Chapter Eleven
One month before finals...
"Okay, you guys should at least be showing some interest in studying for finals..." Grumbled Spencer as she slapped her books on the wooden bench at lunch time; interrupting Hanna and Emily's game of coin flip - a mindless and frustrating game of using one coin to flick another into a cup for no apparent reason other than to have an excuse to drink alcohol when you lost. However drinking seemed inappropriate considering they were at school and under ages, though their age had never stopped them before.
"Damn it Spencer, I was almost gonna beat her." Hanna groaned loudly as she went to throw her coin at the cup, missing badly.
"No you weren't." Spencer retorted with a snort and a raised eyebrow. Emily and Aria suppressed their laughs as Hanna grabbed her coin and tried a second time to get the coin in.
"This is serious guys," Spencer slapped her hand above the coin when Hanna went for a third throw, causing more suppressed snickers from Emily and Aria, "You should be studying or you can kiss college goodbye."
"Come on Spence! Third time's a charm." Hanna groaned childishly.
"Is that going to be your method on college?" Spencer questioned as she crossed her arms like an unimpressed parent about to discipline their child for doing something wrong.
"Would you relax? We've still got two months." Emily rolled her eyes before lazily throwing her coin at the cup, getting it in perfectly.
"Yeah Spence, I think I can see a gray hair." Aria joked.
"You shouldn't be joking too much Emily or you could lose your scholarship if you don't keep your grades up to standard." Spencer said matter-of-factly.
"I manage school and swimming just fine thank you."
"Don't forget Alison." Hanna winked playfully while nudging her friend hard in the ribs.
"Oh would you stop? You're like a dog with a bone. It's been a month, haven't you got better things to think about?" The brunette rolled her eyes and looked over to Alison's group; the blonde's eyes quickly glanced her way before winking and looking away.
"Come on; just tell us something juicy about the sex?" Hanna pleaded loudly.
"Okay so are we just going to forget about studying thing then?"
"Is sex with Caleb not enough for you?" Emily teased, ignoring Spencer completely.
"I'm taking that as a yes." Spencer mumbled before sitting down and pulling out her lunch.
"Oh trust me, the sex is definitely enough." Hanna gushed triumphantly, also ignoring the moping brunette.
"I don't think I needed to hear that." Aria mumbled while rubbing her head with a cringe.
"So you wanna hear about Emily's sex life but not mine?" Hanna questioned, offense laced in her tone.
"No we don't mind but we always hear about it." The petite brunette removed her hand from her head as she quickly justified her previous comment.
"Yeah Han sorry, I wouldn't mind hearing something different." Spencer said before taking a bite out of her sandwich.
"Fine, so Emily, whose top?" Hanna questioned curiously, moving on from the topic of her sex life quicker than her friends expected.
"Whose what?" Emily muttered with a quirked eyebrow.
"My goodness you're innocent. Who's always on top? Who's the dominant one?" Hanna snickered mockingly and Emily narrowed her eyes in displeasure.
"You know I much prefer keeping my sex life private." Emily retorted smartly and Spencer and Aria groaned in frustration.
"Thanks Hanna." Aria whined babyishly.
"What?" The blonde defended obliviously but before anyone could respond Emily felt a pair of hands wrap around her eyes, blinding her. She went to smile but when she really focused on the touch of the hands she realised they weren't the softness of Alison. She was inwardly freaking out but remained calm as she tried to drag the unknown hands away.
"Guess who." Maya chimed sarcastically and Emily quickly pulled harder until she was free of Maya's hold.
"Hi Maya." She murmured neutrally before looking at her friends who all seemed struck with an awkward silence.
"How you been?" Maya smiled, seemingly oblivious to the awkwardness between them.
"Uh, good and you?" Emily returns politely, her eyes constantly flittering between Maya and her friends for help.
"Good thanks, hey I wanted to ask you out for another date."
At first Emily thought she Maya was joking but when she looked closer at the short brunette's dark eyes she realised she was serious.
"Oh Maya... that's sweet but-"
"Come on, we would be so good together." Maya interrupted with a harsh push and the atmosphere thickened even more awkwardly. Emily didn't know what to do; she and Alison had never discussed becoming public with their relationship besides their close friends because they were the people they trusted to keep it a secret until they could figure out what the best thing to do, however she knew she wasn't a good liar and that if Maya wanted a straight answer she wouldn't be able to provide one without sounding unbelievable.
"I'm sorry Maya, I'm just not interested." She as softly as she could manage.
"But why not? You weren't saying that a few months ago." Maya wouldn't give in and her eagerness to try and make the prospect of a date plausible seemed desperate to not only Emily but to her silent friends. Her tone changed completely and with it the behaviour of everyone around them, they were beyond awkward and uncomfortable but when Emily couldn't answer and Maya's grew Hanna uncontrollably stood up and interrupted.
"Because she's seeing someone else." She blurted out and all eyes went to her, she sat back down in regret and gave Emily an apologetic look.
"Is that so? Who? I bet I can give her a run for her money." Maya responded sharply and Hanna scoffed, causing all eyes to crease in disapproval at her.
"Sorry." She muttered, knowing she had overstepped.
"It's none of your business." Emily turned to Maya directly, her voice still polite but stern and Maya seemed to curious to drop the subject that easily. She looked at the four girls with hard eyes, observing where their eyes would eventually stray. Hanna's eyes couldn't help but shift to the other end of the play ground hoping Alison wasn't watching what was happening, turning Maya eyes quickly fell on Noel Kahn's group dominating that part of the playground, she observed each girl curiously until a pair of sky blue eyes caught her attention and she realised then it was obvious.
