A/N: Happy Monday! I know the last few chapters were a bit heavy, so I hope this one will help lighten the mood and bring a smile to your face :)

Hailey stood in front of her mirror brushing her hair after having it up in a bun for the majority of her workday. She was exhausted, but she also couldn't wait to spend the evening with Jay. His plan was to take her to a movie and then dinner:

"Just like the old days when movies weren't on Netflix," he'd said, "It's romantic."

"It sounds expensive," she'd countered.

"It's not. Just trust me, okay? It'll be fun."

"I know, I know. Thank you."

She smiled at his tired voice over the phone earlier that day. He'd called her on his lunch break to ask her out. Now that he was back at work, she asked that he sent her a text on at least one of his breaks so she knew he was okay. It wasn't that she wanted to keep tabs on him or didn't trust him, but she wanted to make sure he knew she cared. She wasn't going anywhere. Not again.

The day he moved back into his apartment, his parents accompanied him with his suitcase and some tupperware filled with several homemade meals. At first, she'd tried avoiding even looking at Cathleen, but within half an hour, she realized it was silly and impossible.

They talked out in the hallway and, to Hailey's relief, Cathleen wasn't the least bit mad at her. She assured Hailey that she understood what had happened and where she'd been coming from. She didn't think Hailey had given up at all. In fact, she said it made her like her more. Jay needed to figure everything out on his own, neither she nor Hailey could force him to do something he wasn't ready for. They were okay, and Hailey was finally able to breathe for the first time since Jay had come back in her life.

And now that he was here, she was so happy. He took her out for a few meals, cuddled with her on the couch, and even let her help him with his crossword puzzles. It was everything she wanted and more.

While she'd always loved spending time with Jay, he had a new energy about him. Everything felt much more deliberate and intimate. He'd run his fingers through her hair and down her spine while they were laying on the couch. At night, he'd kiss her on the cheek then whisper his 'goodnight' in her ear in a way that made goosebumps pop up on her arms. His 'good morning' texts were almost always paired with a red heart. All of it made butterflies flutter within her stomach.

She was looking forward to their movie and dinner night. Jay asked if she'd want to see a scary movie, and she happily agreed. When she'd first met Vanessa, Vanessa had said the key to getting a guy to sleep with you was to watch a scary movie so you could then cuddle and invite him to stay the night. Hailey wasn't sure it was the move, but she knew Vanessa did it a lot. Tonight, Vanessa had even laughed when she'd told her their plans and asked her why they were going when they'd already slept together. Still, though, she wished Hailey luck on her way out the door to spend the night at Kevin's place.

Where Hailey and Jay had reconnected quickly and easily, Vanessa and Kevin had finally done the same. Vanessa was glad they'd taken the time to get to know each other more. She wasn't used to being in a relationship where there was so much time just spent on talking and being each other's company, but she liked it. She had asked Hailey if she was even starting to turn into her.

It'd made Hailey smile. She surely hadn't expected to be the kind of person who was in a relationship her friend looked up to, but she liked it all the same. She felt like she was doing something right.

She was just about to begin braiding her hair when she saw something shimmer in her hair. Squinting her eyes, she leaned closer to the mirror only to gasp and jump backwards.

A grey strand of hair sat at her temple amongst the rest of her dirty blonde pieces.

She pulled at different sections and tried examining every strand she could get her hand on. She could not be going grey. Not when she was only twenty-two and not when she was just about to go on a date.

"Dammit," she whispered before pulling the hair from her head. Wincing at the slight pain, she tossed it in her trashcan then whined quietly.

She hated this.

The entire night, she couldn't help but think Jay could see where she'd pulled the hair from her head. She'd decided not to pull her hair back at all in hopes to hide any more potential grey hairs, but she was paranoid. At the restaurant, she hurried to the bathroom before they left for the movie just to double check that nothing was visible. She'd just gotten Jay back; she couldn't lose him because she looked old.

"You okay?" he asked when she ran back to the front of the restaurant.

"Yeah," she breathed and grabbed his hand, "Come on, let's go."

Jay raised an eyebrow and asked, "You really okay?"

Hailey nodded and pulled his hand. "Of course."

