Paige McCullers walked hand-in-hand down the hallway with Dave Karofsky. When she had moved to Lima from Rosewood a few months ago, they connected almost instantly. Everyone could see the plain attraction they had to one another. They saw how easy it was for the two of them to be together - not how it was for Dave and Santana. This new girl, Paige, seemed good for him. They dated easily.

Except it was all a lie. And they both knew it.

They weren't dating because they were in love like everyone thought. They were dating because they both needed a shield from the same thing: themselves. They were both still so scared of what would happen if they came out that they were willing to put themselves in a loveless relationship to keep themselves from getting found out. And it worked.

Originally, they had just been friends. They had a lot in common. They were both extremely dedicated athletes - Dave to football and Paige to swimming. They both loved being adventurous and having a fun time. They weren't the best students, but they could get by. They were both deeply closeted and afraid of the repercussions of coming out. Although the last one they didn't find out until Dave hit on her one night while hanging out.

They were having a movie marathon (because Paige had no other friends and Dave actually liked hanging out with her) and they were on their fifth movie when the male turned to look at her. "You know, Paige, you're really pretty."

The girl smiled. "Thanks, Dave." She started to turn back to the movie, but saw that Dave was making a move to kiss her and pulled away. "W-what are you doing?" She stammered.

"I… I though you wanted me to." He fumbled. Paige looked at him wide-eyed. He turned back to the movie and the short haired girl cleared her throat.

"Um… I'm sorry, Dave, but I don't like you like that." She began slowly. He said nothing, but his mouth tightened. Paige took a deep breath before saying. "The thing is, is that I don't think I like guys like that. At all. What I mean is… I think I'm into girls. No. I - I know I'm into girls. But don't tell anyone, please." She pleaded.

It was silent for two full minutes. Paige held her breath. David was the first person she had told about her sexuality (other than Emily. But she didn't really count because Paige actually kind of showed her). Had she just lost a friend? Was Dave going to tell? What if he did? Could she survive?

Finally, she heard the boy let out a breath and whisper very quietly, "I like dudes. I know it's wrong and I'm trying to forget it, but I can't. I thought kissing you would make the feelings go away. I'm sorry, Paige."

She was shocked. Of all the people she suspected of being gay, Dave was at the bottom of the list. But she could see that he was telling the truth by just looking at his face. "Are you afraid of coming out, too?" She whisper asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. I am. I've seen how people treat the only out guy at school. And it's not good. Trust me. I used to be one of them. I… I can't put myself through that, Paige. And my parents… they'd be disappointed."

Paige nodded. "I know how you feel. My dad would freak I can't put my family through that."

They were silent for a few moments as their confessions sank in. Dave broke it by saying, "So… do you want to go out?" Paige gave him an incredulous look and he said quickly, "I mean, not really go out, but make the kids at school think we are and tell our parents and stuff. I think the term is 'beards.'"

Paige thought about it. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, fake dating Dave. She had almost dated Sean who she had nothing in common with in Rosewood out of desperation to be straight. At least she got along with Dave. "Alright. I'll 'date' you. This could work."

Nobody knew about their secret. And they never would. Nobody knew that when they kissed each other hello and goodbye that Paige was imagining Emily's lips and that Dave felt nothing at all. Nobody knew that when they walked down the hall holding hands, they were secretly wishing it was with someone else. No one saw the way Paige looked longingly at Brittany and Santana, wishing that she could be as brave as them and just come out. And nobody especially saw the way Dave checked out Sam Evans as he walked by.

And they never would. Dave and Paige had gotten so good at pretending, at ignoring their true feelings, they almost believed their lies. They almost believed that they were really a couple and in love. They almost believed that this would be enough to get them through their lives. They almost believed that the next kiss they shared would bring the spark they longed for. They almost believed they were attracted to members of the opposite sex.

But then, Paige would see how pretty Quinn looked in her new dress and Dave would (discreetly) stare at Sam's chest in the locker room and they'd be slapped in the face of cold, hard reality once again. They weren't normal. And they never would be, no matter how much they tried to hide it.

They both desperately wanted out of the "relationship" they had created together. But, of course, neither one ever did anything about it. Fear stopped them dead in their tracks. And, they didn't want to abandon the other one. Because, really, they only had each other that truly understood what they were going through. Kurt and Emily could pretend to understand, but only they knew.

They knew what it was like for the other. They knew they were scared and alone and felt trapped. They knew that the other longed to be normal, that they wanted to be the perfect child their parents thought they were. They wanted all of this to just go away and never come back. They knew that they dealt with wanting to come out so badly, but couldn't. Fear and hatred overtaking them. They even understood how each other's rational brains were telling them to just come out and that everything would be okay if they did. But the irrational part -the part that always won- always told them they were freaks and would be treated like freaks if they ever came out.

So, they kept faking it. They faked the butterflies around each other. They lied when people asked if they were happy together. They ignored the looks from Santana and Kurt, begging them to be themselves. But they couldn't. They had gotten so good at hiding who they were. It was natural. Comfortable. Why would the put themselves in the position of doing something new and terrifying, especially when they could get hurt, like Kurt when Azimo shoved him against the lockers? Or like Santana when people write mean things about her sexuality everywhere. It wasn't worth it to them, the pain of coming out. So they lied.

Because a really good lie was always better than the truth.

Fin.

I kind of have an obsession with Crossover Couples (and more Crossover Oneshots will probably be coming… just a warning). And at first I wasn't going to pair these two with anyone because I REALLY don't like either of their characters of their respective shows (the actor and actress are a different story. Mark Adler is amazing, as is Lindsey Shaw). But I thought of these two and it just… clicked for me.

Because, under all of my deep-seated hatred for these two, I DO feel for them. And I can see where they're coming from. I just wish that they would find the courage to be themselves. But I could TOTALLY see something like this happening if Paige came to Rosewood (and I KNOW this storyline had been done with Karofsky and Santana, but I honestly think he and Paige would get along better, for a lot of different reasons).

What did you guys think? Was it any good? Should I write more Crossovers? Let me know!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Pretty Little Liars. They belong to their respective creators/networks/owners. I just occasionally borrow the characters =3