Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it.

Author's Note: Pretty close to the end now, there's only four more chapters after this and I've already written them, so this story will be over in a little over a week! This chapter was even harder than the last to pen, but please keep in mind that with four more chapters, there's plenty directions for the story to take haha, so your predictions could come true. Seeing all the reviews and new author and story alerts is so extremely encouraging, I can't wait to finish this and reply to all your kind messages. Thank you all so much for your continued support. I hope you continue to read! (:

"I am alone, in spite of love, in spite of all I take and give. In spite of all your tenderness, sometimes I am not glad to live. I am alone, as though I stood on the highest peak of the tired gray world: about me only swirling snow; above me, endless space unfurled."
-Sara Teasdale

The leaves were becoming an issue along the mountain path, and the girls' footsteps devastated countless piles as they trudged along, one rushing towards home and the other in quick pursuit.

"Are you sure he didn't bother you?" Georgia asked, wearing a nervous expression. She had found Lillian at the mountain summit and hadn't gotten a single word from her about her feelings besides 'I'm fine!' When the brunette was wearing such a miserable expression, however, it didn't exactly calm Georgia's fears. "You can tell me anything, you know. If he was giving you a hard time, I'll give him a hard time!"

Lillian slowed to a stroll – rather than what she had told Georgia was merely a 'brisk walk' after being accused of running – as they neared Bluebell. "Forget about it, Georgia. Kana was just worrying over nothing. I was just concentrating really hard on fishing, so he probably thought I was upset and didn't want to talk to him or something. Don't worry! Anyways, you should go meet up with him and see what else he wanted to talk to you about. He did come all the way over here."

The redhead held her eyes for a long time, but unfortunately for Georgia, she wasn't the best at reading people. The assurance in Lillian's eyes was finally able to pacify her and she smiled, putting a hand on the girl's arm and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling alright then. Sorry I chased you down to figure this all out, I just didn't want to think he upset you and then left you up there! Anyways, I er, I did leave a kind of important conversation, so I better head back. Come see me if anything bothers you, though!"

"Of course," Lillian replied, offering up a smile. It slid away as Georgia started jogging back towards Howard's, replaced with a grimace. Georgia was athletic, funny, clever, kind, and unmistakably gorgeous. Perfect. It made sense that everyone would love her so much. As for Lillian, she was rash, naïve, and could never have expected to catch Ash's eye with her dull chestnut locks and average build. She folded her arms against her chest as she hurried back towards home, blinking quickly to steel her eyes.

She had only been inside for a moment when a knock sounded at her door. She worried that Georgia had not been as assured as she had hoped, but it was Ash's voice that filtered through the wood before she opened it. "I've been looking for you for a while, and I know you're finally back home. Georgia said there's something wrong but that you didn't want to talk about it," he called. "Will you open your door?"

Lillian stared at the wooden block between them and then rested her head against it. "No," she whispered, knowing her voice would be inaudible. If she opened the door and faced him, she would cry and then she would regret it. There was no need to force her feelings on Ash. She couldn't stand the thought of making him feel guilty.

"That's fine," Ash answered, surprising her. "If you don't want to open the door, I'll just talk to you like this, okay?" Silence. "Okay. I know that you've been helping Georgia and Kana get together. She told me about how you told her that Kana liked her, and about the deal you made – that she has to try with Kana if you open the tunnel all the way. Is that why you're upset? Because I think it's an incredibly selfless thing for you to do."

It's not selfless, Lillian screamed to herself, thudding her fists gently against the door. She slid until she was sitting against it, one hand always on the edge as though she could open it like that when she was feeling up to it. I did it because I felt bad. I'm not some great person. I'm only human! But what she did say was, "I know you love Georgia too. I'm sorry for helping the girl you love start a relationship with someone else."

On the other side of the door Ash's eyes widened and then he smiled to himself. Of course she would notice. It was amazing that all of Bluebell hadn't yet realized it, considering he had been love-struck for most of his life. He sat down and leaned against the door, turning his head to the side to make sure she could better hear him. "Forget about it," he murmured. "You can't stand between two people who love each, can you?"

Lillian covered her eyes, reluctant to let tears spring from them. As was before, hearing Ash admit to his feelings made them sting even more. "I know," she murmured. "But what would you do if only one of them loved the other, and the other one had feelings for someone else?"

Ash was silent for a moment and then smiled to himself. What were the words he always used when he defended himself against questions regarding his feelings for Lillian? "You can't change how someone feels no matter what. I would just have to deal with my own feelings."

The door between them was only two inches thick. Two inches, Lillian knew, was all that separated her and the boy she had grown to love. The boy who loved someone else. To just sit and deal silently with her own feelings was something she had thought impossible before, and that was when she was entertaining a mere crush. She wondered how she would spend the rest of her life in Bluebell denying her feelings for Ash, playing a game before him to ensure he never had to feel guilt towards dejecting her, watching him love someone else while she dreamed of him. But Ash has done it all these years himself, she realized. I'll have to be like him.

