A/N: Hey, sorry for the wait! This is a lot of fun to write, though :P

I... don't think I have anything to say other than that, so anyway,

thanks for reading! And faving/following and especially reviewing :)

I never got to meet Lillie that night.

I waited a half hour like Raeger told me to, eager to meet someone he spoke so highly of, but shortly after that he got a call from her saying she'd be late.

It wasn't dark out – not even close – but I figured I'd better make my way around town and actually talk to the rest of the people I hadn't met yet before it got too late. Pretty soon everyone would be starting dinner.

So, after Lillie's promise came secondhand from Raeger that we would meet soon, I traveled from the restaurant to the trade depot (apparently there was a new trader in town) to the inn to the contractors' store, and after all that I finally made it back to my own house and bed.

I was just grateful the purse I carried was on the large side, because I got a few little housewarming gifts from the people I visited – and the people I saw along the way.

I could almost tell from the sky what time it was, but for good measure I checked my alarm clock before stepping into the bathroom. It was nearing nine o'clock now. I tried calling Johnny earlier around seven when I remembered Raeger's encouragement, but there was no answer after the first ring, and then I chickened out. It was probably too late to do anything now, especially something as important as that.

Of course, it didn't help that it took nearly a half hour just to get from my farmland to the town, and vice versa.

I sighed as I stepped out of my clothes, and soon the relaxing warmth of bathwater washed away all my stress.

Well, not all of my stress. Not even close, really.

There was no guarantee that Johnny hadn't moved on to another girl yet. He was known to do that, but then again, we weren't technically "together" at that time so maybe that didn't count. He did apologize profusely for months afterwards.

Honestly, all I'd wanted to do since I moved in was call him and make up, and I had my phone hooked up and ready to go and everything. But calling someone went both ways, right? It relied on both parties involved.

I'd left my contact information in his mailbox before coming here, so he very easily could've called me as well.

No matter how much of a pain he was to deal with sometimes, though, I still really did like him, and he was cute and charming enough that I didn't want to get rid of him. And besides, the only person in town who seemed to even remotely like me for real was Raeger. There was no way I'd be a homewrecker and spend more time with him than his girlfriend, though.

There was something to be said about childhood friends, anyway. We probably did know everything there was to know about each other.

Besides, if everything worked out great and Lillie was a nice and fun person like I thought she would be, maybe we could go out on double dates and tear the town up. The way Raeger described her, she really didn't sound any older than us anyway, and Johnny was just a few months younger than me.

I could have a friend to go shopping with, and the boys could stay back and watch sports or whatever. I didn't really know what men did, really. Johnny was practically my only friend after high school ended.

But I was getting ahead of myself. If I acted too anxiously and anticipated everything like this, I would scare everyone off.

Tomorrow was Wednesday, meaning he didn't have to work as long as he was still in the same place. I would give him a call tomorrow.

We were stubborn people, which unfortunately meant that if I didn't step up and do something, we'd go on forever just being bitter towards each other.

…

Hanako might've been described as levelheaded, but she certainly wasn't proving to be this time. I'd been trying and failing to push her out the barn door several times now and she didn't budge. I knew it wouldn't be this way forever, but I was just glad I didn't have any other animals at the moment – who knew how painful they would be to deal with? And I heard alpacas were even worse.

When I stepped outside it was right around seven because I slept in a little. I almost always took care of Hanako at seven after my breakfast but I was running late now and my stomach was paying the price.

…Okay, so maybe I was just procrastinating so I wouldn't actually have to call Johnny.

Deep down, I knew the conversation wouldn't be so bad, and I was definitely overreacting and overthinking everything, but right now on the surface, I was just so incredibly anxious that it was hard to think about anything else.

I heaved a sigh and puffed out my cheeks. Hanako wasn't budging either. She was probably just as stubborn as I was.

"Whatever," I told her, finally just giving up. It didn't bother me if she wanted to stay inside the barn all day – I was just trying to make her more comfy, but fine.

Once I got out of the barn and shut the door, I brushed off the dust and dirt from my clothes. Luckily everything I wore was pretty much rags this early in the morning anyway so it didn't matter much.

Now it was finally time.

