Dreams and Reality

Paige sat impatiently in her living room, trying to preoccupy herself with an old Vogue magazine, that she had previously read cover-to-cover approximately 12 times.

What is taking her so long? Paige thought to herself.

She was expecting Alex to knock on her front door any minute now. It would be the first time they had laid eyes on each other in a year. Alex had gone off to school in the US, while Paige finished out her years at Banting. They had mutually decided to see other people once Alex moved away, agreeing that a long distance relationship could never work. But all of a sudden, Alex had given Paige a call asking if it was okay to stay at her place for a few weeks over the summer. She had instantly agreed.

Paige could all ready envision Alex's large chocolate eyes that had captivated her over the years. She had tried seeing other people, guys mostly, but no one seemed to be as perfect as Alex. No one seemed to understand her. Paige had no idea whether or not Alex had been dating, but she hoped that Alex had experienced the same problems in the States.

Oh God. Paige thought, hearing a friendly tap at the front door. She ran to the front of the house and greeted Alex with a friendly grin on her face.

"Alex!" Paige squealed. The blonde enveloped Alex in her arms and let go only once satisfied.

"Wow, good to see you too." Alex said in surprise.

"You have no idea," Paige said with a grin. She opened the door for her raven-haired friend and led her up to the room she would be staying in. Paige could all ready smell the coconut radiating off of her body, that was Alex's smell, and Paige always got light headed with a good whiff.

"So, how's the States? New girlfriend yet?" The blonde pondered kiddingly, but with a secret sincerity.

"The States are good. I love California, it definitely lives up to its reputation," Alex replied in her usually witty tone of voice. She seemed to be avoiding the last half of the question.

"And…" Paige questioned with a smirk.

"I've met a few girls, but there's one I've been hanging out with quite a bit. Her name's Casey," Alex admitted to her ex. Paige's heart dropped instantly. She had expected a different response, she wasn't exactly sure what, just something…different. Of course she couldn't have expected Alex to stay single, what with all the hotties in bikinis basking on the California beaches.

"Oh…how Casanova of you," Paige responded with fake enthusiasm. Of course, Alex could see right through her.

"Paige, it hasn't gotten serious or anything," Alex reassured her.

"Yet…" the blonde muttered to herself as they walked down the stairs and into the living room.

Alex sat on the couch and looked into her ex-girlfriend's stormy blue eyes, "Paige. We decided on this, remember?"

"I know. I just didn't think it would be so hard," she replied in the lowest tone of voice possible. Alex reached her hand up and grasped a hold of Paige's arm, pulling her onto the couch as well. It seemed surreal to be this close to Alex again, Paige felt like she was in some random dream that she would only forget in the morning.

"As I recall," the brown-eyed girl began, pulling a strand of hair from Paige's face, "I was the one who actually told you how I felt…therefore more attached."

"I…" Felt the same way, Paige thought.

"Do you love her?" she continued, looking straight into the dark, vast eyes of Alex that could always see straight through her. It hurt Paige to ask this question, but it seemed necessary.

Alex sighed, "It's complicated…" she found that it was nearly impossible to look at the girl sitting next to her, who's tears were beginning to build up in the hammocks of her eyes.

"Answer me," Paige demanded in a wavering tone. She hated that Alex's vacation was all ready starting off on a bad note, but certain things needed to be confirmed before they could have any sort of fun together.

"Do you want me to go stay at my mom's tonight?" Alex questioned.

"Stop avoiding the inevitable! We're going to talk about this, NOW," Paige declared.

"Paige…I have never stopped loving you," Alex admitted, "But you never told me those three words I needed to hear so that I knew you felt the same way. So…it was easier for me to get involved with someone who I knew loved me back."

"Alex-" Paige began, but tears got in the way of her words. She just sobbed on her shoulders, tears of regret seeping through Alex's shirt. She could have stayed in Alex's arms forever if she didn't feel like the pathetic ex girlfriend who couldn't let go.

"You don't need to say anything," Alex told her, patting her friend's shoulder. Alex had matured so much since they had parted.

"Yes-" Paige sniffled, "Yes I do. Alex, when you left I couldn't breathe, it was worse than a panic attack. It was like everything that I trusted was true, had morphed into some deep deception. That the world I knew to be safe had transformed into some unfamiliar battle field. You were my everything Alex, and once you take everything out of the equation there's nothing left to live for. Banting could only distract me for so long…"

"Paige, I still don't get-"

"Alex! Don't you get it!? I have loved you since the night of the Premier. I'm just such a pathetic coward I could never tell you, I was too worried about my reputation and how everyone around me would react." Alex just sat there on the couch, wide eyes and a look of puzzlement. Paige took this as a signal to keep ranting on. This would be her only chance to tell her love how she felt.

"I should have known that the only person who's reaction would matter to me was yours. In the year that you have been gone, I have thought about you at least once a day, and no matter what I did, I could not get your stupid smirk out of my head." It was as if by reaction Alex had let a smirk slip onto her face.

When Paige had stopped talking, the world had stopped spinning. Alex found herself inches away from the girl she had dreamed about every night in California. Their hearts were beating rapidly in unison, and their breath, so close, had begun to dance in the air. Paige lifted her hand off the couch and began playing with a raven black curl that sat so pleasantly on Alex's shoulder.

Alex couldn't resist. She leaned in her head and brushed her lips against the blonde who had been plaguing her sleep for so long. It was as if every fiber of her skin was alert and anxious to take in every bit of pleasure allowed. Paige deepened the kiss and felt her head start to spin. Alex pulled away and Paige looked at her with a playful frown.

"What?" The blonde asked lightly, looking deep into warm eyes, searching for an answer. Alex couldn't look away and felt that if she could spend every day with this beautiful girl beside her, she would never ask for more.

"I don't ever want to live another day without you," Alex admitted, her face starting to pale in embarrassment. Her eyes were rimming with tears at the thought of a life without the girl in front of her. California had been bitter and cold without the warmth of Paige in Alex's heart.

"Then don't," Page said directly.

"I have to go back to California in 3 weeks," Alex said in lamentation.

"Do you love me?" Paige asked frankly.

"Yes," Alex replied with the most adoring look in her doleful eyes.

"Then love will find a way…guess who's moving out to California?"

"Since when?" Alex questioned with a shining light in her eyes that Paige had not seen in ages.

"Since now." Paige answered and sealed her decision with a kiss. And so they slept only to dream about reality, a place that involved a preppy cheerleader and a raven-haired beauty from the wrong side of the tracks, that just so happened to fall in love.