AN: Hi there! I'm back! :)
Well, a long update. What could it be? A gift? A torture? Or a disappointment? I don't know. You tell me. :)
I'm glad that you all seem really love the previous chapter. Your reviews melt my heart. If there's a day I stop update, probably that's the day I die in happiness. That's all of your awesome people's fault. But yeah, continue kill me with reviews. I'm willing to be dead. :))
I have special thanks for chxndelier, inesd, Ramona, NeonNight83, dahliadaria, spemilylover, S.A, Shellma, sabooian and guests. I know most of you have been joining this journey from the beginning. From the first day when I still thought I was the only one who would read my story. Look how far we get now.
You guys said I made you smile and laugh. You really don't know how powerful those words mean to me. Really.
For friends who review most chapters and decided to stick with me, you all are my inspirations. I wait like a little kid after each update for you guys. Oops, it's supposed to be a secret.
For sabooian, I haven't thanked you for pointing out my misspelling in chapter 8. You're like my personal English tutor. Can I keep you, please? Wait! Ignore that part. Just ignore it.
For Shellma, sooner than you thought. *wink*
For guest who's also a cheerleader, I honestly believe I don't have ability to do the scene you suggested. I'm so sorry for that. I'm glad you could find your favorite person. It's tough now but I'm sure things will get better. Things are going to get better. I wish you all the best. :)
For guest that always reviewed on chapter 1, you're like my reminder that it's time to update! :)) I adore you, too.
Since it's Valentine's month, this part will replace my thank you part. For all of you who haven't had a Valentine yet, I give you a massive hug. You don't need a boyfriend or girlfriend to feel warm, family and friends are always there for you. Oh and people who already have someone special, I give you a massive embrace. Keep them, okay? It's not easy to find love. It's not.
About this chapter, you see a lot of words while I see a lot of mistakes. Haha. I'm kidding. I couldn't see it. I hope you can show me. Oh, and I have a strong feeling that you're gonna hate me. Yupe. You'll get it eventually. Haha.
You love Spemily and I love you.
Pretty Little Liars is not mine. If it's mine, you'll know. (Full of Spemily of course)
I suddenly feel scared of updating. Haha. Ha. Ouch.
"I'm in trouble."
"Spencer Hastings's in trouble? Never heard of that before."
"Toby! I'm serious."
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. So what's it?"
"I think, no. I know I'm…"
"You know you're what?"
"I am…"
"You are…?"
"I am in love…"
"With?"
"With… the… coffeeshopowner."
"Name…?"
"What are you doing?"
"Forcing you to say the whole sentence."
"I'm in love with Emily! Happy?"
"More than ever." Toby grinned, his smile almost cracked his face.
"WAIT! You knew?"
"I'm not blind, Spencer. Of course I knew. That night at your birthday I saw you looked at her like she was a bottle of coolest water when you were stuck in the middle of a desert. At noon. On the hottest day. Of your seventh day's getting lost. In summer." The manager replied, emphasized each sentence while smiling mischievously.
"Am I that obvious?" Spencer sighed, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Why didn't you tell her that night? I thought you was gonna say it when the song ended." Toby asked, this time his smile faded a little.
"I was but then I changed my mind. I have to make it big, you know. She loves romance. It must be the biggest or near the biggest romantic gesture she's ever had." The writer said thoughtfully. She was struggling for days to plan her "confession day".
"Spencer, whatever you do, I know she will say yes if she has feeling for you." The man reassured, didn't want his friend to be so stressful about it.
"I don't do this for getting a "yes". I do this for her. I want her face to brighten. I want her eyes to glow. I want her eyes to shine. And I want her to be happy. This isn't just because of a "yes" for my desire of her. I actually really care about what she may feel at that moment and what she may feel when she's with me. I don't want to risk anything. I don't want to be reckless because everything is breakable." Raising her hand to touch her pedant, the light brown eyes girl smiled, her eyes fixed on the object. "Like apple wood. You have to take good care of it."
For a moment, Spencer drifted to her wonderland which probably somewhere had the presence of the coffee shop owner. Toby didn't interrupt her. He was so amused by those words the writer had just said. She was back. She finally was back or at least she was getting back to her usual self. A Spencer of five years ago. A Spencer always took care of people she loved and concerned about the future. Her future. A Spencer who believed in happy ending. A romantic Spencer. The girl completely let go of a ghost named Wren Kingston who had been haunting her mind for years, who had destroyed her in the most ruthless way, who had turned her into a person she had never imaged she could be. Her mind was full of love again. She allowed her to love other and she was going to allow other to love her. She was going to allow Emily to love her, to step into her life.
"I'm glad you're back, Spencer. I've missed you so much." The manager spoke, looked lovingly at the girl in front of him, smiling.
"I'm glad I'm back, too." Spencer returned his smile, continued. "Thank you, Toby. I really hope she'll say yes."
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
"Thank you?"
"No, after that."
"Toby?"
"No, the last one."
"I hope she'll say yes?"
