A/n: for this chapter, I feel like I have to point out in advance that I do not condone/encourage the usage of guns in the private space (house). In my opinion, a shooting range is one thing, but keeping a gun in your desk is risking lives. Anyway, just wanted to point that out so nobody gets the wrong idea from this chapter. Now, onto the chapter:
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In the morning, the five girls dispersed to go to their own homes after Spencer gave them her infamous hangover cure. It worked like magic every single time, and when Emily got home, she did still feel the effects of the alcohol, but not nearly as much. She concluded that a good nap would freshen her up enough. When she woke up in the late afternoon, she strutted back downstairs and was met with the sight of her father. The two decided to take a walk in the early night breeze while Pam rested at home. They talked about school, and Emily's swimming, then switched to Wayne's time in the army. He told her stories from his base, and how everybody already knew Emily from the tales he told them about his little girl. Emily listened intently throughout the whole thing, and smiled when Wayne told her that he thought about her and her mother every second he was away.
When she was preparing for sleep later on, invested in the comfort of the large cotton t-shirt and breezy shorts hugging her body, she picked up her phone to dial Alison, which turned into a relatively long conversation. Sometimes, they didn't even call each other with a prior intention or purpose, but rather just to hear each other's voices, and Emily loved that about them.
Before going to sleep, she texted Alison the timing plans for tomorrow, when they would be heading over to the shooting range.
Her mom had been against the idea of her going alone with Alison to the shooting range and had brought it up in the dinner table the previous night, yet her father had convinced her that perhaps it was a good plan, throwing around valid points about how Emily was familiar with the place from her many visits there with him, and how the girl was always very mature when to came to firearms, ever since the very beginning. She knew their effects and how to use them. In the end, Pam had hesitantly agreed.
Emily woke up early the next morning, showering quickly and getting ready, then excitedly bounding downstairs for breakfast. Wayne had offered to drive them since the place was out of town, but Emily opted for taking her car because she wanted private time with Alison, and as much as she loved her father for how supportive he was, she couldn't imagine kissing the blonde in front him without getting embarrassed or shy.
Half an hour later, she opened the door to a gorgeous blonde. "Hey, Ali," she beamed at her.
"Em," Alison acknowledged with a mirrored smile, stepping into the threshold and planting a kiss on the brunette's warm lips.
Emily's eyes scanned the blonde's body freely, then she let out a small giggle. "Wow, Ali, you're a little overdressed for a shooting range," she chuckled, letting her hand rest gently on Alison's hip.
Alison tilted her head, looking down at her outfit. She hadn't thought about that. She considered going to her house to change her heels and skirt, "Should I change it?"
Emily quickly shook her head, not wanting the girl in any other clothes than the ones she had on, which accentuated her body very nicely, "No! No, this-this is fine. This is great. It's-"
"Great?" Alison finished for her with a knowing smirk.
Emily let out a breath while chuckling, shaking her head lightly. She turned around then, heading to the kitchen to say goodbye to her father before they left. Pam was now at the kitchen also, sitting on one of the barstools around the island and eating a bowl of oatmeal in her pajamas. Alison trailed behind her, smiling at the familiar sight of her girlfriend's parents. She didn't know where her own parents were, only Jason was home when she'd woken up, but she knew they definitely weren't eating at the kitchen in their robes while soft music played in the background. That kind of thing only happened in the Fields' house.
As Alison watched Emily gather her things while Wayne cooked what seemed to be French toast, it took her a few moments to realize the song playing from the small radio was Stand By Me, and she thought it was such a Fields song. She couldn't really explain why.
Finally, Emily was standing next to her again. "Mom, dad, we're leaving," the brunette announced as she began walking to the front door.
Pam lifted her eyes still somewhat sleepily, "Oh, Alison, honey, I didn't notice you were here. Since when are you so quiet?"
Alison chuckled humorously as the two of them stopped in place.
"Do you want to eat something?" Pam started, her oatmeal all but forgotten by her side. "I made a cake for Emmy just yesterday, I can-"
Alison cut her off politely, "It's okay, really. I ate at home just before I came here. Thank you, though, Mrs. Fields."
"I think after all this time you have to get used to calling me Pam, sweetie." the woman smiled warmly at the blonde, who echoed the grin right back.
"Okay, Pam." she tested the way the name came out of her lips, and it sounded so natural and unforced, as if the woman had known her from the day she was born, that she couldn't help but feel a little more encouraged as she turned to Emily's father. "Wayne," she acknowledged when he met her eye, and they both broke into equal grins. She noticed Emily smiling sweetly at the corner of her eye.
