What?! Another update, so soon?! Yeah, it's unbelievable, I know. Just a few comments...I held onto that last chapter for a while and I was going to try and add some Paily in there, but I couldn't fit it in. This chapter is pretty much all paily and that's all I will say for now. A couple of you are not having ANY Shana, but I think I might keep her in the mix. I hope you all kind of get what I'm trying to do/set up in this chapter. Let me know what you think!

Thanks for the reviews!

Cici: With emily, I think we get that in the show. Like, all the gay girls want Emily lol. And with Shana...she wants Paige. Paige doesn't get the credit she deserves, as far as being alluring, like you said. Hopefully I've helped turn that around a bit!

Ran: Thanks! Emily didn't quite bite her fully, but she did leave a mark. Chapter 7, when Paige is trying to console Emily.

MindFullofStories: I am a fan of the love triangle...and it's nice to see that Emily feels threatened by someone who is very much interested in Paige, I think :)

Jamescottrock54: I know! I'm sorry! D:

saii79: Barely a Shana mention in this chap, hopefully it helps some :)

NotWriteInTheHead: Thanks so much for you support! I am hoping to start answering those questions soon...it's all in my head right now and I'm trying to piece it all together on paper (or computer...) for you guys :))

Point of No Return

Chapter 10

"Hey, Emily!"

Emily closed her locker, quickly grabbed her stuff and ran away from Paige. She almost made it to the door, when Paige grabbed her arm.

"Em? What's wrong?" Paige asked worriedly. She and Emily were supposed to practice together. It was something they had been doing all year and it always ended up being the best part of Paige's day. Emily yanked her arm away from Paige's grasp, much to the other girl's hurt and surprise.

"I can't stay. I have to go." Emily didn't look up at Paige, who was both visibly upset at and worried about Emily.

"Are we going to practice tomorrow?" Paige implored, looking down at her shoes. Emily still wouldn't look at Paige and she missed the slight pleading in Paige's tone. Guilt, shame, concern and a slight panic were battling against each other in Emily's stomach and in the end, it was the panic that won.

"No."

Emily rolled over, looking at the empty space between her and Spencer. She could still feel the sun had not completely set, which was further evidenced by the slight, lingering paralysis of her body. Vampires were at their most vulnerable during sleep, Alison had told them, and she made sure their resting place was adequately protected.

The girls had absolutely nothing to show for their search, after spending the entire night scouring all of Alison's favorite places. Emily knew there search was futile; she didn't want to admit it, but she knew that Alison was finally gone. Someone had finally done it. The girls didn't talk much when they got back because they all arrived with minutes to spare before sunrise.

Emily spotted Spencer, further away from her than usual. Lifting her head up slightly, she could see why—Spencer was spooning Aria, her face buried in her hair. Emily shook her head. She caught the lingering smell of fae, which smelled quite nice to her but was never that potent to her senses. Besides, it was always the fae women that smelled better to her, not that she had met many of them since being a vampire. Alison always made sure that Emily's attention was hers. She thought about the many ways Alison kept her bound…flirting with her, making her feel like she was special. It was something Ali had done with all of them, make them feel special, but with Emily she would intertwine their fingers as they held hands, push a lock of stray hair behind her ear making sure to keep eye contact the whole time. Emily would blush and smile and her heart would speed up when Ali smiled at her. At first it was small things, sweet gestures…but when she found out about Paige, Alison became mean and possessive. Emily thought about Paige, who had practically been her only friend outside of the group, and had been someone she kept a secret from her friends without even realizing it. She hadn't thought or dreamt of Paige in a long time.

Hanna began to stir from her sleep and Emily sat up, the sun finally releasing its hold upon them.

"Ugh, I'm so hungry," Hanna grumbled as she rolled over on her side to face Emily. "She should be hosed off or something after she comes back from seeing him." Hanna glared at the two girls on the other side of the room, who had yet to move.

"You'd think she would have visited him before her search, so the smell wouldn't be so strong," Emily said. Hanna scoffed.

"We know for a fact she saw him before and after the search. She was the last of us to show up! Are you allowed to booty call the same person twice in one night?" Hanna asked in an exasperated tone.

"I can hear you," Aria mumbled. She elbowed Spencer, who only snuggled closer.

"That's the point," Hanna shot back. She sat up and looked over at Aria and Spencer. "About time you two woke up. You're sleeping the night away!"

"Mrffff."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Hanna asked, cupping her ear with her right hand and craning her neck dramatically. Emily stood up and walked to the window, opening the curtains.

