Author's Note-Well I felt really bad that in the last month I've only updated twice so I decided to post another chapter. I probably will have more time to write seeing as I dropped one of my classes so I'll try to update weekly instead of bi-weekly until my next quarter starts.

Guest- I try to make the chapters as long as I can but I can't guarantee that they will all be longer. They are usually around 3000 words though. This one is a little longer at around 5000. But I'll try with the length though =)

Del- Girls like Paige are hard to find but they are out there though, just keep looking. I had to give a different side to Emily, and Jealous/sad Emily is in this Chapter too so keep an eye out for that. you have nothing to worry about with Spencer. She was just avoiding eye contact with Emily for fear of telling Emily about the party. So no need to worry.=) Til next update

Cici- Well you find out who they are in this chapter but it will go more in depth in chapter 11 like I said before. Yes Maya is lurking in the shadows and will be mention in this chapter. Welllll I have some more drama in store in this chapter but sexy time will happen, promise. You also find out Emily's deal with Maya. Paige in a suit is always sexy I do agree and thanks I just think the songs are really fitting towards their feelings. I love music and it really helps with feelings. Can't wait to hear your next update!

Marmoreck- Thank you! I'm glad you like it that much! And Maya is not dead in this story, you will find out about Maya in this chapter. I don't want to hurt Paige or Emily but I can't promise anything right now. They are both sweet/lovely and I'll try not to hurt them. =)

Nae10- I'm happy that I put a smile on your face and that i can write something that gives you butterflies. I'm glad you liked the Chapter and you will find out about Maya in this Chapter. Hope I don't disappoint and put another smile on your face ;). Til next review.

MindFullofStories- Lil, but compliments are so necessary. You do have good ideas, when(cuz I know you will eventually) you do write a story, I'm sure it will be great and I will totally read it and leave reviews.=) I wanted to keep you guys on your feet that's why that cloud of uncertainly was there. you are not the only one that noticed that about Spencer but I assure you it was just so that she didn't tell Emily about the party. No choking! I can't have you choke. But I'm super happy i can give you butterflies with my Paily scenes. My name is Crystal, sorry for forgetting my manners =) Until next review.

mysunshine- I've totally done that with some stories. I'm super happy that you can read it in one sitting. And wow really where are you from? I've totally stayed up late before cuz i couldn't wait so i understand lol. Thank you for loving the story. The playlist is called "Em's" That's mention in the chapter. Hope to hear from you again. =)

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/favoriting/reviewing. I love reviews and I really listen to you guys(the readers) and try to incorporate your reviews into the stories. Hope you all enjoy Chapter 10 I know I had fun writing it.

Chapter 10: Surprise, Surprise

Paige's POV

I wish I didn't have to sneak around with Spencer and hide things from Emily, but I am a terrible liar and I would have given away her surprise party for sure. This whole week, I avoided Emily because I knew I would tell her; especially after Sunday when Emily started asking questions about what was going on between Spencer and I. Fortunately, Hanna was a far better liar than me and Spencer, and could be around Emily without worrying about spilling the secret. That we were thankful for, because at least one of us could spend time with Emily. I know Emily would have been suspicious if all three of us were missing. I came up with the idea of having a surprise party for Emily about a month ago when it hit me during one of my morning runs with Spencer. We immediately got to work on the location, decorations, and invitations.

I wake up the day of her birthday and I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders; I just have to go a few more hours of not seeing Em. God I miss her smile and I miss kissing her, this week has been so hard not seeing her. I really hope she likes all of this, because I want all the time, I put into this, to be worth it for all the days I avoided her. I throw a pillow at Spencer and she jumps up in her bed. "Really McCullers" She says in a very raspy voice before putting the pillow over her head. "Five more minutes please." Before I can reply to Spencer I hear a knock on our door and I jump off my bed and head over to the door, revealing a very cheerful Hanna with coffee.

