AN: Hi there! *Thriller plays in the background* Yeah, I'm back from the dead

I...um... well, it's been a long time, hasn't it? I want to say sorry for that. My life has changed quite dramatically. In fact, I'm not even at my house anymore. I'm in my dorm room of a place that's 8000 miles away for a post graduate program. And this is my first time away from home alone.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing my stories. I love writing but I would never make it this far without you. I know not many people are still here. You have moved on at some point. My dash on Tumblr now is not full of PLL blogs anymore. It's kinda sad but I love it when people can find something they're passionate about. Anyway, my point is for those who remain, I appreciate it. Our fandom is so small that sometimes I thought I was the only one but yeah, I found you guys. :)

Here is my new chapter. This one is the longest chapter of this story. I hope you don't get tired or annoyed or bored half way.

Oh, my English still sucks so... help me point out my mistakes maybe? :)

P/s: I'm currently in Toronto so if anyone knows any tip, even the tiniest tip, that can help me make the most of my stay here, please feel free to let me know. Thank you so much.

Pretty Little Liars is not mine. If it's mine, you'll know. (full of Spemily of course)

"Hanna! Can you stop tapping your foot for a sec? You're giving me headache." Aria snapped after let out a long frustrated sigh. She had been so patient, hoping for Emily and Spencer showed up to do that for her but the couple seemed to be late.

"Ugh! What does my foot have to do with your head? It's logically illogical." The blonde fired back, kept tapping her foot anxiously.

"You…" The day was too hot for a silly argument like this. Aria gave up, her head felt heavier after each tap. "What took them so long?"

Hanna didn't answer. Her gaze got lost somewhere behind those pots in the corner. Her foot eventually stopped moving which caught Aria's attention. She glanced over, just in time to see a frown slowly formed between Hanna's brows.

"What's wrong?"

"Not…" Hanna looked back, thought briefly. "I don't know."

The tiny artist rolled her eyes, sat straight up. "Can you make sense just for once? Why's your face like that? Did something happen?"

"I. Don't. Know." She repeated.

"Han…"

"I mean it. I've been occasionally feeling like this for days. Something is not right and I don't know how to fix it." Hanna explained, feeling guilty for no reason.

Her words drew Aria in, the headache had gone immediately.

"Occasionally?"

"Yeah."

"Like when?"

"I'm not so…" Hanna stopped middle sentence, eyes fixed on the door which was just opened. As Aria turned her head to see Spencer and Emily walked in, the blonde whispered.

"Like now."

The restaurant got crowded as the clock ticked by. Good thing the girls had ordered a table which least people surrounded. Their laughter might get them kick out of the place no matter who they were. They were so into the story of Emily meeting Grandma. Spencer made sure she left nothing out. She went on and on with her stories, feeling flattered every time she earned a laugh from the girls. Emily sat quietly next to her, loving the view of a passionate Spencer. Time to time, her lips curved up when she saw sparkles in Spencer's eyes.

"Got it?" Aria leaned over, subtly murmured to Hanna while the couple discussed their next order.

"Got what?" Hanna frowned, whispered back.

"Why something's not right." She replied, somehow believed three hours with the girls would help Hanna figure out the problem.

"No, not yet."

Aria nodded knowingly, leaned back to her seat, conveniently grabbed her glass and took a sip. She felt the need to know that problem. There was only one thing she knew which could irritate Hanna and it was her best friend's happiness. As long as it involved Emily, Spencer was in the picture. The tiny artist couldn't let anything get in her friend's way again. One time was more than enough.

But if only she could use some patience. Three more sips and Aria leaned over again.

"How about now?"

"No and stop doing that! You're drawing their attentions."

"Stop doing what?" Emily's voice suddenly joined their secret conversation. The girls were stunned, dumbfounded.

Hanna breathed in carefully, tried to escape with a lie.

"Asking me question." She answered.

What the hell? That's not a lie, you dumb.

"What question?" Spencer added, smelt something fishy.

Almost defeated, Hanna turned to the other girl. Since it was Aria's fault, maybe she should let her fix it. The blonde smile smugly, raised her voice a little higher.

"Yeah Aria, what question? I did not hear it correctly. Can you repeat it?"

Aria's eyes widened. She gave Hanna and quick glare then turned to the couple after faking a smile. The table became quiet. No one filled the silence which meant she had to fill it herself.

"I asked…" She paused, eyeing her surroundings for 'inspirations'.

"I can't believe you cheat on me with her!" The sound of the guy behind their table hit her ears.

"Yeah I asked could you believe that…" The tiny artist added instantly, slowly improvised another part. "… Spencer and Emily…" She stopped again, waited for the next thing occurred.

Just her luck, the women next table were standing up, shaking hands. Looked like they'd just sealed a deal.

"Deal." Aria blurted.

"What?!" All eyes on her. Even Hanna had no idea what she was saying.

Clearing her throat, Aria triumphantly clued each piece together, was also proud of herself.

"Ahem! I asked could you believe that Spencer and Emily got together because of a contract."

The rest let out a long "Ahh". It took Aria too long to answer that question which was obviously suspicious but the topic she chose saved them that night. Spencer was so caught up with the thought of it. All these things would never happen if she didn't walk into the coffee shop that day. It was like…

Destiny.

Such a beautiful word. Spencer smiled, reached for Emily's warm hand.

"I know, right?"

Emily tightened their hold, probably sharing the same thoughts with the writer. She then leaned her elbow on the table, rested her face on her hand and asked mischievously.

"Where do you keep it anyway? Let me see how long I've gotten left to run away."

Spencer chuckled, gestured her head to Hanna.

"Don't you remember? I don't have it. Hanna insisted to keep it."

"Why do you want to keep it?" Emily was curious, she didn't recall any of this.

"You know, just in case."

"In case of what?" Spencer raised her brow, asked loudly.

Hanna smirked, challenged.

"I don't know. You tell me."

Before they could start and then argue who won the staring contest, Emily cut in.

"Anyway. Just burn it if you want. No one needs to…"

"No way!" Aria jumped in. "Don't burn it! I need evidence to I tell my kids later."

"And I need evidence to, you know, just in case." Hanna repeated her words again, knowing it would piss Spencer off.

"Damn it, Hanna!"

And she was right.

"Okay, okay." Between the chaos, Emily reluctantly became peacemaker. "As long as you keep it save, then it's fine. You can show your kids." She pointed to Aria. "And you can… 'just in case'." Adjusted her finger to Hanna, Emily earned an annoyed – ish glare from Spencer.

"Yeah, yeah. It's save. It's in the hands of Hanna Marin. Nobody can…" These words didn't sound right. Hanna stopped midsentence. Her instinct tried to tell her something. Struggling to overcome her nervous stomach, the blonde finished. "…find it."

