"Do I have to come?" Alison groaned, leaning her side on the locker next to Emily's, facing the brunette and using both arms to hold her books against her chest.
Emily chuckled, searching through her locker, "My parents adore you, Ali. If anything, you'll love being the center of their attention for the night." She grabbed the books from Alison's hands, uttering a quiet 'thank you' to the girl who insisted on carrying her books.
"Well, when you say it like that you make me sound like some-" Alison paused her rant once her eyes caught sight of the new Polaroid picture that Emily had put up on the inside of her locker door. It showed their group of friends standing and smiling happily at the camera, the five girls out of the eight people group adorning mouse ears, with the background of Disneyland Paris behind them.
Emily turned to look at what had caught her girlfriend's attention, all while Alison's eyes landed on the swimmer's figure in the picture, not budging.
"Aria gave it to me this morning. She said she found it in one of her drawers," Emily smiled softly, studying the picture and finding herself doing the same as Alison, her eyes landing on the blonde in the photo.
"Can't believe this was last summer, and now we're heading towards the end of the year," Alison bit her lip pensively, wondering how taking that picture still felt like yesterday.
"Time flies when you're having fun, right?" Emily charmingly laced her fingers with Alison's, kissing the top of her hand. Alison watched her tenderly, unknowingly blushing in the process.
The blonde hummed in agreement with a grin as the brunette closed her locker and led the two girls toward the exit of the school.
"Ali, Em!"
Both girls stopped at the sound of their names being called, turning around. Cece walked up to them with a gleeful smile, a purse slung on her shoulder as she sported her usual just-came-out-of-a-magazine kind of look.
"How are you two? I haven't seen you in months," she said excitedly as she approached, smiling genially.
"You saw us two weeks ago when we came to check out your apartment," Alison replied with an amused chuckle, hugging Cece for a few moments before she moved to hug Emily.
"Oh, well then I guess it just feels like months," Cece waved her off with a smile.
"So how's living with my brother?" Alison joked.
"He makes me breakfast every morning, girls. I think I've found the love of my life," Cece playfully feigned a dreamy sigh, making both of them laugh.
"Why are you here at our school?" Emily asked in genuine curiosity.
"Oh, thanks for reminding me," Cece said. "I'm just looking for Mona. I borrowed her perfume and I need to give it back to her."
Emily nodded along, "Hmm... I'm not sure where she is-"
"She's in the library doing homework. It's just down this hall and to the right," Alison answered, pointing in the direction she described.
This conversation alone made Emily wonder just how much has changed between Alison and almost all of the people in her life. A year ago, Alison would have never even remotely associate herself with Mona, and now... now, she was a changed person. It only made her more proud to have her as her girlfriend that night at dinner.
After Cece bid them goodbye and left in her designated direction, both girls made their way outside to Emily's car.
"You know who's not going to have fun tonight? Me," Alison playfully whined and interrupted the comfortable silence, making Emily roll her eyes and fight a smirk.
They paused in front of Emily's car just as the brunette turned to her girlfriend. "Ali, it's just dinner with my parents. Trust me when I say you have a greater endurance power than that," she answered cheekily reached out, cupping her cheeks and leaning forward to kiss her shortly on the lips. As the brunette entered the car, Alison gaped at her back, surprised at the naughty comment, but had trouble keeping the loving smile off her face.
By the time Emily dropped Alison off at home, the blonde had two and a half hours to do her homework and get ready for dinner. It wasn't a whole lot, considering the excessive amount of homework that she was given that day. She ate lunch first, and couldn't help but notice how overly empty the house felt without Jason in it. Her parents were a lost cause, but at least when her brother was home, she felt like she wasn't living alone in this big house. Of course, she could never tell Jason that. She was so happy for her brother for discovering his independence, and she wholeheartedly supported him. She couldn't possibly say something that would make him move back in, which she knew he would do in a heartbeat. No, she would just have to deal with it.
Besides, there were upsides to having a house to herself most of the time. Emily always told her that although she loved her parents very much, she wished she could have more privacy.
Now that Alison thought about it, she didn't think the brunette had pointed out that she was doing anything that day before dinner... She didn't even need to help Pam make dinner because they were all going out to a restaurant.
With that thought in her head, she picked up her phone to call Emily, but before she did, she sent a text to Jason, casually asking how he was. Ever since he moved out, he was adamant about keeping contact with her and she didn't mind it one bit, in fact, she was proud of them for finally establishing the close relationship she had always wanted them to have all these years. As a result, she was sending him messages all the time these days, because even though he wasn't living with them anymore, texting him back and forth was something the blonde found to be conforming.