My hand hesitated to grab the phone off the hook, but once they did I ended up punching in the numbers I'd memorized by heart five years ago.

I bit my lip in anticipation as the line dragged on for a few. If things turned bad or awkward at all, I would have the lack of breakfast excuse to back me up.

There were a few more dial tones, leading me to believe this was a bad idea after all. Johnny almost never woke up before noon, let alone at seven AM. But maybe, just maybe, if he thought it was me calling, then –

"Hello?"

My heart stopped and I could feel the shakiness in my breath already. It was really Johnny. He didn't sound any different at all – I guess that was a good thing.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Uh, hi."

He paused, like he had to think about who I was first. "Annie?" There was a lot of confusion in his voice.

"Yeah."

"Haven't heard from you in a while." He sighed through his words.

"Yeah."

It sounded like he laughed. "Can't you say anything else? You sound like a broken record."

I smiled and closed my eyes, leaning against the wall where the phone was. I already felt better.

It was funny; it seemed like all my problems lately were both caused and fixed by him.

"So… hey," he trailed quietly. I probably took too long to respond.

"What's up?"

He sighed, and I could just picture him running a hand through his hair like he always did. "I want to see you."

What was good about our relationship was if we were angry at each other, it didn't take us very long at all to resolve it; it was just confronting each other that was the problem. Like I told Raeger, though, we could just pick up right where we left off.

"Me too," I agreed. "Actually, is there any way you could come here soon?" I didn't want to get too excited about everything, especially if it wasn't even going to happen, but I really did like the sound of the double date ideas.

"I think so, yeah."

That made my heart swell a little bit. It was a little pathetic, but I still got butterflies when he invaded my mind.

"I know where the town is," he continued. What a jerk. He always waited for me to make the first move.

"So… tomorrow night?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah, sure. And I got a surprise for you too."

"A surprise?" What did that mean? I knew he wasn't stupid enough to propose to me, so it definitely wasn't that, but it still made me a little uneasy.

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing big."

I nodded. I figured I'd just find out tomorrow.

Even though this kind of thing had happened before (I hadn't ever moved to another town or anything though), I felt extremely relieved that it was so easy to come to a conclusion and fix it. This was probably something I would never experience with anybody other than Johnny.

"Okay," I told him finally.

So we set a date for six PM tomorrow night. We talked a little more, he asked how was life here and all, but my stomach growled and suddenly I didn't feel too grateful for the "excuse." It was kind of weird how I didn't notice how hungry I was until I started feeling faint.

"Hey… Annie."

My breath hitched again. That wasn't a voice I was very familiar with; the only times he used it were when something bad was happening.

I made a noise of affirmation that told him I was listening, because I really couldn't muster up anything else. There was a huge lump in my throat all of the sudden and, even though I knew I was making a mountain out of a molehill here, I couldn't stop myself from worrying.

"I love you."

I clasped my hand over my mouth and nearly fell to the floor, only saved by the phone's cord. It wasn't like we never said stuff like that, but the times we did were so few and far between that I could count them on both hands. We just weren't the flashy sort of couple – which was kind of how I imagined Raeger and Lillie would be.

"I… I love you too." My voice was pretty quiet so I hoped he heard me, but when I heard him snicker on the other side I wanted to reach through and punch him.

"You still get flustered just as easily, huh?"

I wiped my eyes and frowned. "Jo – "

"We've been together how long and you still get all nervous whenever I tell you I love you?"

I didn't need a mirror to know how badly I was blushing now. Why was he doing this? "S-stop it."

We'd only been apart a little over a month and sure, I was worried about him and all, but we'd been separated for much longer than this at a time and he hadn't been nearly this affectionate. The way he was talking now, it made it seem like we hadn't spoken in years.

"I'll see you tomorrow, beautiful," he said in his low voice – he always thought it turned me on but it really didn't. I only giggled at it because it sounded funny.

And right on cue, I giggled like a schoolgirl again at his awkward attempt to sound cool. He did get a free pass because he called me beautiful, though. I nodded. "Yeah, see you."

