AN: *Casually updates a new chapter and pretends I'm not late*
Ha - ha! Hi there! I'm sorry (that sounds familiar). I know if I take too long to update you will start to forget about the story line, the characters and their memorable moments. And then you have to reread some previous chapters to get what I'm telling. Of course you can also drop the story because you lose interest in it. Yupe, I know. I just want to say that I'm still here no matter what! ^^~
The past months have been really great. Though I didn't have much time to write, I kinda achieved something from this. I took some important English tests and got higher scores than I expected. For this, I want to thanks all of you because if you weren't here and supported me to keep writing, I wouldn't improve my English this much. I've learnt from your reviews, been encouraged and even had an English tutor (sabooian is really awesome). You all are awesome. I know my English is still not good enough but at least I'm more confident now than I was before. Thank you! Saying in other way, you guys have changed my life. *ignore this*
A new update but of course not sure a better one. I hope this somehow slightly meets your expectations because I don't want to disappoint any of you.
Forgive my mistakes.
I would love to answer each review but since this AN's too long... well, maybe I'll try next time (I've said this like 5 times "_"). Oh, for a guest who keeps asking for Emily and Melissa, I used to ship them because Torrey chose Emily to be Melissa's love interest in an interview years ago but they don't actually have scenes together in the show so I'm not sure what way I can put them together. I'll think about it when I have any idea.
Ah, finally.
Pretty Little Liars is not mine. If it's mine, you'll know. (Full of Spemily of course)
I love you all.
The day finally had come. The day of that frenemies meeting. Of course, besides Spencer, Hanna, and well, us, this was still a secret. Emily had no idea about the meaning but she was lucky though. The coffee shop owner was lucky enough to know about this event. Unlike her, someone was completely clueless. Someone was going to be surprised. Someone was going to be… trapped.
Nobody told Alison that this day she would meet the fashion designer and have some kinds of conversation which eventually could give both of them a "closure". The light brown eyed girl and the blonde didn't tell her. No one should announce their prey about the trap they were setting up to catch it. Surprisingly, Emily didn't tell the actress either. She could and she would but the tanned girl knew for sure she absolutely shouldn't. If she did, that would mean she had to talk with Alison privately. Our lovely coffee shop owner somehow believed she couldn't handle that conversation no matter it was a face to face one or just a short phone call. No, Emily didn't have second thought about this marriage. Her heart knew what it wanted. It was just that between the actress and Emily, things had been building up for years. They had history, memories and love. It wasn't easy to get rid all of that and the dark brown eyed girl was sure she also didn't want to erase them. They were parts of her life that led her to become the person she was now, to have a life she was now enjoying. A happy life. And she was human. Not just any human. She was Emily. Seeing someone being sad was absolutely not what the girl needed. The sadness, that broken voice, those miserable eyes. They all spelt weakness, weakness and weakness. Living a happy life and somehow involved her ex into her happy moments was a stab in a heart. Not Emily's. Alison's heart. But, it still created a wound for somebody.
Hurting and healing.
Those were completely not the tanned girl's wishes. Besides, Spencer would not be any better if she knew her wife just talked to her ex. Emily always felt that tension whenever these girls were in the same room. In those times, the writer was someone different. The softness in her eyes faded away. Those beautiful light brown eyes started to darken. She was uncomfortable. And well, who was Emily to just stand there watching someone she loved feeling that way? Plus, it was a small talk. Hanna wanted this to be the last chapter of their argument. This would be the last page. Knowing about this or not, to Emily, Alison would be okay. The icy blue eyed girl had survived countless arguments with the fashion designer that of course only those Emily had heard one of them reported. Alison had been through so much to fail with this one which obviously was just a nice, peaceful, friendly conversation.
Or at least the dark brown eyed girl thought so.
The day was a normal day for the talented actress. She came up at the Hastings's door thirty five minutes early. Alison loved doing that. Each day, she would come here a couple minutes earlier just to have Emily showing up behind the door and not Spencer. It was weirdly unbelievable that the icy blue eyed girl succeed every single time. The writer always calculated the time wrong. If she wasn't too early, then she must be too late. And as usual, Spencer's cause of frustration was Alison's cause of cheer.
Because of her perfect timing record, Alison felt extra confident. Her hand reached the doorbell while her lips began to form a genuine smile. An "Emily's smile". Her eyes brightened as the door opened.
The smile was gone.
The light in her eyes turned off.
She felt like she was looking at herself in a mirror. Except her reflection was glaring back at her with a smirk on its face. Yeah, you got it right. Welcomed Alison today wasn't Emily or Spencer. The fashion designer did.
No one greeted the other. There was this staring contest between the two. Beautiful blue eyes with fire were burning the icy blue ones. Our actress had fire though. But she thought she shouldn't use it. Making Hanna angry would also throw away that forgiving ticket she was desperate to get from Emily. Alison was losing. Alison was willingly losing.
The fashion designer found it odd. The actress never wanted to lose. Hanna knew for sure Alison was hiding her fire and that brought her a feeling that the heartless girl had changed. Maybe Alison could finally figure out what was really important. Maybe Alison could finally realize there were things that her successful career couldn't afford. Maybe Alison could be trusted for the first time. The feeling lasted a little longer than expected and Hanna started to loosen herself. But she was back soon though. The girl didn't plan to fall into Alison's trap if it was any. The actress had to be the one who fall in it today. After everything, Hanna strongly believed that Emily's life would be better off without the appearance of this terrible human being. What if she had changed? What if she had not? It was all too late now. They said better late than never. They said you would only regret for the things you hadn't done. They said so much more but everything had exception. Alison was an exception. Hanna didn't want the girl to apply those quotes into her life. Her best friend had already had the closest to the best. She didn't need someone who still trying to be one. Even though the staring contest had no prize, the fashion designer deeply wanted to win it. This was a preventive move to reduce the icy blue eyed girl's confidence in order to make their trap work well.
As Hanna gathered herself, continued to fight in silence and Alison was about to be defeated, the door opened wider, revealed Emily who was smiling worriedly at the two. Her brows frown a bit, flicking her eyes between them.
"Oh hi, Ali."
The competition stopped almost immediately. Hanna's eyes were bright blue again. The fire, the darkness were nowhere to be seen. Came with that, Alison turned her attention to the tanned girl. She could ultimately use that "Emily's smile" this time. The blondes had secretly hid all of the proofs that proved they had been fighting. Yeah, it felt like the old days when Emily was still dating the icy blue eyed girl. Our lovely coffee shop owner was always left in the dark about all this. Always. Sometimes, I feel bitter for her. Like this time. Even though Alison was the one who was not told that Hanna would be here, who was not told about the meeting, she still knew more than Emily. I'm pretty sure she already knew the fashion designer wasn't here just to visit her best friend. They understood each other too well to use words in this kind of situation.
"I'm sorry I haven't told you this but we aren't working today. Hanna figures that you two should have a friendly talk. So she suggested a day off for all of us. I hope you don't mind about the movie's work being interrupted." The brunette continued, tried to break the awkward silence.
"No, it's okay. I would love to have a day off and of course," Turned to face the shorter blonde, Alison added. "To have a friendly talk with you."
"Good." Was all Hanna said. She trying hard to keep herself calm.
"Yeah." The actress replied, knowing "friendly" never meant "friendly" when it came to Hanna.
The three got back to silence again. It started to feel unbreathable. At this point, the dark brown eyed girl was thankful that she had sent Spencer to buy some eggs before the writer could join this "lovely" conversation. The girl decided to save herself from any breathing problem these two might cause.
"So… Um… Let's get to my room. We should finish this before Spencer gets back. This is just our thing. She shouldn't be concerned about this. The movie has been a big challenge for her. I don't want to bother her with a little personal talk."
With that, Emily turned back, leading the girls who now sharing the same thought to her room.
"A little" is an understatement, Emily.
An actress and a fashion designer. Actually, don't care about their jobs. These two were brilliant actors whenever they needed to act. And well, this moment was that "whenever". I have to repeat, they were both talented. Really. They knew the script even though they didn't have one. They knew what to reply even though they didn't have table read. They knew what Emily wanted to hear. They knew everything. It was absolutely not right to play in front of the innocent girl but Hanna hadn't come up with any better plan. She had been saying sorry to Emily in her head countless times since she had tricked the girl to participate in this plan without having any doubt. The more she felt guilty, the more she wanted to help Spencer. Maybe she had nothing to do with Spencer being happy but Spencer being happy obviously had powerful effects on her beloved best friend.
And well, show time.
"Han…" Just a single word left Alison's lips and she could easily feel Hanna's uncomfortableness by the way she trying hard not to roll her eyes. Carefully, the actress fixed her mistake. "Hanna. I know we…"
The fashion designer jumped in, spoke sincerely. The way she talked made others feel like she had been thinking a lot.
"No, no. I set up this day to talk to you. Can I please let you know my thoughts first?"
Breathing out, our talented actress quietly responded.
"Okay."
"I hated you."
"Hanna!" Emily warned, jaw slightly dropped.
"I mean it. I hated you since the first time I saw you. You treated people like they were nothing. I hated you even more when you became friend with Emily. I was so scared that you could hurt her. When I thought I couldn't hate you more, you actually did hurt my best friend. There were so many reasons for me to hate you. There were so many reasons for me to keep hating you. But then I realized I was hating your past. I was hating the Alison of years ago. Your present, now, I know nothing. I didn't say I could forgive you instantly but I'm saying I don't want to judge you for the rest of your life by your biggest mistake. People change, they grow. By that, I mean I won't yell at you the next time we meet, I won't get mad when I see you with Emily and I, will try to talk with you like we're at least, acquaintances."
The blonde letting her speech out determinately.
This was nice. And it was too nice to be true. Hanna's speech were a perfect mixture of truths and lies. She put so much efforts in it that even I cannot tell you exactly which part this girl was lying but you, without difficulty, can see she had deliberately chosen her words. Each memory she chose to tell completely had no sign directed to the time Emily and Alison had been in a relationship. That time was so painful. For her. For Emily. So she avoided to bring it up. It was a little clearer now. Forgiving Alison had never been on Hanna's to – do list.
People don't change, they just get better at hiding things.
On the other side of the room, our talented actress was being impaled. Hanna had successfully stabbed a knife in the girl's chest. It all was a show for them and the fashion designer couldn't care less if the icy blue eyed girl was hurt or not. Little did she know, Alison had a heart, too. Not a perfect one, not a nice one, but it was still a human's heart. Hanna had always been Emily's best person. Being friend with Hanna, talking with Hanna and somehow getting Hanna's forgiveness were Alison's secret wishes. Hearing those words gave the poor girl the feeling that those visions might come true. For a moment Alison could burst into tears of happiness. Just for a moment. The taller blonde shortly realized Emily was there.
They had audience.
The show was still going.
Those lines were in their invisible script.
That fact brought Alison to the highest stage of heaven and forcefully threw her back to hell. She suddenly didn't want to reply. That heavy feeling in her chest started to take over and make her legs weaken. If only she could just sit flat on the ground and counting her regretful tears.
She couldn't.
As a talented actress, literally, the icy blue eyed girl pulled herself together. Acting was her career after all, how could Hanna be better than her in this? While the coffee shop owner was looking at Alison expectantly, Hanna sneakily put on her triumphant smile, waiting for the girl to answer.
Alison surely didn't disappoint anyone. She finally formed a sincere smile on her lips, temporary let a loving look take over the broken one.
"Thanks, Hanna. I know I don't deserve this so your words mean a lot to me. I believe sorry is not what you want to hear and I understand. Yet, I just want you to know I truly love you, both of you. You were the best…" Replied like a machine and took a brief second to glance at Emily, the light blonde girl turned back to Hanna. "… kind of friends that I've ever had."
The fashion designer gave a quick nod. She had to get out of this room as soon as possible. Winning or not, she was still lying to her best friend. The last thing Hanna wanted was having Emily find out all these lies. Right before she could move her feet, the other blonde's voice stopped her.
"Can I…?"
Emily's scary best friend looked up just to see her worst enemy approaching her with opened arms. It took our guardian a while to get the idea that Alison was asking for a hug. And well, as long as Emily was here, this drama was still playing. Hanna reluctantly moving a little to show her audience that she actually gave some attempt to reciprocate that hug.
And kids, for the first time in the girls' life, "a little" is really a little.
It didn't bother Alison though, she had already finished the rest of hers and Hanna's paths. The poor girl put her arms around the shorter blonde's shoulders, her chin rested nicely on one of them. She didn't care if Hanna wouldn't hug her back, she tightened her hold, the girl's eyes slowly closed as she felt Hanna's hands on her back.
She smiled.
Hanna was so astonished by the girl's action. It was like Alison hadn't hugged anyone for a really long time. It was like Alison hadn't been hugged by anyone. All of sudden, she felt sorry for this girl.
