This is my first fanfic! But there is something about Paily that inspired me to write. One-shot. I do not own anything PLL or Rascall Flatts related.
Rewind
Two years. That is how long it has been since Paige last felt this achingly painful emptiness that was currently vibrating through her body as she approached the entrance of Rosewood High. Two years. Back when Alison ruled both the school and Paige herself with a relentless and cruel domination. There was no relief for Paige back then; there was no support. Each day she walked through the halls, blaring music through her ear buds, praying that Alison would have mercy even just for a moment. Of course, her prayers were never answered. Her books were pushed out of her arms by one of Ali's male cronies; cruel notes were left in her locker reminding her of how worthless she was; former friends turned their backs because no one wanted to be on Alison DiLaurentis' black list. But then Alison disappeared; Paige had survived the torment. It was her greatest accomplishment. Until Emily.
The poolside kiss that sealed the start of their relationship also signified a rebirth in Paige. No longer was she just Pigskin, but she was a girlfriend, a lover, a partner. They were truly a match: there was a shared wordly understanding exceeding that of a high school relationship, and they had formulated the perfect give and receive relationship. Paige provided Emily with a love that sheltered her during the darkest times of 'A's reign, and Emily taught Paige how to accept love from others. Paige's life goal at that poolside moment, and for every moment after, would be to protect and love Emily; to keep her happy, to keep her satisfied. Even now, a month after their break-up, Paige still felt that irreversible pull to guard Emily with every fiber of being she had. And she would, even from afar.
Two years. Paige walks into Rosewood High an imperfect yet beautiful young woman. Although Alison had returned, Paige's fear did not. She enters Rosewood knowing she has friends that would not desert her. She has an inner strength that has intensified, not dwindled, during life's harshest times: attempted suicide, kidnapping, the coming out process, and relationship angst with the love of her life. There are two things that are the same as she walks into the school two years later: one is that her love for Emily is still unwavering, and two is that she still blares her music from her ear buds. She no longer wants to drown out the world, but she cannot bear to hear the gossip about the Liars; she especially cannot bear to hear people talking about how interesting a couple Alison and Emily make.
Yes they are dating, and yes it hurts more than any cruel comment Alison ever made. So she listens to her music, and avoids them. One song in particular comes on that has Paige reliving and missing her relationship with Emily. And Paige allows herself to drift into her mind because Alison may have taken Emily away (for now) but Alison will never be able to take away her memories.
Wish I could reach up and reset that sun
Reverse these wheels go back and re-pick you up
Went by so fast oh so sweet
Make me wanna remake a memory
Wish I had me a time machine
It was well past midnight and after an exhausting day filled with endless laps and unsolvable algebra problems Paige was more than excited to collapse into bed. Just as she was settling deep into her covers a loud ding vibrates her phone signaling a text has been received. As much as Paige wanted to ignore the message and fall into her slumber, she had an inkling regarding who had sent that message and it was just not in the Paige code of conduct to ever keep this person waiting. She opened her phone, and just as she suspected the message was from one Miss Emily Fields and all it read was "In driveway, come outside now."
Not bothering to change out of her pajamas, Paige rushed downstairs, out the door, and was quickly greeted by her favorite person waving to her from inside the car. Paige had barely closed the door before Emily grabbed Paige's face to plant a bruising kiss to her lips.
"Hey" Emily breathed as they parted ways to catch their breaths
"Hey…what are you doing Em?" Paige chuckled. She was never against Emily's affection, but this midnight visit was a tad unexpected (but not unwanted, never unwanted)
"Kissing you. I could not sleep and figured who better to celebrate my insomnia with than the best kisser I've ever experience" Emily responded with a wink "Now buckle up so I can drive you somewhere more private where the kissing doesn't have to end" Emily finished before slamming on the pedal to reverse the car. She wanted Paige and she wanted her now.
Paige's lips tingled at the memory; she wondered how she would rate on Emily's kissing scale now that Alison was Em's kissing buddy.
