Guest: She's working on it. She'll get there.

jhas Yep. Let's do this. Or, try to at least. It's hard, but they're working on it together, so they'll be okay

ren-mccullers I'm glad you think so. :) It's certainly been fun to write.

Guest Thank you.

Paraddicted. lol. Yeah. Although I guess as a parent of a teen, it's not much of a jump to reach that conclusion. For once some Fields' family tension that didn't have anything to do with Emily being gay. The date is a couple chapters away still, but I'm pretty sure that it won't dissapoint.

Dragoncila Thank you. :) I'm probably going to stay away from the flirting/jealousy route. I think they have enough drama going on without manufacturing more.

saii79 Yep, step by step. She's not there yet, but she's getting there.

Guest Thank you. And yeah, she really does.

Guest Thank you.

theresgraffitionmydesk Welcome to the story. I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far. And I hope that you continue to. :)

CarmellaD'Winter Thank you. I'm glad you liked that little added touch.

SouthernStateOfMind Well, I'll take that as a compliment. And, I apologize that the chapter wasn't longer for you to enjoy more. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :)

Ponderhouse: I'm glad that you didn't mind the wait too much. :) And that you're still enjoying the Paily interactions. It's just so easy to write them being sweet. And there's just something about them that lends them to all these cool, exploring the beginning stages of a relationship. Thank you, for reading. And for taking the time to comment.

Jace24 Yeah, she's trying. She still has a ways to go, but she's getting there. And there will definitely be more Paige/Pam and Paige/other Liars interractions.

Guest: I'll try.

Author's Note: So some changes to my schedule means that I'll probably only be able to update every other week rather than every week. Unfortunately. Sorry, guys. :( I'll try my best to get chapters posted as quickly as I can.

I thank you all for reading and taking the time to leave such kind words and encouragements. I can't express how much I really appreciate it.

Chapter 22

Nobody so much as batted an eyelash when Paige and Emily entered the locker room side by side. But that didn't stop Paige from lengthening her stride, putting a few steps distance between them as they made their way through the rows of lockers. Emily held back a sigh as she watched Paige pull ahead of her without a backwards glance. And she didn't fail to notice the sudden tension in her body, her shoulder's hunching forward, her movements quick and jerky as she tossed her bag onto the bench by the lockers and fumbled with the zipper, cursing softly under her breath as she tried to tug it past a snag. Emily hesitated at her own locker, debating whether or not to offer assistance for a moment before turning away. She opened her own duffel and pulled out her suit and towel, draping them both over the bench before spinning the dial on her locker. Beside her, Paige smacked her locker and muttered under her breath, then entered her combination again, this time managing to get her locker open. Emily watched out of the corner of her eye as Paige tugged off her jacket and tossed it in with little regard for where it ended up. Sighing softly, Emily turned away, focusing on changing quickly and ignoring the rustle of clothing and the faint thumps as Paige repeatedly banged into her open locker door. As soon as she'd pulled on her suit, Emily headed out on deck to begin her warm up.

"What's up with you and Paige?"

She hadn't noticed anyone approach her and the sound of Vicky's voice, so close to her ear, made her stumble in place. She caught her balance and spun around.

"What?"

"What's up with you and Paige? Are you two fighting again?"

Technically, they hadn't been fighting in the first place. For them to be fighting, some sort of conversation or confrontation would have had to occured. And there had been neither. Emily had come out and Paige had started ignoring her. However, she doubted that Vicky was interested in the finer points on the situation.

'No. We're not fighting. Why would you ask that?" she asked cautiously, her gaze flicking past Vicky to seek out Paige, finding her across the deck, leading a couple of freshman through their warm up stretches. Did Vicky know something? Had somebody seen them kissing yesterday behind the school? Suddenly Paige's paranoia didn't seem so unreasonable after all. She felt the faint stirrings of panic deep in her chest and did her best to quell them as she awaited Vicky's answer.

"You guys seemed like you were getting along this weekend. I mean, you roomed together without bloodshed and everything. And now it's back to...cold shoulders and radio silence."

Was that really all that Vick had picked up on? Or was she subtly trying to find out more? Was she onto Emily and Paige, and this was her way of trying to suss things out? Her mind began to race with all the possibilities. She shook her head, trying to clear it.

