An Ironic Bond (Pretty Little Liars AU plot) - Redria x White

[redria17]

To say that they'd led an intense life wouldn't even be putting it lightly. The four girls had become much more than friends during an intensely dangerous handful of years over the course of high school, tormented by a common enemy only known as "A". They'd since solved the mystery, eventually discovering A's true identity, bringing her to justice, and finally attaining some measure of peace. The damage was done, however. Some degree of PTSD, if you will. But more powerful than that was the bond that they had formed as friends. It could be said that they'd been through more than 20 adults' experience in their entire lifetimes, combined. In a way, they'd become a sisterhood of sorts, with a bond equaling that of true sisters. At least in loyalty. They would forever be in each others corner, no matter what. However, the effects on the group as a whole aside, there were differences between each of the girls in how they'd managed the stresses of such a life. Even five years after bringing "A" to justice, these effects would still have their hold on each of the girls, and would come roaring back with a vengeance once they'd gotten together for the first time since heading off to college.

Aria in particular hadn't slept a full night since it all ended. Rather, she had simply learned to sleep with one eye open instead. Despite having no reason to believe she was in any danger whatsoever, she simply couldn't get over the fear of once needing to be alert at all times. It made dating, as well as building new friendships, impossible. Nobody understood her or where she was coming from, at least not where she had found herself attending school after moving away from Rosewood. It wasn't difficult for her to actually find a man to date, but many of them wouldn't even give her the time of day after the first date. Those that made it to two dates avoided her even more afterward. It wasn't because she opted to take things slow either - it was something about her behavior and mannerisms that was putting potential partners off. The same went for social interactions as well. Any attempts at fitting into a group of people or making friends at all were simply shut down, all for the same reasons as her luck with dating was so dismal. It brought her to the point of feeling like she needed to simply let it all go and fade into her past, but doing so was practically impossible. And so, Aria's four years of college were spent alone, both romantically as well as socially. It made her miss her friends back home far more strongly by the day. By the time she had graduated, she simply couldn't wait to go back home for a while, even with all the haunting memories it would surely bring back. And that moment finally did arrive - five years after they had departed in the first place.

Despite the warm reunion, the girls knew that they couldn't ever have a normal life, and certainly not a normal friendship, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They would have much to talk about in the way of stories that happened while they were away, but the fact remained that once the stories were told, they would be left with that one common denominator in the form of their traumatizing experiences. Because of that, they never truly "hung out" with each other all that much anymore. It would always lead back to memories which were best left forgotten. And so, they found their way into other circles of friends, at least all except Aria. Aria had felt alone for the first time in her life. Sure, she felt alone while away at school, but she was actually home now, and yet she felt the same way. It drove her mad, and she'd spent her time feverishly trying to think of a solution to her problem. Hanna, Spencer and Emily each had seemed to find success in their groups of friends, but the fact that they simply couldn't share the same circles had forced Aria to dwell on things until she found a solution. It was the only thing she could do, otherwise spend a life in solitude, at this rate. However, in her desperation, Aria would have a life changing epiphany - there was one person with whom she could feel understood by, as well as feel a connection with. She'd just never once considered it because she'd never once considered a love life with another girl, let alone with a known lesbian like her. Yet, it provided the solution to every problem she could see. Aria was convinced, albeit shockingly - Emily Fields was the answer to Aria's problem.

Aria spent the following weeks unable to think about anything else. Is this the right thing to do? Am I sure about this? Those were only some of the thoughts racing through her mind, but she had always reached the same conclusion, which was that she needed to at the very least see if anything was there. And so, she finally set out to give this a shot. The worst case scenario would be that she's rejected by a friend who would be more than gentle in doing so. It would still sting beyond belief, but Aria was convinced that this was the right thing to do. She'd called Emily, and did her best to act the part like everything was normal, except for the fact that wanting to talk alone was anything but normal, at least these days. Maybe it was a mistake to go about it the way that they used to, but what was done was done, and now Aria was on her way to Emily's apartment.

