Chapter 4

"Damn it, Sean!" Hanna yelled, but her boyfriend rolled his eyes and stormed away. Devastated, she walked to the cafeteria table that her friends were sitting at. "I think Sean and I just got into a huge fight. But I don't want to break up!"

"What happened, Han?" Spencer asked, squeezing the blonde's hand.

"I caught him hugging Prudence Finn after his basketball game last night!" Hanna cried. "I know, I'm being a jealous girlfriend, please don't tell me that. But he's always hanging out with Prudence. Hell, he's always hanging out with other pretty girls! What if I'm not enough for him?"

Suddenly, Toby Cavanaugh took a seat at their table with a big grin on his face.

"Hey, Spencer," he greeted warmly. "I had a question about the next lab procedure that we have for homework tonight. If the amount of sodium is the dependent variable, then what is the independent variable?"

"I'll send you a photo of my homework tonight," she said, sighing, and then turning away.

"Ok, cool. Thank you," he said, still smiling. "Hey, are you on the JV team for field hockey?"

"No, I made varsity this year," Spencer told him with a proud smile on her face.

"When's your first game?" Toby asked curiously.

"Um, next Friday, I think, if I'm recalling correctly," Spencer answered with a smile. "Why?"

"I think I'm going," he said, patting her shoulder. "I'll see you there, I guess!"

Spencer nodded her head, and quickly turned away, breathing heavily. She couldn't believe that she had butterflies after talking to a guy. She was supposed to be Spencer Hastings... the strong, independent woman that didn't need a man to be happy! But for some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about that guy.

Emily winked at her and said, "Things are going great, huh? You guys are awesome lab partners." This caused Spencer's eyes to widen.

"Why am I getting the feeling that she doesn't mean exactly what she's saying?" Hanna asked. "I'm feeling that there's some secret message underneath the wording of that. Just lab partners? Does Spencer like him?"

"No!" Spencer cried.

"Ok, she definitely likes him," Aria laughed, nodding her head. "I know you, Spence. You get defensive when you're lying. I don't blame you for liking him, though. He's really cute. Seems nice, too."

"You know what we should do?" Hanna said. "We need a girls' night. Let's have a sleepover. It's Friday night! We can talk about how great guys are, for Spencer, and how sucky guys are, for me! Plus, Aria and Emily, you both need to fill me in on your love lives. So, what do you say? Sleepover at my place tonight? My mom's on a date with her new boyfriend, and if she plays her cards right, hopefully she won't be coming home at all."

"Please don't tell me that you were hinting what I think you were hinting!" Aria cried, laughing.

"My mom is finally dating a man after she and my dad got divorced!" Hanna exclaimed. "As disgusting as it is, I think it's time that she gets laid again."

"Goodbye, end of that conversation," Spencer laughed. "But yeah, I'm in for a sleepover. I have field hockey practice after school, but I can come over at around six. Are the rest of you guys in?"

"I know I am," Aria agreed, nodding her head.

"Uh... well I have to tutor Alison today, but after should be good—" Emily began.

"You're tutoring Alison DiLaurentis?" Hanna asked. "That girl is—"

"Please, I don't need to hear another insult about her. She's not that bad, and we're just doing tutoring sessions. We're not best friends or anything," Emily assured them. "So, I'll call you guys when I'm finished with that."

"It's settled! Sleepover tonight!" Hanna exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

...

Alison tapped her pencil against her head, trying to concentrate on the French work in front of her, but she couldn't. Her mind always wandered off to crazy places. Hot guys... high school drama... sometimes even hot girls she was jealous of. But school work was never something she could keep on her mind. There she was, making an effort to focus, and she still couldn't.

Emily furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "Are you having trouble with this question, Alison?"

"I... I don't know," she mumbled. "I want to get it, but I can't. I can't concentrate. I don't get this stuff. I feel stupid. It's a basic question, I know."

"You are not stupid," Emily assured her. "Just try. I know you can do this."

