Chapter 7: Hanging out night

9 years ago

'She's gone'… those words were still in Paige's mind as she walked down stairs with her brain completely collapsed and a growing pain in her heart; it was funny how much her life changed so drastically in just a few minutes, she woke up feeling pretty good, with nothing to worry about except picking up her clothes to go to the park and then her sister entered her room with a really serious face.

Cassie appeared in Paige's room knowing that the news were going to hurt her sister too much; she actually hated to be the one doing this but her parents weren't at home as always and her brother was locked in his room probably upset about what happened too.

Paige was happily humming a song as she picked some clothes from her closet, today was actually a special day; it was Saturday, and maybe Saturdays weren't so special for the rest of the world but they were for Paige, it was her day with Emily; ever since they started to bond two years ago they started to hang out every single Saturday.

It started the day Cassie had a big party to go to and she couldn't take care of her little sister, and obviously Claire wasn't going to let Paige alone with her brother, since he was a bit irresponsible since he was just twelve at that moment so Emily turned out to be the perfect baby sitter.

And after that day every Saturday Emily went to the McCullers house to pick Paige up and they went to the park or to see a movie… Paige just loved it; but the other reason why she was so happy was because her birthday was really close; it was going to be in a few weeks and she was excited because Emily promised her that she had a surprise for her.

So when Cassie went to her room to tell her the news she knew that Paige was going to have a really bad time.

She stood in the middle of the room fidgeting nervously with the hem of her pajama shirt as she looked at her sister who was now trying to put a shirt. Cassie didn't really know how to tell her this, it was not so easy; half an hour go or so Pam called her, she picked up the phone with her usual cherish tone thinking that it was probably Emily instead of her mother but then she listened to Pam's broken voice and she started to feel worried; and her heart stopped when Pam told her that her daughter was gone.

That same morning, around eight; two hours before Pam called Cassie; she went to talk to Emily, they had a big argument the previous evening and they hadn't talked ever since, so Pam wanted to talk to her daughter before going to work to clear things, but for her surprise when she entered the room it was completely empty; Emily was gone and at first Pam thought that something had happened to her but then she found the note Emily left for her in the kitchen.

Two hours later she called Cassie; her intention was to talk to Nick McCullers or his wife but since they weren't at home she just told her older daughter.

Emily left around two in the morning when she was sure her mom was sleeping; she had been preparing this for over a month and now everything was ready; she grabbed her stuff and exited the house with no intention of coming back. The reason was she left had a name; and that name was Maya, the girl she met a while ago and the girl who had been her first girlfriend and the girl who taught her a lot of things about herself than she didn't even know.

The thing was that Maya seemed to be a nice girl but she also brought a lot of trouble; she was a nice student and with a promising future in the music world, but she also started having problems with drugs and when Pam found out about this she did everything that was in her hand to put distance between Emily and Maya.

This obviously didn't work since a few months later Emily ran away from Rosewood with Maya and she didn't saw her ever again.

But Cassie obviously wasn't going to tell this to her now almost year old sister; she couldn't tell her this, even though she was going to find out. It was no secret for Paige that Emily had a girlfriend; actually she was one of the first persons knowing that Emily was gay after Cassie and Pam.

Paige didn't really liked Maya, she was rude to her and tried to make Emily busy so she couldn't go and see her but she didn't hate her either, Emily tried to not talk too much about her in front of Paige and that was all.

Cassie sat down on Paige's bed and asked her to sit next to her; this was a hard moment and Paige started to figure out that something wasn't good when she saw her sister's face.

"Hey sis" Cassie said trying to make the moment last. Paige looked at her and smiled; but her smile disappeared when she saw the worry and the sadness.

"Hi" Paige said in a whisper as she wondered what had happened "What is it?" She asked. Cassie took a deep breath and thought that it was time to say it, she couldn't keep it any longer.

"Paige… I have to tell you something" She started. Paige looked at her with a curious look "And it's not something good"

"A-are mom and dad okay?" Paige asked; she remembered that day a few years ago when her dad had a small car accident when he was headed to a medicine seminar in Philly, it wasn't something really important since he only had a twisted wrist and some cuts on his head but Paige was always worried when he had to go out of the town.

"Yes little booger, they are fine… this is not about them" Cassie said.

"Why are you sad?" Paige asked, she started to grow impatient so Cassie placed her arm softly around her shoulders.

