- You didn't get along with the person that suggested it to you, right?
- It was the cheapest thing in the city, and nobody suggested it to me, I found it.
Alison and Emily were still in the doorway of what would be their "home" during the next days, at least until they were able to clarify the budget they had and would learn to cope a little with the city.
They finally were in Paris. And it wasn't even close to what they had imagined. Whenever Alison had thought about Paris she had imagined it as a big bright show. She had dreamed with its huge avenues and its unmistakable monuments, everything covered in that dazzling light that would make the night a minor scene, turning the place in one of those cities that never sleep.
And yes, when the plane had landed it was 5:15 in the morning and the sun wasn't up yet, so it could be said that it was night; and yes, every corner on the city seemed to have an appropriate streetlight that avoided darkness; but they hadn't seen a single monument, the taxi that took them from the airport to the city had been too expensive and they hadn't ended in the most "cheerful" neighborhood.
The hotel that the blonde had found on the internet was placed in the district XX of the city, one of the most remote districts from the touristic zones. That portion of the city was known by a place that every Parisian knew, the Père-Lachaise… the Père-Lachaise cemetery.
After the taxi driver took his time driving them around that sinister place, they reached the Hôtel Céleste, a small hostel led by an elderly couple, who didn't hesitate to raise an eyebrow when Alison asked in fluent French for a double room but with a single bed (it was cheaper and, by the way… did it really matter? Now they were a couple and… well, sharing the bed wouldn't be something new for any of them).
The building itself was small, it had just thirty rooms, ten in each of the three floors that conformed it. And those rooms were even smaller.
They got the door open without problems, but only by the few millimeters that kept it away from the double bed, which, basically, constituted the whole place. The quilt that covered the mattress had a dubious yellow. The walls, which would have probably seen better times in other centuries, had numerous chipped areas and the white paint that should cover them was rather gray. The floor was covered with slabs, some loose, others intact, all with a mixture of brown that wasn't exactly nasty.
The only light came from a lamp hanging from the ceiling, which looked dangerously heavy and was placed right over the bed. On the wall opposite the door was a small and rectangular window that led the view to the outside, surely to one of the cemetery's walls. And the bath was left to the door, closed, for the relief of both girls.
You could say that the place was a little… bleak.
Alison released the air that she had held in her lungs while she took a general look at the place. "That's it", she told herself, and stepped inside the room, feeling how Emily followed her. The blonde left her only bag in the floor and began to think about how to place the things that she carried with her, because there were just two depressing racks, no wardrobes, and the nightstands at each side of the bed didn't seem to have a lot of space in the couple of drawers that they included.
Meanwhile, the brunette closed the bedroom door and continued observing carefully the room, noticing details such as the cobwebs decorating the lamp or the strange forms that acquired the imperfect walls.
- Is that a face? – Asked Emily, approaching an area of the wall that looked darker than the rest. Yes, it was a face, a hideous face.
- It's just a wet spot. – Alison said. Emily hugged herself and grabbed the handle of her bag tighter. – I know it's not much, but… we're not on vacation.
The blonde tried for that last comment to not come out of her mouth with irritation, she understood the expression of doubt and suspicion that was settled in Emily's face, she was also disappointed. When she saw the place on the internet it didn't look so decrepit and she could swear that had seen a comment with 3 stars.
- Actually… it isn't that bad. – Provided the brunette, trying to see the positive of the situation, as usual. – It has a bed and… - She opened the door that led to the bathroom to find a toilet, a sink and a tiny shower, all embedded in four walls with salmon coated tiles. – a bathroom. – She closed the door and turned to the blonde, who looked at her with her arms crossed and an expression in the middle of anger and frustration. – It's all we need.
Alison appreciated the brunette's tone and tried to relax the tension in her face. It wasn't ideal, not even remotely, but it will do, for now. To be honest, she only cared about having a bed under a safe roof (though, with that gigantic lamp hanging from a single strand of "iron" she didn't know how true that statement could be).