"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. You HOPE. Spencer Hastings's hoping." Toby yelled, acted exaggeratedly with Spencer's words. "Can you say that again? I have to record it. This is the biggest milestone in my life. I don't want to let it go this easy." Shoving his hand into his pocket, Toby took out his phone and turned the record app on, pointed to the writer's direction, waiting. "C'mon, just that last sentence. I'll set this as my alarm ringtone. Remember to speak loud and clear. Okay?"
After a long silent moment flicking her eyes between Toby's face and his phone, Spencer faked a smile at her manager then suddenly grabbed the magazine on the table and hit the man repeatedly. Though those hits might hurt a little but Toby was laughing the whole time. His hands cover every part that the magazine had hit while trying hard to say something that could stop the writer. Really hard. He couldn't manage to beg Spencer for forgiveness whilst his evil laugh still didn't die down.
"Haha. Okay, okay. I'm so sorry. Hahaha. I'm just kidding. Haha. I'm sorry. Hahahaha."
"Shut! Up!"
Toby's laughter finally came to its end after a good fifteen minutes. It had been a really long time since he could joke like this to his beloved best friend. Spencer had never been this relax, this lively, this… optimistic before. Her life if it wasn't a big competition with Melissa then it must be a tragic love story with that jerk. The manager had never let himself be too comfortable with the writer though he knew for sure that they were really good friends. Conversely, Spencer also had never let herself be this easy – going with others. She always locked it inside her mind, locked her real personality inside her heart, locked herself inside her body. Now she could open it, wider than ever. Thanks to the key named Emily Fields. The key had stepped to Spencer life unexpectedly but somehow it managed to unlock every single thing. From the girl's mind to the girl's heart. It was like a fairy tale. It was like magic. It was almost unbelievable. But it was simply just love. Yeah, simply just love.
"How does it feel?" Toby asked, his smile remained unchanged which meant you could count how many tooth he had.
"Hmm?" The light brown eyes girl confused, unsure she understood the question.
"Hope. How does it feel?"
"Well, it's a little scary because you couldn't be so sure about anything yet you still get this excited feeling in your heart and could be destroyed any minute. But above that, it feels good. More than good. Put that chance that your hope could be shattered aside, you'll see that if your dream finally comes true, you'll explode in all of the happiness that could exist in the world. No one could be happier than you at that moment."
The manager couldn't help it. He broke the "no hugging" rule of himself that he always followed when it came to Spencer. As the brunette was about to protest, Toby raised his voice.
"Even if I have to lock Emily in a cage in your basement, I will still try my best just to keep her by your side forever."
The light brown eyes girl slowly pulled away, grinning, replied playfully but her voice sounded serious.
"You touch her hair and I promise I'll make you wish you weren't born, Toby Cavanaugh."
"Okay, okay. Geez. Nothing good happened when you put on "the overprotecting" Spencer." The man backed off immediately, raising both hands for sign of peace.
Having time like this with one of her best friends after a long time lightened Spencer's mood a lot. She almost forgot how comfortable it could feel. The writer settled to speak again.
"But can you make sure the cage's big enough. I don't want her to feel unease since my basement is kinda dark."
Toby blinked. Spencer blinked. They burst into laughter. The manager couldn't believe the girl in front of him was really Spencer Hastings. She had just said her first joke to him in ages. The girl had completely come back. Emily did a really good job on his secret project. Gazing in rapture at the writer, his laughter died down, the man spoke seriously.
"I meant it, Spencer. I would do anything to keep her if I were you."
"Don't worry, I intend to do that. And I need your help."
The writer had just come home after a two hours interview. She was getting more famous every day since her most successful book "Loving you is my mission" would be turned into a movie. The crew was doing their castings and since Spencer was a part of the team, they needed her permission if the actors or actresses had some potentials to join the movie. That meant the light brown eyes girl was pretty busy lately and she had delayed her "confession day" for a month. But she couldn't wait any longer. Tonight would be the night.
Turning her wheels through the villa's gates, Spencer stepped out of the car but didn't show any sign that she would come in any time soon. The brunette took out a piece of paper to check again.
"Confession Plan.
First, going out for a horror movie and being brave.
Second, having fancy meals at "Fancy" Restaurant.
Third, passing by "Be my forever" coffee shop.
Fourth, live happily ever after."
Spencer inhaled and exhaled deeply, closing her eyes, mumbling.
"Okay, Spencer, honey. It's our time. You'll try your best and you won't regret anything. You do this for her. You do this for you. You do this for our future. Don't be scared. Just go inside and nail it. Okay? Okay, good." Our incredible writer opened her eyes, cocking her head aside. "When did I start talking alone?"
Realizing she just talked to herself again, Spencer rolled her eyes, walked aggressively to her front door and was about to reach the doorknob but her nerves was back again. Looking at her shaking hand, the writer knew that this was real. Her emotion was real. What was going to happen next would draw a new direction for her life. The girl was a little nervous. And well, "a little" was still an understatement. But she was sure she wouldn't take back her decisions. All of her decisions from the start. The one that she faked her marriage. The one that she chose Paris. The one that she helped Emily with her coffee shop. The one that she sang for the girl. And this one. The decision that she was going to make everything become real. The thoughts eased her heart. Sure she had a chance of rejection but well, she also had a chance that all of this happiness would be hers. For real. Her mind chose to be optimistic this time and her face reacted with a big triumphant smile on her lips.