"The exchange student?" Maya laughed loudly as though they were all making a joke but when no one denied it she was given her answer. "Seriously? The one that broke us up?"
"You broke us up Maya, not Ali. She just gave me the truth when you wouldn't." Emily said so confidently that even her friends were a little surprised by it.
"It's Ali now? Wow, you used to hate that bitch she must be a good fuck then if you've changed your mind about that orphan freak." Maya scoffed bitterly, Emily had never heard the brunette be so awful about someone before because she always seemed so innocent and sweet.
"Back off Maya." Emily stood up and balled her fists tightly; her teeth were gritted so hard she was sure her jaw would crack into pieces if it weren't for the soft cool hand that enclosed itself around her own comfortingly.
"You know Maya, I actually have parents, I'm not an orphan, just in a social exchange program." Alison said calmly as she intertwined her fingers around Emily, forcing the brunette's balled up fists to disappear.
"So you two are fucking," Maya said as she looked down at their hands, "How interesting, you've known each other less than six months and for the first two months you hated each other. Here's a social experiment question for you, why did it only take Emily four months to sleep with you? I hear your mother is psycho and your sister as well, what about your Dad? Is he still around or is he just not interested in giving a shit about you? I heard you're just as crazy as your family though, lots of therapy and not a lot of result, hey Alison? Must be hard having so much wrong in your life, I can understand why you attach yourself to the first somewhat normal thing. Perhaps that is why Emily slept with you, for no other reason than she felt sorry for you. I hear pity sex can be okay." Maya folded her arms as though she had won but Emily tensed and moved forward, her heart pounding and her head thumping, how could someone say something so horrible? Her head was spinning in anger and her body had no trouble in portraying that emotion
"You don't know a thing about her or her family."
"I feel like I'm hit a sensitive subject Emily, maybe her craziness has rubbed off on you a little." Maya laughed patronisingly. "What are you going to do when she leaves, huh? Only got a month until finals and then Alison's back to California, who are you going to screw around with when she's gone?" She looked at the blonde and smirked nastily.
"Not everything is about sex." Emily blurted out in frustration before gripping her hold on Alison's hand, keeping herself composed and calm.
"Oh so she doesn't put out, how boring. Well Emily you have fun with your borderline psychotic and not sexually active girlfriend, while I go have the time of my life." Maya laughed, her bitterness seeping darkly into her words.
"You know Maya," Alison called as Maya turned to leave. "You really missed out." She winked before looking up at Emily and squeezing her hand, pulling her away from the commotion before anything more serious could happen.
"Well that's one way to make Maya jealous." Hanna muttered as she Spencer and Aria stood to follow their two departing friends.
"Is that juicy enough for you Hanna?" Spencer whispered as she struggled with her books, still stunned by the whole situation.
-x-
Emily had been quiet for the remainder of the day, her thoughts stuck on what Maya had said, though it bothered her that it had come from Maya's mouth, she had a point. In a month they were doing finals and then after that graduation, what did that mean was going to happen to Alison? Was she going to go to college? It was too late to enter early application and as far as Emily was aware the blonde hadn't applied, which of course is fine but that left Emily stuck.
Stanford was an amazing school but she had always had her heart set on Danby, it was her dream and they had offered her a full scholarship, how could she passed down such an opportunity? She felt so lost and confused, this isn't what she wanted to be thinking about in the last months of her senior year but why did she expect any different? This was what she had been preparing for this whole time but suddenly it all didn't seem to matter because of Alison, she wanted to be with Alison. No matter what. That was the outcome she wanted, whether she be at Danby, Stanford or a community college that had no special program at all, she didn't seem to desperately want anything more than Alison.
By the end of the day pretty much everyone in school had heard the rumours about their relationship and by that point she was way passed the point of being able to pretending she could handle the staring. When the bell rang she couldn't have been happier to zone out and ignore the whisper of the people she passed as she walked to her car, even the younger students seemed interested and it was beginning to really bother her.
"Do people seriously have nothing better to do?" She whispered to herself as she got into the car, usually she would wait leaning against the passenger door but today she couldn't handle anymore stares.
When Alison got into the car she seemed her usual cheerful self but it instantly dropped when she realised Emily's mood.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Her hand instinctively went to Emily's that was resting lazily on the gear stick in the centre console.
"Nothing, sweetie." She sighed when she caught some students looking into the car as they walked by. Turning the car on she drove away silently, happy that it was the end of the day and it was another school day over, she probably shouldn't be wishing days away but for that particular one, she was glad it was done.
The drive home was silent but not awkward, Emily was just so engrossed with her thoughts and Alison didn't want to disturb that, she knew it was important sometimes for people to just get lost in their minds without someone constantly talking in their ear, she could appreciate that. So to pass the time she sang quietly along to Emily's music.
"Can you sing louder?" The brunette asked softly when they had stopped at a traffic light. Alison smiled before raising her voice slightly and placing her hand on Emily's thigh, softly smoothing over the fabric of her jeans comfortingly, receiving a soft sigh of content in response. They drove that way through the rest of the afternoon traffic, every so often Emily would squeeze Alison's hand with her own when she wasn't using it to change gears or ster and by the time they were home she so much better. It was as though the badness of the day hadn't happened at all and she was content with that.
It was then that the sight of Maya sitting on her front porch talking with her mother had made her remember why she had been so lost in her thoughts in the first place and it instantly destroyed her good mood.
"What the hell is she doing here?" She groaned angrily before getting out of the car dramatically enough that her mother and Maya would notice.
"Oh hi Emily." Maya said innocently, ignoring the glares both Emily and Alison were giving her.
"Hi." She replied neutrally, knowing having her mother there was Maya's way of manipulating the situation to suit her.
