57 - Welcome to the Family

The day before Alison's birthday, Emily found herself in the town square with her favorite goofy blonde. They were sipping their hot chocolates, taking notice of the greenery blossoming around them, which signaled the fact that Spring was approaching, all while glancing occasionally at Dr. Sullivan's office across the street from their bench. Hanna crossed her legs and sat Indian style, turning to face Emily.

"Emily, I don't understand why you're so skeptical about this. It's a good idea!" Hanna was wide-eyed in encouragement as she spoke, poking at Emily's shoulder to get her attention.

The brunette sighed in exasperation. She knew it was a good idea. She had even brainstormed it with Spencer and Aria - and had only mildly complained when Spencer suggested making a pros and cons list.

Earlier today, she had exited her house and started heading in the direction of the bus station with the intention of following through with her plan, but then ended up making a U-turn all the way to Hanna's house, where the blonde had accepted her with open arms. It was now three hours later, and Hanna was turning desperate. Emily kept facing ahead while Hanna poked her shoulder, her blonde eyebrow slowly rising. When the poking stopped, Emily turned confused. She frowned, discreetly side-eyeing Hanna.

"Why are you always so nervous about doing nice things for Alison?"

Emily frowned further, then opened her mouth to answer, but nothing seemed to come out.

"You're nervous about doing things for her in general," Hanna shared as if thinking out loud, placing her empty cup on the floor.

Emily finally turned to face her, biting her lip pensively. She was looking down, but Hanna still seized her progress, ducking down to meet her best friend's gaze.

"You're right," Emily finally admitted. Hanna was pleased to hear her opening up. She crossed her arms, giving Emily her full attention. The brunette looked up and met Hanna's understanding gaze, then looked back down. "I don't know why this happens to me. It's not like I'm afraid of her reaction, because I know that even if I bring her a piece of chewed gum I found on the street, she'd still love it."

"Chewed gum?" Hanna doubled over with laughter, "really, Em?"

Emily grimaced. "Yeah, I may have exaggerated a little with that one. My point is-"

"I get your point, Em," Hanna nodded understandingly, "but I still don't understand your anxiety about this."

Emily shrugged mildly, running her hand through her hair in frustration. "I just don't want her to think I'm talking about her behind her back and meddling with her personal business." she murmured softly.

"Emily." Hanna rubbed her hand over Emily's shoulder supportively, taking away the half-empty cup from her hands after they began to shake. She got Emily to look at her by pinching the top of her shoulder. "You're worried about her. That's not meddling. It's called caring, and it's what you do best."

She dropped her hand, now putting Emily's cup on the floor. "Look, even though I doubt that she'll have any sort of bad reaction to this gift, because really, you have to have a heart of stone in order to not melt from it," Hanna grinned in satisfaction when she got Emily to chuckle shortly, "even if that happens, she'll still be yours. She will still be boosting you up, and you'll still be winding down all her crazy. Trust me, the fate of your relationship does not depend on this."

"Don't call her crazy," Emily uttered quietly, shaking her head as she took in Hanna's words.

Hanna smiled a bit at her friend's defensiveness over Alison, then heaved a sigh, putting her arm on the back of the bench, turning to face Sullivan's office. "Really, she should be thankful to you. And I know that she is, for a fact."

Emily turned to look at Hanna, who, in her humble opinion, deserved the title "genius" tattooed on her forehead. Once she noticed the reassuring smile stretched on her face, Emily knew she had to go through with her plan. If not for her and Alison, then at least for poor Hanna's sake, who'd lost hours of her life she could never gain back.

And she did. Hanna escorted her to the bus station, and after seeing the still-worrisome expression on Emily's face and calling her pathetic, she dragged the brunette into the bus and rode with her all the way to her destination and back. Fortunately, the plan remained in tact.

XXXXX

Alison sighed blissfully as she fell into the bed, her wide smile not faltering a bit when the back of her head accidentally hit the headboard. The sharp pain came a second later, and she groaned quietly as she held her head. She sat up, grimacing, but when her eyes landed on her cell phone's new screen saver - a picture of her and Emily that Aria took, forehead to forehead - she smiled easily all over again, her pain all but gone.

