"Hey Em!" Spencer smiled as the tanned girl walked in. "You're early." Spencer was taken aback when the tanned girl frowned at her.
"I'm not. It's already 8 Spence." The tanned girl refused to acknowledge Jenna's presence though the latter gave her a small smile and a nod.
Spencer turned to Jenna in surprise. "Oh my god, I didn't realize the time. We haven't even started on our chem. project yet."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Because studying the human anatomy seemed much more fun than chemistry?" She glared at Jenna who still had her hand on Spencer's leg. Jenna immediately retracted her hand and blushed at Emily's remark.
"What are you talking about?" Spencer asked Emily as she eyed the swimmer quizzically.
"It's okay, Spencer. We can work on it tomorrow." Jenna interjected. "I should go." Jenna stood up from Spencer's bed and grabbed her bag on the floor.
"Wait! Why don't you stay for dinner? I'll order some pizza. I'll just…ouch!" Spencer got off the bed as well but her sudden movement caused a shooting pain to her left shoulder. Emily was on her side in a flash. The swimmer's eyes grew wide when she noticed the fresh bruise on Spencer's shoulder. "Spence! What the hell happened?" Emily turned to Jenna, acknowledging the girl for the first time and gave her a questioning look.
"It's nothing. It's just a little remembrance from field hockey practice earlier." Spencer said as she met Jenna's eyes. Jenna nodded in understanding.
Emily shook her head and frowned at Spencer. "Could you try to be a little less aggressive, Spence?"
"What's the fun in that? It's a competitive sport, Em." Spencer smirked.
Jenna glanced at Spencer's bedside table and noticed the untouched pill and glass of water. "You haven't taken your pain meds." Jenna dropped her bag back on the floor and quickly walked towards Spencer and handed the pill to the brunette along with the glass of water.
Spencer's eyes fell on Jenna's hand as she handed the now empty glass back to the girl. Her eyes grew wide as she noticed Jenna's swollen knuckles for the first time. "Oh my god! We should put some ice on these!" Spencer took Jenna's hand and carefully ran her fingertips on the girl's knuckles.
"It's fine. I'll put some ice on it as soon as I get home. I really should be going." Jenna was getting uncomfortable with Emily's burning stares since the swimmer arrived, and now that Spencer is holding her hand, Emily looked as if she was ready to pounce on her. She quickly grabbed her stuff before Emily could start asking questions about her bruised hand and its connection with Spencer's bruised shoulder.
"I'll let myself out. Call me if you need anything, okay?" Spencer nodded and gave Jenna a quick hug, this time being more careful on moving her slightly injured shoulder.
"Yeah, of course. Text me when you get home." Spencer said as she let go of the green-eyed girl. Jenna nodded and said goodbye to Emily as well. Emily was internally screaming with jealousy, wanting to pry Jenna away from Spencer, but she just crossed her arms and nodded at Jenna.
Hanna and Aria arrived at about the same time as the pizza delivery guy did. Aria paid for the pizza that she assumed Spencer has ordered and placed them on the kitchen counter. The two girls then went right up to Spencer's room.
"Where have you guys been?" Emily asked as the two walked in.
"Hunting down Paige. No luck in finding her tonight though." Hanna answered, earning her a puzzled look from the swimmer.
Aria walked right up to Spencer and hugged the taller brunette. "I ran into your teammate Sara. She told me about what happened earlier. She said she witnessed the incident at the locker room as she was coming in from practice. Are you okay Spence?" Aria asked with much concern for her best friend. Spencer returned the hug while carefully avoiding contact on her left shoulder. She didn't want to give the tiny brunette any indications that she was in pain to prevent her from worrying too much.
"Wait, what? What are you talking about? What happened earlier?" Emily raised her left eyebrow as she looked at her three best friends.
"Paige got physical with Spence during field hockey practice, so Jenna beat the crap out of her." Hanna said proudly. Whatever animosity Hanna had towards the green-eyed girl was now thrown out the window as she smiled with much admiration, grateful to the girl for standing up for her best friend.
"Jenna didn't actually beat the crap out of her. I guess the version you got was overstated." Spencer didn't want Jenna to seem like a vicious freak in the eyes of her best friends, so she recounted the incident to the three girls as she sat on the bed.
Aria fumed as she heard the whole story. The tiny brunette paced back and forth with her hands balled into fists. "If she ever lays a finger on you again I swear I'm going to kill her!"
"Not if I kill her first." Hanna said with narrowed eyes.
"I'm going to her house right now." Emily said thru gritted teeth. Spencer stood and held Emily's arm to stop her from exiting the room. "Guys, calm down. It's over now. I'm fine. It's not like she can break me with a few bumps and trips." Spencer chuckled as she pulled Emily beside her. Spencer placed her hand on the swimmer's back and smiled. Emily could not comprehend how Spencer's mere touch can be so calming and electrifying at the same time.
