Author's Note: Paving the way for Paily! Just like everyone, I'm stoked for Season 3B to premiere. I will be recapping it with my girlfriend on our joint Tumblr (thebedpotatoes), so check that out! Thank you so much for the positive feedback, it's been awesomely encouraging. Next week... the Thanksgiving chapter :D
Rosewood Prep was buzzing with preparations for the Rosewood-Sheridan Halloween dance. People were debating and deciding what costumes they were going to wear. Even the teachers had given up on expecting students to focus during their classes. But not the AP English class.
"Look, if I can deliver a class while being beside myself with excitement at chaperoning the dance, I can expect you to return the favour by paying attention to me," reasoned Mr Fitz, as he passed copies of the new novel they were studying. "From this week until two weeks after Thanksgiving break, we will be focusing on The Great Gatsby. Now, who has read this novel before?"
Aria, Spencer and Paige raised their hands.
"Miss McCullers." Mr Fitz gestured at Paige. "What did you think?"
Paige shrugged. "I thought it was a very interesting novel. I didn't agonise too much over it though. I read it for fun," she said. She watched Spencer whirl around and glare at her.
Mr Fitz chuckled. "Fair enough, Miss McCullers," he said. "Miss Hastings, face the front and tell us what you thought of Gatsby."
"The novel or the character?"
"Surprise us."
Spencer leaned forward on her desk, tapping her fingertips together in thought. "I'll talk about the character. Gatsby represents the unbridled hope and longing and envy in us," she said. "In my opinion, Gatsby may be an annoying man - a slave to his own desires - but he's the most likeable character in the novel. The rest are," Spencer paused, "a rotten crowd."
"A rotten crowd! Everybody, take note of that reference," said Mr Fitz, grinning. "Thank you for your input, Miss Hastings. I'll take the reins now." He tapped the cover of the spare copy he was holding up. "The Great Gatsby is about the Jazz Age - a time when people didn't have to worry about money, so they partied all night long. It's a novel about excess and not worrying about the consequences of losing their inhibitions... something to think about for the Halloween party this Saturday night." He glanced at his watch. "Okay, two minutes until the bell. Read the first fifty pages of The Great Gatsby and get back to me about it tomorrow! Until then, don't worry yourself over your Halloween costumes!"
Aria raised her hand. "Mr Fitz, are you going to tell the class what your costume is?"
Choruses of "Yeah, Mr Fitz!" and "Tell us!" erupted from the students.
Mr Fitz waved his hands for silence. "You'll have to find me," he told them.
In the corridor of Thompson Hall, Hanna and Caleb talked and laughed amongst themselves on the way to her dorm room. "I love visitation hours," said Caleb. His hands slid from Hanna's shoulders to her waist.
Hanna stifled a gasp. "Caleb, you're getting handsy," she warned him gently.
Caleb took a step forward, so their bodies were almost touching, but not quite. "But I can't help it," he said in a low voice.
"Well, can we at least wait until we get my dorm room?"
"I'm a patient man," said Caleb, smiling. They walked down to Hanna's door. "Emily might be inside."
"I don't know," said Hanna. "We'll see." She unlocked the door.
Emily was standing inside the room, frowning at her phone screen. Books were scattered across her bed. "Hanna!" she said, putting her phone in her pocket. "I didn't know you were hanging out with Caleb here."
"Sorry Em," said Caleb. "Lucas's allergies played up so he's in bed. Not a good time for him."
"I bet," said Emily. She started gathering her books. "I'll go see if Spencer and Aria are in."
"It's okay, Em, you don't have to leave," said Hanna. "Are you okay? You don't look okay."
Emily inhaled slowly. "I'm fine, Han. We'll talk later, all right? You and Caleb can have the room."
"We're cool with you being here, we really are." Her voice was laced with concern. She shot Caleb a look and he resigned to nodding in agreement.
Emily stared at Caleb, unconvinced. "I have to finish this stuff for Biology, Hanna, and no offence, but studying here is like studying in town on a Saturday," she said.