Jay nodded slightly then reached out to run a hand through her hair only for her to pull back quickly. "Okay, what the hell?" he said, "What's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing," Hailey replied, now a good three feet away from him, "We should just…no touching. We're in public."

Jay rolled his eyes and put his hand out. "Hailey," he said.

"Come on, we don't want to be late," she said and quickly began walking toward the truck.

"Hailey," Jay repeated, lightly jogging after her. He easily grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop. "Talk to me," he said softly, "What's wrong?"

Hailey bit her lip and debated telling the truth – her little secret – but as the words teased her tongue, she couldn't utter them. They sounded so silly when she mulled them over. It was one grey hair; it wasn't like her life was over, and yet…she hated it.

Her mom had grey hair pretty early in her life. Hailey didn't want to be her.

It also just made her feel old. She liked that she was younger than Jay – it wasn't a lot of years, but it was still something. What guy would want to go out with a girl who was going grey at twenty-two? No one. She was ugly.

Surely, Jay would laugh if she told him she was going grey. He probably wouldn't think it was a big deal and tell her he didn't care. It'd be a lie, and she didn't want to put him in that situation. It'd be easier to lie herself.

So, taking a deep breath, Hailey swallowed the fear in her throat and said, "I'm having…you know…stomach stuff."

Jay's eyes widened and he took a step closer to her. "Really?" he whispered, "Um, okay, well, I can take you home. I'm sorry."

Hailey quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, I'm okay now, I just mean that I was having stomach issues. I just feel a bit gross right now, but nothing hurts anymore."

Jay chewed his lip as she spoke then said, "Yeah, maybe, but still. That's not comfortable. We can go lay down? I was gonna buy the tickets there, so I'm not losing out on cash or anything. Plus, if it-"

"Jay, no," Hailey interrupted, setting a hand on his chest, "I'm fine, I swear, it's nothing. Let's go to the movies."

"No offense, but…what's a good word…um…well, just…having that in a restaurant bathroom isn't nothing," Jay hesitantly replied, "And it could happen again."

Hailey closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

She didn't want to make their date end early, and now she was regretting every choice she'd made. She could have just told him the truth, and yet her head thought that bathroom issues would be less embarrassing than a grey hair. She felt stupid.

She was committed though, so she repeated, "I'm okay. I promise you. I took something."

Jay raised an eyebrow and said, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she replied easily and held up her purse, "I've practically got a first-aid kit in here. I'm ready for anything. Are you okay?"

"I'm good," Jay chuckled quietly. He stared at her for another moment then gave in and sighed. "All right, if you swear you're okay, we can go, but the second your stomach starts giving you problems again, let me know and I'll take you home; I really don't mind."

Hailey nodded and took his hand. "Thank you," she said, "The movie will probably take my mind off of it."

"Hopefully," Jay said as he began leading her away again, "We'll stick to just pop, though, to be safe – no popcorn or candy. My mom always swears that Sprite solves stomachaches, so we'll try that out."

Hailey's heart sank. She'd been looking forward to the salty, buttery popcorn all day, but it made sense. If Jay were the sick one, she probably would have suggested the same thing. It sucked.

"Right," she breathed, "I think I've heard that too."

Jay smiled down at her then tossed an arm over her shoulder. "I think it works, but maybe that was the placebo effect. What do you think?"

"Um," she hummed then shrugged, "I don't know if I've ever actually tried it for stomachaches."

"Well, looks like tonight's the perfect opportunity," Jay said. He kissed the top of her head just as they approached the truck and said, "And again, if it happens again-"

"I know," she said as she reached up to touch her finger to his lips. She shot him a small smile and said, "Trust me, I know. Can we not talk about it anymore?"

"Course," Jay said softly. He kissed her forehead before opening the passenger door for her. "Your chariot awaits, my Princess Buttercup."

Laughing, Hailey rolled her eyes and pinched his side on her way up into the seat.

Jay winked at her then jogged around to get in himself.

As the car roared to life, Hailey let out a breath and rested her head back. Absentmindedly, her fingers came up to twirl her hair around right where she'd yanked the grey strand out. It was just one hair and one lie. Nothing else was going to go wrong. She could live without popcorn for the night, and she'd be fine drinking Sprite. Maybe she'd even get some long cuddles out of it in bed later that night. It was all going to work out.