"Things are fine, between us." she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "Like you said, we managed to room together this weekend. But, we've never really been friends," she added with a shrug, feigning a nonchalance she was nowhere close to feeling. While technically, it was true, it pained her to say that. But, what else could she do? She couldn't tell Vicky the truth? And Paige was making it impossible for them to even appear to be friends. So even though she hated doing it, even though it made her feel like she was diminishing the feelings that they had for each other, she had no choice but to downplay their connection.

VIcky studied her for a moment, then nodded "Help me stretch out?" Without waiting for an answer, she braced herself with one hand on Emily's shoulder as she drew her leg up behind her and grabbed her ankle, holding it in place for a beat before swtiching hands and doing the other leg.

Emily spotted Vicky through her stretches, and then got the other girl to spot her, but her mind was not on her warm up routine, instead her thoughts were occupied by the conversation she'd just had and whether or not to tell Paige about it. One one hand, she knew that it would freak Paige out to know that someone had taken notice of their behaviour. But on the other hand, it might reassure her that nobody had come to the conclusion she was afraid of. And she'd rather Paige heard it from her first. Vicky wasn't likely the only person on the team who had noticed the tension between them. All it would take was for someone else to approach Paige the way Vicky had approached Emily. Yeah, it was best that Paige heard it from her first. She was just worried about the fallout of that conversation, afraid that the other girl might panic and pull away further. Or worse even, break up with her. She just needed a little time to figure out exactly how to broach the topic. For the first time, Emily was actually glad that Paige was ignoring her. It would her a chance to gather her thoughts, without Paige noticing that something was amiss.

Coach called an end to practice and the girls shuffled their way back into the locker room. Emily entered a few minutes after Paige, the other girl was already halfway through getting dressed by the time Emily made it to her locker. She sucked in a breath at the sight of Paige in jeans pulled up but unbuttoned, her belt hanging loose and a lacey red bra that contrasted sharply against her pale skin, and swallowed hard against a suddenly dry mouth. She averted her gaze quickly, but not quickly enough to avoid seeing Paige's shoulders stiffen at her approach.

Sighing, Emily did her best not to peek as Paige finished getting dressed, keeping her eyes trained on the inside of her own locker as she peeled off her swimsuit and pulled on her street clothes. She was just pulling on her shirt when Paige finished up, nudging her locker closed with a clang and shouldering her bag, knocking into Emily's shoulder as she did so and then brushing past without so much as a backwards glance. Emily couldn't stop herself from turning and watching Paige's departing back, hurt and confusion swirling inside her.

"Doesn't look like you guys are fine to me."

Emily turned to find VIcky leaning against her locker, a few feet away. Emily shrugged and went back to getting ready. She didn't really have a response. Because, Paige's behaviour really wasn't appropriate. She knew that Paige was struggling. And that their being together was a huge step for her. And Emily was trying very hard to be okay with things the way they were. But it was hard. And it hurt.

"Did you want me to talk to her for you?"

"What? No." Emily spun around, shaking her head as she did so. "Thanks, VIcky. But, no. I can handle Paige."

Vicky shrugged. "Maybe. But, you shouldn't have to "handle" her." She closed the distance between them and dropped down onto the bench behind Emily. "If she's being...I mean... Look, I know that when you came out, none of us really handled it all that well. But, we've had some time to get used to the idea. If Paige is still bugging over the fact that you're gay, she needs to get over herself."

If Vicky only knew the half of it.

"If you don't want me to talk to her, you could ask Coach-"

"I appreciate your concern, Vick. But, it's fine," Emily interrupted. The last thing she needed was Coach Fulton getting involved. That would surely spook Paige. "Like you said, we were getting along fine this weekend. I'm sure whatever's going on with Paige, it has nothing to do with me," she shrugged, like it was no big deal. "Field hockey finals are coming up, we've got State in a few weeks. She's taking a full load of AP classes. I'm sure she's just stressed. And, you know how she gets."

Vicky let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah. Paige does tend to get a little...intense."

"A little?"

"A'right. Okay. The girl's like full on. All the frickin' time." Vicky stood and slung her bag over her shoulder. "But, just know that if you ever do need someone, you've got an entire team-"

"Yeah. I know." Emily offered a small smile. It was a little late coming, the team hadn't been there for her when she truly needed them, but she appreciated the sentiment. "Thanks, Vicky."

The other girl squeezed her arm and then she was gone.

