The long awaited chapter eleven! Sorry this took forever to upload/write, I've been distracting by school stuff: But here it is! I will be updating soon so don't worry :D

I was perched on the edge of my couch staring at Gill who was comfortably sitting in the matching armchair, the books and ledgers he had been carrying were now in a neat pile on my kitchen table. He was holding one of them open on his lap while he scribbled something down in it,

"So," I finally said, "You came to my house to work?" I eyed him skeptically,

"No, but like I said earlier, I have a lot to do and I can't just take a break whenever I want," He sighed, "I have responsibilities to this island," he glanced up at me briefly, but went back to writing,

"Ooh I get it," I smiled playfully, "You came here to show me how important you are by hauling all your books and your work up here," I laughed as he looked up at me, clearly annoyed,

"I know better," He smiled down into his book, "If it were that easy to impress you I'd have done it the day we met," He looked up at me and I felt a slight blush appear on my cheeks,

"W-why do you say that?" I stammered, looking away.

"Isn't it obvious?" he mused, putting down his pencil and gazing at me, an amused look painted on his face,

"N-no, or I wouldn't have asked," I tried to sound witty, but he just chuckled,

"I'm rather fond of you," He leaned his head on his hand and smiled, I'm sure at the deep color of scarlet I was turning.

"Why are you here?" I fidgeted uncomfortably, wanting to change the subject, but secretly hoping he wouldn't let me. His expression fell slightly,

"You want me to leave?" He started to stand up,

"No!" I practically shouted my hands flying out in front of me to stop him. He smirked as he sat back down, "I'm… just wondering…" I said quietly,

"Hmm," He looked pensive for a moment before catching my gaze, "Well I wanted to see you," he smiled and my heart fluttered, "And…" he trailed off, looking back down at his book,

"And?" I encouraged

"And… When I saw you and Luke the other day…" He was looking down and could hardly tell he was blushing, "I was jealous I suppose,"

"I told you already," I sighed, exasperated, "Nothing happened, he was checking if I had a fever," I fell back into the couch,

"I know what you told me," Gill looked up, his ice blue eyes filled with something I didn't recognize: Jealousy? Anger? I couldn't tell, "But what I saw…" he trailed off, as he fiddled with a lock of his white-blonde hair.

"What you saw wasn't what you saw then," I sighed, "Why don't you just trust me?" I wasn't angry, more hurt that Gill wouldn't believe me.

"I do," He breathed, "I'm just saying that what I saw made me jealous,"

"Why?" I snapped suddenly, something inside of me clicking into place,

"I told you already, I—"

"I know, I heard you, I know," I interrupted him, frustrated,

"Then why are you—"

"Well I'm not your girlfriend or anything so you shouldn't feel jealous. The only reason you should be upset is if someone like Luke was hitting on Luna," I spat; Gill stared at me, incredulous.

"Luna?" He asked, clearly confused,

"Yes, Luna" I hissed, "It was made very clear to me that you and here were…" I trailed off thinking of the right word. I gestured largely, waving my hands over my head in synchronization, "To-get-her" I over enunciated and fell back on the couch crossing my arms firmly and staring at Gill. To my surprise Gill was not upset, he didn't seem to care that I had just exposed his "secret", instead he looked completely entertained,

"Luna and I are together now?" He mused, leaning towards me, his elbows propped against his knees,

"She made that quite clear to me today," I glowered over at him,

"Well that is certainly news to me," he laughed, "Oh dear, Luna, Luna, Luna," he laughed quietly again, leaning back into his chair,

"What?" I looked at him, puzzled, "You and Luna aren't—"

"Certainly not," he interrupted me, "But she has always wished we were," He sighed, "I'm just disappointed that she's lying to people now," he rubbed his temples closing his eyes tightly, "And that you believed her so easily," he smiled slightly,

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" I defended, his eyes shot open and Ice blue focused on me intently,

"That I'm not lying when I say I really am quite taken by you," I was waiting for him to smile but he never did,

"Well I'm not lying to you," I blushed, "When I say I'm not interested in Luke…" now he smiled, leaning forward,

"Why were you jealous of Luna?" he asked, clearly amused

"W-who said I was jealous of her?" I stammered, shifting uncomfortably. Gill's smile grew,

"You know, I've expressed a few times tonight how I feel about you, but you won't give me even the tiniest hint if you feel the same way," He said as he put his book on the floor and slid onto the couch beside me, "Does that seem fair to you?" he breathed, his mouth at my ear. I shivered but found myself leaning into him,

"Nope," I said, letting my head rest on his shoulder, "But life's not fair now is it?" He laughed quietly and brushed the hair from my face to behind my ear,

"Apparently not," I could hear the smile in his voice, "Well then," He said, pushing my head off his shoulder playfully and standing up, "When you decide how you feel, make sure to let me know," I pouted dramatically, but he only chuckled as he gathered his books together and headed for the door,

"You're leaving?" I asked, disappointed,

"I have a lot of work to do Hikari," I frowned at him, but he just laughed again, "Come find me when you've decided," he waved stepping into the night air,

"Don't count on it!" I shouted playfully after him, "I hate boys who are married to their job," He turned around, and smiled at me,

"Then I'm sure we'll never work out," I laughed and blew him a kiss. What was doing, this is so unlike me… I couldn't help but smile as he blushed, turned, and walked into the night.