"Goodbye, sweethearts," Pam approached with a smile. She hugged them both as a parting gesture. Alison noticed how Pam was hugging her just as long as she hugged Emily, and it made her feel warm inside. Like the woman saw them as equals in her eyes. Like Pam saw Alison as her own daughter.
Wayne hugged them more briefly, but still so full of his fatherly love, that Alison couldn't help but smile. Just before they exited the house, Pam mentioned that they all needed to do something together, as in dinner or anything else that they would like. Alison enthusiastically agreed, and Emily smiled widely at her excitement.
They exited the house and walked over to Emily's car, taking their places inside. The ride wasn't as long as Alison had expected it to be, but on the other hand, maybe with the brunette and her talking - and not to mention, flirting - back and forth, time just flew by extremely fast.
Once they got there, they stepped into the red-brick building. It had many windows but not a lot of floors. They walked past a security guard who did a quick scan of their bodies and bags, then allowed them to continue. They reached a reception-like area, where a few people behind the counter were either talking to a customer or staring at the computer.
Emily walked closer, and smiled once a suave, white-haired man behind the counter in a blue polo shirt lifted his eyes to hers. He beamed at the sight of her. "Emily Fields, in the flesh!" he laughed happily, then walked around the counter, hugging Emily like some old friend. "It sure is good to see you!"
"Thanks, Richard," Emily pulled away, beaming, then gestured to Alison, "This is my girlfriend, Alison."
Alison was uncharacteristically tentative when she approached them, shooting a polite smile at the man, who obviously loved Emily very much.
His eyes turned to her, and his smile didn't falter one bit. "Of course, Alison!" He shook her hand, "I've heard so much about you. Emily's been coming here with her father since she was a little child. Back when she was in eighth grade, she used to tell me so much about her new friend, Alison, and how nice and beautiful she was-"
"Ric," Emily whined, her cheeks turning hot. Alison smiled to herself, pleased as she laced her fingers with Emily's. The brunette smiled shyly back at her, then turned back to Richard who only seemed amused by her behavior. "We came here to-"
This time it was Richard who interrupted her words, "Yes, I'm aware, your father called me in the morning."
"Oh," was all Emily said in return. She was clearly surprised. She had thought she was going to have to beg for Richard to let her and Alison hold a gun, not to mention shoot in the range.
"If Wayne thinks you're old enough to handle this closed practice for you and Alison, then of course you can," Richard said warmly. "After all, we have instructors here on the spot in case you need any help, and I know you're definitely mature enough," he patted her on the shoulder supportively.
Emily thanked him kindly again, and he waved it off with a deep smile. He told them their ammunition and gun will be waiting inside, at the closed room with targets for them to shoot, like Emily had assumed from the many times she'd visited before. Then he brought them each a set of big, black headphones to block out the noise of the gun, and safety glasses. They both gathered their hair in a ponytail and put on the required equipment.
Before they walked away, Richard called out, "Emily, make sure your father is still going with me fishing next weekend!" Emily gave him a thumbs up and a smile in response.
A different man showed them to a door and they went inside. When Emily shut the door behind them, Alison looked around in wonder. This was exactly like what she'd seen in the movies. There was a counter that a gun was placed on along with certain cartridges next to it. It reminded her of the time she was little and her father and her would watch action movies on Saturday mornings, back when he was home for more than four hours a week.
Emily watched as Alison stared at the target, seemingly invested in her thoughts. She tentatively walked over to her, "Ali?"
Alison turned to her, still not speaking. The look on her face seemed distant, Emily quickly noted.
"Are you okay?" Emily inquired softly.
Alison nodded in response, but made no move to walk to where Emily was standing a second ago. Upon seeing her girlfriend's glasses-covered concerned eyes, Alison shook all bad thoughts about her father and her mother's distance out of her head. She sauntered to the shooting station, then turned to Emily for directions. She secretly loved having to have Emily give her instructions, and she cheekily wondered if Emily would be willing to do that in different activities other than shooting.
"Want me to do it first?" Emily's distressed face dissolved as she saw the color return to Alison's face. She made a mental note to ask the blonde about what that was just now.
"Sure," Alison agreed, her spirits lifting in excitement.
Emily walked to the station herself as Alison got a bit out of the way, staying back to watch. The brunette loaded the gun smoothly, then aimed for the target, closing one eye and shooting, as if she had done it a million times before. She was proud of herself when she saw that she had hit pretty close to the bullseye on her very first shot. Maybe it only happened because she was trying to subtly show off for Alison, but she wasn't sure.
