A/N: Sorry it's been ages since I've updated; I have a lot of fics on the go and needed to update some of my older ones before I got around to this. I'm also working on a couple of other Paily stories, the feedback you guys have left me has been awesome and I'm definitely planning on getting in to writing more PLL fics.
"Emily! You look fine! That shirt is fine!" Hanna rolled her eyes as she lay on her bed, watching the other girl frowning at herself in the mirror and pulling off the shirt she'd just put on. There was a mounting pile of clothes on Emily's bed, all of which had been tried on and discarded in the hour she had been getting ready.
"It makes me look…frumpy." Emily sighed as she pulled on another shirt over the white vest she was wearing. It was a sky blue colour and she seemed marginally happier with it on than the other one; if only for a few seconds.
"Emily, you could wear a pillowcase and still not look frumpy!" Hanna shook her head and got up to stop Emily from removing the shirt. She started buttoning it up for her, swatting Emily's hands away when she tried to stop her. "What are you and Paige even doing today?"
"I have no idea…just hanging out, I guess." Emily bit her lip nervously as she glanced at the clock. She was supposed to be meeting the other girl in twenty minutes.
"We're just taking things slow, you know? I mean we've tried this before and it didn't work-"
"You just have to meet each other in the middle." Hanna insisted, stopping Emily from talking herself out of going. "You were scared to be out once too Em, you just need to be patient; and Paige needs to see that the whole world isn't going to end if people find out about her. Now, stop freaking out over what to wear and go see your girl." She gave her a playful yet firm shove towards the door.
"Thanks Han." Emily smiled as she picked up her car keys from her bed and waved before disappearing out the door.
She made it to Paige's house on time and was glad to see she was waiting for her on the porch. The car had barely come to a stop when Paige hopped in. "Hey." She smiled bashfully up at the other girl. Her nose and cheeks were red from waiting out in the cold and her bangs were sticking out from under the black beanie she wore on her head. Emily felt butterflies wreaking havoc in her stomach as she greeted her back, resisting the overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss her; Given that both of her parents' cars were still in the drive, it probably wouldn't have gone down too well.
"So, where are we going?" Emily quizzed as she pulled away from the curb, trying to think about anything other than kissing Paige.
"Could you just pull over here a second?" Paige dodged the question, directing Emily to stop at the side of the road, a few blocks over from her house. She stopped the car and turned to ask why Paige had asked her to pull over. She was cut off before she could get a word out as Paige's lips found hers. She was taken aback for a moment, but before long her lips started moving in response. "Good morning." Paige grinned goofily as she pulled back.
"Morning." Emily breathed, her own grin matching the other girl's. "So…where are we going?"
"Ah, ah. Patience Fields, it's a surprise."
"That might be kind of hard seeing as I'm driving." Emily pointed out, starting the car with no idea where she was meant to be heading.
"I could drive?"
"Please, I've seen you on your bike McCullers. You're not driving my baby."
"Have it your way, Fields." Paige shrugged with a smirk. "We're going in to the city…but that's all you're getting out of me for now."
"Sounds like a challenge." Emily shot her a smirk of her own back.
The hour it took to drive in to the city passed quite quickly as they kept the radio on low and made small talk about school and swimming, purposely avoiding any serious conversations. Emily was quite happy to put those kinds of talks off for a while. Spencer was right, as usual, Emily didn't need the whole world to know about her and Paige from day one; they could take a little time and figure things out for themselves before involving other people. "Just keep on the I-95, down towards the river front." Paige directed her as they hit the city, having still not told Emily where they were going she directed her from the directions she had on her phone.
"Come on, where are we going? Tell me?" Emily pleaded, growing restless like an over excited toddler as she pulled in to a space in the parking lot Paige had led them to. She was practically bouncing in her seat as Paige shook her head and pocketed her phone.
"You'll see soon enough." She leant in for another kiss, but stopped short, still not used to being able to just kiss the other girl when she wanted. Emily shifted forward, bringing their lips together for her.
"Better be good McCullers."
"You'll love it…at least I think you will…oh god, what if you don't? I really should have checked to see if you even like-" Emily cut off Paige's ramblings with another kiss effectively silencing the other girl. Her cheeks were red and flustered from the minor freak out she'd just been in the middle of and Emily kept hold of her hand, stroking the back of it with her thumb to reassure her.
"I'm sure I'll love whatever you've got planned. I'm just glad to be spending today with you, away from Rosewood and…well everyone. We can just be ourselves."
"I like the sound of that. Come on, let's get going before it melts."
"Before what melts?"
Emily didn't have long to wait to find out what Paige was talking about as they left the parking lot, hand in hand, and headed down Columbus Boulevard. She spotted a large white sign welcoming her to 'Blue Cross River Ice Rink'. She squealed with excitement, her face lighting up as Paige confirmed that was where they were going. "I love skating. My dad used to bring me here all the time! Paige this is…it's perfect. Thank you." She kissed her cheek and the other girl was practically glowing. She'd got something right for once. "Can you skate?"
