Okay, I'm sure you all have waited patiently, thanks so much! The cliffhanger last time was a little bit evil, and I hope this chapter makes up for it! ENJOY!

Chapter 5: A Strange Encounter

Chelsea's POV-

"What the heck are you doing here?" I growled at Vaughn.

This was Sean's and my special place, just for us, no one else. "How did you find it? You better have a good explanation, or you're going to get a good smack in the face, Vaughn." I hate him. I hate him! This place was special, and it was only for Sean and me!

Vaughn walked closer to me, and growled, "One, I didn't see any signs that said 'no trespassing,' or 'Chelsea's spot.' Two, I came here because I heard a dog whining, and it sounded like they needed help. Three, if you hit me, I'll hit you right back."

My blood boiled, and I could feel my face grow hot. "This is my place. Get out," I almost screamed the last part, but my voice still contained the threatening growl. "Who says?" Vaughn growled. "I do." I replied. "And why should I listen to you? You're just some stupid little girl who thinks she can run a ranch, and go wherever she wants to. This isn't your place. You don't belong in Sunshine Islands, either."

That did it. My anger boiled, over, and before I could think about it, I punched him in the cheek. Hard. He fell to the ground, and I screamed at him, "You have no right to say that, stupid cowboy! I am going to succeed at running the ranch, and I can go wherever I please. You're the one who doesn't belong at the islands!" Suddenly, Vaughn got up, and before I could dodge it, he punched me back. In the jaw. Hard. I fell to the ground, and almost cried out in pain. My jaw hurt, really badly. But that wasn't going to stop me.

I quickly jumped up and lunged at him, we wrestled on the ground, spitting out words at each other. "You have no right to say that!" Vaughn spat out, as he hit me in the jaw...again. Harder. "I have every right! You don't know what I've been through," I screeched, hitting him in the cheek...again. Harder. "Right back at you, jerk." Vaughn replied. And then, something terrible happened. Something that might just end my life.

Vaughn literally threw me into the pond. And it's a deep pond. And guess what else? I don't like oceans, I don't like lakes, and I don't like ponds.

I can't swim.

Vaughn's POV-

"How did you find it? You better have a good explanation, or you're going to get a good smack in the face, Vaughn." Chelsea growled at me. I didn't think about what I replied, but I growled right back, "One, I didn't see any signs that said 'no trespassing,' or 'Chelsea's spot.' Two, I came here because I heard a dog whining, and it sounded like they needed help. Three, if you hit me, I'll hit you back." "This is my place. Get out," Chelsea threatened, glaring at me. "Who says?" I replied. "I do." Chelsea stated. "And why should I listen to you? You're just some stupid little girl who thinks she can run a ranch, and go wherever she wants to. This isn't your place. You don't belong in Sunshine Islands, either." I blurted the words out. Oops. I didn't mean to be that mean. As I said before, sometimes, it just happens. But I still don't get why Chelsea is reacting this way...

CRACK! Suddenly, I was on the ground, and my cheek was stinging. SHE HIT ME? Oh, she's gonna get it now.

We fought. A lot. And some pretty mean stuff came out of our mouths. And then, I got so mad, I picked Chelsea up, and threw her into the water.

Big mistake.

I expected the pond to be shallow, and I heard Chelsea scream as she went down, "I can't-" But then, the water swallowed her. I stood there a few seconds, panting, waiting for her chestnut hair to pop out of the water. But after several seconds, it didn't.

Wait a second, when she said; "I can't," what was the last word she wanted to put in there? Was it- Oh, crap.

I immediately pulled off my boots, socks, hat, and torso stuff. Whether I liked this girl or not, there was now way I was going to accidentally kill her.

I dove into the pond, expecting that it must be pretty deep. I was right.

Chelsea was at the very bottom; eyes closed, body limp, her hat and sunglasses gone. She wasn't even making an attempt to get back to surface. Yup. She definitely can't swim.

I grabbed her in my arms reluctantly, and swam as fast as I could up to the surface. Gasping for air once I got up, I quickly took Chelsea back to the clearing, laying her down gently.

Her shiny sapphire eyes, however, were still closed, and her chest wasn't moving up and down. My breath caught in my throat when I realized what I had to do. "Oh, crap." I muttered again.

Desperately hoping she would wake up before I had to give her CPR, I leaned down, and pressed my hands against her chest, hard. At least I knew how to do it. Hopefully this will work.

Sure enough, water came out of her mouth after the first few pumps that I did. Finally, she coughed, and my hands rose as I felt her chest rise and fall. She would live.

Chelsea's POV-

"I Can't!" I meant to add, "swim" to the end, but I got in the water too soon for that.

