Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters! They belong to the lovely Sara Shepherd and I. Marlene King!
They were doomed from the start.
If you caught either Emily Fields or Paige McCullers at the right time, under the right circumstances, they would admit that perhaps, they had known it all along. Felt it in their intermingling breath between kisses or in the tips of their toes as they curled into the bed sheets.
But that didn't mean they didn't try. Oh Lord, did they try. They loved each other with everything that they had.
But sometimes – sometimes, love just isn't quite enough. The recipe for a fairytale is more luck and timing than it is love. Love is the cherry on top, the substance coming from forces beyond anyone's control.
They tried to fight it, their inevitable disintegration, but the pieces were already falling before they had a chance to realize it. They held on, grasping onto each other with all of the strength that they had, when fate expected them to run in the opposite direction.
But if there's one thing Emily Fields and Paige McCullers know now better than ever, it's that somehow, your fate always seems to just barely escape your fingertips when you think you're close to grabbing it and taking control.
Things rarely turn out how you expect them to. Emily Fields never expected to fall in love with Paige McCullers, the strange, overly competitive girl who swam against her in high school. Paige McCullers never expected that Emily Fields, perhaps the one person that Paige could never forget (though not for a lack of trying) would ever reciprocate the feelings that had been growing inside of her since they were children. And neither of them could have expected the impact their four years together at Stanford University would have on them – and their futures.
Their story is complex, one with many layers. It is made of many twists and turns, steps backwards and forwards, tears and drinking games, but most importantly, and it pains me to say this, their story is a tragedy. At least how it stands right now.
A question that is vital to the telling of this story is, just how much does fate control us and to what degree do we control it?
And what happens if we decide to take our futures, our destinies, into our own hands?
Emily Fields and Paige McCullers spent their four years together discovering the answers to these questions. And they did everything in their power to cheat fate. To choose their own destiny. To mold and shape their own futures – outside of some ominous, omnipresent force.
However, fact remains.
They were doomed from the start.
A/N: W..ow okay! Sorry for the incredibly short/vague/choppy prologue. The lack of fluidity between thoughts was absolutely intentional and I hope it doesn't put you off too much. None of the future chapters should have the same lack of flow (though if things go as planned there will be interjectory chapters from this "narrator" like figure who is telling the story!) and they should all be of considerably longer length. I hope you're intrigued and willing to read on! A few housekeeping notes. This is set in an alternate universe, where A never existed. Alison died that night but A never hunted the girls so they had a normal high school experience! Paige didn't attend Rosewood High with the core four, but instead attended Oakwood High, where Shana went! I believe those are the only major changes, everything else should more or less be the same! This story is….not going to be easy? It'll be a roller coaster. Ups and downs and everything in between but please know that I adore happy endings and hope that I get our fav couple there by the end of the story! (And this is absolutely a Paily endgame…probably. Hopefully). If you want to follow me on tumblr, where I'll likely be giving chapter progress updates, I'm fifteendivision tumblr! c: