Hello! Welcome to chapter three of In That Moment, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for your reviews, I hope you continue to give me feedback!

Italics- Thoughts/Emphasis

Disclaimer: I do no own Harvest Moon Tale of Two Towns

Chapter Three:

Rainy Afternoons and Unexpected Visits

Lillian walked over to the sink, clutching her dishes after just having finished listening to the weather forecast on the radio. It would be rainy all day today, as she could tell by looking out the window. Rain pelted heavily at the window, and for some reason is was calming to her, like a lullaby. It echoed in her ears, drowning out any other possible noises besides the radio. The radio said tomorrow it would rain in the evening but be sunny in the afternoon and morning.

Lillian had made herself a turnip salad as an early lunch, and was now washing out her bowl, scrubbing it in the sink. Her sleeves were rolled up, her bandages removed in fear of getting them wet. Soap suds floated around her, and she hummed the same tune she had sung the night before under her breath.

The soap stung when it touched her cuts, she winced once, but continued about washing her dishes, paying it no mind. A little soap wouldn't hurt her, and the stinging sensation was almost enjoyable.

Minutes passed by quickly, and soon she had put her dishes away, and threw herself on her bed, the pillow in her face. Lillian was tired, but not enough to sleep. More like she was just emotionally exhausted, she couldn't get what happened with Cam last night out of her mind, and she was dying to know if he had found out her secret or not. Surely, if he had, he would have either told someone or talked to her already... Maybe he was just avoiding her, thinking she was a freak?

Sighing, she walked over to her bed, sitting down on the clean sheets and glancing out the window. The gray clouds in the sky made it seem darker out, though it was only early afternoon, and it was still raining heavily, the rain making a pitter-patter sound on the roof.

She leaned against the headboard of her bed, thoughts consumed by the florist, and what he must think of her. She ran away. He must think you're a coward. She flinched at his touch. He must think you hate him. She cried in front of him. He must think you're pitiful, pathetic. She lied to him. And he already knows you're a huge liar. Really, could it get any worse?

Lillian sighed again as her eyes started to burn. Cam must have an awful opinion of her by now. He must be disgusted, he probably doesn't even want to look at her. He must be repulsed.

A part of her told her that it wasn't fair to speak for him like that, that she didn't know how he felt or what he thought about her or anything like that, but she disregarded it.

And in that moment, it dawned on her that she cared about what Cam thought of her. She shouldn't, she really shouldn't. It would only cause her more heartbreak... But she couldn't help it. She wanted the green-eyed boy to praise her, to encourage her. To smile at her like he did last night.

But he wouldn't smile at her like that ever again after what had happened.

It was that last thought that drove her over the edge, and she made a hasty grab for the wooden box under her pillow. For some reason, the thought of Cam never giving her that smile again, the notion that he would never look at her that way again... It was unbearable. Maybe it was because, even if only for a few hours, she had considered him her friend.

That had to be it.

She scolded herself for being so stupid. She didn't have any friends. She never did, and she never would. People like her didn't have friends. Sliding off the lid, she didn't bother to savor the feeling of cold metal in her hand like she usually did. Facing the wall, Lillian gently held blade over her already marred wrist, the wounds from yesterday still not healed. She was in such pain, and she didn't understand.

She made a cut for the pain, a cut for the memories. Another for yesterday, and one for the day before. She made another for the day her personal hell started, and another for the day she ran away. One after another she made more, after promising herself just one more. She should've known that she could never stop that just one more. Thunder sounded, and she couldn't hear anything around her. Not the rain, not the radio, not even her own sobs.

Her tears had stopped and Lillian was hesitating, holding the blade but trying to stop herself from continuing. If she continued like this, it could become dangerous, and then she might not have enough self-control to stop herself. The thoughts scared her, to think that she might just be unable to stop. What she was doing... It was so addicting, it made her feel so... Good.

The blade was sitting in her palm, her new wounds still uncovered and bleeding. Deciding this was enough for a while, she reached with uncovered arms to grab the box and put away her favorite thing.

And then, the door flew open with a thud, revealing a very wet boy, with piercing green eyes that were swirling with emotions of worry and panic. The boy was clutching a bouquet of different colored wild flowers, a lilac ribbon tying them together, and a blue covered poetry book. A distressed expression was on his face, and he looked... Afraid?

Lillian scrambled around immediately after hearing her door open, cursing herself for not locking it, and thanking the Harvest Goddess herself that she had been sitting facing the wall, with her back to the door. Yanking down her left sleeve, the blade pressed into the palm of her right hand. She turned practically jumped off her bed to greet the intruder.

"Why didn't you answer? I was knocking on your door for five minutes." The intruder in question asked, his hand over his heart, like he was trying to calm it down. He was panting, as if he had just run a marathon across the mountain.

"I... Uh, didn't hear you." Lillian said with a smile, trying to cover up the fact she had been crying minutes before. The words she said were true, she hadn't heard him, and she hoped he would just accept her excuse without arguing with her. "But Cam, what are you doing here?"

Lillian examined her floor, too afraid to look at the boy. She heard a thud, and brought her eyes up to look where Cam had been standing. The boy in question was sitting on the floor, bouquet and book abandoned carelessly next to him as he sat with his hand on his face and his knees to his chest.

Instead of answering, Cam just continued whispering, and Lillian wasn't sure if he was talking to himself, or her, but she listened anyway.

