Quick update! :D (kind of...well, quicker than normal...) Annnnddddd...thank you for your reviews! :D
*Looks back at last chapter* Oh, you're right, .xXRuthieCutieXx. , it should be medals. o.O My bad. Now how do I change it? x.x Geez, I feel stupid.
Yes, I know, I chose Rick. I would have chosen Gray, but there were two things against me: 1) I have trouble capturing Gray's personality. Whenever I try, he's either too happy or emo. -.- and 2) It's important for the story! And trust me, you'll be happy I didn't choose Gray...eventually. :)
Still no Cliff in this chapter, but this is a very important chapter! There will be plenty of Cliff next chapter! :D (wow, I just realized that I said chapter 3 times in a row...)
Disclaimer: Harvest Moon is not, and never will be, owned by me.
"Claire! Claire, Claire, Claire!" Ann screamed as she ran up to me, yanking on my arm forcefully.
"Ow! Ann, would you mind not dislocating my shoulder?"
"Claire! This is serious! Something has happened! You need to come with me right now!" Ann begged.
I pulled my arm out of reach of her, and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "This isn't one of your pranks, is it?"
"No! I need you to come with me! I need you to help me!" Ann was close to tears now. This was completely unlike her. What was wrong?
"Ann, calm down, and tell me what happened," I said in a low, calm voice. But Ann didn't calm down, if anything she got more anxious.
"Claire! Come on! We can't wait any longer! We have to help him!" Ann wailed.
"Who's "him"? Ann! Tell me! What's going on? Who are you talking about? What happened?"
"He's in the forest! The forest! And wild dogs, there were wild dogs there! He could be eaten! We have to hurry! Claire, please!" Ann explained to me. She started sobbing, sputtering out random, incoherent words.
"Who is he, Ann?" I demanded, making her look me straight in the eye.
"Jack!"
My jaw dropped open as I stared at her, completely confused. She was worried about Jack? Since when?
"Jack? Seriously? You want me to help Jack? Why should I? He wouldn't help me if I was in trouble!" I defended.
"Claire! Please, I'm begging you! He could die! Forget your past for just right now, forget all of your prejudices! We need to save him!" Ann cried. "Please!"
Why was she so worried about him? I turned around to look at Rick, who was silently listening in on the conversation. He shrugged, which made me sigh in frustration.
"Fine, we'll go," I said reluctantly. Ann brightened up an infinitesimal amount, but it was enough to tell she was happy that I decided to help Jack. "But afterwards, you have some questions to answer."
Ann nodded. "Of course! Of course! Now let's go!"
Ann, Rick, and I ran out of the farm, and into the forest. Ann lead us to a deeper part of the woods, causing me to wonder why they were in this far. Hopefully Ann knew where she was going…
I looked around at the trees and felt a funny sense of déjà vu.
We were walking for a good 15 minutes before we stopped. What we saw was not pretty. Jack was lying on the ground, moaning. His face and hands were covered in blood, and his shirt had blood smears on it along with some holes in the fabric. By the looks of him, he was just barely hanging on to consciousness. I suddenly felt a wave of guilt pass over me. When I was stranded in the forest when I was younger, I had gotten away from the wild dogs, so what had made Jack unlucky enough to not get away? Why was it me that got the lucky break, and not Jack?
Ann and Rick gasped and ran over to him, while I stayed rooted to the spot, watching in horror. Something inside me was preventing me from getting any closer. Not because I was revolted, though. It was something else, but what it was, I didn't know.
I watched as Ann and Rick tried in vain to pick Jack up. Ann looked at me for help. Her eyes were pleading.
"Claire…" she whispered. "Please, I don't care if you hate Jack, I don't care if you never forgive him, just help us save him. Just this once. I'm not asking for anything else, so, please, Claire…"
That tiny wave of guilt that I had felt grew into a large wave, which somehow got me to move my feet and help Ann, Rick, and Jack.
"Geez, how heavy can he be?" Rick groaned under Jack's weight. Ann, Rick and I had agreed that we would all carry Jack together to the Clinic, so his weight would be evenly divided between us. Apparently Rick was a weakling.
"Would you shut up for just one minute? You've been complaining for 10 minutes!" Ann yelled at Rick, she was not in a good mood. Needless to say, Rick clamped his mouth shut for the rest of the way.
