If You Set Me Free, I Will Not Run
Chapter X: A Little Outing With Friends

Thunder played its vicious music and lightning rocked the skies above. The thunder was like a harsh melody, violently displaying its heinous wrath. The lightning was like a vigorous whip, flashing through the sky deviously. The rain came down relentlessly, drenching everything it came in contact with. Chelsea, who was making her journey to Verdure Island to Nick's Diner for lunch, walked in the rain without an umbrella. She wore her red boots and still had on her red bandana.

It was two days later and the weather wasn't so bright. Chelsea recalled the other night's events and she actually had a nice dinner with Will. After their serious conversation, the atmosphere around them became lighthearted and joyous. Chelsea had stuffed her face with delicious food and Will had laughed at her about how her cheeks puffed out by how much food was in her mouth. The rancher was embarrassed about that, but eventually joined in on Will's jolly laughter.

Chelsea hoped that Will managed to find Lily and speak to her. She stayed positive about that. She hoped with all her heart that Will was able to mend their relationship. As she entered the diner, many voices touched her ears and she gazed around her surroundings. The diner was crowded and very lively. Merry laughter floated about and words were tossed around the air. It was a nice sight to behold and it made a warm smile grace Chelsea's features.

The brunette moved deeper into the diner, looking around for Mark. She was supposed to meet him at the diner for lunch. He brought along some friends too, which Chelsea was glad about. It was kind of boring whenever it was just her and Mark all the time. That was one of her opinions about it, but she still loved to hang out with the male rancher. He was her best friend after all. Chelsea found a table in the corner and saw Mark sitting there with Denny, Lanna, Julia, Elliot, Natalie, Pierre, Will, and Lily. Chelsea was thoroughly shocked to see Lily and Will there together, but it looked like they were very happy. Will had his arm around Lily's waist and Lily was resting her head on his shoulder, a smile of content occupying her features.

"Chelsea!" Julia caught sight of her and instantly bounced out of her seat. Chelsea was unable to dodge the bone crushing hug that came her way. Before she knew it, she was on the ground with Julia on top of her, hugging the living daylights out of her. "Chelsea, I am so glad you're here!"

Elliot almost leapt out of his seat from his fiancée's rigorous excitement to Chelsea's unplanned appearance. "J-Julia! Do you really have to crush her like that?!" The guy adjusted his glasses over his eyes, blinking several times in worriment.

"Relax, bro," Natalie said from beside him, rolling her eyes. "Julia always does this whenever Chelsea's around. You should know by now that Chelsea is Julia's best friend."

Elliot looked distraught. "But still-"

"Chelsea's here! Yes!" Denny cheered, not letting Elliot finish his complaint. "Glad you could join us! We didn't order our food yet, so you're good!"

Lanna grinned down at Chelsea and Julia. "Hi, Chelsea!"

"Julia," groaned Chelsea, trying to get the beautiful blonde off of her. "Please, get off of me."

Mark, who was seated next to Denny, was very worried about Chelsea and he just watched her closely in concern. "Maybe you should listen to her…" he muttered to Julia.

"Yeah," piped up Pierre, wearing his purple top hat and all. "She looks like she's in pain!"

"You got that right," threw in Natalie, sending the chef a flirtatious grin.

Will watched the events unfold, arm still around his beautiful fiancée. "Fair maiden, are you alright?" he questioned the female rancher wonderingly, eyebrows raised high in concern.

Lily looked concerned too. "Chelsea?"

"I'm sorry, Chelsea!" Julia finally pulled herself off of the other girl and held out her hand for her. "I didn't mean to squish you like that! You know I always get excited whenever I see my best gal pal!"

Chelsea rolled her eyes and grabbed Julia's hand, allowing the woman to help her up. Once she was up, Mark was quick to stand up and pull out a chair for her. Chelsea gave him a look before sitting down, quietly thanking him for that. Mark's cheeks were pink by the time he settled back down in his chair and the brunette couldn't figure out why. Deciding now to dwell on it for now, Chelsea unleashed all of her attention on Will and Lily, ignoring everyone else for the time being.

