Yay, I'm on a roll! 3 chapters posted since yesterday! Won gets what he deserves in this chapter ;)
I really am getting into writing this story! If I continue at this rate with my updates, I may have this finished by the end of the week, as I have the whole week (and next Monday) off.
Thanks to the three people who have reviewed Two Hearts thus far - egoxlockheart, Phantom Callie and franfranlove.
"Gray, you incompetent fool!" cried my grandfather angrily, "Can you not get a simple thing like this right?"
I glared at my grandfather and gritted my teeth. Goddess, that old man gets on my nerves. I kept my mouth shut to avoid antagonizing the situation any more. I'll just ignore the glares my grandfather is giving me. I hammered at the sickle on the anvil. Sweat was beading on my forehead. Could it get any hotter? I frowned, and turned the sickle over, so that the metal was evenly hammered.
"You're going to slow, boy! At this rate, this tool will never be finished in time for the new farmer's arrival!" roared my grandfather.
"When is he arriving?" I panted, wiping my brow.
"On Monday, so you'd better get a move on," he said, waggling his finger at me.
"You're making me slave this hard for nothing? There's still three more days and there's only one more tool left to make!" I spat angrily. Oh great, he's really going to let me have it now.
"GRAY! You are in no position to tell ME what to do! I've been running this shop for fifty years, so don't you dare tell me what to do! It's not my problem if you're extremely slow and incompetent at this job. You need to buck your ideas up..." he lectured. At this point, I'd stopped listening, and began hammering at the sickle again. I blocked out his voice like I normally do by thinking of something good. Like ... Cliff. Cliff's good. I thought about how cute Cliff looked yesterday when he was snuggled up to me. I smiled, thinking that it's a good job that my face is already red from the work I'm doing, or else I'd be blushing. My grandfather's tone of voice suddenly changed, snapping me out of my daydreams.
"What are you laughing at boy? I'm being serious here!" he bellowed, slamming his hand on the wooden counter next to him.
"Nothing, grandfather," I muttered, mustering up a malicious glare.
"Well it obviously was something considering you weren't paying attention to my advice!" he growled. I heard the door open, but I was too riled up to care who had just walked in.
"Why do you always have to pick at everything?" I complained, slamming the hammer down on the sickle extra hard. Luckily, it didn't break.
"Saibara, can I speak to Gray for a minute?" said a female voice, which I recognized as Ann.
"He's busy now, Ann, come back in an hour and he'll be on his lunch break," he said, a lot calmer already.
"Saibara, it's very urgent," said Ann.
"Ann, it's not like you to come to the blacksmith's, what do you want?" I asked, placing the hammer on the floor next to me. I looked at Ann, and I was alarmed at the frantic look on her face. Ann was NEVER frantic! Something bad must have happened. My eyes widened. What if something has happened to Cliff.
"Gray, you've got to come immediately! It's Cliff, he's hurt!" she cried. I thought my heart had stopped for a second.
"Was it the attacker again?" I said, clutching onto the counter for support.
"Yes, it was ... it was him, and he's hurt Popuri too!" said Ann, already at the door ushering me to come. I followed her, walking over to the door.
"Gray, where do you think you're going?" shouted my grandfather.
"I'm sorry, but I have some other, more IMPORTANT business to attend to," I called, already out of the door.
"Don't bother coming back today then! It's not like you're helpful around here!" I heard his voice call. I snorted. That old man never had anything nice to say about me. I suddenly remembered about my present situation.
"Ann, are they hurt ... badly?" I said, gulping.
"Thankfully, no, I think Popuri's slightly worse off than Cliff. Cliff has a lot of slashes across his arms; he'll just need bandaging up. He's more shook up than Popuri though. The attacker slashed Popuri right across the face, I think she's going to need stitches for it, she's lost quite a lot of blood!" she exclaimed. I felt sick. I had been so judgmental of Popuri all this time, and now she's hurt?
"Gray, we know who the attacker is," said Ann, walking slightly faster.
"Who is it? I'm going to beat the crap out of them," I growled, growing angrier by the second.
"It's Won!" she cried, breaking into a run. I caught up with her, both of us sprinting across Mineral Town. Won? I never expected it to be him, but come to think of it ... he is a bit of a shady character. I growled.
"He's not going to be able to walk upright ever again," I said, looking at Ann.
"Mind if I help you?" she said, grinning at me.
"Did Won get away?" I asked, panting slightly.
"No, Popuri knocked him out cold, with one of your old hammers," replied Ann.
"Thank Goddess I never threw them away then," I said, nodding.
"We have to be quick though! If he comes round before we get there, he might hurt them even more!" cried Ann, suddenly realizing.
"Is he not restrained with anything?" I said worriedly.
"Yes, they've restrained him with a towel, it's all they could find. My dad's keeping an eye on them though, so if Won comes round, he can't try anything," She replied. Thankfully, at that moment, we reached the inn doors, panting. We threw the doors open, and headed straight for the stairs.
