A/N: Be prepared for the ups and downs in this one.


Chapter 21:

Mostly Cloudy

They broke the news to Spencer first. It was the night before school started up again. The last thing Emily and Alison wanted to do was distract Spencer from her academics when she was so close to graduating, but they knew they couldn't keep it from her and Aria any longer.

What made it worse was that Spencer was completely relaxed after the retreat with her mother. Normally politicians focused on nothing but work, but being completely shut off from all the outside voices had done her some good.

The last thing she expected was to hear that Charlotte was up to her old tricks again.

Alison and Emily told her almost everything except for Emily's visit to Charlotte and Charlotte's confession about killing Jessica DiLaurentis. The only reason they left that out was it gave Spencer plausible deniability. They couldn't risk her political rivals digging up dirt on Spencer or her mother. It was the only way to protect her.

"Spence?" Emily gently pried.

The young budding politician hadn't said a word.

Spencer blinked blankly at the screen. It looked like something was misfiring in her brain. Her right eye twitched.

"Spencer, are you okay?" Emily asked.

"Please say something." Alison begged.

"How long did you say this has been going on?" Her response was calm.

Too calm.

It was like an eerie explosion that was beneath the placid surface just waiting to ignite.

"Not long after I got out here to Malibu. It started around the time I moved in with Emily." Alison chewed on the inside of her cheek. She was worried that Spencer would blame her.

"And you two haven't gone to the cops…why?" She cocked an irritated brow.

"Because we can't prove anything. Besides, we tried that in the past and they weren't exactly forthcoming. The cops in Rosewood hate us. And the cops here don't care." Emily came to Alison's defense.

Spencer pressed her index finger and her thumb against the bridge of her nose.

"So instead you went to Caleb?" She looked like she was fighting a migraine.

"That was my idea. It's not like I wanted him to know. I didn't want any of you to know, especially since she was only targeting Alison." Emily drew the blame away from the blonde.

"She went after you too, Emily!" Spencer barked, her tone short. "You ended up in a grave because of her. She tried to burn you both alive!"

She didn't stand for it when Emily put herself in precarious situations. She was very protective of the sensitive brunette. Her reaction was exactly what Emily expected, but it intimidated Alison a bit.

That raw protective nature was something Spencer and Alison had in common. Emily always thought about how in another life the two of them could have been siblings. They had similar personalities. It's why they constantly butted heads.

Emily saw Alison nod her head firmly in agreement with Spencer's statement. She was still pissed off about the graveyard. And the fire.

Emily side-eyed her girlfriend and then looked at the screen again.

"She wasn't after me at first. She only came after me after I picked up one of her calls and told her to leave Alison the hell alone. I antagonized her." Emily admitted.

"Emily, you idiot. That was so reckless! Why would you do that?" Spencer groaned.

"Because I'm tired of her bullshit." Emily stood her ground.

She knew that Spencer was going to worry, because Spencer always worried.

"Well, I guess I can't blame you for that." Spencer's face tightened. Tension washed across her features. "You said Toby and Hanna know?"

Emily nodded.

"With Caleb looking into the calls we knew there was no way to keep it from Hanna. And Toby suspected something during the holidays, but I didn't tell him everything until Sara Harvey showed up at my back door after the cabin fire." Emily grimaced when she said the girl's name.

For the first time since Spencer had heard everything her face softened. Sympathy played in her eyes.

"You think Sara was the one who vandalized your dad's grave?"

Emily couldn't stand to think about it, much less say anything. So she nodded to confirm it.

"What a bitch," she uttered. She cleared her throat. "I'm still confused about something. Why do you think Wren is helping them? Just because Sara said something doesn't make it true. That pixie-headed demon did nothing but lie to us from day one."

"We called Rosewood General. He doesn't work there. He lied about being a doctor." Alison explained.

"Rosewood General isn't the only hospital in Rosewood. Maybe he wasn't happy there. Did you see if he transferred to one of the other two hospitals?"

Emily and Alison glanced at one another. The thought hadn't really occurred to them. The other two hospitals were relatively small in comparison to Rosewood General. Besides, Wren had a history of working at Rosewood General.

It was surprising that Spencer was skeptical, because when they were younger she was ready to accuse everyone of being A.

"When we called the person who answered the phone said that she'd been there for a while and had never heard his name." Alison's brows scrunched in confusion.

"Okay…yeah, that's suspicious as hell."

"We can try the other two hospitals, but I have a feeling that we're going to get the same answer we got when we called Rosewood General." Emily peered at her computer screen, reaching out to open a browser to search for the other two numbers.

"This is why you were asking me all those questions about him at Thanksgiving." Spencer gave Emily a pointed look. "Why they hell didn't you just tell me then?"

Alison watched their interaction curiously. She didn't say anything. She knew the two of them needed to talk it out. She took the computer from Emily and took over the search for hospitals in Rosewood.

Spencer and Alison had a tumultuous relationship, and though they were friends again…Spencer and Emily were closer and they spoke a certain kind of language that only the two of them understood.

"Spence, it's complicated. Can you honestly say that you wouldn't try to protect us if the shoe was on the other foot? How many times did you hide things from me in high school to try and protect me?"

Spencer made a noise between a grumble and a growl. She knew Emily had a point.

"Wren Fucking Kingston." Spencer rolled her eyes. "Certified Pervert and Psychopath. Bet his business cards are awesome." She spit sarcastically.

"Have you heard from him about the healthcare plan he talked to you about a few months ago when you ran into him in Rosewood?" Though Emily suspected that the run-in wasn't just a coincidence now.

He was probably watching their every move.

"Not in months. We've both been busy." Spencer paused and shook her head, "Well, I assumed he had been busy."

"Maybe he has." Alison uttered. "Maybe his job is stalking us." She copied a number that popped up for a smaller hospital in Rosewood.

"You really think he's slipping in to see Charlotte underneath the radar?" Spencer shuddered. Just saying her name was too much for her.

"We think anything is possible. He has medical credentials." Alison turned her attention back to the conversation with Spencer. "Jason is supposed to be working on getting me a list of her doctors."

"He wouldn't use his real name. He's not that dumb. If he's doing this he's gone this long without getting caught." Spencer pointed out.

"Caleb is trying to find everything he can on him. He says it's not as easy to get international records. He was suspicious of him back at Thanksgiving after I told him I saw Wren in the graveyard shortly before redcoat." Emily chewed her lip. If only she had taken Caleb's suggestion seriously back then. "I was more concerned about Charlotte…or who I believed to be Charlotte. Then he told me that Charlotte was on a psych hold and we realized she must have some other blonde doing her bidding. And when Alison and I were in town for Christmas we saw Jason and Sara Harvey talking and that's when we realized it had to be her."

"We're just lucky that Toby caught her outside Emily's house after New Years before she could do any real damage…" Alison started wringing her hands together in anger.

"Oh…you mean like setting you two on fire?" Spencer bit back caustically.

"You're pissed that we didn't tell you." Alison deduced.

Spencer sighed and scratched at her brow.

"Yes and no. I get why you didn't. You were trying to keep us out of it. And that's…admirable." She seemed to choke on the word. "I honestly don't know what I would have done in your situation. I don't know if I was better off knowing or not knowing."

"Just try and keep your head down and lie low." Emily suggested. "Since you and Aria are constantly traveling you should hopefully be safe. And you always have a high profile political entourage with you."

"Yes, because no one in a political position has ever been bought or become a dangerous traitor." Spencer quipped. "And what about school? How am I supposed to trust that she can't get to me there?"

"You can't. But at least now you know to keep an eye out. Just don't act like you know anything." Emily replied.

"Do you think my mom could be in danger? She's in a position of power. And Charlotte knows all of our family secrets. She could use that to hurt her." Spencer's eyes darted from side to side, like someone might jump out of the shadows and attack her.

Alison didn't know what to say. Charlotte had murdered her own mother. And she'd defaced Emily's father's grave. There was no guarantee that the girls' parents were off-limits.

"I think that right now we have the upperhand. And she won't make a move knowing that we have all the control." Alison sadly glanced at the ground.

She still couldn't get over the fact that Charlotte had killed her mom.

"Why?" Spencer noticed the hesitation in Alison's tone. "What do you have on her?"

"It's best if you don't know." Emily answered before Alison could say anything.

"So you two are still keeping secrets." Spencer shot an accusatory glare at them.

"It's about my mom, okay?" Alison huffed, her eyes tearing up. "And I'm not ready…" She choked on her words.

Alison's grief stoked a flame inside of Emily.

"Listen, all you need to know is that we're taking care of it, okay? Please just trust me." Emily begged.

Spencer opened her mouth, ready with a fiery reply, but something in Emily's eyes stopped her in her tracks. She closed her mouth and then nodded.

Alison sat stiffly beside Emily. When the brunette reached for her hand Alison bit back her tears. She was not going to give Charlotte the satisfaction of crying. She cleared her throat and shook her head.

"I need a minute," she quietly rose to her feet. "Spence, I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Sure, yeah." Spencer smiled softly at the blonde.

Alison gave Emily's arm a gentle squeeze before she turned and walked towards the bedroom. Emily watched her go.

"Is she going to be okay?" Spencer asked.

"She's dealing with a lot, but we're working through it together." Emily turned her attention back towards her phone.

There was a beat of silence.

"Charlotte had something to do with Jessica's death, didn't she?" Spencer had been able to piece it together.

Emily shrugged sadly.

There was another pause, another brief silence between them.

"You saw her, didn't you? You saw Charlotte? Not just her likeness running around Rosewood. Not Sara Harvey dressed the part. You actually saw Charlotte."

