Title: Hastings vs. McCullers
Author: slacker_d
Pairing/Characters: Emily/Paige/Spencer, Hanna/Calab, Aria
Summary: Spencer and Paige have a chess boxing match.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Word Count: 1,610
A/N: So ladywinthrop and charli-mcda on Tumblr wanted Paige and Spencer chess boxing. And since I already have a couple fics with chess boxing, I figured one more couldn't hurt
2nd A/N: Okay, I really had no idea who would win, so I literally flipped a coin. In case you're wondering why/how I chose the winner.

It probably says something about all three of them that she's not surprised to be here. Emily looks over at Hanna in her bikini and heels, better make that the four of them. And Calab. Not that Emily blames him. If her girlfriends were going to be prancing around in bikinis, she'd want to be there too.

Instead, hers are both shoving mouth guards in as they're being helped with their headgear. Emily watches in amusement as Aria, who arrived late, tries to help Spencer, who's becoming more and more impatient since Aria's having trouble tightening the chin strap. Emily figures she'll just use it in her fight. Paige on the other hand is eerily calm as she accepts her water bottle from Calab and waits for the match to begin.

Even though she's not necessarily looking forward to watching Paige and Spencer box each other, she is curious to see how they do. When Hanna had suggested that Spencer and Paige compete in a chess boxing match, Emily had been skeptical. It sounded absurd to her, but both her girlfriends seemed into it, exuberant even. Which really shouldn't be surprising, it's a perfect combination of brains and brawn while still being a bit of a mind fuck, which would appeal to both of them, even if only Spencer would admit it.

The problem had been what the winner gets. When Hanna had asked, both Paige and Spencer's eyes went to Emily. Not appreciating being thought of a prize, even if it was more symbolic than anything else, Emily suggested something else. That the winner gets to be in charge in bed for a full week while the loser willingly submits. Considering that their competitive natures rarely allows that to happen, both girls quickly agreed.

And so after finding a place to fight, the proper safety equipment and a decent chessboard, it was decided that it was truly happening.

Spencer is slipping on her noise defenders as Hanna steps into the ring with a large whiteboard. The only people watching will be Emily, Hanna, Calab and Aria, and so Hanna claiming the role of ring girl seems a little silly, but neither Paige or Spencer protested, so Emily didn't either. The bikini is definitely too much, but Emily wouldn't expect anything less from her best friend.

Because the other three all have jobs, Emily is in charge of ringing the bell to begin and end each round. The only good thing is that to do so, she just has to pulls a string, so at least she can sit and watch or not watch if she wants.

As Spencer and Paige settle down in front of the chess board, Hanna takes the marker that's on a lanyard around her neck out and writes a giant 1 on the board. She then holds it up and walks around. Paige and Spencer mostly ignore her, instead watching Emily for the cue that they can begin.

Emily pulls out the stopwatch that Spencer literally threw at her when the first arrived and clicks start as she rings the bell. Her girlfriends' eyes whip to the board and Paige, who has the white pieces moves first.

It's a flurry of movement, both Spencer and Paige making quick decisions and setting down each piece with fierce determination. When her stopwatch hits four minutes, she rings the bell. Calab taps Paige on the shoulder and Aria taps Spencer as Hanna erases the 1 and writes 2 on the whiteboard. She circles the ring, holding up the sign as Paige and Spencer hand over their noise defenders and pull on their boxing gloves.

Once Calab and Aria have exited the ring, both Spencer and Paige look to Emily, nodding that they're ready, so Emily rings the bell again.

Not much happens at first. Emily's not sure if it's strategy on either of their parts or a unwillingness to hit the other girl. Her question is answered when Paige throws an experimental punch that Spencer quickly dodges.

This round is only three minutes and so when Emily rings the bell, only a few punches have been thrown.

Hanna walks around the ring holding up her whiteboard which now reads, 3. Calab and Aria quickly hand over the towels and noise defenders. The gloves are removed and both girls sit back down in front of the board. They look to Emily for the signal and she again rings the bell.

The chess seems to be more furious this time as if they've both realized that the match will be won on the chessboard and not in the boxing ring. From her vantage point in the audience, it looks like they're about evenly matched. Emily wonders if a stalemate is possible.

