Emily's POV

The dark, grey walls of Rosewood High encased me as I paced back and forth outside of Alison's classroom. I had my arms folded against my torso, almost as if I were holding myself together, afraid of combustion. But that was probably because I was furious at this moment. I huffed a sigh and glanced down at my watch. 2:59pm.

"I cannot believe you just did that!" I stormed into my Malibu apartment with Ali quickly in tow. I tossed my clutch onto my living room couch and ran my hands through my hair.

"Relax, Em. I just did you a favor." I turned to face Ali as she shut my door and began pulling off her jacket. I sucked in air as I watched her waltz over to my couch, plopping down and kicking her feet up.

"Oh, that was a favor? Excuse me while I try to understand how you breaking up my girlfriend of three months and I was a favor!"

Alison simply rolled her eyes before getting up and heading into my kitchen. I was hot on her heels and observed her grabbing two wine glasses and a bottle of Merlot from my counter. I stood on the other side of the island, too furious to be closer to her.

"You know what hurts even more is that I invited you here to meet Alex, to see why I've been so happy lately, not for you to just go and ruin everything."

I ignored the glass of wine Alison set before me and watched her coyly sip her Merlot.

"Oh, so dating a convicted felon is a desirable quality in women? Please, Em, you really should raise your standards. Besides, you're only twenty-two, why waste your time on someone who can't even pass a background check for McDonald's?"

"Ok first of all, she stole a car when she was a teenager, that's it. You know that we were convicting way worse crimes at that age. And second of all, how did you even find out about that?"

Alison shrugged her shoulders. "You'd be surprised what you can find out on the internet."

I barked out a laugh, I could not believe what I was hearing right now. "Oh, so what, Ali? You going to research all of my girlfriends and then attack them at dinner if you find even the slightest dirt on them?"

"If that's what it takes."

"For?" I questioned.

"For you to see that everything you need is standing right here in front of you, Em." Alison's face softened and she reached across the island and laced our fingers together. "I know I've never been ready, but I'm ready now."

I sighed but held onto her hand. I couldn't deny that Alison would always hold a special place in my heart. She was my first kiss, my first love. And as much as I had been waiting for her to feel the same way about me as I did about her for much of my life, I knew deep down that it was too late. Because sometimes, your first love isn't your last.

"Ali…" I slowly slid my hand from her grasp and stared down at the island counter. "It's too late for that." I turned on my heel and went in search of my clutch and car keys.

"Where are you going?"

I placed my hand on the cold door knob before turning back to Ali. "I'm gonna go try and find Alex. Don't wait up for me." And without waiting for her to respond, I was out the door.

The lurid sound of the bell rang and shattered my day dream of the past. Within seconds, the halls were flooded with students scrambling to get home after a long school day. I backed up against the lockers, giving them room. After a few minutes, the halls dissipated and I made my way into Alison's classroom. She was near her desk, organizing a stack of papers. I stood in the doorway and watched her a for second, debating on whether or not I wanted to start this argument. But with a confirming breath, I stepped inside.

Her eyes shot up at the sound of my heels and a warm smile formed on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but I jumped at the chance and cut her off.

"Ali, I thought we were past this. How could you do this to me again?!" I came to a halt at the front of her desk and watched her try to decipher my words.

"Would you like to give me some more details or are you just going to continue yelling at me?" She folded her arms across her chest, in an assertive manner.

"Oh don't play that game with me, Ali. You know exactly what I'm talking about." Ali remained silent, showing me that either she truly didn't know or just wanted me to say it. I huffed, "Paige?" The light bulb went off and Alison gave me a slight smile.

"You almost cost Paige her job." I emphasized the last word, hoping that Alison would see how serious this was. "And you almost did so with half of the facts." I dug into my purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper before throwing it onto her desk.

"What's that?" She made no effort to pick it up and remained still behind her desk.

"You'd be surprised what you can find out on the internet." I relished in the fact that I had used Ali's own words against her. I turned and headed for the door and just before I left, I saw Ali out of the corner of my eye pick up the paper.

Paige's POV

"USA! USA! USA!"