"Can I skate?" Paige scoffed as she paid the admission free for the two of them. "I'm a McCullers, I can do anything!"
"Except modesty?" Emily teased as she followed her over to the skate hire.
True to her word, Paige was a natural on the ice. It took Emily a little longer to find her feet on the ice, though Paige began to suspect she was just looking for an excuse to keep holding her hand; not that she minded in the slightest. The rink was open-air and perched on the river bank, though the snow wasn't as bad in the city it was still pretty cold and after a couple of hours on the ice they were both eager for a hot cup of coffee. They swapped their ice-skates for their sneakers and headed down the block to a little coffee house. They took a booth at the back once they had their coffee.
"You're pretty good on the ice McCullers; I'm surprised you don't play ice hockey." Emily teased, knowing the other girl played more sports than half the jocks in their school.
"I did. I played in Junior High. Field hockey too, and lacrosse… and I did some track for a while-"
"Do you ever sit still?" Emily laughed. She herself liked a lot of different sports, but she hadn't played on anywhere near as many teams as Paige had through school. Emily always felt the most comfortable in the water and was happy just to be on the swim team. "I'm playing tennis at the club with Spencer and Aria next Saturday, you should join us."
"I would; but me, Hastings and sporting competitions tend to end badly." Paige tried to laugh off the animosity between her and Spencer, but Emily knew their dislike of each other ran deep and she wanted to try and mend some bridges. Spencer was one of her best friends after all and Paige was…well she wasn't sure what Paige was to her yet, but she wanted her to be able to spend time with her friends; preferably without her and Spencer trying to kill each other.
"Come on! It'll be fun!"
"Of course, because you can't have manslaughter without laughter." Paige quipped, earning a playful scowl from the other girl. "Fine, if it will make you happy, I'll play nice with Hastings."
"It will make me very happy." Emily beamed, happy to be getting her own way. She leant over to kiss her, but noticed Paige had suddenly grown pale and she shot out of her seat so fast they almost butted heads.
"I need another shot of espresso in this." She picked up her coffee and made a hasty retreat to the counter with it. Emily was left staring after her, wondering what had just happened.
She noticed a girl nod towards her from another table and vaguely recognised her as a swimmer from a rival school. So that was what had spooked Paige. When the other girl came back with her coffee she sat opposite Emily, tucked in the corner of the booth and glancing nervously at the girls at the other table. She almost jumped out of her skin as Emily's hand covered hers. "I think you've had enough caffeine. Let's go." As they stood up Paige shoved her hands in to the pockets of her jeans, stopping Emily from reaching for her hand.
"I'm sorry." Paige sighed as she climbed in to the car and slumped in her seat. "Today was supposed to be about us and I blew it-"
"No, you didn't." Emily took her hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know how scary it can be to think about people finding out. We can take baby steps, ok? Starting with you coming out with me and my friends on Saturday."
"Thank you." Paige leant over and gave Emily the kiss she had been going for in the coffee shop. They were interrupted by Paige's phone and she mumbled another apology before answering it. "Hey mom, uh…I'm just in the city. I'm with Emily. Uh, no we haven't, but- Ok, ok mom. I'll be back soon."
"Everything ok?" Emily quizzed. Paige had turned a funny colour again as she pocketed her phone.
"Uh, yeah…Mom just invited you over for dinner, at my house…with my parents."
"Well I didn't think we'd be having it Aria's with Spencer's parents." Emily laughed. "Do you want me to come? I can make an excuse if you don't want me to?"
"No, I want you there. I really do… Just not with my parents."
"It's one dinner; I'm sure we'll survive."
Emily wasn't quite as sure as she pulled up outside Paige's house. Though Nick had been nice enough to her over the weekend, she was still a little intimidated by the older McCullers. She thought back to the first time she'd invited Maya over for a dinner and suddenly realised how terrified she must have been; though that had been a little different seeing as Emily had introduced Maya as her girlfriend. At least Emily would have the anonymity of being regarded as just another one of Paige's friends. Though how long they could keep that up for was anyone's guess. She was willing to try, there was too much between her and Paige to just let it slip away again, but she couldn't just be her 'friend' forever. Sooner or later Paige was going to have to step up.
"It's not too late to make a run for it; if you put your foot down we could be at the Mexican border before dawn." Paige teased, trying to hide her apprehension with humour.
"Great, we could stop off in Texas and have dinner with my family instead." Emily laughed at the expression that crossed the other girl's face as she thought about dinner with the Fields'.
"Wow…if we ever have dinner with both of our families then my dad and your mom definitely need to be at separate ends of the table. Maybe evenseparate tables…what?" She frowned as Emily bit her lip, barely supressing a grin. The other girl shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of what Paige had just said.
"It's just… you're talking about family dinners…and us. It kind of feels like a big step forward."
