Alright, here is Chapter 2! So much for me keeping it short... Let me know what you think?


Paige made herself strut up to Noel's crew, trying to exude maximum confidence. They were lounging on couches and chairs, Spencer and Noel squished together at the center of the pack.

"Spencer!" Paige practically chirped, "you ready to get going?" she asked, trying to be oh so casual. Spencer looked up for a second with a confused pout, quirked and eyebrow and, just like that, resumed her conversation with the girl next to her. Noel's arm was snaked around her waist, his hand playing with the hem of her dress, well above her knee. Paige lingered. "Spence?" she said again, confidence faltering. Noel removed his arm. Well, that is a step in the right direction. Paige thought, pleased. Then he stood up and walked up to Paige, stumbling just a bit. And there are steps in the wrong one.

"Spencer is fine, you can leave," he said once he was a little too close.

"Yeah, no, I can't. We came here together. I've got to take her home," Paige maintained composure.

"Lisssen," Noel stepped even closer, his breath reeking of booze. "Spencer and I have been into each other for..." he shook his head, looking down to count on his fingers, "many years. Tonight we're finally going to fall into love." Paige looked closer into Noel's dark eyes. They were even crazier than usual. This guy was on something. Paige felt much needed adrenaline pump through her veins. "And if I have to fight you to keep her," he announced loudly, rolling up his sleeves. Paige's eyebrows shot up. Noel gave her a shove, but she easily recovered. The crowd began to notice.

"Noel," Paige was going to be very reasonable with him, "you're not going to fall in love with Spencer Hastings. She was horrible to you all through school. Remember that fashion show? Wasn't that the last thing you ever MC'd at Rosewood?" Noel was now puffing out his chest. Maybe talking about his failures wasn't the best approach. For some reason this was the moment when the wasted Spencer finally noticed her.

"Paige!" Spencer yelled, standing and then stumbling towards her. The taller girl threw herself into Paige's arms. Luckily Paige's legs were now planted on the ground and she was sturdy enough to catch her. Spencer planted a wet kiss right behind Paige's ear that sent a chill down the her back. "You're still here," she whispered, sultry. Spencer put her full weight against Paige and the girl had to twist to make sure she didn't hit the ground.

"Oh! I see how it is," Paige heard Noel snarl. She knew she wouldn't win in a fight against a clearly drug addled yet physically fit man. She eased Spencer down onto her butt. Paige then bent her knees, balled up her fist and..

POW She twisted around and connected with Noel's jaw. She even followed through on her punch, a sharp pain moving through her hand. The guy dropped like a sack of potatoes. There were a few cheers from the crowd and a couple girls from his posse leapt to his aide. Paige watched Noel until she knew that he was breathing and opening his eyes.

Time to go, Paige thought, feeling a small thrill. She'd never hit anyone before... at least not outside of junior high martial arts sparring... She gathered Spencer up from her shocked sitting position, throwing the girl's arm over her neck and leading her away. As she was heading out she caught Kim's eye. She'd hoped the swimmers weren't watching and surprised to see the girl smirk. Paige gave a shrug and Kim smiled widened, shaking her head. Maybe this won't be so bad, Paige thought, as they made their way outside.


Paige's exhilaration was short-lived. A couple things dawned on her as she walked away from the party. a) They were both too drunk to drive and b) she had no idea where Spencer lived. "You're in Emily's neighborhood, right?" Paige asked the girl that she was practically dragging along.

"I..." Spencer started. She looked panicked. "I have to..." Spencer shoved Paige away from her and turned, took a few steps and threw up at the base of a tree.

"Lovely," Paige muttered to herself, getting her phone out to call a cab. She gave the guy their location and recovered Spencer. Paige led them to her car where they could sit and wait. She had a large water bottle there that she drank from and passed back to Spencer, who inexplicably had gotten into the backseat. Paige sat in the passenger seat of the front. "Are you staying at your parent's place?" Paige asked.

"God no," Spencer said, leaving it at that. Paige looked at the girl through the rear view mirror.

"Should I call someone to come get you? Toby maybe?" Paige tried again, and this seemed to agitate Spencer further.

"Not Toby," she growled, mumbling the reasons incoherently to herself.

"Are you okay?" Paige asked, exasperated. Spencer just sighed."You were going to hook up with Noel, you know?" Paige asked, finding her own voice getting sharper.

