Hi, guys. I'm sorry for the delay, but I didn't have time because of the work and a project that I had to deliver this Friday and got me working even on weekends. Anyway, here's another chapter of the story. I warn you that you may not like this chapter, but I've had this in mind since the day I decided that Paige was going to be away from Rosewood. Don't hate me, please. ;) I hope you enjoy it. :) Be patient for the next update, please. ;) Thank you!

Sabrina80086105: Thank you! ;)

Marmoreck: Jajaja. No es mi intención hacerte sufrir. xD Sí, las relaciones a larga distancia son complicadas, y su situación es aún más complicada. Pero al final todo resultará en nada, ya verás. :) Me encanta tu teoría de que Jack es el traidor porque se ha aliado con Lucy. LOL Gracias a ti por comentar el capítulo. ;)

Del: I see that you're suffering with their fights. I'm really sorry about that. ;) Emily was jealous and she's suffering too, but it's understandable. However, Paige doesn't deserve that kind of reaction from her girlfriend when she's trying to be as happy as possible even if she's not in the place she wants to be. You're right about Em's reaction. She reacted badly because she thought that Paige was moving on and that she already forgot about her. You will see the outcome in this chapter. I know you will end up suffering again, but I assure you things are going to get better. Thank you!

pailyishappiness: First of all, your nickname made me smile, so good for you. ;) Secondly, thank you for your nice words. I'm glad you like this. I hope you keep loving it once you finish this chapter. xD

ThBu: Thank you! I feel really flattered. So sweet of you. :) Words like yours make me want to keep writing for you, guys. ;) Her coming out was awesome, right? It had to be legendary, I had that clear. LOL

Librabelieber: You're right about that, Spence and Hanna needed to know about it. I see that you really like Lucy. xD You will hear from her really soon. :D Thanks! ;)

Enjoy!

MEANT TO BE

Chapter 36: Bittersweet

Emily's POV

Hanna takes a seat on Paige's bed, still in shock because of the news. This is weird, she's not the kind of person that doesn't react to something impressive like this. Spencer has a shy smile on her face, like a victory smile. Aria is staring at me with a supporting look. She's always been there for me. I appreciate her friendship even more at moment like this.

"You're joking, right? I mean…" Hanna finally adds with her eyes wide open. Spencer starts laughing, enjoying with her roommate's surprised face.

I was sad a minute ago, but now that I see the funny moment we're witnessing, a smile escapes from my mouth.

"It's not a joke. I'm dating her, Hanna." She starts shaking her head in a funny way.

"How couldn't I see it? Was it me the only one who didn't know?" She looks at Spencer and Aria and they both smile at her.

"Aria figured it out. I didn't know about Spencer, though," I confirm.

"I am a very observant girl. I'd been thinking about the possibility of you two but I wasn't one hundred percent sure, and I wasn't going to ask you either."

"Why is that? Why didn't you say anything?" Hanna is really lost. She needs answers.

"Because I wasn't sure, and I don't like gossip. Come on, Hanna! You know me."

"You could have said that you were suspicious. I mean, she's our friend." Aria and I are mere observers, we don't say a word while our two friends are having one of their typical conversations that lead nowhere.

"She clearly wasn't ready to say anything and I don't like pushing people. If I had told you…" Spencer gets silence and clears her throat while she raises her eyebrows. She's trying to make her understand what would have happened if she told Hanna about it. And she's right about that, she would have tried to worm me everything, making me feel a little bit uncomfortable.

"What are you implying?" Hanna asks, staring at Spence. Aria can't help but laugh. Spencer smiles widely. "Okay, I admit it. I love gossip and I would have done something about the matter. I'm a woman of action." She smiles at me.

"So? What do you think about, you know… this?" I ask hesitantly, looking at Hanna and Spencer.

"Your girlfriend is filthy rich. That's cool," Hanna says excitedly. Spencer doesn't open her mouth.

"That's all you are going to say?"

"You can share clothes too. That's awesome. Caleb doesn't fit on my t-shirts. He has a really wide back. It sucks," she adds, shaking her head in disappointment. Spencer shakes her head, like she is embarrassed by Hanna's comments. Aria is really enjoying the moment seeing the interaction between Hanna and Spencer.

