Edit: This story isn't over yet. Sorry, I made it sound like it was. I'm just taking a minor break from it, so yeah. I gots writer's block again, so I decided to start a new story just for the heck of it. This new story is completely different. Also, I start school tomorrow.

You guys are too nice. Really, you guys are. Whenever I write new chapters, you guys review them. Then I feel better even though I know the chapters suck. You know what shocks me? That this fanfic actually has readers...that makes me happy. Thank you all for actually taking some time out of your lives to read this crappy fanfic, and thanks for the support. I appreciate it, and now I present you with yet another badly written chapter. I made this one extra long just for you guys.

"Luna."

"Oh, hey Gilly! What's up? Are you giving up?"

"No. Akari loves me."

"Um, Gill?"

"I'm not done talking. She loves me, so I won the bet."

"Gill, I really think you should-"

"I know I finished really early. The season's not even close to being over yet, and-"

"Is that why you wanted to know?"

"A-Akari! I didn't know you were there."

Akari laughed. "Heh, yeah, that was a good one. Talking to me, becoming my friend, tricking me into thinking you actually liked me...it was all to win a bet. I should have known...I actually fell for you; I must look like a fool..." She smiled. "Congratulations, Gill. You won your bet." She took a few steps back. "Bye." And, she was gone.

"Gill, I was going to tell you Akari was there, but you kept going on and on about how you won. You won the bet, Gill, but you lost Akari."

"You're right."

"Gill, I have a question. Did you like her?"

"No...I love her, but she really hates me now. I lied to her and tricked her."

"You never know what you got 'til it's gone. Well, good luck with that problem of yours." The little girl (really an adult) skipped merrily away.

'What do I do now?' thought Gill, 'I won the bet, and Luna's off my back. But, I lost one of my best friends. Akari hates me now, I don't stand a chance with her...But, maybe I can explain everything to her. That way we can be friends again.' There was a loud clap of thunder. 'I gotta find her quick before it rains.'

---

"Akari!" Gill walked all over the island in search for the girl, but still no luck. "Akari! Akari, where are you? It's raining! Akari!" The ground under him was soft and muddy. He slipped and fell face first into the wet dirt. "Dammit!" He got up slowly, trying not to fall back down. "Where is she?"

Gill wandered around the aimlessly, with all hope gone. He soon found himself at Caramel Falls. "Gill?" He heard that familiar voice and turned around, but no one was behind him.

"Akari?"

"I'm right here..."

"Where are you?"

"Right here!"

"Akari, that's not a good enough description! Where are you?"

"Look up!" Gill did as he was told. Akari was sitting up on the edge of a cliff at the top of the waterfall.

"Akari, what are you doing up there? It's raining, and it's dangerous up there!"

"Since when did you care about me?"

"Since we became friends! Now get down here!"

"Why don't you just get up here?" she asked with completely no emotion.

"How?"

"Climb. It's not hard."

Gill stared at the cliff. It was rocky and hazardous-looking. "Climb that?" Gill turned white; like the life was drained right out of him.

"So, are you coming or not? I'm not forcing you." Gill gulped and began. He was only two feet in the air, but he was already trembling. "You know, you don't have to do this. I'm perfectly fine with you just leaving me here alone."

"N-n-no, I'm coming, Akari." He stayed there in that one place.

"Gill, you're not afraid of heights, are you?"

"I think I am."

He was about to back out, but then- "Then just stop climbing. Go back down and leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving you here! I'm gonna climb this stupid cliff, and you're going to go down, where your feet will touch the ground!"

"Maybe I don't want my feet touching the ground." Akari began kicking her legs as they just hung off the edge. "Gill, if you're afraid of heights, just stop while you can. Give up!"

"No!"

"It may be awhile 'til you get up here. I just might end up going back down by myself before you get up here, so just go!" There was another clap of thunder.

"Akari, no! Did you not hear the thunder? Thunder means there is sure to be lightning coming. Being up there, is dangerous, especially during a lightning storm!"

"I'll be fine! Just go! Leave me alone!" She saw his fingers clinging to the side of the cliff. He tried bringing himself up but couldn't.

"A-Akari? I know this looks pathetic, but...could you give me a hand?" She began clapping her hands. "Not that! Help me out! I'm gonna slip!"

She sighed and grabbed his hands. "Fine."

"You're not going to let go, are you?"

"I'm mad at you, I'm not evil."

Gill started gasping for air. "That was a very strenuous climb." He scooted over to next to her, and she pushed him away. "Akari, I'm-"

"Happy?"