"But I am!" Alison cried. "I'm the one getting Bs, Cs, and Ds on my tests and quizzes. You don't get it, because you get French. You're good at it. Do you want to just take a break and talk or something? Let's play truth or truth!"

"Truth or truth?" Emily inquired, confused. "I always thought it was truth or dare— agh, never mind. That's not the point. We're here to help you study French. You're going to get it, I promise."

"Yeah, truth or truth," Alison said with a smile. "We answer questions about each other, no dares. What do you say, Emily?"

"We need to do your work," Emily brushed off, shaking her head. "Come on, Alison. Focus."

"I'm trying!" Alison cried.

"Not hard enough. I'm here to push you to do your best," Emily told her. "I know you like talking and playing games. So, let's make this a little more fun. Every time you get a question right, we can play one round of truth or truth. Are you ok with that?"

"It's better than full on studying," Alison said with a smile. "And now, I've got a bit of a motive."

They spent the night answering French questions, and then answering real questions.

"Do you have your eye on any guys yet?" Alison, of course, asked first, once she was able to figure out a homework question on her own. "Rosewood's got a lot of hotties. It's about time that you take your pick."

"No... I haven't really met any guys yet," Emily confessed.

"Such a shame," Alison said, sighing. "We should go out to a party some time. I'll hook you up with a real hottie. I know a lot of guys at this school. It would be easy to find you a man. A hot one, too."

"I don't know," Emily mumbled. "Guys don't really... like me."

"You're kidding, right?" Alison laughed.

"No," Emily said, raising her eyebrows. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because, look at yourself!" Alison cried. "I usually don't compliment girls besides myself, or my closest friends, but dammit, Emily, you're smoking hot! You're actually telling me that guys at your old school weren't dying to get in your pants?"

Emily bit her lip and responded, "No, no guy wanted to 'get into my pants', as you oddly phrase it."

"It means sex," Alison said.

Emily rolled her eyes playfully with a smile and told her, "I know what it means. I'm not an alien to the world."

"You must be an alien if you don't think guys have liked you," Alison said, shaking her head. "Maybe you were just too shy to know. Too shy to know the signals of when a guy is coming onto you."

"What about you?" Emily asked. "Do you have your eye on any guys?"

"Nope, not at the moment," Alison responded. "No guy at this school is worth my time. To tell you the truth, I've never thought I loved a guy. Every boyfriend or kiss I've ever had was stupid and meaningless. I always get into that stuff for fun. Never because I'm searching for something real. I'll have to wait until I find somebody really special before I actually want to find love."

"You don't want to find love?" Emily asked.

"Oh, honey, everybody wants to find love," Alison responded. "But I've never met anybody that I've wanted to find love... with. There's never been anybody in my life that I've actually wanted to love. I don't even love my family."

Emily was puzzled. Alison DiLaurentis was really something different than anything the tanner girl had ever seen in her life. She was a mystery. A challenge. And Emily liked that. She liked a challenge. Easy was boring. Easy wasn't worth the time.

"I think we've studied enough for the day," Emily said. "I'm going to get going. I have plans with my other friends."

"You mean Spencer, Aria, and Hanna?" Alison inquired.

"How did you know?" Emily asked.

"Please, it's obvious," Alison responded. "Sometimes I keep my eye on you at school... and I've seen you with them quite a few times. You don't have to hide it from me, Emily. I know they've probably trashed me beyond what I'm capable of imagining, but that's ok. I knew they would, if they ever met you. Anyone would have. What amazes me is that you are still standing here right now."

"I don't give up on people until I see the real thing with my own eyes," Emily said. "I always tend to have more hope than I should. I give people the benefit of the doubt."

"And maybe that's why you're let down so easily," Alison told her, scoffing. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm not good. There's no miraculous part of me that's a great person. I'm a bitch. Everybody knows it, and I embrace it. Maybe you really should just walk away from me."

