A/N – To the guest who asked about Pru: She's the one in episode 1x20 who talks with Paige in the bathroom about Sean Ackard. I don't know why she ends up as Paige's friend in so many fanfics, but I just decided to go with it. Thanks for reading!

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken.

– C.S. Lewis

"Stop acting as if this is a bad thing, Paige! Why would she friend you if she wasn't interested?"

"I don't know – to apologize, maybe? Maybe out of pity?" Paige was on the verge of another panic attack. Pru rubbed her arms, soothingly. When she felt Paige calm down, she continued, "Well, there's one way to find out!"

Paige took a minute to think it over. And, really, her friend was right: Whatever reasons Emily had for friending her, it couldn't be a bad thing. "Okay. Okay. This is good. This is good."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Accept her request!"

Later that evening, back in their room, Emily opened a chat with her newest facebook friend, Paige McCullers.

Emily Fields: Hi! It's Emily, the girl from Campus Grounds with the majorly inappropriate friend. :)

No reply

Emily Fields: I guess you already figured that out, though. :)

No reply

"Tell her you want to take her for a stroll through the Fields!"

"Shut up, Hanna!"

"Tell her you're ready to turn the Paige!"

"Oh, my God, Hanna, why are you even here?"

Emily Fields: So, I was thinking, after that incredibly tactless comment from my friend, it could potentially be really awkward in Soc. next Wednesday night. So, I was thinking, maybe we could meet up for coffee before then, you know, to break the ice? No inappropriate friends this time, I promise. :)

No reply

Emily Fields: Or we could bring friends, I mean. It doesn't have to be just the two of us, if you'd feel more comfortable.

No reply

Emily Fields: Okay, well, I guess that's a no, then. I really am so sorry, Paige. The offer stands, though, if you ever forgive me.

Emily sighed and closed the chat. "Ugh. I knew this was a stupid idea."

"Hey, remember," Hanna said sincerely, rubbing Emily's arm, "Frightened puppy. Just give her some time. Let her come to you."

Emily buried her face in her hands. "I just totally humiliated myself, Hanna. As if you hadn't already done that for me," she said, defeated.

"She just needs some time, Em. Trust me: She'll come around."

"She didn't say anything, Hanna. Not "it's okay," not "I can't talk right now," not "fuck off and die..." She just let me keep going on and on like an idiot."

"She's just nervous and shy. I mean, she didn't accept your friend request just to ignore you. The best thing you can do is take the pressure off her and wait for her to be ready."

"Well, if I'm still waiting when Wednesday rolls around, you're going to have to take notes in Soc. for me, 'cause there's no way I can deal with that. Wait – no, you're not going either! – God knows your mouth has gotten us into enough trouble as it is!"

"So you didn't reply at all? To anything? Paige…"

"I know! I know! I fucked up! I… I just froze. Shit, Pru!" Paige was almost sobbing.

"Okay. It's okay. I'm coming over, Paige. Don't worry. We can fix this."

Paige didn't know what to do, so she decided just to trust her friend. After a bit, Pru waltzed in with a determined look on her face and a cappuccino in each hand. "Okay," she launched in, handing a cup to Paige, "Tell me everything that happened."

Paige gave an angst-filled, self-deprecating recap of the incident while Pru pored over the chat session, doing her best to keep her expression neutral. She let out a sigh and looked up at her friend, trying to to remain optimistic. "This is fixable," she assured her.

"I could tell her that I have really bad carpal-tunnel, and that, when it flares up, I can't type! I could tell her that my Dad called right when she started chatting, and I couldn't get back to the laptop! I could tell her…"

"Paige! Calm down!" Pru paused, then reasoned, "Look, Emily was honest and open with you. You just have to be the same with her."

"What? – Tell her I'm this big loser who was too scared shitless to operate a keyboard when her huge crush reached out to her?"

"Paige…" Pru thought it over. "Actually, that might work!"

"Pru!"

