Okay guys, I know you have all been waiting SUPER patiently for an update and I'm super excited to introduce the 9th chapter! From this point on, my story will be co-written by this amazing person who is super talented and just kinda awesome in general: Amanda, aka: homegrown-alpaca!

So if this chapter seems completely different to what I usually write, that would be the reasoning for it :) I hope you enjoy our combined efforts to offer you the best Paily we could possibly bring. Hopefully this set up will allow for more frequent updates too :D

Please review and tell me what you think of the new set up, I would love some input :)


The icy chill of the cold Pennsylvania mornings Emily usually felt when she woke up were not present; a strong warmth engulfed her from behind, heating up every tiny branch in her body, from the tip of her nose to the soles of her feet. She shrugged the sleep from her shoulders, smiling softly when she felt a soft breath on her left ear.

She had fallen asleep at Paige's house last night, the effort she had put into her Chemistry work and the movie they watched had completely exhausted her. She was only expecting to sleep for a few hours –take a short nap cuddled up with Paige. Once she checked her phone for the time and realized it was five thirty in the morning, she guessed they had been more tired than she thought.

Movement from behind her brought her attention back to her surroundings. She was at Paige's house; she had fallen asleep in Paige's room, in Paige's bed – with Paige. The smile breaking out across her face was the only way she could express her excitement; the thought of squealing or doing a little dance and waking up Paige by accident was upsetting; she wanted the feeling of being wrapped in Paige's arms to last for as long as it could.

She remained quiet for the next half hour, listening to the shallow breaths next to her ear, each one sending a shiver down her spine and increasing the strange swelling of her heart. It was unreal that she and Paige had really only known each other for this short period of time; Emily's heart felt like it had known Paige for its entire life.

The grip around her waist tightened and Emily felt soft lips press against her exposed left shoulder.

"Good morning," Paige whispered; the huskiness in her voice melting Emily's heart and starting a strange burning in the pit of her stomach.

"Good morning," she responded, rolling over so that she was now facing Paige, tucking a loose strand of auburn hair back behind her ear that, at some point during the night, fallen out of the tight ponytail she usually had her hair in.

"You slept over?" Paige was a little confused, but her smile was charming. She traced small, heart-shaped patterns on the small Emily's back above her shirt, the small gesture short-circuiting Emily's brain momentarily.

"I did. It wasn't planned, I swear." She kissed he tip of Paige's nose, chuckling when Paige scrunched it back.

"That tickles."

"Good. I was aiming for that." The girls lay snuggled up with each other, neither one wanting to leave their coma-like state of bliss, but eventually Paige sighed, stretching her back out and yawning heavily.

"We have school," she sounded sad.

"I know."

"I don't want to go to school."

"I know."

"I want to stay here all day… with you, of course." Paige's smirk was daring, challenging the girl in front of her to accept it; but Emily only rolled her eyes, jutting her bottom lip out after a long sigh.

"I know. Me too."

Paige sat up slowly, glancing over Emily's shoulder, descending back onto the bed next to her fellow swimmer with a mischievous grin. "You know," Paige started, trailing a finger up Emily's forearm, "we do have another five minutes before we actually have to start getting ready."

Emily quirked her eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"It is," and then Paige's soft lips were against her own, Paige pulling the comforter over their heads to shield them from the outside world.


On their way to school. Paige was holding Emily's hand between her own, gently placing it on her lap atop her bag and textbooks, drawing circles into the swimmer's tan palm with her thumb. The ride was spent in a comfortable silence, the radio playing soft, upbeat jazz music in the background, adding to the ever-increasing giddy mood Emily had woken up in.

They arrived at the school parking lot, Paige quickly letting go of Emily's hand as other students filed into view. She held back a sigh, wanting to still hold the other swimmer's hand, but knowing it may take some time before Paige was ready for that.

Emily put her car in park and cut off the engine, turning to face Paige, who had an almost angelic smile forming on her lips.

"See ya in chemistry?" her voice was smooth and her eyes teasing; Emily's heart began to race.

"S-see ya in chemistry," she spat out nervously, watching Paige exit the car, backpack on her shoulders and duffel bag in hand. Her eyes were glued to Paige's backside as she shuffled past a group of girls. Emily scolded herself for looking down there, but then realized Paige couldn't see her anyway, and continued on, watching her hips sway just ever so slightly. A smirk played across her lips as her thoughts traveled to not-so-innocent places; a knock on her window startled her, bringing her back to reality when she looked up into piercing blue eyes, which were practically screaming "I caught you."

Damn it, Hanna.


