Paige woke up even earlier than 6AM. She stood, she stretched, she brushed her teeth. Paige hadn't bothered to mull over events from the day before. She'd crept up to the memory of that kiss a few times... as she was having dinner with her family or reading in bed... just to pull back, baffled. A single hungover day with Spencer had parted the clouds on her summer vacation in ways she was determined not to ruin. For the first time since the end of her swim season, Paige eagerly awaited the morning.

She packed her backpack with her laptop and wacom tablet. If she was going all the way to Philly, she might as well make a day of it. She breezed past her dad, who, in some miracle was actually sleeping. She grabbed her red Stanford cap on her way out the door.


Spencer followed her morning routine to a T, careful not to change anything on account of her run with Paige. It was no big deal. It isn't like that kiss had actually meant anything. Spencer had set out to kiss someone that night and the fact that she was sober and it was Paige... was just a fluke.

She was ready, sipping coffee and probably brooding at the window as she often does when her attention was caught by a cardinal red hat. There was a girl in a slightly clingy v-neck leaning against her car, eating a yogurt. She looked young and fit. Spencer laughed. It was only 6:45.

Spencer texted her: You shouldn't loiter. You look sketchy.

It took a moment before Paige was startled and reaching for her phone. The girl looked over at the building, squinting until she found the window with Spencer. She smiled in that dopey, endearing way and Spencer gave her an eyebrow raise, looking down at an imaginary watch.

Paige typed a text, What else can I do? I'm too early for a meeting with a total hard-ass.

Spencer's eyes narrowed at Paige and pointed at her and then the floor in a You. Here. Now. way. This is the kind of action that would have annoyed her friends or Toby, but Paige laughed. That wasn't flirting, Spencer told herself, looking back down at the text and smiling. In a few minutes Spencer heard a knock at the door and her stomach did a little dip.

Ugh. You know you're cute, she thought as she opened the door. Something about that stupid hat and Paige's obnoxious smile sent a warm rush through Spencer. Some impulse wanted to pull her in by her shirt, shove her against the wall and make her pay for her that previous insult... Spencer shook it off. "I knew you'd be up early," she tried to make her tone neutral to hide the breath she'd lost upon seeing this girl.

"We aren't good at sleeping, you and I," Paige responded with a slight smirk, her voice low. Spencer wondered if Paige had noticed the way Spencer was looking at her and broke eye contact, nervous. "Nice apartment and all, but I'm ready to run," Paige said in a totally normal, eager way.

Spencer looked over the girl now stretching in her doorway. So what if she a little disappointed that Paige wasn't standing in her apartment. Not to worry, I'll have that soon enough, Spencer calculated and the berated herself for plotting. She needed to get over this kiss issue quickly or she was going to make a fool of herself.

The plan was to pay off her debt by hanging out with Paige. She'd let the girl know that her parents were looking for someone to fix up their yard. That they were paying a lot of money for it. Paige would have an easy summer job and Spencer could get on with a lonely season.


Paige liked matching Spencer's frantic pace. It was a challenge and a distraction from that weird moment earlier. The one where Spencer looked at her like a wolf about to devour a filet. What the hell? She looked over to find Spencer deep in determination. It's odd how peaceful determination could look to Paige. She knew that rush so well. It wasn't about swimming anymore, nor was it about running right now. It was a purpose. Everything stays intact when you're moving.

After about a half hour of intensive work out, the girls fell into a chatty jog to cool down. Maybe it was the intimacy Paige felt kissing Spencer last night, but Paige felt her filters fall away. Although talking to Spencer was always going to be a game, Paige was playing to give some of herself in exchange for more Spencer. Paige learned how to lose and smirk it off, which seemed to infuriate Spencer. Paige loved that feeling. Yeah, with only a day of practice, Paige McCullers was getting pretty good at Spencer Hastings.

"So," Spencer flipped around to jog backwards in front of Paige. She was just a little sweaty, her clothes clinging to her angular body to reveal appealing curves that Paige hadn't noticed before. Paige was one of the few people to know Spencer more from sports than academics, so she'd never thought of the girl as the glass figurine she seemed to be outside the classroom. The Spencer she knew was standing before her, challenging look in her eyes with just one or two strands of hair coming out of her bun.

Dammit, Paige thought, realizing that she might actually be more tired than Spencer. "Yeah?"

