Chapter 14

Paige

As soon as she got home from her grandparents, she rushed up to her room to call Emily. She hadn't seen her in seven days, and that was seven days too many as far as she was concerned.

She had a grin on her face as the phone rang out, the smile fading when Emily finally answered. "Hey." She sounded happy to hear from her but her voice sounded deeper than usual; rough.

"Hey," Paige replied, immediately concerned. "You okay?"

"Yeah- well, no, I have the flu- but I feel better now that you're home." Paige could sense that Emily was smiling even as she sniffed.

"Oh, Em," Paige sighed. "That sucks. Want me to come over?"

"No," Emily shot back quickly. "I don't want you getting sick."

"I don't care if I do," Paige stated honestly. "I just want to see you."

"Trust me, you don't," Emily snorted. "I'm channeling Rudolph here." Paige started laughing which set Emily off, Paige's heart feeling lighter at the sound of it; god, she had missed her. They sobered when Emily started spluttering, moving the phone away from her mouth so that all Paige could hear were muffled coughs in the background. Emily's hoarse voice became clearer again as she spoke back into the speaker. "Sorry."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come over? I can bring soup or something."

"I'm sure; don't worry, my mom's taking good care of me." Paige was disappointed that she was going to have to wait at least another day to see Emily (probably more going by the sound of it), but if she was really that unwell she probably just wanted to sleep.

Paige sighed. "Okay, I'll check in with you later then?"

"Okay." Emily paused. "I miss you."

Paige's heart clenched. "I miss you too; get better soon."

"So, what are you guys doing for New Year's?" asked Hanna. "I wanted to have you all 'round but my mom said no." She huffed.

It was later in the day, and Paige, Hanna, Spencer and Aria were aimlessly roaming the streets of Rosewood, catching up since everyone had been busy with family over Christmas.

"You can all come over to my house if you want?" Aria suggested. "My parents are having people over anyway and I think Mike probably is as well; it's only fair I do, too."

"Yes!" Hanna grinned excitedly, before her smile fell. "Oh wait, what about Caleb…"

"He can come too," Aria added, Hanna smiling as if she had been hoping that was what Aria would say. "And Toby. And if you want to bring anyone, Paige, you can." Aria leaned around Spencer to look at Paige as they walked, smiling as she lifted an eyebrow.

"Uh, thanks," Paige smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck and wondering if Emily would be well enough to go.

Aria seemed to have a similar thought. "I'll text Em and let her know; hopefully she's feeling better by then."

"Hey, can we go in here a sec?" Spencer was already heading into the music and DVD store before they had a chance to object.

Paige wandered up and down the aisles, flicking through some of the DVDs while Spencer went in search of an old record that she wanted to get Toby for his birthday. Nothing was really catching her eye until she spotted the familiar red lettering on the DVD box a few rows over. She walked towards it, picking it up with a small smile on her face.

RUDY.

The amount of times Emily had made her watch it…

Up until she had 'accidentally' snapped the disc, that was. Paige had quite liked it the first time she'd seen it; it was a good sports movie with the message to never give up even if all the odds are against you; but by the time she was watching it for the 50th time, she'd had enough. She'd told Emily that she'd dropped it and the disc had just randomly broken ("What are the chances of that happening?" she'd said).

Emily had been annoyed but Paige had promised she would buy her a new one; she just hadn't followed through on that yet. In fact, she hadn't ever seen it in a store since; she'd thought she'd have to get it online if she ever wanted to replace Emily's copy.

She figured that it was a sign from the universe to buy it, now, seeing it here. It would probably cheer Emily up. Paige just hoped that she wouldn't become obsessed with the movie again.

She quickly made her way to the counter, digging $10 out of her bag and handing the money to the assistant, looking around the store to see where her friends were. She panicked slightly when she saw Hanna walking towards her. "What're you buying?" she asked.

She was ready to brush off Hanna's question with a vague answer before she remembered she had vowed to herself a few days ago to become better about not being so paranoid. Don't lie. You don't need to lie.