"So are you ready for the movies?" Maya asked casually as if they had already planned something, she stood at eye level with Emily and Alison, smirking slightly when she knew her expression was out of Pam's vision.
"What?" Emily exclaimed. "Maya I told you I'm not going to the movies with you." She was beyond frustrated but she already knew what was happening.
"Now Emily, don't be like that. Maya said you had this planned last week, why are you cancelling on her suddenly?"
"Mum... I'm with Alison?" Emily stated factually.
"Friends can't go to the movies?" Maya joined in with another smirk and Emily was surprised Alison had stayed quiet for so long, though she had a feeling the blonde had no other alternative.
"I agree, Emily. Alison why don't you go inside and get comfortable, maybe we can watch our own movie while these two are out? Maya promised to have you back before dinner anyway Emily, so you can go."
Emily's mouth was stuck open, she couldn't understand why her mother was being so forceful, she was sure Pam wasn't even a fan of Maya being her girlfriend, yes they had been family friends for years but her behaviour seemed weird.
"But Mum-" Emily began but she felt Alison's hand stop her.
"Hey, I don't mind." Alison had been watching Maya the entire time and she realised conflict was exactly what the smaller brunette was fishing for, it was exactly what she wanted but she wasn't going to get it. "I'll be here when you get back, have fun okay?"
She took Emily's bag and kissed her on the cheek before heading inside, holding back the pool of tears. She knew this wasn't what Emily wanted but it was hard to have someone easily get to her girl. Moving into her room she began sending Emily a message when she heard Maya's car leave to curb and drive away.
"Alison?" Pam's voice came from the door and quickly wiping away her tears Alison turned to look over at Pam with a smile. "What movie would you like to watch?"
"Whatever you would like Pam, I always seem to choose here." She shrugged before returning to her phone.
"Alison, I'm sorry about this, I understand that you and Emily are together and I don't object to that at all but Maya has been friends with Emily for years and I didn't want Emily to throw that away. I don't want her to change her social life too much because she's in a relationship."
"I understand, Pam. You don't have to be so delicate with me." She responded sincerely, though she was secretly very upset by the whole situation. "Go pick a movie, surprise me, I've gotta get changed." She smiled innocently.
"Okay, and Ali? I'm sorry to ask but can you leave your phone up here? I want Emily to focus on the movie." She looked down at Alison's phone before shrugging softly.
"Okay." Alison suppressed a cringe. "I'll be down in a minute."
Pam smiled softly before leaving and Alison sighed in frustration, she was very ready to let out a loud groan in irritation but managed to suppress that as well. Looking down at her phone she deleted her message before starting a new one.
Hey I'm sorry if it seemed like I just gave into your mother, I don't want you going out with her anymore than you do but it wasn't worth the drama Maya was fishing for. However saying that, you two used to be good friends before I came along and I feel that maybe I took something away from you and that's not fair, I shouldn't get in the way of that. Ignore the things she said about me today, okay? Don't let it consume you; I want you to enjoy yourself.
At your mothers request I can't text you and I want to respect that. Try to have fun.
-Alison
Ps... don't let her touch you, you're my girl.
She didn't wait for a reply, sensing she might not get one. Instead she quickly got dressed into some comfortable slacks and one of Emily's old shirts that was a few sizes too big for her, it smelt like the brunette, warm and comforting. Alison was missing her already and it had been less than ten minutes, why was this so hard? Trying not to focus on the day's events she snuggled into Emily's shirt before heading down stairs to watch whatever movie Pam had chosen.
-x-
Hours had passed and Emily still hadn't arrived home, she hadn't made it to dinner and Pam seemed displeased for obvious reasons but Alison couldn't understand why she expected anything more. Wayne had gotten home just before dinner and was curious as to why his daughter was nowhere to be seen, it wasn't until half way through dinner however that he actually asked where she was and Pam seemed frustrated to explain, which peeked Alison's curiosity though she remained quiet. When dinner was finished and Pam began making some tea Alison and Wayne sat quietly on the lounge and put another movie on, however neither seemed interested in actually paying attention.
They had been sitting down on the lounge patiently while they waited for Pam and the tea when the front door slammed open and Emily stormed inside, causing the two to jump. Alison stood quickly when she realised how cold and wet Emily looking and it was then she realised that it was raining outside, quite heavily too. She sighed when Emily came into her vision and she stood to greet the shivering brunette. Taking off a flannelette jacket that she had stolen from Emily's closet just before dinner she wrapped it around the angry looking girl.
"There you are." Pam said as she walked into the lounge room with two cups of tea, placing them on the coffee table when she also realised how wet Emily was. "I wanted you home before dinner, Emily. Where have you been?"
Alison observed Emily closely, her eyes were red and her cheeks were flushed but it was hard to tell given how soaked she was. She was concerned when she become aware of how furious Emily really was and when she looked closer at the brunette who still hadn't said a word since she entered the room, Alison noticed the soft smudge of dark lipstick on the corner of Emily's lips, the deep maroon tone was the colour that Maya always wore and Alison could feel the strong sense of rage bubble deep in her stomach.
"Well Em? Why are you so late?" Pam asked again, her tone a mixture of cautious and concerned.
"Because Maya doesn't understand the word 'no', I had to walk home." Emily finally spoke but she was looking at the ground, her lip trembling in a combination of anger and sadness and it was that small movement that gave Alison the courage to lift her finger to the brunette's lip and wipe away the already half dismissed make up.
"Why didn't you call us for a lift home baby?" Wayne questioned curiously as he made his way to the three of them, ignoring the cup of tea he had been craving since he had gotten home.
