A/N: So this is a new story I'm trying out. It's AU and the university/town is made up, but a lot of the characters from the show will be in it. Rated M for sex and language. I don't own Pretty Little Liars. Enjoy!

Emily Fields was nervous as she made her way through the campus of Westminster University. It was her first day as a professor, and she was worried about making a good first impression on her students. Millions of worries went through her mind as she tried to find her way to the building her office was in. What if the students didn't like her? What if they refused to listen to her because she was so young? Her experience in high school had always been the younger the teacher was, the less the kids listened.

She was twenty-two years old, fresh out of college herself, and was here to teach European literature. English was always something she had loved and she had always known she had wanted to teach it, and really this was her dream job. But she was already flustered as it was, and the fact that she couldn't find the building she was supposed to go to was nearly sending her into a panic.

She pulled out the map of the campus, scanning for Rutherford Hall. She didn't even know where she was. If she just kept walking, maybe she would find it eventually. Luckily she always liked to be early and had left herself plenty of time.

After wandering around a bit longer she finally found what she was looking for. Exhaling in relief she went inside, momentarily stunned by the beauty of the lobby. This place wasn't bad at all. But finding her office proved to be confusing, and she was starting to feel that familiar feeling of panic building inside of her.

She turned suddenly to head back to the lobby to ask for directions, but instead slammed right into someone. She blinked in surprise, stepping back to see a young woman standing in front of her, dressed in a light blue sweater and a pair of black pants. She was a very attractive woman, actually. She had the biggest brown eyes Emily had ever seen and she knew she was no where near through embarrassing herself.

"I'm sorry," she stuttered. The woman smiled.

"It's okay. No worries."

"Um, I'm really sorry to bother you, but do you think you could help me find my office? It's room 140."

"Of course," the woman replied kindly. "The numbering in here is pretty confusing. I actually teach in the science building across from here, so it took me a while to find my way. First day?"

"Yeah," she replied, blushing. So much for not being helpless. "I'm teaching literature."

"Oh, nice. Always liked the classics."

"What do you teach?" she asked, finding herself unable to stop staring at the beautiful woman beside her.

"Microbiology," she replied, grinning at the surprised look on Emily's face. "I have a research lab here."

"Wow. That's impressive," Emily told her.

"I'm Paige, by the way," the woman started as they stopped outside of Emily's office. "Paige McCullers."

"Emily Fields," she replied. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime. Good luck on your first day, okay? Maybe I'll see you around."

Emily nodded, watching as Paige gave her a small wave and disappeared around the corner. Yeah, she was definitely going to like it here.

Her first day got considerably better after meeting Paige. She had two classes, and she felt like she didn't come across overly awkward in either one of them. She was feeling very confident when left to go back to the apartment she shared with her friend, Hanna, and as she drove home she kept thinking about Paige.

Hanna was draped on the couch when she got home, still dressed in her scrubs from her morning shift, waiting to hear about Emily's first day. Emily had barely walked through the door before Hanna was showering her with questions.

"How did it go? Were you awkward? Did kids laugh at you? Do you like it? Did you meet anyone cool?"

"Hanna, slow down," Emily chuckled. "It went a lot better than I expected."

"You didn't stutter, did you?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head at her roommate. "I got a little lost at first and this woman named Paige helped me-."

"Woman!" Hanna exclaimed. "Was she hot?"

"Hanna!"

"You promised all the details!"

"Beautiful is the word I would use to describe her," Emily replied, thinking back to Paige's perfect face. "I may have a teenager's crush."

"Oooh!" Hanna squealed, clapping her hands together.

"I doubt she's gay."

"That's the spirit," Hanna replied sarcastically. "There's only one way to find out."

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"Caleb?" Paige called as she closed the door to her apartment. Her roommate was never there when she got home; it was a running joke the two of them had. He worked completely unpredictable hours as a resident at the St. Grace Hospital nearby, and sometimes she could go days without seeing him. Their living arrangement worked despite the fact that she would never be interested in him sexually, and he was very respectful of that. He was a good friend and she was glad she had taken his offer to move out of her ex's apartment when she had.

"Boo," he replied, poking his head out of the doorway, and she jumped.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

"My shift starts in two hours. I'll probably be there until the morning. How was your first day?"

"Same old," she replied, eager to get to the interesting part. "But I met this new literature professor-."

"Uh oh," Caleb replied, looking amused. "Stay away from her. She's probably stuffy."

"You're just bitter from your own literature class," she replied, folding his arms. He laughed.

"Okay. What's she like?"

"I didn't get to talk to her much but I'm hoping to see her again tomorrow. I helped her find her office."

"How cute on a scale of one to ten?" he asked, grinning as she blushed.

"Ten. One hundred percent. She's got these soft brown eyes and long raven colored hair. And I-."

"Okay. Go take a cold shower," he joked. Paige scowled at him.

"Just let me daydream about her, okay? I doubt she's gay."

