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Chapter Text

Emily wakes up to the sound of beeping. She slowly opened her eyes and sees white everywhere. As her eyes adjust from so much blur, her eyes land on an unfamiliar older woman at her left side. She noticed that the woman was holding her hand. The woman softly smiles as she speaks. “Emily dear, how are you feeling? You’ve been out for two days. I was so scared.”

Emily scrunches her eyebrows and looks from the woman to two other girls at her other side. “Hey, Em.” The tiny brunette said, giving Emily a warm smile. At her side is a dimpled blonde. The blonde girl took her hand as she spoke. “I’m so glad you woke up, Em. We were so worried.”

Emily’s eyes drifted back to the older woman at her left. “Who are you?” The tanned girl finally speaks. “Where am I?” She asked again.

The three women looked at her with wide eyes. The older woman finally speaks, addressing the blonde girl. “Hanna, can you go get the doctor please?” The girl she called Hanna nodded and went out the door.

“It’s mom, Em. You must still be feeling dizzy for being asleep the past two days.” The older woman said.

“I’m not dizzy. I’m sorry; I really don’t know who you are. Can you please tell me where I am and why I’m here?” Emily asked, slightly irritated at the stranger who called herself Emily’s mom.

“You were in an accident, Emily. You hit your head on the pool during your swim meet.” The tiny brunette explained.

“And who are you? What swim meet?” Emily asked.

“Em, it’s Aria. Don’t you remember what happened at the swim meet?” The brunette asked.

“I don’t – I don’t remember anything at all.” Emily looked really confused. What swim meet is she talking about?

Just then Hanna walked back in, followed by a doctor who looked rather young to be one. “Hi Emily. How are you feeling?” The doctor asked with a British accent.

“Okay, I guess. Uh, a bit confused? Can you please tell me what’s going on and who these people are? What am I doing here? Can I please go now?” Emily replied.

“I’m Dr. Kingston. You’ve been taken here two days ago. You suffered a head injury while swimming. You were swimming so fast when you hit your head. The impact knocked you unconscious. You’ve been out for two days.” Dr. Kingston explained. “Can you tell me what you remember?” The doctor asked.

“I don’t remember anything. I just woke up here a few minutes ago to find these people beside me. They said I was in an accident.” Emily replied, gesturing at the three women as she spoke.

“What’s going on? Does she like have insomnia or something?” Hanna asked Dr. Kingston.

“It’s amnesia, Han.” Aria said. Turning to the doctor, Aria asked “Does she?”

“Well, we will have to conduct a few tests to make sure. Emily, can you tell me your full name please?” Dr. Kingston asked the tanned girl.

“They’ve been calling me Emily. That’s all I know.” Emily said, looking at the doctor and at the worried faces of the three girls. She noticed that the older woman at her side had tears in her face.

Hanna and Aria sat in the waiting room as Dr. Kingston talked to Pam Fields. “Any word from Spencer yet?” Hanna asked the smaller girl. They’ve been trying to contact Spencer for the past couple of hours.

“No. She must’ve fallen asleep. I mean she’s been here waiting for Emily to wake up for the past two days. She’s really exhausted. She wouldn’t have gone home to rest if Mrs. Fields didn’t force her to.” Aria replied. Spencer had been so worried about Emily that she practically camped on Emily’s hospital room since the accident. She refused to leave her best friend’s side until Pam Fields gave her a really stern look and told her to go home and take some rest.  “It was a good thing that Mrs. Fields can be really scary at times.” Hanna chuckled.

“Hey guys. Any word yet?” Paige said as she approached the two girls.

“They’re still talking in there.” Aria answered.

“Okay. I’ll just go get some coffee. Do you guys want one?” Paige asked.

“No thanks. I’m good.” Aria answered. Hanna shook her head as well. “If I drink one more cup of coffee I’ll probably turn into Spencer, so no thanks.” 

Pam Fields approached the two girls just as Paige left. She had a pained and worried expression on her face. “The doctors said that Emily has amnesia. They can’t tell if it’s temporary or not.” Pam said thru her tears.

“Oh my god.” Hanna said.

“Can we see her? What can we do?” Aria asked, her big eyes brimming with tears.

“Dr. Kingston said it would help if she would be surrounded by family and friends most of the time. It may help bring back some memories.” Pam explained. “You can go on and see her while I call her dad.” Pam said as she motioned for the two girls to go on.

“Hey, Em.” Hanna greeted as she entered Emily’s room.

“Hey. Hanna, is it?” Emily asked. Hanna nodded and smiled.

“So, you guys are my best friends?” Emily asked as the two girls both sat at the foot of Emily’s bed, Hanna to her left and Aria to her right. The girls both nodded and smiled. “Can you tell me more about myself? I mean, I really don’t know anything. I don’t remember anything at all.” Emily asked hesitantly.

Aria spoke up first. “Your name is Emily Fields, daughter of Pam and Wayne Fields. Your dad is in the army. You’re a swimmer, the best in Rosewood High actually.”

“We’ve been friends for about 8 years. The four of us, actually. You, me, Aria and Spencer. You’re a lesbian. You came out about 2 years ago and you have an on/off girlfriend by the name of Paige.” Hanna added.

“I have a girlfriend? Where is she?” Emily asked with a surprise.

“She went to get some coffee.” Hanna answered.

Spencer sat right up as she heard the alarm go off. Pam Fields forced her to go home and get some sleep after spending two straight days at Emily’s side. She was so worried about her best friend that she refused to leave her side. She went home as instructed and set the alarm to go off after 2 hours. That’s all the time she needed to re-energize. Coffee will help with the rest. She quickly showered, dressed and left. She stopped to get some coffee at The Brew then proceeded to the hospital. She knocked softly at Emily’s door. The brunette was surprised to see her best friend awake and already sitting up, talking to Hanna and Aria. Spencer quickly strode to Emily’s side and engulfed the tanned girl in a big hug. “Oh my god, Em! I’m so glad you’re awake. How are you feeling? Are you okay?” Spencer briefly pulled away from Emily and placed a soft kiss on the tanned girl’s forehead. She cupped Emily’s cheek and smiled at the tanned girl.

The three girls were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Emily turned her attention to the door and found the most beautiful girl she’s ever seen. The tall, sexy brunette strode towards her, placed the cup of coffee that she was holding on Emily’s bedside table and engulfed her in a warm hug. When the brunette pulled away, she kissed Emily on the forehead and melted her heart with a loving look from her eyes and the most gorgeous smile she’s ever seen. Emily’s heart fluttered as the brunette held her face in her hand. Emily smiled back and placed her hand on the brunette’s neck and pulled her in for a kiss.

Spencer was too surprised at the feeling of Emily’s lips on hers that she wasn’t able to pull back right away. She gasped at the sudden contact and the tanned girl took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, slipping her tongue in the brunette’s mouth.

Paige walked right in to Emily’s room to find both Hanna and Aria sitting at the foot of Emily’s bed with stunned expression on both their faces. She then turned to where the two girls were staring, only to find her girlfriend in a heated lip-lock with Spencer Hastings. “What the hell?!” Paige exclaimed. Her sudden outburst surprised the two. Spencer broke the kiss and clumsily pulled out of Emily’s arms.

“Who the hell are you?” Emily asked with annoyance. She frowned at the girl who interrupted them.

“Why the hell are you making out with Spencer?” Paige asked angrily.

“We weren’t making out, we just, uh…I was…” Spencer stammered. She was surprised at herself for the sudden loss of words, but she was more surprised at the breathtaking kiss that her best friend gave her.

“Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t just barge in here like that!” Emily answered angrily.

Aria interrupted the three, seeing that Spencer wasn’t in a clear state of mind after the surprise kiss from Emily. “Em, this is Paige, your girlfriend.” She said as she gestured to Paige. “And Spencer, your best friend.” The tiny brunette explained as she gestured to a still blushing Spencer.

Hanna finally spoke after shaking off the shock of seeing her two best friends make out right in front of her. “Emily has amnesia.”

Paige’s eyes grew wide. She moved closer to Emily and tried to hold her hand, but the tanned girl moved her hand away. “I’m sorry Em. I didn’t know.” Paige turned to Spencer and glared at the brunette. “That doesn’t give you an excuse to shove your tongue down my girlfriend’s throat. You were clearly taking advantage of the situation.” Paige said angrily.

“It wasn’t her fault and she wasn’t taking advantage of anything.” Emily spoke before Spencer could respond to Paige.

“I’m sorry Em. You caught me by surprise, and I uh, I didn’t know that you have amnesia. Your mom forced me to go home and get some rest. I was here beside you since the ambulance took you here. I shouldn’t have gone home. I should’ve waited for you to wake up. I’m sorry.”

Aria moved to Spencer’s side and placed a hand on her best friend’s back. She also made sure to get in between Spencer and Paige to protect her best friend from Paige’s wrath. Not that Spencer couldn’t handle herself, but Aria knew that Paige had a history of violence.

