Highway 101 along the California coast is legendary for its historical drive and scenic views of the California coast. Actually, the whole drive from Santa Barbara to her home in Rosewood, Pennsylvania was going to be unforgettable.

Paige McCullers looked forward to that phase of the drive after her graduation from UC-Santa Barbara.

The five hour stretch between Santa Barbara and San Jose would be the only portion of the trip she expected to have any peace and quiet but a couple hours into the drive she discovers the open road only leads her mind to wandering. She tries so hard to focus on her future plans and get excited about them but as soon as she merged onto the 101 her thoughts betrayed her and the past pushed its way into the front of her attention, as it always does. Rosewood. Her parents. High school. Emily.

Emily.

Her grip tightens on the steering wheel of the rented U-Haul she is driving. It's been over three years but she just can't get over her. Years ago she thought Emily was the perfect human being - her gorgeous body, sweet personality...and that smile. Straight white teeth, cavernous dimples and that one stubborn eye tooth that just refused to get in line with the rest of her smile. But instead of taking away from her perfection Paige always thought it was a deliberate variation by God designed to tease others into thinking she was a mere mortal. But Paige knew the truth - Emily Fields was and probably still is far from being mortal.

She even handled their breakup like she was super-human. Understanding, empathetic...it just made Paige feel even guiltier for ending it all. When her swim career went off the rails Paige wanted to start over somewhere she could focus on reinventing herself and her future without swimming. She had excellent grades so transferring to another school went a bit better than expected - California state schools are notoriously selective in their acceptance processes so she felt lucky to be admitted at UC-Santa Barbara. She found the school's science programs compelling and she really wanted to explore her new-found interest in the field. That meant leaving Emily behind at San Jose State.

They tried the long-distance thing for a few months but it was just too hard not seeing each other and constantly missing each other's phone calls and text messages. There was still a lot of love there, even to this day, but so much has happened since. They both dated and made new friends - Emily settled on an Education major with a coaching endorsement hoping to maybe get a job as a swim coach somewhere.

They had both grown up and apart and everyday Paige felt that empty space Emily once filled. The scale would go up and down but it still gnawed at her for most of her waking hours. She was able to compartmentalize those feelings the closer but she got to this day (helpfully arranged by her parents) the more she was losing control. And if there was one thing Paige did not enjoy it was losing control. Unfortunately fate (namely her parents) had dealt her the most uncomfortable, most anxiety-ridden hand possible.

Yup, she was going to spend the next week with Emily Fields on the road home to Pennsylvania and it scared the shit out her.

Paige found Emily's off-campus apartment with no problem thanks to the snooty English chick on her GPS. She pulled under the shade of several tall trees that lined the street, next to a pile of belongings labeled and boxed up neatly by the sidewalk. A blond girl, no older than 19, bounced up from her position on the ground and hopped over to the truck's passenger door. Paige rolled down the window and offered her an uncomfortable smile.

"Hi! You must be Paige!" the blonde said. "I'm Hillary and Emily asked me to wait for you while she took one last look in the apartment to make sure she didn't miss anything."

"Oh, okay," said Paige, "I can just put those in the back of the truck if she's going to be long."

The blonde smiled and nodded. "I'm sure she'd appreciate that. She was up almost all night getting things squared away so she's kinda fried." Hillary stops, glances skeptically at Paige, and sighs. "Okay, she's been a mega bitch for days and I'm glad this is finally over with."

Paige knows what she means - her own roommates figured out to steer clear of her the last few days. It seems the stress of the trip was going to wear on both of them, for probably the same reasons.

Oh goody.

Paige hops out of the truck and stretches her neck. Since her swimming days ended she's still suffered with a sore back and neck when she was stuck in the same position for long periods of time. Usually swimmers are able to work through these types of injuries but Paige was so fed up with rehab, orthopedists and special exercises she just said "The hell with it" and walked away.

She never stopped to analyze her reasons for quitting - too much pressure when she was young probably had a little to do with it. At times she wondered if the only reason she stayed in competitive swimming was to be with Emily. She shakes her head as she picks up a box and walks to the back of the truck, unlocks the door and slides it open. There is plenty of room for Emily's possessions so Paige just slides the box along the deck of the truck and turns, almost bumping into Hillary.

"Oops, sorry," says Paige.

"No problem," says Hillary. "I tend to creep up on people, it freaks them out but it's one of the only useful skills I have. Oh that and I am an expert in hot wiring cable TV so we can get all the pay channels for free."

Paige looks surprised, confused and just generally uncomfortable. "Seriously?"

Hillary tosses her box into the truck and the clanging sound of crashing glass isn't much of a surprise to Paige.

"Dad was a cable guy. I watched."

Just then the bang of the four-plex's exterior door draws their attention away from the boxes and toward an advancing Emily.

Paige loses her breath, overcome with memories of the girl she still loves and the reality of the woman who stands before her, looking...well, mega bitchy. Paige had to relent she also looked incredibly hot in her tan cargo pants, Rolling Stones t-shirt and old school Adidas...but mega bitchy just the same.

"Hill, would you shut up and just get to the rest of the boxes? I haven't been within earshot and I'm already sick of your voice," said Emily.

It only took a few minutes to load the rest of Emily's boxes into the truck. Emily and Hillary exchange an awkward hug and goodbye just as Paige climbs into the truck cab and waits for Emily to join her.

Emily jerks the door open and jumps onto the seat, dropping her purse on the bench seat between them.

"Rosewood or bust," she says, her moodiness coming through in her tone.

Paige swings the truck onto the street and grimaces when she steals a glance at Emily thinking, "We're off to a wonderful start."