Finally! After being busy taking care of the olympics (and I have also forgot to upload this last Easter holiday), I can finally upload another chapter!

Red: The school's unpredictable. I thought that I was going to be busy with homework and other assignments, but it turned out that I had nothing but Chinese homework for the holiday (for science class in my school, it's a very rare event).

Now, the disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon characters!

Harvest Moon – Fateful Encounter

Chapter 6 – A Misunderstanding

The weather was clear that day, the last day of the year. Mark and Chelsea were still standing in the middle of the field, neither of them spoke. The silent winter continued until they heard the sound of a bell from a place far away from there.

"That's the bell from the harbor..." Chelsea started as she and Mark turned to the direction where the bell's sound came from.

"Then it's time for us to go!" Mark pulled Chelsea's hand suddenly, but Chelsea held him back.

"Where?" The brown haired rancher was clueless.

"To see the Year End Festival at the beach together," Mark replied with a smile, but then turned into a frown, "Or... you don't want to?"

"N-No, that's not what I'm going to say..." Chelsea rubbed her right arm nervously, "It's just that... I haven't been out alone with a guy before, so I'm kind of nervous..."

"How about pretending that I'm not with you? Or I could disguise as another person..." Mark spoke out the idea bluntly, getting a playful hit on the shoulder.

"No, that's a bit too much I think..." Chelsea smiled at him, "I'll bear with it, so don't worry about it!"

"Alright then, let's head out!" Mark finally stated before they headed towards the beach.

Once they got to the beach, the whole area was bright from the paper lanterns. The festival wasn't all that grand, but it seemed like the islanders there were enjoying themselves. Near the port, Taro and Felicia had already prepared the special year end noodles.

The festival continued until almost midnight, as they all waited for the final countdown. The people were all by the sea, waiting for the year to change.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Happy New Year!" everyone yelled.

After the countdown, they continued celebrating the new year for about an hour before they pack up and go back home to turn in for the night.

Several days had passed since then, and the islanders had returned to their daily lives. Mark was eager to help Chelsea out again as she got more ranch work in spring. She always expected Mark to knock on her door everyday on the same time, so one day without him coming on time made her somehow curious.

It was 7 in the morning, an hour after Mark's 'door knocking' routine. Chelsea was watering the plants on her own and she felt that she was more tired than when she was working with him. She decided to take a short break and went to the town. Once she got there, the first thing she saw was the sight of Mark and Natalie working together.

He only came for the first three days on that new year and he hadn't come over to help since then. Almost every time she came to the town, she saw that he was with either Natalie or her brother Elliot.

She first thought that it was just a friendly chat or maybe Natalie just needed his help, but as time goes by, she started thinking the other way. Natalie seemed to smile more often than usual, as if enjoying Mark's company as they worked together.

Chelsea started to feel that Mark actually liked working with Natalie better than with her, and Natalie seemed to like having him around her. Chelsea had always been managing her own ranch all by herself before Mark came to the island, but it had changed now. She needed him, not as a co-worker, but as a friend whom she could talk to and spend some time with.

Seeing as Mark and Natalie were enjoying each other's company, Chelsea slowly made her way back to her ranch to finish her work before resting for the rest of the day.

The next day, Chelsea was woken up by the sound of door knocking. After she had checked the time, she was sure of one thing. Mark was here. She expected him to say that he had finished doing something, but what she heard was different from what she had thought.

"Chels, I have a surprise for ya!" Mark eagerly said.

Chelsea was feeling irritated, but she walked over to the door and leaned on it.

"What is it?" Chelsea plainly asked.

"Well... it's hard to speak about it when you're inside and I'm outside. Could you let me in?" Mark waited for a reply, but silence was the only thing he got. "Please?"

"Go away," Chelsea replied coldly, "I'm not in the mood to talk at all and I don't need your help anymore."

Mark was shocked to hear that from her, but he didn't know what he did wrong and how he should make it up to her. He decided to turn away from the door rather than to say anything else that might worsen her mood.

"Okay, I'll leave. Just don't push yourself too hard and collapsed, you hear?" Mark sadly said before he left the ranch.

On the other side of the door, Chelsea could feel that her feeling of anger and sadness mixed up together. She didn't feel that she had the heart to say such things to him, but she actually did. She had said it and she had torn his heart badly.

She couldn't do anything else to stop him from going as she was unsure of what to say to him. She sighed in desperation and decided to do the ranch work for the day to keep her mind off the mistake she had just done.

Meanwhile, Mark was walking back towards the hotel while sadly looking at the ground. He was carrying his rucksack in front of him instead of carrying it on his back.

'Did I do something wrong to her? She usually talks to me when she has some problem, but why doesn't she talk to me like before?' Mark asked himself, before he stopped walking suddenly, 'Is it because it was a private matter that she needed to solve on her own?' Mark paused for a second before he sighed and continued walking towards East Town, where the hotel was.

'Maybe I'll give her the feather later then... Later when she's in a better mood...' Mark went into the hotel and walked straight to his room.

Mark threw his rucksack to the side of his bed before lying down on the bed. He tried drifting off to sleep, still feeling sad and confused at the same time.

'Chelsea... It's been a long time since I saw you, and I never know if this is the real you or not... My father could tell that you'd become a great rancher someday when we first saw you, so I want you to teach me so I can be your equal and even surpass my father...' Mark sadly thought before he finally went to sleep.

The last, the final chapter will be up... some time soon! Sorry, but I can't really say when because school assignments have become quite unpredictable. I'll make sure to upload the final chapter when I have time and when I remember to do it! Please review!