Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Paige wasn't sure what to say.
As she watched Emily approach, the teen wondered if this was all Mona's doing or a dream come true.
Truth be told, she hadn't seen Emily in the pool for quite a while and was starting to wonder if the teen was going to be on the team any longer. The coach had announced a few days ago that Paige was the new Team Captain and while Emily didn't seem angry about it, she didn't seem happy either. A part of her wondered if she should have talked to the teen and offered some sort of co-position in order to make it up to her. Despite her falling behind, Emily was still a great swimmer and deserved some recognition for it; though her being friends with Alison was a factor to consider. Despite Mona's warning, she still couldn't bring herself to talk to the teen and stayed away as usual; even though she could now see that the teen was troubled as mentioned. Things had become quiet behind the scenes, as far as Paige could see anyways, so she did not know what was going on with the crush of her life. Now she had the chance to have a real conversation with Emily and Alison was not around at all.
"Hi," Emily said as she swam over to the other teen; trying to be as friendly as possible. Both were near the edge of the pool and there was a slight echo in the room.
"Hi; what are you doing here?" inquired Paige as she tried to sound civil. Her heart was beating hard and she still couldn't believe this was happening.
"Just thought I would get some practice in for the next meet; am a little behind. Do you mind me being here?" Emily asked, not sure if Paige was annoyed about her intruding or not. It was a big pool and the teen didn't see why they couldn't share it.
"No; I am just a little surprised to see you here on the weekend. Usually it is just me here to practice," informed the other swimmer and she floated there in the water. Paige had tried to organize other private meets before but her fellow team members were always busy on the weekends.
"So you are here every weekend? It must be lonely to be here by yourself," stated the other teen; both surprised and curious about Paige now.
In all honesty, Emily didn't really know all that much about Paige; other that she was pretty dedicated to her swimming. They had barely had a single conversation with one another even though they had been on the same team for about a year now. Thinking back, she remembered seeing Alison often glare at the young woman and had always been curious on why. The blonde had never mentioned Paige before and they never came into contact at school; though they had to have some sort of history for Alison to hate her so much. Maybe this was the perfect moment to ask and even get a real honest answer. Given that everything Alison was telling her was suspect, getting a different perspective might be the right thing to do.
There was also the factor that Emily really didn't have anyone else to talk to about this; especially given the intense loyalty the others had towards Alison. The others also seemed to be distracted as well, which even Emily was starting to notice though she couldn't understand why; having a feeling that it was something more than just A. Though Aria and Hanna seemed on point to the present crisis and had offered suggestions on what to do, they also seemed to have their own drama they were dealing with; that even Alison didn't seem to notice. It was somewhat amazing that the blonde was distracted by everything at the moment and did not notice that the other members of her group were having their own lives. Emily really wished that she could talk to Hanna about this but given the recent personality shift in her other blonde friend, which was no longer a viable option.
"Not really; my only concern is to better improve my swimming for the coming meets. There are supposed to be some people from Stanford here next week and I want to make a good impression with them," stated Paige as if it were the only thing that mattered right now to her.
"That is good; I wish I could have that kind of dedication right now," the other swimmer remarked with a twinge of regret in her voice. Paige became suddenly concerned and moved a little closer to put her hand on Emily's shoulder.
"Is something bothering you? I am willing to listen if you want to talk about it right now," offered the brown-haired teen in a soothing tone; seeing an opportunity to bond with her crush.
"I think I would like to talk about it; can you keep a secret?" Emily asked, deciding to take an incredible risk by confiding in Paige even though she did not really know her at all. Emily really wanted to talk to someone about this and there were so few people that she had no real choice but to talk about this with the teen; her parents being completely out of the question.
"Sure; I am willing to listen and keep whatever you say will be kept just between us," Paige told the other swimmer; fully meaning it. The way that Emily sounded, it really sounded like she was in some sort of crisis.
The two swam over to the edge of the pool and hopped up onto the concrete; the water dripping from their bodies. Emily started to talk and kept her voice low out of an intense paranoia; looking over her shoulder every now and then even though they were quite alone. Paige sat back and hung onto every word, expressing genuine sympathy when it was warranted; also realizing that her crush really was in trouble like Mona said. From their conversation, Paige became fully aware of the mysterious stalker known as A, the recent troubles that had befell the group of girls, and even the recent revelations that Emily found out about Alison. When Emily described what she had seen on the video and that there was more of them, Paige's heart broke on how the teen felt betrayed by the blonde; though she also wasn't surprised. She could have told Emily that Alison was a player but it was still distressing that the teen had found out the way she did.