Tears trickled down her cheek as she nodded. It would be too easy to open the door and lay her feelings out to Ash, and force him to take his share of her pain. But she could not do that – she loved him too much to burden him with her love, and so she left the door closed and cried alone. "Yeah," she whispered, taking a deep breath. "You're right."

Cam was sitting at one of the tables in front of Howard's, twirling a flower between his fingers. The yellow petals spun so quickly they blurred. He wondered what Laney would say if he handed it to her – would she accept it, or would she stare at him and accuse him of leading her on? He sighed, putting his face in his hands and letting the flower drop to the ground. He wasn't sure where to even start making amends for the pain he had caused her, but he didn't want to live a life where Laney wasn't happy with him.

Georgia was prepared to blow past him and comfort her friend, but she was caught off guard with the miserable expression Cam turned towards her. She sat herself opposite him, frowning. "Why are you so down?" she asked. "You look almost as depressed as Lillian." She didn't think the boy knew of Lillian's feelings for Ash, and she knew the guilt was hurting, but this much? She leaned towards him curiously.

"It's because of Lillian. No matter how much I like her, she doesn't like me back. How can so many feelings go unreturned for so long?" he muttered, frustrated at the mention of the farmer who had spurned him unintentionally twice before.

The redhead frowned and pointed out, "That's something Laney has had to deal with for so long too, you know. You've been really unfair to her and-"

"I know," Cam interrupted harshly, letting his head fall forward onto the table. "Of course I know that, Georgia. I spend all my time trying to come up with a way to fix things between Laney and I. I don't want to see her hurt. If I had to get my heart broken by Lillian every single day for the rest of my life just to make sure Laney was happy, I would do it in a heartbeat. But what am I supposed to do? No matter what, she gets hurt."

Georgia felt guilty for her words and lifted her hand to Cam's hair, gently petting his head. "I'm sorry, Cam. I know you've had to go through a lot lately too…"

"I know that Lillian likes Ash," he mumbled, his voice tinged with misery. Georgia's eyes widened at this revelation, and he lifted his head to meet her eyes. "I overheard you two the other day. I never even got a chance to tell Lillian how I felt before finding out that all this time…my feelings have been wasted."

"Do you think," Georgia began, clasping her hands before her, "that you'd be willing to cheer her on to get the guy, considering he's your best friend?"

Cam was quiet for a moment, pondering this. He wanted Ash to be happy, of course. Ash was such a good friend to him and had done so much for him that he wanted all the good things to return to him threefold. But would he be willing to cheer them both on, give them both advice, push them closer and closer to each other? He hesitated and then shook his head. "I don't know, really. I'm not sure if I'd be able to do that."

Georgia rose to her feet, biting her lip. She hated to hurt Cam, but wasn't sure how else to drive Laney's feelings across. Perhaps if he understood her, he would be able to face her better, and be able to off-put some of his guilt. For what it was worth, she hated to see him look so miserable. "Then you can't expect Laney," she replied, "to support you and Lillian when she's not even close to her."

The florist didn't say another word for a very long time, though he rose to his feet and swept the sunflower up again. It was crushed slightly from his fall, but he thought that Laney would like it anyways. And if she didn't, perhaps she'd like the one he gave her the next day more. "You're right," he told Georgia, beaming at her for a moment. "I'm going to try to talk to her again. I'll see you later."

She smiled and waved after him, deciding to wait to apologize to Laney until later, when he had gotten4 a chance to talk to her first. Cam's words, she was sure, would help her more than Georgia's apology.

Laney was surprised to see the sunflower shoved before her, and took it with a small, reluctant smile. "Thank you, Cam," she murmured, tucking it behind her ear. It tickled her cheek, and she liked it that way. Cam was wearing such a wide grin she couldn't help but be a little happy too.

"Laney, I need to talk to you," he told her, sitting down on her bed again and taking her hand in both of his. "I've been…so unfair to you. I've known for a while that you liked me…probably long before Lillian even came here. But I acted like I didn't know, and that was cruel of me. You're such an incredible person, and I want to make all of this up to you. I want to do something that makes things better."

The mention of Lillian and the repeated apology did little to lift Laney's heart. Her anger returned and she tried to pull her hand free, muttering, "There isn't anything you can do to make things better, Cam…I'm just second rate to everyone in this town."

"That's not true!" he protested, squeezing her hand. "You're not second rate to me, and you're not to Ash, or Georgia – especially not Georgia. We were just talking about you outside, and she really encouraged me to do my best to talk to you. She said that since I can't cheer on Lillian with her new crush I shouldn't expect you to cheer me on even if it seems like that'd be easier-"

"What?" Laney demanded, wrenching her hand free. "And how often does Georgia give you advice like this, on how to compare your feelings to Lillian to my feelings for you? She doesn't have time to talk to me when Lillian is around, but she has time to give you a pep talk on your feelings?"

