Bad Intentions

Chapter One: Goggles

PrettyLittleDayDream


"Are you sure about this?"

Hanna asked as she picked at the chocolate chip muffin on the table in front of her. It was a habit she had picked up when she was a teenager, most of the time she did not realize the mess she making or Emily compulsively trying to avoid cleaning it up, despite the annoyance of her best friend.

"Pretty sure Han, I wouldn't have moved all they way back to Rosewood if I wasn't," Emily took a sip of her water and slid a napkin across the table toward the blonde, hoping that she would get the hint. "Besides taking the job at Rosewood High is going to allow me get back to what I love, and I get to spend some time with my mom. You know she hasn't been the same since dad passed."

"I guess." Hanna sighed and slid the mutilated muffin away from her before turning attention back to the brunette. "I just don't understand why you would choose Pennsylvania over California, I mean Rosewood has been the source of all of our problems since we were sixteen. This is the last place I would want to settle down in."

Emily frowned and tapped her fingers against the table they were sitting at, like Hanna it was a nervous habit she had picked up when she was a teenager, but she had heard the argument before. Twice before actually, first from Spencer who was campaigning her way through Washington, and then form Aria who had whole heartedly agreed with Spencer from her office in Boston where she was writing her next Best Seller.

Emily's teenage years in Rosewood had been anything but normal. She had lost one of best friends during her sophomore year, and unfortunately for Emily and her three best friends, Allison's sudden disappearance had been the peak of a cataclysmic series of events that left all four of the girls in a total and complete whirlwind.

The girls had to fight through battles that many would have nightmares about, but in the end they had all came out stronger, and with a better understanding of themselves than they had before they received the first anonymous message.

In the end all of the girls had made it out of the mess with a brighter out look on life; however, their new sense of identity was not enough to keep them in the small town they had once considered their home.

Emily had moved the furthest away with the intention of never coming back, but after her father's passing she knew it was only a matter of time before she made her return.

The only reason both Hanna and Emily were back in Rosewood was because Hanna had been the only one who was able to get away from work long enough to help Emily move back to their hometown.

"Be that as it may, we haven't received a message from A in over five years, and Coach Fulton was more than happy to have me replace her now that the summer session is over, and like I said my mom needs me now more than ever." She pulled her purse into her lap, searching through old receipts and empty gum wrappers until she found her wallet and car keys. "Now quit being such a Debby dower and come with me to check out my new office."

"You start teaching tomorrow and you haven't even seen your office yet?" Hanna asked, standing up and whipping muffin crumbs away from her blouse.

"Coach was still packing the rest of her stuff the last time I had any free time to check it out, and besides I still have a week before I start tryouts for the new season. That'll give me plenty of enough time to get all of my stuff situated." She dropped a ten-dollar bill on the table and followed Hanna out of the Brew.

As soon as she stepped out of the building she was meet with a cool breeze that wrapped its way around her body keeping cool. If there was one thing that she had missed about Rosewood, it was the amazing weather. It was never too hot, or too cold.

"Do you want to walk, or should we drive?" She asked the blonde who was fighting to untangle her sunglasses from her hair.

"Are you kidding, do you know how much these heels cost?" Hanna asked pointing down at the outrageously high heels adorning her feet.

Emily rolled her eyes and walked over to her white Toyota parked a few feet away. She knew it was never a good idea to argue with Hanna when it came to her style choices.

"It doesn't look like its changed much." Emily said they pulled up to their former high school.

"It looks like they've painted, but I mean with the amount of money they get in tuition fees you'd think they'd have given this place a face lift by now." Hanna mumbled as they got out of the car and walked into the court yard where they had spent most of their free time while in school.

Emily laughed and followed the familiar path that lead to the school's gym. When she made it to the dark blue door she pulled out an old set of keys attached to a shark key ring. Coach Fulton had given her a set of keys after she had promised to apply for the open teaching position in hopes that Emily would be able to take on her post as soon as she received word that she got the job. Unfortunately for Fulton Emily had plans to finish off the summer in California before she moved back to east coast.

"Do you smell that?" She asked Hanna as they stepped onto the natatorium's wet floor. She breathed in deeply, letting the warm air settled around her. It left a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"What Chlorine?"

"Yeah," A small smile made it's a way across her lips. Her finger tips twitching at her sides. They were itching to touch the water. "Its like coming home after a long time away."

"I get that feeling every time I walk into Nordstrom." Hanna mumbled, a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Totally not the same, but thanks for trying to understand." Emily laughed.

They walked across the slippery floor until they came across Coach Fulton's former office. The name Fulton had been recently removed and replaced with the slightly crooked spelling of Emily's last name.

She would never admit it out loud but the sight of her name on the door left an uneasy filling in her stomach. She felt fully prepared when it came to teaching, but there was something about the fact that she was going to be coaching a group of amazing swimmers that made her feel like she was on a roller coaster ride.

"I can't believe I get to spend my days teaching English and my nights coaching one of the best high school swim teams on the east coast." She mumbled staring at crooked letters painted on the doors window.

"Yeah, sounds like tons of fun. You are the only person I know who would willingly want to spend eight hour days with a bunch of teenage idiots." Hanna said sarcastically as she pushed her way passed Emily and into the semi empty office.

The only furniture that had been left in the room was an old leather chair that Emily would need to replace within the year and a really worn wooden desk that looked like it had seen better days, but despite the dinginess of her "new" office Emily could not have been happier. It was not everything she had been hopping for, but it would do for the time being, or at least until she could spend some time fixing things.

