47 - Homecoming

The song "Always Been You" is the exclusive property of The Sweeplings and I do not own it.

______________________________________

By the time lunch rolled by on Wednesday, the entourage was sitting under a large tree with their lunches. They'd figured it was a nice enough day outside, finally a clear day with no clouds in the sky, and that was rare for the season, so they decided to take advantage. They had never really used their nice school ground before, and Rosewood High had such a beautiful outdoor space that sadly, they hadn't even thought about exploring until the Fall, which was a little silly, now that they thought about it.

Spencer finished taking yet another sip of coffee from her thermos and turned to her friends, "So, now I've finished explaining the plans for Homecoming night, I want to see how many of you actually listened. Anyone want to repeat?"

"I'll do it," Hanna raised her hand playfully, boldly smirking at the witty brunette.

"Go ahead," Spencer chuckled back. Emily shook her head light-heartedly at her friends' banter.

Hanna smiled enthusiastically. "Okay, so, dress shopping for the girls is tomorrow while the boys get their suits. Unless Emily wants one, too-" Emily punched Hanna's arm, not a single bit amused. "Ow! Whatever, Em, we won't judge you." Hanna rubbed her wounded arm with a pout while Emily rolled her eyes.

"And then Friday is Em's Sweet Sixteen, which we totally aren't planning anything for," Alison grimaced at Hanna's terrible sense of discretion, "and she'll go to the DMV to get her driver's license so she could pick up Ali to Homecoming because it's romantic, and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, at nighttime, we'll all be dancing and having an awesome time."

"And, we forgot to mention before, but we'll protect Ali and Em if some jerk decides to try and sabotage their night with homophobic comments," Aria jumped in, soaking the grateful smile on Emily and Alison's faces.

"But even if that does happen, I - we," Emily corrected herself, glancing at her girlfriend, "don't want it to ruin your night." Alison nodded in agreement.

"No, don't think about it like that," Aria frowned, shaking her head.

"Yeah, you make it sound like we're doing some duty," Toby mocked lightly.

"We want to do this, trust us," Spencer reassured.

"Yep, team Emison all the way," Hanna smirked, earning amused eye rolls from Alison and Emily.

Alison and Emily exchanged a playful glance, then simply shook their heads, smiling.

"Alright," Alison nodded, taking hold of Emily's warm hand, which stood in contrast to the somewhat chilly air, "team Emison all the way."

XXXXX

"Aria, do you want to look like a slut? That dress is way too short!" Hanna expressed her disagreement with a furious head shake, making the sales agent near them raise her eyebrow oddly, although the bubbly blonde was certain that the woman had seen worse come in through their popular clothing store.

"Jesus, Hanna!" Aria frowned in disbelief. "Fine, I'll take it off," she grumbled.

"No, Aria, don't listen to her, you look beautiful," Emily stepped in, shooting a pointed look at Hanna.

Hanna sighed, realizing her mistake, "I'm sorry, Ar, I didn't mean it like that-"

"It's okay," Aria smiled chirpily, "I didn't like this one anyways." She shrugged absentmindedly, then disappeared into the dressing rooms.

"Han," Emily stated sternly, "you're going to have to decide on some dresses eventually."

"But Emily," Hanna turned exasperatedly to face her best friend, "all of these dresses are either too short, or too ruffle-y, or not the right color."

The rest of the girls gathered around, their eyes landing on Hanna as she continued with her rant. "Seriously, I mean it when I say that we're all hot, okay? And we deserve amazing dresses," she said assertively. "We deserve to feel like a part of a fairytale."

Alison agreed with her, of course, but she thought Hanna was exaggerating a bit for Sophomore Homecoming. And that was coming from the girl who was considered the drama queen of their friend group.

"I wish you could design our dresses, Han," Alison wistfully said as she bounded over, holding two different dresses on her forearm. Emily's throat dried instantly as she imagined her girlfriend in any one of those options. Alison noticed the agitated expression on Emily's face as the brunette watched the dresses. She turned to her, "Em, are you okay?"

Emily only then seemed to notice all of the girls were watching her intently. "Wha-" she cleared her throat quietly, "yeah, um, I'm fine."

