AN: And now for the chapter you've all been waiting for...Homecoming! Enjoy!
Ali found herself in front of the mirror in Emily's bathroom, nervously doing her makeup. Tonight was the night of the homecoming dance, and Emily had already helped Ali into her dress, but the blonde found herself wishing that she hadn't committed to going in the first place. She knew that she shouldn't be going, that she couldn't dance and would only get in everyone else's way. Emily told her it doesn't matter, that they could have fun anyway and ignore everyone else, but Ali knew that never worked. Emily always told her to ignore everyone else around school, and the brunette herself seemed to do fine with it, used to it after all this time, but Ali heard every word, and she didn't know how not to be upset by it. These people all hated her, but they were supposed to worship her. How had it even gotten like this? Ali now felt bad that she had ever treated anyone the way she had. She had made so many of her classmates the subject of cruel jokes around the school by spreading nasty rumors about them that weren't even true most of the time. Now, she was the brunt of everyone's jokes, and she hated it. Now, she knew how people had felt when she had done this to them, and she wished more than anything that she could go back in time and prevent herself from acting the way that she did. However, she knew that would never be possible. The only thing that she could do now was try her best to make up for it. She hadn't been mean to a single person since her accident, and she only wished that they would stop being mean to her. She was literally on the verge of begging Emily not to make her go to the dance tonight because she knew that it would not be the least bit enjoyable if she did.
"Ali, you're doing it again," Emily said from her place beside Alison, breaking the blond girl from her thoughts.
Ali decided to try feigning innocence. "What?"
Emily gave her a pointed look. "You know what. Looking all nervous."
Ali sighed. "That's because I am nervous. I shouldn't even be going to this thing, Em. Everyone is going to laugh at me, and you know it."
Emily shook her head. "They are not going to laugh at you. This is a big night for them too. They'll be more focused on their friends or on their dates to even really notice what you're doing. It'll be fun. I promise."
Ali was hesitant to agree, and she guessed that Emily could read this on her face because the brunette was quick to continue her argument. "Last weekend, you thought that it would be horrible to go to the mall, and you tried so hard to get out of it, but was it terrible?"
Ali shook her head slowly, knowing that Emily had her with that one. "No. It was fun."
"Right, and this will be too. You'll just have to trust me."
"And I do. With my life." Ali was quick to answer.
Emily leaned down for a quick kiss. "I'm still in shock that you're my girlfriend," she said against Ali's lips.
"Don't be. You're the most gorgeous girl in the school. I'm surprised you didn't have a girlfriend before me," Ali said as Emily pulled back to look at her.
Emily looked away shyly. "People have asked me out, but I always turned them down because I was in love with you."
Ali guided Emily's chin up to bring brown eyes back to hers. "You didn't have to do that, Em. You didn't have to wait for me. You could've just dated them."
"It wouldn't have been the same. Besides, I would wait forever for you." Emily shrugged. "Some things are just worth waiting for."
Ali raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't deserve you at all, do I?"
Emily chuckled teasingly. "Of course not, but I still love you anyways."
"You better," Ali responded with playful open-mouthed shock.
"Are you ready to go now?"
Ali took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."
When Emily and Ali arrived at the dance, a lot of people turned to stare at them, despite what Emily had said before. They began to whisper, and some even laughed, making Ali feel extremely uncomfortable. She knew that Emily sensed this because the brunette placed her hand on Ali's shoulder, causing the blonde to relax a bit. Ali knew in that moment that she wanted to have fun at this dance, if not for herself, then for Emily, so she ignored everyone's stares as she and her girlfriend made their way over to where their friends were waiting. Ali smiled when she saw Toby standing beside Spencer in a nice suit. She didn't know the older boy that well, but she had met him once before through Spencer, and he seemed really sweet.
"Hey, Emily, this is Toby," Spencer introduced once Emily was close enough to hear.
"Hi, Toby. It's nice to meet you." Emily held out a hand for him to shake.
Toby shook the hand, saying that he was glad to finally meet the last member of Spencer's new group of friends. Then, the six of them began to dance to the fast beat of the song that was playing. Hanna made all of them laugh immediately because of her crazy dance moves, but she just shrugged them off, telling them all that they needed to let loose a little. Everyone else's dancing was much more subdued, and even though Ali technically couldn't dance, she still moved her upper body to the beat of the songs, and Aria and Emily occasionally moved her around to the beat as well. One time, Ali even tried to spin her own chair around, and she almost tipped the chair over. Luckily, Emily had been keeping an eye on her because the brunette righted the chair before Ali could crash to the ground and make a scene. Alison would be lying if she said that she wasn't having fun, and she realized that Emily had been right again, and not just about having fun. The people around them had lost interest in Ali and had gone back to what they had been doing before, not even sparing Ali or any of her friends a second glance.
