DISCLAIMER: Pretty Little Liars and all its characters is the intellectual property of others. Some characters used in the writing of this fic belong to PLL. Events that transpire, will transpire and have transpired in this story are entirely of my own creation.
Like always, thanks for the reviews!
And just a couple of things:
First of: I'm posting two chapters this week. Chapter X of Part Two is going to be up in a few hours. I'm going to the US and Canada for a few days and I'm leaving today. I have to go on hiatus since I won't be doing much (if any) writing while I'm there. I'll be posting Chapter XI of Part Two three weeks from today. Sorry for the erroneous tag on Tumblr.
Second: Patience. It's not going to get better anytime soon because (S)-L-O-(W)-C-U-M-T-E-N-E-N-S.
sampledbeats, EyeOpener16, saffyfan and Nae10... Thanks for the PM.
PART TWO: "Sic Infit"
~ So it begins. ~
CHAPTER NINE
Emily narrowed her eyes just as Paige did the same as they sat cross-legged on the couch facing each other on a Monday night. She flexed her hands, tightening her grip on the container of takeout food and pair of chopsticks she was holding, ready for another round. She suddenly moved to her right, hoping to catch Paige this time but the girl moved to her right, effectively avoiding Emily.
Never breaking eye contact with the girl, Emily went back to her original position, waiting for another opportunity. She suddenly moved to her right again hoping to catch Paige off guard this time but the girl moved to her right, avoiding her again. She finally sighed.
"Paige, come on. Just one bite." Emily coaxed, waving her takeout container of Moo Shu Pork in front of the girl.
Paige shook her head, alternately weaving her body left and right everytime Emily brought the food near her face. "No." She said again. "No, no, no."
The two of them have been at it since their dinner arrived thirty minutes ago. Emily insisted that her Moo Shu Pork was better than Paige's Cashew Chicken while the latter refused to accept it and when Emily dared Paige to try her dinner, the girl refused to.
"But we need to settle this tonight." Emily insisted. "Are you scared I'm gonna win?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
Paige scoffed. "No. I just don't want you to cry when you realize I'm right." She shot back.
"Or you don't want me to see you cry for the first time when you admit that you were wrong." Emily said smugly.
"Please. My Cashew Chicken can take down your Mushy Pork any day." Paige declared confidently.
"Moo Shu. It's Moo Shu." Emily emphasized, puckering her lips at Paige.
"Mushy." Paige insisted. "No." She suddenly said when she saw Emily pout playfully. "Not fair!"
Emily grinned before pouting again. "Please? For me?" She asked.
Paige stared at Emily for a second and sighed. "Fine." She uttered, finally giving in and making the girl smile. She grabbed the pair of chopsticks she was using from inside her takeout container to taste Emily's dinner but the girl moved her food away. "What? I thought you wanted me to taste your dinner?" She asked, giving the girl a confused look.
"Yeah. Here." Emily said, taking some food from her takeout container using her pair of chopsticks and timidly offering it to Paige. "I just don't want your chopsticks to touch my food." She explained, trying to control her blush.
Paige grinned. "Right. But you don't mind that I put your chopsticks in my mouth." She commented, quickly leaning forward to take the food Emily was trying to feed her before the girl changed her mind. Paige chewed it slowly, fighting the urge to kiss Emily while there's food in her mouth.
"Well?" Emily asked, biting her bottom lip anxiously as she watched Paige's face, waiting for the girl's reaction.
"It's good." Paige admitted when she was done swallowing the food.
Emily beamed smugly. "Told you." She said, leaning forward and depositing a quick kiss on Paige's lips. "Now let me taste your dinner."
Paige nodded and used her pair of chopsticks to take a small portion of the Cashew Chicken in her takeout container and feed it to the girl. She watched Emily chew the food, patiently waiting for the girl's reaction.
"It's good." Emily finally commented, making Paige smile. "But mine was better." She added, shrugging.
"Really." Paige uttered, taking Emily's dinner and placing both of their food on the coffee table. "You're gonna pay for that." She said mischievously, her mind on anything but dinner now. "I'll make you admit my dinner was better."
"Torture me all you want. I'm not changing my mind." Emily insisted stubbornly.
Paige smiled. "I see. Well I might have to torture you for hours then." She suggested, shifting from her position on the couch so she can move a little closer to the girl.
Emily shrugged. "I don't mind." She answered, slowly wrapping her arms around Paige's neck.
"Good." Paige whispered before pulling Emily close to her and meeting the girl's lips with hers.
"So next week after finals it's officially the holiday season. Fall term's over, going home to Rosewood again." Emily added when they came up for air.
Paige moved away from Emily a little knowing the girl wanted to talk. "We'll be careful while we're there." She promised, remembering Emily's distress a few days ago and the girl's admission that she's having a hard time with what they're doing. "We won't get caught."
"No I know. I just meant it's going to be hard." Emily admitted. First Christmas since Jai died and... "Spending another holiday without my dad around." She explained.
Paige stroked Emily's arm gently. "You know he'd rather be home with you and your mom." She reminded the girl.
"I know. But it still sucks." Emily confessed. "What about you? Are you excited for the holidays?" She asked, trying to steer the conversation to the girl's plans instead.
Paige moved to start clearing the cartons of takeout on the coffee table, aware that Emily was studying her. "Um, not really." She finally answered. "My dad and I aren't really into the whole holiday spirit. I've spent Christmas Day and New Year's Day with Jai's family since I was ten. My dad used to drop me off in Philly when Jai still lived there then when she moved here I came over to their house on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. There were some changes here." She added, looking at Emily pointedly. "Jai and I weren't kids anymore so we didn't spend Christmas and New Year like we used to. She spent it with you."
Emily nodded, starting to miss Jai but she mentally shook her head. Focus. You're with Paige right now. "So are you going to spend your Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve with them again or are you going to celebrate this year with your dad?" She asked, still studying the girl.
"Probably neither." Paige answered, not meeting Emily's eyes. "I'm not really comfortable going to the Hayes' with everything that's been going on between us and although my dad said that he's going to be home for the holidays, he's said that before but he always ended up getting called for work anyway so I wouldn't hold my breath." She added, shrugging indifferently.
Emily inclined her head to the side, not saying anything. It can't be easy for Paige. She's slowly starting to learn that the girl tends to brush things off but she knew, like any other person, Paige wanted to spend the holidays with someone she cared about.
"But that's like, two weeks from today. We still have to get through finals next week." Paige continued, trying to change the subject as her eyes finally met the girl's.
"Ugh, I know." Emily agreed, taking Paige's hint. "This is our first finals week in UPenn and I'm really nervous." She admitted. "But we've taken lots of exams before this one. This should be no different. Right?"
"I don't know what to answer to that." Paige replied, laughing a little. "I want to reassure you that it is but I think you'll hear the panic in my voice when I squeak."
"Well tomorrow's the last day of classes. Then we have two reading days before all hell breaks loose starting Friday. We need to study for it." Emily added, hoping Paige would take the hint.
"Well duh. Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Paige said lightly, completely missing what Emily was trying to say.
Emily sighed. "No, I meant we should..."
Paige nodded, agreeing. "Shouldn't..."
"Study together." They said at the same time before staring at each other and laughing nervously.
"Um, okay. I'm confused. I don't think I understood anything we just said." Emily admitted. "Do you or do you not want to study together?"
"Do you?" Paige said in reply.
"I think I said I wanted to. You said you didn't." Emily pointed out.
"No I thought you didn't want to study together so I said we shouldn't." Paige hurriedly explained. "I figured it's fine since I have Reese and our study group..."
"I want to study with you." Emily interjected. "But if you'd rather be with Reese..."
"Em, come on. I already told you. All Reese and I ever did were study and hang out platonically. She's just been helping me out all this time. With my studies among other things. She's my friend. That's it." Paige promised.
"Then why didn't you just tell me that when you first introduced her to me? Why did you say you were going on a date with her that night?" Emily asked, looking at Paige hesitantly.
Paige took a deep breath. "Because I didn't want you to think that I'm stupid or something for needing help with my studies considering we just started college." She confessed.
