43 - Young and Beautiful

Emily's jogs had become a regular habit once again now and she was glad for that. She felt like she was finally getting into the shape she wanted to be in for her swimming season. On early Saturday night, she plugged in her earphones and exited her house.

She took off running, light on her feet, listening to an upbeat song she thought she had lost in her music library. Her feet took her around the neighborhood freely as she ran. She never really had a planned route whenever she went jogging, she would just wing it and go with the moment.

When she found herself reaching Alison and Spencer's street, she rolled her eyes at her own obviousness and predictability. She looked out to the distance and when she saw someone sitting on the steps of the DiLaurentis' front porch, she frowned faintly, but as she came closer, she couldn't help but release a small smile.

She stopped her running and walked up to the familiar steps, taking out her earphones and adjusting her breathing.

Alison was simply sitting there, staring hazily into the distance, her eyes unfocused.

The brunette wandered over to the bottom of the steps, Alison only then noticing her. "Hey, Em," her girlfriend broke into a little grin, but it was gone as soon as it came.

"Hey," Emily sat down next to her on the top step, looking at her with interest. "What are you doing out here?" she asked.

Alison turned to look at her, shrugging, "I just wanted to think. I usually go to the woods when I want to be by myself and think, but Mrs. Harper kicked my ass at PE today so I didn't really feel like walking. I think she's still upset over us flirting in class. I call that being petty."

Emily gave her a lopsided amused grin. Her face shifted back to a curious expression as she realized she might be intruding on the blonde's private moment, "D-Do you want me to leave you alone, or-"

"No," Alison gently said, shaking her head.

Emily nodded in understanding. "What are you thinking about?"

"I..." Alison trailed off, not even knowing how to continue her thought. "It's nothing," she shook her head slightly, looking at the ground.

Emily's raised her eyebrow, not believing her. "Of course it's not nothing. If you came out here just to think it must mean something."

"Emily..." Alison sighed, looking away.

"You know you can tell me anything," Emily placed her hand on Alison's, her caring expression making the blonde smile a bit despite herself.

"I know. It's not that, it's...." Alison tried to find the right words but came out short and exhaled powerlessly. She took one more look at Emily who was staring right at her, an inquisitive frown settled upon her facial features. She licked her lips nervously and swallowed, "Promise me you won't laugh?"

Emily tilted her head, "Ali-"

"Promise me." she repeated in a serious voice.

"I would never laugh at you," Emily said softly, "you know that."

Alison nodded slowly, turning back to look at the gravel because she couldn't talk about this while staring into Emily's eyes. "W-Why wasn't I punished?"

Emily lifted her gaze up to her in surprise, "What?"

"You know, like, in movies and TV shows, how the bad person always gets punished and then, sometimes, their life becomes better. I didn't get punished, Em. I got you, I got our friends, my family. An amazing life. So why didn't I get punished first? I can't help but think karma's going to come back and bite me in the ass when I'm at my lowest."

A long moment passed before Emily assessed the question fully in her head and came up with an answer. "Because," she started, squeezing Alison's hand, "this isn't TV. This is real life, Alison, and there isn't some pattern to how it happens. It just does."

The small thinking frown on Alison's face gave her the courage to continue, "True, you happened to not get a punishment, I guess, and this is your life now. You have to be grateful, you can't just keep living your life thinking about 'what would've happened's and 'how's." She looked down, adding, "It's dangerous to live inside your head, Ali."

Alison nodded wordlessly, absorbing Emily's wise words. The thin silence that concurred the air was soon gone when the blonde spoke again. "But what if one day I just screw up? Go back to the person I was? That shallow, disgusting person. Everyone would leave me. Jason, Spencer, Aria, Hanna..." She glanced at Emily warily, "You."

Emily turned to her with a determined look. "No. No, we wouldn't leave you. None of us would. Just like you had become a better person over the course of this past summer, you could do it again. I know you can." Emily looked away with a slightly disappointed look, "You of all people should know I would never leave you."

Alison could hear the hurt tone in Emily's voice from her thinking that the brunette would leave her. She turned to her quickly, "I know, Em." Alison grabbed her other hand, now holding them both tightly in order to show Emily that she regretted saying what she said. "I'm sorry. I know you wouldn't, I don't know why I even said that," she shook her head, groaning.