The birthday breakfast Emily had taken her to was nothing short of perfect. The brunette was polite and well-mannered, so going with her anywhere respectful was fun. Emily had taken her to a charming place in the next town over, and the food there was extensively delicious. The girl had even secretly asked the staff to sing happy birthday to Alison and embarrass her in the most pleasant of ways. Emily brought her home just in time to prepare for their late-lunch picnic with their friends, which they had scheduled to finish before nighttime, around the time when Jason would be taking her to dinner at a restaurant they used to go to with their parents when they were little. It was a busy day, to say the least, but Alison couldn't have been more delighted.

Emily had gone home, saying she needed to help her mom with something, and Alison simply lay in bed in the meantime, waiting for her. Jason wouldn't be home until tonight, when he would be taking her to dinner, and her parents were both at their separate workplaces, but they had told her happy birthday at the beginning of the day. Well, at least her mother did. Alison didn't really mind their lack of presence, her thoughts were far more preoccupied with the way Emily had smiled at her today, like she was the absolute center of the universe. Merely thinking about it, Alison got butterflies all over. She was turning into a real sap, and it was really getting pathetic in her opinion, but at least she was being pathetic with Emily.

Thirty minutes later, on the front porch of Alison's house, the fabric carrier shook slightly in Emily's hand as she paced, so she placed her other hand under it to hold it still. Great, she thought sarcastically as she realized now she had no hands for knocking on the door. She guessed her current logistical struggle served her right, for lying to Alison about needing to help her mother at home, but she couldn't exactly give away the surprise.

Sighing reluctantly at the extra work, she placed the carrier down and rang the doorbell, then lifted it back up and held it securely. When she heard footsteps approaching, she panicked again. What surprise would occur, per say, if she were to simply display her present the first second Alison opened the door? She needed to hide it, she decided. Swiftly, she hid the fabric carrier under the bench a few feet to her right, softly placing it on the ground in a position where it was mostly hidden from the door. When the front door opened, she had a quick moment to stand up before Alison stepped out, confused.

"What are you doing?" Alison asked in amusement when she saw Emily stumbling into a standing position next to the bench in her porch.

Emily shook her head, feigning innocence, "Nothing. Are those new shoes?"

Alison took one odd look at the brunette. She was biting her lip, smiling a little too naïvly, her cheeks flushed. Emily noticed that she was wearing new shoes. Emily. That fact alone had her narrowing her eyes at her girlfriend.

"Yes. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Emily repeated, her voice reaching a higher note than usual as she approached closer. She wasn't looking Alison in the eye and the blonde was only getting more suspicious. Emily hesitantly pulled out a piece of fabric from her pocket, "I do need you to put this on, though."

At the sexual innuendo flashing through her mind, Alison flashed a sultry smirk and the teasing raised eyebrow at her girlfriend, and Emily's eyes widened as she rushed to explain herself, "It's n-not... I'm not- I-I wasn't-"

Giggling, Alison took the piece of fabric from a scandalized Emily's hands. She knew the brunette didn't mean it in a sexual way, but she was so fun to taunt, that whenever Alison got a chance, she just had to. She was about to place it around her head to cover her eyes, when Emily took the fabric from her this time, silently asking to do it herself. Alison let her, and then didn't object when she was being led to somewhere nearby. Emily sat her down on the same bench she was previously hovering awkwardly by, and then let go. Alison remained sitting there for a few moments, listening to the sound of Emily closing the front door and then settling next to her.

"Okay, so... the reason you're wearing a blindfold isn't necessarily because of your gift, it's mostly because I can't say what I want to say if I'm looking you in the eye. So, just, hear me out, okay?"

Alison frowned a bit, but nodded.

The blonde heard the distinct sound of Emily taking an impressively large breath, as if she was stalling the conversation. "I've been noticing something about you lately. And not just me... our friends and Jason too, even my mom told me something about it."

"I thought Pam liked me," Alison pouted playfully.

"She loves you. This isn't something bad." Emily reassured.

At the added pause, Alison sighed. "Emily, I can hear you thinking all the way over here. Just tell me what it is."

"Promise me you won't be mad?"

"Depends on what it is."

"Ali!"

"What?" Alison asked laughingly.

"If you don't promise me ahead, I won't say it," Emily said quietly.

That sentence alone left Alison thinking what it was that left Emily so hesitant and tentative.

"Okay."

