It's new years eve and Paige is standing in front of the Hastings house. When Emily asked her if she'd spent today with her friends and their families, she thought it would be a good idea, awesome even (especially after her parents said it was okay if she stayed the night at Emily's), but now she's so nervous that she can't move.
Maybe it's because Emily's dad is in town for a few days. Her hands start sweating and she has to swallow hard at the mere thought of it, even though Emily told her that everything is going to be fine.
"You've met my mom already and she likes you. Trust me, she is the one who is hard to win over. My dad is happy if I'm happy." When she didn't answer, Emily pulled her closer and kissed her ear.
"So, you can stop worrying, because I am really happy." she whispered and Paige believed every word.
Now, standing in front of this huge house she's never been to, with people inside she's never met, she's not so sure anymore.
She finally works up enough courage to ring the door bell, trying not to think about all the things that could go wrong. Spencer opens the door and greets her with a smile. "Hey. I'm glad you're here, Emily keeps glancing at the door every five seconds."
Smiling back at Spencer, she takes her jacket off and holds it in her hands. "Give it to me, I'll put it away.", Spencer offers, hangs the jacket on a coat rack and leads Paige into the living room. Everyone is talking and laughing, the sound traveling through the warm air of the room.
"Emily, I think I found something that belongs to you." Paige can see Emily's head jerk up, a small smile on her lips, one that looks like it wants to be twice its size. Standing up, Emily walks towards her and greets her with a short, sweet kiss.
"Hey." Paige slides her hand into Emily's and it feels like she can breathe again. "Are you ready?" She'll never be ready, but she wants to do it. For Emily she wants to. She inhales and nods, moving to where Mr. Fields is standing.
Before she can even take two steps, Emily pulls her back and drags her out of the room. "What are you doing?"
"Stop freaking out.", Emily says, tugging at her hand. "I'm trying, but he's your dad and I really want him to li-" Rolling her eyes, Emily interrupts her with a kiss. When she pulls back, she is grinning. "I said stop freaking out. He is going to like you. He probably already does. Just go in there, say hi and everything is going to be fine. Okay?"
She doesn't know how Emily does it, but she believes her. Maybe it's the way she's smiling or how she looks into her eyes or how she squeezes her hand after she nods.
Or maybe it's just because she wants to believe it.
"Okay. Let's go."
They walk into the room again and Emily lets go of her hand only to rest it on Paige's lower back. Mr. Fields is talking to Aria's dad, not noticing them until Emily taps his shoulder. "Oh, Emmy, hi! And you must be Paige, nice to finally meet you."
With an unsure smile, Paige glances at Emily, who doesn't show any reaction, rubbing her thumb over Paige's back. She finally gets out a "Nice to meet you too, sir." and feels Emily pull her closer just the tiniest bit. "Byron and I were just talking about the new bike he got Aria's brother for Christmas." She perks up at that. "Really? What kind of bike is it?"
Byron makes a face and laughs lightly. "A mountain bike. Honestly, I don't know much about it, but Wayne keeps asking me." Emily's dad starts laughing too and shakes his head. "That's because I would like to buy myself a new one and I just want to know if the one you bought is any good."
"What bikes are you interested in, sir?" It's like all her worries just flew out of the window. "I'd like to have one that's comfortable enough to go on longer rides, but suitable for off-road tracks. You know what I mean?"
Paige nods and starts to answer, when Emily squeezes her side and leans into her ear, whispering "I have to go and help my mom with the food. You're doing great." She leaves her with a kiss on the cheek and it's not that bad, because when she looks up again Mr. Fields is smiling at her, patiently waiting for her to continue.
The food is ready, but the buffet table isn't, so Emily leans against the kitchen island and watches Paige talking to her dad. Spencer has joined them and Paige is telling them something, moving her hands around wildly. Soon they are all laughing and Emily almost laughs with them. She manages to stop herself and smiles at Paige instead, her thoughts drifting away.
"Oh wow, you have it bad Em." Furrowing her brows, Emily turns her head to look at Aria. "Huh?" Aria lets out a laugh. "I asked you if you wanted something to drink. Five times. You just kept staring." Heat rushes to her face and she smiles. "I'm sorry. It's just that Paige was super worried about meeting my dad and it's nice to see them getting along so well." Nodding, Aria looks over to them. "I wish I could say the same thing about my dad and Ezra."
Emily puts her hand on Aria's shoulder and squeezes. "Speaking of; where is Ezra?" Aria sighs and turns to the various bottles set up on the counter. "He thought it might be better to avoid my dad the best he can, so he is going to come just before midnight, for the New Year's kiss."