Lost and lonely were not a good mix. Yet, Alison was feeling both.
Did Hanna know that? I'm not sure but the previous thought was back to her mind. Maybe the girl had changed. Maybe it was okay to be friend with her. In the future. Yeah, maybe that.
Unsure what to do, Hanna kept patting her friend's back until a voice woke her up.
"Emily? Emily! I'm home."
Yupe, Spencer called out for her favorite person since the moment she stepped out of her car which was parking in the garden that obviously was really far from Emily and also separated by several walls. Hanna had been visiting her best friend countless times and up until this point, she could easily tell that Spencer would die if she didn't see or hear or even smell Emily in her surroundings every hour. Plus, she was also possessive as hell.
"Emily, I've finished all five seasons of your favorite show last night. You don't need to call Hanna and Aria to chat about it anymore. Talk with me."
"Emily, tell me whenever you go out. I want to go with you."
"Emily. No, nothing. I just want to say your name."
"Emily, Hanna's here. Again!"
There were times that the blue eyed girl considered that she should stop visiting the coffee shop owner for a while. That writer always made her felt extremely left out. Plus, she had been married for years yet Caleb wasn't that obsessed of her like Spencer was with Emily. Hanna still managed to pass by the Hastings whenever she wasn't on her business trip though. Stopped visiting the tanned girl and let Spencer steal all the "Emily time"? Nope. Their competition had never ended. They barely fought but yes, there was no way Hanna could let the light brown eyed girl win her "who loves Emily more than me" contest. Suddenly, a bell rang in her head. There was someone who would join this contest if she had a chance. Someone who absolutely had no right to be a competitor.
The scary best friend got back. No more sorry feeling for the icy blue eyed girl.
Mean girls stay mean.
All these thoughts happened in a short moment and by the time Hanna returned to our world, Emily had embraced both of her friends tightly and gotten out of her room to find Spencer.
The only audience was gone and it was like their invisible director said "Cut" from afar. The shorter blonde distanced herself from our talented actress immediately. A deathful glare was finding its way to Alison's soul. Hanna hadn't said anything though. The writer just needed a hand. She didn't need Hanna to finish all these stuffs for her. Spencer was the only one who legitimately "took care of" this girl so that she could give up on Spencer's wife. Well, it was not all the reason. Hanna was afraid that her anger from years ago could take control of her mind. Burying someone didn't feel so wrong in this case. In Alison's case.
Damn it!
With that, the best friend stormed out of the room, leaving Alison standing all alone. Our poor actress didn't stop her. The icy blue eyed girl knew that they would talk again.
Just not this "friendly".
Having all of the ingredients, it was Emily's cue to begin her mission of the day. Preparing their meals. Today's works must be a little harder than usual friends meeting since there was no one volunteered to help the dark brown eyed girl. Of course anybody in this house right now had the ability to give Emily a hand but they didn't. For one, Emily was the only one who could make eatable meals become delicious meals. Two, the other girls were busy.
Yupe, it was really that simple.
As much as Hanna wanted to spend time with her best friend, she couldn't. The fashion designer didn't set up this day just to have one staring contest with Alison. And for Spencer, exchanging quite sometime with her wife in the kitchen to eliminating any trouble maker that could steal her girl was worth it. Short time without her to guarantee having a life time with her. The writer was the winner here. On the other hand, Alison certainly desired to help the tanned girl but she was conscious of her inferiority. It was unacceptable to be in the kitchen right now where there were just her and the coffee shop owner. The rule was written all over Hanna and Spencer's faces.
So yeah, despite the fact that Emily might need an assistance, all of them were sitting in the living room.
For the first time, the light brown eyed girl and the best friend shared a same side of those couches. Our hated yet pitiful actress sat quietly on the opposite couch, struggling avoid those eyes which apparently would turn out to be deathful glares any minute. Alison knew what was happening. The girl she loved, the girl she was trying to stop loving, was Spencer's. It wasn't a Spencer. It was the Spencer. What she wanted, she got. What was hers, was only hers. This writer could lift up the Earth and destroy anyone who had potential to take away anything she deeply loved. And well, the icy blue eyed girl had been showing sixty percentages of "stealing your girl" symptoms. Actually, Alison didn't try to steal anyone though. She wanted to test the writer and also to accept Emily's moving on. The blonde thought the best way to accept it was to get used to it. To get used to seeing her ex with someone else. It was really hard to witness those scenes yet Alison willingly chose this method. It was one of those options which she would have chances to spend time with Emily.
