((Oh man, oh man! I finally finished. Holiday stuff, writers block, grounding, eggs... Anywho, I'll try not to make this too long. So I hope you'll enjoy this. Next time I'll try and work harder. Rushrushrush.

Now for the people who make my world go round:

Jean Cooper: I gives you a cookie! 'Cause I loves you. I actually kind of pulled it out of my hat, the sleep over. I actually read the chap of yours afterwards and I was like "coincidence?" XD But your always awesomer no matter what.

Lady Rosses: I know! Jack is just one of those charcters you have to love. (Well at least I try to make him. I usually aim for the dense, and somewhat annoying personality you just have to love) Thanks for reveiwing

Mayouh101: Thanks for the reveiw, I'm so ahppy your still reveiwing!

Sweetprincess16: I love Gray too, most I know can't. XD Well, we know guys always say one thing and mean another. But were going to have to find out later on. :0

Ringxivia: Thanks, I actually kinda stole the history for this piece I hade to do for school but originally it took forever to think it up. So It means a lot. Gosh... I just don't know what to say. It makes me what to write more know I've inspired someone.

ONWARD TO... story...ing. I guess.))

Gray's POV

I don't know how, but I must have fallen asleep. Claire was asleep before I even considered being tired. But I must have dozed off because of boredom.

The intense bright light forced me to let out a groan and then slowly opened each eye. I sat open and looked around the room; Claire's bed was empty and made, there was mail neatly folded on the table, and Claire was standing in the middle of a very small kitchen.

It took her awhile to notice I was awake, but after a yawn or two she directed her attention to me. "Oh Gray," she said, "did I wake you?" I shook my head and stretched. "Oh, okay, good morning. How did you sleep?"

"Good," I mumbled. She smiled and nodded. It was funny to think about it, but it kind of seemed like Claire and I were just one of those American-down-to-earth families. But then again, we weren't married, even together, and we didn't live together.

She looked down at the counter then me, "I actually bought a kitchen," Claire mumbled, but her voice got louder, "I've been saving up for awhile and now I have a kitchen and a frying pan. I'm glad a lot of furniture was already here, then I would have had to buy it…" There was a frantic knock on the door; it was getting louder each time.

"Claire! Claire! Claire open up!" The person outside screamed. Claire's eyes widened a tiny bit (In shock) and ran to open the door. I got up and walked over behind her to see what was going on. She opened to door, outside stood Ann with her mouth already open to speak.

"Claire, we can't find Gray anywhere- wait," Ann shifted her glance to me behind Claire. "Gray… where… Claire? Here?" She looked at Claire, me then back at Claire.

"Am I… interrupting something?" Ann asked. It came to my head. I looked at Claire. She was still in a pair extremely well in my opinion-short shorts and a long plain top. Then I looked down at myself. Socks, black shirt… boxers. Dammit, Dammit. I rushed over to where I slept and slipped my pants on as fast as I could. How could Claire not have noticed? Well, when I got up I did have the blanket on… and they did look like shorts.

"Whoa, whoa," Claire said nervously with her hands in front of her, "It's not like that-" But Ann must not of heard Claire, because she didn't respond.

I rushed back over to the door and grabbed the side frame, "Ann, really… it's not-" I felt a sharp intense pain in my right cheek. Ann moved her hand away from my face and watched me place my hand on my cheek to soothe the pain.

"You make me sick, Gray," Ann said. "You made the whole town worry about you when you were dinking around with Claire,"

"Hold up there, Ann," Claire protested, "you saw the weather last night. Gray was walking me home and it started hailing on us. There was no way I was going to let him walk home in hail. So I let him stay on my couch here, that's all,"

Ann raised an eyebrow, "You do know it stopped hailing around ten, right?"

"That's not possible, the weather channel said that…" Claire's voice faded and she looked at the ground.

Claire looked desperate. She began shifting weight on each foot, biting her lip and opening her mouth to talk every couple of seconds. "So," she started, trying to change the subjects, "what's going on this season?"