When the sounds of a slow song began to play over the speakers, Spencer and Toby pulled each other close to sway to the music. Aria was asked to dance by a cute boy that Ali didn't recognize, and Hanna scoffed, resigning to dance by herself.
"May I have this dance?" a voice asked Hanna.
Ali recognized the boy that the voice belonged to pretty quickly. It was Caleb Rivers from her computer class, and Hanna was already looking at him appreciatively.
"It would be my pleasure," she replied, allowing him to pull her off through the crowd.
Ali turned back to Emily, and she reached out to place her hands on Emily's waist as the brunette settled hers on Ali's shoulders. They couldn't do much more than that, but something about it all was still beautiful, and Ali suspected it was the look in Emily's eyes.
After the song ended, Ali was reluctant to let go of her girlfriend, but the return of the fast-paced music made it nearly impossible not to want to bounce around again. As they pulled apart from each other, they saw Hanna and Aria returning to them.
"I got Caleb's number," Hanna was proud to announce.
"That's really great, Han. I'm happy for you," Emily said, beaming.
"You guys want to grab some snacks with us?" Aria asked. "Hanna's getting hungry."
Ali nodded. "Sure. I'm getting a little hungry myself. You coming, Em?"
"Nah. I'm not really feeling that hungry. I'll wait for you here."
Ali raised her eyebrows at the other girl, wondering concernedly if something was wrong. Emily gave a minute shake of the head, and before Ali could question her further, Hanna was whining. "Come on, guys. I'm starving."
Ali chuckled, shaking her head at Hanna's behavior. "Guess I'm leaving, Em. I'll see you later."
Emily blew her a playful kiss, and then the blonde followed her friends to the snacks table.
Emily watched as Hanna, Aria, and Alison reached the food area, grabbing snacks and drinks, and when she was sure that the three of them were having a good time, Emily decided that it would be fine if she slipped away. She made her way through the crowd, searching for Spencer, and it didn't take her to long to spot the other brunette dancing with her boyfriend.
"Hey, Toby. Would it be alright if I borrowed Spencer for a second?" Emily asked politely.
He nodded, letting his hands fall from his girlfriend's hips, and Spencer stepped aside, wandering to the corner of the dance floor before turning back to Emily curiously. "What do you need?"
"Would you be willing to do me a favor?" Emily asked.
Spencer looked at her with a curious smile. "Um, sure. What do you want me to do?"
"Since you still have some pull around here, is there any way that you could make Ali the Homecoming Queen tonight?"
The smile fell away from Spencer's face. "I don't know. You know Mona wants to be Queen, and she has a lot more pull than me these days."
Emily's heart sank at that answer because she knew Spencer was right. Mona had been talking about it all week, and there was no way that she wasn't going to win. Emily had completely forgotten about that in her desire to do something nice for her girlfriend, and it made her angry that Mona could just get whatever she wanted after being so terrible. "Mona doesn't deserve to be Queen. She's supposed to be Ali's friend, but she has been nothing but mean to Ali since she got into that accident. Besides, I was really hoping that we could do this for Ali tonight. It would mean a lot to her because it would show her that everyone still respects her, even though they've been making jokes recently. It might even make them respect her."
Spencer nodded. "I see where you're coming from, and I agree. I would love to do this for Ali, and I will try my best, but I just don't think that I have much of a chance against Mona."
"I suppose trying is all you can do, and I don't know if this is stretching it, but if you could, make sure the king is some sweet guy who won't make fun of her," Emily added.
"Of course." Spencer looked at Emily like this should have been obvious.
Emily laughed. "Thank you so much for doing this."
"It's no problem really. Ali's my best friend, and I'm really tired of seeing her get hurt."
"Me too." Emily sighed. "Well, I better go find her. She went to get snacks with Hanna and Aria, and I told her I'd be waiting for her when she gets back."
Spencer nodded before wandering off into the crowd, presumably to try and see if she could convince people to vote for Alison. Emily crossed her fingers, knowing her idea probably wouldn't work, but wishing with all her heart that it would anyway.
Ali looked over her shoulder when she heard Emily's voice behind her. "How are you guys doing over here?"
"Hey, Em. They have really great brownies here. You should try one." Ali handed the brownie that she was about to bite into to Emily.
Emily took a bite, and Ali smiled at the look of pleasure that took over her features. "Mmm, this is really good."