Emily cleared her throat, "Ali, I've noticed that you're-you're so... lonely sometimes. Most of the time that you spend at home. And I get it, because your parents are almost never here and Jason's working hard, and you're all alone in this house. I know you don't blame them for it, because they can't control when they work, well, Jason at least, but I can tell that you wish someone was home. I wish I could be that someone for you, and as much as I want to be, I can't spend every minute of every day with you, because we're still teenagers and have school and work and need our own separate lives, so... I wanted to think of a solution. And you should probably thank Jason for that because he had brought it up to my attention."

Alison listened to Emily ramble nervously, continuing to be quiet throughout the girl's chatter. She tried to process Emily's sped-up speech - that she had no doubt the brunette had been practicing for a week in front of the mirror - and her eyebrows scrunched up in concentration, which Emily mistook for hurt.

"Ali, I'm sorry, I understand if you don't-"

"Emily."

Emily watched as Alison slowly untied and removed the blindfold, then waited until familiar blue eyes focused on her.

"I love you," was the first thing Emily heard come out of Alison's mouth. It was extremely random, but then again, it wasn't. It was enough to get a small, reassured smile on Emily's face.

Alison nodded slowly. "And..." she cleared her throat as her voice suddenly turned strained, "a-and I guess you're right. I, um... sometimes it gets a little, uh, lonely."

Emily could tell how hard this was for Alison to admit, but she patted herself on the back for having gotten the usually closed-off blonde to talk about her feelings rather than avoid them.

Emily nodded before declaring shyly, "I think-I think I might've found something that would help you."

Alison watched with anticipating eyes as Emily gently grabbed the fabric carrier from under the bench, an item the blonde hadn't even known was there.

When Emily opened the zipper, Alison's heart swelled, her eyes miraculously turned glistening, tears threatening to fall out. Her throat constricted as Emily took out the Shetland Sheepdog puppy - who had somehow managed to stay quiet this entire time - with a small smile.

"I picked him up from the shelter this morning. You-You mentioned a few times how fun it would be to have a dog and when I thought of a present for you, it just made sense..."

But Emily trailed off because Alison was already taking the puppy and putting him in her lap. He looked at her with big, warm brown eyes, and she almost laughed because they looked exactly like Emily's.

Her glossy eyes turned to Emily's as she sighed happily, registering the still-nervous expression on the brunette's face for a second before leaning forward and falling into a searing kiss, careful over the new friend currently sprawled across her lap, his tongue hanging out as he breathed excitedly.

Alison tried to convey how much she appreciated Emily's gesture and caring nature. She truly couldn't picture her life without her lover. It was impossible for her to even imagine it.

When they separated softly, Emily's hand went instantly to the furry creature who seemed eager for attention. She picked out the bounciest dog she could find, hoping he would be the perfect cure for Alison lonesomeness.

"I bought you the rest of the necessary things for him, like food and a small bed, so you don't have to worry about that."

"Thank you, Em. This is so, so sweet." Alison flashed her a grateful smile, which got the brunette to smile back at her.

"What are you going to name him?" Emily asked after a moment.

"Hmm," Alison thought long and hard, face deep in concentration. "Well, you said you thought Pepe was a good name." she offered to the brunette.

"Yes, but are you - you're actually going to name him that?" Emily asked in awe. She hadn't known the blonde actually remembered her suggestion, and besides, they were being playful at that time, she hadn't thought Alison would really follow through.

"Why not? He looks like a Pepe." Alison chuckled when the dog tried to claw his way up her dress with his tiny paws, and then she proceeded to grab said paws and bump his forehead with hers lightly. Emily smiled like a fool at the sight.

Emily nodded along happily, and lifted Pepe securely in her arms when he crossed the bench to her lap instead.

"Hey!" Alison protested playfully. "Traitor," she muttered with a barely concealed smile.

Emily chuckled and smiled at Alison when the blonde moved closer to her on the bench.

"Well, Pepe," Alison declared tenderly as she ran her fingers through his soft fur and he wiggled his tail appreciatively, "welcome to the family."

XXXXX

"Ali! Ali, stop it! Where are you even going?"

Emily's voice was merely white noise in Alison's brain. The voice of the girl she loved, the tender voice that Alison had gotten so accustomed to and relished, wasn't even reaching the shells of her ears. That's only the gist of how furious she was.

