Endgame

You Have No Idea How Much I Missed You

Emily looks at me in awe and says, "Is it really you?" I can't believe I ever stayed away from her so long. In that moment, nothing else mattered more than Emily Fields. I can't contain my emotions as tears fill my eyes, "I missed you so much." Within seconds, Emily closes the gap between us and wraps her arms around me. The past two years seem to melt away. As we pull apart, I look into her eyes and say, "You have no idea how hard it has been to stay away." With that, I see her walls fall away as she says "Then don't anymore. Let me help you." She has no idea the effect she has on me. She has no idea that I would do anything she says. The old Ali is fighting with who I really am as I debate if I want to drop my walls and finally let her in. I can see it in her eyes that she still cares for me, but I need the confirmation if I am going to finally tell her how I feel. I take a deep breath and say "You never stopped caring about me, did you? Even after everything I put you through?" I see a flash of the old Emily as she looks down at our hands, that somehow intertwined themselves like it was the most natural thing in the world. I can feel her palms sweating and her pulse racing and that is all the confirmation I need.

As I stand there, holding the hand of the only person I have ever really loved, I look down at our hands and take a deep breath. This is it, I am about to tell Emily Fields that I am in love with her. As I look up, I look into the brown eyes that I could recognize anywhere, I open my mouth and say, "Emily, there was a reason that I asked you here tonight. Yes, I wanted to finally tell you that I'm alive and that I want to come home but there's more than that. I need you to understand that what I'm about to tell you is something that I have been holding on to for years but I'm ready to finally let it go. All I ask is that you understand that I am being genuine and for you to really hear me, without interruption." She looks nervous but she nods her head in agreement. Here goes nothing..." Emily, ever since I met you, I knew I could count on you. You've always fiercely protected me and made me feel special. I know that in the past, I played with your feelings. I knew that you had feelings for me and I exploited them to my advantage. I was a terrible person. But, the reason that I was so terrible was because you scared me. You scared me because every time I looked into your eyes, my heart beat faster. When we would hug, I never wanted to let you go. Whenever I felt like you were getting close to someone else, I felt a pang of jealously. I was young and never really understood why, but now I know the reason. I always made you feel like your feelings for me were one sided. Emily, it may have taken me leaving and watching you from afar to finally realize that my feelings for you were much deeper than that of a best friend. What I'm trying to say is, Em, I am in love with you. I've always been in love with you."

Emily's POV

"Em, I am in love with you. I've always been in love with you."

Did I hear her right? Did Alison just tell me she's in love with me? She stands there with her ocean blue eyes staring into mine, our hands are intertwined, and I am speechless. I have been waiting to hear those words from her for as long as I can remember. She pulls my attention back to her, "Em? Now, would be the time to say something." What do I say? My reaction is to immediately go back to wondering if she is telling me the truth or if she is reverting back to her old ways. Before she went missing, she made playing with my emotions an art. She knew exactly how to manipulate me but keep me coming back for more because, I was irrevocably in love with her. There was nothing that I wouldn't have done for her. But, I'm not the same Emily. I guess, in a way, I have Alison to thank for that. I finally muster up the courage to speak, "Alison, you have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say those words. I want to believe you, I do. But, how do I know you aren't playing with me? How can I trust you?" Immediately, I regret questioning her. I can see the hurt in her eyes and tears begin to form as she untangles our hands. "Emily, I know that I hurt you in the past. I deserve for you to doubt me, I get that. But, please, believe me when I say that no one makes me feel the way you do. I didn't understand it before, but I do now. I risked everything for you, I saved your life, twice. I couldn't bare being away from you or to let anyone hurt you. I watched you with Maya and Paige and I couldn't help but want it to be me you were holding hands with and kissing on street corners. It hit me all it once that you were the one I had been waiting for. Emily..." I cut her off in the only way I knew how to make her understand that I believe her. I tug her back towards me and connect our lips.The kiss is everything that I could have wanted it to be. This isn't the sweet and innocent kiss like we shared in the library, this is slow and full of passion.

Alison's POV

"Emily..."

But, I never get a chance to finish my sentence. All at once I am being tugged towards Emily as she connects our lips. This kiss is so different than the one we shared two years ago. She's confident and in control of the situation which I am not used to but I gladly let her take the lead. My arms find themselves wrapping around her neck as her hands find their way to my hips. My head is spinning, my heart is pounding, and it feels as though fireworks are erupting right before my eyes. Our lips feel as though they were made for each other with the way they move in sync. Emily Fields is the missing piece to my puzzle. I can feel Emily growing more and more confident as the seconds pass by. I begin to feel her nails digging into my sides as she attempts to hold herself back and without even realizing it, a moan escapes my lips. That's all the permission she needed to run her tongue across my bottom lip, I gladly deepen the kiss. Before too long, we pull apart, both gasping for air. She presses her forehead to mine, never letting her hold on my hips lessen and all at once my world stops as the sweetest words are spoken, "Alison, I love you too. I never stopped."

Emily's POV

As I take a much needed breath, I touch my forehead to hers. My heart is pounding, but in that moment I know that I never want to let her go again. As I'm holding my first love in my arms, I open my mouth and say the words I've been wanting to say for the past two years, "Alison, I love you too. I've never stopped."