Emily closed her eyes, shoving all the painful memories away.

There was very little that Spencer Hastings didn't know. She was extremely intelligent. And she'd seen the flicker of pain in Emily's eyes when they were talking about Charlotte.

"How do you know that?" Emily asked.

"It's written all over your face, Em. I mean, we all have our triggers when it comes to Charlotte. We all went through the Dollhouse together. But there's something new in your eyes. Something raw. I recognized that look the second Alison mentioned her mother." Spencer sadly smiled at Emily.

"The less you know about this the better. If Charlotte finds out you know anything…" Emily shook her head. "Alison and I have talked at length about this. And the last thing we want to do is drag you back into it. We love you all so much. And we knew we owed you the truth. But that's as far as this can go. You all have too much to lose…your family in particular."

"We also have resources at our disposal. I have security clearance for a lot of things…"

"And what happens when someone in your mother's opposing party starts digging into your actions? You know politics is relentless. People are watching your every move just in case you slip up so they can attack your mom over it." Emily shook her head. "It's not worth it. This is the pattern we fell back into in high school. We did stupid things that came back to bite us in the ass. We had secrets that A could expose. That won't happen this time. Because we're not going to give Charlotte any more fuel. You keep taking your classes and keep your nose clean. Alison and I will take care of the rest."

"And what about Caleb? How will it look if Charlotte exposes him? He could lose his job. They could lose their apartment." Spencer frowned, her nose crinkling in disapproval.

"Nothing tracks back to him. He's made sure of that."

"How sure of that are you?" Spencer gave her a skeptical look.

"It hasn't come out yet. And I've asked him to back off. After Alison and I do what needs to be done…his involvement will be completely over. He's not even doing anything illegal to help us finish this." Though Emily wasn't entirely sure about that, because they were skating the line of the law.

If they sent the recording in anonymously nothing could fall back on them. And if the cops did pinpoint that it had come from them, Emily was prepared to take the brunt of the impact to keep Alison and Caleb out of it.

"Just…promise me you'll be careful." Spencer's brow crinkled in concern. "She's dangerous."

"I know," Emily quietly responded. "I've got to go. Please don't tell Aria. I'd prefer the news come from us."

"Okay." Spencer sighed. "Be gentle with her. She's sensitive."

Emily smiled softly.

"So are you."

"No, I'm not. I'm a politician." Spencer argued.

"Love you, Spence."

"Yeah, yeah, love you too and all that." Spencer tried to play it off.

They said their goodbyes and then Emily went to check on Alison. She was sitting on the bed in their bedroom with her laptop staring at something.

"Can I join you as you wallow?" Emily sidled up next to her.

Alison looked up at her and smiled and pat the mattress.

"For the record, I'm not wallowing. I'm stewing in my anger." Alison watched as Emily slid next to her.

"Even better." The brunette smiled.

Emily leaned over and placed a gentle kiss against her lips. Some of Alison's lipstick rubbed off on her, which made the blonde smile. She reached up and touched her finger to the smudge on Emily's lip, wiping it clean. She rubbed her finger against a tissue and then balled it up and put it on the nightstand.

"You think Spencer will forgive us for keeping it from her?" Alison asked.

"I don't think there is anything to forgive. She understands. She hates it, but she understands." Emily laid her hand on top of Alison's.

"This is the last thing I wanted. I didn't want them to have to deal with this again. I didn't want you to have to deal with this again." Alison's tone verged between irritation and sadness.

"I don't like it any more than you do." Emily stroked her arm. "But Toby is right. Better they know and to be on the lookout than to be blindsided like we were."

"Do you think Aria told Liam about the Dollhouse?" Alison peered at her computer screen.

For the first time, Emily got a glimpse of what she was looking at. It was the file of the recording of Charlotte confessing to the murder of Jessica DiLaurentis. It had been edited down to her confession. Emily wasn't in the recording at all.

"I don't know. But he knows we were kidnapped and he knows that Charlotte was the one responsible." Emily leaned back against a wall of pillows.

The wall of pillows was something that had been introduced when Alison started living with her. The blonde loved having mounds of pillows at the head of the bed so they could lay back and relax during the day. Most of the pillows ended up on the floor at night, but it was nice to have during the day.

"I left a message for her about an hour ago to FaceTime us when she gets a chance." Emily rubbed Alison's arm.

"I'm worried about how she's going to take it. Her panic attacks are awful. She has them on the train all the time." Out of all of her friends, Aria was the most sensitive to what they'd gone through. They'd all suffered a great deal of trauma. They all had their own demons outside of Charlotte's game.

For Aria, it was more complex. Not only was she being tortured with her friends. She had also been dealing with a man who had groomed her for two years. It was only after they had gone their separate ways when Aria and Ezra broke things off that Aria realized the extent of what had happened.

The older she got the more she realized how messed up it was for an adult to be sexually attracted to underage teenagers. Now that she was in college she looked back on her high school experience and realized the truth. And confiding in Liam had opened her eyes even further.

Ezra Fitz had known who she was when he pursued her. He had pushed himself into her life and used her to write a book about Alison. He had preened her, seduced her, and at one point had tried to isolate her from her friends.

He apologized for his actions and he seemed remorseful. He had even taken a bullet for them in New York. But that didn't make up for his actions.

Alison frowned at her laptop and then shut it. She closed the distance between her and Emily, melding her body into the brunette's.

"We are so close to ending this." Alison laid her head against Emily's shoulder. "So why does it feel so hopeless?"

"Because…" Emily paused and shifted her position so that they could make eye contact. "No matter what you do here, you can't win. Doing the right thing isn't always easy. And it doesn't always mean that you're going to feel good about it. None of us wants to do something that will potentially hurt someone we once loved, no matter how much we might hate them. Turning Charlotte in…logically...you know it's right. But I'm not blind to how complicated it is for you. But not turning her in only prolongs our friends' suffering…and your suffering."

Emily had spent months thinking about how hard it had to be for Alison to go from one extreme to another. She had truly believed Charlotte could get better. She wanted her to get better. She wanted to love her. She did love her, even though she didn't want to love her anymore.

"It shouldn't be this hard." Alison sighed. "She destroyed people's lives."

"I know. And I think knowing that makes it harder for you. Because you don't want to be like her. You don't want to send her to prison and destroy her life. But Ali…" Emily cupped her chin, so lovingly, so kindly.

So very Emily Fields.

"…doing this…turning her in doesn't make you like her. You are not your sister. I know I've drilled that into your head and I know you're tired of me saying it…"

No. I'm not. Say more.

"But you are your own person. How you were raised doesn't matter. You get to decide how you want to live your life. You get to decide who you want to be."

"I think…" Alison hesitated, not sure of how she wanted to phrase it. "I think that there will always be that little seed of doubt. I think I'll always wonder if I'm going to become just like everyone else in my family. It's just…it lies there dormant in my mind."

"Well then I'll take every opportunity to remind you that you are a beautiful human." Emily leaned forward and kissed Alison. "With a beautiful soul." She smiled. "And that I am madly in love with you."

Alison felt a wide dopey grin spreading across her face. Emily smiled back and tapped her index finger against Alison's nose.

"I love that smile."

"You're the only person who gets to have my smile. My real smile." Alison tucked some tendrils of Emily's hair behind her ear.

When they leaned in for another kiss Alison scraped her teeth gently against Emily's bottom lip and then tugged on it slightly.

They both chuckled.

Alison flopped back against the wall of pillows and started laughing.

Emily joined her.

"When is your call time?" Emily scooted closer to Alison.

"A couple of hours. We're doing night shoots tonight. I don't know when I'll be home." She frowned.

The one downside to her schedule was how long she was needed on set. She had enjoyed the holidays…minus all the Charlotte drama. She'd enjoyed spending more time with Emily. Now that they were back to their regular schedules, Alison spent a lot of time on set and Emily spent a lot of time at school.

"You should come by Pepperdine for lunch tomorrow if you're not too tired." Emily stroked her hair.

Alison smiled in content and closed her eyes. She loved Emily's touch. It soothed her.

"I'll come by even if I am tired." Alison nodded. "Their food is almost as good as crafty on set."

Alison's phone buzzed from beside her laptop. They both jumped at the noise.

It was unfortunate that they were back to tensing up every time Alison's phone went off. Charlotte hadn't been as active lately because Sara was locked up. She also knew that Alison and Emily had the recording of her admitting to killing Jessica.

The older girl's silence unnerved them as much as her threats. Because they were waiting for her to do something horrible.

Alison reached for the phone.

She had several alerts for the TikTok she had posted of her doing a dance challenge with someone on set the day before. Most of the comments were supportive.

Dead on! How many tries did it take you to nail the lip syncing?

My Queen!

I just love you so much.

What brand of shades are those?

I NEED your mascara. Link me, sis!

You are so gorgeous.

There was a snotty comment from a new account. A new user with a bunch of randomly generated numbers.

Fitting to see you dancing while I'm pulling the strings, puppet.

Alison deleted the comment and blocked the user. It was hard to tell if it was a troll or if it was Charlotte being petty.

"If Sara hasn't been in to give her a new burner how exactly is she still able to get away with this?" Alison frowned sourly at the screen.

"Could be Wren." Emily glanced at Alison's phone. "Either he's faked his way in as a doctor or he is doing the commenting himself. If he was in the Dollhouse, too…" She shuddered, "…or if he knew what was going on he'd know exactly how Charlotte thinks."

"You'd think she would tell him to call it off given what we have on her."

"They're just trying to intimidate us. That's all." Emily was saying it as much for her benefit as she was for Alison's.

