"Elli, please!" I cried, trying to leave Town Hall for the billionth time. "I need to head to the inn to greet the guests! This is very important! As future mayor, I-"

"Yeah, yeah! Future mayor! I know!" Elli said, blocking the door. Again. "But this is more important!" She pushed me back to my desk, shoving me down into my chair. "You need to pick out the perfect invitation card for the surprise party!" She shoved the various cards in my face once again. "Now choose!"

I looked over the cards. One caught my eye. It was a deep blue with stars in the corners. I remembered when she checked out the astrology book. "This one." I said, handing the star card back to Elli. "Why do I have to pick out the card anyway?" I asked, heading for the door once again.

And, once again, with no avail. "Because!" Elli said, blocking the door. "Because…because…..because you're invited to the party! I mean, I thought you'd want to help plan your girlfriend's birthday party."

"She's not my girlfriend!" I yelled, feeling my face heat up. "Why is everyone assuming that!?"

"Well, maybe it's because you like her." Elli said, crossing her arms. She hadn't appreciated being yelled at. She glanced at the clock. "It's noon. You can go now." She headed back to her desk and began to organize paper.

"Thanks, Elli." I said. She looked over at me and I smiled. She smiled back, so I was apparently forgiven. I headed out of Town Hall and went down to the inn. "Chase?" I called out.

"Kitchen!" He called. I walked over to the bar counter to see Chase covered in flour, frosting a three layer cake. "It's Akari's birthday cake. I gotta have it ready for tomorrow's party! Though," he said, critically looking at his work, "until I know the theme, I can't complete it. Elli was supposed to call once she had picked out the invites."

"Stars." I told him, fiddling with a toothpick. "The invites have stars on them because she likes astrology." I put the toothpick down.

"Really? Alright." He said, returning to his cake. "Oh, you're probably here to greet the guests. They headed over to Akari's farm."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, they are here for her birthday, after all." He said, not even looking away from his cake, which he was now frosting in a deep blue. "You should head over there if you're looking for them."

"Thanks." I said, taking my leave. I headed to Akari's farm, which was on the town plot, close to the inn. Sure enough, there she was, with a blonde woman and a silver-haired man. The man was getting a bit too close to her, too. He whispered something to her, and she giggled.

And for some reason, that made me mad.

"Ahem." I said, coming up behind Akari.

"Ah!" She said, jumping closer to the silver-haired man. Which made me even more angry. "Gill! What brings you here?" She smiled.

I glared at the man. "I'm supposed to welcome our guests." I said, not taking my eyes off of him.

He smirked. "Well, then. I'm Skye, and this is Claire." He said, gesturing to the woman, who was busy brushing Akari's cow. "Now, if you don't mind." He was trying to shoo me away!

"Actually," I said, stepping between him and Akari, "I'm supposed to give you a tour of the town."

"That's nice," he said, wrapping an arm around Akari, "but Akari here was nice enough to have already shown us what's what in Waffle Town."

"Well, then," I said, stepping closer, "I guess I should show you around the rest of the island." When things were about to get out of hand (and I've seen enough arguments between Luna and Julius to know when that was), the blonde woman stepped in.

"Nice to meet you!" She smiled, offering her hand. "I'm Claire. Pleased to meet you!"

Well, at least someone around here was civil. "I'm Gill. It's nice to meet you, too." I shook her hand, and, now calm, I returned my attention to Skye.

"Oh! That reminds me!" She said, running off towards town. "Akari, I'll be right back!" She called over her shoulder, nearly running into a tree in the process.

Once she left, there was an awkward silence between the three of us. "Um, I think I'll go get some snacks." Akari said, walking towards her house. Well, walking, sprinting, the point is, she left me only. With Skye.

"So," he said, one hand on his hip, "I'll just come right out and ask. What's your relationship with Akari?"

I was taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained my composure. "What are you talking about?" I asked, refusing to look at him.

"Well, you obviously don't like me, and since I've never met you before, I'm assuming it's because of how close I am with Akari." He smirked and had this look on his face that made me want to punch him.

"If you must know, we're just friends." I told him curtly.

"That's not what I see." He said, the triumph obvious in his voice. "I think you've got feelings for her."

"I-"

"I'm back!" Akari called, interrupting me. She came out with a tray carrying three plates of red curry, to glasses of tea and a glass of tomato juice. She set it down on her shipping bin. "Here you go! Curry for all, and some tomato juice for Gill!" She smiled, passing everything out to us.

"But, how did you know I liked….?" I asked, a little embarrassed. I'd never told anyone how much I love tomatoes, let alone the farmer girl.

"I've seen you drinking the stuff before!" She said. "Plus, I looked up your favorites in the town list in Town Hall. I needed to know what to get you for your birthday." She mumbled just loud enough for us to hear.

I blushed, quickly stuffing my face with food. I heard Skye chuckle, which only made me blush more. "Thanks for the curry. My favorite." He said. I looked over just in time to see him lean in to kiss her forehead.

That's when it happened. I can't remember how, but somehow, I ended up between them, one hand around Akari, the other one pushing against Skye's chest, just hard enough to keep him back.

"G-Gill?" Akari asked, her voice muffled again my chest. "You can let go of me." I quickly realized the position I was in, and quickly released her.

"Sorry." I said softly. I think it might've been then that I realized I truly loved. But, back then I was still too stubborn to admit it.