A/N: Thanks to reviewer sweeety who pointed out something I'd missed in the story. These scenes go in chapter 6 ("Gin and Vomit"), between Paige and Emily's fight and Paige's drunk Uber ride. (I added them to that chapter on October 30th, so, if you read chapter 6 after October 30th, you can skip this chapter. Unless you want to review it , of course!) ;)

Thanks for reading! 3


Emily gasped slightly, slightly startled by the ringing of her doorbell. Nobody came to visit her out in Iowa. None of her colleagues really knew where she lived, since she moved off campus. She had a brief jolt of adrenaline – a mixture of panic and anticipation – at the thought that it might be Paige at the door, but that jolt quickly faded. She knew that Paige wouldn't come. Not after that fight. Not after that "bitter old woman" comment.

Emily sighed and tugged at her shirt, taking a quick look in the mirror before she headed to the door.

It was probably one of her neighbors, she figured. She wasn't really in the mood for company, but she did appreciate the fact that people checked on her, far from home, in a small town where she didn't have family and only had a few friends.

"Who is it?" she called out pleasantly.

"Surprise!"

Emily's breath hitched at the sound of a female voice, but her excitement was short-lived. It wasn't Paige's voice. It was…

"Ali?" Emily opened the door, and there stood Alison, looking as excited as Alison ever got, with her arms outstretched for a hug.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well," Alison began, struggling to lift her suitcase with both hands as she invited herself inside the apartment, "when my cousin told me that he was going to present a paper at a seminar in Iowa, I just knew I had to come along and spend some time with my best friend, Emily!" Alison forced her way into another hug. "Isn't this great?" she said, stroking Emily's hair as she backed away from the hug. "I always knew that I would be the first one of your friends to come out to see you!"

Emily forced a smile. There it was. Alison had to assert that she was the first; that she was a better friend to Emily than all of the other girls.

"So… you're… staying… here?" Emily stuttered.

"Uh huh!" Alison was being beyond perky. "They're putting Connor up in a suite, but I insisted that I would stay with you!" Alison squeezed Emily's shoulder. "It'll be just like the good old days, when we used to have our sleepovers! You've still got that nice big bed, right?"

Emily's eyes went wide with shock for an instant before she got control of her feelings. It was only an instant, but it was long enough for Alison to pick up on it.

"I'm just kidding," she said softly, stroking Emily's hair. Giving the room the once-over, she gestured towards the couch, with an expression like a sad kitten. "This old couch is fine for me," she sighed. "In fact, it's perfect!"

Emily shook her head quickly to clear her thoughts. "No, don't be silly, Ali. Of course, we can share my bed. It'll be ju… just like the good old days!"

Alison giggled in the back of her throat and tilted her head to the side. "Well, if you insist!" She let out an excited shriek and hugged Emily again. "Ahh! This is going to be so much fun!"

Emily, her face shielded from Alison's view by the hug, rolled her eyes. A visit from Alison was the last thing she needed. Still, she was going to make the best of it. It would be good to have a friend from home for the weekend. She could use the distraction.

"Well, uh… I'm afraid I wasn't prepared for visitors. I don't really have a lot to eat here…"

"Oh, that's all right," Alison said enthusiastically. "I'm not really hungry. I thought we could start with drinks!"

Emily chuckled dryly, wiggling her eyebrows. "Drinks, I've got." She turned towards the kitchen, but Alison grabbed her hand.

"No, silly! I want us to go out! Hit the town! What's that little watering hole you're always posting pictures from? Hammering Hank's?"

Emily didn't bother to correct her. She was pretty sure that Alison had messed up the name on purpose – all part of whatever her little game was. "Oh," Emily said dismissively, "You must be exhausted after that long drive. We can just have a quick drink here, and then I'll order some Chinese for dinner."

"Nope!" Alison's voice was animated, to make the point that she wasn't tired. "I'm fresh as a daisy! Connor insisted on driving the whole way." Alison shrugged her shoulders, chuckling. "He doesn't trust me behind the wheel."

Emily cringed internally, knowing that there must have been some subtle manipulation on Alison's part to get Connor to come to that conclusion. "Honestly, Ali…" Emily looked her in the eye, for perhaps the first time since she opened the door. "Hank's is more like a dive bar. There are better places to go for a drink. I can take you to…"

"Oh." Alison's voice was subdued. She turned away from Emily. "I get it. You don't want your girlfriend to see you with me."

"She's not my girlfriend!" The words came out too quickly, on reflex; before Emily could stop herself from falling into what she knew was Alison's trap.

Alison smirked. But by the time she turned to face Emily again, the smirk had morphed into a smile. "Well, then," she said slowly, "there's no reason for us not to go to Hank's then, is there?"

Emily sighed, doing her best not to roll her eyes. "I suppose not."

