Here's chapter nine. I wasn't quite sure of what to do with it, then I got inspiration from a song (as always). I think it turned out fine, haha. Enjoy!
Chapter nine: She's just like a maze
Rosewood High's hallways were, as they always had been, sparklingly busy the following morning. Aria and Hanna had just finished grabbing everything they would need for their first class and, since they still had a few minutes before it started, they remained near Aria's locker, dwelled in anxious conversation. Neither Spencer nor Emily had been seen by them, so they took advantage of their absence to discuss the duo's fate.
"I really do hope Spencer has found Em last night, I'm sick of Paige being in their way." Aria sighed as she moved a strand of her dark hair from her face. "I really can't think of two people who are more perfect for each other."
"Yeah, they would make such a boss couple." Hanna agreed, smiling widely. "The school would crumble down from all the unstoppable hotness." She offered the petite girl a wink and laughed. Aria rolled her eyes, but she was unable to hide the small smirk that appeared on her face as she did so. Just as she was about to reply with the sassiest comment she could think of, her eyes caught sight of something at the beginning of the corridor. She automatically poked the blonde's arm and motioned her head towards the source of her delighted surprise.
"We'd better watch out, the ceiling is about to burry us."
Walking in their direction, with linked arms and effervescent smiles, were Emily and Spencer. The desolated energy that had been stuck on them and that had proved to be unpleasantly contagious to the rest of the liars during the previous couple of days was long gone. They stopped next to their friends, heads up in a cheerful, confident posture. The squeak that emitted from Hanna as she jumped to hug them both echoed soundly through the walls.
"Yay, finally!" The 'it' girl exclaimed happily before giving the two slim girls a bone-crushing squeeze. Aria couldn't stop a loud chuckle to leave her mouth while she watched, internally embarrassed for them.
"Han, as much as we love your mellifluous fangirl skills, we do actually need oxygen." Spencer warned, placing a hand on the bubbly girl's arm that was around her and moving it away. Emily gave Hanna's shoulder a gentle push and sent her one of her eye-catching grins.
"Sorry." The blonde murmured as she stepped back, her cheeks turning into a deep shade of red. "It's just that…this is so awesome!" The two tall brunettes laughed and interchanged tender glances. Emily leaned closer to Spencer's side and let out a joyful sigh.
"Come on, if you're gonna be lethally cute, at least tell us about last night." Aria requested, her green eyes brightening.
"Yeah, we want details!" Hanna yelped, almost bouncing in excitement.
However, the resonant sound of the bell ringing ruined the possibility of their wish to be fulfilled.
"My bad, guys, I have to go to chemistry." Emily said, raising her arms in a worry-free manner. Truthfully thinking, the swimmer wanted to tell Spencer about the talk she'd had with her mother after she'd left before sharing more information regarding their freshly started relationship with their friends.
"I'll walk you." Spencer quickly offered.
"That's really sweet of you." Emily replied as she accepted the offer by grabbing the young genius' hand and intertwining their fingers.
"I'm very serious about my girlfriend duties." The older brunette purred, smirking. Another enthusiastic squeak escaped Hanna, obviously due to the word 'girlfriend'. Emily giggled, blushing.
"Shall we go, then, girlfriend?"
"Do you guys want me dead?!" Hanna's voice echoed behind them.
They were at a reasonable proximity of the chemistry lab when Spencer suddenly stopped, turning to her girlfriend with newly discovered concern spread on her features. Emily stared at her wonderingly, eyebrows arched.
"Was your mom too mad last night?" The intelligent athlete inquired nervously. "Am I permanently banned from your house?" Emily shook her head. She now fully understood the image her mother had portrayed for herself back when she acted harshly due to her refusal to be accepting of her sexual orientation. Considering the enormous progress the strong-minded military wife had made so far, Emily didn't wish for that image to exist forever.
"Don't be silly, Spence, she adores you. You're Ms. Perfect, remember?" She reasoned while grabbing the other girl's other arm with her free hand and rubbing it carefully in order to calm her. Spencer let out a relieved breath.
"She's okay with us being together, then?" Her voice was lower than usual; it verged to a whisper.