Emily put her bag on the bed and took off her jacket. She was exhausted, her body ached and she needed to get some sleep, urgently. She ran a hand through her hair and felt it thick, matted, flooded by the smell of the plane. Perhaps she needed that sleep urgently, but a shower was, definitely, a must.
- I think I'm gonna take a shower. – She commented, beginning to get her pajamas and bathroom utensils.
- Me too. – Sighed Alison, leaning against the window frame, trying not to give much importance to the fact that all she could see was the thickness of the outer wall of the cemetery.
The brunette tensed involuntarily. Did she mean that she wanted a shower at the same time, while she also showered, or she just wanted to take a shower? Was it normal that her mind had jumped to that question so automatically? She swallowed.
- Do you… do you wanna shower…? – She left the question open, as she continued rummaging through her suitcase. She couldn't dare to utter the inopportune "with me" that the words of the blonde had awakened in her mind.
When Alison turned to the brunette she could see pretty clearly the blush that coated her cheeks. She suppressed a laugh, who would have thought that innocent Emily would come to such conclusions? She had made the most innocent comment in the world… but she liked that reaction, a lot, actually.
- I'll take it after you. – She said and watched how Emily nodded without meeting her gaze and headed to the bathroom.
"That was inappropriate, very inappropriate", the brunette said to herself, locking the bathroom's door. "What were you thinking?", she continued berating. As if she was 15…. She was supposed to have a mature and stable relationship with the blonde, not to jump over her at the first chance she had, and it hadn't even been a "chance"…
She was tired, crisscrossing her ideas, yes, that was what had happened. And yet… she wasn't able to avoid certain mental image. She shook her head as she tested the water pressure. She would have to get use to Alison, in mind and body, and she would need a long, long time.
When Emily exited the shower she felt like leaving the tiny set of one of those low-budget horror films. Everything was filled with steam and the light that seemed buried in the ceiling of the bathroom had been fading as the minutes had been consumed. At least she could say that they had unlimited hot water, an unexpected treat.
She left her soaked hair falling loose over her pajama shirt, since she only had a towel to dry (another "detail" from the hotel, they had provided each of them with a single towel) and it was too wet to absorb any more water.
- You can get in now. – She told the blonde, who was still standing by the window, thoughtful, had she been there the whole thirty minutes the brunette had spent in the shower?
- How did it go? – Alison asked while turning towards her.
- Fine. It has hot water, though… well, it's a little small. – She had clashed more than once with the walls that housed the shower while trying to clear the shampoo from her hair and if it wasn't for how tired she was and the distraction that the endless stream of hot water had given to her muscles, the girl was sure that she would have felt that disconcerting feeling of claustrophobia that used to assault her in such close quarters.
The blonde sighed and took off her jacket. Emily saw as traces of makeup still lingered on her face, not managing to hide the dark circles that obscured her eyes. She looked exhausted, even more than her.
Alison took her pajamas and towel, as the small cosmetic bag with shampoo, body wash and others hygiene products that she had learned to have always ready and went to the bathroom, praying that the hot water relaxed her body and the water steam clouded her ideas enough to shed all worries, because now, more than ever, she needed a blank mind to be able to rest.
Emily lay on the mattress, which could compete with the hardness of the ground itself, and closed her eyes. She heard the click of the bathroom door and, through her eyelids felt like the light of the room began to change. Surely, it was dawning outside, and the lack of curtains or blinds in that brief window made it impossible for her to not notice it. She turned to be lying on her left side, her back to the outside, thankful for that moment of calm, where the city was still sleeping and the water falling from the shower became a monotonous background sound, helping her to get lost in the unconsciousness of light sleep. She went between sleep and vigil, half-relaxed, until a heartbreaking cry made her jump out of bed.
- Alison! – She rushed to the bathroom door in a long stride and opened the door wide.
There was more vapor than what she had created, but she could clearly see the blonde pressed against the left wall of the bathroom, clinging tightly to the towel wrapped around her body, looking horrified at the shower.
