Pretty Little Liars: The Beginning {Episodes 1-10} (REVISED)

11. Emily 🏊‍♀️

Emily and Aria sat on the front porch swing of the Montgomery house later that night. Emily had come over straight after dinner with her mom. She was excited to have Aria back in Rosewood; it could be the start of them rekindling their once insanely close friendship. Aria and Emily had been super close before Ali disappeared, and she wished they could've kept that connection. That's what she was here to do.

Emily was also kind of scared. Someone had known about her one kiss with Alison and Maya, and she wasn't ready for that information to come out. Nothing about it made any sense, unless Ali was back. That didn't seem at all likely to Emily though. Alison had been gone for a year, and most people in Rosewood believed she was dead. Emily had done everything she could to keep herself from believing that that could be true, but it seemed to be the only explanation to where she had gone. That was another reason she had come to Aria's today. She wanted to talk about it with somebody who probably understood.

Aria had seemed a little bit surprised when Emily knocked on the front door. She hadn't expected Emily to come visit. Emily supposed she would've reacted the same way if the roles were reversed. It had been a long time since they had hung out one on one, so the visit had come as a bit of a shock to both of them. "I'm sorry for just stopping by," Emily said as a breeze washed over them.

"No, any time, Em," Aria said, smiling. "Come on, you know that."

Emily bit her lip. She was extremely nervous to tell Aria what was going on, but there really was no good way to do it. She would just have to come right out and say it. "Somebody left a note in my locker," she said after a deep breath.

Aria's eyes widened. She looked both relieved and nervous. "From A?" she gasped.

"You too?"

"Do you really think it's her?" Aria asked. "Is it possible?"

Emily shook her head. "Only Alison could've known," she said.

Aria's eyebrows knitted together. "Known what?" she asked. Emily hesitated. She still wasn't ready. She'd known Aria forever, but it still didn't feel right to Emily to tell her yet. After all, she wasn't even entirely sure what it was she was telling Aria. Emily had only ever kissed Ali the one time, but it didn't mean anything. It was just a kiss, nothing more and nothing less. But she still didn't want Aria to get the wrong idea. "It was—"

"Personal?"

Emily nodded. It was beyond personal, and she didn't want it getting out regardless of if it was true or not. "I really believed she was dead," she admitted.

"Yeah. We all did," Aria said.

"Could she really be back?" Emily asked.

The thought of Alison coming back was a happy thought. Their whole group would finally be together again for the first time since freshman year. They'd fall right back into the normal pattern that they'd always had. There would be questions, a lot of them, but the most important thing would be that Alison had returned unharmed from wherever it was she had been. The idea was sketchy though. She had been gone for a long time, and the idea of her being back had seemed like a fantasy for so long. The messages seemed to be proof of her return though.

"I think she's playing with us," Aria said.

"Why would she do that?"

"It's Alison that we're talking about here," Aria said. "I mean, wasn't that her favourite sport?"

She was right, of course. Alison did like to play games with the girls, but this was taking it a bit far, even for her. Alison seemed to know all of the girls secrets and consistently held them over their heads, at least she did with Emily. She would always tell just enough to let the other girls know that she had knowledge that none of them did. It really was her favourite sport.

"Should we tell someone?" Emily asked.

Aria shook her head. "I don't know about you, but I can't," she said.

Emily was relieved too. She didn't think she'd be able to handle anyone finding out about the near-kiss from earlier that week, especially not her parents. Her mother wouldn't have handled it well at all, and that was Emily's biggest concern. There was no reason to throw her family into chaos over nothing.

"I'm glad you're back," Emily said.

Aria smiled. Emily could tell her mind was still turning everything that had happened over in her head. It couldn't be easy having to deal with all of the Alison drama after being in Europe for a whole year. Aria seemed to have become a different person since she had been away, more confident. Emily supposed she could've said the same for herself. After all, she had become a pretty good swimmer. "It's funny," Aria said. "Even though I grew up here, I feel like a total outsider."

Emily nodded. "Me too."

Emily understood completely. She had never felt at home in Rosewood, especially not lately. It was good to know that someone else felt the same way. She smiled at Aria and sat with her for a little while longer on the porch swing. She was glad that their friendship was starting to grow again. It had been a long time since Emily had felt that she had someone she could turn to.