Your First Hello

"Hello Emily" says the girl in front of her.

Emily was shocked. Her eyes were wide, as her breathe was caught in her throat. Her heart was beating so fast she feels like she saw a ghost.

It feels like, so unreal. It's been so many years and yet the way she felt when she saw the girl in front of her was like the first time they say… hello.

2 days ago

"Hey!" Emily called out with a wave as she saw her Mom waiting outside the airport launch. She ran afterwards and embraced her mom tightly.

"I missed you, Sweetie" Pam whispered to her daughters' ear while they hug. She missed this, after how many years of being gone; she misses her mothers' embrace.

"I missed you too, Mom" she says as she pulled back from the hug. "So, how are you?" she asked afterwards while they're walking towards Pam's car.

The two talked while driving back to Rosewood. They talked about everything they've had done while Emily was gone, and with Pam stayed in Rosewood and once in a while visiting her husband in Texas. There are so many things they need to catch up onto about their lives being independent and being a far from each other. Though they have a constant communication, talking in person is still the best. They settle for a simple Pam just got home a couple of weeks ago from spending time with her husband in Texas, and Emily's graduation in New York.

Halfway to their destinations, the two women sat silently, yet comfortable, in the car. Pam was looking to the road, focused on her driving. Emily was leaning her head on the mirror while looking outside, thinking how happy she was back home. Though there's still apprehension and times where she didn't wanted to come back after all the 'unfortunate event' happened in her life back then. She still missed the place where she grew. She missed her home.

After an hour, Pam parked the car in their driveway. She turned off the ignition and looked at her daughter, whose gazed fixed outside the mirror of the passenger seat, looking at the house in front of her which she had grown for the half of her life. Observing what was the difference from before and now.

"Welcome back home, Sweetie" Pam says while looking amused at Emily. She knows that the look in her daughters' eyes. She knows that even though the place bring so much memories of a 'bad past', she still overwhelmed by the fact that she's finally home.

When Emily was little girl, maybe around 5 or 6, she will always jumped out of the car and ran in the front yard every time she went home after days of school. Little Emily always says to her Pam that every time she sees their house, she feels like in heaven, and the young Pam always smiles of this statement of her precious child.

Emily looked at her mother, who was now getting out of the car and walking towards the compartment. She smiles and unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door of the passenger side, while her mother get her things at the compartment. Her mother was talking about how she cleaned the house before she came since it was left for a month, while Emily was gone and Pam was in Texas with dad. But Emily's gazed was on the house, looking it like she was just dreaming.

After five years, she never thought that she'll be back to this place where the entire 'unhappy' event she'd experienced was here. Where Emily never thought she can get out after all the things that happened to her. The place where she shed so many tears by seeing everyone she loved leaving while she's being locked up and been torn by 'A'.

But as her eyes were looking, searching, examining, and observing the area. Her gazed went to a place where she will never get tired to looking at. It was the most outstanding view of the house, the small white window, the place where in she can see outside of the house, while thinking what to do next every time when her mind was so messed up, while she will spent her days seating on the window seat with her best friends, eating pizza, talking non-stop about everything, about their loved interest and whatever they wanted to become, while she was spending time with her loved ones.

Memories… she thought.

"Are you coming honey? I know that you missed the place but I think you have so many times to look at it. I'm starving; I guess you are too from that four hours travel." Her mom said, while leaning at the door frame looking at her with amused smile. Realizing she was still standing in the middle of the front yard, she smile shyly to her Mom and walked after her.

"Is that lasagna I smelled?" looking at her mom smiling at the front porch. "I guess I'm starving" as she touch her stomach that growled second before. Both women laughed and entered the house.

As she closed the door, Emily thought that finally… "I am home"

The next day

She was in the natatorium gazed fixed in the pool. She had so memories in this place, as a bad as Rosewood being a nightmare place to her. This place in the natatorium, the pool itself was her sanctuary. A place where she started to dreamed big when she was still a child, a dream to become a professional swimmer. A place where she can ran through when her world would almost fall down and no one seems like to understand her while searching for her real self. The place where all of her anxieties were replaced by warm and calm from the water running through her body. The place where she found the person, she called her Anchor.