My smile hadn't faded by morning. I woke up easily and watered my plants, humming lightly as I worked: I felt pretty good, which was kind of a big deal for me since I had assumed I'd never feel this way again. I didn't quite trust it. I led Betty outside and chatted with her, cooing over her and ruffling the tuft of hair on the top of her head. She mooed happily and starting chewing the grass beneath her feet, her favorite past-time I decided. I watched her for a little while, deciding what I would do for the rest of the day. I blushed suddenly as I remembered the conversation with Gill the night before,

"When you decide how you feel, make sure to let me know," his voice rang through my head. I would tell him, but not right away. I didn't want to be too eager; I still didn't trust the way I felt, I still didn't even fully trust him… but I knew that I wanted Gill to be around more… so I decided the best thing to do would be to tell him that. I smiled to myself, and thought about what Phoebe had told me: mining did seem like a good idea today. I went inside and grabbed my hammer before heading down to the Garmon mines. As I reached the base of the mine I saw Owen throwing a little orange haired girl in the air, she giggled loudly as they ran after each other. The girl had climbed up on his back, he was trying to wrestle her off when he saw me and grinned enthusiastically,

"Hikari!" he jogged over to me, the girl clinging to his back still, "How are you doing?"

"Great actually," I beamed, "Who is, uh—"I pointed to the girl climbing up his back,

"Oh!" Owen said, reaching behind him and pulling the girl over his shoulders. She landed in his arms and he placed her on the ground,

"I'm Chloe!" the fiery girl said, "You're Hikari? Kathy always talks about you: she says you're 'good people' but I'm not really sure what that means," She looked confused,

"This is my kid sister," Owen explained to me,

"Oh, hello Chloe, It's really nice to meet you!" I smiled extending my hand, she took and it and shook vigorously,

"Hello! Hey," She said looking at the hammer I had slung over my back, "Are you going into the mines?" She looked excited, that look grew when I said,

"I sure am!"

"That's cool," Owen smiled at me, "Careful of the gasses though okay? They can be risky, especially for beginners," he was clearly concerned,

"He's right, when Owen started he got the black gas pretty bad: he couldn't see for like… four days," Chloe threw her arms in the air as she told the story,

"Yeah," Owen smiled his big goofy smile, "I was pretty reckless back then," He and Chloe laughed, "Just remember, if you see the gas, run and don't just stand there thinking you can tough it out okay?" I could see his concern was genuine so I promised I wouldn't and waved goodbye to the two as I entered the mine.

I walked down to the first level and saw some rocks that I decided needed smashing. The first few I broke I didn't find anything, but I soon found some copper ore, some iron and even some silver. As I worked I couldn't help but think about Gill and how I was going to tell him. I thought about my different options,

"Why hello Gill," I said aloud, practicing, "I am quite fond of you as well, and then I can wink and… no that's stupid," I smashed a rock and found nothing, "Oh young mister Hamilton, why yes, I want you to always be around," I couldn't help but say it like southern Belle. I laughed at myself, and smashed another, finding copper ore. I happily put it my rucksack, "Gillian Hamilton, I like you," I blushed and slapped my hand to my forehead, "That's the stupidest thing ever," I sighed. Maybe saying something isn't the way to go. I thought to myself. I paused for a moment before blushing deeply: I had decided. I would say anything; I'd just- My hammer smashed into rock. I was so lost in thought and giddy ideas that I didn't notice the black smoke escaping. Once I realized I could hardly see anything: it was too late.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap," I said fumbling my way around the already dark mine. My hands waved out in front of me, and when I felt the smooth, cold stone of the steps I crawled up them, hoping the sunlight would make it better. It didn't. I knew I was outside because I could still see the basic shapes of things, it was much brighter and I could hear the birds singing. So much for showing Gill how I felt, I had bigger things to worry about now. I walked back, squinting, hoping I was going the right direction of home.

"Hikari!" I heard Gill's unmistakable voice call to me, my heart fluttered; maybe I would get my chance after all. In fact, not being able to see him could make it considerably easier: I wouldn't have to watch his 'I told you so' smirk spread across his face. As I thought this I bumped into someone: Gill I assumed.

"Hey!" I said looking up, definitely Gill I thought, right height, and I heard his voice earlier,

"Hikari—"he started, he sounded different than usual, and that worried me,

"Look, I know what you're going to say," I breathed, "And I've decided. I know how I feel,"

"What are you—"I stopped him: I stood up on my tippy toes and pressed my lips lightly against his. It wasn't what I was expecting at all, in fact, I found myself completely surprised.

Whhhhy was she suprised I wonder... Hmmm... ;D You'll have to wait and find out! Please review :D It helps me write quickly knowing people are actually going to read/be excited for it. Plus, I want to know what you think? Love it Hate it, suggestions: give er. Love you guys!