The girl walked in her house.
Emily was reading a book on the couch in the living room. It was a scene that Spencer got used to already. Every time she came home from any event, she always found the tanned girl laying in exactly that position with a book on her hands. The writer didn't know why but that calmed her a lot. No matter how tired she could be, she always felt relax right after her feet turned to the couch direction and her eyes captured Emily's presence. Today, of course, wasn't an exception. If the thoughts of making everything real erased half of her nerves then this scene would erase the rest. Spencer was surer than ever. Picking the pedant on her neck up, the light brown eyes girl gave it a kiss before raised her voice.
"Hey, I'm home." As she was speaking, the girl slowly approached the couch which was opposite Emily's
"Oh, hey. What you do want for dinner? I haven't decided yet." Emily responded, her eyes left the page for a brief moment to look at Spencer then back to theirs previous target.
"I was thinking that we could have dinner at my friend's restaurant." The writer said, starting processing her plan.
"Hmm? Why? You've got sick of my food already?" The coffee shop owner flicked her eyes back to Spencer, smiling, spoke playfully.
"No, no, no. I haven't. It's just that we have to go out tonight." In a rush, Spencer almost spilled out her plan. The girl trying hard to act normal and prevented her hand from covering her lips.
Narrowing her eyes at the older girl, Emily smelled something fishy but she tended to let it go and reply normally before turned her attention back to the book.
"You really love the phrase "have to", don't you?"
"I… um… I have two tickets of the new movie "Brains". I don't want to go alone and since you love horror movies, I… I just think that we should go together. I really want to see the movie." The light brown eyes girl spoke, her eyes kept flicking between the tickets in her hands and Emily's face, waiting for the girl's reaction.
At this point, the coffee shop owner dropped her book, turned full attention to the writer. Her eyes widened, the girl sat back.
"You mean "Brains" – The scariest movie in the last ten years? The movie that has just released last week but a dozen audiences have to go to the hospital because they couldn't sleep well for three days? But more important, the one has the most disgusting zombie's factures of all time?"
"Yupe, that's the one." Spencer replied quickly.
"Are you okay, Spencer? Are you having a fever? Come here, let's me check your temperature." Emily stood up and was about to reach Spencer's forehead, her face was full of concern.
"No, no, no, no. I'm fine. I'm totally fine. This movie seems pretty awesome so I want to see it. We can watch it and have dinner at my friend's restaurant after that. How does that sound?" The writer quickly regained her gesture, back to her usual confident Spencer.
The coffee shop owner slowly sat down, working hard to solve Spencer's question. Movie and dinner? The offer was like Spencer just asked her out. Plus, the older girl even chose her favorite kind of movies which the light brown eyes girl obviously wasn't a big fan of. A light thought crossed her mind.
Sounds like a date to me.
"So…?" Spencer asked after a long silent moment.
"Cool. I'm in. Well, of course only if you're okay with zombies."
Putting on her triumphant smile, the writer hissed.
"There's nothing to be scared about them. I'm completely okay with zombies."
At least I'll act like I am.
After buying popcorns and soft drinks, the writer excused herself to go to the bathroom. Not that she needed to use it though. The room was pretty empty. It was perfect for the girl to have a conversation with herself. Again.
"Okay! They're just zombies. They're on the screen. They can't escape from that. They're not gonna eat your brain. Your brain will be safe. C'mon Spencer! You have to do this. Show Emily you can deal with anything. Show Emily you're incredible. Show Emily she'll be safe in any circumstance as long as she's with you. For Emily. For you. Fighting, Spencer!"
Well, now we know why the light brown eyes girl picked this movie. The tanned girl had discovered that she was afraid of zombies and that scared our writer. Spencer was going to confess her feeling for Emily today and what if Emily said no? What if Emily said no because if Spencer couldn't deal with zombies which were just human's imagine then how could she deal with anything that might hurt the love of her life? Real thing? Spencer had to prevent that from happening. She had to eliminate any chance that could take away her girl. Yes, dealing with two hours of zombies' movie was torment but she would never regret. She always said to herself that as long as she tried her best, she wouldn't regret for anything. And well, Emily was worth it. Emily was worth watching two hours of those zombies. Emily was worth anything.
Taking a deep breath, the light brown eyes girl walked to the bathroom door, just to be stopped by her ringing phone.
"Hey Aria! What's up?"
"Hey, I was looking for our High school's graduate photos but couldn't find them in my place. Can I pass by your house and see if they're there?"
"Sure, but Emily and I are going out tonight. So I think you're gonna look for them alone. I'm sorry."
"Oh, it's okay. I'm with Hanna. She'll help me with it. Don't worry. Have fun." As the tiny girl was about to hang up, a similar voice yelled through the phone and hit Spencer's ears. "Spencerrrrr! Is Emily there? TELL HER I MISS HER."
The light brown eyes girl chuckled, replied.
"Yes, Hanna. I'll deliver your words. Bye."
The next thing our writer could hear were mixed voices on the other side of the phone.