The assistant handed Paige her change and the DVD, which she took out of the carrier bag briefly for Hanna to see. "Isn't that the movie you can't stand?"

"Yeah," Paige smiled. "It's for Emily, actually. It's one of her favourites; thought it might, you know, cheer her up a bit since she's feeling crappy." She forced herself to maintain eye contact with Hanna even though she felt the desperate urge to look away, scared that Hanna would be able to read her thoughts.

But there was no need to worry; all Hanna did was smile and say, "Aw, that's sweet," before moving past her to the counter to buy something of her own.

Paige blushed, dipping her head with a smile.

She made her way up to Emily's room after being let in by Pam, hoping that Emily wouldn't mind that she had ignored her warning not to come over.

She knocked the door lightly before pushing it open, seeing that Emily was lying in bed with the curtains drawn, her bedside table scattered with tissues, the glow from her laptop illuminating her face. Emily's eyes moved away from the screen, squinting in the direction of the door, a smile appearing on her lips when she realised it was Paige standing there.

"Paige," she groaned, shifting her laptop off to the side. "Just so you know, you're entering at your own risk."

Paige grinned, closing the door behind her as she moved towards Emily's bed. "I know, I know; I saw something in the DVD store that I thought you might like."

"Oh?" Emily said curiously, budging to the side so that Paige had enough room to sit on the bed. Paige handed her the carrier bag.

Emily reached inside to pull out the DVD, her face lighting up when she saw what it was. "Paige!" she exclaimed. "Where did you find this?"

"Just at the store a few streets down; I know, I was surprised to see it, too. I thought I had escaped it forever," she joked.

Emily caught Paige off guard by pulling her into a tight hug. "Thank you," she said into her neck. "You didn't need to do that; I know you hate it."

"I don't hate it," Paige mumbled.

Emily pulled back to look at her dubiously. "Oh really? Then why did you snap my old one?"

Paige was about to argue before she just laughed. "You knew about that, huh?" She shouldn't be surprised; she could never hide anything well from Emily.

"Of course I knew; when you drop a disc they don't break. You should think of a better explanation next time, but don't think I won't be guarding this one carefully." She hugged the DVD box to her chest with a grin, Paige feeling like she could explode with a swelling emotion at the sight of her.

Love.

The word popped into her head unexpectedly, but she realised that was the only one that could describe what she was feeling.

She leaned forward to kiss Emily, but was abruptly stopped with a finger to her lips.

Realising the problem, Paige kissed Emily's finger lightly before taking her hand in her own. "Em, I've already been exposed to what you've got now; kissing won't make any difference." She wasn't sure how accurate that statement actually was, but she didn't care; she needed to convey to Emily what she was feeling.

She began leaning in again, this time more slowly to give Emily a chance to pull away if she really didn't want to kiss her.

But she didn't pull away; their lips connected for the first time in a week and Paige felt like she was floating.

I'm in love with Emily.

The words were exhilarating and frightening all at once and they caused her heart to race. She wasn't sure why her brain picked this particular moment to give a name to the emotion she had been feeling for weeks, but she decided just to go with it.

She eventually pulled back, noticing that Emily was having difficulty breathing through her nose and Paige was becoming distracted by the temperature of her skin; she pressed a palm to her forehead. "You're really hot." Emily smirked, opening her mouth to say something smart. "Warm," Paige corrected herself with a head shake of amusement. "You're really warm. Are you taking meds?"

"Yes, Paige. Don't worry; my mom has it all sorted."

"Okay, good," Paige smiled, pressing a kiss to her head and standing up; Emily grabbed her hand.

"Where do you think you're going? We're watching 'Rudy'." Paige smiled, sighing. "Please?" Emily added.

Paige rolled her eyes. "Fine, if I must." She was happy that Emily wanted her to stay, even if it meant having to watch that damn movie again. She kicked off her shoes and lay down on the bed beside her.

