"Do you need a hand?"
Chelsea looked up at the tanned boy standing in front of her, holding out a calloused hand. Frowning, Chelsea shook her head. She had been sitting in the hollowed bark of the old oak tree that had been on her farmland since the first day she stepped onto it. The farmer couldn't bring herself to get rid of it; it seemed like the perfect place to reflect on life and just think.
"No. I can help myself up perfectly," Chelsea said. Two brown eyebrows disappeared under a purple bandanna as Chelsea stood up.
"You look shaken. Is there something wrong?" Denny asked. Chelsea crossed her arms and looked away.
"Don't pry into my personal life. Besides, even if there was something wrong, I can handle it myself," she huffed. Little did she know, she was lying to herself. Sure, she could have handled rabid cows, carried armloads of turnips (they were actually heavier than they appeared), smashed giant boulders even. But the one thing she couldn't handle was emotional distress; just moments earlier, her boyfriend (or should I say, ex-boyfriend) had dumped her. For what reason, she didn't know. All she knew was, she felt empty inside. She really didn't want that hole in her heart to be filled by Denny of all people.
"Are you sure?" the fisherman pried harder. Chelsea was growing irritated at Denny's lack of going away.
"Yes, I'm sure," she growled.
"You're crying. No-one is okay when they're crying," Denny pointed out. Chelsea sniffled a little.
"It was the rain," she said. "The rain made me look like this. Now go away," she ordered, waving him away with her right hand. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back toward him.
"The rain ended half an hour ago. You're crying. I can see it. Stop denying it," he said shortly. "Now tell me what's happened, and then I'll go away."
Avoiding eye contact with him, Chelsea sighed.
"Fine," she mumbled.
()()()()
"And so, he dumped me. I really don't know why, though... I know he hasn't been seeing any other girls, and I'm absolutely sure I'm not pregnant..." Chelsea muttered, bringing her knees to her chest. Denny had taken the girl's entire story in polite silence. "What could have gone wrong?"
More silence. Chelsea looked at Denny, afraid that he just didn't care about her predicament. However, when she did see him, he looked like he was thinking hard.
"...well, it could be your personality. You tend to be more aggressive and cold, even towards people you've supposedly warmed up to," he mused. Chelsea frowned a little.
"Don't be silly. I'm always polite!" she said, hitting her chest with her hand.
"It's not very polite to throw money at someone fishing on a pier and almost knock them into the ocean," Denny said with a smirk.
"I thought you were homeless!" Chelsea argued, bringing an end to the discussion. After a few moments in awkward silence, they were just staring at the autumn leaves falling down all around them.
"...hey."
"What?"
"Do you still want me to go away?"
Admittedly, Chelsea was a little shocked. Her eyes widened, and she turned to face Denny, who was staring across the river at Harvest Sprite Island; however, she knew that he couldn't see it."Why would I want that?"
"Because a few minutes ago, you were telling me to go away," Denny explained.
"...doesn't mean I meant it," Chelsea mumbled. Denny smiled a warm smile.
"Cool."
Together, the two of them watched the sun disappear over the horizon.
CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE
