Locum Tenens

PART TWO: "Sic Infit"

~ So it begins. ~ 

DISCLAIMER: Pretty Little Liars and all its characters is the intellectual property of others. Some characters used in the writing of this fic belong to PLL. Events that transpire, will transpire and have transpired in this story are entirely of my own creation.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

One Year Ago...

Paige stood outside Emily's kitchen door and shifted the heavy paper bag she was carrying in her arms, trying not to drop any of the contents before knocking on one of the glass panes again. She may have been standing on the same spot for a few minutes but with the weight of the paper bag bearing on her arms, it felt like hours. Starting to get impatient, Paige pressed her nose on the glass and tried to peer inside, looking for signs of life in the kitchen and when she couldn't find any, decided to entertain herself by fogging up the glass panes with her warm breath.

"Just sit tight and I'll make us another batch!" Paige stopped what she was doing when she heard Emily's voice and quickly closed her mouth when she realized it was wide open. She peered inside again and finally saw the girl emerge with a white ceramic bowl in one hand from behind the swing door that led to the living room. Paige watched Emily quickly pocket the phone she was holding in her other hand and deposit the bowl on the kitchen countertop before heading towards her.

"What took you so long?!" Emily said in greeting, her voice barely above a whisper as she took the brown paper bag Paige was handing to her from outside.

"I could ask you the same thing! I sent that text twenty minutes ago telling you I'm here and now I can't feel my arms!" Paige complained, shaking her hands vigorously in front of her to regain some feeling in her limbs.

"Well I was waiting for them to finish the second bowl of popcorn I made so I could offer to make a third batch and have a reason to come in here! What's your excuse?" Emily asked before moving to let the girl in.

"There was a long line at the grocery!" Paige explained, now stretching her arms above her head and bending from side to side. "You've known those girls for years. How come you didn't buy all of this food beforehand?" She asked in a low voice as she finally stepped inside the warm kitchen and gently closed the door behind her.

"I may have known them for years but I'm their friend, not their nutritionist. It's not like I watch what they eat. These cravings didn't really come up until tonight." Emily replied, heading for the kitchen counter to place the paper bag on top of it. She hastily took out the items from inside the bag one by one, checking off the list in her head as she did so. "M&Ms raspberry, soft pretzels, chocolate pudding, potato chips... where's the honey mustard dip? You forgot the honey mustard dip!" She exclaimed, staring at Paige incredulously.

"What? No I didn't!" Paige protested, quickly walking over to Emily and rummaging inside the paper bag. "Oh crap."

"You need to go back." Emily said, giving the girl a pointed look.

Paige felt her eyes widen in horror. "For a bottle of dip? No way. Go there yourself." She replied, shaking her head vehemently. "I'm not going back to that place again. It feels like every single person in Rosewood with the exception of you and your friends is there tonight. Just serve them regular mustard or suggest dipping the pretzel in the pudding or something. Why does it have to be honey mustard? Did your friends get knocked up simultaneously?" She asked, looking at the swing door.

"My friends aren't pregnant. Just really picky on movie night." Emily explained, looking behind her as well. Technically she was cheating tonight. She was supposed to have all of these in her cupboard or fridge but all she had were marshmallows, frozen pizza, microwave popcorn and a jar of pickles.