"Paige… this is about Emily" Cassie said; Paige's face turned really serious as she looked down trying to process all the information her sister was going to say "She went, this morning… she's gone"

Cassie swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked at her sister in concern; Paige seemed as if someone just kicked her in the stomach.

"Went" She whispered "Where?" Paige asked

"I don't know"

"Is she going to come back?" Paige asked. In her face was a small hint of something… maybe it was some kind of hope, but Cassie knew that it was only because her sister was too young to understand what happened, or at least to understand it fully.

The silence was never a good answer and when Paige saw that her sister struggled to find the words she started to panic. Cassie sighed deeply and looked at Paige not really knowing what to say, she herself didn't know the answer.

Paige stood up slowly and looked at Cassie with a look of hurt in her face; she stared at the floor for a second as if she was thinking about what to do.

"No" She whispered

"Paige" Cassie said as she stood up too trying to comfort her sister but Paige pulled back abruptly

"NO!" She yelled at her sister and then she started to run. Cassie felt her heart twist and sighed deeply as she thought about what to do. Her sister was a really sensitive person, first of all because she was just a kid and second because she had a really pure soul and she always saw the good stuff in people so when she got a disappointment she didn't know how to deal with it; that was pretty much what was happening with her mom and now with Emily.

Finally after a moment of hesitation she decided to run after her sister, she didn't want Paige to go so far mostly because she didn't want her to get hurt or something so she tried to catch her before she reached the front door, but it was too late. Fortunately she saw that Paige was headed to the Fields house so she decided to not follow her any further; she will wait for her at home.

The words Cassie just said were lingering on Paige's mind as if they were going to burn her brain; she couldn't be serious, Emily wasn't gone, she had to pick her up in half an hour, she couldn't go… Emily was going to come for her.

She ran out of the house and the first place she thought about going was Emily's house, she had to see it with her eyes; she had to make sure that Emily was still there; maybe she just went to buy something and now she was back at home.

She stood by the door and knocked it a few times until she got a response; she heard some steps approaching it and she waited until someone opened the door waiting that maybe that someone was Emily but she was surprised to see Pam.

Pam Fields had a really sad expression in her face; she had her eyes red and puffy probably from crying and her cheeks were wet with tears; she looked at Paige for a second trying to find the words to ask her what was she doing there.

"Paige…" She said. Paige had a really, really serious expression in her face, and she was pale as if she just saw a ghost or something.

"I'm looking for Emily" Paige said with a week voice. Pam swallowed the massive lump in her throat before talking and took Paige's tiny hand to get her into the house.

Paige looked around several times on their way to the living room trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of Emily; maybe she was at the kitchen, or in the bathroom…

Pam sat down in the couch and asked Paige to join her, she reminded silent for a moment as she thought, probably Cassie told Paige already about Emily, that was the reason why Paige was there but obviously the girl couldn't believe it, Pam couldn't believe it either.

"She's not here" Pam said, her voice cracked a bit and she chocked back a sob covering her mouth with her palm. Paige looked at her worriedly with watery eyes.

"But… she was going to come for me" Paige said in a soft whisper; she felt a tear falling from her eyes.

"I know sweetheart, but she left" Pam said "I'm sorry" She wrapped her arm carefully around Paige's shoulders pulling her closer

"Why did she left?" Paige asked in a sob

"I don't know" Pam answered "She didn't want to be here anymore" She said, she didn't know if Paige was ready to hear the whole story yet; she obviously would tell her in later years.

Paige's lip quivered and she sobbed loudly as more tears came to her eyes, the sight made Pam start to cry to and after a moment they found themselves crying in Pam's couch hugged to each other. Paige buried her face in Pam's chest as she sobbed and Pam rested her chin on Paige's head.

"I want her to be back" Paige whispered

"I know… me too"


Present day

Paige looked down at the drink between her hands, she would rather to have a beer or something stronger now but she had to drink a damn soda instead of alcohol; she could do the false ID thing but she didn't want to get caught, she was too young to be in the police files or just to be kicked out from the bar so instead she decided to order something 'legal' for her; she could drink beer in her brother's house later.

Aria was next to her talking over the phone with her dad, apparently she forgot to tell him where she was and now he was worried looking for her everywhere.

