Chapter 16

Emily

She knew she should get out of bed and go for a run or swim - do something- before school, but she lacked the energy to move. She sighed, looking at her phone hopefully, closing her eyes and rolling onto her side when she saw there was no message from Paige waiting for her to open.

She knew it had only been around a day and a half since the incident in the bathroom, but it had felt like weeks; she couldn't stand not knowing where she stood with Paige; she would even take Paige yelling at her over this sickening silence.

She finally got out of bed once she was bordering on being late for school. If it was up to her she would have skipped again, but she felt like she owed it to her parents to make an effort to go.

She suddenly felt a spike of anxiety that had nothing to do with Paige shoot through her; she hadn't seen her mom since her dad had told her that she was gay. She had decided to stay in her room last night, giving her parents time to digest the information without pressure from her. She was curious to know what they had said between them on the subject, but at the same time she really didn't want to know.

She had no idea how her mom had reacted, but as she got dressed she began to worry that she'd taken it worse than anticipated. She could have come up to Emily's room last night to speak to her, but she hadn't.

She grabbed her bag from her desk chair, making her way downstairs nervously. Walking into the dining room, her dad looked up from his coffee, giving her a brief smile which made Emily calm slightly. At least she had his support.

"Morning," she said tentatively, her eyes flitting to her mom who was staring down at her lap.

"Morning," her dad replied, standing up. "Breakfast?"

"Just toast please," she said almost shyly, placing a piece of hair behind her ear and heading to sit opposite her mom at the table. "Morning, Mom," she said gently, trying to get her to at least look at her.

She looked up quickly. "Morning." She gave a tight-lipped smile that didn't meet her eyes; Emily's heart sank.

"So, what do you think about take-out tonight?" her dad asked as he popped two slices of bread into the toaster. "We could maybe rent a movie; have a bit of family time?"

Emily forced a smile onto her face at his hopeful expression. He really was trying; Emily had to be grateful for that. "Sounds good, Dad." Although, to be honest, Emily wasn't sure that it did.

"I need to get started with the housework," her mom muttered, standing up and leaving the room, Emily watching her retreating form helplessly.

"Hey," her dad said quietly, walking over and rubbing her shoulder. "Just give her time. This has been a bit of a shock; she just needs time to process." He gave her a reassuring smile that didn't make Emily feel any better.

She could already tell that tonight was going to be great.

Paige

Most of her anger had disappeared; in its place was a hollow sadness; a longing for things to be right between her and Emily again.

She hadn't forgiven her, not yet; but she was feeling much more open to having a discussion about what had happened.

She walked into school, making her way to her locker, seeing that Emily was already at her own. It was like she sensed her coming; Emily looked in Paige's direction before quickly looking away, beginning to dig around in her locker in what Paige assumed was an effort to make herself look busy.

She headed directly towards her, fighting the urge to turn around and go back home and put this off for another day. "Hey," she said quietly, leaning against the lockers.

Emily turned her head sharply, looking surprised that Paige had actually spoken to her. "Hi," she said hesitantly, her demeanour immediately turning from sad to hopeful.

Paige stuffed her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket, shifting uncomfortably, not wanting to give Emily the false idea that everything was okay again.

They fell into a silence, Paige staring at her feet, trying to decide what to say. "So, I'm ready to talk."

"Okay," Emily said softly. Paige continued to stare at the floor. Emily cautiously put a hand on her arm. "Paige." She looked up slowly to meet Emily's gaze. "I'm so sorry." Paige knew it was the truth; she could see it on her face; in her eyes.

Paige cleared her throat and moved away, Emily's hand falling from her arm. "Later," she said past the lump in her throat. "After school." And with that, she walked off to her first class, trying to forget the crushed expression on Emily's face.

She didn't see Emily again until English; the period was spent with Paige trying to ignore Emily's not-so-subtle side-glances at her, finally cracking and looking back, only for Emily's eyes to flit away.

