Chapter 8

Paige

It was just after midday on Saturday when Emily text her.

Hey, want to do something today? :)

Paige stared at the message, having no idea how to respond. She desperately wanted to say yes, but the panic had returned in full force after last night. It was so frustrating; sometimes she felt okay about being attracted to Emily, and then other times, like today, she just couldn't handle it. She closed her eyes, hopelessly wishing her feelings away.

Sorry, I can't. My dad needs me to help him with something.

She was embarrassed; it was a blatant lie and Emily would know it. She could have at least thought of an actual task to tell Emily she was doing with her dad to make it seem at least a bit more believable.

She sighed, disappointed in herself, placing her phone face down on her desk and trying to focus on the English essay in front of her. She managed to write a couple of sentences before last night flashed into her head again. She growled in annoyance, banging her head down on the desk in defeat.

Paige had never wanted anyone more in her life; last night she had felt out of control of her body; her lips; her hands. Thankfully Emily had had the sense to slow things down or there's no telling how far they would have gone.

Weirdly, she'd felt calmest when she had Emily close to her, her arm wrapped around her waist; it seemed to have kept her thoughts and the anxiety they brought at bay. They had cuddled together until they heard Emily's parents pulling up outside, separating quickly to sit on opposite sides of the couch. She'd had visions of Emily's parents walking in and knowing exactly what they had been up to; Paige remembered patting her hair down self-consciously, running her fingers over her tingling lips to make sure they didn't feel too swollen.

Wayne and Pam had entered the living room and Paige had done her best to sit there politely and listen as they talked about their evening, but really, all she had wanted to do was bolt, the anxiety getting difficult to push down.

She had made a show of checking the time on her phone, using every effort to stand up slowly and keep her voice steady as she said, "It's getting late, I should probably head home." Emily stood up to accompany her to the door. Since Emily's parents were right there, all they could do was awkwardly say bye to each other before Emily shut the door, Paige almost running to the car her dad had let her borrow for the evening.

She had sat in the car for a few minutes, trying to compose herself; she was a mix of emotions, torn between feeling exhilarated and feeling terrified.

She still felt a mixture of the two today.

She smiled as her head still rested on the desk, remembering Emily's hands in her hair, her thumb softly caressing her cheek. She was pretty sure if it were only her and Emily in the world she wouldn't be as worried; it was only when she started thinking outside of them that the panic truly started; her dad, her mom, her whole extended family. What would they say if they knew she was -?

Paige sat up abruptly, giving her head a shake. They could never know. This couldn't happen. She would need to try harder to suppress her feelings for Emily.

Emily

And there it was, Emily thought as she read Paige's reply; the inevitable freak out she had been anticipating. Paige's number one tactic seemed to be 'avoidance'; Emily knew it well, having done the same thing when she realised she liked Paige. Although it had been expected, that didn't stop the disappointment from seeping through her body. She had really wanted to see her today.

She couldn't stop thinking about Paige; she had to remind herself that last night hadn't been a figment of her imagination, and Paige actually seemed to return some of the feelings she had for her - three months ago that idea would have seemed ludicrous - but obviously Paige was struggling with it.

Are you okay?

Emily felt stressed when after twenty minutes Paige still hadn't responded to her message. She wished Paige would stop pulling away from her and just talk to her. She berated herself; she knew it was easy enough to say that, but doing it was another matter.

Last night had been a mistake. She shouldn't have invited Paige over while her parents were out and put them in that situation where in the back of her mind she knew that they would end up kissing again. It had been a bad move on her part. They needed to talk first, and soon. Emily vowed not to let anything more happen between the two of them until then.

Paige

She was going crazy just sitting in her house; that was why she had agreed to go out for lunch with the girls in Philly that Sunday before spending the afternoon shopping, even though it meant seeing Emily. But she couldn't hide for ever, and she hoped the others would act as a sort of buffer between them for now.

She pulled on her beanie and leather jacket, walking out the door when she heard a car horn beeping. Spencer was driving; Aria was in the passenger seat and Hanna in the back. She slid in beside Hanna, already stressing about the fact she was going to have to spend the whole journey right next to Emily.

Paige wondered how Emily would act with her today, since she hadn't text her at all yesterday apart from that one message declining her offer to hang out. She felt like an asshole, but she didn't know what else to do. With any luck, this whole thing would just disappear and everything would go back to normal and she could get on with her life (she knew deep down that those thoughts were a delusion, but that didn't stop her from thinking them).

