Hey there faithful readers! Sorry this chapter took forever to get out. I had a month of exams and then I had to make the shift to internship for my last year of school. I've been super busy and writing my fics in short sentence bursts. I hope people are still reading my fics. I'm working on a few others.
I don't own PLL or Captain America.
Paige watched as Spencer went to go pay for the gas she had just pumped into her car. She and Spencer had just finished having dinner at a Thai restaurant that didn't deliver, and were driving back to Rosewood when they had started to run low on gas. Spencer happily insisted that since Paige had taken care of dinner, she would get the gas. Paige was glad she was able to cheer the other girl up, but she was dead tired, so Spencer offered to drive back. They still had to study for a quiz tomorrow, but luckily for her she had a free period with Spencer before the quiz in the afternoon. Spencer was going to review with her. Paige knew the material, she just had to refresh her memory.
She sighed. She unbuckled her seatbelt. She hopped out of the passenger seat, making sure the door was locked behind her. She walked into the mini mart.
Spencer was waiting on her change. "You could have waited in the car. You need your beauty sleep."
"Thanks." Paige shook her head. She was too tired to hit Spencer with a comeback. "I'm thirsty. I'm going to grab something. Do you want anything?"
"Check if they have any of those mini white powdered donuts." Spencer told her.
"Wow. You don't seem the type, Buttercream." Paige chuckled to herself.
Spencer had called her Marshmallow in front of Emily. Once they explained why, Emily had tried to come up with a teasing nickname Paige could use for Spencer. She had told her that Spencer had a sweet tooth and was fond of buttercream cookies. Anything with sugar really. Emily regretted it because her girlfriend and best friend calling each other names sounded like they were the ones dating. And Buttercream sounded a bit sexual whenever Paige said it. But she did like the way it made Spencer get all flustered.
"What. They taste good." Spencer sputtered.
"Coming right up." Paige grinned, as she went to grab the mini donuts. She pulled a bag off the shelf, and then made her way towards the cold storage.
She grabbed a bottle of Cherry Coke.
"Hey!"
Paige fell into a defensive stance, while still managing to hold on to the bag of donuts. "Damn it, Spencer! You scared me. What if I punched you or something."
"I want a drink, too." Spencer laughed at successfully scaring Paige. She opened one of the cold storage doors and pulled out a Raspberry Tea Snapple. "And if you tried to punch me, I would have blocked it."
"You wish." Paige shook her head.
"When we sparred at my house, it ended in a draw." Spencer huffed.
That was true. After Emily left to talk to her parents, Paige and Spencer had fought. They had changed into more comfortable clothes. Spencer broke out the sparring pads and gear she bought recently. They worked on kicks and punches. Spencer got out a sidekick that made Paige stumble back a bit.
It was probably dumb to spar without training or supervision. But they didn't take it far. It was for fun. "It'll end in a win for me the next time."
The doors of the convenience store gave off a chime as they opened.
"Listen up. Money! I want it and I want it now!"
Paige and Spencer both fell quiet. They ducked and hid in one of the aisles. Paige peeked her head out. There was a guy with a gun pointing it at the clerk. She suddenly wasn't tired anymore. Her heart was beating fast.
"All right. Take it easy. I'll get you the money." The clerk grimaced as he opened the register.
"What the fuck!" The man knocked over a display of Rice Krispie Treats. "No. I want the money from the safe. I've been watching this place. I know what I want."
"We have to do something." Spencer said.
"We don't have to do anything. You stay right here." Paige moved down the aisle.
"I just started working here. They just taught me the safe." The clerk was panicking.
The robber threw a tub of mints towards the guy. "Hurry the fuck up, shithead."
"I can't remember the combo if you keep screaming at me."
Paige glanced around for anything she could use. She saw a 'wet floor' sign but no sign of a mop.
"You won't remember anything else if I blow your fucking brains out. Open the Goddamn safe!"
"I fucking hate working here!" The clerk screamed back.
The robber lifted the gun and aimed it at the clerk.
"Hey!"
The robber turned and got hit in the chest with the Snapple bottle Spencer threw at him. The bottle shattered on the floor.
He doubled over, but didn't drop his gun. "Who fucking does that?"
While he was distracted Paige picked up the 'Wet Floor' sign and smashed it as hard as she could down on his head that the sign broke. He crumpled to the ground. She kicked the gun away as he moaned in pain.
"Caution, motherfucker!" The clerk screamed at the robber. "That was badass."
Paige was breathing heavily. "Call the cops."
The clerk got on his cell.
"He's right. That was pretty badass. Good job improvising with the sign." Spencer beamed.
"What the hell, Spencer! I told you to stay put." Paige growled.
"I know what I was doing. And I should get mad too. You ran off to try to take on a guy with a gun by yourself. Who's the idiot now?" Spencer threw back.
Paige sighed. The other girl was right. The shouting came from a place of concern though. She couldn't let anyone get hurt.
"I'd say both of us." Paige gave Spencer a small smile. "Man, I wish I had said something witty and clever. But what we just did was so stupid." Paige looked at Spencer.
"So stupid. And reckless." Spencer looked back at her.
They grinned at each other. They knew they had each other's backs. There was no need to bring it up. Actions spoke louder than words. There was the sound of sirens in the distance.
They gave their statements to the police officer. He sighed. He told them they were lucky they hadn't gotten themselves shot. Or killed.
Spencer opened her mouth to give him what was sure to be a snotty retort. But Paige put a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you, Officer Kent." Paige grinned. "We'll be sure to keep the crime fighting to the professionals."
"See that you do." The officer nodded. "You're free to go, but I'll be watching the both of you."