It was safe to say that Paige didn't take in a word of what Mr Fitz had said, which was unfortunate as it seemed to have been important; he was now handing them out pieces of paper with an assignment on it, Paige groaning under her breath when she saw it was worth 30% of their final grade.

Shit; she would just need to ask Spencer for help later if she needed it.

The bell rang. Paige slowly packed up her stuff, hoping that her friends would leave first so that she could skip out on having lunch with them like she had yesterday. Even if Emily had similar thoughts and ditched too, she was scared of what Spencer and Aria might say; they couldn't not have noticed that something was up with her and Emily.

She looked around the almost empty classroom, her shoulders sagging in relief when she couldn't see any of them. She walked out of the class, turning the corner and almost banging into Hanna who had obviously been waiting on her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"A walk," Paige grumbled as she tried to side-step her; Hanna moved with her, blocking the way past. Paige sighed, tilting her head to the side. "Get out of my way, Hanna."

"So, what? You're going to avoid sitting with us from now on? Ignoring the problem won't make it go away, Paige. You need to speak to Emily."

"I know!" she snapped back, still feeling weird that Hanna knew about this aspect of her life. "Not that it's any of your business, but I've already arranged to speak with Emily after school, so back off." She knew a lot of people would have flinched at her harsh tone, but not Hanna.

"Good; maybe things can get back to normal then. I can't stand this." Hanna couldn't stand it? How did she think Paige felt?

Paige stared Hanna down until she finally moved to the side to let her past. "Fine, I'll let you go, but you're sitting with us again starting Monday." Paige would do no such thing if she didn't want to. "There are only so many times I can tell Spencer and Aria that your sickness bug is playing up, especially if it only keeps coming on at lunch time."

Hanna gave her a brief smile before heading off to the cafeteria; Paige felt bad; she almost wanted to shout her back and thank her; Hanna had been nothing but supportive of her, and was now going out of her way to lie for her, yet here Paige was, treating her like shit.

She sighed.

She vowed to do better; to be better.

The day's swim practice didn't go very well; she was too distracted about the looming conversation with Emily to pay much attention to what she was doing. Coach Fulton blew the whistle to signal the end of practice, shouting, "Paige! Emily! Come to my office please!"

Paige pulled off her swim cap and goggles, walking to Coach's office, knowing she was about to get a lecture for skipping two practices this week with no apparent reason. Although Emily had text her that she wasn't going to practice yesterday, it was the last thing Paige had felt like doing. She'd wanted to be alone.

She reached the office before Emily did, jumping slightly as their arms brushed when Emily came to stand beside her.

"So," Coach Fulton started. "I'm glad you both decided to show today, even if your performances weren't exactly stellar. What's going on?" She lifted her hands up, sitting back in her chair, looking at a loss as she waited for their explanation.

Paige decided to go with the sickness bug excuse. "I've really not been well the last couple of days, Coach. Sorry." She put her hand on her stomach for emphasis.

She felt Emily shift next to her. "Um, same." Paige almost gave Emily a scathing look; that sounded like a blatant lie, which made her lie sound blatant.

Coach Fulton raised her eyebrows skeptically, but neither of them commented further. "Okay then," she said with a sigh. "I'm not sure if I believe that, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt- this time. Just remember that you two are the captains; you need to set a good example for your team mates. Keep that in mind. You may go." Paige walked with her head down as they left the office, feeling guilty that she had let Coach down, frustrated that this whole situation was now affecting every area of her life.

The rest of the team had already showered and were getting dressed by the time they entered the locker room, meaning it was just the two of them in the showers. They stood at opposite ends, Paige making sure she faced the wall the whole time, rinsing her hair as quickly as possible.

She walked to her locker, toweling off so hastily that her skin wasn't dry properly by the time she was throwing on her clothes, her t-shirt sticking uncomfortably to her skin. She could sense Emily getting dressed a few lockers over; she had to get out.

Without giving Emily a glance, she swung her bag over her shoulder and marched into the hallway, leaning against a wall and taking in a deep breath. She had the urge to leave the school altogether, and before she knew it she was out in the parking lot, ready to unchain her bike and cycle home.

