Another update!
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They walk in through the backdoor and the sight of two brunettes in the kitchen greets them. Aria's slumped over the counter as Spencer, ever the gracious hostess, warms their bagels. The pair heads further into the room and takes their seats on the barstools over the kitchen island.
The genius set a plate down in front of the writer, causing the drooping girl to jump and nearly fall off the stool.
"Hey are you alright?" Emily asks, her face twisting with concern.
It warms Alison's heart, knowing that the bond between her friends has only strengthened. Despite her disappearance and all that A has done, the girls have stood by each other. It's clear that they'll always care for one another and no amount of texted threats is going to change this.
"Yeah," Aria assures as she straightens her posture and repositions herself on the stool. "I was up pretty late last night." she explains, weariness clear on her face.
"Thinking about anything in particular?" Alison questions.
"What difference does it make?" Spencer asks in irritation as she sets their food down on the counter. She doubts Alison is asking just for the sake of asking. There's always a purpose, a reason as to why Alison DiLaurentis does things and it is way too early in the morning to be playing her games. "She's losing sleep."
"She's not the only one is she?" bright blue eyes turn to toward the genius.
She's a bit of an expert on this matter seeing as ever she ran since she's dealt with the same struggle. Some night's she'd stay up, remembering what it felt like to be buried alive. Other nights she dreams that A has found her and there's no escape. For the past two years she tossed and turned, training her body to be alert at even the slightest sound.
"Can you blame us?" Spencer questions, her tone lacking patience. She looks over to the two newcomers. Her inquisitive gaze quickly becomes suspicious when she sees the well rested look on the pair's faces. "I'm surprised you two don't look as bad as we do." she keeps her eyes on them as she smears cream cheese on her bagel. Emily refuses to meet Spencer's gaze whilst Alison matches the intensity of her stare. "I mean after your little run in with A, I didn't think you'd be capable of closing your eyes." she notes.
"Having Emily makes it easy." Alison responds rather suggestively.
Emily coughs, her throat trying to swallow the bagel she was chewing down her esophagus. They haven't discussed telling their friends about the evolution in their relationship, mostly because they haven't really discussed it themselves. The blonde's practical confession is more than a little daunting. She's used to having Alison deny things. Her sultry reply is certainly unexpected.
The athlete feels a hand on her back and gazes into the owner of the appendage's bright blue depths. Alison runs comforting circles on her torso, face distorted with concern as her eyes shine with mischief.
"Thanks." she flashes a smile of gratitude Alison's way.
"It's the least I can do after the way you took care of me last night." the runaway replies, her eyes darkening with appreciation and a hint of want. "And this morning."
"Is there something going on?" Aria looks between her two friends, the air around them potent with tension. "I mean we look road kill and," her lips purse as she observes the pair. "You two are practically glowing." her eyes squint suspiciously as Alison takes her time taking her hand away from the small of Emily's back.
"That's what happens when you get a goodnight's sleep." Alison looks at her with those bright blue eyes. "Right Em?"
"Has your dad finished moving out Spencer?" the sentence leaves Emily's mouth before she can even think about it. Her question stuns the two other brunettes. She's always been the more sensitive, less blunt, of the friends. Emily's blushing face looks toward Alison briefly who only smirks in return. The blonde is clearly proud of the way her actions have caused the athlete to be so flustered. "I'm sorry I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed." with the way Alison is openly flirting with her, she muses to herself.
"No it's fine Em." Spencer sighs. "I should be ready to face questions like that."
"How are you holding up?" Alison asks with genuine concern, turning her attention from the athlete to focus on the genius, and Spencer's brow arches upward almost reaching her hairline.
"I'm fine." Spencer responds warily. It hurts to have Spencer and Aria look at her with such distrust but Alison can't really blame them. She did spend two years pretending to be dead after all. Plus they still have a plethora of issues, both past and present, they need to sort through. "I just thought that maybe they'd work things out after they talked."
"Maybe it isn't too late." Emily whispers and Alison finds herself smiling because the athlete is still big on happy endings.