"Wait…are you both together again?" Chelsea demanded to know, pressing her palms into the table and leaning forward. She was completely oblivious how she was dripping with rainwater. Her dark brown hair was matted down and some of it was clinging to her neck and cheeks because of the wetness.

"Yes, we are." Will flashed her a brilliant smile, pulling Lily even closer to him. "We're engaged."

Chelsea's eyes got huge. "You're engaged?!"

"Correct." Lily nodded, a soft grin touching her lips. "We are going to get married next week."

"So soon!" Chelsea exclaimed, becoming excited. "That is so wonderful! I'm so happy for you guys!"

Will shook his head, chuckling a little. "It's all thanks to you, Chelsea," he told her. "If you hadn't convinced me to go speak with Lily and attempt to mend our relationship, we probably wouldn't be here right now. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, my lady."

Chelsea scratched her cheek, eyes darting all over the place while her face flushed from how much attention she was receiving. "Ah…it's nothing," she said quietly, feeling gracious.

Mark nudged her side playfully and gave her a wink. "You did a good thing, Chels."

The color in Chelsea's cheeks deepened. "Oh, stop. It was nothing. Really. I was only doing what I thought was right."

"Isn't it so nice?" questioned Julia in pure jubilation, throwing her arms around a startled Elliot and rubbing her cheek against his in a loving manner. "Will and Lily are getting married next week and then Elliot and I are getting married in the summer!"

"I know!" Chelsea shared in Julia's excitement.

"Geez, who's getting married next?" Natalie wondered, resting her chin in her palm and looking a little bored.

Denny peered at her from across the table slyly. "You and Pierre of course!"

Natalie's eyebrows shot up and she blinked a few times. "I-I don't think so…" she trailed off, looking away.

Pierre's face was bright red and he pretended that he wasn't paying attention to the conversations that were taking place. "Nice…weather we're having," he mumbled.

Denny burst out laughing at their reactions, thinking that it was hilarious. Lanna, who was still sitting next to him, poked him in the ribs teasingly. "You sure love to tease people, huh?" Lanna talked, almost erupting into a fit of giggles.

"Of course!" Denny responded loudly. "It gives me great pleasure to do so!"

Mark shook his head. "You tease me too! And it's not funny either!" He then performed a smirk. "Everyone knows you have a thing for Lanna. Before you know it, you both will be getting married too!"

Denny stared at him as if he had grown a second head and Lanna was staring at Mark with her mouth open wide, face becoming crimson. "You're joking, right?" Denny demanded to know.

"Nope!" Mark chirped. "I'm not!"

Denny narrowed his eyes at the blond. "Fine. If that's how you wanna play this game." He gazed at everyone at the table, knowing that they were watching. "How about I tell everyone who you might be marrying in the future?!"

"Wait…" Chelsea turned her head to view Mark. "You like someone?" Her eyes were beginning to light up with unconcealed happiness.

Mark began to feel incredibly nervous as his face started burning up with an intense blush. He lowered his eyes to the table and said very quietly, "…yeah."

"Well, who is it?" Chelsea wanted to know, leaning toward him eagerly. "You never told me you liked someone, Mark! Tell me who it is! You already know who I like! Heck, everyone knows who I like! Come on, spill!"

Julia wagged her eyebrows at Mark knowingly. "Yeah, Mark. Spill the beans!"

"Julia…" Elliot sighed at his fiancée's behavior.

"Go on, Mark." Natalie also had a knowing look and it appeared as though she might burst out laughing at any second.

"Mark likes someone?" Pierre was wearing a frown.

"Yeah, he does," Denny answered Pierre's query, crossing his arms over his chest. "And I know who it is."

"You do?" Lanna glanced at him.

Denny nodded, smirking. "I do."

Will and Lily looked quite interested in what was occurring. "Who is it, Mark?" they both asked simultaneously.

