Emily, Alison, Spencer, Hanna and Aria were all gathered in the den of the DiLaurentis household. Emily had called an emergency meeting as soon as she had left the precinct, because they needed to get their story straight before anyone else was called in.

"So you told them we never went back to Radley?" Hanna asked.

"No? I thought we agreed to try and keep the police away from Radley," Emily answered. "They think when Alison called us we came over and searched the neighborhood for Charlotte. And when we couldn't find her, we called the police."

Spencer set down her tea. "That would've made a difference with Rosewood's detective's. Not with state detectives."

"What do you mean?" Aria wondered.

"They know we left Alison's house," Spencer claimed. "That's all the probable cause they need to look into us. They're gonna see Elliot checked in and out of Radley. They're gonna check the computers. If they find out that room was accessed after he checked out, you can bet they're gonna check the security footage."

"Great." Hanna threw up her hands. "Just great."

"Guys, I can't stay here much longer," Aria said. "My boss is calling me every hour now."

"Yeah, and I can only keep Claudia ninety-nine percent satisfied from here," Hanna complained about her boss.

"We need to erase the security footage of that night," Spencer said.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one seemed to protest. Was this a unanimous agreement?

"I can steal my mom's key card," Hanna suggested. "Again."

Everyone seemed to agree.

"I'll do it tonight, though," Hanna said. "It'll give me time to swipe the card without my mom noticing."

"Are you sure you want to do this alone?" Emily asked.

Hanna nodded. "It's better that way."

The conversation seemed to die but Emily still hadn't told Spencer she had seen her sister in the precinct as well.

"Spencer, I saw Melissa there when I left," Emily revealed.

This seemed to shock not only everyone in the room, but Spencer as well.

"Did you talk to her?" Spencer asked.

"No."

"Wait, I thought Melissa was living in London?" Hanna questioned.

"She moved to Philly during my second year in college," Spencer informed. "Apparently Wren had gotten a job in the states and Melissa followed him back."

"Your sister and Wren are still dating?" Aria asked.

"Yeah."

Alison crossed her arms. "But why would they question your sister?"

"I don't know," Spencer answered. "But I can ask her."

The girls nodded in agreement and decided to end this conversation. They seemed to have the right idea, because that's when Spencer's phone rang.

She looked at the I.D. and held it up.

"Rosewood PD," she said. "Guess I'm next."

"Yeah, I should go too," Hanna stated. "Gotta go keep tabs on my mom."

Everyone gravitated towards Alison's front door and said their goodbyes. Although Emily knew they had nothing to do with Charlotte and Elliot's death, there were still things that could incriminate her and her friends. All of which had been put there by the women themselves. And now they had to cover their tracks, again.

Emily suddenly wondered if lying was a stupid decision.

Then she realized it was. It always was. So, why had she?

"I'll let you guys know what Furey has to say," Spencer said. "Hanna, call us if you need help tonight."

"I will."

Then Hanna, Spencer and Aria left. Emily found herself lingering.

"Are you coming to Elliot and Charlotte's service tomorrow?" Alison asked.

Emily nodded. "I'll be there."

"I should've asked the others."

"They'll be there too," Emily confirmed. "Have you talked to Elliot's family? Were they okay with the joint funeral?"

"Elliot doesn't have much family left," Alison claimed. "His parents died in a car crash a few years ago. No siblings. I think all he has in an uncle, whose whereabouts are unknown. Or at least that's what he told me."

Emily fell silent.

"They'll bury him next to Charlotte."

Alison desperately wanted to change the subject, and she didn't want Emily to leave just yet. Being alone in this house made everything in her body cold.

Alison looked at Emily. "Have you told the girls about the job? Or the college thing?"

"No." Emily crossed her arms and looked at her feet. "I guess I should tell them soon."

Alison sighed. "Why didn't you graduate?"

Emily looked at Alison. This was a conversation she hadn't had with anyone but Paige. And the only reason she had had that conversation with Paige was because she had needed a place to stay. And her ex was the only person she could think of living in California at the time.

"After my dad passed away... I couldn't even bring myself to go to class," Emily revealed. "I flunked two courses and lost my scholarship and I just... couldn't go back."