"Byeeee! Oh, wait. TELL HER I LOVE HER TOO. Can't believe I almost forgot."
"Ooookay, that's enough Hanna. Everyone's staring at us. Let the girls have their fun night."
"Wait, wait, wait. Can I hear her voice? Please! Pretty please! Spen…"
"Give me this! Bye Spence. We gotta g… go. Damn it, Hanna. Let it go."
Beep, beep, beep.
Okay, new thing about Hanna. Never let the girl know her beloved best friend was with you when you guys were on the phone. The girl might don't want to hang up anytime soon. But it was adorable and it helped Spencer get tons of pressure off her shoulder. The brunette secretly thanked Emily's best friend for that.
And well, it was the time for her first step of the night.
Eventually, our couple made it to their seats. Let say these were two of the best seats in the room. Of course they were though. When the manager of a famous writer asked for two seats in the theater, you gave him the best you could have. No question asked.
Glancing over at the coffee shop owner, Spencer couldn't help but let a genuine smile take over her lips, her eyes softened. The girl next to her was a person of body language. You could easily tell that she was extremely excited even it hadn't been the movie's show time yet by this tiny light in her eyes, by this little swing she did with her legs, by this nervous hold she did with her hands. The room darkened and prepared for the movie to show but Spencer swore the light at her seat was better than anywhere else in this room. Or her eyes were getting better every day without wearing glasses. Or someone was pointing a flashlight at Emily. Spencer didn't know what was true. Spencer didn't know she could handle two hours with this movie or not. Spencer just knew one thing. One little thing. She couldn't handle a life without Emily. Actually, she could. But it would just be surviving. Not living.
"Are you sure about this?"
The angelic voice cut Spencer's thoughts, our writer woke up from her daydream.
"Hmm?"
"You know, the zombies thing."
"I'm fine! For the last time, I'm not scared of zombies." The girl waved her hand, acted nonchalantly. "Oh look! It's on."
Her words brought Emily's attention back to the screen. The writer also started to focus on the movie.
They said time flies. Guess what? They lied. Spencer knew it. They lied. It was only five minutes passed but it felt like hours. Why the hell did all of these zombie seem like they were hungrier than they were in other movies? Why the hell did they want to eat people's brains? Why the hell did they only want to eat fresh brains? Why the hell were smart people's brains more delicious than others? Oh, and look at the way they enjoyed eating brains. It was so disgusting. The popcorn in Spencer's hands covered half of her face. And by half, I meant from eyes and above. The girl was now wishing she had brought a helmet with her. You know, to protect her brain. Our incredible writer kept thinking "Be brave, Spencer! Be brave." in her head times to times but seemed like it didn't work. She almost fainted after seeing a zombie took out that guy's brain through his eyes. Okay, this was too distasteful. Even I don't want to see it. How could Emily enjoy this movie?
Oh wait, Emily didn't. She didn't give the movie a single look from the start. The screen was screaming, yelling, crying but she didn't care. Her eyes fixed on the girl next to her. Emily wasn't sure and she also didn't know the reason why Spencer wanted to watch this but she just assumed that this was all her fault. If she hadn't teased Spencer that night, maybe the girl wouldn't have chosen this way to prove her braveness. Any word Emily said right now probably would receive the same answer which was like "I'm fine. I'm not scared." from this stubborn writer. But seeing Spencer struggling with every scene or even every sound worried Emily. Spencer didn't have to prove anything. She was already impeccable in Emily's thoughts. She was just restive sometimes. Emily wanted to save the girl. She just needed a smart move. And she got it.
"Spencer?"
"Y… ye… yeah?"
"I'm scared."
"Yo…you are?" Spencer's eyes left the screen, turned full attention to Emily who now looking even more scared than Spencer herself.
"Yes, I don't think I can watch it till the end. But I'm afraid to go outside alone. Can you… walk me out?" Putting on her puppy eyes and nervous look, Emily secretly wished that she had chosen the acting career instead of being a coffee shop owner.
"Cool! Um… I mean yes, sure. I'll walk you out. Plus, I don't like this movie anyway. The way actors acted were horrible. Those zombies didn't even look real. Terrible, I say." The older girl responded in one breath, excited with the thought of getting out.
Nailed it.
Both girls thought they nailed it but actually there was just the dark brown eyes girl who did it. Smiling, she reached for Spencer's arm, waiting for the girl to lead her out, whispered.
"Thank you."
Feeling the tanned girl's hand on her arm, the older girl let out a grin without knowing it. She moved her arm a little so that now she could hold Emily's hand in hers, linked their fingers together.
"C'mon, let's get outta here. Stay close to my side and you're gonna be okay. I promise."
Leaving the torment room behind, the writer gave each of her step extra confidence. Her triumphant smile never faded away. She was smiling to herself though. Her being brave plan turned into a completely different direction but she couldn't care less. She was having Emily's hand in hers. Tightly. How could she complain about this?
