"It's not always about the destination" Alison sits forward in her seat, looking the women in the eye "It's the journey you go through to get there"
Alison's eyes flicker away staring off into the distance "Because without that journey, what's the point in reaching your destination?"
The women looked deeply into the blondes eyes, her lips pursed "The bumps aren't always the easiest though"
Alison nods clearing her throat "That's true" she sighs "But if you can't make it through the rocky parts, then what's the point of holding onto hope that it might work out in the end?"
The interviewer stayed silent
***
"Are you going to sit with us today?" Mona asked as she and Alison walked together to the lunch room.
"I don't know" Alison sighed "I don't want Emily to sit alone"
Mona chocked out a laugh "Since when do you have a heart?"
Alison glared at her, but Mona didn't flinch instead, she just rolled her eyes "I'm just messin Ali, why don't you tell her to sit with us?" She suggested
Alison immediately shakes her head "She won't want to"
"Why?" Mona snickered "We don't bite"
"She's just really shy"
"Oh well" Mona shrugs not really caring "let her know she has a seat at the table once she decides to break out of her shell"
Alison laughs at her friends comment as the break away from each other. Mona walking towards her table and Alison sauntering towards Emily's .
But the brunette wasn't there
Her blue eyes scoured the cafeteria in hopes of finding a certain brunette. She almost jumped as her eyes landed on Emily. But her smile soon fell into a frown as she watched Paige McCullers bothering the girl.
Emily was trying to get away from her, but Paige didn't seem to get the hint. She kept after her filling her like a lost puppy.
Alison marches over towards them, The blonde smiled as she saw Emily visibly sigh in relief at Alison's presence.
"Is there a problem?" She crossed her arms across her chest, mustering up the best bitch stance she could do. Her hip jutted out, her brow furrowed in annoyance, and her back straight as a board to insert her dominance.
"No" Paige spat "I was just talking to Emily"
Alison gently reached out for Emily's arm, grabbed it and softly guided the brunette closer to her.
"Now Em, I was wondering if-"
"She doesn't want to go anywhere with you Paige" Alison spat vehemently. Suddenly feeling very possessive over Emily. She hoped it didn't scare the brunette away.
Little did she know Emily was thinking the exact opposite of running, she actually wanted to get closer.
"Now leave" Alison shooed her away as if she was a fly "I was having a good day, and by seeing your face it's making it slightly worse"
Emily giggled softly at Alison's smartass remark. But she covered it up with a cough, because she could feel Paige shooting daggers at her and Alison.
Paige grunted in defeat then stomped away like a little kid.
After she was gone, Alison turned around and as soon as she saw Emily's amused face she broke into a fit of girly giggles. Hearing the melodious sound of Alison's laugh Emily began laughing to, the blondes adorable laugh was so contagious.
After their laughing died down they took their seats at a lunch table and ate peacefully. Eli coming to check on Emily every now and again. Alison watched as Emily pretended to get annoyed with him, but she could see how much he meant to her.
The bell rang, and just as Emily was about to go to class, Alison grabbed her arm to stop her. The brunette turned around and stared at her expectantly.
"Let's skip" Alison giggled
Emily looked at her as if she had five heads. She shook her hand from Alison's grasp. "Eli will kill me"
Alison cocked her head to the side "Does he have to know?"
Emily opens and closes her mouth, not having any more excuses. So she reluctantly let Alison grab her hand and lead her outside.
They walked in silence to the Fields in the back of the school. Emily kicking rocks as she shuffled her feet, and Alison nervously playing with her fingers in her hoodies pockets.
"Does it snow much here?" Emily randomly asks
Alison looks at like she has fiber heads, which causes Emily to giggle and continue
"I'm only asking because, in Texas we're I'm from" She clarifies "There was never any snow obviously"
Alison was honestly stunned Emily was even speaking that much, but she quickly shook off the initial shock and answered the question.
"It usually starts snowing at...the end of December maybe?" She squints her eyes no sure she was correct.
Emily nods and stares at the soccer field longingly. Her fingers instinctively playing with the string protruding from the end of her jacket. Curling her other hand in the sleeve of her jacket. She then turns around to face the blonde, who then beckons her with a wave of her hand. Emily quickly falls into step beside her.
As the walked side my side, the gusty wind of fall brushed passed them in a heap. Alison's shivered slightly, pulling her jacket around herself. She steals a quick glance over at Emily, who seemed to be entranced with the scenery, of colorful leaves, baring trees, and partially cloudy sky's with the sun beaming through cracks in the clouds.
Alison shifted closer to Emily, a sharp intake a breath as their shoulders brushed up against each other. Emily shyly glanced over to the blonde, flashing a sheepish smile.
