move. But every minute that passed by I couldn't help but ask myself why I had given you the benefit of the doubt, that there was no way you really wanted to hangout with a nobody like me, that I should forget I even bumped into you. But instead I stood here and I waited."
Emily finally turned and faced Alison, gaining confidence as she continued to speak until she was standing at her full height and was staring the blonde straight in the eyes.
Alison reached out for Emily's hand that was balled into a first giving it a squeeze, but her touch was rejected when the brunette pulled away from her and took a step back. Alison resisted the urge to try and close the space between them even though it made her feel upset being so far away from Emily at this moment. Instead she matched Emily's stance and put on her No Nonsense face.
"I know I'm a bitch. And I know I've done terrible things, and I've hurt people without a second thought. And yeah you have no reason to trust me, but I'm asking you to. I'm trying this whole honesty thing out this summer so I'll be straight up with you. You're right I normally wouldn't give you the time of day, but like I told you this morning, even The Alison DiLaurentis has to take a break from herself. And that's what I want to do this summer. I really do want to be your friend."
If felt weird opening herself up like that. She felt like taking it all back, laughing in Emily's face and telling her she couldn't believe she fell for that. She felt like crawling out of her skin for giving someone the power to hurt her and her stomach knotted thinking that Emily wouldn't believe her. God how was she going to make it through this summer, she couldn't even handle being truthful with this sweet girl in front of her without wanting to say something to her before she got hurt herself. But Alison held firm and waited for Emily to say something. Maybe this was a test from karma or something testing Alison to see if she could actually be genuine with somebody for five minutes.
So she bit the inside of her cheek and kept up their unwavering eye contact and waited.
After what felt like forever Emily nodded her head a smile and a slight blush appearing on her face.
"Okay"
"Okay?"
"Okay, I believe you"
A breathe Alison didn't even know she was holding finally escaped her; it felt like some of the weight she constantly carried on her shoulders was lifted. Acting on impulse she closed the distance between her and Emily and brought the brunette into a hug.
"Thank you" she whispered into the side of the taller girls' neck, relishing in this new feeling of comfort.
At first Emily just stood there shocked not expecting the sudden contact but started to relax after Alison gave a gentle squeeze to her midsection. Emily brought her arms up and wrapped them around the blondes' neck adjusting herself so they both melted into the hug.
.
.
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"So what are we here for?" Alison asked as she held her hands behind her back trailing behind Emily as they walked through the vegetable isle.
"Um, tomatoes, spinach, ricotta and salt." Emily listed off while picking up a tomato and inspecting it, "Mom wants to make lasagna tonight."
Alison nods and looks over Emily's shoulder watching as she put down the tomato she was holding and pick up another one. Stepping back and spinning around Alison quickly spots the mini-plastic bags used to hold fresh produce. She walks over and takes one before saddling up next to Emily and trying to open one. Rubbing the ends of the bag together Alison wonders why they make it so hard to open these bags. Finally after what felt like forever she gets it up letting out a noise of triumph and holds it open for Emily to place the tomatoes in. The brunette on the other hand was watching the blonde with a smile wondering how this cute girl in front of her can be the same one she's seen walking through the halls of Rosewood high like she owned the place. Shaking her head in disbelief she gently places three tomatoes into the offered bag.
They both walk further down the aisle quickly finding the spinach and placing it in the shopping basket that was hanging on Emily's arm. Deciding to get the ricotta next they start waking to a new isle.
"So Emily, do you have any special plans this summer, maybe with some friends, or maybe a boyfriend." Alison prods
Emily shakes her head, "There are no boyfriends around me... Right now" she says awkwardly. A brief silence passed between them causing Alison to raise an eyebrow interest peaked but before she can interrogate her Emily quickly speaks again.
"But I uh, I do have plans next Saturday with my friend Hanna. She went to go visit her aunt for the week but she insisted we hang out at the mall when she gets back so she could "find me some summer outfits that wouldn't cause a fashion nightmare". Her words. Which I don't get at all, I like my clothes and I think I look fine. But secretly I think she just wants to get me into some dresses." A fond smile appears on Emily's face as she thought about her friend.
