Chapter 13: We're Sitting There By the Water

       Paint was doing a lot better than from when I first moved here. Not only has he been starting to react positively towards Monica and even enjoyed her company sometimes when I wasn't around, he also finally let me put a saddle on top of him so I could go for a ride with him eventually.

       Getting him used to the saddle took quite some time. I couldn't just force the saddle onto him. I had to get him used to the weight on his back first before trying to get the saddle on him.

       Once I had the saddle on Paint, Sawyer walked over to the fence we were enclosed in. He rested his arms on top of it, giving me a smile. "It's amazing how much Paint trusts you. It's a really good thing you're living with us."

       "Good for Paint or good for you?" I asked.

       "That didn't sound close to an innuendo but I feel like it was one," Sawyer said but my only reply was a shrug. "So want to test  out how Paint will do other other horses and go for a ride?"

       "Sawyer! Not in front of the horse!"

       Sawyer sighed heavily. "I meant for us to get on our horses and go on the trail, Jamie. You haven't been there yet since you've been back and there's actually a place in there I want to show you. So what do you say?"

       I gave Sawyer a smile. "Yeah, I would love to. Hopefully Paint will be okay being near your horse."

       "I think we will," Sawyer said. "He has been okay near Raven a few times. The only reason why we keep Paint separate is because he's not okay around every single horse at the same time."

       "Then why not keep Raven in here with Paint?" I asked.

       "Because like I said, he's only okay near Raven a few times," Sawyer said. "Not all the time. And the times he isn't okay, he'll have a freak out like he did during the thunderstorm so we just make things easier and keep Raven with the rest. Why don't I bring Raven in here right now to see how Paint will do? It will also give Paint a few minutes to warm up to Raven while I go get pack some things for the trail."

       "Like what?" I asked. "Con--"

       "Don't say it."

       "Say what? I was going to say confetti."

       "Sure you were, Jamie. Sure you were."

       Sawyer went to the other field to bring his horse, Raven, to Paint's field. I was a bit worried Paint wouldn't react to Raven well even though Sawyer told me there was a good chance Paint would be fine. I had never seen Paint interact with other horses since I've been here so I haven't seen it for myself yet.

       However, as soon as Sawyer brought Raven into this secluded area, Paint didn't really react towards him. He didn't have a positive reaction but he also didn't have a negative one. He just stared at Raven for a bit before going back to grazing.

       "You okay with me staying here while I go pack?" Sawyer asked. "Just in case?"

       "Yeah, of course," I said. "Don't forget to pack the confetti." I gave Sawyer a wink.

       Sawyer chuckled. "You're unbelievable."

       "Unbelievably irresistible?"

       "I wouldn't exactly say that."

       "Ouch, that hurts. A lot. I don't know how I'll be able to move on without someone feeding my ego."

       "Then maybe you should tune down your ego," Sawyer said before walking towards the house to pack whatever it was he wanted to pack, and unfortunately 'confetti' wasn't involved.

       I needed to stop with my innuendos towards Sawyer because it only liked me like him more even though that was the complete opposite of what I was trying to do.

       It didn't take long for Sawyer to pack whatever it was and once he walked outside and back to fence, I found out exactly what he wanted to pack.

      "Ooh, is this a date?" I asked, my eyes looking at the picnic basket in his hands.

       "I knew you were going to ask that and the answer is no," Sawyer said. "There's just a place I want to show you. I always go there and have lunch there but I haven't gone for a while."

       "I still think it's a date."

       Sawyer ignored me and went to the stables to get everything he needed to saddle up Raven. While he was doing so, I got onto Paint, making sure he really was okay with having the saddle on him.

       And he was.

      Once Sawyer was on Raven, he was the one that led me to the trail. I wish I came to the trail a lot earlier since I moved back. Sawyer and I came here all the time and it was one of my favourite places in the world.

       There was just something so peaceful about all the trees and plants, and birds chirping away. The trees weren't as close together as most forests so the sun was still able to shine brightly onto the trail.

       I immediately felt peaceful when I entered here so I definitely knew I should come here more, especially if I was ever stressed out.

       Which I probably would be soon because I was a teenager after all.

       "How you doing back there?" Sawyer asked.

       "Surprisingly well," I said. "I haven't ridden a horse in a long time but I've still got it. So where exactly are we going?"

       "You'll see," was all Sawyer said.

       I didn't even mind that he wasn't telling me. I was just enjoying the scenery on the trail, enjoying all the peace and quiet, the only sound being the birds chirping and our horses' hooves clicking against the ground.

       We soon arrived to the place Sawyer wanted to take me to and once we did get there, I couldn't help but smile. "You really still come here often?" I asked.

       "Of course," Sawyer said. "It's probably my favourite place in the world."

       Right in front of us was a small clearing with a pond in the middle of it. This was one place Sawyer and I ran off to when we were kids when our parents told us countless amount of times not to come here alone. We didn't listen and we were so happy when we found this place. It was special to us.

       And I guess it was still special for Sawyer for him to keep coming here. And to take me here after all the years we haven't been here together.

       Sawyer and I both got off of our horses and Paint took the opportunity to just graze around. 

       Sawyer placed the picnic basket on the ground close to the pond, the exact same spot we used to sit in when we would sneak away here as kids.

       "I really missed this place," I said. "I can't believe you still come here."

       "Of course I do," Sawyer said. "It's a great place to calm do. Calm. Relaxing. Special. It took me a while to come back here after you moved away, though. It just didn't feel the same coming here alone. And I can't believe I'm going to say this because you have a huge ego but... I really missed you, Jamie. A lot."

       "I missed you too," I said. "I know a lot of friends grow apart, especially when they haven't seen each other in years, but we didn't."

       "Yeah, it's almost like you never left," Sawyer said. "I'm happy we were able to just have everything be the same. Well, apart from us being ten years older but we're still the same."

       "I'm happy about it too," I said.

       And even though I didn't want to, I was actually happy I liked Sawyer. I still didn't know what to do about it but I shouldn't be trying so hard to shut out the part that liked him. He was an amazing person. He always made me feel happy. Why should I try to change how I feel about him when it was a great feeling?

__________________

i'm hoping we could get the scene i want to write in chapter 15, which should be up by monday. (i say monday even though i'll start writing it on sunday because i already know it's probably going to be up at 3 am my time)(it's 3:47 am currently and i'm pretty sure i have to wake up early lol i'm horrible with my time maintenance)

(also don't mind me just saying sawyer is in love with jamie)

i mean what?