“You don’t have to apologize for anything, and thank you for staying with me. Come here.” Emily extended her hand to Spencer. Shifting her attention to Paige, Emily asked. “And where were you the whole time, my supposed girlfriend?”

“I had stuff to do at school and at home, but I visited you every day.” Paige said, still fuming at Spencer who now stood by Emily’s side with the tanned girl holding her hand.

“I think we should leave so the two of you can talk.” Spencer offered.

“No. The only one who’s leaving is her.” Emily pointed at Paige. “I don’t want you here.” Emily added.

Paige’s eyes grew wide with surprise and anger. “Unbelievable. I always knew you had a thing for Hastings. Who would’ve thought that an accident was all you needed to run to her arms?” Paige shook her head and strode out of the room angrily.

“It’s okay Em. Paige will come back as soon as she gets over the shock.” Spencer tried to calm her best friend down.

“I don’t want her to come back. Why am I even dating her anyway?” Emily was irritated. How the hell did I end up with that girl? She’s not even my type. Why am I not dating Spencer instead?  Emily asked herself.

“That’s what I’ve been asking you.” Hanna muttered.

“You should get some rest.” Spencer said as she helped Emily lie back down.

“Yeah, Em. We’ll just get something to eat. You should rest. We’ll come back later.” Aria said as she and Hanna walked towards the door.

“Spencer?” Emily pulled the brunette’s hand and linked Spencer’s fingers with her own.

“Yeah Em?” Spencer asked with concern. Emily looked a little worn out with the entire debacle. Her best friend just woke up from a short comatose a few hours ago and she was sure that the confrontation had taken whatever energy Emily had.

“Stay with me?” Emily held her breath as she waited for the brunette to answer. Her mind has been a haze of confusion ever since she woke up from the accident.  Wanting to be in Spencer’s arms was the only thing that she was certain of right now.

Spencer slid beside Emily on the tanned girl’s bed. Emily immediately scooted to the brunette’s side, placing her head on the crook of Spencer’s neck and hugging the brunette with her free hand. She smiled and let herself drift off to dreamland as she heard Spencer’s answer.

“Always.”

Chapter Text

The Hastings was far from the typical all-American family. To them, the most important thing is success. Spencer’s parents are both successful lawyers and her sister is slowly following their parents’ footsteps after recently passing the Bar Exam with flying colours – not to mention graduating as class valedictorian in high school and Magna Cum Laude in Law School. Spencer has added her share of triumphs to the family as well. She’s always at the top of her class, has had countless recognition for various extracurricular activities and has excelled in sports as well – field hockey, lacrosse and tennis to name a few.

Emily’s father is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Pennsylvania National Guard. With him being away from his family most of the time and with Emily’s mother working at the Rosewood Police Department, Emily is mostly left home alone. Due to the paucity of the time that both girls receive from their families, Spencer and Emily spend most of their time together. The girls share almost all of their classes, and Emily’s swim practice schedule mirrors that of Spencer’s field hockey schedule, so the girls usually head home together after practice. For the past three months though, the girls rarely spent time together as both have been hanging out with their respective significant others – Spencer with her boyfriend Toby and Emily with her girlfriend Paige. Their frequent sleepovers in Spencer’s house along with their two other best friends Hanna and Aria have been reduced as well. After Emily’s accident though, Spencer has never left Emily’s side. Even as Emily’s dad came home the day after the swimmer was discharged from the hospital, Spencer was there and has been sleeping over at Emily’s house. Though Spencer wanted to give the Fields some family time to attempt to bring back some of Emily’s memories, Emily has requested that Spencer stay with her. Seeing that Spencer is the only one whom their daughter trusted since she lost her memories, both Pam and Wayne didn’t challenge Emily’s request. Wayne was appreciative that the Hastings allowed their daughter to stay with Emily. He was only allowed to visit his daughter for a couple of days, so Wayne was grateful in knowing that his daughter was safe in Spencer’s company, and it that was enough for him to go back to Pennsylvania without worrying too much.

When Emily went back to school after a week, her three best friends never left her side. They hung out on their usual spots and filled the swimmer in on stuff that the four of them regularly do and places they usually go to. Emily hasn’t gone back yet to swimming, so she instead spent her now swim practice-free schedule watching Spencer’s field hockey practice.

Spencer and Emily were on their way to the locker room when Paige saw them.

“Emily, can we talk? Please?” Paige looked at Emily with pleading eyes, and then shifted her eyes to Spencer. Paige felt as if she needed Spencer’s approval as well, since the brunette seemed like Emily’s personal bodyguard ever since Emily was discharged from the hospital.

Emily was about to turn Paige down when Spencer spoke. “Go on Em. It will be good for you to talk to Paige. I’ll be on the field if you need me.” Spencer leaned in and gave Emily a light kiss on her temple. Emily nodded reluctantly and watched as Spencer walked inside the locker room to prepare for her field hockey practice.

“What do you want?” Emily asked as she turned to Paige, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

“I miss you, Em. I was hoping we could spend more time together. I wanna help you bring back your memories.” Paige smiled and brushed off Emily’s irritated tone.

“My friends are already helping me.” Emily snapped. She can’t explain why but she’d felt indifferent towards Paige since the first time she met the swimmer at her hospital room.

“I wanna be here for you. Please let me in. You could at least come with me to the natatorium. It will be good for you.” Paige pleaded.

“Fine, but only for a few minutes.” Emily somehow felt bad for Paige. This girl was apparently her girlfriend, after all; but she didn’t want to stay with the girl too long as she wanted to catch Spencer’s practice. The tanned girl admitted to herself that watching Spencer on the field is currently one of her favourite things to do.

Emily’s teammates greeted her as she and Paige walked inside. Emily sat on the side of the pool and watched as the girls swam laps.

“You spent a lot of time here. You were usually the first to arrive for practice and the last one to get out of the pool. I’d swear you were a mermaid on your past life.” Paige chuckled.

Emily glanced up at Paige and watched as the swimmer sat beside her and started playing with the water. Paige dipped her hand and splashed the water back and forth. Emily watched as Paige continued splashing the water in her hands. The tanned girl suddenly froze. Images of her in the pool flashed through her mind.

Emily just reached the end of the lap and was about to go up for air when something pushed her head back in the water. Emily held on to her chest, which suddenly felt heavy.

Emily felt water going in her nostrils. She finally came up for air and started coughing. Emily heard voices. Panicked voices. When she snapped back into reality, she found the whole swim team surrounding her, their faces clouded with fear and concern. She looked at the faces of each one of the girls, each of them still unfamiliar to her. Her eyes finally landed on Paige’s face.

Paige shifted her eyes from the water to Emily. The tanned girl clung to her chest and started coughing. “Emily! What’s wrong?”

“Em, what happened? Are you okay?” Paige asked with concern as she held Emily and began to rub her back. She watched as Emily scanned the faces of the girls around them. Emily’s eyes grew wide as she turned to look at Paige.

“You. Oh my god.” Emily wriggled out of Paige’s arms and tried to stand up.

“Emily, calm down. What’s going on?” Paige asked as she tried to grab Emily who almost tripped while standing and moving away from her as quickly as she can.

“You tried to kill me! You tried to drown me!” Everyone’s eyes were suddenly on Paige.

“Em, I can explain.” Paige took a step towards Emily but some of their teammates blocked her path in an attempt to protect Emily, as they themselves were surprised at Emily’s sudden revelation. They knew about Emily and Paige’s competition since Paige joined the swim team, but they didn’t know that it came down to Paige resorting to violence over it.

“Get the hell away from me!” Emily shouted. Tears ran down her cheeks. “Don’t ever come near me again!” Emily ran from the natatorium with tears streaming down her cheeks. She kept running until she reached the field.

“Spencer! Spencer!” Emily shouted and ran blindly through the field, tear-soaked eyes and fear kept her from noticing the stunned and curious gazes of Spencer’s field hockey teammates.

Spencer was running at the other end of the field, about to score a goal when she heard someone scream her name. The girl screamed at the top of her lungs in panic. She recognized the voice instantly. It wasn’t some teammate calling a play, nor a spectator egging her on to score the goal. It was her best friend’s voice, and she sounded scared. Spencer abruptly turned to where the voice was coming from and was surprised at what she saw. Emily was screaming as she ran. Tears were streaming down her face. Spencer ran towards Emily and the tanned girl threw her arms at the brunette as they met in the middle of the field.

“Oh my god, Em! What happened? Are you okay?” Spencer asked as she held her best friend tight.

“She tried to kill me! She tried to drown me!” Emily wailed.

Spencer was stunned. Her eyes scanned the field for Paige, but she didn’t find the swimmer. She was positive that Emily was talking about Paige, given that the swimmer tried to do this to Emily in the past. She couldn’t believe that it happened once again, that Paige tried to hurt Emily again, especially in her best friend’s current state.