"The dance is really fun this year." Aria smiled warmly at her friends. "Do you guys want to go back and dance now?"
"I guess," Hanna said reluctantly, turning back to wave at the food with sad eyes. "Goodbye, food."
Emily popped the rest of the brownie into her mouth, and then the four of them made their way back to the dance floor. Emily told them all that Spencer wanted to spend some time alone with Toby, and Ali nodded, seeing the reason in this. The four of them danced and danced, not stopping until the principal made his way up to the stage to announce the winners for the Homecoming King and Queen. Ali rolled her eyes. They all knew that the King would probably be Noel, and the Queen would most definitely be Mona. She had been campaigning for votes all week.
"I am proud to announce that this year's Homecoming Queen is Alison DiLaurentis, and the Homecoming King is- well, it seems we have two Homecoming Queens, Alison DiLaurentis and Emily Fields!" The principal's voice boomed through the microphone.
Ali was completely stunned, and she looked over to Emily, wondering if she had heard correctly. Was this even possible? Emily looked just as shocked as Ali was, so the blonde knew that this had to be real. It didn't make sense though. She thought everyone hated her, so why would they vote for her as the Homecoming Queen? Everyone was smiling at her though as Emily pushed her up onto the stage to accept the crown. When the principal placed the crown on her head, the people actually cheered for her, and she wondered what could have made them change their minds since she'd entered the dance. When she saw the huge smile on Emily's face though, she found that she didn't care anymore as she made her way to the center of the floor to dance with the girl she loved.
A song started to play over the loudspeakers, and Ali soon realized that it was a cover of Every Breath You Take. Emily reached down to put her hands on Ali's shoulders, and then she seemed to get a different idea because she leaned down and scooped Ali out of her chair completely. Ali's eyes widened as Emily held her in her arms before she relaxed into the brunette, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck and looking over the other girl's shoulder as she swayed to the music. Ali was really grateful to Emily for doing this because it felt almost as if she were actually dancing with Emily the way she was supposed to be, the way that she would if she could actually feel her legs. The smile never left either girl's face as the song played on, and at the end, they shared a kiss, which resulted in the cheering of the other students. Ali couldn't help the shock that she was sure played out on her face at the fact that these people were being so supportive of her relationship with Emily when they had been making fun of it only yesterday. She brushed this thought aside though for a moment as Emily lowered her back into her wheelchair, wanting to show her gratitude to the brunette. "Thank you so much for doing that. It felt like we were really dancing."
"We were, but I know what you mean, and you're welcome," Emily said with a wink.
Ali's brows furrowed in confusion when she surveyed the people around them again. "Why is everyone being so nice to us? I don't understand."
Emily just shrugged. "Maybe they had a change of heart."
"Maybe I had a change of heart," a voice spoke up from behind them.
Ali was surprised when she looked over to see Mona standing there. Come to think of it, she hadn't even seen Mona all night. Ali had been too shocked about being crowned the Homecoming Queen to even think about how weird it was that Mona wasn't throwing a fit or leading a riot or something as a result of not being chosen herself. Ali just looked curiously at her ex-friend, waiting for her to continue explaining what she was doing here now.
"I withdrew my campaign for homecoming queen. I noticed how miserable you were because of the way that everyone was treating you, and I realized that I had made them do that. I was responsible for everyone making fun of you because I encouraged it. They hated you, and I took advantage of that. I really only turned everyone against you because I was tired of being second in command, and when you got crippled for life, I saw my opportunity to be top dog around here, and I took it, but it was wrong for me to turn on you like that. You didn't deserve that, Alison. You had enough stress on you already trying to get used to not being able to walk, and I shouldn't have made it worse by getting everyone to make fun of you. I realize I have been a horrible friend, but we used to get along so well, and I miss you, Ali. I know now that being the most popular girl in school isn't worth losing my friends. I've noticed how happy you've been looking with your new group of friends, and that was what made me realize how stupid I've been. I shouldn't have let my jealousy get in the way of our friendship, and I'm really sorry for everything that I did, but I'm trying my best to make it right now. I told everyone that I was wrong about you being a loser and that you are still the coolest person at Rosewood High, and I told them not to vote for me as Queen but to vote for you and Emily." Mona paused, looking down at her feet. "I would really love to be your friend again, but I'd also understand if you don't want anything to do with me anymore."