"Hey, how're you?" Spencer asked, looking at her in the rear view mirror.

They still thought Paige was trying to get over Sean, and she had played along; yet another thing she felt guilty about. She was unclear if her friends thought that Sean was the one who had dumped her, rather than the other way around. She had deliberately kept the details fuzzy.

"Yeah, fine," she smiled. "Getting there."

"You know what they say," Hanna started with a sly smile, elbowing Paige in the side. "The best way to get over a man is to get under another."

"Hanna!" Spencer and Aria shouted simultaneously, Paige flushing slightly, all of them laughing. Spencer started to drive to Emily's house as Paige contemplated the comment. She'd never had sex with Sean; in fact, Sean was even a member of a chastity group at school called 'Real Love Waits'. He had tried to convince her to go with him, but she had refused. It wasn't really her thing, and she honestly hadn't felt the overwhelming urge to sleep with him anyway; she hadn't needed a club to control herself. Now, where Emily was concerned, that was another matter.

She started to ponder if she had subconsciously decided to date Sean for that very reason; that he wouldn't pressure her for sex. The realisation that that was very likely was a shock to her system. How could she have been so unaware?

She couldn't dwell on it for long however, with Hanna nudging her side again.

"Hmm?"

"I was only half joking by the way," Hanna said. "Maybe you should go on a date, you know, help you forget."

Paige wished it were that easy. She was about to answer when Aria interjected on her behalf, "It's only been like two weeks, Han. I'm sure the last thing Paige wants to do right now is date anyone else."

Paige shifted uncomfortably. "Aria's right; I'm really not looking for anything right now."

They pulled up beside Emily's house, where she was already waiting by the curb. Paige tensed as their eyes met briefly through the window, before staring straight ahead as Emily opened the door and sat beside her. She was as close to Hanna as possible without it looking like she was leaning away from Emily, but she could still feel Emily coming into contact with her other side. Her earlier resolve about trying to control her feelings withered; how could she when Emily was only sitting beside her and yet she couldn't stop thinking about kissing her?

She could feel Emily looking at her out of the corner of her eye; she determinedly looked out the window on Hanna's side.

"Hey, Em," Hanna said.

"Hey," Emily replied quietly. Paige could tell by the tone of her voice that she sounded sad. She felt a pang in her chest, but still couldn't look at her.

"Have you got any advice for Paige?" asked Hanna. "We're talking about how to cheer her up after her break-up with Sean. She's already ruled out dating another guy. How'd you get over Ben?"

Paige wanted the ground to swallow her up there and then; or the car to crash, she wasn't picky. She just wanted this conversation to end.

"Uh..." Emily fumbled. "Only time can heal these things, I guess."

The subject thankfully changed after that, but Paige still felt tense. She wrung her hands together in her lap; she knew if she didn't she might not be able to stop herself reaching out for Emily. As they reached Philly, parking just along from the restaurant they were going to, she still hadn't said a single word to her.

Emily climbed out of the car, slamming the door harder than Paige thought was necessary. Guess I'll just go out Hanna's door then. She shuffled along the seat and out the car after Hanna.

Spencer locked the car before they ambled along the sidewalk towards the restaurant. Paige watched Emily sadly as she walked slightly ahead with Aria and Hanna. She would need to talk to her; really talk to her, not one of those conversations they have where they skirt around the actual issue they're talking about. She knew if she wanted things to go back to how they were she would need to speak about it. Her stomach knotted at the thought; what if she didn't want things to go back to how they were?

She wasn't sure what she was going to say; she had two options. She could tell Emily that they could only ever be friends and nothing more (and try to ignore her feelings for the rest of her life), or she could be truly honest with both Emily and herself.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Spencer said beside her. "You look like something's troubling you."

"Something is," she replied after a beat. "But, I think I know how to make it better."

Spencer looked at her curiously, before giving her a small smile and putting her hand on Paige's back, silently saying 'I'm here if you need me'.

They entered the restaurant, the waiter showing them to a round shaped table near the back. Paige sat in between Spencer and Aria, meaning she unfortunately was sitting almost directly across from Emily. She quickly became engrossed in the menu the waiter handed her, risking a glance over the top of it at Emily, who didn't look too thrilled either about the way the seating had worked out. She cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable, running her hand through her hair; Paige became sort of entranced by the movement, imagining that it was her own hand running through Emily's hair.

Their eyes connected; Paige quickly looked back at the menu, her face burning.