She wanted to convince herself that they were safe, but she knew that nothing was 100% guaranteed in life.

Emily's phone rang. They fully expected it to be some taunt from Pennsylvania. Fortunately, when Emily picked it up they saw that was not the case.

"You think Aria will see it as simple intimidation?" Alison saw Aria's request for a FaceTime on Emily's screen.

"I think I'm dreading this conversation more than the one we just had with Spencer." Emily picked up her phone, trying to put on a fake smile before she answered.

Emily cleared her throat and then answered.

Alison moved into the frame.

"Hey." Aria smiled when she saw them.

"Hey." Emily and Alison responded in unison.

Aria's smile turned into a wary conflicted grimace. She could see that Emily and Alison were struggling.

"Oh, God…what's wrong?" Aria skipped the pretenses. "What happened? Did someone die?" She saw the flash of pain and grief in Emily's eyes and immediately apologized, "Sorry, Em…"

"No…it's okay. If anything…that's a pretty normal reaction." Emily feigned a smile. "And if it makes you feel any better…no one is dead." Yet.

"I sense a but coming." Aria fidgeted nervously. "How bad is it? What's going on?"

"You might want to have your Emotional Support Argos close by." Emily bit her lip.

Aria's face darkened. She panned the camera down slightly to show Liam's mutt sleeping soundly in her lap.

"What's up? I don't like the way you're looking at me right now." She was trying to fight the rising panic in her voice.

Alison and Emily shared the same look they'd had when they told Spencer.

Emily eased her way into the conversation, watching for Aria's cues and making sure she wasn't too badly triggered.

She told her everything she told Spencer…with the same caveats. They didn't tell her about Jessica being killed by Charlotte or about Charlotte's confession.

When they were done explaining Aria was staring into the camera. She didn't move an inch. She was frozen like a statue. All of the color had drained from her delicate pale cheeks. Her phone started shaking because her hands were trembling.

For a moment she looked like a child again.

Emily saw her in the Dollhouse. Small. Fragile. An angry little canister ready to explode. She packed a lot into her tiny body. And Emily knew it exhausted her.

"I'll tell you the same thing I said to Spencer. You're much less likely to be pulled back into this because you two travel so often. And you always have Liam by your side, right?" Emily asked.

"Uh…" Aria was still shaking. "Sometimes it's just me. But for the book tour, yeah. We'll be together. And we'll have Argos." She bit her lip. "Do you think Charlotte would hurt our dog?"

Something about the way she said our dog gave a serious edge to her relationship with Liam. She had found happiness, and the last thing Emily and Alison wanted was for her to have that ripped away from her.

"Should we leave him in a doggy daycare or something where he's safer?" Aria looked down at the small dog, who had lifted his head when he felt her tension.

She's asking if the dog is safe. The love Emily had for Aria expanded in her chest.

She had just found out her worst nightmare had come to life, and her first thought was about an innocent animal. It was exactly the way Hanna had reacted about Cheese. Something about the abuse they'd suffered in high school had transferred into a solid love for the innocent, especially animals.

"I don't know that her torture repertoire includes animals. She seems exclusively intent on fucking up human lives." Alison grimaced.

"I mean…do we know that? Pepe disappeared like right after your mom died, didn't he?" When Aria mentioned the rescue dog Alison adopted she felt like she'd been sucker-punched.

Because Pepe hadn't disappeared because of Charlotte. Jason had left the gate open so he'd run away. He was in a rescue because he bolted from yards, and Jason knew that.

"Jason let him out of the yard. He hated him." Alison spit angrily. "He admitted it when we were fighting a few years ago."

"Jesus, Ali. I'm sorry." Sympathy danced in her eyes.

Alison could see what she was thinking:

A psycho sister. An asshole brother. And two broken parents. This poor girl never stood a chance.

Alison didn't like the sympathy, but she couldn't exactly tell Aria she was wrong for being sympathetic.

"Jason always had a thing about dogs. Honestly, I should have known he was the reason Pepe ran away from the start. He says he's allergic, but that's just something assholes say when they don't like dogs. Allergy medications exist." Alison rolled her eyes.

"Look, I don't want to be that person, but…Jason isn't working with Charlotte is he?"

Jason had kissed her once. Aria hadn't comprehended at the time that he was much older than she was, and she didn't know the extent of his involvement in the NAT Club until they got older.

"For a while I thought he was. But he was just out of the country…marinating in his hatred for me for turning against Charlotte. He's trying to help now. He cut Charlotte's visitor's list and he's trying to get the names of all the doctors who have been involved with her care. He's a jackass who hates dogs, but he's not a psychopath." Though Alison could see some flaws in her logic, because jackasses who didn't like dogs were often psychopaths.

"I think Alison and I are the main targets." Emily left off the right now that was on the tip of her tongue, because she didn't want to send Aria spiraling.

"That does not make me feel any better. She had you followed out into the mountains just to try and set you on fire. Distance doesn't seem to be a problem for her. You are three thousand miles away. And she's still out to get you…"

"She's out to get us because she gets something out of it. She has nothing to gain by going after any of you." Alison tried to tamp down the wave of emotions that Aria was riding.

"Yeah, but Charlotte and Wren are in Rosewood. My entire family is there. The stakes are really high for me." Aria didn't mean for it to come out callous. She saw Alison look away and pulled back. "Ali…I didn't mean to…I know this is hard for you, too."

"You're right about your family though." Alison sighed. "I think about that a lot. Spencer's family got out and half of mine are dead, missing, or hate me. But you, Hanna, and Emily have roots there. And you should be scared for the people you love. I would be if there was anyone there who actually loved me."

Aria didn't know how to respond.

Emily reached up and wrapped her arm around Alison's shoulders.

A quiet I love you.

That's all that mattered to Alison. Emily's love. That's all she needed.

"I didn't mean to imply…" Aria fumbled. "I'm sorry, this is just a lot to digest. I feel like I'm going to puke."

"Please don't. And if you do, aim away from the camera." Emily saw a slight twitch at the corners of Aria's lips, like she was fighting back a smile.

Aria's anxiety was making Emily antsy. She didn't know what else to do. So she was trying to ease the panic in the air.

"Didn't you throw up in a bathtub once?" Aria lost the battle against the smile she was fighting.

"Too much tequila." Emily nodded. "Zoe and Samara had to drag me home that night."

"Why…of all people did you drunk dial me?" Aria had a quizzical look on her face.

Alison faced Emily, intrigued by the story she'd never heard. She'd seen Emily drunk, like sloppy drunk, but she'd never gotten a drunk dial or text from her.

"Yeah, Em, I'd like to know the same." Alison grinned when she saw colors flooding Emily's cheeks.

"Not to hurt your feelings Aria, but I was looking for Alison in my phone and in all my drunken glory accidentally hit your number by mistake."

"Aww…" Alison said at the same time as Aria responded,

"Well, now I feel like used goods." Aria smiled.

"I don't know how much Liam appreciated me asking to see your boobs." Emily only remembered one detail from that night, and it was the most embarrassing part.

"Excuse me…what?" Alison gasped.

"Oh, relax. I only showed a little side boob." Aria said it in a joking manner, but Alison got the feeling it was close to the truth.

It wouldn't be too out of the question that Aria had gotten a little wild in college.

"Liam thought it was downright hilarious." Aria was full-on grinning now.

"Is Liam around?" Alison asked.

Suddenly she feared spilling too much of their past if Aria hadn't already divulged it.

"He's working." Aria shook her head.

Emily chewed the inside of her cheek and licked her lips.

"Out of curiosity…how much does Liam know…about our past?" Emily saw Aria physically recoil from the camera at the mention of it.

"Most of it. Not the specifics of what happened in the Dollhouse, but I was honest with him about Mona and Charlotte. He knows about the torture." Her face twisted up in pain. "Guess I won't be taking any trains again for a long time."

Alison wanted to reach out and hug her through the phone. Aria had told her about the panic attack she'd had on the train in Boston.

"Do you think she has any power over planes? Liam and I are going to be flying a lot once the tour starts. And we're already planning spring break in Italy. His cousin lives there, so we're flying out." Aria swallowed a knot in her throat. "Do I need to worry about her commandeering the plane or poisoning our Italian cuisine?"

"I think hacking into Federal Airlines, restricted air space, and international territory might be a bit beyond her reach. She's good, but she's not that good." Emily tried to soothe Aria's fear. "To be honest you'd probably be better off just staying in Italy."

"And Wren? He's free to travel wherever he wants. If he's really involved then we're in a lot of danger." Her breathing was becoming wild and erratic again. "Or Melissa?"

"What about Melissa?" Emily questioned.

"You said you talked to Spencer. Since Wren is involved do you think Melissa is involved, too?" Aria asked.

It hadn't come up in conversation with Spencer. Spencer was very prickly about her sister. They didn't get along, but Spencer didn't like it when others accused her of wrongdoing. It was a sibling rivalry thing. In Spencer's mind, only she could pick on her older sister.

Alison and Emily had never even considered that Melissa might be involved. But Aria's suggestion gave them a moment to think about it.

Emily couldn't see it, but Alison could. Sisters betrayed sisters. Then again, Spencer wasn't being targeted. It wouldn't make sense for Alison and Emily to be the main targets if Melissa was involved.

"Melissa and Wren broke up years ago. Spencer and I talked briefly about it at Thanksgiving. Melissa seems like she's moved on." Emily recalled the conversation she'd had with Spencer during the holidays.

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't look into her." Aria glanced down, one hand out of the frame as she stroked Argos' head to try and stay calm.

