A/N: I was missing out on so many good fics during the 9 years I was gone! If you haven't read Infatuation by forever without him or Back Someday by KLS128, please do! Back Someday gave me exactly what I would hope to be how Emison would come back together after the divorce if they ever rebooted the original PLL. So good! Also if you haven't watched Sasha's new movie The Image Of You, you're seriously missing out.
Anyway, I know I've been gone longer than usual. I've been dealing with a lot of personal issues as well as trying to keep up with my class. I'm so excited to give you this chapter! I worked extremely hard on it. This is such an important chapter for the storyline. Enjoy!
"Okay, what are we watching and where is the popcorn, I'm starving!"
"You're always starving Kammie please get a grip," Emily says while getting off the couch to grab the popcorn out of the microwave.
"Whatever, so what are we watching?"
Emily returns to the couch with a big bowl of movie-style popcorn. "I think I'm in the mood for a J Lo movie. How about Monster-In-Law or The Backup Plan?"
"Oh, I'd love to see J Lo and Jane Fonda slap the shit out of each other right now."
"Alright, Monster-In-Law it is." Emily says before turning on the movie.
"Speaking of slap, do you remember that one time we went out, and the girl you slept with the night before saw you flirting with another girl and slapped you?" Kammie says while laughing.
"How could I forget? Luckily I have a high pain tolerance because she slapped me pretty hard." Emily palmed herself on the forehead. "She still slept with me again after that though."
"Of course she did," Kammie says rolling her eyes. "God, we really had the time of our lives together out there."
"Yeah, we did," Emily says smiling as she reminisces on the crazy times. "Who would've thought I'd go from the fast life of California, to a city where the population is no more than 4000 people." They both laughed before settling into silence both eating popcorn from the bowl.
"So how did your day with Ryan go?" Emily asked breaking the silence.
"Well..." Kammie pushes a strand of hair behind her ear and turns to face Emily. "It actually went so well, I'm pretty sure this won't be my last time seeing her. As a matter of fact she wants to be the one to take me to the airport tomorrow morning."
Emily raises an eyebrow at the statement. "Kammie Williams!" She only says the girl's full name when she's done something out of pocket.
"What is happening to you?" She says pushing the redhead's shoulder playfully.
"I could ask you the same thing. I came here to be with you and we both ended up with hot blondes."
"Oh, so she's a blonde? Did I inspire you?"
"Hey, remember I told you she approached me first, I didn't have to seek her out." Kammie smiles and points a finger at Emily.
"But I can't say they're not similar. Both are very feisty. Quick on their feet." Emily is now looking at the redhead girl curiously.
"How would you know that about Alison?"
Kammie bites her lip as if she's deciding to share something. "We may have run into each other in the hall earlier today." Emily looks mortified because she knows Alison is very possessive of her. She always had been. The last time she had spoken to the blonde about Kammie she said something about pulling her hair from her scalp.
"Oh, God I'm sorry for whatever she did or said. She can be a bit brash sometimes."
"No, it's fine. I approached her first. She wasn't even going to speak to me." Yeah, that sounds like Alison.
"I was just wanting her to know that I'm not here to interfere with anything you guys are doing. The last thing I want is her trying to exile me from your life if you guys end up together. I'd totally understand if she tried, but I just wanted her to know we're friends first before anything." Kammie reaches out and puts her hand over Emily's.
Emily puts her hand over Kammie's. "I would never let that happen." She smiles at Kammie before unclasping their hands.
"Good. Plus, I wouldn't dare cross Alison. She basically told me she'd rip me to pieces if I tried to come between you two. She didn't use those words exactly but she might as well have."
Emily's mouth opens in terror. "Gosh I'm sorry, she can be-"
"Posessive?" Kammie finishes. "Yeah, I see that. But I think that's exactly what you need."
Emily gave her an abnormal look. "And why is that?"
"Because she's got a lot of work on her hands trying to turn you back into a relationship person. So if she's possessive over you then that means she is willing to do what it takes for you to open up. But try not to be too hard to crack okay?"
"I'm not trying to do anything. This is just who I've been for the last couple of years, it's hard to change that so quickly."
Buzz Buzz Buzz
Alison: Hey, how's your night going?
