"I hope you don't mind me asking this," Emily says with a nervous edge to her voice "but what did you see in Alyssa? I don't know her personally, although, from what I saw the other day she seems awful. Why would you ever want to date someone like that?"

At first Alison considers lying to Emily. Alyssa was really awful the other day when Emily interacted with her. The truth is Alison knows that wasn't even half as bad as she used to treat her when Alyssa wasn't getting what she wanted. She wasn't like that when they first met and Alison beats herself up for not seeing the signs that were right in front of her when it came to the type of person Alyssa was.

Alison has told enough lies in her life to recognize when someone else is lying to her but Alison knows she made the choice not to see through the lies Alyssa told her. She was really upset about losing Emily at that time and she told herself that she'd do something, anything to get Emily off her mind. Which she did in the form of joining clubs.

Alison joined a few new clubs around that time to keep herself busy. One of them being horseback riding. Which is how she met Alyssa. Alyssa was new to horseback riding back then and since Alison stuck to horseback riding and practiced often, she was quite good at it.

She and Alyssa quickly bonded over their shared passion for the activity and grew close. After almost six months of hanging out things took a more romantic turn between the two of them.

They were at the park outside of town one night, sitting on the swings. Alyssa was sitting to Alison's right. It was quiet since it was the weekend and people were most likely partying or something.

The swings were barely moving and Alison wasn't saying much because she didn't know what to say at the moment. Alison had gone through some awful things that day and didn't know if she wanted to talk about it or not yet. Though, she didn't have to decide if she did because Alyssa sprung them into a conversation about fashion.

When the debate about which collection, spring or fall was better Alison temporarily forgot about her bad day. She won the debate and good competition and winning often made her feel better. Alyssa was quiet in the following moments after the loss.

At first Alison had concerns about if she was the reason that Alyssa wasn't as bubbly and chatty anymore but that thought changed as soon as Alyssa pulled on the chain of Alison's swing to bring her closer.

Alison remembers looking into Alyssa's eyes for a few seconds, wondering what was happening between them. When Alyssa kissed her, Alison was shocked.

The kiss was short and a little bit awkward for both of them because they didn't really say much after they pulled apart from each other. Not only was it a shock to Alison that she'd been kissed unexpectedly by another girl but when it was over, Alison realized that she wished it was Emily who'd kissed her instead of Alyssa and that made her feel horrible.

Her and Alyssa didn't spend too much time together outside of practice for a few weeks after that. Mostly because Alison needed to clear her head when it came to the things she was feeling and Alyssa didn't approach her until she was ready. Even after they sorted things out between them, she and Alison weren't dating.

That step took another several months. She and Alyssa often flirted with each other after they kissed but nothing had come of it until Alyssa asked her out.

At first, Alison didn't know what to do. Sure, she liked Alyssa and didn't push her away when they kissed but she also thought of Emily after it happened. Alison eventually decided to say yes and take the risk. She decided that she would see how she felt about Alyssa after their first date was over.

The first date went well and so did the other handful of dates they went on afterwards. Somewhere along the way they became girlfriends and Alison finally started to believe that she had found the right person for her.

However, in sophomore year it all went to shit. Not right away of course but things definitely weren't the same when school started.

First of all, Alyssa had transferred to Rosewood High. That made both of them happy but Alison quickly learned that Alyssa was really jealous. Something Alison hadn't previously known anything about because they often spent their time together alone. Nobody hit on either of them or seemed interested in them romantically when they were horseback riding so Alison had no idea.

Another thing Alison learned when they started going to school together was the fact that Alyssa had a reputation of being less than friendly to both the students and the staff at her old school.

For the brief time Hanna's step-sister was at Rosewood High she talked to Hanna about Alyssa. Apparently they'd gone to school together in Maryland. Hanna didn't want to repeat the stories that Kate told her about Alyssa but after some serious convincing Hanna gave in and told her what Kate told her.

The stories shocked her. The girl she knew, the one she called her girlfriend wasn't anything like that. She told the girls that she'd never seen Alyssa treat someone unkindly and she wasn't like that.

The third and last thing that really made her relationship with Alyssa go to shit was the fact that Alyssa heard lots of rumors about her and Emily from a few years ago.

Alison knew that nobody else other than she and Emily were aware of what went on between them so she didn't pay any attention to them. The rumors were an on and off thing for years and Alison had just stopped caring about them.

Alyssa, however, went crazy about it. With her jealous tendencies and the fact that she'd believed all of the rumors she heard about her and Emily, they started to fight a lot.

Alyssa felt that Emily was a threat to them and their relationship but Alison tried to reason with Alyssa that even if there had been something with Emily in the past they didn't even have a relationship with each other anymore. She tried to reason with Alyssa that if she and Emily didn't talk, why should things that weren't true affect their relationship now.

The respect that they once had for each other slowly dwindled to nothing with each fight. Alison was tired of Alyssa being jealous when there was no reason to be and Alyssa wouldn't let go of the truth that the rumors must have had.

