Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.

- - - - - Chapter 10: Pulsating Life - - - - -

It was finally summer. It was the season of love and freedom; of the beach and the sky… Cicadas chirping and cold ice cream. The moment I awoke that morning, I was filled with a pure and undeniable happiness. I just couldn't stop smiling… It felt like I was tipsy, not drunk, but almost there. I just couldn't bring myself to stop.

Because you know, moments like these are rare for me. I couldn't remember the last time I felt so happy and I wasn't going to let anything spoil this day for me. Things never go continuously perfect and I was determined to make this lucky streak last.

"Is there anything you want to do today?" Chase asked me, grinning.

My grip on his hand tightened and I smiled up at him, shrugging.

He frowned slightly and said: "I'm sure there's something you have in mind. I took the day off to spend the entire day with you; we can't waste it by doing nothing."

I blushed and nodded sheepishly. "Okay… Well…"

"Hm?" He urged patiently.

"I'd like… to go to the beach," I mumbled.

"The beach? Why?" He asked, puzzled. "We see the beach every day."

"Well, yeah… But… Summer's the only season where it's perfect to swim in."

"You wanna go swimming?"

"Y-Yeah…"

He grinned and began chuckling lightly. "If that's what you really wanna do, okay."

I giggled childishly and began grinning ear-to-ear.

"It's cold!" Luna shrieked, covering her tiny body with her arms.

I giggled and continued splashing her with the cold, ocean water.

"But it feels sooo good!" I said, ecstatically.

Originally supposed to be a date only between Chase and I, we decided at the last minute to invite Luna and Candace along – as well as Julius and Gill. And it turned out to be a large bonfire party with tons of food and drinks thanks to Chase.

Chase and Gill were relaxing on the sand, both unbelievably pale and far too skinny that they actually looked like teenage boys. As soon as I saw Chase emerge from his bedroom, wearing his swimming trunks, I realized just how thin he really was – hard to believe for someone that was a chef. And Gill was no better.

Julius was feeding Candace some fish that he had just finished grilling over the fire and he was dressed up in vibrant pink and purple trunks. And much to my (and Luna's) surprise, he was actually pretty well toned. Something I would have never expected…

Whereas Candace was wearing a dull, blue one-piece bathing suit that must have ached Julius to see.

But still, it looked… charming on her to say the least.

Luna was wearing a pink, flower-y bikini that gave Gill a nosebleed (her plan, without a doubt). And as for me, I was wearing a simple black bikini that I had to tie on extra tight so I wouldn't pop and bust out anywhere – Luna just didn't understand what it was like to be fully developed.

I tugged on Luna's hand, dragging her out into the water with me, ignoring her protests and squirms with a large grin. And once I managed to get her out in the water up to her belly, I pushed her and laughed as she fell back.

I actually started to panic a little as I saw Luna wasn't resurfacing, but that worry quickly demolished as she pulled on my leg and dragged me under as well.

An uncomfortable amount of sea water went up my nose which made me immediately begin coughing as I surfaced. I looked over at Luna, eyeing her wide smirk with great disdain.

"I'll get you later when you're least expecting it," I choked out.

"No, you won't," she said, sticking her tongue out at me.

Before I was about to retort, Luna quickly tapped on my shoulder, pointing her slender finger at the shore.

There was Luke with Selena, talking with Chase and Gill. I gulped slightly, wondering what was going on. Luke was grinning and Selena looked… well, she looked angry. What else was new?

But Chase on the other hand looked nothing but annoyed and Gill seemed like he wasn't paying any attention.

"Should we go over?" She asked quietly.

I shrugged. "I dunno…"

"Great, let's go."

I sighed audibly as Luna dragged me out of the water by hand.

As we stepped afoot on the sand, my skin immediately began drying up by the blazing sun. The salt and sand debris left behind was beginning to stick uncomfortably, leading me to rub it all off hastily with my hands.

Afraid to meet eye-to-eye with Luke, I concentrated on Selena and smiled – completely oblivious to Luke's gawking of me in a bikini and his red face.

"Hi!" I said, smiling hesitantly. "W-What are you two up to?"

"We're on a date," Selena responded, eyeing me with poor taste.

I nodded nervously.

Under her stare, I felt myself growing smaller, hating myself for being so intimidated by her.

"W-Would you like to join… us?" I asked meekly, ignoring Luna's widening eyes and growing surprise. "I mean, it's a really nice day to be at the beach and all… And if you two were looking for something… to do or something, you could spend the day with us."

