59 - I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty (P2)

Hanna groaned loudly and dropped her head gently on the familiar kitchen island once the whistling sound was heard again. She didn't care what time it was, all she knew was that it was before 7 AM and that she shouldn't have been awake. She had misguidedly assumed that since they all slept the previous night at Alison's, that they would wake up around noon or so - get their proper beauty sleep - then get ready and go to the venue of the fashion show. She honestly didn't know why she was surprised by the fact that Mrs. DiLaurentis had different ideas. At least she got them all out of school for the day.

The woman in question invaded the kitchen, plastic whistle still firmly planted between her lips. Aria jumped, startled, when the woman, who was standing right beside her, blew again. Hanna hated that damn whistle so much. Jessica had woken them up with it - or more so, scared them out of their peaceful sleep - she'd gotten them to get out of bed with it and she got them to do their normal hygiene regiments with it. Hanna felt like she was in the military for the day, or rather, a part of the Von Trapp family.

"God, mom," Alison whimpered in frustration. "We're up, we're up."

"Emily, your parents will be arriving shortly, they will come with us to the venue," Mrs. DiLaurentis informed, and Emily dutifully nodded, as she seemed to be the only one, save Spencer, who was coherent enough to respond in a way that wasn't mumbled comments.

"Ladies," Jessica said in a mild warning tone as she eyed the three sleepy figures and the two other ones who simply looked distressed, "go get showered."

She exited the kitchen, but not before giving them a scary glower that implied that if they were to screw up her perfect schedule for the day, they would have to deal with her.

Emily got up to start making coffee for everyone, knowing they desperately needed it, when Jason entered the room in his work attire - a white button-up tucked in a pair of khaki pants. He took all of their tired faces in for a moment, then snorted in amusement.

"Shut up, Jason," Alison bristled, and the rest of the girls made grumbled noises of agreement.

"You're just jealous I don't need to do any of this, Al," he shrugged, slinging his arm around Emily's shoulder as they both leaned their backs on the marble counter.

"That's not fair, you're a guy," Emily commented, crossing her arms huffily, but took the muffin he offered her nonetheless.

"Hey, be nice to us guys. Just because most of you in this room are lesbians doesn't mean-"

A wide-eyed Emily held Alison back around the waist when the blonde lunged for her brother, the latter escaping easily then breezily walking out of the kitchen, cackling at his own joke. That didn't stop Alison from throwing a muffin at the back of his head, pleased when he made a pained sound.

Alison dropped heavily in her chair, leaving Emily to pant at the effort right behind her. They were both finally very much wide awake.

"Wait," Aria said, holding her hand up with the most comically befuddled expression the girls had ever seen her wear. "What did he mean by most of us?"

XXXXX

It took further five minutes to calm Alison down and not have her chase Jason all the way to his office in her pajamas, ready to strike him down, and then another ten minutes to assure Aria that Jason was only joking, or in Alison's words, 'Being his ass self.'

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, they went upstairs, and got in the shower in their turns. Hanna, Aria, and Spencer, who were already showered, along with Emily, who was the next one in line, were organizing everything they needed to take to the venue with them. In the meantime, Alison was in the other room, humming peacefully as warm water hit her skin.

Emily had been sitting down with her legs crossed for the past seven minutes because Hanna had advised her that it helped to hold off when you needed to pee. And Emily really needed to pee. Waiting another two minutes and then redeeming it an inconsequential idea, seeing as she was still dying to pee, Emily went off in the direction of the bathroom. Yes, she knew Alison was inside, and very naked, and that they had a very tight schedule to maintain, and she could very much do this. She would just walk in, pee (and of course, wash her hands), and walk out. Simple as that.

Nodding her head to herself, she knocked on the door timidly. "Ali?"

No answer.