They were both currently sitting at the wooden counter of the Brew, they were going to go to a pub outside the town but it wasn't the weekend yet and they still have class the next day so they decided to go somewhere close and just have a nice dinner there.

"Okay" Aria said as she ended up the call

"Did you get a lecture from daddy?" Paige asked jokingly

"Very funny, he tried to do it but you know; he just ended up saying the typical 'don't you dare to be late' and that stuff" Aria said

"Great" Paige said "I don't think my mom cares what time I get home…" Paige said

"That's a point in your favor" Aria commented "My dad is really overprotective with me"

"That's why Mike arrives always at six in the morning and he doesn't get caught right?" Paige asked

"Yeah… life is unfair" Aria said; Paige smiled softly and then looked down once again, she had been thinking about some stuff since she had that awkward but kind of nice talk with Emily… Ms. Fields, a few hours before.

Mostly she had been thinking about some events of the past, she had been thinking about some memories she didn't know she had, she remembered a few things about Emily, how close they were… and then she remembered something she thought she had forgotten completely, the day Emily left; she tried to burry that memory deep in her soul trying to forget the pain and today it suddenly popped out without warning.

"Hey" Aria said when she noticed Paige's mood "Everything okay?" she asked. Paige sighed and looked up.

"Yeah, actually I am fine" She said

"You don't seem very fine…" Aria said

"It's just a slight head ache" Paige said "But really I'm okay"

"Do…do you want to go home?" Aria asked "We could always head to my house and order a pizza there"

"No, seriously, that won't be necessary, I want to stay here" Paige said

"Okay… but tell me if you feel worst" Aria asked

"I will"

"But seriously Paige… I've noticed that you are acting weird lately… and I know I already told you this but I am starting to get worried; you used to tell me everything" Aria said seriously. Paige looked at her and smiled softly, she would have to tell her sooner or later.

"I am just having a hard time with something" Paige said "But it's getting better, I promise I will tell you as soon as I can"

"Fine… but just try to have fun for one night" Aria said "I don't know what is troubling you but, I will try to help to keep you distracted" She said smiling

"Thanks"

A waiter came finally with their orders, Paige had ordered a big burger with fried chips and another soda, and Aria had ordered a massive vegan sandwich with a salad and a bottle of water.

"Enjoy ladies" The waiter said politely

"Thanks" Paige said to a mouthful of food since she already bite her food. Aria looked at her for a second; that burger was giant and it had bacon besides the normal burger and some other stuff she didn't want to know.

"I don't know how you can eat that" Aria said as she returned her attention to her healthy sandwich.

"It's super good" Paige said wiping the rest of sauce that was in the corner of her mouth.

"It's a bomb of calories" Aria commented

"Well Miss. Eat everything healthy" Paige said "I don't care, I love calories; calories are the best thing in the world"

"You only say that because you can eat everything you want without getting fat" Aria said "I have to be careful with the food" She said sighing "I hate it"

"You're fine" Paige said looking at her

"Yeah because I eat healthy, you suck… you're always eating a lot and you're like super fit"

"That's because of the swimming" Paige said "I train a lot"

"I just go to the gym on Saturdays" Aria said "You eat like a boy McCullers" she added as she saw Paige taking a big bite of her food.

"I learned it from my brother" Paige said as they both laughed.


Emily sighed deeply as she eyed her clothes; she was standing in front of her closet waring only her underwear as she tried to decide what to wear. She was only going to have a drink with Ezra and Spencer, it wasn't a big deal but she didn't want to go with the same clothes she was wearing to school in the mornings; her black skirts and buttoned shirt were fine but not for a hangout night; so she had to find something else.

The thing was that it had been a long time since she went out with friends so she didn't remember what she used to wear. The first thing she decided to try, was a dress, it was a black simple dress, not too fancy but not too informal; she tried it on and decided to not wearing it since it probably was too much, besides it let too much cleavage to the sight.

She took it off and tried on some black jeans and a green plaid shirt; she looked at her reflection in the mirror and it took a moment for her to decide that she didn't like it.

Finally after a few more outfits she decided to wear the same black jeans with a white buttoned blouse; she left a couple of buttons opened, revealing a bit of cleavage, she didn't feel like hiding her body anymore, it felt weird but at the same time she felt kind of 'sexy' doing it, she found herself smiling stupidly at the mirror and then she stood there looking to her reflection.

