Chapter 37: Chapter 37
So. Sorry again for the procrastination in updating, but hopefully I'm out of trouble for giving you guys a double update :)
Just on a completely random side note, wish me luck for my dancing nationals next week! Pwease?
Aaaaand, I'm totally taking the 'y12' off the end of my penname. I'll just be HmGirl. Or HmGirly, if I decide to stay eight years old xD. I'd change it completely, but I really don't wanna confuse people. Haha.
Reviewers – thank you so much for being so patient.
AmethystPrincess93 – Haha. Love triangles are always interesting, but things might not be exactly as they seem. Tom is really and truly a jerk, and I'm afraid he only gets worse. Thanks so much for reviewing.
Muu-chan – Yeah, Veronica has some sense of sibling love... when it comes down to it, she's looking out for herself, and if she can look out for her family at the same time, she will. Heh. Thanks!
technologychic29 – Well, Veronica isn't so bad. And believe me, you're going to like Tom even less in not too much time. xD you're exactly right – if Mary really fell for Jack, I can't imagine that she'd be able to get over it easily, especially after Gray.
The Scarlet Sky – America and England (WOOP!) I'll believe you're not all rude fat people if you believe we're not all cattle farmers who live in the middle of the desert and prefer hopping around in kangaroo pouches to driving in cars. O.o LOL. I know. I don't think Mary appreciates Tom's, uh... 'talents'. Hahaha – Veronica and Won. -ponders- ... it's uh... original, I give you that. xD. Thanks so much for the long long long review!
DoubleKK – Maybe I'll just have someone accidently stumble into Tom when he's conveniently standing on the top of Mother's Hill, or holding a sharp knife in a precarious position, or something. ZOMG. Are you insane? God, Ann and Tom. That would be... a VERY interesting pairing, I'll say that much. Pfft. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Harvestman – Aw, thanks. Glad you liked it. I know, JackxAnn is a lot more common than JackxMary is now. Thank you again.
awesomeking – Your favourite chapter? Really? Wow. That's really good to know – I'm happy it made you laugh, as well! Hopefully these two chapters don't disappoint!
Trying to Breakaway – Their plan isn't totally evil, but they're willing to go to questionable extremes to get the company. Yes, Jill loves him – and I think it's because she's beginning to see that Tom really isn't all that perfect in comparison. I can't wait to hear your feedback for these chapters!
DemonDude12 – Thank you! I think Jill has an exceedingly over-active imagination. Then again, sometimes she can be absolutely dead-on without realising it, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out XD. I'm happy that you think the story is good as it is; I've done a lot of the rewrite and I don't want to waste that, so I'll eventually end up changing it. But thank you so much for the support :)
Ultra Drama Queen – Naww, thanks. I think Veronica has flashes of sympathy... you know, the occasional moment where she feels bad... I don't think she's quite there yet where she's ready to change her ways, but at least she knows what she's doing wrong, and that's a start. I'm glad you liked all my attempts at romance-y type stuff, and it does snow in Australia – not where I live, it doesn't get cold enough, but up on the mountains it certainly does. Haha.
Midnight Shine – Yeah... Jill does have an exceptionally over-the-top imagination, truth be told... hopefully these two chapters will clear a few things up for you, but they'll probably just confuse you even more, truth be told. Lol. So, I hope you're still enjoying and reading, and I really hope you let me know what you think of these two. Thanks again for the review!
Simply Smitten – I know what you mean... there's a point coming up in the story, chapter 40 I think, and it's going to set off this whole chain of events that I cannot WAIT to write. Yay! I think... I mean, as the author, I've got a soft spot for Veronica. She's not entirely evil. Hopefully you'll get some perspective on the MaryxJackxAnn thing, and become less confused. Or not. Haha.
iChocoLove – That's a good way to describe it – 'so many things don't seem like what they really are' – very true. LOL – did I really write Tim instead of Tom? Stupid typos. And I think he looks a little like the doctor, so... eh. Thank you for reviewing!
CrystallineHands – I know – Veronica seems to be beginning to realize that she's done something wrong. She's mature in some ways, and very immature in others. Tom really is the type that will usually want the girls he knows he can't have. Yeah, that's what I'm aiming for XD. Hope you like the chapters.
stateofmind7337 – Haha. I've fixed the problem, huh? Ahh, let me know what your decision about who to marry on FoMT was. I always married either Mary or Ann as well. And take as much time as you need to warm up to Veronica. LOL at your insane, very twisted imagination. Goodness, I don't know what other colours you're going to come up with for the sky and grass. Thanks for the very amusing review, once again.
