"I hate tests. So, so much," Emily muttered miserably as she and Hanna walked in through the front doors of their school on a particularly gloomy Monday morning.
"I'm right there with you, Em. I don't even take French, and I'm nervous about the test you and Ali have," Hanna answered sympathetically, patting Emily's forearm in an attempt at comfort.
Emily smiled slightly despite herself, "Ali could get an A+ in French in her sleep, Han. She's the top of our class and our teacher adores her. Even if she didn't study ahead, which she did, she could still ace it. Is it possible to get an A++ in this school?"
"You're asking the wrong girl, Em," Hanna laughed in amusement.
Emily gave in and chuckled at her friend's comment. She silently disagreed with her, though. Hanna was secretly a genius, and who quite knew it as well as she did.
They walked together to their lockers and then each to her own first class of the day, the nerve-racking French test being held in the second period. Emily entered the chemistry lab with her spirit lifted slightly, but still looking beat down, at least enough for Toby to notice.
As soon as she set down next to him, he pulled out his phone to shoot a quick text, then turned to her. "Big French test today, huh?"
Emily sighed sadly, "Yeah. I've studied myself to a level that would put Spencer to shame."
The boy laughed a little, giving her a one-armed hug. "Well, then, what's the problem?"
The gears in Emily's head began to turn. She knew what the major problem was. She realized it late last night, and had obsessed herself with trying to sleep it off, but then at 2 AM, she realized her body wasn't cooperating with her, so she stayed up until 3:50 studying for this test. The problem was, that she did most of the studying with Alison, and as helpful as it was to have her girlfriend as her unofficial tutor, she would agree with the belief that when you study with your significant other, you're having a lot more trouble focusing on the studies when your whole attention is on them. That was exactly how she felt. Not at the time, of course, because back then it had seemed like a good idea to study with the blonde, but now, she could agree that she would've maybe understood the material a lot better if she wasn't busy staring dumbly at Alison the entire time.
She was so screwed.
"I'm just... really nervous. It's a big test, you know. Lots of material," she lied not-so-easily, then guiltily bit her lip at being untruthful to her best friend. Some kind of friend was she.
Toby eyed her suspiciously, and while his heart told him there was more to the story than what Emily was letting on, his brain told him he shouldn't be trying to dig the truth, he should be encouraging Emily and keeping her motivated. In the end, his brain won.
Their teacher started talking, so Toby turned to his notebook and scribbled down a note. He cleared his throat quietly, but loud enough for Emily to hear and have her attention drawn to him, then slid the notebook on the surface of their shared table. She looked down at his note.
You got this, Em. I know it's a big test, but I bet you know all of the material. You're gonna do great.
Emily was too ashamed to tell him that she, in fact, didn't know all of the material. She had been too invested in the way-too-short shorts that Alison had innocently decided to wear for their studying session and those sun-kissed legs underneath them. She gave him a tight-lipped smile that she hoped would look normal, and even though Toby thought it didn't, he didn't comment further, only gave her shoulder a squeeze and turned back to the front of the classroom.
XXXXX
The first time Alison saw Emily that morning was right before the second period.
She'd looked for the swimmer everywhere - the parking lot, the cafeteria, her locker, even the chemistry lab. She had left her messages but they were left unanswered. The text message she had received from Toby at the very beginning of the day didn't explain much, only mentioned that Emily had looked sad and nervous. Alison was panicking silently, agreeing that if she wouldn't see Emily in the French classroom, she would ditch the test and go looking for her. The brunette wouldn't approve of it, but Alison didn't care. Whether her girlfriend liked it or not, she was way more important to Alison than some stupid test. It wasn't even their biggest test of the year, the most influential one wasn't until the end of the second semester. Finally, after searching for most of the recess, she admitted defeat. She spotted a nearby girls' bathroom and decided she could at least freshen up.
She didn't understand why Emily would just disappear out of sight like that, as if the ground swallowed her up or something of the sort. When they were studying, Emily was being all smiley and goofy and they were having fun. Given, Alison had been in minimal clothing, not taking the current season into considerarion, but that fact was of no importance. Emily was doing just fine back then, but now, she wasn't answering the blonde's calls. Something about this smelled odd, and it wasn't just because she was opening the door of the bathroom.
