Guest – I think Paige in general is an amazing character so I needed to do her justice in this story. The girls will be interacting really soon. As for the girls being able to hack the phone without the team detecting them…well they do have Caleb on their side! He has his ways.
Guests'/naiel2017– I'm so glad you guys all like it so far! And this is just the beginning.
Em – Thank you for the compliment! I was a bit hesitant in posting since it was basically way out of the norm for a Paily Fanfic.
Thecatfromaliceinwonderland – Hahaha, you know I had to put a small mention of Superman in there! That's too funny you picked up on that. And I like that you compared her to the black widow…that didn't even cross my mind. So do I want to tell you about Emily's behavior? I would love too! But you're going to have to put the little pieces together. Of course there's questions! Especially with the way I started it out. But I'm not going to give anything away. Hope you enjoy the next chapter! I saw your post and promise I'll respond as soon as I can.
Sofiadc66 – There are a lot of similarities between my writing. Sometimes when I start writing I begin to picture the story taking place another away. Thank you so much for the compliments! It really means a lot. I can promise you…some of those theories you have for this story will come true. Enjoy!
ItsKatiee61 – I appreciate so much that you picked up all those small things. I tried to make the girls have the same characteristics they have on the show so readers could envision them better. There's always tension between Paige and Emily when they're not together. I had to do Paige justice in this story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or any of its characters
Taking in a deep breath to contain her sudden restlessness, Paige dug her hands in her front pockets before slowly closing her eyes. The auburn girl didn't realize just how emotional she'd feel standing in front of her old house. Paige knew her parents kept the house as a vacation place so they could always go back to when they needed a bit of break from the sunshine state and just wanted to feel the snow under their skis as they sought out that thrill.
However, as a 17 year old girl leaving her home behind during a sensitive time in her life, Paige knew she was going to be surrounded by memories. Every inch of the estate had something that reminded of her time in Rosewood. Whether it was trying to bake Spencer's birthday cake in the kitchen with Emily which in turn left a piece of dough stuck on the ceiling. Or moving around the furniture in the living room to give Hanna, Emily and herself more room to dance to "Tearing up My Heart" by NSYNC which in turn left a scratch mark on the wall caused by the love seat shifting around. Or sliding down the staircase rail to try to beat Emily to the kitchen to grab the last hot pocket which in turn caused Paige to flip over instead and fall on the wooden panel as her elbow caused a minor dent in the wall.
Of course, the one room which had the most effect on her was her bedroom. Standing before the door, Paige had to give herself a second before turning the handle and opening it. Steering herself for what she was about see, the auburn girl swallowed lightly as she took in the vast space just as she left it 8 years ago. Taking in the bare walls which once held collages of pictures of her friends, Paige continued to gaze around as she took in the shelves which held classics she read which once also contained awards and ribbons she had won with the girls. Turning toward her dresser, Paige slowly walked over as she grazed her index finger on top to wipe off some of the dust formed over time as she couldn't help but think back to how it use to be filled with foam fingers from random concerts she and Emily had been too and random masks and beads from Rosewood's dances.
When Paige decided to leave, she didn't want to keep any reminders of her past in her room. Throwing away everything that remotely made her think back to the brunette; Paige dumped everything in a box and left it out by garbage without thinking twice. While walking back inside that night, the auburn girl didn't realize her mother was watching her from the kitchen window. She didn't realize it was her mother who had went out later that night while she was asleep to try to spare some of her memories. She didn't realize her mother had placed some of the items in a smaller box and bury them in their backyard.
Paige had only come to learn about her mother's actions after graduating Stanford. While her parents were convincing the brown eye beauty to come home for a bit, Paige tried to convince them she had no memories she wanted to relive; that was when her mom admitted to her activities. At first the auburn girl was livid her mother went through her personal items and took it upon herself to keep them. But after a few months of realizing her mom was only trying to help, Paige simply dropped the matter and moved on; she knew she had no intention of retrieving the items buried.