The officer sneezed.
"Bless you, Sir." Spencer looked amused.
Officer Kent glared at her but didn't say anything as he went to join the other uniforms.
"God, how could you keep a straight face?" Spencer laughed.
Paige looked at her. "I know you think we were doing his job for him. And that you and cops don't get along. But he was right. We did get lucky."
"But we're Team McHastings!" Spencer stopped walking to her car to pout.
"Okay, what? Why does your name predominate our team name?"
"Because Spaige sounds like a skin condition." Spencer scrunched up her face in disgust.
"It does." Paige thought about it. "Whatever, Buttercream. Let's get back to Rosewood."
Spencer and Paige walked away from the convenience store. At least, Paige walked. Spencer was bounding away, almost hopping. Paige was familiar with this as it was when their field hockey team had an excellent practice where her scrimmage team scored the most goals. This was a win for Spencer.
"I have to admit that was a rush. But if we're going to do that again, we have to practice." Paige kept walking to the car.
"Wait." Spencer ran to catch up with her. "What do you mean if we do that again?"
"Because I know you. You're going to want to do that again. You go looking for trouble." Paige sighed.
"No. Trouble finds me." Spencer retorted.
"You're trouble." Paige rolled her eyes. "Look, we'll have to go up against A someday. This is us learning to defend ourselves. But as sure as I know myself, I know you're best at offense. We take the fight to A, we best be ready."
"I get what you mean." Spence fell quiet. She was quiet the rest of the ride to town. Paige was afraid of what the gears turning in her brain were coming up with.
Paige found out what Spencer was thinking about after class. She was sitting at a table in front of The Brew, a notebook full of Spencer's frantic handwriting in front of her. She was getting some studying in before she met up with Spencer for an escrima class. Emily wasn't working today, if she had been, Paige would have been thoroughly distracted by her girlfriend. But as it was, Emily had pledged her day off to doing something with her father.
But a newspaper was slammed down on top of what Paige was studying.
"Hello, Spencer." Paige turned to look at the girl standing behind her. The other girl was invading her personal space in a way that only Emily could claim. Spencer was pressing into her back with each of her arms on either side of Paige, almost like an embrace.
"We're a pretty good team, don't you think?" Spencer was wearing a dark green hoodie. While Paige had on a maroon one.
"Well, I've always thought so. When we were on the same teams for scrimmage for field hockey, we were really good together. You know, when we weren't at each others throats." Paige admitted.
"What we did the other night was amazing. It felt so good to finally get something right for a change." Spencer jabbed her finger at the newspaper. "We caught a bad guy, someone who the cops have been after for holding up other gas stations."
Spencer had been ecstatic the day after the Circle A robbery.
Paige couldn't blame her. She hated feeling so powerless after That Night. It was good to know that their training was actually good for something. If she could stop someone from feeling the way she felt that night. If she could stop bad people from using force to have their way, she was going to do it. She hated bullies. She wasn't going to let people get pushed around. She was going to show them that she could push back even harder.
"It was pretty cool." Paige put her hood up as she stood up.
"Pretty cool. I feel like we can actually take down A. I'm not some helpless little girl. The next time someone tries to kill me, I'm going to kick their ass."
"How many times has someone tried to kill you?" Paige frowned.
"The real question is how many times have they succeeded?" Spencer made a zero with her fingers.
"Don't even joke about that." Paige shook her head.
Spencer sighed. "I know, Paige. I'm sorry. Aside from when you saved me on the Halloween Train, there was Ian Thomas in the church bell tower. A shady hit and run before that that put Melissa in the hospital, while I was okay. And Mona trying to push me off Look Out Point. There was the lodge fire, but I wasn't inside."
"The lodge fire was you guys?" Paige's eyes went wide. But then she sighed. "Of course it was."
"I guess Emily didn't tell you about that." Spencer was sheepish.
"No, she didn't." Paige clenched her jaw.
Paige fumed. Emily wanted her to be safe. And she knew Emily was trying to keep her powers a secret from her. And that she was trying to protect her on the basis of plausible deniability. The less she knew the better. Emily was being reckless, but she could afford to be. Probably.
"Don't worry. People haven't haven't tried to murder Emily nearly as much as they have with me." Spencer playfully punched Paige's arm.
"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" Paige laughed bitterly. She still remembered how Lyndon James had used her to get to Emily.
"I know how lucky we've been. You said it yourself. But luck runs out. I need to know how to fight." Spencer was nothing but determined.
"Okay. I get it. But you all probably should learn how to fight. You, Hanna and Aria." Paige thought of the other girls.
"What about Emily?"
"What?" It took a moment before she realized her slip.
Paige knew Emily could take care of herself. Her girlfriend was bulletproof.
"You can't fight all of her battles for her." Spencer's words cut into her thoughts.
"Right." Paige chewed on her lip. "I know that."
"Yeah, I've tried. Which I should apologize for. It was me that told Coach Fulton that you were bullying Emily." Spencer frowned.
"Another apology. Wow, but this is one I definitely don't deserve. I was awful to Emily. I took out all of my fear and self loathing on her. It really doesn't excuse my actions. You were right to hate me. I hated me back then."
"I'm sorry. That was a lot to go through. But you've come a long way."
"I've got ways to go." Paige felt like she would never make up for what she did to Emily.
"Don't be too hard on yourself. We were all really awful. I should have stood up to Alison. So many times. I know what it's like to look in the mirror and not like who you see."
"Look at us. Bonding and admitting our flaws." Paige laughed. "Achievement Unlocked: Character Development."
"You nerd. I should hav-" Spencer was cut off by man in a hurry smacking into her. They both stumbled. The man ran off and Spencer yelled at him.