Aria knew there was something crossed Hanna's mind but didn't want to clarify in front of the girls. She raised her glass, distracted the others.

"To the contract. To Hanna Marin. Cheers!"

Hanna absentmindedly grabbed her glass, clinked with others'. The girl took a big amount of wine when she sank into her seat. She squinted her eyes, swallowed.

Could it be…?

Our incredible writer sat quietly on her bed, pouting at the sight of Emily's back in front of her. Her brows slowly got closer with the other, created the identical face of a grumpy Spencer. Meanwhile, Emily paid all her attention to her closet. It must have been half an hour and she still hadn't figured out what to wear for a dinner night.

Oh, don't get Spencer wrong. She never even had a thought that Emily was wasting time. She loved how Emily was so invested in picking the right dress. Her favorite person once said that she wanted to look good for her. If the preps caught them, at least the world knew Spencer Hastings had good taste. Not that they hadn't known anyway. But imagine one day she woke up and the first article popped up on her phone was "Remember Spencer Hastings's wife, this is her now" and Emily looked nothing near the flawless incredible writer.

Spencer remembered how silly she had found that was because Emily would still look like a goddess even if she was naked. Wait. Especially when she was naked. Anyway, Spencer was not mad about Emily picking clothes for too long.

The writer was mad because Emily was picking clothes to have dinner with someone who wasn't her.

Worse.

She was going to a dinner night with Alison.

As Spencer's brows kept frowning in new shape, Emily turned back, placing a simple blue dress in front of her body.

"What do you think?" She asked.

"Nope, your legs are showing." And the writer answered quickly.

Emily shrugged then put the dress back, searched for a few minutes then turned again. This time with a Bordeaux shirt and a leather legging.

"How about this?"

"Nope, your arms are showing."

"Well, maybe this jacket will do the trick." The coffee shop owner said, picked up the black jacket in the corner.

Spencer stood up, grabbed the jacket and gave it a quarter second glance then replied firmly.

"No. I don't like it, still too revealing to me."

"Spencer, I can't cover every inch on my body!" Emily raised her voice a bit, started to feel somewhat irritated.

Knowing she had crossed Emily's limit, Spencer played soft. She stepped closer, took all pieces of clothes away from Emily's hands then managed to put one hand on her waist while the other placed on her cheek.

"Well." She paused, lingeringly captured Emily's lips with hers. "…you can cover nothing if you stay home with me."

For a brief moment, Spencer thought she had her, and her heart palpitated. She couldn't take her eyes of Emily who then kept starring at her lips. Her dark brown eyes turning to a new kind of dark almost put a triumphant smile on Spencer's face. Spencer tightened her grip on Emily's hip, tilted her head with the attempt to capture the girl's lips once more time.

As Spencer already sang the victory song in her head, Emily placed her arms around Spencer's neck, one hand slowly moved down to her chest and gently pushed her away. She sighed.

"We've talked about this. It's just a friendly dinner night. I thought you agreed with this?"

Frustrated, the writer released her hands, back away. The softness in her voice was gone.

"Yes. And I'm starting to think that's a stupid decision."

"Spen…"

"Why it has to be you? She could have asked someone else."

"She has nobody, Spencer."

Spencer didn't miss a beat, the fact that Emily kept defending Alison made her mad.

"Since when you become her "somebody"? I thought you hated her, I thought she destroyed you. You're giving me mixed information, Emily."

It was obvious that Spencer was mad but Emily didn't know Spencer was scared too. Things with Emily were always clarified but when it came to Alison, Emily wasn't easy to read like she was before. Spencer understood the effect Alison had on her but her patience was getting thinner. The more she was afraid, the bigger her anger got.

Emily couldn't see through Spencer's real reason this time, and so, she explained with the wrong sentence.

"I just feel bad for her. There used to be me, Hanna and her but you know, Hanna… she's not…"

Spencer jumped in, her words went faster than her mind.

"Of course she's not easy to term with. And you should be like that too. She's just using you. Stop being so naïve and you'll be able to see that. There's no such thing as "catching up the years we missed" between you two. She left you and that's that. Why do you keep crawling back to her whenever she wants you to?"

Spencer couldn't keep up with what she just said but she sure could see the wound in Emily's heart through her eyes. Emily stood there, speechless for a long moment. She swallowed then blinked to avoid eye contact.

"Wow." She breathed in. "So you think I'm naïve." She clenched her jaws. "Crawling back to her?" Emily hissed and Spencer realized she had made a big mistake. "I must be really pathetic, right?"

"Em…"

"You know what? The traffic is really bad lately, I'd better get going."

As she saying, Emily quickly changed to the last outfits she picked. Didn't give Spencer a chance to stop her, she grabbed the keys then stormed out of the door. Spencer ran after her, attempted to ease the atmosphere.

"Do… do you want me to drive you there?"

"No. I can do that by myself." She replied coldly and drove off, leaving Spencer behind.

Alison had been sitting at her reserved table for fifteen minutes. You know about diva, they love to be fashionably late. It's what make them seem important. Despite that fact, the famous actress just wanted to be a decent human being tonight. So yeah, she came only an hour early. Decent, I tell you. Time to time, she took out her mirror to check, fix her lipstick and her hair. It was lucky that she picked this out - of - sight table because if someone didn't know, they would probably think she had been stood up by her date.

It was until her glass of water was refilled for the third time that Emily showed up. The girl was early too. But well, we all knew why.

After the waitress who showed Emily their table left, she stood there, suddenly didn't know what to do. Alison on the other hand had left her seat the moment she recognized Emily's footsteps, standing and waiting. They eyed each other and for a moment, it was kinda awkward. None of them knew should they go for a hug or a handshake. A hug was warm and friendly but it was also dangerous. With their situation, it was better off without a hug. And well, a handshake was too formal. What were they? Business partners? Someway, yes but tonight, no.

The train of thoughts worked hard and Alison finally managed to get pass this weird moment.

"Hi. Have a seat." She said, gestured to the seat opposite.

"Hi. Um… thanks."

Emily sat down, turning around to find a spot to put her purse. As she turned back, her eyes met with the actress's which seemed not to have left her any second.

"You look great tonight." Alison blurted out, a genuine smile appeared on her lips.

"Um, thanks. So do you."

The coffee shop owner replied shortly. A part of her mind already wondered if she had made a mistake coming here tonight. Her hands playing with each other, her thumb absentmindedly rubbed her ring. The sparkles from the word "Mine" of her ring caught Alison's attention. That moment, she realized they weren't on a first date and one of them was not available. She shook her head then cleared her throat.

"Sorry I didn't ask and already ordered our meals. I just want them to be well prepared. Don't worry, they're all your favorites."