"I already know the answer, but why are you in Rosewood this summer? Have you been coming home regularly?"

"Well, you saw my him. My dad's heart attack was... unexpected," Paige confirmed, trying to speed up just enough for Spencer to become uncomfortable. It didn't work. Spencer seemed to love the new pace.

"As they often are," Spencer teased, "You weren't going to come here?" Spencer asked.

Leading the witness, Paige thought. "My mom, on the phone.. I was supposed to accept an internship the next day, but just... the way she sounded when she told me," Paige talked as she kept jogging forward, trying not to sound out of breath. "I knew I had to fly home and I couldn't give them a solid return date."

Spencer was silent, she was chewing on her lip in front of Paige. It sent a pleasing shiver of desire through Paige. She thought that best way to stop this run would be to tackle Spencer to the ground.. She had to physically shake the impulse off. "So it goes." Paige tried to act casual. "You want to tell me about Toby yet?"

In some ways Paige was trying to deflect, but in another, more desperate way, she just needed to know.

Spencer stumbled, her shoulders dropped. She turned to jog next to Paige again, both girls slowing down. Well, there is the worst way to stop an interrogation, Paige thought, disappointed.

"What did I already say?" Spencer asked, cautious.

"Well! Other than everything," Paige paused to see if her teasing had an effect, but Spencer was just jogging and calculating her reactions, "Pretty much nothing. Are you okay?" Paige ventured thinking, There, a question that I already know the answer to. She saw Spencer's frown though the corner of her eye, but she didn't want to get caught looking.

"He is cheating on me," Paige saw her shrug.

"Yikes," Paige said, cautiously. She was waiting for the rest of the story... about Spencer exploding with anger and their messy break up.

"I've known for a few months. He's running around with this nurse." Spencer could have replaced the word with "peasant" and Paige would have heard the same level of disdain.

"What happened?"

Spencer huffed out some air.

"You're still together?"

"If we break up he'll disappear. Toby is the only thing I've done right so far," Spencer said. It came out sharp and defensive. Paige knew that she had no right to be hurt, but the impact of the words stung.

"So, how does that arrangement work?" Paige asked, trying to curious rather than argumentative.

"He travels constantly and I see him a few times a month. He was already breaking some channels of communication when I found out the reason. At the end of the day, if I'm stranded somewhere with a flat tire, he'll still be there, you know?"

Of course I don't know, Paige thought bitterly. Spencer had obviously never said these things out loud. Paige was her freaking focus group. Paige remained silent for a few more moments. She didn't need the gossip and she didn't have advice. She really didn't have much to say. "Are we almost to the coffee shop?"

"What?" Spencer's tone was warning. She fell further back to a stop, apparently angry.

Paige turned around."Your thing sounds bad," Paige said in an awkward, frustrated burst, "And I could use a scone or something," Paige realized her volume was a too loud and she felt a bit ridiculous.

Spencer let out a deep breath and it turned into a laugh midway out her lungs. Paige chuckled too, feeling relief. "Yeah, okay. It is just around the corner."

Paige nodded. She muttered a "Thank God," just loud enough for Spencer to hear. A good laugh loosened her body and reminded her that they were barely friends. Her time with Spencer should not be an emotional investments. Spencer fell into a walk close to Paige. Against all logic, Paige was quite pleased to share her space. In an act out of her control, she reached out and put a hand on Spencer's arm.

"You're going to be okay," Paige said with no authority. Spencer covered her face with a slight smile and let out an ugh. "What is it?"

"Just...I miss..."

"Him?" Paige asked, trying sound as kind as possible.

"No, not him." Spencer looked down at Paige's hand on her arm, "Sex," she answered, her voice raspy and more noticeably Spencery.

"Oh." The hairs stood up on Paige's arms and a thrill ran from her hand to her thighs. She let go of Spencer and sped up her pace towards the coffee shop in an attempt to appropriately spend this new bubble of energy. Spencer laughed and ran along with her.


They found a couple seats outside the shop. The sun now filled the sky, the day bright and green. The morning breeze remained though, and it felt absurdly perfect. Spencer noticed her confidence rebuilding after they got there. She couldn't help but attribute it to the little jog Paige did to the coffee shop after she'd mentioned sex.

Now that she shared this huge secret from her life, she decided she could be pushier for information about Paige. "So what is it like with your family?" Spencer asked after they'd settled in.

