"Alright, alright, alright! I'm coming! No need to pound on my door!" Claire shouted at the person practically banging her door down.
Opening her front door, she found none other than Ann. "Oh, it's you Ann." Yawning she continued, "What'd you want?"
"Claire! You know why I'm here!" Ann folded her arms while stepping into Claire's house.
"I do n—wait! It's the festival, right?"
"No, I'm just here to help you around." Ann sarcastically remarked, "Duh! Of course it's the festival! Don't you remember? We made plans? You know, do each other's hair and make-up? I take it that this sort of thing happens to you from time to time—you know forgetting."
"Not always!" Claire protested, "It's just I've been busy clearing my field... more like fighting with it. Honestly, those weeds just don't go away! They keep coming back like they're from another dimension or something..."
Ann snickered, causing Claire to glare at her. "Well let's just get ready for the festival before your brother and Cliff gets here." Ann blushed when she mentioned Cliff.
"Fine. But I am not putting any make-up on—can't stand the stuff."
"That's alright with me: I don't wear much myself anyways."
Claire dragged herself into her bathroom while Ann laid everything out. Done brushing her teeth and bathing, Claire came back out and saw that Ann already had changed into her dress. Ann certainly looked different with a dress on as suppose to her everyday outfit of denim overalls and a yellow t-shirt. Her dress was pink and simple and had a rope as a belt. Claire then eyed the couch and there found a lot of flowers. Those must be the flowers to 'decorate' so to say. Saying that makes me feel like a Christmas tree...
Opening the second bedroom, Claire walked inside and grabbed the dress she was suppose to wear. She had decided that she would use the second bedroom as her closet since there wasn't any to begin with. Holding the dress up, she thought back on how she had obtained it.
"Does Akira want some food? Does she? Does she?" Claire said excitedly.
Akira cocked her head and barked.
"I'll take that as a yes then." Claire stated the obvious.
Opening the kitchen cupboards, she pulled out a can of dog food. She then opened it and poured it in Akira's dog food dish. Just as she placed the food dish down, a knock came from her door. "I wonder who that could be." she mumbled.
When she opened her door, she found Gotz standing there holding a rectangular box. "Why hello Gotz! Please, come in."
"That's quite alright, Claire, but I won't be long." he politely declined her offer, "I have something here for you. You'll need it for the upcoming festival." He handed her the rectangular box. She opened the box and found a beautiful simple pink dress. "That dress there was my wife's... It originally was for my daughter but... I just thought you should have it."
"Oh! Wow... this is beautiful! But Gotz, I can't take this. It wouldn't be right."
"Claire, take it. I want you to have it. You need this more than I do..."
"But-"
"Claire, I insist on it."
"Then... I don't know what to say. Thank you, Gotz!" she thanked him, dumbfounded.
"Your welcome, Claire."
"I'll be sure to take good care of it!"
He smiled at her and slowly left her farm, headed for the forest.
After she slipped into her dress, she exited the room. "Well, then!" The ginger declared, "Let's get to work on our hair!"
Ann decided that Claire would go first. The blonde-haired farmer reluctantly handed over her brush to Ann while muttering under her breath. Claire really wasn't used to the idea of someone brushing or doing her hair for her, especially since she was somewhat overprotected of her long silky blonde hair. I don't even know why I agreed to have Ann over... oh yeeaah! Ann invited herself over... or more like stated that she was coming no matter how much I protested. She really must be a nervous wreck. After all, Cliff mysteriously asked her... which is strange in itself—he barely talks to anyone! I'll have to get the whole story from Ann one day.
"Ow!" Claire cried.
"S-Sorry. It's just you have some tangles."
"Start from the bottom, Ann. Starting at the top will only make the tangles worse." Claire instructed.
Ann obeyed. Before the blonde knew it, Ann was done with her hair... and not just with the brushing. "Finished!" the ginger chirped.
Looking into a mirror located in her living room, Claire gaped her mouth open. Her hair was done up in a braided bun with a couple strands of hair hanging down near her face: simple yet beautiful. "I-I love it, Ann!"
"Glad you do! Now as for my hair-"
"I must confess that I'm not good with hair... that's why you only really see me with my hair down or up in a pony tail."
"That's perfectly fine, Claire. Do you know how to braid? Cause I can teach you."
"And what about your hair-do?"
"Don't worry about it. I can always do my regular braided ponytail."