It was going to be a long day.

Paige waved to her friends as they drove off, walking up the path and putting her key in the front door. She entered her house, instantly hit with the smell of whatever her parents were having for dinner; chicken, she guessed. She made her way to the kitchen, finding them sitting at the dining table.

"Hey, there she is. We were just talking about you," her dad said, taking a sip of water.

Her mom eyed the carrier bag in her hand. "What did you buy?"

"Oh, just a new shirt." She hadn't actually planned on buying anything, but one of the only things Emily had said to her during their trip was, "This would look good on you." And sure enough, the dark green shirt did; she'd tried it on in the changing room, seeing it fitted her perfectly. "So, why were you talking about me?" she asked, looking at her dad.

"Well," he started. "You remember your mom and I are going away to that conference for the week?" Paige nodded, recalling him mentioning it a few weeks ago; truth be told, she had no idea it was this week they were going, she'd been too preoccupied to notice the date. "We've decided to finally go ahead and get the bathroom renovated while we're away."

Paige's forehead scrunched up in protest. Not only would that severely interrupt her routine, she didn't want to have to deal with workmen coming in and out of the house. "But-" He held up his hand.

"Before you start complaining, I haven't finished. Obviously there will be no running water while it's getting done, but luckily I ran into Pam Fields today at the store and we got to talking, and she kindly offered to let you stay with them for the week."

Was it possible for your heart to stop beating but still be alive? Because Paige was pretty sure she didn't have a pulse for at least ten seconds. "W-what?" she finally said. This had to be some kind of cruel joke.

Her parents looked at her with confusion. "We thought you'd be excited," her mom said. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Anger flared up within her. This isn't happening; not now. "You could have at least asked me first! This is going to be...disruptive. Can't you postpone getting the bathroom done? "

"Watch your tone," her dad said sharply. "And no, this is happening; the work's already been scheduled. Sorry, but this isn't up for discussion. What's the matter anyway? I thought you'd enjoy spending the week with Emily?"

Paige opened and closed her mouth, unable to scrape up an explanation for her lack of enthusiasm. She gave up, just shaking her head and leaving the kitchen to go to her room. She threw the carrier bag onto the bed, ripping her beanie from her head and clutching it anxiously.

A whole week living with Emily; what was she going to do?

Emily

When Spencer had dropped her off, she had muttered a quick "bye" before walking briskly into her house, straight up the stairs and into her bedroom, paying little attention to her parents in the living room. She was incredibly pissed off.

Paige had ignored her for almost the entire day; she knew that things would have been awkward, but she hadn't expected Paige to completely disregard her existence. She had tried to engage in conversation when she noticed Paige browsing the store alone, the other girls a few racks of clothes over. She'd pointed out a nearby shirt that she thought would look good on Paige.

Paige had walked over to pick it off the rack, mumbling "I'll go and try it on." That was literally the extent of their conversation; Emily was amazed no one else had picked up on that fact, or if they had, they'd never mentioned it. Emily was so irritated by the time they were leaving Philly that she had practically ran to the passenger side of Spencer's car so she didn't have to sit in the back with Paige again.

She knew Paige was having a hard time, but she didn't deserve to be treated like this.

She sat on the edge of her bed, angrily taking off her boots and throwing them onto the floor. Her mom suddenly appeared in her doorway, Emily quickly trying to conceal her frustration.

"Oh hey, Mom. You surprised me."

"Everything alright?"

Emily looked away briefly, before replying, "Yeah, everything's fine. Why?"

Her mom looked at her doubtfully before seemingly deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt. "I talked to Nick McCullers today."

Emily tensed. "Oh?"

"Yeah, he mentioned they're getting their bathroom renovated." Emily looked at her mom with a perplexed expression; she had no idea what this had to do with her. "Since Nick and Karen are away for the week at some conference, I invited Paige to stay with us." She grinned, opening her arms as if this was some amazing present.

Emily's eyes widened and her heart rate increased. She forced a smile, quickly remembering her mom was expecting her to be excited by this news. "Wow… that's great!"

She couldn't have been very convincing, her mom looking disappointed. "I thought you'd be thrilled; it'll be like a week-long sleepover!"

"No, I am," she swallowed. "It'll be… fun. Looking forward to it." She envisioned the coming week; hour upon hour of uncomfortable silence and tension between her and Paige, Paige refusing to even look at her. She wanted to cry; she couldn't handle a whole week of that.

