7 - The Mermaid

"Spencer, girls, it's time to wake up," Mrs. Hastings announced loudly the next day as if it wasn't very early in the morning, making them all groan in disapproval.

The girls eventually got up sleepily and went to do all of their regular hygiene and beauty routines. They each came out of the various bathrooms in the Hastings' house and went downstairs, beginning to make pancakes for breakfast.

"So, there's this new karaoke place just outside of town. We can catch a bus there," Spencer lightly suggested mid-conversation.

"Spencer Jill Hastings, I didn't know you were into karaoke," Aria remarked jokingly.

Spencer playfully hit Aria on the arm and the smaller brunette feigned a hurt look. The two of them laughed at each other before Alison spoke up, "So, I guess it's karaoke night."

"What do you guys want to do until then? We have the whole day free," Emily remarked casually while absentmindedly playing with her bracelet.

"We could go to the country club, the pool is open," Spencer proposed.

"Wow, Spence, you're just full of ideas today," Alison replied in dry humor, even though she thought the girl's ideas were actually beneficial. "Okay, pool it is," she confirmed and couldn't resist kissing Emily's cheek on her way over to the fridge, making the girl's lips bend into an easy grin. The blonde noticed Hanna hasn't said a word the entire time they were talking, so she turned to her. "Why so silent, Han? What'cha thinkin' about?" she piped up with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Hanna was taken-back from the question and flinched a little, like her thoughts had been cut off. "N-Nothing," she quickly replied.

"Oh come on, Han, tell us. We're dying to know," Alison stated sarcastically. She caught Emily rolling her eyes in the corner of her own and sighed mentally in order to relax. "Never mind, I guess. You don't have to say it," Alison let out exasperatedly and Hanna expelled a relieved sigh she didn't know she was holding.

They finished making breakfast and ate while discussing what to wear to the pool and to the karaoke place. Soon enough, Alison wasn't the only one who noticed Hanna was unusually mute, it was Emily who noticed it as well. The swimmer, knowing Hanna, didn't want to bring it up while being next to everyone. She knew how much Hanna didn't like being questioned or put on the spot.

Once they finished eating, they went to get dressed and get their stuff prepared for the day. Since Emily took the least time to do so, she went to talk to Hanna who was locked in the bathroom, changing.

"Han?" Emily asked once she was out of the girls' sights. She heard sniffing through the door and instantly knew that Hanna was... crying.

After a few seconds, she heard a weak voice replying in-between sniffs, "Yeah?"

Emily felt her heart breaking over Hanna's nearly-silent voice. She didn't know what the usually-bubbly blonde was so upset about, upset enough for her to be heard crying all the way through the thick door.

"Hanna, what's wrong? Come out and talk to me," when Emily didn't hear a reply she added, "please?"

Suddenly, she heard the lock turning. The door swung open and revealed Hanna with puffy red eyes. Emily instantly embraced her best friend into a tight hug without a second thought. "Hey, it's okay, Han. What's wrong?" the brunette asked in a soothing voice.

"I just - it's stupid, Em, never mind," Hanna waved it off in between sniffs as she parted from Emily.

"Han, you're like my sister. You can tell me anything, okay?" Emily reassured worryingly as she stepped back to look at Hanna.

"I don't want to go to the pool, Em. I'm scared. I-I'm scared Ali will say something about my weight because I won't wear a bikini, okay?" Hanna finally admitted as she wiped away the tears.

Emily gulped as she thought back to all the times when Alison had nagged Hanna about her weight. The brunette just wished Hanna could've known how truly beautiful she was, no matter her shape or size.

"Han, she won't. Please come with us to the pool, it'll be fun," Emily imported as she looked into Hanna's bright blue eyes, which were clouded with tears. "Look, we're your best friends, we don't care if you're wearing a stupid bikini or not, as long as you're with us, because our group isn't complete without you. And I'll be disappointed if you're not there. Don't worry about what Ali or any other person says or how they look at you. You're beautiful," she comforted and grabbed the blonde's hand, leading her to the sink. She opened the water tap and let Hanna wash her face. The bubbly blonde looked at herself in the mirror, allowing Emily to dry off the water from her face with a towel as she slowly restored to herself.