She was positive.

"So then he took me home and said he'd spend the night with me, but didn't know if I'd be comfortable with that," Hailey said with a sigh as she told the story of her date to Kim and Vanessa the following morning over breakfast.

Vanessa clicked her tongue then looked at Kim and said, "She was home by ten. I felt bad."

Kim shook her head and said, "You should have told the truth."

"I should have never gone to look for more grey hairs," Hailey said. Taking a long sip of coffee, she added, "I was just worried."

"It's just hair," Vanessa said.

Hailey rolled her eyes and said, "Because it's not you. I'm the one who's starting to look old."

"You are not," Kim said.

Hailey raised an eyebrow and said, "Grey hair."

"Oh, shut up," Vanessa said. She finished her muffin then stood up behind Hailey. "Let's see," she hummed, "What're we working with?"

"What're you doing?" Hailey asked just for Vanessa to then begin looking through her hair.

"Looking for more grey hair," Vanessa answered.

"What the hell?" Hailey yelled.

Before she could pull away, Vanessa grabbed her shoulder and said, "Calm down. I'm doing you a favor so you don't have to lie about your literal crap to your boyfriend again."

Kim leaned closer and asked, "See anything? Check by her temple."

"Oh my god," Hailey said under her breath, yet didn't move as she allowed Vanessa to look her over.

Suddenly, Vanessa's eyes widened and she glanced to Kim.

Hailey could feel her stiffen and turned toward her. "What?" she whispered.

Vanessa shook her head and held a chunk of her hair up.

Kim gasped softly and said, "No."

"No?" Hailey squeaked.

"It's just a couple," Vanessa reassured gently, "We can dye it."

Kim nodded quickly and added, "It can't be hard. People do it all the time."

"But I'm blonde," Hailey said, "Isn't that harder?"

"It's just hair and dye," Vanessa said, "We can figure it out. There's three of us. We're smart. We're college graduates."

"By like two months!" Hailey yelled.

"Hey, calm down," Kim said, "It's okay. We've got this."

Hailey bit her lip, but nodded. She had no choice. She didn't want grey hair, and she didn't exactly have a ton of extra money to get a professional dye job with highlights and everything. Boxes of dye were like $10; it was much more affordable. Her friends were smart, too. They'd done facials plenty of times; this had to have been similar.

Like facials, there were many options at the store as to what to buy. The three of them stood staring at the shelves of hair dye completely clueless.

Dark blonde. Rich neutral blonde. Medium blonde. Ashy blonde. Light ash blonde. Dark natural blonde.

There were too many options.

Hailey was no help either. All she knew from the few times she'd gotten her hair dyed by a professional was that she'd ask for highlights and a lighter, natural-ish color. She had no desire to be platinum blonde, but she wasn't a fan of her dark blonde, nearly brown hair either.

Finally, they eventually walked out with a bag of hair dye, gloves, garbage bags, hair clips, and purple shampoo. Hailey didn't feel any better than when she'd arrived at the store. She was not exactly confident in Vanessa and Kim's abilities to rid her of her grey hair and briefly considered just plucking it all from her head, but then the two of them started looking up videos online and she thought they might have a chance to get it right.

It didn't prevent her from closing her eyes, though, at the kitchen table as Kim parted her hair into sections and Vanessa started rubbing the dye into it.

"It's fine, you're fine," Vanessa said, "It's just hair dye. If we mess it up, we can try again in a few days-"

"Or you can go to a professional," Kim said, "I'll even throw in like twenty bucks."

Hailey sighed and opened her eyes back up. Shifting underneath the garbage bag she had around her, she said, "Professionals are expensive and won't even be open until Tuesday for an appointment."

"It'll work out," Vanessa said, "You won't need a professional, promise. It's looking good already."

Hailey rolled her eyes and said, "Shut up. There's no way you can tell."

"I think I'm doing a good job," Kim said.

Smiling slightly, Hailey said, "Glad to hear that."

"And, hey, we can make this a spa day," Vanessa said, "I can paint your nails while we wait for the dye to do whatever, and Kim can wash your hair all nice when we need to rinse."