After another agonizing 15 minutes, we had arrived at the Clinic, home of the evil Doctor. I pushed the door open, and all four of us stumbled into the air-conditioned building.
"May I help you?" Elli began sweetly, looking up from her papers she was filing. "Oh my! What happened? Doctor! We have an emergency!"
Doctor rushed out of his office at this call. He managed to get Jack from our arms to the hospital bed in a matter of 5 seconds. He shooed us out of the room, and into the waiting room.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Ann whimpered. I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah…about that…why are you so worried about him?" I asked her. Ann avoided my eyes.
"Well, you know…I worry a lot. I don't like it when people are hurt…" Ann said.
"Ann, I know you're lying. Tell the truth," I demanded. Ann moved her mouth, but no sound came out.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you. What was that?" I told her.
Ann took a big breath. "I said-"
But Ann was cut off by Doctor, who came in the waiting room to tell us how Jack was doing.
"Jack is just fine. I attached him to an IV and he is conscious. I will allow you to visit him one at a time," Doctor announced. He stepped back into his office.
"Soo…who's going first?" I started. Rick and Ann exchanged a look and pushed me towards the door to the room Jack was in.
"You are. You need to make amends with him," Ann ordered.
"What?! No way! You can't make me!" I protested, but they prevented me from getting away. I sighed, giving in.
I went into the room, trembling slightly. I saw Jack lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling lazily. He looked over at me when I entered. He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What are you doing here? If I remember correctly, you said you hated me," Jack hissed. I cowered under his angry gaze.
"I…um, wanted to…uh…make sure you were okay?" I made it sound like a question, something I didn't mean to do.
"Oh really," Jack scoffed. "Well, I'm okay, so you can leave now."
But I didn't leave. I don't know why, but I stayed where I was. Jack sent me a confused look, which quickly turned back into his angry expression.
"Why are you still here?" He demanded. I opened my mouth to speak, and the words tumbled out of my mouth. I had no control over what I was saying.
"I'm really sorry, Jack. I shouldn't have held that grudge against you," I babbled. "I still don't know what had made you decide to leave me in the forest, but I should have known you have changed since then."
Jack raised both of his eyebrows in astonishment. "Are you…serious?"
I nodded, and looked down at my feet.
"Actually…I have a confession…" Jack began. I looked up at him expectantly. "The only reason I left you in the forest was because…well, my friends dared me to. I knew if I didn't do what they said they would either stop being my friends or beat me up. You have no idea how scared I was…So I did as they said. When we left you in the forest…I immediately felt guilty. I tried to go in after you, but I couldn't find you. You weren't where we left you. So I went back home."
I listened raptly to his story, surprised that this was what really happened.
"I tried to tell Mom and Dad, but they said that you told them you were over at your friend's house that night. They wouldn't believe me when I said that you were missing. The next day when you didn't come home from the sleepover, they started worrying. I tried to explain to them what happened. They still wouldn't listen. They eventually called the police," He continued. "My friends thought this was hilarious. I didn't think it would go this far…but it did. After a lot of persistence, the police finally listened to my story. I told them that you had gone into the forest. I thought I would get in huge trouble if I told the truth."
I couldn't believe it…Jack was worried about me? He never meant for that to happen? How could I be so cruel? I never gave him one chance to explain himself…I just ignored or yelled at him. I feel horrible now.
"Of course Mom believed my story when I told it to the officer, so she punished you instead of me when we found you. I felt bad about it, but at the time I was still selfish. I didn't want to get punished, so I kept my mouth shut," Jack finished. He wasn't looking at me anymore, but at the wall across the room. I felt tears fill my eyes.
Without realizing what I was doing, I ran over to him and gave him a hug. I cried into his shirt, saying sorry over and over again. Jack awkwardly patted my head. I lifted my head up to look at him.
"I just have one question," I said. "Why did you act the way you did when you came here? Why did you act so cocky and arrogant?"
Jack grimaced. "I honestly don't think you would've listened to me no matter how I acted, so I acted the way that was natural for me. I'm sorry that I acted that way, and I'm also really sorry for ever letting my friends tell me what to do. Will you forgive me, Claire?"
I smiled and wiped my tear stained face with the back of my hand.
"Yes, I forgive you, Jack."
Aww! How sweet! :D So, tell me what you think in your review! Comments, critiques, advice, blah blah blah... You get the picture. :)