"I don't walk away from people," Emily quietly said. "I believe in you. I know you're denying it now, but I think there's a part of you that is good. I've seen it already. I think there's even more. I think you want to let somebody in. And I'd like to be that person."

Alison stared at the floor before saying, "I'm going to leave."

"Wait. Do you want to come to Hanna's house for the sleepover?" Emily asked. "Maybe it's a crazy idea, but maybe you can get a fresh start with them. I don't know about them, but I believe in second chances."

Alison shook her head before saying, "Uh, thank you for the offer, but I can't. What's between me and those girls is far more than what a silly little sleepover and popcorn can fix."

...

Emily arrived at Hanna's house, sitting down on the bed with the girls.

"Can we not watch movies this time?" Hanna begged. "Every time we do, it's a total wash! We end up watching some shit, and then we don't even talk."

"Fine, put away The Notebook, Spencer, I know you're hiding it," Aria teased.

"Pshh, I don't have it," Spencer jokingly said, and tossed the movie box on the floor. "So, what are we going to do? Have an old fashioned sleepover where we talk about boobs and boys?"

"Hell yes!" Hanna exclaimed. "Sometimes my bra gets so itchy, it pains me. And you know when you can never find the right sized bra? It's so annoying. Like, the Victoria's Secret sizes are different from the Walmart sizes. A C-cup in Victoria's can be like a triple damn A in Walmart, so am I not allowed to buy fancy bras some day, and cheap bras on other day—"

"I can't believe how long we let you continue that," Spencer said, putting her hand on Hanna's mouth to shut her up. "The boobs part was a joke."

"Boys, on the other hand," Hanna said with a smirk. "Sorry for my bra talk. Let's talk about how horrible boys are. I'm so pissed at Sean! They always hang out with prettier, better girls, and you end up feeling like crap."

"Prudence Finn is not better than you," Emily assured her. "You're amazing."

"Yeah, and your boobs are actually real," Spencer joked, licking the frosting off of a cupcake, and then laughing to herself.

"So, when she tells a boob joke, it's ok?" Hanna laughed, grinning.

"Definitely," Aria nodded her head, and then giggled a little bit as well.

"Anyone else have any crazy flings going on with any guys?" Hanna asked curiously. "Come on! You can't tell me that you've all been single for this long... I never thought I'd be the only one with a boyfriend, even though mine is being a jerk right now. Who have you guys been into lately?"

"Alright, I do have a confession about a guy to make..." Aria spoke up, ready to tell them about her secret relationship with Ezra. "You know how I made out with that guy named Ezra Fitz before school started?" They nodded. "Well, you also know how I told you that it actually wasn't the same guy as our English teacher, Mr. Fitz?" They nodded again. "I lied."

"Oh my god, I was fearing that!" Spencer cried. "Are you saying what I think you're saying, Aria?"

Emily was baffled, but she smiled a bit. Her friends did scandalous things. Maybe she would meet a guy, have a fling, or get a boyfriend. She wanted to be a part of this discussion, but she didn't have anybody to talk about! She just had Alison.

"I think I am," Aria mumbled. "So, I tried to transfer out of his class, but he begged me to stay, and then he kissed me again! I'm so conflicted. I like him... I have feelings for him. We connected so well, and I would love to see what happens, explore a relationship with this guy, but he's our English teacher. It's crazy, it's wrong, and we'll both get in so much trouble. We'll both also end up getting hurt."

"You can't date him," Spencer said, shaking her head. "I would support this if it was any guy except someone illegal. I don't want to see you guys getting hurt. Well, mainly just you."

"I know, I get that," Aria said, sighing. "I don't want to get in trouble, believe me. But how do I stop myself from wanting him so badly? He's stunning, that's no lie. And I do have feelings for him. I can't just turn them off! How do I stop thinking about him in class, and all the time? I want to do something about it!"

"Just try to stop," Emily suggested. "Meet someone else. I'm sure there are other nice guys out there."