"Well, okay," her mom said. "Nick is dropping Paige and her stuff off tomorrow morning before they leave." Emily nodded numbly.

"I think I'm just going to stay up here tonight; do some homework and have an early night," Emily said after a moment.

"Do you want anything to eat?" her mom asked, looking concerned.

"No thanks, I had a big lunch." Her mom looked at her, Emily suddenly having the irrational worry that she could read her mind. She finally walked over to her, kissing her forehead and wishing her goodnight before leaving the room.

Emily flopped back onto the bed, throwing an arm over her eyes as she tried to stop the tears. She had no idea how Paige was going to react to this new situation, but she was certain that it wasn't going to be good.

Paige

It was Monday morning. She got out the back of the car, walking to the passenger side and opening the door to give her mom a kiss on the cheek, before following after her dad towards Emily's house with heavy feet. Her stomach churned with anxiety, but also a tinge of excitement.

Her dad knocked the door, her duffel bag swung over his shoulder. Wayne answered the door after a moment, shaking her dad's hand in greeting and taking her bag from him. "Thank you so much for doing this," her dad said. "It's a great help."

"Not a problem," Wayne smiled. "We love having Paige over, and I'm sure you and Emily will have a great time." He was now looking at her, putting a hand on her shoulder as she walked into the house. Paige gave a genuine smile at his kind words, blocking out the latter half of his sentence.

"See you in a week," her dad said, leaning over and kissing the top of her head. "And remember and keep up with your training. You need to get that anchor spot back." Although his comment was followed by a wink, Paige knew he was being serious, and she was pretty confident Wayne knew that too.

She forced a laugh, embarrassed that he would say that in front of Emily's dad. "Okay, Dad; see you."

Wayne closed the door after she gave a final wave to her mom still sitting in the car. "Subtlety isn't your dad's strong point, eh?" he laughed.

"Tell me about it," Paige smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Here, I'll help you up with this," he said, beginning to carry her bag up the stairs. Paige followed nervously, knowing she was going to be alone with Emily in a minute.

"Emily? Paige is here," Wayne said through the bedroom door.

"Come in," she heard Emily reply.

They stepped into the room where Emily was at her desk painting her nails. Wayne placed her bag by the side of the bed. "Thanks," she said. He gave her a nod before leaving to go back downstairs, half-shutting the door behind him.

She perched on the edge of the bed awkwardly, placing her school bag on the floor at her feet, wishing Emily would turn around and look at her. After a minute of Paige watching Emily intently stroking the blue varnish over her nails, she realised this must have been what Emily felt like yesterday.

Paige cleared her throat. "Hey," she said cautiously.

"Hi," Emily replied instantly, still not looking at her. She didn't sound angry, but when it became clear that was all Emily was going to say, Paige became frustrated, searching her brain for something to say.

"So, this is kinda surprising, huh?" When no reply came, she continued, "It was nice of our parents to consult us." She gave a light laugh.

"Well, I'm sure Hanna wouldn't mind you crashing in her spare room if it's going to be a problem," Emily said, finally shooting her a sharp glance.

Paige's smile fell. "What? That's not what I meant."

"Well, what did you mean then, Paige? Since I don't know what's going through your head these days, why don't you tell me?" Emily said heatedly.

Paige felt her throat close up; very rarely did Emily speak to her like this. She didn't like it. She was saved from responding when Pam knocked the door lightly. She heard Emily huff in annoyance, turning back to her nails. Paige hoped that Pam hadn't heard anything; she didn't need more questions to be asked.

Pam entered the room, greeting her with a smile. "Here," she said, handing Paige a key. "Come and go as you please, this is your home too for the week."

"Thanks so much," Paige replied, tucking the key safely into the pocket of her jeans.

Pam looked at her watch. "Shouldn't you girls be going?"

"I guess," Emily said, screwing the lid onto the top of the nail varnish bottle, waving her right hand in the air and giving her nails a light blow as she tried to get them to dry faster. Paige picked her bag off the floor, standing up. She was certainly not looking forward to this car ride to school.

Emily

They were about halfway to school, and neither of them had spoken a word. Paige was staring adamantly out of the window, almost rigid in her seat.

Emily began to worry that she had just made the situation worse; she was annoyed at herself. She hadn't meant to act like that; she had planned to ask Paige gently to open up to her, but the frustration that had built up over the weekend had spilled out instead. She was tired of how Paige seemed to pick and choose when things were okay between them. Yesterday she had barely said a word, yet today she was trying to initiate conversation as is everything was fine. It was driving Emily crazy.

