Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.

Author's Notes: I got this game about two months back, and played it for, like, five minutes, and then ignored it for a month. Recently, though, I've started playing it rather obsessively, and I just got married to Ivan on it! I was so indecisive on my favourites bachelors and bachelorettes in this game. At first, I was all for Angelo and Freya. Then I got the game and couldn't choose between Ivan and Angelo, though I eventually with Ivan. I find Freya kind of boring now, and I instead like Sherry much better. Emiko and Amir are pretty cute, too. :3

School Girl Crush

Anita walked through the village, a small smile adorning her face. She walked across the bridge, passed by the Zephyr Cafe, continued past Freya's house, and up a flight of stairs. She quickly arrived at her destination a few seconds later.

Bringing her hand up to the door, she rapped against the wood a few times to signal she was there. She heard the clang of pots and pan and then someone came to the door.

"Oh, Anita! Hello!" said Nellie as she opened her front door, smiling pleasantly at the younger blonde girl.

"Hi, Nellie," Anita gave the pink-haired woman a little wave. Nellie already knew what Anita was there for, but waited for her to ask. "Is he here? I know I'm a little early..."

"Oh, nonsense," Nellie said softly. "You come right in, now. They're almost finished, so you can wait upstairs, if you like." She moved out of the doorway and ushered Anita in.

"Thank-you," Anita said once Nellie shut the door. She instinctively turned left at that, and marched her way up the stairs. When she came to the top of the staircase, she could hear Ivan talking to Lauren and Cindy and waited for him to stop before she officially entered the room.

Once he finished, she knocked jokingly on the railing. "Knock, knock." At the sound of his best friend's voice, Ivan immediately perked up.

"Hey, girls," Anita finally walked in to the upstairs room and waved at Cindy and Lauren. "Hi, Ivan."

"Hey, Anita!" Cindy waved back, grinning.

"Um... hi, Anita..." Lauren trailed quietly.

"A-Anita," the teacher managed to utter. "I wasn't expecting you until one."

She smiled at him. "I can leave and come back later, if you want me to..."

"No, no, no need for that!" He walked up to her, his cheeks tinged a light pink. He put his hand on her back and pushed her towards a chair. "We're just about done, I promise." She simply smiled at him, and his cheeks grew even darker. Cindy noticed, and looked in between the two suspiciously.

Ivan turned back to the two girls then. "Well, that concludes our lesson for today, girls." He clapped his hands together. "There'll be a test on what I just taught you in two weeks, okay?"

Lauren simply nodded, while Cindy's facial expression changed from shock to confusion. "Wait, what?" she blinked incredulously at Ivan.

"Is there a problem, Cindy?" Ivan walked a little closer to her and bent down to her extra-small height.

"Yes, there is!" she threw her arms out in front of her. "We just learned this stuff today! How can we possibly have a test on it already?"

"I said in two weeks..." Ivan trailed weakly, and Anita giggled from the side. Cindy side-glared at her before continuing.

"But is it necessary to test us? I mean, really... we all know Lauren can do it, and I'll be fine... I mean, it's not too confusing..." Cindy started to wriggle her hands and play her fingers, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"Cindy, are you having difficulty with the math we learned?" Ivan gave her an understanding smile, and she felt her cheeks grow warm. "It's okay if you don't... but you can't avoid something like a test just because you don't like it or don't understand something. And besides," he put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "I'm sure you if you study just a bit with your sister, you'll be just as good as her at it in no time! And then it will be more fun for both of us and less confusing for you." He stood up at that turned to Anita. Just before he could walk over to her, though, Cindy spoke up once again.

"You haven't convinced me yet! Encouragement and compliments will get you nowhere with me, mister!" she pointed her index finger at his accusingly.

The room was silent for a few seconds before Lauren snuck in a comment. "Cindy... why are you blushing...?"

Cindy stood pin-straight at that, and her entire face went red from pure embarrassment. The one time her sister feels like talking...!

Lauren looked away immediately from each set of eyes, and Ivan and Anita exchanged glances. Ivan then turned back to Cindy. "I have a proposal."

At that, Cindy's eyes lit up noticeably, but she tried to remain indifferent. As she began to lift her head up to look at him, Ivan knew he had gotten her attention. A person like Cindy could never pass up the chance of a deal. "What is it?" she asked him cautiously, but curiously.

"Here it is: If you do well on this test and try the best you can, I will grant you a wish," Ivan explained, and her eyes sparkled at that. "But," he held up a finger, "it must be a realistic wish. One I can grant you."