Babybear – Oh my goodness, I think I can honestly say that that's the longest review I've ever had. Over 500 words! Okay, here goes: I hope you weren't too disappointed with how long it took me to update. I know that there are a few guys like Tom out there, and they're the type that always seem to get everything they want even though they don't deserve it. Luckily, people in Mineral Town don't think that designer clothes and a whole lot of money is the most important thing. I liked your theory about Veronica craving attention, and being the type to flirt without really registering that she's doing it... and Tom will flirt, knowing that he's flirting, and regardless of right or wrong. I think Jack and Jill will be okay, they have a fair bit of common sense... well, Jack at least xD. Thanks for saying the story is fine the way it is, I'll just fix up a few things. Thank you so so much for that awesome and very introspective review!
Icee Suicune – I LIVE, believe it or not! Oh no, I'm really not going to be going easy on Jill. What else is new, right? She's okay for the moment, but things will start to go downhill for her eventually, and plummet from there. I have NO idea what Total Drama Island is, I have to be honest with you xD. I'll google it. Thanks for giving me your opinion!
ZombieDragon – Thanks! Yup, there's a fair bit of foreshadowing in it. Sightseeing is going to be great – haven't gone yet, but it'll be wonderful. Thanks for the review!
Riku-The-Ninja – Aw, thanks. I hope you kept reading, and if you did, I hope you like these two chapters.
Jean Cooper – Jean! I thought you'd disappeared until you updated MFC (which, incidentally, you must remind me to review.) I hope everything is going okay for you. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like these!
Silver Illusory – It's always great to get as many opinions as you can, and it looks like the reviewers are fairly split on Mary or Ann. Haha. No, it's probably a good thing if you don't let yourself like Veronica after just one example of looking like she has a heart. I swear I'll try to get updates more frequently, now. I've been really bad with updates lately –sad face–
melii101 – Aww, thank you so much! It must take ages to read all the chapters by now. But if it was helping you avoid homework or something like that, then YAY! It was really good to hear your opinion on the pairings, and Veronica and Tom. If you can be bothered, let me know what you think of these updates! Thanks so much!
Devilishduck – I actually think CliffxAnn is like... the cutest canon pairing in the history of the universe. Except for RickxKaren, that is xD. So... yeah, just so you know, I far from hate that pair. Tom and Veronica don't have the most stable relationship in the world... there's a whole lotta physical attraction, but not much for them to connect on an emotional level. –hugs you for reviewing–
pisceanchic101 – I hope you didn't become elderly in the time it took me to update. Seriously, I'm so sorry. Jack gets jealous verrry easily, but it's unusual for him, because... he never really cared enough about any of the girls he dated to GET jealous, if you understand what I mean? Yup, Veronica doesn't seem as bad as Tom, does she? Thanks so much.
Song Of The Sparrow – Oh, everyone's opinions matter! Thank you for letting me know what you thought, and yes, she finally admitted (to herself more than anyone else) that she loves him.
AsianFlipGurl – As if! I have as much fun writing the review replies as I do reading them. It just takes a lot of time, but it's really fun. It made my day to hear that you like it so much, and I hope these chapters don't let you down! Thanks for letting me know what you think about everything. Yay!
Weinner Sinclaire – Yeah. She's starting to believe that Gray won't hurt her like Tom did, but heck, that man still has control over her. It's a very good idea to stay worried about Veronica (how the heck do you shorten that to a nickname?) because... yeah, she does cause a lot of trouble. But I guess that was a given. I DO know Quagmire, and nearly died laughing when I thought about the comparison. It's so sadly true. I think in Tom's dictionary, 'feminist' is anyone who doesn't automatically swoon when he glances their way. Trust me – and I think you'll get all you need out of this comment – the end pairing does make sense. It's been – and will continue to be – built up, and it will make sense. I don't even know how I would make the other pairing work. And I just gave it away completely, but eh. Let us hope that not too many people read my review reply to you. Thanks so much for the awesome-long and perceptive review.
Kaiser Einrich – Well... Tom is the more evil of the two. And he knows damn well the hold that he has over Jill, and he intends to get the most out of it that he can. Ahaha. I should probably tell you that I used your very violent imagery to threaten one of my friends the other day... if you want to sue me for copyright or something, go for your life. xD. LOL because I was playing Cluedo for the first time in years like... the same day that you made the library comment. I love your point of view on JackxMary, as well, just so you know. I'm hoping it turns out interesting... because I love what I've got planned, but whether I can pull it off may be a different story. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Kiminochi – Aw! I don't think I'm very good at writing detail at all, but it means so much for you to say it! I promise I'll do my best to answer every question by the end of the story, and in the meantime, I'm open to PMs and I'll answer what I can xD. I don't think you needed to wait as long as the others, so... yay! Thanks again!
monkeygirl82000 – Oh my goodness, 13 hours. That's ages. Pfft, as if you could be bothered reading this story for that long. (Then again, not everyone is as lazy as me. I have to keep reminding myself of that.) OMG. YOU'RE ALMOST AS WEIRD AS ME. I'm determined to name my first son Jack, and my second son Gray. Haha. I like Claire better than Jill as well, truth be told... when I started, I thought there wasn't as many Jill characters, so this would get noticed better... didn't realise it was because the canon name for the blonde farmer is Claire. Heh. You should know, your review was what kicked my butt into updating. Good job :) and that's so awesome that you copied and pasted some dialogue. Just out of curiosity, could you give me some examples? Thank you so much for the review!