"So you made me jealous instead?" Emily continued wryly. "Paige, I'm not going to make fun of you if I find out that you're getting help. It's not like you're expected to be a genius once you set foot in UPenn just because you're studying in an Ivy League school. You shouldn't have lied."
"I know you weren't going to make fun of me. That's not the reason I lied." Paige admitted. "The thing is, I already liked you back then and I was trying to change your opinion of me so I didn't tell you the truth." She explained.
"Paige, you may be a lot of things but stupid isn't one of them. First thing that comes to mind is player, actually." Emily admitted. "You telling me you're going on a date with Reese that day didn't change that." She pointed out.
Paige smiled; unable to hide her joy at finding out that Emily seemed to have liked her for a few months now. "Em, had I known that thinking I was on a date with Reese that day would make you jealous I would've opted to tell you the truth and I wouldn't have left that café until you said yes to having dinner with me that night." She pointed out. "Does it bother you that I spend so much time with her?"
"Alone? Yeah." Emily admitted quietly.
"You're the only girl I like. I told you I don't want to see anyone else." Paige reminded Emily. "Don't let it bother you."
"It's Reese that bothers me." Emily explained. "She doesn't know we're seeing each other and she might make a move on you."
Paige laughed. "Reese thinks I'm still pining after you. And she has a girlfriend. I doubt she'll make a move on me." She said patiently. "But... even if she does I'm perfectly capable of repelling her advances." She added, trying to make Emily laugh but the girl didn't. "Bring over your study materials on Wednesday morning and we'll study here." She finally said.
"I think we should study somewhere else. Like a café outside of campus." Emily suggested.
"Why? What's wrong with studying here?" Paige asked, looking around her apartment.
Emily squinted, trying to figure out if the girl's confusion was genuine. "Paige, I don't know about you but I find it hard to study here when there's a couch and a bed and we're alone." She finally pointed out when she realized the girl was serious.
Paige shrugged. "I don't think it's hard." She said innocently.
Emily smiled, knowing Paige was just messing with her now. "Really." She said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Really." Paige repeated.
Emily slowly leaned forward and kissed Paige, pulling away just as the girl leaned closer to her. She gently pushed Paige, making the girl lie down on the couch before moving on top of her. Emily kissed Paige again, this time moving her lips languidly against the girl's and when Paige slightly parted her lips; Emily took the invitation and lightly brushed her tongue over it, entering Paige's mouth a little before pulling away.
"Do you want to study?" Emily asked innocently.
Paige laughed. "Point taken." She whispered, caressing the girl's smooth cheek. "But we're not studying now..." She trailed off, pulling the girl close to her and urgently meeting Emily's lips with hers.
"I come bearing gifts!" Spencer eagerly announced once she entered her and Emily's room on Tuesday afternoon. "Well technically it's just one gift but still... I come bearing a gift." She said before closing the door behind her.
Emily looked up from the book she was reading while lying face down on her bed and got up into a sitting position when Spencer walked over to her. "What's this?" She asked, taking the slim, rectangular box her friend handed to her. She turned it over in her hands and studied the green bow on top and the plain, white tag the size of a calling card attached to it before looking at Spencer again.
"A gift. From Gary. It's an advance Christmas present." Spencer explained before depositing her things on her study table. "Go ahead. Open it." She urged before sitting on her bed. "I ran into her outside my Philosophy class and she asked that I give that to you."
"You ran into her." Emily repeated dubiously.
"What? I did." Spencer insisted.
Emily shook her head and slowly opened the gift, careful not to tear the wrapping since she planned to give it back to the girl. She felt her eyes widen in surprise when she saw what was inside. Lowering the box, she took out the fountain pen inside and studied it, sure that what she was holding costs hundreds of dollars. Maybe even more. She glanced at the card attached to the box and read Gary's simple message.
Just in case I'm not around to lend you one. – G.
"Wow. That is... is that real gold? My eyes hurt from here. Do me a favor and move that thing away from direct sunlight please." Spencer said humorously, covering her eyes.
Emily returned the pen inside the box and fixed the wrapping, not the least bit amused at her friend's quip. She can't accept this gift.
"I totally envy you right now." Spencer continued, oblivious to Emily's distress. "Gary is just so smitten with you and she's like an older version of Jai."
"For the last time, Spence. I'm not interested in her!" Emily exclaimed, frustrated. "Stop forcing me to see where things go with her. You're supposed to be my friend. Not hers."
"I am your friend. That's why I'm talking you into seeing her." Spencer explained. "Do you ever plan on committing to someone again?"
"I don't know." Emily replied. "It's barely been a year since Jai died."
"Em, I know you still love Jai. You always will. But there are other girls out there and I think you should try. I know they don't come close to Jai but you can't put your life on hold for her. You need to let her go." Spencer said gently.
"I'm not ready." Emily admitted.
"You know why I'm urging you to see where things go with Gary? It's because she's put-together, responsible, decisive. Those were some of the qualities that you saw in Jai and made you fall in love with her." Spencer reminded her friend.
Emily stared at the photo on her bedside table. "Maybe I don't want someone like Jai this time around. Jai's Jai. I don't want to look for her in someone else." She said, looking at her friend.
"That's fine. So long as it's someone in the realm of Jai and not someone like her best friend, I, Hanna and Aria don't have a problem with that." Spencer commented, making Emily narrow her eyes.
"What's wrong with Paige?" Emily asked, trying not to sound indignant.
Spencer let out a short laugh. "Uh, everything. Did you knock your head on something?" She asked offhandedly. "Do I need to remind you of every single thing she said and did to you?"
"No, Spence. I don't need you to walk me through it. I experienced those things firsthand for three years." Emily pointed out, annoyed. "But she's trying to change and trying to make up for all of those things. You know that."
Spencer quickly got up. "Actually, I don't." She replied. "You shouldn't let Paige fool you so easily." She said, her voice firm. "You may have forgiven her and may even think you're friends with her now but we won't be able to forgive her so easily for everything she put you through. I'm just tolerating her when she's around." Spencer revealed. "We were there the whole time, Em. We saw how much pain she caused you. Don't think she's being nice to you because she cares. She made a promise to Jai to take care of you. That's it." She reminded her friend. "You can get mad at us for hating her but that won't stop us from looking out for you. Someone has to. We don't want to see you get hurt once she decides to stop keeping that promise." She added before walking out.
Emily focused on busing the tables inside the café that afternoon, aware that Paige kept stealing glances at her. It took everything she had not to do the same since the girl was sitting on the loveseat with Reese. As far as the junior team captain was concerned, Paige's feelings for her were unreciprocated. She wiped a table clean with a dishrag before heading to the back room to deposit the used cups, plates and utensils near the sink, giving Aaron a smile as the guy took the dirty dishes to wash them. Emily was about to head back outside but stopped short when she saw Gary enter the café and her eyes immediately drifted to Paige, trying to see the girl's reaction.
Good thing I brought the gift with me. Emily thought, deciding to get Gary's present inside her bag before heading back outside. She had a strong hunch that Gary was going to come by today. That's why she decided to bring the gift with her. She emerged from the back room without looking at Paige, her eyes focused solely on Gary. She didn't get a chance to tell Paige about the gift yet.
"Just the lady I wanted to see." Gary said in greeting when she saw Emily appear behind the counter.
"Hey." Emily said, giving the girl a faint smile.
"I just stopped by to ask if you got my gift." Gary explained, getting straight to the point once she reached the counter.
"Yeah. I did. Actually that's the reason why I'm glad you came by." Emily admitted, taking out the gift-wrapped box and sliding it towards the girl. "I can't accept that." She said apologetically.
"Why?" Gary asked, giving Emily a quizzical smile. "It's a gift."
"It's a really expensive gift. I don't know much about writing pens but I'm sure from the way it looks and its weight... it's really expensive." Emily repeated. "I can't accept that."
"Emily, it's just a gift." Gary insisted, smiling. "No strings attached. I don't expect anything in return from you. I just wanted to give you something for Christmas."
"The thing is, it's not just a simple gift. If I accept that it's like encouraging you to keep pursuing me romantically and I don't want you to." Emily finally confessed. "I'm flattered with all this attention, Gary. But I'm not available."