"Eh. I love my mom," Paige replied, slouching over her cup. Paige had been spacy.

Spencer wanted to know more so she just didn't say anything and stared at Paige intently.

"And my dad and I... we're in recovery, I guess... from high school," Paige let herself relax back into the chair.

"The great recession?" Spencer quipped. Paige smiled and nodded, her eyes were closed, soaking up the sun.

"We've had a few quarters of growth," Paige moved her hand to show the trend, finally cracking a crooked smile. The line wasn't steep, but it trended upward. "High school..." Paige let it fall back to her lap, "Was 24-7 awful," Paige stated.

"Yeah, I can attest to that," Spencer said. "Wasn't he happy that you got a full ride to Stanford?"

Paige snorted, "Yeah. Ecstatic. The worst fight we've ever had was the night I told him that I wasn't going."

Spencer's eyes widened. "What? Why?" she blurted, realizing how damn invested she sounded. Paige raised her eyebrows and Spencer finally felt ridiculous for not knowing. "Ah," Spencer replied, biting her lip.

Paige smiled, but the light in her eyes had dimmed. Once she decided to tell the story, she sat up to look at Spencer as she talked. "I had my pick of schools after Stanford's offer. Almost all of them with scholarships. So I told my dad that I was going to Danby. It was just as free... even more so- they were paying room and board." Paige fiddled with her mug some more and clenched her teeth, "I was going to Danby to be with Emily."

Spencer remembered the horror of telling her mom and Melissa when she got rejected to UPenn. And she didn't even approach her father. "What happened next?"

"He was mad. It was vindicating, you know? Like, the fact that my dad was screaming meant that I was making the right decision..." Paige explained.

"I know that feeling," Spencer agreed, leaning forward for the next part of the story.

"Jeez, Spencer, you really want to know what happened?" Paige asked, looking a little shy about the way Spencer was looking at her. Paige took a sip from her mug of now cold coffee.

Spencer had tried several times to shake herself out of the Paige-induced trance she seemed to be stuck in. It never worked. She decided she'd just have to let it win,"Of course I do. We're friends now, Paige. And you know how I get about my friends," Spencer smirked.

Paige laughed and nodded. "Well..." she rubbed her forehead. "I haven't told this story much," Paige admitted. "And it has to do with Emily. And isn't something I'd want her hearing," she trailed off.

Spencer reconfirmed that she wanted to hear it. "And as far as secrets go, I'm good to keep them." Paige looked at her with disbelief. And Spencer laughed. "Well, okay, I will be now." Paige sighed with a smile. It dawned on Spencer that, fascination aside, she was actually having a lot of fun right now.

She looked at Paige as she geared up to tell this story and could have sworn that Paige was enjoying herself as well. "So, after our argument I was sure and I was thrilled. It was late, but I biked to Emily's house. I threw pebbles at her window and everything. I got her to come down to the yard and I announced it," Paige threw out her arms dramatically. Spencer thought she was a swell storyteller. "I said, 'Emily, I'm going to Danby!'" Paige laughed, but there was a disconcerting edge to it. "She looked at me and said, 'Oh, okay.'" Paige shrugged. She bit her lip.

"Ouch," Spencer didn't know what else to say. She remembered this version of Emily... Emily in the middle of their senior year. She had been different. In retrospect, Emily stopped gushing about Paige after her injury. In fact, she was especially hard on the girl. Spencer always assumed Paige earned such disdain. "You didn't deserve that," Spencer said out loud.

"Yeah, well..." Paige shrugged. "It was for the best." Paige smiled. She seemed to realize that she was stressing Spencer out. "I mean, Stanford," she said to lighten the mood. "I went home and sent my acceptance."

After crying your eyes out, Spencer thought, her stomach twisting. She was starting to wonder if Emily had stopped loving Paige as soon as she stopped being able to swim. They dated for months after that. Spencer thought about how terrible that must have been before realizing that she already knew. Spencer rested a palm in her cheek. She felt her anxiety build again. It always started at her stomach and gradually filled her chest. She looked up at Paige. Her brown eyes were pools of understanding... of humor... of serenity. That was a word she'd never before associated with Paige McCullers. She settled into Paige's gaze and she could breathe again.

Spencer knew in that moment that she'd kiss Paige again. She was looking forward to it.

Spencer smiled at Paige. Paige's smile widened back.