All I have to say is writing this chapter gave me so many feels I had to stop occasionally to keep from crying. But that's just me, probably won't have the same effect on you, but who knows, right?

Thank you, thank you, thank you to anyone and everyone who reads, reviews, follows and/or favorites my story. You guys rock, seriously. I love you with all my heart :D

Well, I guess I'll stop typing this and let you go on with your reading. Enjoy!

Mondays have to be the worst days ever invented, Emily thought, reaching across her bed to turn off her alarm clock. Her room was quiet afterward, only the sound of Emily's own heartbeat could be heard. Her thoughts were immediately brought back to the previous night and what had happened. How could she have been so stupid, so idiotic as to think it would be alright to just grab someone's belongings and go through them; the thought had never occurred to her before, so why then?

Emily sat up; by this time she remembered how she hadn't changed out of her clothes or even taken her shoes off last night. All she cared about right now was not feeling miserable, which was completely out of the question.

Climbing out of bed, Emily removed her shoes and jacket. As she stood up, she noticed her head was throbbing almost to an unbearable extent. Massaging her temples, she fumbled to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet; grabbing the bottle of Aleve, she popped two in her mouth and swallowed them down with a Dixie cup full of sink water. She managed to stumble back to bed and let out a loud moan as she fell face first into her pillow. There was no way she was going to school today. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise; she was nervous about seeing Paige today and she was pretty sure she still had not forgiven her for what she did. Maybe she never would.

Emily had fallen back to sleep a short time later, as she was awaken by her mother who had noticed Emily's car was still in their driveway.

"Hey, hon. Aren't you supposed to be leaving for school about fifteen minutes ago?"

Emily could only manage to let out a soft moaning sound, which had been enough to convince Pam that her daughter wasn't feeling good since she had always forced herself through the day even when she wasn't feeling the greatest. Hell, she even went to school with a fever one day just so she could swim at a meet later on; which turned out to be a terrible disaster considering swimming with the flu won't necessarily produce your best time.

"Alright, I'll call the school and tell them you're not feeling well today."

Emily let out a muffled "thanks," but her mom still couldn't make out what she had said.

"Ok, well you just feel better, alright? I'll make you some soup later."

Pam leaned in and gave Emily a motherly kiss on her head and shut the door behind her as she left. It didn't take long before Emily fell back asleep.

Emily awoke around 11:30 to a text from Hanna.

Yo, Em. Where are you? You do realize it's a Monday right? -H

Emily figured now would be a good time to get up and start the day; she sat up in her bed and noticed that her headache must have dissipated throughout the course of her slumber. She wasn't sure whether or not to thank the sleep or the Aleve; regardless, she was grateful. She sat up and replied to the text.

Felt awful this morning. Terrible headache. Stayed home. -E

Emily stood up, placed her phone in her pocket, and headed downstairs. Her hair was messy and her breath smelled awful but she couldn't care less; all she wanted was her soup that she could tell her mom was making by the smell that was emanating from downstairs.

"Morning mother." Emily greeted with a smile.

"Hey sweetie, I can see you're feeling better now. Here, just in time because I just finished your favorite chicken soup for lunch."

"How many times have I told you that you're the best mom ever?" Emily said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Not enough," Pam joked, "now here, eat. I have some errands to run and I'm not sure when I'll be back so you'll have the entire house to yourself. Will you be okay here by yourself?"

"Aren't I always?" Emily answered, before blowing on her food to cool it down and placing it in her mouth. Pam grabbed her purse and keys and left out the door. Leaving Emily completely alone.

Emily showered after lunch and decided to spend the rest of the day watching movies in the living room. She had gathered up a few of her favorites and brought them down from her room. Well into her third one, Emily heard a knock on the door. She grabbed the remote, paused the movie, and peeked out the window; what she saw was not what she had expected to see. Emily walked to the front door, unlocked it, and pulled it open, only to see a nervous looking Paige standing on her doorstep. By the looks of it, it seemed as though she had been dropped off by Hanna, who was sitting in her car in the driveway.

"H-hey." was all she said.

"Hey. What... what are you doing here?" Emily asked, still trying to put the whole scenario together in her head.

"Well..." she paused, as if trying to come up with something to say, "for starters I wanted to see if you were alright. I noticed you weren't at school and I was worried. Hanna said that you weren't feeling well and I wanted to check on you. But mostly..." she paused again, this time stepping towards Emily and brushing past her to get inside her house. Paige had a more sincere look on her face as she continued, "but mostly I came to apologize, for last night."

Emily was taken aback by this; she couldn't believe that Paige was apologizing for her mistake!

"No, no I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have looked through them and you had every right to be mad at me..."

"I had no right to yell at you though." Paige interjected, "And I would like to make it up to you. That is, if you're feeling well enough to go outside."