"But that'll kind of defeat the purpose of doing each other's hair'"
"Claire, I only said that so that I could get my hands on your hair—and your hair is very nice just to let you know."
"Oh Ann, typical Ann... thanks by the way."
"Don't mention it." she brushed it off, "Now this is how you do a braid."
Claire watched closely to what exactly Ann was doing. After Ann had finished, they both looked into the mirror and giggled. Why they giggled—no one knew. Ann then placed flowers in her own hair while Claire placed flowers in hers. After that, they attached the flower garlands onto their dresses. All they needed now was flower bracelets. As soon as they finished, a knock came at the door. "It must be the boys." Claire stated the obvious.
Opening the door, she found her brother and Cliff. "Hey, Clairey!" Andrew chirped.
"You do know I'm not five anymore." Claire remarked, crossing her arms.
"You're my lil' sis! What do you expect? You'll always be my little sis, and no amount of protesting will change that." he smiled.
Claire rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling on the inside. "Oh, by the way, Claire, you look stunning! You both do!" he commented, "Don't you think so, Cliff?"
"Y-y-yes, they d-do." he stuttered, confused by the sudden introduction to the conversation.
"If we're going to get there on time we better go like now!" Ann barged into the conversation.
Exiting the farm, Ann and Cliff walked in front, both blushing furiously—more Ann though, while Claire and Andrew walked behind them. Claire glanced over at her brother and followed his almost-hidden annoyed look which led to Ann and Cliff. Right then and there, Claire knew what was going on in her brother's head... or she had some sort of an idea. She didn't know exactly; all she knew for certain was that her brother wasn't happy about Cliff and Ann being together.
Silence accompanied the trip to Rose Square. When they arrived, the pairs splitted up: Cliff and Ann went to the buffet table since Ann was hungry like usual while Claire and Andrew hanged out with the brother-sister duo, Rick and Popuri.
"Hey Claire! Hey Andrew!" Rick greeted them. Popuri nodded.
"Hey Rick! Hey Popuri!" Andrew said. Claire nodded. "So what's up? How are the chickens?"
"They are doing quite well, though I think Omelet maybe coming down with something..."
"Well if anybody here knows about chickens is you, Rick. She'll be fine."
"Thanks, Andrew." Rick gave a small smile.
The four of them talked some more till the conversation headed towards protecting sisters. "I don't know why Popuri likes Kai; he's..."
"The most annoying? Self-centered? A womanizer?" Andrew tried finishing Rick's description of Kai.
"That and much more. He's dangerous!"
"He is not Rick!" Popuri protested, "He's nice and kind and thoughtful and handsome and... dreamy..." Popuri sighed.
"Who's Kai?" Claire inquired.
"Someone who you're going to stay away from in the summers, as long as I'm around." Andrew stated.
"If I want to hang out with him I can, you know! I can make my own dam decisions!"
"But you don't know what's he like." Rick pointed out.
"Both of you boys don't know what's he like!" Popuri almost shouted, "Come on, Claire, let's go somewhere else." The pink-haired girl grabbed Claire by the hand and dragged her towards Mary and Gray, much to Claire's dismay. Claire would rather argue with her brother than have another encounter with the grumpy blacksmith apprentice.
"Hi Mary! Hi Gray!" Popuri chirped.
Gray grunted.
"Oh!" Mary startled, "Hi, Popuri, and hi... Claire? Right?"
"Yeah... Hi." Claire mumbled. Her eyes started wandering, looking for a savior to save her from this predicament. Her eyes soon locked on to Ann's, pleading for her to help. But what did the ginger do? She waved and winked at Claire. The blonde gave her a menacing glare. She knows I try to avoid all encounters with... Gray... at all costs! Typical Ann...
Now your chance to apologize to him!
I'm ignoring you...
Ah! But saying that you are proves that you really aren't.
Nobody likes a wise-
"Gray, how come you so grumpy looking?" Popuri asked, interrupting Claire's thoughts.
"None of your business..." he muttered, glancing over at Claire.
Ignoring the conversation, Claire looked around again in the hopes of finding someone else to help her. Of course, Ann was out of the question: she was too busy either blushing or eating... that and she already refused to in her own Ann kind of way. She wasn't going back to brother... at least not any time soon, or else she would receive a lecture of whom she could or couldn't hang out with in the summers. She then saw Karen arguing with her father at the buffet table. It's probably about wine. she chuckled to herself. Karen sure loved her wine and drank it whenever she got the chance to, especially on festival days. Wondering where Elli and Trent went, she looked around but then soon saw them sitting on a bench together. For a split second, she swore that she saw Trent gazing on her. Gazing? Just a figment of your imagination, Claire. That's all. she assured herself.
