Chapter Four
It was lunch time but Alison didn't feel like eating, she merely sat under her usual tree and watched her new group bicker constantly about anything and everything.
Noel had taken his usual place at her side and was offering her food every two minutes, it seemed he felt bad she wasn't interested in eating but her thoughts were on Emily and the night before.
Their lips entwining together in a hot but confusing mess.
She hadn't left her room the rest of the night; instead she put a movie on and tried to ignore the images that played on repeat in her mind.
"Alison, are you okay? You seem a little off today?" Noel whispered genuinely, trying not to get anyone else's attention.
"Hmm?" Alison looked away from the direction she had been staring. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm just bored." She lied, not wanting to talk to about what she was really feeling.
"Wanna ditch? It's only English and you're super smart anyway, I'm sure you've already read the book and written an entire essay."
"I wasn't aware we had an assignment yet."
"We don't, but that was sort of my point." They shared a laugh before Alison looked over at the group she had been staring at all lunch. Emily wasn't facing her, she didn't know if it was on purpose or if it was because the brunette was mad with her. Spencer, Hanna and Aria all seemed lost in a conversation Emily didn't seem to be participating in.
Looking back at Noel, she contemplated her options but when she looked over at Emily again she was surprised with three pairs of eyes quickly looking away from her.
"Sure. Let's go." Both stood and were bombarded with questions and curious eyes.
"We'll be back." Noel interjected before Alison could tell them the real reason they were departing. The group went back to their pointless chatter and almost instantly forgot the two were even there.
As the pair turned to walk out the back gates Alison couldn't help but subtly glance back at Emily and her friends. When she looked closely she could see all eyes on her now, even Emily's but she merely turned her head back to her friends and pretended she hadn't seen anything.
"So since when was Alison a ditcher?" Aria mused when Emily forced her eyes to leave the blonde beauty that was walking out the back gates.
"I don't know, why does it surprise you?"Emily muttered, uninterested with the conversation that had changed so quickly from Toby attending the police academy to Alison DiLaurentis.
"Well from what I hear, she's super smart."
"A smart person ditching," Hanna laughed lightly. "That seems weird, I don't know why it's weird but it's weird, right?"
"Yes, Hanna, it's weird." Emily sighed in slight frustration as she played with the crust of her sandwich that she didn't feel like eating.
"So what's your problem then? Things not go well with Maya last night?" Spencer finally spoke, her curiosity blooming when Emily was becoming defensive about Alison.
"Not really." Her voice was soft because she really was not in the mood for talking about last night, at all.
"What happened?"Aria spoke quickly, not giving Spencer or Hanna a chance to make a snide comment. Emily didn't know what to talk about, because she didn't know what bothered her more.
The fact that Maya was seeing other people, not that there was anything wrong with it; it's just how she found out, or the fact that Alison had kissed her and then run from the room. Deciding to go with the safer option and figuring it wasn't a good idea to talk about what had happened with Alison she chose the topic of Maya.
"Did you guys know she was seeing other people?" She looked up from her disregarded food and gave her three friends a wary stare, somehow feeling like she already knew the answer.
"Em, everyone knows that, we thought you knew." Spencer's voice was soft and careful, as if she was trying to break some bad news to the brunette.
"I just thought I was different."
Spencer, Hanna and Aria spent the rest of lunch trying to convince Emily that everything would be okay. In the back of her mind though she had never been more confused, it wasn't the Maya situation that was bothering her, it was Alison.
As the group walked to their classes they decided to spend the afternoon at Spencer's, Emily was pleased because she would be away from Alison.
The day went smoothly from that moment on, Alison didn't show up from English but both Emily and Aria assumed she would not return after leaving during lunch.
No one questioned them and no one seemed to care that the blonde was missing, except the teacher of course but even after ten minutes he moved on.
Two solid weeks had passed and Emily had managed to not speak to Maya or Alison, it was a particular challenge considering she ate meals with the blonde.
The two weeks had consisted of mostly being at Spencer, Hanna or Aria's house, so the only time she was really forced to be with Alison was English class.
