A/N: Paige's friends Caitlin, Chelsea and Brian are my take on the three anonymous characters in 4x11. Like I said, this was written a while ago, before all the Shana stuff. So for the references to her in particular, you could say it splits from cannon after 4x12.

"So," Hanna continued, "is Em a good kisser?"

Paige knew this wasn't going to stop.

"The best girl I've kissed," Paige replied.

As soon as she said it she knew she had fallen into a trap.

"So how many girls have you kissed?" Hanna asked, sounding keen to find out.

"Just two," Paige said.

"Emily and Shana, right?" Hanna asked.

"Yes," Paige confirmed.

"How did you and Shana get together?" Hanna asked.

"We met at a party after a swim meet," Paige explained. "She introduced herself, we started talking and it just kind of went from there."

"Did she know you were gay?" Hanna asked.

"I doubt it," Paige replied. "I think she just keeps trying until she finds someone. She's very brave. She'll try it with anyone."

"Except me," Hanna observed.

Paige laughed now.

"What's funny?" asked Hanna.

"Would you be interested if she did?" Paige asked.

"No," Hanna replied. "I just don't see why I'm not worth it."

Hanna was pouting a little now.

"You are, Hanna," Paige said. "And trust me, you're not missing out."

Hanna cheered up a little and resumed her questioning.

"How many boys have you kissed?" she asked.

Paige paused for a moment, thinking.

"Two, I suppose," she said. "That's if you count Kevin Reynolds in seventh grade, but that wasn't really much of a kiss."

"The other was Sean, right?" Hanna asked.

"Yes," confirmed Paige. "Just the once."

"Hey, we're spit sisters!" Hanna said.

"What?" Paige asked.

"We've both kissed the same guy," Hanna explained. "Sort of."

"Sort of," Paige agreed.

Just then Paige's phone alerted her to a message.

"You need some company? -Caitlin" it read.

"Who is it?" Hanna asked.

"A friend of mine, Caitlin," Paige replied. "The others were thinking of coming over."

Hanna looked suddenly excited.

"Yes! Tell them to come over," she said. "That would be so cool."

"OK…" Paige said.

"So how did you guys meet?" Hanna asked.

"Paige had a skateboard," Caitlin said.

"You skate?" Hanna asked.

"A little," Paige said.

"This was sixth grade though, so that was pretty cool," Caitlin said.

"Oh yeah, I was like… a mysterious rebel," Paige added in a dramatic voice.

"Cait and I saw her at the skate park and asked her about it," Brian explained.

"And I told them everything about my board until their eyes glazed over," Paige said. "So much for cool."

"It was great," Brian said. "She was so enthusiastic."

"And after that we just started hanging out," Caitlin said.

"What was she like then?" Hanna asked.

"Shy until you got to know her," Caitlin said.

"Really caring," added Chelsea. "Like, always worried about other people."

"You don't have to sugar-coat things, guys," Paige said. "Hanna knows my history."

"OK, she had a bit of a temper at times," Brian said. "But that wasn't all of who she was."

"And it got worse because of Alison," Chelsea added.

Paige winced. She quickly looked over to Hanna, but there was no obvious reaction.

"Did you know Paige was gay?" Hanna asked. "You know, before she told you."

"Is this OK?" Chelsea asked Paige.

Paige nodded.

"Not really," Chelsea said. "She kept it pretty well hidden."

"Sometimes I used to pretend to be really anti-gay," Paige said. "I thought that would fool everyone. The sad thing is, I believed a lot of it."

"One time she said something about somebody and I gave her this big long speech about respect and equality," Chelsea said. "A little ironic in retrospect."

"Everything you said was true though," Paige said. "And I know it took a while, but knowing you thought that made it easier for me later."

"So are any of you guys gay?" Hanna asked, cheerily.

They all instinctively looked over to Brian.

"Me apparently," he said. "Well, bi rather than gay."