"Oh, she's ecstatic about it." Emily declared amusedly. "Yesterday she couldn't stop talking about what a catch you are. I honestly almost asked her if I should be afraid of her stealing you from me." The comment made Spencer chuckle exaltedly.
"Tell your mother she'll have to live with her unrequited feelings, 'cause there's not a slight chance of that happening." She said.
"I know, dork." Emily mocked, pulling her closer. She brushed her lips on the pale skin of Spencer's cheek and moved slowly to where her jaw line met her neck, earning a shiver from her.
"You're gonna be late for class." The studious girl gasped. Emily smirked devilishly.
"Maybe I don't care." She whispered as seductively as she could.
"You might not, but I do." Spencer protested firmly, releasing her hand and grabbing her shoulders. Emily raised her head, pouting. "That's not gonna work." The young genius stared directly in her eyes for a moment. A flash of hesitance appeared briefly on her features –which, needless to say, made Emily's stomach twirl in confusion- and she glanced around before placing a soft kiss against her girlfriend's lips. "Now go."
"Wait, Spence, what was that ab-"
"Go." Spencer cut her off. Her voice had become anxious, nearly desperate. That change of attitude didn't match the circumstances. It scared Emily that there probably was something that the older girl wasn't telling her. "I'll see you later, Em, okay?"
Deciding that it wouldn't help if she pushed the subject, the Filipino girl nodded in defeat. She grabbed Spencer's arm and gave it one last reassuring squeeze before entering the lab.
Spencer allowed herself to lean against the wall, hoping that the concrete would be able to support the weight of the rollercoaster of emotions that had unexpectedly hit her. She had been careless about her and Emily's public display of affection little time before. She really thought she didn't mind whatever people could think. But when Emily got too close something inside of her made a jolt of fear shake her as if she had been struck by lightning.
She didn't quite know how to explain it yet, but she knew that she needed to solve it immediately. Otherwise it could jeopardize the felicity she had so intensely longed for.
With no doubt, Emily spent the entire chemistry class drowning in her thoughts. Spencer's weird reactions to her nonchalant advances had startled her. The studious girl had been simply fine with their interaction earlier, when they were with Aria and Hanna. They had even walked hand-in-hand through the school without a glimpse of concern. It had seemed that Spencer didn't oppose to being public with her, but the sudden shift brought doubts to her mind. Something had triggered that. Something more complex than she imagined, possibly. And she would definitely try to talk it through with her.
But what if Spencer decided to keep their relationship uncovered from that moment on? She was sure that she didn't want to go back in the closet. That was an opinion of hers that was unlikely to change. Did that mean she could lose the girl she loved after everything they had been through to get together? After such a small time of blissful reconciliation? Would she let that happen?
Was she being selfish?
Perhaps she was over thinking too much.
The sound of glass breaking and a distraught 'hey, watch it!' brought her back to reality. She had accidentally dropped the test tube she had been holding on the desk due to her massive distraction. A metallic smell invaded her nose and she looked down. It appeared that she had unconsciously tried to keep the object from falling and it had ended up shattering against her left hand. Thin drops of blood were running down her skin and onto her notebook.
"Crap." She hissed, only then feeling a sting of pain. The uneasy-looking redhead that sat beside her looked at her wounds with wide eyes and his face paled. It seemed the boy could get sick at any second. Emily internally wished Toby hadn't quit school. He was way more effective as her lab partner and wouldn't have hesitated to give her a hand.
"Do you need to go to the nursery, Ms. Fields?" The teacher called. Emily, clearly upset, suppressed a 'no, I'd prefer to bleed to death' from escaping her. It would have been unusually sarcastic and it would have come around as plainly rude. The quick response from her brain, however, was a proof that those little Spencer things had started to rub off on her. – After all those years of friendship followed by romance, it wasn't really a surprise. "Ms. Fields…?"
"Uh…yeah. I'm just gonna…" She stood up and motioned her injure-free hand to the door. "Excuse me." With that, she walked out of the classroom without any further ceremony.
