24 - Big on Happy Endings

After their wild night, Emily and Alison came back to the DiLaurentis residence. They woke up the next morning, tangled lazily in each other's arms. They ate breakfast and dressed up, then went back up to the pink bedroom.

"Ali," Emily started, picking up her head from her phone as she lay sideways on her girlfriend's bed.

Alison's mind was distracted as she spent her time writing something in a small notebook, her back against the headboard. She kept her eyes on the paper and her head didn't budge as she hummed absentmindedly, "Love you, babe."

Emily chuckled at her inattentiveness. Alison's mumble sounded almost like a pre-recorded message. It was strangely cute in a way. "Ali," she tried again when the girl wouldn't move her eyes from the paper, nudging her leg softly.

"Yeah?"

"We should start packing. We don't have much time," Emily suggested, gesturing to the closet.

"Oh, I guess you're right," Alison agreed, finally removing herself from her previous task. She rose up and walked to her closet, forsaking the small notebook closed on her bed, leaving Emily to stare at it. The blonde pulled a suitcase out of her closet and set it down on the floor, opening it promptly.

"What's that?" Emily inquired, pointing at the small notebook.

"It's my diary," Alison answered simply with a small smile, walking to the bed and taking the notebook.

"Since when do you keep a diary?" Emily asked playfully.

"Since forever," Alison answered as if it was obvious.

"Let me see," Emily requested, a grin tugging at the edges of her lips.

"Okay." Alison consented easily. Just as she was about to hand the notebook to Emily, she retrieved it back quickly. "No, you're going to have to wait till after," she informed her, taking a seat on the bed.

"Till after what?" Emily groaned childishly.

"After I'm dead," Alison laughed.

"Ew, don't be so gruesome!" Emily gently smacked Alison on the leg.

"I'm not being gruesome, I'm being mysterious," Alison answered in the same low tone that never ceased to make the brunette shiver. She got up and placed her diary in one of the drawers in her desk.

Had Emily not known better, she would've asked Alison what was written there about herself, but she was clever- she knew Alison was one tough nut to crack. The blonde wouldn't have told her anyway, so she decided not to ask. She knew Alison would just tell her when she was ready.

Alison then opened a different drawer, pulling out a notably heavy book with a gray and red cover.

Emily looked on curiously, "Which book is that?"

"Great Expectations," Alison answered as Emily sat up, moving to sit beside the blonde against the headboard.

"Isn't that the book we had to do a report on until the end of summer?" Emily questioned.

"Yeah, but I read it already," Alison shrugged carelessly and looked down at the cover. She began flickering through the pages, stopping on a particular page and laughing lightly at the text.

"What's so funny?" Emily smiled at the sound of the giddy laughter.

"Their names. Pip, Mr. Wopsle, Uncle Pumblchook. They all sound like stuffed Animals." Alison said, chuckling quietly.

"I can't believe you already finished it," Emily stated as she inched closer to Alison.

"Want me to tell you what happens? I can make you a cheat sheet," Alison smirked, showing her dimples. Her eyes were glistening with mischief, Emily noted. "You should really let me braid your hair sometime," the blonde commented aloofly as she absently played with a strand of Emily's dark hair.

Emily smiled timidly at her, looking away. Her eyes landed on the suitcase on the floor. Before she could stop herself, she began daydreaming freely about Paris.

"We're going to have such a great time in Paris. I hope it's not the only time we'll visit there, we should go there again in the future," Emily turned excited as the words left her mouth.

"That's what I love about you, you're big on happy endings," Alison remarked lovingly, making Emily's face break into a small grin. "So is Dickens, by the way. Pip gets Estella in the end," the blonde remarked distractedly as she looked down at the book once more and opened it on a certain page. "Can I read you something?" she asked.

Emily nodded almost instantly, and Alison searched the quote with her eyes. Her eyes lit up for a split second once she found the right paragraph and she began reading;

"'I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be,'" Alison turned her head to look at Emily's reaction, "did you get to that part yet?"

