A/N: I KNOW I TOLD YOU GUYS I WOULDN'T BOTHER Y'ALL WITH AN AUTHOR'S NOTE BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HOPEFULLY LOVE THIS CHAPTER. AND MAYBE HATE ME A BIT MORE. BUT MORE SO LOVE.

Also to the anonymous reviewer that asked if I post on a schedule (hi Helen!), unfortunately I do not! While I'm out of school for the summer, I am taking a summer class back home which has consumed much more of my time than initially expected. However, this chapter could not be avoided. I'm trying to publish as often as I can though! Be on the lookout, I'll try and crank something out every week at the least.

This post I guess is a little early (well I mean, considering it took me about 10 months to write Chapter 19, but that's besides the point...) but I wrote this almost immediately after writing 25 and I was just so excited to share it with y'all, so here it is! Enjoy!

I woke up that morning and groaned. It was the dreaded festival day: the Starry Night Festival.

I only dreaded it because this was generally a romantic evening for most. I knew Julia was going to be with Elliot and that Mark was going to ask Natalie, if he hadn't already asked her. I suddenly then decided—what was Denny doing? Maybe we can have a single awareness night, at least enjoy each other's company and not spend the festival alone.

So I trudged on over to his place that morning. The sky was clear, which was perfect for a night like this. I bet all of the couples were thrilled. I made it to Denny's adorable beach house, and I knocked on the door. He answered immediately.

"Hey!" he said happily. "What's up buttercup?"

"What're you doing tonight?" I asked him. I sensed the desperation in my voice but I ignored it.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Why do you ask? Chelsea, are you attracted to me?"

I gave him a shove. "Shut up Denny. No. I mean, Julia's gonna be with Elliot, Mark's gonna be with Natalie, and that just leaves the two of us." He looked at me. I sighed. "I don't know, I just wanted to know if you wanted to spend it together. Y'know. Fuck relationships and whatnot."

He laughed nervously. Uh-oh. "Chels, damn…as much as I'd love to rebel against the festival of love and all, I, um…I'm spending the festival with someone."

As much as that kind of hurt, I couldn't help but smile. "What? Who!"

He grinned nervously, his cheeks reddening. "Lanna."

I immediately smacked his arm. He held it, his mouth agape clearly because of the action I had just performed. "What the heck!"

"I'm so happy for you!" I cooed. "I didn't even know you liked her!"

He shrugged, a cute grin still on his face. "Yeah, we talk every now and then. I finally built up the courage and asked her to watch the stars with me, and she said yes. We're going to be here by the beach tonight."

I smirked. "You're such a romantic."

"Shut uppppp," he groaned. "You're always so mean to me."

"What! I called you a romantic! That's a compliment!"

"Sure didn't sound like one."

I gave him another smirk, while he just looked at me with red cheeks and a wide smile. He was evidently thrilled about this, and I was so happy for him. For the moment, the thought of being alone on this festival was pushed aside because I was just so happy that Denny was making his way into the dating world. That happy bliss was only present for a quick moment, because selfish jealously swooped in and took over. I was actually going to be alone today. And that struck like bullet.

"So!" Denny quickly said, and my eyes were back in his direction. "How's the friendship with you and Natalie?"

I laughed. "We've seen each other around and we've smiled at each other and waved. That's all. I don't think we're friends but we're definitely civil."

"That's awesome though. And Julia told Elliot?"

I nodded. "Yes she did!"

"How'd he take that?"

"Surprisingly well. He was nervous at first. But when he saw how happy she was about it, he was happy too. They've been spending a lot of time together after that. So I haven't seen her like, all week. I think they're just making plans about the upcoming baby. I'm really happy for them."

I missed seeing her around, but the baby did come first in this situation. And of course, her relationship with Elliot meant a lot, too. She needed to be with him. It was something they did share, after all. So I was definitely happy about that. I saw Mark a bit this week and told him the good news in regards to Natalie. However, when he invited me out to lunch with them I always declined; it just felt way too strange still. I'd prefer to be in-group settings with her first before I decided to get lunch just the three of us. There was too much that was weird about that situation.

"That's awesome to hear!" Denny said excitedly. "I'm glad everything's working out for everyone."