- Get out! – Alison screamed when she saw her, pushing the brunette out of the small room. – Out, out, out.
She managed to pull the girl from the bathroom before she came to see what had caused the cry and closed the door behind her, leaning her body against the wood, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, trying to calm his breathing.
- Ali, what's wrong? What have you seen? – Emily asked hastily.
They had just arrived at a new country, in a different continent, thousands and thousands of miles from the horrors that had taken the sleep from them for years, it was not possible that they were in danger again, not so soon. But it was inevitable that the image of a black hoody sneaked in the brunette's mind, what if A had followed them there? "But you take a shower in that same place, a few minutes before her entered, there hadn't been time for anyone to get in there, or room", she reasoned, thinking that maybe it had been all the pressure of the day, taking its toll on the mind of the blonde, and not real danger, what had made her scream.
- There was, there was… God, didn't you see it? It was so huge. – Alison stammered, still shaken.
- Huge? What was huge? Ali, what was in there?
- A rat, this big. – She mimicked with her hands what the brunette calculated would be about 20 inches as she opened her eyes wider. – I was just finishing drying off when I saw it in the shower, watching me… God, I don't know how I didn't see it before.
- A rat… - Emily let out a sigh of relief, after everything they'd been through, a rat was almost a godsend.
- Why are you relieved? – Alison asked, looking at her as if she had lost her mind. If it wasn't because they were fugitives with fake documents in a country they didn't know, the blonde would be putting by now a complaint to the hotel owners and calling the pest controllers, or the managers of the nearest zoo, that thing wasn't a typical rat, it had to be mutant or something, that size couldn't be ordinary.
- Because it's not A. – The brunette answered with sincerity and sat on the edge of the bed, feeling the adrenaline disappearing from her veins and her heart beating slower and slower.
- Perhaps, but it may cause as many problems as he, or she. – Alison said, looking with suspicion at the door on which she was still resting, as if the rat was going to try and break down the wood.
- And, what do you wanna do?
- Well, kill it! – Emily looked at her horrified. – What? It's her or us.
- Ali, I'm sure it doesn't know how to use a gun.
- No, but it knows how to bite, and I have not crossed half the world to let a creature like that give me the rabies.
- Yeah, but… we… we're not going to kill it.
- Okay, fine… we won't kill it, but at least, help me to get it out of there.
The brunette raised her eyebrows while looking at the door, picturing that animal pacing the bathroom, with its four paws scratching the floor and tail zigzagging behind its hairy body. Sure it was one of those rats with red eyes. A chill run through her body.
- And… if we don't get into the bathroom ever again? – Emily suggested, earning a snort of disapproval from the blonde.
- The only worthwhile thing in this room is that hot shower. I don't know how long we'll be here, but I won't give it up. – Alison said fiercely, that disgusting rat would not take away the only decent thing that existed in that hovel, no way.
- I'm tired… - The brunette grumbled.
- So am I. – Said the blonde, although the determination of her eyes said otherwise. – The sooner we start, the better.
Alison dressed quickly, while Emily looked at the bathroom door with her hands on her waist, trying to develop a strategy to catch the rat. "Maybe she imagined it", she thought, but when she saw the blonde was approaching her with one of the clothes hangers, she abandoned all hope.
- That will not fit in there, not if we both wanna get in too. – She said.
- Then, how do we do it?
- We can peek, see where it is and decide how to catch it.
It seemed reasonable for the blonde, so she let the clothes hanger and went to the bathroom, ready for the animal to leap on her just as the door opened. But it turned out that, when they went in search of the rat, there was no sign of it. Alison was stunned. She had seen it, it could not be mistaken for anything else, it was a rat! She was sure it hadn't been a thing made by her mind… but it wasn't there! And it wasn't as if the bathroom had endless corners in which a creature of that size could hide. They searched for an hour, colliding with each other every time they tried to move with some freedom. In the end, Emily gave up and went to bed.
- I don't understand it… - Alison muttered, confused. – What if it has left the bathroom and entered the room?
