Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.

- - - - - Chapter 3: Hazelnuts and Chestnuts - - - - -

"JULIUS!" I yelled, barging back into the kitchen, only to see that Candace and Julius were no longer in the room.

Luna was following me, directly on my heels, like an excited little puppy-dog. She was giggling, trying to shield the noises away from me, but it didn't matter to me whether or not she was filled with glee and happiness that I was "finally going to come to my senses".

I marched my way through the kitchen, and reached the store front of the shop. Candace had her back towards me and she was crouching over, sticking pins and needles into the dress that she had been working on for me. And much to my pleasure and surprise, Julius was the model.

I stared. I gawked. I laughed.

The fact that this purple-haired man was modeling my dress was enough to make me die of happiness. And the fact that my dress was much too small for his tall body made him appear that much more awkward.

The frilly, peach-colored dress came up to his upper-thigh line and his purple and heart boxers were noticeably visible. I winced at the sight of the bust, which seemed to be nearly stretched to its limit by Juli's chest – but, I guess Candace knew what she was doing… hopefully.

And I could only imagine what Luna was thinking – for she was usually the model since her and I were the exact same size (minus bust and hip, of course). And of course, because she didn't like Juli in the least.

"You look like such a fool!" Luna cried, laughing and pointing. "A cross-dressing transvestite FOOL!"

Candace quickly stood up nervously, hoping to quell the dispute before the two of them before it even began.

But of course, it was much too late.

"HAHAHAHA! Your legs are so hairy! You really are a man! That is so gross!" Luna cried hysterically.

"Shut up! What do you expect?! You dumb, pink midget!" Juli yelled back.

Luna was on the ground now, hitting her small, balled up fists into the floor. She was laughing so hard in fact; she was just trembling down there – amazingly silent.

"C… Can't BREATHE!" Luna gasped out, her laughter continuing. "Oh, oh, my stomach."

"You shouldn't say things like that, Luna…" Candace said, nearly in a whisper.

And then, like clockwork, the door opened, and the bell chimed to signal a new customer's arrival. Everyone shifted their heads to the opening door.

And it was none other than Gill. He was holding a bag of what seemed to be yarn and other sewing necessities – and of course, was here mainly to see Luna.

…

Gill then dropped the bag, letting its entire contents roll pitifully around on the floor.

Juli froze and I watched Luna's face which was growing with anticipation and glee.

"HAHAHAHA!" Gill cried, seeming to mimic Luna's earlier hysteria. "You look like such an imbecile! What on earth are you wearing?!"

It was funny, really. It was rare for Gill to ever break out in hysteric laughter. But he and Luna were really alike – they both shared the same dislike for Juli. And today, was probably one of those days that they logged into their brains as: 'one of the best days of my life'.

I felt a little bad – Juli always did his best to look his tip-top best and the two people who loved teasing him had to be here to witness him in a dress.

Juli slapped his hand to his face and began mumbling. "Never again… Never again… Never. Again."

We (Luna, Candace, Juli, Gill, and I) were all seated comfortably in the living room. Juli was still wearing my dress and was forced to stand – Candace didn't want him ripping any new holes by him sitting.

I sighed. I wished Luna hadn't reminded me about Toby – it was actually the sole reason why I even came to the tailor shop.

"You know, Alice…" Juli said, breaking the silence. "I'm not trying to sound like the bad guy or anything… I'm only telling you this because we're friends… But on my way over here, I did see Toby and Renee holding hands and walking into Sundae Inn this afternoon."

I sighed again.

I don't think the realization that Toby was cheating on me had quite hit me yet.

I needed more. I needed more than that.

Much. More.

The fact that Toby was holding hands with Renee today could have meant anything. Maybe he was just helping her up… or maybe he was just helping her walk because she sprained her foot or something. Maybe she was trying to come onto him and Juli only looked over at the opportune moment before Toby tried to pull her off of him.

Anything. Anything to keep reality from crashing down on me.

I then broke the heavy and awkward silence.

"…Me and Luna hold hands all the time. Chase holds my hand too! Look!" I cried, wrenching Gill's hand away from his lap to lock with mine.

I forced my fingers through the tight crevices between Gill's fingers and held our hands up, for the entire room to see – as if I had just won the Olympic trophy. I was squeezing his hand so hard that my knuckles had turned white.

