A few days later while Holly was tending to the fields, she heard someone calling out her name. She looked up and saw Lizette and Carrie standing in the distance with a makeup box. Holly stood up and ran to them, "Hey guys what's up?"

Lizette beamed and said "My movie star makeup kit finally came in. I am dying to test it out, and I was wondering if you would be my model. We can try to come up with an idea for the costume contest. "

Holly bit her lip, it sounded like fun but she still had a few things to finish on the farm. Holly let out a sigh and said, "Well, I still have to trim the roses for your shop Lizette. Maybe I can bring them over when I finish. Then you can play with makeup until I'm blue in the face."

Lizette clasped her hands together happily and said, "Of course, see you then."

When Holly walked in the door, the girls were looking at old costumes from previous years. They looked up when they heard the bell ring and Holly saw that Carrie had already had her makeup applied. Holly smiled and said, "Well, it looks like I will be eating at home today."

Carrie looked hurt and said, "Why, does it look that bad?"

Holly shook her head and replied, "No, but Brad's going to be drooling in the food the minute you walk in the door."

All three girls giggled and Carrie pulled out a chair for her to sit at the vanity. "Lizette did my makeup, so now I am going to do yours." Lizette grabbed the basket of flowers out of Holly's hands and continued, "And I will watch while I turn these roses into a bouquet for your Uncle Frank's date."

Holly sat down and silently wondered if Frank and Miranda were ever going to tie the knot. According to her uncle, they have been dating on and off for years now. While Carrie applied her makeup, she watched Lizette organizing the flowers on the edge of the vanity. Lizette was giving Carrie makeup tips while she simultaneously worked on the bouquet. When Lizette had finished she wrapped the flowers up in pretty clear plastic and super glued a large bow on the front of it. She sat the glue down and said, "All done."

"I am nearly done here too. All that's left is eye makeup. Holly, have you worn fake eyelashes before?" Carrie asked.

Holly shook her head, "No, my mother would never let me. She said only prostitutes wore them…"

"Both Carrie and Lizette let out a laugh. "No, falsies are for everyone. Here let me show you," Lizette said picking up the lashes and glue.

"Just do one eye at a time, so she can see the difference," Carrie suggested.

Lizette nodded and told Holly to look up while she applied the bottom lashes to her eye. Holly blinked while she did it and felt something sticky. She didn't pay it any mind though figuring it was just the lash adhesive. When the lashes were glued, on both the top and bottom of the right eye, Lizette said, "Now close your eye so I can do the eyeshadow.

As she brushed on the eyeshadow, Holly asked, "Is it supposed to burn when you wear falsies?"

Lizette and Carrie looked at each other curiously and shook their heads, "No, maybe you're allergic to it Holly… Why don't you go wash it off," Carrie suggested?

Lizette shook her head, "No, I'm sure it's fine. You probably just have sensitive skin… Now see all done. Open your eye and look at the world of difference it makes."

Holly went to open her eye, but it wouldn't budge. She tried again figuring the adhesive was just a little strong, but it still didn't open. Holly sat up in her chair and grabbed the glue Lizette was holding, "Seriously Lizette, super glue?" Holly stood up and hurried to the bathroom trying desperately to open her eyes.

Carrie stopped Holly, "Calm down Holly, maybe we should get Doctor Ford to look at this. You don't want to make your eye sore or pull your real lashes out."

"No way, he's going to think I'm an idiot if he knows about this," She said as she frantically tried to wash the glue out of her eyes.

Meanwhile, Lizette had already taken off towards the clinic as soon as she realized the mistake.

"Dr. Ford!" Lizette called out as soon as she entered the clinic.

Ford looked up from his desk and said, "Lizette, are you ill?"

Lizette shook her head and quickly explained the situation to him. He quickly grabbed a few supplies and asked, "How the hell did she mix up superglue and lash adhesive?"

Lizette turned red as a cherry and said, "She didn't… I did. I wasn't wearing my contacts."

Ford shook his head and let out a sigh, "Let's get going before she irritates it further."

…

When Ford arrived, he walked to the bathroom where Holly was trying to force her eye open and yelled, "Stop Holly, you are going to damage your eye."

Holly put her head in her hands in defeat and shot Lizette a glare with her one open eye. Carrie and Lizzette decided to give the two privacy…mainly because Holly looked ready to kill them, but they couldn't blame her.

"Thank you, Doctor," Holly replied looking embarrassed.

Ford made Holly wash her face with warm water several times to remove any glue that hadn't already hardened. When he was certain he removed as much of the glue as possible, Ford applied some cream to some gauze and placed it on her eyes.

"This cream will slowly help weaken the adhesive. It is going to take a few days but at least you will be able to open it again." Ford explained.

"Is it going to do any permanent damage to the eye," Holly asked.

Ford shook his head, "Not likely, believe it or not, this is a fairly common problem for kids and construction workers. Why did you put on fake lashes anyway? Your eyes are beau…" Ford cleared his throat before continuing, "You simply don't need them."

Holly tried to hide her blush and suddenly found her shoes remarkably interesting, "I just wanted to try something new. Do you think my eye will be normal before Halloween?"

Ford shook his head, "You will still be wearing that eye patch."

"Unless you want to dress as a pirate," she heard her Uncle call out from the entrance of the flower shop.