"Do you still feel that Mona and Spencer could be this mysterious A that keeps harassing you guys?" Paige asked finally after Emily told her everything; visibly relieved at finally able to get everything out in the open with someone outside her immediate circle.
"Alison still thinks so but me and the others don't," Emily answered as she looked around in what seemed like the millionth time. Paige could now understand why the teen was paranoid and felt incredibly sympathetic towards her.
"Well I am not sure what to say; but I do have a confession of my own to tell you," stated the other swimmer, deciding to reveal the truth to Emily about some knowledge of her own. While she was taking an incredible risk herself, she wasn't about to keep secrets from Emily like Alison did.
"What is that?" inquired the teen out of slight curiosity and concern. She liked to think that Paige was a good person and that she didn't make a mistake by confiding in her.
"Last year, Mona tried to recruit me in some revenge scheme against Alison; though I declined because I thought it was too much. While I am not sure if this is similar to what she was doing and that if she is still doing it, Mona does have a history with this whole thing," the tomboy told Emily reluctantly; hoping that the revelation would not chase the teen away.
"She came to you to get revenge against Alison? Why would she come to you?" Emily asked, both startled and curious about what she was just told. Though she didn't know the whole story, she was surprised that the swimmer was almost brought into the whole drama.
"Because I have a dark history with Alison; I am also another one of her victims and she hurt me a great deal last year," revealed Paige as the memories of what the blonde did to her seeped into her brain. The only ones who really knew about her history with Alison was her therapist and her parents; also Mona due to special circumstances.
"What did she do to you?" Emily softly asked; closing her eyes and sighing at the fact that she needed to prepare herself on learning more about her blonde friend.
Paige told her; leaving nothing back and Emily soaked everything in with shame becoming the dominate emotion.
"I am sorry she did that to you; I like to think that she is really a good person and I just can't believe that I didn't see it earlier that she is such a bully," admitted the teen; starting to wonder if her whole relationship with Alison was a mistake. A part of Emily though still considered the blonde her friend; given their years of history together.
"When I was in therapy, I talked about Alison a lot and I was told that she was just another sick individual; like all bullies are in a way. While I could never really forgive Alison for all the terrible things she has done to everyone, I can't really hate her either. All I can really do is just move on and try to avoid her in the best way I can. For me that is swimming; which is one of the few things that give me pleasure in my life," Paige told the other teen with all sincerity; leaving out the factor that talking to Emily at such a close level was also pleasurable for her. Being so close to her crush, it was everything not to start blushing; especially with the situation they were in.
"Well I am sorry none the less; I guess she really did drag us into this whole mess after all," the teen realized when she thought about it. Emily supposed she always knew that little fact but it never really registered completely before now.
"Well while Mona and Spencer can still be considered suspects as the one harassing you, you have to consider that Alison has made a lot of enemies over the years and any one of them could be A. Have you considered Jenna Marshall a suspect?" inquired Paige, bringing up the blind teen after thinking back to her earlier conversation with Mona. A small part of her wondered if the shorter teen had planned this all somehow but dismissed the possibility since Mona couldn't be that good.
"Jenna? She is blind and can't really do anything," Emily stated with some guilt seeping into her voice. Looking back, she was starting to feel regret for not stopping Alison for hurting so many people and creating the enemies that they now had to deal with.
"Jenna has a lot of friends that you don't know about so don't count her out as the one who is doing this to you guys. While I might be wrong, you and your friends should really consider the possibility," advised the tomboy as they sat there with their legs draped in the warm water of the pool. While apart of her wanted to stay out of all this drama, Emily really needed a friend and someone that could really support her right now.
"I'll mention it to the others; thank you Paige for listening and I am sorry for not talking to you about all this earlier," said a very thankful Emily as she smiled warmly at the other teen. Though she was still on the fence in regards to Alison, she liked to think she at least made a new friend today.
"It is not your fault and anytime you need to talk, I can provide an ear. Let's do some practicing to get you mind off things," Paige said as she smiled back at the teen. Emily smiled and nodded; the two sliding into the water to do some laps.