Not having trust in their relationship made Alison miserable and she stopped spending all her free time with her girlfriend because of it.

The breaking point for Alison was one particular Saturday evening. They made plans to have a date night and the last few days before that had been good enough for Alison to keep the plans with her girlfriend.

The date was one of the best they'd ever had but heading back to Alison's house was a different story. The house was empty that night and Alison put on a movie for them to watch after getting back from dinner. Alyssa had some wine at the restaurant much to Alison's dismay but thankfully it didn't seem to be affecting her at all.

The movie was going well and about halfway through it Alyssa cupped Alison's cheek and kissed her. Several minutes later they were making out. After things started to get steamy, Alison pulled away and turned back to watch the movie.

Alyssa wasn't taking no for an answer and tried to initiate a kiss with her again. Alison didn't want to continue kissing Alyssa so when she moved in to kiss her, Alison put her hands on Alyssa's shoulders and pushed her back firmly. "Don't" she told her sternly.

"C'mon Ali," Alyssa says. Alison glares at her. "Don't be such a bore" Alyssa slurs while hungrily eying Alison's body up and down.

Alison rolls her eyes. "I'm not being a bore, I'm just not in the mood for the things you clearly want from me."

This seems to make her girlfriend mad and Alyssa's response tells Alison that she's definitely angry. "If you won't put out then what good are you to me? We've been dating for months now and I've never gotten passed second base with you. The only time I've seen you without a shirt or pants on is in the locker room when we're getting changed for gym. What kind of girl doesn't have sex with her girlfriend when they've been dating for as long as we have?"

Alison stares flabbergasted at Alyssa. "How about the kind of girlfriend who gets treated like shit all the time?" It's a rhetorical question so she doesn't let Alyssa answer. "All you do is try to control me when we're together. You're jealous of everyone I talk to and I'm not allowed to hang out with my friends alone on the weekends anymore because of how possessive you are." Alison's own anger starts to seep through her words. "Why on earth would I want to sleep with you when you've taken away my freedom and sense of self worth? You have zero truth in me and I'm not willing to give my body to someone who thinks I'm sleeping with every person I talk to."

Alyssa crosses her arms over her chest. "You think you're so much better than me but the truth is I could never trust you around other people because you dress like such a slut. What's the point of dressing the way you do if you don't even please me?"

Alison can feel her blood boiling. Her hands start to shake in anger. She won't let Alyssa talk to her like that. "If you think I'm a slut then you should look in the mirror sweetie. I could never beat you in that department. If we had to crown someone the queen of dressing provocatively, it'd go to you babe. You taught me everything I know but here's the kicker, people actually like me. Nobody else can stand you."

Alyssa's nostrils flare in anger. "You think those girls you hang with are your friends?" Alyssa laughs menacingly. "You're even more pathetic than I thought if you can't see the truth but I'll give you a free lesson. They don't like you," she pauses for dramatic effect before continuing. "The only reason they hang out with you is because they're using you for your power and popularity. Once that runs out they'll be just like Emily. They'll leave you and all you'll have is me. Emily was too good for you. She's hot, smart, funny and an athlete. She's the total package and you could never hold onto someone like that. She left you because she realized what everyone else already knows, you're worthless and the only thing you have going for you is your looks and your body."

Alison pushes away the hurt that she's feeling at the mention of Emily leaving. Alison knows that what happened between her and Emily wasn't because of that. She knows her friends aren't using her so she dismisses the thought completely.

She isn't letting Alyssa's words get to her this time. It's time to stand up for herself and get her freedom back. She doesn't deserve this treatment and she's going to make sure it stops now. "You might see me that way but at least I'm not the one who just got dumped after being rejected for sex."

Alyssa laughs again, "I've never been dumped." She looks so confident and that irks Alison. She wants to wipe that smug smile right off of her annoying face.

Alison smirks. "Well, consider me your first. We're done and I don't ever want to see you again. Pick your jaw up from the floor and get the hell out of my house."

Alyssa gets into her face. "You'll regret this," she responds threateningly.

Alison blows Alyssa a kiss when she backs away. "I won't miss you. Good luck trying to find another girl who will put up with your bullshit after the whole school hears about this."

Alyssa doesn't respond. She keeps walking towards the door and slams it shut with so much force that it would have pissed Alison off if she actually gave a shit about her now ex-girlfriend.

Alison doesn't know what makes her decide to tell Emily the truth when it comes to that question but she does. "She…" Alison's voice shakes a little bit so she takes a deep breath and tries again. This time with more success than the last. "She wasn't like that when I met her. At least, I didn't think she was at the time."

Emily stares at her silently for a few seconds. Alison can see the wheels in Emily's head turning. Emily is thinking deeply about what she wants to say in reply and that kind of makes Alison nervous. She doesn't want the subject of her awful ex girlfriend to be a subject Emily feels she needs to handle with careful precision.

She's completely over Alyssa but maybe the way she answered Emily's question made her feel like she should be careful of what she says and how she says it. It's true that the things Alyssa did still kind of hurt her but that's mostly because she allowed herself to be treated like that for so long.