"I think it is." Spencer begins forlornly. "I mean, my mom told me she still loves my dad," she confesses. "But there's just been too many secrets." the genius's brown eyes shine with unshed tears. "That she feels like their entire marriage was founded on lies." she explains.
"Even if you love the person there's only so many lies you can take." Aria notes knowingly.
Alison looks at Emily who returns her gaze, wondering if she's even remotely close to being deemed trustworthy. Most of all, she wants to know if she can earn the athlete's forgiveness. Emily grasps her hand and interlocks their fingers together before giving her appendage a gentle squeeze in response. She smiles because this can only mean she's well on her way to regaining Emily's absolution.
"Are we still talking about my parents or your 2 little slips?" Spencer asks, clearly wishing for a change in topic. The genius looks over to Alison and Emily for assistance in teasing the petite brunette but sees that the two aren't paying them any attention. The pair seems to be engaged in an intimate gaze. Her eyes travel down to their clasped hands and she can't help but wonder if she'd been too quick to shoot down Hanna's query about the two. "Or is Aria not the only one who's slipped recently?" the idea seems absolutely absurd but the evidence seems to contradict Spencer's beliefs.
Before the two shorter brunettes can press for answers, the sound of an opening door interrupts their conversation. They look toward the entrance and find Hanna standing there glaring at Alison.
"I thought you said it's just going to be us." Hanna remarks as she shuts the door behind her.
"Yeah well I lied." Spencer states obviously because really, the short haired blonde should know better by now. "You two need to sort this out right now." the genius looks between the two blondes pleadingly. "We can't afford dissent within our ranks!"
"God Spencer, we're girls not soldiers." Hanna points out.
"You're not just girls, you're my best friends and I'm already in some sick custody battle with my parents." the genius reminds. "I don't need to be in one with my friends too." Spencer reasons but her downtrodden look does nothing to extinguish the black and blonde haired girl's anger.
"I don't think that's true because Alison doesn't know what it means to be someone's friend." Hanna comments viciously.
"Oh wait and you do Hanna?" Emily comes to Alison's defense before anyone else can muster a response. She situates herself in front of Alison protectively. "You were so quick to let Alison leave I'm surprised you didn't just pack her up in a box and ship her off to China!"
"Down girl." Hanna commands in a biting tone. "I guess you're back to being Alison's little bitch." that gets Alison out of her seat faster the girls can blink.
"If anyone's being a little bitch it's you." Alison counters.
The unexpected reaction has brows rising from the other three girls while Emily finds herself almost swooning. They'd never seen Alison so willing to defend someone other than herself. Usually, she hangs back and just marvels at the chaos.
"Look, why don't we all just calm down." Aria begins.
Spencer and Aria look between their three friends, understanding there's more going on than they've been told. But somehow they're certain the reason for Hanna's agitated state has to do with Alison's return.
"Can you call your guard dog off me for a second?" the shorter haired blonde's practically demands. "I want to talk to you." her words seem to be unheard by Emily who remains standing between the two blondes. "Alone." she's almost certain her request will be denied seeing as they all probably think she's going to slap Alison before they even make it up the stairs.
Spencer and Aria look to each other before making their way out of the kitchen. They recognize their presence isn't really necessary and hope their friends would work out their issues.
The tallest brunette remains in place, eyes searching for Hanna's intentions in her dark blue depths. All she finds is anger and confusion. No doubt Hanna is going to spout off to Alison about the Caleb thing. And Emily can imagine the allegations that the short haired blonde will be making because she too was on board the jealousy train not too long ago.
"It's alright." Alison whispers.
Emily feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks at the owner of the limb. Bright blue eyes shine with reassurance. Emily nods her head, shooting Hanna a warning look before heading off to join Aria and Spencer upstairs.
"So who exactly is on your to do list aside from Caleb?" Hanna begins candidly.
"Please, I do have standards Hanna." Alison reminds, not really wanting to get into the discussion about how there's only one person on her so called list; Emily Fields.