However, as the beauty stood in her empty childhood home; Paige needed to fill that void she was suddenly feeling. She needed to see something that made her remember what her life was like when she was a teenager. She needed to know what she had wasn't a lie or something she made up in her mind. Dropping her black Nike duffle back by her dresser, Paige turned toward her bedroom door and made her way down the hall toward the front door.
Exiting her house, Paige made her way toward her backyard which now only contained an empty swimming pool. Clenching her jaw at all the memories that area simply held, Paige kept her focus toward the patch of dirt which once held blossoming flowers as she searched for a small trowel her mom use to keep nearby. Finding it rather quickly, the auburn girl began digging in the area where her mother told her she had buried her memories.
Thanking her mother silently, Paige only had to dig for about two feet before she had come upon her mother's old bronze box which she remembered at one point held her mother's old jewelry. Carefully retrieving the box from hole below, Paige didn't dare open it out in public. This was something that meant more to her then she honestly realized. Just holding the box sent a course of shivers through her.
Paige didn't dare share these items with the girls back when she was in high school. This was something of hers she always kept secret from everyone even though they were all with her during these events. She didn't want anyone to know just how important these memories were too her. So now, standing before a immense space of emptiness, the auburn girl held the box close to chest; seemingly thinking someone was peering over her should to sneak a peek at what she was holding.
Standing up slowly, the auburn girl dusted off her jeans before making her way back in her house. Quietly closing the door, Paige continued to her room silently closing her room door as well. Paige felt as though she was keeping a secret from the rest of the world and didn't want anyone to know. Just by the mere knowledge the box in her hands contained some of her most precious moments, the auburn girl could feel all the emotions she thought she ran from come flooding back. Closing her eyes to prevent her tears from falling, the brown eye beauty slowly sat down in front of her bed. Looking at the box one last time, Paige finally worked up the courage to open it.
The first thing that came into view was a bundle of old concert wristbands. From the size of the bundle, the auburn girl would imagine effortlessly it was well over 40 different concerts. Paige could easily point out which wristband went to which concert without a second thought. Slowly forming a smile across her lips, Paige rested the bundle to her right as she spotted a bunch of old ticket stubs from movies the group had went to; they ranged from movies from 2002 to 2005. Laughing to herself, Paige knew these weren't movies anyone would be proud to say they've seen. They were stubs for movies like "The Count of Monte Cristo" or "The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants". There was even a stub for "Hulk", the version played by Eric Bana. Knowing everyone else probably threw them away after they saw them, Paige kept them just because of the way she felt being with her friends.
Placing the ticket stubs right next to the wristbands, Paige continued as she then pulled out a dry rose Emily had once given her when they went to a Valentine's Day dance together. Clenching her jaw, Paige bit her bottom lip. She could recall every detail of that event. From the sexy red skater dress Emily wore, to the pair belting the lyrics to "Check On It" by Beyoncé, to watching as Emily won the crown for Queen of the dance. Forcing those memories aside, the auburn girl placed the old flower down as well, as she picked up a necklace that had a small key as its pendant. Remembering the brunette was the one who gave her the necklace, Paige wondered if Emily still had the heart piece of the necklace. Taking in a deep breath, Paige placed it aside before she continued searching the box.
The most direct items the box contained were pictures. Pictures of the group in school. Pictures of the brunette eating. Pictures of the pair at concerts or parks. Everything Paige looked at brought back the most emotional memories of her best friend. If Paige openly admitted it to herself, she would realize she truly missed the bronze beauty more than anything. She also knew just by the contents in the box, how deeply she loved the brunette. It was as though she loved the brunette before she even realized she was in love with the brunette. Nodding her head at the thought, the auburn girl stuffed the contents back into her box as she stood up abruptly.
Taking in a deep breath, Paige stood still for a second before fully knowing what she had to do. I have to see them.
The Brew. The it place to be when in high school. And if Paige knew the girls as well as she thought, they'd still be gathering at there every so often. The antiquated coffee shop had a sense of tranquility to it; giving off a safe haven feel. That's exactly what those girls needed right now. They needed to feel safe. They needed to feel calm. They needed to feel as though they had a grasp with everything that was happening.
