Can I Have This Dance?--Paily
Emily was pretty sure this could go down in history as the worst prom ever. It wasn't even a real prom, it was a pity prom their moms threw in Spencer's barn. It was slightly better for the others. Spencer had Toby, Hanna had Caleb, even Aria had Ezra, as weird as that was. But Emily was alone, and feeling left out. She couldn’t believe she’d been turned down by Sara Harvey. After everything she’d done to help the girl, she chose to go to her old school’s prom instead. Not that Emily could even blame her. Who wanted to go to a pity prom?
Her mom had pointed out that the best part of prom was having fun with friends, which she would be doing, but when your friends were hanging out with their boyfriends it wasn't much fun. The other girls tried to include her, but it was awkward for three people to dance together. She and Aria had looked through pictures of the actual Rosewood High prom, but eventually that had gotten too depressing.
The doorbell rang and Emily jumped off the couch to get it. At least Alison didn't have a date. They could be miserable together.
"I'll get it!" Spencer burst out, practically throwing Emily back on the couch in her haste to beat her to the door. Emily made a face, annoyed that she couldn't even do this. To her growing confusion, Toby came over and pulled her up, starting to dance.
"Why are we dancing?" she asked suspiciously. Toby shrugged.
"Seemed like fun," he said. Emily raised an eyebrow. She knew for a fact that Toby hated dancing. Combined with the fact that Spencer had yet to return from answering the door and Ali hadn't come in yet either was making her wary of their intentions.
"Where'd they go?" she asked, looking Toby straight in the eye. He squirmed under the pressure, making Emily smile inside.
"Taking pictures?" he suggested weakly. Emily's eyebrow nearly reached her hairline at that. Before she could really lay into him, there was a tap on her shoulder.
"Can I have this dance?" a voice from behind Emily asked. Emily spun around.
"Paige?" she asked, suddenly breathless. Her ex girlfriend was standing in front of her wearing a white tuxedo with black high heels. Her hair was shorter than before, and wavy. Still in shock, Emily put her arms around Paige and started swaying lightly to the music.
"What're you doing here?" she asked, relaxing into the familiar embrace.
"Spencer called me, actually. She said you guys weren't allowed to go to prom and were throwing your own instead. She thought you'd like it if I was here," she explained.
“Why didn’t you call?” she asked. Paige sighed.
“Em, every time I’ve tried to come back here, you’ve told me not to. I thought if I called about this you’d just say the same thing. I decided to just come without asking,” she explained. Emily nodded slowly, processing the information. She understood Paige’s reasoning. It was true, since her escape from the Dollhouse, she’d talked to Paige a number of times. Every time they talked, Paige offered to come back to Rosewood. And every time, Emily had refused, saying that she was fine. She wasn’t sure why she had refused to let Paige come back to Rosewood. Maybe because she didn’t want her ex to see how traumatized from the Dollhouse, maybe she wanted to keep Paige away from the danger of Rosewood, maybe a combination of both. Emily sighed.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so distant lately,” she said. Paige raised an eyebrow.
“I was distant first,” she pointed out. Emily didn’t reply. It was true, of course. Sure Emily had been distant since her return, but Paige had practically cut her out of her life when she moved to California. Emily took a deep breath. No sense in reopening old wounds. It felt good to be dancing with Paige again, even if it didn’t mean anything changed.
"Do you?" Paige asked quietly, interrupting Emily’s thoughts. Emily frowned.
"Do I what?" she asked. Paige ducked her head nervously.
"Like that I'm here."
A smile crossed Emily's face.
"What have I said about looking away?” she asked huskily. Paige’s eyes flickered up and Emily’s smile widened.
“Yeah. I do. I’m really glad you’re here, Paige," she said honestly. Paige smiled back.
“Me too.”