"So now Caleb isn't good enough for you?" Hanna scoffs. "But I guess he's just perfect for Hefty Hanna? What about Travis? Think he's only into me because he likes herding cows?" Hanna rants. "Maybe you'll go after Travis too now," she accuses. "I mean I'm sure your two years away has put a dent in your sex life, maybe you'll just try on all our significant others." Hanna states. "Oh wait, I forgot about what a tease you are. Maybe you're just going to lead them on like you're doing with Emily."
"Don't bring Emily into this." it isn't fair to the athletic brunette. "This is between us." while Alison comprehends she hasn't really done anything, aside from putting on that show with Caleb, she isn't ignorant to the fact that she is the root of all of Hanna's distress.
"Why the hell not? You brought Caleb into this mess!"
"Which mess are we talking about Hanna," Alison crosses her arms in front of her chest. "A or you?" she doesn't want to sugarcoat things, now preferring to get straight to the point.
"Both!"
"So now you're saying it's my fault you're feeling like this?" Alison rolls her eyes. "I never put my finger down your throat and I certainly didn't tell you to let Mona turn you into Alison 2.0." she reminds. "You made those choices yourself." she isn't trying to wash her hands of the mess she's contributed to but she isn't going to take all the blame.
"Because of you!" Hanna screams. "Even after all these years, I still hear your voice." tears start streaming from her face.
Hanna feels her knees buckling as her emotions prove to be too heavy for her to carry. She sits on Spencer's couch, unable to keep the tears at bay. The distraught blonde feels the cushion dip by her and recognizes she isn't alone on the sofa.
"Hanna," Alison begins. "I was never the kind of friend you needed." she reaches out to the other blonde's face, slowly wiping her tears. And Alison sees how damaged her friend is. While she isn't the first one to leave a scar, Hanna's father did that when he left, Alison certainly didn't offer any assurances. "I made you feel like shit, like you were unwanted because you weren't beautiful." she grasps onto Hanna's hands. "But the thing is you've always been beautiful."
"I didn't know hefty was supposed to be French for pretty." Hanna's voice is laced with sarcasm.
"I tried my best not to let you see it," Alison continues, brushing Hanna's hair back behind her ear. "Because then you'd know that you're better than me." Hanna looks at her in disbelief. "You didn't need to lose weight for people to see that." she notes. "Sean was already a stuttering mess whenever you were around him." Alison recalls and Hanna lets out a small laugh. "I mean, look at you now rocking the grunge punk look like I never can." she squeezes the other blonde's hand. "And Mona may have dressed you like me but that's just the surface." blue meets blue and Alison can only hope her words will help Hanna heal. "You got to the top without having to terrorize your way through." she reminds the distraught blonde.
Hanna can see the rest of the unspoken truths in Alison's bright blues. And suddenly Hanna feels lighter as she comes to an understanding. She dressed like Alison but she never became anything like Alison who was cruel and cold to those she saw unfit. Alison would have never helped Lucas with the yearbook or even signed up for the decoration committee like she did.
She recalls Alison's words to Caleb and it all makes sense. She's never been Alison's clone. She was Hanna dressed like Alison. She's always been Hanna.
"Thank you." she finds it easier to breathe.
"For what it's worth," Alison gives her a small smile. "I really am sorry for everything I did to you." she finds herself being jumped by Hanna whose arms are wrapped around her waist.
She hugs Hanna in return. It isn't long until she sees three heads poking out from the stairway. She lets out a small laugh as the three brunettes head down the stairs. Aria and Spencer smile brightly at the sight of two hugging blondes but it's the look of contentment on Emily's face that causes her to smile so wide her cheeks begin to hurt.
The healing process has only begun but Alison's happy that she has done the right thing for once. Hanna squeezes her once more before they break apart.
They all head over to the kitchen counter and continue with their meal, conversing about inconsequential things as they do. The air around them feels a little lighter now that Hanna's back to her old sarcastic sober self. Soon they all gather their things and begin to head over to their cars.