And Emily, oh Emily. She was smiling to herself, too. Her smart move worked. She even had Spencer's hand like a trophy for it. She felt relax. Spencer's palm was warm. Warmer than grabbing yourself in a duvet on the coldest day of the year. Warmer than snuggling yourself on a couch near the fireplace. Warmer than standing under the sun after a long frozen time. And her smile. Like a star. Emily was right. A smiling star. Spencer's smile was always like a smiling star. So bright but not like the sun. You could look at it forever without worrying being blinded. The hall led the way out was quite short but Emily enjoyed every single second. She enjoyed it more than visiting Paris. She enjoyed it more than reading Spencer's book. And she knew she was in trouble. Big one. She shouldn't have enjoyed it. Yes, Spencer was a star. You could admire her from afar. You could be lightened by her from afar. You could love her. From afar. Emily's life and Spencer's were two different worlds. All these time she trying hard to keep her mind away from the idea of being with Spencer and this tiny moment crashed her determination. She let her heart take over her brain. She admitted it. Spencer wasn't just her favorite writer anymore. Spencer wasn't just her little crush anymore. Her feeling for Spencer wasn't a feeling of a fan for the girl's talent anymore. It was for Spencer. All of the Spencer in Spencer. Every part of Spencer. She loved Spencer. Since when she didn't know but she loved her. It sucked that the light brown eyes girl probably wouldn't return this kind of feeling for her. Probably. This feeling had to stay in the dark. It wouldn't hurt so much if she didn't hear the girl's answer. It wouldn't hurt so much if she was only secretly in love with Spencer. Yes, secretly, it wouldn't.
Though drifting in two different wonderlands, our lovebirds still made it out of the scary room. They managed to watch another movie. A comedy one.
All the way from buying tickets, waiting, chatting to watching the new movie, their hands remained unchanged which meant still holding, tightly. Nobody bothered to take their hand back though obviously one of those belonged to them. It was like those hands was glued.
Oh, I have better words.
Their hands were stuck together.
Forever?
It was step two in the light brown eyes girl's plan. They were going to have a fancy meal at "Fancy" restaurant. Seriously, the owner of this one must really love playing with words. Emily needed to use the bathroom so Spencer decided she should get her car alone so that everything would stick to her plan. As the brunette was taking her car out, the girl checked her previous step again.
Step one. Not exactly what I'd imagined but… Checked.
Her phone rang. It was Toby.
Well, looked like her step two had some problems. The restaurant she picked was one of the finest restaurant in town. She had asked Toby to get a table for two and the fact that she was friend with the owner made it easier to have the table with the best view. Everything was perfect. Everything was in her plan. But apparently, this restaurant was so famous that a lot of people knew about it. Including criminals. They had some kind of exchanging "stuffs" tonight and the police had hidden around each corner of the place. The information was just allowed to be known by the owner but of course he would tell our manager to warn the famous writer about it.
"So, where's this "Fancy" at?" The coffee shop owner asked while still getting in the front seat.
"We have some problems with that place. I think we should change our direction. Don't worry! I'll come up with something soon."
Not that Spencer didn't have any place in her mind. She actually had tons of them. But she wanted a place that was as perfect as "Fancy". And at time like this, at situation like this, no place would be as good as the first one. Keeping driving through streets, the older girl struggled with this unsolved problem. How could she wow Emily if the place had some flaws? How could she reassure Emily about her future if she couldn't bring her to a nice place for a simple dinner? And why all of a sudden every place seemed like they were all terrible? None of those questions were answered.
Spencer was hopeless. Emily was hungry.
Oh my, Emily was hungry. The girl who ate healthy, who ate on time, who ate… a lot was hungry. Being hungry was never a big deal with Emily. She could easily make a meal for herself. She always had something to cook or to eat in their fridge. She hadn't been hungry for a long time. And now she was. Her stomach was about to make noise. That would be embarrassed since Spencer clearly didn't sit so far from her. You know, Spencer, the one she had settled to be secretly in love with hours ago. It was a secret, a big one, but she could still be "secretly" embarrassed for any noise that bitch would make. Oh right, our couple loved to labeled their stomachs as bitches. How cute!
Anyway, the dark brown eyes girl of course had to do something before that bitch had a chance to raise her voice. The coffee shop owner decided to raise hers first.
"Spencer?"
"Yeah?"
"What do you think about street foods?"
"I don't know. It's been a long time since I had some of them. Why?"
"Good. I haven't had some for a while, too. We should try new things tonight. I think our dinner is gonna be on this street. You can park your car here." The younger girl reasoned, tried to talk the writer into her "shutting my stomach up" plan whilst pointing to an empty spot that hadn't had any car yet.
Emily got her point. And Spencer settled to roll with it. No fancy places could be more perfect than the place Emily chose. After all, the writer did her hard works just for this girl. Letting her be at where she wanted was brilliant and also easier.
After a short walk, they stopped to buy two hot dogs. While waiting for the guy to make their orders, the dark brown eyes girl raised her hand above the stove, beaming.
"It's so warm."
"Your coat doesn't have pockets?"
"Yeah, I didn't know we have to walk outside like this. But it's fine." As she replying, the girl took her hot dog and started to continue their walks.
