Sorry about the errors in this chapter. I actually finished a more... decent one last week, but I couldn't post it immediately because the site wasn't working. Then, I figured I'd do the next chapter while waiting... so I erased everything from chapter 11 and tried to save it as chapter 12... but the I actually SAVED OVER it! WAAAA! The result: I made this in a hurry, and it wasn't checked for errors.

A/N: has finally fixed the site! I can upload the chapter now! Rock on!

DISCLAIMER: Nope, doesn't belong to me.

"I told you, I'm fine." Cliff reassured his date, who was all over him because of the bruise on his cheek. Honestly, there was no need to make a big deal out of it. He was flattered by the attention, though. He smiled as he watched Claire retrieve a few cubes of ice from her refrigerator and wrap it around a cloth. She carefully pressed it on the bruise.

"Really, Cliff. No need to act tough. That fall to the door must've hurt when you tripped." She told him. Did Claire think him a wimp? Sure, he was weaker than most boys but he could still handle a punch or two.

"Seriously. The door was too weak to hurt me." He proclaimed. It was a direct insult to Gray, but the two girls had no idea what they were talking about. Claire still laughed; he figured she thought he was acting tough.

Gray frowned. "Maybe the door held back a little because you're such a wimp." He snapped. Cliff watched the rising anger in the farmer's eyes. She told him to hold the ice for a moment, and then turned to face Gray.

"The guy's hurt, Gray. Give him a break or drop dead." She affronted.

"Why don't you stop butting in, butthead." The blacksmith snarled at her, and instead of cowering in his outburst, she firmly held her ground and shot him a determined glance. They were having a passionate, not in a good way, staring contest.

Because of the atmosphere beginning to tense, Mary interjected. "Okay! Isn't it about time that we go?" She swallowed nervously, and gave a sigh of relief when everyone agreed.

Cliff was clearly amused by the pair's exchange.

The square was decorated with several pink and crimson flowers, especially the entrance. Everything beamed a shade of bluish white because of the fluorescent lights mixed with the natural glow of the moonlight. There was cheerful music playing in the background, setting the perfect festive mood. Cliff scanned the area, and, instead of their usual civilian outfits, they wore elegant gowns and tuxedos, so the people were almost unrecognizable. The women were shinier than usual, and the men were… presentable, to say the least. In short: it was absolutely stunning.

Not as much as Ann, though.

She was surrounded by several kinds of food, and even though she was wolfing down a whole slice of pizza with only a couple of bites, to him, she looked beyond graceful. He felt himself blush when he saw how beautiful she looked wearing a blue, tank-topped cocktail dress. The skirt hung below the knee, exposing her white, open-toed shoes. He swallowed nervously. It was the first time he saw her orange hair down like that, and she looked nothing like the tomboy bartender at the inn he saw often.

"She's cute, isn't she?" Claire teased. He was pretty certain that he said the same thing to a certain blacksmith last night at the inn.

Looking for a change in subject, he glanced at the food table. "Look over there, Claire. They have a buffet." She raised a brow, clearly aware of what he was doing.

"Yeah, right. Like I'm going to fall for—hey! They have pizza! Alright!" She skipped towards the buffet. Literally. The auburn-haired mystery laughed. Claire was really cute, wasn't she?

He turned to the awkward pair behind him. "So," he began. "Does Claire have any idea that every girl here is required to dance?"

Caught in his gaze, Mary bit her lip in shame. "Oh dear," she said. "I… forgot."

Gray laughed maniacally. He stared at Cliff and grinned. "Wasn't it your responsibility as her date?" Cliff frowned. He didn't really think highly of Gray passing the responsibility to him. It was their responsibility as Claire's friends.

"Alright then, I'll break the news to her." Cliff volunteered. He was slightly angry, but it wasn't worth the trouble to argue about it. He took careful steps towards the buffet, and each step closer, his breathing would rapidly increase, because Claire was engaged in a happy conversation with the girl of his dreams.