"This conversation is really surreal. I didn't expect that kind of reaction, guys," I add happily. I look at Spencer and she stares back at me. She gets the hint and finally speaks.

"I'm okay with it as long as you're happy, Em." She is brief but that's all I needed to hear. I smile at her and she smiles back at me.

"Do you share the same pants size?" Hanna asks insistently, making Aria laugh loudly again. She's hilarious, even if it's not the right moment to make that kind of questions. I have to admit that she makes the moment less awkward, though.

"Is that your only concern? I mean, you're incredible," Spencer adds shaking her head once again.

"I'm really happy for you. I really am," she finally states. She gets up from Paige's bed and approaches me to give me a tight hug.

"Thank you," I whisper her in the ear. Spencer is staring at us, but she doesn't move a muscle. She is not the kind of person that likes hugging, but she gives me a warm look. I know her very well and I know that's her way to show me her support.

"Get off of me already. You have a girlfriend!" Hanna jokes, pulling away from the hug. I laugh loudly. I couldn't be happier right now. I mean, I knew that their reactions would be like this, but I'm relieved of that burden that was haunting me. It feels great. I don't like having secrets, and this secret was really killing me, even more after her departure. The reason why I feel better is that before I could only speak with Aria about it, and I needed to blow off steam with my other two best friends. However, the happiness doesn't last. I start thinking about her and the argument we had on the phone earlier. I can't help but feel jealous about everyone who is around her. She told me that I was being paranoid and that she only was having a beer with her sister and some friends, but I feel anger because I can't be next to her. I crave her kisses and her touch. I need her and the distance between us turned out to be more painful than I expected. She said that I could call her back once I calmed down. It's not my fault that I'm a possessive girlfriend.

"Why that long face, Em?" Aria adds, after a few minutes of silence.

"I had a fight with her. She was hanging out in a pub and I got jealous," I add, with a really sad expression on my face.

"So you got angry because she was having a good time?" I nod at Spencer and she sighs heavily. If Spencer thinks that I was being an idiot, I definitely deserved Paige's reaction. If I think about it thoroughly, they may be right about the whole mess I created. I was an asshole to her. She told me that I was imagining things. It makes no sense to act like that.

"I know, I'm stupid."

"Indeed," Hanna adds smirking at me. "I don't know what you're waiting for?" Hanna points at my phone, trying to make me understand that I should call her.

"No way! It must be 2 AM over there." She was angry enough, I don't want to wake her up and make her ever angrier than before.

"Give it a try. If she doesn't pick up… then you can call her tomorrow." Spencer isn't the kind of person that would say something like that. But she's the most sensible between the four of us, so maybe I should call her.

"Come on, Em! You were brave enough to tell them about it," Aria says pointing at Hanna and Spencer. "It's just a phone call."

I hesitate for a few seconds, but when I see their smiles I take courage and grab my phone. I press the green button that's next to her name and I wait, hoping that I will hear her sweet voice. I wait impatiently, my heart is racing. I feel their eyes on me. Unluckily, my call transfers directly to her voicemail. I nod at my friends and I unlock my cell at the same time.

"At least you tried," Hanna adds, putting her arm around my shoulder.

"I feel horrible."

"You can call her tomorrow. It's not the end of the world." Spencer, aka the voice of wisdom, adds, giving me a nice look.

"I won't sleep if I don't apologize first," I say, annoyed by the whole situation. "She always has her laptop on. I can try to contact her via Skype. She must have her phone on silent mode, but I'm pretty sure that her laptop is turned on. She does that kind of odd stuff that made me fall in love with her.

"Maybe tomorrow is a better da…" Aria starts saying, but it's already late. I take a seat on my desk, where my laptop is placed, and I click on her name. My friends are staring at me, my decision obviously took them by surprise. They can't see the screen of the laptop because they're facing me. I see nothing for a few seconds, just an opened window, with the word "Calling" written on it. Suddenly, the window disappears and the screen goes black. I take a deep breath and her sleepy face shows up on the screen.

"Did something bad happen?" She has a look of worry upon her face.

"No, it didn't. I just… needed to talk to you. I'm sorry. I was stupid earlier."

"It's 2 in the morning here, Emily."

