I received a (half serious?) prompt while I was in the middle of writing my last story. It was SO good and SO appropriate for me. My mind started thinking thoughts as soon as I read the request, and I KNEW I had to write it. I'm not going to tell you what the prompt was…just yet, because there is a twist within it. You'll find out soon. (And prompter if you're seeing this; this is it. I won't call you out in the event that you may not want that; however, I do hope to do this justice.)
This story will be a little more Paige-centric than I feel my other stories have been. I find it much, much more difficult to write for her than I do Emily as there isn't much about Paige that I relate to. But I do love her character so I see this as an interesting opportunity.
Chapter 1
Have you ever had a crush on someone you don't know? Maybe you've had chance encounters with them. Maybe you've seen them on the street (not in a hooker way, but like just walking by). Maybe you've exchanged pleasantries as you both walk in or out of the same door. Perhaps they come in to your place of work.
Such was the case for Emily Fields. As she stood at the service counter taking customers' orders she looked towards the door when the bell chimed. Emily did a double-take as she watched her crush walk through the threshold. The girl confidently strolled towards the back where she usually sat and took a seat at a vacant table.
Emily had never conversed with the girl. She'd had no interaction with her to speak of but still, she was captivated by her. The stranger had garnered Emily's attention since the first time she came in almost two weeks ago. Since that time she's been in almost every day for an egg-whites only omelet with spinach, green peppers and tomato and chai latte.
Rosewood is a fairly small town by most standards and there aren't many places to get a good cup of coffee. That's why regulars to The Brew, where Emily works, are so common. New people stick out like a weed in a well tended garden. That's how she first caught Emily's attention. Emily had never seen the girl before; it was clear Emily wouldn't have forgotten her had they met prior.
Emily observed the stranger a lot that first day. She was tall, around Emily's height, with hair the color of caffe mocha. Her skin was light; like butter cream icing on a cupcake, even now during the dog days of summer. She was either religious about sunscreen or her natural skin tone was predominately fair. It was hard to tell at a distance but her eyes appeared to be dark. Emily imagined them to be deep and rich like the color of a coffee bean. Emily shook her head at the thought. She spent entirely too much time at The Brew. Coffee and confections started to slip into her unconscious thoughts.
"Miss?" Emily startled as the voice of the next person in line tried to get her attention. Emily promptly took their order and made the Moroccan mint tea. As she waited for the tea to steep her gaze drifted back towards her crush.
The girl always sat at a table. She never ordered at the counter. If she did at least Emily would have a reason to speak to her. Emily worked as a cashier and barista and therefore never visited tables to take orders or serve seated customers. She sighed as she mulled that over. Such a shame she thought to herself. If she was just a bit bolder perhaps she would have gone over to say "hi" anyway. But that wasn't Emily. No, if they were to speak it would be her crushes doing or divine intervention.
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Enter Divine Intervention. Spencer and Riley Hastings walked into The Brew not ten minutes later. Spencer is one of Emily's best friends. Riley is Spencer's cousin. Spence was one of the first good friends Emily made when she and her parents moved to Rosewood. Within no time at all Emily had been inducted into a very tight, good group of friends. There was Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, Spencer and Emily. Their bonds were as tight as sisters. The only one of the four with a sibling was Aria. She has a younger brother, Mike.
Emily always wished for a sister and in her group of close friends she had found three. It was hard being the only child in a military family. Her father is a Lieutenant Colonel with the Army. When Emily had to pack and move bases there was no one there with her as she began a new school or tried to make new friends. Luckily Emily didn't have to worry about that anymore. She had been reassured by her parents, Wayne and Pam, that her father would be finishing his career at the base near Rosewood. That came as such a relief to Emily. It's been six years since they moved here and Emily couldn't fathom the thought of leaving again.
Spencer and Riley walked up to the counter to order their drinks. "Hey, Em," Spencer greeted while Riley waved.
Emily smiled cheerfully at them. "Hey guys. You want your usual?" Spencer and Riley waited at the counter while Emily made their lattes.
They each tried to engage her in conversation but Emily was not paying the slightest attention to them. It was rude, she knew, but she couldn't help it. Crush was talking to the waitress who came to refill her tea and she looked charming as she spoke to Emily's coworker. She had a nice smile. And she was obviously funny because the server laughed twice while she stood there at the table.