She placed the gun down and turned to see Alison watching in awe. "You go to the woods to think?" the brunette started with smile, "well, this is where I go."
Alison was so thrilled Emily had taken her there. She had taken her to one of her most sacred places, a place she used to go in order to clear her mind, to be completely herself. And she took Alison there. That meant so much to the blonde, and she could feel herself swooning. "Really?"
Emily shrugged, "Yeah. Plus, Richard gives great advice. He's known me for years."
Alison had never thought a shooting range could be anybody's thinking spot, and she sure as hell didn't think Emily was the kind of person to get all of their aggression out when she was mad or nervous. "I just never thought you were the type to-"
"My dad taught me when I was younger. Part of the duty of being the daughter of a soldier, I guess. In a way, it calms me to be in control of something whenever I'm feeling neurotic. I don't like the idea of having a gun lying around in the house, but... When it's in a secure, guarded place like this and you know people are supervising you, then it can be actually kind of... freeing." Emily managed sheepishly. Alison thought it made a lot of sense. "So," the brunette looked down at the gun again, "ready to start?"
"So ready."
Alison got settled at the station, her hands fidgeting by her side. She couldn't believe she was about to fire a gun. Emily might've made it look like nothing because she had done it so many times before, but this was a big deal to Alison. She loved the feeling of power, but this was a whole new level of it. It was almost mesmerizing.
She picked up the gun slowly, and Emily got beside her to guide her on loading it. Then, Alison tried to hold it up, only finding that it was surprisingly heavy. How did Emily do this so nonchalantly?
"I think you need to show me how this works," Alison commented, turning her head to look at Emily, carefully not pulling the trigger that, by the wrong way she was holding the gun, wasn't even in the reach of her fingers. Emily giggled and got behind her, sending her arms around Alison, under the blonde's. She took Alison's hands and cautiously tried to maneuver them to hold the gun in the right position. Emily's close proximity sent a small shiver down Alison's back and made her tingly all over, she had to control herself before she dropped the loaded gun.
"You got it? Should I let go?"
At first, Alison didn't even register the words coming out of Emily's mouth. She only focused on the quiet bass tone hitting all the right places in her body and the hot breath on her right ear. She nodded dumbly, then realized Emily was about to actually release her hold on the gun, so she got herself together and prepared for it.
Emily's hands slowly, and sadly, left her own, and she adjusted to the new position without the extra support from the brunette. Emily moved to stand beside her.
"I think you need to spread your legs a little bit more."
Alison's mouth parted in shock, and a sultry smile plastered on her lips as she bit her lip. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the small smirk playing on Emily's lips at her not-so-subtle innuendo. She parted her legs a little bit more to improve her stance.
Alison shook her head, "You need a cold shower, Em."
She barely heard the sound of Emily's laughter over the sound of the gun firing. She almost stumbled back from the instant force.
Wow, she thought. How the hell didn't she discover this place any sooner?
She bullet hit right next to Emily's previous shot, a tiny bit closer to the bullseye. She placed the gun neatly back down, looking at Emily with a victorious grin.
"Lucky shot," Emily waved her off playfully. Alison jutted her bottom lip forward, pouting childishly. The brunette smiled. "I'm just kidding," she chuckled, "that was great!"
When Emily lifted her hand to a high five, Alison shook her head at the girl. The brunette's face dropped in confusion, but Alison just intertwined the girl's raised hand with her own, kissing Emily's lips shortly, because they still had the safety glasses on and couldn't remove them.
Alison giggled and told her, "You can high five Toby or Caleb all you want, but I'm your girlfriend."
Emily only smiled back, grabbing Alison by the waist softly to plant more kisses on her addictive lips.
XXXXX
"What do you mean, she's sick?"
"She told me she wasn't coming today," Hanna shrugged hopelessly, closing her locker. She turned to face Alison, "Look, I met her mom at the grocery store last night and she told me Emily wasn't feeling too good. Then, this morning, Em texted me and said she wasn't coming to school today and asked if I could bring her her homework."
"But..." Alison's voice dropped woefully. A dark cloud came over her mood, making the beautiful Wednesday morning look like a hellish nightmare. School wasn't nearly as fun when Emily wasn't there. An annoying thought popped into her head, "Why didn't she tell me herself?"
"I don't know," Hanna answered truthfully just as the loud bell rang over their heads. "But I'm going to bring her the homework assignments after school, so tell me at lunch if you want to come too."