I shrugged. "Yeah, definitely."

I'm assuming he noticed my glum attitude, because he gave me a love tap on the shoulder. I looked at him and he gave me a small smile. I returned it.

"You should spend tonight with that cowboy of yours."

I gave him a look.

"Seriously!" he retaliated. "Look, I don't actually know your whole deal on him and whatnot. But I think if you feel anything towards this guy, then I think you should go for it."

"Denny, seriously," I looked at him. "This is Vaughn we're talking about."

"And who said that he can't feel?"

"I never said that. But why would he be any bit into me?"

He shrugged. "I mean, why wouldn't he be? You're genuine, funny, and beautiful. He isn't close to anyone the way he is to you. I don't know, it could just be an outside perspective but it seems like he feels something for you."

I stared at Denny with a small smirk, and he just gave me a reassuring smile.

"Plus, I highly doubt that he's spending today with anyone else."

I sighed. That was a pretty accurate statement. But there was no way I was going to ask Vaughn to spend the Starry Night Festival with me. That'd be beyond humiliating. So I just gave him a shrug, showing my defeat in the conversation. It just wasn't going to happen. And he gave me a sad smile, as if showing his apologies without actually being too upset. I understood the feeling, I mean; he was spending the festival with someone that he liked. He definitely deserved that.

"Enjoy tonight, okay?" I looked at him sweetly. "You're going to have an amazing time with her."

"Thanks," he replied. "You have a good night too. Drink some wine. Relax, alright?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. Denny always did a good job of cheering me up, even just a little bit. "Of course. I'll probably drink a whole bottle myself."

He laughed. "That's the spirit."

"See you around."

He gave me a last wave, and closed the door gently in front of me. With that, I gave out heavy sigh. Today was going to be the longest day of my life and I was miserable just thinking about it.

The sun was setting on the island and it looked absolutely breathtaking. As we neared closer and closer to the beginning of Spring, the weather was not as frigid as it was earlier in the season. It was still cold, but it was a lot more comfortable than it was in the first two weeks. As the night rolled in and the islands grew silent, I felt a pang in my heart as I realized I was spending this festival alone yet again.

I went back into my house and opened up the notebook again. I hadn't seriously looked at it since we read the letter that Sophia had written. I wanted to watch the stars but I didn't want to stay in my house, or on my island. I didn't want to be anywhere that would disrupt actual couples watching it, so I figured that maybe Sophia's map of the islands could give me somewhere to go to watch it on my own.

I glanced at the map and read some of the titles of some of the places. Mushroom Island, Mystic Island, Volcano Island, etc. I wasn't amused by any of them until I saw an adorable little drawn-out green square labeled "Lighthouse Island." My interest had peaked.

She drew a red line from a dock—that was on my property—that showed the route to get there. I didn't use the guy at the dock on Verdure Island…Kirk. There we go, Kirk. Was there someone else at this dock to get me there? Or did I get there myself? With a sudden rush of adrenaline, I figured I'd give it a shot regardless.

I put on my pea coat and my boots on and made my way outside. The snow was beginning to melt and the sun had almost officially made its way below the horizon. I made my way to eastern part of Ranch Island and there was something I had never noticed before: a small little dock, and attached, a rinky-dink rowboat. It looked old and run-down, but it still looked like it could accomplish my mission. So I walked towards it and gently got inside. It rocked as I tried to situate myself, the fear of falling in escalating immensely. I scooted myself closer to the dock, unraveled the rope from it, and pushed myself away to start rowing into what was beginning to look like the dead of night.

It was serene for sure. I rowed heavily—I didn't realize how hard this was—but I watched the water around me and the moon begin to show its face up above me. It lit me up a path, and faintly in the distance I was able to make out the island of what I assumed to be Lighthouse Island. However, from what it looked, I didn't seem to see any lighthouse after all.

I used the silhouette of the island as my focal point; I continued to look straight ahead at the relatively small island in front of me, heaving as I rowed. While I may have been sweating from the work that this was, I still couldn't help but notice the water around me. It looked beautiful.

