After the girls have spent the first hour and a half downstairs in Alison's living room catching up, they head up to her room to dig more deeply into what Alison had put off earlier when they first came over.
Alison can't deny that she knows the conversation is coming as they walk up the stairs. She's dreading it a little bit but she's mostly nervous about it because she doesn't know what she's going to say to them. All Alison knows as of right now is that she doesn't want to embarrass herself.
These girls are her closest friends and she knows that even if she makes a fool of herself, they won't judge her. They won't look at her any differently regardless of the things she tells them. It makes her feel safe to know that she can open herself up to them and say what she's been feeling. Especially when it comes to Emily and nothing will change between them and her.
When everyone is settled on her bed or in the chair by her vanity all the girls seem to have varying degrees of the same smile as they look at Alison. Alison can't help but think it's both cute and odd that the three of them are so excited about this.
It makes Alison realize that they probably miss the five of them hanging out with each other like they used to before Alison and Emily had the fight that ended their friendship. Alison seriously can't remember what caused it but she remembers the way the conversation felt at the end. It was awful, to say the least and she was really hurt by it for a long time. The hurt that Alison felt surrounding all of that kept her from wanting to be around Emily for a lot longer than she'd imagined she'd be away from her.
After all this time it makes her smile that Emily still cares about her enough to help her out of the pickle with her ex. Gosh, dating Alyssa was such a disaster. It was good at first but the illusion didn't last long and it quickly became something she regretted. She felt trapped in the relationship but eventually she found the courage to put herself first and broke up with the girl who had become such a toxic person in her life. To say she was unhappy in the relationship for a while was an understatement. Alison is glad that the relationship is over and she's free.
Alison is broken from her thoughts when Hanna calls her name, "Ali? Are you going to leave us in suspense forever because I don't think I could handle that. I think we've all waited long enough."
Alison gives Hanna a small smirk when an idea pops into her head. "I'm sorry, what do you mean Han? Keep you suspense for what? I didn't think there was anything to talk about."
Aria exchanges looks with Spencer. Quickly she jumps into the conversation before Hanna has the chance to reply to her. "C'mon Ali. You know what we're talking about so don't pretend you have no idea what Hanna is referring to."
Spencer adds, "don't play coy, Ali." Right as Hanna says, "please. I'm dying to hear whatever it is that you have to tell us about Emily."
Alison decides to stop and give the girls what they want since they seem so interested in hearing what she has to say. "Alright, alright," she says. "I'll tell you guys what you want to know."
The girls share looks of excitement with each other before they give their undivided attention to Alison. They wait patiently for Alison to figure out where to start and she wouldn't be able to explain just how much she appreciates that.
When it comes to her feelings and thoughts about Emily, Alison finds it hard to figure out which ones to start with. She has lots of thoughts that she wants to express and let the girls in one but there's so many to choose from. Alison ends up starting with the most important one.
"Emily and I made a deal the other day," Alison starts.
Aria perks up at that. "What kind of deal? How did that come about?" She's looking at Alison with so much interest. It almost surprises Alison that her friends really care this much about her and her life.
Alison thinks about how she got herself into this situation. Alison shrugs easily at the questions but she knows exactly what the answers to them are. "Well… I knew Alyssa was looking for me after class because I heard about it from a friend-."
Hanna is quick to jump in, "ugh. I hate that girl."
Spencer looks over at Hanna and nods her head. "Me too," Spencer adds quietly in case it upsets Alison somehow. Which it doesn't.
Alison does send the two of them a glare for interrupting her though. "After I found out about it I already knew that she probably wanted to cause drama or something so I decided that I had to get ahead of her games."
"Where does Emily come into this?" Spencer asks curiously. She uncrosses her legs and stretches them out a little bit while waiting for Ali's reply.
"Well, I wanted Alyssa to know that I was over her and our relationship and with the way she is, the best way to prove that to her was to show her the proof. Which meant I needed a girlfriend. It could have been a boyfriend but I remembered that she told me I could never get someone like Emily during one of our awful arguments and I knew that would really show her."
"So, you asked Emily to be your girlfriend?" Aria asks. Her head is tilted to the side and she kind of looks a little bit like a lost puppy. It's kind of a cute look on her.
Hanna frowns at Aria before replying to her. "I don't think Emily would say yes to that. Things got pretty ugly between you and her."
Alison smiles sadly. "Yeah, they did but I didn't ask her to be my girlfriend. I spent ten minutes looking for her and when I finally did I pulled her away from her friends so we could talk about the situation in private. At first Emily didn't understand and certainly didn't want to help me but after I told her about the way Alyssa treated me, it was like a switch went off and she was on board with helping me by pretending to date me in front of Alyssa. I know she doesn't like lying or anything but I was so relieved that she helped me."
Spencer smiles. "I know that she still cares about you but I have to say I'm kind of surprised that she agreed to it just like that after this long."