"I know where you're coming from," Emily said softly. "But with Melissa's work schedule and her complete disinterest with everything Rosewood I don't think she could be a part of it. And there is no reason to upset Spencer's family for a wild goose chase."

"Even if she's not involved…if Wren, Sara, and Charlotte teamed up…how many more of them are out there? What if Charlotte has an A-Team assembled internationally?" Aria scowled angrily into the camera.

She looked oddly cute when she was angry. Like a Lion cub trying to be serious. Alison couldn't help but smile.

"Aria…I hardly think she's been in any position to…"

"Do you know where Charlotte went when she left New York with your passport?" Aria cut Alison off. "Did she ever tell you where she went?"

Alison opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She'd never even thought about that.

"You know what I miss most about being free?" Charlotte had asked Alison a year into her treatment at Welby. "Traveling. The food. The culture. The experiences. Meeting new people."

"She did." Alison cringed. Her answer caught Emily's attention. They'd never talked about it, so it was news to her. "Europe. Asia. Pretty much everywhere but Australia. Because she was afraid of the giant spiders."

"Can you imagine going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and finding a spider the size of a car in your toilet?!" Charlotte had squealed with what seemed like genuine laughter at the time.

Aria laughed darkly, surprised that the monster had fears of her own. Or perhaps Charlotte was pretending she'd never go to Australia so that if she ever ran away no one would think to look there.

God help those Kangaroos and Koalas. I bet not even the Irwins could tame an animal as wild as Charlotte DiLaurentis. Aria had the good sense not to say it out loud, but Emily and Alison could basically see the thoughts playing out across her face.

"Maybe Liam and I would be safer somewhere she'd never think to go. And regular sized spiders freak me out, so Australia is out." She scoffed. "Antarctica it is. I'd rather take my chances with penguins and polar bears."

"I don't think there are polar bears in Antarctica." Emily scratched her brow.

Alison lightly smacked her shoulder, a now is not the time for random facts, Emily look on her face. But she was smiling at her.

"Great. It just got safer there." Aria forced out a smarmy smile. "Just us and the penguins."

"Aria, take a deep breath. It's been known to prevent explosions in small women." Emily took a deep breath in to try and get Aria to do the same.

Alison glanced at Emily and finally understood why she'd been dreading telling Aria the truth. It was totally upending her life. And Alison didn't like that. She hated Charlotte for still having that control over them.

Aria followed Emily's demonstration and took a breath. After she blew it out she looked a little bit more relaxed.

"I'm sorry. I'm a writer. My brain goes to all kinds of scary places." Aria bit her lip. "I'm okay. And then I'm not okay. And then I'm okay again. And then I go nuclear."

"Don't apologize." Alison frowned. "It's not your fault. It's Charlotte's fault."

She lost eye contact with Aria, because the short brunette looked away from the screen, trying to avoid her past.

"And Wren, too." Aria added softly. "Charlotte could be confined to a tiny isolation room in the middle of nowhere…but she still has British Ezra out there creeping on us."

The second she said British Ezra all three of them started to laugh. The perverts and pedophiles in Rosewood were easily interchangeable.

The break in the conversation eased some of the tension.

"We're going to figure it out." Emily promised.

Aria nodded in uncertainty. She looked down at the dog in her lap, who was peering up at her in concern. He licked her arm and whined. She rubbed his head to let him know she was okay.

"Thank you for telling me the truth." She slowly made eye contact with Alison and Emily again. "You two have clearly been dealing with it a while. How are you?"

Her compassion nearly broke Alison's heart. Aria was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown and she was asking about them.

"We're okay. We've had time to adjust and deal. And to plan. We just wanted you to know. Your safety is our main concern." Alison gave Aria a soft look, a kind look.

It was a look she hadn't really had for any of her friends back in Rosewood…except for Emily.

Emily had always been the exception.

Back then Alison didn't want to admit it was because she had feelings for her, but now she knew the truth.

"Just…please be careful." Aria's concern echoed Spencer's sentiment. "Please. And take care of each other."

"We will." We have been. Alison looked at Emily.

"Let me know if anything comes up. Day or night. I'm here. And if I can help in any way…"

"We just want you to be happy. Don't let Charlotte take that from you. Not again." Alison cut her off.

"I love you guys."

"Love you, too, Aria."

"I have to take a beat and take this in. Maybe get drunk on coffee or chamomile tea. I'm going to tell Liam everything."

"Are you sure you're ready to take that step?" Alison asked.

"You're asking me if I want to tell the truth to the man I'm in love with and am going to marry?" Aria laughed.

"Yeah…you're right. Stupid question." Alison brushed some hair out of her face sheepishly.

"We'll talk soon." Aria promised. She tilted the camera down towards the dog, who looked directly at the screen. "Say goodnight, Argos."

He woofed softly when he heard his name, which made Aria laugh.

"Take care, Aria. We'll let you know what's going on." Emily nodded.

A few minutes later the call was over, but the anxiety that Alison and Emily felt had increased tenfold. It was one thing to handle their own insecurities, but it was hard to deal with seeing their friends spiral. It wasn't fair.

They both tried to shake it off, but it wasn't easy.

When Alison left for her night shoots Emily had a hard time settling down. She could barely focus on her school work and when she tried to go to bed she tossed and turned.

Not even the short video Alison texted telling Emily she loved her helped.

Around 4 AM she was completely frustrated. She left a note for Alison and went jogging to clear her mind.

She tried to drown out the negative thoughts swirling in her mind. She concentrated on the depth of her breaths and the sound of her running shoes hitting the pavement. Every so often she'd take a swig from her water bottle.

She had run nearly a mile when she decided to turn around and head back to the condo.

Halfway there a heavy bout of dizziness came out of nowhere.

She opened her water, assuming it was from dehydration. She was nearing the end of what was left. She gulped it down and a bitter flavor assaulted her taste buds. She gagged and wiped her mouth with the back of her sweaty palm.

The dizziness started to get worse. A cold rush flooded her body, which was not a natural reaction to running over a mile.

Her hands started to shake and her limbs slowly started to go numb.

At first she thought she was having a panic attack, but as she rapidly deteriorated she realized it was more than that.

The ground beneath her started to bend at odd angles, twisting into shapes she didn't recognize and colors that didn't match the sidewalk.

There was a shuffling noise behind her.

Then a whisper in her ear.

"You shouldn't have told them."

Emily spun around, but lost her balance.

The ground was rapidly approaching her face. The street danced and taunted her as her vision started to waver.

No, this isn't possible.

A shadow clouded her vision.

"Bad move, Americano. Bad move…"

o ~ O ~ o

She expected to be safe and sound in her bed, the vision of Charlotte a mere nightmare that had been brought on by her conversation.

But she wasn't in bed.

"Emily…"

She knew the voice.

It was familiar and somewhat unrecognizable at the same time.

She hadn't heard it in a long time.

At least it FELT like it had been a long time.

"Em…oh my God…what is this monster doing to you?"

She had to be hallucinating.

Their captor didn't let them see each other for no reason.

"Aria."

She blinked, and a tiny wide-eyed brunette was standing in front of the chair she was strapped to.

The photos above the switches had smudges on them from sweat and tears.

Aria's photo had a droplet of blood from where Emily had punched the table in a fit days ago.

Their captor did not like that.

She didn't get food or water for two days.

"How long have you been like this?" Aria delicately reached out to the straps holding Emily in her chair.

It was unlike the usual set up where they were hooked up to electrodes and forced to sit in a metal chair.

The straps barely left room for Emily to move.

It was like being in a straitjacket, but her hands were free to touch the levers.

Emily had lost track of time.

Had it been hours?

Days?

She was hungry. So hungry.

And she hadn't had any water recently either.

She hadn't been back to her room to sleep, so the exhaustion and fatigue made her body physically ache.

"I don't know." Emily licked her lips.

They were parched, chapped.

Were they bleeding?

She tasted blood.

"They make you play this stupid sick game, too?" Aria's eyes darted away from Emily's, avoiding any contact whatsoever.

Emily knew that meant that Aria had probably pulled her switch a time or two.

"It's okay. I can handle it." Emily cleared her throat.

The odd thing was that they weren't always shocked.

And sometimes when they were jolted with electricity it didn't seem like it was around the same time when someone was actually in front of the switches.

It was random.

Emily started to wonder if it was a psychological game. A game of warfare.

Her father had taught her about those.

"You never give the enemy what they want. Always resist," he'd told her.

"Dad…" she'd asked. "Have you been tortured over there?"

He didn't answer.

And now Emily was glad that the only answer he'd given was silence. It gave her strength and endurance.

"Listen…Mona and I have been able to communicate…"

Emily whipped her head towards Aria.

"No. Don't. There are eyes and ears everywhere. If you get caught…"

"She thinks she has a way out." Aria whispered.

"Oh my God, Aria, for fuck's sake…shut up." She wanted to peer at the cameras, wondering how closely they were being watched.

But she didn't want to give anything away.

"You're right. Not here. It's not the time." She unlatched one of the restraints.

"What are you doing?" Panic set in.

"I'm not just going to leave you here." Aria scoffed.

"Yes…you are."

She couldn't bear to think about Aria receiving some kind of horrible punishment for freeing her. She'd seen what this monster was capable of.

Nearly melting poor Spencer's skin off.

Forcing Hanna to throw up her meals.

"Aria, you need to listen to me. Very carefully." She kept her voice low and steady. "You have to leave me."

"That's ridiculous. Someone opened my door for a reason."

"It's a trap. They lure us to each other to help one another. But we're all punished in the end."

Emily's entire body trembled, but she wasn't cold.

She knew they were being watched.

She was starting to understand how their captor's mind worked, which was terrifying. Being front row center to the brain of a psychopath was not for the faint-hearted.

Aria's eyes widened.

"What do you mean? It's happened before?"

"We'll have to talk another time, but right now I need you to go. Go back to your room."

"The person doing this hurt the other girls, too?" The tears in her eyes glistened.

"Please…" Emily begged. "Before it's too late. Please just…"

Screeching alarms cut into the air, interrupting Emily and sent both girls scrambling to cover their ears.

The flashing red lights were dizzying. The rest of the lights had been cut out.

"Emily!" Aria cried.

"Aria!"

In the darkness something moved. A shadow.

Emily tried to pull the remaining strap to free herself from the chair to help her friend, but it was too late.

A piercing scream filled the air.

"She didn't do anything!" Emily yelled.

She felt something being shoved against her stomach and she realized what it was seconds before a jolt of electricity coursed through her, seizing her entire body.

A cattle prod.

The second shock knocked her unconscious.

The darkness was like a second home to her.

Sometimes she didn't want to leave it.

It was scary, but it was also quiet and peaceful.

Her body ached when she started to regain consciousness.

She wasn't in the chair anymore.

The steel table beneath her chilled her skin.

She shivered.

They were right back where they started from when they'd first arrived.

She heard a groan from beside her and slowly turned her head, an aching pain shooting in her temples.

"What happened?" Aria muttered.

Emily tried to move, the blanket weighing her down, but none of her limbs were working.

"I can't move." Emily looked at Aria again.

Aria blinked in confusion.

"I can't either." A rising hint of panic in her voice. "Oh, God, are we paralyzed?"

Before Emily could respond they both spotted a tray table full of several sharp instruments.

"That sick freak is going to kill us!" Aria skipped the subtle panic and went to sheer terror.

"Or harvest our organs." Emily muttered.

Aria whipped her head to the side and glared at Emily.

"If I could move my hand I would slap you for putting that image in my head."

"Sorry. My natural defense mechanism when I'm being tortured is sarcasm." Emily looked at her friend apologetically.

"What do you really think they're going to do to us?"

"I've noticed a…pattern…" Emily bit her lip.

"Right. You said the others…something happened to them…"

"Whoever is doing this is trying to revert us back into who we were before Alison disappeared." Emily explained.

"What does that mean?"

But Emily couldn't go into those details. It wasn't her place.

Scalding every imperfection away from Spencer's skin.

Making Hanna feel inferior about her weight.

It was a game to the sick pervert.

"This person wants to break us…in the same way that Alison made us. Two sides of the same coin." Emily cleared her throat.

She still felt shaky from being shocked.

"Why?"

"Because their next move is to get Alison here." It tasted bitter to say it, but Emily knew it was the truth.

"Em…I'm scared…"

Emily wanted so badly to reach out and hold her hand, but she was frozen. Every muscle below her neck was completely numb.

"I know. Me too…"

The lights flickered and the door creaked open.

A shadow moved around the room dressed in all black. A ski mask covered their face. And on top of the dark ski mask was a surgical mask.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Aria put on a brave front.

The person in black didn't say anything.

"Stay away from her." Emily croaked.

Their captor ignored Emily, acted as if she wasn't even there. The person was focused on the smaller girl.

Black gloved hands trailed the edges of where Aria's skin met the blanket covering her.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Aria growled.

She had a lot of fight in her for someone who couldn't move.

A stiff gloved finger was pushed over Aria's lips, shushing her.

Aria froze.

"Don't!" Emily pleaded again. "This was my fault! She didn't know. She didn't know the rules of your game!"

Her response earned a curious glance her way, but not for long.

Thick gloved fingers threaded through Aria's dark head of hair.

Aria shuddered and turned away.

"Get away from me." She hissed. "If I could move I would kill you."

The person in black grasped Aria's cheek and stroked it softly, treating her skin as if it was porcelain.

"We'll do what you want. We'll play your games! Just…just don't hurt her." Emily begged.

"Emily…" Aria glanced at her, tears in her eyes.

Emily saw the figure's other gloved hand reaching for the tray table.

"No." Aria shook her head. "Please don't…"

The person's fingers closed around the handle of a straight razor.

Every fiber in Emily's body wanted to shoot off of the steel table and tackle their captor, but whoever it was seemed to be a step ahead.

"It's me! I was the one who screwed up!" Emily tried to get the person's attention.

But she was back to being invisible.

Aria stopped her pleas the instant the blade was against her throat.

Emily wanted to scream, but she knew that any sudden noises could result in Aria getting her throat slashed.

Aria's breath shuddered as the blade hovered over her throat.

The person reached for a syringe, and before Aria could protest a needle had been jammed into her neck and a sedative was being plunged into her body.

Moments later, Aria was completely limp against the table.

Emily stared at the syringe, trying to figure out how this person had access to prescription strength sedatives.

The figure put the syringe down and started stroking Aria's cheek again.

"Don't…that's…don't do that." Emily was surprised at the strength in her voice. "You did your job. You scared her…you…you scared me. But it's just us now. Leave her out of it."

Emily was surprised when the person turned and moved towards her.

Emily swallowed a lump in her throat, her eyes on the straight razor.

She was so focused on the blade that she didn't see the person pull a second syringe off of the tray.

The person in black stood over her, observing her features, trying to get a read on her emotions.

Fear

Anger.

Exhaustion.

Then the needle was in Emily's neck and the solution inside the syringe burned. It felt like her head was on fire.

Through her dizzy eyes she watched as the shadow, who was slowly becoming a blob in her vision, moved towards Aria with the strait razor again.

She managed to squeak out a pleading, "No…"

The last thing she saw was the person holding the strait razor over Aria's face.

She fell into the darkness again.

When she woke up she was alone.

In her room.

She had on a track suit with the Rosewood Sharks logo and a thick pair of socks.

She had feeling back in her extremities, but she didn't move from her bed.

She was terrified she'd seen Aria for the last time.

She went days not knowing her friend's fate.

Then one day all of their doors opened and Emily rushed out into the hallway, searching for Aria.

Relief flooded her veins when the shorter brunette emerged from her room. Her hair had been cut and dyed with pink streaks and she was back in the clothes she'd worn their freshman year. She walked with an air of defeat. She hugged Spencer and Hanna and exchanged a glance with Mona, who looked equally defeated.

Aria stopped when she got to Emily.

They peered into each other's eyes, the darkness of that room swimming around in their brains.

It was Aria who reached out to hug Emily first, and the shorter girl whispered,

"Please don't tell the others what happened in that room." Her tiny body trembled against Emily's.

Emily nodded.

In truth, Emily didn't remember much of anything after the person shrouded in all black picked up a the razor from the tray table.

There was a buzzing sound.

Then the intercom.

"Ms. Fields?"

Emily shook her head.

No…this isn't right.

Emily blinked and she was in a classroom at Pepperdine in Malibu. Her I-Pad was open to an image of a book she'd been looking up, Physiology versus Anatomy.

A picture of a human body with all of its organs was on the cover. A list of differences between the two studies was listed off to one side and a scalpel and surgical equipment was on the other.

A scalpel and a straight razor weren't exactly the same thing, but it had been enough to trigger her into a memory she would rather forget.

She closed the image on her screen.

None of it was real. The jogging. Her drink being drugged. Hearing Charlotte.

The flashback had been real, but nothing else.

She had no memory of getting to school, other than Samara had driven.

Her mind was a black hole. She wasn't even sure what class she was in.

"Ms. Fields?" The instructor called attention to her again. "Emily?"

The entire classroom was staring at her, including Zoe, who was in the seat next to her.

Had she screamed or something?

"The physiology of the quad muscles?" The teacher looked at her patiently.

Everyone had that patience in their eyes ever since her dad had died. They were treating her like she was made of glass. It made her anxious.

Emily shot a look at Zoe for help.

What does she want from me?

Zoe pointed to her hard copy of their Physiology book.

Emily looked down at her book, realizing that she had her Kinesiology book open and not her Physiology book. She thumbed through some printed notes and reached for her phone, but couldn't find what she was looking for.

"I just…give me a second…" Emily cleared her throat.

Zoe came to her rescue, slipping her own set of printed notes over to Emily so she could answer.

Fortunately, Zoe's answer was right, so they moved on in the lesson.

Ten minutes later the class was over.

Emily was gathering her things while Zoe waited on her.

Emily waved at the teacher as they left the classroom.

When they got out into the hallway she let out a breath she'd been holding in.

"Thanks for helping me out." Emily's face flushed red in shame. "I don't know what happened."

"Don't be embarrassed." Zoe shrugged her laptop bag on her shoulder. "I used to do the exact same thing back in high school after my girlfriend…" She stopped short, but Emily saw the pain in her eyes. "Grief messes with your head. One time I was in Advanced Chemistry and when I looked down I had one of my mother's cookbooks splayed out in front of me. I had to bullshit my way through a chemical compound while substituting the ingredients for pound cake. Then I had to turn in a paper about how the use of heat, cold, and cutting food changes its composition. It was a whole thing…and it was utterly ridiculous."

"How did you do?" Emily asked curiously.

"I brought an actual pound cake the next day and turned it in with my paper, so I got an A."

Emily laughed.

Zoe's phone chimed. Emily tried not to react negatively to the noise. She was still waiting on Charlotte to retaliate for what they'd done to Sara in Rosewood.

She had yet to make a move. Emily assumed it was because they hadn't sent her confession about killing Jessica DiLaurentis to the police yet. She knew that they had all the control. That made her more dangerous. Even though Sara was behind bars and Jason had removed himself from the equation by promising not to intervene, Wren was still out there.