"You know Hastings, it's sad when Hanna is up before you are." I hug Hanna; we both glance over at Spencer and give each other an evil look. I know we are thinking the same thing when she puts the coffee down and nods her head. We run towards her bed and jump on Spencer, there was a price to pay for her doing this to me every morning. She jumps off of her bed and storms off to the bathroom while glaring at us both. Hanna and I can't stop laughing as we walk back over to where she put the coffees. "She's usually a morning person…when she has her coffee IV in her arm. Thanks for the coffee by the way." I walk over to Spencer's desk and pull out some cookies I know she always has "hidden."

"Paige. Look who you're talking to. I know she needs coffee to function, why do you think I put extra shots in her coffee?" She says taking a sip of her latte. I have to say that even if Hanna isn't a morning person, she's been really good about meeting up with us in the morning. And she looks like a just came from a runway even at eight in the morning. "You're welcome though Paigey. It's the least I can do considering what you're doing for me."

"What do you mean?" I arch my eyebrow and sit on the floor with the cookies and my coffee and Hanna joins me.

"You're making my friend super happy, Paige. I can't even begin to thank you." The blonde smiles at me and I try to fight back tears in my eyes. I really loved her and Spencer for really making being with Emily easier. I have to admit that I did hesitate after our first date; I knew I wanted to be with Emily but I was scared. Spencer and Hanna really helped defending me when Emily and I first started showing signs of being together. Guys would make remarks towards Emily and I, and girls would look at us with disgusted faces. I didn't know how to handle it at first. I mean I had seen the discrimination against my friend Anna, but I had never experienced it firsthand. So having Hanna and Spencer to support me made coming out at school easier, now the stares and whispers don't bother me because I know that I get to be with Emily, and that's something I would never give up.

"You know, I'm glad you slipped Em's number to me that day. It gave me hope, even though I hadn't called her, it still gave me hope." The only reason I'm with Emily right now is because of the girl sitting in front of me and to her I owe my life to.

"You didn't need hope, because you had her the minute she saw you Paige, I just did some pushing." She laughs and pops a cookie in her mouth as I look at the time and get up. I guess Hanna read my mind because she grabs her purse and digs through it until she finds her room key. "She was out cold when I left earlier and I turned her alarm off. She won't wake up anytime soon, she was up late. Just be quiet though, sometimes she a light sleeper." She tosses me her keys with a smile and makes her way to my bed.

"Got it. When I come back we can leave, it shouldn't take me that long." I grab my hoodie and walk out the door thanking Hanna once again for all her help.

I walk down to a flower shop a block away from the school, and pick up a bouquet of pink lilies and two 'Happy Birthday' balloons. I walk back to the school and carefully make my way back to the dorms and up to Emily's room. I open the door and I smile to myself as I see Emily sleeping on her bed as I walk over to her desk to set down the balloons and flowers. She is so beautiful even when she's sleeping, it was so nice to see her, and she looked so vulnerable. I kneel down next to Emily's bed and brush the back of my hand against her cheek, and my smile grows as I see a the corners of her beautiful lips turn up. I place a gentle kiss on her cheek, and as I get up to leave I stop in my tracks; I see her wearing my grey bomber jacket. The jacket I was wearing on our first date, the one I gave to her when I could feel her shuddering next to me because of the wind. I feel a peg of guilt at the sight of her wearing my jacket; she must have really missed me, that's why she's wearing my jacket to sleep. Hopefully she will understand after tonight why I did this. I walk towards her flowers and put a card in front of it, I look back at my sweet Emily one last time before leaving the room to go get started with her setting up her party.

I stand in the lobby of the movie theater decorating the counters with streamers as my music is blasting through the lobby. Spencer really helped me out with paying for all this; I know that a movie theater lobby is an unconventional place to have a party. But when Spencer asked where that party should be, this was the first place that came to mind. It was the place where Emily and I had our first date and also the place where she spent a lot of time our friends, and hopefully it came across as thoughtful to Emily. We finish setting everything up around 3, and we head over to Spencer's sisters apartment to shower and change. Spencer and I are doing our hair while Hanna is showering when I hear my phone ringing. Patrick's face shows up on my phone and I contemplate answering it but eventually give in. "Hey Pat, what's up?"