Smiling to herself, Emily looks back at Paige. She can't wait to share that kiss with her. "It's cute that he does that, though." she mumbles, not taking her eyes off Paige, who's intently listening to her dad. "Yeah, I just wish he didn't have to do it like that."
Emily hears her mom calling that the buffet is ready and watches while everyone storms into the dining room. Well, almost everyone. Paige doesn't, she stays and looks around, burying her hands in her pockets. Slowly walking up to her, Emily sneaks her arms around Paige's waist and rests her chin on her shoulder. "You do know you're allowed to get some food too, right?" Paige leans back against her, turning her head to kiss Emily's cheek. "Yeah, I know. But I didn't want to go with all of them, too much chaos." Nodding, Emily grins. "So, how was meeting my dad?"
"Nothing like I thought he would be. He wants me to help him pick out his new bike.", she answers and Emily laughs into her shoulder. "I told you he'd like you." she says, poking her fingers into Paige's stomach. Squirming, Paige grabs her hands and turns around. "You did. I'm sorry for freaking out." Emily twists her hands and entwines them with Paige's, her heart swelling. "You don't need to apologize.", she whispers, bringing their hands up to first kiss Paige's knuckles, then her cheek and her nose and her lips.
"Em?", Paige asks and Emily hums into her skin, waiting for her to go on. "My parents would like you to come and have dinner with us tomorrow." Emily stops kissing Paige's face and pulls back to look at her. "Sure. I have to ask my parents first, but sure." She can practically see the tension falling from Paige just before their lips are pressed together.
"Come on, let's get something to eat." she hears her say and is dragged out of the room. She doesn't react, her mind occupied with a thousand different things. What was she going to wear and say and do and what if they didn't like her? She doesn't want to admit it, but she is freaking out.
Dinner is good and although she's still nervous, the conversation flows steadily and she manages not to drop anything on her shirt. Emily is silent the entire time, staring at her food, only laughing when everyone else does.
When they're all done and about to burst, some of the adults get up to bring the dishes into the kitchen, the others settling in the living room. Aria excuses herself and Spencer helps with the cleaning, leaving them with Hanna and Caleb.
"Em, are you alright?", Hanna asks, leaning forward to look at her. Smirking, Paige rests her hand on Emily's thigh. "You're freaking out, aren't you?" Emily nods, her bottom lip pulled in and it's the most adorable thing Paige has ever seen.
"About what?" Hanna's eyes wander between the two of them, eager for an answer. Taking her eyes off of Emily, Paige answers "My parents want her to come over for dinner tomorrow.", grabbing Emily's hand. "Oh. Then why are you freaking out? I thought you already met them?"
Pulling Emily's hand between her own, Paige looks at Emily again and it takes everything not to pull her in to kiss the worried frown from her face. "No. I mean, I met them and said hello, but never the official thing."
Hanna nods and leans back into her chair. "Okay, I get that you are freaking out. Because you don't know if they like you or what you are going to tell them, but what matters is that they want to meet you. Right?"
Paige nods and Caleb utters a "Yeah." with a pained expression. Emily doesn't seem to notice that, because she starts nodding slowly and drags her hand out from between Paige's. "You know what Hanna? You're right. Thank you.", she says and gets up. "I need to use the bathroom." Hanna stands up, shouting "Me too." and they walk away together.
Scrunching her brows together, Paige stares after them. "I still don't understand why girls do that." She looks at Caleb and shakes her head. "You know what? Me neither." Snorting out a laugh, Caleb gets up and rests his hand on the back of his chair. "I'm gonna get myself something to drink. You wanna come with?"
The counter is full with all kinds of drinks and Caleb sneaks some alcohol in theirs, just enough to make her feel warm and cozy. They sit down at the kitchen island and talk and laugh and Paige is sure the evening is almost perfect, the only thing missing Emily. "Do you know where Toby is? I know why Ezra isn't, but Hanna didn't say anything about Toby not being here." She shrugs and takes another sip of her drink. "Emily said something about him having to spend time with his family or something."
Caleb nods, swirling his drink around in the glass. "That sucks." Shrugging again, Paige turns her head to look for Emily. When she doesn't find her, she empties her glass and sets it down. "I think we should be friends." The words catch her off guard and she doesn't know what to say. "It's just- our girlfriends are so close and it'd be nice to have someone who puts up with their stuff just like I have to." It might be the warmth of the room or the alcohol, but Paige could swear it's a blush creeping across his cheeks. "I'd like that.", she answers with a smile.