Just as she was beginning to speak her mind, Emily looks at her phone and sees a text from Alison. She feels herself freezing once she sees it. She loves that this is her new normal. Her and Alison on speaking terms, working on being together like she always wanted. Yet, she's unable to come up with a response. Kammie can see the brunette struggling and speaks up.
"Is that Alison?"
"Yeah, it is."
She holds the phone in her hands staring at the text when Kammie grabs the phone from her.
"Hey what are you-"
Kammie looks at the message.
"Emily, all she asked is how is your night... what is so hard about that?"
Emily bows her head in defeat. She's been trying to avoid figuring out what's going on in her head. "She makes me feel vulnerable, okay?! She knows me... she may not know what I've done in the past 5 years but she still knows me. The real me. I can't hide from her... and it's not that I want to make this whole thing difficult, I just don't know how to let myself be vulnerable with her because our history is pretty rocky."
Emily lets out a sigh. "Our entire friendship revolved around lies. It's hard to trust her because of that." Emily takes a second to think. This is the first time she's verbalized how she's really been feeling about Alison these days.
"But I also know I don't want to do to her what I've done to women in my past. She means more than that to me."
Kammie rubs Emily's back and gave a sympathetic half-smile. This was always how the girl comforted Emily. She takes Emily's hand in hers again.
"I'm going to tell you something someone told me, and at the time it just sounded like super corny bull shit but I think it makes sense now... there is no intimacy without vulnerability. I know it's not something you're accustomed to anymore, but why don't you start small? Like maybe responding to a simple text message?"
Emily looks at her friend incredulously as she continues talking.
"You can't avoid vulnerability forever. Not if you want this to be different... if you're just going to continue being the same way then you're wasting both of your time."
Emily can't believe that her friend is making so much sense right now and it's throwing her for a loop.
"Okay... who the hell are you and what have you done with Kammie?"
Kammie cracks a small smile before speaking. "Listen I've always met you on your level, and your level has never been trying to work on your relationship with your first love." She holds her hand out towards Emily to hand her back her phone.
"Now here, take this and just text the girl back."
Emily takes the phone back from Kammie and internally decides her friend is right. It's just a text. If there was any form of communication to chose to be completely transparent through without feeling completely exposed, it would be a text message.
Emily: Me and Kammie are watching Monster-In-Law.
Alison: Nice! I can't wait for tomorrow night.
Emily still can't believe she's going on a date with Alison. She also still can't believe that the blonde was the one to initiate it. She feels like she's living out her wildest dreams in real life. But the brunette is starting to think that maybe this is the problem. It's time to accept that this is real life.
Emily: Neither can I! Did you get all of your errands done tonight?
Alison: Oh yeah, just had to do some late night grocery shopping. I like to shop when the stores are empty.
Emily texts the blonde for the next 20 minutes while watching the movie until she and her friend both fall asleep on the couch.
The next morning Emily said her goodbyes to Kammie and Ryan took her to the airport. Their weekend together may not have gone the way she had planned but Emily believes somehow they both still got something they needed out of the trip. The rediscovery of meaningful relationships. While Emily spent the day relaxing and thinking about how her night with Alison was going to go, Alison spent the entire day thinking about her night with Emily as well and how she wants it to go as perfectly as it possibly can. Throughout the day she managed to get some school work done as well as clean her apartment.
After a couple of hours, she was finally ready to start getting dressed and preparing for her night. She was nervous, excited, anxious and any other emotions a person would feel when preparing to go on a date with someone they really like. She decided to wear a tight black top, jeans and a Gucci belt. Everything she was wearing hugged her figure tightly and she knew she looked good. Her long blond hair was in a half up half down style and she put on her favorite red lipstick.
Even though they are neighbors she still wanted this to feel as authentic as possible so she decided to go knock on the brunettes door when it was time.
When she knocked on the door it only took a couple of seconds before it opened revealing Emily in all her gorgeous glory. She wore a long sleeve thin top and the neck line plunges deep going down to her mid chest and a pair of black jeans. Her hair was styled perfectly, having her long brown locks pinned to where all of her hair was flowing over her shoulder on the right side. God how is one person this stunning? Alison thought. She stood speechless in front of the swimmer before the other girl broke the silence starting off with a smile noticing Alison taking in her appearance.
"Hi." Emily says.