Cindy weighed her options – she knew that the favour of this was outweighing the benefits of not doing the test at all. And she could even impress Ivan if she went through with this and succeeded! She knew it was a done deal before he even finished his laying out his terms. After a few minutes of pretend-thinking to make it look like she was considering it, Cindy stuck out her small hand at him. He smiled and took it in his larger one. They both shook their hands at the same time at that, both saying, "Deal!" And so the promise was sealed!

"Now," Ivan turned around to the patiently waiting Anita. "I have a lunch date with Anita here. You study, okay, Cindy? Make a genuine effort. Ask Lauren if you have any questions. I'll be back next week, like usual!" He looked at Anita and she nodded. They made their way to the stairs, and each said their respective goodbyes to the children.

Lauren quietly and obediently got to work on her assigned practice assignment, and while Cindy did make a true effort to focus, all she could think about for the rest of the day was how Ivan called his having lunch with Anita a date.

Two Weeks Later

"Test day!" Ivan walked up the stairs of Nellie and Isaac's house, holding two pieces of paper in his hands. Anita followed behind him, smiling at the girls. Lauren and Cindy were both already sitting at their own separate desks. Lauren was calm and prepared, while Cindy was a wreck. It didn't help her any when she noticed Anita was there!

Ivan noticed that Cindy was shaking, and walked up to her, concerned. "Calm down, Cindy, I know you'll do great," he placed a hand on her shoulder, and she relaxed a bit. He was right. She was being a worry wart. She'd do fine... right?

Ivan then distributed both of them a paper each. Lauren started scrawling on it immediately, while Cindy stared at the paper blankly, as though willing the answers to appear before her.

Ivan sat down next to Anita, and waited just in case one of them had a question. When five minutes passed and Cindy still hadn't touched her pencil, he figured she was tense because of the extra people in the room. He silently suggested to Anita they leave the room and return to downstairs, and they did so.

This only caused Cindy to panic further, though. Who was going to be there to help her now? She always figured if she got that stuck, she could go just go downstairs and ask... but that wasn't the point! She was going to fail this test if Ivan wasn't by her side!

She nervously looked around the huge bedroom, and then down at her sister. She was already on the back side of the sheet! Cindy couldn't believe it!

"Breathe," she whispered to herself. "Calm down. You can do this. Just remember. You get your very own wish granted if you do!" Memories of the deal she made with Ivan weeks before flooded her head, and she found herself feeling a little better and motivated. With herself a little more calmed down, she finally decided to actually look at the sheet. And what was on it hit her like a ton of bricks. As she read over the questions, she was surprised to realize that not only did she know the answers to these questions, that she also knew how to figure them out beforehand.

Cindy almost face-palmed right there and then, but stopped herself for the sake of her sister's delicate concentration. She shouldn't have gotten herself so worked up about this! Who knew it was going to be so easy? If she had, then maybe she wouldn't have been so flustered to begin with!

And with renewed self-confidence, Cindy picked up that pencil and started her test. And, though she would never admit it, when she really got going, it was kind of fun...

One Week Later

Cindy fidgeted in her seat. Even though she had been super confident about her knowledge while writing the test, her nerves had managed to eat away at her the following week, and now all she could do was worry about her mark on the test.

Ivan walked up the stairs to the bedroom, with Anita once again in tow. Apparently he had another "lunch date" with her, Cindy noted jealously, crossing her arms. He greeted Cindy and Lauren cheerfully, and pulled out both of their tests from his briefcase. He waved them in the air. "I have your test results!" He walked up to Lauren first. "Lauren, ninety-eight percent. Great job, naturally!" He gave her her paper and she smiled a quick and small smile before surveying the paper for the mistakes she had made. He turned to Cindy next. "And, Cindy..." he trailed. She frowned. Was he trying to prolong her suffering? "You got a perfect score! One hundred percent! You did amazingly!" he handed her her paper and she marvelled at the red numbers at the top of the page that clearly marked she had gotten perfect results. She blinked several times as if to prove to herself that she was not dreaming. But the number one hundred was clearly written at the top of her page.

"Congratulations!" Anita jumped up and smiled widely. "I knew you'd do great!"

Cindy wanted to just get up and dance around right then to prove her happiness, but she wanted to retain some of her dignity and besides, there was another matter at hand now – her and Ivan's deal. "Do you remember our deal, then, Ivan?" she asked up at him, blinking her dark violet eyes.

Ivan looked perplexed for a second, but then stuck his finger in the air in recognition. "Of course," he nodded. He kneeled down to her level. "So what is your wish?"

It didn't take her even a second to think of what it was. She had thought about for the last three weeks, after all! "I want you, Ivan, to take me out on a date!" she declared, jabbing her thumb at herself triumphantly. She figured it was only fair, what with all the dates he and Anita had been going on lately. The room went silent at that.