All the wondering she had done in the Dollhouse about where the drugs were coming from, and it turned out Charlotte had a pipeline.

Fortunately, Zoe's phone never had anything nefarious on it. She smiled at her friend.

"Samara and Alison are waiting in the foot court." She put her phone up. "I thought Alison was on set today. Why is she in the cafeteria taking pictures with her fans?"

"She initially had a break and was going to come for lunch, but then the shoot got pushed because of bad weather, so now we can make a day of it." Emily was secretly and selfishly glad that she got to have lunch with her girlfriend.

Her modest attempt at a fake sigh didn't fool Zoe. She could see how happy Emily was that Alison was there.

"Lucky you. Looks like her adoring public is as happy as you are." Zoe showed Emily a picture that Samara had taken of Alison taking a picture with a group of smiling young girls.

"She really resonates with people." Emily loved that about her.

In Rosewood, it had been a negative attribute. Alison had ruled by fear. But she'd turned that around and given someone people could admire.

"She certainly puts a smile on your face." Zoe playfully hip-checked her. "Glad she's here to turn your day around."

"Yeah. Me, too." Emily paused and then cleared her throat. "Hey, would you mind keeping my lapse in a functioning brain in class between us? I'd like to talk to Alison about it in private."

How had she gone from jogging to sitting in her classroom with no recollection of how she'd gotten home? Why didn't she remember anything from the morning? She'd had blackouts before, but never this bad.

"Ah, doing the full honesty thing. No worries. I get it." Zoe nodded.

"Sometimes I'm afraid that I scare her." Emily admitted.

"Why?" Zoe cocked her head, coils of her hair falling into her face.

"We've just been through a lot." Emily glanced at her nails. She had been picking at them ever since they had gotten back from Rosewood. "All I've ever wanted to do is protect her. Our relationship is…it's really special to me. To us. And sometimes I get…intense."

Like blackmailing Charlotte.

Like deadass threatening to shoot Sara Harvey without fear of consequence.

"Like what happened back there in class. I go to a dark place. Honestly, sometimes…we both do." Emily had seen the darkness in her girlfriend, but she accepted Alison's darkness. "The dance of our relationship started out really difficult…and clumsy. She saved my life. More than once. And I don't think she's stopped since. I was the same way. I'd take a bullet for her…and I know that terrifies her, because she would never want that."

Emily thought about the wild look of terror in Alison's eyes the night the cabin had been set on fire. She had been worried, but beyond that worry…she was pissed, because she didn't like it when Emily risked her life…not for her…not for anyone.

"She hates feeling helpless. And she takes it upon herself to try and save me. It irritates her when she can't. I don't like it when she worries."

"That's part of being in love." Zoe glanced at her phone with a wistful smile. When she looked back at Emily her expression was a bit more serious. "Listen, Em, we all have our shit. I know it can be embarrassing…and frustrating. Talking about how my high school girlfriend swallowed a bunch of pills and slit her wrists isn't exactly easy conversation, but Samara gets it when I have nightmares. For the longest time I thought I was going to push her away or scare her, but when you love someone you love every part of them."

"I just never want to disappoint her again. I made some mistakes in my past, and I'm not proud of them. She has abandonment issues and I abandoned her when I left her in Rosewood. I was the one she trusted the most and I broke her heart."

"She made a choice that day, too." Zoe reminded her.

"I don't think I could take losing her again." Emily glanced at some of the abstract art on the walls, all created by students. "I'd die before letting that happen."

She'd been willing to fight Sara to the death if she had to. She'd squared up against Charlotte for the blonde. There was no line she wasn't willing to cross.

"It's scary, isn't it?" Zoe asked.

"Hmm?"

"Loving someone so much that the fear of missing them causes your entire life to come to a standstill. When they occupy every cell in your body. The blood pumping in your heart. The air in your lungs."

There was a quiet pause as they walked by a group of chattering students.

"You got her back." Zoe broke the silence. "You lost her, but you got her back. And that…that accounts for a hell of a lot." There was another silent lull in the conversation. "I love Samara. I love her like crazy. I didn't even have to consider whether I wanted to marry her. I knew. She's it for me. But when you love someone…and you lose them there is always that sense of closure that you'll never get." She sighed. "I would give anything in the world to change what happened in high school. For her to be alive…" She clucked her tongue. "Not because we might have ended up together. I wouldn't trade Samara for anyone in the world. But just knowing that she was alive and she was okay…"

"Yeah." Emily replied quietly. "I get that."

"I know." Zoe nodded. "Maya." Zoe stopped walking. "You didn't just lose Alison. You lost her, too. Samara told me."

Emily nodded.

"You might not have gotten closure with her, but you got a second chance with Alison. That's more than most people." Zoe adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "I get why you're so scared of losing her. But don't let that fear get in the way of letting her love you in the same way that you love her. You're always going to have that fear of loss." Zoe stopped as they neared the cafeteria. "So is she. But don't let that become a barrier between the two of you."

"Trust me, nothing on this Earth could ever tear us apart." Emily turned towards the cafeteria.

Not even Charlotte.

They walked into the cafeteria together. They spotted their partners standing near the opposite side of the room holding to-go bags of lunch. They were slowly making their way away from a small crowd of Alison's followers.

Alison and Samara were chatting about the LGBTQ Alliance when they approached.

"I would absolutely love to do a fundraiser. I'm sure my fans would be really into it. Text me with the details." Alison looked jovial and enthusiastic.

She had taken a shine to the Alliance. She loved volunteering and she shared frequent posts and videos about how people could support the LGBTQ community. She had become fast friends with Samara and Zoe. And she adored Max and José.

Emily took a moment to marvel at the blonde. She was glowing.

Candid moments with Alison were her favorite moments. It's when she let the mask slip and let others in. It was genuine happiness…not the kind that social media showed. Alison was guarded about her real emotions when she posted online. When she was actively present and in the moment Emily could see the difference.

"Are we interrupting?" Emily teased.

"Em, hey." Alison coolly tilted her head up. She made sure no one was watching and slipped her hand against the brunette's waist.

She was very conscientious in public. She knew she had fans everywhere and she didn't want to make Emily's life any more complicated than it already was. Even though Emily had shared a photo of them in the Poconos she was still being careful on her socials.

"We were just talking about the annual charity booster coming up." Samara put her arm around Zoe and greeted her with a kiss.

"I'm going to promote it on my socials." Alison grinned proudly.

"That's amazing!" Zoe clapped her hands together in delight. "Thank you so much."

"Are you kidding?" Alison laughed. "Thank you all for everything you do for this community. Honestly, if I'd had this kind of support when I was back in high school I might have had a much easier time coming out. And I would have gotten together with my crush a lot sooner." She batted her eyes at Emily.

"Aww, you had a crush on me?" Emily teased.

"Psh, no, I was talking about Lady Gaga." Alison winked.

"How dare you? I will fight her for your honor." Emily feigned a scowl. "I shall walk up to her with my Poker Face and give her A Million Reasons as to why I'm the one for you and then challenge her to a duel by slapping her face ever so lightly with a sequined glove."

"A sequined glove? Mmm…that might hurt." Alison made a tsk sound with her tongue.

"I want our Queen Lady Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta to know where your heart belongs." Emily nodded.

"That might be the gayest thing I have ever heard, Em." Samara couldn't contain her laughter. "And yesterday I heard Max say "On God, we looked like totes twinsies, Queen!" talking about a catwalk fashion show."

"Yes, well, I take my love quite seriously." Emily nodded.

"Clearly." Zoe snickered.

"So…" Emily glanced at Alison. "I have you all day today?"

"Mmmhmm, once you're finished with classes. Call time has been moved to three tomorrow morning." She made a face, grumpy at the prospect of getting up that early.

"Well, let's not let you waste a minute of that." Samara smirked. "Go find a supply closet. There are plenty to go around." She winked.

"Scandalous!" Zoe laughed.

"We haven't even eaten yet…" Emily gestured to the line-up of food.

"Precisely." Samara laughed.

Alison giggled, but then her eyes landed on a young couple curiously eyeing her and Emily.

"Actually, maybe a little privacy wouldn't be such a bad thing. How much time do you have before your next class?" Alison asked.

"Don't pretend you haven't memorized my class schedule." Emily scoffed. "Come on, let's go."

"We'll walk with you. Just four girls hanging out. Nothing to see." Samara smiled as she glanced at the eyes trained on them.

They walked away from the crowds.

Emily knew exactly where to take Alison.

They tapered away from Samara and Zoe after they got to the language lab.

It was one of the few classrooms that remained unlocked that students didn't need a keycard to access. It was also usually abandoned, though Emily couldn't understand why. The walls were plastered with places all around the globe. There was a beautiful painted canvass of Paris that covered the entire back wall of the classroom.

"So, what are we having for lunch?" Emily closed the door behind them. She pulled the privacy shade down.

Alison did a quick check of the room to make sure they were really alone and then practically tackled Emily into a kiss. She backed her into the teacher's desk and dropped the doggie bag of food.

"Hello to you, too." Emily lifted a flirtatious brow.

"It's beautiful in here." Alison admired the photos on the wall.

"Yeah. Sometimes I come in here when I need some peace and quiet." Emily nodded.

"You look tired." Alison kissed Emily's forehead.

Now that there weren't as many eyes on them she let her guard down. Samara had been on to something when she mentioned supply closets. Being away from the public left her free to fawn all over her girlfriend.

"Yeah. I had a weird night…which kind of carried over to class today." Emily rubbed her right eyebrow, trying to hide her insecurity.