"Claire?"
Claire's focus snapped back to the people whom she was with. "Yeah, Popuri?"
"Don't you agree?" Gray's eyes were fixed on her while Mary fidgeted.
"Ehhhh, on what?" she dumbly asked, not knowing what she was just asked.
"Don't you think Gray's too grumpy all the time?" Popuri repeated.
"I, uh, I can't really, uh, answer that." she tried looking for the right words, "But I, umm, will say this: life ain't all rainbows and puppies; everyone's grumpy from time to time. Whether or not he's grumpy all the time—I can't answer that; I'm not him neither am I a mind reader. But I know if I got yelled at everyday, I would be too. And I'm speaking from experience here... well, not the yelling, but I was grumpy at times, and I hated my job..." she trailed off before she continued, "Excuse me, but I'm going to the buffet table now." She walked away leaving Gray dumbfounded, and Mary and Popuri a bit confused.
I can't believe I just said all that! ...why did I even? I wasn't trying to be nice to Gray or anything. Gah! I hate it when my conscience wins!
You rang?
No, but I hate it when you take over...
And what makes you think I did?
Oh I know you had at least a say!
Claire looked at the array of delicious food. There's so much food here. It had everything—from soups to salads to main dishes to desserts, especially the desserts. There were no shortage of desserts: cupcakes, cookies, cakes—and many, many more. How can this town provide this much food here? ...not like I'm complaining. It's just... whoa! This cake is good! she thought as she took a bite.
Dwelling around the buffet table, Claire looked around not knowing what else to do. She didn't mind being by herself; she didn't really have much to say to anyone anyways other than a hello to those that passed by. But soon she wasn't alone. She glanced to her right and saw none other than her brother. He seemed to materialize out of nowhere. She was expecting him to bring up the fact that he didn't want her to hang out with Kai in the summer, but he didn't. He just stood there, staring straight ahead.
"Andrew?" Claire interrupted the silence between them. She had sensed something.
"Hmm?" he said, still staring ahead.
There was a slight pause before Claire continued, "You like Ann, don't you." she remarked, not looking at him.
"W-What? Me like Ann? Haha..." he laughed nervously, thankful that nobody was around them to hear their conversation, especially Manna; he didn't want her ears to get wind of the conversation that he was having with his sister, "Don't be ridiculous, sis! I can easily choose any of the five available girls here... it doesn't have to be Ann. Besides, Ann isn't my type." he lied.
"Look me straight in the eye and tell me that again." Claire commanded, looking straight at him.
Turning his head to meet Claire's blue eyes, he opened his mouth to repeat what he had said, but he quickly turned away. "I can't..." he mumbled.
"So, you do." He nodded. "How long have you been here?" she asked after a slight pause.
"About four years. Why?"
"And in all that time you never thought of telling Ann?" He went silent which indicated to her that he never did. "You had all that time—all that time to make a move, but you ended up chickening out? To tell you the truth, I'm not surprised... but that doesn't mean I don't feel for you, Andrew... cause... cause I do in a way; I'm not completely heartless..." She paused, "Are you going to tell her?"
"I wasn't planning to now that-"
"Just because she went to this festival with Cliff doesn't mean that they are a couple, you know. And don't forget, she didn't go with him completely alone: you and I were there too."
"Claire, why do you even care?" he asked.
"Cause I'm your sister!"
"Even though-"
"Yes, even though I'm still quite mad at you—but... I'm trying... it's not easy, but I'm trying." She paused a bit, biting her lip, then continued, "Besides, I like Ann: she's a good friend. And... I also think that the two of you would make a cute couple." she gave a small smile.
Andrew blushed. "Then what do you think I should do, oh wise one?" he inquired. She snickered.
"Don't give up; you know Ann a lot longer than Cliff does. Cliff, well, for what I've heard he only arrived recently—I think it was last winter... If you want I could always-"
"No, sis!" he almost shouted, "I don't want you to tell her or interfere! It's not like I wouldn't appreciate it; it's just... I would prefer her to come around on her own accord, with no influence." he lowered his voice.
