[Disclaimer] I own nothing.
[Author's note] First I need to apologise for the delayed upload of this chapter, I just haven't the free time to write given the fact I'm in my final year of college. This chapter is lightly longer so I hope that help... a little? Secondly thanks again for all the favourites, follows and reviews every bit of support for this story give me the encouragement to write a little more. I got quite a few reviews for my last chapter so thanks again for that, I've read every single one of them and take everything that is said on board. Without further ado here's chapter 7.
[Trigger warning] Mention of self-harm in this chapter.
Emily jumped up out of bed startled when she heard a knock on her apartment door, "Shit… my stupid alarm never went off". Paige and Emily had agreed to meet at 7:00am to go running, this had become routine for the two over the past week. Emily would jog lightly trying not to put too much pressure on her leg but just enough to keep the muscles fit and active. Paige, of course went running to build a sweat and get her heart racing, often surpassing Emily on their chosen track in the park.
Emily groaned when she heard another knock on the door, "Paige, will you just wait a minute!?" Emily walked out into the small living area shouting towards her front door, unfortunately for her Sara was home and had also plans to answer the door, she opened her bedroom door still half asleep, her hair tangled around her face rolling her eyes as soon as she figured it wasn't an emergency and that it was just someone looking for Emily. The girl immediately turned on her heels, and slammed her door shut enough to tell Emily she didn't appreciate being awoken this early.
Emily quickly changed, brushed her teeth and threw her hair up into a ponytail, grabbing her shoes she quickly answered the door to an impatient Paige.
"Bout time, Fields" Paige smirked playfully tapping her watch.
"Shut up Paige… you know your insistent knocking is gonna cost me a pizza. You woke Sara so I have to try make it up to her now. I'm also pretty sure if Sara had opened the door you'd have a black eye or split lip right now... she's really not a morning person." Emily rolled her eyes still not awake enough to deal with Paige's good humour.
"I'm sorry… I thought you said she always stayed with her boyfriend? Here's $20 dollars and you can even keep the change… I mean it the least I could do for you saving me the black eye and split lip." Paige insisted. "But don't go spending it all in the one shop" she couldn't help but add a mocking comment hoping it might cheer Emily up.
"Ugh! Why are such a morning person? Also keep your money, it's okay" Emily replied yawning in the process.
"You know if you were so tired you could have just cancelled, I wouldn't have cared"
"I know but as much as I hate your cheerful and go-getter morning attitude I actually enjoy our morning runs"
"Oh come on… you don't hate my 'cheerful morning attitude'. Hate's a very strong word you know" Paige continued to tease.
"Fine! I strongly dislike your ability to function like a happy human being at 7am"
"See you're already starting to perk up" Paige nudged Emily in the shoulder this time, causing the two to laugh.
"Are you actually gonna try push yourself today?" Paige questioned hoping her question wouldn't offend the raven haired girl.
"Hey… I can only push myself so hard, I don't want to do any damage to my leg! Plus who's the one with the degree in Physical and Sport therapy, Miss Major in Graphic Design & Illustration?" Emily retorted, finally fully awake enough to actually return some of Paige's snide remarks.
"Whatever Fields… I'll see you around… and around and around, when I overlap you about five times just like every morning" Paige stuck out her tongue as she sprinted off along the track.
Emily smiled in return as she watched the other girl run off. She wasn't lying when she said she really enjoyed running together. Although as much as she enjoyed getting to spent some alone time with Paige it was also somewhat tortuous for the girl. Emily's mind would race and heart would melt into a quivering mess every time she watched Paige run past her, her eyes hooked on the view of Paige's glistening skin as if it was their own personal drug. Her ears perked waiting to hear the one-two of Paige's feet as they thrummed against the soil like a drummer's song, all because her heart waited impatiently for the comment she knew Paige would throw out at her, like she always did every time she overtook her. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about Paige like this, but the more she fought the thoughts the harder they hit her. Her mind, body and soul still somewhat shocked by the effect Paige could still have on her. Any time she ignored her feelings or thoughts the pain they ensnared within her, when she could no longer hold them back was incredibly heart-breaking, causing so much regret to bubble up within Emily. She couldn't face to ignore them any more. She knew it was wrong but she had to allow herself to feel something or think something because she couldn't avoid it, because when she did the feeling would catch up on her in one single blast, no longer able to hold them down because of something Paige said or the way she smiled or the way she accidentally brushed against her. Emily would rather endure the slow burn of hurt, regret and pain by allowing her brain and heart to think and feel what they needed to, when they need to, rather than ignore her body and eventually suffer the tortuous blast of her thoughts and feeling catching up with her, burning her from the inside out.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Emily jumped on hearing Paige's voice sneak up behind her, causing her to momentarily lose her balance.
"Shit, sorry Emily… I didn't mean to scare you!"
