"Oh. My. God."

"What the actual fuck, Hanna?"

"I really hope my eyes are deceiving me right now, because—"

"I thought I was clear about you using my house key only in case of an emergency, Hanna," Emily said through clenched teeth, clearly trying to keep her composure as she shoved a throw pillow between herself and the girl sitting next to her.

"You were two seconds away from shoving your tongue down that poor girl's throat and cutting off her air supply," Hanna said with a dramatic flourish. "Sounds like an emergency to me."

Emily groaned. "What are you even doing here?"

"Wow." Hanna pressed a hand to her chest, mock-offended. "So this is what our friendship has come to. You ditched me to get laid? Way to go, Fields. Do our movie night dates mean nothing to you? Do I mean nothing to you?" She flopped dramatically onto the armchair across from them like a scorned lover in a soap opera.

She then scanned them again, finally getting a good look of who the blonde culprit was. Her light blue eyes widened like she'd just seen a ghost.

"Alison freaking DiLaurentis!?" she gasped, one hand still pressed to her chest as though she needed to steady her heart.

Alison opened her mouth, as if to say something, but Hanna didn't give her the chance.

"Look, Em," Hanna said, whipping her head around to Emily, "I get that you're like, the biggest star in the world right now—well, okay, maybe tied with Alison," she added, gesturing vaguely toward the other blonde. "But to me and Pam, you're still little baby Emmy."

Emily groaned again, her face turning a shade darker than it had been just moments ago. "Can you please stop calling my mom that?"

Hanna shot her a look. "Stop interrupting me. Rude. Anyway, I know your crappy agent won't let you talk about anything real in public, but that doesn't apply to me. I'm your best friend! And somehow, somehow, you managed to bag Alison DiLaurentis—that's like winning the lesbian lottery without even buying a ticket!"

She turned toward Alison with wide, apologetic eyes. "Sorry. I know you're not into labels. Honestly, neither am I." Hanna gave her a flirty little wink.

Alison blinked, clearly trying to figure out what to do with the chaotic blonde tornado in front of her. "Uhh…"

"Okay, Han, that's enough," Emily said quickly. "You're gonna scare her off."

"Hey, that's not what you were saying that one time when we kiss—"

"Oh my God, will you just shut up?" Emily practically begged, covering her face with her hands. Her cheeks were burning now, and she could feel the embarrassment radiating through her whole body. "You're going to ruin everything."

Alison tilted her head, watching Emily curiously. The whole exchange was too familiar. The way Hanna teased Emily, how easily they bounced off each other—it reminded her of the way she and Spencer bicker on the daily basis. The banter. The low-key affection buried under the sass. Except here, Alison wasn't sure if she was an amused observer or a third wheel.

She made a mental note to ask Emily what, exactly, Hanna was rambling about right now. Alison was intrigued, but she wasn't going to push it right now, not until they were alone.

Meanwhile, Hanna had settled into the plush cushions of the armchair, clearly in no rush to leave. She even pulled a throw blanket onto her lap like she was settling in for a double feature. This wasn't a drop-in visit. This was an interrogation in slow motion.

"So," she began again, this time with the exact cadence of Alison's aunt Mary who lives for drama. "How did this—" she gestured between Emily and Alison "—happen? And don't even think about saying you don't know, or I swear to God, I will throw something much harder than this pillow at your face."

"Nothing happened, Hanna!" Emily said, throwing her arms up. "We had dinner. We were just talking before you—"

"With your tongues, apparently," Hanna added helpfully.

Alison laughed. Not just a smirk—a real, full laugh. It made Emily's stomach flutter, though she was too busy shooting a glare at Hanna to really process it.

"Before you interrupted," Emily finished, voice thick with frustration. "Because you, clearly, couldn't handle one night without barging in to grace me with your presence."

"Aww, you're so welcome baby," Hanna said sweetly, as if she hadn't just detonated a bomb on their romantic evening.

"Ugh, these heels are killing me." The blonde in question sighed dramatically. She kicked off her shoes and curled her feet beneath her. "Now go on. I'm all ears."

Emily stared at her in disbelief. Alison leaned toward Emily slightly, her voice low but teasing. "Is this how your nights usually go?"

Emily sighed and gave her a look that said, You have no idea.

Hanna and Alison were getting along a little too well for Emily's liking. Sure, she'd wanted them to get along, but there was something unnerving about how quickly they clicked. This was like watching two mirror versions of the same chaotic blonde spirit team up. And honestly, it was freaking her out a bit.