"You gave me a heart attack, you know." He sighed, and there was a hint of relief in his voice. "I was so worried about you, when you didn't answer the door."

Lillian assumed that the florist hadn't seen any of her previous actions, and she thanked the Harvest Goddess again for that before responding.

"I...I'm sorry Cam." Lillian knew she probably sounded like she was trying not to cry, and that's exactly what she was doing. Her eyes were burning, and she didn't know why.

For some reason, she felt this immense... Joy? Is that what it would be called? When Cam told her that he was worried about her. It made her heart swell, and a blush go to her cheeks.

After hearing Lillian's tone, Cam's head snapped up. He stood up, sighing. "Look, uh..." He trailed off, a blush on his cheeks.

Lillian just stared as he sighed again, before walking towards her, a look of determination and something else she couldn't identify in his eyes. Before she could react, he pulled he close, wrapping his arms around her gently as her head pressed against his toned chest.

She gasped, but she couldn't find it in her to break away from him. His shirt was wet and cold, and he himself was soaking with rain, but she couldn't find it in herself to be bothered by this.

Usually she would be scared if someone held her like this, it would remind her too much of them. She briefly panicked about the possibility of the blood seeping through the fabric of her sleeve and the blade still clutched in her palm tightly, digging into her skin. But Cam's arms were so warm and secure, she couldn't bring herself to think about things like that, and she could hear his heart beating frantically in his chest, and knew her own heart was the same.

Lillian inhaled, smelling flowers and sweet spices from the cafe. And it was so simply... Cam. It smelled better than any flower to her, and she found herself inhaling again, savoring the scent. It comforted her, it made her feel safe.

Cam was beet red, and he struggled to gain control of his words. "I wanted to apologize..." He began, tightening his hold on her. It was almost as if he was trying to stop her from running away. "For yesterday. I'm really sorry, Lillian." He murmured, his blush getting deeper.

They stood there for a minute, Lillian still held tightly in his arms. Silence filled the room, and Lillian was just enjoying listening to Cam's steady heartbeat.

Moments passed like that, neither of them moving. Neither of them saying a single word. And then he whispered another apology, and Lillian shook her head before pushing herself away from his chest.

"There's nothing to be sorry for!" She said, beaming. Lie to him. Protect yourself. Don't let him see how pathetic you are.

Frowning, Cam studied her expression. "That reminds me, how's your arm?"

"My arm?" Lillian asked, the smile immediately falling from her face. "What about my arm?" Please don't let him know. He can't know...

"Well, it was bleeding yesterday, right?" He asked, watching her nervousness grow. "I thought you might've hurt it while you were going home last night." He couldn't bring himself to say 'while you were trying to run away from me'.

Lillian, panicking, started laughing to cover up her nervousness. It was obviously fake, painfully so. "Oh, don't worry about that! I hit it while I was farming earlier, and I guess it must have re-opened the wound when I hit it on a rock in the river."

"Can I see it?" He asked, innocently. "I have minor first-aid training from Laney, so I can make sure it's not infected."

Lillian's heart practically stopped in her chest. He wanted to check? He wanted to see? Didn't he know? Her hands curled into fists, the razor in her palm digging deeper into her flesh.

"No." Her voice was cold, matching her expression. She realized her mask had slipped, she had let her true feelings show, and tried to fix it. "I mean, it's perfectly fine."

"Then why won't you show me?" Cam asked immediately, seeing her cold exterior. He wouldn't let her get away without telling him the truth. He needed to know. He needed to prove that his previous thoughts were wrong. This was the first time in his life he can ever recall not wanting to be right.

"What?" Lillian squeaked, not expecting him to counter her lies like that. She needed to keep up her walls, her defense. She needed to continue to lie to him. So she figured she would do what she usually did in situations like this.

Play dumb.

"I don't know what you mean..." Lillian said with a forced ditsy smile on her face.

The florist sighed, not buying into it. "You know what I mean, don't act like you're stupid. I know you know what I'm talking about, and the more you avoid it, the more suspicious I'll get." He hated talking this much, but it seemed to be necessary in this case.

The farmer just continued to stand there, hands behind her back with a grin still spread across her lips. Cam's large hand went towards her, reaching for her arm. She flinched as Cam's hand came closer to her. Was he going to hit her? She was afraid... So afraid. She didn't want him to be like them too.

But Cam didn't hit her, and he hadn't even thought of doing as such. But upon seeing her reaction, his hand dropped back to his side, and he stood there, helpless. Why did she flinch away like that? Why did she look so afraid? Lillian looked up at him, their height difference showing, and her big lilac-gray eyes shining with tears. How come seeing that pained and scared reaction on her face hurt him so much?

"I, uh..." Cam stuttered, his shyness returning. "Um, well..." He walked towards the door, bending down to pick up the book that had long since been abandoned on the floor. He set it down on the table gently, his pale hand brushing against the cover gently.

With his hand on the doorknob, he opened the door, not even noticing the harsh rain that was already soaking him. And as he stepped out the door, he heard one last whispered phrase.

"Just please... Forget about it. Forget anything ever happened." Cam could hear the pained smile in her voice, and he wondered if the tears had finally escaped from her eyes. He didn't look back to find out.

In that moment, as he walked home while being pelted with cold rain that afternoon, he swore to himself that he would never forget about it.

And he swore he'd never let her forget it either.

To Be Continued

Hope you enjoyed that chapter! I'll update soon, so don't forget to review!