Emily popped the DVD into her laptop before placing it on Paige's thighs and snuggling into her, resting her head on her chest; Paige hoped she couldn't hear how fast her heart was still beating; it was ridiculous; all they were doing was cuddling. How could Emily have this effect on her time and time again?

She willed herself to calm down, her hand playing with Emily's hair as they waited for the movie to load up. She heard Emily yawn. "You better not fall asleep on me, Em."

Emily buried her nose into her. "Sorry; I've not been sleeping well and you make a good pillow." Paige smiled into her hair, her hand moving down to stroke her fingers over Emily's shoulder. As Emily's hand curled into her shirt, she noticed that she was wearing the bracelet she had given her for Christmas.

She moved the hand that wasn't around Emily to trace her finger over the cool metal. "You're wearing it."

Emily gave a light laugh. "The only time I take it off is to shower." Paige felt insanely happy, knowing that she'd done exactly the same thing with her ring.

Paige pressed play on the laptop before lacing her fingers with Emily's across her stomach. "Did you get Aria's text?"

"Mhmm," Emily answered sleepily. It would be a miracle if Emily managed to see five minutes of the movie.

"And? Do you think you'll be better for then?" Paige wasn't usually a huge fan of New Year's, but she really wanted to be with Emily when the clock struck midnight; she felt like it was important. Maybe they could even sneak away for a minute so that Paige could kiss her.

"I hope so; if not, I'll come anyway," Emily said, her words slurring together. Paige gave up trying to talk to her, figuring that she needed the rest. She focused on the laptop screen, already remembering every detail of the movie. A few minutes later, she heard Emily's slow, deep breathing indicating that she was asleep.

She shook her head with a smile, stroking her fingers over Emily's hand that was still interlocked with her own.

I'm so in love with you.

She jerked awake when her phone started vibrating in her pocket, just managing to catch the laptop before it slid off her thighs and onto the floor. After a moment of disorientation, she struggled to get her phone out of her jeans since Emily was trapping her right arm (now painfully numb).

Finally wrestling it free, she saw that it was her mom calling. "He-" She had to clear her throat. "Hello?"

"Paige? I thought you said you would be home for dinner?" Shit. She had no idea what time it was, but she must have been asleep for at least two hours if she was late home.

"Sorry, Mom. I lost track of the time, I'll be home soon."

"Okay, I'll put your plate back in the oven to keep it warm. Where are you, anyway?"

Paige scrunched her eyes shut. "I'm, uh, I'm at Emily's." She hoped she didn't sound half-awake because she wasn't sure she could explain that away efficiently in her current groggy state.

Thankfully her mom didn't question her further; she said goodbye and hung up. She put her phone on the bed and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up. She felt that horrible sick way she did after she had a nap - although sleeping for two hours during the day could hardly be considered a nap.

Emily was still sound asleep, her hand clenching around the material of Paige's shirt as if to try and keep her there. Paige reluctantly loosened her hold, slowly shifting her arm out from underneath her, trying not to grunt in pain at the pins and needles in her arm.

She moved Emily's head gently onto the pillow and sat up, placing the laptop on the floor as she reached for her shoes and slipped them on. She sat on the edge of the bed as she waited for the feeling to return to her arm, watching Emily sleep, unable to resist running her hand through her hair. She was so beautiful, even with her 'Rudolph' nose.

She placed a soft kiss to her forehead before standing, pulling the covers back up to Emily's shoulders. She quietly exited the bedroom and made her way downstairs. "Bye, Mrs Fields," she said in the direction of the couch where Pam was sitting as she opened the door.

"Paige!"

She stopped in her tracks, popping her head past the door frame to look back into the house. "Yeah?"

Pam had stood up and was walking towards her, her hands wringing together and her mouth opening. She seemed to be struggling with something. Paige raised her eyebrows questioningly.

Pam shut her mouth again, giving her a small smile and waving her hand. "Never mind. Tell your parents I said hi."

Paige frowned slightly in confusion. "Okay…" she smiled hesitantly. "Bye."