Desperately trying to struggle back to the surface, I hoped maybe there was a slim chance I would live. But when I couldn't get air, those hopes fell. I knew I was going to die.

Giving up my last few thrashes, I let my body fall to the bottom. Just as I let myself slip unconscious though, I felt arms reach around my body. They were strong and rough, but made me feel safe. If I had any air left in my lungs, I would sigh in content. Maybe dying was comfortable?

It was then that I slipped into unconsciousness.

I gasped for air, and my eyes fluttered open. Wait, I'm breathing. Am I alive?

Finally, my vision cleared, and I saw a jaw-length silver haired guy, with no shirt on, and his hair was sopping wet. "V-Vaughn?" I croaked out. He just stared at me, and I sighed. That stupid cowboy must have saved me from drowning. I still hate him, yet I feel...grateful, also. "Are you okay, Chelsea?" He asked, his voice a little gruff, but I could detect the gentleness way deep down. Way, way deep down. It was there, though. "Hmm..." I murmured. I meant to say yes, but I didn't have enough energy to do that. Instead, I weakly nodded my head. "Good," Vaughn replied. He stood up, and walked over to a pile of clothes, that I guessed were his, that were by the pond's shore. Groggily, I got up, and said to Vaughn, "I'm sorry. And...Thanks for saving me." "Just don't make me do it again," Vaughn growled. "As long as you don't throw me in a pond," I retorted, glaring at him. He was fully dressed again, and had his hat back on.

"I'm...sorry I hit you," Vaughn mumbled. "What?" I asked, leaning in a little. "You heard me," Vaughn scoffed. I smiled, and held in a laugh. I walked over to sit by shore of the pond, and Vaughn glared at me, saying, "Uh, didn't you just nearly drown in that thing?" "Yes," I replied. "So?" "So, why are you sitting by it? Do you want to fall in?" Vaughn smugly smiled. "Hey, this pond is special." I replied, heating up a little again.

I knew Vaughn was about to make a retort, but then, we both heard a dog whine in the distance. "So you weren't lying," I mumbled. Vaughn ignored that comment and ran off. I followed him. "What are you doing?" He yelled to me. "Helping," I replied. "You save me, I save the dog, and maybe one day the dog will save you. Then we'll all be even." I heard Vaughn laugh. LAUGH? WHAT?

Finally, we found the poor little dog. It was a Border Collie puppy, and it was lying on the ground, blood spilling out of his paw. Vaughn knelt down next to it, and I followed. "There, there, little guy," He murmured. "We'll have you fixed up in no time." I saw Vaughn pull some bandage out of his pocket. "Uh, why do you have that?" I asked. "In case of emergencies, like this one," Vaughn said while fixing the dog's paw. "What can I do to help?" I asked. Vaughn sighed, and replied, "Stop talking."

So I stayed silent. It was the least I could do, right? Vaughn saved my life, anyway. Maybe this cowboy wasn't so stupid after all...

Vaughn fixed the dog's paw in about five minutes. I was impressed, and also got to see the fluff side of Vaughn. I carried the little guy back to the clearing, where he took a drink from the pond, and then took a nap. Vaughn and I stood silently, watching him for a while, when suddenly I blurted, "Do you think I could keep him?" "Maybe," Vaughn mumbled. "I'll name him...Sean." I smiled at the name. Sean had always like dogs. "Hmm, actually, no. Sean Jr." "Why Sean Jr?" Vaughn asked. "Um, I have a friend, named Sean. He helped me find this place. He's my best friend, and that's why this place is so important to me. It's my special spot, the one place I could escape from my-Sorry, you don't care. It's actually best you don't know." Vaughn stared at me, and I felt a little wetness on my cheek. It was a tear. I quickly looked away, brushing the tear off my cheek.

"You can, uh, tell me, if you want, Chelsea," Vaughn mumbled, shuffling his feet. "No, I'm fine," I replied.

We eventually sat down by Sean Jr, and didn't talk for a while, until Vaughn said, "I'm sorry I invaded." "That's okay," I replied. "If you hadn't, we wouldn't have met Sean Jr!" I laughed, and Vaughn smiled...a little. But it disappeared quickly, to my disappointment. "Could we...start over?" I asked. Vaughn looked confused, and so I said, "Hi, I'm Chelsea Hunter, and I'm going to take over the Ranch on Sunshine Islands. Pleased to meet you." I stuck out my hand, and Vaughn shook it. "Vaughn, the animal dealer." He stated gruffly.

Suddenly, I blurted, "Why are you so anti-social? And why do I feel like you hate me?" Then, I turned scarlet. Stupid, stupid Chelsea, not thinking about what you're saying. What's the matter with you?