"You have a calendar, don't ya?" Ann asked. She invited herself in and scanned the room. "It's clean, the way I like it… so we should be able to see if Jack kept a calendar… Here!" Ann pointed to a small calendar hanging next to the TV.

"How did we miss that?" Claire questioned. She walked over to it and flipped through the pages. "I forgot about this..." Claire let out a nervous laugh.

I followed them and looked at the calendar, "It's still on spring," I pointed out. Ann lifted up the next flap to summer.

"What are all the red circles and crap?" she asked.

Ann and I exchanged glances. "Holidays," we mumbled in unison. Claire's eyes widened as she went berserk.

"Are you serious!" Claire yelled, scanning the pages. "I missed all these holidays? Dammit!" Ann put a hand on her shoulder and fixed the calendar to Fall.

"Its okay, Claire," Ann pulled a marker out of her pocket and handed it to Claire. "Let's mark the important holidays," Claire nodded and began reading off this season's holidays.

"Music festival… that's today!" Claire exclaimed.

"Oh, that reminds me, Carter wants to know if you could play the Ocarina in the festival," Ann said.

"Uh, sure but why did you wait this long to tell me?"

"I forgot," Ann mumbled, while I slapped my forehead. That there was Ann and her typical forgetfulness.

"Uh, um, okay. Thirteenth… Full moon festival…" She mumbled.

"One of the most romantic festivals of the year," Ann continued.

I felt pressure when Ann raised an eyebrow at me and motioned to Claire. There was no doubt that sweat was pouring down my face as I tried to think of something to say. Then Claire had to stare at me with those big sapphire eyes of hers. Was it just me, or was it incredibly hot in there?

"I-I was thinking of asking Mary," I said quickly. Ann gave me a glare, the "What-the-hell-are-you-thinking?" glare. Claire stopped in the middle of putting a heart around the box, then looked down and began making a circle instead.

I was curious. Was Claire… jealous? It didn't make any sense. But then she faced me with a smile. "I bet Mary will be very happy," Ann turned to Claire and went over the rest of the holidays with her.

It was starting to get boring. I didn't want to leave yet, though. My plan (which I developed after Ann arrived) was to leave with Ann, but now she was deciding to make herself at home. I drummed my fingers on the table and silently whistled to myself, in attempt to distract myself. But I couldn't help but let my gaze shift to the one, of the many letters opened up on the table.

It was laid out on the table in an angle that I could read. Wait, I would never invade someone else's privacy. But… I could at least see whom it was from. I couldn't help it, I was just going to see whom it was from but I knew it wouldn't hurt to read it.

Dear Claire (There was a heart after her name),

Yo, what's up Claire? It's Kai; I remembered how we made the promise to keep in touch after I left; so I decided to write to you. I'm doing fine, and as I wrote this I was in this beautiful island. If you thought Mineral Town's beach was beautiful you haven't seen anything! But by the time you read this I'll be in another town nearby, so if you want the address I wrote it at the bottom. Just want you to know I'm thinking of you and I can't wait to come back to Mineral Town so we can sit at the beach together and watch our troubles melt away. But I'm babbling now. It'll just be better when were together again.

Love (There was another heart),

Kai

The idiot. Even if Kai and Claire weren't together, anyone with common sense would know Kai is a flirt. Just like Karen. Those two should just go run off together and get married or something. I felt a hint of rage boiling within my body. Goddesses if Kai was here I'd probably throw him off the hill or something. Just a lady's man wannabe.

"Why are you putting a star on that day?" Ann asked. I looked over to the two girls. Claire smiled and continued making a star, "I haven't heard of a holiday being on the 3rd of Winter… is it some sort of city festivity?"

She shook her head, "It's my birthday, it's the day you-and I mean you-have to watch Jack for me and make sure he doesn't do anything crazy," Ann nodded and gave a joking salute. Claire rolled her eyes and capped the marker.

"Well, I think it's about time Gray and I go," Ann yawned and yanked me up, "right Gray?" I nodded and grabbed my hat of the couch then followed Ann to the door. The two girls waved and exchanged goodbyes "for now, at least," and then Claire turned to me.

