As the next morning begins to unfold, the sun starts making its way through the blinds and curtains, casting a slightly shadowed light on the white walls, as well as on the bodies lost in tranquil slumber. The room paints a much different picture than it had the previous day, a perfect display of the chaotic night they'd shared. Alison's clothes are scattered along the floor, the towel Emily had used next to them. Most of the covers are piled at the end of the bed, leaving Ali and Emily with nothing but thin sheets to cover their naked bodies.
Sunlight seeps through Emily's eyelids, causing the brunette to stir. As she slowly gains consciousness, the sound of a lawn mower on the Hastings' property makes it impossible to fall back to sleep. Defeated, she struggles to open one eye and then the other, bothered by the sudden intrusion of light and the headache she begins to feel.
Memories of the previous night are foggy, and she looks around the room as she tries to piece it all together. She remembers being at the bar, drinking and chatting the night away with her friends, but she can't remember anything further. Emily grunts in annoyance, disappointed that she hadn't kept the promise she'd made to herself that night of only having a few drinks. Being a lightweight, she should know better than to let herself get carried away.
It doesn't take long for her to realize where she is – she knows Alison's house like the back of her hand, even after the renovations. But the realization doesn't help calm her and instead has the opposite effect. Slowly, she raises her head from the pillow and looks to her right. Sure enough, Alison's body lies next to her.
"Fuck." Emily mutters to herself, turning her head back to the left. She immediately begins to scan the room for her clothes and, once she spots some items, she carefully uncovers her body and sits at the edge of the bed, being particularly cautious so Alison won't wake up.
She finds her underwear within arm's reach and begins to put them on, trying not to cause the bed to shift a lot.
"Leaving so soon?" Alison's raspy voice comes from the pillows behind a panic-stricken Emily. "And here I thought we could squeeze in another round…" Her smirk burns a hole in Emily's back as she fumbles for her belongings.
The brunette doesn't exactly know what to say at this point, caught by surprise by Alison being awake. So many things are running through her mind; she just needs to get out of the DiLaurentis' house immediately, before she says or does something she'll regret. "Maybe some other time." She curtly responds.
Sensing Emily's change in demeanor from the previous night, Alison's own thoughts begin to race. She sits up in her bed with a hand running through her hair, sheets still covering her chest.
"Em?" The blonde questions, waiting until Emily makes eye contact with her for the first time since she's woken up. "Did something happen?" She says, evident concern in her voice. She reaches for Emily's hand, but as soon as their skin comes to contact the brunette pulls away, as if she'd just been burned.
Emily gives Alison a makeshift smile and quickly replies, "No, I'm fine." To anyone else, the smile would have seemed genuine and the answer would have felt believable; to Alison, she knows there's much more than Emily's letting on.
Alison looks away and frowns slightly, which Emily notices.
"What's wrong?" Emily asks skeptically. She shifts back and forth on her feet absentmindedly, something she usually does whenever she grows anxious.
The blonde snaps her eyes back to Emily's face. "You just don't seem to want to be here with me," she replies honestly.
At this accusation, Emily looks away and takes a deep breath. Seconds pass and Emily begins to shake her head softly.
"Of course I do," the brunette starts, still not looking Alison in the eye. She knows it doesn't sound believable, that it's only half true, but she's hoping Alison doesn't push it.
The blonde watches as Emily resumes picking up her scattered belongings.
"Then tell me why you won't even look at me," Alison can tell she takes Emily by surprise, however she still doesn't make eye contact; it's almost as if Emily's afraid she'll turn into solid stone if they lock eyes.
When the last of Emily's things are gathered up in a bundle in the girl's arms, the brunette is out of the room and down the stairs before Alison's mind can even register what's happening. However, she recalls hearing Emily mutter one last thing before rushing out of the room: "I can't do this right now."
As soon as she's out the front door, Emily begins to make her way down the street and towards her house. Her heart races as she quickly walks past the familiar Victorian houses she's known her whole life. Sprinkler systems water perfectly trimmed grass and flower beds, causing the summer breeze to smell of wet grass. Children play on the street in front of their residences, unaware of the dangers the town once held.
The brunette quickens her pace once her house comes to view, eager to be in the privacy of her own room. She carefully opens the front door and stops for a couple of seconds, wondering if her mother is still asleep or if she'd gone out. She doesn't hear anything though, and assumes her mother is outside.
Emily makes her way upstairs and into her bedroom, immediately collapsing onto the bed. Her headache has gotten worse and there's no denying now she's hungover. However, she knows her headache is being aggravated by what had just happened in Alison's house.
