Author's Note: Well, I have to say all of your reviews got me back in the mood to continue this story. So, thank you so much for not giving up on it! I'm sorry it's been awhile, but I am really going to try to keep updating. It's my senior year so I have more free time than usual. With that…here we go!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.
Chapter Four
Gill's P.O.V.
I hated summer. The heat was unbearable for me. This is why I was grateful to work indoors, in my nice, air-conditioned office at the Town Hall. While I was busily sorting through land purchases, deeds, and other documents, Elli seemed especially interested in something out side the window.
"I love being able to see that rainbow right outside the office! It really brightens up my day," she sighed. I nodded.
"Yes, it does seem to create a more cheerful atmosphere here, doesn't it?" I had to agree.
"That Axel has really done a lot for the island in just two seasons. I'm so happy he came!" she laughed. I looked away. Axel had indeed contributed a lot to the island, for which I was extremely grateful. He had a lot going for him. "Yeah, he even has the girls eating out of the palm of his hand…" I thought.
It was kind of refreshing to see that I wasn't the only one who wanted to make a change, though.
I really wasn't a stick in the mud. At least, I sure didn't try to be. Being raised by the mayor of the town, I had always had hardworking values instilled in me. Was it really so bad that I enforced them in everything I did? According to everyone else, it was.
Elli interrupted my thoughts by sliding a piece of paper on my desk.
"Speaking of which, he just made a purchase on a piece of land toward the Ginache Mines. Be a dear and take this over for him to sign, would you?" she asked sweetly. I sighed. As much as I didn't want to leave my nice, cool seat, I grabbed it and headed out the door.
Angela's P.O.V.
The thick, summer heat engulfed my skin as I walked out of my chicken coop. It was nearly the afternoon and I was already feeling a day's work. Although I was getting used to wearing baggy clothes all of the time, I felt extremely uncomfortable today. You can imagine the relief on my face when I saw someone running up the road to my farm with a cooler. I squinted to see who it was. The peach hair immediately gave away that it was Chase.
"Hey there! What are you running for in this heat?" I asked him.
He stopped and let himself in the fenced door and panted, "I just cooked a new recipe and I wanted you to try it. BUT- it's cold, so you will have to eat it quick!"
My eyes lit up. "You picked the best day for this, Chase! What am I testing for you?"
He opened the cooler and whipped out a small container with a spoon.
"Mango ice cream!" he said proudly. My mouth started to water. I gladly accepted the dish and ate a spoonful.
"This-this is amazing! It is so refreshing!" I exclaimed. His face was adorable.
"It was nothing… but since you approve, I'll start serving it at the Inn." He smiled.
I beamed and couldn't resist giving him a hug. Baaaaaddd idea.
I gave him a huge squeeze, only to pull away from a beet-red Chase.
"Erm…yeah, so thanks," I tried to make it less awkward.
"Uh…you're welcome. Bye!" With that he turned around and ran as fast as he had come.
"Weird.." I muttered. "You idiot! You can't go around hugging guys like that! What if he felt something??" I scolded myself.
Ordinarily, I would have gone on for another ten minutes or so, but there was delicious ice cream to finish, and too little time before it melted to worry about other things.
After finishing the frozen treat, I soon realized that I hadn't even watered my crops! I let out a loud moan and dragged myself to fill my watering can. In about a half an hour, I felt as exhausted as I did before Chase came.
I was just getting ready to enjoy a nice nap under the shade of my favorite tree, when two more visitors ran along my fence.
"Hey, Axel! Hope you are ready to go wood-chopping like you promised!" I heard Luke yell. My spirits dropped. Why did I promise things I didn't even want to do?
"Why are you sittin' there? Come on, today is our work out day to give you more muscle! Your intense work out starts with cuttin' wood!" Owen explained.
I groaned. I couldn't turn them down , it would be the third time this season. I nodded and began my walk with them towards the forest.
We arrived at a small patch not too far from my farm. I soon recognized it as the plot I bought to grow more crops. Shouldn't I be getting a paper to sign before it was officially mine? I shrugged. At least I would have help clearing out the land.
An hour had past, and Luke and Owen wouldn't let up on me. I had been chopping non-stop (with no help from either one of them), until finally all of the stumps were gone. I caught myself from falling and sat on a rock.