Her mother had noticed the issue but didn't press the matter, she decided to give them one more weekend to try and sort their problems out while she went away from Wayne for their anniversary. Luckily Emily had been home the Thursday night from work so she could inform her of what was going on. She had called both girls down from their rooms, surprisingly Emily came down first but Alison soon followed, both on purposely looking away from each other.
"Wayne and I are going away for our anniversary this weekend, we're leaving today around lunch time and we'll be coming home probably late Sunday night, if not then Monday morning."
Both girls were silent, it was awkward and there was a sticky tension in the air that even Pam was uncomfortable with. Looking over at Emily she raised her eyebrows curiously, waiting for a response from her.
"I won't throw any parties; I know what you're thinking." Emily smiled, forgetting that Alison was in the house let alone the room for the first time in weeks.
"Thank you, the girls are allowed over though. Alison did you have any friends you would like to see over the weekend?"
"No that's okay Miss Fields, if I want to see anyone I'll go to them." Alison's voice was considerably lower in tone, she didn't seem her sassy normal self nor did she sound even close to happy but Pam figured it was due to the obvious atmosphere in the room because Emily was similar in behaviour.
"Okay well if either of you do need anything you can call us. Now run along you'd best be getting to school."
There was a knock at the door seconds later, Alison quickly grabbed her back and said her goodbyes before practically running from the room knowing it was Noel picking her up for school.
"Sort out whatever is going on between you two." Pam said sternly when Alison was gone.
"What?" Emily swallowed and looked at her mother, stunned.
"I don't know what has happened to make you both upset with each other but it's going to be a long five months if you keep acting like this."
"Five months?" Emily question thinking how much her mother was wrong, it had already been a month since Alison had been in Rosewood and that meant in five she would be going back to California. Maybe it would be better that way, maybe she shouldn't get her feelings involved with the blonde because it was an inevitable heart break.
"Yes Emily, now please make her feel somewhat welcome. The poor girl has been through enough."
"What do you mean?" She mused quickly, curious to her mother's response.
"I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but the whole point of this new exchange program is to introduce Alison into a healthier family life."
"What was wrong with her family?"
"Well I don't know much but it's enough to make her pretty much live in her room."
Emily immediately felt guilt spread through her, though her mother's clarification didn't justify Alison's behaviour in terms of how cruel she could be, it definitely explained it.
"I'll make her feel more welcome." She promised her mother, knowing she wasn't going to get away with anything less.
"Please do, now school."
The day passed quickly but it wasn't quick enough that Emily's thoughts couldn't be distracted by Alison and the new piece of information her mother had bestowed upon her. But before she knew it she was walking with the girls out of the school gates and towards their cars.
"Hey my parents are away for the weekend, wanna come around?" She offered as they all stopped part way between their cars.
"Yeah sure, just give me some time to do some homework." Spencer answered first.
"Yeah me too, Mr. Smith is riding me about this work." Aria sighed.
"Alright well I guess that means I should do homework too." Hanna giggled.
"Okay well just come over when you're ready."
They continued some chatter of what they would do for the weekend, mainly discussing who was going to bring food.
All spoke happily and unaware of the conversation Alison and Noel were sharing not too far away.
"So are you going to talk to Emily?" Noel asked his voice soft and curious.
"I don't know, it's complicated. She seems pretty pissed at me, doesn't she?" They both turned and looked over to the group; Emily caught their eye before quickly looking away.
"Yeah, she's pissed." He chuckled. "But if you don't talk to her, her anger will only grow. Defuse the fire now, while it's still small."
The stood there silent for a long moment while Alison contemplated her options, it seemed easy when Noel said it out loud but when putting words into action it became a lot more difficult. She sighed before looking back to the tall boy, he had a large smile which made her raise an eyebrow curiously; she followed his gaze to find him looking shyly over at Mona, one of the girls in her group. She was smart, funny, witty and pretty, she could understand why Noel had a thing for her, though he was too scared to admit it.
"Just ask her out already!" Alison rolled her eyes as Mona said goodbye to a few friends before getting into her car. "Go on, go!" She pushed Noel in the direction before he turned and gave her a quick smile, she had given him to confidence he wasn't aware he needed.