They all still looked at her strangely, so she bit her lip, looking around the place for an escape route. "I'm, uh, I'm going to go call another employee to help us."

Alison watched in amusement as Emily maneuvered towards the front of the store, comically almost tripping on clothing items in the process.

She turned to her friends, "Okay, now that Emily's not here, maybe it's time to close some final details about tomorrow."

"Good idea," Spencer nodded in consent. "What time is everyone coming to your house tomorrow?"

"5 PM, so don't be late," Alison remarked firmly, making sure to look into each of them in the eye in assurance.

"So, we get there at five, and then...? " Hanna trailed off in question.

"Didn't you say you wanted us all to go to the DMV with you and Em?" Aria inquired, remembering Alison had said something along those lines.

"Yeah, I think Em would really appreciate it," Alison nodded.

Hanna frowned lightly, "I'm not trying to be a buzzkill, but wouldn't Emily end up being more nervous if everybody's there?"

"Luckily, yours truly had already thought about that," Alison smirked. "I've not-so-secretly told Em a story about my 'cousin'," she air quoted, "who had all of his family and friends come over to get his license with him, and guess what? She went on and on about how beautiful of a gesture that was and how encouraged my 'cousin' must've been. Trust me, she's on board with this idea."

"That's really good," Aria gushed, "so we're set? That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it. Oh, and after we come back, we'll get ready together and the guys will pick you up from my place, okay?" Alison reminded, eyeing the entrance to see Emily heading back with a sales agent.

"Okay," the three girls said in unison just as two people came into view.

The sales agent who approached smiled politely at them, "How may I help you, ladies?"

XXXXX

"Mom, I'm only turning sixteen, it's not that big of a deal," Emily pleaded to her mother, who had heavy tears already streaming down her face as she took the eleventh photo with her daughter.

The brunette was slightly exhausted from her mother, not to mention that yesterday, it had taken them hours to find proper dresses and they had gone from store to store. However, she was pretty pumped for Homecoming tonight, it was going to be the first official dance where she'll be attending with Alison on her arm. She couldn't have asked for anything better.

"I know, Emmy, I just-" Pam cut herself off, breaking down in more tears.

Emily tentatively reached for a napkin on the coffee table in Alison's living room, handing it to her mother who accepted it gratefully.

"Ali!" Emily called out to her girlfriend to save her from this situation.

Alison sauntered over with a tray of cupcakes she had made, setting it down on the table. "Yeah, babe?"

Before Emily could answer, Alison was already glancing around her at the woman she believed would someday be her mother-in-law. "Pam, I love that dress!"

Pam sniffled, then gave her a loving smile. "Thank you, sweetie," she said to the blonde as she was finally taken away by Wayne, who had seen his daughter's not-so-subtle signal for rescue and decided to help out.

Emily mouthed to him in relief, "Thank you."

She then turned to Alison, who was beaming at her. "Ali, you know I love this party, but when will I have time to go to the DMV with all of these people here?" she voiced anxiously.

"Emily, I'll explain everything," Alison guaranteed reassuringly to her nerve-wracked girlfriend. "But first..." she drawled the sentence, pulling Emily by her hand up the stairs.

The brunette barely registered anything before they were suddenly in Alison's room, and the blonde was reaching for something in her closet. Emily was still rightfully freaked out about the driver's test. Luckily, with her dad having a friend in the local DMV, she'd already gotten to do the written test before she was sixteen, and was now, only in need of a physical driver's test, which she knew she was ready for. She was determined to drive Alison to Homecoming, and she wasn't doing it just for the fun of it, she was doing it because it was sentimental. Because she had a feeling that when they'd look back on this day years from now, so many great things would stick in their memory; Emily's birthday, their first Homecoming... and now, the swimmer getting her driver's license would be added to that list.

It was a bit over a ten-minute drive to their school in the side streets of their small town, and she knew it was slightly foolish to take the blonde that short of a distance, but she had convinced herself that she wanted to do this, and she was going to.

Alison came back moments later, carrying a box that Emily could only guess contained her present.