"Great!" Alison pressed her cheek to Emily's in another quick hug. She was certainly being touchy-feely. Emily knew exactly why. "Just give me a minute to put on my face!" Alison picked up her overnight bag and headed towards the other part of the apartment, calling out as she walked away from Emily, "Connor had the heat cranked up for the whole trip, and that dry air definitely didn't do my skin any favors!"

If they had been on better terms, Emily would have texted Paige, to warn her that Alison was in town. But, the way things were between them, that option was off the table. If she texted Paige, Paige would take it as proof that Emily had, once again, fallen back into Alison's arms. And if she just showed up at Hank's with Alison, Paige would take it as an ambush. Emily was damned if she did and damned if she didn't. The only thing she could do was pray that this would be one of the nights when Paige didn't show up at Hank's.


Emily did a quick sweep of the room when they walked in. Paige wasn't in her normal spot. As Emily's eyes continued, though, they met up with Paige's, at the other end of the bar, holding a beer in each hand. Paige looked crestfallen, for an instant, at the sight of Emily and Alison. That look quickly morphed into something else that was hard for Emily to characterize. It wasn't rage, although it was just as strong an emotion. It was more like defiance.

Emily hustled Alison into a booth, hoping that Alison hadn't spotted Paige. But that was ridiculous. Of course, she had spotted Paige. Emily could only hope that Alison wasn't going to start anything. She had made her power move; she had shown up with Emily on Paige's turf. Maybe that would be enough for her.

Alison smiled smugly. Things were falling into place nicely. Emily had been nervous since she first let her into her apartment, and she was in a full-on panic, once that the three of them were in the same room. Nervousness and panic meant that Emily would be off her game. There was no need to confront Paige directly. Emily was sending Paige a strong enough message just by being so jittery.

Paige couldn't believe what was happening. She didn't care what the reason behind it was – whether Emily was making some kind of statement, to get back at her for the rejection, or whether it was just Alison needling her, up to her old games. Whatever it was, it was total bullshit. She had moved away from Rosewood to get away from stupid games like this. But not only had Emily followed her, the bullshit had followed her, too. Everything inside her wanted to run away. But she didn't. She was through running. She was going to stand her ground. As she had predicted, Emily was never going to get over Alison. That was the reality. The only option left was for Paige to get over Emily. And that meant not freaking out when she showed up at Hank's with Alison.

Paige stood there calmly, talking to her friends, drinking her beer. She took a sip, and then another, and, next thing she knew, her glass was empty. She had been consciously trying not to rush, and yet she had downed her tall glass of beer in less than two minutes.

Fuck it. Her face was getting flushed. She was beginning to feel very warm. Her friend looked at her, concerned, as she started fanning herself to try to cool down.

"Are you okay?"

Paige nodded quickly. "I'm just going to step outside for a second. Get some air."

"Do you want some company?"

Paige shook her head. "Actually, I think I might just call it a night."

Emily looked up from whatever Alison was saying when she caught sight of Paige's movement in the corner of her eye. Paige was heading towards the bathroom – but that was also the way to the back door. Emily stood quickly and excused herself. "I'm going to run to the ladies' room."

"I'll go with you!" Alison put her hands on the table, about to stand up, but Emily froze her in place with a scowl. "Or, I could just wait here," Alison said to herself, throwing her hands up in surrender.

Emily walked calmly for as long as she was in Alison's line of sight, and then rushed after Paige. "Paige," she pleaded, just as Paige's hand hit the door. Paige turned around but didn't stop moving, using her back to push the door open. "She just showed up," Emily said earnestly. "And she insisted on coming here. I… I tried to talk her out of it!" Emily realized how pathetic her explanations sounded, even though they were true.

"You know what, Emily?" Paige said, exasperated. "I don't care anymore." She threw her hands up and let them fall against her thighs. "Have a nice evening." Paige turned and walked away. "Have a nice life."

"Paige… Paige!" Emily was almost crying, but Paige didn't stop. Emily grunted out loud and kicked the door. She was absolutely furious – at Alison.

"Did Paige leave?" Alison asked, playing innocent, when Emily returned to the table.

"Shut up, Alison." Emily was not in the mood.

"I beg your pardon?" Alison tried to be defiant.

"You heard me. Okay. You had your fun. You won. You upset my friend and drove an even bigger wedge between us. Game's over." Emily pulled on her coat, without a word to Alison about the fact that they were leaving.

Alison stood up and started to put her coat on, too. "Maybe it would be better if I stayed in Connor's suite tonight," she said softly.

"Yeah, maybe," Emily barked back.

Emily didn't even look at Alison on the drive back to her apartment. If she had, she would have seen the smug smirk on her face. It didn't matter that Emily was mad at her. The evening wasn't about Emily. She knew that Emily wasn't going to fall for her again, but, fortunately, she no longer needed her to. It was enough for Paige to see the two of them together – to see that Emily wouldn't think twice about taking her – the person Paige hated most – right into Paige's territory. That was enough to crush Paige's spirit.

Alison didn't want Emily. She just didn't want Emily with Paige.