Hey, guys!
Another chapter, finally! :) I wanted you to know that I'm moving to another country soon, so I don't know when I will be able to update the story. I will be very busy and I don't know when I'll have internet access, so it might take a lot of time till I'm established. Anyway, I don't want you to think that I won't keep writing, it's just that the updates won't be so frequent. I needed to make this clear in case I don't update the story before Tuesday.
I'm not a native English speaker, so I apologize in advance for the mistakes I'll be making.
Jamscottroc54: LOL at your equipment remark. You're so funny. xD There's no more information about Paige's family in this chapter, but I think you'll like it though. Not CIA. :D Another hint, that was the last one. xD I'm probably going to focus on Emily's past in the next chapter. You'll know more about Paige's family, but not yet. Yes, I know I'm evil, but I've got other ideas in mind. Thanks! I'm so happy you love the story. That's why I keep writing.
glorymania: Thank you! There will be more towel moments, don't worry about that. xD I'm glad the skating rink part reminded you that lovely story of yours. So cute! Don't be sad, though. :) Paige is Batman, she can handle a Chem exam. :D Thank you for your nice words once again. ;)
Cony: Jajaja. Sobre la persona que aparece en la habitación… Estuve debatiéndome entre Spencer y Ben, pero al final supe que uno de los dos me daría más juego. Sigue leyendo… LOL Lo de los sentimientos de Emily, supongo que me centraré en ellos en el próximo capítulo. Creo que ya va siendo hora de que conozcáis a Lucy. :)
Nae 10: This chapter is more about drama, but there are some happy moments too. As for Emily's background, I guess you'll meet Lucy in the next chapter.
Paily lover: I suppose I'll have to give you more hints about Paige's family, 'cause you're all about to lose your mind. Hahaha.
cici: Jack doesn't know anything yet, but he'll figure it out eventually. Emily's feelings are growing, she can't keep hiding them.
Del: You all want a Paige VS Spencer moment, that's funny. :D Yeah, Emily's not like that, but with Paige around her, she's acting differently. She should rethink why she really behaves like that. xD Good stuff is coming. :) Thank you!
bamary: Paige's shyness is really cute. And Emily clearly likes that. :D Thank you for reading this. ;)
Enjoy! :D
MEANT TO BE
Chapter 10: Different Conversations
Emily's POV
"Hi," Paige says nicely. She doesn't know what is going to happen next. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so adorable with her.
"I knew you were with her," Spencer says frowning and staring at me. Paige has a surprised look on her face. At first I thought Spencer came alone, but now I can see Hanna is standing just behind her. Hanna looks at me with her eyes wide open and making that odd gesture she usually does when Spencer is really pissed off. I know that face, she's trying to tell me that I've got to be patient with her.
"Don't you see I'm fine, Spence?" I try to say nicely. I didn't do anything wrong. I just skipped classes one day, it's no big deal. It doesn't mean I'll do it again. I was feeling down and Paige got to cheer me up. Actually, I was a little sad because my friends were harsh to me about the whole Ben story and they made me feel insensitive. Let's just say that they don't understand why I'm not sad about my break-up. If only they knew what's going on inside my messed up head, they'd act differently.
"Fine?" She says raising her voice. "You cut us short yesterday, Em. You left the diner when we were trying to help you, and you never skip classes. And you're saying you're fine? You've been behaving weirdly the last days. I don't know if it's because of Ben, or there's another reason why you keep behaving like that," she says looking at Paige before she interrupts her.
"I'll just go out and get some fresh air. I don't think I'm needed here," Paige adds shyly. She grabs her purse and when she's just about to leave, Spencer stops her.
"Stop right there," she says raising her voice. Paige stares defiantly at her, their faces are just inches away. It's like watching a non-physical battle, no touching, they're just giving anger gazes to each other. But you can cut their tension with a knife. Their aversion is palpable, and I don't like it at all.
"Shit!" Hanna says after a few seconds. I approach them asap, standing in the midst of them. I'm facing Spencer and I can tell she already realized she made a mistake. She has her sad puppy eyes, and she's staring at the floor. She's ashamed. I turn around to look at Paige, but she averts my gaze.