She didn't really know why she was giving so much importance to her clothes tonight; she wasn't going to meet anyone, and it wasn't her intention too, she was just going to drink something with two friends, nothing more.

For a moment she felt like crying; she didn't know why but she felt as if she was going to cry; fortunately she took a deep breath and that feeling passed quickly. Her phone rang for a moment and she saw that it was a missed call from Ezra, which meant that he was outside waiting for her.

She grabbed her purse and checked that she was wearing anything she needed; she also checked that she turned all the lights off and that she was wearing her keys and once she was sure she had everything she exited the apartment and rushed down stairs.

"Hi lovely lady" Ezra said, he was standing near his new car with a bright smile; it was a big black car with black windows and a sportive design, it was kind of cool actually.

"Wow" Emily said surprised

"You like it?" Ezra asked proudly

"Yeah" Emily said "How did you got to pay this? Our teacher's salary is good… but not so good" She commented

"Let's just say an early Christmas gift" Ezra said; Emily looked at him curiously but didn't say a word.

He opened the back door for Emily and invited her to go in; she sat on the back sit smiling at Ezra for being such a gentleman and then noticed that Spencer was already sat on the passenger seat.

"Hi Spencer" Emily said. Spencer turned around to face her for a moment and smiled softly at her

"Hey" She said

"Ready for the party?" Emily asked jokingly

"Not really…" Spencer said "I'd rather be at home with my books"

"Come on, it'll be fun"

"Yeah" Ezra said as he entered the car "It will be really fun, three friends hanging out… sharing nice moments… totally love it"

"If you say so" Spencer said.

"You're such a boring person Spencer" Ezra said laughing "You should have fun, live your life a little bit, meet more people, get drunk"

"Boring?" Spencer asked "Excuse me if I don't like to end up throwing up in a trash can in front of the police station"

"That only happened once" Ezra said embarrassed

"In front of a police station?" Emily asked

"Here you have Mister Funny Guy" Spencer said jokingly

"It only happened once" Ezra repeated

"Let's hope it doesn't happen again; now drive" Spencer said.

Ezra started the car finally without telling the girls where they were going; Spencer obviously figured it out when they were half way to the place, Emily in the other hand was just enjoying the ride too much so she didn't pay attention to the road.

Ezra decided to ride for a while before stopping to have the drinks and he drove around the center for fifteen minutes smiling proudly all the way.

And finally he decided to park the car, Spencer thanked this since she didn't really want to be in that car, she always preferred to walk or ride her motorbike, and Emily finally realized where they were.

"The Brew?" She asked with a smile as she exited the car. Spencer stood next to her with her arms crossed over her chest and looked at her with a raised eyebrow

"What did you expect? The Hilton?" She asked "We're in Rosewood"

"Yeah, we don't have much places to go" Ezra agreed

"I missed this place so much" Emily said still smiling as she eyed the place, she always liked it and now that it was close to where she lived she was planning on go there at least once a week.

"Let's go ladies" Ezra said offering his arms to Spencer and Emily; Emily obeyed quickly and wrapped her arm around Ezra's, Spencer at first glared at him with a killing glare but then accepted the offer and they walked into the place 'arm in arm'

"It's pretty full tonight" Spencer commented as they made their way inside; the Brew was a small place but a lot of people used to go there and today it was particularly crowded, there were people around the tables, standing next to the bathrooms, at the counter…

Ezra eyed the place quickly and found a table that had been left by the previous clients a few seconds ago; he released the girls arms and ran to the table to save it.

"It's our lucky night" He said with a bright smile; Emily laughed and sat on the chair as she looked around eyeing every detail of the place

"Shut up and order my drink" Spencer said jokingly as she sat next to Emily "I'm thirsty" then she placed her hand on her stomach "and hungry"

"Yeah me too…" Emily said; they both turned to look at Ezra who was quietly reading the small menu on the side of the table

"Someone said that was going to pay?" Spencer said, Emily laughed and nodded in agreement

"I remember that" She added.

"I see you two have a good memory" Ezra said placing the menu back on the table

"I'm a scientific, I have a privileged mind" Spencer said

"And I am a woman… I have the power of remembering the important things" Emily said. Ezra looked at them and finally accepted that he had to pay; so he asked the girls what they wanted to drink and eat and went to the counter to order it.

