Emily
It was the evening of the party and Emily was putting on her outfit for the special occasion. She chose a black dress that was fitted, strapless, and had a slit starting from the middle of her thigh to the end of the dress. She wanted to wear it at least once since she bought it for a wedding that got cancelled. It showed more skin than she was used to but wearing it for one night wouldn't hurt. She picked up her phone and set up a Lyft because she knew finding a parking spot would be almost impossible. Ding. She read the status of her driver, "George will be here in 4 minutes be ready!" She quickly put on her black suede heels, grabbed her mini saddle bag, and headed downstairs.
She exited out of the front door and spotted the Honda Sonata that resembled the one on her phone. She got in and the driver looked backed in awe.
"Emily?" he said to make sure he had the right customer.
"Yep. Good evening."
He shook his head and started to drive.
"May I ask where we are going today? You're looking super fancy and beautiful at that."
Emily's eyebrows rose in shock from the straightforwardness of the driver.
"Thank you. I'm going to a party-ish celebration for Gems magazine".
"No way! I love their magazines. Once they came out with their weekly issues when I was in highschool, I've never stopped getting them since. I especially love the parts were they say the activities going on for the week and the amazing restaurants in the city. That definitely helps a fellow Lyft driver out when customers ask if I know a good place to eat or open mic or something like that ya know?"
Emily was glad to meet someone who appreciated the magazine. "Yeah, definitely. Well believe it or not, today is the tenth anniversary."
"What?! The way time flies."
Emily arrived at the rented space in the East Village.
It was a pretty large space and she definitely didn't expect anything small when it came to Hannah.
"Thanks George!", she waved as she went up the stairs and into the building.
As she entered the building the first thing to catch her eye was the enormous chandelier hanging in the middle of the lobby. She saw the desk clerk to the left of the room and started walking toward him.
"Hi I'm here for Gems."
The worker smiled and told her the directions to the room. She walked to the right and started walking down the hall. A faint sound of Ella Mai's song "Boo'd Up" was becoming louder the closer she walked toward the large door, that was about twelve feet away from her.
She opened the door and stared in amazement. There was a bar in the corner, a stage on the opposite side with a DJ playing music, a dance floor, stairs that led to a mini balcony that overlooked the bottom floor, and a huge fish tank covering half the wall with all different color fish. Leave it to Hannah she thought.
Emily looked around the room to find her friends and after a couple of seconds she found them sitting at a table talking with two other coworkers. She walked to them and joined the conversation. They talked for a long time and then Emily noticed that Hannah was onstage. The DJ cut off the music and Hannah began to speak.
Alison
When Alison entered the door it sounded like Hannah just started talking. She was so glad she made it on time. She decided to trust her instinct and drive to the party, so finding parking took a while. Looking around the room, she walked to the table that had the most people she knew, which was fortunately the table behind Emily and her friends. She exchanged hellos with the table and Hannah continued to speak.
"I'm glad all of you were able to make it here and take part in celebrating our ten year anniversary!" Everyone applauded and there were some whistles.
"I chose some people to come up and talk about their experience at Gems or anything else they'd want to share. And to start off, I want to have my partner come up and say a few words. Lucas Gottesman has been here with me since day one. This company wouldn't be what it is today without him, so give it up!", there was more applause from the crowd, while Lucas was on his way to the stage.
"Thank you Hannah. Being a part of this company has...", Alison started to zone out and took out her phone to start scrolling through her instagram. After Lucas, there had been a couple others who gave their speeches. She was about to get up to use the bathroom, but then she heard Hannah call out Emily's name. Emily rose from her seat and started walking to the stage while everyone clapped. Alison was gawking at Emily in her black dress that exposed a lot of skin. She noticed her expression and quickly changed it before anyone could notice. Emily was now in front of the mic and gave a huge smile.
'Good evening everyone.", she said softly. The crowd replied with "good evenings" and "heys" but Alison could hear Spencer and Aria yelling louder than anyone else.
"To begin, I want to thank Hannah Marin for giving me the chance to be a part of this team. It's extremely rare for young adults to find a career so early in their life, but she gave me the opportunity to take part in this company."
As she spoke, Alison could see Emily's face light up while she was talking about Gems or retelling a funny story. She could tell Emily meant every word she said and was passionate about her job. Alison felt her stomach tingle. Butterflies? No way. She thought to herself. The last time time she got butterflies was in third grade when Peter Smith gave her, her first kiss. But it was certainly the familiar tickling sensation, swirling around in her upper abdomen, caused the woman on stage. Oh, boy.
Emily
"Thank you.", she ended her speech and walked off the stage as everyone applauded. As she sat down Aria lightly shook her shoulder.
"You did great Em!", Aria told her as she and Spencer were getting up. Spencer nodded in agreement.
"Thanks guys."
"Well we have to go before we're late." Spencer said as they were putting on their jackets.
"Yeah, enjoy your time with your boo's and tell them I said hi.", Emily responded.