Emily nodded sheepishly, because she had read that page and that exact passage already, but hadn't thought much of it until now. She leaned forward and kissed Alison softly, just because she could. It was only a few moments before they parted away from each other and the blonde gave Emily a small smile, before leaning forward and kissing the brunette again. After a short kiss, Alison leaned back and separated from Emily, pulling the brunette to her feet.

"Come on, we'll never get this packing done in time unless we start now," Alison walked over to her suitcase and started stuffing clothes in it. Emily helped her, handing the blonde items she asked for such as her hairbrush and charger.

"Hey, when do your parents get back from Texas?" Alison asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Tonight. It's a good thing our flight is tomorrow morning so I'll have time to say goodbye to them before we go," Emily answered while sorting through some of Alison's clothes.

"Sweet. We're all sleeping at the guys' place tonight, right?"

"Yeah, I think so," Emily answered distractedly as she handed Alison her scarf and the blonde shoved it in the suitcase.

They continued packing and after they were finished with Alison's case, they exited her house and walked to Emily's in order for the brunette to pack her own. They packed Emily's things in record time since the brunette was a lighter packer than Alison, who of course, was not satisfied with bringing any less than her entire house along.

When they were done and exhausted, they lay on the bed, Alison's head resting peacefully on Emily's chest, listening to her heartbeat speed up occasionally. The brunette was embracing Alison's smaller frame and tracing random patterns on her arm.

"Em, can I tell you something?" Alison asked abruptly in a somewhat timid tone, making Emily raise her eyebrow curiously.

"Of course, Ali, you can tell me anything," Emily answered sweetly.

"Remember... Remember that night, when we first slept together?" Alison asked, feeling embarrassed for one of the first times in her life, her cheeks tinting red.

"How can I forget?" Emily smiled shyly, running her hand through Alison's soft, shiny hair, and tucking a blonde strand behind her ear.

"Well... The thing I was writing in my diary that I didn't want you to see was, uh, it was..." She exhaled deeply. "It was my first time, too," Alison admitted in the smallest of voices.

"Really?" Emily asked, suddenly surprised.

"Yes," Alison confirmed sheepishly, looking up at Emily who had stopped running her fingers through the blonde's hair.

"Ali, I-I, I don't know what to say," Emily said thoughtfully, though she couldn't stop the hint of a smile that danced on her lips. She had been Alison's first, the same way Alison had been hers. It was something she had dreamed of being ever since she had first recognized her feelings for the blonde. Her petite smile slowly faded as she realized something, "Wait, why didn't you just tell me?"

"I didn't know what you would think, and..." Alison huffed in frustration. "Sadly, sometimes my pride gets in my way of doing things, sweetie," the blonde said in a tone of regret. "I'm sorry, I should've told you earlier, it's just... You and the girls have this, tinted vision of me being an experienced person and I guess I didn't want you to realize I'm just a big phony."

"That night being your first time doesn't make you a phony, Ali. And it's okay. I guess I get why you didn't say it. I'm just really glad you told me now," Emily rubbed her arm on Alison's shoulder reassuringly. The blonde sat up lightly, her head hovering above Emily.

A naughty idea suddenly came to Alison's mind and she smirked devilishly, raising a suggestive eyebrow, "You wanna re-do?"

Emily laughed and looked away from Alison briefly. "Seriously? This is your romantic way of propositioning me?" the brunette teased.

"Oh, you want romantic? I can be romantic," Alison suddenly shot up from the bed and rushed out of the room, much to her girlfriend's amusement. Emily stayed lying on her bed for several moments before she heard footsteps approaching and lifted her head to see Alison returning, this time, holding a single red rose.

She playfully kneeled in front of Emily, who had shifted to sitting on the edge of the bed, and smiled up at her, holding up the rose. "Emily Fields, you are by far the most important and captivating person in my life, my first and only love. You're the only one who makes my heart beat faster and slower at the same time, which, I'm not entirely sure is even physically possible. I'm a better person because of you and I love you for that," Alison finished, handing Emily the rose and watching her reaction. The brunette smiled softly at her girlfriend, inhaling the scent of the flower.