As Alison catches her eye, she does the same, only she dug her arms deep into her pockets, shrugging up her shoulders to gain some type of warmth.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was actually comforting to both teens. Being in each other's presence, more so away from their families, caused them both to feel a tremendous weight lifted off their shoulder. But it would soon be replaced once returning home.
"I want to show you something" Alison gently offers, breaking the silence. When Emily looks at her, she continues,
"It's this place I like to go, it helps me clear my head"
Emily stays silent, continuing to follow the blondes lead. Alison takes the brunettes silence as an ok.
Alison leads them both into the woods, carefully pushing the branches out of the way, and holding them back so they wouldn't wack Emily.
"Come" She waves over the blonde
Emily obliges, a little nervous eat being alone without Eli. But for some reason she trusted Alison. And she didn't trust many people. So it was very peculiar.
They reach in opening in the wood path. In the middle, sits an old beaten down rock. Trees surrounded it, leaves fell beside it almost perfectly, and the view in front was a gorgeous blue water lake, that Emily so desperately wanted to dive into.
Alison sits down on the rock and pats the empty spot beside her. Emily carefully sits next to her.
They stare at the lake in silence, almost like a scene in a movie, she could hear soft imaginary music lingering in the background.
"Beautiful" Emily mumbles, not taking her eyes off the lake.
Alison nods in agreement. She rubs her hands together to gain warmth, before wedging them between her thighs.
"Like I said earlier" Alison's voice cracks slightly, seeing that she hadn't said a word in a while "I Come here to clear my head, just being here makes my stress levels evaporate"
Emily giggles quietly at Alison's choice of words. Which causes the blonde to turn her head towards the other girl, her brow quirked playfully "What?"
Emily tugs off the hood of her jacket, exposing her long dark tresses. "It was just funny, the way you said it"
Alison teasingly rolls her eyes, staring back at the lake. She inhaled deeply, her shoulders slumping, no longer having the energy to hold them up any more. She could practically hear her mothers voice in her head.
"Keep your back straight Alison! You don't look professional with your shoulders slumped"
She cringes inwardly at the words echoing in her head. She then speaks "Do you ever, you know, just want to run away...?"
Emily instantly nods "All the time"
"Sometimes I just want to get the hell out of this shit town" Alison spits, her tone still surprisingly calm
Emily shrugs, she didn't know what to say, but apparently she didn't have to, because the blonde continued
"My whole family is-" Alison stops herself, her forehead scrunched in confusion "There're...there're just so irritating and closed-minded"
"I just wish we could be a normal family" the blonde sighs
Emily looks at the blonde, her soft brown eyes glowing in the suns rays "No family is normal Alison"
"Oh yeah?" Alison carelessly lets out. A distant tone of voice.
Emily nods
"I'm sorry" The blonde groans out "I probably sound like a drama queen right now" she cursed herself, cover her face with her hands.
"You don't" Emily quickly reassures the stresses girl
Alison lets out a humorless laugh "I was supposed to bring you here, to have fun, I'm sure you'd prefer being in class over listening to me whine" her tone coming out disgruntled
"Alison" Emily started debating whether of not to comfort the blonde, so she decided to joke "I would prefer dying over school"
Alison giggles softly, a genuine smile returning to her face as her eyes met Emily's
"You can vent to me any time you want" Emily offered casually "I don't talk much so it'll be pretty easy" a fatuous grin adorning her lips.
Alison laughs lightly. Then glances down at the watch on her wrist. Seeing the time, she stands up, brushing her hands on her jeans and turning to face Emily.
"We better head back" Came he dejected time "the buses will be picking up us soon"
Emily agreed and the two of them quickly headed back to campus.
***
As they walked closer to the school, Emily's heart just about dropped as her eyes landed on her cousin. His face was a mixture of anger and concern.
He approached the two girls, brown eye boring holes into Alison. The blonde avoided eye contact.
"Emily where the hell did you go!?" He rushes out looking his little cousin over to make sure she was alright.
Emily opened her mouth to speak, but Alison stepped in "Its my fault Eli, I was the one who convinced Emily to skip"
Emily felt bad, she didn't want Alison to have to deal with Eli's wrath. "It's no big deal Eli"
"We've talked about this Em" He lowered his voice "You can't be going off alone like that especially with people you don't know"
"El-"
"No Em" he scolded "If your mom finds out about this, she's going to beat my ass" she scoffed running a hand through his slightly shaggy hair.
He then grasps her forearm, gently bringing her closer to himself. He took Emily's back back off of her and threw it over his shoulders.
As they began to walk away Alison quickly dashed towards them "Wait!"
Before Emily could Eli turns around "Stay away from Emily, Alison, she cant be getting in to trouble like that"
Emily sighs, subtly flashing the blonde a look of apology. Her face also showing how appreciative she was of today's events. Alison didn't know how she knew that but she did. It was as if she could read Emily like a book, despite just meeting her last week.