"I couldn't." She replied bitterly as she looked up at her mother and immediately Pam bowed her head in shame as she pulled Emily's phone from her pocket. The brunette took it from her as calmly as she could before wiping her lips in disgust. "I told you I didn't want to go for a reason."
She took Alison's hand and walked upstairs, trying her very best to contain the anger that had been cooking up inside her the whole walk home.
"Why did you make her go out dear?" They heard Wayne ask curiously.
"I was just trying to do the right thing." Pam sighed in disappointment and immediately both Alison and Emily felt the sharp pinch of guilt twist in their guts. Opening her door Emily pulled Alison inside and shut it behind them, she was so angry it took every fibre of her not to slam it, she didn't care how guilty she felt.
"Em, are you okay?" Alison asked, concerned as the brunette began to pace quickly through the room.
"Urgh! This is unbelievable! I can't believe she kissed me! How dare she? I should have slapped her." Emily erupted, the days stress finally leaving her body in the form of a rambling mess. "I just... I can't even... urgh fuck!" She kicked her bed frame in frustration, stubbing her toe she knew it was going to hurt when the anger wore off.
"Hey it's okay, don't hurt yourself sweetie." Alison cooed as she walked closer to Emily and reached for her hand.
"Why did Mum make me do that?" She whimpered, the adrenaline of the long walk home and the anger disappearing and being quickly replaced by confusion and despair.
"She was just doing what she felt was right." Alison said supportively, she turned the brunette to face her and held her cold cheeks delicately. Carefully she wiped the rest of the thick lipstick Maya's destructive lips had left behind.
"Come on, you need to get out of these clothes or you'll get sick." Alison went to find Emily some fresh clothes but was stopped by the brunette's strong arms pulling her back.
She gasped as Emily pulled her close, keeping the distance between their lips at the bare minimum. Alison felt her heart skip a beat and she felt her breath catch in her throat as Emily dangled her lips dangerously close to hers, so close they could feel each other's breath but still not close enough that they were touching.
Seconds passed and suddenly Alison felt her back hit something solid as Emily pushed her with a passionate fever against the closest wall. Her breath caught once again at the passion, she was so breathless she was sure she would faint if she didn't feel Emily's lips connect with her own soon.
"Emily..." She puffed desperately as Emily pushed her against the wall again. "What happened?" She tried to question but found the distance between them too much and the brunette's adventurous hands distracting.
"Later." Emily grunted before connecting their lips in a surge of heat and euphoria, her wondering, and strangely, warm hands were being controlled by the exasperated part of her thoughts while her lips were controlled by the part of her thoughts that desired greatly for the blonde.
"Em..." Alison tried again, placing her arms on Emily's shoulders as she tried to create some distance between them, sensing that even though Emily's delicate hands were holding and caressing her sweetly, that maybe they should be talking about what happened.
"Later Ali, please." The brunette muffled as she took Alison's hands and pushed them against the wall, the brunette's wet clothes pressing against her, creating a strange friction that caused; without thinking, Alison to moan into her touch and allow all her thoughts to go.
She didn't want to over think a situation she was secretly aching for herself.
Her thoughts were running wilding because having Emily so focused aroused her greatly, the brunette's sudden urge and need to control was covered up by a small sense of desperation. Alison was trying hard to figure out why the brunette was so eager to be dominate but it wasn't until Emily's lips strayed to her neck that she realised the moment Maya had kissed her she had taken away her sense of control. Maya had violated that sense of control Emily thought she had and this was her way of getting it back so Alison did what she could to be as submissive as her body would physically allow in hopes it would give Emily the confidence that had been lost in the night. She felt better knowing Alison was ready to submit, it gave her the incentive to keep gong even when the possibility of her parents walking in crossed her mind.
When Emily's arms finally realised their hold of her hands she let them wrap securely around the brunette's neck as extra encouragement, holding her so tightly her natural response was the snuggle deeply into the brunette's shoulder, enjoying the sensation of Emily's lips as they desperately explored her neck and chest while her finger tips roughly roamed her waist.
Lifting Alison's shirt up Emily's soft but possessive hands roamed further up her cool, slim body greedily and suddenly all rational thinking on both their behalf was gone.
Emily didn't focus on Alison's waist for long, one hand got distracted with moving further up the blonde's shirt while the other hastily moved down her baggy slacks. With the combinations of pleasure it was difficult to suppress the overwhelming feeling to express them but Emily was a step ahead with her lips ready to cover Alison's. It wasn't long before the tightness of her shirt was frustrating her and Emily quickly lifted it from her body and threw it to the ground, she hastily did the same with Alison's noticing however that it was an old shirt of hers, she made a note to question it late. Pushing the blonde against the wall once more she skilfully moved her hand behind her back and unclipped Alison's bra before also throwing it to the ground, her hands couldn't have waited any longer to feel the soft skin against her cold hands. Burying her head into Alison's neck she bit and sucked passionately at the skin creating further arrays of sensations to drive the blonde crazy, her body was caving for more sensation but at the same time couldn't handle anymore.
"I can feel how wet you are." Emily whispered sharply, clearly pleased that even though she was only touching Alison from the outside of her underwear she could still feel her arousal. The seduction that dripped in her voice made Alison's legs wobble, this was unbelievably sexy and the intensity of the sexual tension between them was growing beyond a point of control.
"It's embarrassing." Alison whispered as she shied away into Emily's neck while still gripping tightly to her.