"Fine. But that doesn't mean I can't talk about you when I have conversations with her—like facts for instance."
"Nothing embarrassing though." he reminded her.
"The more embarrassing the better!" she teased.
Andrew rolled his eyes.
There was a long silence before she broke it again, "What are we suppose to do anyways?" she asked, "I could be doing some farm work instead of mingling or just standing here ..."
"We stand around and mingle until the mayor announces that we can dance. Then at some point, all the girls in the town do a special dance-"
"What? A special dance? Nobody told me this! How am I suppose to do it when I don't even know it?"
"Don't worry, sis. I figured that no one would remember to show you it; so I spoke to the mayor before the festival even started, and he said that it was fine. Though he said that he expects you to next year."
As soon as Claire breathed a sigh of relief, the mayor announced that the dancing could begin. She watched as couples, young and old, began pairing up. Listening to the music, she wished so badly that it was more... fiddlely... if that was even a word. Maybe country or square dance type were better terms. She didn't know. She also didn't know why she was wishing for it either; maybe cause good memories were associated with it. Yeah, it had to be that.
As if someone read her thoughts, Claire soon heard what she wished for. There was only one person who knew what she liked—her brother of course. She looked up at him and gave him a can-we? look. He returned it with a that's-why-it's-playing look. He grabbed her hand and led her to where the others were dancing. "Something simple; not like what we used to do." she requested with a hint of demand.
"Don't worry: I don't want to draw attention either... well, not too too much." he smiled.
And so they danced; danced like they did before only dialed down. Claire didn't know how much she missed it until now. Memories flooded back to her of her brother, but good ones. The times where they would do that sort of thing in front of a crowd or just simply for fun. The times that they did compete were not many though, but that didn't matter to Claire. As long as she was with her brother, that all what mattered back then... It was all what mattered as they were dancing in Rose Square.
The music was no where near on finishing when her dance with her brother came to an end. It wasn't him that broke it off, of course not; it was his idea after all. But someone had interrupted them, and that someone was... Ann.
"Do you mind if I steal your brother from you?" Claire was hesitant a bit; she didn't really wanted to stop, but at the same time she did cause that would mean her brother would get some time with Ann. The ginger saw the slight hesitation from Claire. "Don't worry about Cliff. He's a bit tired which I don't buy: how the hell can one person be tired from one dance? But we were sort of tripping over each other's feet. Haha!" she laughed.
"Alright." Claire finally agreed.
"Sis, you don't have-"
"Yes I do, Andrew." she gave him a thank-you-but-this-is-for-you look. He smiled.
Claire broke away from the two and headed towards the buffet table. She looked over the foods, deciding what she should take. As she selected the foods she wanted, she almost froze when she caught a glimpse of a figure across the table wearing a tanned color outfit. She glanced upward for about a second which baffled her and noticed the blacksmith apprentice staring at her. Or was it glaring. Or was it... gazing? Gazing? No, he can't be—impossible! Most likely glaring... yeah, that has to be it. Though what if gazing? What if it's that—what am I thinking! First I imagine that Trent did, now Gray? I don't even know Trent that much, and Gray? I don't even like him!
You only think you don't; but I know otherwise.
What are you talking about? I. Don't. Like. Him. End of discussion! Yeah, he's good looking and-
See?
Good looks doesn't mean I like the guy. Grant you, good looks helps... but my point is that it's what's inside—that's what counts. I guess you could say it's the personality. And he's a grouch all the time!
Yet you said so yourself that you don't blame him for being that way. He could be quite a pleasant guy underneath the rough exterior, you know; maybe he just has a short temper.
...I hate it when you could—and I stress the word could be right...
Hehe. I try!
Shut up...
After selecting her food and having an inward conversation with herself, she quickly headed towards a bench. It didn't matter what bench to her as long as she was away from the buffet table. Though she thought that someone like maybe a certain blacksmith apprentice was watching her from time to time, but she pushed that thought aside.
She sat on a bench for quite a while till the music got slower, perfect for a romantic dance. She watched as couples started to dance slowly, each gazing into each other's eyes. And that's when she noticed her brother slowly heading towards her. Her heart started to sink at the sight. It wasn't because she didn't want him sitting next to her—she didn't really care whether he did or didn't—but it was the fact that he wasn't the one who was dancing with Ann. And she felt for him.
He sat there beside her, both in silence. If there was a conversation, it was an understood one.
