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

Author's Note: This chapter is super short compared to the others, but I'm going to get the remaining chapters out asap after this since I have them all written. (: As always thank you for the reviews and more, they're very appreciated. Thanks for reading!

"How can I begin anything new with all of yesterday in me?"
-Leonard Cohen

The Cooking Festival was fated to start in a half hour, and though the rest of Bluebell was slowly making their way towards the mountain summit together, Laney was already waiting there, staring blankly over the cliff towards the meager cities scattered below. Which one is she at now? Laney wondered, observing each one she could see. There was one shrouded in trees that didn't look very industrialized – it probably wasn't that one. The colorful one by the sea would suit the farmer, but Laney couldn't remember her mentioning anything about living by water, and she had seemed too fascinated by the closeness to the river to have been from a seaside town.

Every action Laney committed was laced with guilt. Raising from bed and remembering that the girl had moved out of town several days before, showering and knowing that she was never going to come back, baking her famous strawberry shortcake with the knowledge that it was all her fault. Cam hadn't mentioned much at all, and for the first time in years, Laney had seen Georgia cry at Ash's words. She had cried while leaning against the boy's shoulder, sobbing and expressing guilt, as though she had anything to do with the farmer's disappearance. Ash himself had not cracked a single joke since her departure, had not smiled or laughed or done much of anything. He simply went about his daily life as though nothing happy would come again.

And with a single word, Laney knew she could free them of the guilt they had each unfairly placed upon themselves. She could convince them that it was her fault rather than theirs. But still, she couldn't bring herself to do that, because for the first time since Lillian had arrived in Bluebell, her friends were really making an effort to include her. Cam put his arm around her and murmured that he was sorry, knowing Lillian had always liked Laney very much. This had sent remorse coursing through her system, but had also filled her with hope that she would finally be a part of her friends' group again.

But was it even worth it? She collapsed backwards onto the grass and willed tears to come, but they would not. Her eyes were red-rimmed and dried out from how many guilty, miserable tears she had spilled. The words spoken were only voiced because she had been in the heat of the moment. When Cam and Georgia explained their words to her, she forgave them and understood that the entire situation could be summed up with one word: misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that had prompted her to lash out at Lillian and say things she desperately wished she could take back and knew she would never be able to. The guilt was only intensified when she remembered that she had been entrusted with Lillian's life story, and knew that she was now slaving away at a dull retail job in one of those faraway cities to help her mother.

"Laney?" a voice called as she let loose one heavy sigh. She turned to see Cam, who held his hand out to her and then picked up her entry dish, pushing it gently into her arms. "I know," he murmured when she tried to speak.

No, Laney tried to say. You don't know. This is my fault. I hurt her even though she didn't deserve it. I made her move! But Laney did not say anything, for Cam put his arm around her and steered her back towards Ash and Georgia, who were standing silently beside each other.

Laney looked around and saw that Rutger and Ina were laughing together, Eileen was blushing at something Sheng had told her, and Rose and Ayame were amiably chatting about a dish the doctor was holding. Over in the corner Cheryl, Rahi and Ying were playing; not too far from them, Mako was lifting his eyepatch for a shocked Jessica. Konohana and Bluebell, she realized, are completely intertwined. You couldn't tell where one started and the other began. They were simply like one town, all mixed together.

Kana approached the group with a grin, but he looked puzzled as he glanced around at the four. "Where's Lillian? I thought she'd be welcome at this Cooking Festival, now that everyone is getting along."

Georgia began to cry, covering her face with embarrassment. Ash winced and looked away, and Cam stared focusedly at his shoes. Kana met Laney's eyes, but she found no words to express what had happened. Giving words to it would make it too final. He seemed to grasp the situation anyways, however, for he finally nodded and turned to Georgia, wrapping her in his arms. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Georgia."

And this time, Georgia did not push him away.