Food in one hand, Emily satisfied with the fact that her stomach couldn't betray her anymore. At least not tonight. With the writer's presence. The coffee shop owner looking at both side of the street, wondered what they was going to eat next. By her side, Spencer didn't seem to be attracted by foods. She was curious more about Emily's… hand. The older girl fixed her eyes on that object since they left the hot dog guy. The night was getting colder and her hand was… itchy to hold Emily's. Her brain fought hard with her heart.
That will be weird if I take her hand now.
But it's cold. She's shivering.
But we are just friends. For now.
But friends can hold hand, too.
But…
Ah, too late. Her heart decided to act before asking for permission. The light brown eyes girl raised her arm to catch Emily's, quickly reached out for the tanned girl palm, linked their fingers together. For the second time of tonight. Before Emily could react, Spencer put both of hers and Emily's linking hands in her coat's pocket, glanced over at the younger girl, smiling.
"Better?"
Though she was surprised and confused but our coffee shop owner didn't want to ruin this moment. Since she allowed herself to admit her feeling, she knew she was in too deep to refuse any kind of contacts from the writer. Grinning, she responded shortly.
"Better."
Hand in hand, they stopped by a few more food stalls before eventually got to the place that sold best food option in cold weather like this. Ice cream.
Our writer got herself a chocolate flavor whilst Emily chose a mix between chocolate and vanilla. Nice choices. Those are my favorite, too. They managed to stay and eat at the stall in case they wanted to get some more. It was okay though cause the place only had take – away customers due to the cold outside. There were hardly chances that anyone could recognize our incredible writer. Plus, the old lady who selling these ice cream seemed didn't mind about these lovebirds for staying too long.
Finished her first ice cream, Emily ordered one more. This time she chose only chocolate. Told ya. The girl ate a lot. Apparently, these ice creams were pretty delicious. You could tell it by the numbers of customers this lady had. Emily didn't need to count. She knew it by the way her stomach planned to have another one after this. And she had to finish this one first. In a rush, some ice cream marks stuck to the left corner of her lips. The girl didn't notice that. She was so attached to decide her next flavor.
But Spencer did. Of course she did. She was gazing in rapture at Emily the whole time. If you asked her how many time Emily had smiled, she would give you the exact answer with the prediction of when would Emily next smile happen. Anyway, that meant the light brown eyes girl saw those ice cream marks on the other girl's lips. She had the urge to wipe them away. This time, her brain didn't start any argument. Well, actually, her brain had stop its functioning the moment Emily's hand joined hers. Her heart won. The girl let out an incoherent sentence.
"You have some… on your…"
While the coffee shop owner trying to figure what Spencer was talking about, the writer gently put her left hand under the girl's chin, slightly wiped those marks away with her thumb. It was clean in a blink but Spencer's hand remained its position, absolutely had no sign of taking back. The time seemed to freeze at the moment. A light blush crossed the younger girl's cheeks. She didn't know how to react with this situation. Especially while her hand was still holding Spencer's and stayed warmly in the writer's pocket. And it was like she had a new definition of "warm". Warm was holding hands with the one you loved. Warm was eating ice cream in a cold night with the one you loved. Warm was feeling a small touch on your lips from the one you loved. If only she could be this warm forever. If only she could. For the first time in Emily's life, she was stuck in a circumstance, had no idea how to get out but also gave to effort to solve the problem. It was just less than a minute but felt like hours. Nobody moved. Spencer didn't. Emily didn't. Until the old lady saved our coffee shop owner from being burned with the "warm" she was having.
"Your ice cream is melting, little girl."
The dark brown eyes girl immediately turned to where the voice came from whilst Spencer took her hand back in instant, feeling a little awkward in front of the lady.
"Ye...yeah? Oh, I'm sorry. Your ice creams are delicious. It's my bad. Please forgive my reckless." Taking a napkin from the ice cream seller, the tanned cleaned the mess on her right hand with the hand was holding Spencer's seconds ago. Cold took over her instantly.
As Emily was fighting with all of the napkins this stall had, the nice lady took her time to have small chat with Spencer.
"She's your friend?"
"No." Stealing a brief glance at the "ice cream melting" girl, the older girl continued, smiling. "She's my wife."
"Oh really? I couldn't tell." The ice cream seller asked, her eyes widened.
"What? We don't look like a married couple?" The writer raised her voice, feeling a little annoyed with the fact that this lady didn't see how perfect they looked together.
"No, no. It's just… It's just, well, I just thought that you girls are secretly in love with each other. That's all." The lady replied in a rush, sensing Spencer's uncomfortable tone.
The dark brown eyes girl immediately dropped her napkins. You know, they said there was no peace for the wicked. In this case, Emily was the wicked. The phrase "secretly in love" hit her mind and her heart. She almost jumped when those words left the stranger's lips. Receiving both pairs of eyes on her, Emily awkwardly bowed down to pick up the napkins but accidentally hit her head to the edge of the ice cream's stall.
Oh wow, those words did hit her, literally. The poor girl let out a groan in pain. Didn't miss a beat, the light brown eyes girl jumped in, reaching out both hands to help her favorite person stand up.
"Oh my God, are you okay? Here, let me see!" Spencer asked, placing her palms on the tanned girl's face, trying to find the spot she just hit.
As the writer slightly pushed her thumb on Emily's forehead, the girl's face grimaced.