Hanna looked bewildered. "But I do that all the time."
"Yeah, but I'm different," said Emily.
"Is this a gay thing?"
Emily rolled her eyes. "No, it's a brain thing." Books piled up in her arms, she walked out the open door. "Bye Hanna, bye Caleb. Have fun!"
Emily knocked on Spencer and Aria's door. "Hang on a sec," a throaty voice from the other side of the door said. The lock clicked, the door swung open, revealing a haggard-looking Spencer. "Hey Em," she said. "Physics is killing me."
"Is Aria in?" asked Emily.
"No, she's at the studios working on something," said Spencer.
"Then would you mind if I studied here? Hanna and Caleb are hanging out in my room, and, you know..."
"Say no more!" Spencer looked at the books in Emily's arms. "AP Biology?" Emily nodded. "I could use a break," said Spencer, shrugging. She stepped back to let Emily in.
Emily dumped her stuff on Aria's bed. The room smelt strongly of coffee, which was still hot, steaming out of Spencer's extra large travel mug. Emily nodded towards it. "Whoa, you sure you want to have that before dinner?" she asked.
"Please," Spencer waved it off. "Like that amount would ruin my appetite."
"You're crazy, Hastings."
Spencer smirked. "Don't you know it." She sat back on her bed and tackled the difficult Physics problem that she had been looking at for the last fifteen minutes. It just wasn't coming to her today. Sighing, she looked up and watched Emily half-heartedly thumb the pages of her textbook. "You okay, Em?"
Emily looked up. "Yeah," she said.
"Really?" said Spencer, eyebrow raised.
Emily tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Samara's just been a bit distant and I don't get why," she said.
"Hasn't she been busy with the Halloween dance? I heard that the decorations are very elaborate," said Spencer. "That probably takes up a lot of her time."
"I know that. But she has hardly replied to any of my texts or even called me back in the evening. She can't be that stressed out that she won't talk to me," said Emily.
Spencer nodded understandingly. "You and Samara are both busy people. That girl has even more extra-curricular activities than I do, and you've taken on a full workload of classes and swim training. Whatever it is, I'm sure she has a good reason for failing to get in touch with you lately," she told Emily. Smiling, she added, "Maybe she even has a surprise for you."
Emily managed a smile. "I suppose it's easy to assume the worst," she said.
"Yeah, but only because it makes the relief taste sweeter."
At dinner time, Emily excused herself from her friends to sit with Toby, who was eating by alone in the corner of the hall. "Have you made up your mind on whether you're going to the dance or not?" she asked him.
Toby took his time chewing and swallowing a forkful of baked potato before answering Emily. "I think I'd rather stay in my room and watch slasher films on my computer," he said.
"Suit yourself, Toby," said Emily. "But the dance is going to be fun."
"You and Samara will be all over each other the whole night and I don't exactly have anyone else to hang out with, so no."
Emily spotted Paige leaving the food line with a full tray. "Paige!" she called out, waving her over. She turned to Toby. "You mind if she sits here?"
"Absolutely not," he said. He watched Paige weave through the tables to reach them.
Paige sat down next to Emily. "Hey guys," she said brightly.
Emily pointed her fork at Toby. "Paige, Toby. Toby, Paige. Be friends." she declared.
"I think she's coercing us to socially interact," Paige told Toby conspiratorially.
Toby smirked. "I wouldn't put it past her. She's a sneaky one, that Emily Fields."
"And my work here is done," said Emily triumphantly. "You should take Paige to the dance, Toby."
"Whoa, whoa," said Paige, shaking her head wildly. "I did not sign up for that! No offense, Toby."
"None taken, Paige." I still refuse to go to the dance," said Toby. "No offense," he added.
"None taken. Dances are lame."
"Hear, hear!" Toby grinned.
"I don't like wearing dresses," said Paige.
"Neither do I," deadpanned Toby.
Emily sighed. "It's a Halloween party. You don't have to wear a dress if you don't want to. Wear a cool scary costume," she told Paige. "Dress up as Freddy Krueger or something."
