About two weeks and a half passed by and I was slowly earning more money by working mainly at Souffle Farm, Brownie Ranch, the Fishery, the Tailor's, at Dale's and of course, at Ramsey's. I also planted some crops and usually went fishing around Caramel Falls so I could ship some fish for sell. It was going really great for me! Since my house came with a barn and a a coop, I saved up some money to expand my house even more so I wouldn't feel very cramped up in my new home. But thanks to all the work though, I had completely forgotten what Luke said about making the "ritual" for my welcoming in the Three Musketeers.

And on the day after the Flower Festival on the 17th, I was casually fishing by the waterfall, till I felt a blindfold cover my eyes. I shrieked and some hands began to tickle me, making me laugh, and a voice laughed aloud and I immediately recognized it as Luke's.

"LUKE!" I screamed between the giggles. "What in the name of the Goddess are you doing?"

Luke continued to laugh along with me and said, "Well Akari, we're beginning our ritual to welcome you!"

"And you're kidnapping me because?" I asked as I tried to claw of the cover on my eyes.

"Well, we have a secret place," another loud and playful voice said and my whole body froze recognizing Owen. "It's a secret till you're offically in our group." My whole face to heat up as I felt those really strong gloved hands take me by the shoulder leading me somewhere I had no idea where. Luke was in front of us leading the way, shouting jokes at us for a few minutes until we reached a stop. When we stopped, I felt Owen sit me down on the floor and the warmth of a camp fire in front of me.

The blindfold left my eyes and I looked around the place. It was very damp but its smell was as if it had rained the day before ... I really liked that smell... It reminded me so much of...Owen... Yes, that's his scent. I loved it... My thoughts were brought back to reality when Luke called out to me. "Hey Akari? You ready?"

"Yeah, but where are we?" I asked him.

"Ganache Mine," Owen said smiling. "This is where I go mining. It's full of ores and wonderfuls that you can sell or refine with Mira." I secretly planned to come here another day so I could earn more money and so I could see Owen more often.

"Okay! First we begin with food!" Luke said as he took out two lunch boxes from his bag. I eyed them carefully and asked what was inside them. Luke's eyes got a mischievous look and he said, "Seafood Fried Rice, Buckwheat cocktail, Blueberry juice and boiled spinach with mayonnaise!"

I stared at him. Did he expect me to eat boiled spinach with mayonnaise? Apparently, he did expect me too... "You gotta eat these first," Owen told me. "You need to eat our favorite foods. That way, we know we'll have things in common with you. Luke's favorite food is spinach, obviously. Yeah I know it's gross but Luke and I do have a lot of things in common thanks to this," he finished and grinned at his best friend. I gaped even more at that...dish... I wasn't really a fan of spinach or mayonnaise and seafood... Well, as long as it wasn't squid or octopus I could eat it. I looked at Luke's hopeful face and laughed. I guess I could try eating this new food.

I smiled at him, and brought Luke's favorite closer to me. I looked at it once more, took a deep breath, cut off a respectable amount of it, and ate it. I chewed and chewed and tried not to gag. Finally, I swallowed and opened my eyes. My two friends were grinning at me and I forced myself to smile shakily. Now, Owen pushed his favorite dish to me and I quickly took a piece and and ate it hoping it would make the horrible taste go away. Owen chuckled at me and Luke brought out the drinks.

"If you can drink these, we know we can trust you," Luke said smiling.

"How is that?" I asked.

"Well, to us, if you drink it easily, it shows that you can keep any secrets we'll tell you," Luke explained. "But if you don't, and you spit it out or gag," he continued. "It shows that we can't trust you with any of our secrets!"

"Ah, I see," I said as I got the waterbottle in my hand. I hoped I liked blueberry juice... I lifted the bottle to my mouth, and took a sip. Once the juice flowed in my mouth, I instantly loved it! It was so sweet, very tasty and so juicy! I think I drank half of the bottle and I heard the two boys laughing at me. Shyly, I put down the waterbottle and giggled.

"I see you liked it!" Luke said cheerily. I giggled some more and glanced at Owen. His grey eyes twinkled at me and my face blushed faintly. My angel smiled at me and brought me his drink. But instead of getting it, I hesitated.

"I-I don't drink Owen," I said quietly.

"Oh yeah! I forgot, this cocktail is non-alcoholic," he replied. "Don't worry, this drink's all good."

I stared at the drink still, unsure if I should. "Trust me Akari," Owen added and he gave a smile that melted my heart. "That's what friends do, trust each other..." He continued to smile and he put a hand on my shoulder, comforting me. I felt like fainting once I heard his words... Then I slowly smiled at him and I took the cocktail.I drank it, and realized it wasn't alcoholic and that its taste was very candy like.

"It's great!" I said once I finished my drink. "I loved all this food! Thank you guys!"

Owen and Luke grinned and said anything for a friend. "Well, now you're our third musketeer!" Luke shouted happily. Owen chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. I smiled at them and I was pulled in a bone crushing hug from Luke and Owen at my sides. We all laughed together and began to head out.

Outside of the mine, I asked, "So nobody knows where our secret spot is?"

"Well, yes and no," Owen said laughing and I looked at him puzzled. "Both my uncle and Chloe know, but they don't know we've hung out here at night before." Luke and I laughed till we heard Dale's voice say, "Luke? Where are you!"

"Man! My pops has got to stop worrying about me!" Luke shouted punching his fist in the other one. "I ain't gonna get lost somewhere! I mean, I'm ninteen already for the Goddess' sake! Ugh, sorry you guys! Gotta go now, see ya!" Luke waved goodbye to us and ran to his home.

"I guess, it's just you and me huh Akari?" Owen asked. I nodded my head and my heart started to beat a thousand times faster than normal. "I'll walk you home, come on," he said leading the way to my home.

We began to talk and I was enjoying this very much. Owen made me laugh, made me smile and he made me fall for him even more. I just didn't know what to do... I really really liked him so much already, and I didn't want to rush things with him. I mean, I just met the guy, aboout a week ago and we were still friends! I needed some advice because I was totally clueless! My heart longed to know how he might feel later on about me...

Soon, after all my thinking and talking with him, we had gotten to my house. "Well Akari, I'll leave you here now, it's really late now. I'm sorry," Owen said and looked up at the dark sky above.

"Don't worry about it," I answered smiling. He returned the smile, and before I could open my house door, he put his arms around me and hugged me. I stood there frozen to the spot, but I recovered and quickly returned the hug.

"Thank you for being our friend Akari," Owen said close to my ear. I gave a small shudder and said I was glad to be their friend. "I'm glad you came here Akari... Don't ever leave," he finished.

"I won't. I promise," I told him. He let go of me, smiled making my heart melt again, and waved goodbye and left to his uncle's shop. I went in my house and plopped down on my bed. I sighed happily and began to daydream of Owen... He was just so...perfect for me... I really liked him so much. I had to try my hardest to win his heart someday.

"I promise to love you my guardian angel," I whispered to myself and I slowly fell asleep and into the land of my dreams, hoping my wish to be with my angel someday, would come true...