"It's fine… I'm fine" Emily insisted smiling at the look of concern on Paige's face, the two continuing to jog slowly together.
"Are you okay? You seemed pretty wrapped up in your thoughts?" Paige turned on her heels to jog backwards so she could face Emily and could attempt to read the expression on her face.
"I'm fine Paige… just caught up in my own little world, is all"
"If you say so…" Paige replied shooting the other girl a friendly smile.
"You're gonna fall and hurt yourself running like that, you know?"
"I won't I got this!" Paige smirked cockily. "No Paige, watch out there's rocks coming up, I really think you should turn around for this part"
"Fine…" Paige drawled out, but as she turned her ankle rolled over a rock causing her to lose her balance, unlike Emily she couldn't steady herself coming down hard. Her knee breaking her fall, landing directly onto an exposed rock, Paige suddenly came to ground stopping when her shoulder grazed along the surface.
"Aggghhhh… fuck!" Paige groaned in pure agony, enough to cause a shiver to run down Emily's spine out of shock at what just happened, Paige's teeth clenched tightly together praying for the pain to ease. "Emily my knee… my knee… Fuck!" Paige just about hissed out, her breathing now jagged and skin growing paler by the second"
Emily quickly knelt down beside her friend, assessing the situation immediately recognising Paige's knee was dislocated.
"Okay Paige… listen to me, you're gonna be okay… but you're knee is dislocated. I can put it back in place but it's gonna hurt like hell! But I promise it will feel a little better once it's done" Emily explained trying to remain as calm as possible.
"Just do it… please do it… Now! Fuck!" Paige's hand were clasping as the soil beneath her, trying to find a way to ease the excruciating pain she was currently experiencing.
"Okay Paige I need you to take some deep breaths with me… In and out… In and out. I'm gonna do this on the count of three and then we're gonna get you to the hospital where they can look at it some more."
"Can you please shut up and just make this pain stop… I feel like I'm gonna pass out or throw up or something… Agghh. Emily please!" Paige spoke quickly not meaning to come across as rude, but she really just needed some kind of relief.
"Okay, on the count of three. One… two…three." Emily hands went to work, trying to ignore the noises currently coming from Paige out of pure agony as her body tried to re-adjust to her kneecap being pushed back into place. Emily looked up at Paige still clearly in pain but a little bit more at ease now, her eyes had glassed over and skin remained pale, her body now slightly trembling as the adrenaline caused by the sudden burst of pain made itself know. At least now Paige remained quiet, the pain still the only thing on her mind taking away her ability to speak, the sudden exhausting effect of what had just happened also taking it's toll on her.
"Okay Paige… let's get you to the hospital and get you some medication for the pain." Emily spoke, her voice still very calm even though she was currently trying to avoid every nerve in her body telling her to just wrap Paige up in her arms, hold her close and comfort her. Paige just gave a slight nod as a response.
Emily eventually got Paige to the hospital, fortunately it was the one she interns at, helping the girl into a wheelchair carefully knowing they might have to wait for a while until they could see a Doctor. Paige remained quiet in her seat, letting out subtle groans now and then when the pain in her knee made itself known. Emily's eyes danced around the room hoping some of her closer colleagues were working in the ER today. She spotted Mike, quietly running over to catch his attention, her hand squeezing Paige shoulder before leaving her friend's side letting her know she'd be right back.
"Mike… Mike!" Emily shouted after her friend.
"Em, hey! What has you down here, in the ER? I didn't think you were working this week?" Mike replied surprised to see Emily.
"Yeah, I'm here with a friend… She fell and dislocated her knee, she needs it to be x-rayed, re-aligned properly and administered some drugs for the pain. I re-aligned it as best as possible but without the x-ray and a proper assessment we won't know how much damage is done." Emily explained before continuing "I was wondering if maybe, you could see her now? I'd bring her up to the physical treatment centre, but I have to be interning 9 months before I'm allowed to administer any drugs… please I'll buy you lunch for a week?"
"You sure this is just some friend, Em? It sounds like she's pretty important to me" Mike teased.
"Ughh… yeah, she's just a friend! Okay?" Emily replied her words coming across a little harsher than she intended, causing the smile to drop off the face of the guy opposite her.
"I'm sorry Emily, I'm actually just finished my shift… I think Tessa is still around she came in about 6 this morning so she should be still on the clock. I can message her for you." He replied a little more seriously this time around.
"Thanks Mike, I owe you one!"
"It's okay Em, I think you should bring your friend into one of the free examination rooms… I don't think Tess will be able to say no when she hears who needs a help in hand." Mike smiled again before waving goodbye to her walking towards the staff cloakroom.
Emily quickly returned to find Paige in much the same state she left her, her eyes immediately registering the way Paige's teeth were gnawing into her bottom lip trying to distract herself from the pain as a thin layer of sweat sat uneasily on her forehead.