And then Hanna is hugging Caleb from behind, whispering in his ear and she is not sure she wants to be sitting here anymore, Emily still nowhere to be found. She gets up and walks through the living room, into the direction Spencer points when she asks her where Emily is.
The voices of everyone sound muffled and far away in the hallway. She finds Emily leaning against a wall, her eyes closed. "Hey. Everything alright?" Emily blinks at her and smiles, stretching her arms out in Paige's direction. "I'm fine, I just needed some air." She lets herself fall into Emily's arms, brushing hair out of her face and kissing her nose.
"Still freaking out?" Shaking her head, Emily locks her hands on Paige's back to pull her closer. "Not anymore." Emily whispers into her lips just before meeting them with her own. "Good" is all Paige mumbles, her hands tangling in Emily's hair as she presses her against the wall.
She loses herself in Emily, just like she always does and when Emily's hands slide into her back pockets she can't help the tiny moan that escapes her throat.
Someone clears their throat and she jumps away. Mr. Fields is standing behind them, staring at the ground. "I- uh, I need to use the bath.", he stammers and rushes past them.
"He's going to hate me now." Laughing, Emily pulls her close again. "No, he's not." Paige buries her face in Emily's shoulder. "He just caught us making out. I was pressing his little girl against a wall." She hears Emily giggling. "His little girl's hands were at your ass."
"You're not helping, Em.", she says with a groan, but Emily just laughs and kisses her hair. "I'm sure it's fine. A bit awkward, but fine."
Paige believes her.
It's minutes from midnight and they're all standing outside, wrapped in coats and scarves. Caleb and Spencer are setting up the fireworks together, Aria doesn't let go of Ezra and the adults are holding champagne in their hands, talking quietly.
Paige is wearing her hat with the braids and ear-flaps and Emily can't stop smiling at her. Single fireworks go off in the distance and Spencer yells "Three minutes and forty-two seconds too soon!" from where she's kneeling on the ground.
They all laugh and Emily feels at home, Paige's hand in hers, both her parents mere feet away and her friends laughter ringing in her ears. It's one of those moments you want to keep in a jar to open later, when you want to feel it again.
She turns to face Paige, taking one of the braids to tickle Paige's face. Paige scrunches her nose up and tries to catch Emily's hand with her teeth.
"Thirty seconds left!", Hanna shouts and Emily wraps the braids around her hands to pull Paige to her. Their foreheads touch, their noses rub together, Paige's hands settle at her waist, and she can feel her heart fluttering.
Some start counting down out loud, Hanna's voice the loudest, and from ten on, they whisper it to each other, their lips almost touching.
"Three. Two. One."
Paige's lips cover hers with a kiss full of hope and love and maybe a little bit of want. It ends way too soon, she thinks, but then Paige whispers "Happy New Year, Em." with a small smile and it's okay that they stopped kissing.
"Happy New Year.", she whispers back and steals another kiss before tipping her head back to watch the fireworks and then everyone around them. Hanna and Caleb are still kissing, Aria is cuddling into Ezra and Spencer is setting off fireworks.
Her parents walk over to them and her dad hands them two champagne flutes with a sheepish smile. They clink their glasses together, her mom smiling at them and her dad at her, before they all take a sip. And then her dad is hugging Paige and her mom is hugging her and she can see Paige blinking, her eyes wide before she hugs back.
They switch and Emily holds on to her dad, whispering "Thank you.". He answers with "What for?" and she knows she was right. It's fine.
Paige is lying in Emily's bed, watching her change into pajamas and if she wasn't so tired she would get up again and throw her onto the bed. But now she wants to sleep, preferably with Emily in her arms or in Emily's arms, just not alone. "Hurry up, I wanna cuddle."
Emily grins, turns the light off and crawls under the covers, placing her head on Paige's chest, her hand slipping up her shirt to rest on Paige's stomach.
She can feel her eyes closing, her nose pressed into Emily's hair and she can't wait to fall asleep. It's quiet, the only sound their even breathing. Just as she's about to drop into a heavy slumber, Emily's voice disturbs the silence.
"Paige?" Kissing the top of Emily's head, she exhales. "Hmm?" Emily shifts and she feels her nose pressing against her chin. "Do you think your parents are gonna like me?" She nods, rolling her still closed eyes. "Yeah, there's no way not to like you."
Emily doesn't say anything for awhile and she waits for sleep to come.
"Paige?" She huffs and hums out another "Hmm?".
"I love you."
"I love you too."