"Hey!"
"My purse! Stop that man! He stole my purse." A woman in a plush coat screamed.
"Seriously?" Paige looked at Spencer, who took off running. Paige lept out of her seat and sprinted off after her.
The man turned around and looked surprised to see them chasing after him. Paige had always been faster so she pulled ahead of Spencer. But not by much. They were both gaining on him. Out of the corner of her eye, Paige saw Spencer leap forward. She ended up shoving the purse snatcher to the ground with a flying tackle.
Spencer and the purse snatcher were wrestling on the ground. Paige was worried about her friend. But she seemed to be holding her own. Spencer smashed her fist against the man's ear. She was fighting dirty. The man yowled in pain. One of Rosewood's finest and the woman who owned the purse came up to him.
"I'll take over from here." The cop crouched down and put his handcuffs on the purse snatcher. "Thanks. I'm going to need to get your names and details."
And that was how Paige ended up speaking to yet another police officer. It was the third time this month. The officer seemed to be already familiar with Spencer.
They made it to their eskrima class. The two of them were grinning like idiots the whole time. When the class was finished, they were both a little bruised, but they gave either other high fives at the end of the class.
But Emily wasn't happy with the bruises when she found Paige in the locker room the next morning.
"Who did that to you!" Emily looked furious.
It was such a foreign expression on her girlfriend's face. Paige was surprised and dumbly said the first thing that came to mind. "Spencer."
While it was the correct and honest answer, there was no context. Emily of course incorrectly jumped to the wrong conclusion. Paige barely got her shirt on before Emily stormed out of the locker room. She sped up to catch up with her girlfriend.
"Spencer!" Emily shouted at her friend. Paige came to a stop beside her, catching her breath.
"Uh, good morning to you, too." Spencer cocked an eyebrow. Aria looked at the three of them in confusion, while Hanna had her face scrunched up in annoyance at being awake in the morning. The other students in the hallway were watching with anticipation. Another interesting scene was going down in the lives of Ali D's old group.
"What did you do to my girlfriend?" Emily glared at Spencer.
"Em, calm down." Paige put her hand on Emily's wrist. She knew her girlfriend wasn't going to hurt any of them. But she could take her frustration out on a locker or a wall and expose her powers. She put herself between her girlfriend and her sparring partner. "Let me explain."
"Yeah, Paige. Please explain." Spencer drawled with her usual confidence. But the girl had no clue as to what had Emily roaring to rip her head off.
"Spencer didn't hurt me. Well, she did. But not like that. She didn't mean to, she just got carried away. She was a little too rough." Paige blurted out.
"What!" Emily yelled.
"Spencer, how could you do that to Emily?" Aria looked hurt.
"Whoa. Come on. Like Paige would ever cheat on Emily." Hanna spoke up.
"Way to make it worse. You are crap at explaining things, McCullers." Spencer pinched the bridge of her nose. "We're-"
Spencer paused as she saw that they had an audience. She nodded towards the door of the girls' bathroom. Emily went in first, pushing the door hard . Aria sighed at Spencer, before going in after Emily. Hanna looked even more awake than what a shot if espresso could give a person. Paige took a deep breath, and went inside.
Emily had her arms crossed. Aria was at her side. The tiny girl seemed to have a fire burning in her eyes. Spencer had positioned herself between Emily and the door, as if her instincts told her to be ready to flee in case something went sour.
Her instincts weren't wrong.
Hanna had her hands on her hips as she glanced between each of the girls. "Well?"
"Paige and I have been taking self defense classes." Spencer rolled her sleeves up to show the bruises she had there. "We were practicing together. Things got really competitive between us."
"That's your explanation? You two are in some kind of fight club?" Hanna snorted.
"We can't talk about it." Paige joked, but Emily wasn't laughing.
"This is because of what happened, isn't it? The man with a gun. And before that Nate." Emily's shoulders slumped.
"I know you don't like it, Emily. But we should have done this awhile back. That night on the Halloween train. If it hadn't been for Paige." Spencer hugged herself.
"I've been taking self defense lessons, too."
They all looked at Aria.
"I mean I ended up in a box. We should be able to defend ourselves." Aria explained. "It's better than relying on dumb luck. I'm tiny. I can't always count on Emily to be there to save me."
Emily recoiled. Paige knew what that meant. A little. Emily probably blamed herself for not being able to protect her girlfriend and her friends. She was sure that everyone standing here felt the same way. They blamed themselves when their loved ones ended up in danger. She did herself, and so did Spencer. She was sure Hanna and Aria did as well.
"We're a team. I mean, I want you guys to be safe. If you were in danger and I couldn't do anything. What kind of friend would I be?" Aria continued, proving Paige right.
"Okay. I'm in." Hanna jumped in. Everyone turned to stare at her. "What? Maybe I don't like getting sweaty, but I don't like getting hit by cars and getting locked in murder cabins. I'd feel a lot safer if I could maybe punch a guy in the face and run away."
"Okay. That's reasonable." Paige nodded.
"Yeah. But I'm so not taking classes with you guys. You're both way too intense for me."
They all started laughing. Except for Emily. Paige put her arm around her girlfriend
"Hey," Paige whispered as she leaned in close to her girlfriend. "I think this is a good thing. I feel better knowing that you girls can handle yourselves. And keep taking care of each other. I know you want to take care of everyone. Keep us safe. But like Aria said, you might not always be around. And before you say anything, don't blame yourself for that."
"I know." Emily said, as the two of them watched Hanna talk about getting together a cute workout wardrobe while the other two girls laughed. "But I can't help but feel responsible."