"Sorry. I'm just really mad at her for hurting you." The two locked eyes as Emily moved closer to Spencer. The swimmer resisted the urge to wrap her arms around the brunette and kiss all of her bruises away.
"She didn't. I'm fine, really. You should have seen Paige's face though. Jenna sure knows how to throw a punch." Spencer grinned as she recalled the stunned reaction of Paige as she cowered away from Jenna.
Emily frowned and looked away. She wanted to wipe the stupid smile off Spencer's face as she talked about Jenna. She had to admit though, that she owed the green-eyed girl for defending her best friend.
Hanna caught Emily's reaction so she quickly changed the subject. "Alright, I'm starving. Let's get started on those pizzas."
"Do you wanna watch a movie while we eat, Spence?" Aria asked, swiftly catching on to Hanna's act.
"City of Angels?" Emily suggested. Spencer grinned and nodded eagerly. Emily smiled at the brunette's reaction. It felt good to be the one to light up the brunette's face this time. The tanned girl walked over to the other side of the room to get the movie from Spencer's dvd stack as Hanna went downstairs with Aria to get their food and drinks.
Aria stretched her arms and yawned as the movie credits rolled. She turned off the TV and situated herself back beside Hanna on the inflatable bed. Spencer was initially baffled when the tiny brunette didn't take her usual spot beside her on the bed but she didn't argue, as it meant that she will be sitting beside Emily throughout the movie. Spencer heard the familiar chime of her phone and got off the bed to retrieve the device from her bag on the floor.
J: Hey, Spencer. I wasn't able to text you right away coz my mom dragged me to the dinner table as soon as I got home. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow to hopefully start on our chem. project, yes?
Aria glanced up to where Spencer was standing. "Who is that?"
"It's Jenna." Spencer answered as she sent a quick reply to Jenna.
S: Yeah, of course. Glad you got home safely. Thanks again for today. Really.
J: No worries. As I've said, I got your back. Goodnight Spencer. See you tomorrow.
S: Goodnight Jenna. See you.
Emily watched Spencer as the brunette smiled while she exchanged text messages with Jenna. Emily sighed and closed her eyes. She saw images of Jenna touching Spencer's leg, to Spencer softly touching Jenna's hand, to Spencer hugging Jenna. Maybe there was truth in Paige's words after all. Maybe Spencer is hooking up with the green-eyed girl. She even caught Jenna's words when she walked in on them, talking to Spencer about that thing that they are going to tell the girls about. Maybe "that thing" is them being a couple. Emily's heart began to throb as she felt tears fall from her eyes. Hanna was right. She should have taken the plunge. She should have told her best friend how she felt a long time ago. Now it's too late. Jenna has won Spencer's heart. Emily turned to her side and began to sob quietly.
Spencer dimmed the lamplight and walked back towards the bed. She felt her heart race as she climbed back up the bed. She had gotten used to sleeping next to Aria whenever the four of them had sleepovers. Not that she's complaining now, but the brunette cannot fathom how she can possibly sleep when her heart's racing at the thought of sleeping on the same bed with the object of her affection. Spencer glanced to her right where the tanned girl had her back on the brunette. Emily's hair was pulled up in a bun, and Spencer found herself fixated on the exposed skin at the back of Emily's neck.
"Em, you okay?" Spencer whispered as she moved closer to the tanned girl upon hearing her quiet sobs.
Emily quickly wiped her tears as she felt Spencer's hand at the back of her neck, softly stroking her skin with her thumb and sending little jolts of electricity through her body as she did so. Emily rolled to lay flat on her back, unintentionally trapping Spencer's hand beneath her in the process.
"Yeah. I- uh, I just feel bad for Seth." Emily lied. It was a good thing that they had just finished watching the movie, thus offering Emily a quick excuse as to why she was suddenly crying.
"We've watched that movie a thousand times, Em." Spencer chuckled. Emily didn't object when she felt the brunette pull her closer. Spencer slowly slid her hand from Emily's nape down to her back, finally resting her hand on the tanned girl's waist. She fought the urge to run her fingers on the girl's slightly exposed skin.
"I know. I uh, just really feel bad th-that they didn't get their happy ending. I mean, M-Maggie wasn't supposed to die." Emily replied with a shaky breath, feeling Spencer's hand on the exposed skin on her waist.
"Even if they didn't have their happily ever after, at least Seth had that one chance with Maggie. If it were me, that one chance would be enough. One." Spencer whispered to the tanned girl who now had her head on Spencer's right shoulder.
One. How pathetic am I for letting one opportunity slip through my hands? Now I've probably lost her forever. I lost my Spencer to fucking Jenna Marshall. My Spencer. Emily sighed as she fought back the tears from falling again. No. She was never mine in the first place, and she will never be, because of my cowardice. Emily closed her eyes and snuggled closer to Spencer. She wrapped her right arm on the brunette's waist, savouring the moment that she may never have again.