A/N: So I realized that I may have messed up my time schedule of this story (it's really hard to keep track of what day of the week it is sometimes) and I realized that I think this was supposed to be a Saturday, but since I already posted about another school day in the last chapter, let's just make this Friday and pretend that it all makes perfect sense lol.

I know I said I wasn't updating this tonight... but my headache went away and I'm crazy so you know.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own PLL!

PLEASE enjoy, favorite, follow and REVIEW!

Hanna tagged along with us on our way to school, since she had apparently walked to Emily's from Hanna's or something. That meant that I had to freak out the entire time we were on the way to school. I needed to show this text to someone before I chickened out of it.

When we got to school, Hanna said a quick goodbye to each of us, and we were finally alone. "Em," I said quickly, grabbing her wrist to keep her from heading inside. "I have to show you something."

She gave me a concerned look, her eyebrows knitting together like every other time she was worried about something. I quickly took out my phone and opened the text from A. I handed it to Em, wringing my hands together as she read it.

"Unprotected…" Emily sounded like she was almost reading the word to herself. I bit my lip, finding myself feel even more scared now. "Alison…"

"I don't know if I can show the other girls. What if they think that my apologies are just speeches, like A said? They're not, I swear, but what if they think that they are?" I demanded. "And am I supposed to apologize to Aria and Spencer before or after I show them this?"

"Calm down, Ali," Emily insisted, and I took a deep breath as I took my phone back from her. "We'll tell them at lunch, okay? Don't worry, I'll help you through it, okay?"

I bit my lip nervously, because I wasn't entirely sure what Emily had in mind for my oh so amazing apology, but I nodded. I trusted her, probably a lot more than I should. Emily had never let me down, and I didn't expect her to start doing it now of all times.

Emily took my hand and squeezed it, giving me a reassuring smile. I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face as some of my worries dropped away and disappeared.

Emily released my hand and started into the school building. I immediately felt cold without the contact. Emily and I hadn't talked about what we were going to do about telling people about us, but honestly, I was sick of hiding. I had hid my feelings from everyone for years, and now that they were open to Emily, why would it matter that they stay hidden from anyone now? The idea honestly made my stomach twist inside of me, but this was a fear that I had to face.

"Ali! Are you coming?" Emily called to me. I blinked, realizing that I was still standing out in front of the school and seeing that most everyone else had gone inside. Emily, of course, was still waiting for me, though.

I hurried to catch up with her, and before she could start walking again, I snatched her hand. She looked down at our clasped hands, and then up at my eyes. I bit my lip shyly, and she smiled at me. I could tell that she was really happy about this, and I was really happy about it, too.

We had to split up when we got inside, though, because we had different lockers and different classes. I was a more than a little disappointed that I couldn't spend the school days with Em all of the time, but at least I seemed to be practically living at her house now.

On my way to lunch later, I was sort of freaking out. I wasn't sure how Emily planned on telling the other girls about my text without them thinking that my apologies were fake. I found myself being the last to the lunch table, probably because I had subconsciously purposely stalled myself.

I sat down next to Emily, and at first, no one said anything. It was almost weird how we didn't talk at all for like a full two minutes, before my phone suddenly beeped. The girls all looked at me, as if assuming the worst. I carefully took out my phone and read the message.

From Emily- Apologize first, then we'll talk about the text.

I shifted my gaze up to Emily's expectant look, and I wet my lips, my nerves tying up inside of me and making me utterly terrified of what I was about to do. I looked to my other three best friends sitting across from me. "Guys, I really need to talk to you."

Spencer, Aria and Hanna all exchanged confused glances with one another, and then their eyes rested back on me. I felt Emily take my hand under the table and squeeze it encouragingly.

"I already talked to Hanna this morning, but I realized yesterday… after a particularly light-shedding incident… that I owe you all apologies. I did bad things to all of you years ago, and I still haven't properly apologized for it. I am really ashamed of everything I did to you guys," I admitted. "I know that apologizing doesn't fix everything, but nothing can really be fixed if I haven't even apologized."