Emily was by her side at no time, her long legs having only mild trouble keeping up with the blonde's fast pace. She tried to reach for Alison but it was useless. She wasn't sure her girlfriend even knew she was there in the midst of all her anger.

Their high school peers nearly flung themselves at their lockers only to avoid the queen bee's palpable wrath. Alison was never very good at hiding her rage.

Her eyes zeroed in on the reason she was angry, who was standing right at the end of the hall, shoveling books out of her locker.

Alison stomped her way over to Sydney.

Emily couldn't understand how the hell things had gotten so messed up. It has been two weeks since Alison's birthday, and only yesterday she was at her swim practice, just like every other Tuesday. They were having a friendly race after the practice ended, like they had done many times before. Emily had been pleased to see Paige finally settling for being her friend and even though she was still heavily competitive, it was a healthy level and dose, so Emily had no qualms about it. The other girls were having plain fun and the practice and their good-natured race went by swimmingly - Pam didn't understand the joke when her daughter had told it to her. The trouble only began after the race ended. They had been in the locker room, getting ready to leave, when Sydney came up to Emily.

Emily didn't have a problem with Sydney, she actually appreciated the girl's eagerness to learn and the fact that she wasn't a sore loser. It was more than she could say for herself. Her fellow teammate had greeted her happily, and then politely requested if Emily could help her with her technique. Emily, simply being herself, easily obliged. The girl was persistent enough, anyway. They'd gotten back to the pool when everyone else left. Emily didn't think much of it. She was used to girls from her team asking her for after-hour help, and she didn't mind one bit. If it contributed to the team, there was no reason for her not to do it.

Everything went alright there as well, and Sydney was improving her technique under the guidance of Emily. At the end of their closed practice, Sydney had taken her aside and told her how happy she was that Emily agreed to help, how thankful she was.

And then she had asked Emily out on a date.

The look of horror and dismay that Emily had worn as an answer to that question was the exact same expression she was wearing now, desperately chasing after her girlfriend.

Alison had recognized right at the beginning of the day that something was off about Emily. It was like she had a sixth sense, dedicated especially to deciphering her girlfriend's feelings. She had pulled her into an empty classroom by the break between first and second period, crossed her arms and refused to move until Emily told her what was wrong.

Emily had talked hesitantly and quietly about the events of the previous day, biting her lip shamefully at the blonde's reaction. Of course, she stressed the part where she had told Sydney a very clear no, explaining that she had a girlfriend whom she loved very much. Emily had actually let Sydney down very gently.

Alison wasn't having any of it.

When Emily very quietly told Alison about the part where Sydney had slapped her afterward, she kept her eyes on the ground throughout the entire explanation, and then looked up at Alison fearfully. It took Emily all night to actually believe what she was telling Alison. Sydney, who was usually so quiet and friendly, had slapped her. It was only natural that she almost didn't mention it to her girlfriend.

The expression on blonde's face had been blank for a moment, before she had abruptly spun around and made her way out of the classroom, leaving a befuddled Emily hot on her heel.

Now, chasing after the furious blonde, Emily spotted Toby walking gleefully in their direction, his locker being on the opposite side of Sydney's. He waved at her, but when his eyes landed on Alison, they widened until they reached the size of saucers. He actually looked like he peed his pants a little.

"Stop her!" Emily shouted to him from a little further down the hall.

Without thinking - and only relying on the terrified look on Emily's face - Toby found his feet moving in Alison's direction even though he wanted to do like the rest of the student body and most of the staff, and move as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

It wasn't the wisest decision at first. Alison walked straight into his body, and although he was pretty much a brick wall, he still flinched from the hit and moved slightly back. But when his eyes caught Emily's deadly serious ones, he decidedly ducked in front of Alison and slung her easily over his shoulder.

"PUT ME DOWN!"

Poor Toby winced at the blonde girl's volume, but he kept his hold in tact. She tried to fight and squirm her way out of his arms, but he only tightened them against her rattling figure.

"Toby Cavanaugh!" Alison barked, "don't make me hurt you!"

"Ali, please just calm down," Emily pleaded with all her might, but to no use. It was surprising for Toby how, even though Emily was a girl herself, she didn't know that that was the single one thing you absolutely shouldn't say to a girl when she's angry.

Alison didn't listen. "Toby, I don't care that you're my friend, if you don't put me down right now, I will personally make sure you can't have children, understand? Let me go!"