"It's okay," Emily said, rubbing her lips together and running her thumbs over the back of Alison's hands. "You're probably so confused right now, Ali, if the thoughts swirling in your head are any indication. But just so you know, we all love you. I love you. And if something like you said really happened, we would piece you back together into the incredible, strong person that you are, just like we already had. You're not going to lose us, I promise."

Alison's eyes searched for honesty in Emily's face, and when she found plenty of it, her lips tilted into a genuine smile.

A few moments passed before she gazed down to Emily's hands with a raised eyebrow in amusement. Emily caught her thought, clearing her throat and drawing her hands away. "Um, yeah, sorry, my hands are sweaty," she chuckled, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment as she wiped her hands on her running shorts.

Alison giggled, grabbing her hands right back, "I don't care." Emily watched as Alison laced their fingers slowly, "I'm sorry about rambling so much. My mind, it's a lot like you-" she said, causing Emily to stare at her in confusion, "-it likes to run fast."

"Haha," Emily giggled sarcastically at Alison's joke, and the blonde pushed her shoulder lightly with a laugh of her own. Emily schooled her features back to being serious and reasoned, "Don't apologize, Alison. You can always tell me anything that's on your mind."

Alison nodded again, feeling grateful for having the girl in her life.

"Alison! Dinner's ready!" Jessica DiLaurentis' unmistakable voice rang from inside the house.

Alison's face turned disappointed, sighing out before shouting in response, "Coming!" She turned to Emily with an apologetic expression, "I have to go. Do you want to stay for dinner? I'm sure my mom would love to spend the evening praising you and telling us what a cute couple we make."

Emily's face lit up for a moment at the offer, but then deflated as soon as she remembered something. "I can't. My mom said we're supposed to have guests over soon so I should probably get back home to shower, and stuff."

The blonde felt like the wind has been knocked out of her sails as she pouted, "Oh."

"I'll see you tomorrow at school?" Emily started hopefully as she stood up, pulling Alison along with her.

"Yeah," Alison confirmed. She quickly wrapped both of her arms around Emily's strong form, "Thank you, Em. I don't think I could ever say that enough."

Emily smiled a little as she embraced Alison, making the blonde feel safe and welcomed, things that she often felt when she was with Emily. "Anytime," she said softly.

Alison giggled, "Did I just ruin your workout?"

Emily tsked in dismissal, "Don't be ridiculous."

Alison smiled wider, pulling Emily tighter against her.

Eventually, the blonde pulled back, giving Emily a lingering kiss on her lips. She walked to her door, turning back to give Emily one more humble smile before stepping into the house and closing the door behind her. Emily grinned at the tarrying scent of Alison's perfume as she took off down the stairs, jogging back to her house.

XXXXX

By 3 PM on Monday, Emily was already cleaning tables and loading up dishes at The Brew. She had already pretty much gotten used to working there alongside Ezra, and was glad she had picked this job because it wasn't too complicated and she just liked the concept of making money on her own. It made her feel all sorts of independent.

She walked over to the cashier counter after Ezra asked her if they could switch places - he would be clearing dishes and she would be taking orders - and she agreed. She was currently organizing the stuff in the cabinets under the counter, seeing that it was really messy and no one else seemed to care or do anything about it.

She heard someone ring the small silver bell on the counter, "Hey, barista, can I get some help over here?"

She rolled her eyes playfully at the easily recognizable voice, standing up and wiping dust off of her clothes. She didn't look at her just yet, listening to the girl say, "Seriously, babe?"

She turned to her smirking girlfriend. "What do you want, Ali?" she teased with a grin.

"Emily Fields," Alison responded in fake dismay, "is that a way to treat your customers? Because I'll rat you out to your boss. You'll hear from me."

Emily laughed lightly, shaking her head at the dramatic blonde.

Another man came up to the counter, rudely cutting Alison in line. "Wow, the customers here just keep getting better and better," the blonde tolled her eyes, glaring at the back of his head.

"Oh, excuse me, sir, I think she was in line before you," Emily interjected politely, a remorseful smile on her face.

He apologized, looking like he genuinely didn't know Alison was standing in line. He gestured her in a 'go-ahead' sort of way, and she moved in front of him. "It's not urgent, I'll come back in a minute," he excused himself.

"Finally," Alison sighed playfully as she moved to Emily's side of the counter. "What's a girl to do to get some service around here?"

"I can think of a few ideas," Emily said boldly as she wrapped her arms around Alison's waist.

"Flirting while working? That's highly inappropriate, Ms. Fields," Alison said in the same tone.

"Don't act like you don't like me being inappropriate, Ali."