"Come on… let's go get you fixed up and some pain meds" Emily spoke softly as she pushed Paige's wheelchair toward an empty exam room.
"Paige, are you okay?" Emily asked trying to comfort the girl.
"Yeah… yeah… fine! Never better!" Paige replied a hint of sarcasm lingering on her words, causing Emily to laugh lightly, although her laughter only earning a dirty look from Paige which in turn caused Emily to laugh that little bit harder.
The two were almost immediately interrupted when a girl a similar height to both Paige and Emily walked in, "Em, hey… Mike said you needed some help?" The blonde girl walked directly towards Emily pulling her into a friendly hug that lingered a little longer than a what a friend hug usually would. Paige couldn't help but notice the once-over look Tess gave Emily.
"Yeah, this is Paige… my umm… my friend, she fell in the park she experienced a patellar dislocation and some trauma to her shoulder. We need to run an X-ray and then I need you to administer some pain medication" Emily explained, Paige's eyes widening in disbelief on hearing Emily sound like a real medical practitioner.
"Okay Paige, I need you to put this on over your clothes and then we can run the X-ray. You too Em!" She pointed to the lead jackets, and Emily quickly helped Paige to put her's on.
The three, well mainly Emily and Tess made small talk while the x-ray was doing it's joke. Paige wasn't really feeling up to joining in, as well as that Tessa reminded her a lot of Samara, Emily's ex-girlfriend from high school, so she instantly didn't like her.
"Okay Paige… well it looks like Emily did a pretty good job on the Field. Get it?" Tess joked, Paige just nodded out of politeness while Emily let out a shy giggle. "Okay so I'm going to give you an injection of morphine for the pain now and administer some strong pain killers, enough for three days but try only take them when you really need to. The pain should ease a little later when you rest it and I'll get you a support dressing. After that you should need crutches for about 2 weeks but with a secured knee support you could probably get away with using one, you'll need to wear that for at least the next 6-8 weeks. Also you need to keep you knee iced every few hours over the coming days as well, to help the swelling go down" Tess explained to Page, before darting around the room and next door to collect some equipment.
Tess quickly returned with the medical equipment, giving Paige's knee a quick clean before preparing the needle. Paige unintentionally caught sight of the instrument and instinctively reached for Emily's hand, turning away to face the raven-haired girl. Paige had hated needles since she was a small girl, she had fainted in school after getting a booster shot and had a deathly fear of them ever since.
A smile crept on Emily's face as soon as she felt the other girl's hand within her own, the feeling of Paige's hand within her own still felt so familiar. The smile quickly replaced by concern when she saw the look of terror on Paige's face.
"Ok, Paige… one, two, three" Tessa stated before continuing her work.
Paige clenched her eyes shut on three, causing a single tear to roll down her pale cheek. Emily couldn't stop herself from catching it, gently rubbing the pad of her thumb along Paige's cheek to wipe away the water trail. She always hated seeing Paige cry.
"Dr. Jameson to ER Station 2, Dr. Jameson" The voice rang out over the loud speaker.
"Emily I'm so sorry I have to run, I'll be back with the pain meds and discharge papers as soon as I'm free… maybe you should just do the dressings." Tessa spoke quickly her hand placed on Emily shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze before exiting the room.
"Okay Paige I'm going to put a dressing on your shoulder and upper arm and then place a splint and support around your knee, the pain meds should be working so it's not going to hurt" Emily explained to Paige who already look a million times better giving the relieve thanks to the medication.
"What… What happened my shoulder?" Paige quickly turned hissing when she touched the wound there.
"When you fell you also injured your shoulder, but I guess with the pain in your knee you didn't notice… now top off." Emily explained once again before signalling for Paige to take off her top.
"Been awhile since I heard you utter those words to me" Paige joked the morphine well and truly in her system, causing Emily to blush slightly out of embarrassment. She only grew more bashful as she couldn't take her eyes off Paige's abs, memories of the other night when she walked out on Paige changing, ringing out in her mind.
"Okay P. this might sting a li…"
"So you and Dr. Jameson, huh?" Paige interrupted not really bothered by Emily's instructions any more.
"What about us?"
"Are you dating her?" Paige asked outright.
"Nope…. Plus what does it matter to you, McCullers? Jealous?" Emily decided to tease back.
"Nope… not jealous, she just reminds me of that Samara girl from high school. You know she likes you, right?" Paige spoke again
"Still holding a grudge against Samara I see!"
"She was supposed to be helping me accept and deal with my sexuality not come in and steal the lady I wanted to date" Paige whined.
"Lady you wanted to date huh? Romantic!" Emily pushed it a little further, laughing at Paige's expression.
"Shhh, just pretend I didn't say that… anyway despite her reminding me of Samara, she is hot. You should go for it, Emily!" Paige spoke in a more serious tone this time, of course oblivious to the drop in Emily's mood when she mentioned that Emily should date the girl.