Running to the car he knocked on the window to grab her attention, he smiled like a child but his boyish charm was still scratching his surface, making Alison laugh.
Turning around she realised that she had just pushed her lift home away, deciding it was too far to walk she sighed when she knew she would have to ask Emily for a lift.
Picking her shoulders up and straightening her back she walked over to the group and kept a neutral expression.
When she had made it within hear shot they all went quiet, causing Emily to turn and find what they were staring at.
"I need a lift home." It was a demand that she instantly regretted.
"Good for you." Emily muttered her tone clearly unhappy with how Alison had asked for assistance.
"Will you please give me a lift home?" She tried again, this time her voice was softer and somehow managing to contain the anger she was suppressing.
"I wasn't aware you had manners." Spencer interjected but before Alison could make a snide comment back Emily interfered.
"Cool your jets, Spencer. See you guys tonight." With no further comments they all said their goodbyes and Emily and Alison turned to the brunette's car.
It was probably the longest drive Emily had ever endured; the silence was so loud she wanted to blast the music in the stereo just to fill it.
Alison looked out the window and had kept her eyes there, never once allowing them to slip to the also quiet brunette beside her. She felt mad that Emily hadn't said anything but at the same time she was dreading what the words could be. She wanted silence but she didn't.
No matter how much her curiosity peeked she would not talk, she would not allow herself to be the first to bring it up because she wanted to forget about it. But then again she didn't.
Her mind was an emotional mine field that she was terrified would explode with one single step, there was a big sign saying danger but her feelings were daring to tippy toe passed it. So far they had survived but she was scared that with one single out of place word everything would be destroyed and so the only solution was to ignore the feelings. Pretend they weren't there, then she wouldn't get hurt. That was how she always survived.
They had finally made it back to Emily's place without even a single word being said, not even force small talk about the weather. It was completely silent.
Making into the house they had managed to walk up the stairs without a word either, it wasn't until Alison went to retreat to her bedroom that Emily finally spoke.
"If you want me to forget about it, then I will."
She stopped and waited, not knowing how to answer and not wanting to turn and face the brunette, who no doubt had a very hurt look across her face. Considering she could hear it in her voice, Alison knew the moment she turned around she would want to turn back. She had hurt Emily and for the first time in a while her mind was making an excepting for someone else's feelings.
Inhaling a large breath she turned and looked Emily dead in the eye, she was surprised however to see a neutral expression, when she took too long to answer though Emily grew impatient.
"Do you want me to forget?"
"I... I don't know." She stuttered.
"I would just like to remind you, that you kissed me, Alison." Though Emily's expression was fairly neutral her voice gave her feelings away, it was obvious she was hurt and it only made Alison's heart sink in guilt. Before she could speak Emily retreated to her room and shut the door behind her, holding the tears back no longer and let them fall invasively down her cheeks.
Wiping them away she fell on the bed and crawled up into a tight ball before letting more tears fall. She couldn't understand why she was so hurt; Alison angered her to the bone. Alison was mean and cruel and vindictive, why did what she do matter?
The sudden sound of her phone buzzing violently in her pocket woke Emily from her sleep, she wasn't even aware of how long she had been sleeping but when Hanna had called to say she and other girls were heading over with pizza for dinner she figured she had slept a fairly long time.
Deciding to have a quick shower she grabbed some more comfortable clothes and was ready within twenty minutes.
Being unable to control herself she snuck a quick look down the hallway when she left her room to see if Alison had gone, by the looks of it she hadn't but the door was shut tight so she couldn't be one hundred percent sure.
Retreating down stairs Emily figured Alison wouldn't show her face for the rest of the night but if she did it would definitely be an interesting interaction.
The door bell rang just as Emily began setting the television up to play a movie, being thankful that her thoughts were going to be distracted from Alison DiLaurentis.
"Hey you." Hanna walked in first with the pizza before Spencer and Aria followed in with bags full of drinks.
"Hey, did you guys bring any alcohol?" She questioned as she eyed the bags her friends were holding, feeling the sudden need to forget about everything that circled aimlessly in her mind.
"Oh, I wasn't aware we were staying tonight?" Aria motioned between the other two.