Emily opened her mouth to speak but as soon as she realized she was about to say "Um, thanks" for the third time in their first five minutes, she tightened her lips together, forced a polite thank you smile. The gestures let her eyes touched Alison's for two second before she looked away. Even being a grow woman, Emily could never be completely confident under the watch of those icy blue eyes. From their first date to their first time being intimated, Emily always felt a powerful wave of emotions consuming her whenever she knew Alison's eyes on her. And in this moment, they were like mirrors reflecting their past.

Emily subtly gulped, tried to make conversation.

"Y – you're early."

"Yeah, I had a meeting near here and it ended pretty soon so, you know. I don't want to drive home and go out again." The actress answered smoothly, probably forgot she had cancelled every meeting of the week and also spent two hours to pick the right look for this casual dinner.

Received a nod and again, silence from Emily, Alison continued their dialogue. "You're early too. Did you have something to do in town?"

"Oh no. I was just chilling with Spen…" Emily stopped midsentence. The name reminded her of their last conversation which at this point would be best described as a fight. That was unsettling for our coffee shop owner. Of course she was mad but she shouldn't leave Spencer behind with an unfinished talk like that. Not to mention she ran right away to this place. To meet with her ex.

Pathetic.

As Emily shaking the word out of her head, Alison jumped in to help her with the missing puzzle.

"Spencer?"

"Yeah, right." Emily looked up, added. "Anyway, I was afraid of the traffic so I drove here a bit early."

"That's strange." Alison titled her head. "You drove here by yourself?"

"Yes, why?"

"I thought Spencer would do that since she loves to follow you everywhere."

"You said it like it's a bad thing."

"Well… it's kinda uncomfortable to have your wife babysit your every move."

"She's not babysitting me! She just wants some quality time together. That's all!" Emily almost shouted back. It was ridiculous to defend someone you just had a fight with because of the same reason. Even Emily was giving Emily mixed information. She frowned, pinching the bridge of her nose, apologized.

"Sorry, I'm not in a good mood today."

"That's fine. Don't worry." Alison said. Her hand was half way through to touch Emily's but life wasn't easy on her. Her attempt was being interrupted by the waitress serving their first dishes. The movement went dismissed and the actress continued. "So, how's your coffee shop doing? I've heard great reviews from people."

Alison knew Emily too well. The mention of her happy place never failed to put a smile on her lips. This one even reached her eyes.

"Yeah, it's getting pretty famous. It's all because of Spencer though. Without her, my shop was just a small place that no one would notice when they drove pass. Sometimes I'm not sure if people get there to drink or to find her."

The actress nodded slightly. Half of her mind wondered what happened if it was her who made the place noticeable and the other half was no better. It was searching for the topics that did not involve Spencer. The long process resulted in her long silence. Didn't want to let this feel like an interview anymore, Emily contributed to their talk.

"How about you? Your time in Paris must be very hard at first. I can't imagine what things you had been through to get to where you are right now."

She asked sincerely, actually focused on the purpose of this night which was for them to catching up. It was a five years distance. Imagined how many things they had missed. And Alison answered sincerely, too. It wasn't so hard since she had been waiting for this moment.

"Yes, it was really tough. I cried myself to sleep every night hoping that when I woke up, I was at home, in our bed, wrapped under one blanket with you."

"Ali." Emily gulped.

"But anyway, I knew I had to fight. I didn't come all the way there to be a useless whiny blonde. I wanted myself to be proud of."

"Everyone is proud of you now. Your fans are proud of you." Emily said quickly, tried to turn this conversation back to a platonic level. Those eyes were working her attempt thinner each second.

Life wasn't easy on her either. Alison reached her hand across the table, gently held Emily's palm.

"That's not what I want. I only want you to be proud of me."

The table went quite once more time. For Alison, that was a good quite. She had put herself in a perfect situation where she could tell Emily her feelings without crossing the line. But the best part had yet to come. When you tell someone your feelings, you expect their reaction. That was what Alison going to get. As her thumb rubbed against the back of Emily's palm, she added.

"Are you?"

It wasn't because Emily didn't want to talk but she had nothing to say at all. Alison stared into her soul, overwhelmed her with that familiar affection. She stayed still, let the sound of rains hitting the windows overshadowed her answer.

The air felt crowded as they all knew words would soon escape Emily's lips. A yes or no must be eventually formed in her head and everyone should wait for a reply.

Except Spencer.

It was agony for Alison to wait but it was irritating for Spencer to see their holding hands through the glass. The incredible writer gave up, drove away after mentally counting to ten and then twenty for Emily to take her hand back. She didn't know what they were talking about. She just couldn't stand a minute longer looking at them, imagining Emily was contemplating if she should break up with her or not.

The spot Spencer had left quickly filled by another car of a man whose hat covered half of his face. The guy had been waiting for this spot since it had the perfect view to where the famous actress sat. He took out his camera, constantly taking pictures, didn't want to miss a single moment that supported his catchy headline.

Spencer's living room was still dark even though she had been sitting on the couch for an hour. The dim light from her reading lamp was what kept her from spilling wine everywhere but her glass. She didn't drink much though. It was just a sip or two and the rest was Spencer staring mindlessly at the ground.

The wine waved slightly as she swung her glass a little. If only the waves in her heart were as peaceful as that. After all, she was still human. She was tired. What was the point of being with someone while she had to worry if they could leave her the next morning? She knew Emily wouldn't be like that. She knew she should fight for what she truly wanted and she had. But this was getting old. Even if Emily wouldn't leave her, how could she be sure that she was the one for Emily? The worst thing about self - doubt was no matter anyone said anything, the voice in her head always won. Emily could show her she loved her a thousand times and Spencer would still wonder if Emily tolerated her, felt sorry for her.

The poor writer was so confused. She was ready to say yes if Emily wanted to leave but a part of her thought it was stupid. She said she loved her yet she didn't have the courage to continue her fight. And this point was back to the fact that she was exhausted. She wanted to fight and not to fight at the same time. What kind of nonsense was this?

The door clicked and Spencer let out a heavy sigh. She drank up her glass then stayed still, waiting for Emily to walk in and deliver her final sentence.

The night was so quite. Spencer could only hear the sound of her own breathe and Emily's heavy footsteps. As all the sounds stopped, she looked up at the girl she loved who then looked back at her. Even in this light, Spencer could see Emily's eyes had reddened.

There could only be bad news.

She looked down at her lap, didn't say anything. The heart beat faster with the suspense.

"Hey." Emily said.

"Hi."

Keeping her posture, Spencer replied quietly. A tear formed in the corner of her eye, waiting to fall. She held her breathe in an attempt to stop it, to keep herself together. Just right then, Emily's warm palm brushed against her cheek, caressed her gently. Spencer closed her eyes, unknowingly leaned against it. She frowned harder as tears were fighting to stream down. She didn't want to make this so hard for Emily. It was supposed to be something like "I'll be fine" and not something like this.