"Bye Gray," Claire said, she rubbed the back of her head embarrassedly, "Sorry for making you stay the night and stuff," I shook my head franticly.

"I-it's fine, t-thanks," I mumbled quickly, followed by running out the door.

"Smooth," Ann mumbled from behind me.

"Shut up," I muttered, "you don't seem to do much better with Jack," Red lit her cheeks as Ann pushed me and followed up with a kick in the shin.

"You're a jerk, Gray!" Ann yelled as she started running to the Inn. It would be fine; Ann would pout and 'shun' me and then she'd go back to kicking me while I eat, sleep and walk.

I dug my hands in my pockets and looked up at the sky. It had been weeks since I had just time to myself to look at the sky, and today it looked beautiful… The sun lit up the deep azure sky, painted with white puffed clouds. It looked so much like it was just a mural. Like it was all fake.

"Hey Gray," A male greeted as he past me. I looked behind me and watched him walk towards Claire's farm. Brown hair, baseball cap… Jack? Why would he go to Claire's farm?

Whatever it was none of my business… no matter how much wondering it caused me. I turned away to walk back to the town, but a fast blur past in front of my face and then I fell to the ground.

"Hey watch where your going, I've gone through enough shit today," I snapped. The male looked down at me with dark brown eyes and then pushed matching brown hair behind his ears.

"Well if you'd watch where your going we wouldn't be in this dilemma," Cliff said flatly.

"Are you following Jack?" I asked Cliff as I pushed myself up.

He puffed out air, "Of course not, why would you say that? I'm not following him. How stupid is that?" Cliff looked in several directions and continued foreword up the path. Man am I in a town with freaks?

Claire's POV

"Okay, so you gave a nickname to almost everyone in town?" I asked as I watered the crops. Jack nodded and squatted down on the grass. "Prove it, what do you call… Mary?"

"Hah, she's The Hypocrite," Jack laughed and lied down on the grass. I glared at him, and then hit the watering can on top of his head.

"Ow! It's true too! And Rick's the prick, Kai's the Flirt, Karen's the drunkard-"

"You're an idiot, that's mean," I continued watering the plants, but still monitored Jack's every move.

"Hey, hey," Jack protested, "I'm not a bad guy. I gave a nice name to some people… like.. Oh I dunno, uh.. "

"Oh, okay, then what's Ann's?" I asked mockingly, "tomboy? Man woman?"

"…The cute waitress," He said with embarrassment. I felt laughter coming on; Jack was just so adorable, (But 'little boy cute' not 'guy cute.') eve if it was the lamest name on the face of this earth.

"You like her," I insisted.

"Do not, she's just… pretty attractive,"

"And that's why you want to get her in a dark room and-"

"It's not like that!" Jack shouted with a red face.

"Okay, now I know you like her," I mumbled. He looked down at the grass, speechless. "If you like her so much ask her to the Full Moon Festival,"

"I guess… but she's going with Cliff, I know. Those two had this thing…"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw them kissing in the back of the Inn during the summer I was living here…" Jack said softly as he picked at the grass. I snapped my head backwards.

"Are you serious?" I asked. Jack nodded and twirled the grass in his fingers. "Well- Ann even said that she doesn't like Cliff anymore! So I'll ask her for you if you want, or…"

"Is that true… or are you trying to cheer me up?" Jack raised his eyebrow and gave me a very serious look. But I knew this wasn't a fake one.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," I said while packing the watering can back into my rucksack. Okay, so Ann had never told me that was true. But as far as I could see, there was no chemistry.

"Then… let me ask her," Jack mumbled, "it'll make me seem like a wimp if you ask for me… and I should probably get flowers… I have to think about this,"

"At least you don't have to worry about figuring out how to play the ocarina tonight," I complained as I plopped down next to him.

"Ah, music festival," Jack said, with a complete mood change "I remember that. You got off easy, when I was here I had to play the violin because Popuri was set on playing to ocarina. And you know I play strictly the cello, not violin,"

"Yeah, yeah, now what should I do- wait, did you hear something?" I asked. Jack shook his head and shrugged. There was no doubt that I heard something… bush rustlings. I turned my attention to the bushes at the entrance of my farm. Nothing. Must be hallucinating.