Later on, she called Emily, shaking her head at herself for the fact that she hadn't even started her homework and she was already bugging her girlfriend. Emily loved to be bugged to her, anyway, the blonde mused fondly just as the brunette picked up on the second ring, "Ali? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's great, mermaid," Alison answered, smiling at the fact that there was so much concern in Emily's voice. "Except for one thing," she added.
"What is it?" Emily asked in interest.
"You're not here."
On the other side, Emily's lips tilted into a soft smile and she rolled her eyes lazily as she placed down her pencil on top of her book. "Ali, you're going to see me in-" she glanced at the watch, "-two hours. I think you'll survive."
"What if I need you to help me with my homework?" Alison quickly replied.
Emily laughed humorously, "More like, you could help me with my math homework. I'm struggling here."
Alison made herself comfortable on her bed as she switched the phone to her other ear, "Then bring them over and I'll help you."
"Are you serious?" came the bewildered comeback on the other line. "I need to come all the way over there?"
"I come with a price, Fields," Alison shrugged lightheartedly, licking her lip subconsciously. "You know that. Take it or leave it."
She heard her girlfriend sigh on the other line, already knowing she got Emily exactly where she wanted her, and she waited patiently until the brunette spoke again.
"And we'll study?" she asked for clarification.
"Mmhm," Alison hummed in agreement, a satisfied grin taking over her lips, the same one that always appeared when she knew she got this one in the bag.
Emily shook her head helplessly, exhaling once more. "Fine," she said finally, "see you soon."
She hung up moments later, and Alison placed her phone on the nightstand with devilish smirk. "Yeah, you will," she said smugly to herself.
By the time Emily arrived, Alison was 'doing her homework', when in all honesty, after she had finished her biology homework, she was now scrolling aimlessly through her phone while occasionally glancing in disinterest at her geography notebook. Who the hell did homework in geography, anyway? Plus, the teacher loved her. She really didn't need to worry about it.
The familiar sound of the doorbell downstairs echoed momentarily in her ears and Alison nearly jumped out of her chair whilst hearing it. She took her time coming downstairs, and then opened the door to an exasperated-looking Emily.
"I can't believe you convince me to do these things every time," Emily shook her head, lifting the strap of her backpack slightly.
"You love me, Fields," Alison taunted lightheartedly, taking the soft hand in hers and leading the brunette into her house. Closing the door behind her, Emily followed the blonde upstairs to her room.
"I'm being clear about this, Ali," Emily stated firmly as soon as they entered the pink room, "we're studying. I really need to get these homework done."
"I know," Alison stressed, placing her hands on her Emily's shoulders and getting the brunette to sit on the bed. "Trust me, Em, I don't want you to fail in school. Now why are you so tense?" she asked cheekily, feeling the muscles construct in the brunette's shoulder area.
Emily shrugged her hand off, turning to her bookbag in order to take out her math homework. To her surprise, Alison plucked the notebook easily from her hands and opened it, scrolling through the pages.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I need to see what you're currently studying in order to help," Alison answered as if it was obvious. Emily eyed her in wonderment, and Alison lifted her eyes, frowning at the look. "What? You asked for my help, didn't you?"
"Y-Yeah, but..." Emily was left stuttering in befuddlement. She didn't think Alison would actually agree to her really studying while she was there, that was why she was a bit upset with herself for agreeing to come over.
"But what?" Alison replied innocently. "You said you needed to study, Em, I respect that. I asked you over because I just like your company."
Emily gaped at her wordlessly while Alison obliviously returned to the notebook. What she said to Emily wasn't untrue, but it wasn't completely honest either. She would get what she really wanted, but she needed to make sure Emily studied first so the brunette wouldn't be pissed at her for distracting her from her homework in the first place.
Alison got comfortable on the bed and watched out of the corner of her eye as Emily closed her mouth and scooted over to sit next to her. The brunette glanced at the open notebook and watched as Alison flipped through the pages, getting a general idea of the material of Emily's class.
"Thanks, Ali," Emily sincerely quipped, biting her lip shyly as she gazed at her girlfriend's beautiful profile. "Sorry that I got a little annoyed before."
Alison turned her head to look at the brunette, a dazzling smile gracing her face at Emily's statement. "No problem, Em," the blonde shook her head, sneaking a quick kiss from a surprised Emily.