"Hanna?" Alison questions. There were at least twelve Hanna's at their school and Alison knew of three of them. But there was one in particular that she knew from back in freshman year. She had a huge crush on Sean Ackard that practically everyone in her circle knew about. She was shy but sweet (like Emily) and was heavier than most girls their age. And one day she had gathered the courage to approach the popular tables to try to talk to Sean but before she could get too close someone had tripped her causing her to fall and spill her chocolate pudding all over her pink shirt. They had all started laughing, pointing and whispering. The poor girl struggled to get up and the laughter increased. Finally when she got up she looked around with tears dotting her eyes. And Alison being the bitch she was just had to put the final nail in the coffin and called out to her
"Why don't you run along hefty, but tread carefully you wouldn't want to cause an earthquake."
And thus the nickname "Hefty Hanna" was born.
God please don't let it be her, anyone else besides-
"Yeah Hanna Marin"
Fuck
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.
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Stepping out of the supermarket Alison was glad that the warm summer afternoon was accompanied by a cool breeze. Looking out toward the parking lot she scans the cars wondering which one belonged to Emily.
"So what kind of car does Emily Fields drive?"
"A Toyota Corolla, but I don't really use it much. I like to bike most places I like the fresh air. Actually I biked to the store today."
Emily leads them over to the stores bike rack that only held a black mountain bike with a tan wicker basket attached to the front which honestly looks out of place on the sleek bike.
Alison raises an eyebrow and gives Emily a look that says explain.
"The basket usually isn't on there but I bought one for times like these when I have to pick something up for my mom. And don't worry we both can get on, you can just ride on the pegs."
"Is that even safe?"
"Yeah it'll be fine, I only live about five minutes away and I've given someone a ride on my bike before."
Walking over to the bike she pulls a black helmet out of the basket and places the lone shopping bag in.
"If it'll make you feel safer you can wear my helmet."
Alison eyes the offered object warily before nodding slowly and taking it from Emily. She places the helmet on her head and tries to adjust the straps to tighten it. She struggles for a moment before gentle hands stop her.
"Here let me"
Emily expertly tightens the straps stopping when Alison gives her the okay. As she moved her hands away she gently moves a stray piece of blonde hair from Alison's face.
"Perfect"
Emily just barely whispered the word, and her warm breath caressed Alison's cheek. Smiling brightly she stepped back from the slightly dazed blonde and went to unlock her bike.
Alison wasn't sure what just happened, maybe she was over thinking things but it definitely felt like they were just having a moment there. Furrowing her brows she stores this moment away for later inspection. Emily calls Alison over and she walks up to the brunette who was stated on the bike.
"Okay so you're going to have to wrap your arms around my waist, good thing you're shorter than me it'll be more comfortable for both of us." Alison does as instructed and wraps her arms around Emily's waist from behind, "Okay now step onto the pegs and hold on tight."
"I don't know about this Emily..."
"It'll be okay, you do trust me?" Emily turned so she could stare at Alison. The blonde is struck by the intensity in those brown eyes. She found herself nodding slowly not even thinking about how odd it must be to trust someone so much despite just meeting them. But as she climbed on the back of Emily's bike and held on tight as Emily began pedaling she decided that this girl wouldn't hurt her and that for once Alison could just let someone into her highly built walls.
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MC: And then they rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after. The End
Just kidding! If only it were that easy. Now I know I said this is fluff, and that's true, but mostly that just means between Em and Ali, but with the other girls Alison is gonna have to work a bit to be on her side, especially Hanna. Hey I'm still an angst and drama hoe so I gotta get my fix somewhere! Also I'm a firm believer in not letting things fester, ifyou've got something to say, speak now or forever hold your peace, so I'm glad Em got her insecurities out there and Ali comforted her :)
I actually wasn't gonna work on this till later but I was reading Affair by emisonislifeok and I got to the end of chapter 7 and I literally noped so hard that I wrote this entire chapter in order to avoid that mess at least for a while, but damn that story is good. Last thing I'll say is I was listening to Control by Halsey on loop and I just realized that the song is Alison DiLaurentis as fuck (well it also fits Charlotte too) and I ended up listening to it while writing this. Idk if I can do it, but I feel like that could inspire an angsty introspective character analysis fic based on her, just throwing that out there.
Thanks so much for all the favs/follows/and reviews guys, it's nice to know you guys are enjoy, keep em' coming I like to know what you guys are feeling and what you think might happen and all that good stuff! See ya next time guys!