Spencer finally looked behind her to see for herself what was taking all of her best friend's attention. "Emily, who or what do you keep looking at," she asked as she turned back towards the counter.
Emily blushed, "Nothing," she said as she looked down.
"Awe, you're blushing," Riley teased.
"Am not."
Spencer turned back around. There was only one table that could have been in Emily's line of sight. "You are. You keep looking at the table Sabrina is standing at."
"Am not."
"Are too. Are we gonna do this? Just admit it, you're hardcore staring." Spencer's eyes then widened. "Oh, my God. Do you like Sabrina?"
Emily shook her head emphatically. "No."
"Then it's the other girl." Spencer thought for a beat. The stranger at the table didn't look familiar. "Who is that?"
"I don't know," Emily said with a shrug and a slight pout. "She's been coming in a lot over the past two weeks."
"But you don't know her name," Riley asked.
"We've never talked."
Riley grabbed Spencer's hand. "Come on; let's go find out who this stranger in our midst is."
Emily watched the two girls walk over to her crushes table. She was helpless to stop them. Who knew what they would even say to the girl. When a Hastings has it in their mind to do something by God they'll do it come Hell or high water. Emily held her breath as Spencer stepped next to the girl's chair.
"Hi. I don't think I've seen you around Rosewood before. Are you new here," Spencer asked casually.
The girl eyed both Riley and Spencer. In the two weeks since she's been coming here these are the first two people to approach her to engage a conversation. Everyone else just stared and whispered trying to find out if anyone knew who she was. The girl stood and offered her hand in greeting, "Hi, yeah. My family moved here about three weeks ago. I'm Paige McCullers."
Spencer was impressed. The girl had a firm handshake and looked the person she was speaking to in the eyes. "I'm Spencer Hastings." She gestured to Riley. "This is my cousin, Riley."
Riley tipped her head at Paige in acknowledgement. "Welcome to Rosewood," she said with an inviting smile.
"Thanks," Paige said. Remembering her manners she asked, "Would you two care to join me?"
Spencer looked to Riley. "Sure," they said in unison.
Riley pulled out a chair and sat down next to Paige. Spencer looked over to the counter where Emily was watching every detail of the interaction. "I'm just going to let Emily know we're joining you. Is it OK if she sits with us when her shift ends?"
Paige didn't know who Emily is but in her opinion the more the merrier. "Fine by me." She looked at Riley once Spencer started to walk away. "Who is Emily?"
Riley pointed at the counter where Spencer now stood. "That's Emily. She and Spence are best friends."
Paige swallowed hard. The goddess has a name she thought to herself. Paige had noticed the girl on numerous occasions. She's gorgeous. You'd have to be pretty dim not to admire beauty like that before you.
"Em should be getting off work in just a few minutes," Riley explained.
"Oh," Paige's voice squeaked. "Oh," she said again after clearing her throat. "That's cool." Cool? For sure. It was amazing!
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"Spencer, I am not going over there," Emily said in a harsh whisper.
"You are," Spencer said in the take no shit Hasting tone. "I already asked her if you can and she said yes. Paige is expecting you."
At Emily's confused look Spencer clarified. "Her name is Paige. Paige McCullers. I know you want to talk to her. Now is your chance."
"Fine. I'll be over in about ten minutes."
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Emily hung her apron on the hook by the kitchen door. She ran to the employee bathroom near the stockroom and did a quick makeup and hair check. Since she didn't bring any of her toiletries this was as good as it was gonna get.
Emily has heard people describe her as beautiful. She never understood quite why. It's not that she lacks self confidence. It's more so because she is humble to a fault. Beautiful is a term used to describe other people, not her.
With Emily's raven colored hair, caramel complexion and pools of melted dark chocolate for eyes she's a stunner. Years of dedicating herself to swim training has chiseled her body into a sculpted masterpiece. There is no denying that when Emily Fields walks into a room heads swivel in her direction.
Emily dabbed on a coat of lip gloss and blotted it with a nearby paper towel. With one last look in the mirror she checked her reflection, took a deep breath and looked out of the clear peephole in the kitchen door. Here goes nothing she thought.
A/N: I have wanted to use that opening sentence for two stories now and it didn't feel right until this one. Yay! FYI- I have introduced a new character: Riley. We'll get to know her pretty well in this story. Can't wait to share this story with y'all.