15 - You are Mine

"I love this movie."

"I hate this movie," Alison groaned in response to Emily.

The two were standing in line to buy tickets for the almost-daily screening of "The Notebook" at their local movie theater. The establishment often did re-runs of popular movies, generally focusing on that one particular Nicholas Sparks movie. "Seriously, why don't they use their budget for a movie that's actually good?" Alison joked, mostly to get a rise out of the brunette, something she loved to do. She knew bantering with Emily beats bantering with anyone else any day.

Alison had always hated that movie for a very simple reason: it was cheesy and it gave too much hope for relationships. Emily on the other hand, loved that movie. In fact, it was one of her favorites. When Alison had allowed her to pick the movie, she had expected Emily to pick a sappy romantic movie, but she didn't expect her to pick the sappiest of them all.

"Okay, you cannot hate 'The Notebook'," Emily quipped in defense of her beloved movie.

"Watch me," Alison responded teasingly and a smirk appeared on her face, displaying her dimples. Emily only huffed in response as they approached the counter. "Two tickets to 'The Notebook', please," the brunette asked the lady behind the counter. They paid for their tickets quickly and walked over to the food section to buy popcorn and drinks.

Once they were all done ordering, Alison reached for her wallet to pay, only to be stopped by Emily. "No, Ali, you came with me to that swimming convention, remember? It's on me," she said smoothly as she handed the money to the cashier.

Alison smiled softly at Emily before turning the brunette to face her and kissing her briefly on the lips. They parted and Emily grinned in return, but her smile faltered once she saw the look the cashier was giving them. He looked at them with relative, unmasked look of disgust, and when Alison followed the brunette's line of sight and noticed his expression, she felt her blood reaching a boiling point.

"Something wrong?" she snapped angrily. When the cashier heard Alison's harsh tone and demanding expression, he struggled to answer.

He recognized her well. Everyone in Rosewood knew who Alison was, after all, and although she wasn't complaining, she absolutely hated people who tried to get nosy when she was having a moment. Especially a moment with Emily on their first date which the brunette had already been a bit nervous about. There was no need to add looks of revulsion to the list of things that could go wrong about the evening.

"No! I-I j-just-" he stuttered.

"You just what?" the queen bee demanded in a firm tone.

His eyes widened in alarm as he clamped his mouth shut.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Alison finished and walked away, carrying the two drinks they'd purchased, leaving Emily to carry the popcorn and candy.

Emily silently gathered the food and trailed behind Alison. The blonde paused her dramatic exit for a moment, looking behind her and finding Emily. She stopped so Emily could walk next to her, and they both headed in the direction of their designated theater, when someone suddenly bumped harshly into Alison, setting her off balance. She spilled one of the drinks all over her bare calf and knee. She gasped in surprise when the cool drink made contact with her skin and looked down to see who had dared to spill a Coke Zero on the queen bee of Rosewood. The liquid thankfully did not damage Alison's heels nor dress, but it sure did make the girl even more furious than she already was.

'Of course, Hermie,' she thought in exasperation as her eyes landed on Lucas Gottesman with his mouth wide open and pure fear in his eyes.

"I'm sorry... I-I'm sorry," he mumbled regretfully as he tried to wipe the liquid away using his sleeve.

"Don't touch me." Alison snapped sternly as Lucas stood up in dismay.

"It was just an accident," he tried to explain.

"Is that what the doctors told your mom and dad at the hospital?" Alison deadpanned, causing Emily to gape at her.

"Ali!" the brunette interfered.

Everyone knew Alison's history with Lucas wasn't great in the slightest, Alison would bully the boy left and right and none of the girls would stop her. But Emily decided, that stopped tonight. She just wished for her girlfriend to stop being so callous sometimes. She wanted people to see the far more delicate side of Alison, the side that Emily got to see more often than not - the side that made her fall head-over-heels for the blonde.

Alison glanced at Emily, then revered her eyes back to Lucas, finding him sporting a terrified look. She sighed heavily, closing her eyes for a few moments, then opening them back up again. The last thing she wanted was to be the reason Emily got home upset after their first date, and she couldn't find it in her to carry on with her anger, letting it disperse slowly. "It's fine, Lucas. Don't worry about it," she replied while trying to contain her emotions. Emily nodded at her appreciatively while Lucas' whole body seemed to relax a bit.