"CLIFF! POPURI!" I shouted, running towards the open door.
"Gray, thank Goddess you're here! Cliff and Popuri are really shook up, and we really do need to deal with Won," said Doug, winking at Ann and me as he said that last part.
"Cliff, are you okay?" I said, scooping him up into my arms.
"I'm fine now," he sniffled, snuggling deeper into my chest.
"Let me see your arms, are you badly hurt?" I asked, looking at his arms.
"They're not so bad, just a few cuts, Doug bandaged them up for me," he explained, pulling away slightly lifting his arms up. I suddenly realized that Cliff wasn't the only one who was hurt, and I turned to Popuri, my arms still wrapped around Cliff.
"Popuri, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble over these past few days," I said, hanging my head, "Can you forgive me?"
"Of course I can Gray, you're one of my best friends," she said, smiling sincerely at me.
"How is your face?" I asked, looking at the bloodstained cloth she was holding across the left side of her face and her nose. She lifted the cloth away, and I gasped. It was still bleeding slightly, but not that much any more. It was a pretty deep cut.
"Popuri, I'm sorry to say this but that looks like it will scar," I said.
"That's okay, as long as that brute will never hurt anyone ever again," she replied, glaring hatefully at Won, who was starting to stir. I jumped and let go of Cliff. Won became aware of his surroundings, getting up as fast as he could, clutching his head and groaning.
"You've found me out," he groaned, glancing at each one of us.
"Won, why did you hurt Cliff?" I said, advancing on him, cracking my knuckles. I noticed Cliff and Popuri give each other worried looks out of the corner of my eye. Were they hiding something?
"Because Cliff is a low down, nasty little faggot," spat Won, crinkling his face up in hatred. My eyes widened. Cliff was gay? Why didn't he tell me?
"Even if he does like men that is absolutely NO reason at all to hurt him!" I roared, swinging a punch at Won. I hit him square across the face, and he fell to the floor, trying to scramble away from me. I lost it completely, at that moment, and I flung myself at him, pummelling him into the floor.
"Don't you dare crawl away you coward!" I screamed, each word delivered with a punch to the face.
"Take that, scum!" shouted Ann, kicking him in his ... regions, causing Won to scream in pain. I sniggered at this, slapping him across the face.
"Gray, Ann, as much as Won deserves this, its best Ann and I take him to the Mayor's house so that Harris can take over from here," said Doug, interrupting the fight. Won looked severely beat up now. A couple of his teeth had been knocked out, and his nose looked broken, just like mine. He had a major black eye coming on, and he was clutching his groin in pain.
"You're right, dad. Popuri, come with us, and we'll drop you off at the clinic so that the Doctor and Elli can sort your face out," said Ann, ushering Popuri over to her. Ann grabbed onto Won's left arm, and Doug grabbed his right, so he had no means of escape, and frogmarched him out of the room, Popuri stumbling after them. I looked over at Cliff, and I almost gasped when I noticed the tears falling down his face. I rushed over to him on the bed, and sat myself next to him.
"Cliff, what are you crying about?" I asked him softly.
"Nothing," he said firmly.
"Is it about what Won said?" I asked. Cliff's eyes widened. I must have hit the nail right on the head!
"Cliff, are you gay?" I asked him, looking at him. He pulled the bedcovers over his head, and replied,
"Yes, I am"
My heart leapt. Maybe I do have a chance with him! I pushed this thought out of my head immediately; as the thing Cliff needed the most was comfort. I lifted the bedcovers up, crawling underneath them with him. My heart nearly broke when I looked at him; he looked like he was in pain.
"Cliff, it's not the end of the world. Not everyone views it like Won does. Especially not me," I explained, emphasising the last sentence. Cliff raised his head slightly, looking me in the eyes.
"So you don't hate me?" he whispered. His blue eyes were wide and glossy, and he looked so innocent at that moment, that I was overcome by emotion.
"Oh Cliff," I whispered, cupping his cheeks in my hands, "I could never hate you. Not in a million years,"
Cliff seemed comforted by this, and he smiled at me. I put my forehead against his, my left hand still cupping his cheek. Our noses were brushing against each other, and I was almost tempted to close the gap between our lips, but I somehow managed to refrain.
"Cliff, you're the best friend I could ever ask for," I said, smiling back at him. He smiled even wider, if that was possible, and closed his eyes. I softened when I saw this sight. I love him so much. I'm in love with Cliff, and it feels great! I feel like bouncing around the room, but I don't want to ruin this moment. I also think I'd earn a few strange looks off Cliff if I did!
A/N. This is my longest chapter yet! The next chapter or two may not have as much romancey stuff as the last two, because the next chapter follows Ann and what happens to Won, and the chapter after will probably be a GrayxCliffxAnnxPopuri friendship chapter. The romance will kick in after that though, I assure you :D