After what felt like such a long time of rowing, I finally made it to Lighthouse Island. I docked my boat and made my way out as best as I could without falling on my face (I did, however). When I finally arrived onto the island, and got a good look at it, I felt a strange sort of peace. Even while it was a bit creepy at night, especially all by my lonesome, I still felt a satisfying feeling of harmony. I walked onto the island and noticed that the lighthouse that was once here was nothing but ruins now. In the center of where I assumed the lighthouse once stood, seemed to be a comfortable enough spot for me to sit in. So I walked over in the center and took a seat, and looked up into the sky. At this point, the moon was overhead and the stars were shining brightly below me. Peace.

I took a deep breath of the Winter air and let it out happily. How had I not known about this island sooner? It was such a nice place to find sanity without anyone knowing where you were. Heck, I didn't think Kirk even knew how to get here. I'm assuming that was the reason why the boat was there; it was so that I—well, Sophia—could get here on our own. You couldn't be bothered here. I loved it.

I closed my eyes and just took in the island for what it was. I embraced the sound of the ocean crashing along its edges. I felt the chilled air kiss my cheeks. I breathed in through my nose, smelling sea salt and feeling ice-cold oxygen, while exhaling it out through my lips. Here, I was Chelsea. I was no one else but Chelsea.

I heard the oceans roar a bit more, though. They sounded rougher, but I figured it couldn't have been much. After all, it wasn't like I was going to drown on this island anyways. It must've been high tide; the moon was fully raised, after all.

Until suddenly, I felt something lightly touch my shoulder.

"Aaah!" I screeched. My eyes flew open and I jumped, while I looked up at the silhouette figure before me. The light of the moon was beating on the person's back so their face wasn't totally clear in the few milliseconds my eyes grazed to look.

"Hey!" it was a male voice. It was a very familiar male voice. "It's me, it's me."

I finally looked up at him and my heart tightened. "Vaughn?"

"Sorry," the cowboy apologized, pulling his hat further down his head. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"What're you doing here?" I wondered.

"I…er, saw you leave your island," he spoke lowly. He then took it upon himself to sit himself down next to me. "I saw you leave on this boat. It was getting really dark and…I got nervous. I didn't know where you were going, so I had Kirk take me over here hoping that I'd find you. Fortunately you weren't drowning in the ocean."

I gulped. I thought about his past and just the fear of boating accidents made me shiver under my skin.

"Wait, but why were you on my island?" I was actually curious. What was he doing there to see me leave?

He froze. It took him a few seconds until he finally said, "I saw you walk past the shop earlier today visibly upset. I wanted to see…if you were alright."

I smiled at him. I tried not to make the blush in my cheeks obvious, which, again, is very difficult to do. "I really appreciate that. Thanks."

"Anyone would've done the same, don't thank me." He, of course, brushed it aside very quickly. "So," he began, glancing over at me. "What're you doing out here all by yourself?"

I shrugged. I turned my head to look at the stars, which resembled tiny droplets of diamonds in the sky. They were absolutely amazing. "Julia, Denny, and Mark all had people to be with today. I didn't want to look at the stars from my house, I just felt like that would've been depressing. I decided to come out here to watch them instead."

He nodded slowly. "It's a great view."

I nodded my head in agreement. "It really is, huh?" I smiled, and looked back over at him again. "And what about you? No plans for tonight?"

He snickered softly. He pulled his hat further down his head and said, "No. Definitely not."

Then, with some unknown confidence that I somehow possessed, I said, "Well, you're more than welcome to stay here and keep me company. If you want."

I didn't get a reply. However, he also didn't move. He made himself almost comfortable beside me, our arms grazed over each other as we both looked up at the stars above us. They were little freckles in the sky, some larger than others, illuminating the darkness. It was as if someone poked holes into the night, and beams of light were piercing through. The moon created a spotlight on the two of us as we sat there in a comfortable silence. And the entire time, I had this lame smirk on my cheeks. Just having Vaughn by my side, I couldn't help but feel a little happier.

I finally decided to give him a nudge. That caused him to look in my direction. "Just wondering, how are you feeling about the whole Julia situation?"

"You mean…the baby?"

I nodded. He quickly turned away and let out a sigh.

"I don't know what to think about it."

"What do you mean? You're not happy for them?"

"I don't know," he scoffed. "It breaks a lot of traditions on these islands. Mirabelle is also a very traditional woman. It's wrong to have a baby before marriage."