“Where is she? I’m going to beat the crap out of her!” Spencer pulled back from Emily and wiped the tanned girl’s tears with the back of her hand.

“No, please just don’t let me go.” Emily pleaded as she clung tightly to Spencer.

Spencer wrapped her arms around Emily protectively. She turned her head towards their coach who had approached them from the bench, giving him an apologetic look. Her coach nodded understandingly.

“C’mon Em. Let’s get you home.” Spencer whispered to the tanned girl. Emily nodded and reluctantly pulled out of Spencer’s arms. Emily clung tightly to Spencer’s arm as they walked side by side towards the locker room to retrieve Spencer’s things.

Hanna and Aria were already at the Fields’ home when Emily and Spencer got there. Spencer had texted them before she drove. Hanna and Aria immediately wrapped their arms around Emily as soon as the swimmer entered the house.

“What happened?” Aria asked as she and Hanna led Emily to the couch, sitting the tanned girl between the two of them. Spencer walked over to the single couch in front of the three and took a seat as well.

“Paige said she wanted to help me bring back some of my memories. I went to the natatorium with her. I sat on the side of the pool, watching the girls swim, when I--” Emily started to sob. Spencer reached across and held one of Emily’s hands as Hanna and Aria held the tanned girl. “I started getting these flashbacks. I was in the pool, swimming alone when someone attacked me. She held my head under water. I saw her face. It was Paige. Why would she do that? I thought you said she was my girlfriend?” Emily asked to no one in particular.

“She was trying to scare you, Em. She wanted to be the team captain and you were her biggest rival.” Hanna explained.

“It happened several months ago, before the two of you started dating.” Aria chipped in.

“What? Why? Why am I dating her if she tried to kill me?” Emily cried.

“Because you’re Emily. You always see the good in people. You believed that Paige is a good person in spite of what happened.” Spencer rubbed her thumb on the back of Emily’s hand that she was holding. She was relieved that she was wrong in her previous assumption that Paige tried to hurt her best friend again. It was painful though that Emily’s first recollection of her old memories had to be a horrible one.

“You knew about it and yet you let me date her?” Emily’s eyes widened as she looked at Spencer for an explanation.

“It’s not as if it was Spencer’s idea for you to date Paige. Spencer confronted her after the incident and even told your coach about making a homophobic remark against you.” Aria said, defending the taller brunette.

“Yeah, and you totally got mad at Spencer. You refused to speak to her for days. You said you didn’t need her to defend you.” Hanna added. Emily looked from Hanna to Spencer. Spencer shrugged her shoulders and gave Emily as tight lipped smile.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry Spence! You tried to protect me from that creep and I totally turned my back on you.” Emily jumped from her seat and hugged Spencer. The force of Emily’s hug landed her on Spencer’s lap. Emily held on to Spencer, her arms draped on the back of the brunette’s neck, while whispering apologies over and over again.

“Hey, it’s okay. Stop apologizing. I know that I sometimes smother you by being overprotective. It’s me who should apologize for going to your coach behind your back. I thought I was doing the right thing.” Spencer hushed the tanned girl while stroking her hair.

“Don’t apologize. You’ve been so good to me, Spence.” Emily said as she pulled away a little and held Spencer’s cheek with her right hand.

Aria cleared her throat. “Maybe we should get you something to eat, or drink Em.” Aria glanced at Hanna, who abruptly stood up and took Emily’s arm.

“C’mon Em. Let’s go to the kitchen and get some snacks. It should get your mind off what happened earlier.” Emily reluctantly pulled away from Spencer and followed Hanna to the kitchen.

“I better hit the showers while you guys prep some food. I was in the middle of field hockey practice when Emily came running.” Spencer stood up and went upstairs and Aria followed suit.

“Spence, we need to talk.” Aria grabbed Spencer’s arm as she was about to go inside the bathroom.

“Okay. Can we do it while I shower? I really need to get out of these clothes.”  Spencer walked inside the bathroom and stepped behind the shower curtain. “What do you want to talk about, Ar?” Spencer started to take off her clothes and dropped them on the floor on the other side of the curtain.

Aria jumped up and sat on the counter. “You and Emily.”

“What about me and Em?”

“I think you guys are spending way too much time.”

“She has amnesia, Ar. She needs me. I have to be there for her to hopefully bring back her memories. You do understand, right?” Spencer wasn’t sure why Aria was speaking like it was a bad thing.

“I know, Spence, but I think Em’s starting to have feelings for you. I mean, I get that you two were close before the accident but this – it’s like too close for comfort.” Aria explained.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ar. Em’s just scared. She trusts me, and I’m pleased that she does. It’s better this way, better than Emily pushing us away for being scared of us because we’re all practically strangers to her.” Spencer reasoned out.

“I’m just worried about you, Spence. What if you start to have feelings for her too? I don’t want you to get hurt. When Emily gets her memories back, we both know that she’ll come running to Paige’s arms again. And where would that leave you?” Aria asked with genuine concern. Both she and Hanna have noticed that Emily seemed to be clingier to Spencer, especially considering the kiss that happened at the hospital.

“I don’t think it’s possible, Ar. I’m still with Toby, though I haven’t seen him for the past two weeks because he’s working outside of Rosewood, but yeah, we’re still together and the last time I checked, I’m still straight.” Spencer chuckled as she turned the shower off.

“We don’t get to choose who we fall for, Spence. Just please be careful.” Aria jumped down from the counter and handed Spencer a towel.

Spencer shook her head as she dried herself with the towel that Aria gave her. “I’m telling you, it’s not gonna happen, Ar. And just so you know, I’ll do the exact same thing if it were you or Hanna in Emily’s shoes.” Spencer wrapped the towel around her body and stepped out of the shower. She walked out of the bathroom to get some fresh clothes in Emily’s room. Aria followed the taller brunette out of the bathroom.

Hanna and Emily walked up the stairs in time to see Spencer and Aria walk out of the bathroom. Emily shot the two of them a confused look. “Did you just take a shower… with her?” Emily asked Spencer.

“Yeah. I mean, no.” Spencer was taken aback by Emily’s question. It wasn’t as if it was the first time that one of her best friends was inside the bathroom as she showered. Then she remembered that Emily’s present self doesn’t know or remember that little piece of information.

“We just talked while she showered. The shower curtain was closed the whole time.” Aria reassured Emily. Emily just nodded as she tried to hide her reaction, but the girls all caught the mixed emotions on Emily’s face – hurt, anger and jealousy. Aria turned to Spencer and gave her a look that said “I told you so.”

Chapter Text

Spencer gently stroked her boyfriend’s hair as she held a book on her other hand. Toby had his head on Spencer’s lap; almost falling asleep by the way Spencer’s fingers caressed his scalp. Toby got back from Philly about a month ago but this was only the third time that he got to spend some free time with Spencer. He has been seeing the brunette on and off due to his work – which included doing carpentry and some construction work.

“We should get going.” Toby glanced at his watch and sat up off Spencer’s lap.

“Huh? Where?” Spencer closed the book that she was reading and faced her boyfriend.

“I’m taking you out to dinner, Spence.” Toby said, frowning upon realizing that Spencer may have forgotten about their plans yet again. He hasn’t spent much time with Spencer since he got back to Rosewood, since the brunette was always hanging out with her friends.

“Oh, right. Can I get a rain check on that? I promised Em I’d have dinner with her tonight and stay over since Mrs. Fields will be at the station all night.” Spencer ran her hands on Toby’s arm as she gave him an apologetic look. Toby pulled his arm away and stood up.

“Emily doesn’t need a babysitter, Spence. I’m sure she can manage on her own tonight.”

“You know I can’t leave her. She needs me, Toby.” Spencer frowned at her boyfriend’s attitude. Toby crossed his arms and returned the brunette’s frown.

“You’ve been with spending more time with her than with me. I’m your boyfriend, Spencer.”

“I know, but Emily’s my best friend and I’m going to stay with her until she gets better.” Spencer stood and faced Toby, crossing her arms across her chest as well.

“What if she doesn’t? Jesus, Spence! Why do you always have to choose your friends over me?”

“Are you hearing yourself right now? Emily is your friend as well, Toby. How can you think that way? I’m not going to give up on her. It hasn’t even crossed my mind that she won’t get better. I’d actually appreciate it if you’ll put some effort in helping her through this.” Spencer uncrossed her arms and clenched her fists on her side. She cannot believe how selfish and irrational Toby sounded.

“Hey, it’s not like I didn’t try. I went over there as soon as I got back but she called me a monster and ran away from me. She said I trapped her in the chem. lab and tried to kill her.” Spencer felt tears start to well up in her eyes as Toby raised his voice on her, not out of fear but out of anger and disgust.