The two spent the next forty-five minutes studying geometry and algebra, finishing the homework in record time with two people solving the problems at once. Alison noticed how Emily knew the material well, but sometimes she just needed somebody to give her a push of motivation. She was more than happy to be that person.
By the time they were finishing up, Alison was glancing eagerly at the clock on her bedside table. They still had forty minutes left before they had to get ready, she concluded in satisfaction. She was delighted with the result of her plan. Emily was smiling peacefully at finishing her homework so quickly, they still had plenty of time left, and... her face dropped a little. She was having dinner with the brunette's parents today, and to tell the truth, she was nervous.
Last time they had dinner together, she had her own parents there with her. It had been nice to have somebody there as sort of a backup or a buffer to the conversation. This time, it was only her and the Fields. Yes, she had gotten extremely closer to Emily, and her parents have been nothing but understanding and sweet to her these past months, but anyone had to admit that there was something threatening about going to dinner with your girlfriend's parents. She cringed at the thought of an awkward silence that would occur if Emily needed to use the bathroom.
Her phone beeped on her bedside table and she left Emily to finish the very last math problem by herself as she reached out for the device and gazed at the screen.
Jason: I'm great. Cece said she saw you two at school and now she's all on my case about inviting you both for dinner. But even I have to agree that we have to do that sometime soon. And btw, have fun tonight. Remember that Pam and Wayne are as soft as puppies on the inside.
She giggled, typing back her own message.
Alison: You do know your coffee buddies better than I do.
Jason: You're just jealous.
Alison laughed at the texting banter, putting her phone aside just as the brunette finished up and turned to put the notebook back in her bag.
Emily turned back to her expectantly, but the blonde only raised her eyebrow and patted the spot next to her suggestively. The brunette chuckled and went to lay next to her girlfriend. The blonde turned to her side and propped on her elbow. Reaching out her hand, she moved a few strands of hair from the girl's face and looked down at her, mesmerized.
"What?" Emily asked quietly with a coy smile, finding the familiar blue in Alison's eyes comforting.
"Nothing," the blonde shrugged gently, "you're just beautiful."
Emily chuckled lightly, looking away and blushing the same way she always did whenever she was given a compliment from the blonde.
"I'm serious," Alison giggled in return, nudging her girlfriend, while Emily could only smile wider and pull the blonde closer, nuzzling her face in her girl's neck.
"I love you so much," she uttered quietly into her neck.
"Well you better, I'm not giving you these compliments for nothing," Alison warned playfully and Emily backed away and let out an amused, joyful laugh.
"No, I'm kidding," Alison shook her head, suddenly turning somber. "You know, even if you didn't love me back, Em, I'd still go through hell and back for you. I mean, if it meant that I'd get to see you smile at me at the end of it all, there's no question about it."
Emily looked at her in a mixture of affection and solidarity, in a way that never seized to make Alison's heart flutter in her chest.
"You know that I would, too," Emily answered, picking at Alison's hand and lacing their fingers together.
Alison nodded, subconsciously looking down at Emily's lips and biting her own bottom one. She leaned down slowly, but the brunette quipped up quietly, "Ali..."
"We have time," the blonde assured, and it was enough in order for Emily to nod slowly in acceptance and lean up to connect her lips with Alison.
Their lips softly made contact and the brunette used her hand to pull Alison closer by the neck. The blonde smiled into the kiss at the feeling of being wanted just as much as she wanted the other girl. Emily opened her lips just as their legs began to tangle, then seized the opportunity to hastily flip them over, so that she would have the blonde's body beneath hers.
The brunette couldn't help but chuckle at the hum of protest that vibrated against her lips. Only when the brunette placed each of her elbows on either side of Alison's head and kissed her harder, the blonde allowed herself to relax and wrapped both her arms comfortably around Emily's neck, pulling her impossibly closer. The brunette couldn't help but smirk smugly, solely because she knew Alison secretly loved being under her control.
She switched to Alison's neck, noticing how the other girl swallowed heavily, tangling her fingers in soft, brown hair and guiding her girlfriend's mouth to the most sensitive spot on her neck. Her breathing inevitably quickened as Emily sucked and bit on the tender skin. "Fuck," she hissed quietly, closing her eyes in pleasure.
"I'm trying to," Emily replied in a smug tone, and Alison's eyes flew open faster than she could say Emily's name. The brunette was merely hovering above her, looking at her hungrily with a uncharacteristic smirk.
"The control is getting to your head, huh?" Alison husked throatily, mirroring Emily's smirk, because, well, it was her thing.