That literally took hours. I love your reviews so so so so so much. Thanks, guys! Enjoy!
xxx
"Just come in with me," Jack pressed, his forehead wrinkled in confusion as he stood with his sister outside the Poultry Farm. "I just need more chicken feed. I'll be... twenty seconds. Don't be so difficult. You want to visit Rick and Karen, don't you?"
"Not particularly," the blonde replied in a weak voice. Jack shot her another funny glance.
"Why are you being so weird?"
"I... I don't feel well," Jill said truthfully. She didn't feel well at all – her heart was racing and her mouth was painfully dry. She hadn't spoken to Rick since his wedding; she didn't know what to say to him. Ask him how his marriage was going? Ugh. Maybe she was exaggerating matters in her head – maybe she'd worked this all up out of proportion – but it all seemed horribly tragic in her eyes. Poor Rick. Goddess, she hadn't been able to get it off her mind – he was so, so brave to have done what he did... and she'd never understand how he'd found the inner strength. What could she say to a man like that?
"Oy," she scowled, realising that Jack had pushed the door open and led her inside without gaining her notice. Biting her lip, she lowered her gaze to the floor, until a soft greeting that was certainly not Rick's met her ears.
"Good morning," Lillia said with a gentle smile. "It's a Sunday, you know."
"Oh, Lillia," Jack pouted. "I don't need much, and it's not for me... it's for the chickens."
She laughed warmly, shaking her head at the farmer. "Alright. It won't hurt for me to serve you on a Sunday just this once." Jack sauntered over to the counter and started placing his order. His sister hurriedly glanced up, immediately gasping as she noticed her surroundings.
"It's... so different," she eventually choked out at Jack and Lillia's questioning stares. Karen's presence was blatantly obvious already – bold, colourful bits and pieces of clutter was scattered all over the room, clothes strewn on top of everything, and a curious, stale smell – something burnt – was lingering in the air.
Lillia pursed her lips. "I've... tried to tidy up a little, but Karen – bless her – always scolds me, tells me to rest... that she'll do it all later. She doesn't, of course." She shook her head, smiling slightly despite what she was saying. "It does me good to have her around, though. Popuri adores having an older sister of sorts... and Karen's such a bubbly, loud girl. She always manages to bring a smile to my face. I'm sure things like housework will sort themselves out once she has everything unpacked, and is past the... newlywed stage."
"How's Rick doing?" Jack asked cheerfully, unknowingly voicing Jill's own question. "I bet he's happy."
Lillia hesitated, then half-smiled. "Yes, he's fine," she said simply, not choosing to elaborate. Seeming suddenly distant, she pushed two large paper bags towards Jack. "There's all your chicken feed. Take care of yourselves," her eyes lingered on Jill for a moment, "... both of you."
"Thanks, Lil," Jack said with a quick wink that made his sister roll her eyes. "We'll come by soon. If the house isn't cleared up in a few days, Jill and I would be happy to come around and help you sort things out."
"Speak for yourself," Jill muttered incoherently. Jack frowned at her, not catching her words but correctly interpreting her tone.
"Jill! Jack! How wonderful to see you!" A stunning brunette barrelled through the front door, dropping her husband's hand and launching herself over to hug both of the siblings in turn.
"K-Karen," Jack choked, prying her arms from around his neck. Next to him, Jill was massaging her own neck with a frown. "Hey. Hey, Rick." The bespectacled man glanced up for a split second, smiled, then quickly returned his gaze to the floor.
"I haven't seen either of you since the reception," Karen rushed on, clearly oblivious to her husband's discomfort. "Gosh, it's been – oh, you're not going already, are you?"
"That was the plan..." Jack began slowly.
"No, no," she insisted, shaking her head. "Stay for awhile. I'll just get lunch ready –" the siblings and Lillia blanched, "– we've just got some take away from the inn, and there's more than enough for all of us." Slight relief became apparent of the faces of all three, and Jack nodded immediately, earning an incredulous, though unnoticed glare from his sister. Karen was receiving a similar, also unnoticed glare from Rick.