She set it down on the bed. "Em, before you open it, I wanted to say something," she let out softly. Emily looked at her for a moment, then nodded, prompting her to continue. "I'd like to think I know you better than most people."

"You know me better than all people," Emily said, her voice low and laced with love and affection.

Alison smiled softly, "So, I know you're worth more than material goods. Which is why I decided to give you something more personal to begin with, instead of gifting something expensive that you'll never use. That being said, this is only part one of your gift."

Emily looked at her in surprise. She wondered briefly how many parts there were.

Alison handed her the box gently. It was white and wrapped with a red ribbon. Emily placed it on Alison's desk carefully, giving her girlfriend a shy smile before turning to open it.

"Ali, I'm warning you, if this is a leather jacket with 'Property of Alison' on the back, I'm not even going to reward you with a laugh," Emily teased while she pried wrapping paper from the box.

The blonde chuckled humorously. "Only one way to find out," she smirked.

Emily shook her head in amusement as she turned to finally open the box. She took out the item inside with a small, confused frown, before realization hit her and a wide smile spread across her face, "I love you so much."

Alison grinned as looked over her present once more; a rectangular world map inside an aesthetic glass frame, in which, places all around the globe were thinly circled with red paint. There were two small blue stars on Paris and on the US, in the area where Pennsylvania would be.

"These," Alison pointed on the circled places as she placed her hand on Emily's shoulder, "are all the places that we need to visit and will visit over the years." She pointed at the places with blue stars, "And these are places where we've already been. Granted, it's not much, but it just means we have a lot more traveling ahead of us."

All sorts of places were marked with a red pen; Bora Bora, Argentina, Rio, even New Zealand. Places Emily's never even thought about but she was glad Ali had.

The blonde reached for a drawer in her desk, pulling out a red sharpie-looking pen and a packet of little blue stars. "And these are for you," she gave them to an emotional Emily, "so you can mark wherever you want us to go in addition and keep track of everything through the many years to come."

Emily turned to her, her eyes brimming with tears, and hugged her tightly in her arms, "Thank you, Ali. This is so beautiful."

The thing that Emily loved most about this gift was the promise of a future with Alison, and how the blonde made it so clear that she wanted one with her. She also understood what Alison meant by not giving her material goods, since this gift was thoughtful and came from the heart, but didn't necessarily cost a fortune. The brunette preferred it so much more that way.

Alison gently backed away from Emily, and the brunette was smiling at her softly, a single tear spilling down her cheek. "I really hope those are happy tears," the blonde said.

Emily nodded timidly, not being able to form any words in the given situation. This was just one of the many reasons she was so ridiculously in love with her girlfriend - her amazing thoughtfulness and understanding of Emily's personality. She pulled Alison into a sweet kiss with both her hands on each side of her face, and Alison nearly melted as she felt the love pouring from Emily.

Alison parted away then, grazing a lock of hair behind Emily's ear, "This is only part one, Em."

She parted away from Emily's arms, and went to her bedside table. She pulled out wide, fancy-looking golden envelope, hesitating a bit before crossing over and handing it to Emily. The brunette took it from her hands, sensing the apprehension on the features of Alison's face. She gave her hand a squeeze before moving to open the large envelope, discovering a wooden, flat rectangular box, which appeared to her as some sort of CD cover made out of wood, and a piece of light-blue thick paper folded neatly in half.

"It's, uh, t-the second part," Alison stuttered dumbly for the first time in her life. She was nervous about Emily's reaction, to say the least, and she'd wanted to back out from this part of the gift so many times, but she'd found herself actually craving Emily's response and stamp of approval. "You told me once that one of the most touching things one person can do to another is writing them a song, one from the heart," Alison started, then lightly rolled her eyes at herself, "so obviously, I accepted the challenge. I read over my diary from start to finish, pulling apart every single entry that I've written about you over the years and drawing inspiration from it to write this. Then, when I told Hanna about this, she said that I had to record myself singing it, too. So I did."

Emily bit her lip with a smile at the adorable girl, then impatiently opened the paper to reveal the lyrics.