She pushed the door, immediately surprised at the sight of Emily there, washing her hands in the sink. The brunette spotted Alison through the mirror, a guilty expression covering her beautiful face. She sighed, wiping her hands with a paper towel.
"Where the hell have you been, I've left you, like, a thousand-" Alison came to an abrupt halt in her rant, seeing Emily turn to her and raise her glistening brown-hued eyes to the blonde's ocean blue ones. The brunette's bottom lip was trembling, and then it found itself being captured between her teeth.
Alison inched closer, deep concern in her icy eyes, "What's wrong?"
Emily shook her head silently, looking down at her feet again. The brunette found herself embraced by two soft arms looping around her body. She couldn't help but let out a small cry, burying her face in Alison's neck as her own hands found themselves on the blonde's back, desperately holding her close. "I'm going to fail this test," Emily mumbled, her voice hoarse from the crying.
"What? Why would you think that?" Alison asked, befuddled.
Emily sniffled miserably, "Because I don't know half of the material."
Confusion swam in the only pair of blue eyes in the room. "But... we studied for this test together," Alison stated, as if it was obvious. "We went through the entire material in one afternoon, Em, I thought it went well."
Emily whimpered weakly, reluctantly pulling away from the blonde. She picked at the end of her shirt sheepishly, as Alison continued to watch on with a mix of concern and bafflement.
"Well... I, I guess..." Emily struggled with her words helplessly, and Alison's eyes softened even further, as she instinctively reached out and entangled Emily's hand with her own. Emily only huffed in self-frustration at her lack of ability to explain herself at the moment, but the blonde simply watched her patiently. "I wasn't very focused that day," the brunette finally settled on.
"Why's that?"
Emily hopelessly stared at the tiled floor of their school's bathroom, biting her lip and looking down the same way she did when she didn't want to answer a question. When the seconds passed by and Emily moved to stare at the stall doors to their side, it became clear that Alison wasn't going to get an answer to her question.
The blonde sighed.
"Maybe-" Alison was cut off the sound of the warning bell. They had five minutes.
Emily's eyes widened in a way that would be comical under any other circumstances, but her girlfriend recognized the panic in those brown orbs.
"I can't do this test," Emily rushed out, her eyes darting around the bathroom.
Alison stepped up to her, "Yes, you can, Em. Besides, It's not our most important test. If you happen to get a bad grade, you can always just make up for it in the next one."
It was moments like these that made Emily glad that Alison wasn't just her girlfriend, but her best friend as well. The blonde knew exactly what to say in order to calm her down, she always had, long before they were dating. She found herself nodding slowly, trying to control her breathing as Alison gave her a lingering kiss on her cheek.
A minute later, after Emily washed her face and made herself presentable, they exited the bathroom together, hand in hand. At the entrance of their French classroom, Emily let go of Alison's hand as they found their separate desks next to each other. As the teacher handed out the tests, Emily looked at Alison who hasn't averted her concerned sight from her since they walked in. The blonde's expression was encouraging and warm, and Emily found herself returning Alison's small smile.
She looked down at her designated test, taking a large breath. Here goes nothing, she thought as she lifted her pen.
XXXXX
"How did the test go?"
The question startled Emily the moment she exited the classroom. She turned to Alison in surprise. The blonde had exited the classroom nearly twenty minutes before Emily did, as she had been the first one in the class to finish. Emily had no idea that the blonde had waited for her outside the class, and her cheeks tinted in embarrassment. Before her thoughts could be dragged to self-scolding about how Alison had to wait all this time just for her to finish, Alison spoke again.
"Em," she prompted softly.
Emily didn't want to tell her the test went horribly. She knew the blonde had to know everything and would ask her for the real reason she couldn't concentrate when they were studying, and the brunette wasn't in the mood for more mild humiliation, even though she knew Alison wouldn't be at fault. She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, "It was okay."
Alison nodded uncertainly, "Well, the teacher said we would get the grades by the end of the day."
