Chapter 40 – Rosewood 2.0

"Emmy, I'm sorry I have to go like this, I was really looking forward to spending more time with you here." Wayne stood in front of his daughter, fighting the urge to stay and disobey his orders.

Em, sensing his hesitation, forced the brightest smile she could make onto her face and hugged her father tightly, masking the fallen tears into the thick material of his jacket, "I know dad, but I'm just thankful that we got to spend any time together at all, Thanksgiving is in a few days, and it's just a turkey, we can always reschedule a turkey, right?"

Wayne laughed whole heartedly, "right," he confirmed, "your mother can make the turkey once I get back. Will you be here?"

Em looked back at Ali, "well we have two weeks, after tomorrow me and the girls are going to Rosewood, but I'll be back for the last 4 days of break."

Wayne smiled, "this will only be a week long, I talked to some of the bigs and I arrange it so I can leave early."

"Dad-"

"No," Wayne interrupted, "I already made up my mind, I'll be home with your mother and you and Ali better be here." Wayne smiled and hugged his daughter again, he pointed to Lauren and Camila and smiled, "and bring these two, I like them."

Lauren nodded, "yeah, we have that effect on people; no one seems to resist us."

Pam laughed beside her family, "you haven't even met Hanna yet, and you already sound like her."

"Great," Camila and Ali both groaned, "two Lauren's."

"Hey, you love me, isn't that right Em?"

"Well," Em started to teased.

"Wow, I'm leaving."

Pam grabbed Lauren's wrist and hugged her, "you're not going anywhere, girls, be nice."

Lauren stood shocked, "so you don't hate me?"

"Haha, like you said, how could I not?"

"See!" The raven haired, green-eyed beauty exclaimed, "hah, in your faces!"

Em chuckled but stopped once her father's cab pulled into the wide driveway.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Be carefull."

"No worries Em," Pam said beside her, "I'll keep my eye on him."

"Good, I love you guys." Em pulled them in for a hug and when the three broke apart, Wayne called out, "and what do you three think you're doing?"

"What?" Camila asked confused.

"Get over here!"

Ali smiled and pulled Lauren and Camila with her to join the Fields' family hug.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Fields, we'll see you next week."

"Bye Ali, take care of Em for us."

"Oh, she'll be taking care of us more than likely."

"Doesn't she always," Wayne added proudly.

"Well girls," he addressed, "it was wonderful meeting you, I hope to see you back here as well next week?"

"Oh most definitely," Camila agreed.

"For my food?" Pam teased.

"Haha, of course we'll be here," Lauren laughed, "you can't get rid of us that easily."

Pam nodded, "yup, her and Hanna are going to get along just fine."

Ali shook her head and turned to Em, remembering the bet the four friends placed just days ago.

"Yeah, mom, that's what we're afraid of."

Within the next few minutes, Emily stood with Ali wrapped around her waist in the driveway, watching as her parents drove off.

Lauren and Camila had already returned inside but Em stood, still watching as the dust settled and Ali stood watching as the thoughts in Em's head settled as well.

"Em, what are you thinking?" Ali trailed her hand up to cup Em's cheek, the pad of her thumb gently rubbing back and forth.

Em sighed deeply and hugged her hand around Ali's shoulders tightly, "I don't know, I'm just thinking I guess."

"Let me into that beautiful mind of yours." Ali prodded gently.

Em smiled and looked down, their eyes meeting and quickly Em placed her hand against Alison's cheek mirroring her, "what's the point," Em whispered, "you already consume almost my every thought. There is no place in my head to go without bumping into some piece of you. Not even my heart is safe, you consume the beats that keep me breathing."

Ali was at a loss for words, normally Emily never opened up this way. The 'I love you's were romance enough, the three words doing to Ali's heart inexplicable things when she heard them spill from Emily's lips. This however, was unexpected and Alison could only answer Em right now with a smile that she hoped said it all.

"Are you sure you want to be a doctor? Because right about now, I'm thinking maybe you should be the author here, not me."

Em shook her head, "no, you're meant to be an author, besides who else would write our love story?"

Ali leaned in to capture the lips she'd been dying to kiss and when she pulled away she asked, "so if I'm going to be the author chosen to write our story, why are you going to be the doctor?"

Em looked up slightly as if in thought but she already had her answer, "so that one day, maybe I can understand my body well enough to know why it is that every time I'm with you, my heart seems to beat slower and faster at the same time. Why it flutters and my chest tightens, why all at once you take my breath away yet you're the very air I want to breathe…that, Alison is why I am destined to be a doctor." It was spoken slowly and deliberately, no trace doubt in her voice.

"You-" Ali started…

"Are such cheeseballs!"

Em and Ali turned around and Ali groaned, dropping her head into Em's chest.

"Lauren," Camila scolded from beside her, "I told you to shutup."

"Wait, you were there the whole time?" Em's face turned a shade of red.

"Interrupted again, Em you sure we should taking Lauren to meet Hanna, that means we will literally have no privacy."

Lauren laughed, "hey I was standing here as long as I could, I me Camila and I have or moments, and yeah, we get all lovey dovey too, but geez, we do it when no one is around, this probably just gave me three cavities."

"Well," Ali started, "stay away then you perv." Ali ran after Lauren after Lauren threw a small berry from the bush they were near at the blonde's head.

Em caught up to stand and watch beside Camila.

"You know Em, usually I'm the goofy one, but it's nice to see Lauren like this, it's been a while."

Em nodded in agreement, "same, I think this is one of the first times, I've seen Ali so carefree in a while."

"It feels good though right?"

"Yeah," Em's voice was soft and although Camila had barely known her for a few months, she could tell something was up.

"Emily?"

"Yeah?"

"What is it?"