Alison takes a second, still looking at the brunette mesmerized.
"Wow, you look..."
Edible. Is what the blonde really wanted to say.
"You look amazing." She finally finished.
"Well thank you. So do you." Emily says with a charming smile.
"Thank you... shall we?" Alison says moving to the side to allow Emily to move out of her apartment which she did closing and locking the door behind her.
Emily looked at Alison one more time admiring how her outfit hugged her body in all the right places. Deciding to live in the moment and not think so much, she moves forward placing her fingers under Alison's chin and meeting her lips with a quick kiss.
"You really do look beautiful." Emily says again.
Alison bowed her head and blushed. Not saying anything in response. But showing her appreciation with her eyes.
The two walk out of the building and get into Alison's car beginning their drive.
"So where is it that you're taking me exactly?" Emily asks.
"I figured I'd get us out of this small town for the night. Don't worry too much, just go with it." Alison says winking at the girl. Her deep dimples showing with her mischievous smile. She wanted to take the lead tonight.
"Okay. I'll try but you know I'm not good at just going with things. I like to know what's happening." She says not being completely serious. It was more of just stating a fact. But this is Alison so she'll try to let go of control this time.
"Well I can at least let you know I'm going to feed you."
Emily chuckled at the response. "Okay I can work with that."
A silence falls upon the pair as Alison drives. One hand on the wheel and the other on the gear shift.
"So how was your last night with Kammie?" Alison asks. She figures the first step in letting that whole situation go is by facing the fact that it's not going to go away.
"It was good. We talked, watched movies, ate popcorn. I helped her pack her things this morning and Ryan wanted to be the one to take her to the airport... it's pretty crazy that she really likes this girl. I wouldn't be surprised if she came back soon to see her."
Alison takes a deep breath in and her hand grips the wheel a little tighter and her jaw clenches at the thought of the red head coming back and sharing a space with Emily again. She knows she can't dictate who Emily is friends with, but she doesn't want to have to think of them sleeping in the same space again. Emily must have felt the tension building in the blonde because Alison feels a hand on her knee.
"She would stay with Ryan this time."
Well, that's embarrassing. Alison thinks. She hates how obvious she is but also loves that Emily knows when she needs to be consoled.
"Right. Okay." Alison says letting out the breath she was holding.
They continue to drive and listen to the radio, making small conversation on the way.
They arrive at Alison's destination of Sylvan beach, not too far from Sherrill, just about a 30 minute drive. She knows how much the other girl loves being near water. What's better than dinner on the beach?
"Okay, we're here." The blonde parks her car and proceeds to get out, rounding to the passenger side and opening the door for Emily to exit the car. Emily raises an eyebrow at the action.
"What? Have you never had another woman open doors for you?" Alison says with another mischievous grin. Little does the blonde know that Emily has always loved when she looks at her that way.
"No, actually. That's usually my job." Emily says with a grin.
"Well even better, I'm honored to be the first. Now come on," Alison reaches out her hand for Emily to grab to get out of the car.
When they walk into the restaurant they approach the hostess stand and Emily is in awe of the ambience of it all. Very beachy but also contemporary and modern.
"Hi, I have a reservation under Dilaurentis for 8:30." Alison says to the hostess. The woman takes a look at the book in front of her as if searching for something.
"Ah yes, right this way." The woman grabs two menus and leads them through the restaurant. Emily notices they pass several open tables and they are walking all the way to the back of the restaurant until they end up outside on a beautiful patio overlooking a dimly lit beach. They are so close to the water you can see the water cascading through the air as the waves crash. The scene is breathtaking.
"Okay, here you are. Your table with the beach view, just as you requested Ms. Dilaurentis." The waitress sets the menus out on the table for them. "Also, the crab puffs you requested will be out shortly. Enjoy."
"Thank you so much," Alison responds.
Emily looks incredulously at the blonde.
Crab puffs? How did she know I would want crab puffs?
"If you're wondering how I knew you'd want crab puffs, I just remember whenever we'd go out to eat in high school you'd always order them if they were on the menu." Alison says nonchalantly while looking over the menu in her hand.
She remembers what I like. She was paying attention.
Emily is taken aback at how much effort Alison had put into picking this place.
"Alison, this is beautiful."