Making her way thru the café gradually, Paige kept her eyes and ears open for any familiarity from any of the girls. After a few minutes of looking around, the auburn girl cleared her throat before determining no one was there; that was until she heard that voice. The voice that has haunted her dreams for years. It was soft, but Paige would bet anything it was Emily. Turning in a complete 180, Paige nervously made her way up the stairs; steeling herself for the scene she was about to see.
Just as she suspected, Spencer, Hanna and Emily were sitting right by the top of the staircase. Spencer and Hanna both took up the loveseat as Emily had her back toward her; sitting on the sofa. Observing as they seem to be in the middle of a heavy conversation, Paige clenched her jaw as finally found the potency to say something. "Hey"
Paige felt as though she couldn't breathe. She felt as though time stood still; waiting for one of the girls to make a move. Focusing more on a certain brunette, Paige could easily see the girl's shoulders straightened when she spoke while Spencer and Hanna's eyes were glued on her in disbelief. The brown eye beauty knew she should brace herself for a full on Spencer Hasting's attack. Watching as the slim brunette got to her feet, Paige swallowed knowing she couldn't place herself in a defensive position. She knew she deserved it; but didn't expect what was about to happen.
Spencer held Paige's tearful gaze as she charged at her; engulfing her in an emotional hug. A hug that was 8 years overdue. Taken aback at first, the auburn girl immediately welcomed the hug as she pulled the brunette closer. Engulfing each other in complete warmth, Paige simply smiled as she watched Hanna approach them. Conveying the same act toward the blonde beauty, the three past friends stood together as they embraced the sense of happiness overcome them. Just the three of them.
Sensing the silent reunion occur behind her, Emily slowly stood up as she folded her arms toward her body; hoping the act created some sort of armor for her. She hated what she was feeling. She hated how her body was engulfed with goosebumps the second she heard the voice that disappeared on her 8 years ago. She hated how her eyes lit up when she knew exactly who standing behind her. She hated how much she wanted to just run over and engulf the auburn girl in a bear hug for hours without having to say anything. Most of all, she hated how she could tell Paige was going through the exact same thing the moment their eyes connected.
It felt as though everything and everyone disappeared. It was just them two standing in front of each other, waiting for the other to move or blink; but neither budging. Paige could feel the confusion and anger searing from the girl; but she could also feel the desire and longing the brunette had for her. Slightly parting her lips at the revelation, the auburn girl swallowed; forcing herself to speak up but was quickly interrupted.
"So the prodigy girl actually speaks" Spencer finally stated as she broke the unbearable silence.
Still keeping her gaze on the other brunette before her, Paige managed to finally croak out a response. "I…don't know where to start" she stuttered.
"How've you been?" Spencer continued. "You look amazing by the way" the beauty continued as she circled around the auburn girl. "How did you get so toned?"
"And your abs!" Hanna soon chimed in as she reached out to feel Paige's toned torso. "I've never seen abs as cut throat as yours. And you grew out your hair!" the blonde beauty exclaimed as she combed her fingers through Paige's long auburn hair without any disregard to how awkward she was making the girl feel. "It's gorgeous"
Letting out a genuine laugh, Paige's eyes lit up as she finally dragged her gaze toward Hanna before removing the girl's hands from her hair. "Thanks Hanna. I uh, just began working out a lot"
"Well, that's incredible" the slim brunette responded as she brought Paige toward the area where the girls were sitting. "Who would have thought Paige McCullers…a Special Ops Officer?"
"I honestly would have bet you'd be a scientist or a doctor or something" Hanna stated before taking her seat and lifting her coffee toward her lips.
Laughing yet again at how good it felt to be around the girls, Paige gave an honest answer. "I know. I didn't really know what I wanted to be when I was at Stanford. The opportunity just presented itself"
"We heard" Spencer simply replied before taking a sip of her own coffee.
"Right" the auburn girl responded as she snapped back to reality. This was business. "Did Aiden debrief you on all of us?"
"For the most part, yes" the slim brunette answered.
