I know everyone's getting back into school and work, so I know it is hard to take the time to read my updates! But I am very thankful for all the feedback! Enjoy!
EDIT: I was about 4000 words into this update when I realized that's a lot for one chapter. So, as a treat, I'm just going to split it down the middle and post two regular chapters at once!
…
"When is Spencer going to be here? I want to know what her surprise is!" Hanna said impatiently as she, Aria, and Emily all stood in the high school parking lot by Aria's car.
"She said she'll get out of lacrosse practice as soon as possible. She should be here any minute now," Emily replied, looking down at her pink Nike women's watch.
"Spence sure sounded excited about whatever her big news is!" Aria recalled, trying to think of what it could be.
"Speak of the devil!" Hanna grinned as Spencer crossed from the sidewalk over to Aria's car.
"Hi, to you too, Han," Spencer said sarcastically.
"Hey, you," Emily gave a shy smile as Spencer set her bag down and gave the swimmer a proper kiss.
"So, what's this big surprise?" Aria asked, anxious to hear.
"Well, Emma sent me a text a few days ago…"
"Oh boy," Hanna butt in.
"Will you let me finish, woman?" Spencer looked at the blonde.
"Sorry."
"Like I was saying, Emma texted me the other day and invited all of us to go see Blink-182 with her in Philadelphia this coming Friday!" Spencer looked at the girls, waiting for a reaction.
"Wait, she has tickets for all of us? That must have cost a fortune!" Hanna said, her smile growing.
"Her dad knows one of the band's managers or something. Anyway, she has enough for all of us to go. Are you guys in? It'd be a blast." Spencer looked hopeful. She wanted her friends to like Emma if she was going to be friends with her. Mostly because she knew what her best friends were capable of.
"Well you know I'm in," Emily smiled, slipping her hand in Spencer's.
"Hell yeah!" Hanna said in a duh tone.
"Looks like we're going to Philly next Friday!" Aria said excitedly.
…
"Okay, girls, you know where the hotel is and everything?" Mrs. Marin asked cautiously as Hanna and Emily gathered their overnight bags for the trip to Philly on Friday morning.
"Yeah, mom, don't worry. We have it all under control!" Hanna insisted.
"Thanks for letting us go, Ashley," Emily added, giving the woman a warm hug.
"You guys will have a great time, I'm sure! Just be careful!"
"We will, Mom," Hanna hugged her mother as she and Emily moved for the front door.
"I love you…both of you!" Ashley smiled, looking a little worried as the two girls went down the driveway towards Hanna's car, which they had decided to take to Philly, since it was the roomiest.
"Love you too!" Hanna and Emily said simultaneously before sliding into the car and speeding off towards Aria's.
At the Montgomery house, Ella was giving Aria a talk about what to do in case of an emergency.
"Mom," Aria said, using the unfamiliar calling sign to get Ella's attention, "We'll be fine, I promise. We all have each other to lean on!" Aria grinned, hugging her mom goodbye.
"Okay, honey, love you. Have fun!" Ella waved as Emily and Hanna waited in the doorway.
"Love you, too, mom." Aria bid her mother one final goodbye and left with the other two.
"Aria, you can sit up front with Hanna. I'm going to sit back here with Spence," Emily said once they reached Hanna's car. Aria shot Hanna a grin that went unnoticed by Emily, who was already buckled into the back seat behind Aria.
"Okay, Em. Whatever you say," Aria said casually.
Hanna climbed in and put the car in reverse, "To Spencer's house we go."
The three of them went up to Spencer's door and knocked when they got there. Spencer opened the door, her bags already in hand, and stepped out without so much of a word to Peter or Veronica. Spencer noticed the other three giving her a look.
"What? I already said goodbye!" Spencer said innocently.
"Let's go then!" Hanna clapped once as she skipped down the driveway.
"Well, someone's excited!" Spencer remarked, walking next to Emily on the way to the car.
"Really? I couldn't tell!" Emily joked, helping Spencer load her bag in the trunk before they climbed in the back seat together.
"And we're off, ladies! Let's kick it!"
…
"Hi, we have two rooms, all booked under Hastings," Spencer said articulately as they approached the front desk of the luxurious hotel lobby.
"Let me just look…Okay, one night in two conjoined rooms, is that correct?" The manager looked up from the computer screen with a friendly expression on his face.
"Yep, that's us!" Spencer confirmed.
"You'll be in rooms 1202 and 1204. Here are your keys, ladies. Enjoy your stay!"
They all thanked him and immediately headed for the elevators with their things.
"So, where is Emma meeting us again?" Hanna asked as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. Aria pressed the number 12 on the array of buttons and the doors closed shortly after.
"She wants to meet for an early dinner before the concert to introduce us to a friend of hers," Spencer explained, "She said once we decide where we want to eat to text her and let her know."
"But there's so many good places in Philly!" Hanna whined.
"Ooh, you know what sounds good? Kobe's Steakhouse!" Aria suggested, licking her lips at the thought of the Japanese restaurant.
"I've never been," Emily said as the elevator finally reached their floor. "Is it good?"
The girls filed out and looked at the signs on the wall which indicated the direction of room numbers.
"It's delicious!" Hanna grinned as Spencer went right down the hallway, leading the others along with her.