She closed her eyes, taking a moment to think.

No. She couldn't run away from this. She had to speak to her.

She spotted Emily's car, heading towards it and leaning against the hood. She must have been standing there for at least ten minutes before she saw Emily exiting the school, who froze on the spot when she saw Paige waiting on her.

After a moment, she began to move again, Paige getting more anxious the closer she got.

"I thought you'd bailed on me," Emily said, coming to a stop in front of her. All Paige could do was shrug, not telling her that she almost had. Emily cleared her throat nervously. "So, where do you want to talk? We could just sit in my car? Or I could drive us somewhere-"

"Actually, how about a walk?" Paige couldn't bear being in an enclosed space with Emily right now; it was too much. Also, the fresh air helped to keep her head clear; helped to keep her calm.

"Okay," Emily replied unsurely. "Whatever you want." She walked around her, opening the trunk of the car and placing her bag inside it. She held her hand out, obviously signalling for Paige to hand her own bag over.

Paige sighed, walking over and giving Emily the bag, trying to ignore the way Emily's hand brushed hers; trying to ignore how she ached to hold it, even after everything.

Emily closed the trunk with a thud, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. "Ready?"

Paige nodded.

They ended up walking on the nature trail that took them through the woods of Rosewood. They didn't talk, Paige lost in thought, Emily seemingly giving her time to think.

Paige sat down on a bench situated beside the dirt path about ten minutes into the woods, the area totally deserted; Emily sat beside her. There was another silence before Emily quietly said, "Did you get my voicemail?"

Paige almost laughed; she had listened to that message so many times that she could probably recite it off by heart. "Yeah."

"So you know why I did what I did?" Emily paused. "I thought it would be best if I kept it from you- you know, because of your anxiety?" Emily shifted uncomfortably, Paige looking away.

"That doesn't make it right," she stated, closing her eyes and taking in a breath.

"I know," Emily said sadly. "Trust me; I know." After a brief pause, she said, "Did you honestly think I would tell Hanna about us?" She sounded hurt.

Paige shrugged. "Honestly? I didn't know what to think; nothing made sense that day."

"I would never deliberately betray you, Paige. You have to know that." Deep down, she did know. No matter what thoughts had crossed her mind the past few days, she knew she could trust Emily with her life.

"Does anyone else know?" she asked, changing the subject. That day Spencer was giving her weird looks flashed into her head.

"No; of course not," Emily replied quickly. "Not that I know of, anyway."

Paige nodded slowly. "Okay." This was good; their secret was still safe for now. But if Hanna could figure it out, then that meant other people could too. They would need to be more careful.

"Paige." Emily slowly placed her hand on her shoulder. "Please look at me." Paige continued to stare at the ground, her eyes closing slowly when Emily's cool hand slipped to the back of her neck. Paige could feel all the anxiety draining away as Emily's fingers traced softly over her skin, toying with the hair at the nape of her neck. Paige turned her head towards her but kept her eyes closed.

She felt Emily getting closer, resting their foreheads together. "Paige, please forgive me," she whispered. She sounded broken; desperate.

Paige felt the last of the fight leave her. She pulled Emily into a hug, feeling Emily sigh into her, her body relaxing. Paige breathed her in, never wanting to let go of her again.

Emily pulled back slightly, cupping her cheek and kissing her gently. "Promise you won't lie to me ever again," Paige said quietly against Emily's lips. "I don't care how bad it is; just, don't lie."

"I won't, I promise," Emily murmured, hugging her again, Paige feeling the most at ease she had been since everything had gone wrong. She sighed, burying her nose into Emily's hair.

After a minute or two, she heard Emily mumble, "There's something that I think you should be the first to know." Paige stilled as Emily pulled back, the moment of calmness evaporating. God, what was it now?

Emily took her hand, looking nervous again; Paige's heart sped up. "Last night- I didn't plan it, it just happened- but, I was talking to my dad and-" She took a breath. "I ended up coming out to him."