"'Always Been You'?" she read the title at the top of the paper, looking up at Alison with newly-developed tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"That should give an idea of what the song's about," the blonde giggled a bit at that, looking away with blush covering her cheeks.

Emily smiled big and wide, her eyes trailing downwards to read the lyrics which were written in girlfriend's beautiful cursive handwriting, when Alison hurried to say, "Wait, please don't read the lyrics while I'm in the room, I'll die of embarrassment."

Emily looked up from the paper, laughing cheerfully, "Alison DiLaurentis, dying of embarrassment? That's unheard of. I didn't think we'd see the day."

"Whatever, Em," the blonde chuckled, rolling her eyes playfully.

"I'll read them later, okay, whiny?" the brunette teased her girlfriend, earning a soft smack to her arm.

"Shut. up." Alison emphasized through a contagious smile, grabbing the girl's wrists in her hands as she pinned her against the desk.

Emily grew smug at their current position, smirking at the grinning blonde, before boldly leaning forward to quietly utter, "Make me."

That was all the encouragement Alison needed to crash their lips together, releasing the girl's wrists before wrapping her own arms around Emily's neck, falling deeper into the heated kiss. The brunette tried to show as much love and appreciation through it, which resulted in her breaking into a grin against Alison's mouth, causing the blonde to smile as well as they parted away giggling.

A light knock on the closed door interrupted their moment.

Alison reluctantly leaned away, calling out, "Yeah?"

Hanna opened the door, smirking at the sight, "I see you gave her the present."

Both girls smiled at their taunting friend.

"Anyway, everything is ready downstairs, Ali," Hanna informed them with an excited grin.

Emily turned to the blonde with a frown, "What's ready?"

Alison turned to her, smirking. "The third, and final part of your gift," she winked.

Both blondes led Emily downstairs, where she saw most people had already left. She assumed it was intentional, but she still deflated a bit at that. What kind of hostess was she - not saying goodbye to the guests of her own party - but with Alison squeezing her hand and everybody's smiles directed at her, it made it easy for her to forget everything on her mind.

Her close friends, which, unsurprisingly, included Hanna, Caleb, Spencer, Toby, Aria, and Ezra, were waiting in the living room, and Emily's parents, alongside Jason, who she had gotten much closer to, came back from the kitchen.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously.

A car honked outside and Alison grinned in satisfaction in regards of the timing, taking Emily's hand and gracefully guiding her outside.

A shiny black Audi was waiting in the driveway, and Emily felt her breath hitch in her throat. She turned to the beaming people who bounded after her with her mouth agape, silently demanding an explanation.

"Well, that one wasn't from me, actually," Alison chuckled quietly, nodding her head towards Emily's parents.

Pam and Wayne walked down the stairs of their front porch with their hands intertwined, and Emily looked over Alison's shoulder to catch them smiling widely at her.

Before they could comprehend, she was stepping up to them and hugging them both tightly in massive gratitude. Knowing that kind of car was unjokingly expensive, she wondered just how her parents could afford it. As if Wayne reading her mind, Wayne suddenly spoke up.

"We've been saving money, Emmy, and your family chipped in as well," he said, smiling at his little daughter. "You deserve it."

"We're so proud of you, honey," Pam added, hugging her daughter fiercely.

"Thank you," Emily whispered, trying to convey all of her appreciation through the strong, caring hug. "I love you so much."

"We love you too, baby," Wayne said in response, a single silent tear sliding down the man's cheek at the sight of his daughter's undeniable happiness.

Another car honked, and Emily parted from her parents and wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to clear her vision. She watched as a black van pulled up the curb, from which, Noel and Mona, who had driven it there came out of. Alison walked over to her, biting her lip shyly.

"This is actually part three of your gift," Alison said, seizing Emily's soft hand. "I told you that story about my cousin and how everybody went with him to the DMV," she told Emily, who nodded along, remembering the story clearly. "Well, it wasn't real. But this is. You loved the idea of everyone going with you to your driver's test, so... I gave it to you."

