Monday lunchtime found Spencer sitting in the cafeteria, watching Hanna and Emily flirting shamelessly. She grinned at the fact that she was pretty sure neither of them realised they were doing it. Thinking about it, Spencer realised they had done that a lot in the past.

Aria sat down next to Spencer, leaned across to her and murmured, "Emily is totally in love with Hanna."

"They're painfully obvious, right?" Spencer replied quietly, mistaking Aria's revelation for commentary on the current situation.

"Yeah, well, that and Emily outright told me." Aria said seriously. Spencer whipped her head around to look at her.

"You knew?" She asked disbelievingly. Aria nodded. "Well, you could've told me before I made an idiot of myself yesterday trying to find out if Emily liked Hanna back," Spencer huffed.

"Hanna likes Emily?" Aria asked hopefully.

"Try loves her. You didn't know?"

"Well, I hoped, for Emily's sake, but I didn't know."

"So they both love each other, but don't know that it's mutual," Spencer half laughed, shaking her head.

"How can they not? Look at them." Aria said turning to witness the obvious look of affection Hanna and Emily were subconsciously sharing as they conversed quietly. Hanna and Emily might as well have been making out in front of everyone with the way they were looking at each other, in a way that they both seemed to think was subtle.

"Some people can't see what's right in front of them," Spencer said ruefully.

"Should we tell them?"

"No, this is something they should do on their own. We just need to keep them moving in the right direction." However, Spencer was still going to have a little fun with them. She turned her full attention to them, a playful grin on her face. "You two realise that you may as well be tonguing each other, right?"

Hanna shot Spencer an angry look and Emily looked down and blushed furiously. Aria tried to hold in her snickers and Spencer didn't even attempt to disguise her amusement. She realised that this is probably how a parent feels when they embarrass their children.

"Gross, Spence!" Hanna grimaced. Emily looked at Hanna like a kicked puppy, clearly upset by Hanna's negative reaction. "Oh, Em, I didn't mean it like that!" Hanna reassured her, caressing her arm unconsciously in a effective attempt at comfort. "It's just the way Spencer put it."

"Tonguing is a pretty gross word," Emily smiled, watching Hanna's hand move mindlessly up and down her arm, finally finding home at her wrist. Spencer and Aria exchanged a satisfied look when neither Hanna nor Emily made to move it. Aria decided it was her turn to chip in, albeit a little less vulgarly than Spencer had.

"Seriously, though, you two would make a cute couple" she said and Emily gave her an almost scary what-do-you-think-you're-doing look.

Hanna opened her mouth to reply but was cut short by the sound of the bell. "Oh crap," Hanna groaned as they all got up to go to class.

Spencer and Aria didn't miss the look Emily and Hanna exchanged when they went their separate ways.


Later that day Spencer was approached at her locker by Hanna. She opened her mouth to greet her but Hanna cut her off furiously.

"What the hell was that at lunch?" She demanded.

"Well, hello to you, too" Spencer quipped in reply, closing her locker and turning to face Hanna.

"Don't act innocent, Spencer, I know exactly what you were doing and it wasn't funny."

"I'm sorry; I was just trying to help."

"Well, don't." Hanna huffed with a slight frown.

"Emily didn't seem to mind," Spencer smirked.

"That's because Emily is too nice to say anything." Hanna responded.

"Why aren't you mad at Aria? She wasn't exactly subtle either."

"Because she's not here. Trust me, she's not getting off easy either."

Aria, oblivious to Hanna's anger, arrived beside her at this moment.

"Hey guys," she said carefully, noticing the way Hanna was looking at Spencer.

"Well, speak of the devil. Go ahead, Han, let her have it," Spencer prompted, thoroughly amused.

"Let me have what?" Aria asked, alarmed, looking hopelessly at Spencer for help. Hanna turned on her in a blur of blonde curls.

"And you!" Hanna faltered on a realisation. "...Wait, how did you even know?"

"Know what?" Aria said, moving beside Spencer as if she were some sort of shelter that could protect her from the blast of Hanna's rage.