She thought that having someone by her side meant that she had to put up with all the crap that she did. Learning that she didn't need to take the treatment she was getting was the most freeing thing she'd done. Losing Alyssa wasn't actually a loss at all and she's so much happier now that they aren't together anymore.

"What makes you say that?" Emily asks timidly. Alison's eyebrow raises in a silent question. "What makes you say she wasn't like that at one point?"

Alison shrugs like she doesn't have an answer to the question but she finds herself answering anyways. "She never acted that way with me when we first met. I probably should have known she was too good to be true and I probably should have believed the stories other people had told me about her but to me… she wasn't like that. She had never been unkind to anyone when I was with her so I found it hard to believe that people had said she was the exact opposite of what she was portraying herself as."

Emil listens carefully and attentively to everything Alison has to say. She wants to better understand what Alison's experience with this girl was like. Emily hopes that maybe after hearing what Alison went through, she can fully grasp why Alison needed to pretend she had moved on with another girl when she hadn't really.

She wasn't judging Alison or anything but Emily kind of thought it was weird that she felt the best way to prove to her ex that she was over her was to pretend to be with someone else.

Although Emily has seen her fair share of both friends and classmates do similar things to try and send their ex a message. Typically the message was "I've moved on with someone else" to make their ex jealous and hopefully get back together.

Alison didn't want to make Alyssa jealous for the purpose of getting back together and that was out of the ordinary for people their age. Emily found herself questioning why go through so much trouble if she didn't want her back? There was more to the story that she was missing and she wanted to know what drove Alison to make a decision like that.

Alison bites her bottom lip and fiddles with her fingers. "I found out the hard way that everyone else knew her better than I thought I knew her. It hurt for a long time. Mostly because I had fooled myself and let her fool me into thinking she was this amazing girl when she was just pretending to be someone she wasn't."

Alison runs her hand through her hair and sighs softly. Almost like telling the story of what happened drains her energy. Which wouldn't be an untrue statement in the slightest bit. "When her true colors surfaced I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen the signs earlier. I couldn't believe that I had let myself be so blind to the facts that were staring me in the face. Our relationship was really good at one point but it also went to hell really quickly and dispirited the good times we may have had. I can only see my time with her as a total disaster because what the two of us had wasn't real. It never was because everything I thought to be true was a lie and that soured and tainted every single memory we'd made together. I wasn't in love with a real person. I was in love with an idea or an illusion of the girl I was dating and I'd finally had enough of it."

"If you went through all of that with her then why bother going through so much trouble to make her think you're dating someone else? Why do you care about what she thinks?"

Alison smiles sadly. "Regardless of what it might seem like I don't care about what she thinks. I do, however, want to show her that her words didn't break my spirit. I want to show her that I'm more than enough and that just because I'm down doesn't mean I'm out."

"So, it's about revenge?" Emily asks skeptically. It didn't really occur to her that Alison might want revenge for the way Alyssa treated her but after everything she heard Alison go through she can understand the pull to get even. Emily probably wouldn't do something like that herself but she can understand it.

Alison shrugs again. She hadn't really thought too deeply about why she wanted to do it. All she knew was that she wanted to do it. "Call it what you want to Em. All I know is that I've had enough of Alyssa Clark walking all over people like she's the best thing to exist. She isn't and it's about time karma gives her a taste of her own medicine. Even if I have to be the one to do it myself. Her reign of terror and making people feel worthless is over. She said that you were someone too good for me and that all my friends were using me and would eventually leave me like you did so this is personal. The fact that she even brought you into the conversation hurt me and that's why I need your help. She doesn't think anyone is as good as her but you were one of her biggest insecurities when she and I were dating. Having you with me will drive her crazy because of how jealous she got over rumors about us that weren't true when you and I weren't even talking to each other."

Emily looks unsure of the whole thing. She tries to wrap her mind around all of this but sounds like a bad idea. Not to mention, Emily intentionally doesn't ask about why Alison's ex was so jealous over her because none of those rumors spreading around Rosewood High about them were true.

If they were, they probably wouldn't still be considered rumors. The rumors did get a bit out of hand when they stopped being friends though. Everyone assumed it was because of a bad breakup but they never paid attention to what anyone else was saying and they let them think what they wanted to think.

Emily is hesitant about agreeing to all of this but she still feels this strong pull towards Alison and if Alison needs her help the way she says she does, she doesn't really have the heart to say no to her. "If we're really going to do all this we need to figure out a plan because if we don't, it'll be easy to see through our fake relationship. I also want to make sure we don't hurt anyone."

Alison nods enthusiastically. "Where do we start?" She asks eagerly.

Emily sighs softly and runs her hand through her hair. "I'm not sure yet but we better be ready for all the rumors about us to start back up again if we go through with this."

Alison smiles brightly although the thought of them being the talk of the town again makes her nervous. She won't let that show because she doesn't want Emily to feel more worried about it. If she needs to be the one to put on a strong face so they can do this, she will. "I was born ready," Alison replies confidently.

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