Ali found herself speechless for the second time that night. She never imagined that Mona might come back and basically beg to be her friend again. The brunette loved being in the spotlight too much, and Ali could tell that Mona had always envied her for having the top spot. She certainly was surprised that Mona actually cared about her. She had thought that the only reason the other girl ever hung out with her in the first place was for her popularity, and the fact that Mona had left right after Ali's accident had only confirmed that thought for the blonde. She never would have thought that Mona would come back later and tell her that she missed her. Ali didn't know what she wanted to say to her friend. On one hand, she wanted to tell the brunette to get lost because Mona had been awful to her, but on the other, she knew that she wanted to accept Mona's apology, especially after everything that she had done for Ali and Emily tonight. The blonde couldn't deny that she believed in second chances. Emily had given her more than she deserved.
"I forgive you, Mona," Ali said, "and we can be friends again. Thank you for what you did tonight. I really appreciate it."
A smile spread across Mona's face. "No. Thank you, Alison, for giving me another chance. I know I don't deserve it."
"You donn't," Ali agreed lightly, "but that's what friends are for."
"Do you think Spencer will forgive me too?" Mona asked nervously.
Ali nodded. "I think that she will if you tell her everything you just told me."
"You're right. I'll go talk to her now. See you Monday, Ali," Mona said brightly before disappearing into the crowd.
There was a moment of shocked silence before Emily spoke up. "I can't believe that just happened."
"I can't either, but if you saw it too, I guess it did." Ali let out a small chuckle.
There was another moment of silence before Emily spoke up again. "Well, it's getting late. You ready to head home?"
Ali nodded. "Yeah. I had a great time tonight."
"Me too." Emily smiled.
The two of them pushed through the throng of people in search of Hanna and Aria, wanting to say goodbye to the two girls before they left. After a few minutes of searching the dance floor, Emily spotted them over at the snacks table, and Ali realized that she shouldn't be surprised, what with Hanna's appetite. Hanna was eating a handful of chips and talking excitedly to Aria as Emily and Alison approached.
"Congratulations, guys!" Hanna shouted as soon as she saw her friends.
"Yeah. We totally voted for you," Aria added.
"Thanks, guys, but we really won because of Mona," Ali admitted, trying not to laugh at the looks of shock that washed over Hanna's and Aria's faces at the news. "She withdrew herself from the campaign because she had a change of heart. She got everyone to vote for me and Emily in the hopes that she could make up for everything that she had done and be my friend again."
"That's awesome!" Hanna exclaimed. "Maybe people will start treating you with some respect now."
Aria's eyes shined with concern. "Wait a second, did you forgive her? Are you sure that's a good idea considering the way she's been treating you?"
"I did, but don't worry. She's my friend, and I'd be stupid not to give her a second chance. I mean, she was cruel to me because she let her popularity get to her head, and I did the same thing to a lot of people. How can I expect the people at school to forgive me if I don't forgive Mona for the same thing? Besides, she's actually pretty cool once you get to know her, so if she tries to sit with us at lunch on Monday, just be nice to her."
"Of course we'll be nice," Aria agreed.
"Yeah. As long as she is," Hanna added pointedly.
"I think she will be. She seemed like she was actually sorry when she talked to me earlier."
Aria smiled. "That's good that she came around."
Emily finally spoke up from beside Ali, informing their friends of the reason they had been looking for them in the first place. "Ali and I are going to call it a night and head home. We came over here to say bye to you guys."
"I'll probably head out soon too," Aria agreed.
"Just promise you'll hang out tomorrow?" Hanna asked.
Ali smiled at the thought, easily agreeing, happy to finally be a part of a group of people who really cared about her. She was really glad to finally find out what it felt like to be a part of a genuine friends group. No one was competing for popularity points, and there was none of the tension that had become so familiar to Ali before. These people just genuinely cared about each other, and Ali loved that. The other nice thing was that the people around the group of friends didn't even bat an eye in their direction. When Ali used to go to any party with Spencer and Mona before the accident, they had been the talk of the party, all eyes on them, but tonight, no one was worshipping Ali and her friends or hating on them in the corners. Ali was just an ordinary girl, and she found that she liked that very much.
Emily rolled her eyes at her blond friend. "We promise."
"Great. We'll see you tomorrow then," Hanna said cheerily.
After saying goodbye to their friends, Emily and Alison made their way out to the car. On the way home, Ali looked out the window at the night sky above them. It was a beautiful night with not a cloud in the sky, and the stars were shining brightly. Perfect weather for a perfect night. Ali couldn't help but smile to herself as they drove home because for the first time since the accident, it felt like everything was finally going right.
AN: I know that a lot of you wanted Ali to walk again at Homecoming, and I'm really sorry that I didn't have that happen, but it just didn't fit in with what I have planned for this story. I hope you still liked the chapter!
