Emily exited Paige's car, slowly, feeling the suffocating tension inside, so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Paige came right after her; face stone cold and emotionless as she fumbled with locking the car. As the date which Paige's stalker demanded a meeting had moved closer, the tension between the two of them had mounted.
"Just say it Em," Paige said drily, not looking up.
Emily bit her lip, looking around. It wasn't wise to get into it. Not here, out in the open where prying eyes could be anywhere. But she couldn't hold it in anymore. It was now or never:
"I don't think you should go."
"I don't think I have a choice anymore."
"You always have a choice."
"And what choice would that be? To live the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders?"
"It's better than giving in to their demands."
"Why? How could whatever they want from me be any worse than not knowing?"
"It just is," Emily said, her voice breaking. "I know. Every time that we played into A's games back in Rosewood, things would get worse for us. Playing along won't cut you loose, it will suck you further into their web."
"I have to try Em," Paige said, still not daring to look up. "It's the only way."
"If that's what you think then I'm afraid that we can't keep doing this."
"Doing what?"
"See each other Paige."
"What are you saying?"
"Goodbye."
"Em. Come back here. Em, please."
"Goodbye Paige," Emily said, walking into the night, not turning around even once for she knew what she would see: Paige, once again, with the shards of her broken heart shining from her tearful eyes.
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Three weeks earlier:
Hanna was surprised when she turned around to greet Emily, finding that her raven haired friend was not alone but instead holding hands with one positively beaming Paige McCullers.
"Hello Hanna," Paige said, trying confidently to break the ice.
"Hey Paige, Emily," Hanna said, nodding to acknowledge the two women, her expression seemingly puzzled.
"I see you got started without us," Emily said, nodding towards the juice glass and half-eaten Danish on the table in front of the blond.
"I got here early," Hanna said, shrugging.
"Now that's something for the history books," Emily said smirking. "We should probably get started on some coffee then."
"I'll get it," Paige said, clasping her hands together. "Large Americano right?"
"Always," Emily responded. She instinctively dipped her head forward and planted a small peck on Paige's lips, who responded with a small hum and a smile before heading for the counter.
Emily sat down facing her friend, not even attempting to cover up her smile.
"So, tell me everything," Hanna said, nudging Emily on the shoulder. "Since when has this been happening?"
"Well…"
"Don't tell me that this was already a thing when I read you the riot act a couple of days ago?"
"No, no. In fact, it just kind of finally clicked last night after I got home from meeting with you guys."
"So I'm the first to get the news?" Hanna asked, positively elated by the idea.
"I guess you are," Emily responded.
"So no more skulking around?"
"No. No more skulking. No more secrets. I want to get things right this time," Emily looked around and leaned closer in. "And for that I think that I might need your help."
"It's not every day that I get to help," Hanna said. "I feel like you should have phoned up Spencer in order to do that."
"There is more to helping people than knowing how to do equations," Emily said, grabbing Hanna's hand. "You keep me honest Hanna. I would have never gotten here without you. We wouldn't be here without you."
"Am I interrupting something here?" Paige's voice came from behind them. She appeared next to the two friends holding two cups of coffee.
"No, not at all," Hanna said, brusquely standing up and pulling Emily to her feet as well. Her eyes darted between the two girls and suddenly started to water.
"Hanna," Emily said, her eyebrow shooting up to a worried expression. "Is there something wrong?"
"No. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm getting so emotional all of a sudden. I'm just so... happy for the two of you. Come here," she said, grabbing the two of them and squeezing tight.
"Wow. I'm not sure that I've ever met this Hanna before," Paige said, patting the blonde on the back. "But I kind of like her."
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Emily walked absent mindedly out of school. It had been a almost a week since she had left Paige standing alone in the parking lot next to her house and in that time she had not heard a word from the auburn haired woman. This evening marked the time that she was suppose to meet with the mystery sender, which had been the reason for why the two of them weren't talking to one another. She fiddled with her phone anxiously, wanting nothing more than to hit her up, but managed to control herself.
"Emily, hey," Ollie came running from the main building. "How are you?"
"I'm okay," Emily responded, not ever bothering to return the question.
"I haven't seen much of you in the last couple of days. How is Paige?"
"She is… I think she's fine…. Sorry Ollie but I really have to go."
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Emily had entered into an odd part of town, one she didn't know. She had jumped into the first bus that arrived after leaving Ollie standing in front of the university. She had switched several times, each time getting further and further away from everything she recognized. Her mind was jittery, her nerves frayed. Wherever she was heading was far away from where she had usually been. And far away from Paige.
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Two weeks earlier
Paige pressed the green button on her screen, and was greeted by Mona's usual concentrated face.
"Hello there Paige. Emily. Aren't the two of you spending an awful lot of time together as of lately."
"Did you call us to write a sonnet or to help?" Emily asked before seeing Paige's expression and deciding to soften up. "But yes, since you were asking, we have started seeing each other. Officially this time."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Mona said. "It's always satisfying when a scheme comes to fruition. Has your research turned anything more up?"
"No, nada, nothing," Emily answered. "I looked through the book that Aria sent me. It mentions the characters whose name is used in the letters. But apart from that it hasn't been really helpful."
"And the date is approaching," Paige remarked. "And I'm afraid that they are going to pull something even more drastic than they have before if I fail to show up."
"Do either of you by any chance know what enticement is?" Mona's face was lit up. She was enjoying this.
Paige shook her head, and Emily knowing the dark haired woman all too well rolled her eyes before responding:
"No. But my guess is that you are going to explain it meticulously to us."
"Enticement comes from the verb of enticing which means to lead on by exciting hope or desire."
"This is something that only you would appreciate," Emily said.
"Thanks for the vocabulary lesson Mona," Paige said, trying to keep the spirits light. "But what does that have to do with this particular case."
"In chess, enticement is a popular act. It's done by making the other person give up a favorable position or lose points by doing something that you have led them into believing is a good idea."
"So, a trap?" Emily asked.
"Essentially yes, but not quite. To lay a trap is simply to put something up that your opponent might or might not walk into. By performing an enticement you are using their own sentiments against them. Because to successfully entice someone you need to make them think that you have lost control and that they are on top. A person only turns a blind eye when they think that the opponent is the one that has gotten desperate. Laying a trap is something that takes skill, but ultimately anyone can do. But to assure the person that it's a good idea to stick their leg into the noose, that is another thing entirely. An art form if you may. And one that I am particularly skilled in. So, you better pay close attention to what I'm about to tell you."
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Emily noticed a familiar face inside a rental car that was parking beside her in the abandoned lot and wasted no time jumping inside.
"I thought you weren't going to find me," Emily said. "I was afraid that I had even lost myself around here."
"Well, I might have gotten a little lost but the coordinates that you gave me were still good for it. But the dealership only had a stick to rent me. Driving those is another story entirely." Hanna remarked before turning to face Emily. "Are you ready for this?"
"I'm more than ready," Emily responded, buckling up. "I didn't spend the last two hours bus hopping to the middle of nowhere for the fun of it. Let's go."
"Okay then," Hanna said and geared up, staring in front of her like she was eyeing an unseen target. "Game on, bitch!"
