AN: Hi, guys. =) So, this chapter was kind of a pain to write. I didn't have the original copy, as I left it at home over Christmas break and forgot it when I came back, so there are some details that I've had to improvise on. This is chapter is mainly shameless filler, and a way for me to bring Ben back into view. I really don't like his character, for obvious reasons, but I felt I needed to address it because in the show, I felt they didn't really deal with her healing after the almost attack.
Now, I'd like it noted for the record that, as a broke university student, I don't have cable, so I can't watch the new episodes. *sad* So, pretty much everything I write from here on out will be from me and for this story; as I won't be able to see the show, I won't know what happens so I can't borrow from it. So, if some details are a little off, please feel free to correct them, but remember that I haven't seen the shows, and that this story is supposed to be an AU.
Thank you guys so much for all the reviews, I'm glad so many people are liking the story. I haven't gotten around to replying to the signed ones, and I apologize for that. When I get a moment, I'll send each of you a response and a thank you for your review. They really do mean a lot to me, and more feedback is always appreciated. I think that's about it. I'm really excited to get to the Saturday chapter, so I should probably get through this one. xD
Bear in mind that I own nothing.
The sun had long since gone down over Rosewood when Emily returned to her parents' house for the night. The lights were off in the Fields house, her parents having gone out for a weekend away. They'd asked Emily to house sit for them, and since her own apartment had yet to be completely furnished, she'd jumped at the chance. A fully stocked fridge and satellite TV; who was she to turn that down?
Humming a salsa beat under her breath as she stepped out of the car, Emily walked up to the house she'd called home for most of her teenage years, her heels clicking as she walked. Her feet were killing her, but it had been a great night out.
"Well, well, don't you look pretty? Date night?" Emily froze in her tracks, then looked to the front porch of her parents' house. Ben was sitting by the support pillar, his legs swinging over the end of the board, and he was looking at Emily, half covered by darkness.
"Ben. What are you- Why are you here?", Emily asked. She'd been afraid of this happening; it had been a subconscious fear of her's since she'd returned to Rosewood.
"Came to see you, of course. You're a difficult girl to get a hold of, Emily.", Ben commented, standing up and ambling down the steps of her house. She saw a hair elastic that she remembered Maya using at the gym that morning around Ben's wrist, and felt her stomach tremble.
"Where's Maya?", Emily asked, feeling a sudden spike of terror for her friend.
"Home, sleeping probably. She was when I left anyway.", Ben answered with a shrug. "And Maya is what I wanted to come to talk to you about, Emily."
She crossed her arms over her chest and watched Ben from where he stood a few steps away. She didn't want to hear him out, but knew that the faster he said what he'd come there to say, the faster she could ask him to leave. "Well?"
"I know we didn't end on the best of terms-", Ben started.
Emily blanched, then scoffed. Understatement of the damn century. "'Best of terms'? Ben, you tried to rape me! If Toby hadn't stopped you-"
Ben's eyes flashed, and Emily took a step back. If he came much closer, she was going to run to her car as fast as her legs could carry her. This was exactly why she had stayed with Aria when she came back; it made sure she was never alone for long periods of time. She was always either with Aria, Mike or Ellie. Running into Ben had been a regular feature in the nightmare portion of Emily's dream cinema when she first returned to Rosewood.
"Let's talk about Cavanaugh, Emily." Ben spat out Toby's last name like poison. "Now that he's not here to interrupt. You two were getting pretty cosy back in high school. What ever happened to that?"
"Stay right where you are, Ben.", Emily warned, taking another step back. "You want to talk, fine. But stay right where you are." 'And leave Toby out of it.', she added silently.
"Emily, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.", Ben promised.
"If you'd said that before you tried to rape me, I might have believed you. But as is, I don't. So say what you came to say, but from right there.", Emily ruled out.
Ben looked like he wanted to take another step, then seemed to rethink it. Before Emily had time to assess what was happened, he was right in front of her. She took three hurried steps back and felt her back hit her car. Panic sprang to life as she realized she was trapped between her car and Ben, and had a sudden sinking feeling that this wasn't going to end well.
"You've changed, Emily. You're much more confident than you were in high school.", Ben told her, keeping those three crucial steps between them for the moment.
"Growing up will do that to a person. What do you want?", Emily demanded. Ben cocked his head to the side, considering her for a moment.
"Speaking of growing up, I came here to talk to you about Maya. Emily, like I said, I know we didn't end well, but I'm asking you not to try to get in the way of me and Maya. I know you two were a thing, but we're kind of serious and I don't want any of our history to impact that."