"I know that. It's just that I needed to see you. I'm afraid that I will lose you and that makes me behave like an idiot. I'm sorry, Paige." She smiles shyly, staring at the floor. I love when she does that, she looks sexier than ever. Besides, even if she has a sleepy face, she looks gorgeous with that black tank top. She drives me crazy, she doesn't have a clue of the effect she produces on me.

"You have to stop being so jealous. There's no reason for you to do that. I miss you too. I love you," she shyly says, avoiding my gaze when she says those three last words. I look at my friends and they all have a huge smile drawn on their faces. They're gazing at me with a sweet look that makes me smile. I couldn't be luckier, I have the best friends ever.

"I can't help it. I love you too." She blushes, making her sexier than ever. I would love to kiss her. The distance is killing me. "By the way, that tank top…" I pause, and her eyes light up. "I may have to take a cold shower after this videoch…"

"Stop it! We can leave the room so you can continue saying naughty stuff," Hanna yells at me loudly. I look at the screen and Paige is frowning at me.

"What the hell was that?" She is annoyed that she heard Hanna's voice. I totally forgot for a minute that my friends were in my room. When I'm with her, even if she's not physically here, I forget about everything that's going on around me. I turn my laptop, facing it to my bed.

"Hi, Paige!" Hanna waves excitedly at her. Aria and Spencer look at the laptop and smile, but don't say a word. It's a really awkward moment. I called her so we could sort things out, but I don't know if it's really working.

I take the laptop and turn it so I can see her face again. She seems mad at me. I look at my friends and I see that Spencer and Aria grab Hanna's arm and drag her out of the room in silence, letting me alone with my "virtual girlfriend".

"I told them. I thought that you'd be happy about that."

"We were having a private conversation. It wasn't a fucking press conference, Em!" she yells at me. I close my eyes and I take a deep breath until I feel calmer.

"I'm sorry, okay? I was trying to surprise you. It was a giant step for me, you know."

Her look softens when she sees my anger. "That is great, okay? But I don't like having an audience. Besides, we don't still know who the snitch was, so I don't know if this was a good idea." I can't believe what she just said.

"Are you implying that one of my friends called to some journalist to expose you? That's bullshit! What about your dear friend?" I see a surprise hint on her face.

"Jack couldn't do that," she claims.

"My friends didn't do it either, so stop saying stupid things."

"I only know that I'm stuck in here and you're there."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. "I'm hurting, I miss you, so don't give me shit."

I see that she takes a deep breath. "Whatever," she adds, making me feel even angrier because of her could't-care-less attitude. I shake my head and end the video-chat. I can't put up with more pain. I need to stop this suffering. I start crying, grieving because of her mean words. I suddenly hear a knock on my door and I open it. My friends hug me and try to make me feel better, but there's nothing they can do about the grief I'm feeling right now. Five minutes later they leave the room, I need to be alone and sleep. Tomorrow will be another day. I fall asleep quicker than expected, exhausted by the non-stop crying. A noise wakes me up a few hours later. I open my eyes, turn on the lamplight and look at my phone. It's four in the morning. Was it the alarm clock or am I just going nuts? A knock on the door worries me. I jump out of the bed and approach the door trying not to be noisy.

"It's me, Emily," I hear a voice say from the other side of the door. I open the door slowly, I stare at her and I don't know what to say.

"I've been trying to stop my feelings, but I just can't. This is driving me crazy." Lucy is staring at me with a tear running down her cheek. I am speechless. "I've been thinking about you since I left Rosewood. My feelings towards you are stronger than I thought, Emily." She comes closer to me as she continues speaking.

"Lucy, I… I… don't…" I say, almost stuttering. My neurons must be on strike, because I'm not capable of saying two words in a row.

"Don't say anything," she adds, placing her finger on my lips. My heart is about to explode. This is coming from nowhere. She takes another step forward and places her hands on my hips. Her touch sends shivers down my spine. She kisses me passionately, a really well executed kiss that shows how hungry she is for my lips. She pulls away to take a breath and looks me in the eye. I feel an impulse to kiss her back. The touch of her lips make me remember about our feelings towards each other when we were in high school. Her lips make me feel comfort and warmness, something that I've been missing for a few days. She smiles at me, her eyes are sparkling.

"This is like a dream come true," she says, making me blush.

To be continued…

Did you like it? Let me know, guys. :D Suggestions are welcome. Thank you for your support. I really appreciate your nice words. You're awesome. :)