It instantly caused remorse to strike Spencer when Emily didn't show up during break. The brown-haired genius paced through the outside area of the cafeteria incessantly, assuming that her unmeasured actions towards her girlfriend had made her mad or hurt. Or worse…doubtful.
"I scared her off." She whimpered towards her friends, who were sat on one of the benches that were placed against the outside walls; her arms were crossed and her brow was furrowing with such intensity that it seemed her forehead was about to crack open. "She must think I want to keep us closeted. I don't want that. What the hell is wrong with me?" Aria grabbed her forearm, unhesitant, making her stop.
"Spence, you're freaking out over something that's actually simple." She stated calmly. "Tell her that. Period." Spencer stared at the small girl, not aware of how she felt about her obvious solution. "Unless…there's something else that's making you afraid?" Hearing that question, Spencer sat down next to her. Hanna directed her gaze at her from Aria's other side, asking her the same without words.
"I…think there's something." The young athlete began. "I've already talked partially about it with her, but I didn't imagine it would get me that insecure now."
"What is it?" Hanna inquired. Both she and Aria fixated their eyes on Spencer, emanating preoccupation. Said girl cleared her throat and closed her eyes as the painful memories that she wanted to keep underground returned once more to her head.
"My dad."
Ahead of any sort of reaction that Aria and Hanna could have was Emily's arrival to where they were. The trio turned their attention to the swimmer, gasping as they saw her bandaged hand.
"Em!" Hanna exclaimed. Spencer stood up rapidly and delicately took Emily's harmed hand in hers.
"What happened?" There they were. The puppy dog eyes. They made Emily's insides melt and her breath fade.
"I had a clumsy moment with a test tube. Because of it I had to be at the nursery 'til now" She explained restlessly as their eyes met. "It's stupid, I know. I guess I wasn't really in the mood for chemistry today." If it was even possible, Spencer's puppy dog eyes got even bigger due to that statement. Noticing that, Emily instantly reached for her cheek with her good hand and ran it though it. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that! It's not your fault, Spence."
"Moreover, I want to apologize for earlier." Spencer replied, her uncertainty yet not leaving her. "I shouldn't have acted like that."
"Spence…"
"Can I take you out tonight?" The question was a bit rushed, but simultaneously eager. "So we can talk about it? It'll be okay if you don't want to, but-"
"I want to." Emily answered lightheartedly. "I'm not mad at you, I mean it." A smile appeared on Spencer's face, bringing contentment to the other brunette, who moved her hand from her girlfriend's cheek to her belt loop and pulled her into her, kissing her longingly. This time, Spencer used all of her will to ignore her inner disquietude and let herself reciprocate, grabbing the other girl's hair and unhurriedly running her fingers through it.
"Alright, I know you're totally adorable and everything, but get a room." Hanna spoke flatly.
Night time arrived and Emily found herself expectantly staring at her reflection on the mirror. She had put on a dark-gray T-Shirt, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a black vest; all of that matching a pair of black combat boots. However, she was unsure if that was the right choice for the evening. Spencer was a very preppy girl, after all, and she wished to impress her, in spite of the knowledge that the young genius would absolutely appreciate anything she wore. She moved her hair slightly with her not bandaged hand, so it was cascading loosely on her shoulders and tilted her head to the side, searching for self-approval.
"You look great, honey." A voice from a few feet away reached her ears. Emily turned around instinctively. Pam was standing a few steps into her daughter's room, caringly observing her.
"You really think so?" The young swimmer asked. She chewed on her bottom lip as she waited for a reply.
"Yeah. I'm sure Spencer will love it." Pam answered. The incentive was enough to make Emily smile with newly retrieved confidence. The sound of a car's engine echoed from the house's entrance, telling them that someone had arrived.
"Speaking of which…" Emily spoke glowingly. Pam winked at her.
"Go with your girl." She said serenely. Emily approached her and gave her a brief hug before hurrying to the first floor. "…But be back by eleven!"
Chuckling at Pam's unavoidable maternal ways, Emily opened the front door. Spencer's Mercedes would have been the first thing to catch her sight if it weren't for said girl, who was standing against its surface. Spencer was wearing a black tank top, a ¾ sleeve white cardigan, a pair of light blue skinny jeans and brown velvet boots; her hair was also loose on her shoulders. As she noticed Emily, a wide grin painted her features. She rose from the car and approached her, giving her a light peck on the lips before charmingly offering her a hand.
