Chapter 17:

The rest of the afternoon seemed to fly by for the young couple. They traded stories from their childhood, laughed and enjoyed their time separated from the world.

The pair, now seated in the packed natatorium surrounded by classmates, friends and family who were all there to support the swimmers in the race; cheered loudly as Emily closed in on the finale win for her team.

"Go Em!" Spencer shouted with her hands cupped around her mouth. "You got this!"

The excitement in the building was rising as Emily pushed herself past another swimmer, successfully taking the lead with only a short distance left back to the starting wall.

As the crowd started to chant Emily's name, Spencer took a moment to look around her, instantly her smile turned into a grin at the sight next to her. Toby and Caleb were both standing on their feet, hands clapping in the air and yelling at the top of their lungs for her best friend.

Reaching for her pocket, she quickly pulled out her phone, snapping a picture of the boys before turning her attention back to the race.

Seconds later, the crowd started going crazy as Emily's hand made contact the the tile, winning her relay as well as securing the team's win for the entire meet.

The girls cheered from their seats and each gave a hug to Emily's parents before they quickly followed others down to the team to congratulate their daughter on her win.

"Emily killed it out there tonight." Hanna started as she reached down to pick up her fallen bag. "I think we should ditch going for pizza and find a party instead. I'm sure Em will still be revved up from this and what better way to calm down than with a few drinks, some good music and her friends by her side?"

Spencer and Aria looked at each other for a brief second before turning back to Hanna. "No." They said in unison.

Hanna placed a hand on her hip and glared at the girls. "You didn't even think about it. I am calling a vote. All in favor of going to a party tonight, raise your hand." Hanna said while raising her hand up high.

Spencer had to hold back a laugh as Caleb slowly rose his hand after receiving one of Hanna's death glares. "Looks like you lose Hanna-banana. Five to two, pizza it is."

Hanna let out an annoyed groan as she pulled her hand down. "I'm demanding a re-count when Emily joins us, then we will see who the real loser is. C'mon Caleb, let's go wait outside for Em." She said while grabbing his arm and pulling him down the bleachers.

Spencer, Aria and Paige each shared a look before letting out a laugh. "Oh man," Paige said as she shook her head, trying to calm her breathing. "I have certainly missed you guys, I need to visit more often."

"I'll raise my hand to that." Spencer smiled and put an arm around Paige's shoulders. "How is it over at Stanford?"

"It's been good. Our team is in 3rd place right now, but we are hopeful that we can end the season back in at the number 1 rank." She said while placing her own arm around Spencer's waist. "How's everything been over on this side of the states?"

The girl's relationship with Paige had never been one worthy of a friendship before Emily had started to date her but after getting together one night, all four girls realized that they had a lot more in common than just knowing Emily Fields. Spencer and Paige bounded quickly out of the girls, their love for sports and competition helped build a strong connection that neither one expected to form.

Spencer casted a glance back to Toby, who was having a conversation with Ezra, smiling when he looked over to meet her eyes. "Everything is going great." She said when she turned back to Paige, who was now sporting a grin. "Shut up." Spencer laughed, pushing the girl slightly.

"What?" Paige laughed, while Aria held hers back, just smiling at the banter from the two girls. "I didn't even say anything."

"I know what you were thinking McCullers."

"Whatever you say Hastings, how about we get outside before Hanna has a chance to talk Emily into this party idea."

Spencer let out a small laugh. "Knowing Hanna, she probably stormed into the locker room to pitch her idea while Emily was still in the shower stalls." Spencer dropped her arm around Paige's shoulders and walked up some steps to reach Toby and Ezra who were standing a few feet away. "Hey boys," She said as she reached Toby's side, slipping her hand into his, lacing their fingers together. "We are ready to head outside now."

"Well it's about time." Ezra teased, earning himself a punch in the arm from Spencer. "Ow, hey, I was just kidding!" He cried as he rubbed his arm with a smile.

"So was I." Spencer teased back with a matching smile. "Now, let's hurry up before Hanna ends up having us hosting a damn party instead of just trying to go to one."

"Scary thing is," Ezra started as the trio started to make their way down the bleachers. "She would find a way to pull that off without us even knowing."

Spencer slowed down her pace to allow some space to form from the other three. "Did you have fun tonight?" She asked casually.

"I did, thank you for bringing me." He smiled while leaning over and placing a quick kiss to the side of her head. "Emily's girlfriend, Paige, she seems really cool. Did you all go to school together back in Rosewood?"

She nodded. "We did, although, we didn't all become friends until her and Emily started dating the summer before junior year. Before that, she was just another girl in the hallway that we all shared a few classes with, never once in those few years before hand did we ever think we would be best friends with Paige McCullers."

"From the way you all interact with each other, I would have guessed you were all childhood friends." Toby said as he held open the door for Spencer, sending her another smile after she thanked him.

"Yeah," She let out a small chuckle. "We hear that a lot actually."