At lunch, Hanna had brought up going to Noel Kahn's party that Saturday, urging Emily to come with the three of them.

"Em, come on. You've been shacked up with horse girl these past few days." She took a huge bite of her salad before continuing. "I mean, what do you two even do that whole time?"

"I don't really think that's any of your business, Han," Aria inquires. Hanna huffs in annoyance, tossing Aria an irritated look before turning her attention back to Emily. "Do you guys even talk, or are you too busy with your tongue in other places?"

"Hanna!" Spencer shouts, throwing a grape at the blonde's forehead, the blush on Emily's cheeks rising at full-force.

"I told you, it's not like that." Emily picked at her own salad, not really eating it, just separating the different colored vegetables into groups. She wouldn't meet the expectant gazes of her three friends, doing everything she could to control the flushing of her cheeks. It was no use; Emily's face was a read as a tomato on a hot summer's day.

"Whatever you say; I saw you checking out horse girl's ass this morning in your car. If you don't want her to catch on, then you should probably stop letting your eyes wander to where the sun don't shine." Spencer and Aria tried to contain their snickers, but to no avail. Eventually, Emily looked up, still slightly horrified that Hanna had seen her looking at Paige like that this morning.

"I just… well, I wanted to hang out with Paige this weekend, is all."

"Why don't you ask Paige to come with us, Em?" Aria asked, taking a sip of water.

"I don't think parties are really her thing. I mean, she barely would talk to me when I first met her. I'm not so sure taking her to a rager at Noel Kahn's cabin is such a good idea."

"You'll never know until you ask, right?" Aria was right. Emily didn't know what Paige thought of the whole idea; she wanted to go herself, but she didn't want to push Paige into something that she wasn't ready for. The idea of Paige not enjoying herself was unsettling, but, then again, maybe the other swimmer would actually have a good time.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." A hint of a smile appeared on the swimmer's face. "I'll ask her after practice."


Surprisingly enough, Emily didn't have to do much convincing for Paige to agree to the party on Saturday.

"Really?" Emily asked, incredulous. She was drying her face with her towel in the locker room, standing next to Paige as the other girls bustled about on the cold, tile floor.

"Yeah, why not?" Paige gave her a charming smile. "Whenever we hang out, it's usually at my place. I wouldn't mind going somewhere you'd like for a change."

Emily was bouncing on her toes, engulfing Paige into a bone-crushing bear hug, the auburn haired girl laughing at her antics for the entire duration of their embrace


They could hear the music even before pulling into Noel's driveway. The street was littered with cars – some Emily recognized from the school parking lot, others she didn't She parked her Toyota as close to the woods as possible, trying her best to maneuver herself through all of the already hammered teenagers.

She turned off her car and twisted her body so she was facing Paige, the other girl staring at the open door of the cabin with a nervous look on her face.

"Hey," Emily placed her hand over top of Paige's gently, "if you've changed your mind, we can just go back to my place. We don't have to be here if you're not comfortable."

Paige swallowed. "No, Em, i-it's fine. I'll be okay. I just want you to have a good time." Her smile was small, but it filled Emily with enough courage to lean over and place a comforting kiss to her cheek.

"Just stay by my side tonight. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

The two walked side-by-side up to Noel's front porch, where their host for the evening was all too eager to greet them upon entering.

"Fields! New girl!" His smile was drunk, albeit charming, Emily guessing that other girls would be swooning over Noel Kahn grinning at them as such. Not she or Paige, though. Definitely not either one of them.

"Hi Noel," Emily greeted, Paige giving him a small wave.

"I'm so glad you guys could join us here at Casa de Kahn. What changed you mind?" He was asking Emily, but his eyes were glued to Paige the entire time. Emily watched her shift back and forth uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Wanted a change of scenery, I guess. C'mon, Paige," Emily wrapped her finger's around Paige's pale wrist and tugged her inside, leaving Noel by himself out on his wooden porch.

Emily searched the room, looking for any signs of Hanna's blonde hair or a sleeve of Spencer's blazer or the feathered earring of Aria. Her friends were nowhere in sight, even though they had promised Emily that they'd be there long before she and Paige arrived.

"Do you see any of the other girls anywhere," Emily leaned in close to Paige's ear, her grip around her wrist tightening as people shoved them to the side, making Paige cringe. She was silent, offering Emily only a shake of her head before her gaze dropped to the floor.

Emily knew this was a mistake. She could feel Paige's discomfort by just looking at her; it was etched all over her face.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea," Emily said.