I exited my car with my fellow teammates, Holland and Spencer. I was smiling from ear to ear as I heard the constant "USA" cheer. We had just arrived to a massive beach party just a few miles from campus. Not only was it one of Stanford's biggest end of the year bashes, but it was also a send-off for the three of us to the Olympics. Our training was to start next week.

There were Stanford students everywhere crowded around a large bonfire and as the three of us approached, the crowd erupted into even bigger cheers.

"Oh my gosh, I feel like a celebrity!" Holland gushed as we were all given high fives as we made our way through the crowd and onto the beach.

"I guess when you're part of an Olympic team, you are!" Spencer exclaimed as the three of us were handed a red solo cup of beer.

Holland and Spencer raised their cups to their lips before I interjected. "Wait! I think we should probably establish who is going to be the DD tonight and since tomorrow is Holland's birthday, I think it should be between us." I said and pointed to Spencer and myself. Holland fist pumped into the air and took a swig of her beer.

"Yeah, I guess that's fair." Spencer said with a nod, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders. I dug into my pocket and pulled out a quarter and handed it to Holland.

"Will you do the honors?"

"It will be my pleasure!" Holland beamed. "Paige, I think you should call since you made the safe suggestion for a DD."

"Alright. Heads." Holland flipped the coin into the air, catching it in her palm before flipping it over and onto her other hand. It was tails.

"Ha ha, sucks to suck, McCullers!" Spencer cheered before bringing her cup back to her lips.

"Dammit." I cursed. "Well, I guess I'll just enjoy this beer very, very slowly."

Holland downed her beer. "And I'll go get a refill!" She bounced away into the crowd.

"Thanks for being DD, we both appreciate it. I'll get you next time." Spencer said holding her cup up to me. We "clanked" them together in a cheers.

"No problem." I said and took a tiny sip of my beer.

"Spencerrr!" I rolled my eyes but still chuckled as Paul, Spencer's boyfriend, another Stanford swimmer, stumbled over to us, slurring his words. The two of them immediately became lost in a very sloppy lip lock, due to Paul's drunkenness.

"That's my cue." I said to myself and turned the other way, disappearing into the crowd.

Two and a half hours later, I was getting into the front seat of my car. I rolled my eyes as I caught a glimpse of Spencer and Paul through my rear view mirror in my back seat, obviously not concerned about the other people in my car.

"Guys, I'm not moving this car until you put your seat belts on." Spencer and Paul ignored me and continued to attack each others faces with sloppy and drunken kisses. Holland giggled in the passenger seat.

"I don't think they heard youuuu." She teased. I looked over to the redhead in my passenger seat and smiled at her.

"Well, you obviously did. So, seat belt. Now." I feigned the whole "Mom Tone" and narrowed my eyes at her.

"Okay, okay." She said, laughing and clipping her seat belt on. I looked back to the rear view mirror and laughed as I was met with Paul's rear end.

"Guys!" I shouted, still laughing. "Seat belts! Now, for the love of God!" I sat back into my seat as Spencer and Paul mumbled some drunken words before obliging. Once I heard two clicks, I started the car.

I pulled onto the two-lane freeway a short while later, opting for the longer route home since I knew there would be less cars. Within minutes, Holland was fast asleep in the passenger seat and Spencer and Paul were in a drunken fit of giggles in the back seat.

I turned up the radio, wanting to hear something other than the drunken playground in the back seat. I began to lightly drum my fingers to the beat against the steering wheel. A warmth washed over me as the lyrics set in and I realized just what song it was. It was the song playing in Emily's room a few years ago when she first told me she loved me.

"You can feel the light start to tremble, washing what you know out the sea, yeah. You can see your life out the window tonight. If I lose myself tonight, it'll be by your side. If I lose myself tonight. If I lose myself tonight, it'll be you and I."

I brushed away a tear from the corner of my eye as my mind had settled onto Emily and our past. God, I missed her more than anything. But my trip down memory lane was cut off by a piece of clothing from the back seat. It was a shirt and it landed onto my head, slumping down my face and covering my view.

"Oops!" Spencer giggled from behind me, followed by the smacking of lips.

