I am dedicating this story to my great grandma, Mary Taylor. She died 2 days ago (August 27th, 2012). I will miss her.

A/N: Hello all! Guess what today is! It is my 26th birthday! Unfortunally, I have to work tonight, so I cannot go out like I was hoping to. I have also noticed something. Every year around this time, I have at least ten stories posted. This year however, I have posted twelve since my birthday last year. I must be on a roll. This is number thirteen. I almost didn't have a birthday story done. I completely forgot about it. But, luckily, I was working on this after I finished The Winter Festival and I thought this would be appropriate. I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon. Harvest Moon is owned by its respective owners.

Happy Birthday, Chelsea

Chelsea was standing by her rice paddy, smiling slightly at the rice that was growing. Her rice was the best in the world, and everybody wanted to try some. She bent down and gently caressed a leaf on one of her plants. The late spring breeze blew over her and she closed her eyes. Today was her birthday, and so far no one had stopped by to see her.

She glanced down at her watch and noted that it was still fairly early. Denny would be fishing with Lanna, Julia would be helping her mom in their store, and Elliot would be helping his family with their shipping business. Chelsea stood up and stretched, hearing her back crack.

Just as she turning away from the rice paddy, she heard her dog, Kyo, barking about something. Curious, she started toward her ranch. She stopped when she saw that Kyo was barking at Julia. Chelsea smiled as she started toward Julia. Julia was trying to pet Kyo, but Kyo wasn't letting her. Kyo was jumping around Julia, and every time Julia got close, he would move out of reach. Julia looked up and waved at Chelsea.

"Good morning, Chelsea! I came to see you! I have something for you!" Julia said.

Chelsea walked toward Julia, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"What did you bring me?" Chelsea asked.

Julia reached into her bag and pulled out a box wrapped in pink paper. The wrapping paper was the same color as the cherry blossoms that decorated the island.

"Happy birthday, Chelsea!"

Chelsea took the package from Julia and walked toward her house.

"Come on in, Julia," Chelsea said. "I'll make us some tea."

As Julia and Chelsea were walking back toward the house, Chelsea stopped when she saw someone else approaching. She watched the figure draw nearer and when Julia saw who it was, she smirked. Chelsea was a little shocked. In the five years that she lived on this Island, this was the first time Vaughn had come to her ranch voluntarily.

Chelsea felt the heat rise in her face and she glanced over at Julia. She could see a smirk on Julia's face. When Vaughn got closer, he stopped when he saw Julia standing next to Chelsea. A slight blush crept on his face and he walked over to the two girls.

"Good morning, Chelsea," Vaughn said, ignoring the smirk on Julia's face.

"Good morning," Chelsea answered, her face turning even redder.

Silence descended on the trio. After a couple seconds of awkward silence, Julia excused herself and went to wait in Chelsea's house. Another awkward silence formed between the two.

"So, what did you come here for, Vaughn?" Chelsea asked, her face bright red.

"Um, I heard today was your birthday," Vaughn said. "I was wondering if you would go out on a date with me tonight. For your birthday, I mean."

Vaughn's face was very red, and it was hard to tell whose face was redder.

At first, Chelsea didn't know what to say. She had had a crush on Vaughn for quite a while, and having him ask her out on a date was a dream come true to her. After the initial shock, her face split into a wide grin and she nodded.

"I would love to go on a date with you, Vaughn!" she said, happily.

Vaughn's face seemed to visibly relax. And he was actually able to smile a little.

"Good, I will back here to get you at six, then!" Vaughn said.

He turned his back on Chelsea and headed down the hill to the village. Chelsea stood outside for a few more minutes. She was nervous, but then again she was excited. It was her first date with Vaughn. Remembering that Julia was waiting for her in her house, she skipped to the front door and opened it, smiling broadly. Julia was sitting on Chelsea's kitchen table, her legs crossed.

"So, what happened?" Julia asked a smirk still in place.

Chelsea flushed, and she looked anywhere but at her friend.

"Vaughn asked me to go on a date with him," Chelsea said, her face still bright red.

Julia's smirk got wider as she pointed at the box, still in Chelsea's hand.

"You may want to open that then," Julia said.