"Ali, I love you too, but... is this rose from my mom's garden?" Emily raised her eyebrow and chuckled, knowing that Alison was aware of the fact that Pam was obsessed with the roses in their garden.

"I'm sure Pam will forgive me," Alison brushed it off, moving to straddle Emily's lap.

Emily placed the rose down on the bed and looked at Alison. "Oh, really? And how are you so sure?" she teased.

Alison smirked, thinking she got Emily just where she wanted her. She leaned in and whispered lowly in her ear, "Because I make her daughter happy."

Emily bit her lip and closed her eyes, listening to Alison's husky voice. "You do?" the brunette whispered back, gulping momentarily.

"Mmhm," Alison smirked as she hummed in approval.

"Prove it then."

XXXXX

"What took you guys so long? We were about to hit 'play' on the movie," Hanna called out crudely, stuffing her face with popcorn as Emily and Alison walked into the guys' apartment and placed their suitcases in the corner. The teens had already said their goodbyes to their parents and were ready for their flight in the morning.

"And why are limping like that?" Spencer snickered.

Emily gulped nervously and looked at Alison, indicating that she should take this one. "We just got a little tied up on the way here," the blonde said smoothly, winking at Emily.

"Right..." Hanna smirked sinfully, knowing exactly what 'tied up' meant.

"Shut up, Han." Emily dismissed and blushed furiously.

They all settled down in the living room and Ezra and Aria went to get everyone sodas and snacks. They pressed play on the movie "Grease" and sat down to watch it together. Alison and Emily were tangled up with blankets on the couch with Hanna and Caleb on the other end, Spencer and Toby were on the floor with pillows and blankets, and Aria and Ezra chose the big armchair that had been graciously donated by Ezra's cousin.

The guys didn't have that many pieces of furniture in their apartment, nor was it extremely spacious, all things considered, but all of their knickknacks, posters and pictures on the walls made the place look very homey, something which the girls greatly appreciated.

When the movie finally ended, they got ready to go to sleep. "I can't believe school starts in a week." Emily groaned from the couch.

"Hey, don't think about it like that, Em. Think about it like... the upcoming week is going to be a one we spend in Paris, and by the time we get back, we'll have tons of memories to share," Alison assured with a smile.

"She's right, Em. I mean, this is Paris we're talking about," Aria grinned in agreement.

"By the way, are all of your school stuff ready?" Spencer asked in an authoritative tone.

"Yes, Mrs. Hastings," Hanna teased.

"Ugh, I'm sorry that I sound like my mother, it's in my Hastings genes," Spencer groaned, making the group laugh.

"Speaking of school, we might have something we want to tell you all," Caleb suddenly said, looking at Ezra and Toby for approval. They subtly nodded at him.

"What is it?" Aria asked, placing her hand on Ezra's concernedly.

"We, uh, we might've transferred... to Rosewood High," Toby admitted in an uncertain voice, unsure of how his friends and girlfriend were actually going to take it. They'd only known each other for a few weeks, after all.

Smiles rushed to the girls' faces at the pleasant surprise and they let out astounded laughs. "Wait, really?!" Hanna asked enthusiastically.

"One hundred percent real," Caleb nodded with a tilt of his lips, satisfied with the giddy reaction.

In response, Hanna practically tackled Caleb in a hug, the group laughing at her reaction. Spencer and Aria couldn't help but rush to hug their boyfriends as well, and Alison and Emily got up to embrace their friends and new school-mates.

"Sophomore year just got so much better," Alison admitted as she hugged Ezra.

"Junior year for us," Ezra pointed out truthfully.