She hesitantly opened the unlocked door, biting her lip shyly. Steam covered the large mirror as well as any other shiny surface in the room, but Emily barely had time to gather a lecture to give to Alison about the overuse of water before her eyes caught the silhouette behind the curtain, where the blonde was rinsing her hair, moving her hands gracefully through the soft locks. And then, her ears caught onto the sound of serene humming. She didn't recognize the song, but she allowed herself to simply stand there for a few moments and enjoy the beautiful sound.

Suspecting she would come off as creepy, Emily finally moved her feet and advanced in her actions. She really wished she could've just used a different bathroom, but Jessica had hogged every single other bathroom in the house, filling it with endless makeup supplies and wardrobe and accessories, and ruthlessly snapping at anyone who dared to enter - even Emily, who she loved the most.

The brunette shook away her thoughts when her bladder pressured her once more. She got to the toilet - which was in a fair distance from the shower stall in the DiLaurentis' massive bathroom - and quickly did her business. It wasn't a big deal, she tried to convince herself. Hanna peed in front of her sometimes too. And well, with Alison, she was used to seeing her naked, so this wasn't so different from that.

When she was done, she washed her hands thoroughly, like her mother had taught her to do ever since she was a toddler, and then got ready to leave when the blonde abruptly quit singing.

Emily heard a distinct huff, before Alison let out exasperatedly, "Hanna, I swear to God, if you're trying to 'Psycho' prank me, I'll trip you over my heel in front of everyone tonight."

Emily chuckled silently to herself, stalking over to the shower curtain.

Alison effectively jumped when she felt movement around her, and then turned with a hand on her heart to see that Emily had opened the shower curtain slightly. She took in her face; her normally tan skin was flushed with color, and the sheepish grin she was wearing stood in contrary to the fact that she was nipping slightly at her lip.

"God, Emily, don't scare me like that," she scolded, but no pitch of snarl was heard in her voice.

"Sorry," Emily bashfully apologized, but her eyes dropped shamelessly to the magnificently soft skin. How badly she wanted to go inside that shower and replace Alison's hands with her own. The idea of absolutely nothing separating her and the blonde sounded like a dream come true.

She heard a light chuckle directed at her. "Stare much?" Alison teased, not disturbed the slightest bit by Emily watching her so closely while she was showering. After seeing each other naked so many times, it all but felt natural.

"Sorry." Emily was still not looking her in her eye, her eyes widening more and more by the minute and stopping somewhere that felt suspiciously like the blonde's breasts. Alison almost laughed when Emily's cheeks turned red, probably due to the anything-but-innocent thoughts in her mind, but that didn't stop her eyes from traveling around the exquisite form.

"You've really got to stop apologizing so much, sweetie."

"Sorr-" Emily stopped herself mid-sentence, giggling and shaking her head at herself.

Alison's amused eyes caught Emily's as the latter held her gaze, trying not to look down again. Emily didn't seem to realize that holding their eye contact was even more sensual than dropping her gaze until it was too late.

"Well," Alison started, the water still running down her body, and it was so hard for Emily to keep her sight horizontal, "would you rather stand out there... or in here?"

Emily, this time slightly guiltily, swiped her eyes down the girl's body while exhaling a shuddered breath, the fact that that body was wet was just an extremely tantalizing bonus.

A small smile grew on her face as she accepted Alison's offer, but before she could do anything, the blonde pointed her finger at her. "But no funny business," she stated, "because we need to hurry."

"No funny business," Emily held up her hands, but then added quickly, smirking, "not yet, anyway."

Alison smirked right back, turning back to her shower. Emily slid back and trotted over to lock the door, slipping out of her clothes and stepping into the shower stall with Alison.

She wrapped her slender arms around the blonde's waist from behind, pressing her lips against the girl's neck softly.

"Em," Alison whimpered throatily, "we promised no funny business."

"I'm not doing anything, Ali," Emily mumbled hazily against her neck as she ran her nose lazily up and down the length of the blonde's throat.

Alison sighed in pleasure, putting her own hands on Emily's, "Yes, you are, mermaid. You clearly know the effect you have on me."