Emily went silent, disbelieving. "Wait a minute... She doesn't know what you tried to do to me, does she? You never told her.", Emily guessed, and saw the guilty expression flicker across his face. She felt sudden rage rear up in her chest. Rage against Ben for what he tried to do, rage over her friend being lied to by the guy who tried to rape her, and the same humiliation she felt when the initial attack happened. "She's going to find out, if not from me then from someone else."
"How, Emily? Only three people know what happened really happened. You." Ben took a step forward. "Me." Another step. "And Cavanaugh." Emily stared up at him as he blocked any way out that she might have had.
"Did you forget? I told my friends, and Spencer told my parents while I was away. Your dirty little secret is out, Ben.", Emily told him.
"You don't really think people are going to take your word over mine? Emily, I'm the town fire marshal. People trust me. I keep this town safe. They might believe your dad, but whatever accusation he throws at me, I can deny.", Ben told her. "All you and your friends are are a bunch of washed up teen queens, with reputations as liars."
"Whatever you do to me, Maya will find out, and she'll finally clue in to what a monster you really are.", Emily told him fiercely. Ben chuckled, then put both arms on either side of her, effectively trapping her. Normally, Emily tried not to fight like a stereotypical girl, but if he laid one single hand on her, she wasn't ashamed to admit that she'd put the heels to good use.
"I can deal with Maya. Right now, I think we should talk about us.", Ben replied. Emily did not like the look he gave her as those words passed his lips, and her stomach gave a twist in revulsion. Suddenly, her dress didn't feel like something to wear for a night on the town with her friends, it felt like a liability.
"There hasn't been an 'us' since you tried to rape me. Get the hell away from me, you psycho!", Emily demanded, shoving against Ben's chest and pushing him away from her. Ben got his balance back, then grinned at her.
"I heard what you said to Mona in the gym. Sweet little Emily has grown a backbone.", Ben told her, then walked closer. Emily put her back away from the car, giving herself plenty of room to run if she needed to. "You think you can leave, then come back and reshape the town? Doesn't work like that, Emily."
"It doesn't have to for me to be very clear about this. 1) There hasn't been an 'us' for years, and there never will be again. 2) If you do anything to hurt me or my friends, including Maya, I promise to make you regret it. And 3) You've worn out your welcome. I want you off of my property before I call the police and have you arrested for trespassing." Emily's hand dug into her purse and pulled out her phone, trying not to acknowledge that the police chief was Ben's best friend.
"This isn't your property anymore, Emily."
"It's my parents' home, which makes it mine, and I'm legally responsible for it until they get back. I'll say it again, you're not welcome here. Get lost."
Ben grabbed her arms and forced her back against the trunk of her car. Emily, for a split second, was brought back of that day in the locker room, then snapped back to reality. She pushed back against him, trying to get him away from her.
"Let's say, for argument's sake, that you do call the police. It'll take them, what, ten, fifteen minutes to get here?", Ben guessed, holding onto her arms. Emily stayed silent. Words wouldn't work their way free from her throat. He grinned at her. "A lot can happen in fifteen minutes, Emily."
A scream began to form in her throat as she tried to find the words through her panic. This wasn't happening. This could NOT be happening, not again. Heels kicked out and bit into Ben's shins, getting a pained grunt but little else from the fire marshal.
Emily began to feel his fingers bruise her arms as she struggled, but couldn't make any headway. "Now.", Ben told her. "Feel like having that talk I mentioned earlier?"
"Go to hell!", Emily answered.
Ben's head snapped around at the sound of gravel crunched behind them and car headlights shone on the two as Jenna's car drove behind Emily's car in the driveway. "Emily?" Jenna got out of the driver's seat, dressed in pajama pants, sneakers, a t-shirt and a light jacket, followed by Toby, who climbed out of the passenger seat. Emily hadn't felt so relieved to see him since that day in the locker room.
The fact that he was wielding a pipe wrench that still carried the store sticker didn't register to her, but from the look of anxiety and frustration on Ben's face, he noticed it. Jenna's glasses were skewed over her face, but she aimed a glare at Ben as the two ran to where Emily and Ben stood. "Ben, what the hell? Get away from her!"
Ben released Emily's arms and took a couple steps away from her while Jenna ran to her side. Toby stayed behind Ben, keeping both eyes fixed on him while Jenna fussed over Emily, who stood beside her car, looking shocked. Ben threw a scowl at Toby, then said, "Well, well. Isn't this cute? The kissing siblings coming to your rescue, Emily? What, did you date Jenna too while we were apart?"