Alison watched wordlessly as Hanna rushed out of sight to her first class. Students began filing out of the hallways, but the blonde stayed glued to the same spot in front of Hanna's locker. Then, she shook her head lightly and marched right out of the front entrance of their high school, not bothering to look back.
XXXXX
Emily groaned when her phone buzzed on the bedside table. She was snuggling in a cocoon of blankets, but still felt cold, and was sweating, all at the same time. How was that even possible?
She had woken up an hour ago and somehow had enough strength to force her weak body out of bed to brush her teeth and wash her face, innocently thinking it would make her feel better. It didn't.
She picked up her phone and squinted at the bright screen.
Mom: remember to take your pills, honey. It's important if you want to get better. I put them on the table next to your bed.
She glanced at said table, the same one she'd picked her phone from. As promised, a bottle of pills, a glass of water, and a small water bottle rested on top of the wooden surface. There was a note as well, and Emily recognized her mom's neat handwriting. She lifted it to her eyes to read.
Emmy,
I have a late shift at the station today, but I will try to leave as early as I can. Call me if you need anything, and I mean anything. Your father said he'd call you as soon as he's done with his daily training at the base, so expect a phone call tonight.
I love you. Feel better.
PS. Take one pill every six hours.
Mom
Emily sneezed involuntarily, then gathered enough strength to smile weakly at the note. She was grateful for having parents who cared for her so much. She knew her girlfriend's parents were always off somewhere, she disdained the way they put their work before their kids. These days, Jason was there for Alison, of course, and Emily could tell he really loved her, but she wished her girlfriend could get the attention she truly deserved from her parents. Emily swore she would never treat her kids the way Kenneth and Jessica did. She knew that Alison wouldn't either.
She quickly swallowed her pill with a sip of water, then sneezed once more, grabbing a kleenex and wiping her nose begrudgingly. "Aww, man," she whined miserably.
"Aww, man," someone mimicked her with a chuckle, making her head snap to the doorway of her bedroom as she sat up instantly.
"Ali," she said in surprise, grimacing at her strained voice. She put her used kleenex in the small trashcan beside her bed, then turned to look at Alison, who folded her arms with a soft expression, leaning her shoulder against the door frame. "What are you doing here?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" Alison ignored her question, taking a seat on the foot of the bed.
Emily chuckled poorly, "'Cause I knew you would ditch school to come here."
"You're welcome," Alison replied playfully. She edged closer to the brunette lying in a bundle of blankets and pillows, "How are you feeling?"
Emily only groaned and sunk back to the bed, covering her face with the yellow blanket.
"I'll take that as 'bad'," Alison laughed lightly. Her eyes shifted to Emily's bedside table. "Did you take your pill?" she asked, nodding to the capped bottle.
Emily picked her head to look the same bottle. "Yes," she said, "before I was interrupted by you."
Alison's eyes cut to Emily's, noticing the glint in her eye and the small, playful grin on her face.
"Whatever you say, Sickie," she replied, dropping her purse before moving to Emily's side and getting under the soft blanket. She turned to face her, noticing the way the brunette's eyes narrowed at the goofy nickname.
"You wanna tell me how you got sick?" she asked, getting comfortable under in sheets.
Emily sighed, "I was being stupid and put on a thin shirt while going running yesterday afternoon. It was freezing." She continued in a small voice, "I thought it wasn't going to be as cold as they said on the news."
"Aww," Alison cooed. "First of all, you are not stupid," she said gently but firmly. "And second of all, look at the bright side," she stated hopefully.
Emily frowned at her in puzzlement.
"You have me here with you, don't you?" Alison smirked lightheartedly, causing Emily to crack a smile even though she tried not to. The blonde echoed the gesture. "Here's that beautiful smile that I love," she said tenderly. She reached out, cradling the brunette's face and tracing Emily's cheeks and lips with her thumb. The brunette sighed in contentment at the gesture.
When Alison leaned forward, it took absolutely every inch of willpower in Emily to stop her. "Ali," she started, her voice scratchy and dry. "I don't want you getting sick because of me."
"I don't care," the blonde dismissed, moving forward. But Emily only pried her off gently with a stern expression.
"Well, I do." Emily said, her eyes holding such seriousness, it took Alison aback. "I don't want you getting sick."
Alison huffed exasperatedly, "Fine." She turned to lay on her back, facing the ceiling.
"You shouldn't put your bag on the floor, Ali," Emily commented offhandedly, "it'll get dirty. I know this bag is expensive."