Taking a deep breath, Aria stood at the door to Emily's place. "Well... this is it" she said to herself, and with that, she knocked on the door. Butterflies in her stomach, she felt like a freshman in high school trying to impress some cute guy all over again. Even after everything they'd been through, Aria was in her most vulnerable state that Emily would soon see. Except... she never saw it. Aria simply couldn't manage to come clean to her. Instead, she played it off like she simply wanted to hang out. She found herself digging for excuses when asked why the other two weren't welcome or invited, but that didn't matter. Aria was far too fixated on assessing whether or not this all made sense. When she'd knocked on Emily's door, she was just so sure that she knew, but now she was second guessing herself. But, the opportunity to actually take the time to figure that out had unexpectedly presented itself to Aria - Emily was more than happy to look past the awkwardness that came with recalling the bad memories, because she could tell that Aria was struggling with something, and being there for her was far more important than any bad memories.

As the weeks went on, and turned into months, they had spent a growing amount of time together. For Aria, it was like a breath of fresh air - she hadn't felt friendships' warm embrace in years. And even back when she was familiar with the feeling, she felt that this was somehow better. But she failed to see that she was a different person than back then. Not because she had finally tasted friendship again. Not because she had been affected by the worst years of her life. Rather, it was because she was in the market for romance as well as friendship, without actively thinking about it anymore. For Emily, it took some acclimating to what was certainly a "new" Aria, but once she had, she felt good about the fact that Aria had clearly been benefiting from her attention, and it was a drastic improvement from how she seemed to be feeling before they'd begun spending time together again. It went on, just like that, until Aria had finally had her moment - she finally realized that she was... happy again. It was exactly what she had longed for all this time. At that point, it didn't take much to look past the ironic truth that the one that made her happy just so happened to be another girl - her good friend Emily Fields. The decision was made, just as it was before, but this time she was far more sure of herself, and far more resolute because of it. And so, the next time that Aria called Emily, she asked if she could meet over a drink or two downtown.

Arriving early, Aria waited in the parking lot. The butterflies she felt were similar to when she'd originally intended to have this conversation. The difference was that this time, she had surety on her side.

 

[whtbitch4u2own]

“A!”

“A” managed to pick the door without actually having any keys. What happened to the security of having double locks on her door? Or was it so that she’d only used on lock before she’d gone to bed. That was so unlike her. But, then again, what happened to the security guy who’s always at his desk, allowing only residents to go up at this hour of the night. Was it 12? 1? Early in the morning? Though, it feels as if she’s just gotten in bed and fallen asleep. She was sound asleep after having a crazy day at work, a financial firm where she worked and was succeeding well.

Was it “A” or was it some burglar? It’s dark in the room and she can’t see except shadows. Wat it a knife in is hand…it was, it must be “A”. But, then “A” had been met with justice sometimes back. Moving freely, “A” finally entered her room and even though she couldn’t see “A” as she was asleep, it felt as if “A” must be grinning for sure. What did “A” want? Over the years, the face of “A” have been changed, wrong people had been disguised and given the title. Who was it that was standing at her door side?

Next thing she knew, “A” held a knife over her throat and then moved it down to her stomach and it was then her eyes opened. Finding a shadow, taunting over her, face unseen, she choked, feeling sharp pain from the knife as it slowly made its way into her stomach and that’s when Emily finally opened her eyes, in real. She sat up in her bed, throwing her covers off and looking around the room, finding no one around, she was baffled. What was “A”? Was it all just a dream? It had to be! She exhaled forcefully, feeling safe as she knew all that was in her past. Though, he nightmare had haunted her for years, not as much as before now that she had all her friends with her. With their support, she’d recovered well, they’ve recovered well from the dramatic years of their past. Her hand went straight to her tummy, finding a knot that made her feel as if she had been stabbed. No blood, she was intact and she stepped out of her bed, doing a full sweep of her fancy apartment.

Finally, she came to the bathroom and washed her face, looking right in the mirror, Emily Fields stood there at ease. It was all a dream. “A” walking in her apartment, sitting on her bed and stabbing while she opened her eyes…until her eyes really opened to find out it was 8 in the morning. Not the time she really wanted to up on her day off for sure. It would have been nice to catch up on some sleep as it’s been early morning for her every day of the week. The previous weekend was busy as she hung out with her friends, not even feeling like she had a day off from work. Though, it was always refreshing to meet with Hanna, Spencer, and Aria.