Alison felt Emily smile against her neck, and the brunette kissed behind her ear one more time before reaching out and retrieving a bottle of shampoo. She rubbed the liquid between her hands then brought them up to Alison's hair, massaging her scalp properly.

Alison leaned into Emily's touch out of instinct, "That feels so good."

"That's what you always say," Emily was surprisingly cocky, and Alison decided to play along with it.

She turned around to face Emily, "That's because you always manage to make me feel this way."

Alison's tone sent a chill running down Emily's back as she boldly stepped forward, trapping the blonde against the wall in the relatively small cubicle. Alison's head was secure between Emily's hands as they rested on the wall beside it, and her eyes couldn't help but dip down helplessly to watch as Emily's chest heaved. And even lower, where Emily's toned stomach muscles have constructed. Then back up to Emily's predator-like look. Needless to say, she found herself immensely turned on.

Her eyes focused on Emily's again, noticing the fact that the brunette had caught her staring, she could see it in her eyes. She didn't resist leaning closer, but just as their lips were about to meet, Emily spoke up tauntingly, "I thought you said no funny business."

Alison leaned her forehead against Emily's, mildly frustrated, closing her eyes. "I did, but... what's the fun in that?" she asked quietly, and the brunette's breath hitched in her throat.

Emily only hesitated for a moment before crashing her lips into Alison's with force. Alison reciprocated, tangling her hands into Emily's long, dark, now-wet hair. She had a feeling this was amiss, with both their families downstairs and their friends were just in the next room. But then again, when has that stopped them before?

Emily dipped one of her hands down to rest on Alison's lower back, her other hand staying in place for keeping her balance. She pressed harder against the blonde, hearing her moan breathlessly at the close contact of skin. She didn't know what had gotten into her today, but she discerned that her arousal level has gone up so far high, there was absolutely no way she could've just walked in and out of this bathroom like it was nothing, and she should've known that ahead, too.

Alison's hands came down from Emily's hair to rest around her shoulders, slipping her tongue into Emily's mouth with practiced ease. They kissed and kissed, more powerful each time their lips met.

They were aware of their place and timing, knowing they couldn't get past this level of contact at the moment, which, compared to them, was still relatively innocent. That didn't stop them from doing other aspects in that 'funny business' they'd promised not to do.

Alison parted first, licking her lips and breathing against Emily's lips, "And you said I had terrible timing."

Emily chuckled hoarsely, "You usually do, but today, I don't know why, I just couldn't help myself."

Alison closed her eyes, nudging her nose with Emily's, "Don't ever help yourself, Emily."

Emily smiled softly at the use of her full name, but it dropped when Alison quickly added, "Unless we're like, at a funeral or something, because that's just wrong." She began ranting, "Some people say having sex at funerals is a turn on, but honestly, the only question I want to ask them is, 'Are you on crack?'"

Emily's laughter at her girlfriend's ridiculously random statement echoed between the four sides of the shower cubicle, and she pushed herself off of Alison as she reached out to take a bottle of conditioner off of the shelf.

XXXXX

He politely accepted the hors d'oeuvres when they were offered to him by a young-looking waitress. The woman proceeded to hand out small dishes as he stood, his eyes taking in the scene around him. The venue was roaming with people; families and friends, photographers and local reporters, all gathered in the conveniently spacious room. Music that was almost rudely loud boomed throughout the place and bright lights that were soon bound to give someone an epilepsy attack flashed along with the beat, matching the music. The bass line echoed the loudest in people's ears but as he looked around, nobody seemed to mind. In fact, it looked like people were having a great time enjoying the dishes and talking to each other, waiting to be told to take their seats.

"Hey, Rio."

Caleb turned around at the sound of the familiar voice, instantly knowing who it was. He was careful not to spill the things in his hands on his attire. He was dressed in a black suit over a white button-up, and even without Hanna's endless amount of exaggerated self-fanning, he knew he looked good. He was holding the flute of champagne that Ashley, Hanna's mother, had smuggled for him. It was finally the night of the fashion show, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that he was excited. Merely from seeing Hanna in only two of her dresses, he knew he was going to have a great time.