Alison understood the feelings Emily had experienced. She had somewhat felt something similar when her mother had been murdered.

"I couldn't see the point in it anymore," Emily confessed.

"In college?" Alison wondered.

Emily looked down. "In anything."

Emily's answer pulled on Alison's heart.

The moment she had seen Emily in The Brew that Friday afternoon, she had noticed something different about her. She figured that was normal considering the last time Alison had seen Emily had been at Wayne's funeral. Then four years of barely talking to Emily, much less never seeing her, had forced Alison to imagine Emily as a woman. Ali had unintentionally filled in all the holes while she had been away.

But when Alison had seen her in The Brew, the Emily she had created in her imagination and the real one were two completely different people. It was even more noticeable now.

"Is that why you never answered when I called?" Alison questioned.

The guilt seemed to choke Emily. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Emily couldn't admit that at that point of her life, she had desperately wanted to forget about Alison. She had wanted to forget about a lot, because everything inevitably reminded her of her dad. Rosewood. Her mom. Her old friends. And Alison. But she couldn't tell her that.

"I was kind of dating Paige again," Emily admitted. "And you know how that would've looked to her."

Alison found this to be offensive, on Paige's end, anyway. Emily always had the best intentions.

"Well that's selfish considering I'm one of your best friends," Alison accused.

Emily looked at Alison and wondered if the things Ali had confessed to her when they were teenagers meant nothing. Did she even remember?

"That's why I love you. You're big on happy endings..."

"You were the hardest to leave behind..."

"I always made you think your feelings for me were totally one-sided. That wasn't true..."

"Those kisses weren't just for practice..."

Emily shook her head. "Ali... you know why Paige is threatened by you."

Alison hadn't expected Emily to be so outright. After all, they had never talked about what lied between them. Alison wasn't even sure what that was. She just knew there was something different about Emily, and the more she thought about it, the more it terrified her.

"Because she's insecure," Alison said.

"And I wonder who had a hand in that?" Emily defended.

Although Emily cared deeply for Alison, she also cared deeply for Paige.

"Emily, that was a long time ago," Alison defended.

Emily stopped talking because she knew if she said to much, she might expose how she really felt and hurt Alison. Her friend was going through a lot right now. The last thing Ali needed to see was all of Emily's baggage.

"I'm sorry," Emily said. "I didn't mean to get defensive."

"It's not your fault." Alison tried to ignore the fire in her heart. "You still care about her."

Emily folded her arms. "Yeah."

At the revelation, Alison couldn't find any words to say.

"I should go," Emily claimed. "I still have to print those flyers for swim tryouts."

And as much as Alison wished Emily would stay, she couldn't ask her too. Not after what she had just made her admit.

"Call me if you need anything," Emily said before defending Alison's front steps.

So Alison watched Emily get into her car, and didn't move until she had completely disappeared around the corner.

* * *

The funeral service had felt gloomy, but Emily knew she didn't feel the way she was supposed to. She was sad, but mostly because Alison was hurting. But she wasn't sad Charlotte was gone, and admitting that aloud couldn't happen. Especially since there was still an ongoing homicide investigation.

So she sat in silence as the prayers were read. She stood tall as Charlotte's body was lowered. She didn't bat an eye as she threw a handful of dirt onto her coffin, and when Alison asked to be alone after, Emily obliged.

Charlotte was gone, and would never hurt her or her friends again.

After the service Emily and Hanna ended up at a local café since Spencer and Aria had other obligations. But as soon as they had sat at a table, Hanna's boss called her via Facetime. Emily instantly concluded Claudia was insane.

"Hanna, if you don't come back soon I'm gonna have to replace you."

"Claudia that won't be necessary," Hanna informed. "I should be back by Sunday."

"Are you saying you won't make the show tonight?"

"Well no, but I've already made all the calls-"

"Hanna, how can you sit here and put anything above your job?"

Hanna looked at Emily with a 'is she serious?' look.

"It's the law Claudia, I literally can't leave yet. I've explained this already."

"Well don't worry about it, I'll have your replacement by tonight."

"Actually Claudia, I quit," Hanna said. "Working for you is honestly not worth the headache."

Then Hanna hung up.

All Emily could do was stare wide-eyed at her friend.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I just did that." Hanna squeezed her face between her hands. "I'm such an idiot."