"We already did!" Emily returned quietly.
"Okay, so what happened?"
"She was the last girl I dated, remember I told you about my 3 month relationship… that was with Tess. It got too serious. I couldn't handle it, so I broke it off and now she's with someone else." Emily explained quickly not really feeling up to this conversation any more.
"Weelll… she's still very much into you. Did you not see the way she looked at you, Emily?" Paige continued.
"Paige, I'm not having this conversation… I'm done with your shoulder you can put back on your shirt." Emily spoke matter of factly this time, earning a confused look from Paige not understanding what she said wrong.
"This is gonna be cold, I have to ice it for a few minutes to help the swelling go down before I put a dressing on it" Emily instructed as she placed the ice pack on Paige's knee. The two stayed in silence for a few moments, Emily's eyes began to trail the length of Paige smooth skin, her eyes catching sight of the scars on the girl's upper thighs, an uneasy feeling of guilt making itself know in her stomach.
"Stop…" Emily jumped on hearing Paige's voice.
"Stop what? Am I hurting you?"
"No, stop looking at my scars like that."
"I'm sorry… it's just I… I could have stopped her! I just wish I knew sooner, I could have stopped Ali" Emily explained quietly.
"You don't have to apologise, Emily. You know that. It's all in the past, no one could have changed what happened." Paige whispered in return.
"Does Alex know about them?" Emily immediately regretted asking, knowing she'd have to listen to Paige talk about Alex now.
"She knows they're there and a little of the back story behind them. But I told her she has nothing to worry about. It would never happen again." Paige continued.
"Did she believe you?" Emily questioned.
"I think so… you see, I told her I made a promise to a… uhhh... a very good friend that I would never do that or put myself through something like that again."
Emily immediately knowing that 'good friend' was her.
"Can you stop staring at me like that, I need to finish this book by tomorrow and start this stupid book report" Paige insisted glancing over at Emily who was sat at her desk studying.
"It's not my fault you look like that when reading a book. Just you, lying across your bed like that keeps distracting me" Emily replied, unable to pull her eyes from watching Paige.
"Looking like what?"
"You look so concentrated. So focused. A small crease keeps appearing in your forehead every time you truly get lost in the words, I just want to gently kiss it enough to smooth it out… and then every time you reach up to turn the page it tugs your shirt up just a little, so much so a small slither of flesh on your hip appears. Taunting me. It's mesmerising, you're mesmerising. You're so incredibly beautiful, Paige… do you know that?" Emily spoke her voice just above a whisper, her words causing Paige to blush.
"No one has ever spoke about me the way you just did, Em" Paige replied a sense of disbelief lingering on her tone.
Emily got up from her seat to lie down on the bed beside Paige, her hand reaching for her girlfriend's, the two thirsty for some kind of contact.
"Well it's true… Read me some?" Emily asked. Paige nodded, her eyes scanning the page for a passage to read from her book 'Pride and Prejudice'.
Paige smiled before starting to read, her heart still amazed by the way Emily watched her:
"They were within twenty yards of each other, and so abrupt was his appearance, that it was impossible to avoid his sight. Their eyes instantly met, and the cheeks of each were overspread with the deepest blush. He absolutely started, and for a moment seemed immoveable from surprise; but shortly recovering himself, advanced towards the party, and spoke to Elizabeth, if not in terms of perfect composure, at least of perfect civility."
Emily couldn't withhold the magnetic pull within her any longer sitting up, placing her hand under Paige's chin before placing her soft lips on those of her girlfriends. Her hunger only growing more intense as she felt Paige reciprocate the kiss, their tongues coming together in a heated dance, a soft moan coming from the paler girl's mouth as she felt Emily's hand finally capture the flesh on hip that was teasing her all afternoon, her delicate hand slowly wandering up the smooth silk of Paige's back.
Usually Paige took charge at this point but Emily gently pushed her girlfriend over on the bed, her body now lying on top of Paige. Emily's fingers found their way to the buttons on Paige's shirt, she made quick work of opening them, her body hungry to feel more of Paige's skin as she exposed her girlfriend's bra clad chest. Without thinking Paige's hand mirrored the actions of Emily's like they had many times before.
Emily's lips moving from Paige's to meet her neck, finding their way to Paige's pulse point to leave a small mark there as a subtle way of telling the world that Paige was hers, all the time soft pants and gasps coming from the two as their hips moved in a gently harmony. Emily's adventurous hand now finding the button to Paige jeans, stopping there for a moment as her eyes found Paige's looking for permission, knowing this would be Paige's first time. Emily had already given her whole self to Paige, but a silent fear inside of Paige kept her from doing the same for Emily, but now she finally felt ready, nodding silently as she pulled the raven haired girl back into a passionate kiss. Emily hands continued their journey as she unbuttoned the jeans and pushed them down her loves lengthy legs, kicking her own shorts off before continuing to leave open mouth kisses on the paler girl's chest, collar bone and stomach.