Paige's head shot up, shaking back and for vehemently, "No, Em, I told you I wanted to come here – for you. You wanted to have a good time tonight, and I wanted to be here with you. It's… It's just going to take me a little bit to… get used to all these people."

"You're sure?"

"Are you?" Paige challenged. "You seem less sure than I do."

"I just… I want to protect you, is all. I know you don't do well in crowds."

"As long as I'm with you, I'll be okay." Paige flashed her that award-winning McCullers' charming smile. "Honest."

Emily's heart fluttered. "Okay. Do you want something to drink?"

Paige shook her head. "No thanks. You can go grab something, if you want. I'll just wait here."

"Okay." And with a small smile and squeeze on her wrist, Emily disappeared from Paige's sight, leaving the auburn haired girl alone in a room full of people that she didn't know.

She had lied to Emily. Paige didn't want to ruin Emily's night; the raven-haired girl had seen so optimistic when she had asked about the party after swim practice Tuesday afternoon. Truthfully, Paige was on the verge of an anxiety attack. Her heart was racing as the panic of being around strangers was beginning to settle in the pit of her stomach. This was a bad idea – a really bad idea. She needed to find Emily. She needed to go home.

"Hey," a hand landed roughly on her shoulder, causing Paige to jump out of her skin. "Whoa, jeeze, my bad. I didn't mean to scare you."

Her head whipped around so fast she thought it was going to snap off. It was Noel.

"Why are you standing here all by yourself? Where'd Emily go?"

"To get a drink," Paige mumbled.

"Oh, so you're not mute after all," Noel smirked. "Fields shouldn't have left you alone, though."

"Why is that?"

"Some of the guys here are… well… a little handsy, if you know what I mean."

Paige did know what he meant; the frantic beating of her panicked heart increased. She hugged her arms to her chest and took a step backwards from Noel, who had seemingly inched his way closer to her.

"Don't worry, though…" he trailed off, looking at her expectantly. It was then Paige realized she hadn't introduced herself to Noel yet, not that she really wanted to, anyway.

"Paige."

"…Paige! I'm here, and I won't let anything happen to you." His words were slurred as he backed Paige into a wall, placing his hands on her hips. The swimmer could smell the alcohol on his breath; it made her want to vomit.

"Don't touch me," she squeaked, but the blaring music filling both their ears had effectively deafened the football player. He hadn't heard a thing she said.

Noel pressed her body closer, Paige's own body surging into full on panic. She shoved his body away forcefully, but he recovered, clasping his hands down firmly: one on her hip and one on her shoulder. Noel was just beginning to dip his head down to kiss her, when his body was suddenly ripped away from her and thrown down to the floor.

"Get your hands off of her!" Emily yelled, stomping down forcefully on his gonads. Noel let out a strangled cry, rolling to his side, a grimace on his face.

"What the hell, Fields?!" he shouted, though there was a slight tremble in his voice.

"What the hell Fields?" Emily asked, completely taken aback. "What the hell Kahn! You just tried to force yourself onto someone, and you're asking me what the hell my problem is? You're disgusting!" Emily snarled, dumping her drink all over his face before grabbing Paige's hand forcefully and yanking the taller girl out of the door.

Paige was visibly shaking by the time Emily could see her properly outside. Her eyes welled with unshed tears and her bottom lip quivered viciously; Paige looked terrified, afraid for her life.

"Paige…" Emily reached out to touch her cheek, but the other girl jumped back, a choked sob escaping her throat. Emily's heart shattered. She knew coming to this party was a bad idea.

"Paige, it's okay – it's okay," but to the auburn haired girl, it wasn't. Her body was on panic-stricken overdrive; her heart raced wildly in her chest and she could stop her hands from trembling. All she wanted was to be in Emily's arms, to feel safe, but the thought of being around anyone right now terrified her to the point where she thought she was going to throw up.

She could see the terror on Emily's face and she wanted to open her mouth, reassure Emily that she just needed a few minutes, but she couldn't speak. Paige hugged her arms tighter over her chest as violent sobs rippled throughout her body. She wanted to get out of here – she wanted to leave.

"Do you want me to take you back to your house?" Emily asked on the verge of her own tears. She had never seen Paige so upset before – it was earth shattering.

Paige ferociously shook her head, tossing that idea out into the garbage. If she went home to her parents in this state, they would never let her hang out with Emily again, and that was something she could not handle.

"Well, do you want to come back to my house? My mother is out for the weekend." Paige considered the idea, eventually nodding slowly. Emily nodded as well, leading Paige back to her Corolla, managing to keep a safe three-feet distance between them, though all she wanted to do was take Paige into her arms and never let her go.