Toby gulped at the very obvious threat to his male genitalia.

"Sorry, Ali," he choked out, shaking his surprise at her previous comment. "Our girl said to stop you, so I had to listen."

"She's my girl," Alison growled dangerously, but both Emily and Toby were too focused to notice - focused on keeping her from falling harshly to the ground from the height of Toby's shoulder, while simultaneously ducking from the firm kicks she was sending out.

"Who are you even going after?" Toby asked loudly, trying to understand what the hell was even happening. He looked around nervously, realizing every inch of attention in the hall was on them.

"That incompetent slut-!"

"Alison DiLaurentis!" Emily shouted in warning, and the blonde was so shocked, that she actually quieted herself. Emily was still teammates and friends with Sydney, and even though she had slapped her due to her rejection, she definitely didn't deserve to be called a slut or any other derogatory term. "I dare you to finish that sentence." Emily crossed her arms in a challenging manner.

The three of them looked absolutely ridiculous in their current pose, especially now that Alison crossed her arms huffily while she was practically upside down, refusing to apologize for calling the girl names, because, well, she hit on Alison DiLaurentis' girlfriend (figuratively and literally). What did she think was going to happen?

"Well?" Toby inquired.

"THAT SYDNEY GIRL ASKED EMILY OUT AND THEN SLAPPED HER, IS THAT ENOUGH OF AN ANSWER?"

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" Toby shouted back in protest, resisting the urge to rub his sore ears. Girls were so complicated. He rarely ever raised his voice too, so even Alison turned to look at him in question.

But then the words registered in his brain and he instantly contemplated whether to put down his friend, let her go after Sydney and even give her a hand, or to keep her from harming the aforementioned girl. Only the visual of Emily shaking her head vigorously kept him holding Alison all the same.

"It's not like that, Ali! She was hurt, okay? I understand why she did it," Emily finished softly, trying to get Alison on her point of view - to make her understand that she wasn't mad.

Alison rounded on Emily, "How are you so calm about this?!"

Emily bit her lip for a moment, and Toby frowned in question, silently wondering what was on his best friend's mind at the moment. She caught his eye, and nodded her head toward a classroom nearby, signaling him to get Alison in there. He nodded and then went off in that direction, the blonde on his shoulder still.

"Where are you going? Put. Me. Down!" Alison barked in protest. The next thing she knew, her feet were suddenly touching the ground and she instantly straightened up and went into full fight mode, only to find two bodies were blocking her path, and a locked door - Emily had locked the door behind them and she and Toby were standing with their backs against it, preventing Alison from spreading any more terror around their usually-peaceful school.

Alison eyed them both in scrutiny, her eyes as narrow as a needle. "Move." she growled.

Emily shook her head, "You're not going anywhere-"

"Emily!" Alison cried in protest. "Why are you doing this?"

Instead of answering, Emily moved an inch forward from the door toward Alison. "Just what were you planning on doing to her?" she questioned accusingly.

"Nothing! Just talk..."

They both gave her a look.

"... and then make sure she died a slow and painful death..."

"Ali!"

"What?!" Alison shouted. She spared a look at the two best friends who now crossed their arms and tried to look as confident as they could. "Move out of my way, Emily, I'm serious."

Emily was ashamed to admit she was a little more than turned on by the low tone of Alison's voice. She needed a cold shower, and not just because chasing after Alison at full speed through half of their school was tiring and more exercise than any swim practice. Emily caught herself in time and shook her head firmly.

"Not until you listen."

"I listened!"

"No, you didn't! You don't know what you're doing!"

Toby cleared his throat, "Listen, I think-"

"Stay out of it!" they shouted in unison, never breaking her gazes from each other. He shrunk slightly, which looked ridiculous, due to his enormous height.

Alison scoffed at the girl, then moved backward and took a seat upright on a table. She waved her hands ceremoniously in a mocking manner, "Please, explain."

Emily sighed. Before she continued with Alison, she turned to the boy near her. "Toby, can you give us a minute?" she asked politely.

Toby merely nodded and stepped back to open the door, but a hand on his wrist stopped him. He looked back at Emily in confusion.

"Thank you," she uttered.

He nodded again, but Emily saw that his eyes held a sympathetic look that said he would do anything for her. She was more than grateful for this boy.