Alison starts to twirl her hair around her finger as a distraction. "I might have told her that if she helped me I'd tutor her in French so she could keep up her average and stay on the swim team."
Aria gasps and Hanna beams happily. "That's genius Ali," Hanna tells her with excitement. "Use Emily's love for swimming to convince her to help you."
Alison rubs the back of her neck to try and get rid of the way that statement makes her feel. "It wasn't really like that," Alison admits. "I really needed her help and I was desperate so I used the only thing I could think of. I plan to keep my word to her because I know that I asked a lot of her and she doesn't owe me anything."
"What happened after Emily agreed?" Aria stands up from off the bed to grab her water cup and sits back down on Alison's bed with it. She takes a few sips of her water while waiting for Alison to choose her words.
When Aria puts her water back on the desk, Alison is starting to answer her question. "Alyssa came up to us and completely ignored me. She immediately honed in on Emily and the two of them basically had a showdown. Alyssa asked if Emily had any standards and said that I was so late summer and there wasn't very much to get out of dating me. It felt very much like a "who knows Ali better" contest. Emily was holding my hand and I felt her grip tighten. It was intense and Emily said some things that I think really struck a cord for Alyssa. Unsurprisingly, Emily's competitive side came out and she made Alyssa back down. Although, I know Alyssa well enough to know that this won't be the last time she tries to bother me."
"What did Emily say to this girl exactly?" Spencer asks carefully while studying Alison for a reaction.
Alison smirks at the thought of Emily taking Alyssa down a few pegs. "Alyssa said that I don't like being touched and I'm not physically affectionate in public but Emily argued that. She said that I probably didn't like being touched by her. Which was true near the middle and the end of our relationship because Alyssa was so toxic. Emily mentioned that I had a tattoo of a mermaid on my right hip that I got because she's my mermaid and-."
Hanna interrupts again with a mix of shock and excitement, "you got a tattoo? When did that happen and why didn't you tell us about it?"
Alison laughs softly before bursting her bubble. "I don't have any tattoos but Alyssa doesn't know that."
Aria's eyebrows furrow in clear confusion. "Then why would Emily tell her that then?"
Alison has that sheepish look on her face again. "Emily and I went to a tattoo shop once and I told her that I was thinking about getting a mermaid tattoo on my right hip. She asked what drew me to the idea of the mermaid because I was so interested in it and wouldn't really consider anything else. I told her that it was special to me because she reminded me of a mermaid when she swam and she smiled so brightly at me. She told me she loved the idea but I didn't end up getting it that day. After our friendship ended the idea crossed my mind occasionally but I never managed the courage to go through with it. I still want it actually."
"Was that all that happened with Alyssa?" Spencer asks while sneaking a peak at the watch on her left wrist.
Alison shakes her head at Spencer's question. "Emily said one other thing that really ticked Alyssa off. Emily said that I would always love her and that her and I would always be connected in a way that nobody else could ever compete with. Emily added that she should thank her because the way Alyssa treated me only drew me closer to Emily. That now I don't have to deal with an insecure bitch like her."
"Damn. Way to go Em," Hanna exclaims excitedly. Spencer, Aria and Alison look over to Hanna who's sitting on the chair in front of Alison's vanity. Hanna puts her hands up in surrender and she moves to sit beside Alison at the top of the bed while Aria and Spencer are at the foot of it.
Aria smirks at Hanna in amusement. "I'm sure that pissed Alyssa off quite a bit."
Alison nods quickly at Aria's statement. "Yeah, she was really mad and asked if Emily knew who she was talking to. Adding that she'd destroy Emily but Emily wasn't convinced. Emily told Alyssa to try her and then Alyssa angrily stomped off, leaving her posse to run to catch up to her."
Spencer frowns deeply. "I would literally have paid to see that. I'm actually kind of sad that I missed that."
Hanna pouts, "why didn't you call me or take a picture for me?"
Alison shakes her head at her friends but there's a smile on her face. "I'm sorry," she apologies. "Next time I promise that I'll include you in it so you can see it."
Aria laughs at their antics. "Are you going to FaceTime the group the next time a showdown happens?"
Hanna squeals, "yes Aria. That's an amazing idea."
Spencer gives Hanna a funny look, "I'm pretty sure she was only kidding about that Han."
Hanna waves her hand at Spencer in dismissal. "I don't care. That's definitely what you should do next time."
From there, the conversation between the girls switches off from Alyssa and Emily to other things. Alison lets it happen even though she has more thoughts about Emily but she tells herself she'll tell them about those things later. She wants to let herself get a read on how Emily feels during their tutoring session because they'll be alone. Hopefully, Alison will be able to read Emily as well as she used to be able to.
The hours tick by and before Alison knows it the girls are leaving and Emily is texting her to ask her if they're still on for her to come over at 8pm. Alison tells her that 8pm is good and the conversation ends there. It makes Alison a bit sad but she pushes it away and distracts herself until Emily comes over.
/
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