Silence is the worst thing (Emison)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3
The next day Emily was dreading school, not only would she see Noel and have to spend the first class with him but she would also have to spend a whole class with Alison as well.
The night before had been horrible for Emily, she had driven home shaking terribly from the encounter with Noel and then when Alison became angry with her because she hadn't spoken. Well to say the least Emily was confused. She got home to her parents watching television; she gave them the usual smile and quickly disappeared up into her room. Emily knew that this disappointed her parents she just couldn't help it. She always wanted to be alone, she felt safer that way.
Waking up the next morning always felt like a chore, her mother would always place anti-depressants and pain killer tablets on her bed side table for the day but Emily knew her parents were secretly worried she wouldn't take them. The painkillers Emily would always take, it subsided the pain in her side and with the anti-depressants well, the brunette wasn't a fan but she couldn't argue.
The day was like any other; Emily got dressed for school, made herself a coffee and got in the car and the brunette began mentally preparing herself for the day ahead.
Alison on the other hand was very ready for school; she was ready to get Emily to talk once and for all. As she arrived from school she noticed Emily getting out of her car, well attempting to anyway. She noticed Ben, one of Noel's friends, leaning up against her. The brunette looked extremely uncomfortable but she didn't budge for a moment. When the dark haired boy moved in and whispered into Emily's ear she pushed him away.
Strong arms, Alison thought to herself. For some reason the way Emily walked away from Ben very distort by what had happened caught Alison's attention and she couldn't help but notice her legs following the distressed girl. Alison walked behind her for several minutes before realising that Emily was headed towards the library. At first she thought of heading back and going to class but the brunette was far more fascinating. She couldn't help but follow.
'Are you okay?' Alison asked as she sat down next to Emily at the back of the library. Considering it was first period the library was relatively empty so she didn't bother keeping her voice down. As she was expecting Emily didn't answer but instead had a shocked look on her face.
'I saw Ben with you at your car.'
Emily paused momentarily before nodding but she was secretly hoping the blonde would stay. She enjoyed the company and was hoping that she could learn more about Alison but also hopefully try and understand why she was so mad last night, especially after what happened.
'Did he say something to you?' Alison pushed the subject; she was becoming a little protective of the brunette, seeing her uncomfortable for some reason worried her. Emily didn't say anything but Alison could tell whatever he did say was inappropriate. Alison placed her hand on Emily's in a soothing manner.
'Whatever he said Emily. Don't let it get to you.' Alison could tell that being around Emily was different because she was different and though she liked it she also didn't like it. Emily had picked up on Alison's change in behaviour, it caused curiosity to course through her and suddenly her encounter with Ben today didn't seem so bad. He had really only asked her on date but when she shook her head and turned to leave he whispered in her ear something about knowing why she was always quiet. It confused Emily. No one knew why she was always quiet except for her parents. So she assumed that Ben was just being a typical guy and pushed it to the back of her mind.
Alison looked at Emily as she pulled out her work, it was the biology assignment, and the brunette looked up at Alison holding the textbook smiling gently. The blonde noticed that this was the first time Emily had fully smiled in her presence. It made her smile.
'Okay we can do the assignment.'
After a week's worth of work, Emily and Alison had almost finished the assignment. This slightly surprised Alison because not once had Emily spoken a word but by Friday everyone was excited for the weekend.
Noel hadn't been to school since what had happened between him and Alison, and Alison was quite fine with that.
'Hey if you come over tonight we can probably finish off this damn assignment.' Alison offered the still very quiet brunette; Emily's silence however did not bother Alison anymore. She had grown a familiarity with Emily; she even knew her favourite type of music just because she could hear Emily listen to it during their studies.
Though Alison desperately wanted to hear Emily's voice she knew that the brunette would speak in her own time. Emily smiled softly and nodded enthusiastically. This was the first time Alison had offered her to come over instead of demand it; this made the brunette feel special. Something she had not felt in a long time.
'Excellent, see you at 7:30 then.'
With that Alison was gone; Emily smiled again at both the girl's eagerness to study. It would look peculiar in anyone else's point of view.
Emily decided that before she headed to Alison's that she would do some laps in her pool. She found it relaxing. It was the one thing in her life she felt she was good at and before she knew it she had passed several hours in the pool. It was a great refreshing feeling as she dried herself off and got changed for Alison's.
Today she decided to look a little nicer for the blonde. Emily didn't know why but she always wanted to impress the girl. She originally thought it was because of the popularity but then she just grew a general interest around Alison DiLaurentis.
She had reached the residence a little earlier than usual but she didn't mind and as she knocked on the door she heard Alison yell that she was coming from upstairs. It made her smile. Whenever the shy brunette was around Alison she found that she was smiling and lately her parents had noticed a change in her behaviour. Though she still wasn't talking it was a great start.
'Hey! Sorry I was getting changed, you're early.'