"Don't worry, you only have a few notes to play. Three at the least… maybe," Jack comforted me.

"Uh, okay, but I have no clue how to work it," I pouted. Jack just smiled and laughed at my childish actions.

"Your like a kid," Jack said. I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped. It hit my head, even if it was random. Everything seemed… perfect. I had run away from Jack and now we were best friends like old times. Now Jack was moving on, and I was so happy for him. But what about me? Sure I had found hope in my life, but sometimes it felt like it wasn't worth it if I had no one to share it with. Maybe I was just… envious.

"Jack," I started, "what do you think… of love?" Jack stopped moving around and stopped.

"What do you mean?" He asked. By his expression, I noticed how stupid my question was.

"N-never mind. Forget I asked," I said quickly.

"Without love, we'd get no where," Jack said with a wide smile, "don't you agree?"

"I guess your right," I mumbled, "but shouldn't you be moving foreword with. You-know-who? I mean, if that's the way you feel,"

"You're a.. a.. That was so cheap," He complained. I laughed and pushed him up.

"Go! Come one, make a move, and get her flowers! Do something and stop distracting me," I exclaimed, as I pushed myself up. "Unless you're going to actually help me with farm work,"

"To find flowers and away!" Jack shouted while he ran off towards the forest. Sometimes it made me wonder why we were so compatible. He was so… Jack, ad I was just so… me. But life worked in so many different ways.

I got up and started walking up town, there were bigger things to worry about right now. But I did have a plan. I'd got visit Carter and mention that Ann just told me that I'd be playing today, then I'd have him teach me. Flawless wasn't it? Maybe it wasn't… but it would get me somewhere. If all went wrong, I could beg Carter to let me play violin.

"Simple, simple…" I repeated to myself, "up, library, Ellen's and Mayor's homes, Supermarket, Clinic, Church," I had done this every time, but I was a very forgetful person so it helped me a bunch. "That reminds me… Ann and I need to bake for Ellen soon," I mumbled.

So far, it was an overall windy day. Not too windy, but enough to make my hair whip my face every couple of seconds. As I passed up, the bushes waved in a rhythmic pattern against the fence.

The town seemed… quiet today. Usually you could see May and Stu running around town, or people commuting. But today it wasn't as loud. There were only few people commuting now, as far as I could see. Manna and just a couple others heading into the Inn.

Finally, when I got to the church it seemed so silent. I could hear my breathing as well as Carter's and the others in the church. "Good afternoon, Claire," he greeted.

"Good afternoon, Father Carter," I answered as I scanned the church. Something was missing… May and Stu were in the front pew playing, and Jeff was sitting not to far away. I couldn't place my finger on it… till it hit me.

Before Carter could speak, I started up again, "So Cliff isn't here?"

Carter's smile faded, "No… actually there's a bit of a story you should know," I tilted my head and sat next to the stand. "Cliff has lived here for a few years now, before you came and a little before Jack came. But now…" he stopped and sighed, "Cliff says he's running out of money and talks about how he's going to have to move on to another town if he can't find a job,"

"T-that's horrible!" I exclaimed. Carter took a deep breath and nodded.

"I offered him to stay here with me, but he doesn't want to cause trouble," Carter said. Sure, Cliff and I weren't life partners, or lifetime friends but I had come to like him so much, and life here in Mineral Town would be so different.

"So… Claire, what brings you here?" Carter asked. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine," I said, "it's just that Ann told me today that I'd be playing the ocarina," Carter took a deep breath and muttered something to himself.

"And you don't play I assume?" He asked. I shook my head and scratched at my arm. "I'd offer the violin, but Popuri already claimed it this year. If Ann had told you at the end of summer like she was supposed to you could of attended the practice on the first and we wouldn't be in this predicament,"

After retrieving the ocarina from the back, Carter went over how to hold it and how to bow into it so you got a clear sound. To tell the truth, it wasn't that hard. I had played harder instruments, like the guitar. I had failed horribly at that.

