Operation: Eye Candy
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Summary: A tale of love, hate, and literary analysis gone horribly wrong. Mary shares her favourite book with Elli, and in return is swept up in the third most disastrous matchmaking attempt Mineral Town has ever seen.
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Disclaimer: All characters appearing or mentioned in this story are the creations and property of that thar Marvelous game company or what's-it. They are being used without permission, for no profit, so hopefully it's all good.
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A beautiful day, early in summer. The drowsy hush of mid-afternoon settling peacefully over the little mountain town. The flowers in full bloom, their sweet scent wafting to and fro on a gentle, refreshing breeze.
Through this most tranquil of scenes stormed a little brunette, clad in unseasonably heavy skirts, blouse, and apron.
A tiny, adorable bunny bounded over to say hello, only to be quickly dispatched by young Elli Greene's best attempt at a fearsome glare. As the fuzzy little creature bounded hastily away, Elli sighed, swiped impatiently at a dew of perspiration over her forehead, and continued on her stormy way.
As a tall, narrow stone building filled her line of vision, her sigh took on a distinctly happier nature, and the soft pink mouth hitherto set in a tight frown, curved gently up.
The Library.
The town's greatest bastion of hope, knowledge, enlightenment, intelligent conversation, and most importantly, air conditioning.
With one last vicious mutter at the stubbornness of men everywhere, Elli slipped quietly into the building.
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"Hi, Mary!"
The petite dark-haired girl seated at the front desk in body, but roving fairylands of faraway in spirit, gave a startled yelp. As her eyes lit on the bundle of blue, brown, and frills beaming happily at her, she smiled sheepishly.
"Oh! Hello, Elli. How are you?"
"I'm just fine," Elli replied cheerfully. "Just a little overheated. Hi, Gray," she concluded with a bright smile and a wave for the silent young man seated at a nearby table.
Gray looked up briefly, gave a noncommittal grunt, and went back to his book.
Mary laughed softly and gave Elli and apologetic shrug, then straightened up, all business in an instant.
"So, what brings you to the Library today?"
Elli's eyes grew huge and plaintive.
"I need a book that doesn't have glossy illustrations of the digestive system, or lengthy descriptions of what happens to it when you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome."
Mary giggled, and even Gray smiled slightly to himself.
"Well, you're in luck," the pretty dark-haired girl at the counter said, taking her friend's arm. "We have plenty of those."
"Wow, it looks wonderful in here!" Elli noted, scanning the massive bookshelves covering the wall and packed to capacity with books. She twisted around, to look in every direction at once, overbalancing, and nearly stumbling.
Mary steadied her with a supporting arm.
"I forgot that you hadn't been here since the renovations." She frowned over the tops of her glasses. "Where have you been, anyway?"
Elli blushed sheepishly.
"W-well, you know, I have work, and Grandma's physical therapy, and then Stu still needs some attention. It all adds up!"
"Why don't you bring Stu?" Mary suggested hopefully. "I have a section dedicated to children's books, and May loves it!"
Elli winced.
"Stu in a library…that's a little bit like unloosing an angry cat in a drapery store."
"Oh, I'd keep him under control," Mary assured her comfortably, a glint in her eye that made Elli shiver slightly. She shivered again when her friend's expression turned back into a stern glare. "And at least then, we wouldn't have to wait six months between visits."
"The Clinic is really busy right now!" Elli protested in something near a wail, nevertheless laughing as the two girls came to a halt in front of the romance section. She beamed. Mary knows me so well…
"The doctor manages to get here every Wednesday," Mary pointed out, arms crossed, one eyebrow lifting slightly behind her glasses. "Why don't you just come with him?"
"Because someone has to make sure we have food for the week," Elli sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. "And every time I ask him to run to the Supermarket for something, it seems like he barely gets in the door before Sasha comes storming over, demanding the money upfront because he tried to put it on our tab."
Mary patted her friend's shoulder comfortingly.
"Well, at least you got here to see me eventually."
"I had to!" Elli chirped. "The doctor kept telling me all about the improved selection, and the nice cushy chairs on the second floor!"
"Because I suppose it would kill the man to stay on the first floor at talk to someone for a while," Mary grumbled.