What seemed like hours passed as lunch was prepared, eaten, and Jack launched into non-stop conversation with Karen. After a twenty minute chat about city fast-food chains, the brunette gave an excited exclamation.
"I completely forgot!"
"I'm going to the clinic now," Lillia called behind her, interrupting Karen as she pushed out the door.
"You've got some... handyman qualities, right?" Karen continued, staring at Jack expectantly.
"I certainly like to think so," he grinned, leaning backwards, his hands behind his head.
"There's a broken window in Popuri's room, and Rick and I are completely lost. It's not the window itself; it's more the fact that the frame won't close properly... in summer, it wouldn't be such a problem –" Rick snorted, earning a reprimanding scowl from Karen. "Well, Rick thinks that Kai's going to climb through the window in summer. But at the moment, we're nearing winter, and I'm reasonably worried about it when the really cold weather comes. Popuri'll be sick all season."
"Not a problem," Jack exhaled, getting to his feet. "Do you want me to take a look at it now?"
"I'll show you," she nodded, walking upstairs with Jack at her heels. Jill smiled to herself a little, before the smile was instantly replaced with horror at the realisation that she and Rick had been left alone together. He, apparently, had realised much earlier than she had and there was an awful silence as the two sat there, both significantly pale.
The silence stretched on for a long, long time – Jill was shooting frequent desperate glances upstairs and Rick was starting at his hands, slowly shaking his head every few minutes.
"I can't see you, Jill," he said after a long time, so gently that she wasn't sure if she'd imagined it or not. She frowned.
"I'm right here." She waved one hand at him.
He smiled and shook his head once more, eyes closed. "Jill. I mean... I shouldn't see you. Not for awhile. It isn't fair to Karen."
"Rick, you're just my friend –"
"I know," he said quickly, opening his eyes. "I... I know."
"Then why –"
"Because you know you're more than that to me. I have to focus everything I have on Karen," he replied steadily. "I have to be there for her... I have to learn to feel the same way about her... that I feel about you." He finished his sentence quietly, glancing out the window. "She's my wife now. My wife... and just seeing you shouldn't create this reaction from a married man." Rick seemed to be having great difficulty with choking out words like 'wife' and 'married', no doubt partly due to the incredulous, unmoving look on Jill's face.
"So... what you're saying," she began slowly, clenching her fists, "Is that you... don't want to be my friend anymore?"
"Don't want to?" he asked instantly. "Goddess, what I want is so much more than being your friend. It's not a matter of what I want, it's a matter of what I can and can't handle, and right now –"
Both of them jumped about a foot at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them. Jill squinted her eyes closed, expecting Karen to attack her, but her heart lifted in relief at the sound of Jack's hushed voice.
"She's coming downstairs now," he muttered simply, gesturing for Jill to stand up. Rick's face was literally white as he watched the siblings, Jack shooting Jill a half-understanding, half-worried look.
"We should go, then," he said, suddenly much more quiet. They heard Karen's footsteps clunking downstairs.
"Are you leaving already?" she asked, looking a little affronted.
"We have to do some harvesting," he lied. Karen obviously didn't pick up on his slight hesitation, and gave a sigh of acceptance.
"Okay. I'm so busy, as a married woman – no time for socialising, I guess. Come by soon, I'll try making time for you."
"Yeah," Jack said with an almost sad smile, his voice unusually subdued, his hand gripping Jill's arm tightly. "We'll see you soon enough." He walked his sister out the door and through the property gate, past the blacksmithing shop. Jill shot him a desperate look through her hair, hanging across her face in a blonde mass. He was completely silent; very unusual for her brother – she knew that the situation was serious, but Jack was usually the type to make jokes... relieving the tension instead of making it much, much worse.
"Jack –"
"He's in love with you," he stated plainly. Jill blushed at his frankness.
"W-well..."
"He's in love with you," he repeated, his voice uncharacteristically sharp.
"Yes," Jill said simply.
He ran one hand down his face wearily. "And he... doesn't love Karen?"
"I'm sure there's a part of him that does," she half-whispered, answering a question that she wasn't all that sure of herself.
Jack ran an impatient hand through his dark hair. "What does that mean for... everything?"
"It means that Rick's going to go on keeping everyone but himself happy," Jill said sadly. "Why are you so... concerned about this?"
"Why didn't you tell me, Jill?" he asked suddenly, a hint of desperation in his voice. "I thought you told me everything."
"Oh," she sighed, suddenly understanding. "Jack, I do. It's just... it isn't really my secret, but Rick's. It isn't going to really affect me if people find out, but it'll be so hard on him."
"I just... it makes me wonder what else you aren't telling me," he said, looking extremely tired all of a sudden.