Either way, she had asked Paige what was going on. She would now just need to wait and see if Paige had an answer for her. She fleetingly wondered if she had this whole situation wrong; maybe Paige really didn't think of her in that way and just wanted to forget the whole thing.

No. She was sick of that line of thought; there was definitely more to it. Paige liked her; she could feel it.

She pulled up into the lot with a sigh, twisting the key in the ignition and killing the radio as the car switched off, a suffocating silence descending once more.

"Paige?" she said, when neither of them made a move to exit the car. Paige turned to look at her. "We need to talk." Emily could actually see Paige swallow.

"What about?" Emily was ready to lose it again, but Paige corrected herself before she got the chance. She shook her head saying, "I didn't mean to say that. I meant to say 'I know.'" They stared at each other with sad eyes for a moment, before Paige cleared her throat and got out of the car. Emily sat there as she watched her walk away.

Paige

Paige felt increasingly anxious as the day went on; she knew she was going to have the conversation she had been dreading with Emily when they got home, but at least she felt like she had come to some sort of decision in regards to what she was going to tell her; now she just had to summon the courage to do it.

Then it was as if the universe had sent her some kind of test; Caleb approached her while she was on her way to her Calculus class, asking if she wanted to go to the movies that night since he really wanted to see one of the new releases but Hanna had arrangements with her mom. Paige knew she should decline, knew that she should go home with Emily and sort things out, but there was no harm in putting it off until a little bit later, right?

She felt guilty as she told Caleb she'd get him outside the theatre at half seven, already feeling nervous about telling Emily she was going to the movies.

They were on their way home after swim practice. Emily was much more talkative than she had been that morning; sure, it was small talk about school, but it was better than nothing.

Just as they were almost home, Paige decided to let Emily know of her plans for the evening. "I'm going to the movies with Caleb tonight, by the way," she said carefully, bracing herself for Emily to lose her temper again.

After a moment Emily replied in an overly cheery voice, "Oh, have fun then." That was it; that was all she said. Paige wondered if she should invite Emily along, but she realised that probably wouldn't be the best idea.

Emily didn't say anything else on the ride home or even once they were sitting in the living room watching TV. Paige knew she had hurt her once again and Emily was trying not to let it show. It was hard for her to see Emily like this, especially since she knew she was the cause of it.

Her leg bounced nervously up and down as she decided she would talk to Emily when she got home tonight. She was terrified; she knew once she said these things out loud there was no going back, no sticking her head in the sand and pretending the issue didn't exist; this would make it real.

Emily

Paige had left not long after dinner. Her mom had asked why she wasn't going with her, and rather than tell her she hadn't even been invited she made up an excuse that she had a test tomorrow to study for.

She then had no choice but to retreat to her room for the rest of the evening, where she did actually attempt to do some studying for the test she had on Thursday, but she was too distracted. She was on edge waiting for Paige to return, and was beginning to wish she had asked more about what movie was she going to see, how long it was and when she would be home so she could relax slightly.

When Paige had told her she was going to the movies with Caleb she had internally screamed; Emily was usually a patient person, but Paige was really testing her. She'd made the snap decision to play it cool, however, since Paige had made a tiny bit of progress today by acknowledging that there actually was something to talk about.

It was just after 10pm and Paige still hadn't returned. Emily got ready for bed with a sigh, wishing they could have talked tonight; she was sick of the tension and just wanted to be able to be herself around Paige again instead of having to tiptoe around her.

She crawled into bed, making sure to leave room for Paige by picking the side furthest away from the door. It felt surreal that Paige was going to be sleeping in her bed for the week. Amidst all the confusion between them, her stomach flipped excitedly. Emily rolled her eyes at herself, picking up her book to read since she didn't feel tired.

About fifteen minutes later, she heard the front door open and close downstairs. She tensed, unsure what to do. She opted for the easiest option, quickly placing her book on the floor at the side of the bed and flicking off her bedside lamp. She burrowed into the covers, lying on her side, facing away from the door.

She could hear Paige speaking to her parents in the living room, but she couldn't make out what she was saying. After a few minutes, she heard Paige making her way upstairs, quietly entering the bedroom. There was total silence for a moment, followed by a sigh and some rustling as Paige rummaged around her bag, presumably looking for her pyjamas.