Gary nodded and finally decided to take the gift back. "You're one hard lady to please. But I didn't get to where I am by giving up so easily." She added, putting the gift inside her bag. "I'd ask you out to dinner but I have a feeling you're going to turn me down."
"Sorry. I'm studying with a few friends tonight." Emily lied, glancing past Gary for a split second to check what Paige was doing at the moment and saw that the girl was pretending to be engrossed in a conversation with Reese.
"For the finals? Isn't that a little too soon? That's what the reading days are for and that doesn't start until tomorrow." Gary pointed out.
"I know but two days aren't really enough for me to get ready for the finals." Emily replied.
"You know. If you join MUSE next semester you'd have all the resources you need to ace all your finals until you graduate." Gary said offhandedly. "That's only one of the perks of being a member. There's a lot to gain by joining us. You've experienced that firsthand last week and though it was only for a few hours, I can tell you fit in that crowd. Think about it. You have the holidays to do that. I know I'll be thinking about you." She added, giving Emily a meaningful smile before sauntering away.
Emily stared after Gary, the distress she must be feeling written all over her face because Paige moved to get up but she subtly shook her head to tell the girl that she's fine. She checked the time on her watch. One more hour until her shift ends. She couldn't wait to be alone with Paige tonight.
"She's bordering on sexual harassment, Em." Paige insisted, worriedly studying the girl seated on the couch next to her. She glanced at the half-finished dinner on the coffee table in front of Emily and rubbed the girl's back comfortingly. "You need to report her or file a restraining order against her or something." She added, tucking a strand of hair behind Emily's ear.
Emily laughed wryly. "Paige, she hasn't done anything that falls in the sexual harassment realm." She pointed out.
"Are you sure about that? Because I think she's harassing you. I'm no expert but you look harassed right now." Paige said worriedly. "You didn't even finish your dinner and you love Moo Shu Pork."
"I'm just not that hungry and I have a lot of things on my mind." Emily admitted, resting her head on her hand and looking at Paige. "First Spencer, then Gary. Somehow I don't think anyone will side with me once they find out that I've been seeing someone all this time and I couldn't tell Gary that's why she kept pursuing me." She explained before taking a deep breath. "Gary could say she didn't know. If she did she would've stopped. And then everyone would blame me instead for leading her on." She added, reaching for Paige's hand. "I didn't really tell her I was seeing you when I said I wasn't available. She just thinks I'm grieving that's why I won't say yes to her. Who knows? If I told her she might back off."
"Well do you want to tell her?" Paige asked gently. "'Cos I'm fine either way. If you want to tell her or you don't. I'll do what you want."
Emily sported a real smile for the first time since they arrived at Paige's apartment and she leaned forward to kiss the girl on the cheek. "Thanks. But I still don't want anyone to know." She admitted.
Paige nodded. "Okay. Well so long as she doesn't force a kiss on you or anything else I'll be on my best behavior." She promised. "Now tell me what's up with Spencer."
Emily bit her bottom lip, keeping silent as she contemplated whether or not to tell the girl the problem. "My friends really hate you. Especially Spence." She finally confessed.
"That isn't really news." Paige pointed out teasingly. "Tell me what happened." She urged when the girl didn't smile.
"Gary gave me a gift earlier today." Emily began. "It was this really expensive gold fountain pen and she gave it to Spencer when their paths supposedly crossed this morning so my friend could give it to me. It's really annoying because it's like Gary's got Spencer on her side when she's supposed to be my friend. Spence keeps pushing me to date her..."
"Let me guess. She said Gary's like Jai. Only older." Paige continued. "It's okay. You can say it." She added when she saw the reluctance in the girl's eyes. "And that thought actually crossed my mind as well. That she's like an older version of Jai. But not really because Jai knows when to stop. Unlike Gary."
"Well Spencer doesn't see that. She thinks Gary is the person I should start dating because she has some of the qualities I saw in Jai that made me love her. When I said I didn't want someone like Jai, Spence said just so long as it's not you my friends are okay with that. And I just..." Emily said, trailing off. "They won't forgive you."
"Do you want to end things between us?" Paige asked quietly. "I don't like seeing you this way, Em. I don't want you to distance yourself from your friends just to see me."
"I don't want to stop seeing you." Emily insisted. "I just wish you weren't so horrible to me in high school." She admitted.
"Em... I could easily come up to Spencer and your other friends and tell them I like you. But we both know the reason we're sneaking around goes beyond what your friends think of me. In fact their opinion of me is hardly the issue at all." Paige reminded the girl. "Because even if I was nice to you in high school we'd still be sitting here thinking this isn't right. That you're supposed to be off limits and I'm supposed to be off limits because of Jai. That feeling won't go away."
"I know." Emily replied, feeling guilty again. "But maybe if you were I'd have someone tell me now that it's okay to like you. Instead of hearing Spencer constantly remind me that it isn't."
"Well on the bright side, you got an expensive pen. Maybe we could sell it and buy an invisibility cloak or something." Paige suggested, trying to make Emily laugh. "How much do you think those things cost if they existed?"
"Ugh, why didn't I think of that?" Emily asked, a faint smile tugging on the corners of her mouth. "I should've asked for your opinion first before I decided to return the gift to Gary earlier at the café."
"You gave back the gift?! But we could've bought tons of ice cream with that if we can't find a cloak!" Paige exclaimed, feigning disappointment.
"I couldn't accept an expensive gift like that because I don't want her to think that she has a chance." Emily said, getting serious.
"Yeah I get that. I mean, who needs an expensive pen anyway?" Paige asked, happy that Emily just wanted to see her despite not being exclusive. "It's hard to take down notes as it is while the professor is giving a lecture. I don't think I'll be able to concentrate if I have to constantly maintain a firm grip on my pen because I'm worried that someone might snatch it and run away with it in the middle of a class. And then everyone's attention will suddenly turn to me because I'm bawling my eyes out over a pen."
Emily finally laughed. "Yeah. I'm fine with using a regular pen if that's what's going to happen eventually." She said, shaking her head wryly. "Besides. I could always just borrow a pen from you considering we'll have three classes together next sem."
Paige nodded confidently. "Don't worry. I got you covered. I've got blue pens, red pens, black pens, sign pens, gel pens..."
Emily leaned forward to kiss Paige, effectively silencing the girl.
"Tech pens..." Paige whispered, parting her lips as Emily deepened their kiss. "Ow ow ow ow ow!" She suddenly exclaimed when the girl's hand rested on her right knee.
"Sorry." Emily uttered, hurriedly moving away when she saw Paige wince.
"It's okay." Paige said, shaking her head. "It reminded me that I should probably change the dressing."
"I'll do it. Just rest your knee." Emily instructed, standing up to go to Paige's bathroom to get some gauze. "Are you okay with going out tomorrow to study?" She asked once she was in the living room again. "Maybe we should stay here." She suggested, studying the girl worriedly as she deposited the gauze on the coffee table.
Paige's eyes drifted to Emily's lips. "I think we'll be more productive if we studied outside." She answered as she brought her eyes to meet the girl's. "I'm fine. We're just going to sit for hours in that café anyway."
Emily headed for Paige's fridge to take out the ice pack the girl had been using since her accident. "But if your wound starts to hurt shouldn't you elevate it? How are you going to do that when you're outside?" She asked, going back to Paige's side.
"It doesn't hurt that much." Paige promised. "But thanks for worrying." She added. Though she enjoyed being taken care of by the girl, she didn't want to see Emily this worried about her. "We'll go outside to study tomorrow."
"Okay. But if it starts to hurt I'm dragging you back here." Emily reminded the girl as she began to tend to Paige's wound. She needed to change the gauze so she carefully undid the bandage, feeling guilty again when she saw the huge gash. "Are you sure it's healing?" She asked, looking up at Paige apprehensively. "Maybe you should have this checked out. I'll come with you."
"That's not necessary. It's healing." Paige reassured the girl. "There's just some swelling but the ice pack helps with that."
"If it hurts maybe you should take some painkillers for it." Emily suggested. "I can buy some now?"
Paige shook her head. "I can't. I mean I don't want to." She hurriedly corrected when she noticed Emily's confusion. "I can handle the pain. I don't really take painkillers."
