Chapter 3

Emily

She almost clapped a hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe she'd actually said the words out loud. She didn't have time to overthink it, however; Aria threw her arms around her neck, pulling her towards her on the couch as Hanna, Spencer and Paige stood up and made their way towards her.

Aria released her, giving her a small smile. Emily was on auto-pilot, standing up into Hanna and Spencer's open arms. "I'm really glad you told us, Em," Hanna whispered into her hair. Emily felt her eyes starting to well up, unable to process fully what she'd just achieved. Hanna and Spencer moved off to the side, leaving Emily face to face with Paige.

Paige engulfed her in a tight hug, wrapping her arms around her back, pulling her close. Tears spilled down Emily's cheeks, emotion overwhelming her at this level of acceptance from her friends.

"Shh," Paige soothed. "It's okay." She rubbed her hand up and down Emily's back, causing Emily to squeeze her tighter, burying her nose in Paige's hair. After a minute or so, she did actually feel calmer, pulling back from Paige and wiping her eyes.

"You guys are the best, you know that?" Emily sniffed, giving a light laugh. She looked at all of them as she spoke, noticing that she wasn't the only one who had gotten teary eyed.

She sat back down on the couch, feeling light-headed all of a sudden. The relief that washed over her was almost too much. Honestly, she hadn't expected her friends to react badly when she told them, but just the confirmation of the support she needed was an amazing feeling.

"So, how long have you known?" asked Hanna.

Emily smiled slightly, thinking back. "It's kind of hard to pinpoint. I had a feeling I might be when I was about thirteen, but I really only accepted it recently."

Aria squeezed her hand, looking at her sadly. "That must have been tough."

"Yeah, it was," she sighed. "But I feel better about it now. I'm not trying to fool myself into thinking I like guys anymore." It felt weird to be talking about some of the thoughts that had been going through her head the past few months, but extremely freeing at the same time.

"Ahh, so that clears up the Ben mystery," nodded Paige. She, Hanna and Spencer were now sitting on the floor in front of the couch that Emily and Aria were sitting on. "I never said anything before, but honestly? I never liked him. He was always so full of himself."

Emily wasn't surprised that Paige didn't like Ben, and she said as much. "Paige, you never had to say anything. The amount of times you and Ben argued was ridiculous."

"Well, he said a lot of dumb stuff!" she exclaimed. Emily smiled at Paige's defence, internally agreeing with her.

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" Hanna suddenly asked, leaning forward, grinning. "Are you seeing someone?"

"Hanna!" Spencer chastised.

"What?" she retorted. "I'm curious."

"I'm not sure Emily wants to play 'Twenty Questions' right now."

Emily laughed. "It's okay, Spence. I don't mind. It's kinda cool being able to talk about this now. No and no," she answered Hanna.

"Is there anyone you're interested in, then?"

Emily was just about to answer 'no', but was interrupted with Hanna's squeal of excitement. "Oh my god, there is, isn't there? Who is she?"

Damn. Her body language must have given her away.

She hesitated a moment, deciding she would just have to be coy in her answer. "There might be, but I'm not telling." She smiled, looking down at her lap, afraid she was going to catch Paige's gaze.

Paige

"Come on, please tell me," whined Hanna.

Paige was grateful for Hanna's lack of filter in this moment, since she was asking all the questions that Paige herself wanted to ask.

She was still trying to process what Emily had just told them. She didn't know what she had expected Emily to say, but it certainly hadn't been that.

Paige watched Emily, waiting to see if she would crack under pressure from Hanna, but much to her disappointment, Emily just shook her head, running a hand through her hair. Paige knew that was Emily's tell when she was nervous. Curiosity burned through her veins. She really wanted to know who Emily liked; felt like she needed to know.

"Fine," Hanna huffed. "But when you get a girlfriend you better tell me."

Emily laughed. "Deal."

The conversation turned to Spencer and Toby, Emily mentioning that Toby had been asking about Spencer during her Biology class, but Paige was only half-listening.