"Good. So you know we're going to do everything in our power to bring Aria back right?" Paige stated as she made eye contact with Emily once again. Paige knew Emily was bracing herself from responding to any questions or statements she made. This was after all the first time they've actually had a chance to talk.
"Why should we trust you?" Hanna bluntly asked as she grabbed Paige's attention.
"I mean we do" the blonde beauty quickly added. "But why? You kind of just left us hanging in high school"
"I know" Paige mumbled as she looked to the floor.
"You didn't even come back" Spencer continued.
"I know" Paige repeated. Finally raising her gaze, she felt as though she suddenly shrank in front of all the girls. "Just…life happened"
"That's bullshit" Emily furiously stated as she turned her head to face the window of the cafe.
Taken aback by the fact that the brunette finally responded to her, Paige took it as a step in the right direction. "Look. Aria is missing. We need every minute of our time here to find her. Please just trust me ok?" she honestly replied. "We'll find her. But I need you guys to promise me that you won't get in the middle of this"
Watching as all the girls went silent for a moment, Paige tightened her jaw as she heard Spencer speak up. "We won't"
"Spence" Paige sternly stated. "Seriously?"
"What?" the slim brunette simply replied as she took another sip of her coffee.
"Pinocchio is a better liar then you guys" Paige sarcastically retorted. "Let us do our job ok?"
"Fine" Spencer tiredly replied.
"Thank you" Paige said before taking a sip of her coffee that was delivered to the table a few seconds ago.
"So are you free now?" Hanna asked. "Maybe for a bite to eat? Catch up?"
"I need to head back to the office" the auburn girl answered before getting up from the sofa. "But we will. I promise. I just wanted to see you guys"
"Like you keep your promises" Emily mumbled loud enough for the girls to hear.
Feeling her throat constrict at the amount of revulsion the brunette had toward her, Paige looked to the other two girls who gave her reassuring smiles. Slightly dipping her head, the auburn girl drifted her eyes toward the brunette's wrist before noticing the anchor bracelet she had bought her was no longer occupying her hand. Knowing she was no longer that Paige who gave her the bracelet, the brown eye beauty knew gaining back the girl's trust was going to take her time. "I need to go. But I'll see you girls later okay?"
Paige couldn't help but display a wide smile when she entered the conference; quickly realizing she was the last member of her team to arrive. Quietly taking a seat near the back of the conference room table, Dylan was the first to take notice of his seemingly lively colleague. "Well look who decided to show"
Inwardly flinching at the statement, the auburn girl knew she had to contain herself. "I had to take care of something" she simply answered.
"Or someone" Skylar clearly mumbled as she gave Paige a wink.
Arching her eyebrow toward her fellow team member, the brown eye beauty didn't want to get into this discussion right now. "Don't start"
"Oh come on" Skylar quickly retorted. "We all saw what happened with those girls"
Opening her folder from their prior meeting, Paige tried to avoid all eye contact with everyone on her team. Truthfully, she was more than elated to finally have talked to the girls. All along Paige didn't think she needed too. She thought she moved on from everyone and everything Rosewood had to offer. But just being within the same vicinity as the girls, everything came rushing back. It felt like her pre-Alison high school days. Where she loved everything about this place; everything about herself. Refusing to indulge the team in a personal matter, Paige stood on her ground. "Leave it alone" the auburn sternly stated as she gave Skylar a firm look.
Immediately understanding the look, Skylar back away from the auburn and focused on the facts in front of her. Not having to wait long, the beauty was ecstatic that the team didn't have to wait long in the awkward silence.
"Alright team" Commander Maloney greeted as he closed the conference doors behind him once he entered. "The Osprey is being checked and re-fueled as we speak" he firmly stated. "You guys are headed for the Harrisonburg area. Caminiti has a stash house down there"
"Can you tell how much ground we have to cover?" Aiden asked he began taking notes of the instructions.
"No" the commanding officer admitted. "We have no eyes or ears down there. You'll be the first to let us know what you find" he continued disclosing.
"When do we leave?" Dylan soon followed.