"Paige I know you're planning this party for Emily, but if you're going to use me as a cover let me know. I just ran into her." Shit. I forgot to tell Patrick to lay low today, damn it now he's pissed at me.

"I totally forgot to text you. Sorry Pat.." I guess he could tell that I was upset because his voice is softer when he begins talking again.

"I came up with a lie. So chill. Let me know next time so I'm not caught off guard though." I nod my head but then realize that he couldn't see me.

"Thanks I owe you big time. See you tonight." I hear him say bye before I hang up.

The look on Emily's face was priceless as the lights turned on; I make my way towards her like she had a magnetic pull on me. She asks me a question and I almost don't answer just because I want to kiss her. The last time we kissed was on Sunday and it was a peck on the lips, I needed more than that, and after days of avoiding her I would finally get it. Our lips lock and I feel my heart wanting to beat out of my chest. As I slowly lick her bottom lip I tasted mint and I feel the warmth of her hand cup my cheek and I forgot how much I missed her warmth. I regrettably pull away to look at my beautiful girlfriend. "Happy birthday Emily." I say breathlessly as I place my forehead on hers and soak in this moment.

She hugs Spencer and Hanna and thanks them, but then makes her way back to me. We make our rounds to everyone, and finally an hour later we've said hi and made small talk to everyone. Spencer and Hanna steal Emily away from me to dance with a couple of other friends and I take that as my cue to get something to drink.

"You did a good job." I hear a voice from behind me and I instantly smile while taking a sip of my drink.

"Thanks but couldn't have done it without Spencer though. Speaking of, how's that business class Pat?" I smile and give him a wink, as I hear him choking on his drink.

"Very funny Paigey."

"Hey it's my two favorite McCullers." Emily's cheerful voice fills the air between us. "Sorry Pat, but can I steal her away for a dance?" she tugs at my hand and starts swaying to the music behind her.

"You'd be doing me a favor taking her away, Em." He tips his head to Emily and waves bye.

"I love the music that's playing; I'm guessing that you handled the music because I recognize this song from that playlist." She says with a shy smile and she tucks a hair behind her ear. I had totally forgotten that music was playing so I had to stop and listen to the song.

'All the doubts I had have gone away,
When your touching me I'm not afraid
Knowing the same, going away, here to stay
I just wanna be your girl (your girl)
Tell me, woo yeahh
I can be, all you want, what do you say
I just wanna be your girl, yeahhh
Cause you got my heart on lock, it's so unreal you know
Don't want this to stop, you're so damn keepable
Feel your magic touch, it's unbelievable
I gotta have ya, like abracadabra'

Yeah I know this song quite well; I smile to myself and relate the words to the how I feel about Emily. I'm not afraid anymore, and even when I had doubts about my sexuality I knew I wanted Emily. She really is all that I want and when I look around the movie theater lobby I realize that I pulled off a great party for her. She's the only person that I have ever done something big like this for. "You listened to that playlist I have for you?"

"It's kind of hard to skip it when it says 'Em's', I thought it was cute." I bow my head in embarrassment and avert my gaze from Emily, I could feel blood rushing to my cheeks but in that instant I felt Emily's hand come up to my burning cheeks. The temperature contrast caught me off guard as I felt her cold hand on my cheeks lifting my face towards her. "Don't look away." I tilt my head up and I'm met with her beautiful brown eyes and her breathtaking dimples. "I loved it Paige, don't be embarrassed." She leans down to kiss me and it was so tender and sweet, she bites my lower lip lightly and I feel my knees buckle underneath me. I rest my hands firmly on her waist knowing that if I don't hold on to her then I will fall to the ground. Another song comes on and we pull away from each other as we hear someone shout Emily's name. She looks around and sees two of her friends waving towards her. I let her go to greet her friends and Hanna sneaks up behind me handing me a drink.

"Great job with the music, everyone is dancing and is really liking it." The giddy girl next to me says as she is dancing around me while I'm awkwardly standing in place.