“It’s not her fault that it was what she remembered the moment she saw you, but you should have tried again.” Spencer snapped. She was thankful that her parents were out of the house, for she was sure that her father will have more ammunition in convincing her again to break up with Toby, for the way that he’s talking to her right now.

“You’ve been with her almost every day. You’ve been trying but you’re not getting anywhere. What help could I possibly give Emily if even her closest friend can’t do anything? Why can’t you just accept the fact that she’s not going to get better? She’s a different person now. Spencer. Just deal with it.” Toby snapped and picked up his coat that he tossed to the back of the sofa earlier.

“Oh my god. I cannot believe you just said that.” Spencer felt the tears finally fall from her eyes. Emily has been her best friend all her life, even before she met and became friends with Aria and Hanna. They’ve been there for each other all their lives, through the good and bad. Not once did she turn her back on the swimmer, more so now when Emily needs her the most. She was hurt by Toby’s words and angered by how he was being unsupportive and pessimistic about Emily’s condition.

“I’m just saying that you should stop wasting your time.” Toby said resolutely.

“You know what? You’re right. I should stop wasting my time – on you. And yes, I am choosing my friends over you. I am choosing Emily over you.”

Spencer turned around and walked up the stairs to her room, slamming the door shut.

“I’m sorry, what?” Spencer turned to Emily as she vaguely heard the swimmer say her name.

Emily walked over to the brunette who was sitting beside the bedroom window. Spencer ran her hands down her legs as she turned her attention from the window to Emily. The brunette was sitting by the window with her back resting on the wall and her legs pulled up to her chest.

“I asked if you wanted me to order some pizza.”

“Whatever you want, Em.” Spencer looked up at the swimmer and smiled. She was spending the night at Emily’s once again, not wanting to leave her best friend alone as Pam Fields had to work the night shift.

“Spence? Is there something wrong?” Emily moved closer to Spencer and gently placed her hand on the brunette’s cheek. Spencer closed her eyes as she felt the swimmer’s soft skin on her cheek.

Spencer forced a smile and grabbed the phone from Emily’s hand. “No, nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine. You must be starving. I’ll call in our usual order, yeah?” Emily smiled and nodded, letting the brunette take the phone from her hand. Emily tapped Spencer’s knee and gestured for the brunette to give her some space to sit. The swimmer then situated herself between Spencer’s legs and laid back on the brunette’s chest, stretching her legs on the seat.

“Something’s up with you. I can feel it. Can you tell me what’s bothering you?” Emily asked as Spencer handed back the phone to her after calling the pizza delivery.

Spencer sighed and closed her eyes. “I broke up with Toby.”

“What? Why?” Emily wasn’t sure if she’ll be happy or sad about the news. She felt bad because she knows that Spencer liked the guy, but she was also happy about it, thinking that the guy didn’t deserve someone like Spencer. She didn’t like Toby from what she remembered about him, though Spencer said that she used to be close with him before the accident. Emily turned to her left, her new position allowing her to feel Spencer’s heartbeat through her chest. Spencer felt all of her worries disappear as she wrapped her arms around Emily and rested her chin on top of the swimmer’s head.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now, if it’s okay.” Emily nodded as she snaked her hand up and held Spencer’s cheek once more, caressing the brunette’s soft skin with her thumb.

Spencer smiled as she held Emily tighter in her arms. She knew she ought to be devastated and crying her eyes out at the moment because of her recent break-up with Toby, but whatever hurt and resentment she felt from the heated exchange earlier between her and her now ex-boyfriend have been inundated by the pleasure that she felt in Emily’s comforting touch. She couldn’t put her finger on it but Spencer knew that something has definitely changed. It was scary and exciting at the same time - how her skin tingles from Emily’s touch; how her heart skips a beat with every hug and every kiss on her cheek. She was scared that she might be falling for her best friend, but the feeling was so exhilarating that she didn’t dare stop herself from doing so.

Emily smiled as she felt the brunette tighten her arms around her. She’s never felt safer than being in Spencer’s arms. A part of her felt guilty for taking too much of the brunette’s time, for selfishly hogging Spencer away from her boyfriend and family, as well as from Hanna and Aria. She felt terrible knowing that she may have contributed to Spencer and Toby’s break-up.  Most of all, she felt ashamed of herself for keeping a secret from her friends, a secret that she’s been keeping to herself for two weeks now. A secret that she kept out of fear; fear of losing Spencer Hastings, her best friend, the one person who has never left her side, the one person who’s always been there to catch her. Will Spencer hate her and leave when she learns about her secret? Or will Spencer catch her when she learns that Emily is falling head over heels in love with her?

Chapter Text

(Flashback – Two weeks ago)

“Hanna! Don’t let go!” Aria squealed as Hanna hoisted the tiny brunette up the monkey bars, holding her by the waist.

“I can’t hold you forever, Aria! You’re too heavy!” Hanna could not understand how such a tiny person could weigh this much.

Aria pouted at the blonde for her meagre attempt to support her as she tried to grab the next bar. “I’m not heavy! You just have weak arms!”

“Well you should have asked Em to hoist you up then!” With that Hanna let go of Aria’s waist.

“Ahhh!!!” Aria screamed as she lost her grip on the bars over her head and fell. Hanna tried to catch her but Aria’s weight was too much for her tired arms. The two fell on the ground, giggling like little girls.

Spencer was walking over to Emily who was swinging as high as she can on her own, practicing for their four-way battle on the swings. Spencer was walking over towards the swings, but stopped and turned towards the monkey bars upon hearing Aria scream.

“Spencer!” Emily screamed as she came towards the brunette at high speed. Emily tried to avoid the contact but it was too late. The tanned girl accidentally hit Spencer, knocking them both to the ground. Emily landed on top of Spencer with a thud.

“Oh my god Spence! Are you okay?” Emily hastily tried to sit up but she was pulled back by the brunette.

“Em, watch out!”  Spencer held on to the tanned girl tightly as the chained metal seat swung back towards them. Spencer kept her left arm on Emily’s back and her right arm on the tanned girl’s head until the metal seat stopped swinging. Emily pulled up a little when she felt Spencer’s arms loosen up a bit. She planted her left hand on the ground for support as she looked down at the brunette. “Are you alright?” Emily asked as she pushed a lock of hair from the brunette’s face and gave her a worried look. “I’m sorry, Spence.”

Spencer gave the tanned girl a weak smile. “Don’t be. It was my fault. I wasn’t looking. Are you okay, Em? That was quite a landing. Are you hurt?” Spencer asked worriedly, gently running her hands on Emily’s arms as she spoke.

Emily almost melted at her best friend’s sweet gesture. She was pretty sure that she had hurt the brunette when she hit and landed on top of her but Spencer didn’t seem to mind the pain. She was in fact more concerned if Emily was hurt. “No, I’m fine. Good thing I landed on a safe place.” Emily chuckled. Emily looked lovingly into Spencer’s eyes, making no attempt to move off the brunette.

Emily held her breath as she looked deeply in Spencer’s eyes.

Time stood still as Emily got lost in those beautiful brown orbs, then everything around her disappeared – including Spencer. Emily scuffled up on her feet. She was suddenly alone in the playground. Emily turned around as she heard her name being called. Emily’s eyes widened as she found herself face to face with ten year-old Spencer Hastings.

“C’mon Em! Let’s see who can swing higher without falling!” Spencer took a seat on one of the swings and gestured for Emily to take the one on her right. Emily smiled as she walked over to Spencer and took the empty swing next to the brunette.

“On three?” Emily smiled and nodded at her best friend. The two began to sway side by side, back and forth until they swung higher and higher. Emily tried to swing higher in order to catch up to the brunette, but the height and speed soon became too much for her.

“Spencer! I can’t do it anymore! I’m scared!” Emily screamed as she went higher and higher.

Spencer carefully dragged her feet on the ground to slow her momentum down and then quickly dismounted the swing seat. “Relax, Em. Don’t try to move around or you’ll twist the chains. Use your feet as brakes.” Emily did as told, but she was too anxious to get off the swing seat. The tanned girl quickly jumped off the seat and lost her balance as she did so. Emily stumbled forward but Spencer was quick to catch her. The two fell down on the ground, with Emily on top of Spencer. “You okay, Em?” Spencer had her arms protectively around the swimmer. Emily’s cheeks were flushed, clearly embarrassed at what had just happened. Spencer giggled as Emily bit her lip and nodded.

“Are you seriously laughing at me for falling off the swing?” Emily pouted at her best friend.

“No, of course not. I just realized that I won, so that means I can have all the ice cream that I want. All day. Your treat.” Spencer smiled triumphantly.

Emily rolled her eyes and pulled herself up. “A deal’s a deal, Em.”

Emily smiled and held her hand out to Spencer. “Fine.” The brunette accepted her hand and stood up as well.

Aria and Hanna walked over to Spencer and Emily. “You guys okay?” Aria asked tentatively.