"No, I'm not happy. I lied to you...and I tricked you. I'm-"

"Sorry. I get it. Look, we can still be friends, so don't worry too much."

"I'm not asking to be friends. I'm asking for a second chance."

"You're lying."

"Would I be lying if I told you I loved you?"

"Yes."

"Akari, I ran all over the island, just to find you. I traveled through rain and mud. I slipped and fell into a puddle of it. See? I'm a mess, and you're telling me I'm lying?"

Akari laughed. She wiped some mud off of his face. "Yeah, you are a mess...but you're still cute."

"Really?"

"No."

"I can understand. I hurt you, so you have the right to be furious with me."

"So, do you wanna explain to me what happened? Start from the beginning."

"Okay, you know Luna, right?"

"Yeah, I know her."

"She has this crush on me. We were friends when we were kids, but...Anyways, we made this bet. If I won, she would leave me alone."

"So, that's why..."

"Yeah, but it was still wrong to do that to you. Akari, you became my friend because of this bet, so sometimes I think making that bet was a good thing. Akari, about those times I kissed you, I didn't know why I did it. And, when we were under Alan's tree, and I told you I liked you, that was a lie. But, then I thought about it last night, and that's when I realized I had feelings for you. I don't like you, I love you. Akari...I can't stop thinking about you...I love you, Akari....It feels so weird to say that."

"You're not saying that because of another bet I don't know about, are you?"

"No. So...we're okay?"

"No."

"Oh...I see, but we're still friends, ri-" Akari placed her lips on his. "A-Akari?"

"Bleh...you have mud on your mouth." Akari rubbed her tongue, trying to clean her taste buds.

"I did tell you I fell into a puddle of it."

"I like puddles!"

"Yeah, but not puddles of wet dirt." Akari took a napkin out of her pocket and wiped his face clean of all mud. "You missed a spot."

"How do you know? You can't see your face."

Gill poked her cheek, leaving some mud on her face. "Who said it was my face?"

"Very mature, Mr. Hamilton."

"Hey, Akari, I don't know about you, but I don't want to get struck by lightning, so I think we should probably get down now before we do."

"Yeah, okay." She stood up but went back down. "Uh...the wind is a little strong." She stood up again, and the wind pushed her off.

"Akari!" Gill extended his hand for her to reach. He wanted to catch her, but he was deathly afraid of heights. So, he sucked it up and leaped out into the air.

He held her closely. "Gill, are you crazy?"

"If wanting to save you is crazy, then I guess I'm insane!" The two landed in the river with a splash. Akari came out first trying to get some air. "Gill! Gill, are you okay?"

He popped up. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"Fine. That was..."

"That was...frightening."

"That was awesome! I felt this amazing adrenaline rush! I wanna do it again! It was like a roller coaster ride!"

"A-Akari, I'm not a big fan of roller coasters."

"Oh...okay then." She got out of the water, and Gill followed. They were dripping wet from head to toe. "You know, it's a good thing it's raining. If it wasn't, people would probably be wondering why we're wet."

Gill looked down at himself. "It's official; my clothes are ruined."

"You're so prissy! Big deal, at least the water washed off all the mud."

"Yeah, but now it's ripping apart."

"Then I'll buy you a new outfit! Six if it'll shut you up!"

"Six new outfits won't 'shut me up'...but a new outfit and a kiss will."

Akari sneezed. "No. I'm going home before I get sick."

"I think you already are."

"Then I guess it can't get any worse." Akari ran away.

"Akari, don't just leave me there!" Gill said following behind.

"Why?"

"Because we still have that date tonight!"

"Why?"

"Because you promised!"

"I did no such thing!"

"Well, you decided it would be tonight!"

"When?"

"Six."

"No, when did I decide that?"

"Yesterday...under Alan's tree."

"Hm...nope, I don't remember!" Akari said teasingly.

"What do you mean, you don't remember?"

"Well, if I don't remember, that means I forgot it."

"I know that much, but-"

"Then why did you ask such a silly question?"

"Never mind, but you still did."

"Did what?"

"You decided what time our date would be, and I agreed!"

"Hm, really? I don't seem to recall such a ridiculous matter!" she said in a sarcastic tone, "Are you sure?"

"About as sure as Luke knows how to count to twenty!"

"Luke can count to twenty? I thought he could only count to ten."

"Akari, please. Just wait for me to catch up with you!"

"Not in this lifetime!" She smirked and ran faster. "You're too slow! Pick up the pace, Gill!" She dashed through the inn doors. "Hi Chase!" She smiled. "Chase, let's play a quick game! I like to call it, the "Annoy Gill until he eventually loses his temper yells at us" game! Sound fun?"