Laney stared out the window, noting that the stars were out in full force. That was to be expected, however, of the night sky at two in the morning. Sleep would not come to her no matter how much she willed it to, and she had long since given up on trying. She had taken to watching the stars beaming down on her and wondering if she would ever be able to bring herself to confess her wrongs to her friends. Seeing them all shaken so terribly by her departure, however, made her realize that confessing would be the same as exiling herself. No matter what she did, Lillian was not coming back. She leaned her head against the cool glass of the window, looking down from her second story view.

Cam was sitting on the table used for his flowers, hands wrapped in his lap, gazing up at the sky as well. Laney wasn't sure what to say to him, but did not hesitate to pull on her sweater and rush down the stairs.

He didn't move an inch when she sat beside him, merely staring on. Laney wondered if he would ever give any sign that he even realized she was there until he mumbled, "I know she never liked me. But still…I miss her a lot. And I…I really regret never getting to know her as just a friend. Ash is so torn up over her being gone because he got the chance to become her friend. I feel like…I don't even have the same right to miss her, because I spent so much time thinking of how to catch her attention that I never thought of how to be a friend to her. And now I'll never get that chance."

His words ended with a sudden breath, as though he were about to cry. Laney could not recall ever seeing Cam shed tears, and wasn't ready to see him do such anytime soon. She put her arm around his shoulder, squeezing him for a moment. "You can't help that you had a crush on her, Cam. It's unavoidable."

She yearned to tell him that when Lillian was looking for a friend to talk to she was looking for him, but couldn't do that. Now that she knew from Georgia that the farmer had developed a crush on Ash, she knew that whatever was bothering Lillian that day had led her to seek comfort in her friendship with Cam. She fought against the onslaught of regret, knowing she would cry for this when she was alone, because she needed to be strong for Cam. He was staring at her, his eyes shining with unshed tears. Finally he whispered, "Is that how you felt, Laney?"

Laney wasn't sure what had prompted him to ask such a question, but she saw no reason not to answer it. With a faint smile she nodded, returning her hands to her lap. Cam smiled at her as well and then put his arm around her instead, hugging her to him. "I'm really, really, really glad that you and I are friends," he told her. "Thanks for coming out here to be with me."

And just like that, they spent the rest of the night gazing out at the stars littered across the sky. Laney knew that she would eventually crumble from the weight of her mixed feelings, but for just one night she would sit with Cam and enjoy their friendship – something she too had forgotten in lieu of a crush.

"So I noticed that Kana was over yesterday."

Georgia shot a glare towards Laney, who giggled. Kana and Georgia had quickly become inseparable, though to onlookers their conversations were severely lacking any hint of actual romance. Georgia was still struggling to surpass her previous issues with the boy, but found it impossible to ignore him – if she treated him poorly, she felt as though she were insulting Lillian's memory, and she wasn't willing to do such a thing. So their conversations continued, albeit frequently in a jarring, awkward manner.

"So what?" the redhead retorted, thrusting her fist before her. "He just won't leave me alone! It's nothing else!"

Laney smiled, dusting off the ledge of the fence to sit on. "So nothing. I was just curious. You two seem to hang out a lot lately. Ash told me that you said Dakota won in a race the other day, too."

Georgia hesitated and then shoved her hands into her pockets, making a face. "I'm still not sure if he and Hayate threw that one or not…I'm definitely going to have another go to be sure. I won't take any freebies. I want to win for sure!"

"I'm sure you and Dakota really did win," Laney began, trying to smooth Georgia's ruffled feathers. The next words on her lips died out, however, as she looked over and saw Ash sitting down against the side of his house, staring glumly out towards the Bluebell monument. His eyes were dulled and his shoulders slumped forward. Laney recognized the expression as the one Cam had worn when she went out to comfort him the week before.

Georgia's eyes followed the blonde's, and she sighed when she saw the source of her sympathetic grimace. "Ash!" she called out, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Come over here!"