“Em? You okay? You’re kind’a crushing poor Spencer.” Hanna smirked at the tanned girl.

Emily snapped out of her trance when she heard her best friends’ voices. “Yeah, sorry.” She stood up and helped Spencer to her feet.

Emily turned to Spencer and smiled. “Thanks for catching me, Spence.”

Spencer shrugged and gave her a cocky grin. “Don’t I always?”

“Oohh..I think I’m gonna throw up.” Hanna pouted as she rubbed her tummy.

Aria laughed at the blonde beside her. The girls headed to Spencer’s house after spending the afternoon at the old playground, stopping to buy some ice cream on the way. “Well, considering that you just ate about a gallon of ice cream, I wouldn’t be surprised if you puked right now.”

“Can we not talk about Hanna’s puke while Em and I are still finishing our ice cream?” Spencer groaned.

Hanna pointed at the tubs of ice cream in front of her. She and Spencer shared the Hazed and Confused and That’s My Jam while Aria and Emily had the Peanut Buttah and Pumpkin Cheesecake. “I did not eat all of that! Spencer ate most of it. You even ate more than what I had. I don’t get how you’re able to fit all of that ice cream in that super tiny body of yours.”

“That’s because I have faster metabolism than you, Hefty Hanna.” Aria stuck her tongue out at Hanna.

Hanna glared at the tiny brunette. “You. Did not. Just call me. That.”

Aria shrugged at the blonde. “You called me super tiny.”

Hanna stood and pointed at Aria. “It’s because you are! You’re tiny tiny tiny!”

“Guys! Seriously! What are you, ten?” Spencer shook her head at her two best friends while Emily chuckled and continued to gobble her ice cream.

Hanna and Aria shared a look as Hanna dipped her fingers on the almost empty tub of ice cream. “Maybe.” They both said.

Hanna lunged at Spencer and smeared ice cream on her left cheek. Aria followed Hanna’s lead and went for Spencer’s right cheek. Emily almost fell from her chair from laughing too hard.

Spencer wiped the ice cream off her face with her hands in repugnance. She glared at Hanna and Aria as the two raised their hands for a high five. Spencer turned to Emily as she heard the tanned girl laughing beside her. “What are you laughing at?” Spencer leaned in and smudged the tanned girl’s face with her sticky hands. Emily’s eyes grew wide. Hanna and Aria almost died laughing.

“Spencer!” Emily grabbed the tub of ice cream, ready to get even when the back door suddenly opened. Everyone fell silent as Melissa Hastings walked in.

“What the -? Spencer?” Melissa’s mouth dropped open as she saw the mess on the kitchen counter – especially on Emily and Spencer’s faces.

“Uh, we were just having some ice cream? Would you like some?” Hanna smiled as she held a spoon to Melissa. The older Hastings shook her head, her face clearly showing disgust.

“Mom and dad are gonna be home soon. I suggest you clean that up.” Melissa gestured at the mess on the kitchen counter.

“Hanna and I will take care of it. You guys go and clean up your sticky faces.” Aria chuckled as she pushed Spencer and Emily out of the kitchen.

Spencer took one last look in the mirror to check if she had completely removed all traces of ice cream on her face. She and Emily were cleaning up their faces in Spencer’s bathroom. Once the brunette was satisfied, she turned to Emily. “You missed a spot.” Spencer gestured at Emily’s jaw.

Emily leaned closer to the mirror and wiped her jaw clean. “Did I get all of it?” Emily asked as she turned to Spencer.

The brunette moved closer to Emily and held the tanned girl’s chin as she checked her face. “I think we’re good.” Spencer smiled.

Emily smiled back at the brunette who was still holding her face. “Thank you Spence.”

“For what?”

“For the ice cream. For taking me to the playground. For today, and for staying with me through all of this. For being there for me all the time. For being you.” Emily placed her hands around the brunette’s neck and pulled her in for a hug.

Spencer smiled and circled her arms around the swimmer’s waist. Emily closed her eyes as she tried to control the butterflies that were going crazy in her stomach when she felt Spencer’s breath on her ear. “You’re welcome, Em. Always.” Spencer held Emily closer and placed a light kiss on the swimmer’s neck. Emily shivered as she felt Spencer’s lips on her neck.

Emily let her thoughts wander to the memory that flashed through her mind earlier at the playground. She thought about how she and Spencer eventually came back to the playground week after week until Emily grew confident on the swings; how they ended up getting some ice cream each time after leaving the playground; how she remembered Spencer’s favourite brand and flavour of ice cream while they were at the store earlier; how she remembered the way Spencer ate her ice cream – digging a hole in the middle and then circling the sides, and watched as the brunette did just that. Emily was having flashbacks; memories were slowly creeping in to her mind one by one. Memories that involved her best friend, Spencer Hastings. Yes, she and Spencer have been very close for the most part of their lives. Spencer’s been her best friend, her guide, her shield. But now, this – this is entirely different. A whole new level kind of different. They were more affectionate, more intimate. Emily hugged the brunette closer, wondering if she could still hold Spencer this way once everything goes back to normal, once Spencer and the others learns that she’s slowly getting her memories back.

Spencer’s my best friend, and best friends don’t hug, cuddle and kiss this way. This is definitely not normal and being with Spencer this way is wrong, so wrong. But how could something so wrong feel so right?

Chapter Text

Spencer and her teammates were at the centre of the field, shaking their opponent’s hands as the game concluded with a win in favour of Spencer’s team. Emily, Hanna and Aria waited for the players to finish before getting up and walking down from the stands. As Spencer turned to walk towards her friends, one of the girls from the opposing team walked up to her.

“Hastings! Wait up!” Spencer turned towards the voice and was surprised to see the team captain of their rival team walking up to her.

“Kicked my ass again back there. Good game.” The girl said as she smiled at Spencer.

“Yeah, thanks, Your team did a good job as well, uhm..” Spencer smiled politely as she tried to recall the girl’s first name.

“Aubrey.” The blonde provided for her. “Listen, a friend of mine and her band is playing tomorrow night in Philly. I’m not sure if you’re into that, but I was wondering if you wanted to come. As my date.” The blonde smiled even more as she touched Spencer’s arm.

“Oh, cool. Sorry though, but I don’t go out with strangers.” Spencer said politely as she glanced at Aubrey’s hand on her arm.

“Well, it’s not like we’re total strangers, right? We’ve been playing against each other for two years now.” Aubrey used her free hand to unbind her hair. She slowly let her blonde waves fall on to her shoulders while keeping her gaze at the brunette, her dazzling smile never leaving her face.

Spencer smiled. She took a moment to admire Aubrey, never knowing that she looked better with her hair down as opposed to being tied up in a ponytail during the game. But as attractive as the blonde may seem, it wasn’t enough for her to have butterflies, unlike she does when she looks at her best friend Emily. Spencer shook her head a little, not quite understanding why she was thinking of her best friend while she was in front of this attractive girl; and not quite understanding why she’s feeling that way towards her best friend lately.

“You’re right, but I actually have plans with someone tomorrow night, so…raincheck? Thanks for the invite though.” Though it was true that Spencer has plans with Emily the following day, well, it was just their regular movie night. She wasn’t sure why she made it sound like she was going out on a date.

“Oh. Maybe some other time then.” Aubrey’s smile faltered a bit. Before Spencer can answer, Emily walked up to them and immediately flung her arms around the brunette.

“Great game, Spence!” Emily said as she felt the brunette return her hug. “Thanks Em.” Emily shuddered as Spencer’s lips grazed her ear as she spoke. The two were interrupted by someone clearing their throat and looked up to see Aubrey still standing there. Her arms were now crossed over her chest as Spencer had inadvertently dropped her hand that was on the brunette’s arm moments before. Said arm was now linked with the other around Emily’s waist. Aubrey gave Emily a tight-lipped smile. “Hi, I’m Aubrey. Spencer’s uhm, friend.”

Emily caught Spencer’s eyes before turning back towards the blonde. “I’m Spencer’s Emily.” The tanned girl said nonchalantly.

Aubrey felt her face flush. She had no idea that Spencer had a girlfriend. She mentally kicked herself for looking foolish in front of her crush and her girlfriend.

“Nice to meet you, Emily. I’ll see you around, Spencer.” Aubrey gave the two a small smile as she turned around and headed towards her team.

“Oh boy, I think you scared her.” Spencer chuckled as she looked from Aubrey’s retreating figure to the girl in her arms.

“I didn’t do anything.” Emily feigned innocence. She glanced over at Aubrey who was now huddled up with her teammates on the side of the field.

“Well, I think you’ve just insinuated that we’re together. You scared her off.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Emily bit her lip as she lied. “Are you mad? I mean, do you like her? She’s kind’a cute.” Emily hinted, carefully trying to get some information while trying to hide her jealousy.

