Thank you to everyone for the follows and especially for the reviews – it's hard to see how affected readers are without them so I read every one with relish and gratitude.

I had a wonderful little write-up prepared in this section trying to get people to give a crap about Paige in real-world PLL but I am kind of at a loss right now. People can be cruel, especially people who ironically feel abandoned and misunderstood themselves. Sometimes they band together in their odd-ness but push away people who don't fit quite into the mold of what they term as acceptable – when they themselves are outcasts. It's a befuddling contradiction and it's only become more pronounced to me as I get older.

So this will be the last chapter I post for a little while. I'm burned out and a little bit confused on where to go. I will finish this story – I think it's shitty when people don't finish their stories – but I gotta wonder if this project that started off as practice and has ballooned into much more is worth it.

I will talk to you guys very soon. I promise. :)

Gasping breaths and splattering mud are the only sound around her. She's out of practice so these high mountain trails are a tremendous challenge and they call for her sharp attention. No iPod. No companions. Just Paige, her bike and the muddy path diving into the trees below her.

Plunging into a small ravine Paige still moves at a steady, high-speed clip. She works her front and rear brakes separately to avoid careening into larger rocks and slippery spots, expertly hopping over obstacles while not losing momentum. The crisp early morning air does nothing to slow her accelerated heart rate and breathing. Thoughts about life and love try to sneak in but the slippery, rock-lined terrain won't let her drop her guard. She pushes harder, relishing the chance to block out all the bullshit. Her body screams in protest at every jerk and slip but Paige doesn't listen – she is in her element.

After finishing her ride, Paige wheels her bike toward the bed of their U-Haul. She's covered in blotches of mud and blood, soaked to the bone and happier than she's been in ages. She kicks off her biking shoes and throws them next to her bicycle as she reaches for a pair of Nike jogging shoes she left for the walk back earlier. Ordinarily she'd leave her mud-crusted jacket, helmet and gloves with her shoes but after a few days on the road she thinks a visit to the laundry is badly needed. One last chug from her water bottle draws her attention to the watch on her wrist: 10:00 a.m. Emily is probably waiting for her back at their room so she tosses her Gatorade in a nearby trash can and walks back to their room.

Emily sits on her made bed reading her Facebook feed. Her friend Spencer received two weeks in Europe from her parents upon graduation from Penn so Emily smiles as she reads Spencer's postings and sees pictures of her adventures thus far. She misses her friends desperately but proximity is no longer necessary to maintain their closeness. Maturity has allowed them a freedom they didn't used to have and the girls relish each road trip and adventure they take. They'll be back together soon enough.

As Paige enters the room and Emily sees her state of, well, messiness she drops her phone and walks quickly toward her. "Oh, honey, what happened?" she asks. Paige frowns in confusion glancing behind her to make sure some mysterious half-dead 'honey' didn't follow her into the room. After a few seconds she realizes Emily is talking to her and her heart skips a beat at the endearment. Honey. How she's missed that.

Paige smiles. "Oh, I'm okay. I just am a little out of practice and the trail kicked my ass once or twice. It's all good though. I feel awesome!"

Emily takes Paige's face between her hands. "You are a goddamn mess…and you're, bleeding! What the hell, McCullers?" She guides Paige into the bathroom hitting the light switch with her elbow while grabbing a washcloth and cranking the hot water into the sink with one hand, the other still cradling Paige's left cheek. Emily removes her riding helmet and protective clear-lensed Oakleys and sets them on the counter of the bathroom vanity. She dampens the washcloth in the hot water and dabs at Paige's chin and right cheek which both show scrapes from a wipeout. Paige flinches at the pressure but relents to Emily's attentions for the moment. It felt so good to be taken care of for once. This is the best day EVER, she thinks.

Emily works to clean Paige's face of dirt and blood. At a certain point she realizes she is just making a dent in a mountain so she drops the cloth onto the vanity and crosses her arms. "Can I trust you to shower and get all this crap off you? I think you talked about shopping and boats yesterday – and that sounds a lot better than waiting for you to come back here in a body bag at some point." Paige smiles and Emily notes all the mud and dirt in the world could never take away that white, killer smile. It warms her insides and she can't help but return it.

"Yeah, I can do that," Paige answers. "Can you get me a hanger? I wanna hang up these clothes and wash them." Emily moves into the hotel room and grabs a hanger. "We might want to do some laundry later, by the way," Paige says as she strips off her jacket and drops it on the floor. Emily glances back into the bathroom and gulps at what she sees.