"I kind of feel bad for him now" Emily said to Spencer once they were alone in the table

"He deserves it for being so insistent about the car thing" Spencer said

"He sure has money" Emily said, she knew Ezra for a while now, but she never had the opportunity to meet his family or know much details about them.

"Oh yeah, definitely, his family is one of the richest families around" Spencer said

"Wow"

"His dad is an architect, just as my dad" Spencer started "They're friends since college so they worked on a lot of projects together; when they were younger they started a company together and well, that's how they made their fortune"

"So you're rich too" Emily said

"Correction, my family is rich, I am just a science teacher" Spencer said

"I bet you don't live in a two bedroom apartment" Emily said laughing

"Touché, I live in a house but I bought it with the money I made working for my dad when I was twenty"

"How's that you wanted to be a teacher?" Emily asked curiously, not that she wanted to complain, but Spencer didn't seem the kind of person that was a teacher

"I studied science and biology at college, actually my field was mostly orientated to work in the lab, you know making researches, testing products, I wanted to work for medicine but I don't know, I worked there for a while but my boss thought it would be better for me to work as a teacher because I didn't know how to work with people and…"

"Wait… you are working as a teacher because you didn't know how to work with people?" Emily asked

"Basically; plus the principal asked me to teach there after the previous science teacher got fired so… here I am" Spencer said.

Emily smiled at her, she was about to say something when finally Ezra arrived to the table holding three beers.

"Here" He said handing one to Emily and the other to Spencer "This is so we can start with a small drink" he said as he sat "The waiter will come with our food in a moment"

"Good, because I'm starving" Spencer said as she sipped her beer; Emily took a small sip and then realized that Spencer was still drinking, she didn't even stop to breathe

"Easy, Spence, you're going to choke" Ezra said

"Shut up" Spencer said "I am enjoying my drink"

"I thought you didn't like to drink" Ezra said

"I am doing an exception" Spencer commented

"For the exception" Emily said as she raised her beer; they all raised their beers and then drank a bit as they chatted quietly.


The night was going on really well; Emily couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun. After their first round of drinks Ezra ordered another and also they ate a lot of fried chips and sandwiches; Spencer turned out to be really bad at drinking and at the fourth beer she was already feeling the effects of the alcohol.

But this actually was pretty fun since she forgot all her seriousness and revealed an interesting fun personality Emily didn't know she had.

Finally it arrived a point of the night when Ezra had found a nice girl to flirt with and Spencer was just too drunk to keep with the gossip with Emily; actually she was starting to fall asleep. Emily looked at her as she rested her head on the table.

"This is why I don't drink" Spencer said with a week voice. Next to her a big glass of water that Emily ordered for her a few minutes ago.

"We should probably go" Emily said, it wasn't late; actually it was just around eleven but the state Spencer was in wasn't the best knowing that she had a class tomorrow.

"No" Spencer said "I'm having fun"

"You're drunk" Emily said

"Yep… look at him" Spencer said laughing as she pointed to Ezra, he was sat with a tall blonde girl talking about something really interesting

"At least someone's having fun" Emily said; she ran her gaze through the place, it was now less crowded than before, but there were still some people.

She saw a group of girls at the corner of the bar and thought about how it felt to flirt with someone… she didn't even remember how to approach a girl, or how to even flirt.

The girls were chatting as they laughed and Emily remembered those times when she was a teenager and she and Cassie used to go to the pub to flirt with people, those were nice times.

Now things had changed; she felt a bit old, and she felt as if she was out of the league, it was true that she sometimes missed to have someone by her side; to feel someone touch her… or kiss her… but then she just remembered that things weren't so easy. She was probably better alone.

Her gaze continued moving along the bar and looking stranger's faces and couples until it landed on a familiar figure. For a moment she thought it was a mistake; she had to look twice to check if it was true but it was; Paige was right there in the same place as her sitting at the wooden counter again with that tiny girl, Emily always had trouble to remember her name.

Emily could only see Paige's back but she knew it was her, it was obvious, she had that special auburn brown color hair and when she turned around to face her friend Emily could see her unique button nose and big eyes.

She spent way too much time looking at her until she finally decided that she had to look somewhere else before someone would notice; then she thought if it was appropriate for a student to see her teacher drinking at a bar in the middle of the night…

"I need to pee" Spencer said suddenly dragging Emily out of her thoughts. She turned to face her drunken friend and saw her struggling to stand up.