"Reese must've been fuming when you said you couldn't run this afternoon." Emily commented, placing a new gauze over the wound.
"Reese doesn't know." Paige revealed.
Emily looked up at the girl, confused. "How could she not know?" She asked, studying Paige's guilty look. "You ran this afternoon didn't you? That's why your knee hurts now! Paige!"
"I didn't want her to know." Paige explained, cringing.
"But you were wearing track shorts." Emily reminded the girl. "How could she not have seen this?" She said, pointing to the wound.
"I was wearing knee supports so it hid the bandage. I wear one every now and then. She's used to it." Paige answered.
Emily wordlessly wrapped the elastic bandage on Paige's wound, pulling at it until the girl flinched.
"Ow! Careful! Injured person over here!" Paige exclaimed.
"That's for being so hardheaded!" Emily shot back before loosening the bandage a little to let the wound breathe. She got up and sat beside the girl, letting Paige rest her injured knee on her lap. She leaned forward and reached for the ice pack on the coffee table and placed it over Paige's wound with a towel underneath. "Good thing today's your last track practice." She said quietly.
Paige took Emily's hand and squeezed it lightly. "I won't do it again." She promised, knowing how worried the girl is. She moved closer and leaned forward to kiss Emily on the side of her head. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
"I'll just take the bus home." Emily decided. "Don't drive me back to campus tonight so you can rest your knee."
"Okay." Paige said in agreement. "I can't wait for next sem." She suddenly said, smiling at the girl. "Having you as my classmate in three subjects means I get to see you without having to make up excuses all the time."
"Even if we don't get to do things like this?" Emily asked, intertwining their hands.
"I admit it's not going to be easy but if it meant getting to see you I am fine with just sitting next to you." Paige promised.
"Why are you okay with sneaking around now?" Emily said, looking at Paige curiously.
"I guess I finally understood your fear. I've been living in that town for years and I know how much the people there thrive on gossip. I'm used to it but you're not. I know how it feels. Crossing paths with familiar faces that smile at you but once your back is turned to them they wouldn't hesitate to talk about you. I don't want you to experience that." Paige explained, smiling at the girl faintly.
They looked towards the direction of the door when they heard a sharp knock.
"I'll get it." Emily offered but Paige shook her head.
"I'll get it." Paige repeated, getting up and slowly making her way towards it.
Emily stood up and began clearing the coffee table of the takeout cartons, heading for the kitchen to wash their glasses.
"Kayla." Paige uttered once she opened the door and saw the girl standing outside.
"Hey." Kayla said in greeting, giving Paige an eager smile.
"What's up?" Paige asked, moving to close the door a little.
"Nothing much. I was just wondering if I could maybe catch a ride with you back to Rosewood once your finals are over next week." Kayla said in reply. "I don't mind waiting at school until you're done. Just swing by Girard on your way home."
Paige nodded. "Sure. No problem." She answered, smiling at the girl.
"Hey. What happened to your knee?" Kayla asked when her gaze drifted to the bandage.
"Tripped while I was training last week. Don't worry. It's almost healed." Paige added. She was counting for the wound to heal before she had to go home to Rosewood so she wouldn't have to explain to her dad about the accident and she's counting on Kayla not to make a big deal out of it.
"Doesn't look like it's almost healed. It's still wrapped in bandage." Kayla pointed out, giving Paige a suspicious look.
"Just to make sure that it'll heal faster. You know, it won't get easily infected since it's not exposed." Paige explained, hoping what she just said made sense.
"Do you have company? Who's inside with you?" Kayla asked when she faintly heard the faucet turn on then off. She looked past Paige and suddenly grinned. "Hey, Em!" She called out.
Emily moved from the sink and glanced at Kayla. "Hey." She said in reply, hoping her voice didn't seem nervous just now. It's not like being there was out of the ordinary.
"I guess you two finally kissed and made up then." Kayla said jokingly. "Only without the kissing of course." She added, laughing.
"Of course!" Paige repeated, trying to laugh with the girl while praying her cheeks weren't starting to flush.
"So what brings you to this neck of the woods?" Kayla asked Emily.
"Finals." Emily answered, saying the first thing that came to mind. "Paige and I were going to start studying. We just grabbed some dinner first." She added, gesturing to the glass she was holding.
"Oh. Okay. Well good luck with your finals." Kayla said to the two girls. "I guess I better leave then. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Emily and Paige repeated at the same time before Paige closed the door.
"I don't think I should leave just yet." Emily said wryly. "Not when Kayla could come back here or suddenly open her apartment door and see me just as I'm about to leave."
"Want to pass the time?" Paige asked, walking over to Emily. "I have a few ideas on how to help you." She added, resting her hands on the girl's hips.
"I don't know about that." Emily replied, slowly wrapping her arms around Paige's neck. "But you're welcome to try."
Paige grinned. "Then try I will." She whispered before closing her eyes and meeting Emily's soft lips with hers.
"Apple juice. Just like you ordered." Emily said as she approached Paige on the couch they occupied on the far side of the room.
It was Wednesday afternoon and the two girls have been studying for hours in Café Twelve, a café in the gayborhood area of Philly in Washington Square West. So far, the day has been going well for them even though they had to lie to spend time together today. Emily told Spencer she was studying with some of her teammates while Paige told Reese she wasn't feeling well so she'll just join their study group tomorrow instead.
"Thanks." Paige said, looking up and smiling at Emily gratefully. "Here, let me take those from you." She offered, getting up to take the bottle of juice and Emily's coffee from the girl. She placed their beverages on the table amidst the clutter of their study materials before sitting down once again.
"I think that's my third cup of coffee and your second bottle of juice." Emily reminded the girl. "I probably won't be able to sleep until Friday and then Reese is going to kill me for missing the dodgeball tournament on Saturday."
Paige moved a little to make room for Emily who promptly sat next to her. She bit her bottom lip to keep from grinning, forcing her expression to remain neutral when the girl's skin brushed against hers. She casually looked around to see if anyone was watching them knowing Emily didn't want people to think they were together.
"Right. I forgot you have that college house cup thing on Saturday morning." Paige said, moving some of her books on the table in front of them. "Want me to call you to wake you up just in case you sleep through your alarm?"
"I guess it wouldn't hurt." Emily admitted, smiling at the girl.
Emily moved closer, the space between them now almost non-existent. She didn't mind sitting this close to the girl. On the outside it seemed like she's unaffected but her pulse was racing when her skin brushed against Paige's. She subtly looked around to see if people were staring at them and was pleased when she saw that they were all preoccupied, either studying for the finals like them or deep in conversation with their companions. Paige picked the right place for them to study.
"So we've covered MGMT100. What's next?" Emily asked as she looked around the cluttered coffee table in front of them which hid their knees.
"Um, I hate to say this but I think it's time for Calculus." Paige answered, looking at Emily apologetically.
Emily's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Already?" She complained, stifling a groan.
Paige nodded. "Yeah. We've covered the subjects I have and yours too. Calculus is the only one left." She pointed out.
"Great." Emily said sarcastically as she reached for her calculator and found her textbook amidst the clutter.
"I'll do odd-numbered problems; you do even-numbered ones?" Paige suggested, looking at the girl seated next to her. "You choose. I'm fine either way." She added as she reached for her calculator and looked around for her own book
Emily rested her elbow on her thigh before she leaned her head on her hand, staring at Paige's features. She suddenly smiled, fighting the urge to kiss Paige. "You look so cute when you're serious." She said quietly.
Paige felt her cheeks turn several shades of red. "Don't say things like that when we're in public!" She exclaimed, fighting the urge to close the distance between them and kiss Emily.
"Why?" Emily asked innocently, aware that Paige is staring at her lips.
"You know why." Paige shot back, frustrated. "You're mean!"
Emily laughed. "Want to make out in the bathroom?" She suggested, glancing towards the direction of the aforementioned room and raising an eyebrow at Paige meaningfully.
"What?! No! It's unsanitary!" Paige protested. "Plus it's a public bathroom. I don't think I can properly kiss you with people coming in and out of it."
"Then do you want to continue studying back in your apartment instead?" Emily asked coyly.