Physically Paige has always been gorgeous and that hasn't changed over the past few years. A sweaty t-shirt doesn't hide the flat stomach, broad shoulders and strong arms Emily remembers wistfully. However it's not her physical presence causing Emily to pause right now, it's her demeanor because Paige leans on the vanity looking at her biking war wounds holding an expression Emily has never seen before. The only part of her face not covered in a bloody, dirty mess is the skin around her eyes (protected by her glasses when riding) and her gorgeous teeth that are now visible due to her small, sarcastic grin. Her eyes are dark but the intensity they usually convey wanes – almost like she's turned that emotion off for the time being. Those eyes and that smile pull Emily in as if the person in the mirror is an intriguing stranger, a thought that brings Emily up short.

She loves Paige yet how well does she really know her?

Emily clears her throat and Paige turns to the door, offering her a smile and taking the hanger Emily extends to her. Paige closes the door and Emily returns to sit on her bed as the shower kicks in. She puts up her feet and crosses her arms lost in thought. The idea that she doesn't know Paige as well as she thought scares her. Paige doesn't scare her, how could she, after all? Instead, Emily wonders what else she doesn't know about Paige.

Love is such an all-consuming emotion to Emily and unfortunately it's always blocked out everything else. She had a fatal flaw in her relationships before she began seeing Paige: she made excuses for people. Some people viewed her unwavering faith in people like it was something heroic. She learned it wasn't a strength all the time, though; often it was a tragic weakness. Her blind devotion to Alison plagued her for years. Maya's hot and cold distance never allowed them to have a positive relationship. Only after she met Paige did she find someone worthy of her devotion and her faith because Paige would never intentionally hurt her. Well, at least before she left.

Emily thought she had worked through her issues with blind devotion but seeing this side of Paige she wonders if she was kidding herself. This Paige is wonderful and she wishes she saw her more often – but why didn't she before? Has it always been there and she didn't notice or is this new?

And this is the thought that scares Emily – does this new Paige really want her and can this new person love her how Paige always has or is their connection just a habit and not a love rooted in true devotion?

She wants Paige – but does Paige truly want her in return?

Emily is still deep in thought as she and Paige ride the elevator down to the hotel lobby.

Paige waves her hand in front of Emily's face. "Ground control to Major Tom," she says. Emily looks up and gives Paige a smile. "Sorry, I totally zoned out there."

Emily has been in a weird mood all morning, Paige realizes. What did I do now? "Anything I can help with?" she asks hesitantly.

"Not at all," Emily replies, grabbing Paige's hand and kissing the back of it. The elevator doors open and Emily doesn't let go as they walk through the lobby and out to their truck. Paige sighs in relief.

"So where are we headed first?" Emily asks.

"Wal-mart."

Emily frowns and brings them to a stop. "When I talked about shopping that's not what I meant."

Paige laughs and starts walking again making Emily run to catch up. "Oh, we have a few things to pick up before we go out on the boat," Paige says. "I have to tell you though the Frisco Wal-mart is a bit more high-brow than you'd think."

"There's a story there, I'm sure," Emily says.

"There is! I was in there once over Christmas. I was just minding my own business, eating some French fries in the McDonald's because my parents were shopping and I was bored. As I sat there this guy jets by, head to toe in ski gear – he even had this stupid fur hat on."

Paige becomes completely animated in telling her story and Emily shakes with laughter. One of Paige's hidden talents was storytelling so getting her to describe things always made Emily laugh and marvel at her enthusiasm."Anyway, he's cursing a streak in both English and what I think was French, just cussing, waving his arms around at a couple of the store clerks like they had sold government secrets or something. I have no idea what happened or what he thought they did but I only had one thought: 'Dude, you're in Wal-mart! Seriously!'"

Emily snorts at the thought of a snotty French guy cursing in the middle of Wal-mart. Paige has the best stories, she decides. She takes Paige's arm and holds on tightly as they approach the truck. Paige looks down and smiles as she unlocks the door and pulls it open for Emily to enter. When Emily is settled she swings the door shut then grabs the mirror and pulls herself onto the step up bumper. Emily turns and Paige leans in toward her, "forgetting" the closed window. Her forehead lands against the window with a thud, making Emily laugh harder and beam the biggest smile she's ever seen. Paige feigns injury and rubs her forehead as she jumps off the bumper. She looks again at Emily who shakes her head through her laughter.

Awesome day, Paige thinks. Best. Day. Ever.