Pam came to shut the door behind her as she made her way down the path. Paige threw a wave over her shoulder as Pam watched her walk away. She shoved her hands into her pockets, feeling awkward.

What the hell?

Emily

She knew before she opened her eyes that Paige was gone, but she still reached her hand out into the empty space where she had been lying. She opened her eyes with a sigh, seeing the room was significantly darker than it had been before she had fallen asleep. She turned her head to look at her alarm clock, groaning as the pounding headache she'd had for two days returned in full force.

She'd been asleep for over three hours; no wonder Paige had left. Emily reached for her phone to text an apology.

Sorry I fell asleep! You're just too comfy. We'll watch rudy next time :P

She closed her eyes again with a smile, still unable to believe how sweet Paige could be. Her phone buzzed with Paige's reply.

Oh, that's okay, we don't have to ;) Btw, have you spoken to your mom since I left? She was acting weird. I fell asleep too, what if she saw us?

The words sent adrenaline coursing through her veins instantly. She sat up, running her hand through her hair, swallowing hard.

Crap.

It was completely possible that her mom could have seen them; she'd been checking up on Emily regularly to see if her fever had gone down any or to see if she needed anything.

She quickly typed back a reply. I haven't, but I'll go speak to her now, I'm sure it's nothing.

Although she wasn't sure at all.

She dragged herself out of the bed, making her way downstairs slowly, the bright lights of the house hurting her eyes. "Hey," she croaked, feeling nervous as she padded into the living room and sat down beside her mom on the couch.

"Hi, honey. Feeling any better?" Her mom held out her palm; Emily leaned forward so that she could feel her forehead. "Hmm, think your temperature might have gone down a little but it's still higher than normal. You still need to rest."

Emily sniffed, starting to feel slightly better than she had been before her sleep now that she was awake properly; she wasn't entirely sure though whether that was because of the sleep, or because of Paige.

She stared blankly at the TV as she thought about how to ask if her mom had seen her and Paige sleeping without actually asking. Even if she had, Emily could just pass it off as two friends cuddling (even though she had a feeling it might have blatantly looked a bit more intimate than that).

"My head still hurts and my muscles still ache, but l feel a bit better after that sleep I just had," she started, looking to the side to see if her mom had any reaction as she said, "Paige bought me a new copy of 'Rudy'."

"That's good, sweetie," she smiled, shooting her a smile before looking back at the TV. "If you keep resting you should be fine in a few days."

Her mom hadn't acknowledged the comment about Paige buying the DVD, but she wasn't giving Emily any indication that she knew anything either. Emily expected to be relieved, but all she could feel was disappointment. In a way, it would have been better; if her mom brought up the conversation in the first place it would be so much easier for her to tell her she was gay rather than having to build up the courage to come out with that information on her own.

Although, if she came out after this particular situation, that would give Paige away as well, she realised.

She sighed under her breath; she wanted to tell her mom soon, but it couldn't be today. It would probably be better to wait until her dad was here as well, she reckoned.

She sent another text to Paige so that she wouldn't worry.

She knows nothing.

It was New Year's Eve, and Emily was thankfully almost back to normal; and even better, Paige didn't seem to be showing any symptoms of the flu. She was looking forward to just being able to relax and have a good night, hopefully bringing in the New Year by kissing Paige. She wasn't sure how she was going to go about doing that just yet, but she was adamant on making it happen.

She had decided to wear a blue cocktail dress to Aria's, and was just picking out shoes to go with it when there were two loud raps on her door before it swung open.

It was Hanna. "Hey, what's up?" Emily asked, Hanna barging into the room and dumping a dress and make-up bag onto Emily's bed.

"My hair straighteners just exploded, that's what's up," she said irritably. "Can I use yours?" Emily snorted; as if Hanna had given her much choice in the matter. She pointed in the direction of where they were lying on top of her dresser.

Hanna stood in front of Emily's mirror as she straightened the rest of her hair, Emily continuing to look for shoes to go with the dress. "Is that what you're wearing?" Emily poked her out of the closet to see Hanna nodding towards the dress that was hung up on her door.