"I'm so glad I met you guys. I feel like I've known you forever," Aria smiled wistfully, spontaneously pulling everyone into a big group hug. Everybody answered together in agreement at the same time, which made it hard for anyone to understand, making them all burst out laughing. The one comment that everyone did hear, though, was Emily's soft statement;

"It's only the beginning."

XXXXX

Emily woke up in the middle of the night, Alison's arms wrapped around her waist in a snuggly manner. She felt her dry throat practically demanding her to get a cup of water, and she carefully slid out of the blonde's arms and got up. Walking the short distance, she was soon startled by a figure standing in the kitchen.

"Toby? Why are you up so late?" she rubbed her eyes tiredly and looked at the clock on the microwave, "it's three in the morning, we have to leave in three hours from now."

He turned to her with a mug of tea in his hand. "I know, I just couldn't sleep. Want some tea?" he asked her in a hushed tone.

"Uh, yeah, sure," she quickly decided to take some tea instead of water. Good thing it was green tea, so she would actually have a chance of falling asleep sometime that night, she thought.

Toby soon handed Emily a mug filled with green tea, and she smiled gratefully, cupping her hands around it. "So, how long have you guys been planning to transfer to Rosewood High?" Emily asked curiously.

"I can't vouch for the other guys, but for me, it was pretty much ever since the night Spencer agreed to be my girlfriend. She means so much to me and I thought a lot about it, then, I brought it up with Caleb and Ezra and figured out they felt the same," he explained, stopping to take a sip. "It wasn't hard to convince my parents. I mean, my dad recently married a woman who lives in Rosewood with her daughter, Jenna. Jenna apparently goes to Rosewood High, so my dad has been on my case for months, trying to get me to go there instead of Ravenswood High. I didn't want to transfer at first because I didn't have a reason to, but now I do," Toby finished, glancing over at a sleeping Spencer and smiling gently.

"Wait... Jenna? As in, Jenna Marshall? She's your sister?" Emily asked in pure shock.

"Step-sister, Em. Why? Do you know her?" Toby inquired.

"More like, I've been drafted to a war against her along with the other girls. Ali doesn't exactly have the greatest history with her. I think it's because Jenna has always tried to take Alison's place and Ali doesn't want to let her, so they often butt heads and get into arguments. Jenna can be... Kind of rude," Emily settled for replying, the conversation she and Alison shared with Jenna the night of the football game still sticking uncomfortably in her mind.

"I didn't like her at first either, but it's a little better now, I guess. Maybe we'll get along, who knows," Toby shrugged, sipping his tea.

"Hey, Toby?" Emily asked after a beat of silence.

"Yeah, Em?"

Emily smiled at him, "I just wanted to say that I think you and Spencer make a really great couple. I don't know what it is about you, but she's just way less tense around you. In the past, all she used to care about was winning, but now, she just really wants to be happy."

"Thanks, Emily," he smiled his 'Toby smile' at her. "For what it's worth, I honestly think you and Alison make a really good couple too. You accentuate each other pretty nicely," he said reassuringly.

"How so?"

"Are you kidding me? Ali's process of becoming a better person, it's... it's all because of you, don't you see it?" he asked, looking at Emily intently. "Plus, she brings out a bolder side of you, which is awesome to see, Em. As someone who didn't even know Ali's past behavior before you all told us, one of the first things I ever noticed about her was how clear it was that loves you."

Emily's smile widened at his kind words. She was really glad for him to be in her life.

"Hey, your dad's in the military, right?" Toby spoke again, finishing his cup.

"Yes, he is," Emily answered simply.

"Does he serve in Afghanistan?"

"He used to, but then he got transferred to Texas a few years ago. And actually, I found out two days ago that he was being re-stationed here, to Pennsylvania. He came home just today," Emily said joyfully as she grinned and finished her own cup.

"Really? That's great, Em." Toby supplied in genuine happiness, standing up and bringing Emily into a hug. She responded to the gesture, wrapping her arms around Toby's tall body.

"You're an amazing friend, you know that, Toby Cavanaugh?" Emily asked with a dazed smile as she pulled away.