Alison scanned Emily's face with an impressed expression, "You know, I may have been wrong about you. You may be sexy in the sheets but just equally as sexy in the streets."

Emily leaned in closer, "You-"

"Hey! Are you picking up chicks or orders, come on!" some random douche complained as he came to the other side of the counter, completely torpedoing Emily and Alison's moment as they shifted away from each other.

Emily made the guy's order quickly, careful not to mess it up so that he wouldn't complain and she would have to see him again. She knew Alison was probably trying her hardest not to snatch the cup away from her and ruefully spit in his coffee, which, admittedly, kind of made her want to laugh. Upon seeing that the service has returned, the guy from before also stepped up and made his order, which Emily politely made for him, since he was nice enough to wait a minute.

As soon as both of them were gone, Alison glanced at the time on her phone. "Crap," she mumbled, sighing exasperatedly.

Emily turned to her concernedly, "What?"

"I'm late for work," she rushed over to the other side of the counter. She stopped and turned around with a puzzled expression, "I never thought I'd say that at this age."

Emily giggled, leaning forward on the counter. She pecked Alison's soft lips in goodbye, and the blonde smiled tenderly at the gesture before her face comically morphed into agitated once again as she remembered the time.

"Have fun," Emily wished her but she was already flying out the door, leaving the brunette to stare at her back as she trotted away.

XXXXX

"What's that supposed to be, Em?"

"I don't know, Ali. I think it's meatloaf? What do you think, Ar?"

"I think it's supposed to be dessert, Em."

"Gross. Is it even edible?"

"If they allow students to eat it, I assume it would be edible, Hanna."

Hanna rolled her eyes at Spencer's response, "We live in Rosewood, Spence. A small-ass town. Even if they slipped us poisonous berries in our pies, nobody would do anything about it."

"Anyway," Spencer rolled her eyes, "there's a sign that says 'chicken breast' right next to it, to answer your question, Ali. So no, Em, it's not meatloaf, and no, Aria, it's not dessert, either. But if that's what they call food, they might as well simply serve it as dessert, because it won't matter. Honestly, anything would be better than that horrible pudding that keeps popping up in my nightmares."

They all shivered in both agreement and disgust at the mention of the pudding that was partly hairy and served as dessert at their school's cafeteria.

They decidedly skipped the chicken breast area and grabbed the rest of their lunches, moving to sit at their usual table right in the middle of the room, the ultimate table that was desired by everyone but was obtained by the Queen Bee at the beginning of freshman year.

Caleb and Toby, who were already sitting at the table, greeted the girls warmly as the five of them settled down on either side.

Ezra came back from the vending machine with a water bottle in his hand. "I have an idea," he announced as he took his designated seat next to Aria.

Alison slowly raised her eyebrow as she opened her can of Sprite, "Which is...?"

"Camping."

"Camping?" the seven people repeated in unison at varying levels of enthusiasm, slightly startling Ezra.

"Yes, camping. I've spoken to my uncle this morning, and it just reminded me of how we used to go camping together," he disclosed. Seven people blinked at him several times in response. "I can assure you, camping is fun. If you don't think so, then none of you have had a proper camping experience."

And he was right. Caleb never had someone to go camping with, Toby was never really close enough with his father, Aria's father sometimes took Mike but never her, Emily's father spent most of his time in the army, Hanna's father barely bothered to acknowledge her existence anymore, Spencer's father was constantly busy with work, and Alison's dad... well, he was sort of all of the above. If Alison were to tell her father she wanted to go camping with him, there was a very good chance he would simply laugh right in her face. That's if he even remembered how to laugh.

"I think it's a good idea," Emily answered, feeling remorse at the thought of the unhealthy relationship Alison had with both her parents. Sometimes, the blonde would find herself enormously jealous of Emily for the close bond she shared with her caring parents. She wished she had that so badly.

The rest of the table seemed to slowly agree as well. Emily found it bitterly amusing how the lack of proper camping experiences was another thing they all had in common. Well, except for Ezra, apparently.

After they officially accepted going camping that Saturday and finished eating their lunches, Emily felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned her head, finding her swim coach behind her with an easy smile.

"Coach Fulton, hi," Emily greeted with a confused grin. Usually, coaches didn't approach students during lunchtime, if at all.

"Sorry to interrupt, Emily. May I speak with you for a moment?" the coach asked.

Emily stood up in agreement, "Yeah, sure."