"You're more than welcome to." Emily hoped the three would say yes but instead they all had reasons as to why they couldn't. Spencer said she wanted to finish an assignment, Aria wanted to see Ezra and Hanna was apparently going shopping with her mother early the next morning.
"What about tomorrow night? We can have a mini party and have some alcohol then?" Hanna offered quickly, suddenly very open to the idea of having some alcohol related fun.
"Yeah, I'm down for that." Aria and Spencer agreed and within ten minutes the four of them were sitting in front of the television watching a movie. They sat quietly while they ate but when the food was finish chatter soon began to fill the air.
"So what was up with Alison this afternoon?" Aria was the bravest and brought the topic up first.
"Yeah, is she here?" Hanna added, feeling grateful that she wasn't the one to bring the topic of Alison up.
"How should I know?" Emily kept her focus on the movie, but pretending that there was nothing wrong was surprisingly hard when it came to Alison.
"Wait, was that to what Aria said? Or what Hanna said?" Spencer asked, trying to figure out which question Emily was acknowledging.
"Both." Her response short and blunt, unimpressed with the fact that once again her and her friends were talking about the confusing blonde.
"So, you don't even know if she's here?" Hanna's tone was laced with humour that she tried to suppress.
"Nope."
"She's really getting under your skin, isn't she?" Hanna continued, and Emily shrugged because she felt she had no other response to give.
"Thank goodness it's not just me then." Spencer broke the silence and shared a small chuckle with Emily. Aria sat quietly, she was the only one that hadn't had any extended interaction with Alison so she didn't really have anything to contribute to the conversation. All three girls picked up on this but chose not to make a comment as it was obvious Emily wasn't in the mood.
"So what's going on with her and Noel then?" Spencer asked after about a minute of silence.
"Why don't you ask her that?"
"Ah, thanks but no thanks." She replied quickly.
"What's wrong with asking me?" Alison's voice came out of nowhere, causing all four to jump and turn around in unison. "Am I scary?"
"God, how long have you been standing there?" Emily exclaimed startled, forgetting that she was supposed to be ignoring the blonde.
"Not long, but long enough." She smiled shyly before moving off the door frame and heading into the kitchen. Three heads followed her and watched curiously at how she was behaving.
"Is she like this all the time?" Hanna whispered, looking over at Emily with large eyes.
"Like what?
"Like... not mean or rude, or nasty. Not really Alison at all."
"I believe the word you're looking for Hanna, is nice." Spencer giggled and Hanna joined in, Aria and Emily shared a displeased expression before returning their attention back to the other two.
"Oh come on, it's just a joke." Spencer defended when she noticed their moment. "Why does it bother you anyway if we make a joke about her? She's been doing it to everyone else for the last month."
"And that totally justifies you sinking to her level?"
"Okay, whose side are you on?" Spencer crossed her arms while Hanna and Aria exchanged a wary look.
"It's not about sides, I just don't think it's fair that you say she's been picking on people and then go ahead and pick on her."
Alison listened in from the kitchen as she quietly made a cup of tea. Though she knew the girls had gone through an effort to make the conversation about her quiet, the effort was quickly forgotten when Spencer became defensive. She stopped still in the kitchen trying to hear what they were saying, what she had found most important and unusual was Emily was standing up for her. Considering the situation at the moment Alison thought it would be the other way round.
"Okay, you've got a point, I'll stop." Spencer broke the tension herself, knowing that once Emily had her mind set on something it wasn't changing. She was the same but in this instance she knew she was out of line so it would be hard to argue.
Emily nodded and went back to watching the movie.
"Well I was originally coming down here to see who was here, I expected you guys but I didn't expect the giant elephant."
Alison chuckled as she sipped at her tea before heading back upstairs and into her room.
"What is she on about? An elephant?" Hanna was so surprised with Alison's remark she couldn't help but look back upstairs making sure she had heard right, making sure that Alison had indeed come down from her room and she wasn't imagining things.
"It's a metaphor, Hanna. She means it's really awkward basically." Spencer followed Hanna's gaze upstairs but only because she wasn't used to someone so witty.
"Well, I'd say it'd be pretty awkward if there was an elephant in the room."