"I'll think about it," said Paige. "And you've already got a date so why pressure me to go? And why pressure Toby? Are you dressing up as a pimp?" she joked.
"Or a polyamorous bisexual," said Toby, in an undertone.
"Because it'll be fun? Or do you - like Toby - hate fun?"
"I don't hate fun," protested Toby. "I'm just allergic to it"
Emily's phone beeped in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the screen. "Hey. Excited for the dance but won't be able to pick you up - very busy! Just meet me there instead?" Samara texted.
Emily replied: "I can do that. I'll go with Toby and Paige - can you hold 2 tickets for them please?"
Her girlfriend's reply was almost instantaneous. "Sure, see you then." Emily looked up from her phone. "Shame, suckers," she said. "I told Samara to hold tickets for both of you."
"What!" Toby and Paige exclaimed in unison.
"You two better pick out a costume soon," Emily told them. "You're escorting me to the dance, where I will be reunited with my fair lady."
Aria lightly shook her costume in front of Spencer. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"What is it supposed to be?"
"Daisy Buchanan. From The Great Gatsby!" She gestured at the shiny gold fabric on the skirt of the dress. "I've been working on it for weeks. I think it looks great on me."
"I suppose it's pretty flashy," said Spencer. She gave Aria a coy smile. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were wearing that to impress Fitz."
"What? What makes you say that? No way!" sputtered Aria. She blushed, laying the dress down gently on her bed. "Spence, he's a teacher. Gross!"
"But he's dreamy and oh-so-intellectual and can probably quote Gatsby off the top of his head."
Aria frowned at her giggling friend. "You sound like you're the one who has a crush on him."
"Why? Are you jealous?" teased Spencer.
"No," said Aria. She picked up the thickest pillow from her bed and threw it in Spencer's direction. It clipped Spencer's shoulder before landing lamely on her bed. Spencer laughed, and Aria rolled her eyes. "You've had far too much coffee."
Paige needed to make a phone call. Her dad emailed her two days ago, saying that he was going to be out of town with the water polo team for the weekend, so she used the phone in the lounge for a long distance call to her home in Storrs. Sure enough, her mom picked up the phone.
"Hey Mom, it's me."
"Paige!" her mom exclaimed, surprised. "Is something wrong?"
"Dad said he was going to be out of town so if I need something I should call you."
"If you needed anything you could have just used your phone to call me. It would have cost you less."
"These phones only do collect calls, so don't worry, you're still footing the bill." Paige snorted. "Mom, if I called your cellphone, you wouldn't answer it because you don't usually know where it is," she said.
Her mom paused. "You're right," she said. "I don't know where my phone is."
"I'm planning to go to the Halloween Dance on Saturday and I need some money to put a costume together," Paige told her mom.
"Honey, you know we can't afford a fancy costume."
"It doesn't have to be fancy. I'll work something out. Can you transfer some money into my cash card?"
"Sure, will fifty bucks do?"
Paige smiled. "Yeah, it should. There are a couple of thrift shops in town. I may be able to pick something up from there," she said. "The rest I can get from the Target."
"There's a Target in Rosewood? That's not very classy."
"Just outside of Rosewood. I can take the bus. I think I'll get Toby to come with me."
"Oh, who's Toby?" asked her mom. "Is he taking you to the dance? Is he a date?"
"He's just a friend, Mom," Paige insisted. "I'm going with him and Emily to the dance as a group of friends... you know."
"All right, Paige, whatever you say," her mom chimed.
Paige shifted her weight from one foot to another, eager for the conversation to end. "Okay Mom, I better go so we won't rack up the phone bill," she said.
"Okay, honey," said her mom. "I'll put the money through tonight."
"Thank you," said Paige. "Night, Mom."
"Good night, Paige," her mom replied. "Have fun shopping with Toby!" she added.
"Whatever," said Paige. "Find your phone!"
The night of the Halloween dance arrived. Paige and Toby walked on either side of Emily, her arms linked with one of theirs.