"4 hours" the sturdy man answered. "I suggest you suit up"
Paige immediately caught the underlying intention from her commanding officer. "What do we need?"
"Everything" Commander Mahoney instructed. Powering on the projector to show a map of the area the team would be dropped into, the superior officer continued. "Obviously you guys aren't getting picked up and we're dropping you in the middle of a feeding frenzy. We don't know what's down there and there's way we could communicate. This is the first clue we have to find that girl. Remember, we only have a certain window for this" he firmly added.
"Basically we're reliving the Caminiti era over here" David pin pointed as he began seeing the similarities between both assignments.
Nodding his head in agreement, Commander Mahoney continued. "Be careful down there. We lost a lot of officers trying to capture that guy. And now that we see some signs that he's back, it's definitely not a good thing" he acknowledged. "He's out to get revenge. He's out to get blood"
"Why take Aria though?" Skylar asked. "She has no record. She doesn't even have a cavity actually" she continued as she looked at the file in front of her.
"We still have no leads to why these two are connected" the lead officer admitted. "Paige, who know her better than any of. Care to shed some light?"
Leaning back to remember what the petite brunette was like, Paige answered honestly. "Aria was an artsy girl from what I remember. She liked to write and take pictures. She's not into drugs. Unless-"
"Unless what?" Aiden quickly asked as he watched as his co-lead began focusing on the file in front of him.
"Unless Aria took the wrong kind of picture" Paige answered; stating her assumption.
"What you mean?" David asked.
"Maybe she went out there and was aiming to take a picture of a tree but ended up taking a picture of one of Caminiti's men" Paige answered as she gave a theoretical answer.
"Then why not just kill her?" Skylar bluntly asked as the question hit Paige with the realization. "Why go through the hassle of kidnapping her?" the hazel eye beauty continued.
"I don't know" the auburn girl whispered.
"Find out" the commander instructed. "We can't add another headcount to Caminiti's list"
"We won't let that happen" Paige firmly responded.
Taken aback by her tone, the lead officer knew he had to put his subordinate in line. "McCulllers. I know this hits home. But you have to focus"
"I am focus" Paige angrily answered back as looked at her commanding officer.
"Good" Commander Mahoney responded as she held Paige's stare. "Because we need the five of you out there at your best"
"That's all we bring" Aiden replied as he tried to ease the sudden tension.
"That's what I want to hear" the commander responded. "Be safe out there" he finally stated before leaving the team to talk with themselves.
Waiting for Commander Mahoney to leave the room, Aiden needed to speak up. "What the hell was that?"
"What?" Paige senselessly asked as she continued gathering her things.
"Talking back to your superior officer like that?" the team lead sternly answered.
Paige widened her eyes as she realized Aiden was siding with the commanding officer. "He just accused me of not focusing" she stated as she raised her voice. "When have I not focused on a task?"
"Well we never had to deal with a group of your old friends before" David quietly answered.
"I'm focused" Paige stated as she tried to reassure her team she's in it 100%.
"You better be" Skylar chimed in. "Because if you're not, you're putting all our asses on the line"
"I know that" the auburn girl quietly answered; beginning to feel guilty of her connection to the case.
"Paige, we're family here" Aiden tenderly stated. "We've been through the worse and back. Don't let these girls erase everything you worked for" he continued.
"We're just looking out for you" Dylan added.
Watching as Paige began slouching as the team suddenly began ganging up to their co-lead, Aiden knew he had to give the girl some breathing room as well. "Ok, let's get set. Get a good meal. Doubt we'll have one for a while"
Allowing her team to leave before her, Paige needed to gain back her composure. She wasn't expecting the entire room to accuse her of not being focused. Yes, she was taken aback by the sudden appearance of her old friends. But she knew that's where it ended. This was the last day she was going to be in Rosewood until after the case was completed. Taking in a deep breath, Paige gathered the last of belongings before making her way out and to the team. Shoving aside the conversation she just had with the girls prior to the meeting, the auburn girl knew she didn't have time to entertain the idea of rehashing any friendships at this point.