Chelsea opened the box and saw a blue skirt, the color of the ocean, a new white beaded blouse and a pair of black flats with intricate designs in white and blue beads. Chelsea's eyes widened at the items.

"Wow! Julia! This is amazing. Thank you so much!"

"Don't just thank me. My mom, Natalie and Felicia went in on it, too."

Chelsea picked up the skirt and looked at it closely. It was her size, too. She checked the shirt and the shoes.

"Wow! These are just my size! How did you know?" Chelsea asked a little surprised.

"We just asked Chen. After all, you order your clothes from him, right? He told us," Julia said, crossing her legs. "We were thinking you could wear that tonight on your date."

"Yeah, I may. It's almost like you knew Vaughn was going to ask me out on a date!"

The smirk on Julia's face widened, and Chelsea froze. She looked at the clothes that she had gotten for her birthday and she thought back to the conversation she had with Vaughn. He had said that he had heard it was her birthday. So, that means that someone must've told him, and judging by the smirk on her face, Julia told him.

"Did you happen to tell Vaughn that it was my birthday?" Chelsea asked.

"I may have mentioned it to him last week," Julia said. "But, to be honest with you, I was going to tell him about it. I kind of mentioned that you had never been out for your birthday, and he asked me if I thought you would agree to go out with him. I know you have had a crush on him for five years, and I think he has had a crush on you for a while, too. This was the perfect chance for you two to go out and actually have a date."

Chelsea was quiet for a minute. She couldn't believe how calculating her best friend could be. Chelsea looked back the gift she had received and looked up at Julia, a smile spreading across her face.

"Thank you so much, Julia. I don't know what I would do without you," she said, walking over to her and hugging her.

"What time is Vaughn supposed to come pick you up?" Julia asked.

"He said he would be here at six," Chelsea said, placing the items carefully back into the box and putting them on the shelf in her wardrobe.

"I will be back around that time to help you get ready, then!" Julia said, jumping off the table. "I got to run now. I need to be back in the shop."

Before Chelsea could say another word, Julia was out the door. Chelsea stood staring after her for a couple minutes before she shook her head, smiling. She had the greatest best friend ever. She went around the house and picked up a little, before she headed into town. As she walked through Town, she was stopped by Elliot, Natalie, Felicia, Taro, Gannon, Denny, Lanna and many others. By the time she stumbled into Chen's store, she had so many gifts that Chen had to give her some bags. She also got a gift from him and Charlie.

At about five, Chelsea headed home. As she was getting ready to climb the hill to her ranch, she was stopped by Julia, who was on her way to the ranch as well. Julia helped Chelsea carry her stuff to the house. When they deposited the bags on the table, Julia grabbed Chelsea's hand and pulled her into the bathroom.

"I am going to make you pretty!" Julia said, starting to pull make up from her bag.

For the next forty-five minutes, Julia made Chelsea up so she looked almost unrecognizable. Julia had also fixed Chelsea's hair. It now hung around her shoulders in soft curls. Julia took a step back and looked at her handiwork.

"Vaughn won't be able to keep his eyes off you," Julia said, smiling.

Chelsea stared at herself in the mirror as Julia cleaned up her stuff. She didn't know who the girl in the mirror was, and she was sure Vaughn wouldn't know who she was either. Julia wished Chelsea a happy birthday again, and after winking, she left, leaving Chelsea alone, to finish getting ready. She got the outfit down from the wardrobe shelf and pulled the blouse and skirt on.

She looked at herself in the full length mirror and was surprised how pretty she actually looked. Julia had chosen the right colors that brought out her eyes, but also matched the color of her outfit. She smiled and mentally reminded herself to thank Julia again later. As she admired herself in the mirror, she heard a knock and she jumped slightly.

Chelsea looked toward the door, suddenly feeling very nervous. This was her first date, and it was with the guy she had liked for a long time. Vaughn knocked again, and Chelsea jumped. She slipped her shoes on and opened the door. Vaughn wasn't wearing his normal attire either. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a nice white button up shirt. When he saw what Chelsea was wearing, he just stared at her. Chelsea was fully aware of this, and she could feel a blush creeping onto her face. She gave a little cough and she saw Vaughn shake his head a little.