"Yup," Emily said. She held up a pair of heels. "Think these will go with it?"

Hanna nodded. "Yeah, that'll be cute," she smiled, turning back to face the mirror. Emily excused herself to use the bathroom, returning to see Hanna unplugging the straighteners and moving to sit on her bed.

Emily didn't think anything of it until she noticed Hanna shifting uncomfortably on top of the covers.

Shit.

Hanna rooted around under the duvet for the source of her discomfort, Emily freezing and instantly regretting sleeping with Paige's hoodie last night. She hadn't even worn it- she had been too warm- just slept with it like a sort of blanket to snuggle into. She knew she was bordering on being a giant loser, but sometimes she just needed Paige close, and since she couldn't have the real thing…

She quickly busied herself, looking through her make-up sitting on her desk, hoping that Hanna wouldn't mention anything; she was being as paranoid as Paige now.

"Why do you have Paige's old hoodie?"

Or maybe she wasn't.

Shit. Shit.

"Huh?" Emily said looking over her shoulder, stalling, desperately trying to think of something to say. "Oh, that's not Paige's, it's mine," she said as casually as she could, turning away from Hanna.

Just as she thought she had gotten away with the lie, Hanna said, "No, it's not; Paige's had this small hole in the sleeve." She held it up to show her. "See? I clearly remember telling Paige she needed to get a new one because this one could walk its way to the garbage."

"Oh, maybe it is Paige's then; we must have got them mixed up in the locker room or something." Emily was becoming increasingly nervous; she walked to the window, looking out of it more for the sake of something to do than actually wanting to see outside.

"Why are you acting weird?" Hanna said, sounding confused.

"I'm not," Emily shot back, cringing at how weird she sounded. She cleared her throat, saying, "Looks like the Cavanaughs' got a new mailbox," in a pathetic attempt to change the subject. She turned around when she heard a loud gasp; Hanna was clasping her hand tightly over her mouth, eyes wide.

Aww, crap.

The game was up; Hanna had figured it out. Emily had known it was only a matter of time before someone found out; secrets always had a way of making themselves known.

"Oh. My. God," Hanna finally said, lowering her hand slowly. "It's her, isn't it? It's Paige you've been seeing?" Emily could only put her head in her hands, already stressed about this new situation. "Wow; my head just exploded." There was silence as Hanna obviously began processing this new information. "Things make much more sense now," she suddenly said. "The secrecy over who you were seeing; you and Paige fighting… I don't know how I didn't see it before."

Emily heard Hanna stand and walk over to her. She pulled her hands away from her face. "Em! Will you look at me? This is great!"

Emily sighed. "No, it's not, Hanna. Paige will probably freak when I tell her that you know. I wouldn't be surprised if she calls the whole thing off…" Tears sprung to her eyes at the thought, causing a look of concern to grace Hanna's face.

"Hey," Hanna said, hugging her. "She doesn't need to know that I know."

Emily worried her lip between her teeth. "But I can't lie to her; I feel bad enough as it is not telling her that you know I'm seeing someone."

Hanna pulled back. "It's not lying; it's just not offering the whole truth." Emily raised an eyebrow doubtfully. "What? It's a thing," Hanna assured her. Emily shook her head, making her way to sit on the bed, not feeling any better about the idea of keeping this from Paige. Hanna followed. "Look, there's no point in worrying about it tonight; it's New Year's! You can decide what to do later."

After a moment, Emily agreed. "You're right. Tonight isn't the night to be stressing over this." She looked at Hanna, who had a slow grin spreading over her face. Emily sniffed, feeling a smile tugging at her own lips, and before long they were both laughing.

"So, you're in love with Paige, huh?" Hanna hit Emily's knee. Emily smiled at hearing that sentence out loud for the first time, nodding. She didn't think that Hanna could look any happier; she wished that Paige were here to see the reaction. "This is so amazing, Em."

