Guys this is the best chapter yet… I literally almost peed my pants writing it. Enjoy!
Beep Beep Beep
The annoying blaring of Emily's alarm rang through the house, breaking the Friday morning silence. She reached over and turned it off, reluctantly throwing her blanket off of her legs and rubbing her eyes. She reached for her phone and turned it on, immediately checking her messages. Her eyes shot open when she saw she had received a text.
Spencer: 1 new text
It was Friday.
She opened the message quickly, her heart pounding with excitement. She read it eagerly, breaking out into a wide grin.
S: Hey Em, any chance you would want to get breakfast? I wanted to discuss some details about tonight
E: Sounds great! I'm so pumped! You wanna meet at the Brew for coffee in an hour?
S: Sure, see ya then
Emily quickly scrambled to hop into the shower. Once she was out, she went to her closet to pick out a cute outfit. She chose a pair of dark denim jeans with a rip in the thigh. She was torn between a cream colored button up and her favorite t-shirt. She eventually chose the t-shirt, not wanting to look like she was trying too hard, and put it on. It was a grey Rosewood Sharks Swim Team shirt with KILLER printed on the back of it. Killer was the nickname her team had given after she slayed the record for the butterfly at last year's regional swim meet. She cuffed the sleeves of the shirt and grabbed a pair of navy Vans and went to do her hair and makeup. She chose to put her hair up in a cute high ponytail. She also opted for her glasses instead of contacts because they made her look cuter- or so Hanna claimed.
She looked at her watch and smiled. She had exactly 10 minutes to get to the Brew and meet Spencer. Emily was proud at how much better her time management skills had become ever since her mom had starting visiting Texas. Having to do everything for herself had really helped her mature and helped keep her out of trouble. She grabbed her backpack and her wallet and headed to the Brew. Everything was better since she met Spencer. She drove a little faster, she sang a little louder, even the sun shined a little brighter. Emily had only had one girlfriend before, but she had never felt like this. Knowing Spencer for one week had already topped what had been almost 2 years of a relationship. She drove down the road, finally content with how her life was going. She thought she couldn't be any happier until her favorite song began playing on the radio. 1985 by Bowling for Soup was her all-time favorite. She sang along loudly the entire ride to the Brew.
"DEBBY JUST HIT THE WALL! SHE NEVER HAD IT ALL! ONE PROZAC A DAY, HUSBANDS A CPA! HER DREAMS WENT OUT THE DOOR WHEN SHE TURNED 24. ONLY BEEN WITH ONE MAN, WHAT HAPPENED TO HER PLAN?"
Emily slowed down when she came to a stop sign and used the opportunity to roll down her windows and turn up her radio.
"SHE WAS GONNA BE AN ACTRESS! SHE WAS GONNA BE A STAR! SHE WAS GONNA SHAKE HER ASS ON THE HOOD OF WHITE SNAKE'S CAR!"
She pulled into the brew parking lot and played air guitar, completely oblivious to the person who had come up to the window to her car.
"HER YELLOW SUV IS NOW THE ENEMY, LOOKS AT HER AVERAGE LIFE AND NOTHING NA NA HAS BEEN NA NA ALRIGHT SINCE"
A new voice joined her in the chorus, startling the swimmer whose eyes shot open.
"SINCE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, MADONNA, WAY BEFORE NIRVANA TEHRE WAS U2 AND BLONDIE AND MUSIC Still on MTV…" Spencer trailed off when she realized Emily was no longer singing with her.
"Sorry I couldn't resist… that's one of my favorites," Spencer said sheepishly. Emily laughed and got out of her car.
"Don't be sorry, it's my favorite too! Not a lot of people know Bowling for Soup…"
"Yeah well I try to stay cultured," Spencer laughed, taking Emily's hand as they walked into the Brew.
oO0Oo
"I'll have a mocha latte with 3 espresso shots and… What do you want Spence?" Emily asked as they stood at the counter to order their coffee.