Vaughn sighed, and said, "You tell some of your story, I'll tell some of mine." "That's no fair! My story is personal and-Oh, wait, so is yours, probably..." I trailed off. Vaughn nodded, grimacing. "I don't hate you, by the way," Vaughn said. "We started over, remember?" "No, I have short term memory loss," I replied sarcastically.

We sat in silence again. I was surprised when he asked me, "So what are you doing here?" "Uh, Julia and Natalie invited me to have a girl's day," I replied. Vaughn nodded, and I continued, "Just to warn you, Julia invited Natalie and I to spend the night at her house tonight, also." "I should've known," Vaughn scoffed.

We both jumped when Sean Jr. stood up and barked suddenly. I wondered what was wrong, when I saw the real Sean burst out of the forest. "Ch-SAM!" He exclaimed. "I thought I'd find you here. Go. Hide. Brian is back early. Head back to the city and-" Sean broke off abruptly. "What?" I asked. Sean's gaze flickered to Vaughn. "Friend," I stated. Sean relaxed a little, and continued, "Oh no. Your sunglasses are gone. You'll have to avoid Brian, he followed me...It's like he's been stalking me ever since you left. He knows something is up." I heard a voice in the distance yell, "SEAN! Where are you?" "Crap," I muttered. That voice was Brian.

Scooping up Sean Jr. in my arms, I quickly, but shyly, grabbed Vaughn's hand and we both dashed into the bushes. I peeked over the top of them and saw Brian emerging from the forest. Just in time, I thought. "What is-" I put one hand on Vaughn's mouth and one finger to my lips. I then mouthed the word, "Later."

Thankfully, Sean Jr. was quiet. I pulled Vaughn quickly through the forest, running as fast as I possibly could. Darn it, crap, crap. I hope Brian didn't see us. This could end badly.

Finally, I saw my house up ahead. Hiding behind some pine trees that made a "fence" around the yard, Vaughn, Sean Jr., and I rushed back to the heart of the city. Eventually all three of us collapsed on a bench, panting hard.

"What...was...that...about?" Vaughn panted. "Long story...Short..." I started. "My dad...hates me...I...hate him...Personal story..." Vaughn just nodded, and I checked my watch. It said 2:30.

2:30? 2:30? Natalie and Julia must be freaking! Luckily, I was really close to the shoe shop, and maybe they hadn't noticed what time it was, either. "Vaughn, I have to go..." I said. "I'll come with you. We have to get on the same boat back, anyway." Vaughn replied. I smiled at him, and murmured, "Thanks."

I explained to him that Julia and Natalie were hopefully in the shoe store still, and that we had promised to meet about an hour ago.

We finally went inside, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that Julia and Natalie were at the cashier, checking out. The store was HUGE, odds are they got lost or something.

When they turned to leave, Natalie saw Vaughn and me and waved. I gave her a big smiled back, but Vaughn just scowled. I nudged him, and muttered, "You know, you could always start over, too." Vaughn shook his head.

Julia skipped over, but Natalie trailed behind a little. "Hi, Vaughn!" She greeted cheerfully. Then, Julia saw Sean Jr., who was still in my arms, and melted. "AW, who's this little guy?" "Sean Jr.," I replied. "My new puppy." Natalie patted Sean Jr.'s head, and Sean Jr. licked her hand. Natalie giggled, and then said, "Sorry we're kind of late...Julia and I got lost." I laughed, my suspicions being correct. Then, Julia noticed me and her eyes grew wide. "Why are you soaked, Sam?" Vaughn looked from me to Julia, and then probably remembered Sean calling me Sam, and played along. I was about to reply, when he gruffly said, "Sam went for a little 'swim.'" He put air quotations around the word "swim." I nudged him playfully, and retorted, "More like Vaughn threw me in a pond." "Hey, you're the one who-"Hey now, remember that we started over?" I contradicted playfully. "No, I have short term memory loss," Vaughn retorted, rolling his eyes. I laughed, and Vaughn surprisingly half smiled at me.

Julia and Natalie looked at me, to Vaughn, and then back to me. They both looked confused, and so I mouthed the words, "Later." They nodded, and Julia said, "So, uh, shouldn't we get going soon?" "Yeah, this little guy needs to get some sleep," I replied, gesturing to Sean Jr. who was still in my arms. And so with that, Vaughn, Julia, Natalie, and I, walked out of the store.

And maybe this cowboy isn't so stupid after all.

Maybe.

YAY! Did you like it? Please review! Lots of Vaughn in this Chapter...as promised. I like how he really warmed up in that one paragraph towards the end. Sadly though, our stupid but cute, sarcastic, awesome cowboy can't warm up TOO quickly! More drama to come! *WINK*