"I'm sorry," I say while I keep staring at her. She slowly raises her head, to look up at me. Her brown eyes are mesmerizing. It's the first time I'm standing so close to her, and I feel lost in her eyes. I must look like an idiot, I can't stop looking at her.
"It's okay," she adds as she nods at me. She grins at me. That shy smile is the only thing I needed to get more nervous. I take a deep breath and look at Hanna.
"I need some fresh air too. Let's go, Paige," Hanna says suddenly. She holds her hand and they both disappear. Hanna understood perfectly what I needed right now. I've got to remember I owe her a cup of coffee for doing me this favor.
Once they close the door, Spencer and I are still standing at Paige's room. She's calmer than a few minutes before, and she's also ashamed of her behavior, because she doesn't look me in the eye.
"I'm sorry, Em," she adds finally, breaking the silence. "I just…"
"Stop right there, okay?" I say a little bit angry. "What is wrong with you, Spence? You don't even know her." She stares at me.
"I know I've got to stop doing this, but there's something odd about her." She takes a deep breath. "I know you're an adult and I shouldn't intrude in your life, but I don't want to see you hurt or in trouble just because she entered your life." I sigh heavily.
"She's adorable, Spencer. You can't see it yet, but she's one of the nicest person I've ever met." She raises her eyebrows, she's obviously surprised by my remark. "By the way, she's not a bad influence. She actually insisted on me going to class, but I wasn't in the mood. It was my decision, not hers." She looks away and then looks me in the eye.
"Okay, I get it. I'm sorry." I don't know if I really convinced her, but at least she said that she was sorry. I just want Spencer to try to get to know Paige. It's not too much to ask. "I'm under a lot of stress and I guess I overreacted. I'm sorry." She's being sincere, but I'm not so sure if she will look at Paige with different eyes because of my telling off.
"It's okay, Spence," I add when I see her sad face. "Anything else you want to know?" I smile at her so she feels more comfortable. It's not our first fight, and it won't be the last, but I always come into terms with her. In fact, she's very impulsive and protective, but she usually recognizes her mistakes and asks for forgiveness.
"Yes, there's something that is bothering me, but I don't know if…" she says doubtfully.
"Shoot," I say nicely.
"Is something wrong, Em?" Her face expression is serious. "I'm not saying it has to do with Paige, I'm just saying that you're acting differently since you got here. You seem worried about something, I can feel it. I don't want to pressure you, but if you want to talk about it, I want you to know that I'm here for you, okay?" she says holding my arm. I know Spencer is very clever and that she pays attention to every detail, but I didn't expect this. Is it so obvious? Fuck, I'm screwed.
"I'm just going through a rough patch, but I've got it under control," I lie. I can't look her in the eye. I'm nervous and I know she notices it. Of course she does, she's Spencer Hastings.
"I didn't mean to upset you, Em. I'm here if you need help." She's being honest and I'm hiding my secrets. But I can't talk about that right now. I just need time. I don't want to jump into conclusions. I'll talk to her once I define my feelings, because I'm not even sure what it is going on with me yet.
"Thanks," I add before hugging her tightly. I needed this hug after the whole tension that was filling this room a few minutes ago. A tear is running down my cheek, but I wipe it so she doesn't see that I feel like crying. I feel powerless, I don't understand why this is happening to me.
"Are you okay, Em?" she asks after pulling away. Even if I got to wipe the tears, she realized I am feeling sad.
"Yes, I am," I say smiling at her.
"I'll just leave so you can be on your own." She turns around and she opens the door. I sit on Paige's bed. "Remember what I told you," she adds turning to look at me before closing the door. I nod at her and she grins at me.
Paige's POV
I follow Hanna, not saying a word. She's just walking ahead of me, not giving me the chance to decide where I want to go. We leave the building and she takes a seat in a bench that's next to the entrance door. She points at the space that's next to her and she stares at me. I obey her orders, she wasn't mean to me, so she deserves my kindness. I met her at that party where Emily got drunk and she seemed nice. I hope she didn't change her opinion about me, because I don't want to deal with another psychotic friend of Emily's.