Hailey nodded and breathed in. Letting her eyes close, she thought back to her shower with Jay when he'd washed her hair for her. His hands had been much bigger than Kim's, but she was absolutely certain he had been much more gentle. The intimacy that had surrounded their relationship lately had been unmatched. She didn't know why she was suddenly feeling so connected to him. It was like everything he did was multiplied by ten. She would have loved to just sit next to him for hours and let him hold her while watching TV. They didn't need to talk at all, he could simply run his fingers over her as she listened to him breathe and she'd be content.

Vanessa was almost done getting the dye as evenly distributed as she possibly could within Hailey's hair when there was a knock on the door and the knob jiggled.

"What the hell?" Mouse said in the hallway. He knocked harder and asked, "You two home?"

Hailey's eyes widened and she hissed, "Do not let them in."

"Hail?" Jay asked through the door, "You in there? We saw your cars in the garage."

"Um, we're busy!" Kim yelled.

"Kim's there too?" Mouse said. He tried the door knob again and said, "Why'd you suddenly decide to care about safety? Let us in."

"We're busy!" Vanessa said loudly, "You can't come in here."

"Is Hailey sick again?" Jay asked.

Hailey groaned and tilted her head back. Closing her eyes, she let out a long sigh and breathed, "What do I do?"

"I think you lie," Kim whispered.

Vanessa scrunched her nose and nodded slightly.

Giving in, Hailey took a deep breath then answered, "Yeah. I-I'm not feeling great. We're just gonna hang out today. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sick with what?" Mouse asked.

"Doesn't concern you," Jay replied easily, much to Hailey's relief. "If you're sure," he said through the door, "Want me to order you food?"

Hailey was about to reply 'no,' but then Kim nodded quickly and whispered, "I really want Chinese."

"You don't eat Chinese when you have to keep running to the bathroom," Vanessa whispered back.

"Well, I don't want bland food," Kim hissed.

Hailey rolled her eyes and decided on: "No, I'm good. Thanks, though! Can I call you later?"

"Of course. Just across the hall if you need me," Jay replied before they heard the sound of his door opening and closing.

"Bitch," Kim teasingly said.

Hailey laughed and shook her head. "Sorry," she said.

"Okay, food aside, I think you're dyed," Vanessa announced. Stepping back, she peeled her gloves off and said, "We need half an hour on the timer. You still want me to paint your nails?"

"Seeing as I just, once again, lied to my boyfriend about my bathroom habits because of my grey hair, yes, I could use a mini, at-home spa day," Hailey sighed.

Kim laughed as she sat down only for Hailey to glare at her. "What?" she asked, "We can't laugh about it yet?"

Hailey let out a breath then smiled slightly and said, "Maybe a little."

Vanessa snorted quietly on her way to the bathroom.

"I can't believe you did that," Kim said, "I have never once lied to Adam-"

"Bull!" Vanessa yelled from the bathroom.

"I didn't finish!" Kim yelled back. Clearing her throat, she said, "I have never lied to Adam about going to the bathroom. It's too embarrassing."

Hailey fake laughed then stuck up her middle finger. "So funny, Kimberly," she scoffed.

Kim laughed and blew her a kiss. "I love you, though, Hailey Anne," she said, "IBS and all."

Hailey closed her eyes, but finally laughed for real. It was absolutely ridiculous and definitely a lie she'd taken too far all over a couple strands of grey hair. She partly hated herself, but she also couldn't believe what she'd done. It really was funny in a 'I'm so stupid' kind of way. She was just glad she had her two best friends to share the silly moment with.

From Vanessa saying she was living out her lost, sophomore year cosmetology dreams attempting to do nail art on her and Kim to Kim then washing the dye from her hair and telling them about her latest job interview and how confident she'd felt throughout the entire thing, it felt like a normal Saturday, and she really couldn't think of anything she'd rather be doing.

And then she looked at her wet hair in the mirror and tilted her head to the side.

"It looks weird," she said.

"Because it's wet," Vanessa replied quickly. She pulled out the blow dryer from under the sink and said, "Come on, let me dry it and we can curl it. It'll be fine."

"I don't know," Hailey mumbled. She tried meeting Kim's eyes, but the longer Vanessa took to dry her hair, the harder Kim seemed to be trying to ignore her. Something felt really wrong, especially as Vanessa tried getting her to turn away from the mirror.