Alison's eyes lit up as soon as she remembered what she had put in her bag earlier. She practically lunged out of bed, frightening Emily. She reached for her bag and lifted it, then turned to the girl, who was now sitting up in front of her.
"Okay, so... I brought you a sickness survival kit," Alison began enthusiastically with a mischievous smirk. She pulled out a big bottle of ginger ale, some weird-looking cough drops, and a few DVDs. She put the bottle on Emily's bedside table, then lifted the cough drops for Emily to see. "I know it looks pretty shady because it's written in like, Swedish or something, but it's really just cough drops in a flavor that is actually tolerable. It tastes like candy, you'll love it," she assured her, placing it on the table as well. Emily watched her in awe as she continued to ramble on. "These," she said, holding the DVDs, "are horror movies I borrowed from Jason. He said you needed to give it back once you're done, though. I still don't get why you both love that genre so much."
She turned to Emily anticipatingly, but the brunette was just watching her with such wonder-filled eyes, she had to do a double-take.
"What?" she asked with a chuckle.
Emily shook her head lightheartedly, sighing. "You're just... the best girlfriend ever."
Alison smiled in return, "Now can I get my kiss?"
"No!" Emily emphasized, her distressed expression returning.
Alison pouted with a woeful look at Emily.
"Don't give me that look," Emily muttered, her eyes darting helplessly to the duvet, "this is hard for me, too." She grabbed the movies from Alison's hands, "Let's go watch these."
Alison reluctantly agreed, and the two made their way downstairs to the living room. Emily popped in one of the movies in the DVD player, and then got comfortable on the couch next to Alison.
Before the movie started, Alison got up and went out of sight for a few moments, leaving Emily to stare at her in confusion. The blonde bounded down the stairs a minute later, carrying Emily's blanket and one of the pillows from her room. She put the pillow on the side of the couch, then helped the brunette lie down.
Emily pulled her down with her, and Alison adjusted cozily against Emily's chest, pulling the blanket up their bodies. This was so much better than school.
When Emily reached for the remote to un-pause the movie, Alison quipped up again. "One second," she got up and left Emily pouting on the couch as she exited the room.
The blonde went into the kitchen and poured water into the tea kettle, wanting Emily to drink something warm to help her throat. She turned to the cupboard next to the sink in the meantime with the purpose of getting two mugs, but the shelf that stored all of the mugs was right at the top, making her unable to reach it.
She got on her tippy toes and tried to send her hand higher, but only came up empty-handed. Suddenly, she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind, and a chin landing on her shoulder. Emily was already so familiar to her, it was like she could not see her for years and still recognize her by the way the brunette held her.
"Need help over here?" Emily asked quietly, pulling Alison flush against her body the way they both liked it.
"You can't stay away from me even for a few minutes, huh?" Alison taunted playfully, her hands landing over Emily's and lacing their fingers over her stomach.
"No," Emily answered, and her voice sounded so innocent and honest, it made Alison's heart melt.
She turned around to face her, "Well, neither can I." Her hands landed with ease atop of Emily's forearms, rubbing the smooth skin. "Hanna mentioned she was going to stop by after school to drop off your homework, but..." she shook her head and looked into Emily's loving eyes, "I couldn't possibly wait until then. So I swung by my house to pick up a few things then came straight here."
"Thank you for coming," Emily smiled honestly, bending down to kiss Alison's cheek. After her lips touched the skin, she felt the blonde turning her head slightly towards her mouth, and their lips came close, almost touching. They both closed their eyes and leaned. Emily's heartbeat sped up almost miraculously.
The whistling sound that came from the kettle on the stove startled them both, making them jump apart. Alison cursed under her breath, going to get the kitchenware piece. She also sort of thanked the kettle for making the noise that parted the two of them, because she knew that if she'd started kissing Emily, she wouldn't have been able to stop, and she had a field hockey rep to protect, which meant she couldn't miss a practice due to suddenly being sick.
She watched in sympathy as Emily's face turned crestfallen and the brunette stretched her hands to get two of the mugs.
XXXXX
After finishing one of the movies, Alison barely making it through even with her hiding her head in the brunette's shoulder whenever there was something too petrifying on the screen, the two went back up to the brunette's room. Alison could tell Emily was sleepy, and she looked like it too. The brunette got settled in the bed and Alison reached for her bag, pulling out a blue-covered book.
"What's that?" Emily asked, stifling a small yawn.
