"Bianshay by Request"
I can't believe another month has gone by since I updated this! How is that even possible!
But before I continue I just wanted to let you know that somehow I was tagged in a tweet that expressed hate for Maya. This person was quite nasty. I won't even repeat what was said. So, I ask that you please do not include salsa3344 in any hate specific tweets towards Paily or any other Emily ship. The Emayans were wronged, we know that, but unless PLL wants to explore Emaya further, we have to rely on fanfiction and each other. I think "throwing shade" is one thing but to hate is completely different. I can honestly say I am sickened by the amount of wrongful deaths associated with hate. Please share your LOVE FOR EMAYA, NOT YOUR HATE for Emily's other ships. I prefer to think of those other ships as pure nonsense. See, we are capable of not hating! ;)
(I have said in the past that I felt Paige was originally written in the show for the audience to love to hate her. Let's be clear, that is much different than hating just for the sake of hating.)
So please keep what I said in mind as you read how Bianca deals with Lindsey…
Rated M for Mature Content.
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Lucy squeezes her arm and walks back to the others.
Lindsey engrosses herself in the Maxim photograph. She studies it over and over looking for a flaw but there is none and she knows it.
She dips her head and sighs, then, when she looks up she spies her walking towards the ladies room.
She follows her.
When she catches up to her she says, "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"
She turns around and tilts her head, "Me?"
"Yes Bianca—you."
Chapter 36: You Win
Bianca POV
"Umm…"
Lindsey interrupts my apprehension, "I'm not going to start any trouble. I promise."
I keep my expression serious, "Okay. Let's go over to the lounge over there. It looks pretty empty."
I follow her wondering if I should have anything to worry about. I'll give her a chance to have her say but I'll also be ready to have mine.
She finds a seating area with a low table complemented by a love seat and chair. She sits on the chair and I sit on the love seat lacing my fingers against the arm rest waiting for her to say whatever it is she needs to say.
"This isn't easy for me," she wrings her hands nervously.
"I can't imagine that it would be," I remain stoic.
"I guess I'll start with what I know. Umm, I was brought on to Pretty Little Liars to be a possible love interest for Shay's Emily."
That's right, Shay's EMILY, not SHAY.
"But then they brought you back as Maya and it got confusing."
"Confusing?" I give her a 'how is that confusing' look.
"Lucy had talked me up to the producers and I just thought Paige would be with Emily the rest of the show."
"I don't see the relevance."
I need to prepare myself in case she tries some angle to infiltrate my relationship with Shay.
"So I was surprised to be let go while Emily was reacquainted with Maya."
"MmmHmm."
"And I guess the two of you really hit it off," she finally looks up at me.
She seems so—juvenile at this moment.
"Lindsey, there was always something there; we just didn't realize it until Maya was written back into the show."
"So, if Maya never came back would you two be engaged right now?"
My eyes widen for a fraction of a second while I try to understand this need she has to figure out a way to get Shay. Wow! This girl just won't give up!
"That's a question I can't answer. The past is the past. You can't change it. And anyway, I'm not sure Shay and I would be in lasting relationships with other people because our hearts would be longing for something else. We wouldn't know what that something else is unless we ran into one another. So, if I never came back a second time then the universe would find another way for us to meet again. Do you get what I'm saying?"
I make sure our eyes are connected so she understands my words.
"You're saying that Shay and I wouldn't stand a chance because her heart would always be searching for its mate."
"Yes. Can you accept that?"
Here we go…
"At first, no. I wanted to do whatever it took to get Shay to notice me and forget about you but it was too late."
"It was never too late; fate would've come between you," I remind her of that important detail she seems to want to sweep under the rug.
"But when you believe fate is on your side then it's hard to rationalize anything else. So I pushed and Marlene pushed but then she backed off."
"She backed off because you can't decide for someone else who they can love and she knows that. Marlene's angle was more about selling Paily to the audience then it was about you interfering with Shay's personal life."
"I know. But I still didn't accept the two of you as a couple. I thought I still had a chance."
I'm not sure if I should even feel sorry for her.
I lean forward and she leans back feeling my intimidation, "Why? What made you think so?"
"My need to be loved by someone who I would be honored to be loved by."
I settle back into the cushions, which seems to relax her, "I can understand that. So, has anything changed?"
"Yes."
My posture straightens. My head tilts.
"Really? How so?"
"When I found out you were engaged I got angry. I thought there's no way she could've fallen for you so quickly. But she did. I wasn't happy for you."
"I see."
I narrow my eyes in an aggressive stare.
Her voice raises its volume, "I let my feelings about it fester inside of me. They made me want to break you up."