"You go ahead Em I'll pay for my own!"
"No way! You bought me dinner this week, coffee is the least I can do," the swimmer argued.
"Fine fine. I'll have an Americano, black, please."
"Wow you drink it black... I'm impressed," Emily mused.
"Yeah… I think cream and sugar ruins the actual coffee taste," Spencer shrugged, blushing. She blushed harder, embarrassed at the fact she was even blushing in the first place. Spencer usually wasn't the soft type, but something about the way Emily picked out all the little things melted her insides. They sat down at the same table they had on Wednesday.
"So Spence what details did you want to go over?" Emily asked, worried that Spencer had rethought the idea of bringing her along.
"Well I just wanted to give you a basic run through so everything goes smoothly. For one thing, don't wear any bright or flashy colors… I know it's cliché but all black is probably your best option. Next, if the police were to show up, which I doubt they will, just be cool and let me do the talking. I've had more than a few run ins with law enforcement but I always get out of it with a warning. They know my parents would kick their asses in court," Spencer chuckled.
"So what exactly are we doing?"
"We are going to an art studio, my dearest Emily."
Emily's face paled. "The Philadelphia Art Studio? Seriously?"
"That's the one. Why, what's wrong with the art museum?" Spencer asked, an amused smile creeping upon her lips.
"Nothing I guess… but what are we going to do there?"
"We're going to look at paintings, duh!"
"Why can't we just do that during the daytime Spence…?" Emily asked, confused at where Spencer was going with this.
"Because, you can't do what you want during the day Em," Spencer said winking.
Emily laughed at her cryptic tone and eventually conceded. "Okay fine. I trust you Hastings. What time are we leaving?"
"Can I pick you up around 1:15? Don't tell anyone this, but they turn off the alarms at 1 am. Saves them money somehow. They just let people believe the alarms are still on so no one sneaks in, but I know a guy on the security team. I have all the insider information," Spencer grinned proudly.
"Impressive, I think I might have to tag along with you more often Hastings." Emily smiled and caught Spencer's gaze. She leaned across the table and placed a lingering kiss on the brunette's lips which was quickly reciprocated. When the need for air became apparent they broke the kiss, smiling goofily at each other. Spencer leaned in again but was interrupted by the sound of her phone alarm going off.
"And that means it's time for school," Spencer groaned, earning a pout from Emily.
oO0Oo
Emily arrived at school and hastily shoved her books into her locker. She was definitely nervous about tonight. A thousand different scenarios and outcomes played through her mind as she rummaged through her bag for her English book. She was so deep in though that she didn't notice her 3 best friends approach her.
"Hey Em," Hanna said, making Emily's head shoot up as she dropped her books.
"Shit, someone's a little on edge," Aria said, a worried look crossing her features.
"You alright Em?" Ali asked. Emily and Alison had tried dating for a little while, but eventually decided they were better off as friends. Their relationship was so short lived, Emily didn't really consider Ali a "girlfriend". Even though they broke up, they still remained best friends as they always were, although Ali still had a noticeable soft spot for the swimmer.
"I'm fine guys, just a little tired. I don't sleep very well when I'm home by myself."
"Em if you get scared you know you're always welcome to stay at one of our house," Aria said sympathetically rubbing her hand on Emily's arm.
"Thanks guys," she smiled.
"So Em, we're having a sleepover at Aria's tonight, you're coming right?" Hanna asked.
"As much as I would love to I kind of have plans…" Emily said, hoping that her friends wouldn't pry for too much detail.
"Ooh Em is it a date? Who is she? Dos she go here? Do I know her?" Hanna fired questions like bullets.
"Is she a bitch? I need to meet her before you go out with her," Alison chimed in, her defensive side shining through.
"Guys ease up!" Aria pleaded. She was always the compassionate one.