It took a moment for Paige to process the information; she sat back on the bench, her hand going slack in Emily's.

Things were snowballing out of control; just as she thought she was getting onto a level ground with Emily, she pulled the rug out from under her, jumping ahead of her again; Paige was stuck, and Emily was moving further and further away from her; she would never be able to catch up.

"Congratulations," she said, her voice toneless, running a hand over her face.

Emily squeezed her hand. "Hey, this doesn't have to affect us."

Paige snorted bitterly. "Are you serious? Of course it does." Paige suddenly became irritated. "You could have at least talked to me about this before you went ahead and-" A frustrated noise escaped her throat; just as things were getting back on track…

Emily frowned, letting go of her hand. "I just told you that I didn't plan it; it just happened. The timing felt right." Paige didn't think the timing could have been worse. After her lack of response, Emily exhaled heavily. "You ask me to be honest with you, yet you go in a mood when I am. I can't win." Emily stood up, pacing around in front of the bench, looking at the ground as she scuffed her boot into the dirt.

Paige continued to sit, thinking about what this meant for them. It would be more challenging, but they could still work; they could. She shook her head with a sigh, trying to clear all negativity from her mind. "You're right; I'm sorry."

Emily looked up from the ground at her. She didn't smile, but she at least sat back down beside her. Paige took her hand to add to her apology. "How did your dad take it then?"

"Pretty well, actually," Emily said, a slight smile on her lips.

Of course, Paige thought. Of course Emily's dad would have taken it well; Emily and her perfect family. "What about your mom?"

Paige felt Emily's shoulders slump. "My mom- well, let's just say that she doesn't seem quite as accepting. I asked my dad to tell her, but going by the way she acted this morning I think she's going to pretend that it never happened." Paige put her arm around Emily, feeling guilty for the comments that had just passed through her head.

"At least that's it done though; it's such a- I don't know- relief, I guess. That doesn't even feel like a strong enough word." Emily sighed. "You'll know what I mean once you tell your parents."

Paige's thumb stilled where it had been absent-mindedly stroking Emily's shoulder. "What do you mean? Who says I'm telling my parents?" Why was Emily saying that?

Emily exhaled sharply in an almost-laugh, shifting on the bench so she could look straight at her, gripping Paige's hand that fell from around her shoulder. "Paige, I don't mean right now obviously, but you do realise you'll have to tell them at some point, don't you?" Emily creased her eyebrows together in a worried expression.

"I can't," Paige snapped automatically, not wanting or willing to process the thought.

"Yes, you can. I know it doesn't feel that way right now, but trust me; you will get to that stage." Emily smiled encouragingly. "I remember when-"

"God, you're so naive," Paige stated, cutting her off. She didn't want to hear an 'it-gets-better' speech right now.

Emily

Emily frowned, anger flaring up inside her. Paige had some nerve to call her that; Emily wasn't the one living in some fantasy world where they could be in a relationship and no one would ever notice. "No, you're naive if you think you can hide forever; one day you're going to have to accept that; accept that you're not your parent's idea of perfect; your dad's idea of perfect." Paige had looked away from her; Emily knew she didn't want to hear what she was saying, but she needed to. She latched onto the subject of her dad, figuring that that was where most of Paige's anxiety had to be stemming from.

"I don't understand why he has such a hold over you, but he does, and it's affecting you in a serious way. He pushes you way too hard; has these expectations that you can't possibly meet every time. And that's okay, Paige; you don't have to. I just wish you would realise that." She sucked in a deep, calming breath; she had been holding these words in for a while.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Paige muttered under her breath. Emily knew she had hit a nerve.

She turned Paige's head to look at her, her heart breaking at the deep sadness she found in her tear-brimmed eyes. "Look, I know it's hard, but you will have to tell him- and your mom- at some point, or you'll end up being too scared to live your life properly." Emily couldn't stand the thought of Paige having to struggle with this for years to come; she deserved more. She deserved to be happy.

Paige closed her eyes, the tears spilling down her cheeks. "Not everyone's as brave as you, Emily," Paige whispered.