Vanessa finally cleared her throat and avoided her eyes as she said, "All done." She set the blow dryer back under the sink then asked, "Want to go eat some lunch?"

"Maybe buy a hat?" Kim whispered.

Hailey's eyes widened and she spun to look in the mirror to see her once blonde now brassy looking, almost orange, yellow hair. Tears instantly came to her eyes as she whispered, "What'd you do?"

Vanessa shook her head and looked like she was going to cry herself. "I don't know," she squeaked, "I thought it was easy, but-"

"But you messed up!" Hailey tried yelling only for her voice to crack. "Oh no," she whined, "I should have left it."

Kim faked a cough then said, "Maybe it'll fade. Should we try washing it again?"

Hailey groaned and ran a hand through her hair. Shaking her head, she said, "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

There was a beat of silence before Vanessa suggested, "Maybe you have to keep having bathroom problems for the foreseeable future. Jay might make you go to a doctor, but at least he won't see your hair."

Hailey shot her a glare then dropped down onto the closed toilet. Putting her head in her hands, she squeezed her eyes shut and said, "I don't know. I don't know what happened."

"I am so sorry," Vanessa said softly and knelt in front of her. She lightly ran her hand over Hailey's bright hair and added, "It'll fade, and your face is still beautiful."

"Hot body too," Kim said, "Jay won't care at all what your hair looks like. I'm sure he'd sleep with you in an instant."

Hailey let out a watery laugh and looked up with tears falling down her face. "I should ask him if he's colorblind," she said. She wiped her eyes and whimpered, "What am I supposed to do?"

Vanessa frowned and said softly, "We can go buy more dye."

"You're really stupid," Kim said.

Hailey laughed and sniffled. She rubbed at her eyes again then breathed, "Oh my god."

"I'm really, really sorry," Vanessa whispered, "Like…I will literally sell my kidney or something to show you how sorry I am."

Hailey blinked her eyes quickly and shrugged as she tried to smile. "I know," she said softly, "I know you didn't do it on purpose. It could have been the dye or the shampoo or even my actual hair. It's not your fault."

Kim looked between them all then quietly said, "Should we try to re-dye it?"

"No," Hailey and Vanessa shouted at the same time.

Avoiding Jay was much harder than Hailey anticipated. While telling him she was sick prevented him from actually coming into the apartment, he still tried FaceTiming her to see if she needed anything. The first few times, she answered the call and just didn't show her face or put a filter on her head, but by Sunday night, he was getting suspicious.

"This is feeling really off," he said after ten minutes of Hailey talking with a giraffe face.

"What is?" she replied. She swapped to the back camera and began looking through her clothes for the next day.

"I haven't seen your face since our date Friday," Jay said, "I miss you."

"Well, here," Hailey said, but instead of flipping the camera back to her, she opened her texts and sent him a selfie she'd taken the week before.

He sighed a second later and said, "Are you kidding me?"

"What? Aren't I cute?" she asked, laughing softly.

"Obviously you're cute," Jay said, "But let me see you right now. What're you wearing? What's your hair look like?"

Hailey froze and countered, "Why do you want to see my hair?"

"Because I love your hair," Jay replied. She watched him sink into his recliner and pull his ball-cap off, giving her the best idea she'd had all weekend despite the pang she got in her heart when he mentioned her hair.

"Okay, fine," she said, "Give me two minutes. I'll put something nice on."

"I don't need nice," Jay said quickly, "I'm cool if you're in sweats or even if you're naked."

Hailey laughed and repeated, "Two minutes." She ended the call before Jay could protest again and began searching through her closet.

Quickly, she found the green dress she'd worn to Allie's wedding and pulled it on. Smiling at herself and the memory of Jay slipping the fabric off of her for the first time, she spun in the mirror and stared at her still brassy hair. She sighed and began pulling it up into a tight bun. She wasn't sure why she hadn't considered it before. It'd probably be a good option for the next two days at work as well since she her hair appointment wasn't until three on Tuesday. She knew Vanessa hadn't meant to mess up, but she still didn't want to be seen at work looking like a child colored highlighter all over her hair.