"I know," she nodded, the thought crossing her mind every day that she and Paige had been together. They fell into a brief silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Then suddenly, Hanna gasped again, making Emily jump. "What?"

"Sorry, I just realised that two of my best friends have had sex - with each other."

"Jeez, Hanna…"

They finally made their way to Aria's, but not before Hanna made her give an overview of her relationship with Paige. She'd kept it brief, telling her she had liked Paige for months, and that things between them had started at Noel Kahn's party when they'd kissed, resulting in an argument (she kept the details about that blurry) and weeks of tension and confusion until they officially admitted their feelings for each other when Paige was staying at her house for the week.

Hanna had listened intently as Emily spoke, totally wrapped up in the story, and Emily found that she was wrapped up in telling it. Hanna had squealed when Emily had taken off her bracelet to show her the engraving on the inside of it, saying, "Who knew Paige McCullers was a romantic? And to think she teased Caleb about giving me flowers on our anniversary…"

They walked into Aria's, seeing the house was heaving with people. "Hey!" Aria greeted them, making her way through the crowd. "Glad you could make it." She hugged them both. "Good to see you finally up and about, Em." They followed Aria into the living room where Paige, Caleb, Spencer and Toby had claimed their own small space amongst the group of adults at the back corner of the room. Toby was perched on the edge of a sofa, Spencer leaning into him; Paige and Caleb were sitting cross-legged on the floor, Emily almost laughing at the looks on both of their faces as they saw them.

Paige's eyes flicked down the length of her body, the slightest of smiles appearing on her face. Paige and Caleb stood up to make more room for them; Paige was wearing what looked like black leather pants with boots that were laced up to her knees and a black vest over Emily's favourite dark green shirt; she looked hot. Emily swallowed, trying her best not stare.

They all greeted each other, Hanna kissing Caleb chastely before hugging Paige as Emily hugged Spencer. Emily had to give Hanna credit; her poker face was immaculate. To Paige, that would have just seemed like a normal hug, but Emily knew it was more than that; Hanna was hugging Paige in support of her and her relationship with Emily.

Emily said a quick 'hi' to Toby and Caleb before wrapping her arms around Paige tightly, pressing a subtle kiss into her shoulder.

Aria had gone to get them drinks, returning and handing them cups full of what looked like Coke. Hanna took a sip, screwing her face up. "Hey, there's no alcohol in this."

Aria looked around before lowering her voice, saying, "We might be able to swipe some later when the adults are a bit more… looser."

"No need," Hanna said, rooting around in her purse. "I brought this just in case." She discreetly showed them the tip of a flask, turning her back to conceal it as she poured some of its contents into her cup.

"If we get caught I'm handing you over," Aria smirked before handing her cup to Hanna to get her share. Once all of their drinks were a little stronger, they all squeezed to sit in a circle on the floor. There almost wasn't room for Emily to sit beside Paige, but Hanna managed to pull Caleb over slightly; so casually that it was virtually unnoticeable to anyone but her.

She smiled to herself; Hanna knowing about them was already beginning to have its perks.

There were fifteen minutes to go until midnight and everyone was starting to get drinks ready to ring in the New Year. Emily was starting to fidget; she wasn't sure how to manoeuvre herself and Paige away from the group without drawing attention to it.

Paige kept shooting her looks anxiously, obviously thinking along the same lines. Paige sighed, standing up. "Be back in a minute, need to pee." Once she had left, Hanna scooted over into the vacant space beside Emily.

Caleb was currently talking to Aria, and Toby was mumbling something into Spencer's ear, so no one noticed when Hanna started quietly talking to her. "Go take Paige into the yard; I'll make sure Caleb and I make-out at the back door so that no one can interrupt you."

Emily smiled slowly at Hanna's plan; it was perfect. If she could get Caleb to cooperate without giving anything away, that was. "Wait, how? Seems like a weird place to want to make-out."

"Em, just go; trust me, I got this." Hanna smiled affectionately at her.

