Alrighty, here's chapter 4!
I don't own the characters.
Happy reading :)
The weather was warming up in Rosewood. Emily was walking to school, observing her surroundings; the trees starting to become green again, the rays of sunshine streaming down, the birds gliding around in the morning air. The night before, she had confessed her feelings about Spencer to Hanna, and she felt surprisingly... okay. She was still confused and worried about what it could mean for the future of her and Spencer's friendship, but she felt a little better without all of it bottled up inside of her.
Going for a walk was sometimes therapeutic for her, and she arrived at school too soon for her liking. She spent most of the day looking forward to swimming a few laps in the pool by herself after school. The team didn't have practice that day, and she figured it would be an extra chance to clear her head.
Meanwhile, Spencer observed Emily in the classes they had together. She'd noticed that she had been sort of quiet and thoughtful, though she was nothing if not friendly when they spoke at lunch and in the halls.
When the school day was over, Spencer was feeling like she needed a little exercise and decided to head to the field for a few hockey drills by herself. She practiced her shot until she had worked up a sweat and decided to call it a day.
She got back to the locker room and heard the soft splashing of water coming from the pool. She didn't think there was practice going on, so she opened the door that led to the school's pool and saw someone swimming alone. Walking in further, she squinted and realized it was Emily.
"Hey, Em!" Spencer called, and Emily came up from under the water and smiled, swimming over to the edge to meet her.
"Spence, what are you doing here?" she asked as she rested her arms on the edge. Spencer kneeled down.
"I was just practicing for field hockey," she answered. "I didn't know you were swimming today."
"Just doing a few laps for fun," Emily said. "Are you going home?"
Spencer nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna shower and then get outta here. Got some studying to do."
Hearing this, Emily raised an eyebrow and flashed Spencer a sly smile. Spencer grinned and cocked her head. "What's that look for?"
Emily quickly reached a hand out of the water and tugged Spencer's shirt gently, sending her splashing into the pool, sweaty clothes and all.
Spencer resurfaced and laughed, playfully shoving Emily, who swam away with a chuckle. She chased after her for a few meters, splashing and giggling.
When Emily finally slowed down and allowed herself to be caught, Spencer wrapped her arms around her midsection and dragged her down into the water, still laughing. Her arms were still around Emily when they stood up again, and she looked into her eyes. Emily cleared her throat and looked down shyly.
"Well, um, I gotta get dressed and get home too, so I'm just gonna..." Emily smiled politely and got out of the pool, and Spencer followed close behind.
Spencer got in the locker room shower and Emily got dressed quickly.
"Bye, Spence," Emily called, gathering her stuff.
"See ya tomorrow, Em," came the reply.
Emily left the school and got in her car, sitting in the driver's seat for a minute before starting it. This is a dangerous game you're playing, she thought. Sighing, she drove the car out of the lot and headed home.
The four friends were eating lunch at their table, talking about nothing. Emily had been quiet for the past couple days, and only Hanna knew why. Trying to think of something to cheer her up, she spoke.
"Guys, we're a few days into April, and it's officially spring, right?" she started.
Spencer looked up from her sandwich. "Well, technically it's been spring for-"
"Okay, whatever. Point is, it's not winter anymore, and the ice skating rink in Philly is closing for the season in a few weeks! We should go tonight!" Hanna announced.
"Yeah, that sounds fun," Aria agreed. Emily nodded enthusiastically.
"I've never been ice skating, but I'll give it a try," Spencer admitted.
"Wow, something Spencer Hastings doesn't know how to do? Unbelievable!" Aria teased.
Spencer rolled her eyes and cracked a smile. "If I fall, I'll pull you down with me just for that," she retorted, and they shared a laugh.
"Wait, can I bring Ezra? I don't think there will be anyone we know, Philly's far enough," Aria asked.
"Sure! I'll bring Caleb! Are you guys okay with that?" Hanna questioned, looking at Emily in particular.
"That's fine, we'll stick together," Spencer reassured her.
"Yeah, it's fine, you can bring your dates. So, let's meet at the rink at, like, six?" Emily suggested.
"Sounds great!"
They met at the rink and rented their skates, settling down on a bench by the ice to lace them up. It was Friday night in a big city, so it was fairly crowded, but luckily they hadn't spotted anyone they knew. It would be a bit of a problem for Aria and Ezra.
Once they had all gotten their skates on and stepped out on the ice, Aria and Ezra waved goodbye to the group and set off on their own.
Hanna sent Emily a meaningful look. "You guys okay if me and Caleb leave you guys?"
"Caleb and I," Spencer corrected, ignoring Hanna's eye roll. "And yeah, it's fine. We're not five." Emily smiled and nodded.
With that, Hanna and Caleb skated away, Caleb giving them a wave over his shoulder.
"So, I know you've never done this before. It's pretty simple; all you have to do is glide," Emily said.
Spencer nodded and started to move slowly. After a few strides, she wobbled, grabbing Emily's shoulder reflexively for support. Emily giggled.