"You don't have to carry all of that weight. Let's all shoulder the responsibility." Paige grinned.
"But it's different with me." Emily closed her eyes. "I'm different."
Paige took her hand in her own, and squeezed it. She wanted Emily to know it would be okay to confide in her. "That will never change how I feel about you."
"I'm-"
The door to the bathroom opened up, and two giggling girls walked in. They stopped when they saw who was gathered around in front if the sinks.
"Do you mind?" Spencer glared at them.
The girls just continued to giggle. Aria dragged Spencer out of the bathroom. Emily cleared her throat. "I guess we should get to class."
Trying not to sigh, Paige nodded. She had been so sure that Emily was going to tell her that she had special abilities. But the girls' bathroom was probably not the best place to have that heart to heart.
"I'll see you later, Em." Paige nodded.
"Yeah you will." Hanna gushed. "We're having a girls' night in. You're coming, Paige."
"I guess you're not giving me a choice." Paige grinned.
"Nope." Hanna poked Paige. "And fix your shirt before you get to class. You're going to end up distracting everyone."
Emily laughed, as Paige blushed. She gave her a kiss on the cheek, as her fingers brushed the skin of her abdomen. Then she did up the rest of the buttons on Paige's shirt. "Meet me for lunch, okay?"
"Uh. Yeah." Paige sputtered out an answer. "Anything.
"Lunch isn't what Paige will be hungry for." Hanna smirked.
"Hanna," Emily scolded.
"What? She's not wrong." Paige admitted.
"Don't encourage her." Emily shook her head at their antics. "And don't be late for class."
Emily left the girls bathroom. Hanna and Paige made it to Spanish.
For the girls' night in, they headed over to Spencer's. They ordered pizza. They watched movies. Paige suggested a romantic comedy, and Spencer teased her for being a huge sap. Emily comforted her and said that they should watch a zombie movie, but the other girls gave that a hard no. In the end Hanna's suggestion won out to be the first movie of the night.
"Are you okay with this?" Paige asked Emily.
"Why wouldn't I be okay with Captain America?" Emily raised an eyebrow.
"Uh. Because you were dead set on that zombie movie." Paige tried to cover. She had no idea if Emily would be uncomfortable with a superhero movie.
"It's fine. In a way, I can relate to Steve Rogers. He always does what's right. Even when it's not the easiest thing. That's kind of what I aspire to. And it's one of my Dad's favorite comic books. So I grew up with it."
"Really? Your dad seems like a Superman kind of guy. But I can see how he would like Captain America." Paige put her arm around her girlfriend.
"Oh. He's a fan of Superman, too." Emily leaned into Paige.
"Superman's cool. But then there's Batman. And the Bat family." Paige laughed. "Batwoman is a lesbian. Also Gotham Central was-"
"Shut up, nerds. The movie is starting." Hanna threw a pillow at them.
Paige caught it with one hand.
"Wow." Emily whispered. "Is that your martial arts training in play?"
"It's just a pillow. It's not like a caught a knife." Or a bullet.
"Don't even think about trying to catch knives." Emily huffed.
"Oh, I'm not." Paige was in fact thinking about learning how to throw knives. She made a note to talk to Spencer about it.
"Shh." Hanna shushed then.
On the screen, they had just found Captain America's shield frozen in ice. Then the villains of the film were introduced before showing Steve Rogers trying to enlist yet again to fight in World War II. Paige could see how Emily and her father could admire that. Hell, Paige could admire that, too. She watched as Steve Rogers called out a heckler in a movie theater showing news from the front lines of the war. A woman in a red dress was tearing up more and more as the newsreel played. That was a nice visual to have that Paige didn't notice when she watched it when it first came out. Steve stood up to the heckler even though the man was bigger. Every time the man punched Steve Rogers, he got back up. He stood up to the man. He was a bully, and Paige hated bullies.
Paige would always stand up to bullies and she would stand up for people being treated unfairly. She stood up to Alison DiLaurentis, who was a bully. And she stood up for Mona, who had been a victim before she became a victimizer.
She would not hesitate to help anyone who needed her.
"I love this aesthetic." Spencer said, while they went to the Stark World Fair.
"You into film noir, aren't you, Slim?" Paige said remembering Spencer's Halloween costume. She knew it was Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not.
"I'm impressed. But then again, I'm not surprised, Marlene Dietrich." Spencer purred up at Paige from her spot where she was sitting on the floor.
"Ugh. Get a room you two." Emily threw a pillow at Spencer's head with a smile.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Spencer teased.
"Fine. If we're going to talk during the movie, we are going to talk about how hot Bucky Barnes is. And how hot Captain America gets. And how dreamy Thor is."
"Thor isn't even in this movie." Spencer said out of the side of her mouth.
They watched the rest of the movie with a lot of commentary. Aria liked Agent Carter's look as well. Emily laughed when Steve stumbled over talking to Agent Carter, since it reminded her of Paige. Hanna swooned after Steve got the super soldier serum, while Emily gripped her hand tightly when he was being injected with it.
"I'm a little afraid of needles." Emily explained.
Paige didn't comment as she pulled the other girl closer.
It made Paige wonder though.
The only other thing to note during their movie viewing, was when she and Spencer both chuckled at the mook from HYDRA getting thrown into the propeller of a plane. They glanced at each other and shared a grin.
"Oh, God. Maybe they shouldn't be friends? That's how the world ends." Aria dramatically covered her eyes with her arm.
"You figured it out. We're going to take over the world." Paige deadpanned.
"But there's room for all of you in our organization." Spencer followed up. Paige liked how they could play off of each other and how their routine was flawless.
