Locum Tenens

by snowballs

Locum Tenens – place holder, substitute. Paige & Emily have been connected through only one girl. Jai has been Emily's girlfriend for almost 3 years & Paige's best friend for 7. When she died, the dynamic between the two drastically shifted. As Emily slowly comes to grips with her loss, she enters into a tentative relationship with Paige. But has Emily truly let go? Paily AU.

23. sic infit : chapter xiii

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.

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Longest chapter yet. Apologies for the late post. Work and tears got in the way of editing this chapter. :)

...it's safe to say that I won't be able to post the next chapter this Friday. Might be on Saturday or Sunday again...

Thanks for the reviews!

Bell26, moonlightonwater, Nae10, buzidoo and Bobx7... Thanks for the PM.

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PART TWO: "Sic Infit"

~ So it begins. ~

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Four Years Ago...

Paige rang the doorbell once before entering the Hayes' house on a Saturday afternoon, the act done to announce her arrival rather than to be ushered in. Logan was in Minnesota for a medical conference and Kayla didn't come home from Girard for the weekend again so her best friend had the house to herself and Paige knew that Jai was too lazy to get the door. She headed straight for the stairs, taking the steps two at a time as she made her way to Jai's room. She knew she was early. But her dad returned from California sooner than expected with a complete limited edition DVD box set of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and she was looking forward to watching it with her best friend.

"Do you need help?" Paige heard Jai ask once she was standing outside her friend's bedroom and wondered if the girl was on the phone or there really was someone else inside other than Jai.

"No. I think I got it." Paige rolled her eyes, her question answered when she heard Emily's voice. "Okay, no, I don't. Take it off me." Paige's eyes widened when she heard those words. Maybe she should've stuck to coming over after four.

"Spread your legs so I can reach for it." Paige heard Jai say, making her uncomfortable. She told herself to move but couldn't so she just stood there, holding her breath. "I can't find it. Turn around. Maybe it's on the other side." Paige creased her brows, now confused. She rapped her knuckles twice on the door before opening it and covered her mouth to hold her laughter but she was too late.

"Nice entrance." Jai retorted, rolling her eyes at the girl.

Paige didn't bother with greeting her friend and just continued laughing, pointing a finger at Emily who was currently standing near Jai's bed with her back turned to the door. The girl had a magazine cutout of a diamond engagement ring stuck on the back of her jeans in the middle of her ass and for some reason Paige found it hilarious.

Emily felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment and she quickly moved her hand over her ass to find the cutout that she was about to add to the vision board she and Jai were making. This made Jai's best friend laugh even harder and she was torn between walking out and grabbing a pillow from her girlfriend's bed to throw at a breathless Paige.

Jai moved to help her girlfriend, standing behind Emily so Paige's view of the girl's ass was blocked. "Got it." She told her girlfriend, showing the cutout when Emily turned around to face her. "Where do you want this?" She asked, gesturing to the vision board on the floor.

"I think it was perfect right where it was a few seconds ago." Paige managed to say between intakes of breath, making Jai roll her eyes again and Emily glare at her. She struggled for composure but ended up chuckling before she finally moved to sit on the chair near Jai's study table. "What the heck is that anyway?" She asked, nodding her head towards the illustration board on the floor. "Your interpretation of the Chaos Theory or something?"

"No. It's our joint vision board." Jai answered, handing Emily the diamond ring so her girlfriend could stick the cutout on the board. "We decided to make one for ourselves after that Social Studies project."

"Why?" Paige uttered, depositing the paper bag containing the DVD box sets she brought with her on top of Jai's desk.

"Do we really have to spell out everything for you?" Emily replied exasperatedly.

"Yeah. And here's your first word. Sniffles." Paige shot back, making Emily narrow her eyes at her.

"We decided to combine our dreams into one board." Jai hurriedly answered before the two girls could start bickering again. "Like a map of what we want for our future. Here. Let me show some of them to you." She said, propping the illustration board against the side of her bed so Paige could see it better.

"Uh, I think I'll pass. I didn't come here for Show and Tell." Paige said, shaking her head vehemently.

Jai shrugged. "Suit yourself." She said before returning the illustration board on the floor.

Emily sat down cross-legged in front of the board and rubbed glue on the back of the diamond ring again before leaning forward to stick the cutout on the center of the board. She leaned back to study what she and Jai have done so far and smiled up at her girlfriend. "Almost done." She said before looking around to find the magazine for the last cutout.

Jai spotted the reading material and handed it to the girl. "I can cut it out for you." She offered, looking around for the pair of scissors they've been using.

"Because God forbid your girlfriend doesn't know how to use scissors and she might cut herself." Paige chimed in.

"It's fine, Jai. I can do it." Emily said, taking the magazine from her girlfriend before reaching for the scissors on the floor next to her.

Jai watched the girl cut the picture in the magazine for a few seconds before looking at her friend. "You're early." She commented when she saw the time on the clock on her study table.

"I know. My dad came home around two with the DVDs so I decided to come over now. Although now that I'm here I think I should've called first. I didn't know you have Arts and Crafts until four with Sniffles." Paige added, laughing at her own joke. "You two need to find a sense of humor. Seriously." She said, shaking her head at her friend. "Do you two even know how to laugh when you're together?"

"Yeah. We do. When we see the humor in things." Emily answered, stopping what she was doing to look at Paige. "Planning our future is hardly a laughing matter. But I really don't expect you to understand."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Paige asked, her temper flaring.

"It means that when people ask what your long-term plans are, you're just going to shrug and say that you're living in the moment." Emily pointed out before returning to cutting the picture in the magazine.

"It's called going with the flow and having a sense of adventure. Just staring at that cramped vision board is suffocating." Paige said, loosening the collar of her shirt for effect. "I mean... King's College, prom, graduation, UPenn, an apartment, a car... and whatever all those other things are... they're too planned out. It's boring." She added, studying the cutouts upside-down.

"Not when you made those plans with the person you want to share your dreams with." Jai said, staring at Emily. "You can't just wing it every single time, Paige. You need to have a plan." She pointed out, taking the magazine cutout from Emily to rub some glue on the back.

"Yeah but a map of my entire future?!" Paige asked incredulously. "I get the whole what-I-want-to-be-years-from-now thing. But that board looks like it has your plans starting today until one of you dies." She pointed out. "After high school there's college. And college is all about freedom. Why would I want to have plans for four years in college and be tied down to someone especially to someone like her?" She continued, nodding her head towards Emily disdainfully.

"Yeah well it's not like someone like me would want to be with someone like you anyway so don't worry about it too much." Emily shot back, taking the cutout from Jai and sticking on the board the photo of an old couple sitting on the porch swing of a house with white picket fences.

"Aww. Boo-hoo. I just hurt Sniffles' feelings." Paige said, pouting. "See, from high school to that?" She continued, pointing to the cutout Emily just glued to the board. "Is a long way. A lot can happen. You two need to make room for change."

Emily stood up and dusted herself off. "Like I said. Don't worry about it too much. It's not like these are your dreams." She retorted, walking over to Jai. "I'll talk to you later." She said, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek before leaving.

Paige stared at the vision board on the floor and shook her head. "That thing is a massive ball and chain, Jai. I don't want that life." She admitted before averting her eyes from the board to look at her friend. "Marathon?" She asked, gesturing to the DVD box sets on Jai's desk.

Jai stooped down to pick up the board and placed it on her bed. "Yeah. Come on. Arts and Crafts is over. Time for recess." She added wryly, deciding to clean up the mess later.

"And she makes a joke!" Paige exclaimed before getting up, grabbing the paper bag on Jai's desk and following her friend outside the room.

---

Present Day...

"Paige?" Paige returned her attention to the woman seated in front of her, remembering where she was and why she was there. Emily's rejection of her declaration of love the other day made her start to rethink whatever it was they were doing. She was in love with Emily Fields but the girl refused to accept it. And if that's the case then she didn't know what the point of being with the girl was. She finally decided to heed Reese's advice to talk to their team's sports therapist, hoping the woman would be able to help her figure out some things. She went yesterday morning to the university's Student Health Service to schedule for an appointment and she was in luck that she didn't have to wait several days to be seen by the therapist since the receptionist informed her that someone just cancelled their appointment for today. So now Paige found herself seated on the therapy couch in Dr. Mead's office on Thursday afternoon, just a couple of hours before she had to meet Emily for their Introductory Business Statistics class.

"You were saying?" Dr. Mead prompted.

"I feel like I'm just a replacement." Paige continued when she remembered what she was thinking earlier. "I guess I've been feeling that way for some time now. But the past two days that feeling intensified."

"How so?" The woman asked, her pen poised to write on the pad of paper she was cradling on her lap once the girl started talking again. "What made you think that you're a mere replacement?"

Paige pursed her lips, trying to organize her thoughts. "Being around Emily after what happened last Tuesday... trying to act like everything is okay... just proves that it's not. Before my best friend died she and Emily had all these plans. Like... they'll go to the same university for college. Then they'll get their own apartment outside of campus." She explained, leaning forward as she became agitated. "Jai gets her own car, she drives Emily to her classes. Their nights would be spent either eating in or dining out..."

"And you know this how?" Dr. Mead interjected as she wrote on her pad.

"I've spent enough time with them to know their plans." Paige admitted.

"What about you? What were your plans?" The woman asked, looking up to study the girl.

Paige bit her bottom lip, contemplating her answer. "I really haven't thought that far out. All I knew was that I wanted to go to USC for college and run track there." She revealed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Dr. Mead nodded. "What happened to that plan?" She asked, shifting in her seat.

"My best friend died and I had a hard time dealing with it." Paige answered. "Next thing I knew my dad was insisting that I attend UPenn for college, I'm living in an apartment outside of campus, I've got my own car and I'm with my best friend's girlfriend."

"In short, you think the future Emily and Jai planned became your life." The woman interpreted. "Does it bother you?" She asked when Paige nodded.

"It didn't before... I guess because I didn't think too much about it. But after what happened last week and last Tuesday... Emily accidentally calling me Jai and then telling me not to say those words..." Paige trailed off, looking around the room helplessly. "It's not like I planned any of this. I just went with the flow. Until one day I took a hard look at my life here and realized that I was living a part of Jai's life and I don't know if I should be angry at myself and feel guilty for enjoying it or just ignore it. I got her life and her girl. Sort of." She added. She didn't really know where she and Emily stood now.

"How does Emily factor into this?" Dr. Mead asked, leaning back on the couch she was sitting on.

"I... don't know what I am to her." Paige confessed. "That's why lately I feel as if I'm a mere replacement. Sometimes when she looks at me, I can't help but smile because I'm with this beautiful, amazing girl."

"Other times?" The therapist urged.

"Other times I feel as if the only reason she's with me is because she gets to live the life she and Jai planned before my friend died. Like being with me was her way of continuing the dreams they made together." Paige admitted.

"And all of this really bothers you because..." Dr. Mead trailed off, waiting for the girl to admit the truth.

Paige swallowed hard. "Because even if I knew that... I can't seem to walk away from her." She confessed.

"Have you told her any of these things?" The woman asked before jotting something on the pad again.

Paige shook her head. "No. I couldn't. I think she needs me and I know I need her." She admitted.

Dr. Mead stopped writing and studied the pad on her lap. "Paige, I think there's an underlying issue of codependency here on your part." She began, meeting the girl's eyes. "What you just said, that way of thinking... if you think being with you is the thing that is holding Emily together right now, and that you're with her because without her your life doesn't have purpose anymore, we need to do something about it. This isn't healthy. You need to be able to function outside of your relationship with her."

"How do I do that?" Paige asked, her voice hoarse.

"Well for starters tell Emily how everything that's happened is making you feel. Be honest. That's an important aspect of being in a relationship." The therapist reminded the girl. "Then I would strongly suggest that the two of you spend time apart. A week or so just to see how well you can function without worrying about Emily. Take your attention off her and what she's doing and focus your attention on yourself and what the next right step for you is." She continued. "Find a way to distract yourself. Replace your preoccupation with her by doing what you need to do for yourself. Cook something, go on a road trip with a friend, even clean your apartment. Whatever it is that you need to do to take care of you, do it."

"And how will I know that something's changed?" Paige asked, biting her bottom lip anxiously.

"It's something that won't happen overnight." Dr. Mead explained. "For now what I need you to do is focus on yourself for a week. Just a week. Look after yourself and eventually Emily will start treating you differently."

Paige nodded, letting the words sink in. "So... it's entirely up to me if I want to get back together with her after a week or just end things for good." She asked, her voice hoarse. She couldn't imagine staying away from Emily for good but that's the whole point of seeing the therapist now.

"Yes." Dr. Mead answered before getting up, signaling the end of their session. "I'll see you same time next week."

---

Paige shifted from her position on the couch later that evening, trying to ease her nervousness as she racked her brain for a way to bring up the conversation she had with the sports therapist. Ever since she said 'I love you' to Emily and the girl told her never to say those words again, things between them have been strained. Not like it was surprising. They've been avoiding talking about it even if they still spent time together the past two days but Paige knew it was a big issue between them.

