As Paige approached the front doors of the school, she saw Emily approaching with her group of friends. She smiled in Emily's direction. Emily lifted her head, smiling back. "I'll catch up with you guys," she said, stopping beside Paige. Her friends nodded and continued to walk, their disapproving glares lingering long past their exit.

"Everything okay?" Paige said, trying her best not to seem defensive or hurt by the girls' dissaproval.

"They're just protective. I'll talk to them. How was the rest your night?"

Paige smiled, leaning forward to kiss Emily softly on the cheek. She contemplated for a moment whether she should tell Emily about the text she had gotten from 'A' but decided against it. The last thing she needed was for the object of her affection to think she was crazy. "Great. My folks were in bed when I got home and they're out of town until Thursday. Sleepover?"

Emily smiled, her fingertips playfully grazing Paige's. "I'd like that. A lot."

"Great. Come for dinner tonight. I'm cooking."

Emily laughed. "What's your specialty? Frozen pizza?"

Paige nudged Emily gently and laughed. "I'll make fresh pizza. If that's what you want."

Emily smiled, shook her head, and leaned forward to kiss Paige. "I better get to class. I'll see you after school."

Paige stood for a while, grinning ear to ear and basking in her happiness.

"Don't hurt her. You don't want to know what will happen if you do," said a voice from behind her. Paige swallowed hard and slowly turned. Facing her, she found Spencer; tall, her expression stern and genuinely menacing. "She deserves the best."

Paige nodded and squared her feet, forcing a smile as she held onto Spencer's glance unwaveringly. "I'll be good - no, great - to her. You have my word." Her knees felt weak, but not in the 'just kissed Emily' kind of way. As Spencer stepped towards her, she had a strong urge to run in the opposite direction but knew that the only way she could win Emily's heart was to fight for it.

Spencer's expression softened. She placed a gentle hand on Paige's shoulder and smiled. "Good save, McCullers. You passed with flying colours."

Laughing nervously, Paige breathed a sigh of relief and returned Spencer's smile. "You're terrifying, you know that, right?" Paige said, her vocal chords still trembling slightly.

Spencer nodded and walked with the girl to their classroom door. "Runs in the family. Just a word of advice, Emily's secretly a hopeless romantic. It takes a lot to make her melt but once you do, she's yours."

Paige smiled, nodding, accepting Spencer's kindness as she sat down in her chair. Instead of paying attention to her history teacher, Paige spent the entire 45-minute class thinking about how she would sweep Emily off her feet.