Sweat began to pour down the sides of Mark's face as he struggled to come up with a reasonable response. Mark didn't think that Denny, his best pal, would bring up something like this. Mark mentally scolded himself for even attempting to tease the fisherman. He should've known that the male would come back with a full assault. Mark's heart hammered against his chest like someone beating the living daylights out of a drum. He tried not to stare at everyone's faces and kept his eyes glued to the table as if it were the most interesting thing in the entire world. He knew Chelsea was waiting desperately for an answer and he knew that she was thrilled that he actually liked someone.

How could Chelsea be so dense? Mark had no clue. What in the world was he supposed to say? The blond rancher could feel even more sweat running down his face and he struggled to breathe properly with all the pressure put on him. He went through all of the girls on Sunshine Islands, desperately trying to find someone to say that he 'liked'. Mark definitely did not want to say he liked Chelsea. He wasn't ready to let that information out yet, no matter how much he wanted to. Plus, there were so many people present. This was not how he wanted to tell Chelsea of his feelings. He wanted to do it when it was just the two of them.

"I like Alisa!" Mark blurted out loudly, making the whole diner go silent.

Everyone was now staring at him.

Mark was so flustered that he thought he was going to faint. The individuals around the table gave him a mixture of confusion, disbelief, shock, awe, and happiness. All of the confusion came from Denny and Chelsea, along with Natalie and Julia. The rest of the emotions came from almost everyone. Mark could understand why. It was truly absurd.

Alisa was a very kind young woman who had devoted her life to the teachings of the Harvest Goddess. She had moved to Sunshine Islands with the pastor, Nathan, and spent most of her time at the church. Alisa was appreciative of everything her eyes captured and was gentle toward all creatures. The woman never raised her voice and rarely got upset over anything. Alisa never seemed interested in a relationship though and was often speaking to individuals that were much older than herself. Mark did not know her well. He only knew little about her, but he did know that she was one of the kindest people on Sunshine Islands.

"What?" Denny vociferated, discombobulated. "Alisa? You don't like her!"

"That's strange," added Natalie.

"I think it's cute!" Lanna input happily, clapping her hands ecstatically.

Chelsea was giving Mark a weird look. "Alisa?" She thought about it for a moment, and that scared Mark. Did she really believe that he liked Alisa? Suddenly, the brunette's face brightened and she let out a short laugh, genuinely thrilled. "That's great, Mark! How come you never told me?!"

Mark sank in his chair, a dark feeling settling over his poor heart. "…it never crossed my mind," he mumbled forlornly, completely unhappy with what just occurred. At the moment, Mark was blaming Denny for all of this. In addition to that, Mark was starting to feel depressed again because of Chelsea's obliviousness to his affection toward her.

"You and Alisa, huh?" Natalie wasn't buying it.

Julia wrapped her arm around Elliot's. "Odd. When was the last time you guys talked?"

"I don't know…" Mark caterwauled quietly, unwilling to participate in any more conversations.

"Anyway, let's change the topic." Denny could sense Mark's discomfort and he felt bad for bringing up the subject in the first place. He knew he was going to hear it from his best buddy later. "We're all going to Will and Lily's wedding, right?"

"Yeah!" Everyone except Lily and Will exclaimed.

"Who's going to be your best man, Will?" asked Chelsea with a large smile decorating her face.

Will gazed at her. "Hmmm. I am unsure yet."

"William, you need to start thinking about that now," Lily told him seriously. "The wedding will take place next week."

"I know, beautiful," Will responded, grabbing her chin and tipping her head up. He gave her a dazzling smile. "And I've just thought of someone right now."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Mark."

"Me?!" Mark squeaked like a startled mouse, his eyes enlarging. His eyes were now the size of bowling balls. He was now sitting up in his chair, totally shocked.

Will gave him a nod. "Yes. You."

"Why me?!"

"I can't think of anyone else…"

"B-But-"

Chelsea patted Mark on the shoulder cheerfully. "Come on, Mark. It's no big deal. You can do it!"

Mark looked at her, unable to say no to that face. "Okay." He relented. "Fine. I'll be your best man, Will."

"Problem solved!" Will announced. "Now, I am quite famished. Let's order some food now!"

Everyone agreed with that statement.