It wasn't just the matching golden locks of hair and strikingly blue eyes— they were trading movie quotes before the opening credits had even started and already showed each other their pinterest boards.

When Hanna dramatically insisted that not even their "whatever-this-is vibe" could interrupt the sacred tradition of movie night, Alison agreed instantly. Neither of them even looked in Emily's direction before queuing up Mean Girls .

"This movie was obviously based on you two," Emily quipped, trying to mask her sulky tone.

A pillow smacked her in the face.

Even though she would never admit it, a part of her was glad Hanna had showed up. Because whatever was happening between her and Alison was starting to feel both electric… and dangerous.

But still, Emily had been looking forward to spending the evening alone with Alison, just the two of them, letting the night unfold slowly. But now, with Hanna stretched out between them and stealing all the attention, that promising night had turned into a chaotic barbie bonding session.

Emily sat back with a pout, only for Hanna to glance at her and smirk.

"Stop being so jealous of me for charming your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend—" Emily started.

"Sorry," Hanna cut in. "Your hot costar who you like to kiss and cook for. Seriously, in twenty-two years of knowing you, you've never made me dinner. You absolute ass."

Alison laughed, turning to Emily with a look that completely disarmed her — dimples showing, eyes warm and impossibly deep, like sunlight glimmering off a pool.

Emily forgot what she was about to say. Forgot where she was. Forgot her own name for a second.

"Would you stop drooling while I'm here?" Hanna said, yanking her back to reality.

Emily shoved her off the couch. "Ouch! Rude much?"

Before their playful bickering could escalate into an actual pillow war, Alison's phone buzzed on the table. She picked it up and checked the caller ID.

It was Spencer.

"Hey, Spence," she answered, trying to sound casual.

"Where are you?" Spencer's voice was sharp, like she'd been looking for her.

"I'm out."

"Out where? It's late, and we have a script meeting tomorrow. If you're at some club, I swear to God I'll kick your ass so hard—"

"Chill. I'm at Emily's."

Spencer paused. "Emily as in Emily Fields. As in your costar Emily?"

"Yes."

A beat.

"What are you doing there?"

"We were… going to run lines together," Alison replied, her voice slightly higher than usual.

"Oh really? And why do I have a hard time believing that?"

Alison glanced at Hanna and Emily, who were both now eyeing her with curiosity, unable to hear what was being said.

Spencer didn't wait for a reply. "Well, why haven't you gone over the script yet? This isn't just another project, Ali."

"We had a little distraction," Alison muttered.

Immediately, her cheeks flushed. Her mind went somewhere it shouldn't have — somewhere warm, somewhere dangerous.

"Alison," Spencer said knowingly, "you're playing with fire. Again."

Alison frowned, suddenly defensive. "I'm not playing anything."

Spencer scoffed lightly. "Don't bullshit me, Ali. We haven't even started filming yet and you're already blurring the lines."

Alison said nothing. She didn't know what to say.

She heard her sister's voice again. "Listen to me, whatever it is you're trying to do, don't drag her into it."

"I'm not—"

"I've seen this one before. Don't make her fall for you just so you can disappear."

Alison swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice steady. "It's not like that."

"I hope it's not," Spencer said. "But if it is — if there's even a chance you're just playing the part off-screen — then walk away now. Before you do any damage."

"I have to go," Alison said abruptly, suddenly feeling dizzy.

"Alison—"

She hung up.

By the time she walked back into the living room, her expression had changed. Emily looked up, her brows pinched in concern.

"Is everything okay?"

No. Alison thought to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to say it, not when Spencer was right. She looked in the chocolate brown orbs, wishing to hold onto the warmth she found there. Wished she could be the kind of person who didn't run at the first sign of something real.

She wished she could stay.

But she couldn't.

"I should go," she said quickly. "It's late."

Emily blinked, caught off guard. . "Wait, what? Why? We were—"

"I just need some air. I'll see you tomorrow."

And before anyone could stop her, Alison was out the door, her emotions chasing close behind.

long time no see. i hope you guys like this one and i promise i will try to update more often. i love you all and wish you a great rest of the week. take care!

ps. i also wanted to thank you all for the support. seeing that one of my favorite authors since i've been reading fanfics (White Tigresss)! has read my story felt so incredible! you probably already know them but if you don't go check them out! also everyone who guessed the intruder was Hanna, great job :)