“Nope. Not really.” Spencer smiled as she held Emily’s arms and removed them from around her neck. Noticing Emily’s questioning eyes at the act, Spencer immediately continued. “Sorry, I’m all sweaty. Don’t want to ruin your clothes. I’m going to hit the showers real quick okay? Afterwards we’re all going to celebrate.” Emily smiled and nodded. Spencer looked over at Emily’s shoulder, smiling and nodding at Hanna and Aria.

“We’ll wait for you in the car.” Aria said to Spencer. The brunette nodded and smiled at the three before walking off to the direction of the locker room.

Paige watched as Spencer headed off to the locker room and Emily turned towards the parking lot with Hanna and Aria in tow. She scoffed as her eyes followed Spencer. She then noticed that she wasn’t the only one whose eyes were following the brunette. As if a light bulb suddenly turned on, Paige smirked and walked towards the side line. She was glad that Lucas asked her to cover for him in taking pictures of the field hockey match; that meant having an excuse to walk over to the opposing school’s field hockey team. Paige went directly to their team captain, the blonde whom she saw flirting with Spencer earlier. Paige smiled as she extended her hand to the pretty blonde. “Hi! I’m Paige. I’m taking pictures for the school paper.”

Aubrey took her eyes off Spencer and shook the hand of the girl standing in front of her. “Aubrey. Nice to meet you.”

“Same here. Good game.” Paige smiled as she observed the girl. She was about the same height as Spencer, with a slim body and pretty green eyes. A perfect match for Spencer Hastings, Paige thought. “You look good together.” Paige added, nodding towards the direction of the locker room, where Spencer had just disappeared into.

“Excuse me?” Aubrey face showed a mixture of surprise and embarrassment. This Paige girl clearly caught her checking Spencer out.

“I saw you talking to her earlier. I wasn’t spying or anything.” Paige lifted the SLR camera that was hanging around her neck, as if offering an explanation. “It’s just that you looked so good together, I decided to take pictures. You’re both team captains anyway, so it’ll be good for this week’s sports article.” Paige explained. She was hoping for a positive reaction from the blonde, and she smiled as the Aubrey curled up her lips into a shy smile.

“Really? Thanks. Too bad she’s taken though.” The blonde sighed.

“Spencer? Nope. She’s single.” Paige said casually, glad that the blonde was slowly taking the bait.

“What about Emily?” Aubrey’s tone has changed, her curiosity suddenly aroused.

“Oh, she’s not Spencer’s girlfriend. They’ve been best friends since they were kids. Hey, if you’re into Spencer, I could help you hook up with her or something.” Paige nonchalantly offered.

Aubrey’s eyebrow quirked a little. Though it was true that she’s had the hots for the captain of Rosewood High’s field hockey team, she wasn’t that desperate to ask the devil for a favour for a chance to be with the brunette. Not that she’s saying that Paige is the devil, but the girl was practically a stranger. The offer surely has a catch to it.

“Why would you do that? I mean, what’s in it for you?” Aubrey squinted her eyes a little as she eyed Paige suspiciously.

“Look, Spencer’s a friend of mine. I just want to see her happy. She’s been single for quite some time now. And like I said, you two clearly have this vibe going on.” Paige pressed subtly.

Aubrey was silent for a while, carefully thinking about the offer. “Alright then. Thanks Paige. I have to get going. We still have a post-game briefing with coach.” Aubrey smiled as she tried to contain her excitement. Paige took her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Aubrey, so the blonde can save her number. The two said their goodbyes and parted with grins on their faces.

Hanna snapped her lips as she reapplied her lipstick. She smirked as she looked at her best friend in the mirror. The tanned girl was standing next to her, smiling as she washed her hands. “Couldn’t wipe that smile off your face huh?” Hanna placed the lipstick back in her bag and ruffled her hair a little, her eyes darting back and forth at her own reflection and at Emily’s.

Emily rolled her eyes at Hanna’s reflection in the mirror. “I’m just happy about Spencer’s win.”

“Right. Whatever.” It was Hanna’s turn to roll her eyes at the tanned girl. She folded her arms and stared at Emily without saying anything.

Emily wiped her hands off and threw the paper towel in the trash bin. She turned to face her best friend, raising an eyebrow at the blonde. “What?”

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” Hanna smirked.

Emily shook her head and leaned against the sink. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Han.”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Em. I’ve seen how you look at her, how you touch her, how you get all cuddly with her.”

“She’s my best friend, Han. That’s all.” Emily laughed nervously as she tried to avoid Hanna’s eyes.

“So am I. Aria too. But you’re not that touchy-feely with us. Not that I’m saying that I want you to. I’m just pointing out how things have changed since your accident. C’mon Em. You were even marking your territory earlier, what with that blonde who was all over Spencer.”

“It wasn’t like that at all. I was just looking out for her. She doesn’t even know that girl, and yet she was clinging to Spencer like a leech.” Emily couldn’t hide her irritation as she recalled the incident earlier at the field.

“And you were totally jealous. You were so pissed that you subtly told the girl that you’re Spencer’s girl and she is yours.” Hanna emphasized by pointing her index finger at Emily.

Emily bit her lip and looked down on the floor. She raised her head back up as she felt Hanna’s hand on her shoulder. “Hey, look, I just don’t want either of you to get hurt. I mean, what happens when you get your memories back? I’m sure Paige will try and get back with you. What happens when you do get back with her?”

“I’m not going to get back with her, Han.” Emily replied firmly.

“You don’t know that. Em, Spencer’s my best friend too. I don’t want her to get caught in the middle of you and Paige.” Hanna explained.

“I’m not gonna hurt her, Han. I like her, okay? I think I’m falling for her.” Emily’s eyes glazed as she spoke. She was tempted to tell Hanna about the memories that have been returning to her, but she decided not to. Before Hanna could respond, the bathroom door opened and Spencer walked in.

“Hey, is everything okay?” Spencer automatically held Emily’s face in her hands as she saw the unshed tears in the tanned girl’s eyes.

Emily smiled and nodded. “Yeah, everything’s fine. We were just about to go back.”

“Okay. Food’s getting cold.” Spencer said to both Emily and Hanna. The blonde nodded and stepped out of the bathroom to join Aria back outside.

Spencer turned her attention back to Emily after Hanna left. The brunette softly lowered her hands from Emily’s face to her waist, her eyes never leaving the tanned girl’s own as she did so. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Spencer carefully asked.

Emily placed her hands up Spencer’s shoulders and nodded. “Yes. Thank you for asking.”

Spencer smiled and nodded. She pulled Emily in for a hug, feeling the tanned girl’s hands move from her shoulders to the back of her neck as she did. “You don’t have to thank me. I’ll always look after you.” Spencer whispered as she softly kissed Emily on the cheek. Emily smiled and held Spencer tight before she reluctantly pulled away and led the brunette outside to join their friends.

Chapter Text

It’s been close to three months since Emily’s accident but it is only now that the tanned girl decided to go back to the pool, though she had been cleared by her doctor weeks ago. She had spent five consecutive days on the pool, reacquainting her body with the water. Spencer has been with her on the natatorium every single day.

Emily had been friends with Spencer almost all of her life, but ever since the accident, things have somewhat changed between them. Their friendship is slowly turning into something more – romantic. Emily knows that she had fallen hard for the brilliant brunette, but she has yet to tell her that. Emily looked over to the bleachers where Spencer sat alone, watching her. Spencer gave her a thumbs-up sign which she responded with a smile and a nod before diving into the water. When Emily resurfaced on the other end, she once again looked over to where Spencer sat, acting out of habit. The swimmer sported a look of confusion when she saw the brunette casually talking to Paige. As if sensing the swimmer’s eyes on her, Spencer’s eyes landed back to the pool. The brunette gave Emily a reassuring smile when their eyes connected once more. Emily nodded and swam back to the other side of the pool before getting out of the water. Seeing that Spencer is still engaged in a conversation with Paige, Emily decided to head inside to shower.

“Is everything alright, Em?” Spencer asked as she stole a glance at Emily. The swimmer has been quiet all throughout the ride home and Spencer felt that something must have been bothering her.

“Yeah.” Came the short reply. After a few seconds of silence, Emily spoke once more. “Spence?”

“Yeah, Em?”

“Not to be intrusive, but, uhm, what were you and Paige talking about earlier?” The swimmer carefully asked.

“Oh, right.” It suddenly came to mind that Spencer hasn’t told Emily about her conversation earlier with Paige. As she and Emily exited the natatorium, Spencer had immediately asked the swimmer about today’s swim practice, as she did every day. They talked about how Emily was getting her groove back as they walked towards the parking lot.