"Calm down guys she's really nice but I doubt you know her. Her name is Spencer and she's in my art class," Emily said, blushing at the memory of their kiss at the Brew.
"Wait Spencer… as in Hastings?" Ali asked, her disapproval clear in her tone.
"Yeah... why?"
Hanna stepped forward, pushing Ali aside. She knew how defensive she got over Emily.
"I've heard that she has a criminal record… breaking and entering I think… be careful around her Em."
"She's really nice and I like her a lot, okay? Nothing you guys say about her can change that," Emily aid shutting her locker and walking off to class, leaving her friends standing in the middle of the hallway with looks of worry plastered on their faces.
Emily aid shutting her locker and walking off to class, leaving her friends standing in the middle of the hallway with looks of worry plastered on their faces.
oO0Oo
Emily paced back and forth around her room nervously. It was 1:10 a.m. and Spencer would be there to pick her up any minute. She looked at her reflection in the mirror for the millionth time, uncertain if what she was wearing was appropriate. She had on black jeans, a long sleeve black shirt, and black combat boots. Her phone chimed and she jumped. She was really anxious about tonight. She wasn't sure if it was the actual breaking in that had her nervous or the act that there were butterflies swarming in her stomach. She groaned at the effect Spencer had on her. She pulled out her phone, hoping it was Spencer.
S: Hey I'm here
E: On my way out
Emily put her phone on silent and took one last look at her room. Even though her mom was halfway across the country, she still felt like she was going to get caught for sneaking out at night. She turned her light off and ran downstairs to join Spencer in the car, locking the door behind her.
She opened the passenger side door of Spencer's car and quickly buckled in. "Step on it," she said half- jokingly.
Spencer laughed at Emily's frazzled behavior, "Calm down Em this isn't a James Bond movie. Besides we haven't even left your driveway yet."
"Yeah you're right… I'm sorry. It's just I've never done anything like this before."
"Relax Em, we'll be fine. Just don't be scared… they can smell fear."
"Whose they?" Emily asked, a panicked expression crossing her features.
Spencer laughed and patted Emily's upper thigh reassuringly. "No one I was just kidding Em. You seriously need to lighten up, this is supposed to be fun."
They drove down the highway in comfortable silence, Spencer's hand resting on Emily's leg to help keep her calm. When they arrived at the museum, Spencer parked her car one block over so no one would suspect anything. Spencer led Emily around the side of the building where a ladder was attached to the brick wall.
"You first," Spencer whispered, helping Emily up onto the rungs until she gained her footing. Spencer followed close behind, making sure Emily didn't fall and no one was behind them. They reached the roof and slowly stood up. Emily gasped at the view. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. All of Philly was lit up and glowing. Spencer appeared by her side and took her hand, rubbing soothing circles on it as she leaned over and kissed the swimmer's cheek.
"We better get going Em," Spencer said, tugging gently on the brunette's arm.
They went over to the air duct ventilation cover and Spencer pulled something out of her bag. Emily couldn't see what it was, but had a pretty good idea when she heard the noise it made when Spencer turned it on. The drill unscrewed the bolts from the floor, allowing Spencer to lift up the vent cover. She slowly lowered herself down, feeling for where the bottom of the vent was. Fortunately it wasn't too far down and she slipped inside the vent with ease. Emily went next as Spencer slowly helped her into the air duct. What they didn't realize was that they were directly above the security room where there was a guard, asleep in his chair. Spencer put her finger to her lips as a plea for silence and she motioned for Emily to follow her. Emily took one step forward and an alarm started blaring throughout the vents. Emily shot Spencer, whose face was a pale shade of white, a panicked look as Spencer grabbed her hand.
"Emily come on!" she yelled as they crawled as fast as they could down the vent. They heard the police guard get up and run down the hallway. They crawled over the second vent opening, Spencer making it cleanly across. Emily was halfway over when the floor fell out from under her. The guard had opened the hatch, causing Emily to fall out of the vent.