Emily could only pull her into another devoted hug, not knowing how to even begin to thank the girl for everything she had done for her. She couldn't even process this marvelous feeling engulfing her, all of those who she loved and loved her just as equally in return, surrounding her in what seemed to be shaping up as one of the best nights of her life... it all felt a bit surreal, but in the best possible way. "You're the best," she whispered in Alison's ear, full of undying love, and the blonde swooned, smiling like she depended on it.

When they all gathered up inside the rented van, save Alison, Emily, and her parents, who decided to drive in Pam's car - they agreed it would be best to leave the Audi at home for the time being - they took off towards the DMV.

Emily never stopped smiling at the backseat.

Best birthday ever.

XXXXX

Alison watched nervously as Emily talked to her tester, who gave her a slip of paper then nodded in goodbye.

Emily approached her group of friends and two parents, full-on poker-faced.

"So? How did it go?" Alison asked wide-eyed, walking towards her before anybody else could.

After a few tension-filled seconds, Emily smiled shyly and gave her the paper.

Alison opened the note briefly, then let out a small shriek of joy as she stepped closer and hugged the life out of Emily, almost tackling her. "You passed! I knew you could do it, Em!"

She backed away and kissed Emily shortly on the lips, "I'm so proud of you."

Emily smiled goofily, feeling her heart swelling with Alison's pride as the rest of the entourage came to congratulate her warmly.

XXXXX

They made it back to Alison's house in record time, already quite short on time until the guys would pull up to pick up their dates. The girls needed to get ready quickly, and they headed with a rush in their step to Alison's room, where they had pre-stored all of the dresses and accessories.

Alison was halfway through taking off her clothes, standing in her bra and skirt, when warm arms snaked around her waist from behind, pulling her flush against a familiar body.

"Thank you for today," Emily said quietly in her ear, not minding how a deep shiver ran down Alison's spine, "it was perfect."

She turned in Emily's arms, smiling a bit as she wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck, "Today's not over yet, Em."

"Ali, Em, come on, the guys will be here soon. And, Ali, you promised you'd help me with my hair," Aria urged, taking a seat in front of Alison's vanity.

Alison parted from Emily, knowing that Aria was right, but that didn't stop her from watching Emily undress through the mirror as she did her friend's hair. She more like gawked rather than watched, but that was debatable.

Twenty-eight minutes later on the clock, the guys came around to pick up their girlfriends, and Alison was tempted to ask for a photo of all of them from Jason. She gave in, seeing that this was the perfect moment, with all of them dressed up in such fancy attires.

She handed Jason a camera, and they all stood, smiling goofily in pure joy as the older guy took their picture, not helping but grinning a bit himself.

He felt a little strange seeing Caleb and Toby outside of his mother's office, but he figured he had to get used to it, since they were two of his little sister's best friends.

Soon, it was just him, Alison and Emily, after all the rest had left for Homecoming. Emily excused herself to go to the bathroom, walking down the familiar hallway and locking the door.

"Have fun tonight, Ali," Jason said, beginning to make his own dinner. "I still remember when I was a sophomore."

"Right, 'cause you're so old right now," she rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Be careful with that eye rolling, Al," he warned mockingly, poking her stomach, "it might get stuck."

She shook her head in amusement and they both heard the toilet being flushed. Emily was by her side a short minute later, "Ready?"

Alison nodded with a smile, taking her small purse in one hand and Emily's hand in the other.

Jason walked them up to the door, "Watch yourselves, okay? Don't drink and drive. And don't get in the car with someone who had something to drink, either. Trust me, I would know, and I still have the scars to prove it."

"It's inside the school, Jas. All of the teachers will be there, I don't think even Noel would want to spike the punch," Alison assured him.

"Don't worry, I'll bring her home safely," Emily promised, and his lips tilted into an easy smile, immediately knowing that Alison was in good hands.

He nodded, hugging them both goodbye. "Happy birthday, Em. We're all proud of you for passing your test, right, Ali?"

Alison grinned widely, giving her girlfriend's hand a squeeze. "So proud," she reassured, giving Emily a gentle kiss on the cheek as the brunette blushed under the two siblings' scrutiny.