- That's impossible. – The brunette said, flopping onto the mattress. – We closed the door just when we entered.
The blonde crossed her arms and paced the room, attentive to the ground, going from the bathroom to the window and from the window to the bathroom… She ended up exhausted, it seemed incredible that such a small place allowed so many laps. She watched as the brunette was curled up on the right side of the bed and did not care if that rat had finished slipping under the covers. She reached into her purse for the alarm clock she had taken from her father and scheduled it to ring six hours later, leaving it on the nightstand. Finally she got between the sheets, trying not to move too much, in case Emily was already asleep. She fully stretched her body and had to suppress a groan. Every single muscle hurt. She tried no to thing that, with the jet lag, there would be many painful and interminable days ahead.
- Did you find it? – Asked the brunette in a sleepy whisper.
- No. – Alison replied annoyed.
- It will appear, don't worry. – Emily yawned and placed her right hand on the blonde's left, finding it without even having to look for it. – We'll be fine.
And with that statement the brunette fell asleep. Alison was carried away by the heat of Emily's hand and closed her eyes, hoping that those last words were true, they'll be fine, they'll have to be fine.
She was woken up by the sunlight that streamed through the window and hit her full in the face. However, when she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Alison's face, sleeping peacefully a few inches from her.
The blonde had the most relaxed expression that Emily had seen her since she had returned from her years of disappearance. On the left side of her face fell some locks of that blonde hair that she loved so much and which, at that time, was completely messy. Her eyebrows arched gently over those eyes that had finally found a shelter under each eyelid. The furrowed brow that had been on her face during hours of pure concern was now resting completely smooth at the beginning of the arc that led to her nose. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her lips subtly parted. She breathed slowly, her heart beating rhythmically.
Emily smiled, it was the first time that she had woken up with Alison, and the blonde could not be more beautiful, endowed with that kind of perfection that only carefree and deep sleep can provide. Alison moved slightly and Emily's heart skipped a beat, because suddenly, she was aware of the reason for that comforting warmth that spread through her body. One way or another, she had ended completely linked with the blonde.
The right hand that she had placed over Alison's left just before surrendering to sleep had entwined its fingers with the girl's and, while it was not the most comfortable position in the world, the contact compensated that tingle that ran up and down her arm. Her legs were tangled with Alison's and her other arm, the one that was not about to lose feeling, covered the one that the blonde had placed on her waist casually.
They were very close and it made her shiver.
The brunette couldn't help but dwell on the color contrast that existed between the skin of their arms, she loved to see that snowy tone mixed with her natural bronze, it was spectacular. She returned her gaze to her face and held her breath. Alison was awake and watching her with narrowed eyes, two spheres of deep blue that seemed able to sneak straight into her soul.
- Hi. – Emily whispered.
- Hi. – Alison replied and her lips curved a little upwards, generating that kind of smile that shines more in the eyes than in the mouth.
Emily slid her left hand by the blonde's arm, without pressure, just stroking it, marveling at the softness of her skin. Alison sighed at the contact and moved closer to Emily's body, dropping her right hand to fully wrap her waist, burying her face in the small gap that was between the neck and the clavicle of the brunette.
In the meantime, Emily ended putting her left arm around the blonde's shoulders, while the right loosened up and surrounded that golden little head. She rested her chin on her silky hair and inhaled her scent.
They fitted in a perfect embrace.
Emily closed her eyes and wished she could stay like that forever. She wanted to memorize that time, paying attention to every detail, from the feel of the shirt that covered the body of the blonde to the sound of traffic coming through the window, enjoying the moment, using the heat from both their bodies to burn everything with fire in her mind and in her skin.
Suddenly, a shrill whistle broke the spell of the moment. Alison unraveled from the brunette and reached in her nightstand finding the alarm clock and getting it off. That infernal device.
- Did you have to set the alarm? – Emily asked with a laugh that was mixed with a small groan.
- Yes. – The blonde answered with regret, falling back on the mattress, making sure her arm encountered the brunette's, needing to be in contact with some part of Emily's body.
