It was 10:00 AM when Alison exited her room and went down the stairs. She'd barely gotten a few hours of sleep, but surprisingly, she wasn't tired at all.
"Where are you going?" Jason asked from his seat at the kitchen island. Alison turned to him in surprise, not expecting the question. Jason was never one to ask her where she was headed or what were her plans. Though, she assumed, Jason had been a relatively good brother in the past few days, and had been quite supportive of her relationship with Emily. Alison actually found herself to be proud of her brother for coming around like that. It seemed that these days, he was laying off the alcohol and the drugs, and she hoped this period could last.
"Just to Emily's house," she answered nonchalantly. She approached him, grabbing an apple from the bowl on the counter and after washing it, she took a large bite. Jason snorted as he watched his little sister spit the chewed fruit and throw the apple in the trashcan. "Ugh, this family has the worst apples!" Alison spluttered out the words in a disgusted manner, making Jason cackle even harder.
"Ali, these apples aren't ready yet. That's why they're so sour," Jason explained to the dramatic girl. Alison shrugged in response and filled a glass with water, cleansing her mouth of all the leftover sourness from the apple.
She then went to the door, and indulged in the fact that, for once, she felt comfortable enough with her brother to naturally say goodbye to him. That had never happened before. "See you later, Jas," she unconsciously said, her eyes widening a bit at herself. 'Jas' had been Alison's nickname for her older brother when they were young, before they'd started acting obnoxiously towards each other.
It brought back a wave of nostalgia for Jason, who hesitated for a second before calling out, "Bye, Al." In a similar way, 'Al' was the nickname his younger self had given to the blonde.
Alison couldn't stop the small smile that spread on her lips as she walked out of their house's front door.
She walked over to Emily's house and went up the stairs to the brunette's room. "Hey, babe, your door was open-" Ali stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Emily and the state she was in. The brunette was clutching her phone tightly in her hand, heavy tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Emily?" Alison questioned concernedly as she approached the brunette hastily. She sat down next to her on the bed and wrapped her arms tightly around the girl. Emily sobbed into her shoulder and Alison felt her heart crack at the sight of her mermaid crying. "Em, what's wrong?" the blonde asked quietly.
Emily sniffled a few times before laying her chin on the girl's shoulder and taking a deep breath. "My-my dad... H-he," Emily stammered and continued crying.
Alison had no choice but assume the worst. Was he hurt? Did he... die? Tears almost rushed to the blonde's eyes in horror of her thoughts as she ran her fingers through Emily's soft, dark hair.
"H-He's being re-stationed here, to Pennsylvania. He's coming home, Ali. For good," Emily suddenly said, the tone of her voice lifting in happiness.
Alison felt a huge wave of relief come crashing down as a direct result of Emily's words, and as she released a breath she didn't know she was holding, she parted away from Emily and hit her on the arm.
"Ow! What was that for, Ali?" Emily asked miserably as she rubbed her arm and wiped away her own happy tears.
"You scared me to death, Em! I thought something really bad had happened!" Alison exclaimed in outrage and stood up, covering her face in her hands in frustration. Emily's smile faded quickly as she hesitantly walked up to her girlfriend. She placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder and pulled her closer.
"I'm sorry, Ali. I guess I was just too overwhelmed to say anything when you first asked me, I didn't mean to let you think all these horrible scenarios," Emily mumbled apologetically as her hand shifted to softly run through Alison's delicate, golden hair.
Alison dropped her hands weakly and looked into Emily's warm, inviting eyes. She smiled faintly as she wrapped her arms around Emily's waist and inched her closer to her.
She shook her head lightly, "Damn you, Em. I can't stay mad at you."
Emily gave her a humble smile before moving some blonde locks from her girlfriend's heart-shaped face. She rubbed her thumb over Alison's cheekbone and leaned in, capturing the blonde's lips with hers. Alison kept the kiss gentle and innocent as she absorbed every inch of Emily's attention, the smell of the brunette's intoxicating shampoo invading her nose.
Alison eventually parted from Emily, moving to hug her closely. "That's great news, Em. When did you find out about it?" she asked softly.
"Right now. I was just on the phone with my dad, he's already packing," Emily answered enthusiastically.