His eyes strayed to Alison, who now had her arms crossed and her chest rose and fell dramatically every few seconds as she left out endless huffs. It looked like this classroom was the last place she wanted to be in the world. He refocused on the determined brunette who's eyes carefully followed Alison's every move. "Call if you need anything?"

Emily nodded distractedly. And then he was gone.

She closed the door behind him softly, all of the fight gone out of her. Now she just wanted to talk. She had to convince Alison not to hurt Sydney, and she couldn't let the fact that Alison looked gorgeous when she was enraged distract her.

"Why shouldn't I go after that girl right now?"

Emily closed her eyes for a long moment, exasperated. "Ali..."

The blonde was still foaming at the mouth with anger, and Emily's heart lifted a bit, because after all, Alison was just trying to protect her. Nevertheless, she knew she had to get Alison's attention so that her girlfriend understood that harsh and even violent ways were not the answer, especially not in this case. Their group had already gotten into too much turmoil at school since the beginning of this year, with all the confrontations they had been through. She didn't want to rush the next confrontation Alison was involved in, she cared about the girl too much for that.

She seriously doubted the fact that she could get Alison to drop the situation altogether, so she settled for trying to get the blonde to deal with Sydney politely. But then again, the sight of the blonde's eyes filled with plain white anger as she drilled holes through the closed door of the classroom made her realize how truly stubborn the girl was about this whole subject.

Before she could do anything, Alison seemed to have gotten enough precious time wasted, time she could've used in order to tear that bitch, Sydney, apart, and she abruptly bolted straight in the direction of the door.

Fortunately, Emily saw it coming. She moved right in front of Alison, proving herself as an obstacle in the girl's way, the blonde barely had time to blink before she was being spun around and pushed against the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Emily reaching for the lock and turning it, then jiggling out the key and putting it in her pocket so that Alison couldn't leave.

Emily's hands were now on either side of her head as she tried to catch the blonde's gaze in her own serious one. "Alison, listen to what I'm saying." The brunette was actually surprised by the threatening turn her voice had taken, and apparently so was Alison, if the way her eyes widened ever so slightly was any of an indication.

Emily inwardly cleared her throat and looked Alison dead in the eye. "You are not going to hurt Sydney, okay? If you want to talk to her, you're going to do it like a normal, civilized person, and not beat her down to the ground like I know you want to."

The corners of Alison's mouth knowingly twitched up, but only a little bit, because she knew Emily was right. Then her smirk widened.

"What?" Emily asked.

Alison had slid her hand on Emily's hip at some point, not that the brunette noticed, the blonde's touch was just so natural at this point. Emily's eyebrows scrunched down in confusion as she stared at Alison. The blonde was entranced by their current position, and Emily being so dominant at the moment was doing all sorts of wicked things to her body.

"You know... I kind of like this," Alison answered huskily, trying to pull Emily toward her but the brunette knew better. She didn't have time to process before Alison fisted her shirt and hungrily pulled her forward until their lips were not a mere inch apart.

Emily gulped as the blonde's lips ghosted over hers. "Mine," Alison whispered possessively before hastily smashing their lips together.

Alison sometimes did stuff like that, the girl was spontaneous when it came to Emily and the brunette loved when she was like that. And she would've loved this under different circumstances but this wasn't Alison, it wasn't her Ali. Something about it was too rough, too demanding. Even in the worst of days, Alison would never force herself onto Emily. The brunette wasn't completely against this activity, but she still had a point to prove and Alison needed to stop trying to shut her up.

Emily pushed her by the shoulders lightly to have them separated. "Alison," she scolded.

Alison had the decency to look chastised and her eyes grew a bit wide as if she just realized what she had done. "I'm sorry, Em," she groaned honestly, covering her face with her hands. Emily knew she wasn't only apologizing for the forceful kiss, she was sorry for her behavior in general. She knew Alison felt bad; all that progress she had made over the past few months erased in one day just because of some stupid incident.

Emily shook her head silently, then reached out and drew back Alison's hands from her face. Once she could see that beautiful, gentle face that she loved so much, without another word, she leaned forward and kissed Alison softly. It was chaste, but sweet, and left them both content.

When they pulled back, Alison's eyes met Emily's for a brief second before she let out a small, shuddered sigh, closing her eyes and kissing the brunette's lips again just as tenderly. Emily could see that her affection had broken the girl out of her fury-induced daze. Alison leaned her forehead against Emily's, seeking comfort. She didn't know what was happening to her; she was pretty sure she had never been this mad in her life, but Emily was successful enough to calm her down a bit. Emily always somehow managed to make it better.