I look around needing her to bring it down, "Lindsey…"
"Wait. Even tonight I thought, all I have to do is get Shay alone and she'll forget all about you."
I let out a "hmmm" kind of laugh.
"I don't think she'll ever forget about me," I cock an expressive eyebrow.
"Oh, I don't think so either. When they undraped your photo I was livid. I was like why couldn't that be me and Shay. It was devastating for me but the two of you—the photographer captured the two of you so beautifully."
I want to say thank you but I don't trust what she might say next.
"Then Lucy said something to me. She said, 'do you see how happy they are.' She said, 'That's Shay in love with her soul mate. Her soul mate is Bianca, not you.' She told me to really look at the Maxim cover and said, 'That's love and sex and everything in between.' And then she said I 'need to let it go.'"
"Have you? Let it go?"
I need to hear her say it.
"I stared at that cover looking for a flaw but there were none. There are no flaws. You and Shay have no flaws."
"I wouldn't say that but love is love and we do love each other."
"I can tell. She has never once looked at me the way she looks at you."
She seems defeated. That's a shame. It was never a competition. Yet she felt she could win Shay's love. Can she really let her go?
"Ya know Lindsey, I know she likes you and I know she wants to be friends with you but she's afraid to because she doesn't want to give you the wrong idea. And quite frankly I don't blame her."
She dips her head, "Friends with Shay would be nice." Then she lifts it to look at me but she seems rather nervous, "Friends with you would be nice too."
"I've never not wanted to be friends. I just felt we couldn't be friends because you wanted more with Shay. She's concerned about you turning your friendship into something that it isn't."
"I get that. But, Lucy's right, I have to let it go—let her go. We were never a thing. I just hoped that we could be."
"Admitting to yourself that you can only have friendship with Shay is a big step. It's the right step. It's the mature, responsible step."
She smiles a closed mouth smile.
I put my hand on her knee, "Lindsey, I'm in love with Shay and Shay is in love with me," I make sure she's looking into my eyes, "You, me and Shay can be friends. Let's just take this path to friendship slowly. You don't want to make her nervous or find a reason to push you away." I lean back hoping what I've said registered.
"Friendship?"
"Yes, friendship. Just ease into it. You're not going to be besties but there's no reason why you can't work together and have fun at the same time."
Then suddenly our moment is interrupted.
"What's going on here? I've been looking all over for you Bianca," Shay sits down next to me real close and kisses my lips more so in an effort to visually show Lindsey who she has chosen.
"Lindsey asked to chat for a bit so here we are," I open my arms with palms up and shrug.
"Is everything all right?" She asks with great concern on her face.
I bring my attention back to Lindsey, "Is it, Lindsey?" I want her to answer.
"Bianca and I had a really nice conversation. You're very lucky to have her Shay. And I'd like to be friends with both of you, just friends. Do you think that would be okay with you?" She asks like a lost puppy dog.
Shay looks at me and I nod in agreement.
She smiles, "Yeah, we can be friends, that's what I wanted from the start."
"Okay then. Umm, well, I guess I'll leave you two. Thank you for hearing me out Bianca," she begins to walk away but then stops, looking over her shoulder, "Oh and by the way, your Maxim cover really is beautiful."
"Thank you Lindsey," Shay seems surprised by this turn of events.
She smiles again leaving Shay and I alone. But before Shay can grill me further I slide my hand to the nape of her neck and draw her into a kiss, a long adoring kiss.
"Mmmm, what was that for?"
"Just because I love you."
She smiles with a hint of blush, "So, you worked it out with Lindsey?"
"I hope so. She wants what we have. But she can't have you," I tap her nose with my index finger.
"No one can have me. I'm yours. And I've never been happier."
We kiss, this time a little longer and a little hotter.
"Just keep that toothpaste cap on the toothpaste tube, okay?"
"Bianca!"
"Hahaha! I love you baby but we really should get back to socializing; I just have to pee first. I never made it to the ladies room."
"I love you and yes, please, go pee."
Shay POV
I laugh out loud as she leaves to finally go to the ladies room. But I'm not alone for long.
"Lindsey, what's up?"
"Oh, sorry, I think my cell phone fell in the chair. I was just going to check and yep, here it is," she shows it to me as if I'm going to point and accuse her of being a LIAR so everyone can hear.
"Lindsey, don't make this weird. I have no problem being friends with you as long as you know your boundaries," I sound serious, this is serious.
"I know. I think you're with who you're supposed to be with. And one day, I hope I will be too."
"You will if you open yourself up to it. Don't push people away because you think Bianca and I are going to break up. That's not going to happen," I hope she really does get that.
"I don't want it to. She makes you happy I can see it all over your face."
She seems genuine. I just don't want to wake up with a pain in my chest because she has a doll that looks like me stuck with pins!
