A/N: Yes, yes, yes. Once again, here I am to apologize for not updating faster. However, I hope all my cute fluffiness makes up for it! :D AS always, I do not own Harvest Moon and it's associated characters. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter! Don't forget to review! ;) Thank you all!

Sunday, Winter 6th

Amir

5:50pm

I bite my lower lip and continue pacing in my room after glancing at the clock. What time did Llyod say he'd pick me up? Did he ever say a time? What time do people usually have supper around here?

5:51pm

Gods, I am just so freaking nervous. I can't believe he actually agreed to go out for supper with me. I can't believe I even had the courage to ask! I don't know why I said fishing as the second option though. I don't even know how to fish!

5:52pm

Maybe he's not going to come! What if he decided he didn't want anything to do with me? What if he thought I was coming on too strong? Did he even think this was a date? Do I?

5:53pm

I stop in front of the mirror once again and straighten the tie I had bought at the bazaar yesterday. I'd put it on thinking it would help me look less raggedy in my normal clothing. As I forgot to bring any sort of formal wear.

5:54pm

Ugh…I rip the tie off and see if that looks any better. But did I want Llyod to think I didn't care at all? But wasn't this just a casual dinner? I don't want to overdress…

5:55pm

I put the tie back on, and tie it up so that it's snug, a little blew my neck. I critique myself in the mirror and deem myself nearly passable.

5:56pm

I glance back at the clock again. Should I go downstairs and wait in the lobby? Or should I stay here and make Llyod come up to my room? That would be awfully rude…

5:57pm

Gods, I am so nervous. I hope he doesn't ask to shake my hand again, my palms felt pretty damp. I pull on the collar of my shirt. Was it hot in here, or was that just me?

5:58pm

I glance at the clock again. It's almost six o'clock. That's usually when I ate supper. Maybe I should go wait downstairs now...

Before I can overanalyze myself again, I yank the door open and slip outside of my rented room. Carefully I shut the door behind me, and double check that the key is in my pocket. Then I try not to rush down the stairs to the lobby.

I take in a deep breath as I look around and see that Lloyd isn't there yet. It's okay though. I had to be patient.

"Going somewhere?"

The extra-pink maid seems to magically appear in front of me. She was really starting to freak me out. Not only did she talk to me nonstop anytime I was in the lobby, but she even followed me around during the bazaar yesterday! The only time I managed to escape her was when I was talking to Lloyd.

"Actually, yes." I reply to her, keeping my voice calm despite the nerves I was feeling. "One of the villagers is taking me out to dinner tonight."

Her eyes narrow at me, her sweet disposition vanishing for a moment. "Who? It's Anita isn't it? Gods, she already has so many men in her claws, can't she leave some for the rest of us?"

I wince slightly. I think that Anita was their new farmer. I'd asked her for directions to Lloyd's stand yesterday at the bazaar. She seemed like a nice girl.

I shake my head. "No, Lloyd is." I feel my heart skip a beat when I actually admit that out loud. What was happening to me? First the shock, then the nerves, and now this!

"Lloyd?" Daisy looks shock for a moment, but then she waves her hand and brushes it off like nothing. "Maybe you can convince him to get Anita to back off Angelo for me."

"How would he be able to do that?" I ask her, genuinely puzzled. "It's impossible to control another's will when they don't wish it."

"Well, they're going out silly." Daisy giggles; waving her hand again like it was a frivolous toy.

"They are?" I question out loud, feeling my heart sink into the pit of my stomach.

"Well, not officially, no. But they're always hanging out and always at each other's houses. I know they're falling for each other."

"Is that so…?" I ask her, barely even listening now. How could this happen? Why would Llyod agree to dinner with me if he was with someone already?

Because… A voice in my head whispers. He doesn't see this as a date. That's just you. You're setting yourself up for failure.

That's true…I know nothing behind Lloyd's reason for accepting my invitation. Maybe he just felt bad for not shaking my hand the other day, and this was a way to get him off the hook.

"Excuse me." I stop Daisy in the middle of whatever she was saying, before rushing off to the bathroom.

I slam the door shut and lock it for safe measure. Then I drop to my knees and hurl into the open toilet seat.

"Ugh…" I moan; my stomach in instant protest. I rest my cheek on the rim of the toilet seat as I catch my breath. This was not how I imagined tonight going.

I hear a knock on the door. "Hang on a moment, please." I manage to croak out as I stand on shaky legs. Using the faucet, I splash my face with some water, and then cup some water in my hands to drink; in order to get rid of the foul taste in my mouth.

I open the door. "Sorry about- Lloyd!" I nearly stagger back into the bathroom when I see his face nearly directly in front of mine.

"Whoa, Amir." His eyebrows crease in worry as he slides his gasses back up his nose. "You don't look too good."

I have to look down at the ground to avoid looking into those beautiful amethyst eyes. If I did, I had the feeling I might hurl again. "I don't feel too good…"

He catch me by the arm when I nearly fall, helping me back to my feet. "You're in no condition to be up and walking around town."

He hoists me up as I try and walk on weak legs. Then, he puts his arm around my waist and slings my arm over his shoulder; the way they do in movies when someone is sick.