Something sounded a little wrong here.
Anyway, the actress was there with these somewhat innocent reasons. Though it was unfair that Alison had to deal with two angry people by herself, she was ready for any move the scary wife and best friend could make. It was just that Alison felt the need to look somewhere else but not their eyes. It made her feel like she was being behind bars for someone's murder which surely she didn't commit.
After an extremely long moment of judging, Hanna half smiled, raised her voice sarcastically, loud enough to not disturb the clueless girl in the kitchen.
"It's a great honor to be on the same show with a famous actress."
No more Emily, no more acting. The taller blonde's lips slightly curved to barely create a small smirk.
"I actually believed you. That was quite a performance, Han. Bravo."
"Are you deaf or you just forgot what I said before? DON'T!" Nervously looked over to her shoulder, the fashion designer locked eyes with the other blonde again, whispered. "Don't ever call me that! You're not allowed!"
Getting so familiar with this kind of talk, Alison casually rolled her icy blue eyes, irritated by those catchphrases of Emily's guardian. It was quite complicated here for our talented actress. Alison didn't want things to be like this. She was Emily's best friend. Fighting with her obviously couldn't bring Alison any benefit. Besides, even if she was just Hanna and not anybody's best friend, she would still see a vision where they were happy with each other. They could go shopping, have sleepovers, get nails done, talk about their love life… They could be best friends.
So yeah, Alison supposedly didn't mean to say or do things she had said and done.
But that girl was Hanna. And she was Alison. If only they hadn't fought in the past. If only Hanna hadn't been that overprotective. If only she herself hadn't been that stubborn. Well, if only Alison wasn't still this stubborn, things could be very different. A difficult childhood had created a strong mask for the girl which she appeared to be mean and heartless and of course, to be a winner. Winning was a good feeling. It was so good that Alison never bothered to take off her mask for once. Never. Until there was this Emily in her life. Until that, winning didn't seem so good anymore. Unfortunately or fortunately, Alison only felt that way toward the dark brown eyed girl. That meant, with everyone else, she had to win.
With Hanna, she had to win.
It had taken the actress lots and lots and lots of her power to give up the staring contest at the door. A lots. She just wanted to be nice but apparently, the feeling wasn't nice for her. She hated to lose. It was something only loser would do. She was not a loser. Anyone else was. That girl who had bullied her in third grade was a loser. That relative who had told her dad to stop her "against nature" relationship with Emily was a loser. That acting teacher who said that she would never be successful was a loser. Hanna was a loser. Emily wasn't counted. Spencer was a loser.
Oh wait.
There it was. One more reason for Alison to stop being nice. Spencer was there, too. She was there. Alison had forgotten how many times she asked herself that question.
What if Spencer wasn't there?
It would be like a dream. The best dream ever. Emily would forgive her. They would get married. They would go to Paris. She would have Emily be with her through every single interview. She would have Emily by her side whenever she woke up. She would have Emily hug her whenever Emily wanted to.
She would have Emily.
The picture without that cocky writer was so much better than the one without herself. The light brown eyed girl had Alison's dream. It was Alison's for years and Spencer just jumped out from nowhere and stole it. Now she sitting in front of her with Hanna on her side trying to do whatever they were doing and expected Alison to be afraid. They expected her to lose.
It wasn't so complicated anymore. That complex feeling was gone. Just like usual, when people wanted her to lose, she showed them how she won.
"So what do you want me to call you? Hanna? Hanna banana? Just say it." Touching her chin and pretending to think for a second, the icy blue eyed girl beamed slyly. "Oh, this's a good one. You're gonna love it, Han. Oh, my bad. I mean…" Raised her eyebrows, she continued. "...Hefty Hanna."
"ALISON!" The fashion designer angrily yelled. Lucky for her, Emily couldn't hear it through the sound of water from the tap.
"Yes, I'm here. What do you need, Hefty Hanna?"
"Shut! Up!" The shorter blonde spoke through her teeth, slightly aware of being heard by the coffee shop owner.
The talented actress didn't answer that. Saying shut up was a sign of an "I don't have anything else to say" person. She won.