But Emily did make this hard for her. She knelt down, turned Spencer to face her, whispered.

"I'm so sorry."

Spencer's last attempt to be tough was washed away just like that. Her tears finally escaped, running all over each other. Emily stopped them half way with her thumb carefully as Spencer managed to form a sentence.

"It's okay. I understand."

"No. You have all the rights to be mad, Spencer."

"I'm not mad at you. If keeping you here only made you miserable, I would rather let you go. I just want you to be happy."

"Spen –"

"Really! As long as you're happy, I'll be okay."

"I – I don't know how this can be okay…"

"…"

"…like at all."

"What do you want me to say?" Spencer yelled. "That I'll be heartbroken? Hurt? Destroyed?"

Emily stunned, speechless for a moment. She blinked a few times then ultimately found her voice answered.

"I'm – I'm sorry. I didn't know that would hurt you so much."

What in the world, Emily? You were broking up with her. How didn't you know that would affect her that way?

Spencer frowned, confused but eventually brushed it off. It was ending anyway. She just wanted this to be over already. As she was about to finish the night, Emily continued.

"That makes sense though. I mean… I wouldn't be so pleased if you had an ex that kept roaming around our life."

"Um…"

"I'm sorry again. I shouldn't have left you like that. That was selfish. Next time I'll bring you with me, okay?"

"Next time? What're you talking about?"

Spencer asked, as confused as I am.

"I know you don't like it but I think there will be a few more dinners. She's a friend after all. We can always leave early whenever you feel like it." Emily said, put on her reassurance face. The girl searched in her coat, pulled out a tiny bag then gave Spencer the sweetest smile of the day. "I bought you a chocolate bar."

The frown remained exactly the same between Spencer's brows. There were some tears left in her eyes but just like her, they didn't know what they should do next. Her light brown perplexed eyes flicked from Emily then to the tiny bag and back to Emily again. It took Spencer a while but she finally moved, received the chocolate bar. Hesitated, she asked.

"We're not… breaking up?"

Emily stopped dead in her track then widened her eyes. She stood up, stepped away from Spencer a bit. Her sentences got a little messy.

"Wha – what are you talking about? Why would – why we – I –. D – do you want to…?"

Spencer stood up too, cut her off, but with messier sentences.

"No! No, I don't! I mean… you, her and the hands. The holding I mean – restaurant – I thought…"

"Wait. You were there?" The coffee shop owner questioned, somehow got all of Spencer's new grammars figured out.

The dorky writer looked away for a second, obviously didn't mean to spill out what she did. Eventually, she admitted.

"I followed you. I thought it wouldn't be safe to drive when you were angry." Spencer sighed then continued, missed a chance to see Emily's eyes softened. "And I saw you and, uh I don't even want to say her name." She paused, locked eyes with Emily this time before added. "She held your hand. She looked at you the way I look at you. And I know you know, Emily. That moment, you knew. She loves you."

Emily stood there, felt like time had stopped. The room fall back into silence. But it didn't last long.

"Yes, I know." She replied softly.

A sad smile returned from Spencer. Her shoulder shifted slightly as a fell attempt to shrug. Her heart couldn't handle this.

"And you didn't take your hand back. We all know what that means, Em." Spencer's voice cracked as she finished. "You still love her."

"No Spencer, it doesn't mea –"

"Then why, Emily? Why didn't you –"

"Because I was struck. I had loved her for years for God's sake. I even thought I could have a family with her. And then I stopped loving her. I started to love someone else. She makes me feel safe and happy. Then Alison came back. I know you don't want to hear this but yes, sometimes I miss the old days. I miss the innocence. That moment you saw, I was overwhelmed. I knew how she felt and in an instant I didn't feel so innocent anymore."

Emily stopped, panting. Her heart palpitated when the words trembled on her lips.

"I felt like I was cheating on you." She swallowed hard, struggling let the sentence out. "You reacted that way because you could see what I didn't. I made you worry, made you wonder everything. I should have known but I was so stupid. I am so sorry."

Upon hearing all of that, the writer stepped forward, put Emily in a tight embrace. Emily's voice muffled as her tears began to drop on Spencer's shoulder.

"You deserve the best of everything. And I'm not…"

Spencer tightened their hug once more time before pulling back. She wiped Emily's tears away then place a gentle kiss on her head.

"You are my best of everything."

Those words lightly touched Emily's heart. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this. Like she was a part of something, someone. Like she was that important. She had felt like an outcast throughout her childhood, always dreamed of running away. When her parents finally accepted who she was, they didn't have much time with her left.

The universe loved to isolate her like that. If it wasn't because of Hanna who kept dragging her here and there, Emily's rope would break, let her fly away from this planet. Being a part of your best friend's life was nice but she wanted to be a part of her own life too. And Alison made that happen. She gave Emily the actual reason to stop dreaming of running. She made Emily feel whole. Yet just like Emily, she dreamed of a place beyond theirs. So she left.

And then came Spencer.

Spencer.

She was so, so, so… everything. Under the broken pieces, Emily found the heart of gold. And she was lucky. Because that heart matched hers. Emily wasn't just a part of her life anymore, she was in Spencer's part too. She could run away, with her. She could stay, with her. They could do anything together. That was the best part. No one got left behind.

Emily pulled Spencer in a hug again, wrapped her arms tightly around her shoulders. Her eyes closed momentarily as her heartbeats eventually synced with Spencer's. Didn't let go of the hug, she murmured.

"Even when I left you this noon?"

"Yes."

"Even when I met with the ex who is still in love with me?"

"Um hum."

"Even when I said I would drag you to meet her with me in the future?"

"Don't push it." Spencer replied, broke the hug to look at Emily. She pouted but then tilted her head. "But yes, even then, you are."

Emily chuckled, moved her hand from Spencer's neck to caress her chin and then her cheek. Sniffing a bit, the girl teased. "You just say it because of the chocolate bar."

The writer didn't say anything back right away. She took her time, lovingly stared at Emily for a while. A smirk slowly showed up as she lifted Emily's chin with her thumb.

"My reputation would be ruin if the world knows."

"Know what?"

"That I'm head over heel with the girl who gave me a chocolate bar on our first night of honeymoon."

Emily laughed out loud. Her hands got tighter around Spencer's neck as she spoke.

"Good memory, Hastings. What else do you remember?"

Spencer moved her stare to Emily's lips, her mouth slight opened while her eyes were getting darker. Her hands shifted around the other girl's waist, made Emily step closer. "I remember I was a fool, chasing you off the bed. Now, I would do anything to have you on my bed."