Cliff called and waved to her, and she cheerfully waved back. "Hey," he smiled at them.

"Hi, Cliff." Both girls said at the same time, which resulted in fits of laughter. Oh come on, it wasn't that funny. It was cute, but it wasn't that funny.

Crimson flushed to his cheek when he felt small hands wrap around his arm. It was Claire's. He grew uneasy by her closeness. "Cliff, I feel a bit dizzy… I think I ate too much pizza." She groaned. "I'm going to take it easy for a while. Do me a favor and keep her company."

No! The reason he asked her to this festival was to avoid awkward moments with Ann in the first place! With her gone and leaving him and… and… her… alone… he wouldn't know what to do! "I-I'll go with you!" He whimpered.

To him dismay, Claire blatantly refused. He winced, because her grip on his arm tightened, and she pulled him closer so that her mouth was right next to his ear. "I'm fine. Go have fun." She whispered. Cliff found himself attempting to catch her wrist when she let go, but the farmer was surprisingly fast… or maybe he was just slow. He helplessly watched her walk towards the wooden bench and leave the two of them alone.

There was silence.

Cliff sighed. This was what he was most afraid of. Engaging in a conversation with Ann was hard, if not impossible. He was too nervous and inarticulate to even complete a sentence around her. She had this strange effect on him that when she even as much as looks at him, he gets tongue-tied.

"What happened to your face?" Ann asked suddenly, which made him jump. "Looks like it came from a fist."

"I-it came from a door!" He protested, avoiding her suspicious stare. He had a feeling she didn't believe him. "Honest!"

"Mm." She seemed to accept that. He sighed in relief. "So…" She placed her fists on her waist, frowning. Uh-oh. She seemed pissed. "Mind telling me why you invited the blonde farmer to this festival, when you know perfectly well a certain blue-eyed blacksmith wanted to take her, instead? Do you even like Claire?"

Cliff swallowed nervously. "I… don't really see her that way." He admitted. It wasn't like Claire wasn't beautiful, though. She was one of the nicest girls he had ever met—not that he knew so many—and she was cute, to boot. If he wasn't already head-over-heels with the girl in front of him now, he was pretty sure that at this very moment, he would be absorbed in a fervid rivalry with Gray, and fighting a pathetic losing battle, as well.

"Then why did you ask her?" Her voice snapped him back to reality. Why? Well, he thought it was a good idea at the time. No one was taking her, since Gray took Mary every year; he figured that it was okay. Ann went with her father, anyway.

"I asked her because…" He trailed off. Ann was tapping her high heels frantically. She was growing impatient with all his philandering. "B-because…"

The carrot-topped maiden leaned in closer. "Because?" She urged.

Should he tell her? What would she say? He couldn't believe he was put on the spot like this! Confessing his love wasn't part of the plan, it was never part of the plan! He wanted to wait for the right moment to tell her, that is, when he had gained the confidence he needed to complete the task. His world was going around in circles. His face, no, his whole body was heating up. Why was he so indecisive?

Oh, to hell with it! "I asked her because I like you!"

He heard her gasp in surprise. Who wouldn't, anyway? Of course she didn't expect him liking her. Cliff frowned when he heard chuckles forming in the air, transforming into laughter. "L-let me get this straight," she said in between fits, "you asked Claire out to this dance because you… like me?" She laughed harder.

Okay, why was she laughing? "Why are you laughing?" Red was creeping up his cheeks.

"Why?" She gasped. "Because it was the dumbest thing I have ever heard!"

Ouch. The red propelled from his cheeks to his eyes. It seemed like he finally snapped. "What's so dumb about it? Is it so impossible that you would laugh at the mere mention of it? Are my feelings so weird and unexpected that you wouldn't even consider the idea? Is it so weird for a guy like me to fall in love with a girl like you?"

