Pairings: [Chelsea, Vaughn], [Mark, Chelsea], [Vaughn, Sabrina], [Denny, Lanna], [Will, Lily], [Elliot, Julia], [Pierre, Natalie], [Mark, Alisa]. These are possible pairings. As you read the story, you'll see that a few of these are not permanent.
Disclaimer: Don't own Harvest Moon. Never will.
Author's Note: This entire story is completed with 36 chapters, 439 pages. All chapters are two thousand words or more. I'll post a chapter every Monday and Thursday. If you do not like any of the pairings that are placed above, then you need to leave. Sorry.
If You Set Me Free, I Will Not Run
Chapter I: There's a Reason Why
A sigh coated in weariness trickled out of her mouth as she tied her red bandana around her head. When she was done, she wiped her hands on her jean shorts and came to the conclusion that she was done working for the day. All of the animals were taken care of, crops were planted, watered, and picked, and she shipped all that she could for the day.
"Man," she yakked, stretching out her sore muscles. "It's evening already. It's like I never get a break from this."
Really, she could not complain. She was the one who chose this life. Chelsea was a young woman from out of town who left her previous home in the city to become a great rancher. It was always her dream to become one and she finally fulfilled it by coming to Sunshine Islands and living out her dream. When she first conveyed her dream to her family, they gazed at her as if she had grown a second head. They were livid and extremely disappointed when she finally left the city to live on Sunshine Islands.
Chelsea did not regret her severe decision. She managed to accomplish her dream of becoming a great rancher, she had a nice home on Ranch Island, and she made a bunch of friends that she was very close with. It was lovely.
"Chelsea?"
Mildly startled, Chelsea ceased her stretching and straightened up, placing her gaze on a blond individual that trekked her way. Instantly, a grin of elation curled her lips and she lifted a hand, waving. "Hey, Mark!"
Mark was a young man who was also from the city. He was born and raised in the city, like Chelsea, but had always been an aspiring farmer. Mark wanted to begin a new life on a faraway island because he was completely unsatisfied with his life in the city. The guy arrived in Sunshine Islands by unusual circumstances. He boarded a ship to proceed to another island other than Sunshine Islands, but there was a violent storm and a vigorous bolt of lightning struck the ship, destroying it instantly. The poor guy washed up on the beach and that was where Chelsea and Taro (Taro was an old guy who helped Chelsea get started being a rancher) discovered him. Chelsea was nice enough to give Mark a place to stay on Ranch Island, and she offered him a job by helping her out on her farm. Mark was overjoyed to do so and the two of them became very close friends in a short time. Now, Mark earned enough to have his own house built right next to Chelsea's ranch and the male often helped her out with her daily duties.
Mark was a very sweet individual who always thought of others before himself. He was absolutely selfless and he never once committed a cruel act. The male was a hardworking, thoughtful person who was not impressed by gifts. Still, he always accepted a gift cheerfully if one desired to give him one.
"All done for the day?" questioned the blond male, adjusting his blue cap atop his head, a massive smile decorating his facial features.
"All done is right," responded Chelsea, crossing her arms over her chest as she studied the guy's current attire. Mark was dressed in his usual getup, which consisted of a white shirt underneath blue overalls, an orange short sleeved vest, a red bandana wrapped around his neck, red gloves, and black boots. Of course, he had on his blue cap too, which he wore backwards. "What are you up to?"
Mark watched her with his emerald green eyes. "Nothing much. I just woke up from a nap. Sorry I wasn't able to help you around the ranch today."
"It's fine," commented the female, waving a hand at him in a dismissive manner. "Anyway, I was about to go get something to eat at Nick's Diner. Want to join me?"
Mark's face seemed to light up when Chelsea sent him that question. "Sure! I'd love to, Chelsea! At the diner in Verdure Island, right?"
Chelsea answered incredulously, "Yep. Where else?"
"Right. Stupid question," remarked Mark, smiling from ear to ear.
