Title: Apologies
Summary: Paige, Emily, Hanna, Aria and Spencer talk a few days after the midseason finale.
Word count: 2,232
"Are you sure about this?" Emily asked hesitantly as she walked towards Spencer's front door with Paige.
Despite her nerves Paige managed a soft laugh as Emily asked the question for the tenth time since they'd met up that morning. "I'm sure. I owe them an explanation."
"You don't owe them anything." Emily retorted angrily obviously not quite ready to forgive her friends for how they'd treated her girlfriend.
"Emily." Paige sighed as they came to a stop next to the front door. "I wasn't honest with them."
"You don't have to tell them everything." Emily pointed out with a frown.
"Maybe not but lying gave them good reason to suspect me." Paige said with a small smile. "I think my overprotectiveness probably came off as suspicious too."
Emily questioningly quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I had a conversation or two with Spencer." Paige answered reluctantly. She quickly reached out to ring the doorbell, not really wanting to prolong the conversation. She knew that if she told Emily what Spencer had said and what she'd taken it to mean Emily would be furious. "They didn't really go well."
"What did she say?" Emily asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Spencer can be brutal when she thinks someone wants to hurt us."
Paige was saved answering as the door was pulled open and Aria greeted them with a smile.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, opening the door further to let them in.
Emily gave Paige a look that said they'd continue the discussion later before she turned towards Aria, returning the smile. "Hey."
Paige followed Emily into the house, offering Aria a meek wave on the way in.
"Spencer and Hanna are in the living room." Aria called after them as she shut the door.
Emily led Paige towards the living room where they found Spencer and Hanna sitting on the couch. Hanna was curled into the corner with Spencer sitting next to her. From the indent in the cushion it was clear that Aria had been sitting next to Spencer while they awaited Paige and Emily's arrival.
"Hey." Emily didn't hesitate to walk over to the free armchair and plonk herself down.
"Hey." Hanna greeted meekly while Spencer merely shot Emily a nervous smile.
Paige wavered behind the couch, slightly out of her comfort zone. She'd never really hung out with Emily's friends or any group of girls in a social way really. Emily noticed her predicament and patted the small empty space next to her, beckoning Paige towards her. Paige looked sceptical but she trustingly walked over to where Emily was sitting and squeezed onto the chair next to her.
"How's Caleb?" Emily asked in concern as she shifted slightly to get comfortable in the cramped position. Eventually she ended up swinging her legs over Paige's knees.
"He's up and talking." Hanna answered quietly. "He's still weak. The Doctors think he'll need some kind of physiotherapy to deal with his injury."
"Hanna, I'm so s…"
"It's not your fault." Hanna interrupted before Emily could even get the words out. "I know that, Caleb knows that…you're the only one who doesn't." Emily still looked sceptical so Hanna warily turned to Paige. "Right Paige?"
Paige startled slightly, having not expected to be addressed so directly. "Of course."
"He's been asking after you." Hanna continued, looking back to Emily. "He's worried."
Emily's gut twisted with guilt and she looked away from Hanna. "I'll go and see him later."
"You could come with me." Hanna offered hopefully. "I'm going right after we finish up here."
Emily nodded silently but changed the subject. "Where's Aria?"
"I'm here." Aria herself spoke as she walked into the room. "Sorry about that. I had to call Ezra." She sank back into the seat she had been previously occupying and looked to Emily and Paige expectantly. "So…"
There was a tense silence before Paige finally spoke up. "I want to apologize…"
"What?" Emily exclaimed in disbelief. "Paige!"
"Emily." Paige shot Emily a pleading look.
Emily sighed, but motioned for Paige to carry on. She really didn't like where the conversation was going but it was obviously something Paige needed to say.
Paige turned back towards Spencer, Aria and Hanna. "I want to apologize for not being completely honest. If I had been maybe you wouldn't have suspected me."
"I would have." Spencer objected.