Emily's phone rang in her pocket a moment later. She didn't even have to look at it to know it was Paige calling, to apologize, to rationalize, to explain. Now that the moment had passed, the pressure was off, she was feeling guilty about ignoring Emily and she was calling to absolve herself. It was become predictable, routine. And Emily wasn't really in the mood to deal with it. She knew she'd eventually forgive Paige, but she just wanted a few minutes to be mad at her. The phone rang a few more times before cutting off suddenly, probably Paige hanging up before she got Emily's voicemail. A moment later, her phone chimed again, this time signalling a text message. Emily ignored it as she made her way out of the locker room and headed towards the cafeteria, where she was supposed to meet her friends for a quick coffee and a chat before classes. Her phone chimed six more times before she'd even made it halfway down the halway. Paige was nothing if not persistant.

Sighing, Emily pulled her phone from her pocket and began scrolling through her texts, a series of apologies and unhappy faces, followed by a couple of questions as to where Emily was, why she wasn't answering. Clearly, Paige was going to stalk her phone until she got a response.

As she was reading her messages, another text came through.

Meet me in the tech wing bathroom. Please?

Fine. 5 minutes.

Against her better judgement, Emily agreed, then spun on her heel, reversing course and heading upstairs to the tech wing and the likely abandoned bathroom where she and Paige would have a top-secret rendezvous. Paige would, once again, apologize for keeping Emily her dirty little secret and for treating her like she meant nothing and Emily would stare into those wide, pleading eyes and hear the paintive earnestness in her voice and she would cave, gathering Paige into her arms and reassuring her that they everything was forgiven and that they would figure this out. She knew it. And Paige knew it. But, she was already getting tired of this little dance.

The tech wing was nearly deserted when she reached it, there was one guy at the far end rifling through his locker for something and he didn't even glance up as Emily pushed her way through the double doors and headed directly for the bathroom.

She nudged the door open slowly and eased inside, remembering yesterday's encounter.

"Paige?"

No sooner had the door swung shut behind her did she feel herself being pushed up against it, her back hitting the smooth wood, her head bouncing off it's surface with a dull crack.

"Oh, shit. Sorry. Are you okay?" Paige pulled back from her attempted kiss and ducked her head, trying to catch Emily's eye. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...I was trying to..."

Emily waved her off as she reached a hand up to rub at the back of her head, wincing as her fingers brushed against the now tender skin.

"Em?"

She raised her gaze to find Paige peering down at her, brow furrowed in concern and worrying her lower lip between her teeth.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." With her other hand, she gently nudged Paige off her and made her way over to the sinks, where she tipped her head and tried to see if there was any swelling in the mirror. If there was any, it was hidden beneath her hair. Thankfully. The last thing she needed was people questioning her about a huge bump on the back of her head.

She raised her gaze in the mirror and caught Paige hovering behind her, arms wrapped tightly around her mid-riff, hands gripping her elbows as if to keep them occupied and in place. As if preventing herself from reaching out to Emily. Her eyes were wide and filled with worry. The sight of her tugged at her heartstrings and she let out a sigh, some of her earlier irritation seeping away.

"We've really got to stop meeting in this bathroom," she said, turning to face Paige, letting a small smile grace her lips. "It's proving to be detrimental to both of our health."

Rather than taking it as a lighthearted comment, the way Emily had intended it, Paige nodded. "Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry for texting you here. It's just...I just..."

"Hey." Emily placed her hands over Paige's, gently tugging her arms uncrossed. "I was kidding." She laced their fingers together and used them to tug Paige towards her. "Now, forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I believe that you called me in here for a reason." She tipped her chin up and brushed her lips against Paige's. She was still annoyed with her. And, they were definitely going to have to talk about how she was treating Emily. But, none of that changed the fact that she still wanted her.

Paige held herself stiffly for a moment, but slowly started to relax into the kiss, her lips parting for Emily's tongue. A soft sigh escaped her throat as she began kissing her back.

What started off soft and slow quickly became heated, fervent. Paige surged forward, pressing Emily against the counters as she unlaced their fingers and gripped at Emily's hips instead, pulling their bodies flush together. Emily wound her arms around Paige's neck and pulled her even further in.

"God, Em," Paige breathed against her lips before diving back in for another deep, hungry kiss. "Do you have any idea how crazy you make me?"

It had to be a rhetorical question. She couldn't really expect Emily to articulate an answer when her tongue was doing that swirly thing against her upper lip, could she?

"Changing beside you, knowing that the only thing that separates me from getting a glimpse of your naked body is a couple inches of flimsy steel? And then having to watch you all pratice in that swimsuit-" Paige cut herself off by capturing Emily's lips.