The boy turned and met her eyes for a moment, looking like he wanted to decline before he nodded, heaving himself up and trudging towards her. Even in the midst of his sorrow, guilt, and frustration, Georgia was beautiful and undeniable. He wished she would stop doing that to him, especially when she spent all her free time with Kana now. It only made everything he felt hurt worse. "What is it?" he asked the girls when he met them, attempting to raise his eyebrow in the same innocent, curious way he always did.

"You okay?" Georgia asked, frowning. Laney offered the boy a faint smile that he reluctantly returned, and she fought the urge to confess her guilt as she always yearned to, knowing it would ease the boy's own remorse.

"I just miss her, I guess," Ash admitted softly, nudging the fence with the tip of his boot. The leaves that had once littered the floor were now crumbling to pieces, fragments hiding amongst the grasses and dirt. Winter was forcing its way into their small town, and Ash remembered how he had promised to teach Lillian how to ice skate when the rivers began to freeze over. Georgia had offered to teach her how to snowboard. These lost promises stung, harsh as the early biting winter wind.

Georgia looked uncomfortable discussing Lillian, for she spent a good deal of her time struggling to maintain her emotions in regards to the dear friend she had already shed too many confused and guilty tears over. Lillian's departure had been chalked up to the fault of the entire town when it was revealed that she left because she was afraid she caused too much trouble, as the mayor said. Georgia, like all others, wondered why she didn't work harder to comfort Lillian, why she didn't stand up for her more often, why she didn't fight for her. But those times were gone, inevitably changing as the seasons had, and they were not irretrievable. Georgia lifted her similarly saddened eyes to Ash's and asked, "Did you start…liking her?"

She couldn't help but ask this one last hopeful question. Ash had never revealed whether or not he had feelings for Lillian to her, but when she asked Cam and Laney they simply replied that she should put that idea to rest. Thinking that there was a possibility Ash had now discovered feelings for Lillian, however…she had no idea how she would convey the answer to Lillian, but she wanted to. She desperately, desperately, desperately wanted to.

"I…" Ash trailed off, pushing his hands into his pockets. His feelings for Lillian had been swept up by a storm of curiosity, and he had never considered them himself. His love for Georgia was becoming easier to let go, despite the pain, as he forced himself to encourage the relationship between her and Kana in Lillian's place, but it still consumed him. Was missing Lillian terribly and wishing he could spend another evening with her love? He wasn't sure. He couldn't say whether or not he had developed feelings for Lillian, and they were merely hiding in the corners of his heart, pushed off to the side by his massive affection for Georgia. "I don't know about that," Ash finally murmured, shrugging. "But I did love her as a friend. She made me feel better in ways that nobody else could. I could always count on her to be there for me. She was so selfless that…I guess it was easy for me to think my problems were more important than hers, and just forget she even had problems. And I regret that. Anyways, I'm going for a walk."

He didn't give Georgia or Laney time to answer, but they would not have anyways. As he trailed away, each girl considered these words. Georgia knew that she had been so swept up in her issues that she had rarely given time to Lillian's – clearly not until it was too late. She too couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had spent more time discussing how Lillian felt than laying her own problems out and running away from them. Laney, on the other hand, was struck once more with the realization that she had completely ignored Lillian's own feelings in lieu of prioritizing hers and treating Lillian like a villain. She clutched the fence, staring down at the dying grass of the pasture, which was fading from green to brown. The world around them would die without Lillian around, and when it was reborn, she would not return to see it. She was struck with the heavy desire of wanting to know Lillian the way Ash, Cam, and Georgia had known him. She crouched down, leaning her forehead against the fence, and felt Georgia's arm go around her.

I don't deserve it, she thought miserably. Don't comfort me.

But still, she could not find the words to say that Georgia's pain, Ash's pain, Cam's pain, everyone's pain was all her own doing. The gut-wrenching guilt had taken root in her and refused to leave, merely turning her stomach over and over as retribution for her actions.

"Don't cry, Laney," Georgia murmured in a soothing voice. "Let's just hope that wherever Lillian goes, she finds happiness."

But Laney knew that happiness had already found Lillian in Bluebell, and it was her who had severed that bond.