Crazier ➳ Emison (COMPLETED)

7 - The Mermaid

"I don't want to go to the pool, Em. I'm scared. I-I'm scared Ali will say something about my weight because I won't wear a bikini, okay?" Hanna finally admitted as she wiped away the tears.

Emily gulped as she thought back to all the times when Alison had nagged Hanna about her weight. The brunette just wished Hanna could've known how truly beautiful she was, no matter her shape or size.

"Han, she won't. Please come with us to the pool, it'll be fun," Emily imported as she looked into Hanna's bright blue eyes, which were clouded with tears. "Look, we're your best friends, we don't care if you're wearing a stupid bikini or not, as long as you're with us, because our group isn't complete without you. And I'll be disappointed if you're not there. Don't worry about what Ali or any other person says or how they look at you. You're beautiful," she comforted and grabbed the blonde's hand, leading her to the sink. She opened the water tap and let Hanna wash her face. The bubbly blonde looked at herself in the mirror, allowing Emily to dry off the water from her face with a towel as she slowly restored to herself.

"Thanks, Em." Hanna said gratefully with a barely-there smile as Emily finished, "I'm glad I opened the door." She gave the brunette a quick hug before heading back to the living room, leaving Emily alone with her thoughts.

XXXXX

The girls stood outside the country club and waited for Mrs. Hastings to let them in, since appearently, you couldn't get inside the club on vacations unless you were over 18 or with an adult. They were lucky Mrs. Hastings was working from home that day.

They started talking amongst themselves while they waited for Spencer's mom, but Aria began coughing intently when she recognized a familiar male figure making their way towards them.

"Girls," he greeted quite sheepishly while approaching them. He stopped to take a good look at the girls in front of him. They were wearing semi-minimal clothes over their bathing suits but the strips were still noticeable, a detail that made a lot of people, especially horny boys, do a double-take at them.

"Ben," Emily addressed awkwardly. She observed him, almost gasping in shock when her eyes landed on his face. There it was, in the bright light of day; surrounding his left eye was a big stain of purple, red and black mixed together. She had given him a black eye the previous night.

"What are you doing here? What the hell do you want now?" Alison asked dryly, wasting no time with this imbecile.

"Relax, I came here with my family. I saw you guys and... I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he said. Emily and Alison exchanged looks and he took that as a sign to continue. "I know what I said yesterday was wrong, okay? I was drunk and stupid. I won't tell anyone about the two of you."

Alison was about to harshly tell him that she didn't care what he did, but when she saw Emily visibly relax at Ben's reassurance, she kept her mouth shut.

She took another look at her girlfriend as she thought to herself that perhaps, Emily truly didn't want to reveal their relationship yet. They would essentially have to keep it on the down-low.

"Thanks, Ben," Emily uttered and he nodded in return, his eyes lingering on her for a few seconds too long, which made the blonde glare at him. After a few instants of uncomfortable silence, Ben mumbled a goodbye and left.

Alison could only think to herself that she'd waited her whole life for someone like Emily to love her, she'd waited for the feeling that she now knew only Emily could give her, and if the girl wanted to wait before revealing their relationship, then she'll wait. Because it was absolutely worth it for her.

Eventually, she felt Emily's warm hand resting lightly on her arm.

"Ali? Are you okay?" Emily asked concernedly. Alison smiled lightly to herself and looked at her caring girlfriend.