"for someone who's drunk, you're typing very clearly." maya teased, "let's get back to our hotel, now, bun."
they paid and left, though paige was a little out of it due to the wine intake, they made it back rather quickly while somehow managing not to run into any fans. not that they would usually be avoiding that, but only because paige was too drunk.
"what the hell is a bm?" paige slurred a bit.
"who knows." maya laughed, remembering the comment rosa's colleague left, "best man? or something? i dunno."
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
smackle and farkle were waiting for paige and maya at the arrival hall. and when they saw them walk towards the glass doors, they practically jumped out of their seats.
"is that them?" smackle gasped.
"yeah."
before long, the newly engaged couple were running towards them, giving them the biggest hugs. farkle helped them with their bags as they headed for his car, "how was the trip?"
"it was great." paige replied, "we bought some stuff for you guys."
"ooh." farkle commented.
"how's riley doing?" maya asked.
"she's home with aj." smackle said back, "but good. they're both really excited for you to be back too. but aj threw a tantrum so only we came to pick you two up."
"oh, no." maya chuckles, "why?"
"because riley gave her milk in her juice cup instead of milk cup."
"what?" paige held back a laugh, "the winnie the pooh cup? doesn't she only have the one teal one?"
"exactly." farkle chimed in, "which is why it's kinda funny."
"drove riley nuts though." smackle said, "isn't the first time."
"third time this week."
"oh, gosh. i can practically hear those shrieks." maya snakes an arm around her waist when paige lays her head on maya's shoulder.
"you okay?" maya runs a hand through paige's hair.
"yeah, just a little tired." paige explained. "you can nap. it'll take us a bit to reach home." maya glances at her, pressing a kiss on the top of her head.
"not for too long though, if not your sleep schedule will get messed up." farkle reminded.
"yeah, just twenty minutes." paige covers her mouth as she yawned.
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
as they walked closer and closer towards the apartment, they were expecting to hear some screaming but when they opened the front door it was oddly quiet.
"hello?" maya said.
maya's parents, riley, aj and some other people just jumped out from hiding, "surprise! welcome back!"
"woah." paige clung onto maya's arm tighter at the loud volume, but quickly realised what was happening.
"hi, guys." maya greeted them first.
"topanga?" paige squinted- she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her because she was feeling tired from the jet-lag.
"hi, ladies." topanga smiled.
"you guys made up?" maya's jaw dropped.
"we did- all of us."
"oh my god. im so happy for you guys." maya squealed, running to give topanga a hug. paige being half awake, almost toppled over.
"oh shi-" smackle stopped herself from saying a profanity in front of aj while she steadied her friend, "let's go get you in a shower so you're more awake."
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"oh my god, where'd paige go?"
"she's fine. i made her take a shower. she just went in- you can join her." smackle said matter-of-factly.
"with everyone around? no thanks." maya declined.
"two weeks alone and you two still can't keep your hands off each other?"
maya smiled sarcastically, "well..."
"hey, where's your manager?"
"ah, she's staying in paris for a few more days with her boyfriend."
"boyfriend?" farkle's eyes widen, "since when?"
"beats me." maya shrugged, "oh wow, who bought this cake? it's delicious."
"rosa's friend made it." riley say down beside them. maya looked around and noticed charles so she asked riley, "him?"
"mhm."
"hey, charles?" she called out and he turned to face her, "nice cake. it's great."
"oh, thanks! it's dairy free since paige is lactose intolerant."
"hey, can you bake the cake for our wedding then?"
"oh, sure. i'd be honoured." charles walked closer to the group of friends seated at the couch.
ten minutes later, paige walks out dressed in a t-shirt and jean shorts.
"hey, you." maya beamed at the sight of her fiancée.
paige mirrors her smile, "hi." it was then when rosa and a couple of her colleagues came up to them to congratulate them on their engagement. katy and shawn as well, even asking when the wedding was— joking, obviously.
"hey, guess what? charles agreed to bake our wedding cake."
"already?"
"yep." maya nodded, "here, try this."
"it's amazing. charles, you made this?"
"yup, so am i making the wedding cake?"
"definitely." the couple answered together.
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"i'm really happy for the two of you." rosa said, cracking a smile.
"thank you, mami."
"thanks." maya smiled, "oh, uh- we got you these on our trip."
"you didn't have to." rosa took the paper bag.