Emily couldn't believe it; not only was Paige apologizing, but she was also feeling sorry enough to think that she needed to make her feel better. If Paige wasn't perfect enough already, Emily thought.

"Well, you don't have to..."

"I want to." Paige interrupted, looking serious as ever. "Are you up to it today?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what we're going to be doing. But I guess so."

"Good. Just make sure you dress warm." Paige said, eying Emily's lazy outfit for the day, "Really warm."

Smiling, Emily couldn't help but wonder what was floating around in Paige's mind, but she didn't really care at the moment, considering the fact that Paige had not only forgiven her, but felt just as much in the wrong as she herself did.

"Alright, just let me get dressed. Is Hanna going to be taking us or am I?"

"Hanna just dropped me off, she left already. So you will." Paige replied, smiling. Her smile though could have easily been mistaken for a slight smirk as well, but Emily ignored it and continued up the stairs to dress in the proper attire for whatever Paige had in mind.

"Okay, so what exactly are we doing?" Emily inquired.

"You'll just have to wait and see. Keep your eyes on the road, I'd appreciate it if we make it back to my house safely." Paige smiled.

"You're a mystery, Paige. I like that." Emily smiled back.

When they arrived, Paige walked Emily out to her barn. Inside, Emily noticed all four horses confined in their stalls chewing on the fresh hay in their nets.

"Wait here." Paige said as she grabbed Joey's halter and opened his stall door. She led him out, walking towards a smaller section of the barn. Turning him around, she grabbed each cross-tie and clipped them to either side of his halter. By this time Emily had pretty much figured out what was about to happen.

"So, I take it you're going to ride Joey?" Emily asked.

"No, you're going to ride him. You've done this before haven't you?"

"Well, not exactly. I rode a few times when I was little but not by myself and definitely not with a horse this... big." Emily replied, admiring the tall animal in front of her. He had to have been at least seven feet tall when his head was held high. Right now though he held it about waist height and was smelling her coat pocket looking for any treats she may have. She had to admit that he was very magnificent and could tell why Paige loved these creatures so much. Joey was definitely beginning to grow on her.

"Well, then I guess you'll just have to ride with me then." Paige remarked, looking at Emily with that warm smile she loved so much. The thought of being on Joey with Paige comforted her; she was also glad that it gave her an excuse to sit so closely to her as well.

"I guess I will then." Emily smiled. Joey was still searching her pockets for anything that he could eat. He began nipping at her jacket with his lips in an attempt to see if he could maybe get anything out of them. Yes, Joey was definitely beginning to grow on Emily.

Paige grabbed a couple brushes from a bucket and handed one to Emily. They groomed Joey thoroughly from his head to his hooves and from his mane to his tail. Paige then went to the tack room and grabbed Joey's saddle. After successfully tightening the girth, she headed back and grabbed his bridle. She pulled it over his head and clipped it on, making sure it wasn't too loose or too tight. Satisfied, she unhooked the cross ties and led him towards the edge of the barn.

"You ready?" Paige asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." she replied. And with that, Paige lifted one leg in the stirrup and hoisted herself into the saddle. Holding her hand out, she lifted Emily up behind her with all the strength in her arm. Emily tensed as their bodies became pushed together, merging into one. Instinctively, Emily's arms wrapped around her waist as Paige squeezed Joey into a walk and they left the barn.

Emily was content with her position as they continued down the path.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Emily asked.

"It's a surprise. You'll just have to wait." Paige answered. Emily couldn't help but chuckle at Paige's stubbornness; it was just too adorable.

"Alright, I trust you." Emily admitted, squeezing Paige's waist just a little tighter and resting her head on Paige's shoulder. With the rocking movements of Joey beneath them and with the position she was in, Emily admitted to herself that she could fall asleep like this and sleep like a baby.

They continued down the path in silence. Emily could feel the warmth illuminating from Paige's backside and it felt good; it felt right being like that. She couldn't help but think Paige was enjoying this just as much as she was. It wasn't because of a look on her face or anything like that, it was just more or less intuition, and she hoped she was right.

About ten minutes later, they approached a fork in the trail. Paige halted Joey.

"Which one?" Paige asked. This caught Emily by surprise; why on Earth is she asking me where to go?

"Um, why are you asking me. Aren't you the one who knows this area?"

"Of course I do, and I know where each one leads. Now pick one."

Emily couldn't help but wonder why exactly she was doing this, but she decided to just go along with it.

"Go left, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Fine. Go left for sure." Emily replied.

"That's better." Paige remarked, squeezing Joey towards the left trail ahead. Emily hoped she picked the right one, but she wasn't quite sure if there was a right one.

A few minutes later Emily couldn't help but ask:

"So, why am I drawn in color while everyone and everything else is in black and white?"

Paige chuckled, "I wondered how long it was going to take you."

"Well, I waited as long as I could. But it's been burning on the edge of my tongue ever since we got here."