Speaking of which, Aria had asked Emily to meet her at this bar where they always met and hung out at. She was certainly looking forward to it, as always. She decided to freshen up a little and put a pot of coffee for herself before moving into the bathroom once again, this time, she ran the tap at a perfect temperature before she stripped naked to get in the shower. The warm water trickled down her face and then her frame, leaning her hands onto the wall before her as she closed her eyes, the years of torture rushed through her mind and whilst she didn’t want it to be any part of her life moving forward, it would always be a part of her past. The only thing she could do and had agreed to was that she moves on, as her friends would too. Having each other’s support, they could accomplish that as they had shared a bond that was beyond that of a true blood’s. It was a sisterhood, stronger than anything else.

Emily had been alone for years and now that they were all together, again, it felt like home. It didn’t matter where they were in the world, as long as they were together was all that was needed for them to heal well, considering they’ve gone through the same horrifying past. One more than others but they all could relate to one another in ways more than one. It would be okay to say that Emily had been through it a little more than the others, having faced a few sexuality issues and when she’d finally accepted that she was a lesbian, “A” had revealed her secret to everyone in high school and even her parents. That was the worst day of her life. Because of her, her parents were brought to shame and it was then, she was sent to a "de-gaying" rehabilitation center. Failing that, she was off to Iowa to live with her relatives, in hopes by her parents to change the environment she lived in might bring some hope to bring some sense into her. There was also a time where she’d dated a guy and she thought she was a bisexual.

Over the time, she’s learned and it became evident to her that she was a lesbian. Her teenage years were nothing but full of confusion, her dealing with “A” drama and her sexuality on the sides. She’d finally had embraced her sexuality of a lesbian and was glad that her parents also embraced her for who she was. Technically, it was when she ran away and her parents asked her to come back, agreeing to embrace her for what she was. The college years weren’t so bad so to say. She was just glad, along with her friends, that they were still standing and standing strong even after all the things they had gone through. Despite everything, Emily’s personality had grown and made her into how she was today. There were times of depression and a feeling of not wanting to live, and then a time where she faked her own death to fool Alison. She came out strong and made her into who she was today.

She was the jock of the group and participated in swimming. She was good at it. ‘Sporty chick’ one would title her. Born of a mixed race, her family came from different descent; Irish/Scottish, Korean and Filipino. All that added in to give her a look that was exotic and unique to her, different from many other girls. Whilst she was in a relationship with a girl sometimes ago, she was just taking a break from it all. The sex was great but something was lacking…just like how it had been lacking with all the other girls she’d been with over the years. For a long time, she believed as if she was in love with Alison, her first true love. She thought she would never be able to forget Alison as she was her first experience, in high school. She even kept a friendship bracelet on that Alison had gifted her back then and at times. Not so long ago, she imagined Alison in place of her partners that’s in bed with her, even though she was now gone.

Emily was just tired of being dragged down by it and so, she eventually took the bracelet off about a 6 months back. She felt as if she’d been freed, at last and saw how drastically it changed her. She was more alive now, like her true self, not having to hide anything from anyone. One thing she realized was that when she was alone, without her three friends, she was miserable and when she was with them, she had a different glow about her and her life. Personality wise, she’s the sweetest and loyal person in the group. She’s usually friendly to everyone except those people that have done wrote to her or her loved ones, making her very protective of them. Being a fitness fanatic, she goes to the gym to keep fit as well as goes swimming as that’s one thing she could do it absolutely anytime of the day. Over the years, she’s learned to stand up for herself and be herself, doing so made her feel a lot better about herself. Her day was spent looking forward to the evening when she’d get to hand out with one of her girls, Aria. When it was time, she got ready and drove to the place, a bar in downtown. She turned into the parking lot and parked the car, turning to step outside of her car, she noticed the adjacent car was Aria and she was still in the driver’s seat. Emily had a sleeveless dress on, white on top and the bottle of the dress was like a skirt that came to little below her mid thighs level, black in color and leathery in texture. She usually didn’t wear makeup, completing her outfit with an eye linger and open toes black 3 inches long heels. She tapped on the passenger side window before walking over to the other side, “Hey! Hope I didn’t make you wait for too long!” She spoke with much excitement in her tone as she reached over to hug her friend, “It’s so good to see you Aria. Shall we go inside?” It was in that moment, her friend would notice her peachy scent exude from her flesh.