He came face to face with a genially smiling Alison, who was wearing the dress he now recognized as her event dress, a dress that wasn't displayed in the fashion show, rather one for when she wasn't modeling.

Caleb placed the items in both his hands on the nearby table, leaving his hands unoccupied. He turned to her with a smile of his own, speaking loud in order to be heard over the music, "Are you seriously going to keep calling me that?"

Alison smirked. Ever since the previous week, when she was in Spanish lesson and her teacher mentioned offhandedly that the Spanish word for "river" was Rio, she had been using that as Caleb's nickname nonstop, which amused the boy as equally as it annoyed him. "Yep," she answered simply, examining his glass. "Is that champagne?"

"Hanna's mom," he answered, not needing to explain further. Alison nodded in understanding.

"Well, you better keep that from my mom. If she finds out that the guy who's in charge of the entire graphics department of her show is getting drunk, you'll be sent over to Antarctica to live with the penguins faster than you can say, 'I'm sorry.'"

"Meh, I like penguins," he merely shrugged back, eliciting a slight laugh out of Alison. "And I'm not getting drunk, it's just one glass. Wait, what are you doing here, though? Shouldn't you be off somewhere calming down Emily? You know she gets nervous about this stuff."

"Of course I know," Alison huffed, irked that someone would question her understanding of Emily's feelings. "But when we first got here, your girlfriend snagged her aside for what she told me was a 'pep talk', and I haven't heard from either since," she rolled her eyes hard at Hanna's antics. Of course the girl would take her girlfriend aside when she needed her the most.

They noticed Ezra trotting over to them, smiling in his own dark gray suit.

"Hey, Supertramp," they greeted in unison and smirked when Ezra narrowed his eyes at the nickname. They merely high-fived each other. That same day when Alison had begun calling Caleb 'Rio', he had complained that she didn't give any of the other boys their own nicknames. Toby had begged her not to, so she still didn't have a nickname for him, but luck was not on Ezra's side, and he got his own sobriquet that made Alison laugh whenever she would say it.

"You guys are insufferable."

"You love us," Alison rolled her eyes fondly at him.

"If you say so," he muttered.

Alison only begrudgingly huffed when Jessica caught sight of her only daughter, who was still not backstage getting ready, and whisked her away to the multiple makeup crews.

"Bye, Caleb," she waved easily as Jessica fussed all over her, a phone in each hand as she dialed back and forth. Alison's eyes averted to Ezra, and she smirked, "Later, Supertramp."

Alison snickered as Ezra's face turned annoyed and Caleb patted his back comfortingly while simultaneously holding back his own laugher.

XXXXX

Emily impatiently paced around the cramped room, lifting her eyes to look at the blonde for a few moments, then huffing in frustration and turning to tread again, murmuring under her breath.

Alison was off chattering gleefully with the team of hairdressers even though they had already finished doing her hair, oblivious to the way the ground had probably been shaking under the power of her girlfriend's heavy stomps.

"Ali! Come on!"

Alison delightfully wrapped up the conversation with the group of people who blindly adored her, smiling joyfully at them as she grabbed her things. She stumbled a bit when Emily yanked at her hand, but followed nevertheless.

Emily grumbled in displeasure when she felt a pull at her hand, halting her to a stop and then the sound of Alison's greeting, "Hey, Mona."

Emily tuned out of their conversation, going back to her stomping and muttering and head shaking, but only when she heard Mona say, "I bet the crowd would love it if you sang," she zoned back in.

Walking up to Alison's side, she noticed her wearing a contemplative face, as if weighing the decision.

Hanna appeared out of nowhere, walking up to them. "Yes, sing a wittle wove song," she teased in a baby-like voice, darting her eyes between Emily's irked expression and Alison's amused one.

