AN: Wow it's been a super long while since I've written fanfiction or any sort of fiction in general, really. So if this is a little rusty (which I'm sure it is) just give it a little time and my writing shall improve. Of course feel free to critique as needed. All I've got to offer for now is a short little intro to the story, I've planned for the coming chapters to be longer. I named the MC Rachel because it's the default name in a New Beginning, at least to my knowledge. I've always sucked at author's notes so I'm just going to shut up now, anyway, I hope you enjoy the fic!

The knocks are sudden, and Rachel is woken up almost instantly. She muffles a groan as she hears the unmistakably soothing yet somewhat scratchy voice of the mayor, Dunhill.

"Rachel, are you up?"

"Yes, one moment!" She calls before rolling out of bed and practically pouncing in front her dresser. While Rachel opens the door and searches for the most convenient outfit to wear, she's still crouching from her jump over. As ridiculous as she realizes she looks, it really does save time from actually standing up and walking over. Besides, these 6a.m. visits happen often enough that this has more or less become a routine of hers.

Moving to Echo Village hasn't exactly been what the blonde farmer had expected. While the farm is beautiful and spacious, the town itself is rather lonely. Rachel had been quite surprised to find out that the three villagers who had greeted her when she moved in happened to be the only villagers.

"Oh, jeez," Rachel mutters, she'd forgotten that she'd spilled grape juice on her only (at the time) clean pair of overalls. She pulls said overalls off the hanger throws them on regardless, it's not as if she has the time to be picky.

Sometimes the farmer wishes Dunhill would move these visits to a more convenient time. Maybe at 8, after she's at least had the chance to grab breakfast and get a start on her farm work. She isn't about to complain anytime soon though, the look of happiness on Dunhill's face during these visits is enough to keep anyone's mouth shut.

Rachel has become somewhat of a symbol of hope in the (almost) three seasons that she's lived in the village. After Dunhill discovered Rachel's talent at building things-which is another story in itself- she's been put up to the task of basically restoring the village. Now, Dunhill often drops by in the morning to give her new building blueprints, festival announcements, and some days, a new villager to introduce to her.

Rachel hums gently as she runs her brush through her long blonde hair. Her humming is soft but she's brushing as quickly as possible, or as quickly as she can without making a mess of her hair. She's thinking that she'll be meeting someone new this morning. After all, she had just finished building a cottage last night. Dunhill mentioned something about a pet store if she remembers correctly... Either way, she's more excited about meeting a (possible) new friend than getting the outline for another town renovation.

While the town's population has definitely grown from when Rachel had first moved in, there is certainly a ways to go. And if she's really honest with herself, then she can really stand to meet more people her age. She gets along great with the older villagers like Hanna and Emma but when it comes to the younger people, the only friend she has at the moment is an egotistical hairstylist.

Her hair is finally presentable and so Rachel puts on her cowgirl hat. She gives herself a once-over in the mirror and grimaces when she catches a peak of the stain on her overalls. She hopes that it isn't too noticeable.

"All set!" Rachel calls and is answered by the turn of a knob and her front door opening.

Dunhill steps in first, wearing a smile so cheerful that not even his beard can hide it. "Rachel, there's someone that I'd like you to meet, Come here, Rod."

And Rod steps in and Rachel isn't sure what she expected but it wasn't this.

Rod himself isn't really all that special, at least not appearance wise. Average height, sporty clothes, normal face (though arguably cute), but then there's his smile. There's something about his smile that gives Rachel a funny feeling in her chest and all of a sudden, she really wishes that there wasn't a huge purple stain on her overalls.

"Hey, I heard you were the person who built my house? Thanks, it's a great place! My name is Rod and I'm going to be running a pet shop. Nice to meet you!" He reaches his hand towards her, his smile still going strong.

Rachel swallows. Hard. Her heart's beating beating fast and, gosh, could this really be happening? She pushes those thoughts out of her mind and smiles widely, reaching to his hand and returning the handshake, "I'm glad you like your house. I'm Rachel, nice meeting you too!"

And then Rod is still smiling and Dunhill is saying something but at this point Rachel isn't even paying attention anymore. She's got a (probably stupid looking, she thinks) huge smile on her face and her cheeks are more than a little pink from what she can feel.

"-and that's all I've got to say for now, I guess we'd better let you start on your farm work," Dunhill says, snapping Rachel out of her trance.

"See you around, Rachel," Rod says as he and Dunhill make their way out of the house. All Rachel can bring herself to do is smile and wave, for some reason her voice doesn't seem to be working. As soon as her door closes she takes a breath before flinging herself onto her bed and clutching a pillow tightly.

"...that guy was really cute," she buries her face into the pillow and makes a noise of exasperation. She isn't sure what's come over her, though she thinks his smile has something to do with it. She decides it's best to forget about this, after all it isn't as if she doesn't already have enough on her plate. She has a town and a farm to worry about, more than enough to think about without mixing romance into it, although... maybe she can use a pet or two to keep her company on the farm. Paying a visit to his store can't possibly bring any harm after all, right?

Rachel sighs, there was no easy way out of this one. After about a moment of silence she looks towards her alarm clock.

"...I wonder what time his shop's open?"

(She decides to find out).