"just a little something as a 'thank you'. i don't say it enough and nothing can make up for everything that you've done for me."
rosa could only smile back at paige, unsure of what exactly to say. paige is daughter after all, but she only recently gained the title as her mom officially a mere few years ago. she felt like she had let paige down, being only such a trivial part of her life for years. "i should get going."
"sure." paige smiled, "you have work tomorrow."
rosa gathered her things and stood up, "have a good night, and all the best on set tomorrow. see you, maya."
"thanks, mami. good night, see you soon."
"see you, g'night." maya hugs the lady.
momentarily, riley walks out from her room. "aj asleep?" maya asks. "yep." riley nods, "thank goodness it didn't take long today."
maya's phone suddenly started buzzing, startling them in the silence. "oh, cordelia's facetiming."
"oh. answer it." paige took a peek at maya's phone screen.
"oh my god, hi." cordelia greets.
"hey, how you doing?" maya asks.
"i'm great, having fun with tom." cordelia flashed them a smile, "just wanted to check in with y'all,"
"excuse me, tom?" maya's eyes went wide for a second.
"oh, hi riley. how are you?" cordelia saw the tall brunette sitting there as well.
riley smiled, "pretty great, kinda tired. but still great."
"jet lagged." paige replies cheerily, making cordelia laugh as a result.
"hiya." he popped in and waved, "congratulations on the engagement."
maya froze for a moment, "thank you."
"thanks so much." paige said next, fiddling with her thumbs. she was not expecting tom to just 'show up' like that and it gave her a shock. she takes in a deep breath and asked, "cordelia, the schedule for tomorrow is finalised right? on set at 6:45a.m.?"
"yup. i won't be back for two more days...so if there are any last minute changes, serena will let you know." cordelia reminded her.
"what show are you going on?" tom asked.
"svu."
"nice. am i invited to your wedding?"
"tom!" cordelia smacks in on the arm.
"what? im just curious- they're gonna invite you, right? you're their manager. there might be a plus-one option."
"just wait for your invitations. they'll show up." maya chuckles. all while keeping an eye on paige, because something seemed off- and not just because of that momentary spike in anxiety when tom said hi to them.
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
they went to bed at about 9p.m. that night, not that early but still earlier than they usually would.
the next morning, once paige's alarm went off she quickly turned it off not wanting to wake up everybody else. it was 5am for god's sake. yawning and stretching out her arms, she stood up and went for the mirror. "ugh." she groans at the sight of herself in the reflection- her curly hair was a knotted mess and she just did not look good.
grabbing a white tee, a pair jeans and a dark purple hoodie she began to change into that new set of clothes. then, she went to wash her face and brush her teeth.
5:08- the clock on the wall read.
she was way ahead of her morning routine than she'd thought so she decided to eat something light before leaving the house. debating between frozen waffles or toast, her phone suddenly rang and startling her. "shit." she curses under her breath and she quickly turned her phone on silent.
"you up?"
"yes, cordy. i'm up. i'm eating something then i'm on my way to the set."
"okay, good. you ready?"
"um- barely." paige cuts up a bagel in half and puts it in the toaster.
"you're great, hun. just go for it, do your best."
"cordy." she whines.
"whining ain't gonna work right now, girl."
"it's freaking mariska hargitay. can you imagine if i screwed up?"
"girl, imma stop you right there- i can't imagine that, because you're great. you got this, okay? deep breaths."
she sighs softly, "thanks, cordelia. i gotta go, see you."
"see you soon, bye-bye."
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
once on set, paige got her hair and makeup done. then came rehearsals. though, they still had a few minutes before then. and that was when she started second-guessing her own decision to take on such a dark role. it was one-day thing for her so once they got her take, she could leave. after all, she had three scenes and they weren't very long. but it involved a lot of strong emotions and honestly? content that hit a bit close to home. but she wanted to audition anyway because it meant that she had a chance to work with some of her biggest role models.
she was brought back to reality when she saw this woman wearing a black blazer, trousers walk in through the corner of her eye. she knew who exactly it was, but it took her mind a moment to process. she also saw a blonde walking behind her. kelli giddish. paige's hands were gripping the script tightly as she feels her heart beating quicker. she then took a look at kira who was acting as her girlfriend in the episode, sitting right by her seeming all calm and confident. yet here she was, freaking out.