She could feel her heart pounding as she listened to Paige undressing in the dark. She scrunched her eyes shut, willing her hormones to stay in check. It would do them no favours for Emily to jump on her the minute she slid into bed.

Emily heard Paige leave the room again, going down the hall and into the bathroom. Another five minutes went by, Emily wondering how Paige was feeling right now. Was she freaking out again? If Emily felt this nervous, she was willing to bet that Paige was a hundred times worse.

Paige came back and shut the door tightly behind her. Emily allowed herself a small smile when Paige whispered "shit" under her breath when she stumbled over something that was on the floor. She felt the covers beside her lift, a cool draft touching her briefly before the bed dipped and Paige climbed in beside her. The bed was big enough that they weren't touching, but Paige was close; Emily could feel the warmth emanating from her.

She sensed that Paige was facing away from her, and with that she let her eyes close. It was short lived however; she felt Paige shift onto her other side. "Em? Are you awake?" This surprised her; she had expected Paige to just go to sleep. She considered ignoring her and continuing to pretend to be asleep, but she didn't see what good that would do.

"Yeah," she whispered into the darkness.

"I'm sorry," Paige said after a beat. Emily was about to turn around to face her when Paige stopped her, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't. It's easier if you're not looking at me." Emily's brow furrowed. After a moment, Paige continued, her voice shaky. "I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you. I don't want to, but there's just something happening in my head that's making me. I can't explain it." Paige's fingers twitched against her shoulder as Emily held her breath.

"But obviously avoidance isn't working. Ever since we k-kissed, my head's been fuzzy. I can't think properly, especially when I'm around you." Emily couldn't help reaching up to lace her fingers with Paige's, letting her know she was here and listening. "I keep wishing it away, but it makes no difference." Emily knew exactly what Paige was talking about; it was like she describing her own thoughts from a few months ago. "I'm tired of pretending. I can't stop thinking about you," Paige whispered so quietly that Emily had to strain to hear. Emily's heart swelled and broke all at once; she was elated that Paige was finally admitting she had feelings for her, but she sounded so small and terrified that it made Emily's chest ache.

She slowly turned around, taking Paige's hand more fully in her own and giving it a light squeeze, before letting go and running her hand softly across Paige's forehead and into her hair, her hand resting on top of her head. Emily could make out Paige's eyes closing at the contact. "I know you're scared," Emily started, "and to be honest, I am too." It was true; this experience was as new to her as it was to Paige. "But I'm here for you, whatever you need. You can talk to me; you can trust me."

Emily felt her head nod under her hand, as Paige's hand moved to rest on her hip before moving around to her back and shuffling closer. Paige nestled her head into Emily's neck, her breath light against her skin. "Why is this so hard?" Paige mumbled.

Emily didn't have an answer for her; instead she just kissed the top of her head. They were quiet for a few minutes, Emily processing what Paige had told her. She knew there would be issues to come, but this was a start; a great start actually.

"Thank you," Paige murmured against her neck. Emily stroked her hand through Paige's hair.

"For what?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"For being so understanding and forgiving. I'm surprised you still want anything to do with me." There was a beat of silence before Paige added, "You do still want something to do with me, don't you?" Emily wanted to laugh, but she didn't because she could hear the insecurity in Paige's voice. She brought her head down to come face to face with Paige, kissing her gently on the lips.

"Of course I do," she stated against her mouth.

"Okay. Good," Paige said shyly, connecting their lips again. It was the chastest kiss they had shared yet, but that didn't mean Emily felt it any less. At that moment, she was lighter than air.

"Just promise me one thing," Emily said. "Please don't shut me out anymore."

Paige considered her words, before saying, "I'll try my best not to do that, I promise."

That was good enough for Emily for now; she took Paige's hand in hers, turning back over to face her desk, pulling Paige with her so that she was pressing into her back. She felt Paige nuzzle into her hair, their hands resting on Emily's stomach over her oversized t-shirt. "Night," Emily whispered.

"Goodnight," Paige answered, placing a light kiss onto her ear.

With Paige wrapped around her, her warmth at her back, Emily drifted off into the most peaceful sleep she'd had in months.

A/N: Yay! Finally we have some progress. This chapter was pretty challenging to write, what with the constant back and forth with Paige and her battle with her sexuality, but hopefully it turned out okay?

And can I just say how awesome (and pressurizing!) it is to have over 100 followers on this story? Wow, thank you so much. And your reviews are so kind, thanks for making me smile :)