Emily was taken aback; she didn't think of herself as brave. If she was brave she wouldn't have kept all of these thoughts that were now pouring out of her from Paige in the first place; she wouldn't have kept Hanna knowing about their relationship from Paige; maybe this whole situation would have been better if Emily had been just a little bit brave.

"I'm not brave, Paige." She swiped her thumb over one of Paige's tears, smearing it sideways. "I'm just tired. Aren't you?"

Paige opened her eyes, Emily holding her breath. She saw a flicker of something cross her face; Emily's heart jumped into her throat.

She'd gotten through to Paige; Paige understood what she was saying.

Paige opened her mouth. "I can't, I'm sorry."

And just like that, her world came crashing down. Emily let go of Paige's face, sitting back numbly against the bench. She couldn't continue in this cycle anymore; couldn't handle this kind of drama every time something didn't go to Paige's plan. Someone else would find out about them; she didn't know who or when, but they would; it was inevitable. And so would be Paige's explosive reaction if she refused to budge on her current mind-set. It wasn't healthy, for either of them.

With that brief glimpse into their future, Emily swallowed; she knew what she had to do. "I can't do this anymore," she whispered into her lap, hating the words as they left her mouth. "I thought I could, but I can't. It's too hard."

She could feel Paige staring at her. After a moment, she said, "Wait, what?"

Emily sniffed, trying to stop herself from breaking down, looking resolutely back up at Paige. "I can't do this anymore," she repeated in a firmer tone, Paige's eyes going wide as she realised what she meant. Emily had to force herself continue. "This isn't good for either of us. It's not working."

"Wait, Em, no-"

Emily started shaking her head as the tears started to fall. "It's the only way; I don't know what else to do." She couldn't believe how ten minutes ago she was melting into Paige in relief of being forgiven, and now here she was, breaking up with her. Her heart couldn't take this many ups and downs.

Paige reached out to grab her hand. "You're not serious; you can't be." She stared at Emily, as if waiting for her to suddenly laugh and say 'kidding!'

Paige took in a big gasp of air when it sunk in that this wasn't some cruel joke; that Emily was 100% serious. "Emily," she said desperately, "No. We can't-" She groaned in frustration. "No. I'll be better, I swear."

Emily shook her head again, knowing that Paige was just saying that; Emily wasn't sure if even Paige was aware of how deep her issues ran. She knew that Paige would want to be even more secretive now that Hanna knew; now that Emily was out; Emily knew how her mind worked. Emily couldn't go backwards; not anymore.

She clasped Paige's hand between her own. "I'll always be here for you, but it has to be as a friend, nothing more." Emily was full on crying now, hot tears rolling down her face. She had no idea how successful she would be at going back to just being friends with Paige after everything that had happened between them, but she would have to try.

She stood up, unable to look at Paige's shocked, wounded expression anymore. Paige didn't let go of her hand though, standing up with her and spinning her around to face her again. "Please don't do this," Paige pleaded through her own tears, her hands coming up to rest on Emily's neck. "I love you."

Emily choked back a sob, gripping the back of Paige's neck and kissing her with everything she had, Paige clinging onto her tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter at the realisation that this could very well be their last kiss.

She finally pulled away, murmuring "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She gave a final peck to Paige's lips before stepping back from her, taking a heaving breath as she turned and began to slowly walk away. She stopped when she didn't hear Paige following her. She looked over her shoulder to see that Paige hadn't moved. She was standing staring at the ground with unfocused eyes, the tears pouring down her face. Emily walked back to her. "Paige, come on, we need to get back," she said through a blocked nose, reaching out to touch Paige's shoulder.

Paige jerked away, wrapping her arms around herself and beginning to move, Emily's hand falling to her side limply. She walked a little behind Paige all the way back to the school parking lot, finding it hard not to go back on her decision as she listened to Paige's sobs. They had gotten so bad that Emily could hear her having trouble breathing, her body taking short gasps of air in quick succession before the next sob could escape.