"Okay, okay," Pru half laughed. "But put yourself in her shoes. Wouldn't you love it if Emily were that vulnerable with you?"

Paige just squinched her eyebrows and looked at Pru, pleading for salvation.

"Okay. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to tell her that you're sorry, that you didn't mean to be rude to her, but you were just overwhelmed. Tell her that she doesn't have to apologize for her friend, and that you'd love to have coffee with her."

Paige breathed in, about to say something, but she thought it over. "Actually, that doesn't sound bad."

"And then you're going to go have coffee with this girl, and you're going to be yourself – not the little frightened puppy that you morph into whenever you see the Goddess Emily. Okay?"

"Okay."

Pru grabbed her shoulders and shook her, for emphasis, repeating more emphatically, "Okay?"

"Okay," Paige said. "But you're going with me."

Paige went over to her laptop and saw that Emily was no longer on-line, so she messaged her: "Hi, Emily. Listen, I'm so, so sorry about before. I was just overwhelmed. Well, I guess you've seen how that looks. :) And don't apologize for your friend. Coffee sounds good. Can I bring my friend, Pru?" Crossing out that last question, she decided to be brave, and typed in her phone number instead. She quickly clicked "Send" before she had a chance to chicken out.

"Woah! Bold move, McCullers! So, tell me: What are you going to do when your phone lights up and it's Emily Fields on the other end?"

Paige let out a deep exhale and smiled. "Yeah, well, you know me. When I decide to take on a challenge, I have to face it head on!"

Pru continued, melodramatically, "And I'm crushed! Ditching your oldest and dearest friend before the date even begins?"

"Oh, God, Pru! You had to say 'date?' I'm not under enough pressure as it is?"

"It'll be fine, Bucko," Pru assured, her hand on Paige's shoulder. "You'll see."

Paige knew that it would be hard talking to Emily on the telephone. What she wasn't prepared for was how hard it was waiting for the phone to ring. She wasn't expecting to hear from Emily that night, but when Friday turned into Saturday, and she still hadn't heard from the girl by phone or on facebook, her optimism and her courage started to fade back into the same dull, drab gray of the dorm-room walls that surrounded her.

Paige wondered about the thought process that led to the choice of gray paint for the dorms. She understood that the color was neutral – safe – but why be safe? Isn't life supposed to be lived in bright, vibrant color? How she longed to be the kind of person who could assault that gray with bucketfuls of paint, in bold, vivid hues.

Paige was so done with gray.

Saturday afternoon found Paige sitting at her desk, doing her best to study. She had resolved to make good use of her time, because waiting for the phone to ring was driving her crazy. It took her about 15 minutes to realize that she had been reading the same paragraph over and over again. "Fuck it," she finally exclaimed out loud, shutting her book and heading over to her bed to try to take a nap. Before she got there, she heard her phone buzzing.

The call was from an unknown number. Paige didn't even bother to play it cool and let the phone ring for a bit, to make it seem that she hadn't spent the last day and a half waiting for the call.

"Hello," she said, letting the eagerness come through in her voice.

"Hi, Paige? This is Emily."

"Hi, Emily! I was hoping you'd call."

Emily smiled at hearing those words. The shy puppy had, apparently, decided to trust her, and was now wagging its tail in delight. God, she needed a new metaphor.

"I'm glad to hear that," Emily replied. And she was. She got right to the point. "So, listen. Any chance you're free tonight? I owe you a coffee."

"Hmm… Well, I made plans with Faulkner for tonight, but I guess I could stand him up for some really good coffee!"

Emily chuckled into the phone. "Great! Shall we say 5:00? At Campus Grounds? – Back to the scene of the crime, as they say?"

"5:00," Paige confirmed. "I'll see you there!"

Paige hung up and allowed herself one shriek, tossing her head back and clenching her fists at her chest, before she was back on the phone to fire off a text to Pru:

"Date w/ GODDESS in 2 hrs! Wish me luck!"