He went over the notes I'd be playing (Which he had to simplify because I hadn't heard it before) for the song, and after getting the hang of it he went over to the organ and slowly recited the melody. Half way through, he told me that he was going to start over, and I should try to play with him. Even if I had just learned the melody, I did as he told. I guess I did well. It wasn't the best, but I remembered hitting most of the notes.

The doors swung open and loud talking filled the church. I turned over and spotted Ann and Karen running in and talking at the top of their lungs. Followed by Elli and Mary walking in, talking in inside voices. Sometimes I wonder about the people I spend most of my time with.

"Hi Claire-a-Claire!" Karen chimed. She and Ann waved and I walked over to them. Ann sat on the nearest pew and started undoing the locks of a small black case. She lifted open the top and pulled out a few pieces and a reed.

"Clarinet or Oboe?" I asked.

"Oboe," she answered with the reed sticking out of her mouth. Faster than I thought possible; she assembled the pieces to form an oboe. I looked over to Karen, nothing in hands… no backpack.

"I'm singing," Karen informed me, "I have a mean soprano,"

"Wow, you sing?" I asked in awe, "that's amazing, I have one of the worst voices ever, so I don't sing," She smiled and brushed off imaginary dust off her shirt.

"Some are just born with beautiful voices and beautiful faces, darling" She patted me on the back. "Some aren't so fortunate," But I could tell she was joking.

"Whoa, whoa, don't get too big headed there," I said, "I haven't even heard you sing,"

"You'll hear soon enough," Karen said. She got up and went to the front of the church in search of Carter.

"Wait, where's Popuri?" Mary panicked. Ann shot her head back.

"You and Elli were supposed to keep your eye on her and make sure she didn't wander off!" Ann scolded her.

"Good job," Karen scoffed. "Score minus one for Bookworm,"

"Shut up, Karen," Ann snapped, "All I know is that I'm not going to find her. Someone else is going to have to,"

"Yeah, Mary," Karen said, and then looked at Mary. Ann took an angry breath and glared at Karen. "Sorry," Mary mumbled something to herself and then agreed to track down Popuri. Chances were she was just running around in circles chasing butterflies.

Elli walked over to where Ann had unpacked opened up a similar case, with similar parts. I looked over her shoulder to see if there was a difference between the two. "Is this a clarinet?" She nodded and assembled the pieces together. It felt weird; everyone here was playing an instrument they had been playing for years maybe, and I was playing something I just picked up a couple hours ago.

"Elli, if I mess up you'll cover me, right?" Ann asked with embarrassment.

Elli let out small laugh, "I'll try my best," I looked at the large clock near the corner. It was almost six. Mary would have to bring Popuri quickly!

"Girls, gather round for practice," Carter informed us. "We'll have to make due without a violin, but I can take care of the organ part," Ann, Elli, and I looked at each other, and then gathered around the front. "One, two.. And three," Carter started playing, and after a few measures Ann and Elli joined in. Soon enough, I joined in. Together we actually sounded really good. But Karen wasn't doing a thing but looking pretty.

I looked over at her, she seemed to be mouthing the words "one," "two," and then "three," After three, she began signing. Karen was right, she did sound like an angel. Every note was hit perfectly, and she matched the tone of the instruments just so beautifully.

At the end of the song, soft claps erupted from the front of the room. "Nicely done, everyone," Mary complimented.

"Wow! Where's the violin?" Popuri exclaimed, "I want to play with you guys!" Ann and I exchanged glances and started laughing.

"What's so funny, guys?" she questioned.

"It's nothing," Ann blurted out. Carter got up and unlocked a case behind the front stand. The pink haired girl ran up to Carter and squealed.

"There's already rosin on it, and it's tuned, so don't worry about anything. You should just practice," Carter said. She nodded and laid the bow across the stings. After a few scratchy notes she started producing some high quality notes.