"So." Paige began, clearing her throat. "I, uh... need to talk to you about something." She continued when she was sure that Emily was done eating her dinner.

Emily drank from her glass of water, trying to hide her anxiety. "What is it?" She asked, turning her body to face the girl and giving Paige a faint smile. For some reason she knew what was coming but she couldn't bring herself to stop it.

"I need a break." Paige revealed in one breath. "From us. For a week." She added, feeling like she was continuously ripping off band-aids from a gaping wound but she had to do this before she changed her mind.

There it is. "A week?" Emily repeated, the girl's words slowly sinking in.

"It's only temporary." Paige said hurriedly. "I just need to figure out some things. About us. This." She continued, pointing to Emily then to herself.

"Because of what happened. What you said and what I said after." Emily clarified. She really couldn't blame the girl for wanting to leave her.

Paige shook her head. "That's not the only reason. There's a bigger one." She confessed, earning a surprised look from Emily. "The thing is... I talked to my team's sports therapist this afternoon."

"Why?" Emily asked, worried.

"Because ever since that night I've been struggling with some things." Paige explained. "Dr. Mead thinks I might have codependency issues when it came to our relationship so she suggested that I take a break from us and focus on myself for a few days. I know I promised that no one was going to find out about us but it's been so confusing for me lately and I needed someone to talk to." She admitted. "Are you mad?" She asked when the girl just stared at her.

"No. No I'm not." Emily answered, shaking her head. "I'm just trying to understand. I know being with me hasn't been easy but I didn't think it was taking so much toll on you that you talked to a therapist about it." She explained, unable to hide her surprise. "Tell me the other reason."

Paige swallowed hard. "Lately... I feel as if I'm living Jai's life. The life you two planned before she died. Fulfilling some of the dreams on the vision board that you two made. And I don't know how I feel about that." She confessed.

"Go on." Emily urged gently.

Paige ran a hand through her hair. "I've spent so much time around the two of you while you and Jai discuss your future it's like I've committed to memory what your plans were. So now I feel as if I'm taking over what's supposed to be Jai's life here in UPenn. That I'm taking her place in your life." She explained slowly. "What you told me... just magnified everything I've been feeling."

"Do you think that the only reason I'm with you is because I get to live the life I could have had if Jai were still alive?" Emily asked worriedly. "Paige?"

"Hearing you say I can't love you... made me feel like I'm just a stand-in for the real thing. Like you're with me only for that reason. But other than that... you don't want to be with me. Not really. You just want to be with someone who's willing to continue your plans with Jai. Even if it's not me." Paige admitted.

"That's not true. I care about you, Paige. I wouldn't be with you if I didn't." Emily promised.

"Do you ever wonder though? If this is the life you could have had with her?" Paige asked, looking around them.

"Sometimes." Emily admitted. "But then I look at you and see how awkward you are. How sweet. How caring. How much you make me laugh. And I just know it's not the same." She continued, smiling faintly.

"Why?" Paige uttered.

"Well because one, Jai would cook for me and two, she'll let me have my way with the remote. Always." Emily added emphatically.

"She is a better cook." Paige agreed reluctantly, frowning.

"Uh, correction. She's not better. She can. You can't." Emily reminded the girl teasingly, momentarily forgetting that they were on the verge of breaking up.

Paige nodded. "I stand corrected. And she does give you complete control of the remote." She continued.

"Unlike someone I know." Emily commented, elbowing the girl.

"Hey! I refuse to give up America's Next Top Model for Top Chef without a fight." Paige argued stubbornly. "My apartment, my TV, my remote, my rules. It's as simple as that." She said, shrugging.

"It is." Emily agreed, taking Paige's hand. "That's why I know it won't be the same." She added softly. "I just wish you'd believe me when I tell you that."

"I wish it was that simple." Paige admitted. "But I need this."

Emily nodded, her mind immediately committing to memory how perfect Paige's hand fit with hers. "Okay." She uttered, holding on to the girl's hand for a few more seconds before finally telling herself to let it go. "If it will help you figure out things, okay." She repeated, swallowing a lump that suddenly formed in her throat.

"Thank you." Paige said, smiling faintly.

"I mean... it's only for a week, right?" Emily asked, meeting Paige's eyes and trying to smile as well. "After a week you'll come back. Right?" She repeated hoarsely.

Emily felt her throat constrict again when Paige kept silent. What did you expect? Of course she's going to leave you for good. She tried to look away when her vision blurred at the thought but a tear escaped from her eyes and rolled down her cheek before she could.

Paige quickly moved her left hand to wipe away the tear with her thumb, caressing the girl's cheek softly. "Hey..."

"Sorry." Emily uttered. "For everything." She managed to say in between sobs, weeping at the knowledge that the break up could be for good and that she can't do anything about it. She knew it was coming. But it didn't soften the blow that Paige was leaving because something was wrong with her.

Paige closed the distance between them and put her arm around the girl's shoulder before kissing Emily on the side of the head softly. "I know." She whispered against the girl's temple, holding her close as Emily wept. The last thing she wanted was to see the girl this devastated. But she couldn't promise anything and she didn't want to lie.

---

Paige slowly opened her eyes on Friday morning, feeling like something was missing. When the memory of her talk with Emily last night came rushing back to her, it was so painful that she closed her eyes again. She did it. She really ended things with Emily last night. And starting today, everything she does will be for her. She didn't have to think about meeting Emily for lunch or dinner later or be conscious about time because she had to pick up the girl from a class. She can do whatever she wanted. Except what she wanted was to spend time with Emily.

No. Paige thought, shaking her head firmly before opening her eyes again. They were broken up. She still hasn't made up her mind if she wanted to get back together with Emily after a week. But if she wanted things to change, she had to focus on herself.

Paige got up and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. 5:03 AM. She barely slept. But she knew it was useless to try sleeping again and she needed to train anyway for the indoor track meet at Havertown tomorrow so she decided to start her day now. She reached for her phone on top of the bedside table and quickly typed a message to Reese, asking her friend to meet her at the indoor track in Penn Park to run a few laps before grabbing breakfast. She got up and grabbed her duffel bag from the foot of her bed, throwing in her pair of newly washed track shorts, shirt and other things she would need once she found them in her cluttered room.

Next order of business, clean up. Paige mentally reminded herself when she stopped to look around and saw the mess around her. She'd have to do that when she got back from training later. If she wasn't too tired of course. She walked over to her bedside table when a sound alerted her of an incoming message and read Reese's text. She shook her head when she saw the girl's reply and typed another message before throwing her phone inside the bag. She quickly changed out of her sleepwear and went to the bathroom to freshen up before bolting out of her apartment to meet her friend.

---

"Em. Hey. Wake up." Spencer said, shaking her friend gently. "Someone's calling you."

Emily stirred from her slumber and simply stared outside the window, refusing to move. Her eyes hurt and she's certain that they were swollen so she couldn't turn around knowing Spencer would ask what was wrong and she can't exactly say that she and Paige broke up last night because that would entail a long explanation she wasn't ready to go into just yet.

What happened last night felt like a horrible dream to her. Like the conversation never happened in this reality and she and Paige were still okay. The girl asked her to spend the night when she couldn't stop crying and while she was tempted to stay and let Paige comfort her, she knew the girl needed the break so she forced herself to stop and told Paige she's going home. The girl drove her back to Harrison way past midnight and Emily was relieved that Spencer spent the night at Connor's because the second she was inside their room, she was in tears again. Emily thought she would cry until she had no tears left but exhaustion came first and she finally fell into a restless sleep with her back turned to the door. Now that her brain reminded her that she hasn't moved a muscle, the left side of her body suddenly felt numb so she shifted a little.

"Em. Are you awake?" Spencer asked when she saw the slight movement.

"Yeah. I am." Emily answered, her voice raspy. She turned her head away from her friend and buried her face on her pillow, hiding her eyes when she felt her bed shift.

"Well answer this. It's been ringing nonstop ever since I got back." Spencer revealed, resting her knee on Emily's bed to hand the girl the ringing phone.

Emily kept her eyes closed, trying to ignore the shrill sound. Despite hoping that the person calling was Paige, she knew it wasn't because if it was, Spencer wouldn't hesitate to answer it for her. She wanted to reject the call without even looking at her phone, not really in the mood to talk to anyone, but the mere thought of moving exhausted her. She felt like every part of her body hurt right now.

"Em will you please just answer it?" Spencer pleaded. "I'm going deaf over here. That thing's been ringing for almost an hour now. Obviously the person calling needs to talk to you."

Emily finally got up but kept her back turned to her friend as she faced the window and answered the call. "Hello?" She uttered, her voice still hoarse.

"Is this Emily Fields?" A guy's voice on the other end of the line asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. This is she." Emily replied. She cleared her throat to increase the volume of her voice before speaking again. "Who's this?"

"It's Zach. From MUSE?" The guy replied. "Sorry if I woke you up."

Emily creased her brows, wondering why the guy was calling her. "It's fine." She said before briefly moving the phone away from her ear to check the time and saw that it was already past seven. "What's up?"

"Can you meet me for lunch? I need to talk to you about something." Zach explained.

"Today? I don't know." Emily answered hesitantly. "I have a shift at Café Prima until one and I have a swim meet at five."

"I can meet you at the café after your shift." Zach offered. "It won't take long. I just really need to talk to you."

"Just you?" Emily asked, getting anxious. The last thing she needed was for Gary to see her swollen eyes and ask about Paige again.

"Just me." Zach promised. "So I'll see you there?"

"Yeah. Okay." Emily replied. "See you at one."

"Are you coming down with something?" Spencer asked from behind her when the call was over, reminding Emily that she wasn't alone. "You sound funny."

Emily shook her head. "I'm fine." She answered, getting up from her bed and walking towards her dresser to start getting ready for work.

"Holy...!" Spencer exclaimed when she noticed Emily's eyes. "What the hell happened to you?!"

"It's not that bad." Emily told her friend, rubbing her eyes self-consciously.

"You need to step in front of a mirror. It's that bad." Spencer insisted. "What did you do last night?"

Emily shrugged. "Nothing out of the ordinary." She answered vaguely. "Had dinner outside then went straight back here."

"What did you have for dinner? Maybe it's an allergic reaction of some sort." Spencer suggested worriedly.

"Must be." Emily agreed, grateful for the lie Spencer just gave her. "I'll go to the Student Health Service to have it checked out later." She added to get her friend off her case before grabbing her bath towel and heading for the bathroom.

"Well don't forget. You have a swim meet this afternoon and all day tomorrow." Spencer reminded her friend before Emily closed the door. "If your eyes are irritated you might have to miss both! Em!" She called out, waiting for the girl to acknowledge what she said but all she heard was the sound of the shower turning on.

---

"Are you sure you're okay with handling this event?" Zach asked, giving Emily a hesitant look.

Emily nodded as she continued to write on her notebook, trying to jot down everything the MUSE membership committee head just said. Zach arrived at the café at exactly one in the afternoon just like they agreed on and Emily was surprised when she found out the reason why the MUSE officer wanted to speak with her. Zach spent the past hour and a half briefing Emily regarding the organization's team-building activity next week that he wanted the girl to facilitate at the last minute. Emily didn't have time to ask why, she just listened to Zach attentively. She figured she'd have time to ask questions later and the sooner they finished with the meeting, the sooner she could head to the Sheerr Pool for the meet.

"Yeah. I don't mind taking over for Chelsea." Emily said when she was done writing, referring to the sophomore member who was supposed to be in-charge of the team handling the event. "From what you just told me, she's taken care of most of the major details. All that's left is the execution of the activity and a few minor things to sort out." She continued, checking her notes again. "Why did you ask me to handle this anyway? There are other members older than me. They could easily handle this event."

"I know. But most of the senior members are busy with their thesis." Zach explained while checking his phone for messages. "The junior members are assigned to handle the MARC event so they couldn't be bothered with this one." He reminded the girl once he pocketed his phone. "The other members of the team-building committee aren't interested in taking over for Chelsea and out of the new members, Gary singled you out as being capable of working under pressure and having leadership qualities."

"So this was Gary's idea after all." Emily concluded, now reluctant to handle the event.

"Emily, I know Gary came off as too strong for your liking and you're still uncomfortable being around her." Zach said understandingly. "But while you know her as the persistent suitor for a few months, I've known her as my mentor and friend for three years. She took me under her wing and taught me a lot about being a MUSE member. She's actually the reason why I'm a strong contender for president next year." He revealed proudly.

"My point is..." Zach continued when he saw the indecision in the girl's eyes. "Gary won't jeopardize her position as president of the organization just to play favorites. She answers to a higher power. The alumni of MUSE are watching her every move and monitoring the decisions she make. So her idea to let a freshman handle this event is actually a huge risk on her part. But she took that chance because she saw your potential. And I don't need to remind you that there are other officers in the organization. This wasn't her sole decision. We took a vote once she pitched the idea to us. She really thinks you're capable of handling this activity." He explained patiently. "And I wouldn't meet with you if she didn't make a sound argument. I'm capable of making my own decisions. So does all the other officers. That's why I asked if you're okay with handling this event. This activity is under my committee so I'm keen on making sure it's a success. No one's pressuring you to say yes. There are other members we can ask. You just happened to be our first choice."