"Yeah well, after hearing that conversation I'm thinking it was a good decision," Emily said.

"You're probably right, but Em I had it all figured out..." Hanna looked at if she was about to puke. "I had a five-year plan and everything and I just ruined it."

"Han," Emily comforted. "You're gonna be fine."

"Yeah, unless they police somehow trace back the deleted security footage to me." Hanna leaned back in her chair. "But I think me and Caleb made sure they wouldn't be able to."

Emily looked up from her meal. "Wait, did you say Caleb?"

Hanna nodded. "Yeah, I found out my mom had asked him to update up their computer system, so I called and offered to buy him dinner. Then I explained our situation."

Emily listened intently.

"He not only wiped the footage, but he had a valid reason to be in the office," Hanna confessed.

"Tell me you didn't have dinner at The Radley," Emily said.

"We didn't." Hanna answered. "The police should have nothing on us but suspicion at this point."

Emily nodded. "So have you been called yet?"

"They called me yesterday," Hanna said. "I'm going after we have lunch."

"Spencer told me what they asked her." Emily wiped her mouth. "Sounds like the same things they asked me."

"So they still have nothing."

"Until they discover the footage was wiped."

"But even then, they won't be able to prove it was us."

Emily sighed. "You don't think they'll target Caleb?"

"He wasn't even in Rosewood until yesterday," Hanna reassured. "We're fine. We've covered our tracks"

"Honestly, I still think it's too soon to say that," Emily said.

"Eat your pasta and be quiet," Hanna ordered. "It's probably the last time I'll be able to buy you lunch. At least for a while."

Emily gave her friend an understanding smile, but knew there were things to reveal.

"Han, I need to tell you something."

"You're pregnant?"

Emily frowned.

Hanna laughed. "Kidding. What is it?"

Emily took a deep breath. "I got the coaching position at Rosewood."

"That's amazing! But why?" Hanna wondered. "I just figured you'd want something with higher pay-"

"I never graduated from Pepperdine," Emily forced.

Hanna just stared at her.

"But I saw that picture-"

"It's fake. I did that to appease my mom."

Hanna set her fork down. "Wow, well, I don't know what to say."

"I just needed to tell you," Emily admitted. "I plan on telling Spencer and Aria soon too."

Hanna smiled. "You know we support you no matter what, right?"

Emily stared at her plate. "Yeah well, I hope you support my decision to work as a swim coach and part-time bartender at The Radley to pay for classes at Hollis."

"Sounds like you're gonna be busy," Hanna encouraged.

That's when Sabrina walked through the door and up to the hostess stand.

When Sabrina turned and spotted Emily, a smile grew on her face. Emily decided to take a leap.

"I'll be right back," Emily excused herself from the table.

She paced up to Sabrina and tried to look as smooth as possible. If she wanted this to work, she needed to radiate confidence.

"Emily, I have a fresh batch of muffins at the brew," Sabrina said. "Should I save you one?"

"Um yeah." Emily blushed. "I was actually wondering if you had plans tonight?"

Sabrina seemed pleasantly surprised. It was a good sign.

"The brew closes at eight," Sabrina answered. "But after that, I'm free."

Emily smirked. "Would you like to have dinner? My treat. As long as you bring that muffin."

Wait, that sounded wrong, Emily thought.

"F-For dessert," she stuttered. "Bring the muffin for dessert..."

At this Sabrina giggled.

"I ruined it, didn't I?"

"No." Sabrina controlled her laughter. "What time?"

Emily's heart leapt to her throat. "Um, I'll make reservations for nine?"

That's when the hostess brought Sabrina her to-go order.

"I'll be there," Sabrina agreed. "With the muffin."

Emily smiled as Sabrina left the café then rejoined Hanna who had probably watched the interaction curiously.

"What was that?" Hanna asked. "Were you hitting on her?"

"I asked her out," Emily confessed.

"I thought you were into Paige?"

"I'm keeping my options open."

At this Hanna smirked. "Emily Fields: Lady Killer."

Emily blushed and continued lunch with her best friend. Honestly, she was just trying to tell herself she had other options besides Paige and Alison.

Or maybe she was trying to prove something to her heart, which never worked in the end.