"Is my lady ready to go?"
Emily grabbed it and giggled.
"Yes, ma'am."
Spencer led her towards the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her. Emily sent her a thankful look as she closed it and moved to the driver's seat. After they were both settled, windows opened the slightest bit and seatbelts on, the studious girl turned on the engine and they left for their date.
Emily had been surprised with one of the coziest Italian places she had ever been to. It was small, but comfortable. The music was soothing and the delighting smell that lingered on the air turned it into the most pleasant atmosphere. They were sat at one of the tables by a large window and Spencer had the most sincere smile on her face.
"I'm glad we're here."
"Me too." Emily said enchantingly. The older girl glanced at her left hand.
"How's that feeling?" She asked, cautiously placing her fingers over the bandage and eyeing it with curiosity.
"It's better now." The Filipino girl answered. "It wasn't really that bad, but at first sight it seemed terrible. My lab partner is kinda sensible with these things, he almost fainted."
"Seriously?" Spencer's eyes lit up in hilarity.
"Yeah. Poor thing." They both laughed care-freely. One of the waiters approached their table and they proceeded to order.
After they ate their food and paid the bill, Spencer suggested a walk in the park. Emily obliged, feeling particularly thrilled and Spencer drove them there enthusiastically. They were now walking in a peaceful silence, Spencer's left hand joined to Emily's right one. There were only a few people around –about two couples, who probably had stopped by after dinner as well, and some loners that probably wanted to enjoy a quiescent moment after a hard day of work- but they were at a fair distance.
A few slowly lasting minutes went by until Spencer finally chose to bring up the worries that had been consuming her since that morning.
"Uh…that thing I wanted to talk about…" She began, feeling unusually unsteady. Emily quickly picked up on that and gave her hand a squeeze, trying to encourage her.
"Yes…?"
"Well, I wanted to explain why I was such a confusing airhead before." She stated, turning her head to look at the other brunette. "The truth is: I'm scared. But not for the reason you might think. I don't care if people at school know; their opinion doesn't mean anything. The problem is my dad." The admission made Emily freeze, consequently making Spencer stop walking as well. Spencer cupped the swimmer's cheek, gently running her fingers down to her jaw line before continuing. "Remember the story I told you?" Emily nodded. "If he finds out, I don't know what he'd do. I don't want him to take me away from you. Being without you would be the death of me."
Emily felt her breath hitch. She hadn't reminded herself of that hideous detail about Peter Hastings before and had thought the worse. Thankfully she had agreed to that date, otherwise she would still be struggling against doubt. There was no strain of that now. Spencer undeniably loved her. And she undeniably loved her as well.
"I'm not gonna let that happen." She declared; her voice firm as she locked gazes with the older girl. Spencer noticeably was trying to hold back her tears as she nodded in response before pulling her into a life-seeking kiss. A couple of minutes later, Emily parted from her and pressed their foreheads together.
"I don't wanna hide." Spencer spoke breathlessly. "And I'm not going to. We can indeed be a couple all the time. Gladly, in this case, my parents are very absent." She let out a nervous chuckle. "I know I'll have to tell them eventually and be prepared for all the shit my dad's gonna throw at me, but not right now, okay?"
The meaning of that was not unknown to Emily. They would act freely like a couple at school. Around their friends. They would go on dates. However, as soon as Spencer's parents asked her about it there would be denial. Indignation at their assumptions, even. It was undoubtedly harsh. Had it been anyone else Emily would have refused to do it. But it was Spencer. Her person. Her soul mate. The fog was necessary before there could be sunlight. So she lifted her head and placed a soft kiss on her girlfriend's forehead. From then on she would have to be as protective of Spencer as Spencer was of her.
"I understand."
IMPORTANT: I'll most likely be updating this fic weekly from now on, because I'm gonna start college on Tuesday. Please, don't give up on this story, though, I am determined to write it 'til the end!
Keep reading/reviewing!
~angstylullaby