Another four minutes pass and Emily rings the bell again. There about ten pieces still left on the board as the noise defenders come off. Once the gloves and headgear are back, Emily rings the bell. Hanna, who didn't quite get a chance to walk a full circle, looks a bit annoyed at Emily, who can only shrug in response.

This time, both girls are more aggressive. Paige begins immediately and Spencer has no choice but to defend, but Emily notices that Spencer is subtly pushing Paige back into a corner. But Paige isn't going to give up that easily and while Spencer is slightly distracted maneuvering Paige into position, Paige takes advantage of her brief lack of focus and throws a punch that has everyone else cringe. Spencer actually wavers a bit and Emily knows it's only pure tenacity that keeps her standing. The flinty glare Spencer sends Paige just makes her smirk triumphantly in return.

Spencer manages to get in one good shot to Paige's jaw before the three minutes are up. Paige looks momentarily dazed as she wipes some of the sweat off and hands over her headgear and gloves. Slipping on the noise defenders, they both sit back down in front of the chessboard.

Hanna is now walking a smaller circle as she holds up the whiteboard reading, 5. Emily waits for her best friend to finish before ringing the bell this time. She's rewarded with a full smile from Hanna.

When Emily rings the bell four minutes later, it seems like nothing has happened. As both Paige and Spencer stand, they hold up their hands to Calab and Aria who are approaching.

"I think we've reached a stalemate," Spencer says as she pulls off the noise defenders.

Paige nods; hers are off as well. "And since we haven't been awarding points for the boxing, we can't really declare a winner off that."

"So now what?" Aria asks.

"Hold on," Calab says. He has Hanna's phone and he seems to be searching for something. After a few minutes of silence that is only broken by the sound of Spencer and Paige gulping down water, Calab looks up. "Found it."

"Found what?" Hanna asks.

"According to the official rules of chess boxing, if there's a stalemate on the board and a tie in the number of points awarded for the boxing round, there is one tie breaker."

"Is it endurance?" Paige asks hopefully. "Because then victory is mine."

Spencer raises an eyebrow. "If we're comparing endurance, we may have to bring up what happened the other night."

Aria's eyes get bigger than usual and the look of panic on her face is almost comical. "I don't want to know."

"I do," Hanna says, grinning.

"Actually," Calab interjects, bringing the focus back to him. "The rules are whoever has the black pieces on the chessboard win."

"What?!" Paige exclaims.

Spencer smirks at her. "Hell yeah!"

"Why do I have a feeling that you already knew that Hastings?" Paige growls.

"Because you're not a complete moron, McCullers," Spencer smirks.

Emily shakes her head. They're both going to be absolutely unbearable for the next few days; Spencer with her gloating and Paige with her moping. Emily understands. Losing, especially if you thought you were going to win while also losing because of a seemingly random rule, would infuriate her as well.

Spencer and Paige head to the locker room to shower and change, arguing the whole way. Well, it's more like Paige protesting her defeat while Spencer hums We Are the Champions.

As they wait for Paige and Spencer to finish, Hanna, now wearing more clothing, won't stop grinning at Emily.

"Will you stop that," Emily tells her.

"You know I'm going to demand specifics about the prize," Hanna replies.

Emily rolls her eyes. "I'm not going to give you details."

"I don't need those kind of details," Hanna says. "I just meant more like if Spencer turns into a power hungry dictator or if Paige doesn't quite sub—"

"Please stop talking," Aria interrupts. "I really don't need that mental image."

Calab looks at her questioningly.

"It's not a gay thing," Aria replies. "It's a friend thing. I don't want to think about you and Hanna either."

Considering Emily has no need to try and imagine Aria and Ezra, she can understand.

"We're getting pizza," Paige announces as she exits the locker room fifteen minutes later, followed by Spencer.

"We are?" Hanna asks.

Spencer nods. "As the loser, Paige gets to choose the food."

"If you call me a loser, one more time, Hastings..."

Spencer smirks. "Loser."

"You are so dead," Paige growls.

Spencer lets out a giggle and runs out of the gym with Paige hot on her tail.

"How in the hell do they still have the energy for that?" Calab asks.

"They just do," Emily shrugs.

"Talk about endurance," Hanna grins. "Lucky Em."

"Really Hanna?"