A/N: Hey guys! Quick thanks to everyone for sticking around. All the support's truly appreciated. 3 weeks to update, not as quickly as I would have liked to update but better than 2 months right? Anyways, enjoy this chapter. Hopefully.


As soon as Paige says her name, it feels like her world's coming together once again. The scattered pieces that have been her life for the past few months feel like they're being pulled together by the way Paige says her name; the way her lips shape each letter, each one laced with disbelief. But as soon as Paige questions why she's there, the pulling halts and her world is once again caught in a discomforting mix of self doubt and blurred emotions. Emily stands awkwardly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she stares at Paige's outfit. She bites her lip; she obviously caught Paige in the middle of something worth dressing up for.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you before coming. Well...Spencer sort of did that for me." The words stumble out of her mouth, she meets Paige's gaze for a split second before looking over Paige's shoulder and into her dorm; it's empty, much to Emily's relief. She sighs, "I just…can I come in?" Paige is still starting at her like she's grown another head, but she nods and steps back, giving Emily enough space to walk inside.

She walks past Paige, and when she catches the faint scent of her perfume, Emily presses her hands deeper into her pockets and steps hurriedly into the room as the urge to wrap her arms around Paige's shoulders and close the distance between them becomes unbearable.

Paige turns slowly to face her, pushing the door closed gently. She studies Emily as the tan girl looks around her room. "So you're the surprise Spencer was talking about?" She asks, moving slowly towards Emily, as if any sudden movement would cause her to disappear.

"I hope it's better than a hockey stick to the ankle." Emily teases, trying to break the awkward tension that still fills the air. She turns to face Paige and her breath once again catches in her throat. It feels like forever since she's seen Paige's brown eyes, her full lips that are now pulled into a slight smirk.

"It's definitely better than that." Paige says, her smirk turning into a hesitant smile. She lets herself admire Emily in a way she hasn't been able to in such a long time. Her gaze lingers on Emily's face, on every little detail she thought she had forgotten. But it'd be impossible to forget anything when it came to Emily. If she tried hard enough she'd be able to remember what it was like to hold her, to kiss her.

Paige looks away.

She can't do that. She can't keep torturing herself like that. Especially not when Emily's so close to her. Not close enough for her liking; but close enough that one small movement could spark the flame they've both thought had extinguished. And Paige can't let herself spark that fire; not when she still doesn't know what Emily's doing here.

Emily's hands tighten into fists as Paige looks away. She wants to take the last few steps that are keeping her away from Paige and make them disappear; make them disappear long enough so she can press her palm gently against Paige's cheek and tell her not to look away.

Emily clears her throat, causing Paige to glance up at her. Her eyes are guarded again; the vulnerability that seeped through seconds ago no longer there. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing here."

"Yeah, probably." Paige jokes. She takes off her leather jacket and sets it on the back of her chair. She gestures at Emily to make herself comfortable, vaguely sweeping her hand in front of her. The only places to sit are her bed, her roommates' bed and the chair across from Paige. Paige watches as Emily sits carefully on her bed and trails her hand slowly over the familiar comforter. It's the same one Paige had in Rosewood. Emily smiles, thinking that this was Paige's way of dealing with feeling homesick. The truth was that Paige had brought it along because Emily's faint perfume still lingered on the warm blanket.

"Why are you here Emily?" Paige asks softly.

Emily meets her gaze. The intensity in Paige's brown eyes makes her already frenzy heart beat faster. She rubs her palms against her jeans. "I came to talk to you."

"There's a phone for that Em." Paige replies. She didn't dare let herself hope that Emily was there for- Stop it, McCullers. Don't get ahead of yourself.

"I know." Emily mumbles, glancing down at her hands as she wrings them together. "I'd rather do this in person though."

Paige smiles, trying to ease Emily's nerves, "Okay, I'm all ears."


"Hanna?" Aria glances at her phone, making sure the call hasn't ended. She presses her phone to her ear just as Hanna's voice blares through the speakers, "Aria! Can you hear me!?"

"Sheesh Hanna," Aria scolds, "any louder and you'll make me deaf." She walks towards her kitchen, glancing up the stairs to make sure the coast is clear.

"Good, maybe then you won't be able to hear Alison bitching all the time." Hanna smirks, avoiding a playful swat from Spencer. Despite the fact that none of them were exactly thrilled at having Alison back in their lives, Hanna was the only outspoken one about it.

Aria glances uneasily behind her, sighing in relief when she sees there's no one there. "Tell me about it. She's been bugging me all day. Apparently Emily won't answer her phone calls and neither will Spencer." She opens her fridge, looking for something to drink. "I can't get her out of my hair." She complains. "I had to ditch Ezra because she wanted to spend time together."

"Yeah I think it'd be awkward spending time with both of them, considering they were together once or whatever." Hanna scoffs, shrugging off Spencer's glare as she continues to flip through the small menu of the café they're sitting at.

"I know. So where are Emily and Spencer?" Aria asks as she spots a cartoon of orange juice at the back of the fridge.

"Well Spencer's currently giving me the death stare." Hanna rolls her eyes. "It just got deadlier."

Aria laughs quietly as she grabs the juice. "And Emily?"

"Emily's with Paige."

"Wait, really?" Aria beams. "She's already talking to Paige? I thought she'd wait longer."

Hanna shoves her menu at Spencer and points to a picture of mozzarella sticks as the waiter makes his way towards them. "So did we. She seemed really eager to talk to her though. And nervous. She almost puked on the way to Stanford."