"So you think he likes me, then?" Spencer was asking with a hopeful expression. She had been interested in Toby for a while, and although Paige didn't know him well, she could tell that he was the shy type. As Spencer refused to make the first move, nothing much had happened between the two of them so far.

Emily, Hanna and Aria were all nodding their heads, Aria saying, "Have you not seen the way he looks at you?"

Paige was too busy mentally working her way through every girl she could think of that Emily could have a crush on to care about the way Toby may or may not look at Spencer. The only girl who seemed like a possibility was Brooke from their swim team. She was a friendly person and Emily had always spoken highly of her, but Paige didn't think she was really Emily's type.

And that was when it dawned on her; she had no idea what Emily's type was anymore. She had no idea and it threw her. How could she have not seen this? How could she not have noticed that her best friend was struggling with her sexuality right in front of her?

She knew logically that there was no way she could have known, but it still bothered her.

Paige's phone vibrated in her pocket, breaking her out of her whirring thoughts. It was from Sean.

How's girls night?

Paige stared at the message for a moment, deciding she would just call him later, slipping her phone back into her jeans, her mind going back to Emily.

Hanna was now gushing over Caleb, and how great the evening before had been when they celebrated their one-year anniversary. He had bought her a bouquet of flowers; they had cooked a meal together and then spent the entirety of the evening in Hanna's bedroom.

Paige smiled with the rest of the girls, making a note to tease Caleb later about the fact that he was a romantic at heart.

It was about 11pm when Ashley Marin walked into the living room, having just come back from drinks with friends. "Oh, I thought you would all be away home by now," she said, starting pointedly at her watch. "It's a school night, after all."

Hanna sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. Ashley just smiled, wishing them goodnight before leaving to go upstairs.

Aria stood up, stretching her back in the process. "I think that's our cue, guys." They all started to stand up, Emily offering her hands out to Paige which she gladly took to help her up off the floor. They made their way back into the kitchen to get their jackets.

"Anyone need a lift home?" asked Emily.

"No thanks, I've got my car," answered Spencer, jangling her keys for emphasis.

"Same," said Aria, zipping up her jacket.

Emily's eyes landed on Paige. She was suddenly disappointed that she had decided to cycle to Hanna's rather than walk. "I've got my bike," she shrugged. Emily nodded.

They made their way to the front door, hugging their goodbyes. Paige walked to the side of the house to get her bike, walking with it down Hanna's path and out the gate.

Emily was waiting outside her car. "Hey, we still on for our run tomorrow?"

"Of course," Paige replied. Why wouldn't they be?

"Okay, good," Emily smiled. "Text me when you get in?"

"Em, I live like, three minutes away," Paige smirked.

"I know. Just, please?" Emily pleaded.

"Fine," Paige conceded, feeling weirdly pleased at Emily's over-concern. She gave Emily a quick wave, flinging a leg over her bike and pedalling away.

Paige entered her house, happy to see that all the lights in the house were off; that meant that her parents had already gone to bed. It might be bad to think, but she couldn't be bothered speaking to her dad right now. She just wanted to crash. He had already grilled her about her swim times today, and she couldn't be bothered going over her training schedule for tomorrow with him at this time of night. He had no issues with what time of day it was when it came to lecturing her about training.

She sent Emily a quick text on her way up the stairs, telling her she was home safely, before throwing her phone onto her duvet as she went to get ready for bed.

Ten minutes later she was crawling under the covers, looking at her phone to see if Emily had replied.

Night :-)

Emily had a habit of putting dorky smilies at the end of her texts which Paige never failed to find amusing. She set her alarm for the morning, placing her phone on her bedside table and drifting off to sleep with a small smile on her lips.

Paige jogged up and down on the spot outside Emily's house while she waited for her to come outside, seeing every breath she exhaled in the crisp morning air. She didn't know why, but she felt anxious about seeing Emily. There was no reason for it; she was being ridiculous.

Paige turned at the noise of Emily's front door opening, Emily smiling as she started jogging towards her. "Ready?"