Across town, Aria knocked on Ezra Fitzgerald's door before heading inside.
She found her secret boyfriend in the kitchen making a pie; which was sort of a hobby for the older man. Aria had brought some coffee and treats for their little pow wow away from all the drama of their lives; also to have their usual afternoon date. Hanna was currently occupying Alison and she did not know where Emily was; assuming that she was already heading to Alison's. She had told the blonde leader that she was with her father at Hollis College, which was a lie but one she could not check up on. What the teen really needed right now was some time alone from her friends and to talk to a more sympathetic ear. An ear that knew her secrets as well as his; which even Alison was unaware of.
"Morning; how was last night?" Ezra asked as the two exchanged a quick peck on the lips; Aria handing him his cup.
"The usual with us trying to convince her that that we need to consider other suspects that could be A. I thought about bringing up the list of names you told me about from your research but that would lead to some questions I don't want to answer," the teenage girl told her boyfriend and he nodded in agreement.
When they first start secretly dating one another, the two had informed each other of their secrets as a way to tie themselves together. Aria knew all about Ezra using Alison as his muse as well as his novel that he was still writing; though it had now evolved into a true crime novel. While he was helping Aria on the side to hunt for A, he was also trying to solve the murder of Bethany Young and the connection to the DiLaurentis Family. Their relationship was quite strong and they vowed to never keep secrets from one another; though they were keeping them from their family and friends. It had been a complicated thing to do and if it weren't for Alison being distracted by the present drama with A, she would have long noticed Aria's and Ezra's little escapade. Though Aria was worried about the blonde finding out, her teacher wasn't since he had some research to protect himself as well as his girlfriend from Alison's wrath.
"I understand; Alison can be unpredictable and even more so now that she is under threat. I think you should just concentrate on protecting yourself right now," Ezra stated to the teen as they stood there in the kitchen.
When Aria first told him about what was going on in regards to A, he had dug into his research in order to find an answer. When Ezra first start hanging out with Alison and studied her, after he found out she had been lying to him all this time, he discovered that the blonde had a rather murky history to say the least. While the teen put on a façade of being a sweet innocent girl, it truth she was a bully as well as a spoiled brat. The problem was that the teen had made a lot of enemies and finding out which one of them was A was no easy task to be sure; though he did have a certain criteria to work with. Then again, Alison had been at this for so long that he just couldn't be completely sure that A was from Rosewood to begin with; maybe even being a new resident such as himself. As for suspecting Mona Vanderwaal and Spencer Hastings, they matched every criteria and made the most sense of wanting to hurt Alison; Especially after that little prank the blonde orchestrated at the Homecoming Dance. However, their alibis for every occurrence initiated by A was just too strong.
"Well I just can't leave Hanna and Emily; they are suffering from this as well and they don't have the DiLaurentis Family's vast resources to back them up when A or Alison get them into real trouble," the teen argued to her secret boyfriend in order to make a point. While she had no problem leaving Alison to her fate at this stage, she just couldn't leave the others to the same.
While Aria still considered Alison a friend; she was also no longer disillusioned about her as well. Through Ezra, the teen had learned things about the blonde that in some ways horrified her; even more so that she had to look back at her own inactions. She had been more than tempted to dump Ali on a few occasions; even going over and trying to patch things up and rekindle her friendship with Spencer. The drama with A changed all that and the teen found herself tied to the blonde until she could figure a way out the mess; a way that would also unlink Hanna and Emily as well. She had considered the possibility of simply going to Spencer and Mona in order to make peace with them; back when she really thought that they were their mysterious harassers since it did make sense at the time. However, recent events had dimmed the duo as suspects and Aria was forced to consider other people that could be A. Hanna had recently mentioned Jenna Marshall and the teen felt that could be a strong possibility.
"Sometimes you need to consider your needs more than others. You said it yourself, the others also see Alison's bad behavior but do nothing about it. I can try and protect the others but until we get a solid read on who A is and as along as the others look away in regards to Alison's bad acts, they are trapped in their fate," the older man pointed out gently as they made their way to the couch.
Aria was about to say something to counter that when her phone beeped.
Please Read and Review; also a big thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read and we go back to Spona in the next chapter!