Hey guys! I hope you are enjoying the holidays! I just wanted to write a little thing for the holidays. It's mainly just a fill and doesn't have much significance. I hope that you are enjoying this story so far! I know that I've been doing somewhat regular updates but seeing as it's the holidays I won't be posting again until after the holidays.

Please let me know what you think, and have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Happy Holidays. Love you all, and remember to tell your loved ones how much you love them.

Chapter 11

Emily rarely saw Paige in the following days. Paige was either out of the house or shut up in her room listening to music. She didn't come knocking at Emily's door, which Emily was beginning to miss. She didn't see Paige go near Alfie or Beanie, if she did, Emily didn't know about it. She figured that Paige was giving her space to think or Paige just wanted space.

It was Christmas Eve when Emily saw Paige face to face since their kiss. Her blood shot eyes were encircled by dark bags. Emily questioned if she'd slept since their kiss. She'd never seen Paige look so drained. Paige gave Emily as weak smile before disappearing for the day.

Emily heard the shower turn on early Christmas morning. Then she heard Paige descend the stairs. She heard the front door open, and then close, but no car engine. She crawled out of bed and peered out her window. Paige was dressed in jeans and flannel, with her hair pulled into a messy bun. It was the first time that Emily had seen Paige go anywhere near the barn. She disappeared inside the horse pen.

A couple of minutes later, Paige trotted out of the barn with Alfie. They trotted so gracefully together. Emily watched them ride down the field and over the hill, out of sight.

Paige felt the morning air nip at her face. It was cold but refreshing. She steered Alfie towards the open meadow. She unhooked the saddle, and laid it on the ground before letting Alfie roam free.

The morning dew soaked the back of her shirt as she laid down on the grass. She used to come here all the time just to think. The meadow went on for miles. It was remote and she could scream as aloud as she wanted to without anyone hearing her. She'd come here during the night for the past week. She'd spend sleepless nights looking up at the stars trying to forget everything that had happened. She'd hope that a shooting star would grant all her wishes. But it wouldn't. She spent the past few days trying to figure out how to act 'normal' around Emily, but mainly what she'd done was avoid Emily at all cost.

She laid there for what felt like minutes, when her phone vibrated. She glanced at the text from her mother, telling her she need to come back. She saddled Alfie before riding back to the barn. The Harrisons pulled up into the driveway just as Paige got to the barn. She quickly put Alfie back in his pen, before heading inside.

"Paige!" a little Lily shouted happily, attaching herself to Paige's leg.

"Hey, there superstar," she laughed, ruffling Lily's hair.

"Why you sad?" she asked, looking into Paige's eyes.

"Oh, no, I'm just tired,' Paige said, catching Emily's eye. Emily gave her a small smile before returning to her conversation with Maggie.

"Hey Lily, I gotta go change my shirt really quick, okay?"

"Okay!" Paige managed to detach herself from Lily's grasp before heading upstairs.

She pulled off her wet flannel and threw on a different flannel. There was a soft knock at her door. She thought it was Emily at first, but her father's voice soon followed.

"Paige, are you decent?"

"Yeah," Paige said, opening the door.

"Hey kiddo. How ya holding up?"

"I've been better…" Paige sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes, but not right now," Paige said, taking a seat next to her father.

"Okay," Nick said, wrapping an arm around Paige. "Just be safe, okay?"

"I will dad," she laughed.

They sat there for a few more minutes before they rejoined the party. Paige felt Emily's eyes on her throughout dinner. It was like they were burning a hole into her. She tried to ignore the feelings that were building up inside of her, but every time she looked at Emily she thought about how much she wanted to kiss her.

"Can we open pwesents now?" Lily asked, tugging at her mother's dress.

"How about you hand out everyone's present?" Lily cheered happily before disturbing the Christmas presents around the room. Paige laughed as Lily sang Christmas tunes at the top of her lungs while hanging out present. Emily sat in a chair opposite Paige. She gave Paige a warm smile as she received her present.

"Oh, Emily, there you are," Christine said, coming into the kitchen. "You have a call." Paige watched Emily rise from her seat, before accepting the phone from Christine. She only heard the first few words of the conversation before Emily went outside to the porch.

"Now can we open pwesents?" Lily asked eagerly.

"I guess we can!" With that, Lily starting to rip off the wrapping paper.

Paige had a small stack of presents in front of her. She started opening the present from her parents first. They'd given her a few new shirts, music albums, and books. The Harrison's had gotten Paige a small hourglass. It was hand carved filled with sand from Egypt.

Paige held her last gift in front of her. Emily's handwriting was clearly visible on the tag. She excused herself from the social gathering and grabbed her gift to Emily before heading outside to the porch. She spotted Emily sitting on the stairs, staring up at the night sky.

"Hey" Emily jumped slightly, before turning around. "Can I join you?"

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Here," Paige said, handing over Emily's present.

Emily ran her fingers over the shiny wrapping paper, before pulling at the tape. She carefully unwrapped Paige's present to reveal a small ordinary rectangular box. Inside, the box was filled with pictures that Emily had never seen before. There were pictures of her and Paige when they were little; pictures of her and her father, mother, everything."

"I know it's not much, but it's a little taste of home while you're away."

"Paige, it's perfect, but how did you…"

"I was going through some old boxes and found a bunch of them. You need them more than I do."

"Thanks you," Emily smiled. "Can I hug you?"

"You don't have to ask," Paige said, pulling Emily in a warm hug. Paige relished in the warmth that Emily, but that was all it would ever be. Warmth.

"Open yours," Emily motioned.

Paige set her present in front of her, before peeling away the paper. She ran her fingers over the smooth wood. "Wow. This is…did you make this?"

"Yeah."

"It's beautiful." The box was made of oak. Paige's initials were craved onto the top of the box. When she opened the box, she felt her heart skip a beat. Underneath the lid was a carving of the McCullers's farm and resting inside, was a small blue plastic car, just like the one they used to drive around when they were kids. "Emily…this is…" She felt her heart swell with happiness. She blinked back a few tears before looking Emily in the eyes. "I don't even have words to describe this…"

A smile appeared on Emily's lips as she watched Paige fumble for her words.

"Thank you," Paige said.

"Merry Christmas Paige," Emily said, trying to avoid any awkward silences. Emily felt her heart racing, but she knew that it was a gesture of 'thank you'.

"Merry Christmas Em," Paige whispered, resting her head gently against Emily's shoulder.