Now she knew better than assaulting Sydney like she thought the girl deserved, that is, if she wanted Emily to talk to her in the next five years.

"You're not getting yourself in trouble over some ridiculous fight," Emily concluded, intent on not letting go of the girl in her arms. "Promise me I'm not going to wake up tomorrow to a phone call from juvie."

Alison chuckled lightly, "I'm actually flattered that you think I'm going to cause that much damage."

"Well, you are Alison DiLaurentis."

The blonde sighed forlornly. She let her head drop back against the door behind her as she took Emily's hands from their place on her hips and intertwined their fingers. Emily's heart skipped at the simple gesture, and Alison bit her lip to cover her smile because she knew exactly what Emily was feeling.

"How do you always manage to do that to me?" she let out in awe.

"Do what?"

"Stop me from going absolutely out of my mind. Keep me from doing reckless things. If it wasn't for you I'd probably be sitting in the principal's office right now." Alison shared with a sad smile.

Emily shrugged with a hint of a smile on her lips. "I guess I have the same effect on you as you have on me. You keep me from doing reckless things, too. And sometimes you cause me to do those reckless things but it's okay, because we end up having fun."

Alison giggled wholeheartedly. This, this was why she was so in love with this magnificent girl.

"I promise," she said, nodding somberly.

When Emily dropped her off in her next class, which was the third period, because they had involuntary missed the entire second period talking and just being with each other in that locked classroom, Alison already had a plan formed. No, she wasn't going to break her promise to Emily and physically damage Sydney. Not... entirely. She found the perfect loophole.

XXXXX

Alison knew loud and clear that her anger hadn't absolutely passed. All it took was one glance at the girl who had the audacity to lay a hand on her girlfriend to spark up that little psychotic urge inside Alison's brain. Sydney shared a class with Alison and looked completely oblivious to the deathly glare directed her way throughout the entire period, but her mask was revealed when Alison saw her leaping out of her seat as soon as the dismissing bell rang. Sydney knew she was there.

She sprang right after her.

Students jumped out of her way and Alison snickered internally. She wasn't going to hurt Sydney, because Emily had been right. She wasn't worth getting into trouble over, not the slightest bit. But that didn't mean the blonde couldn't deal with her the best way she knew how; it was time for some 'girl talk' with Sydney.

The said girl was startled out her mind when she was pushed not-too-lightly into the girl's bathroom on the second floor. Luckily for her, all of her books were in her bag so none of them were sprawled across the floor as a result. She turned her head to see who had gotten the sudden urge to have her stumbling into the room. Her stomach dropped at the sight of a cold-faced Alison DiLaurentis.

She was hoping to not run into the girl after the incident yesterday, but hope bred eternal misery. On the other hand, she had been looking around for Emily all day, wanting to apologize. She had only seen the brunette for a split second earlier that day before she, Alison, and the boy Sydney knew as Jenna's half brother, Toby, entered a classroom. Suspiciously, Alison had been slung over Toby's shoulder at the time. It was safe to say she hadn't wanted to step into that.

Now, the queen bee was standing in front of her, and she shuffled uncomfortably because she was aware she probably looked like a deer in the headlights.

"Listen here, Sydney. I heard about your little confrontation with Emily yesterday." Alison was standing with her hand on her hip, her stance exuding nothing but confidence and power, the way of the queen bee. "She told me not to hurt you, which, by the way you're rubbing your shoulder, is already a promise I broke. But it's okay, in case you were worried. I usually like making it up to her," the blonde barely contained her smirk at the inappropriate thoughts, momentarily forgetting Sydney was even there. When the girl shifted uncertainly again, Alison cleared her throat and raised her chin, enjoying the sight of Sydney flinching at the movement, and got back to her argument. "But she won't be happy if I do as I please and rip you apart limb by limb, so I'll just settle for this small chat of ours," she shared with a dangerous grin.

"I get why you asked Emily on a date. She's the sweetest girl to ever walk this planet and she's charming and shy and beautiful. Even though I still don't understand how you didn't know Emily was my girlfriend - because really, do you live under a rock? - I understand why you wanted to date her. Or maybe you did know she was my girlfriend, and you just felt like getting on every single one of my damn nerves today. Seriously, do you have a death wish or something?"