"I want to study, Em. You proved your point last Monday night about studying in my apartment, remember? It's small but if I look hard enough I can see your hickey from here." Paige said in a low voice, squinting and making Emily cover her neck. She laughed. "I'm kidding. The point is, I don't think we'll be doing much studying in a place where it's just the two of us and there's a couch and a bed."
"Like this couch?" Emily said, giving Paige a playful grin.
Paige sighed. "Em, you find my discomfort amusing don't you?" She asked, giving the girl a wary look.
Emily shrugged. "A little. Yeah." She admitted.
"Well it's not." Paige said quietly. "Do you know how badly I want to kiss you right now? It's frustrating. I'm crazy about you and I can't show it in public."
"Are you saying you don't want to do this anymore?" Emily asked, suddenly getting worried.
Paige shook her head. "No, I do. I don't want to stop seeing you. And I have my own reasons for agreeing to this setup." She added. "I just wish you'd stop teasing me so much when we're in public."
Emily realized for the first time how hard this was for Paige and her smile disappeared. "Sorry." She said quietly. "I'm sorry I still don't know what this is. And that I'm hurting you because of it."
"Don't be. I like you. So much. If I didn't I would've backed out of this. I know you're still trying to figure things out and I told you I'm fine with waiting." Paige promised. "Let's just get back to studying so we can leave for my apartment soon. Being this near to you is driving me crazy." She confessed, trying to lighten the mood.
"Okay." Emily said in agreement, focusing on her Calculus book instead. "I'll take the even-numbered problems." She added.
Paige nodded and began solving the odd-numbered ones. She inhaled sharply when she suddenly felt Emily slide her hand between them and swallowed hard when the girl took her hand.
"We can solve problems using one hand, right?" Emily asked, not looking at Paige.
"It's a challenge but I think I'm up for it." Paige replied as she changed the position of their hands and intertwined them without looking at the girl as well.
"Just so you know..." Emily suddenly said, making Paige glance at her. "I'm crazy about you too." She confessed, meeting the girl's eyes briefly before looking away.
Paige visibly winced when she heard the shrill sound of the whistle being blown by Reese on Saturday morning, wondering how many deities the girl prayed to that she ended up being appointed captain of the dodgeball team of Harrison College House.
"You know those cartoons you watched when you were a kid where there's a guy blowing on his whistle and then he blows so hard on it that he ends up swallowing it instead? I feel as if that's about to happen any minute now." Paige said once Reese was standing next to her on the sidelines of the basketball court in Pottruck Center. She turned to the girl and narrowed her eyes, waiting for that exact scenario to happen.
"What are you doing here again?" Reese asked, ignoring Paige's quip.
"Why? Is this event exclusive?" Paige said in reply. "I just wanted to see how these college house cups work." She continued, her eyes following Emily's movement across the court as the girl deftly avoided being hit by a ball. "I'll never get the chance to participate in these events since I don't live in one."
Paige mentally shook her head. She had to hand it to the girl. How Emily could look graceful while running around dodging balls was a mystery to her. If she was the one inside that court, she wouldn't look graceful. She'd look fierce and she'd probably be sporting a scowl as well. But Emily was just running around the court, her face serious as she concentrated on avoiding and catching the balls but never losing the grace Paige felt Emily was born with.
"You know you can blink and take a breath as well. Doing those things is free. Emily won't disappear from your sight if you did." Reese said, nudging Paige lightly. "I gotta admit, I didn't know she's that good. I mean I just assumed people know how to play the sport. I didn't think she was excellent at it." She added, watching Emily as well.
"Yeah Emily's one of the best dodgeball players back in high school." Paige revealed, tearing her eyes away from the girl to focus on Reese. "We had PE together our sophomore year so I know. She was team captain most of the time."
"Well she and Spencer seem to be perfect for this sport." Reese pointed out, nodding her head towards the girl who Emily just managed to tag back into the game. "They're in sync."
"They've been friends for years. They've got each other's backs and pretty much know how the other person's mind strategizes so yeah. Good call on your part, captain." Paige emphasized, patting Reese on the shoulder for effect.
Reese gave the girl a sarcastic smile before blowing on her whistle to call for a timeout from the referee. "You're lucky you're my friend. I'm giving you five minutes with your dream girl." She said before walking over to the group.
Paige fidgeted with the bottle of water she was carrying as she contemplated whether or not to head over there as well. She didn't tell Emily she was coming by to see her play and she doubted the girl would appreciate it if she handed the bottle to her.
Emily will probably freak out. Paige thought, relieved that she decided not to hand the bottle of water to the girl when she saw Connor hand Spencer one. She watched as Connor tenderly wiped the sweat off Spencer's forehead while talking to his girlfriend, wishing she could do the same to Emily. Not that she's my girlfriend or anything.
"Is that for me?" Paige tore her eyes away from the couple when she heard Emily's voice near her. She turned around, surprised to see the girl smiling at her.
"Uh, yeah." Paige answered, smiling back as she handed the bottle to the girl and let their fingers brush for a brief second.
"Thanks. What are you doing here?" Emily asked, twisting the cap off and drinking a generous amount of the water.
"I wanted to see you play." Paige admitted. Most of the people inside the building were standing a few steps away from them and she realized she and Emily can talk openly.
"You should be resting your knee, Paige." Emily reminded the girl, glancing at Paige's right knee where she knew there was a bandage wrapped around the wound despite the girl wearing jeans at the moment.
"Yeah I know. But I wanted to ask in person if we can have lunch afterwards then study again." Paige answered. "Unless of course you already made plans with Spencer."
Emily smiled. "She and Connor made plans afterwards but I declined to join them in the off chance that you might ask." She admitted, handing back the bottle of water to the girl. "I'll go to your place after I freshen up and I'll bring the food as well. Just go home and rest that knee of yours."
Paige nodded. "Okay." She said in agreement. She let her eyes study the girl's outfit, admiring Emily's seemingly mile-long legs in the black gym shorts the girl was wearing. She forced herself to focus her attention on Emily's face but instead found herself studying Emily's gray racerback tank top that accentuated the girl's perfect curves. She let her gaze linger on Emily's slender neck before finally meeting the girl's sparkling brown eyes. "I am seriously tempted to wait until the game's over and offer you a ride just so you could come over to my place wearing that."
Emily felt her cheeks grow warm with Paige's blatant admiration. "I don't think you have studying for the finals in your mind right now." She managed to say teasingly as she raised her arms to fix her ponytail.
"What gave it away?" Paige asked, smiling at the girl. "You look gorgeous by the way. In case I wasn't being obvious just now. And I really want to kiss you long and hard but I can wait until we're alone. I just wanted to put it out there."
"You probably can't tell 'cos my face is all red from playing but you're making me blush." Emily admitted.
"Oh I can tell. I like making you blush." Paige said in a low voice. "Good luck out there." She added just as Reese blew her whistle again to signal the end of the timeout. Paige watched Emily head back inside the court and waved a hand goodbye to Reese before she exited the building, eager to be alone with Emily in just a few hours.
"Can we take a break?" Emily asked, looking at the girl seated next to her on the couch. "My brain needs a break. We've been studying for five hours straight."
"Finally." Paige said, dropping the pen she was using and facing Emily. "Want me to make you stop thinking?" She offered, immediately leaning forward to kiss the girl once.
Paige had been dying to kiss Emily for more than a minute ever since the girl showed up on her door wearing the black gym shorts and a red jacket. The girl wasn't wearing the jacket now and Paige was pleasantly surprised that Emily was wearing underneath it the UPenn track and field t-shirt she lent the girl since Emily changed out of her top before she came over.
"You do have a way of doing that." Emily admitted, wrapping her arms around the girl's neck and kissing Paige back.
Emily felt herself being gently guided to lie down on the couch and she didn't resist, parting her lips to give access to Paige's tongue. Her pulse hammered when she felt the girl's leg slide between hers and knew her cheeks were probably flushed when she felt Paige's bare skin against hers. She came over straight from the dodgeball tournament, wearing the clothes Paige wanted to see her in. She changed shirts of course but she still wore the gym shorts and now, feeling Paige's bare thigh against hers since the girl was wearing track shorts, her heart was pounding. It was the first time that they were kissing wearing these kinds of clothes. Usually they were in jeans or at least one of them is.