"You had more in you than I thought, Axel! Next week we'll do rocks!" Owen said encouragingly. All I did was cough in response. I was suddenly shoved forward by Luke jumping with both of his hands on my shoulders.
"I have a great idea! Let's go to the hot spring to relax our muscles!" Luke shouted in my ear.
"Yeah! That'll make you feel better, Axel." Owen added. They wouldn't take no for an answer.
My heart picked up pace. There was absolutely no way I could hide myself if I got in that situation. The stress of this thought, along with my physical state, was enough for me to let out a small "eep!" before falling over and being surrounded by darkness.
Gill's P.O.V.
I was strolling up to Axel's ranch, not enjoying the sticky heat one bit, when I heard some shouting in the distance. I disregarded it, since Luke and Owen were always shouting, and proceeded to knock on Axel's door.
When I got no answer after a few minutes, I looked around the farm. It looked like he had done work today, but there was no Axel anywhere. I shook off my fear of something being wrong with him, and curiously wandered over to the shouting in case one of the two dimwits happened to know where he was.
Sure enough, there were Axel, Luke, and Owen. However, Luke and Owen were standing over a slumped over Axel, preparing to seize him by the arms and legs and carry him somewhere. I quickly rushed over to them.
"May I ask what in the world you are doing to him?!" I exclaimed. I was frustrated not only because they looked like goons, but also because they were postponing my work.
"Lay off, Gill! We were just getting ready to go to the hot spring when Axel passed out!" Luke shouted.
I glared. "Well you must have done SOMETHING to make him lose consciousness." I retorted.
"Well, uh- he did look kind of beat after chopping all this wood." Owen admitted. They were still standing there, dangling Axel.
"Why would you make him chop wood on one of the hottest days of the year?! Unlike you two, he does have other work to do!" I don't know why I was so angry at these two. Maybe because they were among those who didn't care about hard work and only cared about having fun. Or maybe I cared about what actually happened to Axel. Only because of the prosperity of the island, of course.
"Well standin' here arguin' isn't going to do anything to help Axel, so we have to take him to Jin's!" Owen finally thought of something reasonable. I sighed and nodded, picking up Axel's things and let them drag him to the Clinic.
Angela's P.O.V.
I opened my eyes and quickly snapped them shut when I saw all of the white around me. Where was I? All I could remember was being with Luke and Owen, and then… I quickly snapped up. I looked down and saw that I was still in my clothes, and exhaled a sigh of relief. When I got a hold of myself, I looked around and saw the three faces of Gill, Luke, and Owen staring at me. Had I passed out?
"Woah, calm down there. You just passed out." Owen explained. I guess I had.
"Yeah, you really scared us!" Luke added.
"I'm sorry! You guys were just trying to help me and I wasn't even strong enough to keep up." I sighed.
Owen chuckled. "Don't be sorry! Gill was right, you have more work to do than we do. We didn't even think about how tired you were." My gaze slowly shifted to Gill, who blushed and crossed his arms.
"I was bringing over your certification for you to sign for your new plot of land. Thankfully, I stumbled upon them flailing you around like a doll," Gill explained, "You shouldn't push yourself like that if you don't feel up to doing something."
I looked down. Great, now he thought I didn't know how to take care of myself.
Wanting to not seem so helpless, I snapped, "I know how to handle myself, thank you."
Gill looked a bit shocked, and even taken aback. I immediately regretted saying that.
"Then maybe you should start acting like you can." He jabbed back, "All I needed was your signature so I may leave." He put a pen and paper beside me. I quickly grabbed it and signed my brother's name, Axel J. Coldwell, and handed it back. He nodded to me and got up and left.
So he hadn't waited for me to wake up because he was worried. Why had I let that get my hopes up?
Having made an uncomfortable atmosphere for Luke and Owen, they quickly said their goodbyes and that they hoped I felt better. I sighed. Just when I was about to let my guard down, Doctor Jin quietly walked through the curtain. I looked up at him and smiled.
"Jin, thank you so much for helping me! I promise you won't see me in here frequently." I tried to joke.
He gave me a half smile. "No worries, however…" He leaned against the wall.
"Would you like to tell me why a nice girl like you is disguising herself as a male?"
Author's Note: End of this chapter! Sorry for the cliffy! I promise the next one will be up soon though. =]