"But they really care about each other."

"I know," he said softer, "that's why I'm unsure of how to feel. I want to be happy for her, for them, but…I dunno."

He shoved his hat even further down, a frown apparent on his face. I looked at him with large eyes and said softly, "You really care about her, huh?"

He flicked his eyes in my direction now. I didn't break eye contact.

He nodded. "I see them every week. They give me hospitality. I didn't choose to care about her. It happened."

I nodded in understanding.

"Kind of like how caring about you just…happened."

I now looked at him, and he was looking right back at me. We stared at each other, the only thing between us being the sound of the ocean colliding with the island walls. My heartbeat quickened, and I panicked under my skin. From the rush of emotions and the frigid air outside, I shuddered.

"You cold?" he wondered. My shudder must've been obvious enough for him to even bear to ask the question.

I shrugged. "I'm fine."

With that, he just gave a curt nod and glanced back up at the stars. I now had my knees hugging my chest, trying to contain as much body heat as I could. I couldn't fathom how beautiful the stars were. I began wondering how everyone else was enjoying his or her night. I wondered if Elliot and Julia were having a wonderful time together. I was hoping that Mark and Natalie were growing closer with every interaction they had. And I hoped that tonight was the beginning of something beautiful between Denny and Lanna. There was so much potential to tonight. Like they say, all the answers are in the stars, right?

Maybe that's why I had Vaughn here with me tonight. Maybe the stars brought him here to tell me something. I shouldn't give up on this feeling that I had for him. And he needed to know who I was.

Just…not yet. That was the best argument I had for myself and it unfortunately won.

"What do you normally do on this festival?" I glanced over at him, after some time of silence.

Pause. "Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? You've got to do something. Even if it means just sitting in your room."

"That's exactly it."

"So you don't even look at the stars?"

"No."

I couldn't help but release a 'pfft' from my lips. He now glanced over at me—I could tell from the corner of my eye—but I didn't look back. I kept my gaze still on the sky before me and said, "You're such a party pooper."

I felt his eyes still boring into the side of my head. I was now grinning; I so badly wanted to look at him and see the expression he was giving me. I finally caved and glanced over at the cowboy, who was staring at me with dull eyes, yet, a small, miniscule smirk. I smiled back at him.

"You are!" I told him.

The smirk dropped, and he looked back in front. "You did not just say that. How old are you, five?"

"And a half, Vaughn. Five and a half."

I couldn't help but giggle. I looked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was gripping the front of his hat but a smirk was certainly apparent on his cheeks. Just knowing I could get him to do that made me happy inside.

"You have a really nice smile, y'know," I said softly.

He now turned his head to stare at me. I looked back at him, my eyes hopeful. His orbs were enticing, and they made the hair on my arms from underneath my coat stand up.

"What did you say?" he whispered.

"You have a nice smile. You should smile more often."

He glared at me. "I don't smile."

"You do that…that smirk thing! And then every time you do you try and hide it with your hat."

"I do not."

"Don't argue with me, you know I'm right." It was so easy to tease him. I enjoyed it so much.

There was a pause though. So with that, I decided to look back out at the stars, for him to quickly say something that made me flick my head back towards him yet again.

"No one has ever told me that they like my smile."

I perked an eyebrow at him. He stared at me, his orbs boring into my own, and I just couldn't shake how attracted to him I was. In every sense of the word, I was attracted to him. I was attracted to his silky hair and his impeccable jawline. He had a well-toned body and his eyes were of some other earth. I was attracted to his voice, and the way he spoke to me, even when he sounded frustrated or upset with me. I was attracted to his mind, and the way he treated animals and made his care for others unknown and yet very obvious. I was attracted to him as a person, everything about him. How did I get in so deep?

"Well," I smiled sweetly in a hushed tone, "I'm glad to be the first."

We sat there for a tad bit longer. We made some more small talk, either mentioning Mark and Natalie and even my new civil agreement with her. I told him about how Denny was with Lanna tonight and how happy I was for that to happen. In between each conversation, there were pauses, but like almost every other time lately, they've been comfortable silences. For some strange, bizarre reason, sharing those silent moments with Vaughn were almost soothing. He finally let out a breath of air, leaning forward from his hands now.