Deliberately, Spencer captured Emily's lower lip between hers. She moved her hand from Emily's hip, along her back then rubbed her neck. It eventually disappeared in the girl's hair as Spencer slipped her tongue against Emily's. When Emily tried to kick off her heels, her movement pushed them both backward while they were lost in the moment which made Spencer's legs hit the couch. She lost balance, fall back to her previous position on the couch whilst Emily conveniently fall on her laps with Spencer between her legs.

The kiss broke, left Emily gasping for air. The incredible writer was panting too but remained her stare at those swollen lips. She lifted her hand from Emily's hair, brushed her thumb at her lips while catching Emily's eyes with her. She swallowed, spoke between her breathless breaths.

"Do you, want to undo my buttons for me?"

The younger girl's heart skipped a beat. She knew what Spencer was asking. Of course she wasn't talking about those buttons. Her question was beyond that. And Emily's hands started to shake. It had been years since she got this close with anyone. In fact, the last one was no one but the famous actress. Emily was grateful that Spencer hadn't suggested this right after they got together. The feelings of being forsaken, of not being good enough, of not deserve it and of many things more still had a hang on her.

Spencer sat there, patiently waiting as Emily's eyes eventually shifted from hers to her buttons. She looked back at Spencer time to time, didn't say anything. Each time she looked at Spencer, a bit of courage got to her. Though she was struggling, she knew the answer. Her shaky hands slowly moved to the top one, attempted to undo it but the action didn't go dismiss to Spencer. She covered both Emily's palms with hers, looked up. Her light brown eyes met with Emily's teary dark ones.

Emily looked down at the face she had grown to trust more than most people in her life. She was so patient, so understanding. She loved her when she didn't want to love anymore and she guided her back into happiness. Emily blinked and looked at her hands which were held by Spencer, couldn't keep her tears.

Spencer quickly released one hand and reached out for Emily. The writer drew her in, kissed her gently on her lips then rest their foreheads against each other's.

"It's okay, Emily. You don't hav –"

"I want to."

Emily whispered, closed her eyes and returned Spencer's gentle kiss before pulling away. Her hands steadied on Spencer's shirt but Spencer didn't let go yet. She kissed both Emily's palms then asked once more time.

"Are you sure?"

The girl's eyes said it all but she waited for a firm nod before taking her hand back, carefully rested them on Emily's thighs. Spencer stayed focus on Emily as she slowly undid each button. Her hands moved up and down Emily's thighs, reassured her.

When there was no button left, Emily looked back at Spencer who smiled and reached for her to capture her lips again. Emily reciprocated the kiss but then moved away from Spencer's lips to her jaw and end up at her neck. Spencer closed her eyes when Emily lips touched her shoulder while her hand pulled the shirt off of her. As Emily's kiss had moved to her chest, Spencer's breath got heavier. Her hands couldn't stay still anymore. She gripped on Emily's jacket, tried to take it off which made Emily stopped midway. She took her jacket off, locking eyes with Spencer's. She reached her hands to the bottom of her shirt to lift it up but Spencer gently grabbed her hands, gave them a tight held and moved them away.

Emily understood, lifted her arms up, let Spencer deliberately take her shirt off for her. Spencer then stretched her arms to Emily's back to undo her bra, left Emily completely topless in front of her. The girl looked away for a second before Spencer turned her face back. She smile lovingly, kissed her chin. Her lips slowly got below Emily's neck and went a bit lower to her chest. Spencer moved up, inhaled each place she had touched and looked at Emily. She shifted Emily's hips so Emily could sit closer to her on her lap. Spencer captured her lips, lingered a little then let her tongue disappear in Emily's mouth again.

The clock ticked by as the moon got higher over the trees which were swinging against each gust of wind. That was a windy night but by the fireplace, I doubt Spencer and Emily would feel any cold making their memories.

I would love to tell you what kind of memories were in the making but, well, that would violate their piracy, don't you think?

Spencer woke up next morning, didn't attempt to do anything other than grabbed a glass of water then got back to bed. The blanket, the pillows, the bed buddy had never felt so appealing. She tucked herself under the blanket quickly, wrapped her arm around her favorite person who was back facing her and put several kisses on the back of her neck.

Emily shifted a little, mumbled. "Spencer, stop grabbing my boob with your cold hand."

Spencer pushed herself up, laid on her elbow and looked down at Emily, smirking.

"Sweetie, I'm grabbing your heart."

"That's my right boob." If Emily didn't already peer Spencer through her half – closed eyes, she would be narrowing them right now.

The happy writer burst out laughing, pretended to finally realize the fact, she moved her hand further. "Ah, so it's the left one."

Emily rocked with laughter, tried to cover herself with the blanket. "Stop! It tickles."

"Didn't recall you protested this much last night." Spencer said, pushed up and hovered above Emily. You could hear the smirk through her voice.

The coffee shop owner looked up, bit her lips, grinning. "Shut up!"

"In fact, you agreed with me a lot." The teasing write kept teasing.

"Please shut up!" Emily blushed harder, covered her face with her hands.

"You even –"

Emily pulled Spencer down, sealed her lips with a kiss. I don't know why she did that. I would love to hear more about the night.

Spencer immediately reciprocated the kiss, slowly took Emily's hands, linked them with hers and pinned them at both side of Emily's head. As the writer was about to create new memories, Emily's cellphone joined their bodies' conversation.

The grumpy writer stopped, didn't desire to look at the phone. She clenched her jaws, narrowed her eyes.

"You're phone is so rude."

Emily chuckled, lifted her head up to see the called. "It's Aria."

With the grumpy face was still on, Spencer released Emily's hands and grabbed the phone. "Can you call back later? We're –"

The younger girl snatched the phone back instantly, in case the dorky writer revealed more than what Aria should know.

"Hey Aria, sorry about that."

"It's okay. Can I talk with you for a minute?"

"Sure."

"Alone."

Emily blinked, took Spencer's shirt on the nightstand and put it on, trying to not let Spencer suspect anything. "Okay, let me get to the kitchen. I need to get some water."

I didn't know if what Emily said worked or the fact that she was wearing Spencer's shirt distracted the writer from smelling something fishy. She stared at Emily from head to toes. When their eyes met, Spencer raised her brow and smirked. The coffee shop owner bit the inside of her bottom lips, for a moment forgot she was on the phone.

"Um… Emily?"

"Oh, right! Just another minute." She said, ran as fast as she could away from the teasing writer.

When she finally got to the fridge, Emily looked over her shoulder. Carefully, she raised the phone to her ear. "Okay, now I'm alone."

"Are you sure?" Aria asked.

"Yes."

"Check again. I don't want Spencer to know about this." The tiny friend said, suddenly sounded like a protective Hanna.

"Aria, nothing has ever turned out good when it starts with "Spencer can't know about this". What's the problem?"

Before Aria could reply, the background noises from her place caught Emily's attention. "Are you okay? What's that noise? Is something breaking? Is that Hanna? Why is she screaming?"