Once their conversation concluded, the two individuals made their journey into Verdure Island and entered the diner. There were a few of the islands' inhabitants in there, but not much. Chelsea wondered where everyone was. The place was usually packed around this time.
"Where do you want to sit?" Mark asked his companion, peering around the place. There were a bunch of vacant tables.
"Anywhere is fine." Chelsea shrugged.
Shrugging also, the blond took her hand in his and pulled her over to a table. He let go of her hand as soon as they reached it and he pulled out a chair for her. Chelsea thanked him and sat down in it, smiling a little. Mark was always overly polite to her for some unfathomable reason.
"I'll go order our stuff. What do you want?" Mark wanted to know, planting his palms on the table and leaning forward in her direction. He waited patiently for her answer.
Chelsea formed her response and opened her mouth to release it, but something caught her attention. Whipping her head to the side, she caught sight of a silver haired male stepping into the diner, hands in his pockets and a blank expression covering his face. Immediately, Chelsea could feel her heartbeat increase in its speed and could feel how her face was getting hot. Nervousness gripped her in waves and there was a little bit of excitement there too.
It was Vaughn.
Vaughn was a man with unusually silver colored hair who was always dressed like a cowboy with the hat and everything. He was a livestock dealer who came to the islands two days a week. Vaughn was a hardworking businessman who took his work very seriously. He also had a deep care for animals. The guy was completely antisocial, frequently moody, and unnecessarily cold. The only people he even bothered to speak to were Mirabelle (a nice woman who owned an animal shop), Julia (a friend of Chelsea's and Mirabelle's daughter), and Sabrina (a very wealthy girl that Chelsea wasn't very close with).
Ever since Chelsea met Vaughn she had a crush on him. At first, she really did not recognize that she had a crush on the icy male. Eventually, she came to the realization that she did. Whenever she had the opportunity, she would attempt to start a conversation with him, but he was always short with her and sometimes didn't answer her at all. Still, Chelsea believed that he had warmed up to her a little bit after all this time. She knew, without a doubt, that he respected her for her work as a rancher and she respected him in return.
Vaughn stood there for a moment, surveying his surroundings with his unusually colored eyes before his gaze locked with hers. Chelsea could feel the heat in her cheeks intensifying and she awkwardly smiled at him, forcing herself not to look away. The only acknowledgement Vaughn gave to her was a tip of his hat and a nod of his head. After that, the guy walked over to the front counter and ordered a glass of milk, sitting by himself as usual.
"Uh, Chelsea?" Mark was waving a hand in front of his temporary companion's face, trying to get her attention. "Earth to Chelsea! Hey! You're spacing out!"
Chelsea quickly snapped out of it, whipping her head back in Mark's direction so fast that Mark worried that her neck might break. "Huh?" she unintelligently murmured, sounding as if she were just waking up from a dream.
"You've been spacing out for almost five minutes," Mark talked, planting his palms on his hips and raising an eyebrow. He appeared to be mildly annoyed. "I asked you what you wanted to eat, but you never answered."
"Oh, sorry about that." Chelsea laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment.
Mark inspected her for a moment before twirling around and eyeing Vaughn at the front counter, who was now taking leisure sips from his glass of milk. As if on cue, an expression of amusement painted Mark's face and he turned back to capture Chelsea within his gaze. "Ah, now I see why you spaced out like that! It's because of that Vaughn guy, right?"
"Keep your voice down!" Chelsea practically squeaked, cheeks coloring. "Are you crazy? He could have heard you!"
Mirth danced within Mark's eyes. "You still have a crush on that guy? Seriously, I don't even know why you do. The guy is so frosty!" blurted out the blond. "You do know that he's interested in Sabrina, right?"