"Will do.", Spencer said.
They walked off, leaving Emily and two other co workers at the table. Hannah got back on stage to announce the person after her.
"Everyone, hang in there. We have one more person and the music and dancing will continue. Also, these speeches are giving me life as the young ones say, so with that being said give it up for our last speaker of the day...Alison DiLaurentis!
Alison?! Emily thought.
Emily followed the direction of everyone's eyes and it led to the table behind her. Alison was getting up and making her way to the stage. Emily was slightly annoyed because she felt like she couldn't have anything to herself. Not only that, but Alison had been there for less than a month and got so much praise. She didn't want to think about it, so she made her way to the bar.
The bartender was a man in a dark navy blue polo shirt and khaki pants. Before she even got close enough to sit down, he was already eyeing her. Emily sat on the stool and leaned both elbows on the counter.
"Tequila and lemon please. Just keep'em coming."
The man nodded and started making her drink. Emily looked back at the stage once more.
"...and having so many creative minds around me has been nothing but inspiring. I'm honored to be beside people who have accomplished incredible things and just want to grow together as a whole.."
Emily wondered if she meant it or if it was an act. She couldn't tell and who would know dealing with Alison. Clink. The glass hit the counter and Emily turned back around to down her drink.
An hour later
Emily was visibly intoxicated and was dancing with one of the workers she barely knew. She was moving to the fast paced music to the best of her ability while being in heels and not being capable of balancing. She saw a staff member walking around with champagne glasses on a silver plate.
"I'll take that.", she said while almost snatching it. She took a sip and continued dancing. She looked to her left of the dancefloor and saw Alison dancing with a couple other people.
"Ughhh", she groaned.
"Is everything okay?", the man she was dancing with asked.
"I mean...is anything okay? Because people get away with soooo manyy things these days. Amiright?" Emily asked.
"Uhhh I-"
"Ya knowwhat? I'm going to tell the people what they need to hear. The people have a right to know! And I'm gonna tell 'em.", she said pointing to herself.
She gave her glass to the man and made her way to the stage.
Alison
Alison was dancing with a group of people and stopped after hearing a buzz from the microphone. She looked at the stage and saw Emily giving the DJ a gesture to stop the music. He raised his brow in suspicion but stopped it anyway. She wobbled toward the front of the stage.
"Hey! We having a good time?!" she yelled.
The crowd responded with cheers and nods.
"Gooood. I'm glad to hear it, but I have something else to say. Let's call this...Emily's speech 2.0."
There were a few laughs within the crowd. Alison moved closer to the stage to get a better look. Is she drunk? She thought in disbelief.
"Okay. Okay. so..", squinting one eye to get her thought back. "This is a reminder that...everything you see..isn't what it is.", Emily said starting to pace back and forth.
Alison knew she had to get her before this would get worse. She raced towards the steps to the stage and saw Paige coming on the opposite side. They were going the same speed, but since Emily was pacing in Alison's direction, she got to her first. Alison lightly grabbed Emily's hand and guided her off the stage. Paige was left on the stage with many eyes glaring at her.
"Continue with your dancing.", she said and glanced at the DJ to play the music.
The music started and Paige sped off the stage.
"I think I'm gonna to puke.", Emily said.
Alison made her walk faster on their way to the bathroom. Once she reached the toilet she vomited. Alison held her hair and rubbed her back. They stayed in the stall for five extra minutes just in case.
"Alright, I'm taking you home.", Alison said holding her up.
"Nuh uh.", she said shaking her head.
"It's not a question Emily.",she retorted.
They made their way into Alison's car and she asked Emily for the address.
"I'll tell you if you tell me your secret."
"Secret?", Alison was genuinely confused.
"How do you get people to like you and want to know you so fast?"
"I don't know.", Alison responded.
"Then I don't know my address.", Emily said looking out the window.
Alison rolled her eyes. "I guess talking is my forte. I know what to say in order to make people interested, and I go on by that. But in the end, they're only there for the story and not for me. You've got real friends Emily, so you shouldn't worry about it."
Alison couldn't believe she said all that. She looked at Emily and it felt like she was seeing her soul through her eyes.
"205 Parkton Road." Emily said quietly with a small smile.
The drive there was quiet since Emily fell asleep. When they arrived, Alison was thankful to see someone pulling out of a parking spot in front of Emily's apartment. She parked and helped Emily all the way to her bed. Emily plopped on the mattress and almost immediately started snoring lightly. Alison took off her heels and put the cover over her. Then, she put two aspirin, a mini water bottle, and a note she wrote on the nightstand. As she was heading toward the door she paid more attention to the studio apartment. Emily had a bunch of photos and paintings hanging on the walls. Also, there were a few pieces of furniture, which made the space look larger.
"Goodnight Emily.", she said as she shut the door and went on her way.
Author's note: Told you I'd make it longer. I hope you all enjoyed it. Thoughts/Comments appreciated. :)