If this were any other night that we called, there probably would've been the back and forth name-calling as we tried to get the other to hang up first, but it really did feel like it was the first time in a long time we were talking, so that was fine. I heard the dial tone and decided to hang the phone back up on the receiver before I dropped it and broke the cord or something.

I sighed happily for once as I flopped on the couch, reclining my feet on the armrest. My arms went back behind my head to act as cushions and I closed my eyes, completely relishing the moment.

Johnny was mine again, and I was his again. Everything was back to normal.

…

It was around five when I figured I'd better head over to Raeger's to thank him for last night. My chores were all done and I was pretty much just lounging around watching television for the last half hour.

So I told my feet to suck up their aching as I made them take me down the hills to town, passing by several birds and other animals who didn't seem to like me that much. The barn animals didn't like me much when I was eight, either… was it my aura? I didn't get it.

Soon enough, after trekking down the stairway of death, I was lingering outside Raeger's restaurant. It might've been a bad idea coming at this time, being a Wednesday at five, which was normally dinnertime, so maybe it was busy inside.

I stalked around the door for a bit, pressing my ear up against it to see if I could hear any voices, but it was pretty airtight for some reason. I shook out my arms before raising a hand up to the door. He said that customers normally just open the door, right?

Honestly, it would've been so much easier if he just kept the door open at all times…

"Raeger, I – "

After I opened the door, two pairs of eyes met mine. One was Raeger's, the turquoise color peering into me, while the other I didn't recognize. They were still blue, but a much darker hue than Raeger's. I focused on what was around the eyes – the face, hair, clothes, and the like.

This was probably Lillie.

"Sor – "

"Are you Annie?"

The girl's voice who interrupted mine was very gentle, I noticed. She got up out of her chair almost immediately, and I couldn't even tell her to stay put because she was so fast. Her short brown hair almost bounced with her every step, and her whole appearance just reminded me of an idol of some sort. No wonder she was a weathergirl – they had to have the pretty people on TV or else no one would ever watch it.

I just nodded, not really knowing what else to do, and she smiled. As she got up to me, she outstretched her hand as if she expected me to take it.

"It's nice to meet you," she said when I shook it. Her hand was very delicate, almost so much that I felt like a criminal for holding it.

I sneaked a side glance at Raeger, wondering how in the world someone like him could do so well. He didn't seem like a gentle fellow in the slightest. If they were ever romantic, didn't he crush her? The poor girl was like a twig!

Though, I suppose, I really wasn't any different, just like he said. I was right around the same size as her, except I was more what people would call feisty rather than delicate.

Raeger caught me staring at him. "What's up, Annie?"

"Oh," I said suddenly, remembering what I came here for. I smiled apologetically at Lillie. "Sorry. I'm Annie, yeah. It's nice to meet you too."

She nodded. "You should come sit down with us."

I hesitated, and I was pretty sure my face showed it. When I walked in, they seemed like they were engrossed in their own conversation and I just intruded on it. Lillie was sitting in the seat I was last night and Raeger was in his usual spot behind the counter. He had the same stool I saw him in last time.

"N-no, I should probably go. Sorry to ruin your – "

"You can stay," Raeger said. He didn't seem annoyed at all, either, so maybe they really were just casually hanging out.

I probably should've been used to being interrupted from that day, but every time it happened there was an inkling of worry within me, like I shouldn't have been talking in the first place.

I noticed, though, that whenever Raeger interrupted me, and even Lillie, I didn't really feel that. They really were down to earth people – and I wasn't just saying that because Lillie was a meteorologist.

Remembering where I was, I nodded and thanked them, taking a seat on the stool next to Lillie. "Sorry for being so loud. I was just so excited and happy." I laughed awkwardly as they just stared at me. "Thanks for last night, Raeger."

At that, Lillie raised her eyebrows at Raeger. "What?"

Raeger's face nearly paled, and I had to stifle a laugh to keep the atmosphere quiet. He was like a completely different person around Lillie. "Th-that's not… it's not what you think."

Lillie smiled teasingly. "Well, Annie is a very pretty girl, and from what I know already, she's very smart, so I guess I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to sl – "

"Whoa!"

I guess I startled both of them with my outburst because they both looked over at me like I'd just made a pregnancy announcement or something. I cleared my throat after an awkward moment.