Spencer's face scrunched, "I hate that guy," she responded, shuddering.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Paige grumbled, realizing she wasn't going to get the 'thank you' she'd been fishing for. Paige leaned back and took a few breaths. The back of her hand burned. She wiggled her fingers, nothing seemed broken. She waited for a while, both girls sitting in silence. When she finally looked back, Spencer seemed to have cooled down. "Spencer?" Paige was going to ask about Toby again. For a second she wanted to ask why the girl had tapped on her window.

"Yeah?" Spencer responded. She was now leaning with her back against the door. She had her knees pulled up to her chin and her head resting on them. She looked sad and Paige felt a pang of guilt over wanting to start an argument.

"Never mind," Paige said with a sigh.

The cab arrived and they drove in silence. Paige was content to stare out the window, watching signs and streetlights. After a few minutes she felt Spencer move closer to her. The girl linked her arm with Paige's and rested her head on her shoulder. Paige sighed and relaxed into the grip so that Spencer could be comfortable. She realized that she wasn't going to get a straight answer about where Spencer lived. "I'm taking you to my house, okay?" Paige said. Spencer grumbled something and nodded her head before cuddling further into Paige and falling asleep.


Paige led Spencer to her room and then crept back downstairs for some water and a snack. She was halfway to the kitchen before she realized her dad had been awake the whole time.

"You're sneaking girls up to your bedroom now?" He said, his voice gruff and scratchy. She mentally berated herself as she stood, frozen in place.

Her dad had insisted on being on the couch instead of bed. Because, God forbid, the man be perceived as lazy while recovering from bypass surgery.

"I thought you were sleeping," Paige mumbled.

"This is why I'm on the couch. Someone has got to stand guard," Paige finished her way to the kitchen and filled a couple glasses with water. "And you're up far past curfew," her dad sat straighter to look at her. He had a small smile on his lips. Paige started to breath again as she made her way over to the couch.

"You're supposed to be resting, old man," Paige joked back, sitting next to him.

"This girl upstairs..." Her dad began.

"Was drunk. Spencer Hastings," Paige explained, "We're not even friends. I just couldn't leave her at that gross cabin," she continued. He was making the effort, so she'd try this newfangled 'honesty' thing. Paige played absentmindedly with her injured hand. It was going to bruise.

"A Hastings," her dad chuckled."Jeez." There was a moment of silence between them. He finally noticed the hand, "What happened there?" he demanded, pointing to it. Paige thought of a few plausible explanations... falling, slamming it in a car door...

"I... uh..." Paige bit her lip. "I hit a guy," she said.

"Did he hurt you?" Her dad asked, his jaw clenched in concern.

"He didn't get a chance," Paige breathed the words out. She met her dad's eyes, defiant. She was challenging him to lecture her, only to see him worried, even sad. "I... knocked him flat," she said.

His eyebrows shot up. "Well... that's my girl," he replied. Paige laughed and so did he. "You always liked a good fight."

"Well I didn't play fair in this one," Paige said.

"Probably for the best. I'm glad you're not too hurt. You should ice that hand," he said. Paige nodded. He was being very cavalier. Paige wondered if he'd ever fought someone. Paige wouldn't put it past him. Nick McCullers was known for his temper. Although he tended to deal in sharp words rather than physical violence. After a few moments of silence Paige heard him chuckled, seemingly lost in thought.

Paige was a little offended, "What?"

He looked up at her, "I was just thinking about how much you loved play-fighting as a kid. Remember that?" Paige nodded and smiled. She remembered how her dad would exaggerate injury every time she 'got' him. It made her feel amazing to see the grown man fly back from the impact of her kick. Paige hadn't thought about that for years. Even pretend violence made her a little anxious now. Her last couple years of High School made that aspect of the world far too real.

"I'm going to sleep in the guest room," Paige said as she stood up. She hesitated for a second before leaning forward and kissing her dad on the forehead. It was still awkward; she wasn't sure if she should have. "Be nice about Spencer tomorrow?" She asked. He grunted. "Drink the water. And get some sleep," she told him.

"Yeah yeah, that's my new career. I'll graduate at the top of my class in resting," he said with another, happier grunt again. "Check in with your mom, okay? She sleeps better when she knows we're all home."

"Okay," Paige nodded, trying not to take that as a dig at her recent reluctance to come back to Rosewood. "Night, dad," Paige said and left for bed. She snuck into her own bedroom to grab pjs and leave a large glass of water and a couple Aspirin on the nightstand for Spencer. The girl had clearly made herself feel at home. Her clothes strewn across Paige's floor. Paige blushed a bit seeing a mostly naked Spencer fast asleep in her bed. She pulled the covers over the her lacy red bra-clad torso and made sure the trash bin was close by. For the love of God, don't puke in my bed, Paige thought.