"Yup," Paige replied, taking off down the street with Emily at her side.

They switched to brisk walking about halfway through their route so they could catch their breath. Paige decided to just ask Emily about what had been plaguing her since last night.

"Em?"

"Yeah?"

"Having you been avoiding me lately? And is it 'cause of you being gay and thinking that I wouldn't react well or something? Because-"

"Whoa, Paige, slow down." Emily had stopped walking and was breathing heavily, looking at her with confused eyes.

"You've not been around as much to hang out with as you used to be, and I was just wondering if that was why," Paige explained, wringing her hands together. She couldn't read the emotions that were flitting across Emily's face.

Emily finally said, "So you noticed that, huh?" Paige sighed in hurt, looking away from her. God, she totally thought I wouldn't support her.

"No, Paige," Emily said, grabbing her arm. "It's not what you think." Paige looked back at Emily, waiting for an explanation.

Emily dragged a hand across her face, looking like she was having trouble with finding what she wanted to say. Paige waited in anticipation.

"Look, I wasn't just avoiding you." Paige couldn't help but notice Emily playing with her ponytail. "It was everyone; even my parents. My head was a mess, okay? I needed some time to sort stuff out."

"You could have talked to me, you know," Paige smiled sadly, feeling terrible that Emily had been going through this alone. She would have been there for her in a heartbeat.

"I know," Emily reassured her, tracing her thumb over her wrist. "But that's easier said than done. You would know that if you were the one who was gay."

Paige casually pulled her wrist from Emily's grasp, the words unsettling her for reasons she couldn't explain. She cleared her throat. "So we're good?"

"We're good," Emily echoed, offering Paige a smile which she returned.

It was lunch-time and Paige was putting books into her locker when she felt hands wrap around her waist from behind.

Sean kissed her cheek. "Hey."

She turned around in his arms, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Hey, what's up?" She twisted back around to face her locker. She couldn't seem to find her math book.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, his hands dropping from her hips.

"Hmm?" Paige replied distractedly, rummaging through all the crap in her locker. Where the hell is my book? She knew it was in here somewhere.

"Paige! Can you at least look at me when I'm talking to you?" Paige looked over her shoulder at the sound of Sean's irritated voice.

"What?" she snapped back. Couldn't he see she was busy?

"How come you never replied to my text last night?" Shit. She had totally forgotten about that.

"Oh, sorry. My phone died so I never got your message 'til this morning," she lied, unable to suppress the feeling of guilt that crept up on her. She had blown him off to hang out with her friends and then ignored his text.

He still had that sad puppy expression on his face. She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? Do you want to come over tonight?"

He stared at her for a moment, still looking annoyed, finally giving in and pulling her close. "Sure," he said, smiling slightly and pecking her on the lips.

Emily

She heard the doorbell ring, her mom shouting, "Emily!" from the hall. With an inward groan, she closed her Biology textbook and made her out of her room, walking downstairs and seeing her mom opening the front door.

"Hi," she said warmly to people standing on the porch. "Come on in."

The woman that Emily had seen yesterday handed her mom a bottle of wine, hugging her in greeting, and then her dad in turn. Emily made sure to plaster a smile on her face as she introduced herself to the new neighbours.

"Hi, I'm Emily," she said, holding her hand out towards the woman. The woman ignored her hand, instead pulling her in for a hug. Obviously a friendly family then.

"Lovely to meet you, I'm Melanie." Melanie pulled back, her smile warm and genuine. She moved off down the hall towards the kitchen after her mom, chatting away happily.

"I'm Bryan," Melanie's husband said, extending his hand towards Emily. She felt like she had to crane her neck to look at him he was so tall. He followed after his wife, stepping aside to reveal the daughter her mom had mentioned.

"Hey, I'm Maya," she said, stepping in to hug her, Emily returning it awkwardly.

"Emily," she replied when she pulled back. Maya looked around the same age as her, and she couldn't help noticing that she was very pretty.