"You're right," Aria said, but she was still in disbelief. She thought she would never meet a guy quite like Ezra Fitz. She could meet other guys, but they would never be him. She just didn't want to keep arguing about it. There was no way she would win when the guy she liked was illegal to date. It was invalid, and a waste of time. They were all right.

"Now that we know about Aria's crazy, scandalous relationship with Mr. Fitz, what about you, Hastings?" Hanna asked with a grin. "Is that thing with Toby really going on?"

"Thing?" Spencer scoffed. "Hanna, he's my lab partner."

"I have a radar for when a guy is into somebody, and that boy is into you!" Hanna cried. "Do you want him or not?"

"I don't have feelings for him!" Spencer denied, shaking her head. "We're just lab partners, and sort of friends. I used to tutor him, nothing more than that."

"Em, you've been silent," Hanna said with a smirk. "Do you know something about her secret crush?"

"No..." Emily mumbled, not wanting to spill her secret.

"Alright, fine!" Spencer cried. "I do have feelings for him, but it's nothing serious. It's just a stupid crush, and it'll go away soon. I know it will."

"I knew it!" Hanna exclaimed.

"We are done talking about this," Spencer said, laughing and shaking her head. "How come nobody's interrogating Emily? I doubt a girl this pretty can go a few weeks in Rosewood without getting a guy to go nuts for her. Who are you interested in, Em?"

"No one," she responded suddenly. "But I—" she stopped herself for a moment. All three of them stared at her curiously. "I made friends with Alison DiLaurentis. And she's amazing. She makes me laugh. I keep trying to understand why you guys wouldn't like her, and I don't get it."

"She's screwing you over," Spencer scoffed. "Is this what the tutoring sessions have been doing to you? Blinding you into bonding with her? She's toxic. She's not somebody you want to be friends with."

"Alright, I hear you guys keep saying stuff like this, but she's got a lot more to her than meets the eye," Emily tried to reason.

"She probably just gave you some sob story to get you to pity her. She knew she would get to you," Spencer argued. "As soon as that girl knows one of your secrets, she'll exploit it. She'll make you feel like she has power over you, and she does. She does have power over you."

"What the hell is this?" Emily asked, getting irritated. "Some clique movie? She's not some mean girl who thinks she's better than everyone. This isn't a high school dramedy. She's a real person, with real feelings, and a real personality."

"Spencer is right," Aria agreed, biting her lip. "I hate to say it, but she is a nightmare. She brings those high school movies to life. She actually resembles the villainous mean girl in all those movies. The only difference? She hasn't had her downfall yet. There's no happy ending where the mean girl gets taken down. That mean girl stays mean. She won't stop."

"I legitimately feel like I'm in a clique movie right now," Emily said, shaking her head. "Why can't you guys support this? I want to be friends with her. I really, really do. She makes me happy."

"She has that effect on people," Hanna contributed. "She makes you feel like the most special person in the world, but then she can take that all away in the blink of an eye."

"You know what? I think I'm going to leave," Emily announced, and left the room.

"Emily!" Hanna called. "We haven't even given each other makeovers yet!"

Spencer rolled her eyes and said, "Really, Hanna? She needs time to cool off."

"Look, we warned her," Aria said. "We can't control her. If she wants to make that mistake, then she can. I don't want to see her get hurt, but we've done all that we have the power to do. Maybe Alison will spare her."

Hanna shook her head and said, "Alison DiLaurentis does not spare anybody. You think she has some weird soft spot for Emily?"

"Yeah, right!" Spencer sarcastically said.

...

Emily found herself knocking on the blonde's door.

"Hey," she quietly said. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a sleepover with... them."

"I did, but I think we might have just gotten in a fight," Emily confessed. "Over you."

"Over me?" Alison asked, raising her eyebrows.

"They were trashing you."

"That's no surprise."

"But I defended you."

"Why?"

"Because I don't think you're all those things that they say you are."

"But I am."

"But you're not."

"But you don't know me."

"But I want to."

"Okay, no more buts. Just come in already."