"Em!" Spencer rasped, turning back around. The guard grabbed Emily and handcuffed her hands behind her back and sat her down on the floor.
"Spencer go! I'll be fine! Just go!" she yelled. She knew that if she went to jail, her punishment would less severe than if Spencer was caught. She had a track record, unlike Emily.
Spencer nodded and ran, desperately trying to think of a way to save Emily. She climbed back up to the roof and ran to her car. She drove around the front of the building and picked up a fairly large sized rock. She hurtled it at the giant glass window, hoping it would distract the guard long enough for Emily to get away. She pulled into the trees so she was hidden as she waited for Emily to come running out.
Emily tried to pull off her handcuffs but it was no use. Soon enough there were multiple police officers leading her to the squad car rather forcefully. She looked around for Spencer and finally spotted her standing in the woods. Emily shot her a brilliant smile and chuckled to herself. As scary as it was, the whole situation did have some humor to it. The smile was wiped off her face, though, as another thought crossed her mind. Her mom. Her mother who, just 2 days ago, told her how proud she was of her for being mature and not getting into trouble. She knew that they would have to call her parents when she was arrested. She racked her brain for a solution and finally came up with one that might work. It was a long shot, but not impossible
oO0Oo
She was led into the police station by a guard with no hair and an enormous gut, probably from one too many donuts. There was no one in the station except a young officer who was 19 at the most, half asleep at his desk. When he heard he door shut behind them he jolted awake and tried to make himself look busy, to no avail.
"Here James, put her in a holding cell. I have to head back out and look for the accomplice. Make sure she gets her phone call and her parents come pay the bail. Check her record okay?" the officer said, handing Emily over to the younger guard.
"Yes sir Officer, I'll get right on it," he said, taking Emily's arm gently and leading her through a door to a room with a holding cell and a few payphones. He took off her handcuffs and led her over to one of the phones.
"You get one phone call, make it good. I've checked your record, Emily. You're an excellent student, the top swimmer at your school, and you have no trace of any negative record. Your bail is $25. I feel like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time," he smiled sympathetically and handed the receiver over to her.
Emily quickly dialed Ali's number, hoping that she and Hanna would be awake and willing to go along with her plan. The phone rang once, then twice before someone on the other end picked up.
"Hello?" an annoyed voice asked. Alison.
"Hey mom…" Emily said, trying to sound convincing.
"Emily? What the hell why are you calling me mom? What number are you using? Do you have any idea what fucking time it is?" Alison sounded confused, so Emily tried her best to give her as much info as possible without giving away her plan. After all, the guard was standing right there.
"Mom I'm kind of in jail… I need you to come pick me up," Emily said, trying to keep a straight face.
"Emily you're in jail?! How did you get there? Are you okay?" she heard Hanna yelling something in the background about her current situation and winced. She knew Hanna would say I told you so later on.
"I'm fine, Mom, it's really no big deal. I just need you to come pick me up. Bail is $25."
"We'll be there in 20," and with that the line went dead and Emily hung up the receiver.
"My mom will be here in about 20 minutes," the brunette told the guard who nodded and led her over to a holding cell which was, thankfully, empty.
oO0Oo
Alison sighed as she hung up the phone. She looked over at Hanna who was beyond mad.
"I knew that Spencer girl would get her into trouble, Ali, I just KNEW it. We shouldn't have let her go out tonight!" Hanna yelled, pacing back and forth.
"Hanna calm down. Maybe this wasn't even Spencer's fault…" Aria said, trying to keep her blonde friend calm.
"Yeah Hanna, there will be plenty of time for I told you so later but right now we have to go down to the police station and pick up Emily! It has to be her parents who pick her up so I suggest you put some heels on, my lovely wife," Alison said.
Hanna's face broke into a grin as she started laughing. "Alison you can't possibly be suggesting that we pose as a lesbian couple, go down to the police station, and bail our 'daughter' out of jail can you?"