Immediately, Chelsea's embarrassment withered away into nothingness and she slumped in her chair, breathing out a loud and heavy sigh. Her mood became damaged and a crestfallen look inhabited her features. "Yeah," she said gloomily. "I know."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Chelsea," Mark yammered, taking a seat beside her and staring at her with a huge amount of concern. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's fine," muttered the female, shrugging.
No, it was not fine. Chelsea only said that to cease Mark's concern for her. It was true. Vaughn was interested Sabrina. That was one obstacle that Chelsea knew that she would never overcome. Vaughn never paid her any attention, not like he paid attention to Sabrina.
Sabrina was probably one of the sweetest individuals that she had ever met. The girl was the daughter of Regis, her multi-millionaire father. She lived at Regis' enormous mansion on Sprout Island and was a secretary and bookkeeper for her father. Sabrina was a very shy and quiet girl, but she was forever polite. The girl had an artistic side to her and loved to paint and had an interest in ores and mining.
Sabrina was really pretty too, which was something Chelsea instantly noticed when she first met the other female. Sabrina had long, raven colored hair and purplish eyes. She was a petite thing with pale skin and a beautiful smile. She was always wearing glasses too because her eyesight wasn't the best.
"Chelsea, why don't you go over and talk to him?" Mark suggested after a moment of hesitation. It was almost like he had to force the words out, but there was a small smile playing on his lips. "I mean, he'll be leaving tomorrow and you won't be able to see him until next week. You might as well talk to him now."
Chelsea formed her hands into fists and chewed on her lower lip in an uneasy manner, Mark's suggestion trampling through her mind. "You think I should do that?" she retaliated quietly, bringing her gaze over to the silver haired man. "You really think that's a good idea?"
"Sure." Mark simpered. "Do it."
"Fine." Chelsea removed herself from her chair shakily, heart pounding in her chest. "Wish me luck."
Mark gave her a thumbs-up. "You already have my luck. Now go."
Chelsea wanted to give the male rancher a hug, but refrained from doing so. Instead, she hurried over to the front counter where Vaughn was sitting and nervously took a seat next to him. Vaughn didn't even look at her.
"Um, hey, Vaughn," caterwauled the female, tugging on a strand of her own hair, trying not to gaze at him. "How are you doing?"
Vaughn glanced at her, finally realizing she was there. The blank look on his face did not disperse though. "Chelsea," he greeted coldly. "I'm fine."
"So," Chelsea drawled, finally gazing at him now. She watched as he took slow sips from his glass of milk. "How's work going for you?"
Vaughn only grunted in response.
Chelsea went silent, unsure of what that meant. Was this a mistake? Maybe she should have stayed at the table with Mark. Vaughn did not seem to be in a talkative mood. Actually, he was never in a talkative mood.
"How are your animals doing?" Vaughn decided to ask, turning his head to look at her, glass in his hand.
"My animals?" Chelsea was a little disappointed that he didn't ask how she was doing. "They're good. My chicken had more babies."
Vaughn raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Chelsea bobbed her head in a nod. "Oh, indeed. She had four chicks. They didn't hatch yet though. They will soon." She put on a proud smile.
"You don't mind…if I take one off your hands, do you?" Vaughn asked, mildly hesitating.
"What for?" Chelsea wanted to know, eyebrows shooting up in astonishment. Curiosity painted her face and she leaned forward a little bit, staring at him deeply. "You want it as a pet or something?"
Vaughn appeared a little vexed now and he turned away from her, quickly finishing his glass of milk. "Does it matter? I don't think it's any of your business anyway."
Agitation coursed through Chelsea's veins like a foul poison and she removed her eyes from him and placed them ahead of her, a frown crawling around her face. "Okay, fine. You don't have to tell me. Still, I'll give you one."
"Thanks," muttered Vaughn shortly.
"No problem," Chelsea murmured gloomily, putting her hands in her lap. She lowered her head and sighed, her attitude downcast.
Was it really impossible for Vaughn to be hers? It seemed so. There was a reason why Vaughn never paid her any close attention.
And that reason was Sabrina.