"I'm up!" Spencer said, extricating herself from Aria. "It's too early to be dealing with you, I haven't even had my caffeine fix," she griped at Hanna as she sat up. She looked at Emily, who was staring out the window. "Em?"

Emily turned around, leaning on the window sill. "I'm gonna go. She's waiting for me." Spencer nodded.

"Make sure you eat something first," Hanna said. "I don't think you should see her on an empty stomach." Emily rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is you have the entire human population at your disposal and yet, you tried to bite a dog."

"Paige is not a dog!" Emily exclaimed vehemently. Spencer and Aria looked at each other.

"Woah Em, I was totally just kidding," Hanna acquiesced. She looked very surprised at Emily's outburst.

"I…I know that. Look, I'll be back later ok?" Emily said to the girls. She didn't make eye contact with any of them when she left.

"Spence…did you say Paige went to the same middle school as us?" Aria asked hesitantly.

"Yeah she did."

"Did Emily ever mention her before?" Aria asked, looking to both Spencer and Hanna. Hanna shrugged.

"I've never heard or seen of her before yesterday," Hanna admitted.

"We played field hockey together. I knew she swam, but Emily never mentioned her at all to us," Spencer added. "Alison never mentioned her either. Not by her name, at least."

"What's your point?" Hanna asked Aria.

"Just thinking. Emily and Paige seemed really comfortable with each other, that's all," Aria said simply. "Like they had been friends before or something."

"Well like I said, they were teammates," Spencer repeated. "Emily's stressed, we all know how Alison treated her. She just needs some time."

It seemed like the sun had taken forever to set and Paige had been on edge all day. Shana had taken her around town and Paige was pleasantly surprised to find that everything was pretty much as ordinary as it could be. Shops, businesses, people in cars and on bikes—just like any other town, really. They stayed out doors mostly, Shana having picked up on Paige's anxiousness. She didn't want to ask Paige anything that might seem like she was prying, although she was sure that Paige was anxious because of Emily. And she couldn't ask about Emily, because Paige had yet to bring her up. They were sitting on the steps of Shana's apartment when Paige stood up.

"I have somewhere to be. I'll catch you later?" Paige asked, looking at the other girl.

"I'll be here. Unless you have some other girl's apartment to crash in," Shana joked. Paige chuckled. Shana stood up and started walking up the stairs. "When will you be back? Should I hold out for dinner?"

"Nah, go ahead. I'll be back late. If it's too late, I'll just sleep outside or something. Bye!" Paige yelled as she ran off. Shana sprinted up to her apartment, unlocked her door and closed it as she walked inside. Moving quickly, she ran to her room and opened the window. Shifting into a small brown bird with white markings, she flew out the window and in the direction Paige ran off to.

Paige decided not to turn, instead deciding to sprint to the place she had agreed to meet the girls at. She enjoyed running, plus there was the added incentive of seeing Emily that only added to her speed. Her strides were long, her breathing even, and it didn't take her long at all to find the clearing. Expecting to see all four girls, she was surprised to see only one.

"Emily."

Emily, who had been standing near the lake and looking at her reflection on the water's surface, looked up at Paige with a small smile.

"Hey." Despite being annoyed at Hanna's suggestion, Emily was glad she had fed before coming here. She and the other girls hadn't been vampires for very long; as such, they still had some troubles resisting humans when amongst their company. It had never been a problem with other supes because they learned quickly that they were not for feeding. She could hear the blood rushing throughout Paige's body, her running having caused her blood to be pumped faster.

"I thought the others would be here," Paige said as she walked towards Emily.

"Scared to be all alone with me?" Emily asked innocently. Paige smirked.

"No of course not. I don't mind being alone with you. It's a nice surprise," Paige admitted. She looked around for good measure. "Is Hastings, like, hiding behind a tree or something?"

Emily shook her head in amusement. "You're smart to ask. But no, it's just me. You can even take a look around if you want. I'll wait," she said patiently, sitting down on the ground and looking up at Paige. Paige shook her head and sat down beside her.

"It's cool, I trust you," Paige said simply. "So where do you want to begin? Or are you under direct orders to beat any and all information out of me?"

"Spencer's not that bad, really. She's just…intense. Kind of like how I remember you used to be," Emily stated. Paige looked away, a little shy. She didn't think Emily remembered her that much. "Remember when we first swam against each other? It was supposed to be for fun but when I won, you wouldn't speak to me for a week."