Alison chuckled, "Really? What should I go with?" Turning to Emily with a playful glint in her eye, she sang, "I'll make love to you, like you want me to, and I'll hold you tight-"

Emily's cheeks turned crimson as she dragged Alison away by the hand. She had noticed that even Hanna and Mona already had their hair done and realized she really needed to hurry. But Alison jokingly detached herself and ran back to them.

"If they do include singing in the program after all, then you can totally have this one, Mona," she assured. "I really need to start sharing the spotlight."

Mona's eyes were wide, "Really?"

"Sure, I've heard you sing before," she winked playfully at her.

Hanna and Mona only laughed when Emily came back, ducked a bit, and lifted Alison bridal style, so she couldn't escape. "Bye guys!" Emily shouted to them with a smile as she walked further away, and Alison swerved around her shoulder to wave at them, before kissing the brunette's cheek and letting her take her away.

XXXXX

"Ali, look at what I've got," Emily excitedly remarked as she approached Alison twenty minutes later. Inside the well-lit dressing room, they could still hear the music from where the main event took place. They had some time before the actual show commenced, as people were currently only taking their seats, and even then, they weren't the first wave of models to walk the runway.

Alison, who was facing the vanity, fixing her makeup, turned to her expectantly.

Emily shyly held a hand behind her, then drew it out to present the object. In her hand, she held a thin gold necklace with a light pink tourmaline pendant. Alison's eyes widened at the sight. It looked breathtaking, and not to mention, incredibly expensive.

"Where did you get that?" the blonde asked in awe.

"My mom let me have it years ago. It was my grandmother's," Emily smiled fondly at the memory of her late grandmother, a truly selfless woman. She almost didn't acknowledge Alison grabbing her hand in sympathy, but managed to glance up anyway.

"That's a great choice, Em. It suits you," she smiled softly at her.

Emily trotted closer with a coy grin, "But it's not for me, it's for you."

"Me?"

"I thought it could fit with your dress, since it has light pink in it, too." Emily shrugged with a lighthearted smile. She laughed, "And that pretty much concludes how much I know about fashion."

"Hey, no, don't say that. I like your fashion sense." Alison said, bumping into her shoulder playfully.

"Really?" Emily asked wryly and looked on with a questioning smile.

"I really do. I wouldn't wear it myself, but it looks so fitting on you. Sometimes it's a little bit grungey, sometimes it's sporty, and sometimes it's actually really girly... You're the only one who can rock a look like that and come out completely hot," Alison grinned conspicuously, running her hand down Emily's arm flirtatiously. Emily's cheeks reddened the lower Alison advanced.

"I'll go try it on with the dress," Alison smiled easily as she carefully grabbed the necklace from the other girl's hand, dropping a gentle kiss on her cheek in thanks.

Emily only had a few moments to relax, no longer worrying if Alison liked the gift or not, when the blonde came back out from behind the changing partition, now with her dress on along with the necklace.

Emily's stomach doubled over with butterflies at the sight of her already-attractive girlfriend appearing absolutely angelic. With her grandmother's necklace, Emily was sure she'd never seen anything more mesmerizing. She'd ask the blonde to pinch her to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but if she was, she never wanted to wake up.

"You look so beautiful," Emily breathed out, her senses heightened as her eyes lavished in the girl.

Alison's smile was shy at the sincerity in her girlfriend's eyes, "Yeah?"

Emily's eyes drifted up to Alison's, granting her the most serious of looks. "Yeah," she whispered and nodded.

Alison took a second to balance her wobbling knees in order for them to not give out. She sighed when Emily's hand softly landed on her cheek, closing her eyes and leaning into her touch with a shaky exhale.

"You do, too, baby," she answered quietly.

Emily's gentle hand drifted down to her neck, and she stroked it with her thumb, wearing a peaceful smile.

"I love you," Alison said. "You're going to be so amazing tonight."