"Ow." Emily heard herself say when Paige rested her hand on her thigh.
"What?" Paige asked, quickly getting up into a sitting position to study Emily. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I guess my legs are a little sore from that dodgeball tournament. I haven't played that sport since we were in second year." Emily admitted, rubbing her left thigh since it hurt more than the right.
"I can massage it if you want?" Paige offered, moving a little to put some space between them.
"Yeah. Okay." Emily answered, extending her left leg and resting it on Paige's lap.
Paige placed her hands on Emily's thigh and began massaging the area she saw the girl rub earlier. "Better?" She asked, looking at Emily hesitantly.
Emily shook her head. "No. Too light. You need to put more pressure." She instructed. "Ow! Not too much!" She exclaimed, wincing.
"Sorry." Paige muttered, trying to gauge the pressure she was exerting on Emily's thigh.
Emily laughed. "Jai does it better." She said offhandedly.
"Show me." Paige said, suddenly getting serious.
The smile on Emily's lips disappeared. "Paige, no." She answered, shaking her head. "Do your thing. It's fine. I'm sorry I said that."
"Doing my thing is hurting you. Come on. Show me how she does it." Paige insisted.
Emily hesitated. Her muscles were really starting to ache because of the massage Paige was giving her. She finally took Paige's hand and guided the girl, showing how Jai usually massaged her sore muscles. Emily watched Paige closely as the girl committed to memory the amount of pressure to exert and the position of the fingers. She wasn't comfortable showing Paige how Jai does things.
"Okay. I think I got it." Paige finally said, nodding at Emily confidently. She began repeating what Emily showed her and finally got used to the manner with which Jai gave the girl a massage. "Better?" She asked, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice. She didn't know if she was doing it right.
"Yeah." Emily replied, smiling faintly at the girl. "Much."
A moment of silence passed between them until Paige suddenly laughed.
"What?" Emily asked, confused.
"You're complaining of sore muscles and I'm complaining of a swollen knee. We're a couple of accident prone girls tonight." Paige explained, making Emily laugh as well. "Maybe a hot compress for your leg would help." She suggested, gently lowering Emily's leg so she could get up and head to the kitchen to warm some water.
Emily turned her head to study Paige, following the girl's movement around the kitchen as the girl filled a kettle with water and turned on the stove. She looked away when she heard her phone vibrate from the coffee table. Leaning forward, she smiled when she saw who was calling.
"Hey, mom." Emily said in greeting once she answered her phone. "What's up?" She asked, looking behind her when she realized that Paige's movement became quieter. The girl knew her mom might ask where she is if the woman heard pots and pans clanging in the background.
Emily nodded, turning around to face the balcony instead. "Yeah. Friday's the last day of our finals then I can go home for the holidays." She answered. "Before dinner? Yeah. I think I can be home before dinner on Friday. Why?"
"A guest? Yeah, okay. I'll make it." Emily promised, looking up when she felt Paige return from the kitchen. She smiled at the girl and watched Paige take a seat next to her. Emily leaned forward to move some of her things around the cluttered coffee table to make room for the small basin Paige was carrying.
"Yeah. The first exam I had yesterday was okay. I didn't ace it but I think I'll get a decent grade." Emily admitted, following Paige with her eyes when the girl got up again, heading for the bathroom or the bedroom this time.
"The next one's on Monday and I have tonight and tomorrow to study for it. That goes for the rest of my exams next week." Emily continued. She smiled when Paige kissed her softly on the head, wordlessly telling her she's back with a small towel in hand.
"Yeah. Calculus is the only subject I'm dreading actually." Emily admitted as she moved her arm out of the way to let Paige apply the hot compress on her sore thigh. She mouthed a silent thank you to the girl and placed her hand on Paige's thigh when the girl moved to return to her studying.
"Yeah, mom. I'm okay." Emily said, smiling when Paige moved to take her hand, intertwining it with hers as the girl focused on reading a book. "No, I'm good. Don't worry. In fact I'm really happy right now." She admitted softly, her eyes on Paige.
"I can't believe we survived a sem." Spencer said, taking a deep breath as she let her gaze wander in front of her.
It was a Friday afternoon and she and Emily were currently standing in front of Harrison College House, waiting for their respective rides to arrive. The fall semester is officially over and they were headed home to Rosewood for the holidays.
"I know. I can't believe I lasted a sem here." Emily admitted. Just when she thought being here was going to be hard because Jai isn't around, Paige made everything better.
"You know, I really don't mind if you join me and Connor on the drive back to Rosewood. I actually prefer it than you catching a ride with Paige." Spencer added.
"And Kayla." Emily added, looking at her friend. "Spence, I've gotten a ride from Paige before for the Thanksgiving break, remember? It's not like she's going to get into trouble and drag me into it."
"I wouldn't put it past her." Spencer muttered. "Why did you ask for a ride from her anyway? The only reason you rode with her last time is because I had to stay here until Thanksgiving. You know Connor would've offered you one."
"Paige has been giving me rides ever since Jai died." Emily reminded her friend. "She's not a reckless driver. And I don't want to keep fighting with you about her so can we please call a ceasefire?" She pleaded. "I figured you wanted to be alone with Connor that's why I asked."
"Em, it's not like we're going to make out while he's driving." Spencer said, laughing. She didn't want to fight with her friend either and it was obvious that Emily was leaning towards Paige's side right now.
"Yeah but you're not going to spend the entire ride not talking. I just thought you'd want to be able to talk to him openly about anything." Emily explained. She checked the time on her watch. "I'm gonna buy a cup of coffee to go. You want anything?"
"Nope. I'm good." Spencer answered, following Emily's progress as her friend headed inside Café Prima.
Spencer turned around to look at the street once again, waiting for Connor to arrive when a gray SUV pulled up directly in front of her, effectively blocking her view of the street. Rude much? She thought, annoyed. Her annoyance over the situation increased when the driver of the vehicle rolled down the window of the passenger seat and she saw who it was.
"Hey." Paige said in greeting, oblivious to what she just did as she gave Spencer a small smile.
"Should've known it was you. You're the only one rude enough to block someone's view of the street." Spencer retorted.
"Oh. Sorry. I thought you were acting as a lookout for Emily. Offering to tell her once I arrive… so I pulled over. I didn't know you were waiting for someone too." Paige explained apologetically.
Spencer stared at Paige for a second. "Why the hell would I stand here and endure the cold to wait for you?" She asked, baffled with the girl's logic.
"Spencer." Emily said sternly, reprimanding her friend with a look when she saw that the girl was giving Paige a hard time. She just got back from buying her coffee when she saw Paige pull up and she knew this was going to happen. "Come on. Retract your claws. Where's your Christmas spirit?" She said lightly.
"Ask her. She's the Grinch." Spencer said, nodding her head towards Paige. "Emily better get back to Rosewood in one piece." She added, narrowing her eyes at the girl.
"I'll try." Paige shot back sarcastically.
"Guys." Emily pleaded, running a hand through her hair in distress. She knew Paige was just trying to keep up appearances but she didn't want Spencer to hate Paige even more. She grabbed her duffel bag from the ground beside her friend and moved to open the rear door of the car to deposit her things along with Paige's and Kayla's. "I'll see you in Rosewood." She told Spencer, hugging the girl once before opening the passenger door to get in.
Paige gave Spencer a wave before rolling up the car window and shifting the gear into drive. "Sorry." She said after she let a moment of silence pass between her and Emily.
Emily shook her head. "Don't apologize. I'm sure Spencer was the one who started it. I'm sorry." She said, taking Paige's hand.
"At least I get you to myself for a few minutes before Kayla joins us." Paige pointed out, kissing the back of Emily's hand and stirring the car towards Girard.
Emily smiled. "I just want to be back in Rosewood so we could spend time in my room." She admitted, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Yeah. I am definitely ready for that. My legs could use a little climbing." Paige added.
Emily furrowed her brows, concerned. "Maybe I should come over to your house instead. Your knee..."
"Is healed." Paige finished. "The wound's closed and the swelling's gone. I can climb that tree of yours." She promised.
"Why don't you want me to come over your house?" Emily asked, laughing as she studied Paige.