"Hey! I had never been beaten before," Paige defended herself. "I remember I spent such a long time in the showers, trying to avoid talking with you the rest of the afternoon, that coach thought I was trying to drown myself in the showers," Paige chuckled. "How do you even remember that? That was ages ago," she asked in disbelief. It was Emily's turn to look away.

"I remember a lot of things."

They sat in silence for a bit, both girls not quite sure where to go from here. A bird chirped somewhere and Paige decided to speak again before the crickets started up.

"So…how's the vampire life treating you?" Paige asked in an exaggerated nonchalant voice. Emily's eyes widened and she started laughing at Paige's ridiculous attempt at being casual. Paige smiled widely, enjoying the way Emily was reacting. "What? It was getting awkward."

"Fighting awkward with awkward? Smooth," Emily laughed. "How about you ask a question, then I'll ask a question. It can be any question and if you refuse to answer, you have to do whatever the asker wants." Paige perked up, sensing a challenge.

"How do you win?" Paige asked. Emily's eyebrows quirked and she looked at Paige questioningly. It wasn't supposed to be a competitive game, more of an ice breaker. But Paige looked excited at the thought of a competition and it reminded her suddenly of a much younger looking Paige eager at the prospect of out-swimming someone.

"Uhmm…whoever answers the most questions, I guess," Emily said. She saw the determined look in Paige's eyes. "Agreed?" Emily asked and Paige nodded. "Ok, you first."

"How did you become a vampire?" Paige asked right away.

"I was turned. By Alison," Emily answered. "My turn," she added quickly, before Paige could say anything. "How did you end up here?"

"I walked," Paige said with a shrug and Emily narrowed her eyes. She wasn't trying to be smart, but there was really nothing more to it. "Did Alison turn all of you? How did Alison become a vampire?"

"Nuh uh, that was two questions. Besides, 'I walked'? That barely counts as an answer. My turn," Emily said.

"Wait! How do you figure?" Paige exclaimed. "It's true! I walked…to this spot and I was swimming when…well, I just ended up being here. Now you have to answer at least one of the questions asked!" Emily bit back her response to Paige's explanation of how she ended up in the area. She suspected there was more to the story. Plus she was finding Paige's excitement for their "game" endearing.

"Calm down, Paige, I'll answer!" Emily relented. Paige raised her fist in triumph. "Alison turned all of us."

"She turned you? How?" Paige asked, her tone serious.

"It's a process…I'll spare you the gory details. Besides, it's my turn now. Why did you leave school?" Emily asked, genuinely curious. When Paige had disappeared, she was never permitted to grieve. She had been concerned, of course, because it happened not too long after she was forced to cut ties with her teammate. It wasn't too long after Paige that Alison had disappeared as well. The first time, anyhow.

"I ran away," Paige answered, looking away from Emily. "I was sitting on my bed and my body started convulsing. I didn't know what was happening. I ran outside and I changed…I changed into a puppy and I ran away."

"Oh Paige…you were so young…I'm so sorry," Emily said, understanding what it was like to go through a change like that, except Paige had been completely on her own. Thinking back to her dream, of the last time she had talked with Paige, made the guilt she felt as a young teen more prominent now. At the time, her feelings of guilt had been assuaged by the reassurance from Alison that she had done the right thing, and the subtle promise of having so much more with the blonde-haired girl. Emily had been young and naïve and she allowed Paige to become just another memory banished to the back of her mind. "You didn't know?"

Paige shook her head. "I had no way of knowing. I was adopted…and when I changed, I couldn't go back. I didn't belong there anymore." Emily placed her hand on Paige's knee and Paige looked at her thankful for the comforting gesture. Emily smiled at her and Paige's heartbeat doubled. This didn't go unnoticed by Emily, who gave Paige a small squeeze and moved her hand. She didn't need to be distracted like this; there were more questions to ask and despite having fed, already her eyes were roving along Paige's neck, zeroing in on what appeared to be bite marks…bite marks?

"Who bit you?" Emily demanded suddenly, jolting Paige out of her thoughts. She moved her hand to her neck, her fingers moving across the small bumps. Emily's outburst confused her.

"What do you mean?" Paige asked. Did she not remember? Emily leaned closer to Paige, her eyes searching her body, her nostrils flared. "Are…are you smelling me?" Paige asked incredulously, her eyes wide. Paige was overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions, most of them stemming from how close Emily was to her and the way her body automatically reacted to her.

"I don't smell another vampire…" Emily said, more to herself than anything. Emily seemed to be upset about something and Paige wasn't sure what it was.