"No thanks." Hanna jumped in. "I'm sure the uniforms would be tacky."
"Wait, be quiet. Don't want to miss this part." Paige interrupted.
Back on the screen, Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers were saying goodbye to each other. Without using those words. Instead they made plans to finally go for that dance. The plane crashed into the icy ocean, and Steve was frozen in ice for seventy years.
"Paige, are you crying?" Emily whispered.
"They never got that dance." Paige wiped at her eye. "That's so sad. And you knew it was coming. It didn't make it hurt any less."
Emily rubbed her back. "It's okay, Paige. They're eternal. No matter what they still love each other."
"You are such a marshmallow and I love it." Hanna held her clasped hands against her chest.
"Did you tell them?" Paige gasped and narrowed her eyes at Spencer.
"I didn't have to tell them anything. The fact that you're a marshmallow is the most obvious thing in the world." Spencer rubbed at her eyes and sniffled.
"Aww. Were you crying too, Spence?" Aria rubbed Spencer's knees.
"Of course. I'm not heartless." Spencer looked away.
The other girls knew that Spencer was probably now thinking about Toby. Aria pulled her in close. Paige nudged Emily to change the topic.
"Uh, you know what we need?" Emily looked at her girlfriend.
"Alcohol!" Hanna suggested.
"I was going to say ice cream." Emily scrunched her face.
"Why not both?" Hanna got up to go to her bag.
"That sounds gross." Paige stood up to help.
"That sounds like a challenge." Spencer stood up as well.
"It sounds like a bad idea." Emily said as she shook her head.
And it was. Paige and Spencer were miserable the next day. The two had challenged each other to various contests, which ended up being more entertaining than movie night. Emily and Aria made sure they didn't get too crazy, no matter how much Hanna tried to get them to run through the neighborhood naked.
"Ugh. My mouth tastes like dirt." Paige whimpered as she took the bottle of water from her girlfriend.
"That might be because you ate some." Emily rubbed her back.
"What?"
"I'm just kidding. I stopped you." Emily laughed.
"You're so mean." Paige pouted.
"But you love me." Emily kissed her. "That was a nice thing you did for Spencer."
"I know how much she means to you. And now she means a lot to me too. I don't want to lose her." Paige admitted.
"Has anyone told you that you're amazing?"
"Only my equally amazing girlfriend."
"It should be illegal for you two to be this cute this early." Spencer rubbed her eyes as she popped her head up from where she had been laying next to Paige.
"Good morning to you, too." Emily handed her a bottle of water.
Spencer took a long swig of water. When she finished, she looked around her bedroom. "Where did you guys sleep?"
"On the floor. I put the blankets away. Like usual. You on the other hand," Emily smirked. "Slept with my girlfriend."
Paige, who had been sipping water, spat it out.
"What!"
"It was very cute. Spencer was the little spoon of course." Emily was grinning way too much about this.
"Are you teasing me again?" Paige narrowed her eyes.
At the same time, Spencer put off said. "No way. I'd be the big spoon."
"You can ask Hanna to show you the pictures." Emily patted Paige's leg. "And Spencer. You are always the little spoon when I sleep over. You just love being held."
Spencer blushed.
Paige's face was warm as well. She changed the topic. "Where are Hanna and Aria?"
"I sent them out to grab breakfast. They should be back soon." Emily looked at the clock in Spencer's room.
Spencer got up. "Where are my pants?"
"I guess you took them off. You did keep trying to take them off after Hanna dared you to give Aria a lap dance. Both of you. Hanna has pics of that as well."
"You are enjoying this way too much." Spencer grumbled as she shuffled to the bathroom.
"Oh God, Em. I'm so sorry." Paige covered her eyes with her hands.
"Paige, it's fine. Like Spencer said I'm enjoying this. And you did come over to give me a lap dance. Drunk you has some moves. It was all very tame. You fell asleep on me. Right there in my lap." Emily laughed, but Paige cringed. "I can't blame you. My boobs must make comfortable pillows. Paige, if I was mad or upset with you, you would know."
"Sorry I fell asleep on you." Paige couldn't believe she had done that. But then she started to think of something. "So I fell asleep downstairs?"
"Yeah."
Paige nodded. She wanted to ask. She really wanted to. But she wanted to leave that up to Emily.
"I carried you up here. You then Spencer." Emily admitted.
Paige didn't push. It didn't matter to her. Someone else would have asked how she could do that if she had an injured shoulder. But Paige figured if Emily was bulletproof, her shoulder was probably fine. And maybe that wasn't her only power. She had no problem carrying her up the stairs. Maybe she had some level of super strength.
"I'm stronger than I look." Emily said jokingly.
Paige wasn't so sure. "I know."
"Paige-"
"Foods here!" Hanna's voice called up to her.
"Let's go eat." Paige told Emily. Emily bit her lip, but nodded. Paige took her hand, and together they went downstairs.
Once Spencer came downstairs, this time wearing pajama bottoms, the girls dug into the takeout. But Paige could feel Hanna watching her. When she looked up, the blonde girl had a huge grin on her face. This gave Paige a bad feeling.
"This is about the photos you took isn't it?" Paige sighed.
"You guys are so cute!" Hanna gushed as she showed Paige her phone.
"I'm surprised you were able to contain yourself this long." Aria laughed.
Paige had to agree with Hanna that they did look adorable. But she wasn't going to say that out loud. Spencer snatched the phone away from Paige.
"Ugh. I'm the big spoon." Spencer huffed.
"Nope. Little spoon. And keep going back. You will see your amazing performance." Hanna waved her hands above her head.
"Delete these!" Spencer demanded.