Alison turned the item over so Emily could read the cover. "The Great Gatsby, It's one of my favorites. I always read it when I'm sick." She placed the book on the bedside table, moving to face Emily.
"Hanna was right, you really are a book worm," the brunette chuckled, holding out her hand for Alison to take.
The blonde grabbed her hand softly, noticing how warm it was from lying around in blankets all day, probably like the rest of her body. "What's the matter," she asked in a playful tone, "being smart isn't a turn-on?"
Emily gaped at her, "No! I-I was just-"
"Relax, Sickie, I'm just joking," Alison laughed, moving towards Emily's body. She found herself getting under the covers and straddling Emily's burning waist.
"Stop that!" Emily groaned, referring to the nickname, which she hated.
Alison laughed all the same. "Do you prefer Emmy?"
"Absolutely not."
"Emmy," Alison started in a teasing tone, leaning closer to Emily tauntingly.
"Not again with that," the swimmer griped feebly.
"I love you, Emmy," Alison purred in Emily's ear, and the brunette believed Alison's velvety voice could cure her more than any medicine in the world.
"Keep calling me that, and I won't love you anymore," she joked.
Alison leaned back, looking down at Emily patiently. "Say what you want, Em, but love isn't a thing we can control. That's how we fell for each other."
Emily only smiled sweetly at her, her eyes tearing from Alison's sheepishly.
"Besides," Alison quipped again, "I'd be way too hard to stay away from."
The smile dropped from Emily's lips comically and she shot Alison a dry look. Alison only winked humorously and got off of Emily, much to the brunette's displeasure. She grabbed the book again, and this time getting settled in a different position, leaning Emily's head in her chest tenderly. She opened the book to a marked page and held it with one hand as the other massaged Emily's scalp, making the brunette silently purr at the sensation.
"You know what's my favorite quote from this book?" Alison asked aloofly.
Emily looked up at her expectantly.
The blonde smiled at her, turning to the book and reading, "'There are all kinds of love in this world but never the same love twice.'" She sighed, "I just think it's so true. I mean, I see the way Spencer looks at Toby, or how Aria and Hanna look at Ezra and Caleb. And... I see the way you look at me, obviously. It's all love, but it's still different. Each love is special, you know?"
She looked down to see Emily looking up at her in adoration, listening intently. Kind of like a little kid. Emily nodded, "You're right. I've never thought about it like that."
Alison's smile widened, and she brushed Emily's hair gently with her fingers. "C-Can you read some more?" the brunette asked shyly, burrowing her head in Alison's body, which was almost as warm as hers.
"Of course," Alison answered, feeling tingles all over from the fact that her voice calmed Emily enough for her to want the blonde to continue reading to her. Her eyes lingered on the book in hand, and she had to drop her other hand from Emily's hair to adjust the pages, but then returned it straight to the deep brown roots. She began reading, "'I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self-respect. And it's these things I'd believe in, even if the whole world indulges in suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and that is the beginning of everything.'"
"That was beautiful," Emily murmured in an emotion-struck voice a few moments later, as if talking to herself. "I think that's how I felt when we first started dating. People had their doubts and later on, I even found out about that talk Spencer gave you the night of Noel's party, but my love for you never budged, not even a little. It still hasn't. I love you more than anything."
Alison was caught off guard by the heartfelt admission, but all she could do was smile longingly at Emily, quietly uttering, "I love you, too."
The two spent a good share of time reading The Great Gatsby. Alison read and Emily listened on, and they did it for almost two and a half hours, until they found themselves finishing the book. It was a little under two hundred pages, so the blonde wasn't very surprised by the short amount of time it took them.
At one point, she was sure Emily had fallen asleep, but the brunette was awake the entire time, throwing comments and asking questions every now and then, since Alison had already read the book before. She wanted to fall asleep, and she knew Alison would be okay if she did, but she couldn't help it... The book was extremely interesting, and she loved hearing Alison's voice.
When Emily parted from her at nighttime, they still couldn't kiss goodbye so she opted for a tight hug instead. Emily thanked Alison multiple times for coming and keeping her company. Alison, on the other hand, urged her to call if she wanted anything or just wanted to talk, and Emily appreciated it, knowing her mother wouldn't be home until later. Alison wished she could stay, but she knew Jason would be pissed if she got sick because of it, and she remembered Emily was expecting a call from her dad, and the girl deserved privacy.
Alison was certain the next few days at school were going to absolutely blow, but Emily had promised her she would do her best to get better as fast as possible so she could come back to school, and the blonde believed her.