Aria inhaled deeply, shouted. "Emily! I want you to calm down."

Those words hit her ear brutally. Emily was calm. Well, she had been calm. The only person that wasn't calm at the moment seemed to be Aria. And probably Hanna whose words Emily couldn't hear clearly. As much as Emily wanted to yelled back, she realized maybe Aria was actually talking to herself. Didn't want to make the tiny best friend panic, Emily breathed out, questioned quietly.

"I'm calm. What's wrong?"

The other side of the phone stayed silent. Aria didn't answer her yet which made the noises clearer. Between the crashing sounds, Emily could pick up a few words from Hanna. By the time Aria decided to talk again, Emily had vaguely known the answer.

"Hanna lost your marriage contract. She didn't know who took it and when."

The conversation fall back into silence. Aria held her breath, prepared for the storm of reproaches. Though it was neither her nor Hanna's fault, the best friend was willing to defend on behalf of the screaming girl. That was the least she could do in this situation. It was enough for Hanna for blaming herself, she didn't need another one scolding at her for the same reason even though it was understandable if Emily did so.

To her surprise, Emily calmly requested to put her on speaker, gently called Hanna's name as if she had a cool story to tell. The poor girl stopped rummaged through her stuffs immediately. She ran toward the phone and gripped it on Aria's hand. She sniffed, Emily could sense the panic in her voice.

"Emily? Emily! I'm – I'm so sorry. I didn't – I don't know… It was in here and –" She couldn't finish her sentence. Aria put her arm around her.

"Hanna."

"…"

"Breathe, Hanna, breathe. Follow my lead." Emily inhaled then exhaled, made sure she could hear Hanna repeated each step with her. "Okay good, keep going. You're doing great."

As her breathing problem went away, Hanna sat flat on the floor with Aria mimicked quickly after that. She stared at the phone. "Please yell at me, Emily! Why don't you yell at me?"

Emily didn't answer that. She threw the answer side back to her best friend.

"So you kept the file in your office?"

"Yes."

"Not so many people would go in there, right?"

"Yeah, this room was just for me and some small discussions with my team." Hanna paused but added instantly. "But I can assure you that I will know if they get in. They really respect me, without me asking or my permission, they don't have anything to do with this place. Anyway, if you want to check, there are several security cameras out there and…"

Hanna stopped midsentence. Emily didn't rush her. She waited patiently on the other side of the phone for Hanna to finally figure it out.

"Oh my God! I'll check right away. Again, I'm so, so, sorry." And she did. The sound of the footsteps hit Emily's ear, let her know they were on the way.

"It's okay, Hanna. Be careful. It'll be fine."

"If it got to the wrong person, I –"

"Hanna! I said it'll be fine."

Emily assured Hanna once last time before her best friend hung up. She put her phone on the counter, breathed out deeply then stared blankly at the ceiling.

Something told her it wouldn't be fine.

While Hanna and Aria probably had to spend hours to watch each tape of the past months, the file stealer couldn't be at rest either. Our famous actress was sitting at her desk, painstakingly wrote answers for her fan mails. Time to time, Alison glanced to the top right of her desk where placed a black folder with the Hastings's address was printed in red at the bottom. The black folder, of course, kept nothing but Hanna's precious contract. However, the Hastings's address didn't belong to our love birds. It was for a place a bit further, where Veronica and Peter lived.

Ever since Alison got the contract, her heart kept messing with her mind. It took her forever to decide what she should do with that file.

She was brutal. The address of the biggest newspaper was once printed. In one night, millions and millions of copies of that contract would be seen by the world. The incredible writer by that time would become nothing more but a shameless liar. If she could toy with her own life, how anyone could trust her with their business. Alison could easily destroy her just like that.

But, there would always have a but, she saw a gap in that plan. Emily would be humiliated by the whole world too. Alison accidentally turned Emily into a gold digger who sold her own life for money. The world was stupid. They didn't care about the story behind. They would believe anything the press threw in their faces and even exaggerated it right after. They didn't know Emily had a debt to pay which actually wasn't her debt. And Emily would let them hate her. Because she would never defend herself. Because then she would have to spill out her relationship with Alison. Emily wouldn't want the world to view Alison as the bad guy.

That title suited her. Alison admitted. But even a bad person wouldn't hurt the person they cared. So a new solution had to be formed.

Veronica and Peter were perfect. They would know what to do. With a high profile like that, this family couldn't have any stain. That was why she chose them. The Hastings would solve this fast, destroy any details, and all would be done in silence. There would be storm for Emily, Alison knew. Yet, it was hard to admit, she trusted Spencer would protect Emily at any cost. Between the fact that the Hastings couldn't stand her and Spencer was willing to run away with her, Alison knew Emily would do what was best for everybody.

Every prepared step in her flawless plan was done. The only thing left was to send it. However, Alison hadn't made any move since. Days passed and she just sat there, looking at the bomb that would destroy everything. Alison realized, even if she could come up with hundreds plans involved or not involved the file, there would always be a gap.

None of those would make Emily return.

She recalled that moment she could held Emily's hand once again at the restaurant. It just felt so right, like the feeling you get when you lie back on your bed after a long vacation. She had missed that feeling. Alison had hoped that she could see a bit of hesitation in Emily, that maybe, just maybe, the girl would reconsider their relationship. She didn't know what she had been thinking. How could Emily choose her again if she already had someone like Spencer? When Emily tightened their hold, Alison understood that wasn't a good sign.

Because she felt like Hanna, that was for a friend.

And sadly, she was right. Emily left less than half an hour after that. She had seen that coming. Emily couldn't stay too long knowing Alison's intention. She would feel guilty just for acknowledging that even though she hadn't done anything.

That was pointless. Her plan.

She wasn't that "if I can't have it, nobody can" person. She wished Emily happiness. But most of the time, it included her.

With an indecisive mind, the black folder remained where it was. Piles and piles of answered fan mails had been sent but she never put that folder with it. Today was just the same. The famous actress sighed, arranged her mails again then decided to go for a walk. Maybe when her assistant came in and took the fan mails to go, she would have some clearer spaces to think again when she got back.

Hanna knocked on Alison's door a day later. The famous actress nonchalantly opened it, wasn't surprised to see her old friend with two black bags under her eyes staring angrily at her. There would have been two pairs of those eyes if Aria hadn't been so tired and fallen asleep. There also would have been two old friends, if only Hanna had told Emily. When Alison showed up on the screen, Hanna didn't need to watch the rest. She drove here as fast as she could. And oddly, the last thing she wanted to do was to call Emily. Hanna didn't know why. Maybe she wanted to solve the problem by herself. Maybe she didn't want to worry Emily. Or, or maybe she kind of wanted to give Alison a chance.