Emily kept silent, contemplating Zach's words. She could still say no because of her opinion of Gary. But despite being close friends with the president, she found Zach trustworthy. She had to stop being paranoid at some point and she knew she can handle the event. This was her chance to show the members of the organization what she's capable of.

"Okay. I'll handle this." Emily affirmed.

Zach smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's the answer I was hoping to hear." He admitted before getting up. "I know it's a little messy right now and you need time to familiarize yourself with the activity but I know you'll figure it out eventually. I've handled one of these team-building activities before so if you have questions or need help, just call or text me." He offered, leaning forward to grab his books off the table in front of them. "I will tell the members of the team-building committee that you're taking over for Chelsea so expect to get a few calls or texts. You can do this. Don't faint. You look like you're about to faint." He observed, studying Emily worriedly.

"I'm not gonna faint." Emily said wryly. "And I won't disappoint the officers." She promised, looking up at Zach. "I'll get right on it after the meet."

"Okay but you might want to have your eyes checked out first. I didn't say anything earlier but if you're feeling under the weather, you don't have to start with this right away." Zach said, gesturing to Emily's notes.

Emily covered one of her eyes self-consciously. "Yeah. I will. But I'm sure it's nothing. Probably just an allergic reaction to something I ate. I'll be able to start with this tonight." She reassured the guy.

"Suit yourself. And just a heads up. If this activity goes off without a hitch I promise one of us will be interested in grooming you to be an officer. When that happens I hope you'll pick me." Zach added before leaving the café.

Emily stared at the notes in front of her and felt herself smile for the first time that day. It was a big responsibility considering she's a new member. But the thought of handling an event excited her because the last time she was able to do that was when she was social chair in high school. She didn't realize how much she missed it until now. She took out her phone and began typing a message, eager to share her good news with Paige. She was about to press the 'send' button when she remembered.

They were broken up.

Just like that, Emily's mood changed. She stared at Paige's name and reluctantly deleted the message before returning her phone and notebook inside her duffel bag. She got up and waved goodbye to Kit and Aaron before exiting the café to head to the Sheerr Pool. One week. It was just last night that Paige called quits but she already missed the girl terribly. And she didn't even know if Paige was going to come back to her after one week. She knew she should probably condition her mind to forget the girl since there was a big chance that things between them were over for good. But she couldn't. She didn't want to get used to it. She would wait for one week and stay away from Paige just like the girl asked her.

But after that... if Paige doesn't come back to her... Emily didn't know what to do. Paige wanted a lot of things from her. Things she wasn't ready to give just yet. Even though she wanted to be with the girl, she couldn't bring herself to ask Paige to take her back knowing nothing would change. She'd just end up hurting the girl even more. Because Paige wanted commitment, intimacy and love. And Emily wasn't ready to be vulnerable again.

---

Paige scrolled through the numbers in her phone on Saturday afternoon, her thumb moving up and down as she scrolled past Emily's name repeatedly. Her team won first place again in the indoor track meet in Havertown and she wanted to share her good news with the girl. Only she remembered that they were broken up. But then she wasn't really clear on the rules of being broken up. She didn't bother to ask Dr. Mead if breaking up with Emily meant no contact at all or if they can still see and talk to each other without doing couple-y stuff since the two of them didn't exactly part on bad terms.

So now Paige was debating whether or not to call the girl and share her news. It might be a long shot but maybe if she told Emily her news now, once she got back to campus she would see the girl waiting outside her car again and this time, she would ask Emily to have dinner with her to celebrate. But she knew it was a bad idea because in her head it would be a date and she needed to stop being codependent on Emily.

"Another win means a very good reason to party tonight." Reese stated, stopping right in front of Paige and causing traffic in the narrow bus aisle. "Scoot." She ordered when the girl just stared up at her.

"Go sit somewhere else." Paige replied, refusing to budge. She wasn't in a festive mood and she could tell that the junior team captain was just overflowing with festivity this afternoon.

Reese's eyes gleamed mischievously and she dropped her duffel bag on the floor before moving to sit on Paige's lap, making the girl's eyes widen in shock.

"What are you doing?!" Paige asked, panicked. "Get off me!"

"Why? You told me to sit somewhere else." Reese reminded the girl as she watched their other teammates walk past them. "And everywhere else is occupied. Hey Lori! Quick! Take a photo!" She suddenly called out to one of the girls seated across the aisle from them before striking a suggestive pose on Paige's lap. "Let's see how Emily will react when she sees a photo of this, newbie." She told the girl in a low voice, trying to hide her laughter.

"Fine! Get up! I'm scooting!" Paige hurriedly exclaimed, pushing Reese off her. She reluctantly moved to her right and stared outside the window as her friend settled next to her.

"What's up with you? You've been in a foul mood all day." Reese said, studying the girl. "We won first place again but you look like your pet died." She added, nudging her friend lightly.

Paige waited for the bus to start moving before she closed her eyes and rested her head on the duffel bag on her lap, not bothering to answer Reese's question. She felt her throat constrict but swallowed hard when she felt the girl's hand on her head, stroking her hair gently.

"Emily again, huh?" Reese guessed. "What did she do now?"

Paige shook her head, not really in the mood to talk. Yesterday she did a good job of trying to focus on herself and not think about Emily and the fact that they're broken up. But today she realized that one day was her limit. She missed Emily so much that she couldn't breathe. A mental image of the girl weeping when she ended things between them made Paige open her eyes.

"I broke up with Emily." Paige finally said when she found her voice, turning her head to look at Reese. "Last Thursday."

Reese's eyes slightly widened. "I knew you two were really sneaking around all this time." She said wryly. "How long has this been going on?"

"We got back together during Thanksgiving break." Paige admitted, still refusing to lift her head from her bag while talking to her friend.

"Sorry to hear things didn't work out between the two of you." Reese said sincerely. "Why did you break up with her? If you don't mind my asking."

"Several reasons." Paige began, sighing. "I decided to take your advice. I finally talked to Dr. Mead and she suggested that I focus on myself for a week because she thinks I might have codependency issues when it came to my relationship with Emily."

"And afterwards?" Reese asked, studying the girl.

Paige shrugged. "I don't know yet." She admitted.

Reese nodded. "So what were your other reasons? You said there were several." She reminded her friend.

"I think I'm partly to blame with what happened." Paige confessed when she remembered Emily's tearful apology again. The girl didn't have to say it because she knew what Emily was apologizing for. "That's why I'm in this mess. I had this idea in my head about how things should go when we started this thing. I expected too much from her and when she couldn't give what I wanted I became disillusioned. Emily thinks she disappointed me."

"What do you think?" Reese asked gently.

"I think she's right." Paige answered, a lump forming in her throat at the painful realization that however brief it was, a part of her unknowingly placed Emily up on a pedestal that eventually came crashing down on her. "I've liked Emily for so long that I kept forgetting that up until the latter part of our senior year she saw me as someone who did nothing but hurt her in every possible way. Because that's what I did. I hurt her because I genuinely hated her. There came a point that it wasn't pretend anymore. I really hated her just for being her." She admitted, ashamed. "So when my feelings for her came rushing back to the surface I was desperate to earn her forgiveness. And along the way she somehow fell for me. And I just expected her to forget everything when that happened. I forgot that I was the tormentor and that I wasn't in her place for three years. I didn't think that falling for me meant letting her guard down and that it's not easy for her to make herself vulnerable to me. I expected too much." She repeated.

"Paige there's a limit to how long you have to pay for your mistakes in the past." Reese reminded the girl. "If you feel like you have to keep paying for it even when Emily's with you now then I think you did the right thing by ending things." She admitted. "Do you feel like she's making you pay for your mistakes?"

Paige shook her head. "I don't. That's just me and my guilt. I think all this time Emily's been trying to reconcile the person I was before to the person I am today and it hasn't been easy for her." She explained.

"So what happens after one week?" Reese asked, giving Paige a worried look.

"Dr. Mead said it's up to me if I want to get back together with Emily or just end things for good." Paige revealed. "I haven't decided. It's just been a couple of days so I still have several days ahead of me to figure out things. I guess I'll just cross the bridge when I get there. For now I intend to follow Dr. Mead's advice and focus on myself."

"Then as of this moment, I am making it a rule that we will never speak of Emily. No missing her, no thinking how she's doing and what she's doing and no wondering if she needs you." Reese declared. "You need to focus on you and I will make sure that that is exactly what you'll do."

"Good. Because I kinda need a favor." Paige said, sitting up straight when she remembered something. "I have this thing next week and I was wondering if you could help me with it. Ever been to one of those career fairs on campus?"

Reese frowned. "Yeah. But sadly I wasn't able to enjoy it and explore my options. My family's company participates every year so basically I'm there just to sit behind the table all day looking pretty and smart while my dad and granddad's minions convince unsuspecting students to sell their souls to us once they graduate." She explained wryly.

"Oh. So you're going to be there on Monday. Like physically." Paige clarified, now uncomfortable with attending the fair if Reese was going to see her walking around like a lost kid.

"Yeah. But no one said I can't leave the table. I can help you navigate all those companies." Reese offered.

"Thanks but when I said I needed help I meant help before the career fair. Not go with me on the day itself." Paige admitted. "Like help me figure out what to wear, give me some tips when talking to company reps..."

"I can do that too." Reese interjected. "Let's go shopping for business casual clothes tomorrow morning."

"Can we do that in the afternoon instead? The shopping and the prepping for the fair? My dad's coming over to visit me in the morning." Paige explained.

Reese nodded. "Sure. And I'll still help you come Monday. There are lots of companies that participate in these things and if you're trying to find the right career, you can't be stuck talking to just a few." She pointed out. "You have to go to career fairs with the mindset of someone going on a speed dating event. You have a minute to ask the questions that are important, get their business card if you're interested, then move on to the next one. Trust me. I've seen how these things work. You need a wing woman."

"Are you sure?" Paige asked, tempted to accept the girl's offer but a little hesitant to let Reese see how indecisive she can be.

"Totally. I get bored easily when I'm there anyway. I don't mind helping you." Reese reassured the girl. "But that's on Monday. Tonight we are going to celebrate our win! Yeah?" She asked, trying to get Paige to share her mood. "Oh come on. Focus on you! No sulking!"

"Fine. Let's go celebrate our win." Paige agreed, trying to join the festive mood the rest of her teammates were in. "Where's the party this time? 'Cos there's no way that I'm going back to Fluid. I spent my night being Kayla's babysitter and I don't want a repeat of that night at all."

"Not a problem. Lori volunteered to throw the party in her apartment tonight. We just need to show up looking hot and ready to let loose." Reese said eagerly. "Don't invite Kayla if you want to get drunk this time."

"I'd have to drink first for that to happen and I don't drink." Paige admitted, surprising Reese. "I can't."

"Huh?" Reese uttered, confused. "But I've seen you with a drink when we went to ICandy and Fluid." She reminded her friend.

"Kayla gets me non-alcoholic ones." Paige revealed.

"Well there's probably soda and juice anyway. I don't know about milk though." Reese added teasingly. "Go crazy on juice boxes or something. Just get ready to have fun tonight."

---

"Thanks for this again." Emily said as Zach ushered her outside of his apartment in Radian on Saturday night. She balanced on her arms the box full of materials needed for the team-building activity next week and peeked on one side to address the guy. "And sorry to bother you this late. I couldn't come over earlier because of the meet."

"It's not that late." Zach said, waving his hand dismissively. "How was it by the way? That's two swim meets in one week. Did you ladies bring home the proverbial bacon?"

"No." Emily admitted sheepishly.

"On either one?" Zach asked, surprised.

Emily smiled faintly. "I know. Sorry." She uttered.

Emily knew she shouldn't apologize. It's not like it was her entire fault. Their consecutive loss was the result of the team's performance. But Coach Mike singled her out again after the meet this afternoon that's why she couldn't go to Zach's apartment earlier. It was bad enough that her timing was completely off yesterday. But a repeat of that performance today drew her coach's attention and she felt like she was one step closer to sainthood after the man was done giving her a sermon. The worst part was, she just sat there, taking everything in. She couldn't tell her coach that she was going through a break up that's why she was distracted. Forget sainthood. An excuse like that would certainly get her to heaven without passing through purgatory.

"But don't worry. The team's going to recover from those losses." Emily continued, trying to sound confident. "Anyway... you're a lifesaver for this." She said, returning the conversation to the reason she came over as she slightly shifted the box in her arms.

Zach nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Not a problem. Good thing I still had those lying around and you asked for them before I threw them out." He admitted. "Are you sure you can carry that downstairs though? Because I really don't mind helping you."

Emily shook her head. "No need. It's not that heavy and my friend's boyfriend is just downstairs waiting for me in his car. Once I get there he's going to help me with this. Besides. I don't want to intrude more than I already have. You should've told me you were having dinner with your girlfriend." She said apologetically. "Sorry about that again. I just want to get started with organizing everything for the team-building activity."

"I understand your enthusiasm. So does Maureen." Zach added, referring to his girlfriend who happened to be a MUSE member as well. "It's not a big deal."