Aria laughs, happy that Emily finally gets to talk to Paige. She's more than ready to see Emily smile again, especially that smile only Paige seems to cause. She's about to close the refrigerator door closed with her elbow when a hand reaches out and grabs it. Aria jumps back, startled as Alison grins at her.

"Need some help with that?"


Alison takes out her phone as she walks down Aria's driveway. She smirks, her thumbs tapping away at the screen. She glances back as she sends her message and waves at Aria who's looking at her from the living room window. If Emily thought getting back with Paige was going to be that easy, she had a surprise coming her way. She places her phone inside her purse, a wicked grin forming on her lips.


Paige waits patiently as Emily struggles for words, her mouth opening slightly then closing, her lips pressing into a thin line when she can't figure out how to word her feelings. Their eyes meet and Emily caves when the patience and kindness in Paige's eyes pierce through her heart. "I-" Her words are cut off as a sharp ringing emerges from Paige's jacket pocket. Emily curses the damn device for interrupting, glancing quickly behind Paige, silently asking if she was going to get that. Paige hesitates, whoever it is can wait. She's about to say as much when she remembers she's suppose to meet Violet. She smiles sheepishly at Emily as she reaches for her phone.

"It's probably my friend." She swipes her thumb across the screen, "We were suppose to hang out tonight but I'll just cancel and…" Her words die in her throat as she reads the message.

How does it feel being Emily's second choice? One steamy make out session and she's practically mine. I turn her down and she goes running back to you. You'll always be her second choice pigskin.
-Alison

She frowns as she rereads the message, each word stabbing at her chest until it she fixes her gaze on the name at the end. Alison. She scoffs, forcefully pressing the button on her phone until the screen turns black. Leave it up to Alison to try and ruin this moment for her, whatever this was. Either way she wasn't going to let Alison drag her back into her fucked up games.

"Is everything okay?"

She looks up sharply, her lips pressed into a thin line as she studies Emily. There's a slight crease on her forehead, her gaze full of concern. She's almost shrugs and lets the whole thing slide. Almost.
She bites her lip, a lump forming in her throat. This would be so damn easier if you weren't staring at me like that. She clears her throat as she tears her eyes away from Emily's warm brown ones and glares at her phone. She starts to speak, the words forming carefully in her mind, and cautiously breaking the silence between them. "What happened…between you and Alison?"

Emily widens her eyes as the question catches her by surprise. "Nothing happened." The lie flows from her lips smoothly, something she's gotten used to over the past years. She immediately regrets it as Paige sighs.

"Are you sure?" Paige's voice is full of a desperate kind of hope. Hope that Emily's telling her the truth. Hope that Alison's lying and this is just another one of her nasty tricks. But underneath that hope is a betraying certainty that Alison's txt might be true. She stares at Emily's throat as she gulps, her hands fidgeting once more on her lap.

Emily glances wearily at Paige's hand were her phone is tightly gripped. "We…kissed." She mumbles pathetically, almost apologetic.

Paige stays quite, a million thoughts racing through her mind as she fights off the nausea that's building up in the pit of her stomach. She frowns again as Alison's txt flashes through her mind. One steamy make out session and she's mine. She meets Emily's guilty gaze, "Kissed?"

Emily wants to lie again. Erase the mistake she made a week ago with a simple "yes" but she knows in the end that'll only make things worse. She swallows, "We made out."

Paige scoffs and stands abruptly as unmistakable anger replaces the nausea she felt. Her knuckles turn white as she grips her phone tightly in her fist. She shouldn't be angry, she has no right to be angry. They had broken up after all. She glances at Emily, who's slumped down and avoiding her gaze.

"When?" She asks reluctantly. Emily shakes her head. "When Emily?"

"The night after you left." Emily's voice is pained, and tears sting the back of her eyes. She flinches when Paige rips her jacket roughly from the back of the chair. "Paige, please. Let me explain."

"Explain what, Emily?" Paige snaps, her vision blurring as she fights back the tears that threaten to spill onto her cheeks. "That things didn't work out for you two and now you're here? You kiss her and run back to me when she rejects you?"

Emily's voice cracks as she stares desperately into Paige's eyes. "No Paige, it wasn't like that. She kissed me first, I didn't..."

"You didn't what, Emily." Paige retorts. She crosses her arms over her chest, hugging herself as Emily's tears run down her cheeks. She's torn between being pissed and wanting to crouch next to Emily and comfort her. "Where you even going to tell me?"

Emily's silence answers for her. No, she hadn't been planning on telling her. Of course. It was like Nate all over again. The thought of Nate, or Lyndon to be exact, stirs up a new batch of anger within her. The sudden urge to punch something shocks her. She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself as she stares at the swimmer that's all but avoiding her gaze as she continues to sit on her bed.

"Hey Paige ready to g-" The door swings open as Violet walks into the room, her words cutting off as she takes in the scene before her. She glances between both girls. Shit. She starts to apologize but is cut off by Paige.

"Yeah. I'm ready." Paige avoids Emily's pleading eyes when she calls her name as she grabs her keys. It's nearly impossible and she almost gives in, but one look at the phone held tightly in her grip and her resolve snaps into place.

Violet's steps into the hall, awkwardly glancing at the girl she assumes to be Emily. The girl seems to have all but forgotten her as she stares brokenly at Paige, who stops at the door frame, her hand on the doorknob as she turns to face Emily. "You know," she mutters, her voice hoarse with the strain of fighting back tears. "I thought, that after everything we've been through, you would at least stop lying to me."

The betrayal in her eyes and voice couldn't have hurt Emily any more than they did as Paige turns and shuts the door behind her.


I should've warned you that this story's full of angst. But don't worry! It ends happily(probably).

Let me know what you think :)