She followed the woman out of the cafeteria, turning to the coach as soon as she stopped in the middle of the empty hallway.

"What did you want to talk about, coach?"

"I just wanted to share with you, that a slot of the new position as assistant coach recently opened up, and, well... usually the anchor is the assistant coach. So, I was wondering," Emily blinked at her in utter surprise, "if you wanted to be my assistant."

Emily stayed quiet and gazed at her for a long moment, until she finally mumbled a weak, "What?"

"I had trouble deciding between you and Paige, but ever since the incident..." the coach shook her head, continuing on. "I'd be honored to have you as assistant coach, Emily. What do you say?"

"Yes," Emily said before the coach even finished her thought. "Yes, I'd-I'd love to be your coach. I mean, y-your coach assistant-" Emily shook her head as she laughed along with the coach. "-I'd love to be your assistant." Emily finally smiled shyly.

"Excellent," the coach grinned widely as she shook Emily's hand and then gave her a supportive pat on her shoulder. "I can't wait to work with you, Emily. You're a remarkable swimmer."

Emily blushed timidly and ducked her head under her coach's praise. "Thank you, coach Fulton."

As soon as the coach nodded at her and left, she heard the sound of someone falling on the shiny linoleum floor behind her, right at the corridor's corner, where she'd previously come from. She turned around and saw a blonde get up to her feet quickly and spin around, massively irritated. "Hanna, what the hell?!" Alison shouted at her best friend who stifled an obnoxiously huge laugh.

Emily watched, drowned in amusement as her six friends and her girlfriend appeared from behind the corner, the blood rushing to their cheeks at being caught, before her face turned into a knowing smirk. "Eavesdrop much?" she asked playfully.

"Sorry," they mumbled in unison, small smiles on their faces.

"Aw, man, I left my lunch in there unguarded. Anybody could just take my food!" Hanna let out in horror. Before Alison could even approach Emily, Hanna rushed over and gave her a tight bear hug that nearly crushed the brunette's bones, "Congratulations, Em!"

"Han, if you break my spine, I can't become assistant coach," Emily choked out.

"Guess you're right," Hanna chuckled. She let go of Emily quickly and was suddenly out of sight, disappearing into the cafeteria in order to protect her lunch from the people who wanted to snatch it from her... who were nonexistent.

The group laughed at Hanna's dramatics and the rest of her friends happily gave her proud hugs, leaving Emily and Alison in the hallway as they returned to the caf.

Alison edged closer, her smile conveying just how proud she was of Emily. She instantly wrapped her arms affectionately around Emily's frame, hugging her tight.

"You know, I feel like I've been telling you how proud I am of you every day now," Alison gushed softly against Emily's neck. The brunette buried her face in Alison's hair to hide her blush.

"I feel like we've been telling each other that all the time." Emily pulled back. "Maybe..." she ducked her head slightly, a small grin gracing her face, "maybe we just empower each other to do things we're later proud of."

"I have to agree with that," Alison smirked, moving to hold both the sides of Emily's face gently.

And they stood there, Emily's arms moving to Alison's hips and Alison connecting their foreheads as they spoke quietly to one another, in an intimate, yet non-sexual way. They were so focused on one another, that, as if they were underwater, even the sound of the school bell that rang in their ears was merely a faint sound that bothered neither of them.

XXXXX

"Can you bring me the cocoa powder from the cabinet?" Emily requested distractedly as she mixed the other ingredients in the large silver bowl.

Alison picked her head up from her phone and mumbled a quick, "Sure," before skipping from the kitchen island to the cabinet to do as she'd been told. She walked over to the brunette and wrapped both her arms around the brunette's torso from behind, her right hand holding up the glass container with the cocoa powder. She placed her chin on top of Emily's as the brunette happily excepted the container. "Em, I should be the one making you celebratory brownies," Alison pouted, kissing the crook of the girl's neck softly.

Emily chuckled a bit, mumbling, "You hate baking."

"Well, is there something I can help you with?" Alison asked.

"Good thing you remembered to ask when I was done," Emily teased with a smile, taking the baking pan and letting Alison unhook her arms so she could place it inside the oven. Emily fiddled with the buttons, adjusting the temperature, and then turned back around to face Alison. She saw the blonde pouting at the lack of contact and giggled at the adorableness of the expression, walking over and taking the girl's arms, placing them around her own waist once again. She leaned slightly down to nudge their noses together. "I love you," she uttered meaningfully.