"Shut up, Ben. Emily, are you okay? Did he hurt you?", Jenna snapped while rolling her eyes, checking the red finger marks on Emily's arm. Emily felt the air leave her and she slumped against the car, suddenly exhausted. "Emily? Do you need to go see a doctor?"
"I'm okay, Jenna. He just freaked me out a little. I'm okay.", Emily assured her, even though she felt bone tired. Toby gave her a quick glance over, and judged she'd be asleep within an hour.
"What are you doing here, Ben?", Toby asked quietly. Personally speaking, Toby was itching to go to town on Ben with the pipe wrench. He and Jenna were in the area by luck alone. They'd gone into town to return a movie before the store closed and to pick up a wrench that Toby needed. When they'd turned down Emily's street as a short cut to their parents' place, Jenna let out a gasp when she saw Ben back Emily against the car. Toby spotted them next, then had a horrible flashback of the locker room. He thanked any God that would listen that Jenna hadn't needed to hear him ask her to pull over at Emily's place, but had grabbed the pipe wrench he'd asked Jenna to drive him into town to pick up.
Ben aimed an ugly sneer at him. "Here to talk to Emily, not that it's any of your business, Cavanaugh."
"If you hurt my friends, I consider it my business, Coogen.", Toby shot back. Ben scoffed.
"Friends. Right. Cavanaugh, who do you think you're fooling here? We all know you're obsessed with Emily.", Ben told him. He walked in front of Toby, and both Jenna and Emily noted that he was a good three inches shorter than Toby. "What's your game, Cavanaugh? You think that if you save Emily enough, she'll want to be with you? Yeah, right."
"No game, Coogen. Emily being safe is what matters most to me. It's none of my business who she's with." And didn't that hurt to say. "Aren't you supposed to be in Chicago?"
"I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I wanted to stop by and talk to Emily before I left, clear the air as it were. And Emily is way out of your league, Cavanaugh." Toby felt his temper slowly rising, and knew that if Ben didn't shut up right then, there would be a fist fight on Emily's front lawn.
"Could say the same about you.", Jenna broke in. She put herself between Ben and Toby, her eyes glaring daggers at him. "Toby, go stand with Emily. Ben, who the hell do you think you are, jumping a girl in the dead of night? There are laws against that you know, and they apply to everyone, even the best friend of the police chief."
"I didn't jump her-", Ben began to protest.
"You would have if we hadn't come along!", Jenna bit back. "You have no right scaring the girl out of her mind! And since when is hanging out at empty houses at all hours of the night in the fire marshal job description? Heaven only knows what you'd have done if we hadn't shown up! Knowing the kind of guy you are, I wouldn't put much past you."
"Hey, just hold it right there-"
"No, don't you even think of trying to talk your way out of this! I know what you did to Emily in high school, the entire town does."
"I didn't do anything to her!"
"But you tried." Toby's voice was dead calm as he stood next to Emily, an arm slightly curled around her waist and the wrench clenched in his free hand. "Say what you want, Ben, but you need to leave. Now."
"This isn't your property, Cavanaugh."
"No, but it is mine, and I told you, twice in fact, to get off of said property.", Emily spoke up, glaring at Ben.
"You heard the lady, Ben. Get a move on.", Jenna added.
Ben backed away from the three of them, and when his feet hit the sidewalk, he stopped. "Well, well. It figures. You can't fight your own battles, Emily? You need the incestuous siblings to fight them for you? That's just sad."
"First, we're step siblings. Second, that was a long time ago. And third, get the hell out of here before I really lose my temper.", Jenna explained. Ben looked at Toby, who stood behind Emily.
"I don't envy you, Cavanaugh. You're not good enough for her, but you just keep trying."
Jenna rolled her eyes, but Emily grabbed her hand before she could reply. "Ben, just stop being a pain and go away. I've had more than enough of you for one night.", Emily told him, her voice as strong as she could make it.
"All right, have it your way." Ben shrugged. "We'll continue this conversation when these two can't interrupt, Emily."
"You're not getting anywhere near her, Ben.", Toby told him point blank. Ben raised his eye brow.
"We'll see. Good night, Emily. Cavanaugh, Jenna." Ben turned and walked down the sidewalk, not giving the three another glance. When he was out of sight, Emily leaned against her car tiredly, then put her head in her hands.
"Emily, are you sure you're okay?", Jenna asked.