"Sure!" Luke said ecstatically.

I shifted my gaze over to his happy face and felt a guilty little bubble begin erupting in my stomach. My heart sank slightly and I mustered up an equally large smile to give back to him.

"G-Great," I grinned. "Do you um… have anything to change into?"

"I do but not on me," Selena said. "I'm going back to the Inn to change."

"Okay!" I said, feigning delight. "Hurry back!"

Selena quickly took off for the Inn as I waved to her back, as everyone else just watched her leave – surprised with the sudden turn of events.

"What about you, Luke?" Luna asked.

He shook his head, still grinning. "Nah, but I don't mind getting my clothes wet."

And my eyes sudden began bulging out of their sockets as everyone present watched Luke strip down to his boxers, as he carelessly threw his clothes in a messy pile. Luna gave out fits of coughing as her face immediately turned scarlet to match mine.

I was afraid to look over at Chase, knowing full-well that he was pissed. And I was only relieved that the boxers that Luke was wearing had a button and no gaping hole that would uncover his… man parts.

My face only grew hotter as I watched Luke stand before the six of us, happy to be in his boxers. Compared to Chase and Gill, Luke was sporting an attractive six pack that I couldn't tear my eyes away from.

"What are you, an imbecile?" Gill finally said. "What do you think you're doing in your underwear?!"

"I don't want to go all the way home to change…" Luke mumbled, slightly hurt. "What's the difference between swimming trunks and boxers?"

Julius then added, nodding in approval: "He has a point. There really isn't any difference besides the material."

Luke then stood upright, grinning triumphantly.

"Whatever, moron," Gill sneered, hating the fact that Luke was invited to our little shin-dig.

I then hesitantly looked over at Chase who, just like I had predicted, was looking irate and annoyed. He went as far to ignore me and just look off to his right, staring at absolutely nothing of interest.

I slumped my shoulders dejectedly, sighing quietly.

"Let's have some fun!" Luke said ecstatically, as he grabbed me and Luna both by the hand, dragging us into the water.

I gave out a startled squeak as I watched the shore and Chase get smaller.

After an hour or so of play in the water, Luna said she was tired and wanted to relax on the beach. And me, not having quite enough, opted to stay in with Luke. But that meant being alone in the water with Luke and no one else – and I only prayed that someone would join us.

But Selena was busy sun-tanning and Candace was napping on a beach towel with Julius. Chase was busy grilling some food and Gill was busy reading a book.

Great.

"Aw, we can't play Marco Polo anymore," I pouted as I watched Luna hastily retreat back to shore.

Luke then laughed, splashing me with water. "We don't need to play that to have fun."

I smiled at him hesitantly, nodding.

He then waded in closer to me, his golden eyes burning in the summer heat. That look of fierce, undeniable love and passion was etched onto his broad features and I felt myself beginning to give in. He leaned into me slowly and whispered: "I'm sorry about the other day."

My face immediately began to grow hot, and my throat began to run dry. "I-It's okay… You don't have to be sorry."

"But… just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I still don't love you," he added quietly. "And I'm not going to give up."

I blushed furiously at his words as my brain fogged and failed to think of anything worthwhile to say without me sounding like a moron.

"And you look really sexy in that bikini," he added, grinning boyishly.

It was evening, and the sun was beginning to set and mask the ocean in a brilliant show of red, gold, and orange. I was resting on a towel with Chase, as Gill and Luna did together, and Julius and Candace. Selena and Luke were doing their own thing, not really doing much of anything together even though they were supposed to be on a date.

"I want ice cream…" Luna complained quietly. "I'll give whoever money to go get me some."

"I want some too," I pouted, sighing. "Does the General Store sell any?"

A day at the beach was never complete without ice cream.

"They should," Luna responded.

I quickly got up out of Chase's lap and giggled. "I'll go and get everyone some, then! It'll be my treat."

"Aw, Alice, you don't have to do that," Julius spoke up. "I'll pay for it."

I narrowed my eyes over at him and shook my head. "But I want to do something nice for everyone. What flavors do you guys want?"

"Strawberry!" Luna chirped, giggling. "And Gill wants lemon."

"Okay… One strawberry, one lemon. And I want honeydew… And Chase, you want orange, right?" I asked, smiling at him.

He watched me and gave me a small smile, nodding.

"Great! Now, what about you guys?"