"So you've been dragged into this neighbourly get-together as well then?" Maya asked. Emily laughed at the girl's honesty. Maybe dinner wouldn't be so bad after all.

They were in the middle of dessert, and Emily was surprisingly enjoying herself.

The St. Germains' were an easy-going family, effortlessly keeping the conversation flowing. Bryan was currently telling the story of how he proposed to Melanie by drawing a ring on her finger since he couldn't afford a ring, and instead of replacing it with an actual ring at a later date, Melanie had gotten the drawing tattooed onto her finger. The whole table laughed, even her mom to Emily's surprise (she had always been a bit of a traditionalist).

Once they finished eating, the adults stood up to retire to the living room with their glasses of wine. "Why don't you show Maya your room, Emily?" her mom suggested. It took every ounce of strength to refrain from rolling her eyes, because seriously, what was she? Five?

She had no choice now but to take Maya upstairs; she hoped that she hadn't left her room in a state.

As soon as they entered her room, Maya walked around, picking things up and examining them. Emily was sure of one thing; Maya definitely wasn't shy.

"Oh, are these your swimming medals?" she asked, plucking one of them up off of her cabinet, running her finger over the metal.

"Yup," Emily nodded, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Wow, you must be really good," she smiled.

"I'm okay," she grinned bashfully. "Hopefully I can get an athletic scholarship out of it by the end of this year."

"Have any scouts come to see you yet?" Maya inquired.

"A couple came to watch us last year. Things went pretty well, I think. So, fingers crossed." Emily watched Maya move onto her jewellery box. "How about you? Are you hoping to go to college?"

Maya nodded. "Yeah, I'm interested in studying music. I'm actually hoping to join the jazz band at your school; I heard there was one?"

"Yeah, I think there is." Truthfully, Emily didn't know much about Rosewood High's other extracurricular activities outside of sports. "That's cool. I would love to be able to play an instrument."

"Maybe I can teach you sometime," Maya smiled, giving her a wink. Emily smiled, shifting uncomfortably on the bed.

Maya had now walked over to the side of her room, looking at the framed photographs that sat on the bedside table.

"Those are my best friends," Emily stated, seeing Maya pick up the picture of the five of them taken around a year ago. Maya smiled at the photo, putting it back down and picking up the other one. It was of her and Paige, one arm around each other's shoulders, their other arms raised in triumph after just winning an important swim meet. It was kind of a dorky picture, but Emily loved it.

"Is this your girlfriend?"

Emily coughed in shock. "What? No. I'm not- she's not- why would you ask that?" Emily asked quickly. She was taken aback by Maya's forwardness. She wasn't used to anyone asking things like that. Emily stood up, taking the frame off of Maya and putting it back in its place, her heart racing.

"Sorry. My mistake. I didn't mean to offend you," she said, shaking her head. "It's just that it's right beside your bed and it's just the two of you in the photo, and sorry; I shouldn't have assumed. My mom says I always do that. I should really stop." She rolled her eyes awkwardly. "Maybe I'm just missing my ex. We broke up before I left and I really miss her."

"You're gay?" Emily asked, embarrassed at how surprised she sounded, still trying to calm down from Maya's previous question.

"Bi," Maya clarified, sitting down on Emily's bed. Emily admired how easy it was for Maya to just tell her that; no freaking out; no stuttering; just the truth. Emily hoped she could be that confident one day.

"Sorry you had to move," Emily said, sitting down beside her. "That must suck; senior year as well."

"Yeah, my parents have great timing," Maya said bitterly.

Emily couldn't help asking. "Do your parents know? About you being bi, I mean."

Maya nodded. "They do. I think they figured out I liked girls when they caught me kissing one behind the shed in our yard when I was twelve." She laughed at the memory. "So yeah, they're fine with it."

Emily smiled, looking down at her lap. She had no idea how her own parents would react when she finally told them. Maya put a hand on her arm, brushing her thumb across her skin. Emily looked back up at her before she had to look away again. Maya was uncomfortably close.