“She just came over to ask me if I can give her a hand in French. She said she’s really flunking and that she knows how good I am with it, so...” Spencer trailed off, waiting for Emily’s reaction. When the swimmer didn’t say anything, Spencer continued. “I didn’t say yes right away. I wanted to see first if it’s cool with you. It’s not that I’m excited about it but I think it’s juvenile to just send her off when I know that I can really help her get back on track. But if you’re not comfortable with it, I -”

“It’s fine with me Spence. You didn’t have to ask for my permission. You’re such a good person for wanting to help her. I’m really proud to have you. I mean I’m really proud to be your best friend, Spence.” Emily was glad that the brunette was driving, so she didn’t see her face flush. After all these years, Spencer still has the ability to surprise her with how thoughtful and caring she was. Emily felt herself falling more and more in love with her best friend.

“Thanks, Em. I’ll send her a text when we get home to let her know that I can squeeze it in my schedule.” Spencer smiled and briefly glanced at Emily before turning her attention back on the road.

The girls were greeted by the heavenly scent of oven-baked lasagna as soon as they entered the Fields’ home. The two smiled and looked at each other before heading straight to the kitchen.

“Oh, good. You’re just in time.” Pam Fields smiled as she set up the table for Emily and Spencer.

“That smells good Mrs. Fields.” Spencer grinned as she eyed the dish on the kitchen counter. Though Pam had forever insisted that Spencer call her by her first name, Spencer always replied that she’s more comfortable in addressing her as Mrs. Fields, as she feels that it is more polite that way. Pam adored Spencer for this.

“My favourite! Thanks, mom!” Emily said as she gave her mother a quick hug.

“You remember?” Pam said with a look of surprise, her eyes moving from Emily and Spencer.

“I, uh, Hanna told me that it’s my favourite pasta dish.” Emily took a seat next to Spencer, unable to meet her mother’s eyes.

Spencer offered a small smile to Pam who looked a bit disappointed.

The three women ate while Pam asked about school stuff and swimming. Pam smiled as she watched how Emily talked about how exhilarating it was to be able to swim again. The older woman’s always watchful eyes didn’t fail to notice the sweet gestures between the two girls as they ate. She concluded though that the girls were unconsciously acting like an old married couple. Perhaps it’s because they’ve been the best of friends since they were little kids and both are really comfortable in each other’s skin. Emily’s phone rang just as she finished her last bite. She walked over to the living room after politely excusing herself from the table.

“This was really yummy, Mrs. Fields! I swear I never get tired of your cooking. My mom doesn’t have much time to cook at home, so I really enjoy it when you cook for me and Em.” Spencer gushed as she finished her second serving.

“Thank you Spencer. You’ve always been my number one fan. I think you like my cooking more than Emily and Wayne does.” Pam chuckled. “Please know that you’re always welcome here and you can even request some of your favourite dishes. I’ll gladly cook them for you.” Pam said as she gave the brunette a warm smile.

“Really? Wow, that’s too kind of you, but you don’t have to do that. I don’t want to bother you.” Spencer smiled at the older woman.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s the least I can do. I can’t thank you enough for never leaving Emily’s side the entire time. She wouldn’t have survived this without you. Thank you for always being there for her.” Pam said as she refilled Spencer’s glass of lemonade.

“Emily’s my best friend. I know she would do the same if I were in her shoes.” Spencer shrugged.

“You’ve always been great with her and she seemed happier than she ever was these past few months. You’ve taken good care of my baby than Paige ever did. I want you to know that you have Wayne and I’s blessing. There’s no one else that we would trust our daughter to grow old with.” Though Pam knows that the girls haven’t acted yet on their obvious romantic feelings for one another, Pam was already rooting for the two. Spencer almost spit the lemonade upon hearing Pam’s words. She felt her cheeks flush as her eyes suddenly grew wide at the woman in front of her.

“But, uh, Emily and I are just -” Spencer wasn’t able to finish as Emily walked back into the kitchen and unintentionally interrupted their conversation.

“That was Aria. She asked if we want to come over for movie night, since it’s a Friday. She asked to get some snacks and drinks on the way. I told her I’ll ask you and mom first.” Emily stated as she sat back down beside Spencer.

“Sure honey. I’ll be working tonight anyway. Why don’t you and Spencer go ahead? I’ll clean up here.” Pam stood and began clearing the table.

“Uh, yeah, sure, Em.” Spencer stood as well and tried to shake off the shock that has been brought upon by the swimmer’s mother. “I’ll help with the dishes before we go, Mrs. Fields.” Spencer offered.

“I got it honey. You and Emily go and enjoy yourselves.” Pam smiled and winked at the brunette, making Spencer almost die in mortification.

“We’ll just grab some clothes before we go. Thanks mom! Love you!” Emily gave her mother a quick hug before pulling Spencer upstairs to get some clothes for their sleepover. 

Emily grabbed her backpack and shoved some of her and Spencer’s clothes while the brunette sat on the bed to send a text message to Paige.

Spencer: Hey, Paige. Spencer here. I’ll gladly help you out with French. How does tomorrow afternoon sound?

Paige: Spencer, hey! Sounds great! The Brew at 4 PM?

Spencer: Cool. I’ll see you then.

Paige: Thanks so much for this Spencer! You’re a lifesaver!

Spencer: No problem.

Paige grinned as she finished texting Spencer. She scrolled through her contacts and smirked as she sent another text message, this time to a certain blonde athlete.

Paige: Hey, this is Paige. I hope you’re free tomorrow afternoon.

Aubrey: Hi Paige! Yeah, I actually am. What’s up?

Paige: Fancy a coffee date with Spencer Hastings?

Aubrey: Tell her I’d love to.

Chapter Text

“Do you need to be somewhere?” Spencer asked as she noticed Paige glance at her watch and looked up and down the street for the umpteenth time. They’ve been sitting at a table outside The Brew for about an hour now, having coffee while Spencer helped Paige with her French lessons.

“Uh, no. Sorry. Please go on.” Paige smiled and gestured to the book that Spencer was reading and explaining to her.

“Look, we can just reschedule or something. It’s cool.” Spencer offered, seeing that the girl’s mind was elsewhere.

“No, I -”  Paige suddenly smiled and stood as a familiar face approached their table. “Aubrey! Fancy meeting you here. Would you like to join us?” Paige smile grew even more as she invited the blonde to sit with her and Spencer.

“Paige, hi! Uhm, yeah sure, if it’s alright with Spencer.” Aubrey shyly stated as she flashed as sweet smile to the brunette.

Spencer stood up from her chair and pulled out the seat on her right, offering it for the blonde to sit on. “You’re very welcome to join us. We were just catching up on French. Would you like some coffee?” Spencer offered as they both sat.

“Sure. How’s the espresso frappuccino here?” Aubrey asked with a flip of her hair. The blonde smiled as she sat on the seat that was offered by the brunette.

“Best one I’ve ever had. I’ll go get you one.” Paige offered and hurriedly went inside. Spencer chuckled at Paige’s actions. The swimmer clearly got it bad for the blonde athlete. Though it seemed too soon, Spencer was glad that Paige was moving on. Though she wasn’t Paige’s number one fan, she couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Anyone would’ve been so lucky to be with Emily. It’s a pity that Paige wasn’t able to hold on to the relationship a lot longer.

“I didn’t know you two knew each other.” Spencer stated as she turned her attention back to the blonde.

“We’re recent acquaintances. Paige approached me after one of our games.” The blonde explained.

“Oh. Cool. What brings you to this side of town?” Spencer asked after taking as sip of her coffee. She and her friends usually hang out at The Brew and she’s pretty sure that she hadn’t run into Aubrey around here before.

“I was supposed to meet a friend of mine for a movie but she bailed the last minute because of some emergency. How’s my favourite field hockey player?” Spencer found herself blushing at the comment. Maybe because the compliment came from the captain of one of their rival teams or maybe it was because of how the blonde was looking intently at her with her green eyes. She was surprised at how gorgeous Aubrey’s eyes were, noticing them for the first time. It must be what drew Paige towards the blonde.

“Oh, that’s rather unfortunate. I’m doing fine, thank you. Just keeping busy with school stuff.” Spencer shifted her gaze from the blonde’s eyes to Paige, who was excitedly walking back to their table.

“Here’s your espresso frappuccino. What did I miss?” Paige asked as she sat back down beside Spencer, facing Aubrey. Spencer closed the book that she was reading and moved it between her and Paige’s side of the table to offer some space for Aubrey.

“Aubrey was just telling me that she was supposed to go see a movie with her friend.” Spencer started to say.

“Yeah, she unfortunately had to take a rain check, so I’m here.” Aubrey cut in.

“Why don’t you and Spencer go instead? My mom just called and asked me to come home ASAP.” Paige held up her phone as she explained to a suddenly wide-eyed Spencer.

“Oh, no. I don’t want to bother her.” Aubrey said hesitantly, discreetly eyeing Spencer’s reaction. Paige waived Aubrey’s protest with her hand and started to gather her stuff while Spencer thought of something to say.