Oh I float the moon back up in the sky
Put a cork back into that sweet red wine
Put your midnight hair back up so you can let it fall one more time
Untouch your skin
Unkiss your lips and kiss 'em again
So good so right this is one night I'm wishing I could rewind
Laughter surrounded them as the two star crossed lovers basked in each other's company. They had waited all day to finally have a moment alone on the beach, their beach, and it just so happened that the last family had gathered their towels and left. At some point in between their heated make-out and below-the-clothing touching Paige had managed to open the bottle of red wine that the girls managed to sneak away from Emily's parents alcohol stash. There were no words exchanged between them, just lustful looks and a never ending amount of lip locks. One girl would take a swig from the bottle while the other nipped away at her lover's neck. The kissing continued until Emily had reached her limit in terms of hormonal control and she immediately ripped Paige's bathing top right off her body. As Paige reached for Emily she did not grab Emily's top as Emily was hoping. Instead, Paige reached up and untangled Emily's hair from its previous state in a messy bun. With Emily distracted by Paige's exposed chest, Paige stuck her face into her beauty's hair and was wholly enveloped in a smell that consisted of mint and beach; it was completely Emily.
Paige walked by a girl that she knew was a 11th grader at Rosewood; a very good looking 11th grader at that. As the two passed, the girl's potent lilac body spray engulfed Paige's nostrils. As much as she tried to enjoy it, the scent was not Emily.
I turn back that radio dial reopen your door,
Try to talk George Strait into giving us an encore
Re-spin you around replay that sound of you laughing when we hit the ground,
I can see it now how bout we
Paige could not contain her excitement as they entered the Kimmel Center in Philly. It was the night of the Luke Bryan ft. George Strait concert that she had been waiting for. Emily had bought her two tickets as a surprise to honor their 1st kiss anniversary, and truthfully Paige had never felt so loved. The best part of the entire situation was that Emily had threatened to take back the tickets if Paige did not take her as the guest. Emily hated country and always teased Paige for enjoying the genre, but she would go to a million country concerts if it meant alone time with Paige.
Together they entered into the performance center hand in hand. Some people stared, others muttered hate words under their breaths, but Emily and Paige could not have had a better night. They danced, they sang along (Paige even helped Emily learn some lyrics), and they shared multiple hot pretzels. By the end of the evening the two were more engrossed in each other than the concert. That night, just like every night since they had been together, their love was palpable.
By the time the song had come to its closing verse Paige was in tears. She was strong, she would survive this, and she would make sure Emily survived too… but it hurt. It hurt so badly. Paige wanted to be the person Emily wanted to be with; Paige wanted to be the girl Emily called on to have hold her. But right now, Paige was not what Emily needed. So Paige backed off. She would not apologize, she would not feel bad. She was protecting her love, she could not feel regret. Paige had turned her focus on herself: her training, her friends, and her school work. Unless absolutely needed she no longer found reasons to approach Emily; she no longer gave Emily the time of day. Emily, if she needed Paige, had to come find Paige herself. So when she passed by the 5 Liars standing in the hallway-Emily and Alison in the middle cuddling with laced fingers- Paige refused to spare them a glance, instead she held her head high and turned up the song.
I wanna re-fall and re-fly
Baby re-live this night
They laid cuddled under the sheets, both of them stark naked and drenched in sweat. Paige's parents had left for business the day before so the two horny and absolutely in love teenagers decided to have a non-stop weekend-long sex fest. They had barely eaten, they had not worn clothes for the past 24 hours, and both of their phones were turned off and slung into Paige's hamper for good measure. Paige had been resting her head in Emily's neck when all of a sudden Emily had grabbed Paige and placed her right on top of Em's body. Their ligaments aligned perfectly; they were each other's puzzle piece. Before Paige could get distracted by their close proximity Emily placed their foreheads together and whispered "never leave."
Paige didn't leave, she wouldn't. And as she walked by the Liars, refusing to make any eye contact, she missed the look. The look of Emily's desperate longing for Paige. It was there for only a second, and if you were not paying attention you would have missed it. But the look was there. The pain was there. Deep down, Emily wanted to rewind time too.
Reviews would be love ;)