"I'm sorry. I tried to stop her, but Spencer is unstoppable," she adds with a huge smile on her face. I didn't see this coming. She seems to like me, even if the other girl thinks I'm the devil.
"I don't get it. I don't know why she did that," I say with a surprised look on my face. She shakes her head.
"Spencer is like that. She thinks you're a bad influence and that you'll ruin Emily's life."
"Why would I do that?" I'm a little bit angry at Spencer. She had no right to do that.
"I don't know. She's a mystery to me even after all these years." She rolls her eyes.
"And why do you think I'm not that monster that Spencer thinks I am?" I'm curious about that. She doesn't know me either, but she seems to like me.
"Because you took care of her that night she got drunk." I can't help but smile. "Wait a minute…" She takes a pause and stares at me frowning. I keep waiting for her to speak, but she doesn't open her mouth.
"What?" I ask impatiently.
"You did help her, did you? I mean… Did you take advantage at her?" she says angrily.
My face turns white, I'm in shock. After a few seconds I flush. "What the hell are you talking about? Are you high?" I yell at her.
She bursts laughing. "I was kidding you, dummy!" I shake my head, but when I see her laughing to tears, I can't help but laugh too.
"You're unbelievable. For a moment I thought you were accusing me of… you know," I add awkwardly. She keeps laughing.
"Anyway, I don't know you, but you should know Spencer will pull your skin off if you make her suffer," she says jokingly. She's teasing me again, but I know Spencer will kill me if I ever hurt her. I still don't understand why they think I will make her life a living hell. I only want to be her friend, I like her company.
"I won't," I insist. She nods at me.
"She's clearly in pain about something. She is not the same Emily that lived in Rosewood. Something happened here, because she's changed, Paige." She's being serious about it, she's worried about her.
"What do you mean? Maybe it has something to do with her ex," I add. She shakes her head.
"We asked and she said that her break-up didn't affect her at all. She was actually relieved. I don't know what it is, but maybe you could try to talk to her, or do something," she says averting my gaze. She's asking me a favor, but I don't get why it has to be me. She's my roommate, but we haven't spent a lot of time together. We barely know each other.
"I don't know if I'm the right person to do that," I say shyly. "Besides, I'm not good at talking about feelings and stuff, in case you didn't notice," I add. I am flushing again, my shyness is making me feel awkward again.
"Trust me, you're the right person. You're becoming an important part of her life," she adds with a huge smile on her face. I'm lost, I don't understand why she thinks that, but it feels great.
"Really?" I ask happily.
"Yes, you are," she adds nicely. "Now go to your dorm. I'm meeting my boyfriend and I don't want to be late because of you," she teases me.
"Bye, Hanna," I add after standing up and making my way to the entrance.
I'm walking down the corridor that leads to my dorm and I see a girl approaching me. Fuck! I don't want to deal with her right now. She stops right in front of me and I try to avoid her, but she's determined to continue the conversation.
"What do you want?" I ask rudely. She stares at the floor, and breaks the silence after a few seconds of awkward silence.
"I'm sorry. What I did back there wasn't fair." She seems sorry, so I nod at her. "Take care of her, okay?" she asks nicely. "Bye, Paige," she says as he walks away. She's not very talkative, so at least we have something in common.
"Bye," I add trying to be nice to her.
I make my way to the door and I open it slowly. I'm not sure if she's going to be crying again and that makes me feel nervous. I close the door and she's staring at me, sitting on my bed. I can tell she's a little bit sad, so I make my best to cheer her up.
"So… let's keep watching movies. I'm intrigued to know how does that stupid movie end," I joke. She suddenly stands up and approaches me. Please, don't start crying. She is a few inches from me, her eyes fixed on mine, my heart is racing. There's silence in the room.
"Thanks," she finally says hugging me tightly. I sigh loudly.
"Do you know you're a terrible hugger?" She laughs in my ear. That's all I need to feel happy.
To be continued…
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