"breathe." kira leaned over, reminding her. and she did. she lets go of the breath she didn't even realise she was holding and started to take a few deep breaths to calm herself.
mariska was talking to the crew, while pointing at her script. presumably, they were discussing how the different shots were gonna go. once that was done— thank goodness it took another five minutes because by then, paige was calmer.
"hi, sweetheart. i'm mariska, nice to meet you." mariska said hi to her first, extending her hand out.
paige shook her hand, "i'm paige, nice to meet you too."
she wasn't as intimidating as paige had thought- she was really sweet. paige didn't know what she was so worried about in the first place once they'd started filming. all her worries went away and she was totally immersed in her character.
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"elena. honey, i'm gonna need you to talk to me."
paige shook her head, looking down at her hands. apart from mariska being with her in this scene, kelli was too. both of their were supposed to find out who assaulted
"we want to help you, but there's nothing we can do if you don't tell us anything about who hurt you."
tears started to well up in paige's eyes as she looked all around the room, playing with her fingers anxiously.
"do you know the person? it's just us here, i promise."
paige nodded reluctantly and began to weep, "yes." then, what paige did next caused the blonde to look at the glass panel like she did as well.
kelli takes a glance in mariska's direction meaning to ask for permission to ask a question. mariska leans back, letting kelli ask, "is the person here, today...?"
"she is." at this point, paige was sobbing.
mariska and kelli shared a horrified glance as they realised who the assaulter was.
"okay, cut!" the director exclaimed, "we got it- that was great. kira, kelli, mariska- next scene in five. paige, you can take a break."
"okay, thanks." paige sat down on her chair after finding her phone.
*comments on this post have been limited*
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"gigi, you wanna play with me?" paige looked down to see aj standing there.
"sure, aj. what are we playing?"
"colour. do you want to colour?"
"yes, aj. i'd love to." paige smiled, following the kid into her room. paige was babysitting aj for the day since riley followed maya to go to her commercial filming. paige decided to give the mother a break and take the kid off her hands for the few hours.
aj was easy to look after, apart from the now-occasional freak outs over the silliest reasons that they could never understand.
"hey, aj. do you want mac and cheese or pancakes for lunch?" paige asked after awhile since she noticed the time.
"mac and cheeseeeee." the kid gasped, "please."
"okay, we'll make mac and cheese in a bit." paige laughs.
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"how are my girls?" maya pretty much announced her return from work with that.
aj heard maya's voice and asked paigw to put her down, so she did.
"auntie maya!" aj squealed running towards her. maya picked her up, "hiii." then she walked over to paige, pecking her on the lips making aj cover her eyes. riley laughs, "hi, baby. have you been a good girl?" she took aj from maya as she asks. "yup." aj answered. riley joked, "really?" "really, paige?" maya asks, snaking an arm around her waist. "i can confirm that she has."
"aw, did you guys have fun?"
"uh-huh. auntie gigi coloured a lot with me." the soon to be three year-old nodded excitedly, "you wanna see?"
once aj dragged riley away by the arm, maya and paige were alone. "mac and cheese?"
"kid wants it." paige said as she scooped some into aj's mickey mouse bowl, "why, do you want some?"
"no." maya just kept staring at her.
"what?" paige asked when it finally made her squirm uneasily.
"nothing." maya whispered, leaning closer and placing a kiss in the crook of her neck, "just lookin' at you, my love."
"ahem." they hear after awhile, then in a singsongy voice, "kid in the room."
"ahem." aj copied her mother, making the three of them laugh.
as usual, once aj was asleep for the night the three ladies got to hang out. but this time around, cordelia shows up with tom.
"see i told you shouldn't have tagged along."
"they approved."
"approved, what am i?"
"relax, boy." cordelia snickers, "sit down. show's about to start."
"why do i feel like i'm about to shit my pants." paige whispers to maya.
maya brushed her thumb over paige's knuckles, fingers intertwined. "girl, you're good. don't freak out- breathe." cordelia noticed as usual. tom just didn't even look over so as to not make her feel worse. more attention would not make her feel any better- that's what he knew.
"i know, i know. i just never been on such a big show."
"aw, farkle tweeted." maya glances at paige's phone. then the doorbell rang- maya practically shot up from her seat to go get the door.
"come on in. aj's asleep, though...so shh." maya led them in, closing the door.
"hi, guys." farkle said to the group.
smackle lets out a surprisingly, quiet squeal, "oh my god."