Spencer reminds Hanna of a report that's due in two days as they walk through her backyard and Hanna comments that there's no way she'll be able to do anything seeing as her hangover will probably last for a month. The genius rolls her eyes but offers to help anyway. Hanna just smiles and then sets her attention on Aria, demanding to hear about her slip with Ezra. The petite brunette's mouth moves, opening and closing, but no words are released and Hanna laughs.
Alison finds that she'd gladly let Hanna treat her like an emotional punching bag if it means seeing her friend return to her jovial self.
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Emily finds herself suffering from fatigue. She never did while she was on the team and one would think that now she isn't spending any time in the pool, she wouldn't feel exhaustion. But the truth is she's never felt so worn and the reason for her drained state is sitting on the bench.
She walks closer to the pair and quickly offers an apology to Sydney because she won't be able to stay. She tells them Alison needs help with her homework and she can see the look of disappointment and resentment on Paige's face. What she doesn't understand is why Sydney's mirroring the exact look with the same intensity as her ex-girlfriend. Realizing that Emily's observing her, the expression is wiped from Sydney's face and suddenly she's smiling.
Emily feels a chill travel through her spine as she finds herself wondering why a new student in her senior year would suddenly be interested in taking up swimming competitively.
She decides to push the thought back, remembering that Alison's waiting for her all alone in the locker room. The blonde's supposed to be with Spencer but the genius has to oversee the relocation of her father's things. Alison makes a small comment about how it's probably not a good idea for her to be anywhere near Peter Hastings right now. Spencer agrees and Alison's bright blues glance in the athlete's direction.
As if on cue Emily jumps at the chance to spend time with the runaway, completely forgetting about helping Sydney today.
She apologizes once more, before making her way back to the lockers. The door swings open and she searches the room for that familiar shade of gold. Alison isn't where she left her and Emily's heart is pounding. She walks frantically through the room, eyes scanning every corner.
Thankfully, Emily finds the blonde unharmed and she lets out a breath she doesn't realize she's been holding.
"I thought I told you to stay by the door." she reminds.
"Relax Em," Alison rolls her eyes but the upward twitch in her mouth lets Emily know that her concern is greatly appreciated. "Unless A can walk through lockers, I doubt she'll be able to sneak up behind me." the runaway notes as she leans with her back against the locker. "I just didn't really want to see Paige and you..."Alison trails off in that vulnerable tone that Emily's certain she'll never get accustomed to hearing.
"You mean you didn't want to see the longing glances my ex-girlfriend keeps throwing my way?" Emily teases as she walks toward the blonde.
"Ex." Alison's ears perk up at hearing that label. While she knew Emily's relationship with Paige had been troubled, she'd never heard the athlete confirm that their relationship was definitely over. "I hope I had nothing to do with why you broke up." they both know that's a lie and try as she might, Alison can't wipe the triumphant smirk off her face.
While she's aware this doesn't really mean that she and Emily are together, a weird concept to grasp seeing as they've done so many things together and to each other, she finds herself ecstatic.
Because this means Emily's ended her relationship with Paige and the ex's were no longer hanging in limbo. This means that the athlete is single and completely available. Now she doesn't have to worry about Emily having to choose between her and Paige. Now that Paige is out of the picture, she can focus all her efforts on earning the athlete's trust and forgiveness.
"You had everything to do with it." Emily confesses.
She remembers back to why things ended in the first place. Paige had broken her word and told the cops about Alison being alive. The athlete wants to believe the other swimmer did it out of concern for her safety but she can't help but wonder if Paige did it because she wanted Alison to be caught, by the police or A Emily isn't certain. That's the question that will always be eating at her if they had stayed together because Paige has proven time and time again that Alison will always be a sore spot.
"I'm sorry." the blonde proclaims and Emily knows she'll never get tired of hearing sincerity coating Alison's words. "That you had to choose." she clarifies.