It almost killed her.

It's for the best, she repeated over and over in her head. Paige had to deal with her issues before they could be together; they wouldn't- couldn't- work out otherwise. Maybe Paige would finally start to see that.

And Emily would wait for her; she would always wait for her. But she didn't want to tell Paige that; Paige had to come out for the right reasons, had to come out for herself, not Emily.

Once they reached her car, she pulled Paige's bag out of the trunk, handing it to her. Paige took it, not looking at her. "Do you want a ride home?" Emily asked quietly. After a few seconds, Paige just started to walk away, heading in the direction of the bike stands, Emily watching hopelessly.

She sat outside in her car, trying to pull herself together before she had to spend the evening with her parents. It was the last thing she felt like doing; all she wanted to do was switch the ignition back on, drive to Paige's house and apologise; tell her that she takes back what she said, that she didn't mean any of it and they could work out their issues later.

She reached for her keys, ready to do just that, before she slammed her hand into the steering wheel in anger, knowing that she couldn't.

She got out of the car quickly, walking into her house to find her mom sitting on the sofa. She looked around. "Where's Dad?"

"Out getting dinner," her mom answered. Emily couldn't help but notice that she still wasn't meeting her gaze.

Emily sighed, sitting down in the armchair, wanting to speak to her mom but not sure how. "Look, Mom," she started. "I know this is a lot to take in, but-"

"Where did we go wrong?" she said quietly. "I don't understand. I thought you understood our family values."

Emily gulped. What did that even mean? "Mom, it's not like that," she said gently, trying not to take her mom's attitude personally.

"How can we fix it?" She seemed to be speaking to herself rather than Emily. "Is there someone making you this way?" She looked up at Emily sharply.

"What? No, listen; this is who I am. You can't 'fix' it." Emily sat forward in her seat, willing her mom to understand.

"I thought we taught you what was right and wrong? And this is wrong, Emily. Surely you can see that?"

Emily froze. She had expected it to be hard for her mom to process, but she couldn't deal with this level of ignorance today; not after what had happened between her and Paige. She stood up. "Tell Dad I'm sorry but I'm not really feeling up to 'family night'," she said as calmly as possible, turning and heading upstairs, closing her bedroom door, leaving the lights off and falling onto her bed fully clothed.

This had to be, without a doubt, the worst day of her life.

Paige

She couldn't believe this was how the day had turned out. It had started with Emily waiting for her to talk to her; to forgive her. And now- now, Emily had ended things between them; just like that; over. She was still in shock.

"Paige?" her dad snapped.

She looked over, seeing him frowning at her from the other couch.

"That's the third time I've said your name; get your head out of the clouds. I asked if you apologised to Coach Fulton for missing practice twice this week."

Paige didn't know how he found out about her missing yesterday's practice as well as Wednesday's, but he had; she had been given an earful yesterday afternoon because of it. "Yeah," she replied, looking mindlessly back at the TV; she didn't even know what she was watching. She had gone straight to her room when she had gotten home, but had swiftly exited it again; there were too many memories of Emily in there that she couldn't bear to think about.

"And? What did she say?" her dad probed.

"Not much," Paige shrugged, not looking at him. Her phone buzzed on the arm of the couch. She reached for it quickly, which was obviously the wrong move. Her dad stood up and marched over to her, snatching the phone angrily from her hands. Paige reached for it desperately, scared he was going to read whatever message had come through.

"I don't like this attitude of yours," he stated sternly. "This is not the year to be messing around. You won't miss another practice from now on. Do you hear me?"

Paige gulped, keeping an eye on her phone in his hand; she was willing to wrestle it from him if she had to. "Yeah," she said quietly, trying not to convey how panicked she felt.

"What was that?"

"Yes!" she said, louder, looking into her dad's eyes. "I won't miss any more practices." They stared at each other for a moment, before her dad finally dropped her phone into her lap and walked back over to his seat, Paige giving an internal sigh of relief.

She stood up, walking out of the living room, not wanting to spend another second with him.