"Seriously, Spence?" I snatched at the clothing, attempting to pull it off from my face, but the collar found its way around my head and got caught. I yanked harder, flinging it at Holland as it finally gave to. Averting my eyes back to the road, I was met with a pair of headlights.

Emily's POV

I watched as Paige huddled her legs closer to her and brushed away a few tears that had trickled down her face. I reached over and cautiously placed my hand on hers, afraid if the contact was unwanted. But Paige reassured me and entwined our fingers together. I looked around and noticed that the wind hand blown out some of the candles on the roof.

"I didn't even drift into the other lane. The other car came into mine. I found out after that it was a drunk driver." Paige averted her eyes from mine, but I continued to look at her, hoping that she would continue to let me in.

She laughed, shaking her head at herself. "You know, I was such a stickler, telling everyone else to put their seat belts on, that I had forgotten to put mine on. Funny. Because that's the only reason I'm still here today." I could hear the pain and regret in her voice, as if she had somehow thought all of this was her fault. She took a deep breath, holding my hand tighter, before closing her eyes. She didn't open them, as she began to reveal more and more about that terrible night.

"I went through the windshield. A chunk of glass caught me on my shoulder." Paige, with her other hand, made a cutting motion from the top of her shoulder, to the bottom, where her scar laid beneath her clothing. "It cut my rotator cuff, clean in two. It was repaired, obviously, and it healed. To about 90%. But not my left leg. Most of the bones were shattered. It's never been the same since."

I wanted to say something, anything that would help take away the pain I know Paige had long been carrying. But I couldn't find the words, they all just seemed too small.

"Spencer and Holland were pronounced dead at the scene. Paul was taken to the hospital. He made it through the night but…" At this, Paige finally broke down into tears and slumped against me. I held her close and tight and gently rocked her back and forth as she fell apart. I pressed soothing kisses to her forehead and watched as her auburn locks collected my own tears from above her, much like my sweater was collecting hers.

Paige pulled away and looked at me, her face and eyes red and full of tears. My heart broke at the sight of her. I couldn't help but wonder if we hadn't had broken up, maybe she wouldn't have been at the party. Or maybe I could have been there with her and she wouldn't have been the one to get everyone home safely. But I knew all of these what ifs wouldn't change what really happened.

I also knew that asking my next question might be too soon for the fragile woman in front of me, but I needed to know. I took a deep breath, taking Paige's hand into mine again.

"Paige…how is it that-"

"I went through a windshield and lived to tell?" I tried to tug back a smile, one that was forming due to how all these years later, Paige still knew me like the back of her hand. I simply nodded and waited for her response.

"The vehicle behind the one that hit us, had slammed on its breaks and skidded into the ditch on the side of the freeway. It was a van that had a mattress strapped to the top of it. I guess it came undone and fell onto the freeway. And that's where I landed. Or at least, that's where my head landed. I wound up with a concussion, some scrapes and cuts, but that was it."

"I can't believe I never read about this in the paper or heard it in the news." I knew that this hadn't happened long after Paige and I broke up. And I knew that this was during my dark times, but I was still shocked and upset with myself that I never heard about it until now.

"Doesn't surprise me. There were over a dozen drunk driving deaths that year, all with college students our age. I was just another statistic."

I furrowed my brows and shook my head in confusion at Paige. "But, you weren't drunk. You had one beer the whole night."

Paige feigned a laugh. "Yeah, tell that to Holland's father."

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. William Dubois. One of five presidents of the NCAA Board of Directors. To him, it was all my fault. I took away his daughter, the one thing he loved the most. So, he took away the one thing I loved the most."

Paige finally stood up and made her way over to the edge of the roof, wrapping her arms around herself. I followed suit and joined her, as we both stared off into the Philly city lights.

"I spent that whole summer in the hospital and physical therapy, trying everything to get better before swim season my senior year. I knew I had already missed out on the Olympics, but I thought, at least I can still maybe swim senior year. At least maybe I can help my team to another victory, one that would honor Holland, Spencer, and Paul. But Mr. Dubois had other plans. He called for another "mandatory drug test".