The athlete finds herself falling for Alison again. She must think that Emily had to toil over her decision so now she feels guilty for putting the brunette in such a position. Emily realizes how much Alison has grown. How events have shaped her into letting go of her cold calculating persona. Now, she's allowing the brunette to peel through her layers and see the woman beneath the lies. The athlete grasps the blonde's hand. The runaway interlocks their fingers as they lean against the lockers and Alison's smile grows brighter with every passing second. Emily can't remember a time where she saw the blonde smiling so vibrantly.
When she looks back she finds that Alison's smiles were always guarded, accompanied with a look of mischief and mystery. But now, the blonde's face holds no schemes.
"It wasn't much of a choice." Emily can't find it in herself to be guilty. "Even if this hadn't happened." she gestures at their clasped hands. "I'd have chosen you." she says, slightly surprised that there isn't a part of her screaming that she shouldn't be telling Alison all this. The sixteen year old Emily would be slapping her for giving Alison such power over her, she's sure. But the more time she spends with Alison, the more undeniable it becomes that she's really changed. "I'll always choose you." it will always be Alison.
"And I'll do my very best to show you how much I appreciate you." the blonde vows.
"You never told me whether or not you got my letter." Emily recalls the incident from the last time they were in the locker room, how Alison's brutal rejection had stung, and wonders if this memory was just as painful for the blonde.
"I did." Alison admits. "It was one of the reasons why I fought so hard to find out who A was in the first place." she confesses, her voice dropping lower as it's weighed down by her past mistakes. She still remembers the words Emily wrote and they ache more now than they ever did. "I wanted to be able to have a conversation with you where I didn't jump every time my phone beeped." there's a shy smile on her lips.
"And you say I'm big on happy endings." Emily teases earning a roll of the eyes from Alison.
"That's not true." Alison remarks. Bright blue eyes sparkle with mischief. "Because the last time we were in here, no one got a happy ending." her gaze darkens like she wants Emily to do something about this unfortunate truth.
"Well, that can easily be changed." Emily's all too willing to accept her challenge.
The athlete dips her head down, capturing Alison's lips with her own. The blonde responds eagerly to the taller girl's advances. Her arms wrap around Emily's neck while she feels the athlete's hands on her waist. They stand there with their lips locked in a passionate dance, their hands conveying messages of contentment while their bodies pressed against one another.
When oxygen becomes an issue they break apart with their lips not being more than a hair's width from touching.
Emily steps back and Alison immediately misses the heat they were sharing only seconds ago. The athlete clasps their hands together as they make their way toward the exit. The blonde can feel the brunette's eagerness as her pace increases with each step.
"Where are we going?" Alison asks, feeling that their intended destination is the cause for Emily's speed.
"Somewhere I can give you a happier ending." and suddenly the blonde gains momentum that rivals that of the athlete.
It's the least she can do after Alison so gallantly defended her honor against Hanna. Thankfully the two shorter brunettes had been too preoccupied with eavesdropping on the two blonde's conversation that they didn't think to question why Alison has suddenly become so touchy and keen on standing up for Emily.
In record time, they make it to the Fields home. The athlete and the blonde exit the car and enter the house hastily.
When they reach the confines of her room, the brunette pushes the blonde against her door gently. The runaway smiles and Emily responds by leaning in to press their lips together. The kiss of amusement quickly turns passionate as their bodies become heated. Emily is all too quick to cool the blonde down by ridding Alison of her clothes. Of course the blonde enthusiastically repays the favor by practically tearing off the brunette's shirt.
They stumble over to Emily's bed, happy for the fact that Mrs. Fields won't be home until close to dinner time. The afternoon passes as the girls lose themselves to each other between Emily's sheets.
Clearly neither thought it would feel this pleasurable to settle old scores.
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I can't wait for the upcoming episode. Who knows how that dinner's going to go?!
Anyway, thank you all for the support. I can't help but be grateful for all the followers and the favorites. Not going to lie though, I'm hoping for more reviews! I would really like to know what you think about the fic so far?
Thanks again!