"Why aren't you apologizing to Emily? You were probably worst to her," Hanna reminded me.

I glanced at Emily. "I've already apologized to Em, and she knows how sorry I am." I wet my lips nervously again. "The thing is you guys, I was planning on apologizing to all of you today. I even told that to Emily yesterday. But this morning, after I apologized to Hanna…" I bit my lip nervously, and glanced at Emily.

"She got an A text," Emily finished for me. She glanced back at me, and I procured my phone and slid it across the table to my friends.

"I want you guys to know, that wasn't just an apology speech. I really am sorry," I promised my best friends as they read over the A text.

Aria and Spencer exchanged a look that only lasted about half of a second. "Don't worry, Alison," Spencer insisted, "we believe you."

I looked at Hanna, and she shrugged. I sighed, of course she would be the hardest to convince. The text had, after all, come right after I had apologized to her.

"Yeah, like if you weren't sincerely apologizing, you wouldn't have even shown Emily this text," Aria agreed with Spencer.

"I just… I don't want us all to fall apart. Especially right now, when we're all in danger and we all need to be protecting each other," I stated, looking at Hanna pointedly. "A might be threatening me the most, but A has been out for all of us, and I don't want any of us to drift away. A will target whoever feels the most isolated, which is why he or she is trying to isolate me. I'm going to be A's first victim, just like I was last time."

Emily gave me a scared look, and I squeezed her hand as I bit my lip.

"You're right," Spencer agreed with me, taking my attention away from Emily. "We all need to stick together."

We were all quiet for another few seconds, and then Aria asked, "Onto a lighter discussion, do we get to finally hear what exactly is going on between you two after that whole journal thing?"

EEE

Alison's blue eyes immediately locked into mine. By some sort of silent consent, we lifted our clasped hands up to the table.

"Aw," Spencer cooed. I caught Alison rolling her eyes, but she couldn't keep a smile off of her face.

I glanced at Hanna, who was just staring at the two of us. After Ali showed them all the A text, Hanna seemed to have just shut down. I would have to talk to her later.

The rest of the day was relatively boring, and I knew that it wouldn't get much better until I got to be with Alison again. It almost felt like before Ali disappeared, when the status of my day depended so extremely on what I got to do with Alison. Only now, I could feel that way without it being weird and clingy.

After school, I was outside the school waiting for Alison, when I saw Hanna storming toward the parking lot. I took in a deep breath and decided to intercept her path.

"Hey," I called as I stepped up in front of her, "we need to talk."

"What about?" Hanna snapped, and I could tell that she and I both knew what this was about.

"Alison has not been rehearsing some apology speech, alright?" I snapped right back at her. "A sent that text that way specifically to try and get Alison alone. And if you're falling for it, you're helping A isolate Alison."

"She was isolated just fine for three years," Hanna reminded me angrily. "What makes her oh so vulnerable now?"

"Come on, Hanna, think about it! There are so many things that make her more vulnerable now. Like maybe, for example, the fact that she is actually trying to be more vulnerable to all of us now," I reminded the blonde, who rolled her eyes upward and shook her head, crossing her arms. That was the look she made when she couldn't believe she was hearing something.

"This morning, I thought that maybe Alison had hope. Now, I'm not so sure," Hanna stated. "And you're welcome to think that everything will be okay if we just stick together, but I think it's almost safer for us to just back up."

"What, and let Ali be killed?" I demanded. "Remember the last time everyone thought Ali had been murdered? A went after us! And after all this time, I'm pretty sure that A is done messing around!"

"Let me know how it all works out for you!" Hanna snapped, sidestepping me and storming past me. I spun around to glare at her as she walked away. I watched her walk all the away to her car. She got in, slamming the car door behind her.

"What happened?" came Alison's voice suddenly from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Ali approaching me.

I sighed and shook my head, looking back at Hanna's car as it pulled out of its parking spot and started driving off. "A happened," I answered.

Alison took my hand. "Come on," she said gently, tugging on my hand a little. I sighed again and let Alison lead me to my own car. "Can we stop by my place on the way to yours? I need to grab some things."