Slight fear fared to her eyes. Ann didn't expect him to snap like that, he guessed. But he was caught off guard when she smiled. "You said 'love' that time, not 'like.'" She said.

Shit.

He stuffed his hands angrily in his pockets. "W-what's the difference?" Damn, damn, damn!

Good going, Cliff! Way to freak out a girl! Go ahead and tell her you love her, yeah, that would work! He wanted to hit something, anything at all. Geez. Gray must have been rubbing off some of his temper on him. Anyway, as far as anything went, his chances of ever getting together with Ann just went down the drain. Because of his anger, he didn't notice her take one step closer towards him, and steal his hands from each pocket.

"Everything." She grinned.

Everything blacked out when she kissed him.

Claire was sitting on the square's wooden bench with an uninterested posture. She looked especially weird because of the elegant dress she was wearing. Surely they didn't expect her to act like a girl just because she dressed like one, did they? Pouting, she pondered on the idea that every person who attended this festival had brought dates, which meant she had no one to play with.

Man, was she bored.

Carefully, the blonde scanned the townspeople, and her eyes widened when they fell on the spooning couple at one corner of the square.

Cliff and Ann were kissing! Hallelujah!

"Oh yeah! That's what I'm talking about, baby! Lip lock with a passion!" Before she could stop herself, Claire had already screamed, standing up, and she had received suspicious glances from the attendees of the festival. Immediately, she sat down, blushing furiously.

Ann and Cliff took a break from kissing for a moment to give her appreciative nods. She bashfully returned the gesture and smiled at them warmly. Claire felt good about getting them together, although she didn't really do much. She had to hand it to Cliff, Claire thought he wouldn't be able to do it, but boy, was she proved wrong—and happy about it! She was proud of him, gaining courage like that; he deserved a big serving of Tempura in the future.

She glanced at Gray and Mary, who were dancing awkwardly to the swift music. She sighed sadly while shaking her head. It was probably time to play cupid to them, this time. She stood up, and started to take impatient step towards the pair, but someone blocked her path. It was Cliff.

"Um…?" She muttered.

He smiled. "It didn't seem fair to ditch you for another girl when you were the one I came to this festival with." Oh, Cliff. Claire understood perfectly well how long he waited for this moment. She wasn't about to ruin it with his conscience bugging him about her.

"You're sweet, but I'm fine. Besides, Ann's your girlfriend now. It wouldn't be right to ruin all my hard work by making her jealous on your first day." She told him. Cliff blushed at the word 'girlfriend.'

"Really, Claire? That's your lame reason? You're the reason we're together in the first place. I'm pretty sure Ann wouldn't mind one dance between us." Cliff laughed. She liked his laugh. It was refreshing in contrast to his shy personality. But the reason why she liked his laugh was probably because of how rare he did it. She let him take her hand and place it on the back of his neck. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. The both of them smiled, because the moment they got into that position, the music had changed into a slower one, as if they wanted them to dance.

Unknowingly, Claire began staring at Gray and Mary, who were dancing still. The librarian had him wrap his hand around her waist, imitating their position, and the sight of them so close resulted in a sharp, tugging feeling at the back of Claire's neck. She didn't know why.

Cliff tried to see what had his dance partner occupied and smiled when he saw her staring at the couple in melancholy. He caught her face with his hand, and pulled so that she was facing him. She saw him grin, which scared her a little, because it wasn't his usual grin, but a grin showing mischief. Cliff leaned in closer. "Maybe… it's about time someone played cupid for him, huh?"

Cupid? For Gray? Was Cliff planning on pairing him up with Mary? That's great! It would take a load off of her shoulders if he succeeded. She smiled at him as he excused himself from the dance when the music ended and changed to a faster beat. He let go of her and headed towards his girlfriend. Claire stepped closer, trying to hear bits of what they were talking about, but the both of them were whispering quietly, and she grew curious when they giggled.