"Well I'm gonna go now. Let you get back to your dinner. Tell Maureen sorry." Emily said, trying to wave a hand to Zach before turning around to head to the elevators.

Emily visualized the path in front of her as she blindly walked down the hallway, trying to remember where the elevators were. She passed by a room with the music on full blast, reminding her that it was the weekend and most of the students were throwing parties or going to one. Except her. She had a paper due next week and several exams she needed to study for so she decided not to go home for the weekend again and start on the team-building activity Zach turned over to her instead. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally saw the elevators and she pressed the down button, standing a little too close to the doors as she rested one side of the box against the wall and waited for the elevator car to get to the eleventh floor.

"Stop pushing me!" Emily recognized Paige's voice before she felt the impact of the girl's body on the other side of the box she was carrying, causing her to stumble a few steps backwards and drop the box with a heavy thud, spilling the contents everywhere when it overturned.

"See what you did?!" Paige exclaimed, reprimanding Reese. "There's no need to push me to get off the elevator. Lori's apartment isn't going anywhere. You can practically hear the music from here."

"I'm not worried about the apartment turning into a flying house, newbie. It's the fact that I need a drink with alcohol in it and thanks to your speed or lack thereof, I could end up drinking juice boxes with you instead. How can you be so fast on the field yet so slow outside of it?" Reese asked, baffled. "I had no idea that you were one of those girls who takes hours just to get ready. I felt like I was going on a date with you." She added as she followed Paige outside the elevator.

"I was trying to find something good to wear tonight. So sue me!" Paige shot back before finally focusing her attention on the girl who was on all fours, picking up the things that spilled from the box all over the floor. She felt her pulse race. She would know that raven hair anywhere. "Emily."

Emily swallowed hard and paused for a second, relishing the sound of her name coming from Paige's lips. "Hey." She uttered, finally looking up and meeting the girl's eyes.

Emily immediately drank in Paige's features, feeling like she hasn't seen the girl in weeks. Paige wore her hair down like the girl usually does and Emily missed being able to tuck a strand of that soft hair behind the girl's ear. Paige looked gorgeous and relaxed tonight. Her cheeks were flushed and before bumping into Emily, it was obvious from the girl's voice that she was having fun with Reese. Being away from her was good for Paige and Emily was starting to think that the girl made the right decision to end things between them.

"Sorry." Paige said when she got over her surprise, quickly crouching to start helping the girl. "Reese and I were goofing off so we didn't see you."

"It was my fault. I was standing too close to the elevator doors." Emily explained, going back to picking up things off the floor.

"How have you been?" Paige asked before she could stop herself.

"Good. Busy with stuff." Emily answered vaguely. She resisted the urge to catch up with the girl and reminded herself of the reason why Paige ended things between them in the first place. She wanted to help Paige focus on herself and talking about what she's been up to isn't the way to do it. "So you're headed to a party. What's the occasion?" She asked, not meeting the girl's eyes.

"Our team won first place again in the indoor track meet in Havertown this afternoon." Paige revealed proudly.

Emily smiled when she heard the happiness in Paige's voice. "That's great. Congratulations." She said, looking up and addressing Reese as well. "Your team seems to be on a winning streak lately. Must feel good."

"It does." Reese agreed before nodding her head towards Paige. "It's a team effort but this one works the hardest." She added, her brows creasing when she noticed that the girl was too busy picking things off the floor to comment on the fact that she and Emily were talking about her while she's right there.

"Ow!" Paige suddenly exclaimed, bringing her left thumb to her mouth and sucking on it. "Paper cut." She explained when she saw Reese's and Emily's worried looks. She continued sucking a portion of her thumb and ignored the pain as she went back to picking up things off the floor, only this time using just her right hand.

"You two should get going. I can pick up the rest of these by myself." Emily said, touching Paige's arm to stop the girl from helping her. "Get Reese that beer she's been dying to drink."

"Yeah. Come on, newbie. I'm parched." Reese said, moving closer to her friend. "Emily's a big girl. She can clean this up by herself. Sorry by the way." She added, giving Emily an apologetic look.

Paige stared at Emily, trying to decide. Focus on you. She reminded herself and finally handed the girl the stack of ice breaker cards she was holding before getting up. "Sorry again." She uttered, giving the girl a faint smile.

Emily smiled in return, her skin tingling from when she touched Paige's arm briefly. "Have fun at the party. And stay away from drunken girls this time." She added, concealing her jealousy with a teasing tone.

"I'll try. But I'm not making any promises." Paige replied good-naturedly before turning around to follow Reese down the hallway.

Emily watched the two girls leave, waving a hand and trying to smile again when Paige turned to look at her one last time. She returned her attention to the scattered things on the floor once the girl disappeared inside the room with the loud music, aware that she was completely alone as she resumed picking up everything. Paige was really better off without her. She was a mess. Like the things that were scattered on the floor. And Paige offering to stay briefly to help her pick up the pieces ended up hurting the girl instead.

---

"Well that was a bust." Paige declared on Monday afternoon once she stepped outside of the Houston Hall building, followed close behind by Reese. "I can't believe I let you talk me into buying this expensive thing yesterday for that." She complained, staring down at the navy blue pantsuit she was wearing.

"Hey don't blame the suit. You look smashing in it." Reese said, stepping back to study Paige. "Don't worry. There's another career fair in two weeks. Maybe you'll find something there." She encouraged the girl.

"Not when those companies are going to be similar to the ones I saw today, I'm not." Paige pointed out, glancing behind her and frowning.

After her first class earlier that day, Paige spent the rest of her morning talking to various company reps after changing into the business casual attire Reese picked for her to wear. Her friend was a big help. There was no denying that. Reese pointed her to the companies she should consider for particular careers and while she was impressed and interested in a few, she just didn't find anything she wanted to do for the rest of her life and that frustrated her because she was starting to feel the pressure of not having a definite plan.

When her father visited her yesterday morning, Paige could tell he was trying to act composed when she told him offhandedly that she was going to attend a career fair today. Deep down she knew he was eager to discuss her college plans but her dad didn't want to put pressure on her so he just wished her luck and said he'll see her next Sunday. Something Paige dreaded now since she won't be able to tell him something good and she knew, even without giving anything away, that her dad would be disappointed.

"You don't know that yet so don't lose hope." Reese said, guiding the girl away from the main entrance and leading the way towards Paige's car. "And I'm not saying this to discourage or encourage you, just to give you options... but if you can't find a career with the courses at Wharton no one said you can't shift courses."

Paige glanced at her friend, thinking over what Reese just said. The thought did cross her mind last semester to shift courses. But the problem was, she didn't know which course to shift to. That's why she met with a college advisor and forced herself to go to career fairs even if she wasn't comfortable wearing corporate clothes.

"It's not too late to change courses." Reese reminded the girl. "If you're thinking about it, that is." She added hurriedly. "You're still a freshman. Even juniors shift courses. Trust me. It's not unheard of."

"I know. But I want to keep trying in Wharton first." Paige decided, not willing to accept defeat just yet. "I'll go to the next career fair and see if there's something there for me."

"So what are your plans now?" Reese asked, checking the time on her watch.

"Well I already missed one afternoon class because of this." Paige said after she grabbed Reese's wrist and saw the time as well. "But I have another class in two hours so I'm heading back to my apartment to change. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if I could hang out with you." Reese admitted. "I have the rest of the afternoon free and I don't want to go back to Harrison just yet."

Paige shrugged. "Sure. I could use the company." She said, unlocking the doors of her SUV and heading for the driver's seat. "Ugh. I hate it when people wedge paper advertisements on my windshield." She complained when she spotted a pink paper flapping in the wind. She reached for the flyer and was about to throw it when she noticed the content.

"What's that?" Reese asked, walking over to Paige to read the flyer as well.

"A reminder of just how much my love life sucks right now." Paige muttered, crumpling the flyer before throwing it in the nearest trash bin. She wouldn't admit it to her friend but she was really looking forward to Valentine's Day this year since she was seeing Emily. But now that they're broken up, she's back to spending the holiday by herself.

"Join the club." Reese said before getting in. "Valentine's Day is going to suck for me this year."

"Still having problems with Billie?" Paige asked sympathetically.

"Yeah. And I think I'm done trying at this point." Reese answered, giving Paige a wry smile.

"Want to talk about it?" Paige offered, starting her car. "Since we're hanging out anyway."

Reese buckled her seatbelt. "Thanks. But not today, no." She replied, meeting Paige's concerned look. "Newbie, just drive or I swear I will take a photo of you right now and post it in the locker room tomorrow for everyone to see."

"Fine. I'm driving." Paige said, shifting the gear to drive. "No need to threaten my nonexistent reputation and destroy the last shred of dignity I have today, Banshee." She added, causing her friend to launch into a tirade of indignant protests the entire drive back to her apartment.

---

Emily exited the College Hall building after her class and quickly made her way towards Houston Hall, in a hurry to head to the quadrangle across the street to meet the members of the team-building committee for the first time. She was able to finalize all of the details for the event during the weekend but she wanted to make sure that she wasn't forgetting anything so she called for the meeting this afternoon. She knew the officers of MUSE would ask for an update regarding the event at the GA tomorrow night and she wanted to be ready to answer their questions.

"Say it with a song." Emily stopped in her tracks when a guy with a beaming smile blocked her path and handed her a pink flyer. Why do I always get cornered with this sort of things? She thought before accepting the paper and scanning the content, biting her bottom lip when she saw what it was promoting.

"For just twelve dollars the Penn Glee Club will serenade anyone on campus for you on Valentine's Day. Some say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. But once a year, Singing Valentines is the best way to it." The guy continued, handing Emily an order form this time.

"Thanks but that saying doesn't apply to me and I'm not really seeing anyone right now." Emily said, refusing to take the form. She almost forgot that next week was Valentine's Day and the girl she was hoping to spend it with ended things between them. Probably for good.

"Well if you happen to have a special someone but don't know how to tell them, this is the perfect opportunity." The guy said, not willing to give up just yet. "And did I mention that this is for a good cause? All the proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity."

Emily was about to 'politely' tell the guy to leave her alone when she spotted Paige from a distance, the girl deep in conversation with Reese as they made their way to the former's car. She almost didn't recognize Paige since the girl was wearing a pantsuit that made her look sophisticated, a far cry from the Paige who was usually sweaty and flushed in running gear.

Judging from the girl's attire and the number of students coming in and out of Houston Hall in a similar dress code, Emily guessed that Paige just came from a career fair and that made her happy for the girl. Paige was really focusing on herself and even if Reese was the girl Paige wanted by her side right now and not Emily, she was willing to accept that painful reality just as long as Paige would be able to make sense of her life outside of them.

"I'll take one." Emily decided, finally accepting the order form the guy was handing to her.

"Great! You won't regret it." The guy promised enthusiastically before walking away to look for other students willing to support their organization's fundraising activity.

Emily stared at the form in her hand. By the end of the week, Paige had a decision to make. Either get back together with her or stay broken up. In case Paige chose the latter, Emily wanted one last chance to let the girl know how much Paige meant to her.

---

"So tell me how your week was." Dr. Mead told Paige on Thursday afternoon. "What did you do?"

Paige bit her bottom lip as she tried to recall everything she did after she left the therapist's office last week. "Well for starters... I did what you told me. Focused on myself after I ended things with Emily." She answered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"How did that go?" The woman asked, studying Paige. "I can't imagine it was easy for either of you."

Paige nodded. "It wasn't. But she understood. Once I explained it to her. Emily said she understood." She repeated. "Um... but the break up aside, I had a pretty decent week actually." She continued when the woman didn't say anything. "I was able to focus more on my training. Even did well in the track meet last Saturday."

"That's good." Dr. Mead said, taking down notes as Paige talked. "Go on."

"Uh... I had a lot of free time so I finally got around to cleaning my bedroom. Afterwards I decided to clean the entire apartment." Paige admitted. "I went to a party to celebrate my team's win last Saturday. Had a good time hanging out with my teammates and getting to know them outside of the sport." She added. "Then last Monday there was a career fair so I went to that with a friend. I still haven't figured out what I wanted to do after college but at least I saw a few options while I was there. Which I think can still be considered as progress of some sort." She said, smiling faintly.

"And what about Emily? Do you know what she's been up to?" Dr. Mead asked, confusing the girl.

Paige slowly shook her head. "I did what you told me. Focused on myself." She repeated. "So I decided not to have any contact with her and she kept her distance as well. We sat apart in our classes. And other than the night I ran into her, I haven't talked to Emily all week." She admitted.

The woman nodded thoughtfully. "Today marks your one week and you've made some progress." She told the girl. "What do you plan on doing about your relationship with her? I'm sure Emily's waiting to hear from you."

Paige took a deep breath, contemplating her answer. She missed Emily. But she didn't know if she was ready to be with the girl again. "The truth is I told her that I needed a break from us for one week." She began, choosing her words. "But when Emily asked if I was coming back to her after a week I couldn't give her an answer." She admitted.

"Your hesitation was your answer last week." Dr. Mead pointed out. "This week your answer to that question could be different. That's why I'm asking you now. Do you want to get back together with Emily?"