"Maybe," Emily replied playfully, going back to her ministrations, feasting on the skin. Alison released small, raspy whimpers in her ear and Emily had to remind herself how to breathe. She accidentally bit down a bit too hard, making the blonde squeal. She was about to apologize when Alison tangled her fingers in Emily's silky hair, guiding her towards the same spot again. The brunette smirked in silence, occupying herself by sucking and nipping at the sensitive flesh.
Only when she backed away a bit and looked down at the blonde's neck, did her little smirk widen and a playful glimmer passed through her eyes. Alison caught her eyes' movements though, and looked at her in confusion.
"What?" she asked genuinely.
"Nothing," Emily replied in fake nonchalance, an innocent smile covering her face.
"What did you do this time, mermaid?" the blonde asked playfully, gently pushing Emily off of her in order to get up and look in vanity mirror in her room. Her eyes widened and she turned to her girlfriend with a stern expression, "Emily!"
Emily gave her a small, apologetic smile as the panicked blonde examined the purple mark on her neck. It was far too obvious to cover up with make-up. She flinched a little as she touched it, deciding that she was pretty much screwed for the night.
"I cannot enter the same room as Pam Fields with this thing on my neck," she voiced exasperatedly. "What am I going to do?" she whispered, her eyes downcasting and face showing true worry.
Emily instantly hopped off the bed, making her way to her girlfriend. "Hey, it's okay," she reassured. She looked around her for a few moments, contemplating what she should do. It was as if a light bulb suddenly turned on in her head, as she turned to Alison's closet and took out a pale blue scarf, one of her personal favorites from the blonde's wardrobe, walking over to Alison.
"Ali," she said softly, getting the blonde's attention. Alison turned to her tiredly, her bottom lip quivering just slightly. She masterly wrapped the scarf around the blonde's neck, then took out the smooth hair from beneath it, letting it sprawl freely around Alison's shoulders. The brunette cupped both of her girlfriend's cheeks and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have done that."
"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Alison replied, cracking half a smile.
"Hey, need I remind you that on our first movie date, you did the same thing to me?"
"But you didn't need to meet my parents afterwards, Em," Alison chuckled, shaking her head. She turned around, circling her arms around Emily's neck with the intention to bring her closer. "It's okay," she shrugged, "this scarf smells like you anyway because you keep burrowing it."
A soft smile tugged on Emily's lips as she reciprocated, wrapping her own arms around Alison's waist. Alison used both sides of the collar of Emily's army-colored jacket in order to pull her closer, kissing her waiting lips shortly.
"You should get ready, we still need to pass through my house for me to change," Emily uttered against her lips, using her hands to run up and down the blonde's sides.
"In a minute, bossy," Alison uttered softly against her lips, pulling her back into a heated kiss. Emily leaned her against the vanity, kissing her fully and languidly. When the brunette deepened the kiss, Alison quickly looped her arms around her neck, drawing her closer than she thought was possible.
Emily's hand soon traveled downward to the outer side of Alison's thigh, resting on bare skin, then trailing her finger upwards slowly until it reached beneath the hem of the blonde's skirt, leaving fire on the girl's skin, before she abruptly detached herself, leaving Alison flushed and breathless, slung against the vanity.
"What the hell?" the blonde huffed in sexual frustration as Emily made a beeline out of her room, not bothering to look back.
"I'm going to the bathroom then you'll get ready!" Emily called out from the hall in a faux-innocent tone, though she had a small smirk plastered on her face.
"I hate you so much," Alison shouted exasperatedly in return, her breathing restoring to normal as she turned to fix her hair.
"You're not as good of a liar as you think, Ali," Emily retorted lightheartedly in a smug manner, closing the bathroom door behind her as the blonde couldn't help but shake her head and tilt her lips upwards, but only a bit.
X-X-X-X-X
The girls left the Fields' house after Emily finished getting ready, and took their time to walk hand in hand to the restaurant the brunette's parents had ordered a table in. It was a bit far away from their neighborhood though still in their town, but they didn't mind the distance. This night proved to be much unlike the usual nights in the season, since it was a bit warm with some mild breeze, making it the perfect temperature for walking.
Alison's agitation had calmed down drastically ever since Emily came out of the shower and saw her fidgeting in front of the mirror, which led to the brunette making her some hot cocoa and holding her in bed until it was decided that she was calm enough in order to let go.
"You look beautiful, Ali," Emily remarked quietly, causing Alison to snap back from her ongoing thoughts. She turned to the brunette, unaware of the blush covering on her cheeks. "Seriously," the brunette continued, "that dress is perfect for you."