"I'm glad you think so, I know how much you love the water so I figured what's better than having good food on the beach? I know it's nighttime and you can't really see everything but-"
"No, it's perfect." Emily reaches across the table and holds the blondes hand in her own. "I think the beach at night is romantic."
A silence fell over the girls for a second as they both were looking over the menu.
"Do you remember the last time we went to the beach together?" Alison asks.
Emily smiles at the memory. "Yeah, I remember Hanna running toward the water and falling in a hole a kid had dug."
The blonde begins to laugh. "Oh my gosh I remember that. Her ankle was screwed up for like a month after."
They both laugh thinking about their clumsy friend. Alison really misses the relationship between the five of them. She noticed a shift in her relationship with them all after she and Emily fell apart. She wasn't really surprised about it though. When she disappeared she knows the girls built a really strong bond. They leaned on each other. She hated that she felt she was pushed out of the group but she knew that if they had to pick sides they would choose Emily and that's okay. She's glad the brunette still had them to depend on especially after losing her father. She was grateful that she still had them in her life at all even if it was only speaking to them a couple times a year. She really does miss being included in the group things. She hopes now that her and Emily are working on their relationship, they can all come back together again.
"So how are the girls these days?" Alison prods. She's been avoiding asking about them knowing it may be an awkward subject. Emily doesn't hesitate with her answer though.
"They're good. We don't speak as much as we used to. Which is partly my fault... I didn't just stop speaking to you, I slowed down on speaking to them as well. But we all definitely still speak to each other when we have time. With Spencer still in Law school, Hanna in London working on a fashion Line and Aria working in New York City for a book company, everyone is so busy. But we try to have a group call together every other month or so to keep up."
Emily looks at the girl and notices shes avoiding eye contact with her as she speaks.
"When's the last time you spoke to them?" Emily asks.
"I speak to them every once in a while. Maybe like once every couple of months."
Emily knows the girls felt like they were put in the middle of everything when she stopped speaking to the blonde. She never thought about how that could've affected Alison's relationships with the others. When she stopped speaking to her, she did tell them that she just couldn't be her friend anymore after everything they went through behind closed doors. She never gave them details about how far they've gone with each other but they did know that Alison had a habit of leading Emily on. They all could see that while it was happening.
"I was hoping we can all hang out again. Maybe you can join us for Christmas this year? We all still get together at least once when we go back to Rosewood for the Holidays."
Alison let a closed lip smile grace her face at the invitation.
"I'd love to... as long as everyone's okay with it."
"Of course they'll be okay with it. They miss you... and I missed you too Ali."
Ali... She called me Ali.
Alisons mouth opens slightly as she looks into the brunette's eyes. Her mind goes blank, and her heart swells at the use of her nickname. It may just sound like a nickname, but Alison knows it means so much more coming from Emily right now. This entire time they've been reunited she hasn't used the name. This meant something. It may be a small step, but she sees it as the start of Emily letting her in. Letting go of the past and possibly focusing on a future. Together. She also figured maybe it's time to let the brunette know that she seen Rollins last night and that he is no longer in the picture. She doesn't want to drag this out and make it seem like she's purposely hiding it from Emily.
"Emily I need to tell you -"
As she started to speak the waiter walks up to the table with the crab puffs.
"Here are your crab puffs ladies," she says sitting them down in front of the pair.
"Thank you." Alison says to the waiter a little annoyed with the timing.
Emily wastes no time picking one up and biting into it. She closes her eyes and moans in satisfaction.
"Oh my God. This is so good." She says.
Any annoyed feelings the blonde had instantly went away seeing Emily enjoy her food. It actually makes her laugh and raise an eyebrow as she picks one up for herself to eat.
"Geez, were you hungry?" Alison says with a smile while laughing at how quickly the girl inhaled the crab puff.
Emily blushes when she realizes how greedy she must look. She tucks her hair behind her ear. "Sorry, I purposely haven't eaten since earlier because I figured we'd end up eating somewhere."
"No need to apologize. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."
She pauses for a second and just marvels at Emily. She loves the scene unfolding in front of her. She and Emily, here at this beautiful restaurant reconnecting. She thought she'd never see this day.
"Emily there's something I need to talk to you about."
Oh no. Emily thinks. Emily finishes her bite before responding. She wipes her mouth with her napkin and places it to side, kind of nervous because someone telling you they need to tell you something doesn't always end well.