---

"Spence, I don't mind. Really." Emily insisted as she and her friend walked towards Harrison on Saturday afternoon.

The two girls just came from the Palestra in Pottruck Center though they were there for different reasons. Connor had a basketball game against Cornell so Spencer came to support her boyfriend. Emily, on the other hand, was there with the members of MUSE for the team-building activity. The event the girl facilitated went off without a hitch, to Zach's relief, and the membership committee head congratulated Emily for a job well done afterwards. But although she was glad, Emily couldn't enjoy her accomplishment because the one girl she wanted to share it with really ended things between them two days ago.

Last Thursday marked the one week that Paige asked for a break from them and as a result, Emily was a nervous wreck all day as she waited for the girl's decision regarding their relationship. It didn't help matters when Paige walked into their class that afternoon and still sat away from her. Emily didn't know what to make of it and she couldn't bring herself to ask the girl because she didn't want to pressure Paige in case the girl was still trying to make up her mind. She realized that was a mistake since the day ended and she never heard from Paige so she didn't know where they stood.

Then yesterday Emily told herself to call the girl and ask. But again, she was too much of a coward to do it. She didn't want Paige to tell her to take the hint and she didn't want to come off as being impatient either. So the day ended again with her not knowing where they stood.

Now that it's been three days and she still hasn't heard from the girl, Emily took it to mean that Paige has made her decision and things between them were really over. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep from crying when she realized that this morning because Spencer was in the room with her. What made things worse was that her friend chose today of all days to ask about her plans for Valentine's Day next week. Spencer has been on her case all day. Even until now.

"But I feel guilty. Leaving you by yourself on Valentine's Day." Spencer added. "Are you sure you don't want Connor to set you up with someone?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm sure." Emily replied, giving her friend a wry smile. "I'd rather spend Friday night by myself than spend it with a random girl. And don't even think about asking me to join you and Connor. I'm not that desperate."

"I wasn't going to ask." Spencer replied defensively. "I just don't want you to be alone on Valentine's Day."

"I appreciate the concern. But really. I don't mind spending Friday night in our room by myself." Emily said as they crossed an intersection.

"Well if you want company, just call or text me and I'll come back." Spencer volunteered.

Emily let out a small laugh. "Spence, I know how understanding Connor can be. But you shouldn't abuse it." She told her friend. "I have a paper due and an exam that night anyway so I'll be too tired to even wish I was on a date or something. And I have a workshop for the MARC event the next day so I'll probably just crash once I get back to Harrison."

"So you're not going home for the weekend again?" Spencer asked, looking at her friend. "Your mom's going to notice sooner or later that you're avoiding going back to Rosewood."

"I'll come home next month." Emily said, keeping her fingers crossed behind her as they climbed the steps towards the front entrance of Harrison. "She knows about the MARC event so when I tell her that I can't come home next weekend and the next because of MUSE stuff, she'll understand."

"Yeah but why don't you want to go home anyway? I'm sure your mom really misses you." Spencer pointed out.

"I miss her too. But she calls and texts me so she knows how I'm doing and I know what she's doing." Emily said wryly. "She's still trying to get me to go on a date with someone she approves of." She explained. "That's why there's no way I'm coming home especially next weekend. I know she's planning to set me up with someone again. I'm really starting to think she joined an online dating site."

"Well you can't blame your mom. She's just looking out for you." Spencer reminded her friend.

"I know. But I don't need nor want her help meeting someone. And that goes for you too." Emily added, glancing at her friend as they entered the lobby of Harrison. "When I'm ready I'll introduce someone to you and Hanna and Aria and eventually my parents. But right now I'm not."

Spencer nodded. "Got it. No pressure here." She promised before pressing the up button on the elevator. "Hey. Wait a second." She suddenly said, studying her friend closely. "You said you're not ready right now. That means you've been trying to get ready... because there's someone." She continued. "Is there someone?"

"There was." Emily admitted before looking away. "But not anymore."

---

"You're doing it wrong!" Brian complained, grabbing the pair of scissors from Paige to show the girl how to cut the red construction papers to form a heart. "See? Just fold the paper in two, draw a half heart on the folded area and then cut it. That way your heart won't have uneven halves. I'll trace it then you cut it." He suggested.

"Okay." Paige said, taking the scissors from the boy and handing Brian the newly-sharpened pencil she was holding.

Paige and the other volunteers from PennPals were sitting in on Brian's Arts and Crafts class on a Monday afternoon. Instead of spending time outside after school today, the volunteers were asked by the school principal to help the kids they were mentoring to prepare for Valentine's Day on Friday. Brian already gave Paige the card he made for her before they started so all that's left are the ones for his parents, Billie and Reese, and Paige was helping the boy with them.

While waiting for Brian to finish drawing the hearts, Paige let her gaze wander around the room, her eyes immediately finding Emily. The girl was currently engrossed in helping Sophia paint something so Emily didn't notice her staring. Which was a good thing because ever since they broke up, Paige hasn't seen Emily around that much so this was her chance to stare. Sure they had three classes together this semester. But they've been sitting apart and Emily was almost always late. Paige wanted to ask what was going on in the girl's life but she reminded herself that the reason why she answered 'no' to Dr. Mead's question regarding Emily was because she felt she still needed to focus on her life so she didn't ask.

Paige was still conflicted about them. They've been apart for more than a week now. And in that span of time, she's done things for herself that she can do even when Emily was around. Only this time she doesn't have anyone to share those things with and she's beginning to realize that she wanted to share her day with the girl. At the end of the day, she wanted to be able to share everything with Emily.

She was doing a good job of focusing on her life on campus for the past few days. Spending time with Reese, going out to have fun with her teammates, having dinner with Kayla. Paige knew she was starting to live a life outside of Emily even if the reason she went to UPenn in the first place was because of the girl. To make sure that Emily would be okay after Jai's death. Only she didn't expect that they would end up becoming more than friends when they get here and that things would be this complicated between them that she had to take a step back from taking care of Emily to take care of herself.

"Girl problems again?" Brian asked, nudging Paige to get the girl's attention when he noticed that Paige was too preoccupied with staring at Emily to take the folded papers he was handing her.

"Something like that." Paige answered, taking the papers and reaching for the scissors to start cutting the hearts. "Why aren't you giving Sophia a card for Valentine's Day?"

Brian shrugged and kept tracing another set of hearts, glancing at Sophia before focusing on the construction paper again.

"What's wrong?" Paige asked when she noticed the change in the boy's mood. "Did you and Sophia fight?"

"No." Brian answered before looking at a boy across the room. "My friend likes her too." He suddenly said, looking up at Paige. "He told me last week. I don't want us to fight over a girl so I'm giving way." He explained, returning his attention to the paper he was tracing. "I'm starting to think I should stay away from Sophia but she's going to ask why and I don't know what to tell her. Should I pick a fight so she'll be mad at me and then she'll stay away instead?"

Paige shook her head. "No. Don't do that. That's wrong." She said, glancing at Emily. "Do you want me to tell you a story?"

Brian scrunched up his face. "Now? But it's early. Aren't you supposed to tell stories when you're about to sleep?" He asked, confused.

Paige let out a short laugh. "It's not that kind of story. It's about a girl who fell for her friend's girl and she did what you wanted to do. Picked a fight so her friend's girl got mad at her instead." She explained patiently.

"Okay. Tell me your story." Brian urged, releasing his grip on the pencil to listen to Paige.

"So the story goes like this. Once there was a girl. Let's call her... Sage." Paige began, putting down the scissors and facing the boy. "Sage had a friend named Jasmine."

"Like the flower!" Brian chimed in.

"Yes. Like the flower." Paige agreed. "Now, the two of them have been through a lot so their friendship grew strong because of it. Then one day they met Lily."

"There are a lot of plants in your story." Brian observed, grinning. "My mom loves plants though so I don't mind. Go on."

"Lily wasn't like any girl they've ever met. She was insanely beautiful. We're talking butterflies in the stomach, heart racing, palms sweating, giddy like a kid beautiful. Lily was nothing short of amazing. So naturally Sage fell for her. But then Sage knew that Jasmine liked Lily too. So she gave way. But the way she did it wasn't smart or nice." Paige continued, staring at Emily. "Lily and Jasmine eventually fell in love. And it sucked for Sage. She had this idea in her head that Lily was the one she wanted to be with. But Jasmine loves Lily and Lily loves Jasmine and they were happy. So Sage chose to stay away."

"How?" Brian uttered.

"Well like I said, Sage became really mean and made Lily hate her." Paige answered, looking away when Emily glanced her way. "As the years passed, Jasmine and Lily made memories. Good ones, happy ones. While all Lily had with Sage were bad ones. You see, Jasmine and Lily were a perfect match. So Sage knew she had no choice but to give up and settle for someone else. Because she would never have her chance. But then something happened. Something really bad. Jasmine suddenly left to go to a better place and she couldn't take Lily with her so Lily was heartbroken about it. Sage was there to comfort Lily and they began spending a lot of time together. Her feelings for Lily resurfaced and grew stronger but after everything she said and did, Sage didn't dare make a move. Until one night, something magical happened."

"What?" Brian asked, leaning forward with wide eyes.

"It was raining so Sage offered to walk Lily home. Then out of nowhere Lily kissed Sage. She kissed Sage." Paige repeated, smiling at the memory. "And it was more incredible than Sage ever thought it would be. She wouldn't trade that moment for anything in the world." She continued, meeting Emily's eyes from across the room. "Do you want to know a secret?"

Brian nodded his head eagerly. "Yeah. I love secrets." He said enthusiastically.

"Sage has been in love with Lily for quite some time now. Only Lily doesn't know. Until Sage finally told her one day but her reaction wasn't what Sage expected. Lily said she doesn't want Sage to say those words again." Paige confessed, her throat constricting at the memory.

"So what did Sage do after?" Brian asked, looking at Paige worriedly. "Did she understand why Lily said that or did she give her up?"

"She gave her up." Paige answered.

Brian frowned. "I don't like your story." He said, shaking his head. "Is that the end? Because if it is you just told me I should give up Sophia without making her hate me and that doesn't really help at all. What do you really want me to do?"

"Don't make Sophia hate you." Paige explained. "Sage regretted her actions when Lily fell for her. Because of what she did in the past, Lily is having a hard time trusting Sage now. That's why I told you that story. Because sometimes, when you least expect it, you get a second chance with the girl so you shouldn't do anything to mess it up. Just keep being Sophia's friend."

"Okay." Brian uttered before looking at Sophia and Emily. "Sage shouldn't have given up on Lily." He suddenly said, turning to face Paige again.

"What?" Paige asked, slightly caught off guard.

"Your story. I don't like the ending so I'm going to change it for you." Brian decided, resting his chin on his hands and looking at Paige thoughtfully. "You said Lily is the one Sage wanted to be with. If you found the one you want to be with, you're not supposed to just give up so soon. Jasmine suddenly left. And you said she and Lily were in love. So Lily needs time to recover. Sometimes people need to know that you're not going anywhere. Because being left behind by someone you love has to hurt. So Lily was hurt before. I think she still is. And I think Sage really wants to take that pain away." He explained slowly. "If she loves Lily, she would want to take that pain away. And she hopes that Lily will fall in love again. And this time it will be with her. Only Sage doesn't know a secret that I do." He said proudly.

"You know a secret about Lily when you haven't even met her." Paige said, giving Brian a dubious look. "Okay I'll bite. What's the secret?"

"Paige... hang in there." Brian said, smiling at the girl earnestly. "Because Emily likes you more than she's letting on. She just doesn't know it. And next time, come up with better names than plants. You suck at storytelling."

Paige shook her head wryly. "That obvious, huh? Well how can you tell?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Because Emily looks at you the way Reese used to look at my sister." Brian answered matter-of-factly.

Paige frowned. "Used to?" She repeated.

Brian's eyes widened and his right hand flew to his mouth. "Oh no. You didn't hear anything!" He whispered urgently. "Forget what I just said. The point is Emily cares more about you than you think. Just because you told her you love her and she didn't say it back doesn't mean she doesn't feel it."

"Well it wouldn't hurt to hear her say it. Or just let me love her." Paige added, glancing at Emily again.

"Why do you have to hear it? Don't you feel it? When you're with her? You wouldn't love her if she didn't do something that made you love her." Brian rationalized.

"Sometimes hearing someone say they feel the same way you do feels good." Paige explained.

"Yeah but in this case I think it wouldn't feel good. I think it would hurt more." Brian said, shrugging. "If Emily tells you she loves you but doesn't mean it, if she says it back because she feels like she has to respond to what you said. It will hurt more. That's probably why she told you not to say it again."

"Probably." Paige repeated absentmindedly, glancing at Emily.

Brian scratched his head. "Here. Let me show you something. Missis Brandt did this in my Religion class last week." He explained, reaching for a spotless white paper on the table and showing it to Paige. "What do you see?"

"Nothing." Paige answered.

Brian nodded before drawing a small circle in the middle of the paper. "What do you see now?" He asked again.

"The dot." Paige replied. "What's your point?"