"Candace wants chocolate. And I want vanilla," Julius said.

"Strawberry!" Luke called ecstatically.

I nodded, counting all of the flavors on my fingers. "What about you, Selena?"

She looked over at me lazily, and shook her head. "None for me."

I frowned. "But it's my treat…"

She shook her head again. "No thanks, I'm watching my figure."

"O-Okay…"

I then began to double-guess myself.

Maybe I shouldn't get anything either…

"I know what you're thinking Alice," Luke said, shaking his head in disproval. "You don't need to watch your figure either."

I chuckled hesitantly.

The day wouldn't be complete without ice cream, after all.

"I'll come with you!" Luke offered, walking over to my side.

I smiled at him and shook my head. "I'll be fine."

"I know you will be, but don't you want help carrying it back?"

"You don't need to go with her," Chase spoke up, rising up from the towel.

Not wanting an argument to start, I hastily said: "Guys, the store is right there. I'll be fine. Really."

"Let's play chicken!" I said, clapping my hands together as I finished my ice cream.

I was a slow eater, so everyone else had finished long before me.

Chase arched a thin eyebrow up at my request, grinning. "Yeah?"

I nodded hastily, grinning. "It'll be great! Come on, let's play!"

"Okay!" Luna squealed happily.

It took a little convincing for Candace, Selena, and Gill to partake but eventually they all gave in. The teams were Chase and I, Gill and Luna, Julius and Candace, and Luke and Selena respectively with the girls on top and the boys on the bottom.

Chase and Gill were lucky since their girlfriends were small, seeing as they didn't have all that much muscle – as Julius and of course, Luke did who both had larger partners.

And my first target, of course, was Luna. And seeing as how I was much stronger than her it wasn't hard to get her to fall back in the water. But it probably didn't count, because I did cheat, and opted to start tickling her sides. But Luna and Gill did last a lot longer than Julius and Candace had – boy, was that a sight for sore eyes.

I actually felt bad to see poor Candace do a belly-flop onto the water. Selena definitely showed no mercy.

And you know, I really wished that I thought to make sure my top was tied in a sturdy knot. But being the dumb and oblivious me, I never even gave my top a second thought the moment I put it on. And of course, after hours of endless hours of play at the beach, that knot would surely become less stable.

It's common sense, for crying out loud.

And that was what happened. As Selena and I grasped hands and we struggled against each other, I felt my top beginning to slip and leave my chest bare and naked. It took a few moments for it to register and I was definitely delayed as I finally came to my senses. Selena, Luke, and Chase were all staring at my naked chest and paid no mind to my top that was nestled on the water in-between Luke and Chase.

I gave out a deafening shriek, letting go of Selena's hands, to cover myself up as much as I could. But what was the point? Everyone saw my goods anyway.

My flailing and jerky movements caused Chase to lose his balance which had resulted in us plummeting into the water.

"You've got a pretty nice rack for someone so short," Selena said.

I wasn't sure if she was genuinely complimenting me or was just trying to rub it even more in my face. I felt bad enough as it already was.

I sniffled as I pulled the towel closer to my body, fighting the horrible urges to start crying.

"Aw, c'mon, Selena. Don't say things like to her," Luke said.

"What? I was complimenting her," she shot in defense.

The look on everyone's face from earlier was engraved deep into my brain. The guys were as red as tomatoes, and it could have been my imagination, but I'm pretty sure Gill's nose started bleeding. And Candace looked like she had witnessed a murder and Luna was simply flabbergasted.

And as successful as I was at ignoring the urge to cry, I couldn't fight the sudden urge to puke. I quickly ran over to a corner of the beach and threw up the entire contents of my stomach, feeling hot tears leak out without meaning to.

And well, I guess things that are perfect always have an ending. And for me, that was the story of my life. Something always has to run sour to ruin everything, but I was completely unprepared for what was about to happen to turn my newly, perfect life upside down.

- - - - - End: Pulsating Life - - - - -

Sorry for the short chapter, guys. But I wanted to add a chapter that is the calm before the storm. ;D

I decided against changing the name, people probably wouldn't recognize it. 3:

And I've got a new story in the works. You guys should check it out~ It's called Dearly Beloved and it's in Julius' POV. And just so you all know, DB won't be interfering with the updates with VS. I don't plan on ditching this story any time soon.

Review loveys!

- Tara (who will be 18 and legal as of the 22nd, yay)