"Here?"
"Ouch!" The younger girl closed her eyes because of the pain, replied. "Yeah."
Spencer slowly fondled that spot, gently put a kiss on it. The coffee shop owner opened her eyes in an instant, suddenly didn't feel cold or pain anymore. In fact, it was a little hot. Hot enough to create a slight blush on her cheeks. She smiled.
Damn it.
The writer was making it harder for her to keep this secret. She knew she could keep her mouth shut about this but she wasn't sure about her body. Action spoke louder than words and her body was actually being a jerk for turning its back on her mind. All Spencer did was just to make this lady believe they were a couple. Nothing more. Nothing less. But yet, she still found herself enjoyed their fake moments.
Hadn't seen any reaction from her favorite person, Spencer found the girl's eyes, worriedly questioned.
"Better?"
Emily woke up from her short moment, putting on a reassuring smile.
"Better."
Though it was getting late but our writer had successfully talked Emily to pass by and check her coffee shop. It was pretty easy since that was Emily's favorite place. The drive was quite quiet for Emily due to this weird tension which had been growing after what had happened in the ice cream stall. On the other hand, Spencer didn't think much about it. She got her own problem to be worried about. It was the third step which was obviously also the step that decided her life from tonight and days after.
Step two. Okay, that was completely different from my plan but… Checked.
Emily, sweetie. Please don't mess with my plans again.
I might have a heart attack.
And why were all of my plans which involved you always out of my control?
I mean my fake marriage plan. Now I want to marry you for real.
My Paris plan for you to admire me again. And I was the one who admired you.
My helping you with the coffee shop plan for you to stay home "just for fun". And I… oh wait, that plan worked. I actually have fun when you're home.
My confession plan.
Okay, you are allowed to mess with every single plan I'm going to have for the rest of my life. It's just that you need to let this step work. Just this one.
Please let it work!
Please!
"We've arrived." Emily announced.
"Oh, right."
Letting Emily couple steps ahead, Spencer took a deep breath, kissing her pedant which was now her habit whenever she got nervous, followed the girl.
To her surprises, her coffee shop didn't look anything near a coffee shop tonight. The tanned girl stood in the front door, staring at the dark place, her voice echoed through the room.
"Where are my employees? Where are my tables? Where are my customers?" With each question, the dark brown eyes girl walked a little closer to the room. Panic, Emily turned around. "Spen…"
The room lightened up. Not so bright. Just as bright as that night at Spencer's birthday. Oh and Spencer, she didn't had any worry in her eyes or in her face. She was smiling. Music suddenly playing at the background. Emily wasn't sure what song was it but it sounded familiar. The writer took three steps to get to Emily. They were now face to face. The younger girl asked.
"What's all this?"
The light brown eyes shrugged.
"I just thought you needed some practices with dancing. So… here we are." Taking a step back, Spencer bowed, reaching her hand out, acted like they were in a ball room hundreds years ago. "May I have this dance?"
Emily didn't have a clue what was going on. Frankly, she never had a clue what was going on. But she did know what she wanted. She wanted this dance. And so, she danced. They replayed that dancing scene on Spencer's birthday once again. Everything was exactly the same of that night. Except, for now, Emily knew where her heart wanted to be. Where she wanted to be. Not in a house. Not in a city. Not in a specific place. Here. Right here. Right in Spencer's arms. Her heart wanted to explode but at the same time started to beat slower. She didn't know that heart could possibly do that but she was sure hers could. She breathed slowly when she felt her chin placed on Spencer's shoulder as the song getting to its end. For the second time of tonight, Emily's brain gave no effort to function her next move. The coffee shop owner stayed silent until Spencer broke it.
"Emily."
"Yeah?"
"Can I have your wedding ring back?"
The dark brown eyes girl pulled away immediately, her eyes widened, her right hand covered the ring. That all made sense now. Why didn't she see this coming? This was a goodbye night. That was it. That was why Spencer wanted to take her to see her favorite kind of movie. That was why Spencer wanted to take her to a fancy restaurant. That was why they had this dance. Spencer wanted to take back her ring. She wanted to end this contract but she didn't want to leave any hurt feeling. All of this was a big apology for her. Spencer shouldn't have done this. These things only made it harder for Emily to say goodbye. Emily was always bad at saying goodbye. Always. Spencer didn't know what she had created. A stubborn Emily. She was bad at saying goodbye so she was not going to say it. Not until the contract end. Not now.
"No. I'm not gonna give it to you until we finish our six months."
"You have to give it back."
"No, I don't."
Though Emily knew she shouldn't be angry and she didn't have to right to, she still wanted to storm out of this room. Right now. She might cry if she heard any word from Spencer demanded the ring back. So she walked away.
The writer held her hand back. It was weird that Spencer was stronger than Emily. After a slight yank, they were back to their previous position which was face to face.
"If you don't give me that ring back, how can I give you the new one? The real one."
As the younger girl was still speechless and processing her thoughts, the light brown eyes girl inhaled and exhaled deeply.