The reason remained unknown and Hanna didn't want to figure it out either. She just wanted to take back what was hers.

"The contract." She said, clenched her jaws.

Alison looked at her like Hanna just said "hello". She opened the door wider, tilted her head and gestured. "Come on in."

Hanna walked in fiercely, stopped in the middle of the apartment while Alison closed the door. In a brief moment, the angry friend almost forgot why she was there. The surroundings captured her eyes.

It looked familiar.

It felt familiar.

She remembered that ribbon which was framed and hung on the wall. They earned it in a fashion contest that Alison forced her to join. The fashion designer won first place, got a promise for an internship at a fashion magazine. Hanna kept the certificate but gave Alison that ribbon as a thank you though the girl didn't help much, she was there as her model.

Oh she recalled that stuffed panda bear too. She bought it at a convenient store for Alison's birthday. It was only ten bucks or something cause Hanna didn't really care anyway. If Emily didn't act so hyped about it, she would consider not giving her anything at all.

Hanna's eyes shifted to the session near the window where got all the sun's attention. The snow globe, the Eiffel tower model and the infamous jar, they were arranged nicely between photos of Alison, and of course, Emily.

Hanna felt like she had gone back time, stepped in Alison's bedroom once again.

The clinking sounds brought her back, she turned to Alison who was holding two empty glasses, stood near the shelf.

"Whiskey or scotch?" Alison slid her hand through the labels, added. "If you prefer "pink drink" then we'd better go to a bar."

And the angry friend was back. Hanna stormed to Alison's spot, faced to face the actress. With a threatened voice, she demanded. "Just give me the fucking contract!"

"Don't worry, I'll give it back to you." She blinked lazily then sighed. "I don't know what to do with it anyway."

Hanna frowned, confused. As she struggling to find a comeback, Alison added. "Can you just, like, have a drink with me?"

Things were getting stranger and stranger. Hanna didn't expect this encounter would turn to this direction. She had thought it had something to do with yelling, fighting and maybe punching. She stared back at those icy blue eyes, tried to read through her soul. When the result returned nothing, Hanna contemplated their situation again, said shortly.

"Whiskey."

The smiled reached Alison's eyes, brightened her face. As she took out the bottle, Hanna added.

"With ice."

Hanna could hear her old friend's chuckles this time. And she knew what Alison was going to say next.

"I know."

When they settled on the couch, the room went back into silent. Hanna surprised herself. For the first time, she realized being in the same room as Alison wasn't that bad. Of course minored the fact that this girl stole her secret file, it was kinda nice. She glanced at Alison who was looking down, slightly shaking her glass. Hanna took a sip, decided to ask the question she desired to know.

"You don't know what to do with it then why did you take it?"

Alison sighed then shrugged. "I was jealous, I think. For a moment it felt really powerful to know such secret." The girl paused to look up at Hanna, gave her a half – smile and raised her brow. "Between you and me, would you take the contract if you were me?"

The old friend stopped at her track, stared back at Alison. This was what she hated the most about their relationship. No matter how hard she tried, they would always have something in common. She and Alison were so much alike.

Hanna blinked, flicked her eyes to the window and brought the glass to her lips, whispered before gulped a mouthful of whiskey.

"Yes."

Alison didn't say anything, silently copied Hanna's movement. As their glasses were about to be empty, Alison reached for the bottle and filled them both. Interestingly, Hanna didn't seem to be annoyed when she had to spend another glass of wine longer. In fact, she had things to say.

"But well, unlike you, I would have known what to do. I would send it to the media or something."

Alison laughed lightly. "Wow, amazing! The thought has never occurred to me."

Hanna glared back at her, narrowed her eyes at Alison's familiar sarcastic tone. "Shut up. Then why didn't you do that?" She blurted out but two second later, her mind hit her. "Wait, not that I encourage you to do that. I'm just asking to clarify this strange situation consider I know you too well."

Alison leaned back on her couch, crossed her legs and smiled wistfully at her old friend.

"Not so well, Han."

Neither girls realized Hanna didn't fix the way Alison called her this time. They both looked back to their glasses before the actress spoke again.

"They would mock Emily. And she wouldn't fight back. She's too good for this stupid world. So…" She paused, shrugged again. "I thought I should send it to Spencer's parents."

As her mind processing the way Alison's had, Hanna slowly sat up. She knew the outcome of that scenario. That wouldn't be peaceful to watch.

"You haven't…"

"Of course I haven't send it." She frowned, said quickly.

"…why…?"

The glass got a lot of attention this morning. The actress swung it slightly when she poured another amount of whiskey into it. She took a sip, uncrossed her legs and laid her head back on the couch. Staring at the ceiling, Alison quietly answered.

"You know why."

She was right. Hanna knew the answer. She just asked to have it confirmed. It felt brand new for the protective best friend to discover this side of the old friend. They had never talked like this in the past which had pushed them further instead of understanding each other. Hanna felt somewhat sorry for Alison. She wondered if it was also her fault that led them to the point they couldn't stay in the same room.

"If only you could have loved her in a better way…"

Hanna unknowingly spilled out her thought but responded to her was just the silence. Maybe if she didn't hallucinate, there was a slight sigh from the other side of the couch. Hanna turned to look at her just when she moved, drunk up her glass. The friend stretched her arm to grab the bottle, poured into Alison's just – emptied – glass, didn't forget to fill hers to make it look like she just conveniently did that and not like she wanted to give Alison some. Hanna relaxed back to her position after Alison whispered a thanks. The wrinkles on her forehead slowly appeared as she struggling to, believe it or not, console Alison.

"As someone who has been the pain in the ass of Spencer, I have to admit, she's not so bad. I think she makes Emily happy."

Right, so this can happen the first time you try to solace someone you have hated for a long, long time. But it is okay. Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days. Nobody's perfect.

Wait, that was a Hannah Montana's song.

Anyway, Alison tried to brush it off. She could see Hanna's attempt to comfort her but it a bit too hard. She closed her eyes, almost clenched her fists and her jaws.

"Can we, just, you know, not talking about Spencer?"

Hanna instantly tightened her lips. While she was considering should she say okay or give Alison an apology, her phone beeped. After a quick glance, she asked.

"So, um, can I have the contract back? Aria's gonna be panic, I just want to let her know I have it."

"Follow me, I keep it on my desk. And why don't you just text her that you're taking it back from me?" She said, gestured for Hanna to follow her to her working room.

"Yeah, that would totally put Aria in panic mode. And…" Hanna stopped, contemplated if she should finish the rest.

Alison stood at her desk, tilted her head at a confusing Hanna. Whilst the words hadn't come out from her old friend yet, she moved mail and mail aside, looking for the black folder.

"I don't want to let her know where I get the contract back from."

"…"

"This will be our secret."

