A/N: Okay, so this is my first story on Fanfiction, so I'm pretty excited. I know that the Vaughn/Chelsea story line is somewhat generic when it comes to fanfics on IOH and SI, but hey, who doesn't love a moody, silver haired man? Hopefully, this story will come off lighthearted, because I think I'd take a spin on the normal, depressing, angsty storylines I've fallen in love with on them. Mainly because I can't write like that. But, oh well. Here it goes. And I hope you enjoy!
I flicked a glance at the cards on the table, peeping down at the ones I was dealt for a quick second before flattening them right down again. I was never very good at poker games, after all, at times I could be hot headed and sharp, making it very difficult to produce a good poker face. But tonight had swung my way, at least just a little bit. As we all put in our chips, I took the time to observe the facial expressions of my companions. All of them stoic, emotionless…full of pride. But that was men for you. Denny was never able to keep a stagnant expression for very long though, and he often gave himself away with the spark in his eye. Pierre was different, despite his boyish looks he was always very good at hiding himself away under a sheet of mild irritability. Perhaps he knew that if he lost, he'd have to owe us all big time. Elliot was hard to decipher sometimes too, but not so much that he was an excellent poker player. He just had a habit of covering his face up while he played. Whether it was pushing his glasses further up his nose, or sweeping his strawberry blonde hair out of the way, he seemed to always be fidgeting. The nervous type.
"Chelsea? What are you going to do?" I snapped right back into reality and glanced over at Denny, the one who had asked the question to begin with. I glanced down at my card again, and then the ones that had been placed out in a neat line on the table. I only had a two and a ten. What was set out didn't help to make me a winning hand either.
"I'm folding." I sighed, sweeping my cards along the table, back to Denny who was playing the role of the dealer.
Denny was a good friend of mine, and he was one of the reasons I sat there tonight. With all the men from the island, caught up in a tense match of Texas Hold Em. I was Chelsea. The girl who ran the ranch up north. That girl with the red bandana tied around her head, the girl with the mousey brown hair and the bright blue eyes. The girl who found a night with the boys far more entertaining than anything else in the world. And I was happy with where I was at. I had only moved to the island I called my home a little less than a year ago, but I was also one of the first. The island had been almost entirely deserted when I arrived, and it first started with me, and one other family. Now things had changed. The place thrived on the land, and I didn't care how simple the life was. The life was me.
When more and more people moved in, the young men seemed to form a little…'group'. As far as I knew, they gathered together once a week at someone's house, and had a little man's night in. I didn't know what it was all about, but for some reason, I knew I wanted to be in it. The curious cat that I was, I had to know what went on inside that circle. It was like the gossip corner of the town, or at least, the gossip corner I was interested in. I loved my girls, and sometimes I just enjoyed hanging out with them, talking to them all night about boys, makeup and whatever chickflicks had just come out. But that wasn't always who I was. I worked on a farm, I couldn't be a precious little princess, and that was never my personality to begin with. So when I met the tanned fisherman who went by the name Denny, I finally found a friend I could relate to. And our taste in headgear wasn't the only point of interest between the two of us. He was an amazing teacher, and I learnt everything I knew about fishing from him. I supposed I had Taro to thank about that, the token wise old man of the town, who gave me my fishing rod to begin with. Denny was always up for a good conversation though, so I suppose that it wasn't that surprising that I found a great friend in him.
That didn't mean that I was immediately admitted as an 'honorary man' to their secret little group. It took hard work and a lot of determination before I got anywhere close to where I sat now. And the first thing I did wrong was, well, being born a girl. When I finally wiggled my way through the testosterone wired fence, I came to appreciate just how tight knit the men in town were. People like Denny, Elliot, Pierre and Mark were nearly always present on their little get togethers. The older men, like Chen the merchant and Gannon the carpenter, had a little more difficulty finding the time to attend, after all, they both had young children to take care of, as well as having their time consumed running a shop. There were a few that came on occasion, but they weren't to be considered regular attendees. Regis, for example. He seemed put off by the idea that real money wasn't being used in the game, or at least that's what I had been told. We all lived a simple life, so I guess money wasn't always so easily thrown away. But, the winner still got a fare share of benefits. Food, discounts, free items. The sort of things that just made life a little bit easier.
