Hey everyone, this is my first attempt at a Pretty Little Liars fanfiction and a Paily fanfic, so I hope you guys will bear with me. I would love to hear your feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome. :) Thanks for giving this a read.

Disclaimer: PLL? Not mine.

Chapter 1

Emily's POV

Emily Fields climbed out of the pool, muscles aching and rung out her dripping wet hair. Her coach, Coach Fulton, walked up to her, grinning. "Wow Fields, have you been training to take over Johnson's spot as team captain?" she asked.

Emily smiled, dipping her head in confirmation. "Yeah, I actually am."

Coach Fulton nodded approvingly. "That's good. I can see you as team captain." Emily's heartbeat accelerated with excitement. She might become team captain! She thanked Fulton and turned around to walk back to the locker room when she was suddenly nose to nose with Paige McCullers, her teammate.

"Oh! Hi Paige!" Emily greeted. Paige grimaced in greeting and Emily's smile melted off of her face. What was Paige's problem?

"So, I heard you want to be team captain after Johnson graduates this year," Paige said casually.

Emily nodded. "Yeah, Coach just told me that she could see me as captain." Emily lifted her chin up slightly in pride.

Paige's eyes narrowed. "Really? Interesting."

Emily arched an eyebrow in confusion. "Why is that interesting?" she asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. Did Paige not think she was good enough?

"Well," Paige folded her arms, "I was thinking about taking Johnson's place too."

Emily looked at Paige in shock. Paige wanted to be captain as well? I guess that didn't surprise her too much, Paige always liked competing and taking the lead. "Oh wow," Emily was speechless. "Well, um, let the best swimmer win."

Paige smiled sarcastically. "Don't worry, Em. I will." She sauntered off towards the locker room. Emily was frozen in place, still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

The next day at lunch, Emily explained what Paige had said to her friends. "Seems like Paige is pretty confident that she's going to become the team captain," Spencer observed.

"Yeah, but why?" Emily asked. "Am I not as good as her?" she added worriedly.

Spencer shrugged. "I'm not sure, but maybe her confidence will be her downfall." Not sure? That didn't help Emily's confidence at all, but she didn't blame Spencer. Spencer couldn't say that she thought Emily was the better swimmer just because they were friends.

"It doesn't seem like she's too worried," Aria added.

"She might be bluffing. We bluff to intimidate the opponents in field hockey," Spencer informed them.

"Well, whatever her tactic is, it won't work," Emily stated.

Spencer grinned and patted Emily on the back. "Atta girl!"

Emily grinned back at her, but couldn't help worrying. What if Paige would do whatever it takes to become captain of the swim team? Paige was very competitive and Emily didn't know how far Paige was willing to take it. Emily had never really talked to Paige very much even though they were teammates. She knew that Paige was a very good swimmer and that was about it. She scanned the lunch room and her eyes stopped on the said girl. Paige turned around as she felt someone's gaze on her. Seeing it was Emily, she got up and strode over to the table. Emily's friends looked at Paige in surprise as she put her hands on the table and leaned forward.

"Why were you staring at me, Fields?" Paige asked, a little accusation in her voice. Emily opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Paige scowled and leaned closer. "Are you trying to psych me out of being captain?"

Emily cleared her throat nervously. "Uh, not that I know of..."

"Good, because I don't get scared off that easily," Paige said before walking off. The girls exchanged glances.

"So...that was weird," Aria commented.

"What a bitch," Hanna muttered, glaring at Paige's retreating back. Emily silently agreed with Hanna but didn't want to say it aloud because Paige was still her teammate, her very rude teammate.

The next day, Emily was walking to her locker when Paige strode past, bumping her hard in the shoulder. Emily closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. Paige was just trying to mess with her. She brushed it off and continued to her locker.

That same day at swim practice, Emily was in the pool, practicing her freestyle. Her strokes were powerful and full energy. She reached the wall and stopped, looking up at her coach for her thoughts. The coach beamed at her and Emily unconsciously replicated the smile as she got out of the pool.

"Nice work today, Emily," her coach praised. "You're training hard and that's what I like to see." She clapped Emily on the back and turned to Paige, who had suddenly appeared on Emily's right. "You did well too, McCullers," the coach added before leaving the two girls alone. Emily was about to leave as well, but Paige grabbed her by the arm. Sighing, Emily turned around, dreading whatever Paige had to say.

"Good job, Fields," Paige said flatly. Emily's eyes widened in surprise. Was Paige McCullers actually complimenting her? Had she been sent to an alternate universe without knowing? Or maybe Paige actually decided to be a good teammate. Emily opened her mouth to say thank you and to give Paige a compliment, but Paige was not finished.

"But, if that's your A game, then I might as well be celebrating when I become captain," Paige smirked and headed out to go change. Emily was once again left frozen in place.

"What do you think I should do about it?" Emily asked, talking to Hanna on the phone later that night.

"Well, if it were me, I'd stick my foot up Paige's-" Hanna began before Emily interrupted her.

"Hanna! I am not doing that!" Emily said in horror. She cringed just thinking about it.

Hanna laughed. "Of course you aren't. I'm just saying what I would do if Paige was being a bitch to me."

Emily sighed, rubbing her temple with her free hand. "Ok, but what do you think I should do?" Emily was becoming impatient.

"Why don't you do the same thing that Paige is doing?"

"Which is what? Being an ass?"

"No! Well...yeah, but also, no! Why don't you try threatening her?" Hanna suggested.

Emily frowned. "Um, maybe because if Coach hears that I'm threatening someone, she's never going to make me the team captain."

"But isn't Paige threatening you...?"

"Yeah."

"Then why can't you threaten her?" Hanna had a good point, but Emily still wasn't sure if she would be able to do it. Was she even that intimidating?

"I'm not sure, Han. I'll think about it." Emily was lying through her teeth, but it was the only way to get Hanna to stop pestering her. After ending the call with Hanna, Emily collapsed on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Why was Paige McCullers making her life so damn hard?