"And anyway," Elli continued, making a face, "I had to get out. Duke's over there right now, and he was ranting on and on about Kai."
Mary groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead.
"Oh, here we go again. Every single summer. You'd think they would all just grow up after a while."
"I wouldn't think that," Elli said emphatically. "Although, I do think that Duke obviously needs some more work to do, if he has all this spare time to come to the Clinic and complain."
"Well, didn't you two talk some sense into him?"
Elli sighed again with a gesture of hopelessness.
"I tried. Then I just got Duke ranting at me about how I just had stars in my eyes from that pretty-boy conman, and he thought I was a smarter girl than that."
"And the doctor told him he was being silly, right?" Mary asked, half pleading.
The befrilled little nurse shook her head sadly.
"Actually, he seemed even more upset with me than Duke. I'm afraid the doctor doesn't like Kai very much either. He says he just can't respect anyone who wanders around like that without any thought of getting a steady job, and centers what little work he actually does around filling people with junk food. I don't understand what those two and Rick have against him, honestly; everyone else in town likes him!"
"Um, not quite," Mary broke in hesitantly.
Elli blinked.
"Well, who else? You like him, don't you, Gray?"
Gray looked up.
"Huh? Oh; yeah, he's okay. Good cook."
"Unfortunately, Gray's grandfather doesn't feel the same," Mary sighed as Gray immersed himself once more in his novel. "Neither does my father, or Karen's father, or even Barley. Carter doesn't mind him, but I think that's just because he has his head in the clouds too often to know what's going on."
Elli laughed a little guiltily, and then shook her head sadly.
"It's just so silly. I always thought it was only Duke that's been filling Rick's head with nonsense, but I'm starting to see why Rick feels so strongly about it. He's probably had all the men in town that he looks up to egging him on for the past ten yeas, telling him over and over that he's a terrible brother if he doesn't try to protect Popuri from the boy she likes."
Mary giggled behind her hand.
"I never thought I'd hear of anyone looking up to Duke."
"I meant the rest of them," Elli said impatiently. "They should all be ashamed of themselves. Look at the trouble they're causing, just because they have some weird hang-up about white paint! They've been foisting a decade of their own insecurities on Rick, so it's no surprise that he's been influenced by it!"
"But Elli," Mary piped up hesitantly, "doesn't Rick seem a little…intense about it, for it to just be a matter of old habits dying hard?"
"Not really," the brunette shrugged. "Rick was, what, fourteen when Kai showed up for the first time? Even given the enormous ego and certainty of the average fourteen year old that they're the only one who knows anything about anything, it's still a very impressionable age. And you know what Duke is like: he probably knew exactly what buttons to push. 'Oh, if only your father could see this, his precious baby girl gallivanting around town with an irresponsible drifter while his only son sits idly by and lets it happen! Rod would be ashamed of you, Richard! How do you expect to provide for Karen if you can't even keep your own family safe? Get out there and be a man!'"
By now, Mary was doubled over in a helpless fit of laughter, while Gray, drawn from his book by all the commotion, just shook his head at Elli's eerily accurate imitation of Duke's blustering pomposity.
"Well, I suppose Rick can't help it if he's the most predictable person on earth," Mary agreed, breathless from laugher, wiping her eyes. "Or if he's so led by emotion that he actually fell for all of it. But you know, he talks about Kai a lot. And Kai talks about him a lot. I almost have to wonder if there's something else going on there."
Elli tilted her head to the side in a gesture of adorable confusion.
"Um, like what?"
Mary grinned toothily.
"Come with me."
With that, the brunette found herself seized by the arm and dragged bodily upstairs.
"I got two copies of this one sent in," Mary explained as she scanned the shelves carefully, eyes searching penetratingly for the elusive Book, "because I want to know that I have a copy just in case someone has it out."
"Wow," Elli giggled. "You haven't been that obsessed with a book since Karen got you Exit to Eden when we were twelve!"
"This is a special book," Mary assured her, eyes wide and serious behind thick black wire frames.
"I'm almost afraid to find out…"
"Ah! Found it!" the dark-haired girl proclaimed triumphantly, tugging a book from the shelf and handing it to her pal.
