Adoration
Chapter 1
By Jay Bird12

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Author's Note: I'm back! This is my first Harvest Moon story in a while, so I hope you guys like it. Make sure to leave a review when you're done reading.

Disclaimer: Characters, not mine. Flower Bud Village, not mine. Not trying to claim them. Kthx.

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There comes a time in every girl's life where she feels the pain of heartbreak, of rejection and worthlessness. Heartbreak is the subject that graces the pages of many novels, many poetry collections … many suicide notes. Each story may be different, but the resounding feeling that permeates through all of them is the same. The subject is nothing new, but with each retelling, the author makes the feeling her own. My name is Ann Green, and this is my retelling.

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"Ann, wake up, you lazy bitch. I'm not doing your chores again!"

I opened my eyes tentatively and looked up to see my brother Gray's scowling face looking down at me. Somehow, knowing that he was already angry at this hour of the morning made me feel relieved. If Gray was happy, it usually meant that there was something wrong. A smile must have played at my lips without my knowledge, for after looking at me for a few more seconds, Gray sighed angrily and stormed out of my room.

After hearing the door slam loudly, I leisurely sat up and stretched, letting out a large yawn. I really wasn't ready to wake up yet, but I knew that Gray was serious when he said he wouldn't do my chores again, and I had to take care of the animals. I slid out of my nightgown into my regular everyday overalls and began my trek to the barn, pausing along the way to grab a cold onigiri that had been left sitting on the table for me. Over the years, I had mastered the art of braiding my hair and eating food at the same time, so I multitasked my way out the door and across the yard.

A little while later, after I had finished letting the cows and sheep out to graze, I heard noises coming from the entrance to our pasture. Curious, I made my way over, and saw a boy stroking the mane of one of our horses. I stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out who he could be. I was almost positive that I had never seen him before, which was strange since Flower Bud Village was such a small town. Suddenly, the boy turned his head and caught me staring at him. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks and looked down, embarrassed. Just as I turned to run away, I heard the boy call after me.

"Hey, wait!"

I paused, listening to his footsteps follow me until he caught up and put his hand on my shoulder. I turned around to look at him and realized that he was kind of cute up close.

"I wanted to introduce myself," he said, reaching into his rucksack to pull something out before continuing, "my name is Jack, and this is for you," he finished, pulling out a small yellow flower and handing it to me.

"Oh, f-for me? Thanks …" I managed to reply, looking up at him (he was so much taller than me!).

He grinned happily, teeth and all, and I felt like that smile was meant for me and only me. It was a strange sensation; I'd never seen anyone with such a great smile. I looked down again at the flower in my hands and fingered its petals uncertainly, wondering why he had given it to me in the first place. It was probably nothing, I told myself as I struggled to come up with a way to escape the awkward silence that was quickly settling over us.

"Oh! I saw you were looking at Cliffguard before! Do you like horses?" I asked quickly, an idea forming in my head.

"Sure I do. It would be nice to have one of my own for the farm."

"You can have Cliff's brother, if you want," I said, smiling. We had been looking for a home for the colt for the past few weeks, since technically we didn't have enough room to keep another full-grown horse in our crowded stables.

"Really?" he said, looking visibly shocked, "you'd just give me a horse?"

"Um, well, sure. We need to find a home for him, and I think that if he's anything like Cliff, you'd probably be able to train him into a great racer, too. We just don't have the time to do that here."

"Okay then, I'll take him," he said, grinning again.

I quickly turned away to go find the horse so that he wouldn't see the color that his smile had caused to flush my face. I walked over to the edge of the field where my father was standing and brushing the colt I had been telling Jack about. I quickly ran my idea by him, and he nodded, agreeing. He then led the horse over to where Jack was waiting and told him he would deliver it to the farm for him.

Once my father had left, it crossed my mind that the small horse didn't have a name.

"Oh, Jack, I forgot, the horse needs a name!" I said, catching his attention.

He stared at me for a moment, seeming to be contemplating something, before he simply stated, "Well, you never told me your name."

"I'm sorry! I forgot! My name is Ann …" I said, thoroughly embarrassed at forgetting such a simple thing as telling him my name.

"Well then, I'll name the horse Andy," he said, winking as he turned and made his way back to his own farm.

"Oh," I said, watching him walk away and letting his last sentence sink in, "Oh."

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A/N: Hooray for awkward first meetings between a girl and a cute guy! Squee! If none of you know what I was talking about with that smile thing, then I feel bad for you. No, actually I envy you because it's definitely a player smile. I've gotten it quite a few times before, myself. --; Anyway, review please.

Oh, and I know this first chapter was short, the rest will probably be a bit longer, I just wanted to cut this one off there. :