"We should celebrate, you know," Alison suggested.
"Yeah, you want to call the girls?" Emily asked.
"Actually... I have something else in mind," Alison raised a suggestive eyebrow. Emily blushed fiercely and parted from the hug, mildly fiddling with her hands.
"What did you-" Emily started.
"It's a surprise. Be ready at 19:00 tonight." Alison quickly pecked Emily on the lips and exited the room eagerly. She had a lot of planning to do.
XXXXX
DIIIIING
The sound of the Fields doorbell cut loudly through the silence in the house and Emily grimaced at the high-pitched noise.
'Somebody should seriously get that freaking doorbell fixed,' she grumbled to herself as she rose up from her bed to open the door.
Neither one of her parents were home since Pam had left earlier that day for Texas for a couple of days in order to help Wayne pack for his arrival home. Though Emily's aunt, Kerry, was supposed to check up on her every now and then - since Pam didn't trust her 15-year-old daughter to stay at home all by herself - Emily had advised her to not come by that particular day since she would be out presumably late with Alison.
Emily flew down the stairs in her dark skinny jeans and a leather jacket she'd borrowed from Hanna, a simple white shirt underneath it. Her silky hair was laid in voluminous light-curls on her shoulders and a natural tone of makeup was resting on her face. She opened the door to find a grinning Alison.
"Hi, beautiful," Alison greeted.
Emily stood absolutely stunned at the doorway, taking in the girl in front of her. The blonde was wearing a jean-jacket on top of a delicate white t-shirt along with a black leather skirt. It was almost like they had matched their attires telepathically.
Alison giggled as she inched closer to Emily, the brunette not daring to move from her position. "What are you staring at, Em?" she asked in a teasing tone. Emily gulped loudly and allowed her eyes to roam all over the blonde's body. Alison was absolutely breathtaking.
"I-I, n-nothing," Emily struggled while her eyes darted all over her girlfriend's body in the tight-fitting outfit. She felt like an idiot.
Alison smirked and wrapped her arms around Emily's neck, making the girl melt into her touch. "You ready, mermaid?" she asked softly. Emily nodded, not trusting her voice. Alison smiled tenderly and parted from Emily, taking a hold of her hand and pulling her out the door.
Emily locked the door behind her and turned to Alison. "You look... amazing," Emily finally breathed out, trying to calm her racing heart as the two started walking towards their secret destination.
"You know, I'll never get tired of hearing you say that," Alison smiled playfully. "And look who's talking, Em," she said and winked at Emily, turning the brunette's legs into jelly. "You're stunning," she let out in honesty. "Always have been," she added in hushed tone, which Emily still heard, and her cheeks tinted with red at the compliment.
They were slowly getting farther away from their neighborhood, and Emily was starting to get suspicious.
"Ali, where are you taking me?" the brunette questioned skeptically.
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Alison pointed out smugly. They were approaching the woods and Emily could hear her heart racing in her ears. She didn't like the idea of being in the woods alone at night, and they were just two young girls - they were pretty helpless overall.
"Ali... I, uh... are you sure this is a good idea?" Emily pleaded as she looked around her nervously, finding nothing but darkness and trees.
Alison stopped in her tracks, tenderly tugging Emily towards her. "Em, do you trust me?" she asked softly.
"Of course I do," Emily answered without a bit of hesitation.
"Then come with me, and don't ask questions. It'll be worth it, I promise," Alison leaned in and gave Emily a lingering kiss on the cheek. The swimmer finally nodded, prompting her to continue walking, making the blonde grin and lead her towards her surprise.
They walked in the dark woods for a while, Alison illuminating the darkness with the flashlight on her phone. Subsequently, they reached what seemed like a dead end, with absolutely nothing around them but trees and bushes.
"Ali, what are we going to do? I can't believe we got lost in these woods!" Emily panicked. She glanced at Alison, who was already looking at her with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk.