 

[redria17]

Sitting at their table, Aria's gaze remained fixated on Emily's face, at least while she wasn't looking. Despite being convinced that this was the solution to her predicament, Aria still remained somewhat confused. Confused because she had now found herself feeling guilty about hiding her intentions from Emily. Confused because she had dragged this on for so long that she was now wondering what Emily would make of it. Confused, perhaps mostly, because she was still trying to figure out why she was now considering this sort of relationship with such a good friend in Emily, while she had never once before thought of her this way. There wasn't even an attraction - at least not on a physical, sexual level - but it was also the first time that Aria hadn't even factored such a thing into her decision. For the first time in her entire life, she didn't need such an attraction to somebody in order to feel like she was interested in them. Instead, she was convinced that there was such a deep connection that she was feeling, that it rendered physical attraction worthless - there was just... something else there, even if she couldn't grasp what it was. However, was this truly a "deep connection" that Aria was feeling? In her desperate search for a solution to her loneliness, and her subsequent "epiphany" that Emily was the answer, Aria hadn't truly examined what other explanations there might have been for how she had suddenly found herself feeling. But that didn't matter, because there they were, sitting at a table at a bar downtown, and Aria had one thing on her mind - going for broke and finally spilling her guts to Emily.

Staring into the last of her second drink of the night, Aria closed her eyes as she finished what was left of it, and was now staring into the glass that now had only held ice cubes and a few pieces of fruit in it. The trip here seemed to take forever, but once Emily knocked on the window to her car, everything began to go by in a blur. Aria vaguely remembered anything from that point on, all the way to this moment right now, as she stared at the slowly-melting ice in her glass. The walk inside, the conversation they'd made once arriving, and anything in between - none of it mattered in the face of what was truly on Aria's mind. Even now, as she finally looked back at Emily, she felt... absent, and it may or may not have been obvious in her behavior. If asked, Aria couldn't have recounted one single thing that they spoke of since sitting down, because she simply had other things on her mind. This was such an intensely critical moment for her that she couldn't settle down and focus even if she wanted to. The only thing that hadn't escaped her in her current mindset were the two things that she had spent months reminding herself of - she had one chance to do this right, and she had to wait for when the time was right to do it. Simple, right?

Suddenly, Aria found herself squinting at Emily, who seemed to be concerned about something. What was she saying...? I can't... But suddenly, Aria snapped out of it, finally hearing Emily's voice: "Aria... Aria! Is something wrong??" Shaking her head, Aria sighed. "No... I just... n-nevermind..." She'd spaced out, or rather, she had finally been caught spacing out. Truthfully, she'd spent the entire night that way, at least since sitting down with Emily. It had suddenly become apparent that it was all but obvious that something was on Aria's mind tonight, as it had been many other nights when they'd hung out together these past few months. The difference tonight was that Aria wanted to come clean to Emily, but was beginning to realize that she couldn't simply confess and expect things to go perfectly. Common sense had started to make itself apparent in the fact that this, like any other potentially shocking confession, needed to be done in baby steps. Nonetheless, Aria still needed to recover from being caught in deep thought. "...I was just... thinking that I needed another drink!" Smiling big, Aria stood up from the table. "I'll be right back...!" and with that, Aria hurried off to the bar.

While standing at the bar waiting for the bartender, Aria reflected on what had just happened, and her guilty conscience was wreaking havoc on her thoughts. God... she totally knows something's up now! I'm such a fucking idiot...! She glanced back at their table, seeing Emily on her phone. It seemed innocent enough. Maybe... just maybe... Emily chalked this up to being nothing at all. Then again... maybe she had simply grown to ignore Aria's weird behavior since returning. Suddenly she found herself worried about THAT as well. The problems and concerns just kept piling up, and drove Aria to make one pivotal decision while standing there at the bar - she had to put things into motion before Emily began to think that she was crazy.

Walking back to the table, Aria put Emily's drink in front of her. "Here, got you one too!" as she sat down, smiling. "Aria... you've gotten all three of my drinks so far..." Aria's heart sank, her face growing even more pale. She hadn't even realized that she'd been covering all of Emily's drinks thus far, and her guilty conscience had left her dreading that this had every implication of being a date in Aria's eyes. At this point, she had nothing to say. And so, Aria simply stared for a moment before speaking up. "Oh..." It was now obvious that something was... different about tonight, and how things went from here was left at the complete mercy of Emily's response.