Hanna successfully completed her sentences. Her reply for a "why" had already been prepared. Other days, like any day, Alison would have stayed in Hanna's plan. She would have said and asked whatever Hanna thought she might do.

But not today. Not this moment when Alison didn't know where her folder had gone. She threw all the mails off of her table, hoping it would hide somewhere beneath, wait to laugh at her face. Her heart was slowing down, experienced that feeling when you put your hand in your pocket but your phone is not there. The blood ran out of her face and Hanna saw that. That, wasn't a good sign.

Alison was terrified. She felt the need to clarify everything. She didn't want Hanna to think that she was lying. It had really been there. She had really told the truth. Why must the universe play her like this? Why must the first time she told the truth turn out this way?

"It was right here. I swear, I just saw it yesterday. I…"

As much as she wanted to explode, Hanna appeared calm. Just yesterday, she had been in Alison's position. Though there could be a chance where the girl was playing her, lying this whole time to keep Hanna crowded, Hanna chose to trust her. She had chosen to think so little about Alison every damn time she could, at least after this, she wouldn't regret not giving Alison any chance.

"Alison."

"I swear, Hanna. I haven't sent it. I had it right here. I haven't…"

"Calm down."

Alison stopped midsentence, looked back at Hanna. It wasn't because she was listening to her old friend and trying to calm down. It was more of a surprise reaction. This time, Hanna actually had the right to bury her alive but the look on her face didn't say that. It strangely matched what she was saying.

"Calm down. It must be around here somewhere."

Hanna walked around, lifted mails, papers and notebooks aside, searching for their folder. Alison carefully followed, hoping the girl was right. Each time she picked up a file and it wasn't the contract, she felt the tension in the room thickener. When Alison searched the same spot for the third time, she knew she lost it. Deliberately, she stood up, hesitated for a while before she spoke.

"It's not in here anymore." Her voice shifted a bit when Hanna glanced back at her. "My assistant came here yesterday to take the fan mails. I think she took it."

"You think?" Hanna said, stood up immediately. "Ask her!"

Alison called that assistant right away. Hanna had no idea what the other side of the phone replied but her old friend hung up quickly. "Is your car outside?"

"Well yes, but what did she say?"

Alison didn't answer, grabbed Hanna's hand and ran as fast as possible to the car.

Turned out, her folder didn't have the address or name of the sender so the post refused to take it. Instead of filling the missing info for her, the assistant thought it would be faster if she sent it by herself since the receiver didn't live so far away. She dropped the file last night.

Hanna wanted to be the driver. She knew where the Hastings lived and she had driven pass there a few times. She didn't really care but every time they were near the house, Emily always reminded her that that was the Hastings's. It happened so often that even when she drove alone, she could hear Emily's voice echoed in her head. With that reasonable reason, Alison let her take control.

Maybe that was a bad decision.

As soon as she took the wheel, Hanna drove like crazy. Alison shouldn't count but the girl had passed three yellow lights and one was almost a red. Each time they made a turn, Alison could hear all the honks and yelling from nearby drivers. Well, they were near for only a short amount of time. Alison gripped tightly on her seatbelt, probably praying in her head. Even so, the thought of interrupting Hanna had never come up. She knew why Hanna was in a rush. She was in a rush too. And anything she said right then could put Hanna in an even crazier mode.

When the sound of a sharp brake hit Alison's ears, her heart wanted to jump out of her chest. She opened her eyes, was glad to see parts of her body were still attached. Alison glanced over Hanna who was eyeing the house quietly. A housekeeper was taking all the mails.

"Damn it!" She said.

Pushed the door open, Hanna ran across the street, leaving a clueless Alison behind. Didn't have time to ask the "what're you doing" question, Alison had to follow immediately. As she finally caught Hanna on the other side, her old friend unexpectedly called.

"Excuse me?"

The housekeeper turned back, eyed two blondes with worry eyes staring at her. Confused, she asked.

"How may I help you?"

"Is this the Hastings lawyers' house?"

"Yes. I'm their butler. They're not home but if you give me your name, I'll tell them when they get back."

"No, no. It's nothing. I just wanna take my file back." Hanna continued bluntly, gestured to the mails on the butler's hands.

"Your file? Can I know who are you two first?" The old lady frowned, appeared to not trust Hanna already.

"Yeah I'm Han…Han…nela, Hannela and this is…" She turned to Alison, raised her brows briefly then looked back. "…Vivian." She looked at Alison again and added. "We're a couple."

"We are?" Alison gushed but instantly played along. "I mean… yes, we are." Put on her confidence face, the actress improvised her part. "You see, we got married last year and things didn't turn out great so we decided to file a divorce. But my sweetheart…" She said, naturally linked her arm with Hanna's and continued. "…and I changed our minds. We want to give this another chance. So can you please, please, please let us take our file back? We just sent it in a heated moment. We know Mrs. Hastings is really busy so…"

Hanna's mouth dropped. Even she at some point believed they were a couple. She glanced over at the old lady whose eyes had softened since when she had no idea.

"Please, we really appreciate it." Hanna added, contributed to their act by holding Alison's hand.

Well, it worked. No kidding. The housekeeper opened her hands, let the girls search for their folder.

"What does it look like?" Hanna murmured.

"It's a black folder." Alison whispered back, just enough for her old friend to hear.

They searched and searched, looked and looked. Minutes passed but the file remained unseen. Frowning, Alison had to ask.

"Are these all the mails you got?"

"Yes, dear. But when did you send it?"

"My assistant dropped it here last night."

"Oh, then you have to contact Mrs. Hastings. She took last night's mails with her cause she had an important meeting down town today and couldn't come home soon."

The lady's voice was nice and calm and relaxing but Hanna and Alison felt like each word was a rock hitting on their heads.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Mrs. Hastings will understand your situation as soon as she knows."

The lady gave them a goodbye smile, closed the door when she didn't get any reply from the girls. Little did she know, they already answered in their heads.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of.

It was a busy day for both Veronica and Peter. It got to the point where they had to check mails in their lunch.

Peter stood up from the table first, with a coffee cup on one hand, he decided to take a break with the news on TV. Mrs. Hastings kept her posture, skimming through each opened mail. Time to time, she raised the spoon of to her lips just to put it back down when something in the mail got her attention.

Things felt really quiet even though there were sounds from the street, the TV, the discussions outside of the room.

Veronica peeled off the seal of a strangely looking black folder just in time Peter turned the volume up. On her hand then was twenty five pages of rules and conditions of the infamous marriage contract. On Peter's screen then were photos of Alison and Emily's dinner night with a big punchline underneath "Alison DiLaurentis's mysterious woman or Spencer Hastings's wife? Or both?".

The room didn't feel quiet anymore.

AN: I hate cliffhanger. :" (please don't hit me)