As Emily's hand trailed lower they glided along her girlfriend's toned upper thigh, noticing a sudden stiffness come over her girlfriend. Her mind immediately registering the slight change in texture below her finger tips which would have gone unnoticed if Paige hadn't reacted in the way she did. She immediately knew where her hand had fallen. She glanced up into the warm chocolate of her love's eyes now hiding shame, guilt and fear. Emily leaned downed placing a delicate kiss to each one of Paige's scar wishing she could make them disappear, she knew she could never take back what happened in the past but she would give up her own life before she saw Paige hurt herself like that ever again. Emily, not saying a word climbed the length of her girlfriend's body before placing a light kiss to Paige's cheek caressing the other with her hand, "You are so incredibly beautiful, Paige... and I love every single part of you". A single tear escaping Paige's eye as Emily pulled her closer, knowing more were likely to follow. "I'm so sorry for everything Alison DiLaurentis ever did to you, Paige", her voice remained quiet letting Paige cry within her arms. "I love you, Paige McCullers. I can't imagine the pain you went through, but I am so glad you decided against giving up. I don't think I have or will ever know a stronger person". Emily didn't say much more she continued placing comforting kisses to Paige's forehead wrapping the blankets around the two while holding her girlfriend within her arms as she sobbed out the pain she held within her for so long. A little while had passed and Paige's cries had subsided a little, Emily suspecting exhaustion was taking over, she decided to speak again, "Paige?" Paige nodding to signal she was listening.
"Will you make me a promise that no matter what happens between you and I, if you ever feel like hurting yourself or need someone there, you'll talk to someone first. It doesn't have to be me but just someone. But you know, no matter what our circumstance is… together or not, you can always come to me, Pay. You don't deserve to go through something like that again, alone. Promise me?" Emily asked.
"I promise, Em." Paige responded her hand finding Emily's, interlinking their fingers and tucking herself in closer to her girlfriend as she began losing her battle to exhaustion brought on by the release of years of pain. "I love you, Emily Fields"
"I love you too, Paige McCullers"
Emily was immediately distracted from her thoughts when she notice the blonde doctor rush back into the hospital room.
"Hey Em, sorry to interrupt It's so busy at the minute… so I said I'd drop in the discharge papers and pain prescription before I really get caught up. Just drop it into reception on your way out… I'll catch ya later." Tessa spoke quickly dashing around the room waving goodbye to the two stunned girls watching her rushed actions.
Emily smiled up at Paige this time "Okay let get your leg wrapped up and head back to Hanna and Caleb's. You know Jake is gonna have field day when he sees you."
"I know". Was all Paige had the energy to say, the morphine now have a drowsy effect on her.
"We're back" Emily called out expecting to see the three in the living area but no one was to be found. Emily helped Paige into the apartment placing a steadying hand on her friend's back.
The silence in the house was quickly interrupted by the sound of little feet running from the direction of Hanna's office and a little voice yelling "EMMMYYY! You're here!" Jacob coming to a sudden finish when he saw Paige with crutches and bandages on her shoulder and knee.
"Ohhh-ohh… What happened, Paigey? You otay?" The little boy spoke up walking toward Emily, reaching for her hand almost afraid to look at Paige in her injured state, as he leaned into Emily side out of comfort.
"Hey buddy, I'm fine. I fell over in the park and hurt myself… but it's okay Emily and the doctor at the hospital made me all better. But you know what will make me feel ever better?" Paige spoke cheerfully even though she felt drained from her medication and the pain she endured earlier.
"What?" Jake quickly replied, eager to make his newest friend feel a little better.
"A hug?" The chest-nut haired woman smiled, her suggestion causing the blue eyes of the young boy to look up at Emily making sure it was okay as he approached her cautiously. "Be careful, Jakey. Paige's knee is very sore okay" Caleb voiced as he and Hanna walked into the living area.
The little boy slowly approached Paige, wary of her knee. Paige couldn't bend down to his level so he wrapped his arms around her uninjured leg, placing his head against her hip, Paige reached down as much as she could to rub his back gently, "I'm glad you're okay, Paigey" he whispered into her side squeezing her a little tighter.
Jacob quickly stood back when a new thought entered his mind. "oh-oh… will you be able to go my birthday?" His blue eyes shone out of worry and impatience for Paige's response.
"You have a birthday coming up? How old are you gonna be?" Paige asked while walking towards the sofa needing to sit down now.
"Guess!" He smiled in return.
"Umm… 64?" Jacob laughed and nodded no, "Okay, uhhh 35?" he nodded again, "Fine... I know you're turning 21!" Jacob continued laughing at Paige's guesses this time throwing his hands up in the air "Noooo… I'm turning this many" he replied holding up 4 fingers.