"Need any help?" Emily asked as she saw that Spencer wasn't able to stand on her feet. Spencer placed her hands on the chair to steady herself and then took a deep breath.

"I'm fine" She said as she started to walk to the bathroom "I'll be right back" She said

Emily stood up and followed Spencer from behind trying to make sure that she didn't fall to the floor or tripped with someone. Fortunately Spencer made it to the bathroom without incidents and Emily breathed relieved; she didn't feel like helping a drunken person to pee today. She turned around to go back to her table when she saw that tiny girl that was always with Paige walking past her in the bathroom's direction.

She stared at her for a second and then looked where Paige was supposed to be sat; and she was there, now sitting alone as she drank a soda and looked at her phone.

Emily smiled softly and decided to approach her; maybe they could start with a small talk at a bar, it was a neutral space after all and she really wanted to see if Paige was really okay with having a fresh start; Emily really wanted to have a friendship with her again.

"Hey" She said with a bright smile as she tapped on Paige's shoulder to catch her attention. Paige turned around startled at first and then her expression turned into surprise when she saw it was Emily.

"Em…Ms. Fields… Hi" Paige said politely after she almost spitted out part of her drink; the surprise of seeing Emily at the Brew was too much and she almost spitted out her soda on the girl's face.

Emily laughed at the action and grabbed a napkin from the table and handed it to Paige as she smiled sweetly at her.

"Here" She said; Paige took it and wiped the droplets that fell from her mouth as she blushed a bit.

"Thanks" She said embarrassed when she finished. Emily smiled at her again and they just reminded silent for a while looking at each other.

"How are you doing?" Emily asked suddenly; she slapped herself mentally at the question but she already asked it so she waited for her response. Paige placed her drink on the counter and turned to fully face Emily. For a second her eyes travelled to the soft skin in the teacher's neck and the small spot of cleavage that was revealed by the blouse. She blushed immediately when she noticed what she was doing and directed her gaze once again to Emily's eyes.

"Uh… I am fine" She said "Yeah just hanging out with a friend… and you?" She asked curiously.

"Same here" Emily said "It's been a long time since I've been here at the Brew" she added

"We used to come here a lot" Paige commented nonchalantly; Emily looked at her with a soft smile probably caused by the memory and Paige realized what she just said

"Yeah, I remember; you loved the strawberry smoothies they made on Saturdays" Emily said

"I remember" Paige said smiling sincerely "I still like them though" She added

"We could come here someday… you know like the old times and try one of those smoothies" Emily said shyly.

"As a part of the fresh start right?" Paige asked as she sipped her drink. Emily thought about it for a moment and then nodded

"Yeah, of course, I really meant it when I said that I am sorry and that I wanted to start again… we were really good friends" Emily said; she smiled at all the memories that crossed her mind in that second, she had tones of memories with Paige pretty much at every single corner in Rosewood.

"Yeah, I missed that" Paige said sadly; she looked down for a second.

"Me too" Emily said.

"Oh my God! Paige!" Aria's voice came from a spot behind Emily "Paige! Ms. Hastings, our science teacher is at throwing up at the bathroom!" she said as she laughed. Paige and Emily turned to see her "You have to see this, come!" Aria said.

Emily's face turned serious for a moment and then she just made a confusion expression; she understood that Aria was talking about Spencer…

Paige in the other hand tried to tell Aria discretely that Emily was standing there next to them, but Aria was still asking her to hurry up; until a few seconds later she noticed Emily.

"Oh… hi Ms. Fields" She said with a polite voice

"Where is Ms. Hastings now?" Emily asked trying to maintain her calm.

"She's in the bathroom, I don't think she's feeling well" Aria said

"Gosh…" Emily said.

She walked to the bathroom's direction without saying a word; this couldn't be good, it couldn't be good that a student could see her teacher drunk… what were they going to say tomorrow when they see Spencer?


The bathroom fortunately wasn't really far from where she was so she arrived there in a few seconds and entered the place looking around to see if she could find her friend.

One of the stalls was open and there was someone sitting on the floor with a labored breathing; Emily approached her and saw Spencer with her face resting on the toilet as she tried to catch her breath.