"Not embarrassing, Ali... sexy." Emily cooed, her voice like a thick warm honey, sending shivers down Alison's spin as each sticky syllable left her lips. She didn't hesitate to slip aside Alison's underwear, the temptation had become too much and the build-up inside her had progressed to a point where she no longer felt like herself. Her body was being controlled by a hidden part of her; a part she never knew existed but welcomed it anyway. A gasped slipped from Alison's lips which she could only suppress by bitting Emily's shoulder, which really just gave her more confidence and to heighten her own arousal. She wasted no time in rubbing her fingers against Alison's wet folds, making a deliciously slow rhythm.
Reconnecting their lips once again Alison tightened her hold as Emily began to make love to her roughly against her bedroom wall, the only thought she could manage was how incredibly sexy the whole situation was and before she knew it a deep build up rose from her stomach and Emily could feel it too. Smiling she entered a finger into the blonde, then a second, slowly pushing in and out teasing her, creating her sense of power and control to rise.
Her lips trailed up and down the blonde's neck before straying down her chest every so often, sucking and bitting confidently, though her frustration at the night probably seeped into her actions slightly and caused small love bites to appear, however at that point she didn't seem to care and neither did Alison.
"I'm close..." The blonde shuttered breathlessly as Emily sucked at the base of her neck.
"You have to be quiet." She warned softly, slowing down her rhythm ever so slightly to catch the blonde's attention.
"I'll... try." She almost begged in returned, her hips subconsciously moving against Emily's fingers to create the friction that was lost.
"You have too. Otherwise I might have to stop." Emily teased and ceased her actions completely, causing Alison to wither helplessly in disappointment.
"Don't stop..." She begged. "I'll be quiet." It was a promise as she clutched to Emily once more. "Please don't stop." She continued to beg and buck her hips in unison, causing a small chuckle to emanate deep from Emily's chest before she continued her previous movements; getting a grateful moan to fall from Alison's lips immediately and her lips to once again go to her shoulder.
"Quiet." She ordered but didn't stop; she liked having Alison so conflicted against her, the need to express her pleasure but her desire to hold it in contradicted her wild thoughts. The only way Alison could manage to communicate was by kissing the shoulder she had been biting so aggressively and nodding ever so slightly.
"Sorry." She puffed when she looked at how red the brunette's shoulder was, noticing small bite marks slowly appearing.
"Don't be sorry." Emily whispered. "It means you're close." She smiled triumphantly before tilting her head so she could kiss the blonde passionately.
"So close." Alison replied and she continued her rhythm.
Moments later she could feel Alison's walls tighten around her fingers, she was ready for the blonde to come undone around her, she needed her too.
"Come Ali." She commanded causing Alison to shutter at her control, it was the finale encouragement she needed for her release and as she reached her climax Emily muffled her moans with another passionate kiss.
As Alison came down from her ultimate high Emily's lips continued to caress hers softly and slowly, when she was sure the blonde had adjusted, she pulled out causing a sharp breath to get caught in her chest but they were both so engrossed in the moment they couldn't focus on much else.
Bringing Alison into a gentle and comforting hug Emily sighed into her neck contently, the night's problems now long gone from her mind.
"Ali?" She murmured lightly and the blonde puffed slightly before speaking.
"Yeah?" She was still catching her breath.
"I love you, very much." She was quiet but her words were filled with sincerity. It was obvious all the frustration was transferred into the hot love making and Alison could feel the brunette's frustrated tension slowly disappear.
"I love you too, Em."
-x-
"Well..." Hanna began; her expression pure shock. "That sounded... intense." She continued with a gaping mouth and Emily looked around Spencer's barn shyly. Both Aria and Spencer had raised eyebrows with half gaped mouths also, causing Emily to blush.
"You guys having been asking for weeks about my sex life and then I give you some information and it's too intense? Geez, picky much?" She justified quickly. It was Friday night; they had finished another week, which meant it was getting closer to finals and Spencer had decided that this was a nice way to end the week before they would have to start seriously studying.
"I didn't say I was complaining." Hanna giggled. "I just didn't realise you were such a tiger Em." She said while nudging Emily playfully in the sides.
"Oh shut up." Emily rubbed her head in embarrassment.
"So... out of curiosity, which wall did you two do it against? Cause I'll make sure not to lean against it again." Hanna joked causing Emily to roll her eyes.
"You know, Spencer and Toby probably did it on that lounge you're lying so comfortably on." She stuck her tongue out and Hanna quickly sat up before looking over at Spencer questionably, the brunette blushed bright red before shrugging her shoulders innocently.
"Okay... can I swap with you Aria?" Hanna directed to the short brunette who had been relaxing quietly on the old recliner. Spencer cleared her throat subtly, causing all eyes to shift between her and the chair.
"Really?" Aria giggled, understanding the brunette's insinuation.
"Hey, I thought we were talking about Emily's sex life, not mine." Spencer interjected quickly; her cheeks still a bright red.
"No no, it's fine really. I don't mind." Emily said happily, happy to have the attention off her finally.
"So Em," Spencer began quickly before anyone else could continue the subject on her sex life, "Alison's a biter?"
Hanna was half way through drinking some soda when she scoffed and tried to swallow at the same time, causing a large gaggling sound to get stuck in her throat before she splattered and coughed as she tried to recover. Everyone laughed loudly.
"Is there any alcohol in Spencer's drink?" The blonde asked, her tone lathered in surprise, more laughter followed before all eyes went back to Emily for an answer.
"Um... no." She subconsciously rubbed at her shoulder where underneath her pale shirt, the faint sign of teeth marks lay in her skin.
Her friends shared quick expressions before smirking evilly. "Don't even think about it." She warned but before she could react Spencer's hands clasped her shoulder while Hanna moved her shirt slightly out of the way to reveal to no surprise a small bite mark.
"Oh... my god! That's kind of surprising! Why is that so surprising?" Hanna laughed as Emily shrugged out of her and Spencer's hold.