"Awww." Alison frowned. "You okay?"

Emily smiled and gripped her hand.

"I am now that you're here." She caressed Alison's fingers. "Hey, I've been wondering…what do you think about going public? If you want to. I think some people probably already suspect. You may be able to control the content on your socials, but people see us actually cozying up in real life. Your publicist might not like the idea of coming out, but…"

"Screw my publicist." Alison waved off her concern. "I've only been keeping it quiet because I know you don't like the attention."

"And Charlotte." Emily flinched.

"Yeah, but she already knows." A cold look washed across her face. They had a lot of decisions to make in regards to Alison's sister. "Sara tried to kill both of us and I'm sure Wren knows all about us, too. So there's no point in hiding from them. Valentine's Day is a little over a month away. What better cliché day than to be able to spend it showering you with all of my love online? I'm all for going public as long as we're careful about posting our location…and of course I won't post any photos of you that you don't want me to."

"I'm fine with all of that." Emily nodded with a smile.

"What brought about this massive life-altering decision?" Alison cocked her head curiously.

"I've been thinking about a lot lately. It just makes sense. You shouldn't have to hide a part of your life just to appease me and I don't want to hide any part of my love for you. We did so much of that back in high school and it was never healthy for us."

Sometimes it made things more complex, especially when people were young and figuring out their sexuality.

Sometimes it was scary. Zoe had been right about that.

"It's scary…loving someone so much that the fear of missing them causes your entire life to come to a standstill. When they occupy every cell in your body. The blood pumping in your heart. The air in your lungs."

"We're older now. And our dynamic may have changed, but one thing that will never change is just how much we'll always worry about each other's safety. We're always going to have that fear of loss. But I don't want that to get in the way of how we love one another. We shouldn't have to be afraid to be who we are just because your sister spooked us. I'm not going to lie. It is terrifying having someone after us. But hiding doesn't do anything."

Emily lifted Alison's hand and kissed her knuckles before continuing,

"That's something I didn't really have a grasp on back then. I loved you so much. I just wanted to protect you, but you were afraid. I didn't know how to handle that. So I squeezed the life out of that love when we were kids. I was ready, but you weren't. And when you were finally ready…I was too damaged to love you back in the way that you needed. I wanted to. I did love you back, but I knew that we would wreck each other. So I cut tail and ran. I left you all alone. I want you to know…no more running. I will never abandon you again."

Emily gently let go of Alison's hand and cupped her cheeks, pressing a gentle kiss against her soft lips.

She continued to clutch Alison's face and looked directly in her eyes.

"We're always going to be worried and looking over our shoulders…and having random blackouts…" She paused, cursing at the timing of her slip up. She was going to tell Alison in a different way, but there was no way to backtrack it.

"Wait…hold on. Blackouts? Like the little ones you have sometimes when you're remembering something, but are still on autopilot? Like…when you lose time?"

"It happened this morning." Emily admitted. "I think I've been wound up so tight in all of this inner-anxiety and fear and…adrenaline. That's why I'm telling you all of this now. That's why I'm okay with sharing our lives. Because hiding in the dark is not great for our mental health."

"What happened?" Alison gripped her arm tenderly.

Emily sighed. She didn't want to scare her, but she was trying to go the full honesty route.

"I didn't just lose a little time. I lost the entire morning. One minute I was having a nightmare where I was jogging and the next I'm sitting in class next to Zoe. I remember Samara driving us here, but that's it. I was stuck inside my mind all morning and that triggered a memory from the Dollhouse." She grimaced.

"She's still in our heads." Alison whispered, though it seemed more like for her own benefit than Emily's. "We have her caught dead to rights. All the proof that could end everything and she still has the upperhand."

There was a long pause. Alison faced Emily with trepidation.

"I want to send Charlotte's confession in…to every law enforcement agency and every outlet we talked about." She was done letting her sister play with their lives.

Wren Kingston be damned. If they cut Charlotte off from Wren he couldn't take her orders anymore.

"You're sure?" Emily knew Alison had been struggling with it.

"I'm sure," she said with confidence. "I'm tired of looking over our shoulders…of you having so much anxiety that you're blacking out…of me waking up nauseous in the middle of the night after having nightmares about her."

"I'll call Caleb. I think he's at work, but we'll call him later. Together. He's got everything set up already."

Alison nodded, letting everything slowly register.

She was really finally fighting back against her sister. She was getting justice for her mother.

It was overwhelming.

The blonde took a deep breath.

"It's okay," she said like a mantra. "It'll be okay. I'll get through this."

She had to believe she could get through it.

Just as her doubts seeped in, Emily came in for the assist.

"No…we'll get through it. You're not alone in this." Emily grasped her hand and leaned forward, her lips ghosting over Alison's before giving her a gentle kiss.

When they pulled away Alison smiled at her. She had a devious expression on her face.

"Want to take my mind off of it?" She slipped her hand into Emily's back pocket and pulled her closer.

Emily's pelvis brushed against Alison's and all the brunette could think about was Samara and Zoe teasing them about going into a supply closet. It didn't seem like such a bad idea now that heat was pooling in her stomach.

"In public?" Emily lifted her brows in intrigue.

Alison could certainly be adventurous, but they usually had more cover.

"How is this any different than the beach?" Alison slowly backed her against the desk in the front of the classroom again.

They'd made love on the beach more than once.

"It's usually dark and there are a lot less people." Emily grasped the nape of Alison's neck with her palm, her hair sweeping over the back of her hand as she pulled her in for a kiss.

Alison caressed Emily's hips and held her firmly in place as their passionate embrace deepened.

She moved her hand to cup the side of her neck.

"Kinda adds to the excitement that someone could walk in at any minute, doesn't it?" Alison's pulse thrummed against Emily's palm.

The blonde shot her a cocky look and bit her lip.

"Well, you did say you'd be fine going public…" Emily pecked her lips and then moved down to trace kisses against her jaw line.

"I love how supportive you are." Alison meant it to be playful, but it came out sincere.

She loved that Emily would do anything for her…that she was always there for her.

"And I love how brave you are." Emily had always admired Alison for being so bold.

It had intimidated her when she was younger, but she'd watched Alison grow into a confident and caring woman because she took risks.

Her warm hands traveled up underneath Alison's shirt, caressing her ribs and tracing the lines of her taut muscles. Her fingers were so soft…like they were sculpting clay.

Goosebumps prickled Alison's skin, tingling down her spine and traveling to her arms and legs. Emily curved an arm around the small of Alison's back, and before Alison knew what was happening Emily was lifting her off of the ground and spinning her around. She picked her up and sat her against the edge of the desk.

Alison slid her legs open and her skirt flowered out against the smooth surface. She yanked Emily into her arms and wrapped her legs around her pelvis until their bodies were flush.

The brunette's vision went white with stars when she felt the impact and the heat against her clothing.

Their motions shook the desk so much that the bag of food fell to the floor.

They both paused long enough to look at it and giggle.

Alison threw her arms over the tops of Emily's shoulders and curled them around her neck to pull her back in.

A flash of heat washed over her, and she wanted nothing more than Emily's body on hers. She felt her urge…her desire. She didn't care where they were. She craved Emily.

She gripped her cheeks and moved her lips against Emily's, parting her mouth and slipping her tongue into the brunette's mouth.

The throaty grumble of appreciation that she received in return made Alison's entire body twitch.

Emily pushed her further up on the desk, sweeping it clean. She gripped the underside of Alison's thigh, which was hot and damp.

Alison mewled happily into the kiss, reaching for the zipper of Emily's pants. She just wanted to forget about life…to forget about her sister. She knew she was avoiding her feelings, and she had a feeling that Emily knew it, too. But in the moment neither of them cared.

She focused on the jeans sliding down Emily's hips and smiled into their kiss.

When she felt Emily touch her she felt like she was transcending. The hard wooden desk was gone, and all she could feel was the brunette's love.

It was a metaphor for her life. How hard and difficult and cold it was before Emily came into the picture.

Those three years were such a waste. It was a thought she had often, but it had been back in the forefront of her mind ever since she'd heard the recording of her sister.

Her mind drifted, and Emily could feel something in her body language shift. She stopped just long enough to pull back and peer into Alison's eyes. She looked lost.

"Hey, are you okay?" Emily leaned her forehead against Alison's and stopped to catch her breath.

Alison answered with a crushing kiss. The motion of her fingers made it difficult for Emily to concentrate. Her chest heaved with every panting breath she took.

"I need this. I just need you right now." Alison pulled her forward, on top of her. "Don't stop."

The conviction in her tone made it difficult to ignore.

There was a sense of urgency in their actions, part of it being they were in a very public place where anyone could walk in at any time.

They'd agreed to take their relationship public, but not with a sex tape. But in that moment neither one of them cared.

Alison peered over Emily's shoulder and caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. If she closed her eyes she could imagine them on top of it, the wind in Emily's hair.

Alison arched her body into Emily's and buried her face against the side of her neck.

She shuddered in Emily's arms. She managed to remain cognizant enough to finish what she'd started with her girlfriend, and in fact when they both collapsed in elation and exhaustion, Alison got a second wind.

She sat up, pushing Emily off of her. She followed her motions, their bodies pressed together. She spun Emily around and backed her back against the wooden desk.

Things were going so fast that Emily didn't realize what was happening until she was seated against the edge of the desk with Alison trailing kisses against her inner thighs, working her way up.

She pulled Emily's knees apart.

Several minutes later, the brunette was putty in Alison's hands…and her mouth. Emily had to bite down on her hand to keep her pleasured moans muffled.