"I wonder if you'll always say that, even when we're old and wrinkly," Alison smiled tenderly as she feigned a thinking look.

Emily buried her face in the blonde's neck, nuzzling her nose against it as she uttered soft lyrics that came to her mind the previous second, "I've seen the world, done it all, had my cake now."

"What?"

"Diamonds, brilliant, and Bel-Air now," she continued softly, amused by Alison's confused reaction.

"You're not making any sense, Em."

Emily continued with the lyrics, trying to stifle her laughter.

"The crazy days, city lights, the way you'd play with me like a child."

"Wha-" Alison stopped herself and pulled away when she finally recognized the lyrics of the song brunette had been mumbling against her neck. A smile tugged at her lips. "Emily, you are the biggest goof I've ever met," she groaned, her forehead coming to rest on Emily's shoulder.

"Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?" Emily broke into song rather loudly, laughing in the process. Alison pulled her head away, looking at the girl in delighted shock.

"Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul?" the blonde playfully joined in on the singing, the lyrics of the familiar song lingering in her mind. Coy smiles spread on both their faces.

Their laughter bounced back and forth across the room as they struggled to keep singing through it.

Alison pulled Emily closer and leaned up to sing softly in Emily's ear. "Dear lord, when I get to heaven," Emily's breath hitched over Alison's uncharacteristically quiet tone as she stopped singing herself in order to solely listen to the blonde. Alison placed a small kiss behind Emily's ear and carried on purring, "Please let me bring my-" they both pulled back and Alison fixed herself with a smirk and a laugh, intentionally changing one of the lyrics, "-woman."

"Aww, but it sounds better with the word 'man'," Emily pouted, referring to the original song.

"I don't care," Alison shook her head lightly. "My mermaid is definitely a woman. Trust me, I would know," she winked cheekily, making Emily laugh.

Emily moved her hands down the sides of Alison's body, stopping on her hips, just as Alison's looped her arms around her neck, sighing at the feeling of the brunette's warm hands setting fire on her body.

Alison tilted her head and tucked a silky strand of brown hair behind Emily's ear, "Em?"

"Hmm?" Emily hummed in question, her eyes focusing only on the face of the girl she treasured more than anything.

"I love you, too."

XXXXX

"No, no, no! The tables go there, you move the couches there, and the snacks and drinks go in the corner, so there's enough room for the dance floor here!" Alison barked out instructions at her tired friends, her hands on her hips as she exuded power. Aria's uncle's lake house wasn't a big enough place to hold Alison's shouts and her frustration. "Have you never done anything like this before?" she growled in desperation.

Hanna exasperatedly placed the drinks in her hands onto the table and walked up to a close-to-cracking Alison, placing her hands firmly on her friend's shoulders. "Jesus, Ali, calm your tits!" she yelled.

Alison's eyes widened comically, though it wasn't like she didn't know how vulgar Hanna's comments could be.

Alison took one look at her worn-out friends and sighed, "I'm sorry, guys. I just really want this to be perfect for Em." She took a seat on a nearby chair as the group watched closely, stopping what they were doing to listen to the blonde. "It's just, this isn't only for the assistant coach thing, it's for everything. You know, scoring her first job interview, becoming anchor, and she's also been doing so great at school. Not to mention that her birthday is coming up in pretty soon," Alison continued rambling as Hanna took a seat next to her, giving her a small, genuine smile in reaction to her gushing about the swimmer.

"I'm sorry for all my screaming, okay? Just... do what you want and it'll be fine," Alison nodded and smiled sadly at them.

"No. No, we'll take the screaming, okay? We want this to be perfect for Emily too," Aria said determinedly, approaching Alison. She grabbed the blonde's hand and smiled fully at her. "So, tell us again where to move those couches to."

Alison beamed in response and told them all how she wanted the placement of the house to be, this time in a much more gentle voice. Her friends helped willingly, and by the time they were done, they all changed out of their clothes and into appropriate party attires and Alison left the structure to pick up Emily.

The place soon started filling up with people from all around the school and considering the fact that it was Friday and that their group was probably as popular as any group in their school could get at this point, the blonde couldn't say she was surprised.

She walked at a fast pace to Emily's house, not worried about the distance since the lake house wasn't all that far. She reached an oblivious Emily's front door and as her index finger moved to press on the doorbell, she quickly decided against it, remembering that the Fields' had a horrid bell that made an excruciating sound. Instead, she bit her lip nervously and fisted her hand.

With a large breath, she knocked.