"Yeah, okay!"

"Akari, why are you so fast?" Gill came in panting.

"Because you're a prettyboy with the speed of a snail."

"Yeah, and you're a nerd too!" Chase added in.

"Prettyboy? Nerd?"

"What? Are you deaf too?" Akari knocked on his skull. "That's what we said. Do you not know the definitions to those words?"

"Akari, do you think he has-" Chase went up to her ear. "The Gill?" he whispered.

"Chase, I think your theory may be true. Look at him. Platinum blond hair...piercing blue eyes...a frown on his face, high intelligence, a love for books and writing, formal clothing, very slow at running. He has all the symptoms!"

Chase grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back behind the counter with him. "Don't get too close, Akari." He snickered. "You might catch it."

"Catch what?! I'm not sick!"

"Yes, you are! You have the Gill!" said Akari.

"The Gill?"

"Yeah, didn't you hear me list all the symptoms?"

"I don't have a disease! Please stop this! You two are acting like children!"

"We're not children," said Chase.

"Yeah, at least our fathers don't buy our clothing."

"We go out and buy our own like the mature adults we are."

"First of all, you two are not mature; you're the opposite! You people are immature, that's what you are! And second, my father does not buy my clothing!"

"Oh..." said Akari, "Does he dress you?"

Chase burst out laughing. He put his arm around her shoulder. "Heh, good one."

"Agh, what's wrong with you two?!"

"Chase, do you have any orange juice?"

"Yeah, I'll get you a glass."

"In all my life, I have never seen such ignorance!"

"No pulp."

"Sure, okay."

"Are you two even listening to me?"

"Chase, did you hear something?"

"Yeah, it sounded kind of annoying."

"Very bothersome."

"I can hear you!"

"Chase, where do you think Gill went?"

"Probably got fed up with us and ran off. He probably went home."

"I'm right here! Are you two blind now?"

"There's that stupid noise again," complained Akari.

"Stupid? That stupid noise happens to be my voice!"

"Is it a fly?" asked Chase, "'Cause if it is, I can go get a flyswatter."

"No, it doesn't sound like a fly. It sounds like a bad-tempered Town Hall Administrator."

"Good, I have a swatter for that too!"

"Do you now?"

"Yes, I'll go get it right now. Here it is!"

"Looks like an ordinary flyswatter."

"It looks like it, but it can do so much more."

"Like what? Will you please demonstrate?"

"But of course!" Chase walked over to Gill and started slapping him with it. "See? Do you still hear the annoying noise?"

"Chase, you ignorant child! You are an idiot, and you-"

"Actually, it sounds like it got louder. Maybe you should try again, and see if it'll shut up."

"Good thinking!" Chase smacked him across the face with it. "It seems to have quieted down. No need to worry about it anymore!"

Gill stood up and glared down at Chase; it looked like he rose from the fire of hell. He grabbed the Town Hall Administrator swatter out of his hands and snapped it like a twig.

"Chase, you've angered the Town Hall Administrator. Quick, get behind the counter with me before he murders you!" Chase vaulted over the counter.

"You two...I have had enough! I don't even know what to say about you two!"

"Say that we're super special awesome!" said Akari.

"Super special awesome?" asked Chase.

"Yeah, it's fun, say it five times fast."

"It five times fast."

"No, say super special awesome, but say it five times and really quickly."

"Super special awesome, super special awesome, super special awesome, spuper speshall ah-"

"It's hard, isn't it? Try it again."

"Akari, I don't think we should be playing games right now. The Town Hall Administrator looks really mad at us."

"Don't worry too much about him, Chase. He just wants to kill us, that's all!"

"How can you say that without feeling some fear?"

"Because you overlooked something. He is a wimp."

"I have ears, you know!" yelled the aggravated Town Hall Administrator.

"And apparently, he has ears," she added.

"Akari, did you hear the way he snapped that Town Hall Administrator swatter? It made a CRACK sound. It even hurts to hear it!"

"I still don't think he'll kill us. He'll probably just yell."

"What's wrong with you two?!"

"Like that!"

"First, you call me names, then you say I have this disease that's not even real, then you make fun of me some more, then you ignore me completely, then you refer to me as some sort of creature!...And then, you make fun of me again!"

"Chase, we did it! We annoyed Gill up to the point where he yells at us! And, not his normal yelling, his extremely loud yelling."

"W-wait, what do you mean by that?" asked Gill.

"We were playing a game Akari made."

"You mean all of that was part of a game?!"

"Yes, a game. And, a very fun game it was," said Akari.

"Sooo...you don't think I'm as slow as a snail?"