"4… you're turning 4? Well you don't look an age over 2!" Jake just look confused now, not understanding what Paige meant, his reaction causing the other three in the room to laugh as they watched the two interact.
"Come on, darling. I think Paige could do with some rest… She'll be at your birthday, don't worry." Hanna approached her son picking him up, kissing him affectionately on the top of his head.
"Yeah I may get going… I have some errands to run, and an awesome birthday present to pick out for Saturday" Emily replied poking Jacob gently in the stomach making him giggle and squirm in his mother's arms.
"Hey Emily… Thanks for helping me today" Paige called over, her tiredness already registering on her words.
"No problem, McCullers… just don't be too stubborn and actually take your pain medication"
"I'm not stubborn" Paige replied somewhat offended
"Yeah right and Jacob really is turning 21 on Saturday" Caleb interrupted, earning an eye roll from Paige and more laughter from Emily and Hanna.
"Goodbye everyone" Emily called out before exiting the apartment.
Jacob's birthday had been a success, the birthday boy enjoyed every second of it. It was now 8pm and Hanna and Caleb re-joined the group downstairs after putting a worn out Jake to bed. Toby and Emily were setting up the laptop to Skype call with Aria and Ezra who were currently in New Zealand on their trip. Spencer and Paige were sitting on the sofa chatting. Paige was explaining how her leg was doing and that she had just finished her three day prescription of pain medication yesterday, and that she could get around just fine using only one crutch. She also told Spencer that she finally decided on her own apartment and would be moving in on Monday, just in time for Alex's visit the following Wednesday.
"Cheers" the group announced taken a drink each, Hanna and Spencer opting for a glass of red wine while the others decided on beer.
The whole group talked with Aria for over an hour, Aria and Ezra filling the group on their plans to be back in America for Christmas. The group continually drinking as the conversation carried on. Hanna and Spencer refilled their glasses for the third time just as everyone was saying goodbye, the two then retreating to a sofa near the large window looking out on the New York skyline.
"Oh I've an idea… Caleb do you have Mario Kart for the wii?" Paige asked, before taking a sip from her half empty beer bottle.
"Yeah I think so… it should be there somewhere, just check on shelf beneath the TV" Caleb replied a little confused by Paige's request, watching her walk with purpose towards the TV in search of the game.
"Found it… so who's up for some drunk Mario Kart?" Paige returned to the group swiftly.
"What the hell is drunk Mario Kart?" Toby questioned this time.
"I can't believe Emily never showed you guys, we used to play it the whole time in California."
"It's basically playing Mario Kart, which is usually pretty easy… but when drunk, it near impossible and very funny to play. We used to play little tournaments with our Stanford friends. The loser does a shot, then if everyone went out afterwards the winner could request one drink from someone they had beaten. I never told anyone here about the game because Spencer 'overly competitive' Hastings is one of our best friends and if she lost or won at all we'd never hear the end of it." Emily explained.
"So you guys in?" Paige added.
"Nah not today Cull, Hanna and I have plans to leave for Rosewood early tomorrow morning. Ashley and Ted wanted to see Jacob on his birthday" Caleb responded apologetically.
"Yeah I'm out as well, sorry P. I am so bad at computer games I'd be the one doing all the shots and I don't think Spencer would be too impressed with me" Toby added, also apologetic.
"Fields, you in? For old time's sake?" Paige joked, hoping Emily would be up for the game.
"Duh… You're going down McCullers" Emily returned trying to hold a serious face. The two leaving the boys to go sit on the sofa in front of the TV, ready to play the game.
"Okay so we play a few practice races first and then we'll go… best two out three?" Paige asked Emily just holding up her drink to signal a 'cheers' agreeing with Paige's proposal.
The two started to play the game both immediately incredibly focused, the competition stirring the natural competitiveness that lived instead the two. Laughing and throwing out teasing comments at one and other, in the hopes that one of them would be distracted enough to lose.
After about twenty minutes everyone was interrupted by Toby asking, "More drinks anyone?".
"No we're good, thanks Tob" Spencer replied, holding up her glass to show she still had a good lot of red wine, Hanna did the same.
Hanna and Spencer got back to their hushed conversation almost immediately, the two discussing Paige and Emily.
"You know this isn't going to end well?" Spencer said.
"I know, Spence… Emily can barely keep her eyes off of Paige, and of course Paige is completely oblivious. Typical Paige…" Hanna laughed softly at her last comment.
"Yeah I know Paige is oblivious most of time when it comes to people being attracted to her, I think we all remember the night of your 19th birthday and your cousin Rachel hit on Paige and Emily nearly lost it. Of course Paige was in Emily's bad books for close to week because she couldn't figure out why Em was so mad and Emily refused to tell her why out of pure stubbornness." Spencer's words causing the two to laugh at the memories.
"Yep, of course Em's stubbornness didn't help that situation… But beside that we both know how in love with Alex, Paige is. They seem like a pretty strong couple. Alex sounds like someone Paige needed."