"My point is people tend to forget everything else so easily once they see something that wasn't there before. You focused on the dot and ignored the rest of the paper even if the clean area is still bigger than the dot." Brian said, putting down the paper and looking at Paige again. "Kinda like with Emily. Just because she couldn't tell you what you wanted to hear, you forgot about everything else before that moment. Think back to all the times you've spent with her before what happened if you still doubt what I'm trying to tell you. And when you do, don't focus on the dots so much. The clean area will always be bigger."

"How old are you again?" Paige asked, amused.

"My mom says I'm seven on the outside but seventy on the inside." Brian answered, going back to tracing hearts. "I guess that means I'm turning eighty soon."

---

"But why?" Reese asked as she and Paige walked over to one of the unoccupied benches in the quad on Friday morning with their lunch trays. "You said last week you didn't have any plans today."

"That was last week. Today I have last-minute plans." Paige explained, depositing her lunch tray on the table before taking a seat next to Reese. "It's still in the works but I made last-minute plans."

"But we agreed to spend the night complaining about how much Valentine's Day sucks over junk food." Reese reminded the girl. "Now it's not just the holiday, you suck too."

"Sorry. My plans were really last-minute." Paige said apologetically without going into detail.

Paige didn't know how to tell her friend that she planned on getting back together with Emily tonight. Because thanks to Brian, she accidentally found out that Reese's relationship was in serious trouble and she didn't want to be inconsiderate especially today. When most of the people around them are walking around with goofy smiles and flowers and gifts are being delivered all over campus. She didn't want to add insult to injury and talk nonstop to Reese about her romantic plans for tonight.

"I knew I should've stayed holed up in my room today." Reese grumbled, looking around them before digging in on her pasta.

Paige looked around her as well but instead of feeling down, she found herself looking forward to tonight. She had everything already taken care of. All that's left is finding a way to get Emily to come to her apartment. The two of them haven't really talked since last week and Paige knew Emily thought she decided to break up with the girl for good. But yesterday, when she talked to Dr. Mead again, she told the therapist that she wanted to be with Emily again when the woman posed the same question.

"Come on. It's not that bad." Paige told her friend lightly.

Reese stared at Paige, aghast. "Are you freaking serious?! Look around. Everything's red and white and pink like Cupid and his stupid little Cupid babies vomited all over the place!" She complained, gesturing around them.

Paige fought to keep a straight face knowing the situation wasn't funny for Reese at all and her friend wouldn't hesitate to leave her if she started laughing. "Well on the bright side, just be thankful you're not in her place right now." She said, nodding her head towards a girl on the other side of the quad who looked like she was slowly dying from embarrassment as a group of guys in a semi-circle formation sang in front of her. "I wouldn't want to be in that poor girl's shoes."

"I was in those shoes." Reese said, giving Paige a wry look. "I used to love Valentine's Day because Billie sends me a Singing Valentine even if she doesn't go here."

Paige cringed inwardly knowing she just made her friend feel worse. "Well maybe she did it again this year." She suddenly said when she noticed that the guys in formal jackets were making their way towards them.

"Is one of you Paige McCullers?" A tall guy with a shaved head, who Paige assumed was the leader, asked once the group was standing in front of them.

Paige was about to tell the guy that he got the wrong table and send the group away but Reese jutted her thumb towards her. She glared at her friend but Reese just gave her a smug grin.

"Someone sent us here to deliver a special message to you on Valentine's Day." The guy continued, nodding his head to the other guys to tell them to get into formation.

Paige felt her cheeks getting warmer with every second that passed that she just sat there while the guys formed a semi-circle in front of her. "Oh my god." She breathed, telling herself to get up and leave but her body wouldn't listen to her brain and then she realized that it was also because Reese was holding on to her arm with a vise-like grip. "What are you doing?! Let go of me!" She whispered urgently.

"No way. I am basking in your embarrassment right now." Reese said, barely able to keep the laughter out of her voice. "Now who's in those poor girl's shoes?" She asked teasingly.

Paige didn't get a chance to respond to her friend's mockery because she heard the guys harmonizing and she knew she had no choice but to listen as the group began to serenade her.

When I was younger, I never went too far

Held my feelings and never even wanted to start

So when I met you, I didn't know

What you were gonna do with my heart

When you talk... (I cling on every word you say)

When you move... (Just like a breeze on a summer day)

When you smile... (The sky turns from gray to blue, that's what you do...)

And you're the kind of girl I think of

And you're the kind of girl I dream about

My heart is telling me that I need you in my world (In my world)

'Cause you're my kind of lady (You're my kind of girl...)

Paige averted her eyes from the group of singers as they continued to serenade her and let her eyes wander around the quad. She felt her cheeks turn a deeper shade of red when she saw that all eyes were on their table. Specifically, on her. She looked at the crowd, trying to find a face she recognized. There was no way these guys knew where she was unless the person who sent the Singing Valentines was in the same place as her.

That's when she saw her. Paige almost missed the girl since the bench Emily was occupying by herself was almost hidden from view by some shrubs but she saw her. And she didn't know if she was being delusional or desperate for wanting to believe that Emily was the one who sent her the Singing Valentines considering the girl seemed to be the only one in the crowd not paying attention to what was happening right now.

...My heart is telling me that I need you in my world (In my world)

'Cause you're my kind of lady (You're my kind of girl...)

Paige kept her gaze on Emily as the group finished the last few notes of the song, willing the girl to look at her. Just one look. She thought, almost pleading. Just look at me and I would know.

...My kinda girl (Yeah)

My kinda girl...

Paige watched Emily get up and gather her things a few seconds after the song ended. The girl was about to leave but before she did, Emily finally met her gaze and Paige felt her lips curl into a smile. She knew it. She was right. This was Emily's love letter to her.

---

"I can't thank you enough for coming over now." Kayla said as she and Emily headed out of her apartment on Friday night, the latter leading the way. "I was going to ask you to meet me tomorrow morning for breakfast but you saved me the trip to UPenn."

"No problem. Your text sounded like you were on the verge of panicking so I decided to bring the book tonight." Emily explained, smiling at the girl.

Kayla grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that. It's just that I didn't want to buy the book and all the copies were checked out of the school library when I asked this afternoon. I know I shouldn't have waited this long to borrow it. But I figured I can just watch the film. Then my professor threw us for a loop. He said he wanted us to include a comparison of the movie adaptation and the book in our paper. He knew most of us just planned on watching the film so he decided to use that to his advantage. He gave us a one week extension but now I have to watch the film and read the book." She explained wryly. "I'm really sorry for the trouble. It's Valentine's Day. I'm sure you have plans."

"Actually, I don't." Emily corrected, willing herself not to look towards Paige's door. "I have the rest of tonight free that's why I offered to bring the book to you tonight instead."

"You're not going on a date?" Kayla asked, surprised.

"Yup. No date for me tonight." Emily answered. "Why do you look surprised?"

Kayla shook her head. "No reason. I just thought... I mean you're not exactly a sight for sore eyes. You're the last person I would expect not to have romantic plans for tonight with... someone." She finished vaguely.

"Thanks. I think." Emily added, creasing her brows. "But no one asked so I'm spending tonight writing another paper and studying for my exams next week."

"Oh wow. Yay. Now I'm even more excited for college next year." Kayla said unenthusiastically.

"It's not that bad." Emily promised the girl. "I just didn't have any plans tonight so I decided to do something productive instead."

"Well if writing your paper and studying for your exams can wait until the weekend why don't you join me and my friends tonight? We're just grabbing dinner and a few drinks after. Nothing rowdy." Kayla hurriedly added.

"Thanks but I think I'll pass." Emily answered apologetically. "I probably won't be good company tonight and I don't want to dampen the mood. I don't want your friends to meet me for the first time and think I'm a black hole of misery."

Kayla laughed. "You're not. Come on. Join us." She insisted. "It'll give us the chance to spend time together."

Emily shook her head. "Some other time." She promised.

"Okay. I'm holding you on that one." Kayla said before locking the door of her apartment and leading the way to the elevators.

Emily was about to follow Kayla when she heard a door open and turned to see Paige emerge from her apartment wearing jeans and the red UPenn jacket she gave her. She felt her stomach drop when she noticed that Paige was holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand. The girl was about to meet someone for a date.

"Hey." Paige said in greeting, stopping in her tracks when she saw the two girls standing in the hallway. She felt her grip tighten on the bouquet in her hand, feeling like she was a deer caught in headlights.

"Paige." Emily uttered, trying not to seem affected. She didn't expect their first encounter after their official break up to be like this. That the girl was on her way out for a date on Valentine's Day. At least Paige didn't know she sent that Singing Valentine earlier. This would be even more awkward and embarrassing if that was the case. "Headed out?" She asked, glancing at the flowers.

"I was." Paige replied, pocketing her car keys so she could hold the bouquet with both hands. "Where are you guys headed?"

"Together? Nowhere." Emily answered. "I just came over to lend Kayla my copy of Great Expectations since she needed it for her literature class. I'm headed back to campus now and Kayla's going out to meet some friends." She continued, gesturing to the girl who was standing a few steps away from them.

"Oh." Paige said, contemplating what to do next. "Um... can you stay for a bit? I kinda need to talk to you." She asked, directing her question to Emily.

"Um..." Emily trailed off, not knowing what to say. It was obvious that Paige was already moving on. The girl didn't have to explain it to her.

"It's fine." Kayla chimed in, mistaking Emily's hesitation for reluctance to let her leave by herself. She didn't know what was going on between the two girls but she knew Emily was telling the truth when the girl told her earlier that she had no romantic plans for tonight. Emily's reaction when she saw Paige with the flowers and Paige's surprise when she saw Emily standing outside the hallway convinced her. "I'm gonna go ahead." She continued, not bothering to wait for either Paige or Emily to acknowledge her as she turned around and headed for the elevators.

"So... where were you headed?" Emily asked when it was just the two of them.

"What?" Paige uttered, trying to buy herself some time. She didn't expect Emily to be standing right outside her door. She figured she had time to prepare a speech on the drive to campus but now she was drawing a blank.

"I asked if you were headed out and you said you were. But now you're not. So where were you headed?" Emily repeated, telling herself to keep her expression neutral whatever the girl's answer was.

"To Harrison." Paige finally answered.

"Oh. Going to see Reese." Emily said, trying to hide her disappointment. "Of course."

Emily should've known. With the amount of time the two girls have been spending together ever since she and Paige broke up, it was only a matter of time before Paige fell for the junior team captain. And it was perfect timing too because Paige mentioned to her a few weeks ago that Reese and her girlfriend were having problems.

Paige took a step forward and found herself staring into Emily's mesmerizing brown eyes. "Actually... I was going there to pick you up." She said before handing the bouquet of flowers to the surprised girl.

---

"What's all this?" Emily asked when she saw the dinner for two that Paige set up outside on the girl's balcony. She knew what it was... but she was scared to assume.

Paige closed the door of her apartment and walked over to Emily. "This is me coming back to you." She answered softly. "I know it took me two weeks and you thought we were really over all this time and I just let you. I'm sorry for that." She said before taking a deep breath. "It's just that I couldn't tell you that I needed more time because I know you would wait. And at the time I didn't know if I was going to be ready the next week or if I'm going to ask for more time again and the whole setup wasn't fair to you."

"What's not fair is you thinking that you had to come back to me." Emily said, surprising Paige. "It's not fair to you. Why would you still want to be with me?" She asked, swallowing a lump that formed in her throat. "You already got out. You dodged a bullet. You were doing fine without me."

Paige shook her head. "I wasn't." She confessed. "Something was missing."

"I'm an emotional mess." Emily admitted. "I still can't give you what you want. I can't say those words. And that's one of the reasons why you left. Right?"

"That's also the reason why I had to come back." Paige answered, taking the bouquet from Emily's hands and placing it on the coffee table so she could hold the girl's hands. "I'm stubborn. And I told you before that you won't get rid of me that easily. I'm not gonna let you push me away. Not when I know you feel something for me."

Emily's vision blurred and she tried to speak but the tears came and she choked back a sob instead.

Paige gently wiped the tears on Emily's cheeks. "A seven-year-old boy reminded me of what I forgot. Dr. Mead helped me realize that I can do it. Focus on myself if I wanted to. But while I enjoyed doing that, at the end of the day I still want to come home to someone and be able to tell them about my day. Have dinner with them, sleep next to them. I want to open my eyes the next day and see them lying next to me. That's what's missing." She said, moving closer to the girl and resting her forehead against Emily's. "Coming home to you is the best part of my day. And I want that back." She whispered, lifting one hand to cradle the girl's tear-stained cheek. "I want you back."

Emily tried to speak again but her throat constricted and a fresh wave of tears fell from her eyes. Paige was saying all the perfect things to her and it left her speechless.

"I'm not leaving you again." Paige promised. "If all it takes is one person not giving up on you to make you open your heart again then I am going to keep coming back. Because I want you to believe that you will love again and I want to be the girl standing next to you when that time comes."

Emily took a deep, shaky breath and smiled through her tears. "I want it to be you too." She managed to say before her eyes brimmed with fresh tears again, blurring her vision but not before she saw that her simple words gave Paige hope and made the girl smile.