"Hey, Lucas, would you maybe want to come sit with us?" Emily asked politely. Alison shot her an aghast look that she chose to ignore.

"No, I-I have to go. But thanks, Emily," Lucas declined the offer with a small voice before hesitantly walking away.

"Okay, this time I totally had a reason to get angry," Alison informed as she turned to her girlfriend.

"Sometimes getting angry isn't worth it, Ali," Emily said softly as she stared at the blonde. "It was an accident, these things happen," to her surprise, Emily placed the food on a nearby counter, then turned to pull her into a hug, speaking gently, "no need to be upset about things we can't control."

Alison felt herself relaxing in Emily's arms as she returned the gesture. "You're actually turning me soft, Em," she chuckled a bit, playfully mumbling against the skin of Emily's neck, "I hate you."

"You love me," Emily said confidently as she parted from the blonde and grabbed their purchased food, heading into the movie theater. Alison smirked at her boldness and followed close behind.

"I do," she confirmed in an almost shy voice as she grabbed Emily's hand with her now free one. Emily beamed at her and they both promptly sat down in their seats, placing the food on the floor as they waited for the movie to begin. Looking around, they noticed that the theater wasn't full whatsoever. In fact, the only other people who occupied seats in the theater were an old couple who sat at one of the very first rows, far away from the girls.

Soon enough, The movie started and they both sat straight in their seats, watching the opening sequence.

Not more than twenty minutes passed before Emily began fidgeting in her seat. "Are you nervous, Ali?" she asked quietly in order to not disturb the old couple at the front, even though they didn't seem to notice the girls were even there. Alison turned to give her a confused look. "This is finally our first date. I mean, a-alone," Emily answered quickly as she fiddled with her shirt.

Alison smiled patiently and placed her hand on Emily's thigh, reassuring her, "I love you, Em. Nothing to be nervous about." Emily gave her a shy smile at the sentiment and the blonde found her heart speeding as the light from the screen reflected on the girl's face, highlighting her beauty. "Just relax," Alison whispered as she moved her hand dangerously high on Emily's thigh.

'How am I supposed to relax like this?' Emily thought to herself as her whole body nearly shuddered under the blonde's touch. "Ali, w-what are you doing?" Emily asked hesitantly as she turned her head to look at Alison.

Alison didn't answer, merely keeping her eyes locked on the screen as she moved her hand onto Emily's inner thigh. Emily gasped at the gesture, making Alison turn to her. The blonde placed her index finger on her lips making a shh sign. Emily was mesmerized as the blonde moved her hand from her own lips to Emily's cheek, tracing her thumb over the brunette's perfect cheekbones. She couldn't help but lean in and give Emily a short kiss.

The kiss was tender at first, but as Emily turned her full body to Alison and the blonde did the same, Emily placed her hand around the back of Alison's neck, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Emily's tongue entered Alison's mouth easily, making the blonde moan appreciatively. Upon hearing that sound, Emily couldn't bring herself to worry about the elderly couple anymore at this point in time.

Alison broke the kiss, only to move her mouth down Emily's jaw, peppering light kisses that only seemed to make Emily want her more. She moved to the neck, and Emily tilted her head back, biting her bottom lip gently in anticipation as Alison began laying open-mouthed kisses on the skin. She occasionally bit down on Emily's skin, making the brunette hiss, but quickly, the pain was replaced with pleasure as Alison licked and kissed that spot carefully. Emily's hand traveled to her girlfriend's soft hair and she ran it through the luscious blonde locks.

Soon after, Alison parted from Emily, her eyes flying to the base of Emily's neck and a proud smirk taking over her face. Emily caught Alison's view and looked down at her own neck. She caught sight of a 2-3 inch wide pink-purplish mark, which seemed to be the reason her girlfriend was so pleased with herself.

"Ali! What if my parents see it?" Emily said worriedly as she touched the spot and hissed from the mild pain.

"So? I want the whole world to know that you-" Alison used her finger to lift up Emily's chin, staring adoringly into her eyes, "-are mine."

Emily tried hard not to let herself smile at the adorable statement as she put on a severe face. "Have you met my parents? Ali, my mom just started coming around the idea of us being together," she said nervously.