"You were one of those teenage idiots less than three years ago."

"Oh, I know I was, and that's why I feel sorry for you babe. Even without the whole "A" bullshit the four of us spent most of our time doing illegal things and causing trouble."

Emily frowned, Hanna was right. She had vivid memories of late night drinking and earlier morning hangovers. It did not make her feel any better about her upcoming week.

"Definitely not something I want to think about before I even start the job."

"I'm just messing with you Em, you'll have fun, even if you have to spend all of your time cramped up in this tiny office. "

"Thanks Han, you're so encouraging. Next time I move I'm bringing Aria" Emily mumbled under her breath as she got a better look at her office. Hanna was right, it was small, but she did not plan on spending much of her time in there anyway.

She was just about to sit down when she heard the gym door slam shut and the sound of flip flops moving across the floor. She looked over at Hanna, who simply shrugged before turning her attention to her phone which had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the room.

Emily stood up and peeked her head out of the office door. She had not seen anyone at first, but as she stepped out into the swimming area she caught sight of a beautiful brunette in a pair of short shorts and an old Rosewood Sharks t-shirt.

The brunette was standing at the edge of the pool and staring down at the water. Emily was a little thrown. School was out for the summer, and she was sure this girl was not old enough to be a teacher. She watched her for a few moments before speaking out and trying to catching the girl's attention.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked making her presence known.

The girl turned her head, her brow frowned, and a curious look in her eye. "Nope." She stared at Emily for a few seconds before turning her attention back to water completely disinterested with what Emily had to say.

Her voice was rough, and it caught Emily's attention pretty quickly.

"If you're looking for Coach Fulton, I can leave a message for her, but I don't know how soon she'll get back to you, the last I heard she had planned on leaving Rosewood as soon as she finished the summer session." Emily said hoping to get the girl to look at her again.

"Thanks, but I'm good. I just came to see if I had lost my goggles in the pool." She gave Emily a shy glance and a soft smile, that instantly took Emily's breath away.

Emily had no idea what was going on with her, sure the girl was beautiful, but Emily was no slob. She had never been so taken by another girl before, especially one who didn't look the slightest bit interested in her.

"Are you a swimmer?" She mumbled trying to keep her gaze from wandering.

The brunette smiled and turned to give her full attention to the woman standing across from her.

"Why else would I have goggles in the pool?" She smirked causing a deep scarlet flush to make its way up Emily's cheeks.

She had known the girl for a few seconds and she was already making Emily blush like a teenage girl on her first date.

"Right. Dumb question." She scratched the back of her neck not sure of what to say next and praying that Hanna did not get bored and wander out of her office.

"You must be Coach Fields," The brunette asked as she walked over to where Emily was standing and extended her left hand. "My name is Paige, Paige McCullers."

Emily pulled herself out of her stupor and shook the younger girl's hand. "Right, I'm Emily, I'll be taking over for Coach Fulton once summer is over."

"So, tomorrow?" Paige asked sending another rush of blood to Emily's cheeks.

"Yeah tomorrow, sorry, first day jitters." Emily blushed again completely confused at her body's utter betrayal.

"S'cool." Paige shrugged and moved along the edge of the pool smiling when she caught sight of the dark blue goggles floating in the shallow end.

She walked away from Emily and kneeled down by the edge of the pool and sunk her hand into the cool clear water. It took her a few seconds but once she managed to hook her fingers in the rubber bands on the sides of the googles she lifted them into the air in triumph causing Emily to giggle.

"I knew it!" She stood up and walked back over to Emily playfully twirling the goggles around her index finger. "I loose these things at least once a week. Coach is always getting on my ass because she always has to replace them.

Emily smiled. Paige had a personality Emily had not had the pleasure of experiencing before. It was completely captivating. "Well, I'll before to order extra."

Paige looked at her with a curious expression on her face. "How do you know that I plan on trying out, and even if you knew I was trying out how do you know that'll make?"

She gave the girl a quick glance. She definitely had a swimmer's body and despite the fact that Emily had not spent much time with her former coach before she left, she had heard enough about a Paige McCullers to be more than sure she would be needing to order extra goggles throughout the year.

Paige caught her eye on the way up, a small smile making its way across her lips.

"Just a feeling." Emily shrugged.

"Good instincts coach," She turned and walked toward the door that Emily and Hanna had left open, but turned around before she made it fully out the door. "See you at tryouts." She gave Emily a bright smile that made Emily's cheeks flush an even deeper red than they had before.

"Holy shit." Emily mumbled after watching Paige leave the building.

She had no idea what was going on with her, but she knew she had better cooled her jets before she had to deal with Paige and tryouts. It did not matter how young she was, she could get in serious trouble if anyone noticed the affect that Paige had on her, and that had only been a few minutes of knowing the girl, she could not even begin to imagine what it would be like being her coach.

She ran her fingers through her hair and took a few deep breaths before walking back into her office where Hanna was now laying across the desk her phone dangling in front of her face.

"You okay?" She asked Emily when she noticed she had walked back into the room.

"More than." Emily whispered a shy smile spreading across her face.


Hi guys! I've been wanting to write this for awhile, but I never really had the courage to put my writing out there, however I've found my inspiration with Paige's return to season seven, and I thought I would give this a chance. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.