The couple finally reached the rest of the group and Spencer quickly took notice of two missing bodies. "Let me guess, Hanna is stalking Emily outside the changing rooms?" She sent a look in Caleb's direction.

Caleb held his hands up in defensive. "Hey, I tried to get her to come outside with me but she gave me this look.." He trailed off, a somewhat scared expression on his face, which caused the three girls to immediately break out into a fit of laughter.

"Really man?" Toby laughed out as well. "She gave you a look?"

Caleb now glared at his best friend, throwing a punch into his shoulder. "Shut up, you didn't see it. It totally said, 'Stop me and I'll hurt you in ways you can't even imagine'."

"Oh, I'm sure it did." Toby replied with a big grin. "Guess we know who wears the pants in your relationship."

"Jackass." Caleb muttered under his breath as crossed his arms over his chest and continued to send Toby glares.

"I'm just messing with you man," Toby said as he took a step over to Caleb and placed his hand on his shoulder. "We all know that it's you who wears the pants."

Caleb slapped away Toby's hand. "Jackass." He repeated but this time a small grin was appearing on his face.

The group fell into an easy conversation as they waited on the arrival of Emily and Hanna, who joined them ten minutes later.

"Guess who wants to party tonight!" Hanna squealed with excitement as she skipped to Caleb's side, instantly wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Em, do you really want to hit up a party or did Hanna bug you until you agreed with her?" Paige asked while taking her girl friend's hand into her own.

"I did not bug her!" Hanna cut in, earning an eye roll from the girls as well as a 'Sure, you didn't.' from Spencer.

"For once, I actually agreed with Hanna that we should go out and celebrate the team's win." Emily said with a smile. "A few of the girls on my team were talking about meeting up at one of the parties over in their building. It will be fun, I swear." She continued when she saw the surprised looks on her friend's faces.

"How much water did you swallow during your match?" Spencer teased.

"None," Emily chuckled. "I was actually going to suggest that we find a party tonight, Hanna just beat me to it."

"Well, since Emily is game, count me in." Paige smiled and pulled Emily closer into her body, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Also, might I add in, congratulations on the win babe, you were amazing out there tonight."

The rest of the group followed suit in telling Emily how great she did and after a round of hugs from all the girls, Emily thanked them. "Thank you guys, now what do you say? Party?" She asked with a huge grin and looked around the small circle.

"We are in!" Hanna shouted with excitement bursting from her lips as she raised both Caleb's and her hand in the air.

Aria and Ezra shared a silent look before Aria smiled and raised her hand as well. "Same here, let's go have some fun."

"Really Ar?" Spencer threw in with a surprised look on her face. "Just twenty minutes ago, you were all for us going out and getting pizza."

"Well, I changed my mind, plus Paige is here for only another night, we can do pizza tomorrow before she leaves. Emily just won a big match, let's go out and celebrate that as a group."

Spencer let a small huff slip passed her lips as she turned slightly inwards and raised her gaze to find Toby's eyes. "What are your thoughts on this?" She asked keeping her brown eyes locked into his blue ones.

She could see his lips twitching into a small smile as he let another few seconds pass in silence. She knew what his answer was going to be before he even had a chance to speak the words.

They were going to a party tonight.

"I can't believe I agreed to come here tonight." Spencer mumbled to herself as her eyes scanned the packed dorm room.

The group had arrived to the building an hour and a half ago, and after all of them doing one round of shots for Emily, had decided it would be more fun to break off and mingle.

"What was that Spence?" Toby all but shouted into her ear over the blaring beats coming from the speakers that stood a few feet away.

Spencer smiled as leaned closer, her lips close to his ear. "I was just asking myself how we ended up here."

"Are you not having a good time?" He asked putting his free arm around her waist to pull her closer into his body. "We can leave if you want, I don't mind."

"No, it's fine; I'm having a good time." She placed a kiss to his lips and smiled as she pulled away. "Thank you for agreeing to come out here tonight. I know it wasn't exactly how we planned the rest of our night, but it means a lot that you are here with me."

Toby returned the smile, as well as a kiss of his own. "As cliché as this sounds; there is nowhere else I'd rather be than here with you." He reached up and tucked back a lock of her hair, letting his thumb linger for a couple of seconds on her cheek before letting his hand fall back to her side.

She had never been at a loss for words a day in her life, but right now, in this moment, all she could do was stare into his blue eyes and let the rest of the world fade away.

Without breaking her gaze, she reached for his hand, lacing their fingers in a tight embrace. "What do you say we get out of here?"

"Lead the way beautiful."

A/N: Short, I know there wasn't much Spoby or party details but I have been feeling like a jerk for keeping all you wonderful readers waiting for an update. Once again, not sure when another update will come but please know how grateful I am to everyone who reads, reviews and favorites this story as I am trying my hardest to keep up with my writing but it's just coming at a slow pace for me these days. Sorry. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and any ideas as to where the pair might be headed?