"You look nice," Chelsea said, her voice just above a whisper.

"Uh, thank you. You look nice, too," Vaughn said, a blush forming on his face as well.

They stood by the door awkwardly for a couple more minutes, before Vaughn spoke again.

"I guess we should get going."

Chelsea nodded and followed Vaughn from her farmhouse toward town. She wondered where they were going for their date. There weren't a lot of places in town to have a date. He surprised her by taking her to the Café where they had a very awkward and semi quiet dinner. They said very few words to each other, and it was mostly due to nerves.

After dinner, Vaughn and Chelsea took a walk to the meadow. They sat by the river and watched the stars. It was very quiet and peaceful.

"Vaughn, can I ask you a question?" Chelsea asked.

"Sure, I guess," Vaughn said, turning to look at her.

"Why did you ask me out tonight?"

Vaughn seemed to freeze up and a small blush creeped onto his face. He tried to change the subject by commenting on the weather. Chelsea sighed and let Vaughn change the subject. Julia had told her that she had somehow set it up, but Chelsea wanted to hear it from Vaughn himself. But, as he rambled on about the weather, Chelsea smiled and closed her eyes. Vaughn had always been a man of few words, so getting him to talk like this was an accomplishment.

Chelsea was so engrossed in the sound of his voice, that she didn't hear him stop talking at first. It took several minutes of silence before Chelsea realized he had stopped. She opened her eyes and turned to look him, only to find that he was watching her intently. Blue eyes met violet, and the faces of the couple turned bright red. They looked away from each other and once again, and awkward silence descended upon them.

"I guess I do owe you an explanation on why I asked you out," Vaughn said after a while.

"Julia said that she told you when my birthday was and you asked her if you thought I would go out with you."

"Well, that is half of it," Vaughn said. "I have been meaning to ask around when your birthday was, because I always seemed to miss it. I heard that it was in Winter, or Fall and even in Summer. I could never get the correct date. I knew you knew my birthday. Every time I would be in town, you would give me a gift. I could never work up the courage to ask you when your birthday was. So, I casually said something to Julia about wanting to get you a gift for your birthday. That's when she told me that it was today. But, I didn't just ask you out as a gift. I asked you out to tell you something else. I don't know how you will react, and I am a little afraid to tell you."

Chelsea waited with bated breath. She waited several seconds, and when he wasn't saying anything, she spoke.

"What's up, Vaughn? You can tell me anything," she said.

"Well, Chelsea," he started, "I like you. I have for a long time. I always admired how hard you worked. I have never heard you complain once about how hard work was. I think I was attracted to that. But, after I got to know you, I realized I was also attracted to your personality and your beauty. Chelsea, I want you to be my girlfriend. I know it will be hard, because I only here two times a week, but I promise I will make those two days I am here count."

Chelsea didn't know what to say. Vaughn had just confessed his love to her. She had always expected she would have to do it. Or she thought that maybe Sabrina would do it first. She must have been quiet for too long, because Vaughn was looking worried.

"Please, say something," he barely whispered.

Chelsea looked over at Vaughn, her blue eyes wide. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Yes, Vaughn," she whispered. "I will be your girlfriend."

They kissed again and stayed outside a bit longer, looking at the stars. By the time Vaughn had dropped her off at her house, it was already two in the morning. Chelsea opened the door to find Julia, curled up on her couch, the blanket from the back of the couch covering her. Chelsea smiled as she went over to watch Julia sleep.

"Thanks, Julia," she whispered before getting ready for bed.

On the table, there was a card from Julia to Chelsea. It read:

'I know how much this date meant to you. I hope it was everything you hoped it would be. I just wish I could have been there to see how everything turned out. I hope you tell me what happened, after all, I feel that I should know. Your welcome, and happy birthday, Chelsea.'

The End

A/N: Well, what did you think? Yeah, Vaughn may have been a bit out of character, but I like him that way. Anyways, like I said above, today is my birthday, and this is this year's birthday story. I don't know what I am going to do next year, we will have to wait and see! Anyways, read and review! Remember, constructive criticism is welcome, but please no flames!