"Relax, Killer, this is the right way," Alison assured her. Emily gave her an odd look. "It's a shortcut," the blonde explained, not elaborating further. She pulled the brunette's hand in the direction of a few trees not too far from them. When they were close enough, Alison reached out and pulled away a few branches, revealing the view behind the line of trees. Emily's jaw all but dropped as a field of mesmerizing purple flowers came into their sight. In the middle of the field, she could clearly make out a red and white checkered picnic blanket, with a brown basket on top of it.
"Do you like it?" Alison asked hopefully, examining the brunette's reaction carefully.
"Do I like it? Ali, I... I love it, this is incredible," Emily answered in awe.
Alison smiled at her response and grabbed Emily's hand, leading her into the colorful field. As they wandered through the field, surrounded by an endless amount of delicate violet flowers, Emily tried to take it all in. The view, the atmosphere, the amazing smell - and in regards to that one, she wasn't talking about the field, she was referring to the blonde beauty next to her. They reached the blanket and took a seat next to each other on top of it. As Alison turned on the few electric lanterns she had stored next to the blanket ahead of time so they could see better, Emily tilted her head to gaze up at the stars, feeling extremely lucky and blessed for everything she had at that moment.
"How did you find this place?" Emily asked curiously, turning to Alison.
"I used to come here with my family for picnics. Three times a year, until I was twelve. I know this forest like the back of my hand." Alison admitted.
"Wow," Emily stated in amazement. "Why did you stop at twelve?"
"Everyone just got busy, I guess," Alison shrugged, a woeful undertone to her words.
Emily nodded in understanding and then looked deeply into Alison's eyes. "Thank you," she said simply but genuinely.
"For what?" Alison asked, her eyebrow dipping slightly.
"Taking me here. This is the most thoughtful thing anyone's ever done for me," Emily smiled and laced her fingers with Alison's.
"You deserve the world, Em. I love you," Alison brought their intertwined hands up to her mouth and kissed Emily's knuckles softly.
Emily smiled at her lovingly. The atmosphere surrounding them was so romantic and the scenery nearly blew the brunette's mind away, she was so glad she got to see this side of Alison, got to witness the blonde's best traits come to light, and it was all for her.
"I love you more, Ali."
XXXXX
After they were finished their meal, which was essentially takeout Alison had packed in cute containers, they lay down on the blanket, gazing at the stars in comfortable silence.
"Em?" Alison broke the silence somewhat shyly.
"Yes, Ali?" Emily turned her head to look at Alison as the blonde did the same, causing their faces to be remarkably close.
"I just... I wanted to apologize," Alison admitted as she sat up, the conversation taking a turn to a serious direction. Emily sat up as well and studied Alison, with confused yet kind eyes. "I don't even know how to say this other than... I've been such a bitch all these years. To you, to the girls, to everyone. But hurting you, Em..." Emily swore she could hear Alison's voice cracking. "Hurting you is the thing I regret the most in this world. I'd never meant to be so cold to you when you were nothing but genuine."
Alison took a shattered breath as her eyes glistened, "I made you think that having feelings for me was wrong, and I teased you about it and made you uncomfortable. But really, all I was doing was deflecting my own feeling because I didn't like what it said about me. For the longest time, I thought that if I just push you away and alienate you then these feelings I have for you would just disappear with time and all would be back to 'normal', whatever that is. I was just trying to hide the fact that... ever since I first met you, I've fallen hard for you. Maybe I didn't know it at the time, but I sure as hell do now. And I promise you, Emily, that from now on, I won't hide in that shadow and I won't let it cloud over me anymore. I'm going to try to be a better person. For you, and for me. For us."
Emily was simply speechless after hearing Alison's lengthy and heartfelt apology. The fact that the blonde used to play with her feelings was something that was subconsciously bothering her at the back of her mind since the beginning of their involvement, telling her that the blonde was merely toying with her.
But with how Alison had been acting ever since they'd confessed their love for each other, she wasn't worried about that anymore. She just knew Alison loved her and was sorry for all she had done to her. She could feel it in the way Alison touched her, softly, like she was made out of glass. Or in the way Alison kissed her, sensually and intimately, like no one else in the world existed. And now that the girl actually said it to her face, that she was sorry and that she would try to be a better person, it made her lose any remaining shred of that bothersome sensation in the back of her mind that told her Alison could be playing her, because she knew the blonde was being genuine. From that moment, she swore to herself she would do anything and everything to be the love of Alison's life, for as long as she could.