"No, she means we're avoiding a certain issue... oh never mind." She gave up trying to explain because even to her she was confused, it may have been awkward but there wasn't anything, that she was aware of anyway, that the group was purposefully avoiding.
However looking over at Emily, who had he knees tucked at her chest while she leant comfortably against her usual chair, Spencer immediately picked up on the hesitation the brunette was subconsciously and unknowingly presenting.
It was almost midnight before the girls had left, though the atmosphere had been awkward it had been relatively forgotten about after half an hour when Aria had managed to bring up the topic of Ezra, giving the girls something else to think about besides Emily's strange behaviour.
As Emily walked the three to the front door she looked upstairs and was surprised she couldn't hear a movie coming from Alison's room. Usually there was always something playing at this time, which annoyed her because if sound was coming from the room it's all she can hear when she's trying to fall asleep. Thinking nothing of it however Emily said her goodbyes and waved her friends off.
Closing the door and locking it behind them there was a sudden scream coming from Alison's room, subconsciously Emily felt her legs gear into action and sprint up the stairs.
Slamming the door open and turning the light on Emily was half expecting an intruder but was only met with Alison curled up against the headboard of her bed, shaking. The sheet covers were in a mess and her eyes were plastered to the wardrobe.
"Alison? What's wrong?" Emily stood at the door and waited for permission to enter but the blonde remained silent. Sweat covered her forehead and her shaking didn't subside, it was worrying Emily greatly but she was too scared to move.
"Alison?" She tried again.
"There's something in the wardrobe." She whispered, terrified that if she spoke any louder that whatever she saw would emerge again.
Emily looked between Alison and the wardrobe and raised an eyebrow. At first she was expecting the blonde to be making a joke but it was obvious by her exterior she wasn't in any joking mood.
Moving to the wardrobe door Emily opened it and looked inside, like she had expected it was empty except for clothing and shoes, causing questions to gather quickly in her mind.
"There's nothing here, Alison." Her voice was surprisingly soothing when she shut the door and turned back to face Alison.
"I thought I saw... something. Never mind." Quickly trying recover she wiped the sweat away and caught her breath. Emily stood awkwardly in the middle of the room and waited for her brain to think of a reasonable sentence to form.
"Are you okay?" She finally managed when she noticed tears well in Alison's eyes.
"I'm fine." The blonde replied quickly as she wiped away the unforgiving tears that displayed her weaknesses.
Emily got the impression that Alison was willing her to disappear, she was unaware however that the blonde was just highly embarrassed and still rather scared.
"I'll leave you alone then." She turned and went to leave the room but Alison's soft voice stopped her.
"Emily..." It was a whisper.
"Yeah?" She faced the blonde again and smiled sympathetically.
"Can... can you stay with me?" Alison was still shaking and she was still curled up tightly against the far edge of the bed and it only made Emily's heart a sink when she saw how terrified she seemed.
Biting her lip and remembering the two were supposed to be ignoring each other; Emily nodded and walked over to the bed, hesitantly. Sitting down on the opposite edge she felt Alison immediately relax but remain where she was, so deciding to make herself comfortable she sat against the bed board and crossed her legs.
Both girls looked straight ahead, too afraid to acknowledge the situation and too afraid to speak. Alison looked over her laptop that must have shut down in the night, which was unusual because she set it so it wouldn't. Looking down at the power point she realised it was off and the battery had died. Finally catching her breath she managed to get her legs to move from the bed and switch the power on, letting the laptop begin its charge and start up process.
Sitting back on the bed she closed some distance between her and Emily as she waited for the laptop to load, while they sat in silence a thickness in the air was created as neither knew what to say first.
"Are you going to watch a movie?" Emily forced the small talk.
"It helps me sleep." Alison murmured. When the laptop was fully loaded she moved to the edge so she could log in and continue what she was watching before she fell asleep. "I like the sound and the light in the room." She justified quickly, not sure as to why she had revealed the information to Emily.
"You don't like sleeping in the dark?" Emily watched Alison carefully, the blonde stood from the bed and walked over to the door, turning the light off she moved back over and got comfortable under the sheets.