"And I can understand why you would have." Paige smiled sheepishly. "I can be a little intense sometimes."
Spencer scoffed. "You don't say."
"Spencer, I swear…"
"Emily, it's okay." Paige interjected, gently rubbing Emily's calf to soothe her.
"You didn't exactly look innocent." Spencer pointed out matter of factly. "You looked about ready to hit me with your hockey stick the last time we spoke."
"I was worried about Emily." Paige explained.
"The last time you spoke?" Emily echoed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"And when I told you that I know who you are, you flinched." Spencer continued, her gaze fixed firmly on Paige. "Why would you flinch if you were innocent?"
"I-I thought you were talking about something else." Paige answered meekly. "I didn't know about A back then."
"Spencer, stop it." Emily finally cut in, shooting her friend a glare. "You're supposed to be apologizing, not interrogating her."
Spencer softened slightly at the overwhelmed expression on Paige's face. "Sorry."
"What did you think she was talking about?" Hanna asked quietly from the corner of the couch.
Paige glanced in Hanna's direction, her confidence dissipating entirely. "I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of. I thought that's what Spencer was talking about."
"To Alison?" Aria asked curiously.
"No." Paige shook her head in response. "More like because of Alison."
Hanna's brow furrowed in confusion. "What did you do?"
Paige looked like she would rather run from the room than admit what she was about to but she forced herself to answer nevertheless. "I used to…"
"Hey."
A touch to her hand caused Paige to trail off and she looked to the right at Emily only to find that she wasn't even looking at her. Instead her gaze was fixed on her friends.
"That's personal." Emily told them in a tone that left no room for argument. "And she hardly knows any of you. It has nothing to do with A so just leave it alone."
Paige turned her hand over and gave Emily's a grateful squeeze.
"You don't have to tell us that." Hanna assured her with a small smile. "Not if you don't want to."
"Thanks Hanna." Paige said gratefully as she turned back to the trio on the couch. They were still watching her intently, though Spencer seemed to be close to scrutinising her. Paige shifted uncomfortably under the stare.
"Hanna's right." Spencer said eventually. "You don't have to tell us that if it's too hard to talk about. But I do need to know something."
"Okay."
"Does it have anything to do with you being violent?" Spencer asked outright.
Emily looked about ready to slap Spencer so Paige gave her hand another light squeeze before answering the question. "No."
"Okay." Spencer nodded her approval. "I'm sorry I suspected you."
Paige managed a small smile.
"Is that it?" Emily asked in disbelief. "You're sorry you suspected her? Spencer, you went after her like…like a Hastings!" she paused for a moment, glancing between her friends before she continued. "And for your information, if it wasn't for Paige you would probably be down another friend right now." Hanna flinched at the statement and Emily shot her an apologetic look. "Paige risked her life going to that cemetery. She did it to protect me. Not to mention everything that happened after that."
Paige looked both uncomfortable and touched by Emily's rebuking of Spencer's apology.
Spencer had the decency to look guilty. "I know. I really am sorry Paige. I shouldn't have gone after you like I did. I know now that you were only trying to protect Emily and I completely misread you. It won't happen again."
"It's okay." Paige said with a small smile. "I understand."
"I'm sorry too." Hanna added from the corner of the couch.
"Me three." Aria agreed. "Spencer's usually the paranoid one out of the three of us but after everything that's happened lately…"
Paige nodded though she got the impression that she only knew half of what they were talking about. "It's okay."
"And Paige…" Spencer spoke up, meeting Paige's eyes with a serious stare. "About A…"
"I can't tell anyone, I know." Paige finished for her. "Your secret is safe with me."
"I was going to say that you should be careful." Spencer said firmly "Very careful."
Paige nodded in understanding. She didn't miss the way Emily's grip on her hand tightened almost to the point of pain. "I can handle myself."
"No you can't." to Paige's surprise it was Hanna who spoke up in a low voice. "Don't ever think that."
