Paige ran after Craig, quickly. They ran for awhile, sprinting the whole way. Paige's chest felt tight and her lungs felt almost as if they were going to explode. She took deep breaths of air and they burned her throat. But she relished the feeling. She ran faster. Now she was caught up to Craig. She sprinted harder, her feet slapping against the pavement, her legs taking the impact, the thunder rumbling above. Quickly she passed Craig.

"Hey!" he shouted after her. But she still ran. Somehow she felt more human, more alive. She wanted to run until she cleansed herself of everything Dean had done. Behind her, Craig sped up. He grabbed her arm.

"Paige!" he shouted, against the howling wind. "We just passed my house!"

Confused, Paige stopped running. Then she laughed manically. Craig looked at her, puzzled, but still guided her towards his house. When they stopped in front of the quaint little house, Paige bent over. She put her hands on her knees and her chest heaved. She breathed in heavily.

Craig observed her, silently. "You should join the track team Paige. You're seriously really good."

Paige shrugged, while wiping rain drops off her face. "I never really thought about it. Actually, I hate running." she wrinkled her nose.

Craig laughed. "Well you're really good anyway. So you wanna go inside before we get more soaked?"

"Yeah sure."

Craig opened the door and showed her inside. "Joey took Angela to the doctor's office, and then they're going shopping. That could take hours. Ever tried shopping with a four year old?"

Paige took off her shoes and placed them on the mat. "No, actually. But I have shopped with a gay guy. And not to stereotype or anything, but he takes forever!" Paige grinned, then caught herself. Strangely enough, she felt really comfortable around Craig. Most guys wanted to hang with her because she was so "hot" and "sexy". Plus she was pretty sure she had a reputation of being easy, even though she only had sex once... against her own will. Anyhow, Craig seemed to be an okay guy. Not just out for... things she didn't want to give. Things she wasn't ready to give. Things that made her feel like a slut, like a whore. It was weird. Ever since Dean, she had felt like a different person. Even though she knew she didn't say yes, even though she knew she didn't want it, she found herself questioning her character. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair for her to carry such a huge amount of guilt around. Dean was the one who needed to feel guilty. Dean was the one who had stripped her of her tough facade, the one who had made her realize she was just as vunerable as everyone else. And now he was gone. Again, she felt tears well up in her eyes. Images from Saturday came back into her mind. All she wanted was to forget that one night! But somehow.. she also wanted to remember. Because it had shown her.. that she wasn't invincible. That she wasn't just Paige Michalchuk... superficial party girl. She had depth, and emotion. Maybe.. just maybe, it would show her what she really had.. and what she shouldn't care about. It really wasn't fair that she was stereotyped like that... just because she was cute and dressed a certain way. Lost in her thoughts, she forgot where she was, and with who.

"Uh Paige? You wanna go into the living room?" Craig asked her.

"Oh.. sure. Sounds fine." she said tonelessly.

She sat down on the comfortable couch, and Craig opted for the recliner. Finally as she drifted back to reality, she realized how cold and clammy she was from the rain. She shivered.

"Hey.. do you want one of my sweaters or something?"

"No. I mean.. yeah. Thanks." Borrowing his sweater was okay, right? It didn't mean anything. She was cold and she didn't see any blankets around her.

"No problem." Craig said awkwardly. This was weird. They hardly knew each other, and yet here they were, alone. But still, Craig wanted to help Paige out. He knew what real problems were like, and he knew how hard they were to deal with. He walked upstairs and grabbed an oversized sweater. As he walked downstairs, he attempted to think of some conversation topics. Anything that wasn't too personal, but might get her to open up. He tossed her the sweater and she smiled weakly before putting it on. It was huge, and she hugged her knees to her chest and pulled it over them. Paige rested her head on her knees, feeling overwhelmed by her thoughts. Tears welled up in her eyes. Could she ever be safe from her memories? They cut through her brain like a knife and they pulled at her heart painfully. Paige closed her eyes, a lame attempt to keep her tears from overflowing. In her mind, she coached herself. *Come on Paige... don't cry. You're stronger than that Paige. You can deal with this, just fine.* But she couldn't and finally she gave into her tears, her body racking with sobs. Craig sat on the recliner, looking bewildered and unsure of himself.

"I'm sorry... I'm a total emotional rollercoaster.." Paige sobbed.

Craig didn't know what he should do. He wanted to sit beside her on the couch, and hold her while she cried. But realistically, they didn't know each other well enough. "No.. it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong." he was trying to comfort her, but he wasn't sure what he should say.

Paige hugged her knees to her chest even more tightly. "I... I.. should go. Just.. please.. don't tell anyone about this.."

Craig just nodded helplessly. What more could he say or do? "Uh.. if you want to talk.. or just hang out.. I'm here Paige. I know.. we're not good friends.. but I do care.. and I understand more than you think.."

Paige smiled tightly as she stood up. She took in a deep breath and wiped her eyes defiantly. "Thanks Craig." she said simply. Paige opened the door and let herself out. As she walked down the sidewalk, she knew she must look like a mess. But what she didn't know was that Emma and Manny had just seen her come out of Craig's house, in his sweater, and that they were now gaping at her. What would Paige be doing at Craig's house? Well.. they certainly had some ideas...