"It's Valentine's Day." Paige reminded the girl, helping Emily dry her eyes. "And I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather spend it with." She added, smiling. "I loved your gift by the way. Although I still kinda feel embarrassed about it. I've never been serenaded before." She hurriedly explained when she saw the girl's reaction.

Emily grinned. "So do you believe me now? I told you I didn't appreciate what Gary did." She reminded the girl.

"Oh I do believe you. But this was entirely different." Paige pointed out. "Because even if I could die from embarrassment, I would still willingly sit on that bench and listen to those guys sing that song forever knowing it's your first love letter to me."

"Forever?" Emily repeated dubiously.

"Well maybe ten times is my limit. Let's not do anything crazy. I don't want to go deaf." Paige added, making Emily laugh. "My present for you however, isn't that expensive." She continued, reaching for something from the pocket of her jacket.

"Twelve bucks is hardly expensive." Emily pointed out.

"Yeah. So keep that in mind when you see what's inside. It's that cheap." Paige said before handing a small black box to the girl.

Emily creased her brows. "What's this?" She asked, taking the box and studying it.

"Open it." Paige urged, trying to hide her nervousness. She let out the breath she was holding in when Emily smiled when the girl saw the intertwined blue, yellow and pink threads. "I know it's nothing fancy. I just had this idea of making a bracelet instead of buying you one. More personal." She explained. "And I want you to wear it... when you're ready to be with me." She continued, tucking a strand of hair behind the girl's ear.

Emily nodded and returned the bracelet inside the box. She looked at Paige for a second before leaning forward to kiss the girl softly. "Thank you." She uttered, cradling Paige's cheek.

"So I pretty much have the evening planned out." Paige said, taking Emily's hand and leading the girl to the balcony. "Don't worry. I didn't cook dinner." She promised, making Emily laugh. She led the girl to one of the chairs and pulled it out for Emily before sitting on the chair next to the girl, the view of the city at night spread in front of them. "It's not too cold, is it?"

Emily shook her head. "It's perfect." She promised, her heart beating steadily as she stared at Paige, still unable to believe that the girl wanted to be with her. "But I want to freshen up first. Wash my face since it's a little icky from all the tears." She explained, moving to get up. "I'm going to the bathroom for a sec."

"Okay." Paige answered, standing up almost the same time the girl did.

"What... are you doing?" Emily asked, surprised. For some reason, Paige's actions triggered a memory just now.

"I'm going to the bathroom for a sec."

"Okay."

"You need to go to the bathroom too?"

"What?"

"You stood up."

"Oh. Yeah... uh, no. I'm not going to the bathroom. I was actually... going to grab a refill."

"Um." Paige uttered, getting flustered as she looked around the table for an excuse as to why she stood up the same time the girl did.

Emily smiled and kissed Paige softly on the lips. "You're such a gentleman. Woman?" She corrected teasingly.

Paige felt her cheeks turn a deeper shade of red. "It's not what you think." She said hurriedly, trying to save face.

"It's sweet." Emily said, grinning. "So I hope it is what I think it is. Just like what you did the night you took me to prom in my own backyard."

"No... I wasn't... I didn't..." Paige stammered, shaking her head vehemently.

"Paige... why are you embarrassed?" Emily asked, confused.

"Because. I don't want you to know that I've had a thing for you since high school long before we started college. It's pathetic." Paige answered, meeting Emily's eyes.

"No it's not." Emily said, her heart racing at Paige's confession.

"Really?" Paige asked dubiously.

"Really." Emily repeated before leaning forward to kiss Paige again.

---

"You're gonna pay for that!" Paige shouted as she began to tread water, making her way towards Emily.

"Catch me first!" Emily shot back, laughing as she cut through the water effortlessly, pulling ahead of the girl.

After dinner, Paige asked Emily to go to the indoor pool with her saying it was part of the date she planned for them so she reserved it for tonight. Emily was hesitant at first, reminding the girl that she didn't bring anything with her, not even a change of clothes, but Paige offered to lend her a pair of cotton shorts and shirt saying they could swim without changing into their bathing suits and added that they didn't even have to swim. Just sit by the edge of the pool. So Emily finally agreed. Only when they got there, Emily couldn't resist taking a dip so she dove in. She asked Paige to join her but the girl refused until Emily pretended to get cramps, spurning Paige to jump in after her.

Paige increased the pace of her strokes until she was close enough to grab Emily by the waist. She held the girl firmly, refusing to let Emily get away.

"I give up! I give up!" Emily sputtered breathlessly. She stopped struggling against Paige and let the girl wrap her arms around her waist. She moved one arm around Paige's neck and stared into the girl's eyes as they floated in the pool in silence. "You got faster." She suddenly said, flicking water at Paige's face playfully in an effort to hide her nervousness when she realized how close their bodies were and that she could feel Paige's warm hands on her skin through the fabric of the shirt Paige lent her.

"Or you just got slower." Paige shot back, drifting a little closer to the girl.

"Maybe I wanted you to catch me." Emily replied, moving her other arm around Paige's neck and caressing the girl's nape.

"Maybe you did." Paige agreed, her heartbeat suddenly increasing in tempo like she just swam for miles. It was amazing how much being near the girl affected her. "Em..."

"Yeah?" Emily uttered, meeting Paige's eyes.

"Do you hate me?" Paige asked softly.

Emily firmly shook her head 'no'.

"Do you love me?" Paige continued, expecting the girl to move away but Emily just stayed in her arms and simply shook her head 'no' again.

"Then what do you feel for me?" Paige asked, brushing a wet strand of hair away from Emily's eyes.

"I like you. I like you a lot." Emily repeated earnestly. "Is that enough?" She asked, scared that Paige will leave her again but she didn't want to lie to the girl.

"Yeah. It is." Paige answered, giving the girl a faint smile.

"I'm sorry." Emily uttered.

Paige shook her head and moved to hug the girl. "Don't apologize for not being able to feel something. I asked and you gave me an honest answer." She continued. "I'm not gonna leave you." She promised. "Come on. Let's get out of the pool."

---

"So have you figured out things?" Emily asked, looking at the girl seated next to her by the edge of the pool.

"Not everything. But I'm getting there." Paige admitted.

After taking a shower and changing into dry clothes, the two girls decided to sit by the pool and talk before heading back to Paige's apartment. Paige reserved the place for a few hours tonight and they still had some time left so she figured they should stay, missing being near a pool with the girl.

"The reasons why you decided to end things between us, are they still there?" Emily continued, giving Paige a concerned look.

"A little. But I got help while we spent time apart and talking to people helped me sort through some of my issues. I wouldn't come back to you if I wasn't ready." Paige explained, swinging her legs to and fro as she moved her feet in the water. "I don't want to feel guilty for the rest of my life for something I had no control over. I didn't steal anything from Jai."

Emily took Paige's hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly. "I'm not going to let you be codependent on me. I just want you to know that. I'm going to help you put your needs first above mine." She promised. "And I'll try. I can't promise it's going to be soon, but I'll try for you. To get where you are."

Paige nodded. "I can wait." She reassured the girl.

"Can I tell you something?" Emily asked after a moment of silence passed between them.

"Of course." Paige answered, looking at Emily.

"I'm thinking of changing careers. I think I'd like to get into event organizing instead of advertising." Emily admitted. "It's still in the realm of marketing. But instead of promoting events or products I get to launch the product or organize the promotion instead. And event organizing doesn't just cater to advertising. I can organize other activities." She explained, starting to get excited again when she remembered how she felt when she was asked to handle the team-building activity of MUSE two weeks ago.

"Go for it." Paige encouraged when she saw the girl's enthusiasm. "I think it's perfect for you."

"Really?" Emily asked, a little anxious to change her plans. "You think so?"

Paige nodded. "I mean, what brought this on in the first place?" She asked, trying to get the girl to open up to her.

"The officers of MUSE gave me the responsibility of overseeing the team-building activity last week. Chelsea was supposed to be in-charge of it. She's a sophomore member." Emily explained when she saw Paige's confusion. "But she had to take care of some family matters so she asked to be relieved of handling the event." She continued. "The details of the activity were mostly done when Zach asked me to takeover. All that were left were the execution and some minor details that I had to sort out. But the few days that I was busy organizing it... I guess I didn't realize how much I loved and missed handling events until I was thrust into it again."

"That's why you should go for it. Because it's something that interests you and something you're passionate about. When you were social chair last year you were great." Paige reminded the girl. "You knew how to divide the responsibilities."

"I think you meant delegate." Emily said, laughing.

"I meant delegate." Paige repeated without missing a beat, kissing Emily on the lips. "Thanks for correcting me."

Emily felt herself blush. "You really think so?" She asked, biting her bottom lip anxiously. "You're not just saying that because you like me, right?"

"I swear I'm not being biased." Paige said seriously. "Yeah there were some minor and major glitches here and there but I think you handled every situation well. You were able to find a way to fix it and that is impressive."

"What is?" Emily asked, confused. "Fixing glitches?"

"That and being resourceful." Paige clarified. "When what you initially planned didn't work out, how you react to it tells a lot about your character." She explained. "You didn't panic, didn't have a meltdown, didn't throw a fit. Instead you asked what was wrong and you racked your brain to come up with a solution. If I was having an event thrown, I would hire you in a heartbeat." She said matter-of-factly.

"Why?" Emily uttered, Paige's words slowly encouraging her to pursue something different.

"Because you're insanely hot, duh." Paige answered. "Ow!" She suddenly exclaimed, rubbing her arm when Emily hit her playfully.

"Seriously. Why?" Emily asked again.

"Because I'm on edge as it is. If it was my event, I would be nervous. I would have these thoughts like, what if people don't show up or if something goes wrong. The last thing I need is an event organizer who's screaming at the top of her lungs when something indeed goes wrong, barking orders to anyone in her crosshairs. What I need is someone like you. Calm." Paige said, depositing a kiss on Emily's cheek. "Cool." She continued, kissing the girl on the other cheek. "Collected." She added, kissing Emily on the tip of her nose, making the girl grin. "And insanely hot." Paige finished, kissing Emily softly on the lips.

"What about you? Do you have an idea on what you might major on?" Emily asked when they came up for air.

"Not really." Paige began, looking around them briefly. "I went to this career fair with Reese. There are several held every spring semester so the one I went to was just the first. She helped me find my way around the companies that I could work for if I chose one of the concentrations in Wharton."

"And?" Emily urged. "Did you find one you like?"

"Actually... I'm starting to think I might shift courses." Paige admitted. "I don't think I belong in the corporate world. Although I found some careers that might be interesting, I'm trying to look for something I'm passionate about that's why I can't decide."

"Well what are you interested in?" Emily asked, hoping she could help the girl make a decision.

"Other than you?" Paige asked, nudging Emily gently.

"Funny." Emily grinned, intertwining their hands. "I'm flattered but I don't think you could get a job with me as your major."

"No problem. I'd get a double major then." Paige replied.

"Come on. Seriously. What interests you?" Emily asked again. She wanted Paige to be able to find something that would drive the girl to find a definite plan in life.

"Off the top of my head... sports." Paige finally answered.

Emily nodded. "Well there are lots of jobs related to sports." She began, racking her brain for possible careers. "You can be a pro-athlete. Then there's sports medicine, physical therapy, even education. You can coach too. There's also journalism. Ooh... you can be a sportscaster!" She exclaimed.

Paige frowned. "Reporting about sports?" She asked, unable to imagine herself talking and smiling in front of a camera knowing there are millions of people tuned in to her.

"Why not? You already have the looks. And if you're really interested in sports, all those facts and figures will come easy to you. You can learn how to speak and stand and conduct interviews by taking journalism classes. I think you'd be good at it. Not to mention I'd get to see your face on TV." Emily added teasingly.

"Why do you need to see me on TV? You see me everyday." Paige reminded the girl.

"Yeah but it's different. Once you go on air and people see you on TV, I get to tell them I know you." Emily explained, grinning.

"You can be proud of me." Paige concluded.

Emily's smile faltered. "I didn't mean it like that." She said hurriedly. "I'm trying to help you find something you can be passionate about. It doesn't matter if you get recognition for it. As long as you love doing it, I will support you. I want to see you happy."

"You make me happy." Paige said candidly.

"I want you to start dreaming for yourself. Want more out of life. I can't be enough for you." Emily pointed out. This was Paige being codependent and she didn't want it for the girl.

"Yes you are. The question is... am I enough for you?" Paige asked quietly.

Emily took a deep breath. "I want you to listen to me. I'm not saying this because I'm rejecting you or because you don't matter. It's because you do that's why I'm about to say this." She said slowly. "I want you to dream and want more for yourself outside of what you and I have. You're more than enough for me when it comes to us. But outside of that I don't want you to settle for anything less. You have a gift. So I don't want you to sell yourself short. Want something big out of life and strive to reach for it. Because you deserve it." She added earnestly.

"Have you been listening to inspirational tapes recently?" Paige asked, looking at Emily in amusement. "One of those... you are like the wind. Flow. Glide. Rise above the ground." She said mockingly in a deep voice, slowly leaning forward to kiss the girl.

"Oh I'm not kissing you with that voice." Emily said, shaking her head and leaning backwards to avoid the girl's lips.