"Emily, I know we've just known each other for not so long and our marriage are based on a contract but can you consider to make this real? To make our marriage real? Because, I am…" Her lips suddenly trembling, this was the moment of truth. "I am in love with you. I always assumed that I would never be in love with anyone anymore. I also didn't want to be in love. Love hurts and we both know that. But with you, I know that it also hurts if I couldn't make you mine, if I couldn't make me yours. I couldn't resist you. You make me happier without knowing it. Every day I spend with you is a day I live in paradise. The thought of saying goodbye after six months hurts like hell. I don't want to sound weak but I basically couldn't take any hurt feeling again. I love you. I love you. I love you. I'll say that from today to the day I couldn't say anything anymore. Then I'll use sign language to say it. If there's a day I'm too weak to even move my fingers, I'll say it with my eyes. And if I'm no longer on this planet, you know I'll say that from the stars every night. I don't know if I could love you more than Hanna loves you but I'll try. Because you're worth it. You're worth spending two hours watching zombies. You're worth visiting Paris multiple times. You're worth to be with forever. And I'm hoping I'm worth it, too. I'm hoping I'm worth to be with. Forever. Too."
Shoving her hand in her pocket, the writer took out a small box. She opened it to reveal a pair of rings that probably were made by order. On each ring had different single word. Nothing so fancy. It were just "Mine" and the other one had "Hers". Inside the "Mine" ring was a small sentence "Spencer's girl" whilst inside "Hers" was "I'm Spencer". I didn't know you are that possessive, Spencer.
The older girl looked at Emily, put on a genuine smile but couldn't hide her nerves since she was unable to read Emily's face expression.
"So, Emily. Am I… worth it?"
Well, Emily was breathing but barely alive. Barely I tell you. Every month, every week, every day Emily claimed that there was no way Spencer could return this kind of feeling. There was no way Spencer could be in love with her. There was no way Spencer could want to spend their life together. But she was wrong. Spencer loved her as much as she loved Spencer. She slowly falling for Spencer without knowing it and luckily, Spencer was falling for her too. Six months marriage? Secretly in love? Hurt feeling? Screwed that. Screwed all of that. There was nothing happier than being loved by the one you loved. Nothing. Emily was exploded with happiness. Though her legs hardly stood steady after hearing Spencer's words, the girl still managed to take a step ahead, threw herself in Spencer's arms.
"You're worth everything."
The moment Emily felt safe in Spencer's arms and actually legally allowed to feel that way, tears rolled down to her cheeks. She was crying. Hard. The girl was sobbing. Hard. And that faded Spencer's smile. Worriedly, the older girl pulled back, trying to hold back her own tears. She didn't know why every time the other girl cried, she had the need to cry with her.
"Why are you crying?"
Emily pulled her back into an embrace again, spoke through her tears.
"I almost forgot how it feels."
"How what feel?"
"Happy."
Okay, no need to hold back tears anymore. Let it go.
After a long heartfelt moment, Spencer wiped away Emily's tears with her sleeve, smiling.
"I promise, you're gonna forget how miserable feels. C'mon, give me your hand." Waiting for the tanned girl raised her hand, the light brown eyes girl gently replaced their fake wedding ring with the "Mine" ring. Now, Emily was officially hers.
Watching both hands with new rings on it, Emily nervously broke the silence.
"I hope I'm not dreaming."
"You're not."
"Can you slap me? Just to make sure."
Spencer slapped her.
Did I say slap? I meant touching her face like she was the most beautiful and precious flower that could be easily dead if you breathed so sudden. Yeah, right. Slapped.
"You called that's a slap?"
"I think I have better idea."
And again, didn't wait for Emily question, Spencer leaned in, pressed her lips against the younger girl's. Before the girl had the chance to return the kiss, the writer leaned back, just remembered she hadn't asked for permission yet. Smiling, our dorky writer said.
"Better?"
The coffee shop owner blinked, didn't think twice, she grabbed Spencer collar and pulled the girl in their second kiss. Real kiss. Let's say that was a permission then? Because if then, Spencer was allowed to kiss the girl with full passion. The kiss kept deepening with every movement the girls made. Even it was just the way Emily released Spencer's collar and wrapped her arms around the older girl's neck. Even it was just the way Spencer slowly moved her arms to hug Emily's back tightly and pulled the younger girl closer if that was possible. They said when you kissed, you closed your eyes because the most beautiful thing had to be seen by the heart. I didn't know if that was true for our couple but I believe they were seeing something spectacular, something outstanding, something majestic because none of them bothered to opened their eyes. Until air was what you needed more than love. Until that. They slowly pulled away, smiling. The happy girl answered.
"Better."
It was almost midnight and our lovebirds had just gotten home. Hand in hand, this time, there was no awkwardness between the two. Not anymore. They were now a married couple. A happy one.
As they stepped into the living room, Aria and Hanna who were sitting quietly at the couch turned full attention to them. No one greeted a hello. No one said a thing. They seemed angry. While Spencer and Emily got closer, the blonde couldn't control her voice any longer.
"Emily Catherine Fields! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"
On the table was a mixed of papers which obviously were thrown aggressively in a moment of anger. Though it was a mess but you could still read the big words written on the corner of each page.
"Marriage Contract."
AN: Tell me what you think?