Elli took the little paperback hesitantly, glanced at the cover, and then started, eyes widening in shock, before looking again, much more closely.
The front cover was a typical soft-focus watercolour style with overly ornate loopy script declaring the title and author, but the illustration itself…
Two young men, one pale and blue-eyed, long dark-blond hair caught up in same the breeze pulling back his fluttery white (open) shirt to expose a wiry, yet somehow muscled frame; the other swarthy, with dark, laughing eyes, hair tied in a brightly coloured cloth. Their arms around one another in a fierce embrace.
"Oh, my," Elli breathed, cheeks bright red. "They look a little like—"
"I know," Mary said emphatically, her grin widening. "Take that home, and we can compare notes when you come to return it."
"Uh-huh," Elli agreed vaguely, and Mary gave a soft laugh at the sight of the little brunette already deeply engrossed in the first page.
"Did you need anymore books?" she asked helpfully.
Elli shook her head, flipping the page.
"I think I'm good."
She started toward the stairs, and the little librarian hurried after her, catching her arm before she could walk directly into the wall next to the staircase. Mary shook her head fondly as she escorted Elli safely through the front door of the library, recalling the many bumps and bruises she had sustained while reading that same book.
Somehow, it had a way of completely consuming a girl's attention…
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Mary hadn't thought to look for Elli for at least a week after their impromptu meeting. After all, she was a very busy girl, and very busy girls couldn't very well bury themselves in books for hours a day.
Therefore, she had nearly collapsed into a pile of giggles, but not been particularly surprised, when barely half a day later had seen her coming downstairs to refill her tea cup, only to find Elli waiting in the kitchen, chatting politely with Basil.
"Oh! Mary!" her father called. "Elli's here to visit."
"I see that," Mary murmured, choking back laughter with some difficulty. "You didn't bring the book back."
Elli blushed.
"Um...well, I was hoping that I could borrow it for a little while longer."
Mary giggled at her friend's shy, pink-cheeked hopefulness, and pulled another teacup from the cupboard for her visitor.
"Sure you can; I told you, I have a spare."
"Thank-you, Mary!" Elli yelped, hugging her friend tightly.
"Of course! Now, let's go upstairs and compare notes."
With that, they were gone, trotting up the stairs, teacups in hand, leaving a blinking, bewildered Basil in their wake.
What on earth was that all about? He knew that his body of work was skillfully composed, thoroughly researched, and interwove poetry flawlessly with scientific data, but he had never before known the topic of the plant and animal life found in Mother's Hill to have such an effect on the young ladies of Mineral Town, much as he thought secretly that it ought to.
Well, maybe little Elli was blushing and giggling over the mention of Dr. Cuthbert.
And so, Basil set out for Doug's Place, basking in the knowledge that he had successfully scored another dedicated reader; it was good to know that his lure had been successful.
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"Um, what's this for?" Elli was meanwhile asking hesitantly as Mary presented her with a notebook and a pencil.
"To take notes!" Mary chirped happily, selecting a notebook and pencil for herself and sliding onto the little patchwork-covered bed next to her friend.
"O-okay," Elli said hesitantly. "But...um, why do we have to take notes?"
Mary looked aghast.
"Elli! Recording your observations is very important for a full and thorough literary analysis!"
"But I was just reading," Elli protested. "I'm not good at literary analysis."
"That's why I'm here!" Mary chirped. "This is a book you plan to read again, right?"
Elli nodded, blushing brightly red and borderline grinning.
Mary made a little noise of triumph.
"Well, then! Your interpretation will change each time you read it, and your first impressions are especially crucial. Now," she continued briskly as Elli began to show signs of further protest, "what was your first thought when Dominic and Freddy finally kissed for the first time in Chapter 4?"
"Purrrrrrrr," Elli replied immediately, eyes dreamy.
"After that," Mary huffed impatiently.
"Heehee?"
"Elli!"
"What?" Elli demanded, wounded. "Heehee is a perfectly valid observation!"
"I realize that," Mary said through gritted teeth, "but we need your coherent first impressions."
"I wasn't doing much coherent thinking by the time Freddy threw Dominic against the wall, and Dominic began tearing at his clothes," Elli murmured, face hidden in her hands, blushing so brightly that Mary could almost swear that she could see the glow emanating from the cracks between her friend's fingers.