Alison teased; she did however look beautiful as always. A nice tight hip skirt and a plain blouse with a cosy looking cardigan thrown over the blonde and she still looked amazing. Emily felt her stomach jump at the sight of Alison but she tried to conceal it.
'My parents are working late, so it's just us again.' Alison murmured as she headed upstairs. Emily was slightly confused; she waited for instructions from Alison at the bottom of the stairs.
'Come on, we're going to my room, its way nicer than the kitchen.'
This was the first time Emily had been in any other part of the house besides the kitchen and again the timid brunette felt a hint of something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Was any of Alison's other friends allowed in her room? Or upstairs for that fact?
As the two girls walked into the blondes room all Emily could think was, wow, Alison's room was modern and... huge. It was exactly what Emily was expecting though. Posters and pictures of bands, several make-up items on a desk in front of a mirror but there was one thing Emily didn't expect and that was the large canvas of the Eifel Tower. Emily walked in and stared enviously, she had always wanted to go to Paris. Alison noticed the quiet girl looking at the poster but decided not to point it out. She would remind herself to ask Emily about it when she was ready to talk.
'Here, I've got some final notes here; I just need to write out the last of my conclusion. How are you going?' Alison had all her biology work spread out on the floor and as she rummaged through different papers Emily had time to find her finished conclusion and showed the blonde.
'Well, excellent. This will only take me like ten minutes.' Emily nodded, she was more than happy to watch the blonde, and she found it just as relaxing as swimming when she watched Alison deep in thought.
As the minutes passed Emily watched Alison write away, her hands elegant and swift in behaviour and as she thought about Alison she thought of all the things Alison had told her.
Emily had the feeling that even though the blonde was popular, she never actually spoke much. It was more what people wanted to hear rather then what Alison actually had to say. But from what Alison had told her, Emily knew her favourite songs, artists, movies, even her favourite colour but Alison didn't know a single thing about Emily.
Alison could feel the brunette watching her and though normally she would hate having anyone watch her work she did not mind Emily. Every so often she would look up and Emily's eyes would dart to her hands that were playing with a pen. Alison noticed that Emily would always twirl a pen in her hands when she was nervous but for the life of her she couldn't figure out why Emily was nervous.
'I like a double-shot cappuccino with one sugar.'
Alison almost jumped when she heard the brunette speak but her voice was too sweet and soothing for the action to happen. Although her first thoughts should have about Emily's rather interesting statement Alison was only focused on the resonance that came from the brunette. She sounded beautiful but she was disappointed that she was not looking at the brunette when she spoke. When Alison focused back on reality she noticed Emily was waiting for a response, now it looked like she was the one stuck for words.
'What?'
'You asked me the other day how I took my coffee.' Emily was quiet, her eyes showed embarrassment but she tried to hide it.
'Oh...' Was all Alison could manage, she was stunned. What odd first words. Emily could sense Alison's confusion and was immediately embarrassed, she hadn't intended to speak to Alison but the words fell out. She wanted to talk to the blonde, she wanted to tell Alison what music and artists she liked. Emily lowered her head in discomfiture and Alison instantly picked up on it.
'Don't stop talking Emily. You have a beautiful voice.' Emily's face lifted and her cheeks were slightly pink and it made Alison smile.
'What do you want me to talk about?'
'Um, how long has it been since you've spoken to someone?' This was one question that Alison had been aching to ask ever since she met the brunette. Emily seemed lost in thought as she tried to remember back to the last time she'd even spoken. It had been that long.
'About eight months I guess.'
Alison was shocked, eight months! Wow, her relationships didn't even last that long. Emily could sense Alison's surprise and looked down again. This was embarrassing for her but Alison wanted to keep her talking and confident.
'That's a long time.' Alison murmured softly.
'Yeah, I almost forgot what I sounded like and it feels weird.' Emily murmured. Alison smiled, she felt honoured that she was the first person that Emily had spoken to in months. In any other situation Alison would thrive off the attention but she felt different, this was different and Emily was different.
There was something about Emily that Alison couldn't figure out.
'Why did you stop talking?' Alison blurted out; she instantly knew that the brunette was uncomfortable with the question. There was obviously a stop behind the girl that Alison was not aware of but she couldn't help asking.
'I'm sorry. I just find you... interesting.' Alison recovered herself and shuffled slightly closer towards Emily.
'I'm not... ready to talk about that.' Emily's voice croaked; it had definitely been a long time since she had spoken; it was like her vocal chords had forgotten how to function.
'Okay. I'm sorry.' Alison looked away from Emily; she was slightly ashamed she had blurted such an unsuitable question. Clearly Emily was not ready.
'What's your favourite colour?' Alison was trying to move away from any uncomfortable topic, this made Emily smile and lean up against the foot of Alison's bed crossing her knees.
'Blue, like an aqua blue.' She smiled; Emily had forgotten not only what it was like to talk but what it was like to talk about the simple things.
'Why is that?'
'I like swimming.' Alison smiled at the new information.