"Here you are" Emily said as she breathed relieved

"Hi" Spencer said smiling softly; she then turned to the toilet and vomited once again "I think I am done with alcohol" She added

"I think so" Emily said. The bathroom door opened and Paige and Aria entered the place with worried faces

"Is she okay?" Aria asked pointing to Spencer

"Miss. Montgomery" Spencer said "What are you doing here?" She asked

"She just needs to sleep" Emily said "I have to take her home"

"Do you need help?" Paige asked "I know where she lives"

"Uh… we're here with…"

"Mr. Fitz?" Aria asked "He's outside talking with some guys"

"Oh well" Emily said, this couldn't get any worst; two of her students had seen the science teacher drunk as hell and their English teacher drinking, flirting and talking to some guys… nice

"I have my brother's car here, we can sit her on the backseat, I don't mind if she vomits there… we can clean it later" Paige said. Emily thought about it for a second; Spencer was kind of wasted now and Ezra's car was new… she didn't know if it was a great idea to go home with a student but also it wasn't a good idea to place a drunken person in a new car.

"Okay" Emily said finally "Let's go"

"You guys take her home… I have to go now" Aria said

"Aren't you going to help?" Paige asked, she didn't know if she wanted to be left alone with Emily

"My dad said before midnight and there's only five minutes left for it so I have to go" Aria said apologetically

"Okay…" Paige said, Aria exited the bathroom in a rush and Emily and Paige looked at each other for a moment

"I guess we should help her stand" Emily said as she walked to Spencer

"Yes" Paige agreed.

"I'll grab this arm, take her by the other" Emily said as she placed Spencer's right arm around her shoulder.

Paige did the same with the other arm and then they helped her on her feet carefully trying not to move her too fast

"Are you okay?" Emily asked to Spencer. Spencer nodded softly

"Did she drink too much?" Paige asked

"Actually she didn't" Emily said

"I don't like alcohol" Spencer commented as she was dragged out of the bathroom

Emily and Paige carried Spencer carefully outside the Brew and walked to the car trying not to trip with something on the way; Spencer had a better color on her face now that she received some fresh air and she seemed to be more coherent.

"Let's place her in the back" Paige said as she opened the car.

Emily held Spencer while Paige opened the back door of the car and they both helped her lie on the back seat. One she was there lying comfortably Spencer closed her eyes and she seemed to be asleep.

"That was hard" Emily said as she took a deep breath

"Yeah"

"So, you said you know where she lives right?" Emily asked curiously

"Yes, yes I know" Paige said. She made a gesture to Emily asking her to get in the car and they both sat inside ready to go. Paige put her seat belt on and started the car while she checked periodically on Spencer who was now snoring.

"How do you know where she lives?" Emily asked, Paige looked at her for a second and then directed her gaze back to the street

"My mom is Spencer's parent's personal doctor" She said "I've known them from a few years now"

"Oh, okay, that's good because I have no idea where she lives" Emily said

"It's not far from here, don't worry" Paige said

Emily looked down at her feet not knowing what to say anymore; she was in a really weird situation right now; her fellow teacher was drunk in the back of one of their students car, and she still didn't know how to talk to Paige, they seemed to be doing better now but still it felt weird to be with her; it was weird not knowing what to say or what to do.

Paige in the other hand was trying not to think too much about what was happening; she was going to take Ms. Hastings to her house and then Emily to hers and then she was going to go home and sleep and forget what had happened.

Finally after a long while of silence where the only sound they could hear were Spencer's snores, Paige parked the car in a large drive way and stopped the engine with a sigh.

"It's here" She announced, Emily eyed Spencer who was now sprawled on the backseat and looked at Paige

"I don't know if it's a good idea to leave her alone…" She commented, Paige eyed the front of the house and pointed at one of the windows on the first floor

"I think she isn't going to be alone" She said

"Who's there?" Emily asked without thinking

"I don't know… I don't really know the people in Ms. Hastings life but it can be her sister" Paige commented

"Oh…" Emily said "In that case we can take her to the house now" Emily said

They exited the car in silence and dragged Spencer out of the back sit with a lot of effort; she was a bit better than before since she was able to walk and form words.

Emily rang the bell a few times and was received by Melissa; Spencer's sister who was staying with her for a few days, they were lucky to have her there; she helped Spencer into the house and then closed the door leaving Emily and Paige standing outside.