"You never know," he replied.

"Of course I do," she sighed. "Someone too good to be true like that is someone I can never have. Only assholes like Shana are actually in my reach."

"You and Shana dated for three years."

"I know how long it was," she snapped, Shana's betrayal still fresh in her mind. She would rather never hear her name mentioned again, although she knew it was unrealistic. But she knew she really shouldn't take it out on Caleb. He had been there for her through it all, and for that she was grateful.

"All I'm saying is don't write her off as uninterested yet. You never know."

Paige shrugged. She hoped he was right, and she had every intention of looking for her again tomorrow. Maybe there was that slim chance that she was interested.

"Well, I'm gonna go change and head out to meet Mona for a beer. She wants to celebrate the start to a new year."

Caleb snorted.

"Just don't start dating her. What could a microbiologist and a chemist have in common anyway?"

"Don't worry," Paige replied as she started down the hall. "She wouldn't set foot in this apartment as long as you're here."

She changed into more comfortable clothes and texted Mona to let her know she was leaving. Caleb never did like her much, although she wasn't sure why. Mona had been a good friend to her during her messy breakup with Shana, and they always had a fun time together. She knew Caleb's worst fear was her becoming romantically involved with her, which she didn't plan on at all. Especially if the new Emily Fields was a possibility.

She was greeted with a bear hug as soon as she got to the bar, Mona seemingly already a little buzzed. Paige chuckled as they made their way to get drinks, Mona tripping twice over nothing. Her friend was such a light weight.

"This is going to be a great year," she announced, waving the bartender over. "So many bright new faces…. I love the start of a new semester."

"I prefer once things are settled," Paige replied. Mona shook her head.

"You're so uptight, Paige!"

"I am not," she protested, but deep down she knew maybe Mona was right.

"We need to get you out more often."

"I like my quiet time at home, too."

"Yeah, but we need to find you another girl."

"Hmm," she replied, her thoughts drifting back to Emily.

"Hanna!" Mona exclaimed suddenly, jumping off of her stool. Paige watched as she ran into the arms of a blonde, her mouth dropping open when she saw the woman standing next to them. Emily.

"Is that her?" she heard the blonde ask loudly, looking in Paige's direction. Paige felt herself blush as they all turned to look at her and Emily elbowed her friend hard in the side. "Ow!"

"Come sit with us," Mona offered, and Paige felt her heart start to pound as they all came over to where she was sitting. She wasn't sure if it was from nerves or desire. Maybe both. "Paige, this is Hanna. I think you've met her once or twice."

"Yes. Hi, Hanna," she replied, pretty sure that this was the most sober she had seen Mona's friend.

"And this is her friend, Emily."

"We met," Emily blurted, her cheeks immediately darkening. "Uh, I mean, we work together."

"You teach at Westminster?" Mona exclaimed. "No way!"

"Yeah," she replied shyly, looking at Paige. "Literature."

"Oooh," Mona gasped. "Like, Chaucer and shit?"

"You could say that," Emily replied, grinning at Paige. Paige smiled back, feeling butterflies in her stomach.

"Well, this round is on us, then," Mona continued. "Right, Paige?"

"Of course," Paige agreed, unable to take her eyes off Emily. Was there any possible way that she was interested, or was it just wishful thinking?

"She's totally hot," Hanna hissed loudly on the other side of Emily. Paige nearly choked on her drink but pretended like she didn't hear.

"Hanna! Shut up!"

Were they talking about her? Was Emily into her. No. She wasn't getting her hopes up. She got stuck with liars and cheaters, not beautiful, humble and shy women. She didn't have that kind of luck.

"How did everything go?" Paige asked, hoping she didn't make a total ass of herself.

"Pretty good," Emily replied. "Once I found my way. Thank you again. I should be buying you the drink."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Happy to help."

"So….. you must be pretty smart, having a research lab," Emily started, batting her eyelashes. Paige gulped.

"Uh…. not really," she replied, and Mona kicked her. "Ouch! Mona!"

"I was never very good at science," Emily continued. "English was always more my thing. Do you get to wear a lab coat?"

"Yes," Paige replied quickly, hoping that would impress her. Emily smiled.

"I like lab coats," she replied softly, taking a sip of her drink. Paige wanted to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming.

She felt high by the time Hanna and Emily left. She didn't like to get her hopes up, but Emily had definitely been flirting with her. And she couldn't wait to see her tomorrow.

"Okay. She totally wanted to bang you," Mona declared when she and Paige were left alone at the bar.

"What?" Paige replied, trying to seem nonchalant.

"Oh, come on. Don't pretend like you don't know."

"I'm not getting my hopes up," she replied calmly. But inside she couldn't remember the last time she had been so excited.

A/N 2: I have a pretty good idea of where I want this to go, and I promise things will get more suspenseful. If this is something you guys would be interested in reading, I would definitely like to continue it. Thanks!