"I better be, because I don't see this group falling apart anytime soon. I guess you're stuck with me," Toby teased, nudging Emily's shoulder playfully.

Emily laughed gently, nodding her head.

He glanced once more at the clock, sighing. "I'm getting kind of tired, I think I'll go to bed. Goodnight, Em," he said, then walked to the living room, settling next to Spencer on the floor and falling into a much-needed rest.

Emily stayed in the kitchen a bit longer, putting the mugs in the sink and washing them.

"Em?" she suddenly heard. She instantly recognised the honeyed voice of her girlfriend and turned around, meeting a sleepy Alison DiLaurentis, a rare sight that made her heart warm up in her chest.

Alison stepped closer to her and hugged her close, softly nuzzling her nose into Emily's neck, surprising the brunette with how cuddly she was being. "Come back to bed," she said gently against the girl's skin.

Emily couldn't possibly say no to that. She nodded and kissed Alison on the forehead, making the girl close her eyes contently. The blonde led her to the pull-out couch that they used as a bed for that night. They lay down quietly, bathing in each other's warmth, and Emily sighed in happiness as she fell right asleep.

XXXXX

The morning came faster than they would've liked it to, and the group was rushing down the stairs of the Ravenswood apartment building, carrying their bags and suitcases and hurrying to get into the taxi-van they'd ordered.

They threw their belongings in the trunk of the car and climbed inside. On the way to the airport, they took the time to make animated small-talk between them.

"What should we do first?" Hanna asked with a mischievous grin.

"I mean, we should check into our hotel first. Maybe later that day, we could start our traveling," Spencer offered.

"Sounds good," Toby confirmed.

"I still can't believe Harris and the club are paying for all of our expenses, it's amazing," Aria said in awe.

"Well, we did win the raffle, didn't we?" Emily asked, looking pointedly at Toby.

"You mean, Toby won the raffle," Hanna answered playfully.

"No, come on, you guys. We all won that raffle, it was fate," Toby said and smiled reassuringly at everyone.

"Toby's right," Alison agreed, catching his gaze in understanding. "To Paris, bitches!" the smirking blonde repeated her own words from a while ago, making the group cheer enthusiastically, much to the annoyance of their cab driver.

After the drive, they arrived at the airport. Alison grabbed Emily's shaky hand just before they exited the vehicle for their luggage.

"Well, here goes nothing."

XXXXX

The group boarded their plane successfully after they had passed all of the security checks and rather annoying protocols of bureaucracy.

Emily was in her seat next to Alison, while the other three couples occupied seats that were somewhere either behind or next to them, all comfortably relaxing in first class. For some of them, it was their first time ever being not in coach or even on a plane in general.

Alison had her fingers interlaced with Emily's, and in the corner of her eye, she could see the brunette staring intently at her.

"Em, if you keep staring at me, people are going to think you're weird," Alison joked.

Emily instantly looked away, blushing, "Sorry."

"Relax, I'm only playing," Alison laughed and kissed Emily chastely on the lips. "Stare all you want, babe. After all, I can tell you're enjoying the view, and I wouldn't want to deny you of any happiness."

Emily snorted in response. "You are so full of it, aren't you?" she teased playfully.

"I was only telling the truth," Alison faked innocence and smirked. Emily couldn't help turning to the blonde and cradling her cheek, pulling her into a kiss. She would never admit it out loud, but she loved it when Alison teased her, it turned her on more than it probably should've.

"Eh hem," they heard someone clear their throat and parted away from each other. They saw a middle-aged flight attendant standing next to Alison's seat, looking clearly abashed. "Ladies, buckle your seatbelts please, we will be taking off shortly."

Emily quickly obeyed, feeling a little embarrassed at the situation. Alison, on the other hand, took her sweet time, a little annoyed at the interruption. After a few minutes, the plane started moving to its designated strip, and shortly after, it took off and they were high in the air.