 

[whtbitch4u2own]

Emily wasn’t expecting to go out for a few weeks now, at least not with her high school friends. Last time the four were together, Hanna and Spencer had said there were expecting a busy few weeks and getting together as much would be impossible. Of course, she did go out with her colleagues from work but it wasn’t the same as going out with her girls. The fantastic four who’s been through the good and the bad together and have been a great support to each other. So, when Aria called she was pretty much looking forward to it even though it was going to be only two of them.

Emily had always been protective of Aria and seeing her not so long ago, it still felt as if it’s been a while. That’s why, she couldn’t help but pull her friend into her for a tight hug. Emily turned on her heels and started marching towards the bar’s entrance. Emily always felt the attention of boys she’d receive and that was something she’s learned to ignore. Rest of her friends, always talked about some cute guy or one happened to walk past them and Emily would simply keep mum. Occasionally, she’d add her input and at times, she’d try and point her friends in the direction of a guy only she happened to have seen. A small group of four girls, what else can you expect?

Once inside the bar, they made their way to the table that was semi-private and in the corner. Usually, there would be someone sitting on every side of the table but not tonight. That’s why, Emily actually sat closer, on Aria’s right side so they could talk to each other without having to get so loud. Emily failed to notice how Aria was being a little different, a little uneasy and uncertain about something. It was least expected of her. It’s been Emily’s show the whole time, since the moment she arrived and parked the car to the point when their drinks had arrived. Emily liked how Aria paid attention to her while she spoke, fooling her to believe that she was actually looking at her when her gaze were simply fixated on her pretty face. Not all the time Emily looked at her friend sitting on her left side but she did find her looking at her every time she turned her head towards her.

Time passed by quickly and Emily noticed how Aria wasn’t speaking much. Though, Emily had a lot to talk about, being a talking person with people she knew and shy with people she didn’t know, Emily could be two different person in given circumstances. She continued to quench her thirst with her second drink, feeling her throat become dry from all the talking, she finally downed the rest of her drink and then taking out her lip gloss to apply it to her lips. At first, she drove the topic of their conversation but she was running out of topics. And that wasn’t even a problem usually because someone from the group always had something to say, add and to talk about. Aria wasn’t talking much and seemed a little out there and that’s why, Emily finally nudged her friend and asked, “Aria... Aria! Is something wrong?”

The dark haired girl tilted her head in question just when her friend denied and then was about to say something before she decided against sharing it. It was certain, she really had something on her mind and that made Emily even more curious if not nosy. For a second, she was almost fooled when Aria excused herself from the table to get another round of drinks for them two. Whilst she was sitting alone, she recalled how her friend had been out of it today. Perhaps, she was tired or problem at work or even some guy problem. Wasn’t that the usual case with everyone? She didn’t think too hard on it as she figured that they’d talk it out once she returns with their drinks. No need to work her thoughts into it without knowing what the problem was. She grabbed her phone to see a few things on it and check her emails. Nothing too big.

Emily smiled watching the shorter girl make her way back to the table and then place her drink in front of her. That’s when she gasped, “Aria... you've gotten all three of my drinks so far..." nodding no before adding more, “…you should have just opened a tab. You know, if it was anyone but you, I’d think the girl is trying to get me drunk so she can take advantage of me.” Emily laughed it off as she meant it as a joke and tipped the glass to her lips, taking a sip before placing it down. “Oh?” Emily curiously repeated what Aria managed to slip out before she pushed her chair out and turned towards her friend. At the same time, she grabbed the legs of Aria’s chair and yanked it towards her a little. Luckily, she was lightweight and Emily managed to succeed in making the girl’s chair face her now and even closer to hers, “Okay…what’s up? It’s clearly eating you inside out. Are you going to tell me or keep the suspense going the whole night?” She said and ran her hand through her hair, “Is it a work problem? Family? Some guy?” Emily asked her very curiously and leaned forward but not crossing over into her space. “Bring my Aria back. I don’t like it when you’re all quiet!” Emily pouted her lips and sighed, leaning back in her chair as she was growing impatient.