Paige glanced at them. "You are very flexible."
"You can try to delete them but Caleb had already backed them up." Hanna shrugged. "Aria doesn't mind. Right, Aria?"
"As long as they stay between the five of us." Aria stabbed a sausage patty with her fork.
"Okay. Even though I want to see Fitz's head explode." Hanna took her phone back.
"What are your plans for today?" Emily asked. "I have a shift later."
"Oh. You should come with me to my class. Jake is a very good teacher." Aria took a sip of water.
"Jake, huh?" Spencer teased.
"Yes. Not only does he teach. He fights in matches. He's very good." Aria explained.
"How hands on is he?" Spencer was smirking.
Aria stuck her tongue out at her friend.
Paige was sure this was some kind of inside joke. She heard whispers of Mr. Fitz dating a student, but she didn't care enough to find out. It sounded really boring. So she changed the topic. "That sounds cool. We could check it out. And then visit you afterwards, Em?"
"Sounds like a plan." Emily gave Paige a quick kiss.
"It's a good thing I have the perfect outfit." Hanna gave a fist pump.
That afternoon, Paige met up with her girlfriend's friends at the gym. Spencer was already there, early as always. Aria was as well, standing with a guy she took Spanish with. The smaller girl was talking to someone on her phone, frowning the whole time.
Paige glanced around the gym. It was pretty basic. It had free weights, a squat rack and a bench press. It was the same gym that she and Spencer went to for Muay Thai. Down the hall was was where the martial arts classes were. And to the side there was a ring, a heavy bag and a speed bag. One of the workers was sitting in a chair reading a magazine. He nodded at her, and she nodded back at him. Bruce was a boxing coach, and a wrestler. He also went to her family's church.
Paige turned her attention back to her friends. Spencer was sitting down on a bench staring off into space. Paige didn't like the look of that. Spencer wasn't in a good place since she had broken up with Toby and it hadn't been long since she was in Radley.
"Are you okay?" Paige asked.
"I'm fine. I'm so ready for this. Are you ready for me to destroy you at this?" Spencer put on her usual smirk. But Paige could tell Spencer was hiding something. Which knowing Emily and her friends well enough could be anything.
Paige didn't call her out on it. She wondered if Caleb even got this with Hanna.
"You sure it's going to go down like that? Pretty sure last time we went to a class I was winning." Paige puffed her chest out. They were keeping score on who got the most praise from an instructor. In reality, they were equally matched in their classes, both receiving the same amount if praise.
Spencer gave her a smirk. "Well this time we'll have Aria and Hanna to weigh in on who's the best."
Aria came over towards them, followed by the guy. "Jake said he won't be able to teach us today."
"So is Holden going to teach us?" Spencer didn't look impressed.
"No, I'm just assisting." Holden scratched the back of his head. "I'm no where ready to teach."
"Jake said he's sending over one of his top students to fill in for him." Aria continued.
"Okay." Paige said slowly. Not really understanding the problem.
"Well, I guess we'll have to meet your new guy another time." Spencer gave the shorter girl a smile.
"It's not that. It's who Jake is having fill in for him." Aria's frown deepened.
The door opened. And in walked the instructor.
Dressed in a top that showed off her abs and toned arms, Mona Vanderwaal looked at them from behind a pair of aviator glasses. Paige got caught up in how good Mona looked. That surprised her. Then she came to the realization that of course the girl that terrorized her girlfriend and her friends was fit and athletic. Running around in the shadows had to be quite the workout.
Paige looked over at Spencer and Aria. Aria was still frowning, but Spencer's mouth was open in shock as she looked Mona up and down.
"Close your mouth, Spencer. You'll catch flies." Mona took her glasses off, and push them to the top of her head.
That seemed to get Spencer's attention. She licked her lips before speaking. "Are you lost?"
"No. I'm where I'm supposed to be. The question is are you?" Mona strode around the practice space with such familiarity that Paige caught on. Mona put her glasses away. She tied her hair up. "So are we waiting for Hanna? I know that Emily has a shift at the Brew right now."
The door to the gym opened again. "Sorry, I'm late. I almost didn't come because of this thing with Wilden and my mom getting worse. But there's not much I can do about it. So instead of sitting in dark at my house, I decided that punching something will make me feel better. Hey, Mona. Are you taking this class too?"
Paige sighed. "She's teaching it."
"What?" Hanna and Spencer yelled at the same time.
"That's what I was trying to tell you." Aria said over them.
"Seriously?" Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Aria is taller than you."
"Hey!"
"You know what I mean." Spencer shook her head.
"I don't know, Spencer. You've underestimated Mona before." Paige said diplomatically. The other girl may have been small. But looks were deceiving.
Mona was the best at wearing masks. Paige still remembered the nerdy girl in glasses and pigtails that was her lab partner, but even that was just a role. The Queen Bee that took over after Alison went missing was another. And then there was the Mona that was A. The Mona that came back from Radley was the closest, seeming to be a mix of all three, but even then Mona was holding back.
"Yeah. Mona played us all as A." Hanna agreed with Paige.
"If you doubt my skills, maybe I could show you." Mona raised an eyebrow in challenge.
"What, like fight you?" Spencer was incredulous.
"If you're afraid, you and Paige can both fight me." Mona smirked.
Paige was cautious. She fully believed that Mona could fight. She was sure that Mona surpassed them in skill. But Spencer seemed to jump at the chance to go up against the other girl. Something was clouding her judgement.
"I don't need Paige." Spencer growled.
"Spence, you aren't exactly the best fighter. Do you even know how to fight?" Hanna scrunched her face up.