"I tell you anything that can't hurt other people," she whispered. "I wouldn't tell anyone any of your secrets. And speaking of which, how can you tell me that I'm keeping things from you? Jack, I don't know a thing about your life. I refuse to believe that you, of all people, have gone a year without having a girlfriend unless there was a very significant reason."
"Maybe I'm changing," he said defensively. "Maybe I'm maturing."
Jill tilted her head to the side suddenly. "For who?"
Her question obviously threw him off. "I – who says I'm changing for anyone? Maybe I'm just sick of meaningless relationships. Maybe I'm holding off until I find someone that means more to me than that."
"I think you're doing this because you've already found her," Jill said, her eyebrows lowered. "I can't believe you haven't told me who it is." A sudden realisation hit her. "Is it Ann?"
Jack choked – apparently on pure oxygen. "Ann? Where the heck did you pull that one from?"
"You flirt with her –"
"I do not," he laughed, ruffling Jill's hair. "I mean, of course I love her. But I see her like I see you."
"Okay," she said shortly, apparently willing to let her theory go. Deep down, she didn't believe a word that was coming out of her brother's mouth. And she wasn't letting it go until she'd proved herself right.
The next day.
"– Couldn't really tell, I was so sure it was some form of grass, and now I'm beginning to think –" Mary carefully tuned out Basil's voice, unwilling to listen to yet another dull story about the same thing. She tried to encourage and appreciate her father's passion, she really did. That was the only reason she still came on these Monday morning hikes; the only reason half her library was choked up with books on plants that were basically all composed to repeat the same information. But really, three solid hours of hearing him talk about it was asking a little too much of her sanity.
"Basil, we've heard this story," her mother said impatiently – Anna never was one to show a great amount of tact. "Only twenty minutes ago."
"You haven't. That was completely different... this one ended up being –"
"Mom?" Mary interrupted, quite certain that she couldn't take much more. "I'm just going to go over... see that little clearing by the lake?"
"Be careful honey," Anna called, waving one hand dismissively. She'd become significantly less over-protective in recent weeks, and her daughter was relishing the change.
"Right," she muttered, making her escape with the sound of her parents still arguing behind her. She had to admit, they argued quite frequently, but... they really did seem happy together. She was a third of a cute, perfect little family, and she should be grateful for that... right?
She was. She was. But recently... she allowed herself a little sigh, absent-mindedly twirling her braid in between two fingers. It was beginning to seem like she was resigned to reading about other people's adventures in novels, never getting the opportunity to create her own experiences. That was okay. Not everyone was meant to have a big, novel-worthy life. Everyone wanted one, but obviously that couldn't be the case for every single person.
It kind of felt like she wanted it more than most people, though. Her parents, for example – seemed perfectly content to live and die in this little town. And... Mineral Town wasn't exactly a huge bundle of excitement. Was it wrong of her, or selfish of her, to want more than what had basically been assigned as her lot in life?
"Ugh," she muttered, pressing one hand to her forehead. It seemed like every time she let her thoughts move in that direction, they'd automatically stray to Jack for a reason she couldn't fathom. That boy... he'd kept her awake many a restless night, with his annoying hints and double meanings for everything. Or maybe she read too much into their conversations, and found completely unintended double meanings herself –
"For heaven's sake, Tom," a slightly familiar female voice was suddenly hissing, interrupting her thoughts. "I'm trying. You know how close they are, you know how hard it's going to be for –" the volume of her voice dropped just a little, enough to make the words hard to comprehend. Mary edged a little closer in its direction, peering around a large tree and gaining a clear view of Jack's sister and her husband. Both voices were much easier to understand now, even though they were deliberately speaking in hushed tones.
"– think I don't know all that?" Tom was saying, clearly exasperated. "I'm not expecting miracles, I am expecting results. Could you please try just a little harder to not start a fight every time you talk to Jill? Even better, do what we discussed and leave her to me! You can make amends with Jack, and I'll... do what's necessary to win Jill over."
Frowning slightly, Mary leaned right up to the tree as their voices dipped again. By the sounds of it, they were discussing how to make up with the siblings. Why all the secrecy, though?
"All I can do is try!" Veronica exclaimed suddenly, earning a sharp shushing noise from her husband. "Oh, give it a rest. We're not spies – and who is going to be up here at this hour, anyway? I don't even know why I am, frankly. I'm going back to the inn. I don't care how long you are – but can you get some bread from the supermarket before you come back?" she added as a quick afterthought. Tom mumbled something that he obviously didn't have the audacity to say loudly, though his wife caught the gist and scowled at him before pivoting on her heel and storming away from the clearing.
Right in Mary's direction.
Forcing herself to muffle what would have been an exceptionally unladylike curse, the librarian bolted off to the side, not exactly sure what she'd done wrong but getting the impression that their conversation wasn't something they were keen on sharing with the general public.