'Great, more people to see me like this,' Holly thought to herself. Her uncle walked into the bathroom and said, "I saw Hunter on the outskirts of town, take this hoodie and hide your face as you go home tonight."

Ford could feel her shake with fear beneath him. He let out a breath and said, "You will be okay Holly. Everyone in this town is looking out for you. If you want, I can bring you to the next town over to get some glasses to hide your identity… Well, after we finish dealing with your winking issue..."

Holly snorted and nodded in agreement. He then added, "Maybe you should stay with someone while this man is looking for you."

Holly stuttered for a moment, "C…can I stay with you? I…I feel safe with you."

Ford bit his lip. He knew it wasn't proper, but his heart wouldn't allow him to say no, "You can sleep in my apartment and I will sleep in the clinic downstairs."

Holly smiled through the tears and whispered, "Thank you."

…

The next day, Ford woke Holly up extra early for a trip to Tsuyukusa. He borrowed Wayne's horse and helped Holly on before climbing behind her. "Couldn't we at least stop for coffee first," she asked letting out a yawn. Ford shook his head and handed her a medical convention hoodie to cover her identity.

"No, I want to make sure that we get you there undetected," Ford explained.

…

Shizu came when she heard a knock on her salon door and was surprised to see that Ford had brought a guest to her shop. "Good morning, Shizu," he greeted politely.

"Morning," she greeted eyeing Holly with confusion, "Who is this lovely young lady you've brought, Ford?"

"This is Holly. She's a dear friend of mine. Would you mind squeezing her in your schedule?" Ford asked.

Shizu nodded, "Certainly Ms. Holly, what would you like to do today?"

"I was hoping you could show me some of your nonprescription glasses?" Holly suggested.

Shizu brought her to a counter and let her try a few pairs on. When Holly found a pair she liked and asked, "can I get this in black?"

Shizu looked her over and said, "I can, but with your skin tone, I think this pair would be a more natural look."

"That's fine," Holly said, "I just wanted something different…"

Ford sat in the waiting room, reading a health magazine when he heard Shizu ask, "So what happened to your eye?"

"I winked at too many boys and it got stuck," Holly answered feeling cranky.

Ford snickered and said, "Play nice, Holly. I will get you coffee after."

Holly nodded and let Shizu take over. After her glasses were fitted, Ford asked if she had any nonprescription sunglasses.

Shizu looked at him confused and said, "I have some left over from summer, but wouldn't you need prescription ones?"

Ford shook his head, "It's not for me… It's for a friend," he explained not wanting to go into more detail than that.

…

After they finished, Holly pulled out her wallet to pay when Ford stopped her. "Let me cover it, Holly," Ford said politely.

She looked at him curiously and asked, "Why would you do that?"

"I invited you here. Besides, how else am I going to convince you to join me for breakfast?" Ford replied slyly.

Holly smiled and answered, "The word coffee is a good start."

…

Ford pulled the horse into a place called A Tea-ful Reunion. He helped Holly down and said, "Go on ahead while I tie up the horse."

Holly walked into the bar and noticed an older gentleman struggling to carry some boxes behind the counter, she went up to help him when the voice of another man came from behind her.

"Let me give you a hand with that Gingjiro," the man with long blue hair pulled back in a hairpiece said.

Holly looked him over, He was wearing a light blue kimono and had a kind face. She smiled at him and said, "I can give you a hand too sir. Where would you like these?"

"If you can put them right here, I would appreciate it. I have a bad back," Ginjiro explained.

As they finished, Ford walked in and Holly sat down next to him. She was about to ask what was good to eat when the blue-haired man pulled a chair up to their table and said, "I'm Yuzuki, what's your name?"

"Holly," she answered politely, "and this is my good friend Ford."

"We've already met," Ford explained suddenly feeling uneasy.

"Dr. Ford is my doctor," Yuzuki paused for a moment, "I'm not going to keep yall, but I was just really impressed that you helped my friend Ginjiro out. I wanted to give you this as an expression of my gratitude." Yuzuki pulled out a beautiful hairpin and said, "I make them for a living. This is one of my favorites and I wanted to give it to someone rather than sell it. It belongs to you now."

Before she had a chance to answer, he placed the hairpin in her hands and hurried out the door. Ford fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. Yuzuki appeared to have taken a shine to Holly while they were out on a coffee da… run.

Holly looked at the hairpiece for a moment and asked, "Ford, when you next see Yuzuki, can you return this for me? My hair is just starting to grow long enough to cover my scars… as pretty as it is, I just can't see myself wearing this."

Ford let out a relieved breath and replied, "Of course, I can," he said taking the hairpiece and sliding it in his pocket. "Now how about some coffee?"

...

It was Ford's day off, so as soon as they returned to Westtown, Ford sat in front of the fireplace with a random book. He had a hard time focusing, however, silently wondering if Holly would have accepted the hairpiece if her scar wasn't present. He looked over at Holly's sleeping form and came to realize that he experienced a new emotion today, jealousy. The thought of Holly being with Yuzuki was painful. He wanted Holly all to himself, which was irrational since she belonged to no one. Ford let out an irritated sigh and wondered if she had any idea of the feelings, she stirred up in him.

With new determination, Ford decided he was going to ask her to the costume contest. Maybe he would catch her interest if they spent time together.