Chapter 1

Emily looked up at her watch, distractly.

"Do you have to go? "Her date asked noticing Emily staring at the watch.

Emily bit her lip; she didn't like being rude but she wasn't exactly having the best time, "Uh, I kinda do, it's just that I told my mum that I would help her with something."

Her date nodded, probably knowing it was just and an excuse.

"Sure I understand" she stood and gave Emily an awkward hug,

"We'll talk soon?"

"Yeah soon," Emily mustered up a polite smile and left the restaurant in a hurry.

A few minutes later, Emily slowed her pace and got lost in her thoughts. She'd been on a few dates lately, on her friends recommendations, but she just could get into the right frame of mind and the date tended not to go well. She was tired of trying to create chemistry that just didn't exist. She knew her friends just wanted her to be happy and try and move on but right now that was impossible with the threat of their blond assassin hell bent on getting her revenge, 'A' aka real Ali hiding in the shadows.

"Psst."

Emily froze on the spot. She squinted her eyes as looked around in the dark.

"Emily?"

Her blood ran cold. She knew that voice. She took a few steps backwards still squinting through the dark. She gasped when the blonde girl appeared from behind a tree. Emily looked around desperately hoping there was anyone who could help her but the street was dead quite. In her head it was to be expected as her thoughts drifted to spencer saying about hope. "Hope breads eternal misery." Of course spencer had to be right at this very moment.

"Ali…"

The blonde stepped closer, her hands raised in a show of peace but Emily still remain frozen to the spot. "No," she shook her head, "it's me, Courtney."

Emily shook her head not believing anything the blonde just said. "Don't lie to me anymore, I am so over your lies-"

"Emily, I swear. I'm not lying. I'm Courtney" the girl insisted looking very upset.

"Courtney's is dead I'm not falling for the same story twice, I'm not failing for your crap" Emily snapped back

"But I'm not," the girl claimed, " Ali thought she killed me that night but she was wrong. I've been here the whole time. I wanted to stop her, I swear but I knew you guys wouldn't believe me and I knew if she knew I was alive, she would kill me."

Emily blinked, taking in what the blonde had just said, still suspicious "how did you survive? She buried you… the found your body."

"They found bones and my clothes … my jewellery. I needed Ali to think I was dead that she won. She is evil, Em, I was terrified."

The blonde's eyes misted over and Emily considered believing her but she still had doubts.

"Prove it," she said quietly, "prove your Courtney." Emily hoped that the blonde girl could.

The petite blonde took a slow step forward, "I- I don't know how… she knew everything," her brow furrowed as tried to think, "just give me a second… what about the time that you kissed me in the treehouse?"

"It was in your journal," Emily shot back quickly "plus, I told the girls … plenty of people could know about that."

"Okay, okay" the girl thought, "I don't know if this will work because I don't know everything that happened between you and Ali…" she stepped closer to Emily and pulled her slowly into a nearby alleyway. She pulled up her to top to expose a scar running all way from the side of her left breast down her ribcage, "when I pretending to be Ali, I told you that Courtney did this. That was a lie. I did it to myself before I was ever put in the preserve. You walked in when I was covering it up, remember? At the pool party? I told you not to tell anyone about it. I thought it showed weakness."

Emily's eyes traced over the scar as she bit her lip while was trying to take in all that she had just been told. She swallowed down a tight throat.

"Em?" the girl asked gently, "please you have to believe me." The girl said with desperation.

"Why now?" Emily asked trying to wrap her head around what was happening.

The girl hesitated for a moment, "because now she has gone, I was a coward," she looked at the ground in shame. "I knew that is she figured out I was still alive she'd kill me… and the truth I really missed you. All of you but," she looked up at Emily, "especially you."

Emily looked back into the blue eyes of the blonde stepping forward cautiously. Flecks of green spotted the girls eyes.

"Courtney, "Emily breathed, "It's really you."

"I knew if anyone was going to believe me, it would be you," Courtney smiled.

Emily ran a stressed hand through her hair, "you still have a lot to answer for."

Courtney hung her head, "I know. I do. Your right. I pretended to be Ali, you know all of that but I really wanted to be your friend. I really did care about you. I know I could be a bitch but…" she shook her head, "anyway, I'm not the one that tried to blackmail you or expose your secrets or kill you. Surely I get some points for that?" She attempted a smile.

"I missed you too," Emily said quietly, "the real you. Or the … I don't know. The fake Ali. I just … I thought you were her and then I thought she was you and …"

Courtney took Emily hands in her own. "I know," she said softly, "this has been hard on everyone but for you…" she shook her head, "I can' even imagine how confusing this is for you."

"She kissed me, "Emily barely whispered, "and I thought … "she sighed in frustration at herself, "I thought … and then she took us to that house and the fire and she never cared at all …"

"but I did," Courtney said earnestly," I did "she repeatedly softly.

Emily looked down at their entwined hands, "I loved you, "she choked out, "and no matter what I try, I can't get over it. Everybody tells me to but I just can't. I shouldn't have missed you or kept pining for you but I did."

"Em, I should have come back sooner. I should have helped you. I was just …. So scared. She's my sister and she tried to kill me. You are all so much braver than I could ever be," she whispered, a tear running down her cheek.

Emily wiped the tear away, "You weren't well … you need help."

"I been taking my pills," Courtney whispered, "I've been seeing a doctor in philly, seeing a doctor up there under a fake name… I'm feeling much better."

Emily bit her lip, "I don't know … what to believe is real with you and what'd not. I wish you had told me who you were."

"And that I'd had Ali shipped off to my room at a mental institution?" Courtney sighed, "I was pretending to be Ali … I knew what she was like, or I thought I did … but the most fake thing I did was with you, Emily. You kissed me and I rejected you. I told you I liked boys. I teased you about it. That was the hardest thing because I really, really liked the way you made me feel."

Emily was squeezing Courtney's hand tightly, without even being aware that she was doing it.

Courtney other hand wiped the tears from Emily's cheeks, "I'm sorry," she blinked her own tears away, "I'm truly, truly sorry," she kissed her friends cheek, "I don't know much about love … but everything I do know is from your eyes. It was so different to the way everybody else in rosewood looked at me as Ali…" she stopped for a moment, "did you and Ali… real Ali… you said she kissed you."

Emily sniffed and shrugged, "it was… heated. But if you're asking if we had a relationship, we didn't. And if you're asking if we had sex, we didn't. I loved her because I thought she was you but she was so… heartless. She built me up just to tear me down. She said she purposefully made me think that we had a happy ending… right before she tried to kill me."

Courtney nodded, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Emily shrugged.

"I created her," Courtney whispered, "by having her sent to that place…"

Emily frowned, "we all have choices… just because something awful happens to us doesn't mean we have to react. There's always redemption and the real Ali… she didn't have any redeeming features I ever saw."

"What about me?" Courtney asked quietly, "do you think I can have redemption?"

Emily swallowed past the lump in her throat. She lurched forward and kissed Courtney' lips. Courtney placed her hand behind Emily's ear, pulling her closer.

"I think so, "Emily murmured as they rest their foreheads against one another, only jolting apart when Emily's phone beeped. She pulled it out and for the second time, that night her blood ran cold. Silently she handed the phone to Courtney.

SO happy ending do happen after all. How sweet. Enjoy it while you can-A.