"I understand. Just about another minute and we'll be there. I'll tell you then."

Emily couldn't argue with that.

The pathway eventually opened up to a small, open field. To the right was a small pond lightly iced over and covered with snow. There was a tree with a tire swing frozen in place, adjacent to the tree was a large boulder with a fairly flat top, perfect for sitting on. Just behind them was a rocky cliff, not too tall, but enough to not be able to see what's on top of it. To the left was the treeline that extended as far as the eye could see. Next to the treeline and behind the pond was an open field and a little farmhouse about a mile up the way. It was one of the most beautiful settings Emily had ever seen

"Wow." was all Emily could muster.

"Beautiful isn't it? I normally come here when I need to get away. Get away from school, people, life in general; just get away really."

"H-how did you find this place?"

"During the summer I have a lot of free time that I like to spend with Joey. The best way to do that is just ride until you get lost; he knows his way back home. I got lost one day, and I found this place. There wasn't always a trail here, ya know?"

"Well, then I guess it looks like I chose the right path then, huh?"

"Actually, both lead to the same place. I just wanted you to choose for the hell of it." Paige grinned widely. Emily responded with a playful smack on her stomach.

"Hey now, easy." Paige said, squeezing Joey back into a walk and heading towards the tree.

They arrived next to the tree and Paige motioned for Emily to dismount, which she did, followed by Paige. Paige led Joey next to the tree and wrapped the reins around a thin branch. She then proceeded to sit on the boulder next to it; Emily did the same.

"So, now tell me," Emily started, "why did you draw me in color like that?"

Paige sighed, "Well, now that we're here, I guess that means I have to tell you then."

"Damn right it does." Emily stated. Paige couldn't help but chuckle at her interjection.

"Well, here it goes," Paige stated, her seriousness returning immediately, "basically, all my life, has been black and white; everything just seems so... unimportant, and meaningless. All my life I've been convinced that everyone's the same; that nobody has ever, or will ever care about me. My entire life I've believed that I'm unimportant, worthless, and meaningless to everyone and that I will amount to nothing. That is, until I met you." Paige paused, looking at Emily's reaction to her words was eating away at her, for she could see the tears well up in Emily's eyes as well as feel them well up in her own. She looked down, sniffed, and continued, her voice shaky, "when I met you I knew there was something different about you before you even said a word to me. I could sense it, and I was right. You showed me that there's hope; hope that someone, somewhere actually has it in themselves to like someone like me. Someone that I can truly see, and someone that can truly see me. Everything is black and white, meaningless, in my life, except you. And I've never been so happy, in fact, I think this is the only true happiness I've ever felt in my entire life. You, are the color I see, because I, am the color you see, even though the original is black and white, you see my true colors. At first it was scary, when you looked through my drawings because opening up like this to someone isn't really my strong suit; I was afraid that you would find out how I truly see you, so I snapped at you, because I was scared, very scared."

Emily couldn't take it any longer, for she enveloped Paige in a tight embrace and cried with her. She had never expected something like this from Paige in a million years, it was the most amazing yet terrifying feeling that she felt as she let Paige rest her head against her shoulder; Paige had just spilled everything right then and there and she couldn't have been more unprepared for it. All she could do was hold her, hold her until she didn't want to be held anymore. So she did.

After a few minutes, Paige's tears were beginning to let up as she lifted her head off of Emily's shoulder and made eye contact. A small smile tugged at the corner of Paige's lips as she tried to force herself to cheer up as fast as possible because she hated the feeling of being so vulnerable. Emily moved her hand up to Paige's cheek in order to wipe the tears away from her face. Her hand stayed there and slowly, she moved it back towards the nape of Paige's neck and gently pulled her towards her. It was now or never. Emily eyed Paige's lips and closed the gap between them. At first Emily had been so shocked by her sudden moment of courage that she forgot what she was trying to accomplish; but she was soon reminded by the feel of Paige's lips moving against her own. Together they stayed that way, their lips brushing against one another slowly and passionately. After a few moments, they parted; breathless, Emily rubbing her thumb against Paige's flushed cheek.

"You mean like those true colors?" Emily asked.

Paige chuckled, "Yeah, those true colors."

They both stayed there and laughed for a bit; as their laughter died down, they realized just how cold they actually were and that it was probably time to head back to the house.

"Hey, it's getting kinda chilly, you ready to head back? I can make us some hot chocolate when we get back to my place."

"That sounds wonderful." Emily said, smiling. Paige sat up, grabbing the reins and unraveling them. She climbed on Joey's back and helped Emily up as well. Emily immediately wrapped her arms around Paige and held her tightly. Paige responded by putting one hand on Emily's forearm while the other held the reins to steer Joey back in the direction of the house.

"I could get used to this." Emily commented, resting her head on Paige's shoulder and stroking the sides of her stomach with her thumbs. Paige responded by squeezing Emily's forearm.

"Me too."