Crap. "It's not that I don't want to. It's just easier to make out in your room. My bedroom door doesn't have a lock." Paige reminded the girl. "There goes our privacy." She added, smiling faintly at the girl.
"Yeah I remember that." Emily said, releasing Paige's hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
"So who's this dinner guest your mom is having over tonight?" Paige asked, glancing at the girl once she stopped at a red light.
Emily shrugged. "I don't know. She just said it's a family friend." She replied. "It's probably one of our distant relatives from my dad's side visiting for the holidays. They do that when they know my dad isn't around. Sort of their way of making sure that me and my mom are doing okay." She explained.
"Your family sounds amazing." Paige commented, smiling at Emily earnestly. "I know it was just for a few hours but when I was at your dad's going away party I saw how happy everyone was even if they knew your dad was leaving. I've never experienced that."
"What about your relatives?" Emily asked just as Paige shifted the gear into drive again.
"We're not really into gatherings. We rarely see each other actually. We usually get together during family reunions but that hasn't happened in years." Paige admitted.
"So no relatives coming over during Christmas?" Emily guessed.
Paige nodded. "Why?" She asked, glancing at the girl.
"Just checking. I might decide to show up and surprise you." Emily answered casually.
"Oh if you show up in an elf costume I will drive them away!" Paige said eagerly.
"Elf? Nah. Maybe I'll come over as Mrs. Santa." Emily suggested, her brown eyes twinkling.
"That's better. That means I get to sit on your lap!" Paige exclaimed, making Emily laugh.
Two Years Ago...
"Come on. I want a milkshake." Kayla pleaded, pouting at Paige from the passenger seat of Nick's car.
"No." Paige repeated firmly as she concentrated on the road in front of her before shifting to make herself comfortable in the driver's seat.
Paige just got her junior driver's license and her dad gave her permission to drive around town as a way to celebrate. She invited Jai to commemorate this day but her best friend wanted to bring Emily along for the ride and hell would freeze over before she let that girl anywhere near her dad's car so in the end she asked Kayla to come along instead, confusing Jai. Paige didn't know Jai's sister was going to use the occasion to ask her to go to a drive-thru though. So now she's been spending the entire drive saying 'no' with varying intonations.
"But I'm craving for something sweet." Kayla complained.
Paige rummaged around in her jacket pockets until she found what she was looking for. "Here. Eat a candy." She suggested, handing the small food to the girl. "Give me the wrapper once you eat it and don't talk or the candy might fall out of your mouth."
Kayla frowned. "What do I have to do to make you let me eat inside this car?" She asked, pocketing the candy instead. She wanted something cold and sweet. Not something hard and sweet.
"You have to be god." Paige answered, her eyes never leaving the road.
"That's impossible." Kayla pointed out wryly.
"Then you have to make me fall madly in love with you because that's the only time I'd care more about you than this car." Paige continued, giving Kayla a smug grin.
"What? We both know I'd have better luck pretending to be god than making you love me, Paige." Kayla retorted. "If those are your conditions then I'm certain this car and your own car will be squeaky clean for the rest of your life."
"That's the plan." Paige admitted.
"You think you'll ever love someone again?" Kayla asked, getting serious.
"Someday." Paige answered. "I don't mind waiting for years because I know she's out there. The girl who I know will stick around this time. Whatever happens." She said resolutely. "And then she can eat all the food she wants inside this car. I'll even help her make a mess if it meant she'll stay for good."
"Do you hate her?" Kayla said softly. She knew it was still a sore subject for Paige after all these years.
Paige shook her head. "I get why she left. I don't blame her." She said, smiling at Kayla faintly. "But the next girl though... I won't tell my dad until I'm certain."
Present Day...
Kayla opened the door of the backseat to Paige's car, eager to head back to Rosewood to spend the holidays with her father. Not because they have a tradition of their own that they will celebrate but because like Thanksgiving, it was the first Christmas and New Year they would spend without Jai and she wanted to be with her dad.
"Sorry I'm late." Kayla said in greeting, closing the door gently. She waited for the two girls seated in the front of the car to acknowledge her presence but she realized they were busy.
"I'm so sorry." Emily repeated, looking around her for something to use to keep the liquid from spreading.
"Don't be. It's my fault. I should've been watching the road." Paige insisted, looking at Emily's shirt. "Are you okay? It's not piping hot is it?" She asked, taking the now empty cup of coffee and placing it on the dashboard.
"No. It's not. The coffee was already lukewarm. I'm fine, Paige." Emily answered.
Kayla winced when she heard the word. Apparently Emily just spilled her coffee in Paige's car. "Awesome." She muttered under her breath.
Now on top of going home to a cold house tonight, she would have to endure Paige and Emily fighting when the former yells at the latter for drinking coffee in the first place inside the car. It was déjà vu. Like she was back in that road trip she took to California with the two girls. Now it's up to her again to dissolve the tension once the two girls stopped fighting and just sat in silence the entire ride home.
"Good thing you took off your jacket earlier. At least you could hide the stain until you get home. Here. Wipe those off before they seep on your shirt." Paige said, handing Emily several tissues from inside the glove compartment.
Kayla creased her brows when she heard Paige say those words. She must've heard wrong. Paige didn't just offer Emily tissues. Right? She studied the two girls closely and remembered the road trip they took last year.
Paige has two rules when riding in her dad's car. One, no eating inside unless it's absolutely necessary like on this road trip. And even if she allows it, you can't drink juice, coffee, soda or any other beverage that isn't water. And you can't eat messy foods or foods that leave an 'aftersmell' as she likes to call it like noodles, burritos, tacos, burgers, and subs. And two, no touching the stereo. That one she's really strict about.
And there's no one exempted from those rules.
Nope. Well unless you're god. I'm still trying to figure out a way to trick her into believing I've become god for a day.
Back then Kayla didn't bother to tell Emily the other exemption to the rule. The girl was with her sister so she didn't see the need for Emily to know the other one. It's not like it would ever apply to her. But now, as she watched Paige fuss all over Emily, profusely apologizing for being reckless in her driving, Kayla realized that her hope to make Paige notice her just vanished. Paige only has eyes for Emily and it'd be easier for her to pretend to be god than make Paige look away from the girl she's obviously fallen in love with.
Kayla actually thought she had a shot now since Paige said she won't say anything about her feelings for Emily and Emily told her that her feelings for Paige would go away eventually. The two girls didn't plan on acting on their feelings for each other so she was hoping to make her move on Paige now. Maybe even over the holidays. A kiss underneath the mistletoe would be a perfect place to start. But then something caught her eye.
"Wait. I think there's some coffee on your arm." Paige said, stopping the girl from wearing her jacket and grabbing a clean tissue to wipe it off.
"Where? I don't see it." Emily said, looking down at her shirt and her arms. She instinctively reached over to gently tuck a strand of hair away from Paige's eyes when the girl leaned closer to her, brushing the girl's soft hair away from Paige's eyes so the girl could see where to wipe the coffee, letting her hand linger on Paige's earlobe to play with it.
And that was all Kayla needed to see. The smiles on the girls' lips and the way they touched each other took the air right out of her lungs.
Oh my god.
"I'd rather have dinner with you." Emily said as she and Paige sat inside the girl's car later that night.
Although they just dropped off Kayla at her house, it felt like the entire drive back to Rosewood it was just the two of them. Kayla barely said anything and when Paige asked what's up with the girl's behavior; Kayla said something about needing time to process some things so they didn't bother Jai's sister the rest of the ride, letting the girl sleep at the back in peace. Now that they were really alone, sitting in the dark just a house away from hers, Emily tore her glance away from her front door when she felt Paige squeeze her hand.
"I'd rather have dinner with you too. Then do other stuff after." Paige added, making Emily smile. "But we're back in Rosewood." She reminded the girl before releasing Emily's hand reluctantly.
Emily looked down at their hands, immediately missing the contact. "I'll see you on Sunday. Right?" She asked, looking at the girl.
Paige nodded. "Yeah. We'll figure something out. You should spend more time with your friends while you're here so tomorrow you should hang out with them. I don't mind." She added. "We'll spend the entire day on Sunday together." She promised, making Emily smile. "But for now you should head inside. Your mom's waiting for you. And so is your dinner guest. I'll bring your bag through the kitchen door so we can see each other before I have to leave. Pretend you forgot it."