"Oh, by the way, Emily, your parents kind of invited me over for coffee tomorrow, so expect to see me at your house," Jason informed the brunette, scratching the back of his neck as though embarrassed.

"Oh," she remarked in surprise. She didn't see that coming - her parents being coffee buddies with Jason - but she smiled nonetheless. "That's... cool."

They finally left the DiLaurentis property, and Emily got behind the wheel of her brand new car, which her father had driven over to Alison's house while the girls were getting ready. She felt nervous, which was a given, but she was leaning a lot more towards excited rather than anxious.

"Shall we go to Homecoming, Ms. Fields?" Alison asked playfully.

Emily scoffed out a laugh, turning to her with a smile. "We shall."

XXXXX

"Hello Emily, Spencer," Mr. Erikson, the girls' AP Biology teacher, caught up to them when the two were talking near the punch area.

"Hi, Mr. Erikson. Can we help you with something?" Spencer asked politely.

"Actually, yes, you can. You see, I'm in charge of one of the playing stations. You know, the one where you have to knock down bottles to win stuffed animals," he explained and they nodded in understanding, allowing him to continue. "I know this is very last minute, but is there any chance that you two could help me by taking the first shift? You'll be free of homework for the next week," he offered, practically begging with his eyes.

Emily and Spencer exchanged a pleasantly surprised look. No homework sounded awesome, especially when it came from a teacher who loved to give a massive amount of it every class.

"Sure, we'll do it," Emily nodded and he thanked them in huge relief as he rushed out of sight.

The swimmer caught up to Alison when the blonde was in the middle of flattering Mona on her outfit, and as much as Emily wanted to just stand back and admire the way her girlfriend talked or how her body looked in the amazing light-blue dress that complimented her eyes, she still walked over since she knew Spencer was waiting for her at their shared station, looking to start their impromptu shift.

She walked over to her, excusing her from the conversation with Mona politely, who only gave them a smug smile along with a "Hey, do what you gotta do", and walked away in hopes of finding her boyfriend.

When she got Alison alone, she planted a soft kiss on her lips, pulling away slightly. She marveled monetarily at just how easy that was. "So, Spencer and I kind of need to help out in a booth, because our biology teacher promised us no homework for a week if we did it," Emily explained the situation.

Alison instantly knew about how having no biology homework was a big deal for her girlfriend. She had received an plethora of complaints about it from both Emily and Spencer, practically all the time.

Though that didn't stop her from pouting, knowing that her girlfriend wasn't going to be available for at least the next half hour.

Emily laughed lightly at her reaction, rubbing her thumbs on Alison's cheekbones. "Hey, don't be like be that," she cooed, kissing the corner of Alison's mouth in an attempt to cheer her up.

Alison laced her arms around Emily's neck, leaning in and kissing her fully on the lips. "Mmm, be like what?" the blonde mumbled against her lips.

There were so many people around, though pleasantly, nobody seemed to notice them and no annoying, childish hollers from jocks were sounded.

Emily leaned and kissed her even more powerfully, just because she could. "I have to go, Ali," she began parting away, only to have the blonde cutely jut her bottom lip forward again.

Emily shook her head childishly, as though it would make the pout on Alison's face go away. "Stop... stop with that pout," Emily whispered between kisses, which the blonde happily accepted. "No matter how cute it is."

Alison smiled seamlessly against her lips. It was amazing to just be able to kiss each other like that without anyone gawking at them, but as much as she wanted to continue this, she knew Spencer would be rightfully pissed if Emily didn't show up because of her. "Fine," she eventually grumbled. "Which one are you working at?"

"The bottle-knocking one," Emily clarified, already making a move to leave.

"Okay," Alison said in a small voice, feeling the coldness from the lack of Emily's warm touch. Her girlfriend was truly the light of her life. Warm and bright in every situation. She pecked her on the lips once more, simply because she couldn't get enough of Emily tonight and she didn't know why. Maybe it was because it was Emily's sweet sixteen, or maybe because the two of them were in a Homecoming format, or maybe it was both reasons combined with the brunette's endless beauty. "I'll see you later, babe."