She left the room, a hand moving over her forehead in disbelief.


When Spencer woke up her first thought was, Oh God, I slept with Noel. Her second was Damn, it smells nice in this bed. At that point she looked around and was flooded with relief. This was not a cabin. In fact, this looked a whole lot like a girl's bedroom. Not a girly girl, though, she looked down at the flannel sheets. She was in her underwear under them and they were soft against her legs. She closed her eyes and cuddled into that softness and the slightly spicy scent. She almost fell back asleep when it dawned on her: Oh God, I slept with Paige.

Spencer sat up quickly, gathering the sheets around her. She closed her eyes to think and images started coming together in her head. The party was drunk and she'd wanted to catch up. She must have gone way overboard. She remembered flirting.. gross, Noel. But, they didn't kiss; something had stopped it. She remembered Paige in the car; Paige talking to swimmers. Paige looked good that night. She remembered how warm she felt against her when... when? No, I was in the back seat, she was in the front, Spencer recalled. Nothing happened, Spencer was sure of it. Not that Spencer hadn't considered Paige before. She'd had a series of unfortunate Paige-dreams in high school that felt very similar to that false memory.

She thought harder, was there a fight? There was a knock at the door. She realized that she was now pacing the bedroom, the sheet held against her was completely off the bed. She must have woken someone. "One second!" Spencer yelled. Her clothes were thrown haphazardly around the room. She hated the idea of putting last night's dress back on.

"You can borrow anything you need," she heard the muffled voice through the door.

"Thanks!" Spencer responded. She moved to a bureau. In the first drawer were haphazardly folded t-shirts. Spencer shuffled around until her hand hit the softest one. She noted, in the back of her head, how Paige's clothes felt against her. They were kind of perfect, and that smell was now even closer to her body. She stored it away, there was no time to think about that right now. "Come in!" she said, loud enough for Paige to hear.

Paige walked in the room. She seemed to be taking in the mess and the unmade bed. Spencer kicked herself for not cleaning up and decided it would be the first thing she'd do once Paige left. Paige then smirked at Spencer before averted her eyes.

"Glad you're doing better," Paige said, "Bathroom is across the hall. There are new toothbrushes in the top drawer." Paige looked back up at Spencer and caught her eye again. She seemed like she was on the brink of laughter. It made Spencer nervous and her stomach seemed to flutter under Paige's eyes. "Breakfast will be ready downstairs whenever you are," Paige finished, her smile broad now. Spencer wasn't able to form words under that smirk, so she just nodded politely. Paige turned around to leave and from the hallway yelled, "I love that shirt, by the way," chuckling a bit as she walked down the stairs.

Spencer frowned and looked herself over. She realized that the faded black shirt she'd chosen had comic book characters on the front. The Runaways?


Paige almost had her parents out the door by the time Spencer came downstairs. Her mom had found her lost keys and was approaching her dad who was waiting with his shoulder against the doorframe. They were already running late for Mr. McCullers' doctor's appointment, which would usually annoy him. In addition, the man wasn't too keen on being seen in public (and he'd consider Spencer 'public') in his weakened current state. This all served to worry Paige. She was worried that her mom was too flustered now, and was wondering if she should be the one driving them. She was worried about how they would act around Spencer, although she'd talked to them several times about being cool.

For Paige's part, she felt inexplicably giddy when Spencer walked down the stairs wearing her clothes, her hair in a neat braid.

And Spencer, never one to shy away from a situation, no matter how awkward, walked right up to the parents. "Mr. and Mrs. McCullers," the girl beamed, "Thank you for letting me stay the night." She was nearly perfect in her composure, her eyes only falling slightly at the sight of Paige's dad.

"We were glad to have you," Paige's mom responded with a smile. "Sounds like you two attended quite the reunion last night. I'm really glad... Ever since Paige decided to stay the summer, we've been worried about her-"

"Mom," Paige stopped her in warning, "you're going to be late..."

"Yes, yes we are. You're welcome to visit anytime Spencer," Mrs McCullers said before grinning at her mortified daughter.

"Drive safe. Call me after?" Paige asked, directing the question at her dad. She caught his eye and he seemed to nod. The man regarded Spencer and took a breath. Paige worried every time her dad spoke to one of her friends.