Veronica didn't even see Mary as she walked past, red curls forming a perfect frame around her face and eyes closed, as if she was trying to calm herself down.
Mary let herself exhale slowly, trying to figure out what was wrong with what she'd just heard. Of course, it sounded reasonable... naturally, Tom and Veronica would want to make amends with Jack and Jill. It would be a little pointless for them to come all the way to Mineral Town; spend so much time there... to end up not making up. But... that was hardly a situation deserving of the secrecy they were obviously aiming for, right?
"Goddess," Tom's voice muttered, making her turn quickly. He was running both hands through his dark hair in distress, watching the ground, though he looked up quickly as Mary made a sound. He attempted a smile. "Hey, Mary. What brings you up here?"
"With my family," she mumbled, unwilling to elaborate. Tom glanced around.
"Where? I don't see them."
"Over there," she said airily, gesturing over in a general direction. Tom shrugged.
"So you... come up here often?" he asked, tilting his head in a way that would have given the impression he was listening hard. "It's beautiful, isn't it? A lot of things in this town are." His handsome face broke into a grin, and Mary inwardly rolled her eyes, remaining silent. "So... I think I'll come by, visit the library later today."
"The library's closed on Mondays," she said dryly, actually once thankful for the fact. "What a shame."
"Yeah," he said, furrowing his brow and looking as if it was indeed a shame. "That's no good. I guess I'll be by on Tuesday anyway –" he ignored the exasperated groan that could have been rather more successfully disguised. "– so one day isn't going to be too much hassle. I guess I got to see you today anyway, didn't I?" he winked.
"You know what? I have to..."
"Mary!" a sharp voice called, making both of them jump. It was only then that Mary realised just how close the dark-haired man was standing to her. She took a noticeable and deliberately large step back.
"Mom," she called thankfully, seeing her mother stand several metres away with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Come on," she said, beckoning impatiently. Completely puzzled but more than thankful to make her escape, she hurried over to where her mother was standing, a shockingly displeased look on her face as she gave a look that could only be described as a glare at Tom. "Hurry up, dear," she continued through gritted teeth, placing one hand on her daughter's back and leading her down the steep path.
"I'll see you around, Mary," Tom called after them. He received a fleeting half-smile from the dark-haired girl and a set of disapproving, pursed lips from Anna.
"The insolence," Anna was muttering under her breath. "The total, complete insolence of that man – he's married, Mary. And I've heard no end of speculation about he and some of the other girls around town – I'd be so ashamed if all those rumours came back to my own daughter, dear. So ashamed."
"I can't think of anything less likely," Mary said incredulously.
"You seemed perfectly content talking to him over there. What I can't understand, is the way you refuse to take my hints towards... other young men..."
"Please tell me you're not talking about Jack again."
"He's such a delightful boy, Mary!"
"I –"
"He's handsome. Charming. He works hard, and for heaven's sake, your father likes him – and you know Basil never liked Gray –"
"Gray has nothing to do with this. Don't drag him into it," the librarian mumbled under her breath. Her mother didn't seem to notice, chatting away endlessly until they reached the forest by Gotz's house, and Basil had caught up behind the two of them. Anna gasped slightly, ever melodramatic, and reached out to squeeze her daughter's hand.
"Darling, fix your hair. Quickly. Your skirt isn't sitting straight, move it around a little. Oh, if he could have been here at the start of our walk when you looked quite pretty, not the end of it, when you look... well, it can't be helped."
"Who are you talking about?" Mary asked in a disinterested tone, though she could already tell by her mother's reaction. Sure enough, Jack was standing not too far away. He was chopping wood with most of his shirt unbuttoned and sleeves rolled up to his elbows to reveal tanned, muscular arms. He had obviously been working hard for awhile, beads of sweat apparent on his brow despite the cold weather. It was a little confronting for Mary to realise how much her heart had sped up at the sight of him.
"Jack!" her mother called loudly, making Mary cringe and blush. Jack glanced up, puzzled, before flashing a cheeky smile directly at the librarian.
"Hey," he called in reply to the whole family. "You've been walking, huh?"
"Oh, I know," Anna said, sounding a little upset as she glanced down at her clothes. "It must be obvious."
"On the contrary," he said with a wink. "You look gorgeous."
"Ew," Mary whispered, watching her mother's cheeks colour slightly. Anna caught the sound, glancing sharply at Mary.
"Right, so, uh," she began, flustered. "Basil? Shall we? Of course, you stay here, darling." She swooped down to kiss her daughter's cheek. "Make sure to smile a lot," she instructed, bailing with her husband before Mary even realised what was going on.