"Do you want to go?" he wondered.

Feeling myself shaking from the cold, I nodded. "Yeah, I'm done being outside."

He stood up. It was strange what he did next; it was extremely generous. And that alone was an alien thing to say about him. He extended his hand out for me to help me up. I stared at for a quick second, as if his hand were a bacterium of the sort, before gently taking it and lifting myself up to my feet. He nudged his head towards the dock, and we then walked side by side towards the rickety boat. I stepped in it first for him to shortly follow. He then untied the rope, as we both pushed it away from the dock.

Vaughn immediately picked up the paddles in his hands and began rowing.

"You really don't have to, I can do it," I told him.

"I insist."

He glanced up at me, and I couldn't help but let a grin grow on my face. He really could be a gentleman sometimes.

I sat across from him as he rowed the boat. I looked at everything around me but him; I couldn't bring myself to do it. I watched the wake we were making, the way the moon reflected against the dark ocean waters. I glanced up at the stars again, which felt like they were watching us as we made our way back to Ranch Island. Finally, I decided to peek my direction towards Vaughn, and he was staring at me. I felt my heart pang.

"What?" I smirked.

He, however, kept his serious face. "What?"

"I dunno, you're looking at me."

He just shook his head, refusing to answer. I gave him another glare, but let it slide. I learned the hard way that I could never pull answers out of him, anyways.

It was almost romantic. The moon was shining brightly on the two of us. The ocean was calm and peaceful, the waves creating the only sound around us. I looked back at Vaughn again, and seeing the little bits of his face that I could from the moon's glow had me aggressively twining my fingers and furiously biting the inside of my cheek. I didn't know what it was about him that made me so nervous, but boy did it work.

"Thanks for rowing," I quickly threw in, as we were nearing the dock on my island. "It was pretty tiring doing it by myself."

"Don't get used to this," he said bitterly, glaring up at me now.

I knew he didn't mean that though. I stared at him, and gave him a smirk. Alright, he may have meant it, but I refused to take it personally. There was something here. Whether he realized it or not…there was something here. The stars led me to that conclusion, and I wasn't going to let anything tell me otherwise.

We made it back to the dock on Ranch Island and I held the dock while Vaughn twisted the rope around the post. He exited first, and yet again, extended his hand out to me to help me step out of the unstable vehicle. I complied again, gripping his hand a bit tighter as I made sure not to fall in the water.

We walked back along the dock in silence. I saw my darkened house up ahead, and Vaughn stayed by my side as we walked. He took it upon himself to walk me to my doorstep, and I was biting back a smile the entire time.

"Thanks for keeping me company tonight," I told him in front of my door, before I decided to walk in. "I really appreciated it."

"Not a problem."

I paused. I didn't know what exactly to do, so I did the only thing that felt right in that moment. I walked up to him and immediately threw my arms around his torso and dug my face into his chest, and pulled him into a hug. I felt him freeze underneath my touch, but quickly soften up as he gently put his arms around me as well. He gripped my shoulder and had his other hand gently placed on the back of my head, and I couldn't help but bury my face deeper into his chest. His company meant more to me than I think he realized. I don't think he knows.

I looked up at him from his chest, my chin digging into his center. He then glanced down at me. Our faces had never been so close. I could feel his breathing: slow yet short. My eyes shook as they stared into his. His eyes were wide, they were confused: as was I. I felt my heart jump around in my chest but I couldn't let him feel that. In an embrace this tight, with our faces, our lips so close, I couldn't let him know.

No. I panicked. I stepped away, digging my hands into my coat pockets while he adjusted his hat. I let out a huge breath as he cleared his throat.

"I'll see you around," was all he said, before he turned around and left.

I watched him walk away. It wasn't long until he made his way over the bridge and out of my sight. Once I couldn't see the top of his black Stetson anymore, I immediately turned and walked inside my house. I turned on the light, but leaned back against my front door in a strange bliss and yet a serious confusion. I closed my eyes and tried to playback everything that had just occurred. What just happened? What am I getting myself into? I sunk down to the floor, still lost in my thoughts and my heart officially in rapid fire.

And that was the night I accidentally spent the Starry Night Festival with Vaughn.