Hanna had a point. Spencer was seriously inexperienced.
"Let's go." Spencer ignored her.
"Alright." Mona shrugged. "Let's go to the dojo."
The girls followed Holden and Mona to the room. Mona bowed, and the rest of them followed suit. Mona went to the middle of the space, waiting for Spencer to follow. They faced each other.
"It's customary to bow before we spar." Mona voiced.
"I know that." Spencer spat out.
They bowed and then the sparring began. Spencer threw a punch. Mona blocked it, grabbing her arm in the process. The smaller girl used Spencer's momentum against her and flipped her onto the mat with a thud. Spencer groaned.
"You need to learn how to fall." Mona assessed. "Among other things. It's a surprise that you've lived this long."
It was over so quickly. Paige cringed. Aria and Hanna were standing there in shock. Holden didn't look surprised.
Mona went to help Spencer up to her feet. The other girl smacked her hand away. Spencer got up by herself and went to sulk by Aria and Hanna.
"How about you, Paige? I won't hurt you too bad. I want to see where you are currently." Mona turned towards her. "I heard you two were going around, looking to learn. And you can learn a lot from your mistakes."
Paige moved her jaw as she thought. She was a firm believer that what didn't kill her only made her stronger. And she had been almost killed at least three times since senior year started.
"I'm ready to rumble." Paige shrugged.
"You are such a dork." Hanna called out. "A hot dork. But still a dork. I love your outfit though. It shows off your best assets."
"Uh." Paige's face flushed. She was wearing a muscle tee with open sides. It showed off her swimmer's body.
"Hanna is right. You have an amazing body. Emily is a very lucky girl." Mona added.
"Don't listen to her, McCullers." Spencer had her arms crossed over her chest.
"What? You don't think she has an amazing body?" Mona turned towards the defeats girl.
"No. I mean she does. I have eyes. Get out of my head." Spencer huffed. "See! That's my point. She's trying to distract you, Paige!"
"What even is happening?" Aria looked at the ceiling, as if she was expecting an answer from a higher plane of existence.
"Let's just get started."
Paige and Mona's fight began. The two moved around the floor, circling each other. Paige knew Mona was a predator, so she wasn't about to underestimate. Paige threw a roundhouse kick. Mona was a little slow to block it, but the kick still didn't land. Paige stumbled back a bit. She jabbed with her left and threw a hook with her right. Mona ducked and dodged.
Their fight continued on like that. Paige would punch or kick, and Mona would move out of the way elegantly. It was like the other girl was dancing.
"Someone punch someone already!" Hanna screamed from the sidelines.
That made Paige look over in the blonde's direction. Mona used that moment of distraction to sweep her legs out from under her. She fell to the mat, but Paige knew how to fall. She tucked her chin to her chest and curved her back so she wouldn't fall on it flat. She smacked her palms on the mat as her back touched the mat, making sure she was exhaling the whole time. Using the momentum of falling back, Paige rocked forward. She had learned to get back up after falling as well. She put one foot down, and tucked her other leg under that in order to use it to push herself up to standing.
But Mona was ready for her. The girl had her fist in Paige's face the minute she was upright. It would have smashed into her nose if Paige had moved forward a bit more, or if Mona didn't have the degree of control that she did.
Still Mona opened her fist, extending her fingers so that they flicked the side of Paige's nose.
"Boop." Mona smirked.
Paige threw her head back, startled.
Hanna was laughing so hard, while Holden turned his chuckling into a cough. Aria looked concerned. Spencer was scowling.
"You should have seen your face, Paige!" Hanna was almost doubled over.
"Okay, okay. I never said I was an amazing fighter. I'm just trying to learn how to defend myself and people I care about." Paige's pride was hurt even if she knew she wasn't going to win. She thought she would have gotten at least one hit in.
"So what do you think? Do you want to be under me-"Mona seemed to be asking Spencer more than she was Paige.
"What? No!" Spencer protested.
"Yeah, Mona. You should know by now that Spencer likes to be on top." Hanna teased.
"For training, Han. She meant for training." Aria explained.
"You guys should consider it." Holden went ahead with the sales pitch. "Mona is the best I've seen. It's almost like she can predict your moves. She knows what move you're going to make. Before you make it."
"Hmm." Paige studied Mona. Her brain turning over the possibility of Mona having powers as well. It would explain a lot about A. How she could every where and anywhere, how Mona knew things.
It hit Paige then. Her blood ran cold. Mona as A seemed to know Emily and her friends' secrets. Emily having powers was a pretty big secret.
Would A use that against her?
Her brain ran wild with the awful things A or anyone would blackmail someone into doing to keep their powers from being exposed.
"Paige!"
"What?"
"Did you hear anything I just said?" Mona had her hands on her waist.
"No. Not really?" Paige frowned.
"You and Spencer pair up. You're with Holden." Mona walked over to Aria and Hanna without saying anything else.
Holden showed them some drills to work through, ten on each side. Spencer rolled her eyes. Paige could tell the other girl wanted more to do. Spencer would have had a lot of energy left over from that fight with Mona.
"Hey, Straussfield!" Paige called out to Holden.
"Straussfield?" Holden raised an eyebrow.
"Holden Caulfield. You know they can't all be winners. I'm sure you're tired of literary references in the vein of Tolkein and Middle Earth." Paige challenged.
"Well, in that case. What can I do you for, Lonely Hunter?"
"You know surprisingly not many people call me that? Even when we were reading that book in English?" Paige chuckled. She should talk to this kid more.
"Remind me to spread that around then."
"You don't think it's too long?" Paige wondered out loud. "Maybe just Hunter."