"Here, let me show you." Emily stepped ahead. Spencer watched, transfixed, as she took long, relaxed strides and drifted gracefully across the ice.
"See? Just take it one leg at a time," Emily turned and skated back to Spencer, offering her gloved hand. Spencer took it and they started to skate together.
"How did you get so good at this?" Spencer asked.
Emily sighed. "I used to go with my dad when I was younger. It was our father-daughter thing; we went almost every weekend until he was drafted..." She trailed off.
Spencer squeezed her hand with a whispered "Sorry."
Emily smiled and changed the subject. "So, such an elite and elegant activity, I would have assumed you had done this with your parents before."
Spencer chuckled and shook her head. "We never did things like this as a family. Too much of a social activity for them. There's no winning or losing, so they don't see the point." She inhaled deeply and made eye contact with Emily, grinning. "But I like it so far."
Emily smiled and squeezed her hand, and the two continued to skate, taking in the cool air and each other's presence.
"Oh, Spence, you have mail."
They had just gotten back to Spencer's house after skating. Spencer had convinced Emily to come with her to hang out for a bit. Emily had grabbed what was in the Hastings' mailbox to take inside with them and noticed that there was a formal-looking letter addressed to Spencer.
"Probably just some colleges mailing me brochures and stuff. They do that for Juniors," Spencer said nonchalantly, taking the letter as they headed up to her room.
Emily settled on the armchair by the window and Spencer put her textbooks down on her bed, ripping open her letter without examining it too closely.
"Oh, wait, it's my SAT scores!" Spencer said excitedly. Emily perked up and came to sit next to her on the bed. Spencer opened the letter in anticipation.
Spencer stood up and shifted her weight from one foot to another with nervous energy as her eyes flitted across the paper.
Suddenly a grin came across her face and she squealed as she turned to Emily excitedly. "Em, I got a 1540!"
"Oh my god, that's awesome!" Emily responded. In her secondhand excitement, she quickly leaned forward and kissed Spencer, pulling away after a fraction of a second, giving her no time at all to respond. Emily's eyes widened; she was completely horrified at what she had just done.
"God, I-I'm so sorry, Spencer, I..." she stuttered, wringing out her hands. She grabbed her things and stuffed them in her backpack in a matter of seconds before making a bolt for the door, muttering something about having to go home. Just as she reached the doorway, Spencer ran after her and grabbed her arm.
"Hey, wait, let's just talk for a minute..." Spencer blurted out. Emily wrestled free from her grip and hurried out of the room. It was unlike her, but she was so thoroughly mortified and she couldn't handle a confrontation or any questions. Spencer followed her out into the hallway, this time grabbing her a with a little more force and pushing her gently but firmly up against the wall, pinning her between it and herself.
Emily's usually stoic, hard-to-read face flashed with everything she was feeling: embarrassment, a little relief, some fear, and annoyance at herself for letting it happen and at Spencer for being so persistent.
Emily didn't move or make any attempts to break free from Spencer's grip. Both girls were breathing harder than normal after their struggle, and Spencer kept eye contact with Emily, her gaze shift to her lips and back up again.
Spencer had a small burst of confidence and slowly leaned in and pressed her lips to Emily's, who returned the kiss with a mix of hesitation and eagerness. She placed a hand on Spencer's waist and deepened the kiss, no thoughts clouding her brain except how good it felt to be kissing her best friend, her hands tangled in her hair.
Spencer moaned softly and slid her hands up Emily's shirt, stopping just short of her ribs, and Emily felt her soft, gentle hands exploring her stomach and abs. Emily sighed and squeezed her waist before breaking the kiss reluctantly.
Spencer stepped back slightly, flushed and out of breath, and paced up and down the hallway a few yards. Emily looked on worriedly.
"Spence?" she said nervously. Emily was terrified that what had just happened didn't mean anything to Spencer. She was straight. Suddenly Emily was painfully aware that this could never actually work; Spencer was surely just doing something to amuse herself. She had good intentions, Emily was sure, but she wasn't capable of returning Emily's feelings. It would be the Alison situation all over again...
She fidgeted and spoke again. "Spencer... tell me what to do, okay? We can forget about this, pretend it never happened..." she said dejectedly.
Emily swore she saw a look of hurt flash across Spencer's face that she quickly tried to mask. She cleared her throat and answered in a shaky voice, "If that's what you want, then-"
"It's not," Emily cut her off with a quiet voice. She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply before continuing. She had to tell her and get it off her chest; she couldn't just pretend it hadn't meant anything to her. "I... I'm in love with you."
Spencer's lips parted slightly in surprise. She stepped across the hallway and enveloped Emily in her arms, and, not entirely sure what to say, she closed the gap between their lips and initiated a second kiss, this time much slower and sweeter. She pulled away after a few moments with one last peck and placed her forehead against Emily's, a content smile on her face.
"I love you too."