Now, she was watching Cliff heading towards the pair. He tapped Mary's shoulder. When the librarian turned around, she revealed the look of annoyance in her face, if not disgust. Clearly she didn't want her precious moment with Gray disturbed. Claire walked closer so she was in earshot.

"May I cut in?" She heard him ask. Gray, Claire and Mary all shot him confused stares.

How the hell was stealing his dance partner playing cupid, Cliff?

Mary reluctantly took his hand, and left Gray dumbfounded and Cliff grinning. Claire stood there baffled by the whole thing, which grew worse when she saw Ann approaching Gray this time, asking him to dance. Okay, seriously? She was so going to skin the couple alive!

Claire saw how Ann pulled him towards her direction, and she had this sudden urge to run away. "Hi, Claire." She said. The blonde reluctantly returned her greeting. "I feel a bit dizzy… I think I ate too much pizza." Ann said as she smiled. "I'm going to take it easy for a while. Do me a favor and keep her company." Those words were awfully familiar.

"What are you doing, you crazy little—" Claire heard him whisper to Ann, who elbowed him on the stomach. He cried out in pain. Both girls couldn't help but laugh. "What the hell was that for?"

"Well then," Ann smiled, ignoring him. "Have fun." And she left, returning to the buffet.

The two of them stared at each other. Okay, she was really annoyed. Claire had thought Cliff meant he was going to play cupid for Gray and Mary, not her! Why did they think of trying to hook her up with him, anyway? It wasn't like they liked each other. Was this a prank?

One look at his baby blue eyes made her think it wasn't.

Claire noticed it before, but he looked really cool in his tuxedo. His cap made him look really awkward, but it suited him really well. For a moment, she tried to wash away all the irritated feelings she had and decided to just… go with the flow. She glanced at Ann, who nodded at the DJ, and almost instantly the music had changed to a love song. She sighed.

"Well, we'd better start dancing. We're looking pretty stupid in here." She told him, smiling. Gray gave her an odd look, and he ineptly cleared his throat. She saw him reach for her hand and grinned. His touch was really shy; it was exactly how she expected it would be. He slid his hands around her waist, just like Cliff had, but he didn't pull her close. He cleared his throat again.

This was… surprisingly nice. Claire had thought that a dance with Gray would be annoying, like how they'd fight throughout the song. But this was nothing like that. They were simply swaying with the music.

Maybe there was a reason why Cliff and Ann tried to get them together, maybe there was a reason he didn't ask Mary to the dance that involved her. What if everyone saw the chemistry in them that the two of them tried so hard to ignore? Or maybe… Gray was close to accepting that, but Claire…

No, she promised herself she'd live her life a happy, die-hard single. Boys were out of the question.

And besides, Mary likes the guy. There was no way she'd take that away from her. "Hey," he said, breaking the silence and interrupting her thoughts. Damn, she had got to stop mind babbling.

"Yeah?"

"Where did you get that dress?" He asked.

Claire smiled warmly, remembering the solitary woodcutter in the woods. "I got it from Gotz, this dress was her daughter's. It was a really sweet gesture."

Gray nodded in approval. "It looks cool on you." He blushed. She did the same, and gave her thanks.

Claire stared at the dark blue sky. It was filled with stars, and the moon hung brilliantly with an awesome shine. Everyone's faces, highlighted blue by its light, glowed in a mystifying way. She wondered if it had the same effect on hers. The stars were twinkling like jewelry tonight.

Speaking of stars and jewelry…

"Oh, that reminds me." Claire searched one of her laces, where she attached the necklace she received from him. She handed it to Gray, in all its glory.

"It's the necklace I gave you…" He acknowledged.

Claire nodded. The sapphire, star-shaped pendant rested on her palm. It twinkled brightly, maybe even brighter than the stars in the night sky themselves. Her heart softened, like how it would every single time she stared at it. She couldn't help it. She liked the necklace so much. "Would you?"