"Yep, that's exactly what I'm suggesting."
"Wait, what am I going to do?" asked Aria, scared at what the two blondes might suggest.
"You can be our baby!" Alison exclaimed, making Hanna laugh even harder.
"Is it because I'm the short one?"
"Of course not…" Hanna said between giggles, "You just have a little baby face."
"I'm only agreeing to this for Emily's sake," the tiny brunette huffed, "I think we still have Mike's baby stroller in the attic.
"I'll go get my keys."
oO0Oo
21 minutes later, Emily heard the door leading to the holding cells open and close. She lifted her head from her hands and couldn't believe what she was seeing. In front of her stood Alison and Hanna, arms crossed over their chests, stern maternal looks plastered on their faces. Ali was in a pair of heels, sweatpants, and a shirt that were obviously Aria's mom's clothes. Hanna was in a pair of heels and a pencil skirt with a blazer that were also Ms. Montgomery's. She had an ascot around her neck and she strongly resembled a flight attendant. The best part, though, was Aria. She was curled up in a stroller covered up to her chin with a blanket, a blue baby beanie that was far too small was stretched across her head in attempt to cover up her hair. The guard followed close behind, looking extremely skeptical.
"Are these your… moms?" he asked, trying not to laugh. It was obvious he didn't believe their act but was going to go along with it for Emily's sake. After all, it was 2 a.m.
"Um yes… hi mom… mama," she answered, doing her best to look like an ashamed daughter who would surely be grounded for life.
"Emily Catharine Fields do you have any idea what time it is?" Alison snapped. She was pretty convincing.
"Do you even realize how much trouble you're in young lady? You made us get out of our bed, wake up your baby sister, and drive down to the police station to bail you out of jail. You are in a world of trouble. Now come on we're leaving." Hanna said.
"Not so fast ma'am," the guard said stepping in front of the door. "I need to see some identification."
Alison stepped forward, having no regard for personal space. "It is 2:00 in the morning. My wife and I got a call that our daughter was in jail and needed to be bailed out. Do you honestly think my first thought was to grab my I.D.?"
"Well you and your wife both had time to get dressed so…"
"We were in the middle of foreplay, thank you very much," Hanna snapped, making him step back, "Not that it's any of your business," Emily snickered, earning a glare from both Hanna and Ali.
"Well ladies if you don't have and I.D. on you how can I be sure you're really her parents?"
Ali held up her hand to his face, showing him the ring on her left ring finger. They really had thought of everything. "And besides that, if we weren't together would we do this?" Alison grabbed Hanna by the hips and kissed her. Hanna, not missing a beat, wrapped her arms around Alison's neck and deepened the kiss. Emily stared at them wide eyed, wondering if that was the first time they had ever done that. When they broke apart, the young guard stood there dumbfounded. There was something showing through his pants and Alison scoffed.
"Officer?" she asked sweetly. Too sweetly.
"Y-yes ma'am?" he stuttered.
"Either take the flashlight out of your pocket or get your fucking penis under control." And with that she grabbed Emily's arm and let her out of the police station. Hanna ran close behind, pushing the stroller with baby Aria in it hastily.
They all got in the car and sat there in stunned silence before bursting out into laughter. Aria cackled while Ali sat there with tears running down her cheeks.
"You guys- that was- the best thing- I have ever witnessed," Emily choked out in between laughs.
"Hanna, that was amazing, please marry me," Ali cried out, doubled over.
"Okay Emily but seriously how did you get in prison? Was it that Spencer girl's fault?"
"Not entirely. Can we talk about it in the morning? I'm really tired. Prison really takes a lot out of you."
"Yeah sure, but you have to talk eventually," Aria said, stretching out her leg which had cramped up about halfway through her stroller ride.
"I will, I promise," Emily said before dozing off, subconsciously wondering what happened to Spencer.