"Thanks, Em." Hanna said gratefully with a barely-there smile as Emily finished, "I'm glad I opened the door." She gave the brunette a quick hug before heading back to the living room, leaving Emily alone with her thoughts.

XXXXX

The girls stood outside the country club and waited for Mrs. Hastings to let them in, since appearently, you couldn't get inside the club on vacations unless you were over 18 or with an adult. They were lucky Mrs. Hastings was working from home that day.

They started talking amongst themselves while they waited for Spencer's mom, but Aria began coughing intently when she recognized a familiar male figure making their way towards them.

"Girls," he greeted quite sheepishly while approaching them. He stopped to take a good look at the girls in front of him. They were wearing semi-minimal clothes over their bathing suits but the strips were still noticeable, a detail that made a lot of people, especially horny boys, do a double-take at them.

"Ben," Emily addressed awkwardly. She observed him, almost gasping in shock when her eyes landed on his face. There it was, in the bright light of day; surrounding his left eye was a big stain of purple, red and black mixed together. She had given him a black eye the previous night.

"What are you doing here? What the hell do you want now?" Alison asked dryly, wasting no time with this imbecile.

"Relax, I came here with my family. I saw you guys and... I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he said. Emily and Alison exchanged looks and he took that as a sign to continue. "I know what I said yesterday was wrong, okay? I was drunk and stupid. I won't tell anyone about the two of you."

Alison was about to harshly tell him that she didn't care what he did, but when she saw Emily visibly relax at Ben's reassurance, she kept her mouth shut.

She took another look at her girlfriend as she thought to herself that perhaps, Emily truly didn't want to reveal their relationship yet. They would essentially have to keep it on the down-low.

"Thanks, Ben," Emily uttered and he nodded in return, his eyes lingering on her for a few seconds too long, which made the blonde glare at him. After a few instants of uncomfortable silence, Ben mumbled a goodbye and left.

Alison could only think to herself that she'd waited her whole life for someone like Emily to love her, she'd waited for the feeling that she now knew only Emily could give her, and if the girl wanted to wait before revealing their relationship, then she'll wait. Because it was absolutely worth it for her.

Eventually, she felt Emily's warm hand resting lightly on her arm.

"Ali? Are you okay?" Emily asked concernedly. Alison smiled lightly to herself and looked at her caring girlfriend.

"Yeah, Em. I'm more okay than I've ever been," she replied. Emily grinned softly at her and she couldn't help but do the same.

Finally, Mrs. Hastings arrived and let them in with her member card. They went straight to the pool area and sat in five separate outdoor-chaise-chairs by the side of the pool. Alison lay back comfortably, placing her designer sunglasses on her face.

Alison was on Emily's right side while Hanna was on the other, and the brunette couldn't help but notice that the bubbly blonde was still fully clothed while the rest of them were already in their swimsuits. "Han, are you sure you're okay? You know, being here?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, Em, I'm just-" she lifted her head to look at Alison who watched the conversation intently. "I'm okay," Hanna faked a smile and that's when Emily knew the blonde was not on top of it. She turned her head to see what Hanna was looking at and found Alison's curious eyes, hiding behind her designer shades.

This entire time, Emily knew why the girls were "afraid" of Alison, after all, she was Alison. On the outside, she was untouchable and cold, but when Emily looked at her girlfriend, all she saw was a soft, gorgeous creature, and she felt her heart race every time her eyes landed on the blonde beauty.

Emily smiled sweetly at Alison, turned back to Hanna and stood up, stretching her hand to to the fully clothed blonde. "Come on Han, we came here to have fun."

Hanna smiled gratefully up at the brunette. Emily was always making sure everyone was having a good time. Hanna didn't want to disappoint her friend, and despite Alison being there - and being ready to smack her down with just one insult - she grabbed Emily's outstretched hand and stood up.

Hanna hesitantly took off her clothes, revealing her swimsuit. Emily looked proudly at her best friend before walking with her to the edge of the pool and diving in.

Alison slowly lowered the sunglasses from her face and titled her head appreciatively as she took notice of the way Emily dived into the pool with her whole body in one swift motion, just like a mermaid. She bit her lip lightly as she watched Emily land gracefully inside the pool, then resurface a moment later, pushing her wet hair back with beads of water cascading all over her body. The blonde was shocked by the fact that Emily seemed genuinely oblivious to how stunning she really was.