And tonight was just like any other night. Gannon was there, as well as the younger guys, but there was also someone else that I didn't see around very often. His attendance was quite unique, actually. The pale cowboy, swathed in leather and denim. His silver hair hung around his face, framing his attractive features and hiding his violet eyes from view. The broad rimmed hat only added to the westernised get-up he had going on.
Vaughn.
He was the animal dealer, and only came to the island on Wednesday and Thursdays. So, I guess it was hard to say what he was like. I'd spoken to him, a few times, but nothing ever really came off. I didn't have an impression of him. He hardly talked, and hardly showed any emotions. And, he was engrossed with his job as the animal dealer. But tonight he was just one of the guys, one of the boys, apart of the circle. I decided, in the few short hours we had been sitting there, I was going to giving him a new nick name. The Ultimate Poker Face. Lame, I know, but it was true. The cards would be dealt, he would give them a quick glance, and return to his straight postured position. He wasn't very good at poker, but neither were the rest of us. But that didn't mean he hadn't tricked us all out of something that evening. I myself had lost a few of my valuable crops, but he declined my award.
Suddenly, he glanced over at me, giving me a sharp glare. I looked away, realising that another game had started already. I was used to the harsh looks, he gave them to everyone. And I meant everyone. Not that it made a difference to me. He was a subject of my interest ever since he had arrived on the island. What could I say? He was an attractive young man, and I was a single young woman. Of course I couldn't help be a little infatuated. But it didn't matter, because he was just like every other attractive male out there that I could stare at, except with a quick temper and terrible social skills. He was…socially awkward? Nah, he wasn't socially awkward. He was just completely anti-social.
I took a second to glance over at him again, just as he took a look at his hand. I swore I saw a ghost of a smirk flash across his face. And of course, once again, I was caught looking. So, instead of looking away, I rose a brow at him. His glare only hardened. Oh well, there was never any harm in trying. Perhaps, on the rare occasions that he did join this little group for an evening of friendly betting, he felt like he was being violated by the presence of a woman. Maybe he was gay… It was possible, wasn't it? I never saw him so much give a woman a glance, or at least one that had any meaning behind it. Maybe he was just coming to terms with his sexuality himself.
Ugh, what was I thinking? Back to the cards on the table. I took a glance at the cards I had been given, to find I had a red nine, and a red jack. Not bad, I suppose, but I'd have to wait to see what came out on the table.
"Who would like a cold one?" Denny asked, standing up and stretching. The men all raised their hands in unison, leaving me to look uncomfortable with the idea. I wasn't much of a drinker, and I never really enjoyed the taste of beer. But then on the other hand, I was still on uncertain ground with this little companionship. Wearily, I raised my small, slender hand into the air as well.
Denny counted the hands, though there was little point in doing so, and made a b line for the fridge. He went back twice, probably not to comfortable in carrying out multiple bottles in one go. They went around the table, from one end to the other, until everyone held a bottle in their hand. I stared down at mine, pulled off the top and took a swig with the rest of them. There were mixed emotions, with Pierre complaining that it was not of the finest quality produce. I shrugged it off like a man. That was what I was pretending to be, wasn't it? Denny finally sat to deal the cards out to the table. A black Ace, a red eight and a red two. No luck for me yet, but I'd hang in anyway. I simply called, playing the role of the weary holder. I raised my bottle to my lips again, but stopped when I saw Vaughn give me a suspicious look.
"What?" His oddly coloured eyes simply narrowed further, so I ignored him.
"Anyone know why Chen couldn't make it anyway?" I wondered out loud, consciously trying to diverge the focus from the little hiccup between the two of us.
Gannon answered, his low, gruff voice startling me slightly. "Wanted to spend the night with Charlie." Charlie, of course, was Chen's young son. He was terribly cute, and the fact he aspired to be just like his father made him that little bit more adorable to me.
"Ah, make's sense." I said nonchalantly, glancing in Gannon's direction to my left. I smiled at him warmly. He might have scared me every now and then, but I sort of looked at him like a father. He wasn't the warmest person in the world either, but deep down I reckon he was just a big softie.
We went around the table, making our bets, before the fourth card was flipped out and placed next to the first three communal cards. A red ten. Huh? I looked back down at my cards. Well… this was interesting. I decided, for the sake of it, to raise the bet a few marks, and everyone simply called it. The dynamics of the game were fairly simply, for us anyway. You called, unless you thought you had something, and then you raised, making for a fairly obvious that you had something good. So, I probably just gave the game away. Oh well.
