Hey guys I'm sorry the last chapter was really short but I hope this makes up for it! Enjoy!
Wednesday night Emily was sitting on her bed finishing up her homework. 9:15 was flashing on the digital clock beside her bed. Usually she would've been done with her homework hours ago but she was trying to get ahead for the weekend since she wouldn't be available Friday night. Ever since art class on Monday Emily could not stop thinking of Spencer or their surprise destination. Suddenly her phone started ringing, pushing her out of her thoughts. She quickly picked it up and answered it, hoping it would be Spencer.
It wasn't.
"Hey Mom," she said, trying to sound enthusiastic, "What's up?"
"Hi honey!" her Mom's shrill, overexcited voice rang through her ears. "How are you doing?"
"Good! How are you and Dad?"
"Well honey that's what I called to talk to you about." Emily's heart dropped into her stomach. With her dad being in the military, she always feared the worst.
"Don't worry Em, he's fine. I just wanted to see how you would feel if maybe I stayed down here with your father for a while longer. We've really enjoyed being able to be together and I think spending a little more time with him before he leaves for Iran would really help our marriage. I just wanted to see how you felt before I made any decisions."
Emily grinned, happy that her parent still enjoyed spending time together. "Mom I'm doing great down here. Aria spends the night a lot and she says I'm always welcome over there, and Hanna and Ali said the same thing. If you think spending some more time with dad will be good for you guys then I'm all for it."
"That really means a lot to me and your father Emmy. We're so proud of you for being so mature about this. You've really stepped up and we feel that we couldn't be luckier to have such a wonderful daughter."
Emily sniffed, moved by her mother's strong words of affection. She was glad she could help keep her parent's marriage strong. "Thanks mom. I love that you guys are able to spend some time together. How long would you be staying?"
"Well I was thinking that maybe I would stay down here until summer and then you can come join us, even if it's just for a little while. You've only got about 2 months of school left anyways. Would you be okay with that?"
"Yeah mom that would be awesome. Maybe I could fly down and visit one weekend!"
"I'm sure your father would love that. Well, honey, I have to get to a dinner reservation but we both love you and we couldn't be more proud of you. We love you!"
"Love you too mom," Emily said laughing. "Bye."
"Bye sweetheart!" And with that the line went dead. Emily shook her head and silently laughed at her mom's giddy behavior. She loved that her parents were still as crazy about each other as they were when they first got together. Although distance tears a lot of people apart, Emily believed it kept her parents closer together. Not seeing each other all the time really made them appreciate spending time together when they had the chance. She turned back to her history books and continued to copy down notes. Her concentration was broken when her stomach started rumbling and it occurred to her that she hadn't had time to eat dinner. She was just about to head downstairs to make a sandwich when she heard a tap at her window. She slowly moved from her bed, pulling back the curtains until she was met with the darkness of night. She opened the window and looked around, making sure no one was out there. She went to close the window but stopped abruptly when she heard something rustle in the tree in front of her. She looked closer, expecting to see a squirrel, but was met with something completely different. She screamed and jumped back when she saw a face in front of hers.
"Em calm down it's just me!"
Emily looked up and saw Spencer crouching on a tree branch in front of her window.
"Spencer? What the hell are you doing?" The brunette exclaimed, feigning anger. Honestly she was overjoyed to see Spencer, even if she was in a tree outside her bedroom window.
"I uh I came to, um, ask you if you maybe… possibly wanted to go get some food but I get it if you've already eaten o-or if you don't want to go out with me um actually I should probably get going," Spencer attempted to climb down the tree but her foot slipped on a branch and she clung even tighter to the trunk.
"Spencer! Get in here before you hurt yourself!" Emily said, reaching her hand out the window to help the brunette out of the tree and into her room.
"Spencer you do realize that I have a front door don't you?" Emily asked, laughing.
Spencer picked a few leaves out of her hair and giggled, "I prefer the complicated way. Besides, I didn't know if your parents were asleep or something…"
"My parents aren't home now. My mom is visiting my dad in Texas. He's in the Army."
"And they leave you here by yourself? Wow, they must really trust you…"
"Yeah well what can I say, I'm pretty boring. I don't have parties or stay out late or skip school… hell I don't even use the oven when my parents are out," Emily said, blushing at her own dorkiness.
"Well if you don't use the oven then how do you make food for yourself?"
"I'm on a strict diet of microwave dinners and cereal," both girls laughed as Spencer took Emily's hand.
Spencer blushed at the beautiful girl in front of her. "Well maybe you could take a break from your special diet and come to the Brew with me? My treat."
"Spencer I would love to go to dinner with you… under one condition."
"What's that?"
"We have to use the front door, no sneaking in through the air vent," Emily smiled and took Spencer's hand.
"I promise we will use the front door like normal people. Although, if I remember correctly, last time you saw me in an air vent it ended quite nicely," Spencer said referring to their kiss less than a week ago.
"I guess I can't argue with you on that one… maybe tonight you won't even have to hang out of an air vent to have a happy ending," Spencer laughed and blushed, making Emily realize how sexual her words sounded.
"Sorry Spence, I didn't mean it like that I-"
"It's okay Em, I know what you meant." Spencer leaned over and took the swimmer's hand before leading them downstairs and heading to the Brew.
oO0Oo
"So tell me about yourself, Fields."
Spencer was sitting across from Emily at a cozy corner table at the Brew. She was having a burger and fries while Emily had chicken tenders.
"Well, I love chicken, I'm a swimmer, my dad is in the air force, and I like to paint."
"You paint?" Spencer asked, her surprise and amusement definitely showing through.
"No need to sound so shocked," Emily laughed, "I love painting. It's my favorite thing to do, besides swimming of course."
"I'm not shocked, just intrigued. I paint a lot too… you know, when I'm not busy crawling around air vents," Spencer said, taking a huge bite of her burger. "My parents are never home so I've had a lot of time to take up hobbies."
"Where are your parents all the time?"
"They're always at the law firm in Philly. When they aren't at work they're in California visiting my oh-so-perfect sister Melissa. I think I'm more of a legal obligation to them than a daughter. I always used to try to do things that would impress them. I got perfect grades, I was in every club and sport and I volunteered constantly. I finally realized it was hopeless and that nothing I did would ever be good enough so I just stopped and starting doing things to make myself happy."
"Spence I'm sure your parents love you and are so proud of you. I'm sorry they're not around much though," Emily said sympathetically, putting her hand on Spencer's arm.
The brunette shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. "You get used to it after a while. I almost kind of prefer to be by myself most of the time. Staying home alone definitely has its perks… I never have to wear pants around the house and no one ever argues with me about what to watch on T.V." Spencer tried to laugh it off but Emily could sense the hurt behind her words.
"Well if you ever get tired of being lonely, you know where to find me. By the way, how did you know where my house was?"
"You're friends with Alison DiLaurentis, right? I live right next door to her."
"But Ali lives on the street behind mine… you live there too?"
"Yep, I've seen you walk over from your house before."
"I can't believe I never noticed you before! But, now that you mention it, your face does seems kind of familiar. We definitely need to hang out more!"
"I'd like that a lot," Spencer smiled and the girls continued to eat their dinner in a peaceful, contented silence.