"Y-you want me to what?" Ivan blinked incredulously at her. Had he really heard what he thought he had? He looked up at Anita who simply shook her head in confusion before turning back to Cindy. "I..."

Cindy, fully realizing what she said, pretended to brush it off. Waving her hand dismissively, she turned away and tried to act indifferent. "Um, whatever, actually. I'm just glad I passed..."

The atmosphere of the room became extremely awkward at that. Anita, sensing that Cindy and Ivan needed to talk for a few minutes, left the room and went downstairs to wait. Ivan's eyes watched Anita as she walked down the stairs, and flickered with a passion when she smiled at him. Cindy noticed.

When she was sure that Anita was completely out of earshot, she whispered to Ivan, "...What kind of girls do you like, Ivan?"

Ivan, though surprised by the question, smiled at it. He thought for a few seconds, and then came up with an answer. "Well, first off, I like girls who are my own age. Also, I like girls who work hard for themselves and their friends and families. I like girls who have learned and experienced a lot, as well, Cindy," he explained.

Before Cindy could open her mouth to respond, Lauren piped up in the corner, "...You mean like Anita? You like girls like Anita...? She's around your age and she works very hard... she seems to know a lot, too..."

Both Ivan and Cindy looked over at the timid girl, and Ivan opened his mouth as if to answer, but just ended up closing it again. Cindy simply glowered at her twin sister. Ivan then looked back at Cindy, and decided that she deserved the truth. "Yes, Lauren. Anita. Girls like A—"

"Or just Anita herself," Cindy added in quietly. Ivan looked at her suddenly, surprised by her words. But nonetheless, he smiled softly and she returned it. She understood.

He stood up at that. When he looked down, though, he felt bad to see Cindy with her head still hung low. But no more than a few seconds later, she jumped up from her chair, a determined look on her face. "Well, then! I'll just have to work twice as hard as Anita and become twice as smart as her!" She pumped her fist in the air. "And maybe then, just maybe..." Ivan just laughed. Now there was the Cindy he knew!

"Yep, kiddo, maybe, just maybe, then!" he grinned at her before grabbing his briefcase and making his way to the stairs. "So, I'll see you guys next week, okay? Bye, now."

Lauren mumbled her goodbye, but Cindy openly expressed her own. "Okay! Bye, Ivan!"

He flashed her another charming smile before joining Anita downstairs.

Cindy peered out her bedroom window as Ivan and Anita left the house together and made their way to the Cafe. They were laughing and blushing and carrying on with each other, and though Cindy could feel the slight discomfort of jealousy still brewing in her stomach as she watched them, it was not as severe as it had been before.

Knock, knock! The sound of a fist making contact with the wooden railing caught Cindy's attention, and she turned around to see who it was. It was her mother.

"Lauren, Cindy, Kevin is here," she informed them. "He wants to know if you would like to play with him?"

Lauren hopped her chair and nodded at her mother, making her way to the stairs. Cindy's eyes brightened at the mention of Kevin and she nodded enthusiastically. "Sure thing, mom! Just give me one second to find my jacket!"

Nellie smiled and then left. It took Cindy a few minutes to find her red jacket, but she did and eventually made her way downstairs, hopping down every step.

When she arrived at the bottom, Kevin and Lauren were waiting at the front door. "C'mon, Cindy! Hurry up! I wanna go find some bugs to play with!" Kevin looked impatient and was stomping his foot at her.

"Oh, calm down, I'm here," she told him back sarcastically. He gave her a toothy grin then and grabbed her by the hand.

"Then let's goooooooo!"

When they got a significant distance away from the twins' house, the three stopped. But when they did stop and when Lauren had run off by herself, Kevin's hand still remained holding on to Cindy's. Cindy side-glanced at their intertwined fingers, and couldn't help but blush. She looked up at Kevin for a brief second, and he flashed her that same toothy grin. His infectious smile transferred to her face, and she soon couldn't stop smiling.

"Let's go find your sister, Cindy. I wanna play tag, and she can be it," he told her, and began to march off with her hand she interlocked with his.

Cindy allowed him to pull her along, but still couldn't take her eyes of their hands. You never know, maybe, just maybe, she and Kevin could be... because, unlike Ivan, he was her own age.

Fin~!

Author's Notes: This one-shot is actually based upon two random events that happen in the game between the twins and Ivan. No, I have not seen them, but I thought they sounded super cute and decided to write this based upon them! Not to mention the twins are pretty adorable in the game. A super adorable thing Cindy says in the game is when you get married to Ivan and then talk to her afterwards. I did, and so told me that Ivan and I were being too lovey-dovey and that it was beginning to get "kind of annoying", which I took as her getting jealous at our marriage. I just thought it was so cute!

'Til next time!

Fooboo24