Paige made air quotes and rolled her eyes. "I had just taken one a few months before, part of the requirements before Olympic training started. So of course, my test came back through the roof with Acetaminophen. I mean, why else wouldn't it? I had been taking hydrocodone for the pain from the accident. And even though I had a prescription-"

"It was still a violation against the student code of conduct." I finished Paige's sentence for her, saddened by the fact that Paige lost out on swimming due to a technicality.

"Yep. So not only does he think I was drunk behind the wheel and killed his daughter, he made it a point to paint me as drug popping addict." Paige shook her head in disgust and I joined her.

"You know, we can fight this. You had every right to be using that prescription…" I trailed off, hoping Paige would hop onto the redemption train with me.

"I don't want to fight anymore, Em. If all I can do to honor my friends is by teaching other young athletes, and by this tattoo…" Paige pulled down her jeans, exposing her hip bone and letting me see the tattoo. It was in the shape of droplet of water, but at each curve, it formed into the cursive, script letters of 'H', 'S' and 'P' "…then that's what I'm going to do."

Paige pulled her pants back up, covering the tattoo, and letting out a deep breath, almost as if she were finally letting go of this weight that had been crushing down on her for so long.

"And also put someone in their place when they try to get me fired."

My eyes darted over to her at the sound of this. Huh?

"Wait, what?"

Paige's POV

"Great practice, girls! I know that we are going to do great things at our first meet on Friday!" The girls piled out of the pool, wrapping towels around themselves and sitting down onto the bleachers. "I have high hopes for this season, and it's all thanks to you guys." I returned a proud smile to all of the ones beaming up at me from the bleachers.

"Now, there's no-" I was cut off by the loud bang of the door to the natatorium. The girls and I all looked over and saw Emily standing there, slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry." She sheepishly said with a blush on her face. I couldn't help but throw a smile at her.

"Girls, I'd like to introduce someone to you." I waved Emily over. "Come on, Em, they don't bite." The girls giggled at this. Em finally made her way over, blushing even more so. "Some of you may know her, she swam with me here at Rosewood." I winked over at a beaming Natalie. "This is Emily Fields. Take a look at the record board, girls." The girls looked up to the wall behind them. The wall was scattered with E. Fields as well as P. McCullers. "Let's give Ms. Fields a warm Rosewood Sharks welcome." The girls erupted into applause and I about turned to mush at the bright smile that came across Emily's lips.

"Thank you very much." She shyly said.

"Maybe Ms. Fields can help out at our next practice?" I said eyeing Emily, hoping for a silent yes. Most of the girls seemed to like the sound of that. "Which brings me to no practice tomorrow. I want you girls well rested for Friday's meet. I'll see you all here at 3:00pm sharp on Friday."

"I'm sorry I interrupted the end of your practice." Emily said after the girls had left. She leaned in to give me a sweet and soft kiss, which I quickly obliged to.

"It's no problem. In fact, I think you helped light a fire under some of them. I'm hoping for some new records to be set on Friday." I gestured to my clip board.

Emily smiled sweetly at me, "With a coach like you, I'm sure they'll do great."

I blushed at her words, hoping that she was right. "So what are you doing here?"

Emily seemed a little uneasy once I asked this. "Oh um, just taking care of a few things."

"Em." I sighed. "I told you not to worry about it, I can handle Alison on my own." We absently began to make our way to my office.

"I know, I know. But, this isn't the first time she's done something like this, and while I know she was just looking out for me, it still wasn't right of her to blow smoke like that."

"And how'd she take that?" I asked, sitting down into my chair and pulling Emily into my lap. She instinctively wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"I'm not sure, I didn't really give her a chance to say anything."

"Mmm that's too bad." I began to kiss and nip at Emily's neck. I could feel her shiver at my touch and I pulled her closer into me.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" She softly moaned as I continued my assault on her neck and as her fingers found their way into my hair.

"Well, because she and I are chaperones at Homecoming on Saturday and I was going to ask you to be my date."

A/N: Well, I hope you all liked the update! After hearing about Paige's car accident in PLL, I wanted to know more, and I sort of just ran with that. So this is my version. A lot of angst, I know! But up next, Homecoming shenanigans ;) And once again, thank you for the continued support and to all who take the time to review :)