"You're the best," Emily said quickly, standing up and swaying slightly, feeling a bit tipsy from Hanna's flask. She brushed down her dress, hoping it wasn't crushed too badly. "Back in a second," she said to the group even though no one was really paying attention. She waited impatiently for Paige to exit the bathroom, grinning when she finally appeared behind the door. She nodded her head in the direction of the backyard for Paige to follow.

Emily opened the door, the fresh air hitting her immediately. She might have been cold if it weren't for the heat of the house and the buzz of the alcohol in her system. She looked around, grinning when she saw that there was no one else out here. Paige closed the door hesitantly behind her, a small smile on her face.

"Do you think we're safe out here?"

Yes, we have guards at the door.

"I think so; we'll just need to keep an ear out for the door opening." Smiles spread across their faces, Emily yanking Paige into her. They kissed intensely due to the tension built up from being near each other all night and not being able to touch apart from a sly brush of an arm or a leg. Emily pushed Paige into the wall of the house, pulling back with a smirk.

"You look so hot in this outfit." She ran her hands over Paige's vest as she stepped back to look down at her. Paige laughed, catching her hands in her own.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you're looking pretty hot yourself." Paige pulled her close again, her hand reaching down to run up the back of her bare thigh, pushing her dress up as she went.

"Paige," Emily giggled.

"Sorry," she said, not looking sorry at all, nipping at her lips. "I can't help it." They kissed again, slowly; deeply.

Paige broke away, her expression suddenly serious. After a moment, she said, "Em, I want to tell you something." Emily was instantly alert.

"What?" she asked, concerned.

Paige unfastened the top button of her shirt and took Emily's hand, slipping it underneath the material, laying Emily's palm flat against her warm skin. "Feel that?" Emily was momentarily confused. She raised her eyebrows, causing Paige to shift her hand slightly lower.

"Paige, what-" And that's when she felt it; Paige's racing heart.

Her face must have indicated she now understood what Paige was talking about, because Paige continued. "This- this is what you do to me." Emily looked up from their hands under Paige's shirt and into her eyes, which were looking at her so intensely that it left her breathless. "I love you, Emily."

The words took Emily aback; she hadn't expected Paige to say those words first, or even at all. Is this real?

Paige leaned forward to kiss her, bringing her out of her brief moment of shock. Emily responded, her hand slipping up from Paige's chest to her neck, eventually tangling in the back of her hair. She pulled back with a small laugh, a single tear escaping from the corner of her eye. "I love you, too." Paige grinned widely, wiping away the tear and kissing her again before burying her face against her neck in a hug.

"You're not just saying that because you're drunk, are you?" Emily half-joked, suddenly worrying that was the case.

Paige looked at her once again. "I'm not drunk," she stated firmly. Emily raised an eyebrow; she had seen how many top-ups from Hanna's flask she'd had. "I'm tipsy, not drunk, and yeah; maybe that gave me the courage to tell you, but know that I mean every word."

Emily searched Paige's warm brown eyes, seeing only the truth reflected back at her, finally saying, "Okay," and hugging her again with a smile. They stood like that for a few minutes, Emily contemplating the night's events. Maybe Paige could handle more than she thought? Emily had thought telling her she loved her would be too much for her to handle right now, but Paige had been the one to say it, first, and with absolutely no pressure to do so.

Emily suddenly had the urge to tell her about Hanna so that it wasn't hanging over her. She couldn't keep it from her, not now; not when Paige had just opened up to her like that. She was just about to speak when they suddenly heard the countdown from inside the house.

"10! 9! 8!"

They looked at each other with a smile, waiting for the moment. She would just need to tell Paige later; soon.

"4! 3! 2! 1!"

They kissed, cupping each other's cheeks in their hands as cheers filled the air from inside the house and all around the neighbourhood.

"Happy New Year," Emily whispered against Paige's lips.

Paige smiled, resting her forehead against Emily's. "Happy New Year."

A/N: Thanks for the reviews and follows, as always :)