"Well, once you started thinking coherently," Mary giggled. "What did you think? Even if you think it sounds silly, just tell me your first observation."
Elli gave a giggle of her own, sounding rather as though her brain wasn't receiving quite enough oxygen.
"I suppose I was mostly thinking that I wish I had a bitter enemy, if that's what happens."
"Elli!" Mary squeaked, half-scandalized and half-impressed. "So, amid dirty thoughts, did you at least notice the similarities of Dominic and Freddie to Kai and Rick?"
"Of course!" Elli chirped. "And then I had some more dirty thoughts!"
"Have you always been like this?" Mary asked conversationally.
"I think so," Elli replied thoughtfully. "Why?"
"Because if you have, I don't know whether to envy the doctor, or fear for his health. I think he might be at risk of severe overexertion once you two finally stop dancing around each other and hop into bed, or the shower, or his desk, or your desk together."
"Mary!" Elli squealed, hiding in the prettily embroidered blue and white pillow at the head of the bed.
"Don't worry, I won't tell him that he's living with a closet pervert. Now, let's bring Kai and Rick into the discussion. How are they similar to Dominic and Freddie, and how are they different?"
"Well," the little brunette began, one finger to her lip in deep consideration, "they argue almost as much. And Freddie never entirely trusted Dominic – at least, until the train accident that almost claimed Dominic's life forced him to confess his undying love, and wrest Dominic back from the brink of the grave. But…Dominic and Freddie both had horrible, mean, spiteful, borderline psychotic girlfriends who lived only to keep them apart. I know there's a little bit of gossip going around about Rick and Karen, but Karen always turns red and punches people when she hears it. And Popuri's told me dozens of times that Rick is being irrational, because she and Kai aren't even really dating. And anyway, Karen and Popuri are both really sweet."
"There are differences, of course," Mary admitted. "But I think the tension between Kai and Rick is similar to the tension between Dominic and Freddie."
"You mean, Kai and Rick are already kissing?" Elli gasped, leaning forward eagerly.
Mary rubbed her eyes behind her glasses.
"No, of course not! But I think the potential is there. The tension that Freddie and Dominic had before they started kissing and making mad, passionate love up against every available wall."
"Are you sure they're not doing it now?" Elli asked, cheeks still red, eyes glazing over slightly.
"Elli! Focus!" Mary barked.
"No, I think I understand what you're trying to say, Mary," Elli assured her, expression growing determined. "Kai and Rick have the potential for a rare and beautiful sort of relationship, yet they choose to waste it with vaguely sexy, but ultimately useless arguing."
Mary blinked.
"Um…"
"Therefore, as the only two people in Mineral Town who understand what's really going on with them, it is our duty to help them realize their love!"
"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind," Mary admitted slowly.
Elli sent her a Look.
"So, we were going to discuss them behind closed doors, cloistered away with our knowledge, and do absolutely nothing to apply it in a helpful and meaningful way?" she scoffed.
"That's what academics do!" Mary protested.
Elli crossed her arms, jaw set stubbornly.
"Well, I'm not an academic. And I will do something with the knowledge discovered here."
Mary bit her lip. Clearly, Elli was suffering symptoms of exhaustion and overwork, creating an odd effect when combined with certain Stirrings that the girl, newly twenty-one and living with a handsome young man that she greatly admired, was likely experiencing for the first time.
But Mary had always prided herself on being the logical one, the one who would invariably drag the others back to sanity, by force if necessary, when even Elli's common sense had failed her and all seemed lost.
Therefore, was it not her solemnly sworn and divinely given duty to bring this Scheme of Elli's to a stop before it could cause untold embarrassment, chaos, and emotional trauma?
Mary grinned.
"Alright, let's do it."
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End Notes: O-kay! I've had this plot bunny bounding around the ol' cranium for a while now, pausing every now and again to fix me with sad, imploring bunny-eyes and beg me cutely to write its story. And, as the Power of the Bunny cannot be resisted forever, here it is. The first part, at any rate.
I think this'll probably end up being two or three chapters, and knowing me, each chapter will be sillier than the last.