"Uh...sure? Yeah, sure! Of course!"

"You're not saying that to make me feel better, are you?"

"Uh...sure?"

"And, I'm not a nerd, am I?"

"Now that one, I cannot lie about."

"So, I am a nerd?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Gill's face twitched. "Fine. Okay then. I'll be the mature one here. I will ignore that small comment."

"Wanna play another game?" asked Akari.

"No." He got up to leave.

"Aww...fine, I'll play with Chase."

Gill turned around. "Fine, one quick game."

"I think we should play Rich Man, Poor Man!"

"There's three of us," Gill pointed out.

"Fine, then we'll play Speed."

"That's for two people."

"Exactly, you go home while I play with Chase!"

"No, pick a game for three!"

"Gill, everyone knows that there are not many games for three people. Usually, it's two, four, or some other number."

"Well, then play Speed with me!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm- uh..." (Chase doesn't know Gill likes Akari.) "Um...never mind."

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll play one round with you. It's not like you wanted to play in the first place anyways."

"How about a different game?" suggested Chase, trying to make peace between the two. "Like...a board game?"

"A board game?" asked Gill.

"Good idea, Chase!" They smiled at each other. "How about the Game of Life?"

"Where did you get that game board?"

"As a ninja, Gill, I shall never reveal that ninja secret."

"She got it from under the table," said Chase.

"Why was it there-"

"Don't question it!" yelled Chase, "Anyways, who will start?"

"Me!" Akari raised her hand.

"Why you?" asked Gill.

"Is anyone objecting?"

"No, I'm fine," said Chase.

"See, Gill? Why can't you be like Chase?" Akari span the colorful spinner.

"So, what rules will we be using this time, Akari?"

"That is a good question, Chase. Let's use rule set number one."

"That one's my favorite!"

"Me too! Okay, six. One, two, three...six! Oh, yeah! We gotta pick our own Career path!" She shuffled the deck of cards and handed each player a card.

"Wait, don't we get to pick our career path?"

"Gill, I said we're playing this game according to rule set number one! You don't get to choose, you get a random one!"

"So, we can't go to College?"

"Nope! Chase, what did you get?"

"I'm a ninja samurai!"

"Sweet! I'm a ninja!"

"What kind? Assassin or urban?"

"Neither." She paused for dramatic effect. "Spy!"

"Oh cool! What did you get, Gill?"

"Librarian."

"Hah!" said Akari, "I don't think anyone will go to the library. We'll be too busy being ninjas!"

"What kind of jobs are these? You're a ninja, and you're a ninja!"

"Gill, didn't you know? Rule set number one are the ninja rules."

"Since when?"

"Since we got the Ninja Game of Life, see?" Akari showed him the box.

"Then how come I'm not a ninja librarian or something?"

"Because ninja skills would be a waste on you."

"That isn't fair! If everyone gets to have ninja skills, I should have them too."

"Do you have a problem with this?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"Then please send in your complaint to the complaint department. It's conveniently located in the building of I couldn't care less. Moving right along..."

"My turn!" Chase span the spinner. "Yes! Eight! Okay, your turn, Gill."

He span it. "Nine. Buy a home? I don't have enough money to buy a home."

"Borrow money from the ninja bank," said Akari.

He kept moving his piece. "Return to school. I don't have the money for that either."

"Borrow money from-"

"The ninja bank, I get it! Buy a better house. What?! I give up! I officially hate this game! At this rate, I won't make any money! I quit!"

"Man, who knew Gill was such a sore loser?"

"Not me," said Chase, "You know Gill, we had to borrow money from the bank too."

"Yep! You weren't paying attention. Probably because unlike you, we don't read the orange spaces out loud," said Akari.

"I still don't wanna play."

"Fine, we'll stop." She started putting everything away in its box.

"Here, let me help, Akari," said Chase, "If you don't want to play the Ninja Game of Life, Gill, what do you want to play?"

"I don't want to play any more games."

"Okay, bye Gill!"

"Akari, I'm not leaving!"

"I know. I'm leaving."

"See ya, Akari!" Chase waved.

"Bye Chase!"

She skipped out through the doors.

"Akari, wait!" Gill ran after her.

"What is it now?"

"W-what about our date?"

She sighed. "It's 2:30, so that's three and a half hours until six."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

"If you're lucky."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Akari has gotten really mature- well, not mature but smarter over the past few chapters. I've noticed. I've been thinking about this over the past few days...how long will this story be? I still have no clue. I also want to start a new story soon, but I currently have no ideas for it. 'K, bye! Thanks for reading!

-Jenny (me)