"Okay, what about?" Emily says while beginning to take another bite of a crab puff to distract herself from her nerves of that statement.
Alison takes a deep breath. She opens her mouth and closes it. She does this a couple times trying to decide how she wants to say what she has to say.
Just come out with it already. Just say it!
"I ended things with Rollins."
The brunette stops in her tracks with the crab puff hovering in front of her mouth. She sets it back down on her plate. She knew the blonde said she'd handle it but she almost can't believe she actually did it.
"You did?"
"Yeah." Alison smiles timidly. "I did."
Emily doesn't know how to respond. She knows she is internally happy about it to a certain extent, but for some reason she doesn't feel as happy as she thought she would.
"And how did that go?"
"It went okay, of course he was a little confused and not so happy about it, but it had to be done."
Emily thinks about it. Because just yesterday afternoon the blonde told her she would handle it, meaning she hadn't done it yet before their day at the pool.
"When did you have time to do that? You told me yesterday afternoon you hadn't done it yet."
Alisons heart started thumping in her chest. She knows she should tell her the truth. That she had seen him last night. Ultimately it shouldn't matter because the end result was putting an end to their situation. But she just doesn't want to make the brunette uncomfortable or have to admit she lied about what she was doing last night.
"He called me last night while I was out and I just handled it that way.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Why did I just lie again?!
"Wow... okay well, how do you feel?" Emily asked.
The blonde thinks that the brunette is taking this all very well. And this is all she wanted. And plus, she can't take it back now. She's in too deep. This is now the third time she's lied to the brunette about her whereabouts last night and although she feels terrible about it, she promises herself in this moment that this will be the last time she lies to the brunette. About anything.
"I feel free. Free to explore this with no distractions... all I want is a stress free fresh start with you. That is if you still want this..."
Emily puts her hand over Alison's on the table. She told herself last night after her talk with Kammie that she would try to be more vulnerable with the blonde. She wants to do this right.
"I do want this. Truthfully, even in all that time we were apart I never stopped thinking about you. All I've ever wanted was a real chance with you and whether or not we work out in the end, I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least try."
Emily notices the teachers eyes are fixed on her own. She looks down and licks her lips before continuing.
"Look this isn't going to be easy. We're going to have to take this day by day, because I have a lot of bad habits to unlearn. But I promise I'm going to try my best to do right by you. That's the only way this will work."
Alison feels her eyes begin to water. She doesn't care how hard this may be or how much work she has to put in to make Emily trust her again. She knows she didn't start off the greatest by lying already so soon but she's willing to unlearn her bad habits as well for her. That starts now.
"Okay, then we're doing this." She says looking at Emily. Her heart feels so full.
"Together." Emily finishes.
Alison rises from her seat slightly and pulls on Emily's hand to have her meet her lips for a long simple kiss. When they disconnect their lips Alison presses her forehead against Emily's while rubbing the side of her face with the pad of her thumb before sitting back down in her seat.
They spend the rest of the dinner talking about work and reminiscing on old memories of high school. Even the bad ones about A. It's so refreshing being able to talk about those horrible trying times and end it with laughter. They ordered their main courses and enjoyed the view from the patio of the ocean. When the night ended they head back to their home and stopped in front of their doors like they always do.
"Thank you so much for tonight Ali. You picked an amazing spot." Emily looks down at the ground as she plays with her fingers. Something she did when she was nervous. "I wish the night didn't have to end." She says shyly.
"Well maybe it doesn't have to end right now. Why don't you come in for a quick nightcap."
"Ali, it's already 11 at night, we have to work in the morning."
"Come on, just one glass of wine." She could tell Emily was still hesitant.
"Please, Em." She says looking up at the brunette through her long lashes as she puts on the beiggest puppy dog eyes she can.
Emily melts at the use of her own nickname. Things were already starting to feel so normal between them again and she never could say no to that face.
"Okay fine. Just one." She says with a stern look.
Alison smiles from ear to ear and grabs Emily's arm as she pulls her into her apartment with her. Emily takes a seat on the couch while Alison pours them both a glass of wine. In all honesty it is way past her bedtime but she wasn't ready to let the night end either.