"You said you didn't wear jewelry." He said. "You didn't even wear a pair of earrings."

"Just put it on!" She snapped. Gray laughed. It wasn't adorable, like Cliff's, but it was… what was the word… alluring? She tried to hide her blush, and thankfully, it worked. It didn't seem like Gray noticed it when he took the necklace from her palm, and slowly slid his hands to the back of her neck.

Claire expected him to walk behind her to put the necklace on her, but he remained in front of her, which meant that he could see her shy expression while putting on the said jewelry.

Gray stared at the necklace now resting on her chest. He liked how blue it was, and how it matched her eyes. His hands never dared to let go of the necklace, which meant he had his arms wrapped around the back of her neck. The two of them stared at each other, absorbed in their dance, in their private world, where no one could disturb them.

He smiled at the fact that she was staring at him, too.

A bit of her blonde hair fell out of place, and he slowly tucked them behind her ear. She shivered at his touch, and he bit back another smile. When did this happen? Where his mind was full of this girl, this... blonde farmer who worked so hard by herself, when did the feelings begin to overflow inside him? Her blue eyes, her blonde hair, her pale skin, and how he never saw her as filthy whenever her overalls were covered in dirt. He should have realized it sooner.

"The Spring Goddess Festival…" He said, slipping his hand on her waist, swaying with the music once again.

Claire shot him a confused stare. "Huh?"

"I was wondering if… we could go next year."

The blonde laughed. Damn, he liked her laugh. "That's asking way, way in advance, Gray." He chuckled. Now that he thought about it, it did seem kind of weird to ask her out a year in advance. But hey, Cliff might beat him to it again. Her eyes grew serious. "Why?"

What did she mean, why? Was she asking him why he wanted to take her to the festival next year? "I don't know."

"You don't know." She echoed, looking deep in thought. Oh no, don't figure it out yet. He wasn't ready, he had just realized his feelings, after all. Gray would be at a loss if he had to reveal everything now. His heart skipped a beat when she rested her head on his shoulder. "Okay then." She muttered.

Both of their cheeks were flushed in deep crimson, it was the perfect moment, until…

"And now… the moment we've all been waiting for…" The mayor's voice vibrated through a microphone. "The dance of every bachelorette in Mineral Town!" He announce.

What? What dance? Every bachelorette must dance? Then that would have included her! Claire snapped back, removing her resting head from Gray's chest, obvious anger rising in her face. Gray began to cower in fear. "Why didn't anybody tell me?" She yelled.

The blonde farmer rampaged through the yellow bricked paseo, but none were alarmed. In fact, the townspeople merely laughed it off, saying it was cute. Claire reluctantly allowed them to teach her the steps of the dance, and she moved in sync with the other girls.

All's well that ends well, she guessed.

What did you guys think? It took him eleven whole chapters to finally realize his feelings for Claire! XD Nest chapter is summer! So expect some love from KAI!

passerby: You finished in TEN minutes? WOW! Hahaha, his head really is beautiful, isn't it?

Massu Chan: Aw, thank you for the sweet review! Yes, we are cruel! Hurray for all the cruel people in the world!

StellaAllets: Glad you likey! It's understandable to just love Gray... he's adorable!

tufted titmouse: You're so right! I wanted to punch myself for hurting Cliff... but... oh well. XD

skitsophraniac: Sorry I paired him with Ann... T_T

lollipopdiego: I was surprised you gave consecutive reviews to all of my chapters. My eyes bulged out of their sockets when I checked my mail, earlier! Thank you so much for your reviews, I'll take note on everything you said regarding my writing. And good for you and your boyfriend, and shame on that guy who told you to piss off. :( Thanks again.

AtYourSide: It's still CliffxAnn. XD Thank you!

xXx Tinkies xXx: No kissy faces yet, I'm afraid. But he's improved, doncha think? XD

ShelbyTheJedi: Thank you in advance for the cookie! And thanks for the review! XD