On the other hand, our incredible writer didn't know what was going on. It was like these blondes was speaking another language. One thing Spencer did know was that her plan of confronting Alison was being threatened. Her helper already lost her temper and they hadn't even started yet. The older girl believed it was her time to shine.
"Alison, you…"
Right before the writer could throw her pieces of mind in the actress's face, the sound of her door bell interrupted. It was really weird though. At this time, it shouldn't be any guest visited the house. Frustrated, Spencer let out a deep sigh, making her way to the door and didn't forget to warn the two.
"You better be quiet. Both of you. I'll be right back."
After a pretty short moment, our writer came back to break the tension between the blondes. Frankly, Spencer didn't break that tension. It was the appearance of the one who following Spencer in here that broke it. Yes, the light brown eyed girl didn't get back alone. The Hastings had one more guest today.
"Hi there."
"Aria, what're you doing here?" The fashion designer's lips functioned a little faster than her mind.
"I… Why are you talking like I'm not invited?" Completely confused, the artist questioned back.
"… at this late. What're you doing here at this late? We're about to start without you." Hanna almost choked on her words but she finally found a clever way to escape from her problem.
"Start what? It usually takes hours to finish a friends' meeting meal. Emily probably hasn't done yet since all of you' are just chilling out here and not helping her." And the tiny best friend always found gaps in it.
At this point, even Spencer couldn't save Hanna. The girl didn't use a shovel to dig this hole, she used dynamite. It was too big to get out now.
Well, the shorter blonde had to thanks the taller one then. Because while Hanna was figuring out a new excuse, Aria ultimately spotted there was also a famous actress sitting in the room. For our tiny best friend, Alison wasn't known for any of her role. She was known for being Spencer's "would be rival in love". All of Hanna's suspicious talks was no longer on Aria's mind. She was now focus more on the reason why Emily's ex was invited.
"Hi." The artist raised her voice toward Alison.
"Hey."
"I'm Aria."
"Alison."
And the situation went back to silence. With Aria's presence, the writer couldn't let out her speech, Hanna still struggling hopping the girl didn't remember she had a question to answer and the icy blue eyed girl didn't have anything to say.
Flicking eyes between the "suddenly quiet" girls, the artist felt awkward already. She felt like she shouldn't be here. She felt like she wasn't welcomed. So well, the left out girl stood up, spoke softly, quickly making her way to the kitchen.
"I'm going to help Emily."
Yeah, Spencer's plan was ruined just like that. She now couldn't stay in this room for more than five minutes. In order to stop Aria from telling Emily what was going on in here, the writer had to join them in the kitchen as soon as possible. They all had to.
Okay, maybe messing with Spencer's plan was probably Emily's finest skill.
Apparently, the dark brown eyed girl wasn't as clueless as they thought. She, in fact, knew them more than they knew themselves. They thought Emily needed to be protected. Emily knew that. They didn't have good impression with Alison. Emily knew that. Hanna could bury the actress if she didn't have better thing to do. Emily knew that. Emily knew so many things to see there was something suspicious in her best friend's words. Yet our lovely coffee shop owner wanted to believe Hanna. She loved to know that her beloved best friend could finally use that part of her heart for something that was not rhythmed with "hate". The blondes being on good terms was unbelievable but it was so nice to think of.
And that was why Emily's heart took control.
But she was smart enough to also know that she could sometimes be clueless. She needed a backup plan in case the fashion designer wasn't just here for that "closure", in case her heart was wrong. Aria was her backup plan. The peace maker, the one who would not take side was her best option. Now they were even. If the blue eyed girl had really lied, at least Emily could set her mind at rest about Alison's safety. Aria always knew what to say when they needed someone to change the topic. Mostly it all was about her husband but it worked every time. Emily had faith that she should use some "Ezra information" during their meal. It was settled then. The tiny best friend was invited.
Back to the conversation in the living room, the writer couldn't let this chance get away so fast. She had come this close to let Alison know her thoughts. She wanted to complete it anyway. Glancing at the clock eagerly, Spencer looked deathly in the actress's eyes, her voice somewhat cracked because of anger.
"I don't know what you and Hanna were talking about earlier and I also don't care. I know not much thing about your past but I'm sure I can tell about your future. You have no idea what I am capable of and believe me, you don't want to find out. Just stay the fuck away from my wife. By any chance you're too dumb to remember this, I'll repeat. Emily is mine. If I know you have just even a slightly thought of putting fingers on her, I'll make sure nobody has ever heard the name of Alison DiLaurentis."