When it was over Emily laid speechless against the desk, her legs feeling like jelly hanging over the side. She had her forearm up over her head. She had most certainly forgotten her morning blackout and flashback to the Dollhouse in those tender moments.

"My God…" Emily uttered.

"There's no need for formal titles, Emily. You can call me Alison." She winked as she licked her lip.

Emily laughed, trying to catch her breath.

The blonde hovered over Emily, watching as the perspiration glistened against her face. Emily could feel it trickling down her neck, trickling down her spine.

Emily slowly sat up, feeling as if she'd just run a marathon. She saw Alison pulling her underwear back on underneath her skirt. She tossed Emily her jeans and then sat down on the edge of the desk next to her.

"So…" Alison smiled. "Fun, right?"

"Well," Emily hopped a few times to get her pants back up, "Not as cramped as the plane bathroom, but not as comfortable as the beach."

"I don't care where I am, as long as I'm with you." Alison pecked her lips with a sweet smile on her face.

"Did it help?" Emily zipped her pants and ran her fingers through her hair.

Alison nodded.

"More than you could ever know." Her tender fingers caressed the brunette's cheeks. "You are my only sanity."

"If that's true, then we're both doomed." Emily wrapped her arms around Alison's waist. "I'm about as stable as the US Economy."

"The US Economy? That makes you sound like Spencer." Alison scoffed.

"Oh, yeah?" Without warning Emily wrapped Alison up in her arms and pulled her into her chest. "Would Spencer do this?" She placed a kiss on the top of the blonde's head. "Or this?" She picked Alison's chin up and their bruised lips crashed together once again.

Alison let out something between a giggle and a groan.

"I don't know." Alison ran her fingers through Emily's hair. "Maybe. If Spencer was drunk. And I was Aria."

"Ah, Team Sparia. I wonder if Liam knows he'll always be second fiddle to Spencer Hastings." Emily chuckled.

"Well, I know who is first in my life." Alison pecked her cheek.

Despite what they'd just done, it was Alison's innocent affection that made Emily blush.

"I love you." Emily put her arm around her shoulder, like they hadn't just had sex in a public place and they were just two sweet school girls hanging out.

"Love you, too." Alison leaned her head against her shoulder.

Just as they were getting off the desk and picking up the food the door to the classroom opened and a flirty couple walked in. They seemed surprised to find Alison and Emily in the classroom.

"Oh…uh…" The young man looked at them sheepishly.

"We were just working on our French." Alison smiled with confidence.

French Kissing…

"It's all yours." Alison didn't look the least bit fazed.

Emily glanced between the couple and her girlfriend. She had no idea what to say. Her expression was probably a dead giveaway of exactly what they'd been doing.

Fortunately, the girl was too busy staring at Alison to notice Emily looking completely dumbfounded.

After a few seconds the girl cracked a huge smile.

"Oh my God, you're Alison DiLaurentis." She fumbled around in her purse looking for something.

"Guilty as charged." Alison flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Emily saw her persona switch on instantly. Another coping mechanism to deal with everything going on. Emily wanted to grab her hand and tell her everything was okay. Before she had a chance the girl was fawning all over her.

"Can I get a picture with you? Please?" She had all but forgotten her boyfriend.

It was somewhat charming, the allure that Alison exuded.

"Of course." Alison walked over to her fan.

Emily watched as she dazzled her adoring public.

Alison blew the girl a goodbye kiss before she and Emily walked out.

Once they were out in the hallway they erupted into a fit of laughter. If those two had come in only minutes sooner they'd be having an entirely different conversation with them.

They were giddy the rest of the day, laughing and carrying on like nothing was wrong. Like Charlotte and Sara and Wren didn't exist.

But their moods shifted dramatically that evening.

Alison had gone from the cool confident girl who had adoring fans back to the nervous wreck she'd been since she learned the truth about her sister.

They were sitting on the couch talking to Caleb on FaceTime.

Emily let Alison do all the talking.

It was her choice, her decision.

"You're sure about this? Because once I hit send, I can't undo it." Caleb warned.

She curled her fingers into Emily's.

"I'm sure." She felt Emily giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"And Jason knows about this?" he asked.

"He knew it was a possibility." Alison nodded.

Caleb sighed, then hesitated.

"I know this is a lot for you. Are you okay?"

Alison wasn't surprised by his sensitivity. He coddled his cat. He adored Hanna. He clearly had compassion. What surprised her was that his sensitivity was directed towards her.

"Charlotte destroyed a lot of lives. She needs to be held accountable." Alison's mouth tasted bitter talking about her sister.

"How much did you tell Spencer and Aria?"

"Spencer seemed to sense something about the confession. Aria is still reeling from the news that Charlotte is back to her old ways. We're going to call them after we get off the phone with you to tell them about sending this to the cops. We don't want them to be blindsided. The only reason I didn't tell them in the first place is because I wasn't sure what I was going to do." She paused and chewed her lip.

"Let me talk to Hanna," he said softly. "She talks a big game when it comes to Charlotte and normally she's all for the revenge…ah…uh…I mean justice angle."

He didn't look like he meant justice though, and for some reason that forced Emily to stifle a laugh. Because Caleb was still Caleb. And he'd never been one to bullshit.

"Hanna hasn't been sleeping well," he admitted. "Her job does run her ragged, but it's more than that. Ever since Charlotte started back up again she's been more high strung about what might happen. She knows this is on the table. She's just still trying to work out what is at stake."

"Oh." Alison pulled back. "Then…maybe…what if this makes it worse? I don't want to make it worse. Maybe we shouldn't…"

Caleb held up his hand, pausing her.

"This is the right thing to do, Alison. It's never going to stop otherwise. For the record, I agree with turning her in. She should have been in prison in the first place." He bristled up. "Sorry, no offense."

"You're right." Alison swallowed a knot in her throat.

"Hanna will be okay. I just think she'll take it better hearing it from me. I can explain the process to her. I'll break it down so she knows this is the safest route possible. She needs to hear that kind of reassurance. She won't ever say anything to you all about it, because it's just not her style. But she wants to know how it breaks down statistically. It helps her."

"Makes total sense." Emily nodded. "Make sure your emotional support cat is available for her."

Caleb cracked a smile.

"He always is. Couldn't keep him away if we tried. I always heard that cats choose us. I never believed that until I met his little stubborn furry ass." He laughed, a memory popping into his head. "Hanna was so pissed when I let him in the apartment. Now she pampers him like he's the King around here."

"He's a cat. Therefore he is superior to all humans. He is the King." Emily appreciated the break in the serious conversation.

"Little bastard knows it, too." Caleb rolled his eyes, but it was said with affection.

"I owe you for this." Alison squeezed Emily's hand, her eyes on Caleb.

"No you don't. Listen, don't worry. I'll make sure this is done right. I'll talk to Hanna. You two make sure Spencer and Aria know what we're doing. As soon as everyone knows I'll hit the send button." Caleb reassured them.

"Thanks." Alison managed a weak smile.

"And whatever happens…" Caleb paused. "We are all here for you. We're in this together."

Alison was too choked up to respond, so she nodded, tears in her eyes.

They said their goodbyes to Caleb and called Aria and Spencer.

Spencer had been expecting it.

Aria was nervous but supportive.

"Be careful," was the last thing Aria said before they'd hung up.

Emily called Toby, too. He wasn't the least bit surprised.

"Go for it." Toby gave his firm approval.

"You'll look after my mother?" Emily asked.

"Em, I've always got her. I'll make sure Ashley and Ella are safe, too."

Emily loved that he was so supportive. And she knew he was as good as his word.

After they hung up Emily took Alison's hand.

"Ready?" Emily asked.

"No going back." Alison nodded, squeezing the brunette's hand for support.

Emily texted Caleb.

Talked to the girls and Toby. You talk to Hanna?

Yep. Mission is a go.

His response had them both laughing.

Okay, James Bond.

I've just always wanted to say that. It's actually already done. Just did my thing.

"Now what?" Alison faced Emily.

"We wait."

Eight hours later they both woke up to the same message on their phones.

You're going to pay for this. You better look over your shoulder everywhere you go from now on. But even then I guarantee you won't see me coming, bitches.


A/N: Just a reminder that family trees are different in this story. Alison and Spencer are not related (I just thought that would be a fun line...to picture what it was like if they were related). This story drifts away from canon. Alex Drake does not exist. Mary Drake does, but there is no Spencer/Alex twin plot. In short: Alison/Charlotte...half-sisters (their mothers were twins, which means they share that half DNA). Jason/Spencer...half-siblings (They have the same dad, Peter). Alison/Jason...half siblings (same mom, different dad).

So...we're diving right into everything. It's always fun for me to write the OG Liars talking to one another. In this chapter I got to highlight some attributes of Spencer's and Aria's characteristics. Spencer is tough, but soft. And Aria is soft, but tough. I also really enjoy writing the California crew's dynamic. Samara and Zoe especially (Zoe FTW in class! Real MVP!). I wrote Zoe's backstory similar to Emily's for moments like the ones in this chapter. And Samara is always just trying to make everyone smile.

Dollhouse scenes are always intense, so hopefully the little intimate moments between Emison made up for it.

On the teacher's desk...smh, these girls. Alison's "There's no need for formal titles. You can call me Alison" line might be my favorite Ali-ism yet.

So...what's in store next? That ending text does not bode well for them...


Additional non-related Emison note: (October 9th, 2023). I would be remiss if I didn't mention what's happening in the world. I have a lot I want to say about what's happening in the Middle East, but after much consideration I've come to the realization that sometimes people come to read as an escape. For that reason I decided that my views are best shared on my socials. My statement is on Twitter.