With the bun tight against the back of her head, she pulled down her black ball-cap from her closet and shoved it on her head. It was perfect. She couldn't see a single strand of orange or grey hair.

Opening her phone back up, she swiped on her screen until Jay's face filled her screen.

"Ready?" she said, her camera pointed at her feet.

Jay laughed and sat up again in his recliner. "Yes," he said, "Let's see what's going on over there."

Hailey smiled wide and stepped back to point the camera at her mirror. "Hi," she said.

Jay whistled low and said, "There she is. Do a spin."

Hailey laughed harder and said, "I can't keep showing you the mirror if I'm spinning."

"Then just flip it around and show me," Jay said through his own laugh, "Let me get a better look."

Blushing, Hailey turned the camera around and slowly scanned her body. "Miss me?" she asked.

"Hell yes," Jay said, "I cannot wait until this stomach bug passes so I can get my hands on you. I'm not with you for your looks, but damn you're hot as hell."

Hailey laughed and finally showed him her face. "Thanks, babe," she said.

Jay's face lit up and he said, "Hey! It's my girlfriend. I've missed that face. You sure don't look like you've been all out of sorts the past few days."

Internally, Hailey winced, but she simply said, "Thank you."

"All right, let's see the big reveal," Jay said, "Take the hat off."

"Oh, you don't need to see my dirty hair," Hailey replied, "I haven't showered."

"I thought you said you were taking care of yourself," Jay said.

Hailey sucked in a breath and said, "I am."

"Then why aren't you showering?" Jay asked, "Need me to come over and help you out again?"

"No! No, I'm okay," Hailey said, "I…what if I get sick again? You don't need to see that."

Jay sighed and pursed his lips. "Hailey, what is happening?"

"Nothing. I just don't feel like myself. Being sick does that," she said, and it was only partly a lie.

Jay looked away then shook his head slightly. "All right," he said quietly, "Hey, I'm gonna go. You going to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Hailey answered as she sat down on her bed, "Jay-"

"Okay, well, if you feel like actually talking tomorrow, let me know," Jay said, "Miss you. Goodnight."

The call ended and Hailey closed her eyes. Groaning loudly, she fell back on her mattress and kicked her legs.

It wasn't fair. She hated that she was so self-conscious about what she looked like that she couldn't even look at her boyfriend or tell him the truth. It sucked, and it was embarrassing. She never considered herself someone who was super into her own looks, but having orange hair was ridiculous, and she refused to let anyone besides Vanessa and Kim see her.

It needed to be fixed, and Tuesday couldn't come fast enough.

As much as she wanted it to come, though, she couldn't believe her eyes when it did. To fix the brassiness of her hair, the stylist needed to put a gloss on it and effectively rid her of any blonde she'd had. While she'd originally wanted to avoid having her dark blonde hair, it was now exactly what was on her head. Her hair looked as natural as it had been her freshman year of college and she didn't know what to think. It was almost like she was a brunette, and the thought of what Jay was going to say to her when he saw it almost worried her, but she couldn't fake stomach issues forever.

He'd reached out the day before apologizing for being so frustrated on their Sunday night FaceTime, but she'd quickly cut him off and said it was her fault. When she was at work, she had made the decision to be honest with him once her hair was fixed, so she promised him that she'd explain everything to him the next day.

So she slowly walked up the stairs of the apartment building and tried forgetting about the fresh smell of shampoo and hairspray wafting around her. All it did was remind her that Jay was about to see her without blonde hair. Her gut told her he'd like her no matter what color her hair was, but the nerves flying through her said differently.

Her hand shook as she reached up to lightly knock on his door. She cleared her throat then said, "Jay? You home?" She could hear movement on the other side of the door and then he was there in front of her. "Hi," she breathed.

Jay stood still for a moment then let his eyes scan up to her hair. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Hey."

Hailey breathed in slowly before asking, "Can I come in?"

Jay nodded and put a hand out. He lightly touched the small of her back as she walked in then followed her to the couch.

Sitting down, she sent him a small smile and said, "I missed you."

Jay smiled back at her and said, "I missed you too."

"Um," she began quietly. She found herself lost in his eyes and realized what she'd been doing had been so stupid. There was absolutely no reason she should have stayed away for so long. She shook her head then hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I was lying to you and I'm really, really sorry."