When the lighted sign that instructed the passengers to buckle their seatbelts turned off, Alison easily freed her seatbelt and did the same for Emily.

"Wanna play a game?" Alison suggested.

"On a plane? How is that possible?" Emily laughed lightly.

"Oh, it's possible. Trust me, I've done it before. Let's play truth or dare," the blonde smirked, wiggling her eyebrows saucily.

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?" Alison whined. "I won't make you jump off the plane or anything, it'll be fun."

"But-"

"Please, Em, I'm bored." Alison whimpered.

Emily sighed heavily, knowing she'd already given in. "Okay, fine," she turned to a grinning Alison. "Who gets to start?"

"You can start," the blonde shrugged nonchalantly.

"Okay. Truth or dare?" Emily asked.

"Truth."

"Is it true you used to be scared of people in food costumes?" Emily giggled, remembering how Alison had randomly told her that the other day.

"I was really little, okay? God, I'm never telling you any of my secrets ever again." Alison groaned and pouted.

The brunette only laughed harder and kissed Alison on the cheek lovingly. "Your turn," she reminded.

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare, I guess," Emily shrugged uncertainly, a little scared of what Alison would dare her to do.

"I dare you... to steal that guy's blanket without waking him up," Alison smirked triumphantly, pointing at a guy a few seats in front of Emily on the other side of the aisle.

"I don't know, Ali, what if he'll wake up and yell at me?" Emily's eyes widened at the horrifying thought.

"He won't. Besides, if he does, I don't mind going all bat-shit crazy on him," Alison said warily, then gave Emily a reassuring smile.

"What? What does that even mean, Ali?" Emily whispered loudly, then apologized sheepishly when she was shushed by an elderly lady a few seats away.

"It means I'll have your back. Now go," Alison practically pushed her towards that guy.

Emily looked around, noticing that all of the other passengers were either asleep or busy. Either way, none of them were looking at her in suspicion. She carefully tugged on the guy's blanket, pulling it slowly from on top of him. Alison stifled a laugh as she watched Emily rush back to her seat with a light-blue blanket. It was the same blanket that everyone else had on the plane, so Emily figured the guy wouldn't possibly notice this one wasn't hers.

"That was hilarious," Alison pretended to wipe a tear from under her eye over-dramatically and clapped her hands slowly.

"Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed my theft," Emily joked sarcastically as she stashed the blanked under her seat, making the blonde roll her eyes playfully.

"Okay, now it's your turn," Alison said.

"Right. Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Alison replied boldly.

"I dare you to prank that guy and make him believe he's your father," Emily said, pointing to a southern-looking man wearing a cowboy hat.

"Where do you come up with these things?" Alison laughed. Emily merely shrugged innocently as the blonde stood up. She bent down, kissing the brunette quickly, "Watch and learn, Fields."

She sauntered over to the man, pretending not to notice him at first but then doing an overly dramatic double-take at him suspiciously with a frown. That caught the man's attention, making him look at Alison strangely.

"Dad? Dad, what are you doing here?" Alison asked in the most realistic way she could make it.

"I ain't no daddy!" the man said in a heavy southern accent.

Emily stifled her laugh with her hand as she watched the interaction play out between Alison and the random guy. Thinking about it, she probably should've picked a different guy, since the one Alison was talking to didn't look a day over thirty.

The man and Alison exchanged a few sentences that she couldn't hear before the blonde walked back to her seat. "He threatened to call the flight attendant, so I just took off," Alison shrugged and sat back in her seat.

"Good call," Emily agreed, her amused smile not budging. "Your turn."

Alison pretended to be in deep thought for a second. Her eyes lit up with mischief as an idea came to her mind. "I dare you..." she started, grabbing Emily's chin softly and brushing her thumb over the brunette's bottom lip. "To meet me in the bathroom," the blonde finished huskily. She winked at Emily and made her way to the small, unoccupied stall, letting herself in.

Emily laughed to herself and shook her head, got up and followed her girlfriend to the bathroom.