"Wow" Paige said "That… was weird"

"Yeah, I kind of understand Spencer's strange personality; she kind of takes after her sister" Emily commented as they started to walk back to the car

"It's a weird family, but they are good people" Paige said

"Thanks for helping us" Emily said as she stood next to the car door; she gave Paige a warm smile and then they entered the car.

"You're welcome" Paige said "I wanted to help" She started the engine and rode the car back to the street; Emily eyed the inside and saw a picture of Liam and Paige placed on the small mirror, then she realized something

"Wait… do you have permission?" She asked "I mean to drive, are you legally allowed to drive?" She asked, it was Liam's car and he was older enough but Paige only had eighteen and even if she was older enough too she didn't seem like she had the permission.

"Uh… I… don't" Paige said

"God, how many illegal things can I do for one night?" Emily asked. Paige looked at her and laughed a bit

"Illegal? We didn't do anything illegal" Paige said

"Okay let me see… you're driving without being allowed, which is kind of illegal, and you just helped me to get a drunken teacher to her house"

"That's not illegal" Paige complained

"No, but that's not normal either" Emily said

"Yeah… but it was fun though" Paige said laughing "I never saw Ms. Hastings so wasted… I mean it was just something fun to witness" She corrected.

"I kind of have to agree" Emily said "I never imagined that she was going to be out after seven beers" She said as she laughed.

They both laughed for a moment; it was like they just were having a fun time as the old times, and then their laughter died in their mouths leaving the car in silence again.

"I had a great time actually" Emily said "It's been a long time since I did something so unexpected"

"Yeah me too; it was nice" Paige said. She pulled over for a second and looked directly at Emily. They reminded silent for a moment; Emily looked at Paige curiously and took a moment to admire her natural beauty now bathed by the bright light of the moon, and she thought that Paige had really turned into a beautiful woman.

"Why did we stop?" Emily asked finally.

"I don't know where you live, so maybe you want to indicate me the way" Paige said

"Right" Emily said smiling shyly "Uh… I'm living at the center now" She said

"Thanks" Paige said as she started the engine again; Emily told her the name of the street and they didn't talk about anything else during the rest of the ride.

Even though there was a silence in the car; it wasn't an uncomfortable one, they were just sitting there maybe not knowing what to say but not feeling bad for it, which was good. They only broke that silence when Emily said that they were there.

Paige for some reason exited the car; it was something strange since she could perfectly say goodbye to Emily from her spot at the driver's seat but she just opened the door and followed Emily.

"Thank you for the ride" Emily said

"It was nothing" Paige said

"I mean it, thanks again for helping me before with Spencer" Emily said smiling "We had quite the adventure"

"Yeah, we had…"

"I think it will be better for her and for us to just forget what happened, I mean she's your teacher and has a reputation… you know" Emily said

"I wasn't planning on spreading some sort of bad rumor about her, don't worry" Paige said jokingly "I won't say a word"

"Okay, so I guess the episode is now forgotten" Emily said

"Yes, completely" Paige responded. They once again stayed silent; but this time awkwardly looking at each other in the eyes. Emily thought about what she was going to say next and Paige just stood there trying to keep her gaze on Emily's eyes and not in her cleavage… 'What the hell is wrong with me?!' She thought as she blinked a few times.

"Okay" Emily said finally, she smiled at Paige as she took her keys out of her pocket "I guess I have to go"

"Yeah, yeah I have to go too…" Paige said "H-have a good night"

"You too" Emily said.

Paige didn't wait for Emily to say something else; she turned around and started to walk to the car trying to seem calmed and nonchalant; she actually wanted to forget that night…

"Paige" Emily said suddenly. Paige turned around slowly and looked at Emily

"Yes?" she asked

"I think we should repeat this…" Emily said "But you know, without drunken people or alcohol, it would be fun"

"It would" Paige said "Maybe we could go to the Brew and try some of their special smoothies" She suggested. She didn't know if what they were saying was actually something they were going to do in a future; because there were times when Paige only invited someone knowing that they weren't going to meet after that but she actually wanted to see Emily again out of class…

"I would love that" Emily said smiling "I see you tomorrow"

Paige smiled back at her and nodded in agreement; Emily fidgeted with the keys between her hands and took a step back.

"See you tomorrow" Paige said as she saw Emily entering the building


Have a wonderful night/day :)