Cam rose when she did, struggling to calm her temper. "Laney, that's not what I'm saying at all. Please, don't mistake me…"

"I'm so tired of being replaced! I don't want to talk, Cam! Just leave me alone!"

With that the blonde bounded from the room, furious. Georgia had left her, knowing how terribly incompetent she was feeling in comparison to Lillian, but then had time to stop and chat with Cam about how his feelings for Lillian were to be pitied, as were hers for him? Was the only way he was able to understand her by comparing her to the farmer? Tears bit at the back of her eyes, pressing her out the door. All she wanted was somebody to look at her without comparing her to Lillian, to look at her and try to understand her as her. Why couldn't Cam understand her? Why hadn't Georgia come to talk to her? Did she not see anything wrong with what she had done? Why would she stop to talk to Cam about his feelings for Lillian despite knowing how Laney stood on it?

These questions thudded against her as she fled from her home, down the darkening streets of Bluebell. She was stopped short, however, when she came to Bluebell's monument and found Lillian sitting before it. The girl looked as miserable as Laney felt, her shoulders slouched forward and her features drooping. Laney took several steps towards her, unsure what to even say. She couldn't imagine something bothering Lillian, who got everything Laney wanted and then some. Even Rutger was beginning to appreciate her more and more. What could be bothering her?

"Oh, Laney!" Lillian exclaimed, looking surprised to see someone else out. "Hello."

"Why are you out here?" Laney asked, struggling to maintain a friendly voice rather than cold. She didn't want to lash out at Lillian, knowing she would only regret it later. Now that she had been forced into the conversation, she would have to just get out of it. She would not let herself berate this girl in the middle of town.

Lillian's forced smile turned to a frown and she mumbled, "I've just been feeling…ah…I don't know how to say it…I was looking for Cam, actually. I had something I wanted to talk to him about…something I can't really talk to anyone else about."

The silence that overtook the two was tangible. Laney could feel it pressing in on her from all around. Lillian was staring at her, waiting for her to say something, her eyes becoming nervous as she saw the expression on Laney's face darkening by the moment. Lillian was opening her mouth, she was going to break the silence…

"Do you even realize what you've done to me?" Laney screamed, folding her arms tight around her chest. "You've made my life terrible! You've been taking all my friends from me and now you have to go and do this too?"

How could she so openly say that she needed to talk to Cam about that? Is she really trying to tell me that she's going to go confess to him? Laney's thoughts furiously spun around her head in a hurricane of hatred. The shock on Lillian's face was so intense it was near comical levels. The brunette rose to her feet, struggling with her words. Finally she choked out, "Laney, I…I don't understand, I haven't been…I mean…I didn't realize you felt this way…"

"Well, maybe you 'didn't realize I felt this way,' but that doesn't change anything! My life has been a living hell ever since you moved here. You've been causing trouble in Bluebell since day one, making everybody in this town fight – do you realize how many problems you've caused? You turned everyone in this town against each other because you couldn't keep your mouth shut! You come here acting like you know how things work, acting like you understand Bluebell, when you don't! You're just some outsider come to fix problems that don't exist! I wish you had never come here, because you ruined everything!"

With that, Laney hiked her skirt up in her hands and ran off, disappearing around the mountain path, sobbing as she went. Lillian was left to mull over these words, looking like she had been slapped across the face. She felt like she had, too. She knew that her actions had caused trouble in Bluebell, but Laney…Laney had always seemed to support her. Did everyone else think the same things as the blonde, but were too nice to say it, as Laney had been too nice to say it until all this time had passed? Had she truly ruined Laney's life? Fear and guilt gripped at her from every direction, and tears spilled from her eyes. She had been yelled at by Rutger, by Eileen, even by Jessica and Grady, but Laney…Laney had always seemed to agree with her…Laney had been so kind to her…

The next day, Lillian was no longer a resident of Bluebell. It was Ash who found out first from his group of friends, for his mother woke him with the quiet admittance that Lillian's meager horde of animals had been returned with many apologies. He rushed from his bed to Rutger, who was conversing quietly with Eileen in front of the request board.

"She left enough money for the final tunnel upgrade," Eileen was murmuring, staring guiltily at the old man. "Do you want me to…?"

Rutger too was wearing a remorseful expression. "Yes…please, Eileen. Oh, Ash…I'm sorry to tell you this, for I know you and Lillian were friends, but she told me this morning she was returning to the city."

The town seemed to close in on the boy from where he stood. It took an enormous effort to choke out, "Why?"

Eileen and Rutger exchanged a look and then Rutger sighed and murmured, "She didn't give a concrete reason. All she said was that it was time for her to return home, and she apologized for causing so much trouble and left. I'm…I'm very sorry, son."

Ash shrugged off the mayor's comforting hand and walked towards Howard's, where he saw Georgia cheerily bounding towards the building. There were three people in there he had to break the news to now, but even as he moved forward he wondered how the words would ever came to him. Thinking that he would never again see the smile on the girl's face…he didn't think he'd feel like talking for a long, long time.