Chapter One :

Emotion

Summer, Year Two.

I was in the crowded Ocarina Inn as usual, leaning my back on the Inn's kitchen counter. I watched in anticipation as Chase expertly rolls and press fresh oranges onto the countertop with his bare hands, cut them in halves and squeeze them onto the juicer. No matter how many times i look at it, i never cease to amaze at how fast he works. Three ice cubes, another drop of mixture i don't know what it is-but i really wanna know goes in, and voila. I have my Chase special orange juice, like every single evening, his treat. He handed it to me with a slight smirk on, knowing really well how i love it so much to come back here every single night. A sip, and I'm in paradise. Tropical paradise. It was so fresh and mildly sweet, refreshingly zesty and very fragrant. It awakens and refreshes my senses.

But what I love the most; it has the same color with his hair.

He watched my reaction with a hearty but short laugh before going back to his seafood doria. I don't know what kind of face I make tho. I hope it's not too embarrassing. He has this laugh that makes me think he's afraid to laugh too much and trying to cut it short. But i like it nonetheless. It's suits him.

"Come on, Chase... Please tell me what that liquid that you put into here already. I really wanna know!", i ask him for the fourth time this month, out of curiosity and maybe a little apprehension. As long as it's not something he order from the wizard or the witch, it's fine I guess. I'm starting to question why i am so addicted to this simple orange juice. It's pretty weird.

I hear him grumbles.

"I told you. No one will ever get to know my recipe except Master Yolanda."

"But it's just an orange juice..."

He turns his head to face me. "Yeah it's an orange juice. But is it JUST an orange juice?", he smiles smugly. That B—... I sigh.

"I took so much time trying to make it at home, you know. And now I have an almost bald orange tree. But it never taste like this!", I pout, imagining how awesome it will be to be able to carry a whole thermos of this divine orange juice in this hot summer time everywhere I go.

"Well, practice makes perfect Hikari!", he said, still facing his boiling pot, not aware of Maya sneaking up behind him.

'Shhh...', she winks and whispers at me, tiptoe-ing oh so slowly to Chase's back, and grab that small vial of mysterious liquid that I'm dying to know what and runs to my side.

"Yaaayyy !", we cheers in delight, Maya jumping up and down beside me, her small braids jumping around with her.

"Good job, Maya!", I clap. Chase turned around and stride towards Maya with sour expression on his face.

"Give it back, Maya. Now.", he snaps at her who now taking refugee behind the cashier counter, flailing the vial around in victory.

Chase curses and goes back to the stove, putting the flame off.

"Hikariii~~ you wanna know what this is? I have magic pellet! I will taste this for you !", she waves cheerfully from behind the counter, lifting the vial to her face level.

"Maya, I'm serious. Give it back to me now! It's not funny!", Chase throws his napkin onto the counter, and i can see he's getting angry.

"Maya, just give it back. it's okay...", I said. As much as i want to know what it is, I don't want things to turn ugly.

But Maya, just being Maya, already lift the vial up and pour the liquid into her mouth, and swallow.

"Yum ! It tastes like—"

"MAYA!"

My heart stopped that instant. Chase's yell filled the room. He banged the metal countertop so hard with his fist, people stop chattering and turn to look at him. He doesn't seem to care, glaring at Maya. Maya only whimpered, looking at him in shock.

"Fine. Do what you want.", he says, turning back to his cooking and put the fire back on.

"Why you have to be so mean, Chase! I'm just kidding around!", she sniffed, tears falling down her cheek.

Jake and Colleen come running to calm Maya down. And from Jake's sullen face, I can tell he's not happy with Chase.

I feel guilty. So guilty. If only I didn't insist to know what it is... this won't happen. But who knows that darn liquid can make Chase really angry like that?

My eyes were glued to his stiffen back, thinking what is wrong. I have known him for almost a year, and i never saw him this mad. Chase can be rude, but never before he showed emotional outburst like this one. Maybe that vial has sentimental meaning for him, or maybe he was in a bad mood. But he didn't seem like it before. He chatted with me like usual, nothing out of ordinary.

He spent the next ten minutes cooking in silence, until someone walks into the inn with a big crate on his arms.

"Good evening...", Toby says. He saw me and we exchange smiles. Colleen hurries him to the kitchen back, excited to see the inn's seafood order that just arrived. They chat there for a while, maybe another 10 minutes. I sip my orange juice in silence, watching Chase's still silent back, as if trying to find some answers there.

After a while, Toby pulls up a big fish from inside the crate, walking towards Chase.

"Chase, this is your order. Giant Halibut...", Toby smiles at him, Lifting the fish up for Chase to see. The cook eyeing the fish for just a glance, make a sour face and look away.

"What is giant about that!", his words cut like a knife. "It's not as half as big as what you usually gave me."

Toby smiles apologetically at him. "Yeah... this is all we can catch... Giant Halibut is pretty rare in summer, but we will try to find the bigger one for you. I'm really sorry.", Toby bows to him. Chase ignores the fisherman.

Toby lifts his now empty crate and walks toward the door, glancing a questioning gaze at Chase. However, the fisherman doesn't seem angry at all.

I feel really bad. For Toby, for Maya, and especially, for Chase. What possibly he feels inside right now to take it on everyone like that? this is not his usual self. I walk to the door, catching up to Toby outside the Inn. It's already dark outside.

"Hey, Hikari.", his smile is calm like usual.

"Hey.", i said, smiling back. "Um.. are you okay?"

Toby let out a soft genuine smile. "I'm fine, really. Thanks for asking."

That's good then. But at least, I need to explain right?

"Actually, before... right before you walk in, Chase and Maya were having a fight."

"Ah.."

"... and I'm partly guilty about it... he's still tense from it, I guess. So yeah, sorry for that. I'm sure he doesn't really mean to snap at you or anything."

"It's okay Hikari. I'm not mad. I can tell he's not in a good mood right before i talked to him... it's fine.", Toby answers, giving an understanding smile at me.

We talked for a while. He tells me that he just come back from sailing for 2 days straight at the sea, and warn me that summer storm is coming. 'the wind is getting hostile' he said. I guess when you're always in the open sea all the time like Toby, he never really has to watch weather report to know stuff like that. he can feel it on his skin.

After we bid goodbye I went back inside, only to be welcomed by Chase's purple orbs staring at me.

"What were you doing out there?", he asks, eyes probing at mine.

"Just... talking to Toby.", I answer nervously, but trying hard to keep looking at his eyes. I'm not doing anything wrong... right?

"Talking about what?"

What is this? Why does it matter?

"About me?", he asks again, with the low tone that sound more like a statement than a question. I nodded.

"You apologize for me.", He says in a cold tone.

I just stare at him in silence, feeling his overwhelming emotions that now directed at me.

"And who do you think you are, apologizing for me!", he snaps.

I feel his words tear me open inside.

"I thought I'm your best friend.", I said, looking to his eyes.

He looks away, and Jake comes to the rescue. He ushers him to the back kitchen and talk to him there for a while. After that, Chase took off his apron, wash his face with faucet water and storms out the inn without even a glance at me.

Too many thoughts running through my mind. Too many questions. I'm in total shock of what happened. We have been friends for a year, but we never fight. This is new. And I don't know it will hurt this bad. He never look at me that way... his eyes were always gentle at me. But this Chase...

I'm not mad. All I can feel is pain. But what I fear is, I know it's not only my pain.

It's his too.