"Can – what – where are you...?" Mary asked quickly, then sighed, glaring at Jack's feet. He had the usual smirk on his face.
"I don't know about you," he said slowly, setting the axe down and sitting on a nearby tree stump, "But I'm getting the feeling that your parents are trying to drop a hint to us."
"Be quiet," she groaned, going red yet again. "I swear, I have nothing to do with her... 'Plans', or whatever they qualify as."
"Hey, I like Anna. She's pretty cool... for a mom."
"Well, you flirting with her is one of the few things I really wish I'd never seen in my lifetime. Do you have any idea how disturbing that was for me?"
He grinned. "Yeah. I wanted to see your face." She glared at him. "That's the one. You've got an adorable angry face. It makes me want to annoy you constantly."
"Well, you're doing a pretty fine job of that," she muttered in reply. He raised an eyebrow, his grin growing wider, but she hurried on before he could say anything else. "Have you been working all morning?"
"An hour or two," he exhaled. "My sister walked past just a few minutes before you – did you see her on Mother's Hill?"
"I didn't speak to her," she said slowly, glancing at her hands. "I... talked to Tom, just for a moment. He's still up there."
"What?" Jack asked sharply, all humor abruptly leaving his face. "What did he say to you?"
"Nothing. Goodness, calm down."
"I don't want him speaking to you," he said seriously with a deep frown. "Understand? Just... avoid him. He says anything to you, tell me about it and I'll sort him out."
"What on earth are you talking about?" Mary asked incredulously. "How is it any of your business whether I talk to him or not? Do you realise how ridiculous you sound?"
Jack bit his lip and looked like he was counting to himself before speaking. "Look... he can't be trusted. I'd hate to see you get too close to him."
"Why would you even assume that I'm going to?"
He sighed. "I'm just trying to look out for you, Mares. Please. I'm begging you. He's not the guy that he can make you believe he is. He'd be nothing but trouble for someone like you."
"Someone like me?"
"Trust me," he said, studying her intently. "It's a compliment."
"Oh," was all she could think to say, letting the dark hair that was loose from her braid swing in front of her face to hide her rapidly growing blush. He was grinning again, completely aware of her efforts.
"It's okay. You don't need to hide away. You've made me blush many a time – nice to see I can do it back."
"I'm not blushing," she mumbled unconvincingly.
"It's cute. It humanizes you." She shot him a glare, blushing even further, and he paused. "You know what I've just noticed? Our conversations... they've gradually come to include fewer and fewer murder threats."
"You're going the right way towards changing that back around."
"I'm serious," he laughed. "I mean, I still get the 'I'm gonna kill you' glare frequently, but... if I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd softened up towards me."
"You've worn me down, is more like it."
"Either way works for me," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "Benefits are the same."
"Benefits," she scoffed disbelievingly. "That's a bit offensive. Don't objectify me, please."
"I couldn't if I tried," he said with a wink. "I'm far too scared of you." His gaze narrowed in contemplation as a sudden breeze travelled through the forest, whipping several strands of dark hair out of Mary's braid and into her face. She muffled an exasperated noise and brushed them back impatiently, with little success as they simply danced back out. Jack wordlessly stepped forward and hesitated, before removing the gold hairpin that had been pinning back the rest of her long fringe. A mass of hair fell unceremoniously into her face. Jack chuckled. "My God, Mary. Jill would die for hair like this."
"I'm sure," she said, scowling at the ground.
"No, I'm serious," he continued, ruffling her wild bangs before gathering it all – including the original strays – and pinning it gently into place. "She's always wanted really thick hair, and here you have this amazing hair all tied back. Watch out... I'm surprised she hasn't thrown petrol and set a match to all your hairties, trying to force you to wear it out." He paused, inspecting her face closely. "Me... I think it looks nice both ways."
She laughed lightly, before blushing again. Damn Jack. It honestly shouldn't be in someone's power to make her blush as often as she did when she was around him. She cleared her throat. "I should... get home, then."
"I'll walk you there," he said immediately, moving the axe to the side with his foot.
"That's really not necessary –"
"You're a young lady," he said in a very, very poor English accent. "You can't walk unaccompanied."
"I don't need you to patronize me, thank you." She fixed him with an affronted glare, and he winced.
"Think about your mother, then. She went to all the effort to throw us together, I think it would be kind of nice for her to think it payed off slightly."
"She'll live," the librarian said dryly, beginning to walk away. Jack quickly jogged over, stepping in front of her and cutting her off, successfully ignoring the death-glare he received.
"Please?"
"Not if it's only to make my mother happy," she exhaled, before freezing, replaying her words in her head. What had it sounded like she'd been hinting at, exactly? That it would make her happy? Oh.