Carter clapped his hands together and smiled, "Well, ladies," he said, "I think we're ready,"

Cliff's POV

I looked over to the church doors, many villagers lined up to get inside the church. It was much louder than earlier today. Should I have gone in? I never really attended any town gatherings, so it would be so awkward to just appear to one of the festivals or something. But with the chance of leaving…I guess it wouldn't be so bad to just stand in the back.

Hesitantly, I pushed off the fence surrounding the church, and followed the remainder of the villagers into the church. Chattering filled the room, not too loud, but I knew in the middle pews most noise was being produced from the village's gossip goddesses. Manna, Sasha, and Anna.

I glanced at the front of the church. Carter stood there clapping to hush the villagers. "Everyone!" He called, emediently the room got silent. He motioned to the girls lined up in a row, except Mary who was a few inches away in front of the organ. "These girls have worked very hard to put this together for you enjoyment, and hope you'll all love it. Thank you all," He stepped off to the side and took a seat on one of the open seats.

Okay, I wasn't really paying attention to what they were playing, but I did pay attention to who was there and what they were doing. Elli looked like a robot, and I wasn't kidding. Every motion was robotic and her face was so emotionless. It was actually funny to look at her. Ann on the other hand, she was fiddling with the clarinet (Or whatever it was, maybe an oboe?) the whole time, and kept making embarrassed faces every time she screwed up a note. But it was nothing compared to Popuri's monkey-like face she did every time to bow went across the strings. I guess there wasn't really anything to say about Mary, Claire, and Karen. They all seemed pretty normal. (Although I really could say anything about Mary; she was turned away)

After they had finished, clapping sounds engulfed the entire church. I even started clapping the tiniest bit. It wouldn't be me to just make a scene. The girls just looked at each other and smiled. I turned toward the door and started on my way to leave. It's not like I had any plans to stay and just hang around with someone. I pushed open the door and walked out into the night.

"Wait, Cliff!" I turned my head to behind. In the threshold, stood Claire. She shakily closed the door and walked out. "Cliff… are you really going to leave Mineral Town?"

I actually felt shocked. Carter was the only one I had actually talked with about leaving. "Claire… how did you- Carter…" She nodded and stepped closer to me.

"You can't leave," she said softly.

"I'm running out of money, Claire. What am I supposed to do?" I asked her.

"I don't know!" Claire shouted, "And I don't care either! You could always just stay with me! I don't care what anyone would say, you just can't go,"

"Listen," I started, "if I can't find a job, I'm not going to be staying here," She looked down at the ground with a thoughtful and somewhat hurt expression.

"You could always help me with the farm, Cliff. I'd pay you and everything!" she exclaimed, "in the meantime, I'd even help you find a real job,"

"Claire…" I said. She looked at me with pleading sapphire eyes. "I-I don't even know anything about farming, I'd be no help,"

"Neither did I!" she blurted out with another step foreword. "but it's all fairly simple, I'd help you get a hang of it. I promise,"

"I don't know…" I mumbled as I rubbed my arm, "It's kind of… sudden… and I-I…" she stared at me with the same begging eyes as before. "I-I … I guess… I could use the money…" I glanced at her face again; this time a smile had begun forming. "…Fine, I'll do it. But… if by next year I don't have a real job… I'm going to have to leave,"

Claire's whole face lit up, "I promise! This is so great!" she cheered. I simply scratched the back of my head.

"So… do I start tomorrow…?" I asked hesitantly.

"Sure! I mean, if that's okay for you, any day is fine," she said.

"Tomorrow is fine," I said, "Is seven okay…?"

"Of course," Claire answered. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around me. "This is so great… I'm just so happy,"

I didn't really think I could say anything without ruining the moment. She moved closer and rested her head against my chest. There was really nothing else to do but return the hug. So that's what I did.

It was great, wasn't it?

((Sooo, ClairexCliff twist. NOWAI. OKay, well... My friend Jon gave me the idea for Cliff working for Claire. (He is also a HM fan, and usually helps me when I'm in writing pain.) He's a great writer... but... he's Jon. XD (And I use him to get Jack's personality) Thats me, I'm going to put a fork in the road, maybe a few twists and turns, and then add some cliffhangers. Expect the un expected.

D Update, finally!))