"Are you kidding me? I've heard at least five different people - who weren't my mom or yours - talking about how gorgeous you look," Emily giggled.

Alison chuckled back, resting her own hand on Emily's.

"Damn, you two are a smokin' hot couple."

Alison huffed and dropped her hand the same time Emily did, rolling her eyes at Hanna.

"Hanna! Can't you see they're having a moment?" Aria scolded, trying to drag the bubbly blonde away.

"Oh, moment shmoment! Mrs. D told us to get them and I am not disobeying that woman. She scares the hell out of me," Hanna retorted back, her eyes averting to Alison, "no offense."

Alison shrugged aloofly - she pretty much agreed with the other blonde.

"Come on, let's go. The show starts soon." Spencer hurried them along, determined to stay her punctual self.

At the doorway, Alison cheekily turned to Hanna, "You know, we're not just any couple. Ever since the flight to Paris, we're also proud members of the Mile High Club."

Emily's whole body flushed the same time Spencer snorted out a laugh, "'Proud'."

Hanna tauntingly glanced at Emily, "Is it too late to ask for a threesome?"

Alison's, "Yes and gross," came out the same time as Emily's, "Shut up, Hanna."

Spencer and Aria shared an amused look before doubling their steps to stay away from Hanna and her crude jokes.

"Come on, why not?" Hanna laughed jokingly, just to get a rise out of the two girls. "'We're the three best friends that anybody could have,'" she sang out as a reference to the movie The Hangover, "'and we'll never, ever, ever, ever, ever leave each other!" Hanna kept singing as she chased a playfully ear-covering Emily down the hall.

Alison rolled her eyes, muttering lowly to herself, "Dear God, why am in love with a five-year-old?"

XXXXX

Four boys sat with their mouths agape at the side of the runway when the girls finally took center stage. The makeup, accessories and unique, bold clothing choices made them look phenomenal, and while Jessica was hustling and bustling backstage, she was wearing a proud grin upon her face.

They were walking in duos by order - Aria and Spencer, Hanna and Mona, and of course, Emily and Alison.

Emily kept her eyes forward as she strutted down the lane just like Jessica had instructed them to do, but in her peripheral vision, she caught her father trying to soothe her mother as the latter threw a hand over her heart with a grin so wide and gratified, that her father must've been scared it'll break her face. Next, she saw out of the corner of her eye Toby, Caleb, Ezra and Noel cheering her and Alison's names and whistling. Her heart swelled with love for the boys and a tiny smirk grew on her lips.

Once they reached the edge of the runway, Emily could hear what felt like a million flashes going off at the same time but she didn't let it distract her. She kept her hand on her hip as she took her photos - again, something Jessica had instructed them to do - and in turn, shared a smile with Alison.

After they turned around to walk back in the direction they came from, she looked down for the first time since she stepped on the runway only because felt movement next to her, and was rewarded by the sight of Alison's hand outstretched for her to grab. With a wide smile, she gripped it and intertwined their fingers as they strode confidently down the shiny, white space under their feet. Her mother's face hadn't changed and Emily was worried for a second about whether the woman was breathing or not, but her father was wearing a face that flooded her brain with thoughts of him saying, 'That's my babygirl,' and she melted inside instantly.

Towards the end of the walk, they paused to send another smile over their shoulders at the cameras all the way back in the front of the runway, and then, with a wink from Alison, Emily walked in the opposite direction as they parted ways.

Later on, the six girls came out together and stood on the platform, receiving a great deal of applause and cheers, deeming the fashion show a roaring success.

When they walked out of the stage just as Jessica grabbed the microphone to thank everyone for coming, Alison sighed dramatically, "I've been so stressed this entire week. I wonder if there's anybody, anyone out there who would help me get everything off my chest?"

Alison turned to give her puppy dog look and Emily smirked to herself, gathering strength for the obvious activities she would have tonight. Thank God her parents were staying over at her uncle's this weekend.