"So, are you single?"

Emily's mind was going a hundred miles a minute. What was happening here? Was Maya interested in her?

"I am now," she said. "I broke up with my boyfriend a few months ago." She felt the need to add that it was indeed a boy she had dated. Although she had come out to her friends yesterday, she wasn't ready for anyone else to know, even if Maya's gaydar seemed 100% on point.

"Oh," Maya replied, removing her hand from Emily's arm. "That's a shame, I'm sorry."

Emily cleared her throat nervously.

"So, what were the people like that lived in the house before we moved in?" Maya asked, standing up to pace around the room again.

Emily was thankful for the subject change. "Well, everyone in Rosewood knew them, but not in a good way. Jason Dilaurentis was the guy that no one wanted their kid to hang around with. He was constantly stoned or drunk, always causing trouble. And Alison, well, she blinded a girl."

Maya gasped. "What? Oh my god, she did? How?"

"She threw a firework into the garage of the Cavanaughs. They live a few houses down the street." Emily gestured towards her window. "I don't know if it was a prank gone wrong or what, but Jenna was in the garage when the firework went off, and she was badly injured. The doctors tried to save her sight, but they couldn't." Toby was Jenna's step-brother and also Emily's lab partner in Biology, so he'd told her all the details of what happened.

"That's terrible," Maya said, shaking her head. "So what happened?"

"Alison got sent to juvie and the whole family decided to move out of state. That's all I know." And Emily couldn't say that she was sad about Alison moving away.

"Maya!" Bryan's voice shouted. "We're leaving now!"

Maya sighed, clapping her hands on her thighs, smiling at Emily. "Well, it was nice to meet you."

Emily stood up. "You too." She was surprised to find that she actually meant it. Maya stepped forward for a hug, which Emily returned.

"See you around," Maya waved, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. Emily flopped backwards onto her bed, replaying the night in her head.

Was Maya interested in her, or had she just imagined it? Of course, Maya now thought she was straight, but she was sure that could be rectified if she wanted it to be. Maybe Maya would be good for her. Maybe she could help her get over Paige.

She sighed, reaching for her phone at the thought of Paige. She scrolled down her contacts, clicking on Paige's name when she reached it. She waited patiently for her to pick up, which she did after about four rings.

"Hey Em, two secs," Paige answered. Emily could hear her walking and a door closing on the other end of the line. "Hey," Paige repeated when she was ready to talk.

"Am I interrupting?" asked Emily.

"Nope," Paige replied. "Sean's over, but he and my dad are talking football in the kitchen so I just decided to leave them to it. What's up?"

"Okay, so the craziest thing just happened. The new neighbours came over for dinner, and Hanna was right. The girl is going to our school, and is even in our year. We ended up talking in my room and she told me she's bi-".

"Emily!" laughed Paige. "Slow down, I can barely hear a word you're saying." Emily blushed, laughing at her own eagerness to tell the story.

"Sorry. Okay, so the girl, Maya, she told me she's bi. And she made a few flirty comments, and touched my arm, and asked about my love life. And I don't know, am I being ridiculous?"

Paige responded after a moment's silence. "What are you asking me, Em? If she likes you or not?"

"I guess I am, yeah," Emily sighed.

"Well, she would have to be crazy not to," Paige answered, Emily's heart fluttering at the kind words. "Do you like her?"

"I don't know," Emily replied honestly. "I mean, she seems really nice, but I think I would have to get to know her better." Besides, she's not you.

There was another bout of silence between them. "Well, that's great, Em. Listen, I've got to go. Sean's shouting on me. See you tomorrow?"

Emily was disappointed at their conversation being cut short. She wanted to talk about this more. "Yeah, okay. Night, Paige."

"Night, Em."

A/N: So, I apologise to those of you who mentioned that you hoped the neighbour wouldn't be Maya. All I will say is that she's not going to be in too much, and hopefully it won't be too bad for you ;)

Thanks again for the follows/favs/reviews. Next up, Noel's party...