"Shut up." She blushed shyly.
"No it's a good thing! If she was biting you that means you were doing a good job."
"Thanks Hanna, I actually didn't need you to tell me that." Emily said proudly.
"That's true; you've got the evidence to prove it." Aria giggled as she looked over at the three bickering between themselves.
"By the sounds of it, I'm surprised she didn't faint it was that intense." Spencer found Aria's giggling infectious as she made a playful joke with her friends.
"So what initiated the hot love making against the wall anyways?" Hanna asked as she lay back into the lounge.
"Um... Maya somehow convinced my mum to force me to hang out with her." She began explaining seriously.
"Oh yeah that's right, how did that go? You never finished telling me that story today in class." Aria recalled lightly.
"Because Maya is in that class." They all nodded in agreement without speaking. "We went to the movies, she insisted on sitting at the back and I swear every two minutes she would try and hold my hand. Finally the movie finished and I almost ran back to her car, I didn't know why at first but she insisted on driving. When I got in she practically threw herself at me and kissed me." She wiped her lips in disgust at the memory, she was still angry but it was somewhat suppressed.
"What? That's not cool!" Hanna exclaimed angrily and murmurs of agreement followed from Spencer and Aria. "Bitch. I can't believe I used to like the thought of you two together."
"What happened next?" Spencer encouraged.
"I pushed her away but she kept trying, she tried convincing me that we would 'have fun' but it wasn't until I practically yelled at her that she finally let go and I had just enough time to get out of the car and walk away."
"Wait, you walked home?" Aria gasped in disbelief and Emily nodded, causing gasp to follow from Spencer and Hanna too.
"Bitch" Hanna murmured bitterly again.
"Why didn't you call your parents?"
"Mum took my phone off me; she said she didn't want me distracted when I was with someone." Emily rolled her eyes; she still didn't fully understand her mother's intentions, considering she was aware of her and Alison's relationship regardless of how confusing it was.
"That's a really weird thing for your mum to do." Aria stated lightly while trying to understand Pam's intentions.
"I think she feels bad enough though, it was just really bothering the whole way home, like I had to walk almost an hour in the rain because she wouldn't listen to me about Maya." Emily noted vaguely, still not fully understanding.
"Ohhh." Hanna blurted out loudly, causing all eyes to turn to her in mild shock and curiosity. "I get it; you were getting all frustrated and flustered as you walked home! You were sexually frustrated!" She laughed loudly and triumphantly as if she had discovered the answer to the meaning of life.
"It's so nice to see that you're being sensitive to my feelings about the whole situation, Hanna." Emily muttered in displeasure.
"Hey, you almost made me chock on my soda, I won't let you make me feel bad for having a joke."
"Technically that was me." Spencer piped up with a chuckled, giving Emily an apologetic nod.
"Okay, alright you lot, how about we stop talking about all this and just watch another movie?" Aria offered while flicking aimlessly through Spencer's many movies.
"Another one? It's almost midnight." Spencer groaned while flopping backwards onto a pile of blankets she had sprawled out on the floor to make a pitiful excuse of a bed.
"Don't be such a grandma, Spence." Hanna threw a pillow at the brunette and smiled smugly.
"I'm not a grandma!" Spencer sat up defensive. "But I want to study tomorrow."
"Grandma!" Hanna laughed.
"Geez, don't you have a day off at all?" Aria asked as she took selecting a movie into her own hands and put the first desirable choice into the DVD player and clicking play.
"Harvard doesn't have a day off if I want to get into Law." The brunette stated matter-of-factly.
"Well actually they have weekends and holidays so technically they do." Emily said while snickering, causing the others to laugh as well, Spencer however was not amused at all. "You don't have to stay awake for the whole movie, you can fall asleep to it." Emily reasoned quickly.
"Ew, that's weird." Spencer scrunched up her face in displeasure.
"What? You've never done that?"
"Well of course I've done it accidentally but it's weird to do it intentionally. I try to watch the whole thing." Spencer said with a shrug.
"Yeah, I've gotta agree with Spencer, it would be weird to always fall asleep to movies." Aria commented and Hanna nodded in agreement. Emily remained quiet for a long time; perhaps she had become so adjusted to Alison's sleeping habits that she forgot her old ones.
"Don't you think it's weird?" Spencer encouraged when she still hadn't contributed anything to the conversation.
"Not really." She shrugged, smiling softly at the thought of Alison. The blonde did always brighten any mood.
"Oh that's right! Alison's falls asleep to television shows doesn't she?" Hanna recalled the day her and Emily went shopping and the brunette had bought an entire DVD box set just for Alison.
"Sometimes, other times its movies. I guess it just depends what mood she's in."
"How do you sleep with the light and sound? That would annoy me." Spencer said while stretching and yawning simultaneously.
"Not everyone is like you, Miss Harvard Law." Emily laughed as she threw her pillow at the vulnerable Spencer who was still stretching.
"Yeah thank goodness for that!" Hanna also laughed as she too threw a pillow at the brunette who had crossed her arms grumpily. Spencer however quickly rebutted by throwing a pillow roughly back at her, causing a large pillow fight to erupt.
Suddenly the vibrating of Emily's phone broke her focus, giving Spencer the opportunity to wack her violently twice with two pillows before the brunette quickly grabbed it and hit her back.
"Stop, it's Alison." She laughed and the girls 'ohh-ed' childishly in unison as she answered. "Ali? What are you doing up so late?" Emily stood and mimed to Aria to pause the movie so she could hear Alison.
"Emily..." Alison whispered her voice thick with fear.
"What's wrong?" Emily's demeanour changed immediately as she stood from the mess of pillows and blankets on the ground.
