I was inspired to write this after reading an old interview with Bianca Lawson saying that Paige should have been in the 2x20 episode and had an interaction with Maya, but Lindsey Shaw had a scheduling conflict so she couldn't shoot those scenes. I'm sad that didn't happen so I wrote what I wanted to see. This is in two parts.
The first part happens during the actual meet and right before Emily meets Maya and her friends after winning the State Championship. I changed one of these PLL canon scenes slightly because I always thought Paige should be in that scene when the team emerges with the trophy. I remember being bummed when she wasn't.
For those wanting a compilation clip of those scenes for reference, search Emaya 2x20 Scenes on YouTube.
Huddled in the locker room, Paige looks over at her teammates. She can't believe that they are actually here, the possibility of a State Championship Title within reach. All the hard work, late nights and early mornings…all her sacrifices have come down to this…so close, Paige can taste it. She wants it so badly. There is only one thing she has ever wanted more…..
Emily...caught off guard by her thoughts, she shakes her head trying to clear it of the memories of the dark-haired girl getting ready beside her, regret knotting her stomach. It had been months since their aborted relationship and only now did Paige feel like things were somewhat normal between them. She could finally call Emily her friend.
Paige glances over at Emily and realizes something is off with the other girl. She bites her lip, trying to decide if she should engage her. Earlier in warm-ups, Emily seemed to be fighting her stroke. Now, Emily is even more reserved than usual, avoiding eye contact and only offering abrupt answers to teammates. Paige knows something is wrong, but given their history, she is unsure of what to do.
The dark-haired girl feels Paige's gaze and looks up with a small smile that fails to reach her eyes. Paige can't tell if Emily's mood is nerves or something more. She opens her mouth to say something, but Coach Fulton interrupts and calls the team together. After the pep talk, she turns back to Emily but finds only her retreating form heading out of the locker room.
Paige quickly pursues Emily, intent on talking to her. However, she stumbles as Emily stops abruptly in the natatorium, her eyes shining brightly. Paige follows her gaze to the audience and finds Emily's friends in the stands cheering along with Maya, smiling brightly and waving a homemade sign. Emily waves back. Her heart clenches, and she fights back the jealousy bubbling below the surface. Tearing her eyes away, she takes a deep breath and looks up to find that her Mom and Dad are there, clapping and cheering. Her heart swells and she waves lightly before beginning her pre-race rituals, carefully shaking off the intense feelings, willing herself to focus. She puts in her earbuds and visualizes what she has to do, her concern for Emily forgotten. The whole world falls away. In this moment, nothing matters except the race and her performance.
The meet starts and Paige wins her races easily, but Emily has been off. She started late on her breaststroke final and overextended on her butterfly turn, throwing off her rhythm. She placed second in both races, and barely won her others. However, a few of their teammates put up personal bests to keep the title within reach. All that is left is the freestyle relay. If they win, they will be state champs.
Paige looks over at Emily in the prep area and even from the back she can see how tense she is, frustration rolling off her in waves as she violently twists a towel in her hands. Cautiously, Paige walks over and puts her hand gently on her shoulder, coming around to face her. "Em, I know you aren't happy with your performance today, but its okay. We all have bad days….We are still in this."
"It's not okay, nothing is okay!" Emily shoots back, throwing the towel down. She immediately softens, embarrassed by the outburst. "Sorry…, I'm just…frustrated. I wanted to do well in front of Maya, but I didn't expect her to be here. I've just been distracted…..off. And with all that's happened, I feel like I've let everybody down." Emily's gaze falls.
Paige fights the urge to envelope the broken girl in a hug and gently tilts Emily's head up to meet her eyes, her voice soft. "You haven't let anybody down. Em, you are one of the main reasons we're here. You are amazing. I believe in you." She sees a small blush color Emily's cheeks, a smile curling at her lips.
Encouraged, Paige continues. "A wise person once told me that the key to swimming was to stop worrying about other people and to just...relax. I think that was good advice." Emily grins goofily at the echo of her own words. With a mirroring grin, Paige winks and gives Emily's shoulder a final reassuring squeeze, her touch lingering along with her gaze. After a beat, she pulls away and walks back to the starting blocks to join the rest of her relay team. She glances at the stands and sees Maya watching, her gaze boring into her. Shrugging it off, she puts her earbuds in place to prepare for the final race.
As the lead swimmers take position, she feels Emily come up beside her. Glancing left, brown eyes meet brown. Emily gives her a relaxed grin before nudging her playfully. Paige's breathe hitches at the good-natured contact, her head dipping down in a shy smile. Finally, I've done something right when it comes to Emily.
"It's go time. Me and you McCullers. Let's do this."
Paige's grin lights up the natatorium. Emily is back.
The race starts and the other team is ahead by a length through the first two swimmers. On her turn, Paige flies off the blocks and slices through the water. She can see her competitor in front of her. With every stroke, she closes the gap. As she hits the turn, she kicks as hard as she can, her lungs burning until she has to surface. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees that she has pulled even and pushes herself harder. With 50 meters to go, her muscles are burning but she doesn't give in, determined to give the biggest lead to Emily that she can. She touches the wall and feels the air move coolly over her as Emily dives off the block.
Paige emerges from the pool and watches Emily move through the water. In all the years they have been swimming together, Paige is still in awe. Poetry in motion. At the turn, Emily is neck and neck with the other team's strongest swimmer, matching her stroke for stroke. With 50 meters to go, Emily finds her rhythm and begins to open up a small lead, muscles straining with every pull. The crowd is deafening and Paige is screaming encouragement, jumping up and down.
Emily hits the wall, winning by the slimmest of margins. She flies out of the water and hugs the shoulders of her two other teammates, but then envelopes Paige, throwing her arms around her neck. Maya watches as Paige gives her a bear hug and spins her before putting her down. Faces inches from each other, Emily whispers something in the shorter girl's ear. Maya can see Paige's huge smile and hear her laugh from across the pool before she and her girlfriend are mobbed by the rest of their team.
Maya is standing in the corridor holding her sign and thinking over what she witnessed in the natatorium. She knows of Emily's history with Paige, but something still feels off. She knows she shouldn't be jealous. Emily has made it clear that Paige is just a friend. Before she can think about it further, Emily and Paige come out of the doors together, holding the huge trophy, laughing and talking excitedly. She sees Paige grab Emily's elbow before Emily envelopes her in another hug. Paige makes eye contact with Maya over Emily's shoulder and her face falls. She mumbles something to Emily about having to find her parents and that she would see her later at Hanna's. Emily looks after the girl in confusion at her abrupt change in mood.
Turning, Emily spies Maya. She smiles brightly at the sign before enveloping her in a hug.
Please read and review. If enough people are interested, I will post the second part soon which takes place at the team party at Hanna's. It's already written. :)