Harley and Melissa arrived together to the party. Melissa introduced Harley to a few people as they walked around together.
"Do you think I should just tell people I really am Spencer?" Harley asked Melissa after the sixth person had mistaken the cousins for sisters "It might be easier to assume her identity for the night"
"Maybe" Melissa chuckled "Funny how Spence suddenly changed height, gained muscle, changed her hair and eye colour as well as getting a tattoo, that is already well and truly healed" she said slightly sarcastically, shaking her head.
"I know right" Harley shook her head "You forgot now has a flawless Australian accent, has come out of the closet, and aged 4 years suddenly too" she said slightly sarcastically.
Melissa and Harley laughed.
Harley spotted Alison and a well-built man arguing, the man was trying to grab Alison's arm. Harley started paying attention to the interaction.
"No, I will not go with you" Alison said firmly to him
"You are coming with me" He grabbed her arm and pulled.
"Be right back cuz" Harley said to Melissa
"Okay" Melissa nodded
"Hey mate! She said no" Harley firmly said to the man when she got closer to the pair
"And who the fuck are you?" the man said still holding Alison's wrist, looking Harley up and down condescendingly "This is none of your business" he snapped
"Let go of me" Alison said trying to pull her arm out of his grip
Harley stepped closer to him "Back off mate, she doesn't want to go with you" she said in a warning tone
"What are you going to do dingo-fucker?" He sneered down at her. He was over half a foot taller than Harley.
"Good one" Harley smirked and nodded "But you are as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike, you yobbo" she retaliated
He let go of Alison's wrist and made a fist "What the fuck did you call me?" he said angrily
Harley pulled Alison quickly and gently behind her, making sure she was between the pair "What a yobbo?" she cocked an eyebrow at him
"Yeah" He sneered getting in Harley's face.
"Ignorant person, so it fits right?" Harley said smirking and turning to look at Alison over her shoulder.
Alison smirked back.
"She is coming with me dingo-fucker" He said irate, getting in Harley's face again
"No I am not! So fuck off" Alison said firmly, from behind Harley
"You heard the lady" Harley said cocking an eyebrow at him "No she is not" she said firmly
"You want to fight me for her?" He threatened "You fucking-dyke" He spat with venom
Harley stood up taller, unintimidated, staring him down, she raised an eyebrow.
He made a fist by his side, flexing his muscles, as he stared back clenching his jaw.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Harley warned seriously
"What are you going to do dingo-fucker?" He menaced, moving his footing to brace himself for a fight.
"Repetitive much?" Harley scoffed "Dickhead"
He swung a fist at Harley's face. Harley dodged it, grabbed his arm, twisted it up behind his back and swiftly kicked him hard in the back of the knee, causing it to buckle. He dropped down onto his knees, seconds after throwing the punch at Harley.
"Fuck" He cried out in pain, as Harley kept a hold of his arm keeping him easily restrained, giving his arm slightly more pressure as warning, when he made an attempt to stand up.
Alison slapped him hard across the face "Leave me alone" she snapped
"Fucking pair of BITCHES" He yelled at them, still restrained on his knees
"What's going on?" Jason appeared out of the crowd of people that had started to form around them
"He is trying to force me to go with him" Alison said pointing at the man "She stepped in to stop him" she pointed at Harley
Harley nodded in agreement.
"Leave my sister alone" Jason said firmly to the guy, as he took the arm Harley was still holding and another man nearby grabbed the guy's other arm "Thanks Harley" he said over his shoulder as they dragged him out of the party
"No worries Jase" Harley replied
"Thanks…" Alison said sheepishly to Harley "Not many people would have done that…" she said "Especially for me…" she said softly
"No worries" Harley shrugged "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I am" Alison replied nodding
"Good. Well, I had better get back to Melissa" Harley said a little awkwardly
"Thank you Harley" Alison said sincerely
"You're welcome Alison" Harley gave a small smile and went back to her cousin.
"I am going to the bathroom" Harley said to Melissa after a few drinks
"Alright, I will stay here" Melissa said nodding
Harley made her way down a corridor to the line for the bathroom.
"I never would have thought you would get a tattoo Spence" a female voice came from behind her, as she started touching her on the upper arm
Harley turned around "That's because I am not Spencer" she said raising an eyebrow
"Oh, sorry" the woman apologised "Cool tattoo" she smiled
Harley noticed a Celtic cross tattoo on the woman's upper arm "Yours too" she nodded and smiled
"McCullers" the woman held a hand out
"Harley" Harley shook her hand
"I am surprised you didn't say Hastings" Paige chuckled
"They are my cousins" Harley smiled "I am from Mrs Hastings side of the family"
Paige smiled and nodded "So do you have any other tattoos?" she flirted
Harley smirked "Yeah a few, you?"
"I do" Paige said "But I will only show them if you show me yours first" she raised an eyebrow
Harley thought about it "Mine are in a place that I don't want everyone to see"
"Lucky we are in the bathroom line then" Paige said smirking "Mine are too"
Harley chuckled as the line got closer to the bathroom door.
"So did you come here with Spencer?" Paige asked
"No, Melissa" Harley said leaning on the wall
"I saw Spencer here before" Paige said "You know you two are almost dressed the same, except for your combat boots" She said eyeing Harley up and down
Harley nodded "I didn't know Spencer was here" she shrugged "I like your boots" she said looking down
"Thanks" Paige smiled "Looks like it's our turn" she winked when the person came out of the bathroom
Harley blushed slightly "I don't know if we know each other well enough to use the bathroom together" she smirked
"Oh come on, I just want to see your ink" Paige said smirking back and pushing Harley's shoulder
"Alright" Harley said chuckling
They shut the door and looked at each other awkwardly. Harley blushed slightly as she undid the top button on her jeans.
Paige raised an eyebrow in surprise "I didn't know I was going to get a full show"
"Well I did say I didn't want everyone seeing them" Harley shot back playfully as she pulled down her fly then pulled her tank-top down a bit, she pulled one side of her jeans down showing only the flower tattoo.
"Wow, that is impressive" Paige said looking at it
"Thanks" Harley said and pulled her jeans back up "So…?" she raised an eyebrow
Paige smirked and lifted her shirt up pulling it over her head reviling a small dolphin tattoo on her left hip, then turned showing an angel on her shoulder.
"Nice ink" Harley said honestly
Paige pulled her shirt back over her head "Thanks, well I will leave you to it" she smirked and winked before she left the room
"Okay" Harley winked back
Paige blushed.
"Hey Paige" Emily said as she left the room.
"Hey Em" Paige responded grinning, her face was flushed slightly.
Emily went to open the bathroom door.
"No wait, someone is still in there" Paige said rushed, taking Emily's hand and fixing her own shirt with the other hand
Emily raised an eyebrow in question.
"Oh it wasn't like that" Paige said quickly "We were just comparing tattoos" she smiled
Harley finished and opened the door. Emily was talking to Paige. Harley and Emily looked at each other, Emily looked away clenching her jaw and shaking her head.
Paige noticed and nodded at Harley as she made her way into the bathroom.
"Hi Emily" Harley said "I didn't know you would be here" she said slightly awkwardly
Emily crossed her arms "So, do you always take strangers into the bathroom to show off your tattoos at parties when you think I am not around?" she said clipped and cocked an eyebrow
Harley looked her in the eye "No" she said honestly
"Whatever" Emily shook her head and clenched her jaw.
Harley let out a breath "Well, I had better go find Melissa, if you would like to talk, I will be with her" She said "I only showed her the flower tattoo, I really do love you Em…" she said softly before moving off
Emily leant on the wall and then looked down at her shoes. 'I believe her…' she thought 'I am such an idiot…'
Paige finished and came out of the bathroom "I will wait here for you, okay?" she said softly, noticing the hurt look on Emily's face.
Emily nodded.
Harley returned to Melissa with a strong drink and sat down quietly next to her cousin who was talking with someone. She sipped her drink as she listened to the conversation.
Melissa introduced Harley to the woman she was talking to before the woman left.
"Are you trying to get me drunk too?" Melissa chuckled at Harley
Harley gave her a puzzled look
"I can smell that from here" Melissa said pointing at Harley's cup
"Sorry…" Harley said giving a half smile and let out a breath
"Are you okay?" Melissa asked concerned
"Yeah, I just ran into Emily. Apparently Spencer is here too somewhere…" Harley said vaguely before having the rest of her drink
"Really?" Melissa said surprised
"Hey guys" Aria said smiling, joining the two women
"Hey" the cousins said and smiled at the short brunette
"Have you guys seen Spence?" Aria asked looking between the two older women.
"Umm…?" Melissa looked up and saw Emily talking to Paige closely
Harley followed her cousin's line of sight when she realised Melissa was distracted. Aria doing the same.
Paige was cuddling Emily then they broke apart slightly, Emily turned and made brief eye contact with Harley before looking back at Paige. Paige leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
Harley turned around and looked at her cousin wide eyed "I need some air" she managed to get out before she started moving on autopilot towards the kitchen. She picked up a bottle of clear sprits as she walked out the back door.
