I'll Help You Study-McHastings
Paige couldn't believe she had agreed to this. She was actually having a study date with Spencer Hastings. Okay, admittedly it wasn’t a date, per say, but it was close enough. She would be alone with Spenceer. It was both her dream and her nightmare. She was terrified of looking stupid in front of the other girl, but excited about spending time with her crush. She could still remember the conversation they'd had two days ago:
"Dammit!" Paige cursed, staring at her phone. She was in the locker room after field hockey practice, and she was checking her grades.
"What's wrong?" a concerned voice asked.
Paige jumped and nearly dropped her phone, startled by the question. She'd thought she was alone, but there was Spencer Hastings standing in front of her. She tried to look normal, instead of like someone who had just nearly had a heart attack.
"Mr. Andrews put in the scores for the last geometry test," she said. Spencer nodded, sitting down next to Paige. Paige’s eyes widened slightly. Spencer had never paid much attention to her outside of practice. She suddenly became very aware of the fact that she was sweaty, not having showered yet. Since realizing she was gay, she had been reluctant to shower in the locker rooms. Maybe she was being silly, but she was terrified that people would know she was gay and freak out. She knew it was just her own fears, but she couldn’t help it.
"Didn't do well?" she asked. Paige knew Spencer was the smartest person in their class, and wondered if she was making fun of her. She searched her face for a trace of mocking, but found only sympathy. Deciding to trust her teammate, she shook her head.
"No. It was pretty terrible, actually. Math has never been my strong suit, and it's been even harder than usual this year, trying to balance swimming and field hockey while still keeping my grades up," she admitted. Spencer nodded in understanding. People didn’t realize it, but she had to work her ass off to get the grades she got. While everything had always seemed easy for Melissa, she had to work for it.
"Well, from what I’ve seen, your swimming has been good, and you've been great on the field," she complimented. Paige blushed, both from the praise itself and the fact that it was coming from Spencer.
"Not as good as you," she said, hoping she didn’t sound jealous. Spencer shrugged.
"I put all of my efforts into one sport," she said. Paige's shoulders sagged and Spencer quickly backtracked.
"I don't mean that in a bad way! It's impressive that you do both. But it does mean that you have to split your attention and be good at two different things, whereas I only have to be good at one," she explained. Paige couldn’t help but smile. This was the most nervous she’d ever seen Spencer, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy it.
“Thanks, I think. Wait a minute. How do you know how my swimming has been?” she asked, realizing what Spencer had said.
“Oh, I’m friends with Emily Fields. I go to the meets sometimes to support her, and I’ve seen you a few times,” she explained.
"Unfortunately, as well as I’ve been doing on the field and in the pool, I haven’t been doing great in the classroom. My grades have taken a bit of a hit, especially in geometry. If I don't ace the next test I'm going to be kicked off the team," she said. Spencer nodded slowly. She appeared to be in deep thought. Paige waited awkwardly, afraid to say something and interrupt whatever was going on in Spencer’s head.
"What are you doing Friday night?" Spencer asked suddenly. Paige gave her a puzzled look, unsure of where she was going with this.
"Nothing, why?"
"Well, you need help in geometry, and I’m getting an A. Come over. I'll help you study," she offered, leaving no room for Paige to protest.
And that was how she found herself standing on Spencer's porch, terrified of doing something stupid or revealing her true feelings for the other girl. It had been easier when they were just teammates who barely said two words to each other. Now they were going to be alone together. What if Spencer saw right through her? Taking a deep breath, Paige raised her arm and knocked on the door. It was now or never.
“Paige!” Spencer exclaimed, swinging the door open. Paige smiled nervously.
“Hey,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound too awkward. She had thought she lived in one of the fancier Rosewood houses, but it was nothing compared to the Hastings house. The place was intimidatingly huge.
“Come on in! My parents are out of town on a business trip, so it’s just us,” she explained, leading Paige to her bedroom. Paige felt her heart speeding up. She had known they’d be alone, but she had assumed there would be someone else somewhere in the house.
“Don’t you have a sister?” Paige asked. Spencer grimaced.
“Yes, but she’s away at college,” she said, wondering why Paige was bringing up Melissa. Of course her older sister would be dragged into the conversation.
“Do you like having a sister?” Paige asked, trying to make conversation. Spencer frowned.
“Not particularly,” she said flatly.
“Oh. I just wondered. I don’t have any siblings, so I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a sister,” she explained. She hoped she hadn’t upset Spencer.
“It’s complicated in this house. Did you bring your geometry book? We can order a pizza if you want. I would have ordered it before, but I didn’t know what you liked, so I decided to wait until you got here,” she rambled. Paige smiled, touched that Spencer had put so much thought into this.
“I’m into anything, really. Pizza is pizza, you know? And, yes, I brought my book. I might be failing geometry, but I’m not failing common sense,” she joked. Spencer rolled her eyes.
“I’ll order cheese, then. If you don’t care. How about you start with this problem set while I call?” she suggested. Paige frowned.
“I’m probably going to do them all wrong,” she said. If she’d known she was just going to sit here and do problem sets by herself she would have done it at home. Spencer nodded.
“Good. Then I can see where you’re making mistakes and work with you to fix them,” she explained. Paige shook her head in awe.
“I’ll be right back. You get started,” Spencer ordered. Paige gave her a mock salute before setting to work on the problem.
Maybe it was in her head, but suddenly geometry didn’t seem so boring.