The blonde was wearing a stylish mint green sundress along with the much-needed scarf Emily had picked out for her, an outfit she knew Emily would approve of before even showing it to the brunette. And that was exactly the thing; she knew she looked pretty, but when Emily told her she was beautiful... It simply drove the butterflies in her stomach insane.
"You look gorgeous, Em," she replied, letting her eyes take in the view that was her girlfriend. Emily had decided to style it up, wearing the only black cutout dress that was in her closet. "You always do."
Blushing deeply under Alison's intense gaze, the brunette uttered, "Thank you-"
"Oh, my God, look, it's Emison! Wait up!"
Alison and Emily exchanged a similar expression of exasperation, turning simultaneously to witness Hanna dragging an apologetic-looking Caleb by the hand in their direction. Once the two approached closer, Emily and Alison sent a disapproving look in the boy's way.
"Don't look at me, okay? I told her to leave you to your own business," he addressed them, raising both his hands in a form of defense.
"Yeah, and I see you did a terrific job at convincing her," Alison retorted sarcastically.
Hanna ignored her boyfriend in favor of gawking at the girls' outfits with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Ooh," she drawled playfully, "is this a date?"
Alison opened her mouth to respond, "Sort of. We-"
"Aww!" came the high-pitched noise in response.
"Hanna, we're just going to dinner with my parents," Emily rolled her eyes jokingly, amused by her nest friend's behavior.
Hanna, surprisingly, burst out laughing. "I would pay good money to see Alison DiLaurentis sweating under Pam and Wayne's gaze," she uttered through her giggles.
Alison rolled her eyes, "Shut up."
Caleb shook his head, "Don't listen to her, Ali. You two just go and have a good time, I bet Pam and Wayne already love you. I mean, you've been together for some time now and they know how much you love Em."
"He's right," Hanna confirmed after coming down from her chuckles. She restored her breathing and then turned to Alison, "Seriously, Ali, don't worry about it too much, you're already nearly a part of Em's family."
Alison gave them a small smile, "Thanks, guys-"
"Just, you know, this time, try not to get caught making out in the bathroom."
As Hanna began to cackle loudly again at her own comment, and even Caleb released a small laugh, Alison only rolled her eyes once more in response, leading Emily away from the pair, "Come on, Em, we're going to be late."
X-X-X-X-X
They ended up arriving at the restaurant just on time, and met with Pam and Wayne at the table the older couple had arranged for them. Alison was absentmindedly playing with the straw in her cup as she listened to Wayne telling the latest ongoings in his army base, all while they waited for a waitress to take their orders.
As Pam complimented Alison for her dress, the blonde had to admit to herself; when they were all actually sitting down and talking to one another, she felt as though she was a part of the family, and she could definitely picture still being just that, even twenty, thirty years into the future. It was safe to say she has extremely calmed down due to the three family members' warm presence. What was even better was that Emily had promised her beforehand that she wouldn't go to the bathroom mid-meal and was now refusing to let go of her hand under the table, and Alison felt her heart skipping in her chest over the small gesture.
"Emmy, you said something about a 5k charity marathon coming soon?" Pam asked, taking a sip of her iced tea.
Emily nodded, "It's this Friday."
"And are you girls going?" Wayne questioned.
"Yeah, Alison thought it might be nice if we could bring her dog, Pepe, to run with us." Emily smiled.
"I'm very proud of you both for recruiting yourselves to help such an important cause. It's not obvious that teenagers these days are willing to do that," Pam shared, giving them a supportive smile just as the waitress appeared.
"Good evening," she greeted politely, "may I take your orders?"
They each told her their order and she scribbled it down in her little notepad. After the waitress began to walk away, Pam turned to the table. "I knew Emmy was going to get the lasagna," she chuckled wholeheartedly. Turning to Alison, she cheerfully said, "It's her favorite thing to eat."
Alison couldn't possibly suppress the huge smirk that took over her face even if she tried, and she cheekily turned to Emily, asking, "Is it really?"
Pam didn't notice the deep blush that took over Emily's cheeks as she understood Alison's innuendo, and she didn't witness the subtle kick her daughter gave her girlfriend under the table, which led to a game of footsie that lasted throughout the entire meal.
Only at the end of the night, well into dessert, Pam accidentally dropped her napkin on the ground, which caused her to duck down slightly and catch the two girls' hands jointed together between them with their fingers intertwined, and their legs placed close to one another's, making her softly smile to herself in satisfaction, glad to have a person like Alison in their little family.