"Come on Ems, I'm not suggesting we actually have dinner with both of our parents any time soon." Paige shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't want to pull Emily down, not when she looked so happy, but the reality was she was still far from ready to come out to her parents. Emily wasn't discouraged though, and her smile never wavered as she squeezed Paige's hand; mindful that if she did anything else they might be seen by her parents.
"No, but you're thinking about it…about us and the future. That's enough." It was certainly a big change from how things had ended between them last time. "A few months ago you couldn't even meet a rep from the Pride group-"
"Hmm, how is Samara?" Paige regretted the question the second it left her lips. It was childish and petty and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin anything between her and Emily, but having the other girl choose Samara over her had hurt and in all honesty it still stung. "Fuck, Ems I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"It's fine." The other girl cut her off, though her tone was a little sharp and she'd lost her smile. They hadn't really spoken about Samara. She was on their unspoken list of topics to avoid, along with a lot of other things. Eventually they would have to talk things through if they were going to stand any chance of having a real relationship, but they were still supposed to be taking baby steps so any serious discussions could wait a while. "I'm sorry…Samara was the easy option. I should have been more understanding with you. I mean, I've been where you are now and I should have been more patient with you; but I'm trying now, we both are." She managed a small smile and was glad to see Paige return it. The other girl even risked a quick kiss on the lips. After pulling away she let out a heavy sigh and looked Emily square in the eye as she pushed her door open.
"Ready for this?"
"So, Emily, how are your times this season? You performance as anchor at that last meet was quite impressive." Nick McCullers sat at the head of the table, quizzing his daughter's team mate as she had a mouth full of pasta. She swallowed hastily. Paige was sitting opposite her and looked cautiously between Emily and her father. Nick McCullers was rarely known for making small talk with teenagers.
"They're good thanks Mr McCullers. I've shaved a couple of seconds off my personal best this season."
"That's great news Emily, keep up the good work. You should come over and train with Paige in our pool; in the summer months of course, we don't want you turning in to a popsicle again." He chuckled and Paige felt like she'd suddenly fallen in to the Twilight zone. Her dad never made any effort with her friends; not that she brought many of her friends home with her.
When her mother was clearing the table Paige gave her a hand with the dishes and followed her in to the kitchen. "So, what's up with Dad? He's being really nice to Emily."
"Your father likes Emily, dear. She's a sweet girl and a strong swimmer." Her mother insisted as she started plating up the cheesecake she'd made for dessert.
"He made a scene over her in the middle of the school! Twice!" Paige wasn't buying her dad's nice guy act. She knew that him being nice to Emily had to be part of some endgame he was playing; it had to be beneficial to him in some way she couldn't quite figure out.
"Your father is a little highly strung and he got upset when he thought Emily's sexuality was giving her some kind of unfair advantage over you. It wasn't anything personal with Emily though. We talked about it a little last night and he agrees Emily's a good influence on you. It's nice to see you spending time with friends… She's welcome here anytime."
"Oh… thanks mom." Paige was a little taken aback, and she felt like there was something else that the older woman wasn't saying, but she let it go and helped carry the dessert in to the dining room. Emily shot her a grateful smile as she put a plate down in front of her dad, stopping his interrogation of Emily's training techniques.
Emily hadn't even picked up her dessert spoon when her phone started ringing. Apologising to the others she excused herself out in to the hall to answer it. When she returned to the dining room a few minutes later she looked less than happy. "I'm really sorry but I'm going to have to go. The tenants in our house set off the alarm again. Thank you for dinner Mrs McCullers, it was lovely."
"Not a problem Emily, it was lovely having you over. I'll wrap this for you and you can have it later." Paige's mother picked up her plate and took it off in to the kitchen to wrap it up for her. She came back with the wrapped cheesecake and two extra blueberry muffins. "Take care on the road and let Paige know when you get home." Having someone else mothering her made Emily miss her own mother. She had called Pam the night before to reassure her she was fine and to take care of the bill for towing her car, but they hadn't had much time to talk.
After saying goodbye to the McCullers she made her way out to her car, followed by Paige. The other girl cast a wary glance over her shoulder, to check her parents weren't watching them out of the window. She still felt apprehensive about being around Emily in front of her parents; it felt like she was trying to be two different people at the same time. "Thank you for today. It was great." Emily beamed as she climbed in to her car and Paige leant through the open window with a lopsided smile.
"Even dinner with my parents?"
"Even dinner…so I'll see you at school tomorrow? Or I could pick you up, if you wanted?"
"I've got an early practice with my trainer tomorrow, but I can grab us a coffee before school starts?"
"Sounds great. I'll call you when I get home-" Paige looked over her shoulder again, only half listening to Emily, before turning back around and giving the other girl a quick kiss.
"Goodnight Em."
"A good morning kiss and a goodnight kiss? I could get used to that." Emily teased. She hadn't expected the other girl to kiss her right in front of her house. It seemed Hanna had been right; baby steps were definitely the way forward.