"I will go after her" Aria said giving a weak smile to her sister-in-law
"Thanks" Melissa said sincerely "Come get me if you need me, when you find her." She said to Aria before turning back to watch Emily and Paige.
Harley moved down to a quiet corner of the backyard and took a large swig out of the bottle. She coughed "Yuck" she said to herself as she looked at the label as she sat down.
"You look like you could do with a friend" Aria said kindly
Harley looked up and she patted the seat next to her "Thanks Aria" she had another large swig out of the bottle coughing again. "You want some?" She asked tipping the bottle towards Aria
"I have my own, thanks" Aria said holding up her own cup
Harley had another swig "So McCullers is Paige" she said out loud looking sideways at Aria
"Yeah" Aria nodded
Harley nodded "They have matching tattoos…" she said to her shoes before having another swig
"Really?" Aria said surprised "How do…?"
"Paige showed me before, only I didn't know she was Paige at the time" Harley explained before Aria could finish
Aria nodded again.
"Feelings suck" Harley said having another large swig, trying to dull the ache in her chest.
Aria softly chuckled "Yeah…"
Emily came outside and stood close enough to overhear the conversation between Harley and Aria.
"You ever feel like a stupid mouse running on a wheel?" Harley said thoughtfully "And no matter how hard or fast you run you never seem to get anywhere else…" she turned to look at the petite brunette
Aria gave her a puzzled look.
"I caught Stephanie, Tiffany's mother, kissing another woman…" Harley said before turning her head to look at the ground "I think the stupid wheel is just going round again, like déjà vu or some sort of fucked-up karma" she had a large swig and coughed "Only this time it hurts more…" she said her voice strained from the alcohol burning her throat
"Why does it hurt more?" Aria asked curious
Harley looked forward. Emily moved closer to hear what was being said clearer. Aria caught sight of Emily but didn't say anything.
"Because when I fell in love with Stephanie it was through rose-coloured glasses" Harley said kicking some dirt then having another sip "In the moment I caught her it was the glasses coming off and I didn't really love the real her, just the version of her through the glasses" she looked at Aria from the corner of her eye
Aria nodded in understanding.
"With Emily there was no rose-coloured glasses, I saw her flaws and all." Harley said kicking the dirt again "I love the real Emily more than I have anyone. She lets me see the whole of her, the good bits, the bad bits and everything in-between…" she had a tear roll down her cheek "That is why it hurts more…" her voice cracked
"Do you really mean that?" Emily asked tears rolling down her own cheeks, stepping closer.
Harley turned and looked up at her "Yes" she said honestly
"I will go tell Melissa where you are" Aria said standing up "You two need to talk alone" she gave a small smile
"Thank you Aria…" Harley gave her a weak smile
Emily smiled at Aria before she left.
"Can I sit here?" Emily asked wiping her cheeks
"Yeah…" Harley shrugged, she tipped the bottle towards Emily "Want some?" she asked
Emily took the bottle and read the label "Why are you drinking peach schnapps? You hate peach flavouring" she had a swig and coughed
Harley forced a chuckle "I wasn't exactly thinking clearly when I grabbed it…" she looked sideways at Emily before looking forward again
Emily handed the bottle back.
Harley had a swig "Do you love her?" she asked looking at the bottle in her hands. Not able to look at Emily as the pain in her chest increased.
Emily took the bottle out of Harley's hands and had a swig "I would be lying to you if I said I didn't love her…"
Harley nodded and silent tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"But I am not in love with her" Emily said handing the bottle back.
Harley turned and looked at Emily giving her a slightly puzzled look.
"We were together for a while, helped each other through some rough times, a part of me will always love her for that. But that is all in the past not my future" Emily said wiping away a tear off Harley's cheek with her thumb "I am in love with you. I love all of you the good and the bad and everything in-between"
Harley bit her lip "You kissed her…"
"She kissed me" Emily said "You had already left before I slapped her and told her I am in love with you and what the hell did she think she was doing" She said honestly
Harley chewed her lip "Really?"
"Really. You can ask Melissa" Emily said nodding "She stopped me from slapping her again and told me to go find where you had gone instead…" she said slightly embarrassed
Harley nodded and gave a small smile "Why didn't you tell me you had a matching tattoo with Paige?" she asked looking her in the eye
Emily let out a breath "Would you really have wanted to know that?"