"I... I didn't-didn't know she was your girlfriend," came the hushed reply as Sydney stared at her shoes.

"Bullshit," Alison bristled, "everyone roaming these halls know. We haven't exactly been secretive."

"I- Jenna told me you broke up." Sydney blurted truthfully.

"Like that makes it any less bad," Alison scoffed. "Even if Emily and I were to ever break up, she would still be my best friend. People know not to hurt my best friends or my girlfriend." She huffed impatiently at the sight of Sydney, once again, gulping in distress. She gathered her thoughts quickly. "Okay, you know what, this is a start. We're actually getting somewhere," Alison nodded to herself, pleased to have gotten some answers. "Now, Emily obviously turned you down gently because she's Emily, and then, let me get this straight, you slapped her? Your hand connected with her cheek? You want to explain?"

Sydney remained mostly quiet, anxiously spluttering an explanation that Alison couldn't even understand, which only pissed the blonde some more.

"Well, the slap was obviously utterly pathetic, because there wasn't even a trace of a mark on Emily's cheek," the blonde almost snickered insultingly, then returned to her fury, "but the mere fact that you thought you could get away with touching my girlfriend, or, in this case, anyone who simply turned down your invitation for a date... Well, I just think that's ridiculous. Don't you think that? I mean, what if I were to slap you right now, Sydney? What if I slapped you because you refused my request for you to explain yourself? Would that be fair?" Alison undertonedly threatened as she stepped forward in malice.

"N-No-"

"No? Then what in the world made you think you had the right to harm such a gentle and sweet person like Emily?" Alison shouted, stepping right into Sydney's personal space.

A bell rang loudly above their heads and Sydney thanked whoever was up there watching over her because Alison suddenly seemed to retreat slightly. Just before Sydney thought she was free, the blonde determinedly leaned forward and Sydney swallowed.

"This isn't over, Sydney," Alison uttered viciously, then walked in a torturously slow pace to the door, taking her time, but stopped at the doorway. "Oh," she turned back for a moment, throwing over her shoulder, "and tell Jenna I said hi."

For some reason, Sydney found herself replying, "I would, but we're not really speaking right now."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Alison asked sarcastically, folding her arms and almost chuckling to herself, but Sydney didn't detect the cynical tone of the blonde's words.

"I think Jenna has a thing for Toby. She spends a lot of time at home when he comes to visit just to be near him. We spend less time together now, and maybe that's why she rejected me," Sydney blurted again, and Alison realized the girl had a hideous habit of telling people Jenna's atrocious secrets. The blonde wondered to herself why she hadn't used Sydney for information about her enemy before, but then again, she understood that perhaps the girl was only telling her this because Jenna had hurt her.

The information wasn't news to the blonde, she had figured just as much from her multiple visits at the Cavanaugh-Marshall residence, and if she had figured it out, she thought Toby had as well. Maybe that was even why he had moved out in the first place. She made a mental note to discuss this with the boy.

"That's why you deteriorated to hitting Emily? Because you were rejected twice on the same day?" Alison asked, her interest peaking.

Sydney only nodded glumly.

"Well, that's mortifying," the blonde snorted and chuckled mockingly to herself. "Twice on the same day, huh?"

Sydney clenched her jaw a bit at the girl ridiculing her, but at least the blonde wasn't physically harming her.

"It seems you have gotten enough humiliation for this week, so... I'll leave you alone. For now. But you do have to apologize to Emily. She deserves at least that," Alison decided, reveling in the image of Emily's proud face once she'll tell the brunette about this. Sydney nodded speechlessly. Alison turned to walk from a surprised Sydney, who seemed to be a bit relieved.

She stopped in the doorway, "Sydney?" Sydney lifted her head stiffly. "Don't get hung up on Jenna just because that sick freak was the first friendly face at this school. Anyone deserves better than that low life bitch. Even you."

And with that, she was gone, leaving Sydney to gawk at the bathroom door. Did Alison just give her advice that sounded nothing short of civilized and even... helpful?

Sydney was fifteen minutes late to class after trying to decipher her encounter with the infamous queen bee, and without a hall pass nor an explanation, she was given detention. When Alison found out about it, she deemed it punishment enough.