"Are you supposed to be someone from Star Wars?" Toby asked Emily. He was wearing baggy clothing, haphazardly ran mousse through his hair so it would stay unruly and allowed the girls to liberally powder his face. In the back pocket of his jeans was a rolled up newspaper. "I don't get it."
"I'm Katara, silly," said Emily, gesturing at her costume: a blue karate uniform with the sleeves cut off. She stared disbelievingly at the confused look on Paige's and Toby's faces. "From Avatar: The Last Airbender? Didn't you guys watch Nickelodeon as a little kid?"
"I don't think I had enough time to watch TV," said Toby.
"I liked being outdoors too much," said Paige. She had managed to put together a simple cowgirl outfit using a thrift store plaid shirt, jeans and boots she already owned, and a hat and hip holster she bought from the toy section of Target.
Emily shook her head. "Totally missed out," she said. "Anyway, Katara is a Waterbender. She has the ability to control water. It's really cool."
"How geeky, Fields," said Paige. "Did you and Samara coordinate?"
"No. She's dressing up as Emma Frost from The X-Men."
"Actually," said Toby, "Emma Frost was the leader of the Hellfire Club, so technically she's not a member of the X-Men. And wow, now that you've brought it up, Samara is a dead ringer for Emma Frost."
"I am surrounded by geeks!" cried Paige, as they entered the venue for the dance.
Samara spotted them instantly. "Damn, Queen Amidala!" she said to Emily.
"I'm Katara," said Emily. "From Avatar? No?"
"All I know from Avatar are those lizard-looking blue people," said Samara.
"Not that one! The Last Airbender! You know, the cartoon!"
"No clue," said Samara, shrugging. She showed herself off to Emily. "You like?"
Emily took the opportunity to eye Samara up and down. "Yeah, you look great," she said.
Samara grinned. "I thought so," she said. "Anyway, some more last minute work to be done. I'll see you later when everything is up and running. Love you!" she told Emily, before running off.
Paige watched Emily's face contort into a frown. "You okay, Em?" she asked.
Emily folded her arms over her chest. "Is she being serious? Not even a hug?"
The Halloween dance was in full swing. Spencer sipped her punch absentmindedly as she listened, for the hundredth time, Aria's gushing over Mr Fitz's shocker of a costume. The young teacher had dressed up in a full black outfit, save for a hat on his head that emitted a bright green light.
"It's just so clever of him, you know?" Aria was saying. "He managed to be a very conspicuous chaperone by dressing up as a literary metaphor. Metaphor, not character. That's just so awesome!"
"It would have been better if he was the eyes of Doctor TJ Eckleburg," said Spencer. She looked at the bottom of her glass. "I'm going to get more punch. You coming? Or would you rather stay with Romeo and Juliet?" She nodded towards Hanna and Caleb, dressed as the Phantom and Christine, cuddled close and whispering to each other.
"I think I'll be fine as long as you don't take too long." Aria uncrossed her legs, before crossing them again.
"Weakling," teased Spencer. "You just don't want to walk in those heels." She started walking to the other side of the floor to the long table of food. Weaving through the dance floor, she heard a few compliments.
"Cool costume, Spencer!"
"Wow, you make a great zombie, Spencer!"
Spencer sighed as she approached the punch bowl. She wasn't a zombie! She scooped more punch into her glass when she noticed Toby Cavanaugh sitting alone nearby. He was hunched over yesterday's copy of the newspaper, cutting it with what looked like small safety scissors. "Boo Radley?"
Toby looked up, grinning, before he realised that it was Spencer. Her outfit was a plain blouse, blue cardigan and subtly patterned skirt with tights and Mary Janes. Her head and face, however, was made up so it appeared charred. "Sylvia Plath," he said slowly. "You have a nice costume."
"Thanks!" Spencer grinned. "You're the first one to guess my costume correctly."
Toby chuckled bashfully. "You're the first one to guess mine correctly too."
Emily found it difficult to get a hold of Samara during the dance. The blonde was running around all over the place, brushing Emily off as she went. If it wasn't the food, it was the sound system. Emily noticed her paying more attention to a redhead dressed in an X-Men uniform. She tapped Toby on the shoulder. "Who's she supposed to be?" She pointed at the redhead.