Jack had a peculiar look on his face, like he was noticing something different about her. "Okay," he said slowly, measuring his words before letting them out. "I want to walk you home."
"No, I – I don't know what I meant by that, honestly," she stuttered, flushing red in mortification. "Don't think for a second that I was asking you to –"
"I want to walk you home," he repeated, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. In all honesty, it was probably a lot simpler than the furious blush on the librarian's face would indicate. He seemed a little amused as he continued. "There you go. I don't just want to make sure your mother has some new gossip, I'm not really all that concerned for your safety in a place like Mineral Town. I'm not that polite, truth be told. I want to walk you home for my own selfish reasons, because spending time with you is..." It was his turn to blush, Mary noticed in mild interest. "... Interesting."
"Interesting."
He nodded and shrugged. "But if you don't want me to walk you, don't feel pressured –"
"You can walk me, but I'd like to be home before the end of the season... I'm not going to be if we stand here for much longer."
"Right," he grinned, extending an elbow to her. Mary raised an exasperated eyebrow at him, and he began to pout at the apparent rejection. She couldn't help but smile, shaking her head in self-disbelief as she reached out and linked her arm through his.
xxx
Jill shook her head hopelessly as she caught sight of her brother, locked in what looked like a relatively serious conversation with Mary as they crossed her path, not even noticing her. She was standing out the front of the inn, debating whether or not to confront Ann about her 'feelings' for Jack – it was becoming slowly apparent to her that they weren't exactly reciprocated, especially watching the way Jack behaved around the dark-haired librarian. But... she sighed out loud. She didn't want to see Ann get hurt. She wanted to see Jack happy. She didn't want a drama made out of this... but there almost certainly would be one.
Then again... if either of them could tie Jack down, it would literally be a first. His longest girlfriend had lasted, maybe... three weeks? Two weeks? Not a long time, that much was certain. He'd had quantity... there was a surprising number of girls willing to date him even though they knew how it would undoubtedly end... but no quality. He really had seemed different since coming here, though. She sighed, shook herself back out of daydreaming, and walked into the inn.
"Goddess, her again," Ann muttered in a rather loud voice. The blonde stuck her tongue out.
"Don't get too confident. You've got some questions to answer."
"Oh, good," the waitress managed, grimacing. "Tell me it's not about Jack again." She received a severe nod, and exhaled loudly. She then walked over to Jill, lowering her voice. "Look... you let your imagination run away with you sometimes. Heck, there's nothing wrong with that – I do, too. But I swear... me? And Jack? Your imagination doesn't bother to pace itself, Jill. It wants to sprint a whole freaking marathon, and eventually, it'll crash and burn."
Jill blinked at her. "Right, so... nope. Sorry. I haven't got a clue what you're talking about."
"Ugh. That could've been a fantastic metaphor if I hadn't gotten all mixed up and said it wrong. Hold on, I'll think of how to word it properly."
"Nu-uh. You're not getting out of this that easily."
"I think what I meant to say was –"
"ANN!"
The redhead sighed and sat down at a table, beckoning for Jill to take the seat opposite. "Look, I... I don't know where all this came from, but I promise you, your brother and I aren't like that."
"I can't see who else it would be."
"JILL!" It was her turn to explode. "Who ever said that there was someone else? I know that I've denied it every time you've asked, and I think I would know."
"Then what's going on with Cliff?"
"I don't know! Some days there's... something, other days, there's nothing. That doesn't mean that there automatically has to be anyone else, okay?" She finished her spiel, and groaned as Jill simply looked at the floor. "You still don't believe me, do you?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes, it does, actually. You and Jack are two of my best friends, and I don't want an over-active imagination coming between all that. Please?"
"But why –"
"Even if there was something... feelings I had for Jack," she said slowly, "My friendship with him... means too much to even attempt at making it anything more. I'm not saying I do have feelings, okay?" Jill's eyes widened, but she nodded meekly. Ann sighed. "Right. Look, I... I have to go work. Stay awhile if you want." Still shaking her head, she walked away into the kitchen.
Choosing to blatantly ignore the rest of their conversation as she sat there, chin in her hand, Jill instead focused on Ann's last words. Even if there was something... feelings I had for Jack, my friendship with him... means too much to even attempt at making it anything more. So Ann was scared. Absent-mindedly running her fingers over the glass vase in front of her, she thought carefully. Ann... must have feelings for Jack. Right now, it didn't look as if they were returned, but... if Ann didn't want anything to happen, there wouldn't be a problem, right?
From an outside perspective, Jill was taking it all way up out of proportion – after all, Ann had been completely adamant that she didn't have feel that way about Jack, and a normal person would take her word for it.
No-one had ever described Jill as normal, though.
xxx
Alright, guys. Move along to the next chapter!