The flutter in Emily's chest that turned relentless whenever Alison would use pet names didn't seize to stop, and Emily smiled like an absolute fool all the way to Spencer.

They got through the first half of their shift in comfortable silence, and when the line was finally gone, Spencer turned to Emily and crossed her arms her chest. "You two have really got to stop making out so much in public. Trust me, it's not a pleasant sight," the witty brunette scrunched up her nose slightly.

"Spence, I can't help it," Emily complained giddily with a timid smile. "If you were with Ali you'd understand."

"What makes her so special?" Spencer questioned curiously in a genuine tone. It was nice to see Emily so open and talkative - not to mention goofy - about her relationship, an effect Spencer wasn't sure was going to appear after tonight. There was just something about tonight... the atmosphere had changed, it was like they weren't in high school anymore, even though they were ironically right in the middle of their school's Homecoming. Spencer was going to use this opportunity to get the brunette talking about Ali so that she could get to see the swimmer so happy. Because that was all that Spencer found herself wanting these days; to see the people that made her happy, happy.

"I can't describe it, Spence, it's just like... Like, I'm not perfect, I know I'm not, but she makes me feel perfect and powerful and beautiful," she said, handing a kid a tennis ball to throw without missing a beat in the conversation. She turned around and leaned her back against the counter separating her from the guy and his date, facing Spencer and holding seriousness in her eyes. She shrugged, "I love her for the way she makes me feel."

Spencer gave the kid a stuffed dolphin, continuing the dialogue flowingly. "Well, for someone who can't explain it, I'd say you did a pretty good job," she grinned, mentally rooting for Emily's and Alison's relationship, because she knew they were each other's 'the one's, there was no existing doubt in her mind about it.

She cleared her throat as she saw a blonde approaching, "Speak of the devil."

Emily slapped her upper arm with a slight roll of her eyes, warning, "Careful."

"Are you two just gonna stand there staring at each other or am I going to get the tennis ball at some point?" Alison joked, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

Emily handed her the ball carelessly, and, not breaking her gaze with the brunette, Alison threw the ball nonchalantly and it knocked down all bottles. The blonde smirked devilishly, tilting her head.

Emily wanted to cry because that was so hot.

The brunette blushed furiously, turning to give herself something to do instead of staring at Alison like an idiot. She found a giant teddy bear and turned, handing it to her over the counter.

"Thanks, I'll give this to my girlfriend as soon as she's done jerking around," Alison complained in good nature, rolling her eyes as if she was actually mad.

"As soon as she's done jerking around," Emily mocked playfully in a ridiculous voice and the blonde jokingly stuck out her tongue at her.

Emily and Alison laughed at themselves, and the brunette leaned forward on the counter to peck her girlfriend sweetly on the lips.

"Are you two done?"

"Oh, don't look at us like that, Hastings, you act this way around Toby," Alison remarked dryly to her friend.

"I do?" Spencer grimaced, disdain evident in her voice.

Alison poked her shoulder across the counter, "Our Spencey is turning into a real softy."

"And a romantic one, too," Emily stated with a smile. She noticed Spencer's look of surprise. "What? Toby told me about your dates," she shrugged.

Spencer scoffed playfully, "I probably should've known that, you two tell each other everything."

"Well, yeah, because he's my best friend," Emily smiled innocently and her eyes sparkled, like they always did when she talked about the people she loved. "The best guy friend I've ever had."

Spencer smiled softly at the sentiment, her eyes shifting to find her handsome boyfriend across the room as he spoke to Hanna and Caleb. "And hey, I've always been romantic," she defended, turning back to the conversation, "Toby just brings out that side of me."

"Thank you two so much for the help, I'll be taking over the next shift," Mr. Erikson approached the station, announcing in in his usual deep voice. He moved to stand behind the counter as Emily and Spencer nodded at him, going to the opposite side. "Oh, and as for the homework," he added, "I was serious about that - you girls are free of them for the week. I like to reward kindness."

Emily and Spencer thanked him with a polite smile, then turned to leave. The swimmer accepted the stuffed teddy bear from Alison with a chuckle as the blonde kissed her cheek, and Emily wrapped her arm around her girlfriend's waist as the two of them and Spencer made their way to Toby.