"She does. And one day you'll find your happy too."
"Thanks. I have to go, Lucy's waiting for me."
"Okay, we'll see you later. And Lindsey?"
"Yeah?"
"You really will find your happy if you let yourself."
She nods as she walks away but I can't tell if she feels defeated or relieved. And I can't consume myself with her feelings. I need to consume myself with Bianca and there she is right on cue!
"Hey baby, did ya miss me?" She sits down close to me and I don't know how she does it but there are thoughts going through my head that I shouldn't be having right now.
"I did, for the ten minutes you left me alone."
"Huh! Don't be fresh."
"I thought you liked me fresh," I bite into my lower lip.
"Actually…"
She nibbles my neck and I have to remind myself that we're in a public place.
"Bianca…"
She reluctantly stops, leaning her head against her hand which rests on top of the back of the love seat.
"Can we get out of here now?" She pleads.
"You really want to go?"
"We did our thing. We socialized. We dealt with the Lindsey chronicles. Now can't we just be like an old married couple and go home."
"It's not even midnight. Can we at least wait until then?" I plead back with my eyelashes.
"If we must," she looks up at the ceiling.
"You'd really stay because I asked you to?"
"Well, I don't want to go home alone. If I did that then I'd be asleep and you'd wake me up and I wouldn't be in the mood."
"Mood?" I bite the nail of my index finger.
"To talk—about how the rest of the night went," she smiles a wicked smile.
"You are so awful to me! Why do you insist on teasing me!"
"Because you make it so easy for me," she laughs.
"I kinda do, don't I." I find myself laughing about it too.
"Okay, so who do we need to talk to and sound like we're really interested in listening to what they have to say?"
"Bianca!"
"You were thinking it. I just said it out loud." She says kind of matter of fact.
"I know but they let us show our Maxim cover so we really should thank the right people. I mean, who knows, maybe the right person will want to bring Maya back."
"Oh Shay, hasn't that ship sailed?"
"Maybe, maybe not," I play coy with her.
"So who do you want me to make nice with," she brushes a strand of hair from my face and that's all it takes to make me all tingly inside.
"Who do you think?"
"Marlene."
"Yep! So, you ready?"
"Yeah, let's just do this."
After midnight…
When we arrive home we both march up the stairs to our bedroom anxious to undress.
"So, that wasn't so bad now was it?" I'm hoping Bianca will agree.
"No, actually it wasn't. Marlene seemed relaxed and genuinely supportive of our coupledom."
"I thought so too so keep your fingers crossed for Maya's return."
"How 'bout we just not ruffle any feathers and see what happens."
"Are you gonna shower?" I ask.
"Yeah, but I'll do it in the guest bathroom."
"The toothpaste cap bothers you that much?"
"No, not that much, okay maybe just a little," she chuckles. "I was thinking we'd be quicker if we showered separately."
"You don't want to shower with me?"
"Don't get me wrong, I love showering with you but after midnight, it's not so easy."
"How so?"
"You've got to hold yourself up against the wet tiles, trying not to slip and kneel on a hard surface. It can be a back breaker."
"Hmm, maybe I should call Lindsey. I bet she'd have the stamina," I'm so joking.
"Don't you dare! Trouble maker. And I'd prefer you didn't joke about that. I'll make it up to you on a nice comfortable mattress," she winks.
Oh that wink!
"Hey, I'm gonna tweet some pics and then jump in the shower, okay?"
"Ugh, if you must. Just make sure they're nice ones of us."
"Should I tweet the cover?"
"You might as well. I'm sure it's already out there."
"What should I say?"
"Make it short and sweet—Pretty Little Lovers. Now let me shower already."
"You are brilliant! Okay, okay, go!"
I love it!
I upload the pic and type 'Pretty Little Lovers' and tweet!
I can only imagine the number of views, favorites and retweets this tweet is going to get! I'm being rather self-absorbed but I really do want to share our love with our fans, the ones who are happy for us because they're the ones who matter.
I hop in our shower and get ready for bed. We're both in pajama bottoms and a tee shirt.
I lie in Bianca's arms and feel her light caresses down my back, "Baby, would it be all right with you if we just cuddled tonight?"
I look up at her, "Yeah, sure, that sounds perfect."
"I love you baby, and tonight wasn't half bad."
"I'm so glad you think so."
Her belly shakes as she giggles. Mmm, I like that feeling.
"I love you B, and good night."
I snuggle into her, needing to be as close to her as I can.
We don't always have to have sex, that's how you know this is love…
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To Be Continued…
I hope you're satisfied with that resolution. Lindsey is no threat. I think you all know that.
Next up: A time jump to...