I can feel my heart pounding in my ears, distorting the world around me as I feel his arm, firm and steady, around me. I don't know if I wanted to be sick or collapse in happiness. Collapsing sounds good either way.

"Amir." Lloyd speaks my name and catches my attention. "Where's your room?"

I look up and point at the door at the end of the hallway. As he practically carries me down the hall, I fumble with my robes to grab the key.

Lloyd takes the key from my sweaty hands and unlocks the door, bumping it further open with his hip as he helps me inside.

He leads me toward the queen size bed, and I plop down on it, groaning in agony as my stomach protests at me. It wasn't like me to hate a lady, but stupid Daisy for making me sick!

"You eat something bad for lunch?" Lloyd asks me, as I turn so my back is flat on the bed.

"I think I just caught something." I moan. "A bug….or something…"

"Either way, you really shouldn't go out in the cold like that. It'll only make you more sick." Lloyd looks down on me in concern before placing the back of his hand on my forehead.

My eyes shut instantly at his touch. Gods, his hand was so soft, and it felt so good against my skin.

"Well, you're a little warm, but you're not burning with a fever or anything." Lloyd takes a good look at me, and I feel my face flush as if I was being examined. "You'll probably cool off if you take off some clothes."

If he didn't think I had a fever before, he probably did now. I could feel my face heating up; so it was probably as red as a tomato now. Thankfully, he wasn't looking.

"I'll be right back." He calls out, and then slips out of the room.

I let out a deep breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I was going to have to ask Lloyd about Anita when he got back. I couldn't live with what Daisy told me. And if what she told me is true…well, I'll deal with that when the time comes.

In the mean time, I was hot. So I sit up, and remove my shirt and tie; leaving my chest bare. I glance around the room nervously, afraid that someone might be spying. But that was ridiculous.

All the same, I slide down under the covers, pulling them over my chest and folding my arms over them.

"Knock knock." I hear Lloyd's voice as the door opens slowly, revealing him carrying a tray with two bowls of soup.

"What's this?" I ask him, forgetting for a moment about my bare chest and sitting upright in bed.

His eyes flicker up and then instantly back down to the soup. "I did say that we'd have dinner didn't I?

Lloyd sets the tray down on the bed, right over where my knees are, and then walks to the other side of the room to pull away a chair from the desk. He brings the chair back to the bed and then sits down in it.

"It's chicken noodle soup." He tells me softly. "It's supposed to be good for your immune system if you're fighting off a cold."

He looks up at me and gives me a small smile as he picks up one of the bowls and a spoon. "You don't have to eat much if you feel like you're going to hurl, but it would be good to get some food into you."

I can't help but smile back at him and grab some soup. This guy was amazing. No questions asked, he just comes and helps me out when I'm feeling sick. I wasn't even really sick, and still, here he was. I shake my head in disbelief and begin to eat.

"Thank you." I whisper out in between spoonfuls, suddenly ravenous.

Lloyd smiles. "Well, it's the least I can do after you paid me that huge amount of money yesterday."

I place my spoon back in the bowl, letting it sit there amongst the noodles and soggy pieces of chicken. "Is that what this is? Just a way to pay me back?"

He frowns. "No, of course not. Whatever makes you think that?"

I pickup my spoon and begin to shovel soup into my mouth to prevent myself from being able to talk.

"Amir." Lloyd's voice holds just a certain amount of danger in it.

I swallow my soup forcefully. "Daisy told me about you and Anita."

Lloyd looks taken aback. "What about me and Anita?"

"That you were a…couple." My voice goes really soft at the end, even as I try not to.

I catch him suppress an involuntary shudder. "No, Anita and I are just friends. I had a hunch it was Daisy starting those rumors."

He sighs and shakes his head, then takes another sip of soup. Then he continues. "Daisy strongly dislikes Anita because she likes Angelo. This is the guy whom Daisy fancies."

I raise an eyebrow at him, and he laughs. "Anita rants to me about her. She's my best friend here." He shudders. "But I would never ever go out with her."

I feel like I just had a tremendous weight lifted from my heart. Instantly I felt one hundred times better.

Lloyd tilts his head at me. "But that doesn't explain why that would make you sick."

He glances at me again, and I see a faint blush appear on his cheeks below his glasses. I glance down and realize that I didn't have my shirt on; I'd completely forgot!

I lunge towards my shirt on the ground, and quickly yank it on over my head.

Lloyd's face is still a little bit red when I return my composure. "Unless…"

I take a small sip of soup.

"Unless…unless you're like me…" he whispers the words, but I catch them and it makes my heart jump.

"And what are you like..?" I ask him carefully.

He swallows and I have to tear my eyes away from his Adam's apple to look at his face. His brilliant amethyst eyes seem to stare right into me.

"I have to go." He says abruptly, and gets to his feet.

"Lloyd, wait!" Desperately, I lean forward and manage to grab his wrist, knocking over my bowl of soup in the process.

He looks back at me, down at our hands and then his eyes flit about the room, as if frightened that someone may discover him. As if he was hiding some big horrible secret.

His hand tightens into a fist, and he shakes my hand off. "I really need to go."

And then I'm left alone, soup all over my lap, my mouth agape and a ringing question in my ears.

"What happened?"