XXXXX

The boy watched her nervously, eyeing her from the opposite side of the room. He pretended to be occupied with his camera, but whenever there was a slight chance that their eyes would meet, he turned his head and busied himself with something else.

"Someone has got to get these two together," Alison remarked, shaking her head lightly.

"I don't get it. Lucas is pretty awesome, why can't he just ask that girl that he obviously likes to dance with him?" Hanna grumbled, playing around with the straw in her cup.

"Do you know him well?" Alison turned to her, raising her eyebrow.

Hanna shrugged, "Kind of. He's with me in Home Ec and he's actually really nice."

"Hmm," Alison remarked, then pondered over the plan forming in her mind. She scandalously whispered it in Hanna's ear and the other blonde looked at her in surprise, then nodded with a smile.

"Okay then," Hanna agreed.

Lucas gulped and blinked in astonishment as he saw Hanna and Alison approaching him together. The Queen Bee folded her arms over her chest, "Lucas, what are you doing?"

He looked at her in plain shock, "Huh?"

"Would you go and talk to her already? It's painful to watch you from the side," she informed him begrudgingly.

His befuddled eyes switched to Hanna, then back to Alison. He wondered for a moment if they playing a hoax on him, but then again, Hanna had always very nice to him, and Alison had been pleasant enough to him ever since the beginning of the year - and had even stayed true to her word, bringing him to a state where he finally wasn't bullied by anyone at their school after years of desperation - so he doubted this was some evil plan.

"What's her name?" Alison asked, discreetly pointing to the girl Lucas held a profound interest in.

"Danielle," he answered uneasily.

"Well, go ask her, Lucas!" Hanna urged him with a friendly smile. "It's the perfect opportunity. You're single and ready to mingle!"

Alison and Lucas couldn't help but release a small laugh at Hanna's enthusiasm.

He glanced tensely at the girl, then his eyes darted to the ground. "But, I-I can't."

"Sure you can," Hanna ushered him. When he didn't budge, both girls sighed. "Want me to go talk to her?"

Lucas shook his head quickly. "N-No, that's not necessary," he pleaded, but the bubbly blonde had already turned on her heel and was rushing over to the girl, startling her, actually.

"Don't worry. Hanna might have her crazy ways but she will get you that dance with Danielle," Alison said smoothly as soon as they were standing side by side, watching Hanna talk to the brown-haired girl.

Lucas turned his head to her, "Why are you being nice to me?"

Alison chuckled a bit to herself, turning to look at him, "Because you're letting me." Her face turned earnest for a moment as she stared at him, "And because I owe it to you. You know, considering everything."

He gave her a hesitant nod, accepting her help. She let out a short laugh, mockingly giving him a curt nod right back.

He cracked a barely-there smile, "I guess you're not so horrible to be around like I thought, Alison."

She laughed sarcastically, scoffing a bit at his choice of words, "Gee, thanks."

Hanna soon bounded over with Danielle in tow, "Look who I found!"

Lucas gulped noticeably.

"Hey, I'm Danielle," the girl reached out her hand with a sweet smile.

He shook it, his hand shaking nervously. "L-Lucas," he stuttered.

Her smile didn't fade, as she found it quite endearing that he was timid around her. The boy was with her in the school newspaper club, and he had always struck her as sweet and shy.

"So, you want to dance?"

"Yes, he does," Hanna practically pushed him towards her.

"Wait, what about my camera?" he asked, pointing to the item around his neck.

"I can take it," Aria offered kindly, showing up out of apparently nowhere.

He was hesitant - that vintage camera was probably the most expensive thing he owned - but upon seeing the encouraging smile on Danielle's face, he handed the camera to the petite brunette, only a little grudgingly.

He warned Aria to be careful with the item she was currently putting around her neck, but Danielle only giggled, taking his hand and leading him to the dance floor.

Alison sighed, lacing her arms with Hanna's and Aria's. She shook her head wistfully, watching Lucas stumble into step with Danielle, "They grow up so fast."