Though not every dream can bring into reality, and 'A' finally brought her game to become the nightmare she never wanted to dreamed off. Where her own sanctuary was being buried in a graved with all of her washed dreams as she was under the spell of the tremendous murderer.

But she gets over it now, that's what her trying to think. She keeps on burying and trying not to think of her past. She wants to keep going forward and not backward. She wants to have good and wonderful memories while she's still living.

And as she keeps moving forward, a new opportunity comes, and here she was. Two months prior, her mom called saying that she bumped into Coach Fulton at the supermarket asking for her and wanted to talk about being the new Coach of Rosewood High since she wants to retire before the season starts. At first she hesitated, thinking that it would only trigger some bad memories, but then she wants to forget the entire nightmare so maybe why not accept the offer. Coach Fulton assures her that she would be accompanied with another Coach that she asked for to come. And, that's the reason why she came back.

As she walked near to the pool, she saw someone in it. The person was doing laps, her flow was awesome, and she keeps her gazed on that person. It is a girl. Wonder if she's a student of Rosewood High and was only doing some practice, though the tryouts will just start tomorrow and the practice will start two weeks after. Maybe she just need some time.

But as she keep watching the girl who was keep on swimming, she can't help but thinking about the certain person who was so dear in her heart. The person who after all the bad things that happens to her life, still understand, continuing to love her unconditionally. The person after she left still there for her and tells her that she will always is by her side even just as a friend. The person who becomes her shoulder to cried on while she was grieving when her first girlfriend, Maya died. The person who after being accused by her best friends of being 'A' still managed to understand and willingly sacrificed herself just for her to be safe. The one who become her anchored.

When she realized that she was still looking the person who is in the pool like a totally creep, she immediately shift her gazed to the bleachers of the natatorium. She move to her place and decided that she will just seat at the bleachers while waiting for Coach Fulton. As she was walking, her gazed went to the girl again who was just in time climbing out of the pool and walked to the bleachers where she left her things and pulled out her towel inside her duffel back.

Emily was looking at the girl body. She has the build of a swimmer, as obvious as it must be. The girl is tall maybe same as her height, lean body, broad shoulder, her skin was tan, though it seems like she was lighter color from what she was now. All in the entire girl has a wonderful body.

Emily face blushed as she realized she was again looking the girl inappropriately. As her gazed look for a moment to the pool, she finally thought to just walk to the girl and has a talked to her.

As she approached the girl, who was still drying her hair using her towel, her heart beat fast which she never know why. Maybe she is just nervous since she will approach and talked to a stranger. When she was just a couple of stride away from the girl, she finally found her voice.

"Excuse me" she says, her heart keeps beating too fast for her liking, "Are you a student here or are just using the pool? I am waiting for Coach Fulton, how about you?" she looked at the back of the girl for a moment since she just realized that the girl was kind of shocked, since she was in a stilled form. Well she can't blame her since maybe she thought she was only in the area, and now there's someone behind her.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" she finally says after a minute. "Don't worry, I am just…" her voice faltered, and her breath stop, as she look at the girl turn around to her. And was in a complete shocked too, though was recovered after a seconds of being utterly overwhelmed.

"Hello Emily", says the girl in front of her.

Emily was shocked. Her eyes where wide, as her breathe was caught in her throat. Her heart was beating so fast she feels like she saw a ghost.

It feels like, so unreal. It's been so many years and yet the way she felt when she saw the girl in front of her was like the first time they say… hello.

"Paige" she says…almost whispered…heart keeps beating so fast.

AN: Okay that's it folks! That's all I can give you…haha…seems unreal but yeah… I cannot come up with other ideas…this story has been hanging up in my laptop for almost two weeks and I have no other idea what comes next. And I don't know if I can continue this for some certain and important reasons. So yeah. maybe this will be the first and last. Not short nor long just enough. And I don't know if it's okay. But I'll try though.

This is only a trial though. Well just wanted to dedicate this to all writes who wrote Paily fanfictions… who gave sanity while we were so insanely missing Paige McCullers & Paily too. And though the PLL already said that Wayne Fields died in the time jump, I can't just consider it here. The man is a great father figure to be treated like that. I am still have a day dream that someday Paige and Wayne, with Emily and Pam too if possible, that they will meet and talk together. So yeah.

Till then. Bye!