"hi." tom found it hilarious- so did cordelia.
"come on. he's been hanging out with us awhile." farkle teased, "still?"
"yeah, whatever." smackle scoffs, "we brought coconut cake from topanga's."
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"okay, you ready?"
"no, not really, smackle." paige chuckles wryly.
"it's your wedding day."
"duh i know, smackle."
"okay, sorry. but- come on, you guys have been waiting for this day forever."
"eh."
"girl, there's no turning back." smackle gasped.
"i'm just trying to lighten to mood. it's normal to get a lil nervous, no?"
"yeah. just breathe through it, my friend." smackle says.
"it just feels surreal. to see this day."
"why?" smackle asked but then recalled events from a few years ago that could've answered her question.
"well, i never thought i'd live this long."
"that was a really dumb question- i'm sorry. i didn't mean to-"
paige stops her, "i'm good- i got through all that. i'm fine, don't worry."
"and i'm so happy for you."
"i know you are. you guys have been such an important part of my life- i literally wouldn't know what to do if you guys weren't here."
smackle puts her hand on top of paige's, giving it a squeeze. just then, someone knocks on the door, "can we come in?"
"yep."
once the door opens, aj was seen standing there with riley and holding hands. "so pretty!" aj exclaimed. "aw, thank you, baby."
"you're welcome."
"hi, aj."
"hello, smackle." she waves at her.
"maya's waiting...and your mom's to walk you down the aisle. you ready?"
paige took in a long breath, "mhm. how's my makeup?"
"great. it's great." smackle took one last look before they exit the room.
"alright- let's get you married!" riley exclaimed.
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
"the couple has prepared their own vows, so...maya?" amy was officiating the wedding. the mic was then held out by amy for maya to speak into, "paige...we met on this very day when we were seventeen. and every single day since then you've continuously amazed me with your strength and showered me with your love and support and just...let me know that you'll always be by my side." maya chuckles, taking in a breath before continuing.
"i promise that when you laugh, i'll laugh with you. when you cry, i'll be there to wipe your tears. when you're scared, i'll be there to hold you're hand. when you're hurt, i'll take that pain and make it mine. when i say 'i love you', i mean that i will love you forever. you're my best friend, my soulmate and i want to spend the rest of my life with you. this ring...i give you means eternity. and whatever the future holds for us? i promise that we will face it together no matter what. because...we, can do anything as long as we have each other."
maya held paige's hand in hers, stroking a thumb over paige's knuckles comfortingly. there were just about fifty people at their wedding and maya just knows that standing up here talking in front of them all must be making paige nervous.
paige tries to calm herself by taking a few deep breaths while maya was talking and also only to focus on maya.
amy held out the mic for paige next, "maya, with you...i'm happy. with you, i never have to fake a smile, to pretend that i'm okay when i'm not. because you just know and i never have to hide anything. you know what to do to make to smile and cheer me up whenever i'm down."
paige's voice starts to get shaky about halfway through, but she looks at maya takes yet another deep breath to swallow her tears and carried on.
"whenever i get migraines and those random days at a time where the pain from my plethora of conditions gets too bad for me to get out of bed. you're always there to hold my hair back when i get sick, you're always there to sing me to sleep. you're always there to tell me things will be okay, even though they seem otherwise in that moment. with you, i feel safe and loved." you're easy to talk to, and you always listen to me. i know that you care, i know that you love me and support me because you show it, you tell me, and you always give me the encouragement to go for the audition or run lines with me. you do all these even though you're tired. i really appreciate everything you've done for me and everything you do because with you i'm different- i'm happy."
"maya and paige, we've heard your promise to share your life im marriage. in honesty and sincerity of what you have said and done here today and by the power vested in me by the internet and the state of new york, it is my honour and delight to declare you married and partners in life...for life. you may now seal your vows with a kiss."
maya wipes the tears off of paige's cheeks as she grabbed her face and went in for their first kiss as newlyweds. everyone there cheered, some whistled. all in all, everyone was happy.
.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .
-
THE END.
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UNEDITED. published: wednesday, 3 august 2022
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a/n: if you've made it this far, thank you. this is my longest chapter by far at 3474 words- i wanted to finish the whole book off here without splitting it into two parts- or more. hopefully you enjoyed it! if you did, please leave a vote. thank you for reading :)
- Ry