"I'll be okay. He just scared the daylights out of me.", Emily admitted.
"What did he want?", Jenna wondered.
"He wanted to make sure I hadn't told Maya about the locker room incident, said he didn't want our bad break up to hurt his relationship with her.", Emily explained with a cringe.
"He decided to have this conversation at 11 o'clock at night?", Jenna exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
"He was waiting for me when I got here. Not that I'm not thankful you were here, but what are you guys doing here anyway?"
"We had to go into town for some things, and I didn't want Toby riding his motorcycle around town this late.", Jenna replied.
"Do you want one of us to stay with you tonight, make sure everything is okay? Or come over to our place?", Toby offered.
Emily honestly considered it for a moment, but shook her head. She'd be on the phone all night to Aria because she knew she wasn't going to get to sleep. "No, thanks guys. I think I'll be alright. Thank you both for sticking up for me." She pulled Jenna into a hug, and if Jenna noticed the shaking, she didn't mention it.
"Any time.", Jenna told her, stepping back with a smile.
" You sure you'll be okay?", Toby asked as he pulled Emily into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and refused to acknowledge that the shaking that had been rattling her bones stopped.
"I'll be fine. I promise.", she told him. She turned her head and spoke directly into his ear. "And, for what it's worth, between the two of you, you're the better man. I hope you know that."
Toby didn't reply, but felt the weight of that statement as he let go of her. Jenna was openly grinning at them, but Toby shot her a look that said, 'Don't even start'. Behind Emily's back, Jenna held up her hands in a symbol of surrender, but still had an evil grin on her face. Toby wanted to groan; she was plotting again, and she'd have all the time in the world to get the details worked out while he was in New York.
"I thought you were going back to New York?", Emily questioned, wrapping her arms around her in an attempt to stay warm. She might have just been tired, but it suddenly seemed a lot colder. Toby dropped his sweater across her shoulders without words, and Emily smiled at him.
"I'm leaving early tomorrow morning. I needed to do some work on Jenna's car before I left.", Toby answered. "If you need anything or if Ben comes back, call me or Jenna, alright? We'll both be there." It went unsaid that he'd be on his way back to Rosewood in a heartbeat if Ben set foot near her.
"Will do.", Emily promised. "Do you guys want to come in? I'm freezing."
"We need to get back to the house, check up on mom.", Jenna answered with a frown. "If anything happens, call. I mean it, Emily."
"I will, I swear. Say hi to your parents for me.", Emily agreed with a roll of her eyes and a smile. "Good night, guys. And thanks again."
"Good night. No worries, that's what friends are for.", Jenna replied. Toby looked like he didn't want to move from that spot, and Jenna rolled her eyes, then quietly said, "Come on, Toby."
"Night, Em.", Toby said in farewell as Jenna grabbed his arm and pulled him to her car. Emily waved to them as they drove past, then let out a huge exhale. The shaking returned and when she was inside her parents' house, she set the security system and deadbolted the door, something that hadn't been done since she was seven. Feeling too exposed in the dress, she rooted through her mom's clothes and changed into sweat pants and an old t-shirt of her dad's, and wrapped a thick blanket around her. For the rest of the night, she was sitting on the couch by the window, on the phone and retelling Aria the events of the evening.
Aria, to put it mildly, panicked and offered to pack Ellie up and bring her over to the house so Emily wasn't alone, but in a moment of paranoia, Emily declined. If Ben came back, she didn't want to risk either of them being in danger. The English teacher scoffed but respected her wishes, and around two in the morning, said to Emily that she couldn't stay up any longer if she wanted to be awake for her trip to her mom's gallery the next day. Emily bid her a good night, and spent the rest of the night reading by lamplight, sitting by the window in the living room. By the time the sun crept up over the town, Emily was laying on her side, book still in hand, and fast asleep from pure exhaustion.
AN: I'm so sorry, Emily! I'll make it up to you, promise! Jenna seemed a little OOC, but personally, this chapter was really difficult to write.
That's it, guys. Hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for reading it. Oh, one more thing. I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet. In the last chapter, Mellisa had a hickey, but in this story, Ian is no where to be found as yet, she hasn't eloped with anyone else, and the hickey isn't from Wren. Thoughts? Lemme know.
Oh, and PS: I'm working on Saturday's chapters right now. SO EXCITED.
Enjoy your Tuesday, everyone. I had four vials of blood drawn today for tests, so I'm a little loopy. I'm gonna go get some sleep. Much love,
Oracle. (L)