"I agree Han. It's going to kill Em when Alex moves here, you know."
"I know… Paige doesn't have a clue, and all we do is watch Emily fall harder for her. Em's been through a lot… Ali, Maya, the accident, the break-up with Paige… but at least she seems to find comfort in the fact that Paige is as happy as she's even been" Hanna replied.
"You're right... but you know I don't think Emily feels deserving of Paige any more. We all know after the accident everything changed, their relationship was so destructive. They were hurting one and other. Emily hurt Paige so much when she openly blamed her for the accident. She blamed Paige for ruining her life. Of course it was Paige's guilt and Emily's anger, frustration and unwillingness to open up that destroyed them. Emily hurt and pushed Paige away so much so she broke Paige's heart. We all know now that realisation finally hit home with Em, the day she found out Paige had moved to Scotland with no current plans of returning. We all experienced that first hand when You, Aria and I tried comforting her for three days straight when she wouldn't stop crying, sobbing or whimpering out nonsensical apologies and distraught words of regret to Paige who we all knew would never hear them."
"Of course I remember, Spence… I don't think Em really came back to her old self until she started to bond with Jake, when she actually started to fight to walk and get her leg working again. Paige was one, if not the best thing that ever happened to Emily… She lost sight of that for a brief moment and pushed her out of her life, out of all our lives."
"Your right Han, I can't believe I never considered this before. Emily pushed Paige away because she was one of the best things in her life, that and swimming… oh and Stanford. Emily had already lost so much, the accident was just the breaking point and the reason behind her losing swimming and then her scholarship to Stanford. Emily blames herself, she got rid of Paige before she completely destroyed her, too. Although she did that anyway when she broke up with Paige… but I think that's why she's okay with standing back and just allowing Paige to be happy now." Spencer responded.
"I don't know if you know this… I mean, we all know Paige moved to Scotland because she was heartbroken and needed to escape, but she also told me she needed to be as far away from Emily as possible because she didn't want to be the reason Emily stayed hurt. She didn't want to stay around and be a constant reminder of all the hopes and dreams that were destroyed. She just wanted Emily to find a way to move past it all… and find happiness again." Hanna added.
"You know I'm not big into the whole romance and happily ever after thing… but if anyone was supposed to have a happy ending it was meant to be Paige and Emily" Spencer spoke a disheartened ache on her voice this time, Hanna sliding down on the sofa to rest her head on her friends shoulder.
"I know, Spence… Looking at the two now, you'd swear the past five years never happened. Granted they're a little less handsy nowadays" Hanna laughed quietly, Spencer and her watching Emily and Paige tease and mock one and other while playing the wii.
"You had to go and ruin our deep conversation with a typical Hanna Marin comment, didn't you" Spencer chuckled as well this time.
"I'm just saying there's no denying the fact that, back when Paige and Em were together they literally couldn't keep their hands off one and other… and if they weren't touching in some way they were eye-sexing it up" Hanna replied her tone matter of fact.
"Eye-sexing it up, really Han? Spencer rolled her eyes at Hanna's comment causing the blonde to laugh a little louder. The two continued chatting as they continued to watch the banter between Paige and Emily.
On hearing Toby's question regarding more drinks, Paige looked at Emily noticing her beer bottle was also nearly empty, "I could take another beer. Emily?" Emily nodded finishing off her drink. Toby grabbed four cold beers from the fridge handing two to the girls and keeping the others for himself and Caleb.
After finishing off 3 bottles of beer, Paige and Emily were starting to feel the alcohol in their system, which only caused the competition between the two to heat up, as they laughed, teased and playfully mocked one and other. They were so involved in the game they didn't notice how fast time was going. They were briefly distracted for a few moments saying goodnight to Spencer and Toby, but they quickly re-engaged with the game. It was unusual for both of them to be so hooked and competitive when it came to a video game, but the adrenaline and rush they got from this playful competitive side, reminded them of their high school and college swimming days, something their current lives lacked and made it extremely hard for them to pull themselves away from the screen. Granted the slight buzz of alcohol in both their systems also didn't help their need to beat the other.
"Hey guys, Caleb and I are gonna head to bed. We'll see you in morning and hopefully not still playing that stupid game." Hanna walked over to the two girls, hugging each of them before walking over to meet her husband standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"Watching them like that, it's like nothing ever changed." Caleb whispered into his wife's ear
"I know, Spence and I were talking about that earlier"
"It's nice to see them both so happy"
"It is… unfortunately I can't help but have this knot in my stomach telling me it's all going to blow up in their faces" Hanna explained, her voice laced with genuine concern.
"Only time will tell, Han… come on let's go check on Jake, and then its bedtime" Caleb reached his hand around the blonde waist kissing her cheek before pushing her forward gently up the stairs.