Jay squeezed her tightly and kissed the side of her head right where she'd found her first grey hair. "You weren't sick?" he quietly asked, "You just had brown hair?"

Hailey weakly laughed and pulled back. Shaking her head again, she quietly admitted, "It was orange."

Jay's eyes widened and he repeated, "Orange?"

Hailey nodded. "Orange."

Jay stared at her for a moment then laughed. He rubbed his hands over his face and said, "Oh my god. No, Hailey, no. Why?" Laughing harder, he tilted his head back and sank into the cushions. "You are crazy," he said, "Oh my god."

"Jay," she said and shoved him lightly, "It's not funny! It was so ugly. I was scared."

"Shut up," he said through his laughter, "You were not ugly. You were telling me you were glued to a toilet, and, in reality, you just screwed up your hair."

"I didn't do it," she argued, "It was Vanessa!"

"But why?" Jay laughed, "What the hell possessed you to dye your hair orange?"

Hailey sighed and finally looked away from him. She debated her words before quietly saying, "I found a grey hair on Friday."

Jay was still laughing so hard that he didn't hear her, so he quieted down and said, "What?"

Hailey cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck. "I found a grey hair," she repeated.

Jay snorted and said, "No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did," Hailey said, "It was right before you picked me up for dinner. I pulled it out of my head, and Vanessa found more the next morning, so we dyed it and then hell broke loose."

Jay laughed again and he shook his head. "Oh my god," he said, "You are ridiculous."

"I know," Hailey said, finally starting to laugh herself, "It was really, really stupid, and I'm really sorry. Like really, really sorry. I…I realize I made a mistake."

Jay chuckled and shook his head. He kissed her forehead quickly and asked, "So how'd you fix it?"

"$150," Hailey admitted, "It was-"

"What?" Jay gasped, "Holy crap, Hail! Babe!"

"I know," she groaned and tilted her head back to close her eyes.

"Damn," Jay breathed. He scooted closer to her and picked up a chunk of her hair. "Well," he said slowly, "It is pretty. I like how soft and smooth it is. Did you straighten it?"

"She did," Hailey sighed and turned her head to look at him. "You really don't mind it?" she asked quietly.

Jay raised an eyebrow and said, "Seriously? No, of course I don't. You're beautiful no-"

"Don't say it, please," Hailey said, "I feel bad enough for keeping my stupid orange hair from you. I'll feel even worse if you say you would have liked me with that."

Jay chuckled and kissed her quickly. "Well, sorry, but it's the truth," he said. He continued running his fingers through her hair and said, "Do you like this?"

"It's better than the orange," she said, fluttering her eyes close when he gently scratched the back of her head, "It'll take some getting used to. My hair hasn't been this dark in years." She moaned softly as he rubbed his thumb behind her ear.

"I really do like it," Jay said softly, "No more alien blonde."

Hailey snorted and looked at him now much closer to her than before. "You're an idiot," she breathed.

Jay hummed and slipped his hand down her neck. "Your idiot?" he asked.

Hailey smiled and nodded. "Mine," she said before climbing onto his lap.

Jay gripped the back of her hair and breathed, "I missed this." Wrapping her hair around his hand, he said, "This feel okay?"

"God," she said, tilting her head back, "Yeah."

Jay leaned forward to kiss along her throat before whispering in her ear, "Mouse has a work outing tonight."

"What're we doing talking then?" Hailey countered.

Jay chuckled and stood with her, gripping the backs of her thighs as she began kissing down his jaw while he carried her to his room.

Whether it was the new hair or the four days without actual contact, Hailey didn't know, but it was the absolute perfect way to get reunited with Jay.

She just couldn't stop wondering why the feelings now were so incredibly intense and emotional. It was a new feeling that she was still pondering as she watched him sleep before their dinner. Perhaps the thing she'd never thought was real was actually real, and perhaps she was starting to experience it.

Perhaps.

All she knew was that when she'd look in Jay's eyes – whether she was situated in his lap or he'd just woken up – her heart seemed to beat faster and her breathing slowed down to really memorize every piece of him.

She didn't hate it.

Just like her new hair.

A/N: Let me know what you think :) and have a great week!