Finishing her talk in one breath, our incredible writer turned to the kitchen direction. As she was about to make her way, the actress clenched her jaws, standing up, emphasized each of her sentence.
"If you think you've scared me, you're wrong. I do care about Emily but I'm not here to get her back. I'm here because this movie's also a big project in my career and I want to do my best. Emily has no influence in my decision."
Now Spencer was speechless. The icy blue eyed girl had a plan or not was a big query that her curiousness was dying to know. Any inappropriate sign she showed came with a really sensible reason and the actress kept denying Spencer's accusation made our incredible writer confused. She began to wonder if she was being too sensitive about this. About anything that could take her wife away. There were chances that Alison lied and was here for her stealing plan but there were also chances the girl was telling the truth. Maybe Alison just wanted to succeed. Maybe Alison just wanted to tease her sometimes. Maybe Alison didn't plan to win Emily back.
Spencer's brain couldn't find out if those maybes should be trusted, she decided to follow Alison's lead. It might not be helping but the only thing the light brown eyed girl could do was clinging to the fact that Spencer Hastings was the one Emily loved. Discovering the lie in the blonde's sentences was harder than writing a book, our writer responded, words tiredly leaving her lips.
"If you care about your career that much, you should do what I say."
The girl then following Aria's earlier way, leaving an unreadable actress behind, probably wouldn't try to confront her again anytime soon.
They were right. You're always better off with a really good lie.
The sky getting darker but the circumstance was quite the opposite. Even though some of them weren't here for friends' meeting, even though some of them weren't invited at first place, even though some of them hated the other, they were all enjoying the meal. The coffee shop owner's cooking skill seemed to improve each day. It was too impolite to let any disappointment in your life disturb your stomach's satisfaction. For the first time of the day, people in this room looked somewhat like they were friends. It was a bonus that they didn't eat in silence. They made conversation too. Our tiny best friend unexpectedly was the highlight of the night.
It was understandable though. Talking about Aria would bring the least problem to this table since there was nothing arguable about a love life of an artist and a poet in this situation.
Things kept getting nicer and nicer until the universe got bored. Turned out, the sky was darkened for reasons.
"Oh it's raining outside." Alison and, um, Emily joined their voices together, smiling, peacefully acknowledged that nature's action.
Everyone looked out the window as if they wanted to confirm that fact. Every one. Except Spencer. Our writer was feeling a little uncomfortable. The looks on their faces gave her an idea that rain was a part of something special between them and she had no clue. Yeah, one more query to be curious about. But don't worry, Spencer. Aria came to the rescue, the girl turned back after a couple seconds, nonchalantly asked.
"What's with you two and rain?"
Let's say it was a question Alison loved to answer. The talented actress smiled genuinely, gave Emily a loving look then replied.
"On our first met, it was raining too." Didn't catch Spencer's annoying glare, the blonde innocently continued. "It was raining heavily that day and my bike was broken in the middle of nowhere. I had to run through the rain to get home. In a rush, I ran into Emily who happened to be walking on the street with an umbrella." The girl looked down a moment. "People were afraid of me back then. They thought I was the "it" girl. They thought I was mean and cold. I was so popular just like that. And with a pride that bigger than anybody's, I ignored her and kept running in hope that she could call me back and offer me to share that umbrella." Looked up at Aria, she grinned. "You know what? Emily didn't. I assumed that it was because of my bad reputation and Emily was just like everyone else. I kept running for minutes until I felt like the rain had stopped. Right the time I slowed down someone bumped into my back. Turned out, Emily had pharyngitis, she couldn't talk to stop me and I ran too fast so she just decided to chase after me, covered my body with her umbrella." Alison's eyes reached for the coffee shop owner. "She was different. When I looked into her eyes, I knew that that wasn't the last rain we would be through together."
The tanned girl didn't say anything. She just sat back, letting memories of good old days play with her mind. Came with it, a beautiful yet dorky beam firmed onto her lips.
And that, set Spencer on fire.
There was just a tiny little microsecond away for the older girl to set Alison on fire. Whilst the writer preparing for her explosion, the fashion designer's radar caught the angry girl's signal. Hanna almost threw her spoon and fork back to her dish, tried to make as much noises as possible to get the girls' attention.
She nailed it. All eyes were on her now.