"I've been wanting to start this reality show Adrienne keeps telling me about called Vanderpump Rules." Alison says while handing Emily her glass and sitting down next to her. "Are you down to watch an episode with me?"
"I'm not really a TV show kind of girl. Especially reality TV. Too messy for me." Alison looks at her with the same puppy dog eyes from before.
"You know it's not very nice to use your puppy dog eyes every time you want something."
Alison doesn't respond she just continues to look at her and waits for her to give in. Emily rolls her eyes knowing she was about to give in again.
"Okay, okay fine."
Alison smiles and gets herself comfortable. She moves closer to Emily and lays the top half of her body on the coach while setting her phone down on the arm of the couch next to Emily. The brunette notices her getting close to her and throws her arm around Alison shoulder so she can move in closer. Loving the contact.
Alison turns on the show and they begin to watch.
"Wow, this Jax guy is an asshole." Alison says in disgust.
Emily takes a sip of her wine. "I think he's just misunderstood."
Alison lifts her head from Emily's shoulder to look at the girl quizzically.
"How is he misunderstood? He has a girlfriend, but will have sex with any girl that looks at him. He even had sex with her friend Em."
"That behavior has to come from somewhere. You know hurt people, hurt people."
Oh trust me I know. The blonde thinks.
Alison raises an eyebrow.
"Sounds like you relate to him somehow."
Emily takes a deep breath before speaking.
"I didn't always make the best decisions in college. Granted, I never had a girlfriend."
Alison takes her arm and drapes it over Emily's stomach.
"When you're single and don't have a girlfriend, the decisions you make may be a bit wild. But you're not hurting people on purpose." She begins tracing circles on Emily's stomach. She can feel the girls regrets. But she can't help but ask the question coming to her mind.
"Do you think you'll still have those wild tendencies now?"
Emily turns to Alison and places a hand on her thigh.
"Of course not Ali. I told you I'll do right by you and I meant it. I know we don't have a label on this but you don't have anything to worry about." Emily's hand absentmindedly starts moving up the blondes leg.
"I was never even giving anyone the impression that I wanted anything serious with them and honestly everything I was doing, was to drown out my thoughts of you."
Alison shivers slightly at the feeling of the girls hand traveling upward on her thigh. She feels the brunette's eyes beginning to fixate on her mouth.
"But the best part about now is I don't have to not think about you anymore." She continues to work her way up the blondes leg until she reached her hip and she squeezes the spot slightly. "You're right here."
Emily begins to lean forward slowly until her mouth is close to the blondes. They're so close that she can feel Emily breathing hard out of her nose, hitting her face. Alison cannot resist and kisses the brunette softly cradling her face in her hand. The kiss is slow and passionate. Emily squeezes her hip harder at the contact of their lips touching and mewls as Alison begins trying to seek entrance to her mouth with her tongue by slowly running her tongue across the brunettes bottom lip. Emily more than happily grants her access and their tongues begin moving together rhythmically. Alison will never get over how in sync they are in these moments. Alison begins to push Emily so her back is resting against the arm of the couch and she begins to move herself to lay on top of the brunette. Never disconnecting their lips. As she pushes herself over, her phone falls off of the couch and hits Emily's cup of wine spilling it onto the floor.
The two stop their motions at the sound of the wine hitting the floor.
"Shit, I'm sorry Em, let me clean this." Alison looks at her apologetically and hops up to grab paper towels from the kitchen. Emily picks up the blondes phone and tries to clean the wine off of it. In the middle of her trying to wipe the screen, it lights up revealing the blondes notifications and she stops breathing at what she sees.
2 missed calls from Rollins and 1 text message
Rollins: Please call me. I don't like how things left off after dinner last night. I just want to talk.
Emily feels herself beginning to breathe unevenly. After everything they had discussed tonight why would Alison lie? Why wouldn't she tell her she seen him last night? Did she not end things like she claims she did? Emily feels her face getting hot and her eyes getting wet and she tries to hold it in but she can't.
Alison looks back over to Emily as she walks back to the couch with paper towels in her hands. She sees the brunette staring at her phone and she does not look happy. She knows that could only mean one thing and she begins walking quickly over to her.
"Em, what's wrong?"
"What the hell did you do and why is Rollins saying you had dinner with him last night?"
A/N: I love a good cliffhanger!!