"Han, I notice you're not dancing with anyone. Why?" I take a sip of my drink and notice that she has stop dancing and the smile is wiped off her face and I instantly feel bad. "Hey there's this guy in my Econ class that's friends with Patrick that is here. Want me to introduce you guys? He's really nice." She has a small smile while she nods to my question and I begin looking around to find my brother and his friend. Finally I spot the boy and pull Hanna over to him. "Caleb this is my friend Hanna, Hanna this is Caleb." The long-haired boy moves the hair out of his face and shows Hanna a shy smile, and Hanna is smiling from ear to ear with her unusually bright blue eyes. Yeah my work here is done, that's the least I could do after everything she did for me and Emily.

Emily and I meet up again when a slow dance comes up on the playlist. Her arms slide up to the back of my neck and I feel my neck hair sticking up. My arms make their way to the smalls of her back, and I feel her lean her head on my chest as we sway with each other to the rhythm of the song. I feel Emily messing with the collar of my button up shirt and it sends chills down my spine. We don't talk as we are dancing; it's a comfortable silence between us as we just listen to the song.

'I know you're out of my league

But that won't scare me away oh no

You've carried on so long

You couldn't stop if you tried it

You've built your wall so high

That no one could climb it

But I'm gonna try

Would you let me see beneath your beautiful

Would you let me see beneath your perfect

Take it off now girl, take it off now girl

I wanna see inside

Would you let me see beneath your beautiful tonight'

My eyes were closed as we were dancing, but they immediately open when I feel Emily's head shoot up and smile. I follow her gaze to see Spencer dancing with a guy, as they slowly turn I see who the boy is and I stiffen. "When the hell did that happen?" Emily pulls away and looks at me with a confused look, I thought I had only said it in my head but judging by the look on Emily's face, I hadn't.

Emily's POV

"I think that they look cute." I feel Paige's body stiffen at the sight of the couple and I can't help but pull away from her. I look over at Spencer and Dominic, and they are smiling and they looked happy while dancing. I seriously didn't like Dominic, because he blatantly flirts with Paige when they're around each other. Of course Paige doesn't flirt back and I think she is oblivious to it honestly. I thought it was because of my jealously that maybe I was imagining the flirting on Dominic's part, but it was soon confirmed later that it wasn't just my imagination, by Patrick. So I was happy to see Dominic with his attention towards someone other than Paige.

"I guess." Why was this irritating her so much? Spencer looked like she was having a good time with Dominic, so what's the big deal? Out of the corner of my eye I see a blonde walk up with a long hair guy who looks way different than the guys that Hanna normally goes out with. She was more into the clean-cut guys who were preppy but the boy by her side was anything but, wearing a band t-shirt with a leather jacket over it and some dark wash jeans. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying this guy is bad but he's just…different.

"Hey Em I need to talk to you." My friends' expression was nervous and weary and I didn't like the looks of it, because Hanna was always bubbly unless something was seriously wrong. I look at the boy and Hanna looks between us and remembers her manners. "Oh Emily this is Caleb, Caleb this is Emily, the birthday girl." She ends the sentence with a weak smile.

"Nice to meet you. Happy Birthday." He says with a cheerful smile as he looks at Hanna.

"Thank you and nice to meet you too." Hanna yanks me off to the side as soon as I finish my sentence and I look back at Paige with an apologetic smile. We finally stop where the music is somewhat drowned out and I see Hanna checking around to see if anyone is nearby. I see Spencer approach us and I guess Hanna was waiting for her to meet us because they look at each other before speaking.

"Maya's here." I feel my heart stop as the words leave their mouths. How did they see her and I didn't? How did she even know about this? Why was she even here? It's like Spencer can read my mind and answers the questions. "One of her friends is on the swim team, and they told her and she decided to crash it. She got here about twenty minutes ago and she was eyeing you and Paige while you guys were dancing." I can't breathe and I see Hanna open a water bottle for me, as if water is going to help me right now.

"Get her out please." I manage to get one sentence out to my two friends as I'm still not breathing.