"Cool," said Hanna. "Are any of you swimmers?"

Paige wondered how Hanna's mind had gone from the previous question to this one. Things they might have in common, presumably.

"No," said Chelsea, the others shaking their heads in agreement.

"Do any of you skate?" Hanna asked.

"I tried," Caitlin said. "I just fell over a lot."

"You almost had it," Paige said.

"Almost had major injuries," Caitlin said.

"OK," said Hanna, enjoying this. "What's something really embarrassing Paige has done?"

"Oh no," said Paige, covering her face with her hands.

"There was the time she walked into the glass panel at the mall," Brian suggested.

"She thought it was the door," Chelsea explained.

Paige took her hands away.

"I was bleeding," she said. "And you were all too busy laughing to help."

"We did help… eventually," Brian protested.

"And you were still laughing," Paige replied.

"Or the time she went into the boys' change rooms after the swim meet," Caitlin said.

"The sign wasn't clear," Paige said, defensively.

"One time she was skating and she went too hard up the ramp, went over the other side and landed face first in the mud," Chelsea said.

"She only asked for one embarrassing story," Paige reminded them.

"No, no," Hanna said. "Keep going."

"How about when she answered the door…" Caitlin began.

"No," Paige interrupted.

"Ooh, what is it?" asked Hanna excitedly.

"No," Paige repeated.

Caitlin looked at her pleadingly.

"Come on," she said. "It's cute."

"Cute?" Paige responded.

"It is," Caitlin said, rubbing Paige's arm reassuringly.

"OK," Paige said, grudgingly. "Go ahead."

"She… you had been having a shower right?" Caitlin began.

"Yes," Paige confirmed.

"And she was expecting me to come around," Caitlin continued.

"And you were late," Paige added.

"And I was late," Caitlin agreed. "So she hears this knock on the door."

"I thought it was her," Paige explained. "I was still drying myself and no one else was home but I thought 'Probably Caitlin' so I just wrapped a towel around me and went to the door."

"And forgot to check," Caitlin said.

"Because I thought it was you," Paige added.

"And of course it was the Jehovah's Witnesses," Caitlin said.

"I opened the door and they were standing there," Paige said. "I was stunned and just stared at them. Then one of them said 'I'm sorry, is this a bad time?' and I just said 'Yes. Yes it is.'."

"And then I turned up," Caitlin said.

"Just before they left," Paige added. "And what did you say?"

"I said 'Hey babe'," Caitlin replied.

"And then…" Paige prompted.

"And then I kissed her," Caitlin said. "Just a quick peck."

"On the lips though," Paige added. "My parents knew these people. I almost came out three years earlier."

Hanna was laughing now.

"What did they do?" she asked.

"They kind of ran," Paige replied.

"Sorry babe," Caitlin said, grinning.

"You don't look it," Paige pointed out.

Hanna was laughing harder now, and clapping.

"That's so cool," she said. "Did you drop the towel?"

"Of course I didn't drop the towel," Paige replied.

"You should have dropped the towel," Hanna insisted.

"Next time," Chelsea suggested.

"You can if you want," replied Paige.

"I bet they remembered that visit," Hanna said.

"I know I did," said Paige.

"I hear you had a good time with Hanna," Emily said.

"I think it went OK," Paige replied. "She's very… direct."

"She said she had a fantastic night, that the two of you are now 'best buddies' and that your friends are 'really cool'," Emily assured her.

"She seemed to enjoy herself," Paige said.

"She did," Emily said. "She really likes you."

"Now it's just Spencer I'm scared of," Paige said.

"You don't have to be scared of Spencer," Emily replied. "Well, any more than the rest of us. Anyway, we're all going out next weekend and you're invited, but this time I'll be there."

"Thanks, Em," Paige said.

Emily put her arms around Paige and kissed her.

"But in the meantime," Emily said, "I've got you all to myself."

"That sounds good," Paige said, smiling. "I like the sound of that a lot."