"Okay." Paige said hoarsely. "I'll be careful."
"As much as I hate to admit it, you're a part of this now." Spencer spoke up seriously. "And if you're going to be part of this you have to remember the cardinal rule."
"What's that?" Paige asked hesitantly.
"No secrets." Hanna, Aria and Emily said in unison. The resigned tones of their voices sent a chill down Paige's spine but she nodded in understanding.
"Okay."
They fell into silence for a few minutes, none of them quite sure what to add to that. Finally Hanna stood up from the couch. "I have to get to the hospital. Are you coming Em?"
Emily looked hesitant. "I don't know. Are you sure he wants to see me?"
"Of course he does." Hanna answered with a frown. "Why wouldn't he want to see you?"
Emily stayed silent, well aware of what Hanna's response to 'I got him shot' would be.
"Emily?" Hanna asked in concern. "What's wrong?"
"I drove here." Emily pointed out instead of telling the truth. "How is Paige meant to get home?"
"She can hang out with us until you get back." Spencer offered quickly.
Emily cast Spencer a suspicious look before looking towards her girlfriend. Paige looked just as shocked as Emily felt, if not more. "Paige?"
"Go." Paige encouraged her with a small smile. "I'll be fine here."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." Paige answered with faux confidence.
"Okay." Emily reluctantly got up from the couch. "Spencer…"
"I'll be nice." Spencer said innocently.
"Aria." Emily glanced at Aria.
"I'll make sure she's nice." Aria said with a small smile.
Emily nodded, satisfied by their answers and turned back to Paige. Leaning down she pressed a light kiss to Paige's lips. "I won't be long."
"I'll miss you anyway." Paige whispered against Emily's lips.
Emily chuckled and gave Paige another quick kiss before pulling back. "If Spencer is rude to you don't be nice about it."
"Got it." Paige grinned.
"Hey." Spencer frowned.
Emily shot Spencer a look that said 'What do you expect' before she looked towards Hanna. "Ready?"
Hanna nodded, practically itching to leave. "Yeah, come on."
Paige watched as Hanna left the room and with a final glance in her direction Emily followed. Paige waited until she heard the front door closed behind them before she turned her attention back to Spencer and Aria. "So…"
"So here's the deal…" Spencer said as she leaned forward in full business mode. "This A thing isn't a joke. It's not some silly game and it's not something you can just laugh off as a prank."
"I kn…"
"I'm not finished." Spencer interrupted maintaining her intense stare. "I need to know that you realize how serious this is. Do you remember when Hanna was hit by a car?" she didn't give Paige time to answer before she continued. "That was A. What about when I was attacked at the church? That was A too. Toby ending up in the hospital with a broken arm? That was A. Or the time Emily was pumped full of HGH? Again, that was A."
"Wait, what?" Paige shook her head, struggling to keep up while Aria looked on with wide eyes. "A drugged Emily?"
"Twice if you count the flask." Spencer answered. "Not to mention the time she was locked inside a barn and almost poisoned with carbon monoxide. Oh and the time A tackled her in the greenhouse and threatened her with a knife."
Paige swallowed against the bile that rose in her throat at the thought of anyone hurting Emily.
"Spence, what are you doing?" Aria asked, utterly confused.
Spencer's gaze remained fixed on Paige. "I need to be sure that you know what you're getting yourself into and you're ready for it."
"I am." Paige spoke confidently despite the fear ebbing away at her. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect Emily."
"Good." Spencer said seriously. "But don't be reckless with that. Don't take unnecessary risks. If Emily loses someone else I honestly don't know how she'll cope. She's lost too much already."
"I understand." Paige said with a firm nod.
"Good." Spencer sat back and finally allowed a small smile to tug at her lips. "And if you hurt her, you won't have to worry about A because I'll kill you myself."
Aria frowned at the statement but she didn't say anything.
"I'd expect nothing less from you." Paige smiled back at her.
THE END