"Um… I mean, it's nothing like that. Raeger helped me out with something last night."

She waved her hand, brushing it off. "I know, I was just teasing him." She leaned closer to me, whispering into my ear. "I just think it's cute to see him flustered."

When she backed away and watched for my reaction, I wasn't really sure whether to laugh or not. I'd just met her, and already she was pulling jokes and making fun of her own boyfriend who she'd just pretty much accused of sleeping with me. I always was a horrible judge of character, though, and she didn't seem like she meant any harm, anyway.

I could see why they were together when they looked at each other, though. It was like the two of them were in their own little world where no one else was allowed. I wondered if that was how Johnny and I looked to other people.

"Anyway," Lillie started up again, prying me from my stupid thoughts, "what's this issue? Maybe I can help better than Raeger."

Raeger protested a little behind the counter, making me laugh.

"No, he really did help a lot," I assured her. "I have a friend named Johnny – I guess he's my boyfriend, technically. When I moved here I didn't exactly leave on the best terms with him."

She gave me a somewhat sympathetic look, but before she could say anything I continued. I wasn't really looking for sympathy.

"Anyway, Raeger encouraged me to call him and so I did… It took a few tries but honestly, I did, I promise. We talked for a while and realized that we still had the same feelings, of course, and we actually wanted to meet up so…"

I kept rambling on for another minute or so, and Raeger seemed plenty interested, but Lillie glanced down to her phone every now and again. It made me feel kinda like a chatterbox so I just awkwardly cut myself off, and she got all giddy and turned to Raeger.

I didn't exactly mind so I didn't say anything, but it was pretty rude to ask someone about their problems and then ignore them. Oh, well. She probably had a reason.

"I'm sorry, Annie," she said suddenly. "I honestly didn't mean to ignore you, but I just got a text from my coworkers saying there's a rumor going around the workplace about me."

I raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Raeger with happily. My problem didn't seem so big anymore, and I released my confusion and anger from her ignoring me since she apologized. Anyway, weren't rumors normally bad?

"What's the rumor?" Raeger beat me to the punch.

Lillie picked up her phone, smiling all the while as she read whatever was there. "Apparently my boss is thinking about giving someone a promotion. Someone as in a weatherperson. And hopefully someone as in me."

I smiled genuinely, feeling happy for her. Even if it was just a rumor, maybe soon it would be true.

Raeger didn't look quite so fond of it, though. I looked at him before Lillie could, so I saw his sullen face whereas she saw his half-smile. I thought maybe there was something else going on there, but it wasn't my place to say anything.

"Isn't that great?" Lillie asked him.

He smiled that halfhearted smile again and nodded. She didn't seem to notice, too wrapped up in her anticipation. "I hope you get in; you deserve it."

She nodded and giggled. "I know!"

It felt like they kinda forgot about my presence so I just stayed quiet and twiddled my thumbs. About five minutes passed with me listening awkwardly to their conversation before they took notice of me again.

"Oh, Annie."

I didn't need to look up to know it was Raeger, but I perked up anyway. "Yeah?"

"You said you have a date with your boyfriend tomorrow night, right?"

I felt a tiny shiver run up my spine. I'd almost completely forgotten about that, actually. "Y-yeah, why?"

"Well, how would you feel about a double date?"

My eyes widened. Were we on the same wavelength? I laughed. "That sounds awesome, actually." I glanced over at Lillie for any sort of confirmation, but she had her eyes glued to her phone once more, which kinda stunk. I was really looking forward to chatting with her about this and that, but I guess it couldn't be helped. I'd probably be super excited if I heard a rumor like that, too.

Raeger smiled. "Great. Lillie and I won't intrude on your time tomorrow, but… how about sometime this weekend?"

I nodded. "Sounds good to me. What about…" I looked over at Lillie, unsurprised to find her in the same position.

"Don't worry about her. After tonight she'll be on board for anything."

I hesitantly smiled. "Sure."

So I didn't get my promise to go shopping or anything, but I was hoping that Raeger was right about her being up for anything.

In any case, my first impression of her wasn't very good, and I didn't like that.

~CGA