"Really?" Emily asked in concealed dread.
Alison nodded again. Ezra passed by them with his brown side satchel on his shoulder, the same one Hanna had laughed deeply at, stating that it looked like a man-purse. "Hey, guys. Ali, are you coming to study hall?" he asked, nodding his head to the rest of the hallway, in the direction where the library resided.
Alison managed a weak, "Yeah," not wanting to leave Emily alone. The brunette had looked so broken before the test began. But the serene look that now rested on her girlfriend's face made her think that, maybe, the test really had gone well for the brunette. She kissed Emily on the cheek briefly, turning to walk with Ezra down the hall. Emily turned in the opposite direction, sighing in relief that Alison didn't recognize the effort she spent trying to force her face to look calm, when she was actually freaking out.
XXXXX
Things had gone exactly like Emily had expected. She wasn't even surprised when the teacher pulled her aside and gently told her she had failed the test. Upon hearing that, Alison was reluctant to tell her the grade she got, not wanting to hurt her feelings, but Emily successfully peeked at the test sheet in the blonde's hand, discovering that her grade was a 98 - actually, 103 if she counted the bonus question. She had been so happy for her girlfriend, and she told her just that, but Alison still bit her lip guiltily.
She had returned home, knowing she had to deal with the consequences. Her mother had been forgiving, because Emily had been honest with her, but knowing she was still her mother, Emily had received a week of grounding. It wasn't too bad, she thought to herself, settling in her room later that night with her phone while her mother talked to her father on the landline phone downstairs.
She knew she wanted to take the test again, and for that, she needed two things: she needed to ask her teacher, and she needed to study harder. Of course, she would need to ask her teacher first, because if the woman wouldn't agree, there would be no point for Emily to study for the test again.
She texted Alison - finally answering the blonde's messages and putting her mind at rest - telling her that she was going to ask for a make-up test. She placed her phone on the nightstand and went to prepare for bed, feeling more exhausted than ever, physically and emotionally. When she came back, her phone beeped with a new text message from Alison.
I don't care how much work it takes, I'm going to make sure you get a great grade on this test. I don't like seeing you sad :(
Emily smiled despite herself, her expression soft and her mind filling with thoughts about her girlfriend. She lay on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
XXXXX
The next morning, Emily woke up extremely determined. She freshened up and got ready, quickly bounding down the stairs. Pam looked at her strangely, rightfully thinking it was odd for someone who was so sad about failing their test to be so happy the very next morning, but Emily only gave her a bright smile in return.
At school, she arrived early and went straight to the classroom where she and Alison usually took French. It was fairly close to her locker, being in the same hall, and she knew Alison would be able to see her once she came in, if Emily would be in the hall at that time.
She reached the doorway of the classroom, finding her 40ish-year-old teacher sitting at her desk at the front of the class.
She knocked on the open door politely, "Mrs. Abel?"
XXXXX
Alison entered the school, her mind set on finding Emily in the mess of students filling the halls. She went to her locker first as she tried to figure out where the brunette would be. Emily wasn't at her locker, and if she was talking to their teacher, it would make sense that Emily would be in the French classroom.
She finished taking out the correct book for the biology class she shared with Caleb and storing it in her bag. Advancing down the hall, she spotted Emily exiting said classroom. Crestfallen.
'Damn it,' Alison thought exasperatedly, hating the gloomy look on Emily's face, as adorable as she found it to be. Their teacher must've denied Emily's request at re-taking the test.
The brunette looked up at her as she approached, managing a quiet greeting, "Hey, Ali."
Alison glanced behind Emily through the still-open door, seeing their teacher scrolling through her phone while sipping on a cup of nearly-black coffee. Alison turned back to Emily, bristling, "Don't 'Ali' me, Emily."
Her eyes cut from Emily's suddenly-confused face to their teacher, who was now unintentionally eavesdropping on their conversation. Bingo, Alison mused as she smothered her pleased smirk.
"What?" Emily asked innocently.