"What the fuck was I thinking?" She says to herself. One night – that's all it took for her to be sucked back into the black hole that is Alison DiLaurentis. Not that she'd ever gotten out of it, but it pains her that she keeps falling for it – for her – over and over again.
Things with Alison, they were just… Complicated, to say the least. They've always been, and Emily knows they're both to blame for it.
It's not the first time the two of them have fallen into bed – it has happened before, more times than the two would ever admit. During their college years, the girls had gotten together every time they'd had a break. But every time, there had been a constant: they would never talk about it. And for a while, it had worked for the both of them, Emily being satisfied with the proximity and Alison being content with the lack of commitment the 'relationship' provided her; but this time things feel different.
Sometime during Alison's second year of college, Emily finds herself and the blonde acting like nothing had ever changed between them – like feelings between them had never grown or shrunk or, maybe, even existed at all. In Emily's mind, that could be a good thing; there's nothing to worry about or over think like she used to do constantly.
Things were going great when it came to Alison, actually. For the last year or so, they've been able to push aside whatever was there before and move on in the form of enjoying their last solid years together. Emily wouldn't exactly peg Alison as the cliché college girl ever since she slightly matured after everything that had happened, but the blonde would still enjoy heading out to parties pretty frequently and Emily would often tag along per Alison's request or, sometimes, demand.
Tonight is nothing different; Alison had simply spoken sweeter than normal and swayed her hips a little more in an attempt to convince an already willing Emily to accompany her to some campus party. The only nagging thought that had the ability to change Emily's mind was the fact that, more often than not, the two ended up in bed together by the end of the night. It's never a bad thing, obviously, but it always brings up those unwanted and unanswered questions regarding what means something or what means nothing, however Emily is much better at pushing them away now than she used to be when she was a love-struck teenager.
Emily keeps a grip on her cup as she pushes through the crowded rooms in what appears to be one of the college's more popular sorority houses. She had lost a talkative Alison in a sea of loud, incoherent college kids about ten minutes ago and wasn't exactly keen on the idea of leaving her here – not that she ever would.
Just as she's about to head up the old, wooden stairs, Emily feels a soft hand gently grab hold of her wrist, followed by a small tug backwards. As she turns around, she's met with the blue eyes that she's come to know so well. The brunette lets out a laugh and lightly smirks as she takes in Alison's state of tipsiness: her eyes are shining and her cheeks are flush from the combination of alcohol and the room's warm temperature. The blonde returns a smirk – her smirk – and eyes Emily thoroughly, possibly allowing her eyes to linger for a split second more than she should have, but neither of them are complaining. Emily had decided to wear very short shorts and an oversized tank top, slightly exposing her casual black sports bra.
Blaring music flows throughout the house, filling every room with quick beats of "Talking Body" by Tove Lo accompanied by distant shouts and cheering coming from the front yard. Alison continues to stare at Emily's lips for a few more seconds, knowing that no one is really paying much attention to them.
After high school, Alison intentionally lost her 'royal' status so she could become a normal, fun-loving girl that wouldn't be fawned over wherever she went. Quite frankly, she just wanted the silly, immature teenage years that she had missed out on; she used to wish that she was able to act like a dork without being scrutinized and judged ten times more than the average teenage girl. Since she wiped her slate clean, Alison had been able to enjoy the small things without feeling as though she's under a microscope and, if Emily's being honest, she's proud of the blonde for being able to change from being self-centered and image-obsessed to hard-working and self-driven in the course of a few years.
Emily breaks out of her thoughts when she feels Alison's hand grip hers. The brunette doesn't even really question Alison anymore when it comes to these parties; she's just happy to be there with her. As she's pulled along by the other girl, Emily quickly catches a glimpse of what Alison's wearing: an off-white, short dress with semi-wide, lace shoulder straps and a small belt just above where the dress begins to slightly flow. The front of the dress has a deep V-neck being nicely complimented by a simple necklace that Emily had given her years ago – a small moonstone pendant strung on a thin, silver chain.
Emily lets her eyes drift downwards for a split second to admire Ali's figure from behind, which the blonde seems to catch due to looking back at Emily at just the right moment. Alison giggles and shakes her head while continuing to drag the now red-faced girl through the crowd of party-goers. Years have passed since high school, yet Emily still isn't more subtle with her glances.