I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall of Denny's shack. It was past twelve already. I sighed, knowing that I'd have difficulty getting up early tomorrow, but it was part of living and working on a farm. You had very little spare time, until the afternoon anyway. I picked the bottle I had and held it up to the light, checking for the alcohol content and silently hoping it was light. It wasn't. Ugh, right, well then.
The next card fell…a red Queen! Ha! I'd managed to find myself with a straight. Just my luck. I couldn't lose now, well, not really. The fact they were all red didn't mean much though, they weren't all the same suit. It just made it look pretty though, I guess. One last round of betting went, and I raise the bets even further, taking a risk. Pierre and Elliot looked at each other, nervously, and both folded. Denny never folded, but he himself looked rather put off. Vaughn, of course, remained indifferent with the whole situation. He snorted and grabbed his chips, chucking them in to call my raise, with a few on top to raise it even further. I furrowed my brows, unintentionally losing my poker face for a moment. I called it. For once, both Gannon and Denny fell at the point, leaving just me and Vaughn fighting for the pot of gold. I stared at him, returning the fierce gaze for once. I could never tell what was going on in his head.
"Alright. Reveal your cards." I flipped mine over, revealing my straight. I smirked, triumphant.
Only, he smirked back, twisting his own cards to reveal a black jack, and a red king. I glanced down at them in wonder, taking a while to realise what had just gone down. On the table, lay an ace, a queen, and a ten. He had trumped me. Again.
"Damn! How did you-! Ugh!" I punched the table, rattling everything a bit. I took my bottle and stood, staring down at him. I muttered that I thought mine was prettier, so I should have won it. It didn't count though. "Fine, you win. What do you want?"
He looked up at me, listless. "Nothing."
I frowned, and shook my head vigorously. "No. You can't just pull that? What do you even get out of this? You win half the time, and then you just push your hands back when you're awarded with your winnings. What's up with that!" I took a swig from my bottle, flustered. Denny was looking up at me, eyes wide with surprise, just like the others.
"Nothing. I want nothing. I need nothing." He answered, coldy. I could tell he was mildly irritated now, but that wasn't any different from his usual temperament. I simply mimicked him, and pulled my red bandanna off me head. My brown hair fell down my shoulders, and I turned, bottle in hand.
"I'm going. I need to get some sleep." I huffed, and left the building. They all waved me goodbye, Pierre piping in with a cheery farewell.
No one followed. And I was happy with that. I walked along the beach, my boots sinking into the sand with each step. It didn't make it any easier that my head was mildly hazy, both because of the alcohol I had consumed and because I was ticked off. I wasn't angry at anyone in particular, I was just annoyed that I hadn't been given the opportunity to play my part as a man and give away something I worked hard to earn. I should have been happy that he had declined the offer, because it meant I'd have more revenue when I shipped my items away. I just didn't seem to understand why he wasn't a greedy idiot. If you asked me, I thought the whole greed factor would have suited his whole attitude. Finally, I reached firm ground and rushed up the slight slope that lead away from the beach. I took my time walking home, contemplating my abrupt departure with only for a small fear I might trip over my own feet.
Minutes later, I was flicking on the light of my home and chucking the now empty bottle in the trash. I unceremoniously kicked my boots off across the room, leaving them to lay strewn over the floor with a bunch of clothes I needed to wash on the weekend, and went to collapse on my bed. I was tired, mildly drunk, and annoyed. Perfect combination, don't you think? I turned onto my stomach, too tired to even pull the covers over myself, let alone turn the light on. By the time I got to bed, I hadn't given the night much thought at all, apart from the slight uneasiness that came with every night I left. The fear that they might not invite me back for next weeks meeting always caught up with me before I went to bed. Vaughn's 'polite' declines were the least of my worries, and really, by now I couldn't give a damn what he did. I had nothing to do with them. He was just the supplier of my animals, and that's all I thought of him as.
I closed my eyes and exhaled, finding it far easier to drift into sleep that I had first expected it to be.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or any of the Harvest Moon Games. They all belong to Natsume Entertainment, and this is just a fanfic written by a devoted fan of the games.
N/A: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and there should be more to come in the near future. It depends on how much time I can dedicate to writing this. Bye for now!