Another Life (emison)

Chapter Forty-Two

"No love for one of your oldest, dearest friends?"

Alison grinned and jumped into his waiting arms. He swung her around before setting her down. Emily's greeting was a little more demure. Then again, his history with Alison was a lot more intricate than hers.

"How are my favorite lesbians?"

"Jesus, some things don't change," Alison said, huffing with a smile on her face. "And I'm not a lesbian."

Estella looked confused and Alison instantly looked down at her.

"Stel, this is a very good friend of ours from high school."

"Another one?" Estella asked in awe.

"Yeah, how is it that we all ended up in New York in such closeness to each other?" Hanna mused, still using her Hanna-dialect.

"Fate," Alison and Emily said at the same time, immediately looking at each other with goofy smiles.

"Wow, Em, you've completely tamed the wild bitch. I'm impressed."

Alison rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Stel, meet Caleb Rivers."

"Hi." Bella looked up at him with a smile.

"Oh wow. That's like a mirror image," Caleb laughed.

"I told you!" Hanna said in exasperation.

Suddenly, a sound echoed through the apartment and Alison turned to Emily and stared in wonderment.

Was that...? the brunette mouthed.

Alison simply nodded.

Caleb excused himself and jogged into another room.

"What was that, Hanna?" Estella asked eagerly.

Trust her daughter to break the ice. Alison smiled.

Hanna was blushing furiously and avoiding the curious and expectant stares of her two old friends.

"Mama, did she lose her tongue?" Estella whispered loudly.

"Not sure, baby girl," Alison stage whispered back. "Maybe she's shy."

She got a loud scoff from Hanna at that.

"Come on, Han," the other blonde teased. "You know it's rude to ignore someone's question."

Hanna's shoulders slumped in defeat and she turned away from the stove, taking Emily's wine glass and guzzling a healthy amount.

"Easy there, Preggers," Alison warned, raising an eyebrow. (Take note of how I said Hanna was a teen mom in this story.)

"What's that?" Estella asked innocently.

Alison pursed her lips. She and Estella had no secrets, but was it really ok for her to spill Hanna's secret? Well, it wasn't so much of a secret.

"Han, you know you don't need to be scared to tell us," Emily said softly, stepping closer to the blonde and wrapping an arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

"You're right," Hanna said, blinking suddenly. "Oh my God, I can't believe how I'm freaking out. It's you. We shared way more secrets than this." She shook her head. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Alison said, joining Hanna on the other side. She slipped her arms through her friend's and squeezed her hand. "We're the Pretty Little Liars and that's a bond that will never break, no matter how long we don't see each other for." Alison was referring to a nickname that jealous losers in high school used to call their squad.