"About her and Emily," Spencer pitched in.

"Oh. Well, you guys are kinda obvious. And Spencer told me."

"SPENCER!" Hanna reprimanded her.

"Sorry," Spencer said apologetically, "but she was going to find out sooner or later."

"It's true, I mean, after Emily- Ouch!" Aria was stopped abruptly at Spencer's elbow colliding with her ribs, followed by a pointed look. Hanna didn't miss this.

"After Emily what?" She looked between the two, waiting for their answer. Aria grimaced and Spencer sighed before conceding.

"Listen, we promised to let things run their course, so, just... ask Emily about her date, okay. I tried to speak to her about it and I feel like she was lying about it. Maybe she'll open up to you."

"Why would I torture myself like that?" Hanna sniped, still somewhat annoyed.

Aria and Spencer gave Hanna a sympathetic look and Aria said "Just trust us, Han."

"Do you guys know something?" Hanna asked, half suspiciously, half helplessly.

"Nothing we're telling you. We're not interfering," Aria said with a tone of finality.

"We're just… keeping things going in the right direction," Spencer hinted surreptitiously, earning a scowl from Hanna. She spared them one last suspicious look, trying to stifle the growing hope in her chest, before turning and heading off to her locker without pausing for any goodbyes.


An hour later, Hanna and Emily arrived home and made their way to Hanna's room, dumping their bags by her bedroom door. Hanna thought about what Spencer had said to her earlier that day and decided that now was a good a time as any.

"You never did tell me how your date went," Hanna stated, sinking down onto her couch. Emily was at Hanna's desk, fiddling with the various items that sat on it.

"I wasn't sure you'd want to know..." she said to a bottle of Hanna's moisturiser.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You just didn't seem very enthusiastic about it when I told you."

"I can't be too thrilled if you keep telling me this stuff when I'm sleeping," Hanna laughed, letting Emily know she was joking. "Seriously, tell me about it."

Hanna felt like a masochist, asking for details on Emily's date. Spencer had better have been right about this, she thought.

"It was fine," Emily said reluctantly, shuffling nervously. Hanna raised her eyebrows incredulously, waiting for Emily to continue.

"Fine? That's all you're going to give me?" She questioned when Emily didn't continue.

Emily bit her lip gently and relented. "It was horrible"

"What?"

Emily paused, building her resolve. It was time to tell the truth.

"I don't really like Samara in that way," she sighed. "I felt so guilty using her like that. I thought the relief of having a distraction would be enough to drown that out, but I just felt terrible the whole time."

"Distraction? From what?" Hanna questioned, but Emily carried on, growing hysterical.

"I couldn't even look at her properly! The whole night I was just imagining she was someone else. It's like if I didn't look at her directly I could pretend..." Emily trailed off apprehensively, once again unsure of whether to tell Hanna.

"Pretend what, Em?" Hanna prompted her gently, heart hammering hard against her rib cage, conflicted by growing hope and a familiar fear creeping in. She rose from her seat and took a slow step towards her. Emily took in a shaky breath.

"I could pretend... that she was you..." Emily confessed, looking her in the eyes with a look of fear that Hanna recognised as the same one that had been stirring in her own chest. Emily stood still as a stone, watching Hanna carefully, waiting nervously for her response. The room had been filled by a stunned silence and Hanna couldn't quite get her words out, despite having practiced them in her mind countless times. Words failing her, she responded by closing the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Emily's neck and bringing their lips together an intoxicating swirl of emotion. Emily kissed Hanna back sweetly, resting her hands on Hanna's hips to pull her impossibly closer. She sighed contently, relaxing at last, as Hanna slid her tongue lightly over her own and tangled her fingers in Emily's thick, dark hair. Finally, they broke apart, panting slightly and grinning uncontrollably at each other.

Hanna found her voice at last.

"I should have told you sooner," she said breathlessly.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Emily chuckled, intertwining their hands and pulling Hanna back in.