Toby squinted. "Jean Grey, by my guess."
"Why are her and Samara dressed in coordinating costumes?"
"I wouldn't say coordinating. They're on different sides, right?"
"Still from the same fictional universe though," said Toby, shrugging.
"I'm gonna go get introduced," said Emily. She walked towards the two girls engaged in conversation. She put an arm around Samara's waist. "Hey, you busy?"
"Hi, Emily!" Samara was surprised. "No, I've managed to catch a break."
"That's good. Are you going to introduce me to your friend?"
Samara grasped her friend lightly on the wrist. "Emily, this is Quin, a friend from Sheridan. Quin, this is Emily," she said. "My girlfriend," she added quickly.
"Hi," said Emily. "Nice costume!"
"Thanks," said Quin.
Emily turned to Samara. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked.
"I can't leave Quin here," said Samara.
"Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine. I'm not sure Emma Frost and Jean Grey made a good team in the comic books anyway," said Emily. She took Samara by the arm and dragged her to a more private area. "Now, can we talk?"
Samara shot an apologetic look over her shoulder at Quin. She turned to face Emily. "What do you want to talk about?"
"I haven't heard from you in a long time. I don't remember the last time we hung out. We haven't had a proper phone call or text conversation or IMed in forever. What's going on, Samara? Are you flaking out on me?"
"I've been busy, Emily," said Samara. "I thought you understood."
"Yeah, of course I understand, I've been busy too," said Emily. "But I still had time to notice that we haven't been talking."
"What do you want from me?"
"I want to feel like I have a girlfriend again. And don't call me needy because we've been going out for almost a year. I have every right -"
Emily was abruptly cut off by Samara. "I cheated on you."
"Excuse me?"
"I cheated on you," Samara repeated.
Emily looked past Samara's shoulder to Quin, standing alone on the edge of the dance floor. "With her?" she asked.
Samara nodded.
"Why?"
"I don't feel that we have anything in common, while Quin and I have a connection. We share things," Samara told her. "I'm sorry. I'd understand why you'd want to break up with me."
Emily stared at the blonde in disgust. "I'm glad you do, because we're over."
Paige watched Emily leave the building in a hurry. She looked distraught during her conversation with Samara. Paige walked over to Toby. "Did you see Emily walk out?" she asked.
"Yeah." Toby nodded. "I'll handle it." He got up, dusted some tiny cut up bits of newspaper from his jeans and headed for the door. He found Emily sitting on the steps, sobbing quietly. "Em?"
Emily turned around. Her face was streaked with tears. "Toby, you're meant to be inside enjoying the dance," she reminded him. "And don't leave Paige behind."
Toby sat down next to her. "I think she can handle it for a couple of minutes. What's up? Did you and Samara have a fight?"
"We broke up," said Emily.
Toby wrapped an arm around Emily's shoulders and held the girl close to her. "Oh, Em, I'm sorry. What happened?" he asked gently.
"She cheated on me with Quin," spat Emily.
"Jean Grey?"
Emily nodded.
"Oh Em, that sucks."
"And I don't even know where to go for Thanksgiving break. My dad is still stationed, my mom is going to Hawaii to visit family. I told them I was planning on spending it with Samara's family in Ohio. I think I'll just stay at school."
"Oh, don't do that," said Toby. "Come to Chesapeake Bay with me. I'll spring for your train ticket."
"You sure?"
Toby nodded eagerly. "Sure! Otherwise it would just be me and Jenna, and that's no fun."
"And your parents won't mind?"
"I'm sure they'll love you," said Toby. "And we'll have our own time to hang out, as long as we're around for Thanksgiving itself. My dad cooks up a pretty mean turkey."
Emily considered it. It would be a good weekend away from Rosewood, and apparently the food was awful over Thanksgiving break anyway. Besides, she had never been to Chesapeake Bay before. "Okay. I'll go with you."