A comfortable silence enveloped the room. They had survived their first night out of Rosewood, it hadn't been perfect, not even close, but they both were of a piece, waiting for what the city had for them.
- I need to go to the bathroom. – Alison said and Emily glanced at her, not knowing where that comment would go. – Don't you need to go to the bathroom?
- I… - The brunette began and something clicked in her mind. She let her lips curve in a little smile. – You want me to check if the rat is there. – She looked at the blonde, who was still staring at the ceiling with disinterest, and the girl shrugged. – Well, what I need is to stay in bed all day, to recover from the jet lag. – She said, starting to stretch, realizing she was a wreck. She didn't know if she could get out of that bed.
- You can't, we have a meeting. – Alison said.
- Do we? – Emily was surprised, they didn't know no one in that city.
- Yes… with CeCe Drake.
- If you keep this up someone will kick us out. – Alison said, watching as Emily tore the third napkin she had taken, reducing it to tine squares.
- Are you sure she'll come?
- Yes. – The blonde checked her watch. – There are still a couple of minutes to five.
They were in a café, not far from where they had the hotel, waiting for CeCe to appear. Alison had made an appointment with her before leaving Rosewood. She hadn't told her about Emily, because when she called desperately telling her to meet her in a couple of days in Paris she still didn't know what she would do with the brunette.
Alison had chosen the meeting place, for it seemed a discreet establishment away from the bustle of the city, and it was nice that it was close to the hotel as she planned to stay in the area for the first few days, until she knew how to handle there better.
But if CeCe knew nothing about Emily, neither did the brunette know about the blonde, so she had been acting a little reluctant since Alison has said her name.
- I know you don't trust her, but…
- It's not that. – Emily clinched, turning her attention to the windows facing the outside, trying to find a blonde head. – I just don't want to owe her anything.
- And you won't. – Alison said, waiting for her to meet her gaze. – You know she was able to escape from Rosewood thanks to me, she owe me a favor, if she help us now we'll be at peace.
At that moment the door of the café opened, letting the outside air and some impeccably dressed brunette came in the local. She wore a black coat, too thick for the room temperature so while scanning the place looking for someone she got rid of it, exposing a dark green dress that suited her figure. Her skin was pale and she only took off the sunglasses covering her blue eyes when she found who she had been looking for.
She walked on a pair of noisy black heels till reach a table in a corner of the room, where a blond and a brunette were watching her stunned. CeCe smiled with her deep crimson lips and opened her arms to welcome Alison.
- It's good to see you. – CeCe said, hugging the girl.
- No, it is good to see you. – Alison broke the hug and looked at her, realizing she wasn't wearing a wig. – Have you dyed your hair?
- Yes, it was easier than going with a wig all the time, I have to be Vivian every day in here. – Both girls sat and CeCe stared at Emily, who still watched her warily. – Hello, Emily.
- Hi. – The brunette greeted her, trying not to tense too much. CeCe was there to help them and she was a friend of Alison, not a threat.
- I thought you were coming alone. – The new brunette said, turning her attention to the blonde. – Did you bring the whole gang?
- No, I just… - Alison looked at Emily and took her hand quietly under the table, giving it a light squeeze. – I just brought Em.
When Emily returned her gaze to Alison, CeCe noticed the complicity of the gesture, how the brunette's face relaxed and her body let out the air that had been holding.
- Well, I'm glad you're not alone, in a city as big as Paris it helps to have friends. - CeCe said and drew the attention of the waiter to serve her an espresso. – I have to confess that I was surprised by your call, something pretty serious must have happened for you to leave Rosewood this soon.
As always CeCe wasn't making direct questions, she just dropped innocent queries that, inevitably, would end up getting answers.
- Yes… stuff happened. – Alison said, without going into details. – I'm sorry I warned you in such a short time, did you get what I asked for?