"Not usually but I can't sleep with a light on. The laptop provides just the right amount."
"Why do you need light?"
"Because I have night paralysis and I find it won't happen if there is light and sound around." Her voice was simple and matter-of-factly, like it was nothing for Emily to even think twice about. Turning over Alison huddled up and faced her laptop, too afraid to face Emily but too afraid to let her leave, or even admit that.
"What's night paralysis?"
"It's like you're awake but you can't move, usually happens between wakefulness and sleep, either when you're waking up or falling asleep. Some people experience it differently, some feel like they're chocking, others go as far as hallucinating." Alison was no longer watching the laptop but instead she focused her eyes back on the wardrobe and Emily noticed this quickly, so she closed the distance between them.
"And you had a hallucination?" Emily was whispering now, she didn't fully understand everything but she could connect the dots that lay in front of her. Alison was afraid of seeing these hallucinations and that was enough for her to lie down next to her and provide a caring hand.
"Yes." Her tone presented discomfort indicating that she was no longer in the mood for talking about it, she was scared and the last thing she wanted to do was think about it.
"I'm sorry." Emily replied, noticing her tone. Seconds later she felt Emily move away, knowing she had sounded too harsh she quickly rolled over and grabbed her hand.
"Don't go." She pleaded and Emily's hand gripped hers gently, soothingly and very comfortingly. She had felt her heart beat relax and she had somehow managed to gain enough courage to move into Emily's chest, cuddling up tightly she felt both of the brunette's arms enclose protectively around her.
"I'm right here." Emily whispered.
The next morning Alison woke up first to the sound of her laptop changing over from one movie to the next, adjusting slightly she realised Emily's arms were still securely around her, keeping her safe and warm. It was nice to wake up to but she was still surprised Emily was there.
Realising just how close she was to the brunette she quickly jumped away and in the chaos Emily stumbled awake and stood from the bed.
"What? What's wrong?" She almost screamed while rubbing her head in surprise. Alison stood on the other side of the bed, thankful that the mattress was in between them.
"We were..." Alison mumbled shyly.
"We were what?"
"You were..."
"Yes Alison, we were cuddling." Emily sighed and sat back on the bed, holding her chest as if she had just had a heart attack. The sudden jumping from her sleep almost did give her one. "Geez, Alison we weren't naked I was just making sure you were okay."
Emily wasn't facing Alison; she was too busy trying to regulate her heart beat again but as Alison crossed her arms and thought back to the night before she didn't really understand why she was so mad.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled, feeling embarrassed for her outburst.
"It's okay; I don't think my heart can say the same however." The shared a small giggled before Emily stood from the bed again and stretched her arms.
"Well, I'll let you do your own thing."
"Emily, wait." Alison stopped her from leaving the room and grabbed her hand, turning her so they were facing each other.
Leaning in slowly Alison placed a small kiss on her cheek, before stepping back and smiling kindly.
"Thanks for staying... with me."
"You don't need to thank me." She smiled softly before heading out of the room, standing in the door way she turned and looked at Alison, they shared a moment. It was quick and it was innocent, but as they stood there the atmosphere changed around them and though it felt tense they both shared a sweet smile before Emily closed the distance between them.
Their lips lightly touched and it felt magical, little millions of fireflies flittering against their skin causing all their senses to be heightened. Their lips moulded together and tingled at the sensation, it was an innocent kiss but passion still danced beneath the surface, aching to breach and take over but before there was any chance Emily backed away and gave Alison a smile before heading back into her own room.
"Tease." Alison mumbled under her breath as she walked back into her room and took in a large breath she didn't know she was in need of.
Hey guys so I wanted to say thanks for the amazing reviews! I'm getting a lot of positive feedback which is awesome. Also a big shout out to ElsaFowl who has been reading my fanfics and leaving
Now about sleep paralysis, if anyone has suffered from it and I have portrayed it badly I apologise profusely (it's kind of hard that's all) but I hope it will add to a little bit of Alison character and her life before Rosewood. I hope I haven't offended anyone!
Now my French isn't so great so I apologise if it's wrong :P Anyways guys leave a review and tell me what you thought okay?
-Aemstar