"I forgive you, Ali. And I would do everything all over again, if I knew it would end up like this."
Alison studied Emily's honest expression for a few passing moments, her heart leaping in her chest. She wasted no time in grabbing Emily by the back of her neck, bringing their lips together passionately. Butterflies erupted in her stomach, and to her, it felt like their first kiss all over again. Emily lay back on the blanket, bringing Alison on top of her, never breaking contact.
XXXXX
The door to Emily's room swung open, hitting the wall unapologetically, both girls not even bothering to break apart to turn on the lights. What started out as a plan to spend the night at Emily's house to sleep after their date, turned into something completely different, due to the different intentions Alison had in mind.
Alison lightly pushed Emily onto the bed, making the girl gasp in surprise. The blonde straddled her lap and her lips moved to attack Emily's neck hungrily. Emily moaned at the contact, and her hands drowned in Alison's blonde hair. The blonde pushed Emily's clothes off her body eagerly, and the brunette did the same for Alison.
And the rest of that magical night, registered in their minds forever.
XXXXX
The sun cast its light, making the hot rays of warmth slip through Emily's window. Alison had been awake for several minutes now, admiring the way Emily's strong arm was wrapped protectively around her waist when they were sleeping. She turned to the brunette, nudging Emily's nose with hers lightly, making the brunette smile faintly as she rose from her slumber. "Stop, Ali, that tickles," Emily giggled, scrunching her nose cutely.
Alison smiled and kissed her cheek. "Come on, we have to get up. We have that meeting with Harris and the others to plan the trip to Paris," the blonde reminded her, trailing her finger lazily on Emily's arm.
"But I don't want to go. I want to stay in bed with you," Emily groaned and pouted before burying her face in the blonde's neck, which Alison found to be adorable.
"If we won't go, we won't get to go to Paris, sweetie. We have an endless amount of mornings to wake up like this, okay?" Alison assured her.
Emily smiled slowly at her, before nodding softly and getting up. She lifted the covers and started making her way towards her closet, when she heard a wolf-whistling sound.
"Looking good, Fields," Alison said lowly, making Emily turn to her, only to have the blonde wink at her and scan her entire body appreciatively. Emily looked down, only then realizing she was completely naked. She caught Alison biting her lip saucily, and blushed as she shifted to hide herself behind her closet door. Alison laughed lovingly at Emily's shyness.
Emily peeked her head out of the closet to catch Alison laughing. She smiled at her sheepishly, shaking her head and then making a move to grab clothes. She found a shirt she wanted to wear on the top shelf and rose on her toes, stretching her hand out to grab it. She suddenly flinched in pain when she moved her arms and legs. She hissed, making Alison walk towards her concernedly.
"What's wrong?" Alison asked. Emily's thoughts of pain were all but forgotten as she scanned Alison's fully naked body in all its glory, illuminated by the natural light flooding into the room. Alison looked like someone had spent hours on top of hours, making her look like a red carpet celebrity, and definitely not like she just woke up.
"N-Nothing," Emily answered quickly, ignoring the ache of her muscles, specifically, she noticed, her wrist. She had a pretty good idea how that came to be and the naughty thought lingered guiltily in her mind as she stared at her girlfriend's nude physique.
"Baby, are you sore?" Alison guessed with a small, knowing smirk. Emily's cheeks burned at that, giving the blonde her answer. She had only been this sore once after a particularly grueling swim practice, only this time, it felt like a good kind of sore. Emily didn't really know how to explain it.
"So am I," Alison continued. "You know what that means?" Emily looked up at her smirking girlfriend, who looked like she was enjoying this a little too much. Alison inched closer, pulling Emily towards her, their naked bodies flushing together deliciously, making Emily gasp. "What it means, Em, is that you were so good last night, that my body physically aches in reaction," Alison purred in Emily's ear, and then bit her earlobe, making the brunette shudder involuntarily.
Emily gulped as she looked into Alison's shiny blue orbs. She didn't even notice that the blonde had already begun walking away to the bathroom.
"Now go get dressed, we have a trip to plan."