They arrived at Emily's house a half hour later; Paige still hadn't uttered a single word. The car ride was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Emily had exhausted her efforts trying to get Paige to open up, but the other girl remained dead silent for the duration of the trip.

Paige made a hasty retreat to Emily front door, pacing across the expanse of the porch until Emily had unlocked it. She raced inside and hysterically searched the house for something, darting in and out of rooms and sprinting up the stairs until she found Emily's bathroom, throwing the door open and locking herself inside. Emily ran up behind her and wiggled on the door knob, but it was no use – Paige had already shut her out.

"Paige," Emily knocked frantically, her head swimming from the loss of oxygen from the sudden obstacle course-like chase she had just engaged in with Paige. She could hear muffled sobs on the other side of the door, and her quick, soft knocks turned into incessant banging. "Paige!"

It was a few minutes later that Paige cracked open the bathroom door. She stared at Emily, her eyes wild and bloodshot; Emily stood frozen as she took in Paige's state of disarray.

The other girl looked absolutely broken: her cheeks were red and puffy with black smudges from her running mascara; her hair was in a tangled mess (mostly from raking her fingers through her auburn tresses); and her body was still trembling (not as badly as before, but it was still pretty bad).

They held eye contact for a full minute before Paige broke away to glance at Emily's half-opened bedroom door. Emily nodded, offering a hand that Paige, much to Emily's surprise and delight, took with one of her own, and lead the girl across the hall and onto the sand-colored carpet of her bedroom floor. She shut the door behind them and led Paige over to the window seat, a fraction of a smile dancing across the pale girls lips.

"Cool window seat," she said so quietly Emily had almost missed it. "I've always wanted one of these."

"Paige," Emily rested a warm hand on Paige's jean-clad thigh, feeling the muscles beneath her tense up under her touch. She pulled her hands away and shifted to the other side of the bench. "I'm so-" her sentence was cut short as she let herself cry for the first time tonight. "Paige, I'm so sorry."

Paige only nodded, her own cries resuming shortly after Emily's began. Emily was staring at the side of Paige's face, refusing to scoot any closer to the girl until given permission to do so. She had no idea how to fix this, to make Paige feel better. She had no idea what she was doing; that scared her even more.

"If I would have known… Noel… he… I'm sorry." Emily buried her face into her knees, which she had pulled tight against her chest. She felt movement from her left, and suddenly Paige was sitting next to her. She hadn't touched Emily yet, but she was sitting beside her, looking at Emily expectantly. Paige cocked her head to the side as she let the tears fall from her eyes. Emily reached out and cupped her face gently, happy when Paige didn't flinch or pull away from her touch. She wiped the tears from Paige's face with the pad of her thumb, the two sitting in silence until their tears had ceased to fall any more.

"I should have taken you with me to get a drink," Emily's voice was hoarse, stale from all of her crying. "I had a bad feeling about that party going into it. Something about just being there was giving me a bad vibe."

Paige laughed softly. It was one of the most beautiful sounds Emily had ever heard.

"What?"

"Bad vibe, Em?" Paige was speaking so quietly Emily had to strain her ears just to hear it. "I didn't realize we were in the 70s."

"Don't make fun of me," she smiled for the first time that night. She stood up, holding out her hands for Paige to take. When they were both standing, hand in hand, Emily walked them over to the bed, taking off her shoes and sliding under the covers, motioning for Paige to come and join her. The other girl was hesitant, but soon complied, kicking off her own shoes and slipping beside Emily on the large mattress. Emily rested their foreheads together and gazed into Paige's dopey brown eyes, where she was still able to make out small traces of fear. She reached out to stroke her cheek again, this time Paige melting into her touch, her eyes fluttering closed. Paige blindly reached for Emily's waist and tugged the tan skinned girl towards her, burying her face into Emily's neck.

"I'm sorry for freaking out," Paige whispered against Emily's shoulder, her hot breath sending shivers down Emily's spine.

"You should not be apologizing to me. I'm sorry, Paige. I'll never do anything like that to you ever again. And don't you worry; sober Noel will definitely be getting a piece of my mind on Monday morning. I promise."

Paige leaned back so she could look into Emily's chocolate brown eyes once more. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving me tonight. I don't know what I'd do without you, Em."

And with that, Paige scooted forward, capturing Emily lips in a gentle kiss, breaking apart after a few minutes only to bury her head back against the soft, warm skin at the base of Emily's neck.

"Go to sleep, Paige. It'll be better in the morning. I promise."