- More or less. – She turned to rummage through her purse and pulled out various papers. – Let's see… I brought a map of the city, I know that you didn't ask for it, but I figured you wouldn't think of bringing a phone or anything like that… - The blonde shook her head. – None of you… - This time she focused on Emily, who hurried to follow Alison's gesture. – Fine, then it'll help you. This is my address, whatever you need, I'll be there. – She stopped before taking the last paper to smile to the waiter who brought her coffee. – Merci. And this… - She lowered her voice, giving them the last document. – Is the direction of a good friend. He'll help you to get a job. – She looked back at the brunette. – I told him it would be a blonde who would visit him, but I don't think he'll care if she goes with a brunette. You two are quite a pack… I don't think I'll be able to resist you myself.
- What kind of job? – Emily asked, taking part in the conversation for the first time.
- I really don't know, he collaborates with many locations throughout the city.
- Didn't you just say that he was a good friend of yours? – The brunette asked again. Maybe she would be able to trust CeCe but there was no way she would trust her "friends".
- Friend, buddy, one-night stand… honey, in the end, they all end up being the same. – Alison smiled at the comment, she had missed the girl. – You just have to say that you're Vivian's friends. You won't have any problems. – She took a sip of her coffee, staining the edge of the cup with her lipstick. – But hey, let's forget the business for a while, tell me, where are you living?
- In a hotel, not far from here. – Alison replied.
- Oh… that's adorable.
- Actually not, it is horrible, - The blonde continued. – it's right next to a huge cemetery and riddled with bugs.
Emily rolled her eyes, not the rat again, please.
- Literally? – CeCe encouraged her.
- Literally. There is a rat this big. – Alison said, showing the impossible size of the animal.
- There is? Like, present? – The two girls nodded, Alison vehemently and Emily wearily. – Well, you already have a pet!
- It isn't funny, we spent an hour trying to find that thing, and believe me, that room doesn't have many places where a rat can hide.
- Wow, now that's terrible, I mean… your first night in Paris, together… - CeCe didn't miss the blush that appeared on the cheeks of both girls. She smiled. – Sorry, but I have to ask, since when…?
The two looked at each other, Alison was the one who should answer, as she also was the one who knew CeCe and she knew, or at least should have known, that the girl would realize that there was something going on between them. She knew Alison very well, too well to not get that she would only run away with someone else for a reason and… well, even though she had never said anything about the doubtful feelings that she always had for the brunette, CeCe was certain about Emily not being "just another friend" for the blonde, and the fact that she was there, sitting faithfully next to Alison, confirmed it.
- Two days ago. – Emily answered, being aware of the nervousness that had gripped the blonde.
- Sure… that may be the official date, but… which is the unofficial one? – CeCe pressed, having fun with how uncomfortable Alison seemed. For her, the blonde was like a little sister, and as such, she loved to torment her getting into her love life, especially if the girl's feelings were real and not just "flirting out of boredom".
Would it be to pathetic if the brunette said "always"? For all she knew (if counted as true everything that Alison had told her so far), Alison had feelings for her since years ago, but of course, they had never before come out as a couple, they had only kissed in secret and that doesn't count as a relationship, at least not as a real one, does it?
- We… - Alison intervened without looking directly at CeCe. – It's complicated.
- I don't doubt it. But I'm glad it happened. – The blonde looked up and found a genuine smile on CeCe's face. Internally, she had prayed for approval from the girl, she still cared about her opinion, she had always cared about her opinion. – You make a great couple.
Alison smiled back and looked at Emily, who was changing her gaze between both girls, with a hint of discomfort in that little wrinkle of concern that appeared on her forehead from time to time.
- I guess you haven't seen anything in the city. CeCe went on after finishing her drink. - When you have a little time, you should make a good visit, you're gonna love it.
AN: sorry about uploading so late but college is taking all my time away :S Anyway, I just discovered that I'm not very good at "picking up the pace" so I just can hope for your patience and say thank you one more time for taking the time to read it! From now on knew characters and places would appear, I also hope you enjoy them ;) (and if any of you are from Paris or know the city I have to say sorry for future mistakes, though I'll try to do justice to the scenario).