"Gill and I hold hands too!"

Luna slapped her hand into her face and groaned. Juli and Candace both mimicked a long, sad sigh. Gill tried pathetically to tug his hand free of my grasp without any form of success.

Silence.

"Hate to make everything worse but… I didn't even know you guys were still dating. Toby told me two months ago that you guys broke up," Gill said.

…What? Two months ago?

"Alice…" Luna said softly. I felt her head rest on my shoulder.

My face grew hot and my vision became blurred with unwelcoming tears. I let go of Gill's hand and he withdrew it quickly, massaging it with his other hand.

I buried my face in my hands, out of embarrassment and out of anger. Because I was the only loser on the island that would actually get cheated on.

Because I was the one person on the island who could never be assertive enough and always end up getting walked on. Like some cheap, old carpet. The one person who could never hold onto love – it was always the same. No matter where I went or where I was.

I felt Gill's weight leave the couch and I heard him shuffle his feet out of the room. Two more pairs of footsteps got up and walked out as well – Juli and Candace.

And all that was left was Luna, hugging me tightly as I cried pathetically into her chest.

"They're lying… They're both lying!" I mumbled in between sobs. "Why does Juli always have to kid around like that?! It's not funny! And Gill! That's impossible! Me and Toby never broke up! Toby never even brought up that sort of topic!"

Luna remained silent and continued holding onto me.

"What am I going to do now, Luna? I made such a fool out of myself! I should have known… I knew I should have told him no… I knew it."

…

"She's so much more prettier than me. I don't blame him. If I was him, I'd choose Renee over me too!"

"You know that's not true, Alice… You know everyone thinks you're sweet and pretty."

"Name one person who thinks I'm pretty!"

"I think you're pretty… Way more pretty than Renee!"

"You don't count…"

"Gill and Juli think you're pretty…"

"They both have girl friends. You and Candace. They don't count either. And even if they were single, they still wouldn't count."

"Why?"

"Because. No one but Toby counts."

"Alice…"

Maybe it was because Renee and I both had brown hair and brown eyes… the only difference was her hair and eyes were a much, richer and darker brown. And maybe it was because we were both pale with a perfect complexion. And maybe it was because I was just a new girl in a new place that Toby had the urge to flirt with me because him and Renee were going through a rough time. And maybe… maybe…

I don't even know.

The one thing she had on me was height. And boobs. And hips. And a butt.

So, of course, he would choose her over me.

I couldn't blame Renee anyway… It'd be much easier if she was a nasty, little creature. But of course not. She just had to be little-miss-perfect-without-a-mean-bone-in-her-stinking-perfect-beautiful-sexy-body.

Chestnuts were always better than hazelnuts anyway. Both in taste and appearance. There was no way a dinky, little hazelnut could ever compare to a chestnut.

And that was that.

"Why don't you sleep over tonight, Alice?" Luna asked.

Candace was working away on the dress and Gill was still there; helping Candace to the best of his ability.

I shrugged. "I dunno… What about my farm? And Bella?"

"They'll be fine without you for a couple of hours in the morning. It's not like a tornado's gonna hit and wipe out all your crops and your cow," Luna replied, smiling. "It'll be fun! You haven't slept over in forever!"

I smiled at her weakly and said: "I guess I can."

"Yay!" Luna cried, throwing her arms up in the air.

"I'm gonna go out for a bit though… I'll be right back."

"…Alice, it's 9:30. At night," Juli said, rather seriously. "What on earth do you have to do at 9:30. At night. In the pitch blackness."

I laughed quietly. "Just to take a breather."

Actually, it was because I was more like the fifth wheel. Luna was spending all her time with me instead of with Gill – and he came over with the sole intent of being with her. And even though Candace was always just as happy sewing things, her and Juli were caught up in my stupid, melodramatic relationship issues.

It's nice to have some alone time.

And plus, it kind of hurt being in the room with all of them there. It was selfish and pathetic of me to feel jealous, but it was hard to help. They each had their own perfect relationship and there I was, being broken into the fact that I was being lied to by the one person I thought would never dare hurt me.

- - - - - End: Hazelnuts and Chestnuts - - - - -

Chestnuts are my favorite. They're so yummy. :D

Review loveys!

- Tara