"What?"

"C'mon, I know you meant everything you said to Alison back there but I also know you have something else on your mind. And if I can see it, then she can definitely see it. You want to talk about it?"

Em shrugged, and shoved her hands in her pockets, "I don't even know-"

"Even if you think it won't make sense, just say it, maybe I can help. Growing up where I did with Lauren and having the friends and family we had, being in a relationship wasn't easy, it was actually hard and scary and we had plenty of obstacles, so I've been through more crap than you might imagine, let me share."

"Share your crap?"

"You've got crap and so do I, so let's make a crap sandwich, tell me what's eating at you?"

Em sighed, knowing sooner or later she'd have to tell Ali anyways, and she trusted Camila anyways. So Em turned to the tan skinned brown eyed girl, whom she shared so much in common with and just shook her head.

"It's just, this life thing is scary, Ali is the only person I've ever been this crazy about, and I've been like this since we were young, and since then, anytime I felt like things were going good, that nothing could make my life any better- I –"

"Something comes crashing in and messes it all up doesn't it?" Camila answered, knowing all too well what it felt like to have the rug pulled out from under her feet.

Em let go of the air in her lungs she had been holding and her shoulders slumped, "yeah, for years, I was always scared to be too happy, because I knew something would come in and take that away, I lived in constant fear and – and-"

"You're feeling like that now?" Emily couldn't decide if it was a statement or a question.

"Yeah…no…I don't know Mila, I just, I can't help but feel like things are almost too good to true right now. And I'm feeling like a disaster is just around the corner, waiting until the last second when I think things might actually work out to flip this all on its ass."

Camila smiled weakly and placed her hand on Em's shoulder to comfort her, "Lo and I have been through some of our trials and tribulations, we've fought to be together and it was all worth it, we broke up once because we thought that was best but it wasn't. No pain or disaster came between us that compared to the pain we felt when we were apart. So whatever you think is coming, because it may or may not, just enjoy what you have in front of you right now. You just have to believe that whatever may try to separate you two, you are gonna get through it, but you have to get through it together." Camila finished once they reached the porch, laughing when she heard the audible crash of bodies hitting the floor.

"You're not doubting what you and Ali-"

"God no, no, never. I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Camila sighed out of relief, "okay good, because we're playing that video at your wedding."

"Video?!"

"What? We are invited to the wedding right?"

Em made a grab for Camila's phone, now in her hand but was too slow as Camila quickly ran up the stairs, "nope, not gonna be that easy."

"Ugh, I hate you guys."

"And we love you too Em."

x-x-x-x

"What were you and Camila talking about earlier?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

"Okay fine, we were talking about us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, you and me."

"You and I."

"Ugh, okay yeah, you and I."

"Okay, what about us though?"

"Nothing I just- I just-"

"You just what?"

"I just feel like things are changing and something big is coming."

"Changing? Something big?"

"Yeah."

"Are these good things?"

"I'm not sure yet." Em sighed truthfully.

"Well," Ali proposed, "when you do figure it out-"

"You'll be the first to know."

"Good, I love you Em, you know that right?"

"Of course I do, I love you too."

"Okay because if you're having any doubts."

"No, Ali no, I'm not, that's not the change I'm talking about, I just feel like life is finally happening and some things are bound to change sooner or later."

"Em, things are always changing and remaining the same, and sometimes that happens all at once and other times it's only us that changes…it's all inevitable avoid or choose everything that will happen, it happens and that is that."

"And that is that?"

"Yeah, life sucks sometimes, but nothing is permanent right?"

"Tattoos are?"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah I guess, I guess it's just eating at me, we're going back to Rosewood and we have to kind of face everything that was there you know and I can't forget what happens when you find happiness in Rosewood."

"You mean-"

"Yeah."

"But Em, -A is gone."

"Yeah I know, but what –A did to us isn't. I just feel like going back there this happy and with so much love…I don't know, like I'll be coming back and Rosewood will have robbed me of some happiness...again."

"That's not going to happen."

"How do you know?"

"It's Rosewood 2.0, things are different know, it's not the same. I don't for sure what will happen when we get there or when we leave, but I know us, and it won't happen."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, you're right, I don't know why I'm being paranoid."

"Come, Lauren and Camila are waiting for us downstairs, we better go before they start making out on the couch again."

Em laughed and grabbed a blanket from her bed, "hah, maybe we should let them and have our own make out session here instead?" Emily smirked, a rare sight to see and Ali smiled back at her.

"Em," she warned.

"What? What? You mean you want to bust the two of them instead?"

"Well it might be nice to be on the other end of things for once."

Em's head fell back, "fine. Fine, let's go."

"Em?"

"What?"

Ali walked up to Em's ear and reached on her tiptoes, whispering seductively, "you can have my way tonight when we go to bed."

Em swallowed, "on that note, I think I'm tired now."

"Don't be ridiculous babe, it's only 6:30, plus that'd be rude, we have guests."

"Ugh, you'll be the death of me woman."

"And you mine."

And with that Em and Ali took off to head downstairs, where they did indeed find Lauren and Camila making out heatedly, Ali pulling out all stops to embarrass them and Em laughing in the distance as her girlfriend succeeded.

So what, change may or may not come, maybe Em will accept it, maybe it won't be so bad…

Or maybe, it may come closer than ever to tearing her world apart by the seams…

Maybe…

AN: don't hate me, I haven't had a cliffhanger in a while…

Please leave a comment/review.

I hope you enjoyed, this was more fluffy than I anticipated, also I just wanted to give you more of who Lauren and Camila are to Em and Ali, I like their addition to the story, and I hope you do as well.

Let me know your thoughts, I have a few surprises up my sleeve. ;)

Love, Lina