"Tell your parents we say 'hi,' okay Spencer?" He said warmly.

"I will, Mr. McCullers," Spencer said. Paige wondered how she could possibly be so put-together this morning. Is she wearing lipgloss? Paige found herself staring at the girl in wonder.

Paige's parents departed and she led Spencer to the kitchen.

"So..." Paige paused for a second. She contemplated asking something, but turned her attention to food instead. "What can I get you? We have pretty much everything. Eggs... cereal.."

"I'd kill for a coffee," Spencer stated.

"Ah, that we don't have. My mom banished all things unhealthy after my dad's heart attack." Spencer looked mortified by the prospect.

"But... Coffee prevents heart disease," Spencer pointed out.

"That's based on loose correlation," Paige said, shaking her head. She poured herself a glass of orange juice.

Spencer sneered at her for a second. Paige was starting to realize that her grumpiness had nothing to do with what Paige did or said. It was just her way of being. "No problem. Do you mind if we stop for coffee on the drive back to my car."

Presumptuous, Paige thought, tallying it among the girl's traits, "Our cars, you mean?" Paige said, "We cabbed it home," she explained, only taking a bit of joy in besting the very out-of-sorts girl.

Oh, Spencer thought, but she didn't have the time to reassess her memories, but she figured that Paige would be ten times more awkward now if anything of interest had happened last night.

"Since my parents just left in our only other car, I thought maybe we could bike?" Paige suggested, savoring the idea of a couple miles.

"Ugh," Spencer grunted. "We'd have to bring that little trash can from your room." Paige understood that the girl was probably too hungover for movement and was considering the cost of a cab back to Noel's. "But we could walk..." Spencer said, surprising Paige. "Fresh air would be agreeable." Spencer was smiling at Paige again. It was a weird feeling, having Spencer smile at her so casually.

"Okay, but eat some eggs first? It'll help your stomach," Paige said. Spencer smiled and nodded.


The eggs did help her stomach feel better, as did the water and Aspirin Spencer now remembered taking last night. Spencer was determined to make it up to Paige, but she wasn't sure how or even how long it would take her to repay such a massive debt. Step one, she plotted, was for them to become friends. Spencer suggested that they detour through downtown Rosewood on their way to Noel's and Paige agreed after only a moment of hesitation. Paige suggested The Brew for that coffee Spencer had been craving. It was also exceptionally thoughtful and Spencer was glad Paige didn't notice her flinch before agreeing. The Brew would take them to Toby's apartment. Though he was subletting, the proximity still made her uneasy.

Toby had opted to stay in motels and working odd construction jobs across the state. Spencer's parents offered him work this summer. Their yard was in need desperate need of landscaping and the paint on the guest house was cracking and peeling. They were offering more money than Spencer was making at her internship. But Toby refused.

Spencer bought the two coffees, in the next step of 'the least she could do.'

"I'll have a peppermint mocha," Paige told the barista. Spencer held back the look but not the judgement before ordering herself a double espresso. They settled into a couple couches in the middle of the room and Spencer started asking Paige questions. If they were going to be friends, Spencer wanted to know what she was getting into.

After talking about swimming at length, Paige seemed to catch onto Spencer's questions game.

"So are you doing D1 Field Hockey?" Paige asked.

"I am. Though we lost brutally against Princeton last year." Spencer was a starter now, but it didn't diminish the fact that she hated losing. Paige chuckled.

"Yeah, I've been keeping track," she admitted.

"What? You're dating field hockey players?" Spencer teased. Paige blushed and she knew she'd nailed it.

"Only... a couple," Paige rubbed the side of her face adorably and Spencer laughed.

"I should have known they'd be your type," Spencer shook her head, pleased with this nugget of information. She let her eyes linger on Paige for a few moments. The girl was so different from the one she'd known at the start of school. Spencer imagined what it would be like to be approached by Paige at some field hockey celebration. She imagined the girl being pretty charming after loosening up over drinks.

Paige was looking at the door. Spencer watched the girl's face light up with recognition as it opened and closed. At that moment Spencer was watching Paige reacting to someone who was her 'type' walking into The Brew. Spencer looked over, trying not to think too hard about the ill will washing through her at the sight. It was a girl Spencer barely recognized from high school.

"Paige!" the redhead exclaimed, walking over to them.

Paige stood up, "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon," Paige was saying after introducing Kim to Spencer. It was a blur, Spencer was certain she'd been polite, though.