"There's someone in the house." Alison sounded half asleep and momentarily Emily questioned whether or not the blonde was having a hallucination, which was still scary despite the realism of it or not.
"Ali, it's okay, you're safe inside. There's no one in the house." Emily paced as she tried to calm the blonde down, it was in that moment she began regretting leaving Alison alone. It was the first night they hadn't spent together in a while, not just physically, Emily had grown so accustom to having Alison beside her and she realised this was a possible reaction to her absence.
"No... Em... I can hear someone down stairs." Alison whimpered helplessly.
"Where are you?" Emily questioned as she put her shoes on, now really regretting leaving Alison alone. Spencer, Hanna and Aria were all looking between each other, completely confused to what was going on and as Emily reached for her keys in her bag she headed outside and heard them follow.
"I'm in your closet." She was crying softly but trying desperately hard to be quiet.
"I'm coming, Ali." Emily said as she ran from the barn and through Spencer's backyard, she was beyond thankful that her house was less than a five minute walk from the brunette's and it would be less than two minutes when she was running her fastest.
"Hurry." Alison sniffed hysterically.
"I won't hang up; just keep talking to me baby." Emily puffed, she could hear Spencer, Hanna and Aria running behind her but her speed was no match for them, within seconds she was around the corner and sprinting down her street. Alison didn't speak though, she was too focused on muffling her cries to manage a rational sentence.
"I'm here Ali. I'm coming." Emily said as her pitch black house came into vision, she hung up the phone when she made it to the drive and grabbed her keys. Fumbling she finally managed to unlock the door and pushed it open with a loud bang, she heard a cry for help come from upstairs and then it was followed by loud screams and fumbling. Emily's body kicked into gear as she ran to Alison's aid, turning on every light switch she passed.
Entering her room she saw a hooded figure holding Alison to the ground, holding her by her neck, grasping tightly, chocking her. Instinct kicked in and Emily charged at the masked person, she couldn't see their face and their clothes were so baggy their gender was unreadable. Not that she was really focused on that but instead the hands that were around her girlfriends neck, grabbing the person roughly by the shoulders she threw them aside, her next instinct was to see if Alison was okay but was quickly stopped by a pair of hands grabbing her and pulling her away and they struggled against each other.
The other person was freakishly strong but Emily would do anything at that point to protect Alison who was lying helplessly on the floor trying to catch her breath. They fought each other against different elements of Emily's room, first bumping her desk causing books and photo frames to fall, and then it was as though the unknown person was granted extra strength pushed the brunette so hard they almost fell against the closet wall. Emily hit the wall with a loud thump, causing her to wince in pain giving the figure a chance to take advantage at her weakness, throwing her aside as if she was a rag doll Emily hit her desk with another painful strike, winding and shocking her. She gasped for air as she fell to the ground, her arm automatically taking the impact first and falling on some broken glass that had been broken from a photo frame in the havoc. She winced again before looking up for the person, her vision was slightly blurry momentarily out of the ruckus but she adjusted in just enough time to see the figure disappear out the window.
Alison was coughing violently and breathing heavily on the ground not far from her and suddenly her focus was lost, she struggled to the blonde's side on one arm while keeping the other one against her chest. It was aching badly but with Alison still struggling to catch her breath thoughts on herself were greatly deceased in value, in that moment Emily couldn't have cared less about her bleeding arm.
"You're okay." She mumbled as she too tried to catch her breath and pulled the blonde against her chest. Alison crumbled against her, thankful to have her strong girlfriend there to protect her.
"I'm sorry I left you." Emily puffed regretfully, hating herself more and more as each moment Alison continued to cry and gasp for air against her.
"It was my mum." Alison replied before hiding further into Emily's chest.
"What?" Emily tensed protectively as she tried to match the figures features with Jessica DiLaurentis'. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
-x-
It was passed four in the morning when the police had finished questioning Alison and Emily, while also gathering any evidence that Jessica may have left behind. Spencer had been the one to call the police when she, Aria and Hanna had caught up to the Fields home, no sign of a masked figure but instead a puffing pair of terrified girls sat helplessly on the ground. They had left not long after the police had arrived because it was too crowded and over whelming for them.
Pam and Wayne had arrived home from Pam's work party with quite a surprise to have police cars parked out the front of their home. Emily noted that her parents were quite party animals, she just had never noticed before.
Wayne was shaking hands with one of the policemen before he said goodbye and thank you, he locked the door securely behind him and shook his head in a mixture of exhaustion and frustration while Pam quickly moved into a tight hug for comfort. Emily watched from the lounge room, her sore arm that she had wrapped up in a jacket before anyone could notice, was securely and protectively around Alison who had fallen asleep against her. She knew the only reason Alison was sleeping after such a night was because she was so exhausted she physically couldn't help it.
"Are you going to bed sweetie?" Pam asked as she left Wayne's hold and entered the lounge room.
"Yeah in a minute, we'll sleep in Alison's room tonight because my room is a mess after... everything and I really don't feel like cleaning it right now."
Her parents nodded sympathetically before saying their goodnights, giving her a kiss on the forehead and disappearing up stairs.
Emily sighed when she was sure they were gone, looking down at her watch she noticed the screen was cracked and the dials weren't moving, she was disappointed but too tired to be upset, her arm was hurting and causing more discomfort then her watch, even if it was her favourite.
The thought of Jessica still being in Rosewood angered her, she thought the woman was long gone back to California and was staying there but apparently not. Apparently neither her nor Alison could catch a break.