"You didn't return my phone calls and texts, all because you were studying for French. You're always studying this subject and put so much effort into it. Do you seriously care about the French test so much, that you forget to call your girlfriend?" Alison yelled, needing as much conviction as she could get. Emily looked like a scolded little puppy and the blonde nearly felt regretful, but then remembered what she was doing was merely for Emily's good. For the brunette to understand, she widened her eyes dramatically, and discretely moved her eyes to their teacher, then back to Emily.
Realization took over Emily's beautiful face, and when she suppressed a giggle, Alison had to try hard to not burst into laughter right on the spot. Emily spoke in response in the same tone as Alison, only more defensive, "I'm sorry, Ali, it's not my fault it's such an interesting subject! I can't help but dedicate myself to it!"
Emily turned around when she heard a throat clearing. Their teacher was now standing behind her, an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm sorry, girls," she started in her usual accent, "I couldn't help but overhear. Emily, were you serious about what you said?"
Emily nodded, sporting a poker-face that Alison was quite impressed by.
The teacher smile faintly in return, glad that one of her students truly cared so much about the subject she taught, "Well then, perhaps I'm inclined to change my mind. You will take the make-up test tomorrow after school in this class. Don't be late."
When their teacher left, a flabbergasted Emily barely had time to process before Alison jumped her bones, practically tackling her. Emily laughed in disbelief, as she felt Alison smile against the skin of her neck. She had the best girlfriend ever.
"Ali, do me one more favor?" Emily asked when the blonde finally stepped away from her.
"Anything, Em."
Emily gave her a smile that was both sheepish and apologetic, "Don't study with me for French this time, okay?"
Alison laughed, "Okay, baby." She shook her head, smiling when Emily gratefully embraced her in her arms again.
XXXXX
Emily was lying in her bed once again, two days later. She was finally relieved and satisfied. She had studied for the make-up test like she knew she could, and since she usually succeeded in her education, she was hoping she would get at least an 80 this time. But Alison had kissed her deeply when she found out she had gotten a full, round 100 on this test, not caring that they were in the middle of the hallway, or that their teacher was still walking away down the hall after telling them the exciting news. Her mother had been proud of her too, and even her father called especially to congratulate her on the wonderful grade.
She was still grounded, of course. She wouldn't have minded it a lot, but she knew Alison had been bummed that they couldn't go out and celebrate the gleeful turnout of this week - the week that had started out hellish like no other.
Nevertheless, Emily was still smiling in her bed as she stared at the ceiling, when she suddenly heard her window being opened. Her eyes widened in panic, and she lifted her eyes to her window seat, just in time to catch Alison climbing in almost effortlessly through the frame. It was the result of having so much practice at climbing into Emily's room. The brunette exhaled in relief, until she remembered her mother was right down the hall.
"Ali, what are you doing here?" she whispered scandalously, advancing towards the blonde who was dressed appropriately for the season in sweatpants and a comfy sweater that looked suspiciously like it belonged to the brunette. Emily made a mental note to check her closet later, to see if that particular sweater was 'accidentally' missing. It occurred to Emily that she was probably the only person that Alison would allow herself to be seen wearing these clothes in front of, mostly because the blonde had a rep to protect or whatnot, and it warmed the brunette's heart that the two of them were so close nowadays.
"We couldn't go out to celebrate," Alison shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world. She bypassed Emily to her bed, taking a seat on the edge of it. When Emily turned around with a small, amused headshake, Alison was fiddling with the tiny Eiffel Tower on her bedside table, a thoughtful expression covering her face. "I'm so proud of you, Em," she said with a small smile, lifting her eyes to Emily, who took the remaining time taking a seat next to the blonde.
Emily smiled, "Thanks, Ali-"
"I mean," Alison cut her off playfully while putting back the small statue, smirking to herself, "how often does someone fail a test and then study for barely a day and get a 100 on a slightly harder test? It's amazing."
Emily's cheeks painted a slight tone of red, her smile extending on its own. "The only reason I studied again was because you encouraged me to."
Alison's smirk turned into a soft smile and Emily looked at her just in time to see occasional gentleness floating in the blonde's icy orbs. The blonde turned to her as if she wanted to say something, but a light knock on the door stopped both girls in their tracks.