"Emily!" Paige said, as Emily tried to move closer in her investigation. They were both on their knees, their faces inches apart when Emily finally heard Paige. "Emily, you bit me, remember? It wasn't serious…you barely even nicked me." Emily stared blankly at her at first, then her eyebrows crashed together as she finally listened to what Paige was saying.

"I bit you? I thought…but I didn't taste blood," Emily said slowly. "Hanna said I almost bit you."

"Well I guess it looked like that from where she was standing. But you broke skin," Paige reiterated, quickly adding, "but it didn't hurt or anything. Besides, it was my fault for just grabbing you. You didn't know what was going on. And I didn't really bleed, just a few drops." Emily sat down heavily, the impact of what Paige was telling her, what she had done, sinking in.

"I bit you," Emily said. "I thought someone else had…"

"It's ok, you're not the only one who thought I was attacked. Shana thought…"

"Wait, Shana?" Emily asked. She didn't bother trying to correct Paige's assumption—that Emily was worried she had been attacked—in fact, Emily had been upset at the thought of anyone claiming Paige, which was ridiculous considering that Paige was one, un-claimable, because two, she was a werewolf. Apparently Paige did not understand that Emily had wanted to bite her (and still kind of does) and that it was not just simply a reaction to being caught by surprise.

"Yeah, Shana. I met her at Noel's place last night. She let me stay at her place for the night," Paige revealed. Emily stayed quiet. "She explained some things to me. Like the fact that vampires and shifters don't get along very well. And something about witches. I didn't say anything about you, or the others though, just that there had been a misunderstanding. Anyway, I thought it was odd that there were any marks on my neck at all. I heal pretty fast and something that small shouldn't have left a mark." It was something that had been on Paige's mind and she waited to ask the girls, because she wasn't sure Shana was the right person to talk to about it.

"What did Shana tell you about vampires and shifters?" Emily asked instead of answering. Paige sighed.

"She said that there were two kinds of shifters, ones that changed into anything and ones that changed into one animal form. Shifters and vamps didn't get along, I don't know why, and that vamps don't feed on shifters," Paige recited. "Why don't vampires feed on shifters? Shifters are still human right?"

"Yes and no," Emily answered. "We're natural enemies. Shifters can't heal properly from vampire bites. You might see shifters sporting a vampire bite on their bodies from a fight, but never on the neck."

"Why not?" Paige asked, somewhat confused.

"There are rules we follow separately, as vampires and shifters, but there are general rules we follow as supernatural creatures. We don't always know why…but if a vampire ever bites a shifter in the neck, it's for the kill," Emily said. "Shifters aren't fit for Vampire consumption."

She remembered Alison dismissing shifters—savage beasts, she had call them, not worth our time. It was this kind of attitude Emily could never fully get behind and it was one of the reasons she couldn't stand the other girls calling Paige "dog". But none of that was conveyed to Paige, who heard Emily regurgitate that statement like a dutiful student repeating the day's lesson. She wasn't sure if Emily believed what she was saying, or if she had simply taken it as a fact of life. Either way, Paige couldn't believe how uncannily Emily sounded like Alison when said it. It was that more than anything that was starting to make her tremble.

"Are you saying that shifters aren't good enough for vampires? That we are beneath you?" Paige asked slowly, parts of her equally confused and angered at Emily's statement. Being a shifter was something Paige was still learning about, but she knew it was an integral part of her identity. Her blood boiled at the thought of being seen as lesser than anyone or anything because of something she could not help. Emily, whether she knew it or not, was making it quite clear the distinction between her and Paige.

"Listen to me, Paige. I'm not saying that," Emily sensed that she was losing the other girl. In the distance she heard a bird chirping anxiously, as if it too could sense the danger of the situation, of Paige's anger. "We have inherited a feud that has raged on long before either of us existed. Shifters and vampires are prejudiced against each other, from birth." She was trying to explain the situation, but apparently she wasn't doing it right.

"And that makes it ok?" Paige snapped.

"I'm not saying there's something wrong with you…" Emily began, trying to get a handle on the situation. But Paige's vision was hazy, and she shook her head from side to side as her mind recalled the many taunts she had to endure over the years…mongrel…mutt…bitch…flea-infested tramp…pigskin. That was it. Paige gripped her head with both of her hands. There it was and it was because of Alison and now it was because of Emily and it was too much for Paige who exploded into a mass of furs, fangs and claws. Before Emily could say anything Paige had ran off, but not before letting forth an anguished howl that racked the vampire's body with pain, guilt and remorse like she had never felt before.