Moving her arm slightly, feeling sharp pains but ignoring it, she skilfully picked Alison up and carried her upstairs. Unaware but impressed she had such strength after the night she had, being thrown across her room and into a solid object was a painful experience, and she was getting the bruises on her side to prove it but apparently it wasn't enough to stop her from getting Alison into bed without waking her. She assumed it was just the adrenaline from the whole commotion powering her strength and decided to take it for granted while she could. Lying Alison down delicately she kissed the blonde's forehead before moving to turn on her laptop, the sound was going to be distracting but the prospect of sleeping was still something she wasn't planning on participating in. It felt like five minutes passed and the sun was appearing over the horizon, she felt exhausted but still couldn't sleep, her mind and thought's wouldn't allow it. She merely kept close to Alison and watched her sleep, being sure to rub the blonde's arm or side comfortingly when she stirred in her slumber.
It was just after nine when Pam opened the door slightly, surprised to have Emily's eyes look to her straight away, she mouthed an apology when she realised Alison was still asleep and left the room. However the sound of the door closing made the blonde jump slightly, waking her.
"It's okay, it was just my mum." Emily said soothingly before altering her position so she was facing Alison, even with sleep the blonde looked tired and over the course of the night the signs of her mother's harmful hands had begun to physically show in the form of dark blue bruises.
Emily wanted to kiss them but sensed Alison may have been hesitant to allow any contact.
"Did you sleep?" Alison questioned, noticing the dark blue bruises under Emily's eyes. She shook her head and readjusted when leaning on her injured arm began to hurt. "What's wrong with your arm?" Alison noticed Emily wince ever so slightly and she didn't wait for the brunette to answer, aware that she probably wouldn't get a completely honest answer.
Lifting up the sleave of Emily's jacket slowly she was surprised when the site of dry blood and bruises appeared.
"Em!" Alison exclaimed in disbelief.
"It's not that bad Ali, honestly, I'm more worried about your bruises." Emily nodded down at her neck and she couldn't help but instinctively touch it even when she couldn't physically see it.
"Can I tell you something?" She asked as she rubbed her neck and then touched Emily's arm softly.
"Of course." The brunette encouraged with an appreciative smile, enjoying the feeling of the blonde's hands caressing her damaged skin.
"She's done this before, that's why I'm so confident it was her." She felt embarrassed to reveal this information but Emily was so quick to change positions once again so she was hovering above her protectively that she had no time to doubt herself.
"Did you tell the police that?"
"I did."
"I'm proud of you." Emily smiled and leant down to kiss the bruised skin of Alison's neck tenderly.
"You are?" She moaned gratefully into Emily's touch.
"You have no idea how proud I am of you Alison." She murmured against the blonde's neck, her eyes investigating the damaged skin protectively while her lips followed.
"I don't think anyone has ever said that to me." Alison whispered shyly, her revealing tone completely taking Emily by surprise. Why had no one ever told Alison they were proud of her? Not even once! There were many reason's to be proud of her and it sickened Emily that no one had pressed that before now, she was perhaps even disappointed in herself that it had taken her this long.
"I'm sorry I haven't told you soon." She said quietly and Alison smiled, thinking the apology was unnecessary but she could see the confliction in the brunette's eyes. Emily felt guilty for many reasons, she left Alison alone last night, if she had been home Jessica wouldn't have shown up, or even if she had run just that little bit faster maybe Alison wouldn't have any bruises, she felt awful and it was causing the greatest of conflictions in her mind. It wasn't until Alison's cool finger tips wiped away a tear she realised she was crying, her eyes stung from being open all night and as the saltiness of her tears rubbed against the glassy surface it caused her own hands to leave Alison's soft skin to rid of other offending tears.
She was suddenly tired, exhausted even and it seemed the adrenaline had finally worn away and was replaced by a the pain in her arm and an even stronger pain in her side that she was assuming to be a newly formed bruise from being thrown into her desk the night before.
It seemed being strong and composed was no longer a challenge Emily could fight and Alison watched as the brunette caved under the pressure.
"It's okay Em, you can cry." Alison was hovering above the brunette now, protecting her. "Don't hold it in, don't let it consume you."
She encouraged when she realised how hard Emily was trying to hold her feelings in.
"I shouldn't have left you Ali, I'm so sorry I did." She burst into tears while rubbing her head in frustration, how could she have allowed Alison to be alone?
"Don't be sorry, you're allowed to go out with your friends, you can't always be with me Em and my mum knew that. She planned this; it's not your fault." She said softly as she took Emily's hands away from her head and kissed it tenderly. "Don't let your thoughts consume you." She whispered while continuing to kiss Emily's forehead, every so often straying down her cheeks and neck.
"I need to be strong." Emily replied with grinding teeth.
"Why?"
"I need to be strong for you." She whimpered honestly.
"Emily... you have been nothing but strong and amazing for me." Alison began with a soft tone. "Now it's my turn to be strong for you."
She leant down and kissed the brunette lightly on the lips. "Let me be strong for you."
Emily sniffed as a few stray tears fell down her cheeks, she went to rub them away but Alison beat her to it. Moments later she nodded slowly, allowing herself to be weak for the first time in front of the beautiful blonde that had changed the very direction in which she was planning to live her life.
"Come on," Alison smiled. "Let's get your arm cleaned up."
Hope you guys liked! I'm sorry it's been so long. I'm working all day everyday and travelling four hours all up so it's hard to make time but I really hope it's worth the wait! :)
I'm also thinking of finishing this story up soon, in the next couple of chapters anyways! So stay tuned, but don't worry I'm writing more stories and I've still got 'A Night To Remember' as well, so if anyone wants something to read there's that as well!
Thanks again for the lovely reviews and of course the patience! You guys are amazing!
-Aemstar