Enchantments & Betrayal in Rosewood
Part 4
[A.N: Lol. I am updating a lot today. I think I'll go ahead and post all of what I have and then update as I write more. Toodiloo. If you like this, check out my other PLL fic, that I reeeeeallllyyyyy need to finish. And yeah. Lol. If you have any requests, send me a message!]
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Emily's eyebrows furrowed and she turned off the car and got out. Whatever it was that Ali needed help with, she was curious about. She went to the front door and found it unlocked. Ali had probably came and unlocked it just so Emily could get inside. She probably already knew that Emily wouldn't have resisted.
Where are you?
In my room. Duh. Hurry up.
The brunette found Ali's door half open and she pushed it open slowly. "What's…?" She tilted her head to one side and then her eyes fell on the blonde, standing in front of her wardrobe in a spring dress, the straps hanging down her upper arms. It was a beautiful baby blue, and came up to mid-thigh. Ali's pedicured feet were strapped into some light tan gladiator sandals and her golden ringlet curls hung down in front of her breasts. And her lips were the most gorgeous and vibrant red.
"Zip me up Em," she said and spun, revealing the slit in the back of the dress and the hook of her bra, practically begging to be undone.
In a daze, the brunette cross the room and put her fingers on the zipper. She pulled at it slowly, her head spinning. All of a sudden, the tension was overwhelming. "Alison, what were you doing this morning when I woke up?"
As soon as she was zipped up, she spun and laughed. "Oh Em, you have a one track mind, don't you?"
Emily's cheeks flushed pink. "Oh, I just.."
"You just?"
"You surprised me."
"Hush." She put her index and middle finger to Emily's lips. "We need to go." She grabbed her purse and bag of clothes off her bed and strolled out of the room. I'll show you tonight.
Emily drove with practiced care and parallel parked outside of the Brew. Alison brushed off the front of her dress and smoothed it down as they got out.
"Are the others here? Have you texted them?"
"Hanna is."
Ali lifted her shoulders and strutted into the café. She knew that even with the rumors, the stories, the hate- she could still catch the eye of about half a dozen guys at the same time.
Hanna was sitting in the corner in one of the leather chairs playing a game on her phone. She'd there for a good twenty minutes and the reason for that she hadn't been able to admit aloud to herself. It was Mona. She'd hoped Mona would be there. She'd hoped Mona would be at the Brew and they could talk for a minute and…
"You gonna slump like that all day, Hun, or you gonna sit up straight and look excited to be alive?"
Hanna instantly straightened up. "Ali. Hey. Where's Em?"
"She's somewhere behind me. What's the matter Sweetie? Travis dump you?"
Hanna Marin and Alison DiLaurentis were frenemies. They were totally close and of the 7 billion people in the world, Hanna was one of the only ones that Ali trusted at all. But there was a constant war between the two. Before Ali disappeared, it was a struggle for Hanna to feel like she belonged. She had considered herself overweight and ugly. It was Ali's disappearance and the new position as queen bee that inspired Hanna to change herself for the better. She lost weight, fixed her hair color, got a tan. She became a new, updated version of Ali. But now that Alison had returned, it was as if the two girls were fighting for dominance.
"No," Hanna ran a manicured hand through her newly low-lighted curls and tried to appear in control of the situation. "Travis and I are fine. I was just bored."
Emily approached them after a moment with Aria by her side, closely followed by Spencer. They all took their seats around the coffee table they normally claimed.
"Okay, so we need to talk about a few things," Spencer said, taking her place as intellectual leader of the group as usual. "We can't get into too much detail here. But basically. It's time we really just start fighting for freedom." She lowered her voice and added. "We've been under the A's thumb too long. And now that we have you back," she motioned to Alison, "We're going to have to work harder to keep you safe. And ourselves."
Aria leaned back against the couch and looked up at the ceiling of the coffee shop. She had so much else on her mind. She did not feel like discussing A for the fifty millionth time that week. A few days ago the girls had received the first A text since the Shana thing. She'd been at Ezra's house, trying to convince him that getting back together wasn't the best idea when Spencer texted her and told her that Toby's house had caught fire. She'd rushed over and found Spencer, Hanna, Emily and Alison all huddled in the street watching it burn. Toby had been okay because he'd been with Spencer when it happened, and no one else had been in the house, but he was shaken up and had gone to Connecticut to stay with his grandparents for a while. Right after all the girls had huddled in the street they'd all received an ominous message that said, "Did you miss me? –A" and they knew it was all starting again.
But Aria was over it. To be honest, she wanted to run through the streets and scream how done she was. What did she have to lose, really? She'd lived in fear for what seemed like forever and it wasn't getting any easier.
"Aria?" Spencer said, "Earth to Aria. Are you even paying attention?"
The artsy brunette blinked and focused back on her friend. "Huh? I'm sorry. I'm just spacey today."
"Obviously. What I was saying was that we should all get together tonight and come up with some sort of plan. We need to get into the Cavanaugh house and look for clues."
"For clues?" Aria's eyes widened. "In the site of a recent explosion? Spence. The news said it was a natural gas leak. It's not safe for us to go in there."
The younger Hastings sister rolled her eyes. "We all know it wasn't natural gas. It was A. We need to know what kinda stuff A planted in there."
Aria just nodded and then stood up. "You guys want coffee? I'm getting coffee." Hanna got up and followed her.
Spencer squeezed the bridge of her nose. "I don't understand how you guys aren't freaking out like I am? My boyfriend's house just burnt down."
"We are freaking out Hun," Alison said and crossed her legs gently. Her eyes scanned the coffee shop and she caught at least four pairs of eyes on her. "We just know that there's practically nothing we can do about it." She let her gaze land on Emily who was absentmindedly playing with her phone. I never asked you Em. How do I look?
Emily lifted her face and looked at her blond friend. You know I think you're beautiful.
Just beautiful?
Ali…
Hanna came and sat back down, placing a cardboard to-go cup of coffee in front of Em and one in front of Ali. Aria brought one for Spencer and herself and a plate of muffins. She fell back to sitting on the couch. Em got her coffee and blew it before taking a tentative sip. She reached for a muffin and then slowly peeled the wrapper off. She took a small bite.
"So can we all meet up at your house tonight Em?" Spencer picked up her coffee and held it in her hand, but waited to drink from it. "Please?"
Emily shrugged. It honestly didn't matter to her anymore. Whether they dug into trying to find out who A was or not, A always found them, always tortured them. She felt that with our without Spencer's investigation, they were all doomed anyways. But at least they all had each other. And what's more, she had Ali back. "Yeah sure. Sounds good to me."
Spencer looked to Hanna and Aria who also expressed their opinions of indifference. The youngest Hastings decided then, as she sipped her coffee, that acceptance was better than unacceptance. She felt like she had to do something to revenge Toby's house. After what she'd been doing lately.. She felt really guilty about the entire situation. She felt like she had to overcompensate for the emotional pain Toby would be in if he only knew what Spencer had been up to. She licked her lips and got a muffin.
You look really good in those shorts.
Emily tried really hard to blush as she ate some more of her muffin. She didn't even make eye contact with Ali. Yeah? Really?
Really. You look hot. In that shirt too. Even if it is pretty lesbo.
Well I am a lesbian.
I know that. Come to the bathroom with me?
Emily's heart sped up. What? Why?
Just do it. Ali got up. "I'm going to the bathroom. Be right back."
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