When the music ended, the mayor stood on a platform he had placed and announced that it was time for the girls to do their dance. Everyone, except for the five girls, moved to places where each could watch. Claire and Andrew decided not to move since they had a good view from where they were. Why move from a good place?
While watching the performance, the blonde sighed. The performance wasn't really a long one, but it seemed like one to her. Maybe it was because she was tired; she didn't know. All she knew was going home was a desirable thing.
Everyone clapped when the five girls finished. "Like usual, the girls did an amazing job. Bravo!" the mayor announced, "Everyone may now leave. This festival is now over. Until next year, girls." he bowed and left the square.
Claire glanced over at her brother and found him to be in deep thought. Not wanting to disturb him, she decided to do an adventurous thing: she was going to mingle. She walked over to the crowd and talked with anyone who would listen, whether young or old. But she made sure that she wasn't near Gray and Mary—she didn't want another encounter with him: she already had too many for one day.
The last one whom she talked with was Ann. "Hey, Claire! Did you enjoy the festival?" Ann asked.
"Yeah, it was... eventful. It certainly wasn't anything back in the city." Claire replied.
"Glad you enjoyed it! I knew you would!" Ann chirped, "What's with your brother? He has been acting strange today."
Yeah, cause he really likes you, duh! she thought to herself. "Umm, I don't really know." she lied, "Maybe he's tired or simply didn't know how I would respond to all of this."
"Yeah... Well, me and Cliff are going now." she blushed, "See ya later, Claire!" she waved at Claire as she and Cliff were leaving the square.
"Bye Ann! Bye Cliff!" Claire waved back.
Looking around the square, Claire noticed that the only two people left were herself and her brother. She sighed as she reviewed the events in her head. Looks like Mineral Town is chalk full of drama—my brother liking Ann, but Ann likes Cliff. Cliff... well I haven't a clue who he likes, probably Ann. Then there's Rick and Popuri's disagreement on Kai. Who is that guy anyways? He seems like he comes here only in the summers; and he's someone whom my brother doesn't want me to be around with. Well, I'll make my decision when I meet him.
Her thoughts abruptly stopped when her brother out of nowhere embraced her. This utterly confused her not to mention startled her, but she quickly realized that there was a reason. The reason: Ann. She didn't know what to do. So she did the only logical thing that came to her head: she hugged him back, trying the best she could to comfort him or at least cheer him up.
He then slowly released himself from hugging her. "Sis, I don't know why I'm acting the way I am. I've known Ann for four years, and I've never felt, what I'm feeling now, before. I can't explain it. Maybe it's because of Cliff... though I'm quite sure that's definitely a factor. Or maybe it's because I now have someone here to talk to concerning Ann, even if all you do is just listen."
Claire at that moment had no words. She didn't know what to say. "Don't you have guy roommates whom you can talk to? ...I don't want to sound like I don't want to talk to you cause that's not what I'm saying at all.." she finally said.
"Claire, Cliff is one of my roommates." he pointed out.
"Oops, I sort of forgot, sorry." she laughed lightly, trying to lighten the mood.
That's when it hit her: she knew exactly what would cheer him up. "Andrew, bear with me for one minute."
She then slowly started dancing with her feet a pattern that Andrew had shown her years ago. But she purposely messed up the same steps she had messed up when she first was learning it. "Claire, haven't I taught you anything?" he chuckled, "This is how you do it." He then showed her the proper way of doing it.
They both then went back and forth, doing foot dances; some of them they even made up. By the time they were finished, they were laughing their heads off. "Thanks, sis. I really appreciate the help even though I don't deserve it."
"Andrew, don't worry about it, okay? I have a feeling that Ann will come around."
"Not by your interference, I hope."
"Trust me, Andrew. I won't interfere. But if nothing happens in like ten years, I'm sorry I will." she sternly remarked, trying to sound serious; she failed though.
"I'm sure something would've happened by then." he chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm sure too." she paused. "Hey, why don't you crash at my place for tonight? I do have an extra bedroom for you to use, though some of my clothes will have to be moved. I don't think that you want to spend this night in the same room as your rival..."
"Really? You would do that? ...Thanks, sis."
They both headed out of Rose Square, hands interlocked, towards her farm, unknown to them that the coatless blacksmith apprentice had been watching them since he had realized that he left his coat at the square.
Thanks for reading! Feedback most welcomed!