"Okay." Emily answered, almost leaning forward to kiss Paige goodbye but the girl shook her head, slightly pulling away. "Right." She said when she remembered anyone could see them.
Emily alighted from Paige's car and reluctantly closed the door behind her, crossing the street and walking past her neighbor's house to go inside her own house.
"Mom?" Emily called out once she was inside the cozy foyer, closing the door behind her as she did so. "I'm home!"
"In here, sweetie." Pam Fields replied, her voice carrying from inside the living room so Emily made her way towards it.
"Um, hey, mom." Emily said once she stepped inside the room, managing to hide her surprise and confusion when she saw her mother seated on the couch next to a really pretty girl with dark brown hair that ended just above her waist. The girl looked about her age and had almond-shaped eyes and thin red lips.
"Emily. I'd like you to meet Olga." Pam said, getting up and making the introductions. "Olga, this is my daughter Emily."
"Hi." Olga said in greeting, giving Emily a smile that showed off the girl's dimples.
"Hi." Emily repeated, giving the girl a small smile while trying to hide the feeling of dread that was starting to turn her stomach into knots. She knew what this was. "Mom, can I talk to you for a sec?" She asked, looking at her mother and leading the way to the kitchen without waiting for a reply.
"Sure. Excuse us." Pam said to Olga, smiling at the girl apologetically.
"Of course." Olga replied, looking around the living room to find something to do to pass the time.
"My first night back here in Rosewood and you decided to set me up with a blind date?!" Emily urgently asked her mother in a low voice once they were inside the kitchen. "Why didn't you tell me about this when you called?"
"Because I knew you were going to react this way." Pam answered. "It's just dinner, sweetie. This will give you the chance to get to know each other. I think it might be good for you."
Emily rubbed the side of her head, trying to control her annoyance. "Mom, I don't need you to set me up." She pointed out. "If I wanted to start seeing someone I would do it myself. Where did you even meet her?"
"At the hospital." Pam revealed. "No, I'm not sick." She hurriedly added when she saw her daughter frown. "It's just an annual medical checkup. Olga was sitting in the waiting area when I arrived, waiting for her aunt so we got to talking. She said she lives in the next town but she visits her aunt every now and then since the woman is old and lives by herself. She used to do it with her girlfriend but they broke up about two years ago and she hasn't been with anyone else since then."
"So what? You thought it'd be a good idea to set her up with someone whose girlfriend died not even a year ago?" Emily asked incredulously.
"I'm just trying to help. You have to start somewhere." Pam said gently. "I've gotten to know her and she's a nice girl. Good head on her shoulders, good family background..."
"Oh my god mom, I'm not a kid!" Emily exclaimed, exasperated. "I don't want to start seeing anyone exclusively. I'm still in love with Jai." She confessed.
"When do you plan on moving on then?" Pam asked worriedly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"I don't know. Maybe soon, maybe never. Okay?" Emily answered, looking away.
"Paige." Pam suddenly uttered, looking past her daughter to stare at the girl standing by the open kitchen door.
Emily stiffened when she heard her mother say Paige's name. Turning around slowly, she saw the girl standing just inside the kitchen door with her duffel bag. She forgot that they agreed to meet here.
"What are you doing here?" Pam continued, giving the girl a confused look.
Paige swallowed hard. "Sorry. I knocked and the door was open so I came in." She explained, now feeling like an idiot for not waiting for Emily to open the door for her instead. "Um, I was just dropping this off. Emily forgot her things inside my car in her excitement to come home." She lied, extending her arm to hand the girl her duffel bag.
Emily wordlessly took it, unable to meet the girl's eyes. She didn't know exactly how long the girl had been standing behind her but Paige probably heard the entire conversation. Emily finally forced herself to meet Paige's eyes to see if the girl heard what she just told her mother but Paige's expression was neutral.
Paige cleared her throat awkwardly to fill the heavy silence in the room. "I'm going ahead. My dad's waiting for me." She said even though it's just her and Gwen in the house for the night.
"You drove my daughter home?" Pam asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"Um. Yeah. She and Kayla were in the car with me." Paige clarified. For some reason she felt like the woman didn't approve of her and Emily being alone.
"I was the one who asked for a ride home, mom." Emily said before her mother could ask whose idea was it. "Paige didn't offer."
"Well thank you for driving my daughter home. Again." Pam added, glancing at the girl standing in front of her. "And for not giving her a hard time especially since Jasmine isn't around anymore. You're a good best friend."
Paige nodded, ignoring the way Pam said those words. "No problem. Emily actually did me a favor since she kept me company on the drive. And Kayla too, of course." She hurriedly added. She really needed to leave. "I'm gonna go ahead." Paige said, looking at Emily and jutting her thumb behind her.
"Okay." Emily answered, fighting the urge to take Paige by the hand and leave her house so she could explain what happened just now. "Thanks for the ride. And this." She said, gesturing to her duffel bag.
"Have a good night, Mrs. Fields." Paige said politely, nodding her head a little towards Emily's mother.
"Goodnight. Drive safe." Pam reminded the girl.
"I will." Paige promised before leaving, closing the door behind her as she did so.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" Pam asked after a moment of silence passed between them.
Emily gripped the strap of her duffel bag tightly before facing her mother. "Why would you ask me that?" She said in reply.
"Because when you realized that Paige was standing right behind you, you had this look." Pam explained, uncrossing her arms and resting one hand on the immaculate kitchen countertop. "Like you were a deer caught in headlights." She clarified. She studied her daughter closely. "Is Paige courting you?" She asked, concerned.
"No." Emily answered, dismayed when she saw her mother exhale a sigh of relief. "I just thought she might've overheard us arguing and I felt embarrassed. Nothing's going on." She continued, knowing those were the words her mother wanted to hear.
"Good." Pam said. "Because you know the people in this town and how rumors start. Being seen with Jasmine's best friend all the time isn't..."
"All the time? Mom this is just the second time that we came back to Rosewood together." Emily interjected. "I don't see how they could just assume that there's something going on based on that."
"Why wait for them to start speculating?" Pam said in reply. "With the rumors about her family floating around, it would be best if you spent less time with Paige."
"Mom we go to the same university and we almost have the same classes. How do you expect me to do that?" Emily asked, frustrated. "And you just made it perfectly clear to her that she's a good best friend to Jai for spending time with me. Why is it so wrong to be seen with her?"
"I'm not saying completely avoid her. Just lessen the amount of time being alone with her." Pam explained patiently. "Paige isn't a good fit for you anyway."
"Because of the rumors?" Emily guessed. "Since when do you let those things bother you?"
"It doesn't bother me. The people in this town can talk about her family for all I care. But if the rumors start to include you and our family, I have a problem with that." Pam admitted. "Emily, we all have a reputation to protect and the last thing I want is Paige's reputation tainting yours. I don't want the Hayes to hear about it. I don't want their name to be dragged into it. I don't want people to start talking about you negatively."
"And you think being seen with Olga won't?" Emily asked in disbelief. "It hasn't been a year since Jai died, mom. The people in this town will still think I'm replacing Jai too soon whatever I do. And honestly? Sometimes that's what I think too. That's why I don't want to be seen with anyone. I thought at least with Paige people would understand and think that we're just grieving together since we both love Jai." She admitted, for the first time hating living in this town. Just when she was starting to think that it wasn't that big of a deal to be seen with the girl, this happens.
"I'm not saying you should date Olga starting tonight. I'm just asking you to have dinner with someone who has the same qualities as Jasmine." Pam revealed. "I wouldn't ask you to meet her if I didn't think she's good for you."
Emily sighed. "Mom..."
"Go freshen up and meet us in the dining table." Pam said, touching her daughter's arm briefly. "We've left Olga by herself for too long. It's rude."
"Yeah. Okay. I'll be right there." Emily answered, conceding. She waited until her mom left the kitchen before she took out her phone from the front pocket of her jeans and hurriedly dialed the girl's number. "Come on. Paige, pick up. Please." Emily begged under her breath, biting her bottom lip anxiously. But her call just went to voicemail.