"Ali, you're staring," Spencer pointed out and giggled scandalously along with Aria. Over at the pool, Emily heard what Spencer said as well, since her cheeks turned bright crimson.

Alison smirked to herself before answering. "You're just jealous that I have a better view, Spence," she finished and winked at Emily. The brunette blushed even harder and looked away. Spencer rolled her eyes playfully and Aria hit her on the arm.

"Ow! What was that for? I thought we were team Sparia," Spencer pouted at Aria.

"Of course we are Spence, but you need to stop it. Emison are adorable." Aria looked over to Alison and gave her an approving smile, and Alison stuck out her tongue at Spencer.

Hanna eventually got out of the pool, assuring Emily she was merely going to the bathroom. The brunette nodded in response and exited the pool as well. She was dripping water as she sat down in her chaise chair next to Alison and toweled off, trying to ignore the fact that she could practically feel the blonde's eyes roaming over her. Alison seized the opportunity and turned to lay flat on her stomach.

She pulled out a sunscreen lotion from her bag and held it out for Emily. "I brought some sunscreen," she informed, and the brunette turned her attention to the girl, "will you help me put it on, Em?"

The brunette looked at Alison in disbelief and swallowed as the blonde chuckled to herself in amusement. Emily was sometimes so shy around Alison, and the blonde found it to be endearing.

"Yeah, s-sure," Emily barely got the words out of her mouth. She moved to Alison's chair and sat next to the lying-down blonde. She popped open the bottle, poured some of the liquid on her hands and rubbed it in-between them. Then, she turned to Alison who was still waiting for her and hesitantly smeared the liquid on the blonde's upper back.

Alison hissed silently at the cold temperature of the liquid but quickly felt the warmth of her mermaid's hands and sighed to herself. Emily continued to rub the sunscreen on the blonde's upper back and shoulders and then moved her hands down Alison's backside.

Alison had to hold back a barely-contained moan of enjoyment. Emily's dainty hands simply felt so good on her body, she just couldn't help but feel like the brunette was made for her. Once Emily's hands reached just above the strap of the bottom half of Alison's bikini, she stopped, withdrawing her hands.

"Why'd you stop?" Alison asked while turning around and sitting up.

"Ali, I can't - I can't touch you there."

Alison sighed in relief. For a second she thought that perhaps she'd pushed it too far or that Emily didn't want her in that way. But now, she apprehended that Emily was just afraid of people seeing them in that compromising position.

Alison smirked at the girl. "Of course you can touch me there, Em, just not in public, you mean," the blonde said as if she read Emily's mind. Emily blushed furiously and gave her a small nod. Alison chuckled lightly, "Well, it's your loss, babe."

Emily's jaw dropped slightly at Alison calling her "babe." It was so new to her, yet exciting and intoxicating at the same time. Alison grinned at Emily's innocence. She could tell the brunette wasn't used to pet names, so she decided to mess with her a little longer.

She grabbed a single strawberry from the bowl of fruit on the ground and ate half of it. She moaned slightly in appreciation at the taste of the sweet fruit and then looked into Emily's wide-open eyes. "You have to try it, Em," without warning, Alison pushed the rest of the strawberry into Emily's agape mouth and smirked when the brunette didn't protest.

Alison kept her hand holding onto the peduncle of the strawberry, and Emily bit out the rest of the red fruit, somehow managing to hold the blonde's penetrating eye contact. Alison pulled her hand back from Emily and sat the green leaves and peduncle down by the bowl.

Emily, who was still positively surprised by what had just happened, didn't even notice that Alison had casually struck up a conversation with Hanna, who had returned from the bathroom. She sat back on her own chair and tuned into the conversation.

She reflected the past day, noticing that Alison hadn't commented even once today about Hanna's weight, or how "boring" her swimming suit was. She didn't use the line, "Are you gonna eat that, sweety?" No, not even once. Emily smiled to herself as she watched the interaction between the two blondes. 'Maybe I'm changing her for the better,' Emily joked to herself.

Little did she know, she was inevitably correct.