Alison sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine, Em. I'll help you cover it up with make-up, you baby," she teased, a bit amused by the girl.

Emily nodded in gratitude and they both turned their bodies back to face the screen. As Alison watched yet another completely sappy moment play out on the screen, she leaned her head on Emily's shoulder and the brunette took the cue to wrap her arm protectively around Alison's shoulders.

Alison smiled to herself as she thought, 'The Notebook might be not as bad as I thought, after all.'

XXXXX

"Doing it in bathrooms nowadays, are we?" Alison taunted as they entered the empty bathroom. Emily had dragged the blonde over there as soon as the movie ended, not kidding about her need for the blonde to cover the mark up with make-up. "Babe, you are so not a prude like Hanna said," Alison laughed to herself at the comment.

"Cover it," Emily demanded, pointing at the big, dark mark on her neck.

"Don't be so dramatic, Em," Alison said lightheartedly as she placed down her purse and took out her go-to make-up bag. She pulled out a concealer tube and squeezed out a small amount. It wasn't an exact match to Emily's tanned skin tone, but it was close enough for the time being. The brunette just needed to get past her parents until she could get her hands on her own concealer back at her house. Alison began applying concealer onto the girl's skin and the brunette flinched with every small movement of her finger.

"Stop moving!" Alison scolded with a small smile at the adorable brunette.

"Can't help it, it tickles," Emily replied.

"Get over it," Alison said nonchalantly, a tiny grin still tugged on her lips. She finished the job and stepped back. She put her make-up back in her purse as Emily turned to the mirror and examined the mark, which was nearly invisible by now.

"Have I done a good enough job, Mermaid?" Alison asked playfully as she placed her chin on Emily's shoulder from behind her.

"Yes, you grumpy. Thank you," Emily answered back lightheartedly with a smile as she turned to her girlfriend and kissed her softly.

XXXXX

After Alison parted away from Emily at the brunette's house with a goodnight kiss, she walked over to her own home, merely a few streets away. On her front porch, she found a brooding Noel Kahn sitting and looking at the ground. He stood up once he heard footsteps approaching and saw Alison coming closer. The first thing she noticed as she curiously scanned him was that his eyes were bloodshot.

"Noel, what's happened? Did you wait out here for me?" Alison said in concern as she walked over to him.

He just sat back down with Alison and stared at the asphalt, his foot playing around with a small piece of gravel. A few moments went by before he began sniffing slightly and Alison noticed right away, moving to side-hug him. When he calmed down and his breathing resumed to its normal pace, he turned to her.

"Ali," he started feebly as she stared at him disquietly.

"Tell me what's wrong, Noel," Alison supplied.

He looked away quickly. "My parents are getting a divorce. I-I thought I'd be okay with it but-" he stopped when Alison rubbed her hand on his arm in comfort. He turned and wrapped his arms around her petite frame and bagan to silently cry into Alison's shoulder as she rubbed his back soothingly, remaining surprised at the guy's vulnerable behavior. She now comprehended that he really did trust her more than most people.

"I knew they've been fighting but I didn't know it was that bad." he explained as he parted from her. "One day they were fine and the next, they just started hating each other. All they do is fight all the time. I can't talk about it with my brother or any of my friends, they'll all laugh at me."

"I'm not laughing at you," Alison said.

"But you're different, Alison, you're like my baby sister." he said and pushed her slightly on the shoulder. She smiled at him when an idea came to her mind.

"Listen, my friends and I are going bowling tomorrow morning. You should join us, it'll help you get your mind off all of this mess," Alison offered.

He released a small genuine smile, a rare look on Noel Kahn's face. "Yeah," he nodded gently, "why not."

"Good. Everything's going to be okay. They're both adults with a long history, they'll work this out," Alison assured as she stood up stretched out her hand, helping Noel to get up as well. He gave her a small nod, wanting to believe her words.

"I hope," he said as they pulled into a short hug. "Thank you, Ali. Really," he candidly said to her. They parted and he started walking in the direction of his house.

"Oh, and Ali?" he turned back and Alison looked at him. "I'm sorry if I ever hurt you, and for the fact that we drifted apart. Thanks for being a great friend."

She smiled wholeheartedly at him before turning to the door. "Good night, Noel."

"Good night, Ali."