"I'm so glad!" Kim was saying, "I was going to call and see how you were doing after that fight last night."

There was a fight! Spencer thought. Now it was coming back to her. She remembered looking up at them. She'd watch Paige knock Noel out.

"I'm fine," Paige said, holding up her hand. It was red, but not yet purple. Spencer kicked herself for not noticing. Kim took the hand into hers and observed the injury. Spencer must have been seething in her seat behind Paige because Kim gave her a look of apology and let Paige's hand go.

"Well, I never in a million years pictured the two of you together," Kim said, "but I guess it makes sense," the girl smirked.

"Oh we're not-" Paige blushed and began talking only to be cut off.

"It's too bad, too. I had a massive crush on Paige back in high school," Kim admitted, looking over at Spencer who smiled back.

"You did?" Paige said. Spencer was surprised that the thought hadn't occurred to Paige.

Kim's phone rang. "I've got to get going!" she said, enthusiastically, "See you guys around!" With that, Kim moved across the room to the arms of a handsome looking guy with two coffees in his large hands. They exited the Brew and Paige fell into her seat.

"Wow," Spencer said, watching Paige.

"Yeah. Fuck. I should go tell her that we're not together," Paige said, a little frantic.

"Chill, Paige," Spencer said with a laugh. Paige looked like she'd been hit on the head with a small piece of Soviet satellite debris- more shocked than hurt. She'd have to recast the 'player Paige' she'd been imaging with this cute nerdy version. Spencer realized Paige probably got even more attention just being herself. "She has your number, right?" Paige nodded, "She'll text you," Spencer explained.

"But... that guy..." Paige pouted.

"That redheaded guy was related to her. God, Paige, you have eyes, you could use them," Spencer teased. Paige still looked unconvinced. "This misunderstanding will only make her like you more," Spencer explained. "I mean, you're dating a Hastings!" Spencer exclaimed.

"Har har," Paige fake-laughed, "just the thing I've been waiting for all these years," Paige sighed. They both laughed but Spencer noticed that the girl couldn't bring herself to look Spencer in the eye.

Paige held the door open when they were leaving. Spencer let her hand graze the girl's abdomen as she passed through, feeling her tense at the touch. Spencer knew it was mean, but she was curious.


They got to the cabin around 4PM. Their cars were in place, a couple blocks apart, surrounded by other stranded vehicles. There was activity inside the cabin that they avoided.

It dawned on Spencer that she really didn't want their day to end. "You should come running with me tomorrow morning," Spencer said. "I don't have to be at work until ten, and I know we both wake up early."

Paige snorted, "I can run in the morning without having to drive to Philly," she said, although Spencer could tell she was considering it.

"Come on. The trail is beautiful and it leads to one of the best coffee shops in the state," Spencer said. "I wake up at six."

Paige laughed. "I'll be there around 8," she said. Spencer frowned. "Spence, there is a huge difference between waking up early to swim and doing so to run." She stated.

"The only difference is water," Spencer stated.

"Exactly," Paige laughed.

Spencer could kind of understand."6:30," she negotiated. Spencer was was happy that Paige was coming over, regardless of the time, but she wouldn't be a Hastings if she didn't try for more.

Paige laughed, seeming pleased. "7:45 and you're buying the coffee again," she countered.

"7:30, and you have to get actual coffee, not chocolate milk," she teased.

They jested back and forth a little more, finally agreeing on 7:00. Paige would let Spencer pick the coffees but, she had to buy another if Paige didn't like her 'snooty selection.'

"Fine," Spencer said, reluctant to get in her car.

"Fine," Paige replied, her face just barely serious. She lingered, looking down at her hands.

Spencer stepped forward, compelled by wind or gravity or some other force out of her control. She kissed Paige, gently on the lips. It lasted a moment, the girls mouth soft and warm.

"Umm," Paige blushed, kicking at the gravel when Spencer stepped back. She looked up at the girl, "I'll see you tomorrow, Spencer," Paige said with a smirk so small it mostly manifested as a twinkle in her eye.

Spencer shook the kiss off as a fluke, regaining her composure. "Yeah, try not to slow me down, McCullers," she teased.

Paige laughed, turned and walked away.

She left Spencer leaning against her car.

For a moment Spencer thought to call Paige back and so they could talk about what just happened. But she decided, for once in her life, to just let it be. She got in the seat and turned the key.

Spencer shook her head, smiled again and drove home.