"Ok… ok… ok this is it. Competition time… best 2 out of 3 on Rainbow Road. Winner is the champion" Paige managed to say, she wasn't very drunk but the alcohol in her system made her words slur ever so slightly. "Member whoever loses does a shot".
"Yes I know…" Emily stood wobbling slightly as she adjusted her balance walking over towards the shelf of alcohol to find something suitable for shots. "Sambuca!" She exclaimed out of excitement placing the bottle of clear liquid on the table before them.
"You ready?"
"Hell yeah… you know I'm going to win" Emily smirked, the alcohol also buzzing lively around her system.
"Nope! Get ready to eat some rainbow dust, Fields" Paige added, looking more serious this time, but her statement only caused Emily to burst out laughing "Get ready to eat some rainbow dust? You sound about as threatening as a fluffy puppy, Paige… Bring it"
The two began racing, the races taking a little longer than expected due to the number of times they ended up driving off the road, Paige jokingly stating "Guess that's why you're not supposed to drink and drive". The three matches were finally over, Paige took the first, Emily on the second and Paige won the third meaning she was the overall champion.
The chest-nut haired girl jumping up in delight waving her hands up in the air, when she finally sat back down beside Emily she began quietly singing "We are the champions" replacing the 'we are' with 'I am' in a mock tone, Emily just watched the other girl's delight in winning 'I really do miss this. What are you doing to me, Paige? Emily's mind wandered, the two shots of Sambuca she had to knock back making it a little harder for her to suppress her thoughts about Paige.
"I'm sorry if I upset you, Emily. I was only joking with the singing and whatnot" Paige apologised reading Emily's solemn expression, wrong.
"Hey no, you won fair… and fair and square… I was just thinking is all" Emily smiled shyly, the proximity of Paige beside her causing her heart to race a little faster.
"You sure you're okay? You can talk to me Emily… we're friends now" Paige spoke but unbeknownst to herself she just punched Emily right in her gut with her choice words. 'There it was. One word.' One word that made Emily feel sick to her stomach 'friends'… who knew one word could hold such a strong resonance'. 'I don't want to be friends… anymore' Emily fought hard with the tears hidden behind her eyes. She internally scolded herself for even thinking that. Paige was happy now. Probably happier than she had seen her in a long time. She wasn't going to ruin that… 'I just can't'.
Emily's eyes suddenly focused in on Paige's worried look, "I was just thinking… what an awful singer you are" Emily forced a laugh, trying to break the tension between the two.
"Hey, I'm the best singer… and you know it" Paige returned, playfully hitting Emily on the shoulder, once again the pale girl not realising the effect she had on the girl sat beside her, so close their knees were centimetres from touching. Of course it was only Emily who registered this fact…At least that's what she thought.
A heavy silence fell around them, the whole room silent as the TV had been switched off, basked only in the orange light of the New York City scape, peering in through the window and a small white light from a lamp stood alone against the wall. The two pairs of eyes meeting, like they often did lately, the difference being this time the look each pair held was similar to that, that burned behind their chocolate orbs over five years ago.
Emily's eyes registered a slight twitch of Paige's lips she couldn't help but allow her eyes to trail along her former girlfriend's face to her perfect lips. A hunger of want growing within her, as memories of the numerous times Paige's lips had found her own, in fact she was pretty sure Paige's lips had caressed, captured and embraced every single part of her body, a similar journey on cream, silk skin forever lingered on her own lips too. She remained looking at Paige's lips, her eyes lacking courage to see how the chest-nut haired girl's eyes were reacting. It was a good thing because it would only hurt to see the guilt, sorrowful but for the most part torn look registered on Paige's eyes as similar memories of how things were five years ago registered on her memory for the first time since she arrived back to America.
Emily felt herself moving forward, she knew it was a bad idea, but it was like a force of gravity or magnetism that was pulling her into Paige. Paige didn't seem to be reacting, as their lips moved ever closer.
*Beep Beep*
The two jumped, Paige quickly jumping up to grab her phone. Paige saw the name flashing on screen indicting one new message. Emily felt her heart sink. Alex.
"Do you want to take the guest room?" Paige asked, her question causing Emily some confusion at first before she nodded a no. Paige gave a half smile before getting up and walking into the guest room.
"Goodnight, Emily."
"Goodnight, Paige."
Hey P. I know it's like 4 am in NY, but I have meetings all morning so I thought I'd send you a good morning message now. I hope it didn't wake you :/. Skype date 5pm you're time? I miss you so much, Paige. Can't wait to see you in 4 days, we have a lot to catch up on ;). Love ya -Lex xxx
Paige eyed her phone's screen an uneasy feeling of guilt settling in her stomach. What did I almost do?
[Author's Note] Thanks again for reading. Just to clear some things up Ali is dead in this story and -A ended with Mona. A lot of you have been asking about Alex, I promise she'll finally appear in the next chapter! Until next time -KTF