"We've tried Em, she said she wants to talk to you and she's not leaving until she does." I've only ever seen Spencer pissed when it came to Maya. She never liked Maya, she always use to tell me to be careful, but she never was rude to her to her face or voiced her extreme dislike towards her. She didn't want her negative feelings towards my girlfriend get in the way of our friendship but she certainly didn't hang around Maya willingly.

"I have nothing to say to her. So she needs to leave now." I begin to walk away and before I walk over to where Hanna had taken me away from, I turn to my two friends. "Paige can't know that Maya is here."

"Em, you still haven't told Paige?" Hanna's voice is low but that doesn't stop tears from coming down my face.

"No." I say as I shake my head with my eyes closed shut trying to stop the tears from coming. Both girls come beside me and wrap their arms around me as I bite my lip hard enough to taste the iron trying to stop my shaking. All three of us sink to the floor as the tears roll down my cheeks. A year later, and my past still comes back to haunt me. I couldn't believe Maya picked today to try to talk to me, and she even saw that I was happy with Paige and she still decides to stay after everything that happened. Paige. Sweet Paige, had pulled all this off for me and now it came crashing down. Why hadn't I told her about Maya before? I answer the question to myself and out loud so both of the girls could know why. "I didn't want Paige to look at me differently."

"Why would I look at you differently, Emily?" All three of our heads turn towards Paige as she walks up to us and picks up on the tears rolling down my face and the protective stances of Hanna and Spencer. "Emily are you okay?" Both friends look at me with questioning eyes and I nod my head to them and they leave Paige and I alone. "What's going on?"

"I need to tell you something." I feel Paige stiffen as the words make their way to her and her face turns hard. "Remember my ex, Maya? Well she's here, and wants to talk to me." I see Paige's jaw clench and her brows furrow. "What I need to tell you is how Maya and I ended." I take a deep breath while I summon the courage to tell her my secret. "Maya had cheated on me for almost our whole relationship, but I hadn't known that until one night she called me by accident and I heard her having sex on the other end. I confronted her about it and she told me that she wanted an open relationship; I didn't want that so I ended it. But one night at a party I had too much to drink and made my way to Maya's dorm." I stop to wipe the stray tears away from my eyes but before I could, Paige's hand move to wipe the tears for me, and I smile weakly at her and she did the same. "She taped me…us… having..." I couldn't finish the sentence but Paige knew what I was implying since she turned pale white. Paige couldn't meet my eyes and I could see that she was uncomfortably shifting on the floor in front of me.

"Does she still have it?" She can't look up from the ground and I don't blame her, this was too much.

"I don't know. After that night I didn't talk to her. I know that it floated around campus for a while last year though."

"I need to go." Paige gets up and I watch her as she walks away, out of the theater and get into Patrick's car and drive away. I should have ran after her but it's as if I'm paralyzed.

Paige's POV

I'm not mad at Emily; I just couldn't be near her at the moment. I had to get away and just process what she just told me. My girlfriend's ex has a video of them having sex. Yeah, still processing everything she told me. It takes everything in me to not turn back towards the theater to find Maya and to kick her ass. How could she hurt Emily like that? Emily was the sweetest person I know, and to cheat on her and then film a sex tape and then show it to people, was entirely disrespectful. I get to the dorms and it's around 10 when I fall to my bed. Today was not what I expected it to be, I went from being completely happy to crushed by Emily's news.

I guess I was too caught up in my own world because I didn't hear the many alerts my phone chirped out since I left the party. There were 5 texts from Emily, with other numerous texts from Spencer and Hanna, and two phone calls from Patrick. Before I could reply to any of the alerts I had, I heard a knock on the door. I guess Emily must have figured out where I went and is here. Well since she's here we could go back to the party and she could point out who Maya is and I could give her a piece of my mind. I run over to open the door and I'm completely surprised by whose standing outside my room.

"Dad?"

The songs featured in this chapter:

Abracadabra- Jessie J

Beneath Your Beautiful - Labrinth and Emeli Sande