Matters of the Heart

Chapter 1: Home Sweet Home

A/N: Finally getting around to posting the first Emison fanfic I ever did. Even though it's been a while since I wrote it, I am still always down to hear your comments and thoughts. Apologies in advance for the angst this fic is sure to cause. It was originally written on a dare from my bastard friends who love to convince me to write for their ships. To get back at them I tend to make my stories really angsty. But it will be worth the ride. Just FYI, it starts out canon, down to a lot of the same dialogue, but it shifts as we get further into the story. Note: Liam and Jordan don't exist in this fic and Spaleb never happens.

Chapter 1:

Home Sweet Home

Being back in Rosewood after all these years was surreal. Emily had spent the past several years thousands of miles away trying to erase every bad memory she had of her old town. Horrible things had happened to her here. But she had emerged from it all stronger and braver than she ever could have imagined.

Rosewood had been the root of most of her nightmares, but it was also the source of many great things for her. Friendships had been forged, love had blossomed, and memories had been made. Her hometown was a part of her soul.

She felt guilty for not keeping in touch with her friends, but they were on their own journeys. She chatted with them on the phone on occasion. Hanna was traveling all over the world living her dream in the fashion industry. Spencer was bossing Congress around in D.C. And Aria had made a name for herself in the publishing industry.

Emily was happy for her friends' success, but she was struggling to keep her head above water, so she'd pulled away. The phone calls became less frequent, but she still managed to keep up with what they were doing. She'd even e-mailed Aria's old flame, and her old teacher, Ezra Fitz a few times. He'd gotten engaged to Emily's friend Nicole and they had been traveling the world with Habitat For Humanity. Emily had been e-mailing Nicole about wedding venues when Nicole went missing on one of her missions. Ezra had been devastated. She'd lost touch with him after that.

Emily had no plans to return to Rosewood, but one day she got a letter that changed everything. When she saw the handwriting her heart started racing. Seeing the careful and meticulous writing took Emily back to the days in high school...to her first love.

Alison DiLaurentis.

Ali needed her, and as much as Emily didn't want to love her...she did. So she'd packed up her things and trekked across the country. She took in the sights of her old town. It was the same town she remembered. But things were different now. Emily was different. She was harboring a secret that none of her loved ones knew about. Her plan was to keep it that way. She wasn't going to be in town for very long. She'd just come to help Alison, and then she would go back to California.

She sat inside of the coffee shop where she used to work and marveled at how far she'd come over the years. An alarm startled her out of her trance. She glanced down at her phone. She still wasn't used to the medication regimen her doctor had her on. She pulled a bottle of pills out of her purse and looked around to make sure none of her friends were around. She took her pills and stashed the medication back in her purse. She sipped on an herbal tea and waited on her friends to arrive.

A pair of hands slipped over her eyes and she heard an unmistakable giggle.

"Guess who?"

Emily would recognize that voice anywhere. She jumped up and let out an excited squeal.

"Hanna!" She wrapped her arms around one of her best friends.

"Aw, Em, I've missed you!" Hanna hugged her back.