Her hands slid up Emily's sides, coming to rest along the curve of her ribs, just below her breasts. Her thumbs just lightly grazing the undersides. She shivered at both the sensation and the words Paige was saying. Despite several heated make-out sessions, Paige had never been quite so bold with her words, with her desires.

She was dizzy with the possibilities. But was aware that, no matter how good it felt and how much she longed for Paige to slide her hand up just a few inches higher, they were in a bathroom at school and they risked getting caught. Not to mention, this really wasn't the location she envisioned getting to second base with Paige in.

"The way you move through the water. It's like..."

Emily cut her off with a quick, sloppy, kiss before pulling away. "It's like being driven to distraction, isn't it?" she asked. "Believe me, I know the feeling."

She'd been suffering from the same affliction all practice as well. For the past several practices. Although, if Paige had just been hit with the full intensity of how it felt, it would certainly go a long way to explaining her locker room behavior today. It was difficult to look someone in the eye, let alone engage them in casual conversation, when all you could think about was what was beneath their clothes and the feel of their lips on yours.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Paige whispered as she rested her forehead against Emily's and closed her eyes. "I know that it hurt you. That I keep hurting you. But I don't know how to stop all this noise that starts up in my head every time I see you or try and talk to you." She let out a soft sigh. "I just feel so out of control all the time and I...I.." Her breath hitched, sounding an awful lot like a supressed sob, and Emily felt a pang in her chest.

"Hey. Easy," she soothed, rubbing her hands up and down Paige's back. She felt a niggling self-doubt, somewhere deep in the back of her mind, an unshakeable sensation that their relationship was doing Paige more harm than good. "What can I do?" she asked, desperate to quell the fears and feel like she was being useful.

"Just, keep doing this?" Paige asked, sliding her arms around Emily's waist and squeezing tightly. "Don't give up on me."

"Never." The words were a promise, both to Paige and herself.

They were quiet for a long time, just standing there holding each other.

"Are you still mad at me?" Paige asked softly into the silence that surrounded them.

"No. Not mad. Frustrated, a little," she admitted, feeling like it would neither of them any good to brush the truth aside. "And hurt. It's hard, when you ignore me. It feels like a step backwards, you know? Like back to the days when you hated me."

"I never hated you."

"Maybe not me, but you hated what I was. What I represented to you."

Paige nodded, conceding Emily's point. "I'm trying to be better."

"I know," Emily reassured her.

She hesitated, wondering if now would be a good time to bring up what she and Vicky had talked about. She had a feeling her words would be a tipping point, she just didn't know if they would push her over the edge, or be the reassurance she needed to let go of some of her fears.

"Vicky asked me today if we were fighting again," she said haltingly. "And, I'm sure she's not the only one who's noticed things have been tense between us." She felt Paige stiffen against her, but to her credit, she didn't pull away. "She was worried that you're still freaked out by the fact that I'm gay. She doesn't suspect that there's anything going on."

Paige was quiet for a long moment. "You really don't think she suspects anything?"

"I really don't think she suspects anything. Remember what we talked about in the car?"

Paige nodded. "Yeah."

"Just, keep that in mind today, okay?"

"Okay."

"And, try and come sit with my friends and I at lunch?" She had to tamp down her dissapointment when Paige didn't respond right away. "You don't have to sit beside me. You can sit across the table. And you can only talk to Spencer and Caleb. Just, please try and come?" She knew she was asking for a lot, but she felt like things would be easier for Paige if she had someone other than Emily to confide in. If she had some other source of support.

"Okay. I'll try."

Knowing that was the best she was going to get, Emily forced herself to be satisfied with that. "Thank you," she said, pressing a soft kiss to Paige's cheek before, reluctantly, pulling back. Class would be starting in a few minutes and they both had to make their way across to the other side of the school for first period. "We should be going."

Paige nodded.

"Do you want to go first?" Emily asked. "I'll wait a couple minutes and then follow?" She wanted Paige to say no, that they could leave at the same time Even if they didn't walk to class together, it would be something. But, she wasn't surprised when Paige nodded.

"All right. See you later? At lunch?"

"I'll see you at lunch," Paige quietly agreed. She pressed a quick kiss to Emily's lips and then she was gone. Emily sagged against the counter, trying to reign in her emotions before letting out a heavy sigh and following in her wake.