"You would love it! They cook right at your table and put it straight from the grill to your plate! It's amazing," Aria agreed as they rounded another corner, still following Spencer of course.
"1200…1202 and 1204! Here we are," Spencer handed the two keys to 1202 to Aria and Hanna and handed Emily one of the keys to 1204 while keeping the other for herself. "Okay, let's get settled in, shower, dress for dinner, and be out of here by 6," Spencer said quickly.
The others nodded and they went into their respective rooms. Emily walked into the nice hotel room behind Spencer and set her things on the bed closest to the door.
"I don't think this bed will be necessary. It'll make a good place for my stuff," Emily joked. Spencer set her things down and walked over to stand behind Emily as the tan brunette unzipped her Rosewood Sharks duffle bag. She stopped, however, when she felt Spencer's hands slip around her waist. Emily turned around and slung her arms over Spencer's shoulders.
"I couldn't agree more…" Spencer leaned in for a kiss, and just as their lips were about to connect, there was a banging on the door leading into Aria and Hanna's room. Spencer groaned. "I wonder who that could be."
"Are you guys already getting busy over there?" Hanna shouted behind the door that separated them.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Spencer asked, giving Emily a wink as she waited for Hanna's reply.
"Yeah, actually, I would!"
Spencer could picture Hanna's devious face now, curious about every detail of every moment. But that was Hanna Marin.
Emily and Spencer heard Aria's muffled voice in the background, "Hanna, get your ass over here and help me pick out an outfit. Let them do their thing!"
Emily giggled and looked back at Spencer, "Speaking of doing our thing…" Emily leaned in and kissed Spencer. They could still hear the faint sound of Hanna whining as she walked away from the door to help Aria. Spencer pressed her body flush against Emily's and embraced the lean girl. She pulled her lips away and nuzzled Emily's smooth mass of black hair. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, soaking in the sweet smell of Emily, her sweet perfume mixed with the smallest trace of chlorine. Emily ran her hands over the middle of Spencer's back, her hot palms making goose bumps arise wherever she touched, and her soft lips pressing light kisses to Spencer's neck.
"I love this," Emily said tenderly into Spencer's neck. She felt Spencer nod and they continued to hold one another. After a moment, they pulled apart, now only connected by their hands, which had automatically linked together upon separating.
"We should get ready for tonight," Spencer said, a small trace of regret in her voice.
Emily nodded, "Help me pick out something sexy to wear." The brunette winked at Spencer, who only responded with a kiss.
"I'd be delighted."
…
"Hanna! Come on, we're leaving!" Spencer banged on the bathroom door in Aria and Hanna's hotel room. Aria laughed from the bed as she finished putting her shoes on.
"I'm almost done! Just give me a second!" Hanna said in a rushed tone. Spencer wondered why Hanna was even putting on her makeup with the door closed. She then put the pieces together and barged into the bathroom to find her suspicions to be true. There she found Hanna sitting on the closed toilet seat, sipping from her infamous silver flask, which she then quickly hid behind her back upon Spencer's entrance.
"Christ, Hanna!" Spencer said, her hands on her hips, her brow furrowed. Emily appeared behind Spencer to see what was going on.
"Hanna, you weren't drinking without us, were you?" Emily asked, laughing as Hanna sat, silent.
"What? I just don't think I can go out to dinner with someone who used to be in the way of you two!" Hanna motioned to Emily and Spencer, who then looked at each other before looking back at the blonde, who shamelessly took another big sip of whatever liquor occupied her metal container.
Spencer sighed, "Give me that!" She snatched the flask from the blonde's hands, but it was too late. The flask proved to be empty as Spencer turned it upside down over the sink. Spencer looked back at Hanna, who shrugged, clearly past the point of caring what the others thought.
"What are we going to do with you?" Aria asked, joining Emily and Spencer in the doorway of the bathroom.
"Guess we're doing some extra babysitting tonight…" Spencer muttered as she grabbed Hanna's wrist and pulled her out of the bathroom. "Let's go guys, we're going to be late for dinner."
"I'm starving!" Hanna giggled as they grabbed their things and headed down the hall towards the elevators. Then Aria made a realization.
"Hanna, when was the last time you ate?" Aria asked cautiously.
"Umm…I don't know. But I've been hungry since…" Hanna's mind drew a blank as she tried to calculate the hours she'd felt emptiness in her stomach, "since some time ago!" She settled for the useless response and the other three made eye contact, all of them aware of the consequences of drinking on an empty stomach.
"Oh, great!" Spencer said sarcastically, continuing to pull Hanna down the hall. Emily opened her large tote bag and pulled out a bottle of water and opened it before offering it to Hanna.
"Drink," Emily commanded. They finally came to a stop at the elevators and Aria pressed the down arrow. Hanna drank a third of the bottled water before clumsily passing it back to Emily. The gold elevator doors glided open after a moment and they stepped inside.
"Hanna. You need to tell us if you feel sick at all, okay? We're gonna have to get you some food as soon as we get situated at the restaurant," Aria explained. Hanna laughed a little.
"Man, this elevator is so pretty! Don't you think so?"
"We're gonna have a long night…" Spencer muttered as the elevator doors opened onto the ground floor, allowing her to drag Hanna along once again.
…