The two finally reach the house's quiet patio away from the rest of the crowd. Alison laces their fingers together and smiles at Emily, tipsiness very apparent. The blonde's grip loosens up on Emily's wrist, her hand gliding up the other girl's arm before taking a small step closer before leaning in to whisper in the brunette's ear.
"Take me home," she breathes out. To Emily, it sounds like a half-demand, half-suggestion, but she wasn't able to deny that request either way; that's all it ever takes to spark something.
"Okay," Emily whispers back before extending her hand for Alison to take. The blonde accepts the gesture and the pair begins walking towards Alison's college dorm.
The walk is never that long, no matter where the party is held since the campus isn't all that big. Actually, the walk would be even shorter if it wasn't for the unoccupied squares of land in between sidewalks and buildings.
After ten or so minutes, Alison is unlocking her room and Emily follows her into the small room adorned with old pictures and simplistic décor. Though Emily has gotten used to the room and, honestly, the whole campus, she still studies the pictures on the wall. She recalls the many repetitive conversations that she and Alison had regarding their favorite picture: a picture of all five of them when they were younger. One day a few months ago, the two had actually just sat on the bed, laughing about old memories from high school.
Emily is, once again, lost in her thoughts until she hears a chuckle from beside her. She whips her head around to see Alison with another smirk on her face, her eyes intensely set on Emily. It isn't until Alison strides towards Emily that the brunette internally questions the blonde's intentions for the rest of the night; however she quickly realizes that she doesn't have the time to get a single word out before Alison's kissing her hard.
She holds herself back at first, out of instinct, but ultimately decides 'fuck it'. This is just another thing she's become accustomed to, over the past few years.
"And before you ask, my roommate is gone for the night," the blonde breaks her lips from Emily's for a second before kissing her harder.
The sudden shared information makes Emily giggle into the other girl's mouth because, really, there have been too many times when she's had to nearly kill the mood in order to ask.
The two continue to heat up and Emily's lingering thoughts begin to die down as Alison pushes her back towards the bed so she can climb on top of the brunette, silencing all of the remaining morally correct voices inside her head. With the blonde straddling her, Emily finds herself paying great attention to the way Alison's mouth gradually makes its way down her neck in order to take her sweet time alternating between bites and open-mouthed kisses. In return, she slides her hands down the other girl's sides and lower back before scratching her nails along Alison's exposed thighs, earning an abrupt moan from the blonde who brings her face back to Emily's before tugging on her lower lip.
As Emily's nails scratch up and down Alison's inner thighs, the brunette can feel the other girl begin to grind against her stomach which only encourages her more. While Alison continues to kiss Emily hard as she moves her body to create more friction, Emily uses the distraction to reach behind Alison's neck and unzip her dress before flipping them over.
The two girls keep eye contact as Emily slides the dress off of Alison and before the dress can even make it to the floor, Alison is tugging at Emily's shirt and pulling the brunette back on top of her to finish what they started.
Emily groans into her pillow, clearly annoyed. She wasn't planning on thinking about past memories like these ever again, but they always find a way back to her, whether she likes it or not.
The brunette shifts so she's sitting against the headboard, figuring that she's not going to get any rest either way. As her headache begins to tone down, memories from the previous night start creeping in, becoming clearer as each piece falls into its respective place.
She remembers lying on the bed, Alison's body pressed closely against her own as the blonde planted open-mouthed kisses down her neck and collarbones. Alison would occasionally bite down on her skin, soothing it with her tongue afterwards and eliciting loud, long moans from Emily. The brunette shifted under Alison in an attempt to gain more friction, and that had been the moment Alison had abruptly stopped and pulled back, catching Emily by surprise.
Alison sat back, straddling Emily, and looked into the other girl's eyes with concern. The confusion in Emily's face is clear as she frowns and Alison can't help but offering her a comforting smile, letting her hands rest on the brunette's bare stomach.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Alison questioned the girl beneath her, biting down on her lip while paying close attention to Emily's expression.
Emily was stunned for a few seconds. She wasn't expecting such a great form of care from the blonde. Normally, Emily would be the one to tread lightly before continuing. Truth be told, Alison had not shown anything that could potentially be interpreted into a form of care during their activities prior; it was always strictly for a form of release.
The brunette nodded slowly, giving Alison the confirmation she needed to continue. The girl let out a small sigh, as if she was relieved Emily hadn't said 'no', and most her hesitation seemed to go away. She cautiously moved her hands to Emily's sides, lowering herself to place a gentle kiss on the brunette's lips only to deepen it just seconds later.