"How about Lonely? Because how does a huge dork like you have someone like Emily?" Spencer huffed.
"Alright, Smartass. If I didn't know you by now I'd be taking that personally" Paige shook her head. "So Straussfield, can we get around to using focus mitts or block pads? This one is itching to kick some ass and since it can't be Mona's, it'll probably be some poor defenseless trash cans or a chair or a banana?"
"You're the one that took out trash cans." Spencer growled.
Paige could have hit Spencer back with all the things the other girl did in anger. Like when Spencer leapt over a table to maul Mona. But maybe something bigger than the fight was getting to Spencer. Something was weighing heavy on her even before Mona came into the gym.
"So can we see your equipment?" Paige winced. "I heard it the minute I said it."
Holden laughed. "Yeah. We can break out the block pads and then you can do this drill on the kick bag."
"Sound good to you?" Paige tossed the question at Spencer. The other girl just glowered at her. "Sounds perfect, Paige. You're amazing and the best."
"For that you can hold the pad." Spencer rolled her neck.
"Well it is the closest you'll get to kicking my ass, so I'm going to give it to you." Paige flashed her a half smile.
"Ugh, keep pushing it, McCullers." Spencer fell into a fighting stance.
Paige took the block pad from Holden. It was similar to the one that Spencer owned. She staggered her feet, and held the block pad. She braced herself as Spencer took a kick. The other girl was a surprisingly strong kicker. And she had a lot of stress and anger to work out.
Spencer started on roundhouse kicks. Paige felt each one.
"You know, Spence." Paige started. "I'm surprised you stuck around."
Spencer kicked as she said each word. "If I left like a toddler throwing a tantrum, Mona would have won."
That last kick was pretty hard. They both switched stances so Spencer could kick with her other leg.
"Besides, if I left, Aria and Hanna would have followed. I need them to learn how to protect themselves." Spencer emphasized each with with a kick.
"And who better than the girl you were protecting yourselves from this whole time." Paige nodded. It made sense.
"Yeah. Mona was A. And she can help us against this new A." Spencer looked determined as she started on her sidekicks.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Paige knew that it was a good strategy. Mona was very much a predator. Like recognized like.
And that scared Paige at times.
Was she becoming what she was afraid of.
Paige thought of when she had tried to scare Emily. She had found the other girl in the pool. And in a moment fueled by fear, Paige had attacked Emily. Without thinking, just losing herself to the fear and self loathing, Paige held Emily's head under water.
Paige could never forgive herself for doing that. She couldn't forget.
She didn't brace herself against Spencer's next kick. She lowered the block pad. Spencer's foot caught her in the side. Paige grunted and fell on her back.
"What the hell, Paige!" Spencer shouted. "Are you insane?"
It was Paige's turn to groan.
"What happened?" Holden asked in alarm.
"She just gave away that kick. She dropped the block pad and let me kick her." Spencer was upset. "I didn't earn that kick."
"That's not on you, Buttercream. I just needed to-"
"Punish yourself?" Mona was standing over her, right by Paige's head.
"Yeah." Paige looked away. Mona had her all figured out.
"Holden, can you take over? I'm going to have a little chat with Paige." Mona offered her a hand, and Paige took it.
Once she was on her feet, Paige lowered her head. She didn't know why. It's not like Mona had any power over her. They weren't even friends. But getting scolded by someone shorter than her, by anyone, was a blow to her ego. Another tally of disappointment.
Mona brought her to the locker room. "Have a seat."
Paige sat down on a bench. She crossed her arms. Mona was quiet. The other girl dragged it out long enough that it was torture.
"Are you waiting for some kind of confession? I thought you already had all the answers." Paige locked eyes with Mona.
"You know, Paige, I have you all figured out." Mona said echoing her earlier thoughts. "You wear your heart on your sleeve. I could probably clean you out if we played poker. And yet, I can't predict you. Everyone's movements are clearly laid out. I can see their choices. If they go left or right. If they run or fight. It's so clear in my head, I can see it. But you? I can't see. You are a Wild Card. Why is that?"
"Guess I'm just lucky like that."
"But lucky for me, you are so predictable." Mona smirked. "All of this. Learning to fight, and facing down criminals. It's penance."
"And you found the perfect partner for this. Spencer likes to self-flagellate too. But not as much as you. You're so alike, and yet so different. Watch out with that one." Mona sighed.
"Why are you so concerned?" Paige wasn't trying to be a smartass. She honestly wanted to know.
"I like you, Paige McCullers. You're one of the good ones. You stuck up for me against Alison. Even when it made you a target." Mona explained. "Besides, if I let you get hurt, your girlfriend would put me in a world of it."
"Emily wouldn't." Paige argued.
"If it's you. Or someone she cares about, Emily would." Mona cocked her head to the side. "The things Emily can do. I'm sure you know what she's capable of. Isn't this all for her? The training. The vigilance. Does Emily know?"
"Don't!" Paige growled. "If you do anything to her."
"My dear, I couldn't hurt Emily. No matter how much I try. And I did try." A smile appeared on Mona's face that was filled with nostalgia. "But I learned the best way to hurt Emily is to go after the people that matter to her most. Her friends."
"What are you saying?" Paige narrowed her eyes at the shorter girl.
"I'm saying that it's the most obvious thing in the world. You don't have to be genius to figure out that to get to Emily you go after her friends." Mona said. "If I knew that. This new A knows it too."
"What's so special about," Paige stopped as she came to the sudden realization. Emily was special. Because she had powers. "This is all because of Emily?"
"You catch on quick. All the texts. All the notes. All the blackmailing and threats. This is all for Emily. Because Isn't it always for Emily?"