"Why not? Come on." Paige teased, grinning. "Just try it." She urged in a deep voice again.

Emily laughed. "No way!" She exclaimed, pushing Paige and causing the girl to lose her balance.

"Ahhh!" Paige yelled before disappearing.

Emily gasped when she heard the splash before she realized that the girl fell into the pool with her dry clothes on. "Sorry!" She called out apologetically, quickly getting up and stepping away from the edge in case Paige decided to retaliate by pulling her in.

---

Four Years Ago...

"This. Is going to be cool." Paige declared once she was sitting cross-legged on the freshly cut grass of Rosewood High's football field. "I've always wanted to try doing this. Find out what the fuss is about." She added, addressing the three guys who sat on either side of her.

The girl, together with the three friends she made at the start of the year, decided to watch the emergency cheerleading tryouts on a Saturday afternoon. Paige had nothing better to do since Jai was off with her girlfriend volunteering on the blood drive in their school all day so she asked her new friends to watch the tryouts and have fun while doing so.

"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this?" A guy with thick glasses asked from Paige's left. "We're not really supposed to be here."

"We're not going to cause a ruckus. We're doing this just for us. Don't worry." Paige promised.

"You're such a buzz kill, Matt." The guy sporting a ponytail who was seated on the far right side of Paige stated. "Why did you ask him to join us?" He asked, looking at Paige.

"He's good in Math. We don't need a calculator to get the average. We just need to dish out the scores and he'll take care of the rest." Paige said, tapping Matt's back confidently.

"I'm still getting paid, right?" Matt asked hesitantly. "I'm skipping mowing our front lawn for this."

"Yeah. And we're paying you double." The lanky guy seated from Paige's right chimed in. "Stop complaining. We should be the ones doing that. Friends don't charge friends when they ask you to hang out with them."

"So we're all clear on the rules." Paige interjected, looking at the two guys to her right. "Warren goes first." She said, nodding her head to the guy with a ponytail, then you, Chris." She continued, looking at the lanky guy. "And I go last. Matt here will be doing the introductions and tallying of scores. Ready for a trial run?" She asked when a girl was called front and center not too far from where they were seated behind the cheerleaders.

"You're up, Matt." Chris said, looking at the guy to Paige's left.

Matt sorted through the list he brought with him of students trying out for the spot in the cheerleading team. He sneaked inside his sister's room last night and copied the names of the girls trying out today since his sister was head cheerleader and he needed the names for research so he can introduce each girl today.

"Okay." Matt said, nodding his head as he scanned the list and cleared his throat to begin. "First up we have Naomi Turner. Freshman. She studied ballet when she was five then took up gymnastics when she was seven. She likes dancing to classical music and she likes reading a good book during her free time."

Chris nudged Warren. "Dude you're up." He said, gesturing to the scorecards on his friend's lap.

"Sorry. I fell asleep when I heard the word ballet." Warren said, laughing. "Appearance, I give her an eight." He said, raising his scorecard.

"Well appeal I think I'll go with an eight as well." Chris said, showing his card to the group.

Paige studied Naomi as the girl executed the dance routine the cheerleaders asked the students trying out to perform. "Well she did take up ballet and gymnastics. She has to be flexible. Right?" She asked, grinning at the guys. "I think she's a nine on performance."

"So we have two eights and a nine. That brings Naomi Turner's average to an eight point thirty-three." Matt stated, doing the computations in his head quickly. He wrote down the girl's score on Naomi's file and grinned at the three people next to him. "This is pretty fun."

"Told ya." Paige said, laughing with the rest of the guys.

Paige faced forward, waiting to see the next girl who's going to try out when a student walking past them suddenly caught her eye. Emily was coming from the other side of the field, carrying an armload of paper cups, most likely for the people donating blood on the other side of the football field.

"Follow my lead." Paige ordered when an idea crossed her mind. "Introduce her." She told Matt, nodding her head towards Emily.

"But I don't have Emily Fields' file with me." Matt protested. "I've known her since elementary but I doubt I have any useful information."

"Then just say whatever comes off the top of your head. Make up something if you have to. Just introduce her. And make your voice really loud so she'll hear it." Paige continued.

"What are you up to?" Chris asked, giving Paige a wary look.

"Just watch." Paige said, nudging Matt to tell the guy to start. "This is going to be hilarious."

Matt took a deep breath and made sure his voice carried across the field, loud enough for people to hear. "Next up we have Emily Fields. Freshman." He began, trying to remember little details he knew about the girl but coming up with boring things instead.

Paige kept a straight face when Emily stopped to look towards them when the girl heard her name and she met Emily's gaze with a smirk. "Go on." She urged Matt.

"Emily is an only child. She took up swimming at an early age and went to summer camp where she learned the fine art of making macaroni necklaces. At the age of seven, Emily tried her hand at singing but was deemed tone deaf by Miss Powell. She likes reading romance novels during her free time."

"Well that was a load of completely boring facts." Paige said disdainfully, her voice carrying to Emily and anyone else who was watching. "I guess it's time to give our verdict. And with boring stuff like those I can't imagine her being different anywhere else so performance, I think she's a whopping zero." She continued, raising her scorecard first.

"Appeal, zero." Chris said, following Paige's lead as he raised a zero as well.

"Appearance, zero." Warren said, raising his scorecard.

"Don't bother tallying the scores." Paige said before Matt could speak. "I don't need a Math wiz to tell me what her average is." She continued before waving towards Emily the zero card she was holding mockingly.

Paige felt her lips break into a grin and she began laughing when she saw Emily's expression. Her laughter was so infectious that the three guys ended up joining her eventually. She was laughing so hard that she didn't notice the card was ripped from her hand until a shadow fell over her.

"What?" Paige asked, her laughter slowly dying down when she saw her friend towering over her like the girl seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jai asked, her lips set in a grim line.

Jai was following her girlfriend across the field when she saw Emily stop in front of a group of people. When she saw the girl's posture suddenly change, she immediately knew that something was wrong so she hurriedly came over to see what was going on and was dismayed to see Paige, up to her usual antics. Only now her friend just crossed a line.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm having fun." Paige answered, trying to get the score card from her friend but the girl moved it out of her reach. "Oh come on Jai, don't be that way. Give it back."

Jai glanced at the guys seated with her friend and saw that all three were trying to hide their laughter over what just happened. "Paige, come on. That's my girlfriend standing there. If you're so eager to be this obnoxious do this disgusting thing to someone but not her."

"I don't see the problem. It's all a matter of perspective. I think she's a zero. I'd give her a one since she's so rigid like a pole and has no attractive physical qualities whatsoever but I can't seem to find that card." Paige said, pretending to go through the scorecards on her lap.

Jai looked behind her and saw her girlfriend still frozen in place, the girl's eyes on the ground to avoid the stares of the people who witnessed what happened.

"Paige why are you doing this?" Jai asked, looking at her friend again.

"Because it's fun." Paige answered, emphasizing each word.

"It's offensive." Jai corrected the girl. "I know you don't like Emily. I get it, she gets it. You don't have to keep driving your point home everytime you see her. I know you don't like her. But at least have the decency to keep that to yourself." She said before throwing the scorecard on the ground next to Paige and walking over to her girlfriend to lead Emily away.

---

Present Day...

Emily sat on the middle of Paige's couch, her hands playing with the box that held the bracelet the girl made for her. She glanced at the bouquet of flowers beside her and felt a smile tug on the corner of her lips as she touched the petals. She looked up, her gaze landing on the dinner for two outside the balcony. She should probably start cleaning up while Paige was taking a bath. But she just sat there, still unable to believe that she and Paige were together. Paige came back. And she felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest with happiness. Everything about tonight was amazing. And she didn't want it to end just yet.

After helping Paige get out of the pool earlier, the two of them hurriedly made their way back to Paige's apartment so the girl could take a bath and change out of her wet clothes. Emily kept apologizing for pushing the girl too hard but Paige reassured Emily that she just caught her off guard.

Emily stood up, starting to get restless so she decided to go to the girl's bedroom. She agreed to spend the night there so she should probably change out of her clothes before Paige was done taking a shower. Emily walked past the bathroom, noticing that the door was ajar and she saw the girl's wet clothes lying on the floor. She headed to the bedroom and hurriedly changed into the clothes Paige prepared for her earlier, neatly folding hers and placing them on top of the girl's dresser. She decided to head back to the living room, passing by the bathroom again but this time, instead of just walking past it, she found herself lingering by the door when three things occurred to her:

Paige was inside. Taking a shower. Naked.

Emily felt that surge of desire again when she recalled seeing Paige's bare back a few days ago. But tonight that desire was stronger. Because the girl came back when she thought Paige wouldn't. And because the girl said she loved her that's why she's staying. Emily slowly pushed the door open before she changed her mind, nervous about what she wanted to do.

"Paige?" Emily called out once she was near enough to be heard by the girl.

"Yeah?" Paige said, turning the shower off to hear Emily better.

"Are you still taking a shower?" Emily continued, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

"Yeah. But I'll be done in a minute if you need to use the bathroom." Paige answered, wiping the water droplets off her eyes.

"No. It's okay. Take your time." Emily said as she studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror, her pulse beginning to race at what she was about to do.

"Okay." Paige uttered, turning on the shower once again.

Are you sure? There's no turning back once you do this. Emily told her reflection. Yeah. I want to. I really want to do this. She smiled at her reflection when she thought about being with Paige on a different level of intimacy starting tonight. She brought her trembling hands to the hem of her shirt and slowly took it off, her mouth running dry as she got even more nervous but she continued taking off her clothes until she was standing naked in front of the mirror.

"Paige?" Emily repeated, turning to face the shower curtain.

"Yeah?" Paige asked as she turned off the shower once again.

Emily swallowed hard. "Do you mind if I join you?" She asked breathlessly.

Paige felt her jaw drop. Did she hear Emily right? She wiped the water off her face and brought her hand to her mouth, aware that her heart was racing as she waited for Emily to speak again.

"Paige?" Emily called out, shakily tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Uh. Are you sure?" Paige asked hoarsely.

"Yeah. I'm sure." Emily answered as she grabbed one end of the shower curtain, stopping before pulling it back in case the girl didn't want her inside. "Paige?"

Paige placed her hand over Emily's. "Okay." She uttered, helping Emily slowly pull the curtain back.

Fuck.

Paige thought the second she saw the girl standing in front of her. Naked. Emily was like one of those Greek goddesses with the way the girl's raven hair fell over her breasts, hiding them from Paige's eyes. Paige drank in the other girl's features, letting her gaze wander from Emily's toes to her face, unable to believe someone so beautiful could exist and stand in front of her.

Emily kept her gaze glued to the floor, mistaking Paige's silence for disgust. She knew there was a chance that this could happen. That she would bare herself to the girl and end up proving Paige's opinion about her body all these years. Embarrassed, Emily moved to pick up her clothes off the floor.

"Don't." Paige ordered, gripping Emily's arm to stop the girl from covering herself. "I want to see you." She whispered, extending a hand for the girl to take and pulling Emily inside with her.

Paige gently moved the girl's soft hair behind her shoulders, finally exposing Emily's breasts to her and the sight of the girl's nipples standing proudly pushed Paige one step closer to losing all train of thought. She let her hand move lightly against Emily's smooth skin, her fingers tracing the girl's perfect curves as she brought her hand to Emily's side, letting her thumb graze the skin underneath the girl's breast. Paige splayed a hand on Emily's chest and felt that the pounding of the girl's heart matched hers. She lightly traced a line down to Emily's bellybutton with her forefinger, stopping there when she felt the girl's skin jerk.

"Look at me." Paige uttered when she realized that Emily was still staring at the floor.

Emily took a deep, shaky breath, every inch of her skin still tingling from when the girl touched her. She finally looked at Paige, letting her eyes travel slowly from the girl's toes. Emily drank in the other girl's naked form, her breath hitching and a new surge of desire coursing through her as she took in Paige's creamy complexion. From the girl's toned calves, firm thighs... the area between Paige's legs, to her noticeable abdomen and her perfect breasts. Paige's body was glistening from the water droplets and Emily reached out to touch the girl's body, mimicking Paige's movements earlier.

You're so beautiful. Emily thought as her fingers slowly grazed Paige's skin.

Paige gently touched Emily's jaw to force the girl to look her in the eye. "I think you're beautiful too." She whispered, making Emily realize that she said those words out loud.

Emily moved to wrap her arms around Paige's neck, bringing their bodies together as she hugged the other girl close to her. Her body raged with desire at the feel of Paige's naked body against hers and her breathing became ragged.

"Don't hurt me." Emily whispered, terrified by how much she wanted Paige at that very moment knowing she still wasn't ready.

"I won't." Paige promised breathlessly as she held Emily tighter, their breasts brushing against each other. "We don't have to do anything." She said reassuringly when she felt the other girl tremble in her arms when her thigh made contact with Emily's center and she felt the other girl's wetness. Paige was certain Emily felt how wet she was as well when the other girl's thigh slid between hers. "Holding you close is enough." She uttered, kissing Emily's bare shoulder softly before turning the handle of the shower, drenching their bodies in cold water instantly.