“But you’re not bothering her, right Spencer? I’ve got her whole afternoon booked for French tutoring. I’m pretty sure Spencer’s free for the next couple of hours.” Paige said with what looked like a wicked smile to Spencer.

“Uh, yeah, sure. I guess.” Spencer managed a small smile as she looked from Paige to Aubrey, who was now smiling brightly at her. “Really? Thank you, Spencer! I’ve been dying to see this movie.”

“Okay guys, I have to go. It was nice seeing you again, Aubrey, and sorry Spencer. Let’s just reschedule, yeah?” Spencer nodded and gave Paige a tight-lipped smile. She didn’t like how Paige manipulated the conversation to end up with the decision of her accompanying Aubrey to the movies but she let it slide as the blonde seemed like a genuinely sweet person. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad.

“See you around, Paige. Thanks for the coffee by the way.” The two exchanged smiles before Paige walked towards her car. “I hope you’re into horror movies.” Aubrey stated as she turned her eyes to the brunette seated beside her.

“Uhm, what are we watching?” Spencer politely asked.

“The Insiduous: Chapter 3.” Aubrey said with a big smile on her face, failing miserably in hiding her excitement. She mentally made a note to send a thank you gift to Paige for expertly scoring her a date with Spencer. She’s been crushing on the brunette since the first time their schools played against each other.

“Oh—kay.” Spencer answered with obvious hesitation.

“What? You don’t like it? We can see some other movie if you’re not comfortable with it.” Aubrey immediately offered, thinking that the brunette may not be into horror movies at all.

“No, I’m fine with it. It’s just that I promised my best friend that we’ll watch it together tomorrow.” Spencer explained.

“Oh.” Aubrey whispered as she shifted her eyes from Spencer to her coffee cup. All the excitement suddenly died down inside of her.

“But it’s cool, though. I’ll just watch it again with her tomorrow.” Spencer wasn’t sure what prompted her to blurt that out. She knew Emily would be upset if she learned that Spencer saw the movie before her – without her. Then again, it broke her heart a little to see Aubrey’s mood shift from ecstatic to lethargic. The girl seemed like a really nice person, and Spencer was far too kind to hurt her feelings, even if it was unintentional.

“Really? Oh, you’re so sweet! Thank you!” Aubrey squealed and threw her arms around Spencer’s neck. The brunette laughed awkwardly at the blonde’s reaction, prompting the blonde to remove her arms and settle back into her seat. “Sorry.” She shyly grinned at Spencer.

“No worries.”

“Will you promise to hold me though when it gets to the scary part?” Aubrey sweetly asked as she stroked Spencer’s arm.

“Spence?” A familiar voice suddenly interrupted them before Spencer could respond to the blonde.

“Oh, hey, Em.” Spencer smiled as she caught sight of her best friend.

“Where’s Paige? I thought you had tutoring session today.” Emily looked at her quizzically, wondering why Spencer was having coffee with the blonde rather than tutoring Paige.

“She left early. Had to go see her mom at home. What are you doing here?”

“I just thought I’d surprise you and we can go grab some pizza when you’re done. I see you’ve got other plans though.” Emily said as her eyes shifted from Spencer to the blonde girl whose hand is on Spencer’s arm.

“Uh, no, not really. I mean I don’t. Em, you remember Aubrey? Aubrey’s in town, we happened to bump into each other.” Spencer flatly explained. Spencer gestured for Emily to sit on the chair that was previously occupied by Paige.

“Yeah, from your last field hockey game, right? Hey Aubrey.” Emily acknowledged the blonde as she pulled the chair closer to Spencer before sitting on it.

“Hi, Emily, is it?” Aubrey asked, to which Emily nodded.

“Aubrey was supposed to meet her friend for a movie, but her friend bailed so she asked me to accompany her instead. Since we’re supposed to see that movie tomorrow, and you’re here now… Why don’t we all go?” Spencer offered. Emily sported a look of confusion and slight irritation. She was really looking forward to their “movie date”. Why did this girl who always manages to cling to Spencer’s arm like a Koala clinging to a tree have to ruin it? Emily glanced at Aubrey who looked incredulous and maybe more irritated than her. There’s no way she’s letting Spencer go alone in a movie house with this girl.

“Sure Spence! That’ll be fun!” Emily said a little too excitedly.

“Yeah, I guess.” Aubrey mumbled.

Aubrey fidgeted in her seat, feeling annoyed and regretting her decision to agree to this whole thing. On her right sat Spencer, and on the brunette’s right was Emily. The tanned swimmer somehow managed to take Spencer’s arm and wrap it around shoulders. The two girls watched the movie intently, Emily resting her head on the brunette’s shoulder while Spencer held her protectively. Aubrey rolled her eyes at the sight. It was pretty clear that the swimmer was so into her best friend. She had noticed how Emily acted around Spencer ever since they first met. There was no way that she was just being an overprotective best friend. It was so much more than that. Emily is trying to get in the way, ruining her chances with Spencer and it irked her. Being the competitive person that she is, Aubrey decided to face her head-on. The blonde girl leaned closer to Spencer, gasping as yet another scary scene unfolded before them.

“You okay?” Spencer whispered as she turned her head to Aubrey. The brunette couldn’t help but grin as she looked at Aubrey’s face which was now partially illuminated by the light from the screen. The blonde was wide-eyed and was shaking her head no. Aubrey clung to Spencer’s left arm and linked their fingers together, causing Emily to tilt her head up from where it was comfortably resting on Spencer’s right shoulder. It was Emily’s turn to roll her eyes as she met Spencer’s eyes. The brunette gave her a small smile & shrugged. Turning her attention back on the screen, Emily resumed her position on Spencer’s shoulder and placed her right arm across the brunette’s body, pulling her best friend closer. Spencer smiled as she felt Emily’s arm clutch her side. It felt good to be in each other’s arms. However, the way Aubrey held her left hand as the blonde clung to her arm while she held Emily in the other felt a little awkward. Spencer sank back to her seat and tried to concentrate on the rest of the movie while she was pinned between the two girls.

Spencer finally got a breather as the film credits started to roll.

“Do you need a ride home? We could maybe stop and get something to eat or get some coffee before I drive you home.” Aubrey asked Spencer as the three girls made their way outside the theatre. Before Spencer could respond however, Emily wrapped an arm around Spencer’s waist and turned to Aubrey.

“Actually, Spencer’s coming home with me. We usually do sleepovers after watching a really scary movie. Spencer knows I couldn’t sleep alone after seeing that.”

Aubrey willed herself not to roll her eyes, and instead forced a smile.

“Well, alright then. I guess we’ll just go next time.” Aubrey stroked Spencer’s arm as she spoke.

“Call me.” Aubrey winked at the brunette and gave Emily a nod before heading towards her parked car.

 “What are you thinking about?” Emily asked as she lay next to Spencer on the brunette’s bed.

“Hmm? Nothing.” Spencer mumbled as she continued to stare at the ceiling.

Emily propped herself up on one elbow to get a better look at the brunette. “Did you regret not going out with Aubrey after the movie? I’m sorry, I should’ve gone home. Maybe I should.”

Spencer instantaneously turned her head towards Emily. “No, god no. What are you talking about? I want you here.”

“Just because we have some sort of tradition doesn’t mean you can’t get out of it if you need to. If you want to.” Emily’s voice fell, her eyes shifting away from Spencer’s as she spoke.

Spencer was confused now. “I’m not trying to get out of it at all, Em. What is this about?”

“You like her. You were holding her hand during the movie.” Emily continued to stare at the pillow that Spencer’s head was resting on, still avoiding the brunette’s eyes.

“As I was holding you. It was a scary movie, Em. She reached for my hand. It doesn’t mean that I wanted it to happen; I just didn’t want to be rude. It wasn’t a big deal anyways.”

Emily lied back down beside Spencer. Neither one spoke again for a few minutes. Spencer thought that the swimmer had fallen asleep, til she heard Emily’s voice again, almost in a whisper.

“I just thought maybe you wanted to spend the night with her than with me.” Emily whispered; her voice laced with insecurity. Aubrey has been flirting with Spencer on the get-go, and this time she stepped it up a notch. Emily couldn’t help the jealousy that she felt. Spencer was too polite and too oblivious to brush her off, and it irked her a little. She didn’t want to be a bitch about it ‘cause honestly, she had no right to act that way. She’s just Spencer’s best friend, i.e., the best friend who has secretly fallen in love with Spencer Hastings.

With all the new and unfamiliar feelings that Spencer’s been having towards her best friend, hearing her speak with a hint of jealousy in her voice made Spencer wonder even more if Emily feels the same. The slightest bit of hope that the object of her affection may be feeling the same way towards her made Spencer’s heart jump a little. The brunette moved closer to the swimmer, carefully laying her head on Emily’s shoulder and laying her arm across the swimmer’s abdomen.

“Em, I’m right where I want to be.”