It was just that she had no clue what she would do next. Swallowing hard, looking around, the best friend ultimately found a distraction. Pointed at the new wall art on the wall, Hanna breathed out a relief, exultantly raised her voice.
"Emily! What's this? I didn't see it the last time I was here."
"Oh! That's a wall art. I found it online and thought it would be perfect for that blank space. So…" The dark brown eyed girl smiled mischievously, reached for Spencer's hand. "I enticed her to buy it. Guess what? It worked."
Emily's action immediately cooled the light brown eyed girl down. Spencer was like melting into a puddle. The writer couldn't help but let a coy smile draw a line on her lips. She put some attempt to protest though.
"What do you mean it worked? For your information, I wasn't enticed. I bought it because I liked it too."
Really funny, Spencer. Really funny cause you always liked some black words written on your absolutely flawless pure white wall. Yeah, right.
"Read it! C'mon, Em! Read it! You sound so cute when you speak French." Hanna pleaded, amazed by her own ability of preventing a big argument from happening.
Kind of shy but our lovely coffee shop owner read it anyway. Never declined the best friend's request.
"Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé."
"Your accent's getting better."
Nope, not Hanna's line. Not Aria's either.
How can I put this? Ah, Spencer and Alison finally found their "common voice". How ironic! Their smiles dropped instantly when they heard the other's voice in this conversation. Not only did Hanna not save the day, but she also stated a convincible cause for the girls to begin the war. Sitting right there was the girl who made Emily love Paris and the girl whom Emily made to love Paris yet Hanna chose to bring this in. It was an ineffective day of the blue eyes girl then. She kept digging holes for herself and others.
Thanks to the smart girl in Emily who had managed to invite Aria, the peace maker once again came to the rescue.
"What does that mean? I don't speak French, you know? And I don't want to feel left out." The tiny best friend sat with her chin in her hand, joked, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
Well, Emily and Aria could be a great team. The tanned girl glanced over at Spencer, lovingly replied.
"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved."
Admit it, Emily was the most powerful person in this house. One sentence and all the guns, rockets, grenades, well,… shovels in the older girl's mind were nowhere to be found. Spencer returned her look, simply said with low tone.
"Même sans gravité sur terre, je tomberais amoureuse de toi."
The table remained silent. No one found it in their heart to interrupt our lovebirds' moment. No one. Even Alison. Frankly, she couldn't care less about their moment. How Emily's face lightened up with Spencer's words, how Emily's body relaxed in Spencer's touch, how Emily's eyes only reflected Spencer's portrait were what Alison was interested in. Jealousy was raging fiercely in her heart but she knew she had to conceal it. This was like a lesson from her "acceptance course". The knife was getting deeper in the heart but Alison refused to lose herself.
"Anyone bothers to tell me what the hell Spencer just said?" Hanna asked joyfully.
And the talented actress lost it. She looked right through Emily's soul, regret and bitter occupied her icy blue eyes, gently whispered.
"Even without gravity on Earth, I would fall in love with you."
The table was quiet again. Knowing it was the great time to not be there any longer, Alison faced Hanna, quickly added.
"That's the meaning of what Spencer said, now excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."
She stood up, disappeared in the corner, making the dark brown eyed girl stunned for a few seconds.
The girls said their goodbye an hour after finishing their meal. Whilst Hanna and Spencer were helping Emily clean everything, Alison gathering her stuffs, was about to leave. Suddenly, Aria's voice raised behind her back, catching her attention.
"You know it's late, right?"
"I know, that's why I'm leaving." The blonde spoke lightly, unsure why the artist asked a "matter of fact" question.
"No, no. I mean it's late. It's really late."
"I understand, Aria. I'm leav…"
"For you and Emily." Waited for the girl full facing her, the tiny best friend continued. "She loved you. You loved her. You maybe still have something for her but you have to admit it. It's not gonna happen. You wasted your chance. Now it's Spencer's turn to have that chance. I'm not saying this to you because I'm Spencer's best friend. Don't you see it? The way they look at each other? They're each other's happy endings. Emily is Spencer's happy ending. Please don't ruin it, okay?"
Aria gave the actress an understanding smile, her lips pursed. Our loveable artist patted Alison's shoulder, making her way to her car, left Alison dumbfounded.
But Emily is my happy ending, too.
AN: Tell me what you think?
Google helped me with those French quotes. :)