The Pretty Little Lying Game (A PLL and TLG Fanfiction) *PAUSED*

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

At midnight, Emma was still wide awake, but Laurel had come home shortly before and was conked out in the room next to hers. She still found it hard to sleep even after how long it'd been. And, really, it had only been a couple of weeks. Suddenly,  she heard a loud thump coming from inside the house. Emma's lips trembled, although she kept them squeezed shut to prevent her screaming.

The noises continued, and my sister shrunk back under the covers. I wanted to hide right there with her. I tried to make out who it was, but there a twist. When Emma couldn't see, neither could I. She'd pulled the thick blanket over her head, leaving her to nothing but faint shadows of the stripes and prints on the bedspread. A newspaper headline appeared in her head: Girl Hears Strange Noises, Possible Predator on the Loose.

On spur of the moment, I could just barely hear the window being opened, and I was sure my twin knew it, too. I got ready to attack, although I wasn't sure what I could do: after all, I was dead. Then a faraway giggle came from roughly in front of us, followed by murmurs.

A voice sounded out, saying "Sutton? Where are you?"

It was Charlotte! I breathed (well, not really) a sigh of relief and tried to beckon Emma to come out. She peeked out but kept her face low so she wouldn't be seen. I saw Madeline, apparently Charlotte's accomplice, point straight towards us. "There!" she shrieked, laughing.

She tiptoed over to us. But, of course, she only saw my sister. Slowly, she pulled down the cover, revealing the panicked look on Emma's poor face. Mads and Char stopped short, but began guffawing soon after.

"I can't b—believe you didn't s—see her!" Charlotte breathed out in short little gasps.

"S—she l—looks like a scared p—puppy!" Madeline said, falling onto Emma's blanketed legs. Embarrassed, Em pushed her away, and stormed off.

The girls chased after her, apologizing but still laughing. My twin's cheeks burned, and she darted down the steps, ignoring the loud creaks that echoed throughout the house. A door opened and someone yelled out.

"Sutton! Stop making so much goddamn noise! It's almost 1 AM!" Laurel shouted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting your much-needed beauty sleep?!" Emma shot back, channeling her inner Sutton.

This made the girls laugh even harder, and people were bound to hear from miles away. I heard Laurel place one foot outside when she heard them. She slammed her bedroom door shut. Her toes clumsily bounced down the stairs in her eager fit to see them.

"Hi, guys!" she breezed. Laurel grinned, her cheeks bright pink.

They stopped. Mads ran her tongue up the inside of her cheek, forming a ball-shaped lump. Charlotte swallowed and turned to her. "Hi," she said icily.

I frowned. Why were they avoiding Laurel? She wasn't doing anything wrong. I thought they'd stood up for her. I remembered the time back in the hot springs. We'd had such a rivalry back then. Hadn't we cleared all of this up?

"What's up?" she asked casually, stretching across the couch. "How are you guys doing?"

"Good, just making a little visit," Madeline bit her lip in a secretive way and winked.

Emma twisted her lip. Yeah, like it was normal for your friends to come climbing through the window to greet you. But this is how Sutton's friends were. She had to give as good as she got.

"Oh, getting revenge for the old burglar prank? I scared you guys good, didn't I?" Emma tossed her head in a very Sutton-ish way and smirked.

"Please," Char snorted. "We were so over it."