The blonde's hands started to trace down Emily's abdomen slowly; she wanted it to be a lasting memory that was etched into the brunette's mind for the rest of her life. A low moan escaped from her mouth, lingering on her lips. There was a different mood that night, not like other times they'd shared before, where it lasted for the night and they never spoke about it again; she was being genuine, this time around. Alison leaned down lower into Emily, hovering just barely above her sweltering body, and grabbed one of the brunette's hands, intertwining their fingers.
A hand slowly trailed up to her chest, a gulp erupting from Emily's throat. When was the last time they'd taken things slow, again? Emily's eyes followed her hand as it treaded up to one of her breasts, extending her fingers over her nipple. A rough gasp exhaled from the brunette's mouth as the room progressively felt warmer.
"Is this okay?" Alison whispered before pulling up to look at Emily. The other girl didn't trust her voice so she settled with a nod. The blonde removed her hand and replaced her fingers with her tongue, wanting to pleasure the brunette in every possible way.
Soft moans erupted from her mouth, as she remembers that they were actually alone, however she didn't want to get too loud too soon. It was hard, though, as Alison's tongue flickered across the hardened nub, taking it in her mouth and gently tugging on it.
Once she thought she'd finished her work, she'd kissed her way up Emily's chest with open-mouthed kisses, leaving her shivering and needing more. There was a sudden stop of all movements, causing Emily to perk up at the silence. Her eyes met blue, and she noticed the reddening on the blonde's cheeks.
"Are you okay?" Emily had asked carefully.
Alison inhaled before nodding. "I'm fine, really." Emily offered her a smile before Alison placed a kiss on her lips, one that left them swollen and bruised.
She felt the blonde's lips glide over her cheek, kissing from her ear down to her neck. From an early start, Alison had found out all of Emily's weakest points the same way Emily knew hers, and it's unbelievable how fast they could get each other to their high. The blonde found one of the spots and gently bit down, causing a loud moan to escape Emily's lips. It felt crazy, the way Alison could always make her feel like that in a matter of seconds.
"Wait." Emily stopped the blonde from going any further. "You're forgetting something…" She reached down to the hem of Alison's shirt, lightly lifting it over the girl's body, careful not to disturb the mood.
Once the blonde was in nothing but her underwear, Emily made an attempt at flipping them over. She gently moved her hand to Alison's back, slowly pushing her to the side, but Alison was quick to shove her back, hell-bent on making the night all about the girl in-between her legs. The brunette tries to protest but is met with a 'sh' from the blonde. She fell back defeated, but not before 'accidentally' moving her knee over and pressing against Ali's center, causing the girl to inhale sharply.
Emily's hands moved to the other girl's thighs, steadying her. Once Alison was able to catch her breath she shook her head playfully, smiling as she pulled in her bottom lip and looked at Emily in a way she'd never done before. She eyed her up and down, admiring her body like it was a work of art. And maybe it was, in her books – Emily's the most beautiful person Ali's ever laid eyes on, and she was grateful to have her in that moment.
The brunette's fingernails met the inside of Alison's thighs, dragging lazily across them while Emily applied some pressure on the sensitive skin, causing the blonde to moan. She closed her eyes for a second, wanting the teasing to last forever, and whimpered once Emily's hands went too far up.
For the rest of the night, Alison had tended to Emily's needs more than her own. She made sure to take things slow and listen to the other girl, obliging to her requests, as if to make up for the eight months they'd been apart. Even though she was listening to each of Emily's commands she made an exception, refusing to bring the girl to the edge and dragging it out through an excruciating amount of time.
Emily breaks out of her thoughts once her phone rings, her heart racing. She picks her purse from where she'd left it on her bedroom floor and fumbles in search of the device, coming to a stop once she finally holds it in her hands. She looks at the caller ID in confusion, not expecting that the blonde calling her would be Hanna.
"Hello?" Emily asks as she answers the phone, running a hand through her hair as she tries to sound composed.
"Hey Em," Hanna replies nonchalantly. "I was just wondering; do you need a ride to Aria's gallery opening?"
"Aria's gallery opening?" The brunette repeats her friend's words, pulling the phone away from her face to check the date. 'Shit,' she thinks, having completely forgotten about it. "Sure, I guess."
"Good!" The blonde says chirpily, seemingly oblivious to Emily's lack of excitement. Not that she'd care, though. Hanna would drag Emily to the event if she had to. "I'll pick you up at seven?"
"I'll see you then," She says. 'But not before a cold shower.'