Emily was right; she knew she was. She thought too much about what her dad thought; wanted to make him proud; not wanting to be a disappointment. She wished she didn't feel the need for his approval, but the fact was, she did.

She entered her bedroom, took one look at the bed and realised she would rather sit on the floor, leaning back against her closed door.

She opened the text she had received.

Hey, how did your talk with Em go? Please tell me things are back to normal?

Without thinking, Paige began to type back a reply to Hanna.

She broke up with me.

She stared at the words until they started to swirl in front of her. She hit the send button, sliding her phone along the floor to the other side of the room, closing her eyes, lying down and curling up in a ball, hugging her knees against her chest as the tears started to flow again.

The weekend was awful. She spent as much of it as possible alone, ignoring texts from Hanna, Spencer and Aria, even the mundane ones; it was obvious that Spencer and Aria literally had no idea that her life was falling apart.

In her weaker moments, Paige would send a pleading text to Emily, or leave a rambling voicemail message when Emily wouldn't answer her phone- all to no response.

She finally got a reply on Sunday night.

Paige, please stop trying to change my mind. This is hard enough as it is.

Paige gritted her teeth, determination building inside her. No. No- she wouldn't just give up. She would make Emily see that things didn't have to be this way; would make her see that they could still work.

It was the only option.

She walked into school on Monday with only one thought in her head: get Emily back. She had to at least try.

She waited in the hallway, pretending to be sorting through books in her locker so that she didn't look like a total weirdo standing watching Emily's locker which was opposite her own.

She had to wait almost ten minutes before she saw Emily, her heart sinking when she saw that she was accompanied by Spencer. Emily caught her eye, quickly looking down at the floor as she continued down the hallway.

Emily went straight to her locker while Spencer came over to speak to her. "Hey, didn't you get my texts?" She gave a small pout.

"No, sorry. My phone's been acting up all weekend," she lied.

"Oh, okay. I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong?" Spencer questioned.

Yes, everything. "What? No, I'm fine." Paige made sure to smile, her face feeling like it was going to crack at the effort. Spencer seemed to buy it though, moving off to her own locker.

Paige had a quick look around; the hallway wasn't too busy; Spencer was out of earshot. She felt like she could squeeze in a quick word with Emily. For the sake of her sanity, she really couldn't wait a moment longer.

"Em," she said. Emily stared adamantly inside her open locker. "Emily," Paige repeated, impatient.

"What?" Emily said firmly, finally looking at her, an irritated expression on her face that failed to conceal the dark circles under her eyes; apparently Paige wasn't the only one who hadn't been sleeping well.

"It doesn't have to be like this. We can still be together, please give me another chance and I'll show you," she begged quietly, bouncing forward on her toes slightly in her desperation. "Please."

Emily looked down sadly. "It's not going to work; not like this. We're in different places, mentally. And unless we both want the same things, it's just going to cause more drama, more hurt. I can't keep seeing you hurting, Paige. It might not seem this way now, but this is better for you in the long run, I know it."

Paige groaned, frustrated. "Emily, you're doing it again. You don't get to decide what's best for me. I'm telling you, this- us- is what I want." What I need.

Emily looked up at her; she was reconsidering, Paige could sense it. There was silence as Emily thought. Paige's heart beat quickened in anticipation of her answer. Come on…

Emily's shoulders slumped, sighing in defeat. Yes.

Emily took her hand in hers, ready to speak but getting cut off because Paige's arm had jerked back, pulling her hand away from Emily.

No. NO.

Emily's face hardened.

Paige started shaking her head, unable to comprehend why she had just done that.

"See?" Emily said angrily as she went back to rooting around in her locker, grabbing a book and slamming the door closed. "Never going to work." And with that she marched away; away from Paige; away from them.

A/N: I am seriously overwhelmed by the response to that last chapter. Just, wow. Thank you so much. I apologise that this chapter wasn't very happy, but I hope you enjoyed (for lack of a better word) it all the same.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch some happy Paily scenes to make myself feel better.