"Emily? Who are you talking to in there?" Pam's voice sounded tired, and for a good reason. She'd had a long shift at the station and Emily felt very sympathetic towards her mother, who had to work so much and have her husband be in the army full time.
"Just... Alison," Emily responded weakly. She hated lying to her mother, but that part wasn't a lie. "On the phone," she added meekly after a moment. That part was a lie, of course, and she felt an unpleasant feeling of guilt in her stomach, but then again, what her mother didn't know couldn't hurt her.
"Okay, sweetie, but finish it up, you have school tomorrow. I'm going to bed."
Emily's response to the statement was instant. She knew her mother extremely well, and she had a feeling that she had exactly five to seven seconds to hide Alison before her mother opened the door. She quickly grabbed the hand of a surprised Alison, pulling her towards the closet. She opened the door for her and Alison stepped inside, still disoriented. Before closing the door, Emily mumbled a rushed yet apologetic, "Sorry," and pecked Alison on the cheek.
She rushed back to the bed, practically diving on it to get there on time. The door cracked open just as she grabbed her phone and pinned it to her ear, as if she was talking to someone. "Bye, Ali," she said pathetically in a false-conversation, 'hanging up the phone' and setting it back to where it was mere seconds ago.
Pam smiled at her and took a seat on the edge of the bed, near Emily's waist. She kissed Emily's forehead warmly, and the girl closed her eyes, smiling. "I'm very proud of you for fixing your grade like that. You learn from your mistakes, Emily, and that's what makes you a great student," she told her softly.
"Thank you, mom," Emily echoed her smile, giving Pam a brief hug. "Good night."
"Good night, sweetheart," Pam said quietly in return, standing up and giving Emily one last smile before closing the door.
A few seconds passed before Alison tentatively peeked her head out of the closet. At the sight of only Emily and not Pam, she exited fully, walking towards the bed.
"I'm sorry about that," Emily said shyly.
Alison shook her head, "No, I'm sorry that you had to lie to your mom. I know how much you hate it."
"It's okay," Emily said. "Sometimes it's worth it," she added, an innocent smile covering her face.
"Sometimes like now?"
Emily nodded shyly.
Alison lay down next to Emily, their bodies close. She rested both her hands on her stomach, looking up at the ceiling. They lay in silence for a few moments.
"I can't believe you got a higher grade than me," Alison quipped all of a sudden, pouting in fake-hurt.
Emily laughed softly. She turned her head to the blonde's, pulling off a challenging look and a playful smirk, "Jealous?"
Alison's head turned to her side as well, and her eyes transfixed on brown ones. Without a second thought, she leaned forward, connecting their lips. Her fingers found their way on Emily's cheek almost instantly, while Emily's hand landed on Alison's hip a few seconds later.
When Alison felt Emily moving gradually, rising slightly, she giggled into her mouth. "Are you trying to top me?" she teased.
Emily only chuckled quietly in response, "Well, I did get the higher grade." She landed on top of Alison even though the blonde struggled, as she liked being on top. After a playful fight that didn't seem fair to Alison what-so-ever, Emily managed to pin Alison's arms by her sides, and the blonde limply deflated.
"You forgot I'm stronger than you," Emily taunted as she loomed over Alison's head, and the brunette looked so perfect in that moment, Alison bit her lip slightly, finding herself involuntarily turned on.
Alison nodded, "You're right." Her hand landed on Emily's forearm and slowly moved along the skin, causing goosebumps to form. "I almost forgot how strong you are." Emily gulped as her moves faltered, her earlier confident all but gone. In one moment, Alison smirked and flipped them over, causing Emily to land on her back with an audible huff. Alison's smirk turned devilish, in a way that would scare Emily if she didn't know the blonde was just kidding. The blonde tilted her head, "You may be stronger, but words are my forte, sweetie."
Emily merely rolled her eyes in good nature, but they snapped shut as soon as she felt soft lips once again on hers. She felt so warm being under Alison, and she thought that, maybe, just for tonight, she wouldn't care about not being on top, because being deliciously pressed up against a warm Alison, was so worth it.