Cloverfield

22: Wait = Waste

The same night, Alison stopped in front of Emily's street, the lights of Jason's vehicle off. She couldn't stop thinking about Emily the moment they separated. Instinctively, Alison had desperately wanted to be in denial, but... was loving your best friend really that wrong? She didn't want to push Emily away--in fact, she wanted her closer--, it'd been too painful when Emily did. Plus, Emily said it didn't work, as if it was some problem that needed time away to fix. Why does someone's sex make love seem hard when it's found so easily? Whenever Alison's with Emily, she's happy. Why does there have to be more than that?

Alison turned off the engine and got out of the pickup truck, her legs getting a little cold instantly. She rounded Emily's house until she faced Emily's window. She thought she was crazy for what she was about to do, but she just didn't care, throwing tiny rocks against the glass.

In a moment, Emily opened her window, looking surprise to see her. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Come down!" Ali said, loud enough for only Emily to hear.

"Why?"

"You worry too much. Let's go!"

Emily seemed hesitant, it was so sudden. But Ali was always right when she said Emmy worried all the time. "Fine!"

Alison smiled. "See you in front."

Emily grabbed a jacket and looked at herself in the mirror, taking that short instance to wonder what the hell was going on. But by now, she should know Ali loved doing random things at random times. She went downstairs and thought about telling her mom, but she decided to just leave. She didn't want to make Ali wait. Ali seemed full of life, like she had found a meaning to it. Maybe she would tell Emmy about it?

When Emily came out, she saw Ali laying her back against a pickup truck with a dorky smile. "Jason's?"

"Totally. Come in." Ali opened the door for Emily.

"Why are you wearing a dress?" Emily asked curiously. It wasn't sunny, exactly.

"Why not?" Ali laughed. "Fuck the weather!"

Emily sat down inside and wondered if she should tell Ali she looks great--perfect, actually. Would that make it awkward now that Ali knew how she felt? Right. Ali knew how she felt. Why was Ali making her forget...? Had nothing changed?

Ali sat on the driver's seat and started the car, some catchy song played on the radio. She started singing it as she drove, looking at Emily from time to time, exaggerating her expressions.

Emily thought Ali was hilarious, always reminding her why she fell in love with her. "Screw it." Why not join her? And that's when Emily began singing along, feeling as carefree as Ali for the rest of the ride. Emily hadn't even worried about where they were going, even though she knew the route. She finally noticed when they started going up. "We're on the hill!"

"Yeah!" Alison was glad Emily didn't have any objections or questions and was just going with it.

When they reached the top, Alison set out pillows, blankets and snacks on the bed of the pickup truck. They laid next to each other, looking at the bright stars. For a while, Emily showed her the constellations and Alison listened attentively, loving that Emily was expressing her passion without stressing that Alison would be bored.

Emily breathed out contently and looked at Ali, suddenly getting nervous. She laid her head on her palm and her elbow on one of the pillows. "S-so... I finished the book... and watched the movie."

"What did you think?" Ali asked and mimicked her position, knowing instantly that she was talking about Great Expectations.

Em gazed at her eyes. "I loved how it wrapped."

Ali gazed back. "I know. You love the happy ever afters!"

Emily felt a strong pull inside. It was like she was given another chance. In this second, she had made a decision after being in such a catch 22. Alison looked mesmerizing under the stars, being the shiniest of them all.

"This night is perfect, don't you think?"

"It's missing something."

"What-?"

Emily leaned in, getting that sudden rush of adrenaline, and pressed her lips to Ali's. All Emmy could think about was how Ali tasted like strawberries. In that moment, time stopped. It was like the rest of the world had frozen, only her and Ali moving. The best was that she felt Ali kiss her back with the same intensity. When they had to breathe, they pulled away and gasped.

Alison didn't know a kiss could feel like that. It was as if her body had been dead from the start and had been brought back to life with electricity. She'd never felt her heart beating so fast. She'd never felt such bliss before. It was magical. "Woah," she let out, speechless. Alison never thought Emily Fields would leave her speechless.

"I love you," Emily confessed, getting on her knees and hoping it wasn't too soon. "I always have. You stole my heart the moment I met you. After holding my breath for so long, I don't even know how I'm still breathing..."

"It's because you also stole my heart. I love you, too."

"You do?" Emily asked, not believing this wasn't a dream.

Alison kneeled too and held her hands. "Yeah, silly. God, this is going to sound so cliché... but it's always been you. I never really knew love until you came into my life. I had never been cared for. I had never cared so much for anyone. You gave me purpose."

"Purpose?"

"To protect you."

Emily smiled harder, tears threatening to come out of her eyes. "I fell in love with every little thing about you, even your hate for clichés."

Alison chuckled. "Is this going to become a who-has-the-best-love-speech competition?"

"I can go all night."

"Me too, but I don't want to cry anymore."

"What do you want to do?"

Alison blushed. "This is... I don't know, but I always have this need to hold somebody at night..."

"You wanna cuddle?" Emily asked, thinking it was the cutest request ever. Emily was used to it thanks to her loving parents, but thinking about it, Ali didn't have the touchy-feely kind of family. "There's nothing else I'd rather to do right now."

They settled on the bed, beneath the puffy blankets. Emily had her arm around Ali's back and Alison had her head laying on Em's side, hugging the rest of her. Emily's chin reached Alison's scalp and the hand that wasn't on Ali's body massaged it lightly. The quiet noises of the night brought them to sleep, wishing morning would never come.