"Sure," I answered, getting into the car.

We got to Alison's place, and I parked my car in her driveway. Once inside, we went upstairs to her room. Ali sighed and looked around the room. "It doesn't feel like mine. It hasn't ever since I got home. It feels just… different."

I raised my eyebrows a little and nodded, because it did. Watching it go from Ali's room, to a half empty abandoned room, to Maya's room, to another half empty abandoned room, and then back to Ali's room was really weird. It couldn't ever feel really the same now. "What did you have to grab?"

Ali went to her vanity desk and retrieved some more makeup. I guessed that she must've run out of something this morning. She slipped the things into her pocket—it wasn't a lot—and then we headed back downstairs.

We didn't rush to leave like usual though. Alison went into the kitchen to write her dad a note, and I followed her protectively. She wasn't going to leave my sight while we were in this place. Not after what I witnessed happening to her last time.

Once she was done, she stuck it on her fridge and looked around the kitchen. "I kind of miss not feeling scared in my own house," Alison admitted. I tried not to laugh at how ridiculously obvious that sounded.

"Yeah, it scares me too," I admitted. "When we're in here, I can't stop thinking about… you know…"

Ali reached out and grabbed my hands. She pulled me toward her, and my eyelids dropped to cover my eyes as my lips touched hers. Her hands left mine so that she could wrap her arms around my waist and pull me against her. I sighed into our kiss at the feeling.

Instinctively, I pressed into the kiss, and Ali took a step back as I did, and I felt her back lightly bump into the edge of the counter. I kissed her harder, biting her lip a bit. Once our tongues were twisting together, I lowered my hands to the backs of her thighs. I gripped them suddenly, and Ali gasped into my mouth as I lifted her up suddenly and seated her on top of the counter.

Her legs immediately wrapped around me as her hands now moved behind my head, tangling into my hair. Our tongues clashed fiercely as our making out heated up even more. Since Ali's legs were wrapped around me, I felt like I could feel the heat radiating from her center.

I wanted so badly to touch her, but I didn't want us to move this along too fast. I needed us to keep things moving at least a little slow.

So I pulled my lips from Alison's, and she and I just stared at each other for a few moments, breathing heavily. "Damn," Alison finally muttered, and I smirked at her. I gave her one more quick kiss, and then helped her off of the counter. I didn't really want to stay inside this house anymore.

Whoa whoa Tana, what are you doing leaving us hanging like that? :P

Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review or a PM! Also, please follow me on Twitter at BrittzandTana ! Tweet me that you read this and I'll follow you back!

I don't have a lot of time to chat, but I do have a couple of things I want to say.

1. You're all amazing.

2. I just forgot what I was going to put here...

3. Sometimes the email send out saying that this story updating sends out like 6 or 7 hours later then when it actually gets up, so if you follow me on Twitter, you'll see the update at the real time that it comes.

4. Check out my new Emison story "Who You Really Are" ! It's AU, but I think you all will really like it!

5. Still can't remember what number 2 was supposed to be...

6. I REMEMBERED! So, as some of you may know, my completed Emison story "Let Me Love You" has got the most reviews out of any Alison and Emily paired PLL fanfics (aka if you look at all PLL fics and narrow them to Alison and Emily pairing) on the FF site. That makes me like so happy and proud and I love that you all loved that story so much, and I just think it would be super cool if we got this story up past LMLY. Just because, I think this one is better... So, our review goal for this FF is over 327 reviews ;)

And yeah it totally doesn't really matter to me if RIMS beats LMLY, I'm just curious to see if it'll happen ya know? Lol...

Thank you all for reviewing, by the way! You shoulda seen me this morning, I was smiling so wide reading them all! Love you guys so much! Speaking of that, just a reminder that you are all perfect in unusual ways ;) *starts singing Believe In Me by Demi Lovato* "Everyone's perfect in unusual ways, you see, I just wanna believe in me"

Speaking of reviews, 150th reviewer gets a shoutout!

Goodnight lovelies! Please review!