"Yes" Harley said honestly "I told you about the cover up"
"You didn't tell me about the job you turned down for me" Emily said seriously "Spencer told me, after I have been upset and confused about your attitude. Why didn't you tell me?"
Harley let out a breath and ran a hand through her hair "I…"
"Harley there you are" Spencer said cutting her off
They both looked up at the brunette.
"Oh, you two are actually talking" Spencer said noticing Emily was sitting next to her cousin
Harley cocked an eyebrow at her cousin.
"Yes, I told Emily about you, because you weren't going to and I am not just going to stand by and watch you sabotage yourself anymore" Spencer crossed her arms and cocked her own eyebrow back at her cousin
Harley gave her another expression.
"You do deserve to be happy Harley" Spencer said honestly
Emily looked between the two "Can you read each other's mind?" she asked confused
"No" they said in unison
"It is easy to tell what someone is thinking when they make the same faces you do" Spencer shrugged
Harley shrugged "It's like looking in an uncanny mirror some days"
Emily chuckled. 'So that's how they do it' she thought to herself
"Well I am going back inside" Spencer said "Work it out. You both love each other too much to be apart" she said bluntly looking and pointing between the couple before she left.
Emily put her hand on Harley's thigh "Why didn't you tell me the truth?" she asked softly
"I didn't want you to blame yourself for my decision" Harley said moving to hold Emily's hand
"So you let me be upset with you instead" Emily said intertwining their fingers
"I do love you more than I have anyone and I haven't lived with a partner for over 4 years" Harley said looking her in the eye "I am used to being on my own. And… I am great at self-sabotage…" she trailed off
Emily nodded and leant into kiss Harley. Harley returned the kiss. The pain in her chest finally easing.
Alison came out into the backyard and saw the couple kissing.
Harley and Emily broke apart and gazed into each other's eyes.
"I love you" Emily said smiling lovingly
"I love you too" Harley said the same smile on her face
Harley stood up and held a hand out to help Emily up. They noticed Alison watching them. Alison smiled and started walking towards the couple.
Emily let out a breath "Great… just what we need…" she said quietly
"Give her a chance" Harley said softly, squeezing Emily's hand gently
Emily gave her a puzzled look "Babe how much did you drink? It's Alison" she said concerned
"Let her have a chance gorgeous" Harley said softly
"Can we start over? From when you stepped in to save me from that…" Alison said pausing "Dickhead" she smirked and held a hand out
Harley smiled "Hi I am Harley. Spencer and Melissa's cousin, nice to meet you" she shook Alison's hand
"Hi I am Alison. Jason's little sister and the Hastings's old next-door neighbour, it's nice to meet you too" Alison replied smiling
"Wait?" Emily looked between the two confused "That was you that took down that huge guy in the front room earlier?" she looked up at Harley shocked
"Yeah…" Harley nodded as she scratched the back of her neck.
"Yes, I thought she was going to get a punch in the face for a moment for her efforts, until he ended up on his knees" Alison said smirking
"Since when did you know how to do that?" Emily asked puzzled
"Since I studied the human body and know where the weak spots are" Harley responded
Emily smiled up at Harley "My own personal white knight"
Harley chuckled and squeezed Emily's hand gently.
"Well it was nice to meet you Harley, I am just about to leave and wanted to thank you again" Alison said smiling
"No worries Alison" Harley said smiling
"Bye" Alison said
"Bye" the couple said in unison to the blonde before she left
"Do you want to get out of here?" Emily asked looking up
Harley smiled and nodded "Yeah, there are three things I need to do before we can leave"
"Say goodbye to your two cousins and Aria?" Emily asked raising an eyebrow
Harley nodded "You don't mind?"
"Of course not" Emily smiled
Harley and Emily found Melissa, Spencer and Aria and said a big thank you and goodbye to all of them before leaving the party together.
"I am going to be really busy with work, starting next week, for a little while…" Harley said, caressing Emily's side as they laid in Harley's bed "Can we discuss living arrangements properly, when I am not as busy?" she asked
"Yeah okay, that is fair" Emily nodded "Just don't hide things from me again" she rubbed Harley's abs
"Okay" Harley said
"If you get anymore job offers you need to tell me about them" Emily said turning to look at Harley properly "I understand if you choose to turn them down but I want you to tell me about it first" she said seriously
"Okay, I promise I will Emily" Harley said honestly and nodded
Emily looked her in the eye "Good" she leant down and kissed her
"I love you" Harley said once the kiss broke
"I love you too" Emily said resting her head on Harley's chest
They fell into the first restful sleep they had, had since the last time they slept in the bed together.