After a hasty little tour of everything else, Jack excused himself, and rushed back to his farm. I laughed outloud, watching him scramble. I could understand why he was anxious to get away, though.

It was very obvious to everyone, except Ann herself, I think, that Jack had the hots for her. I thought she was pretty, but I wasn't going to go interfere, or whatever, and make Jack mad.

I sighed heavily, and plopped down where I stood. Everyone I'd met had seemed so friendly here. It was very odd. I might even stay here…if things go well that is.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that I was very bored. I wanted to check out Green Ranch some more. Now, don't even get me wrong here. I wasn't even thinking about Ann. It's just that I like ranches and all, and wanted to get a better look at the horses I had seen. I was planning on talking to Ann, too. But hey, not about that!

If things go well, I might even play a part helping Jack and her hook up. Jack's a really nice guy, I can't deny it. Who knows, he might turn out to be my best friend? That'd be weird. I've never had a friend at all, let alone a good one.

I slowly stood up, feeling kind of lazy. Thankfully, I remembered my way to the Ranch, and found myself there without much trouble. I saw that same man, that dude who had dragged Ann away at the beach…he was brushing a beautiful steed.

I walked over, feeling kind of shy. "Hello," I greeted him quietly.

He glanced up, and went back to his work.

"Nice horse," I commented, getting nervous now.

"Name's Cliffguard," he said, in a monotone way.

"Cool," I said, trying to keep up the conversation, just for something to do.

He stopped, and looked at me. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"I was…just looking around…" I stuttered, taken aback.

"Yah, well," he grumbled, "Just don't try and go get cozy with Ann,"

My eyes widened. "No problem…where is she anyway?"

His eyes narrowed. "Why does it matter?"

"She promised to show me around the Ranch," I lied.

He stared at me a moment or two longer. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Cliff," I responded.

"I'll let her know you're here…Cliff…" he said, as he walked away.

"Not the friendly type, eh?" I muttered under my breath.

After a few moments or so, Ann came trouncing out with a slaphappy grin on her face. "Hello!" she said cheerily. "Surprise to see you here…Cliff was it?"

I nodded. "Well, I have nothing else to do. Will you show me around the Ranch, perhaps, if you have the time?"

Ann smiled. "Sure," she replied warmly. "Just follow me."

"Who was that man?" I asked, as we neared what I presumed to be the barn.

"Who?" Ann asked, startled. She had a blank expression on her face, but then it turned to a dawn of realization. "Oh, you mean him. That's my brother, Gray. He's a really great guy, but he's mean-spirited unless you know him well. Some kind of emotional thing, or whatever,"

"I see," I said, not sure if I really did or not.

Pushing open the door, we peeked inside. It was indeed a barn. Lots of cows and sheep were littered around in various places. I couldn't help but smiling, they were kind of cute.

We walked out into the pasture again, and I noticed there were more horses than before. When I mentioned this Ann said, "Yah, it's Gray's job to let them out around this time,"

"Oh," I grunted, looking around with wide eyes.

We stopped out near the main part of the Ranch. Ann motioned to a shabby looking shack. "That's where my brother sleeps, I think,"

I turned to stare with a puzzled look on my face. "You think?" I repeated.

Ann giggled. "That does sound a little strange," she admitted. "I meant, since he sleeps out in the pasture star gazing, or sometimes in the barn with the animals, I can't really say for certain,"

"What about that building over there?" I asked, pointing.

"That's the shop. My pop sells the stuff in there, and my room's in the back." She replied.

"Is that it?" I wondered outloud.

Ann glanced at me, obviously a little irritated. "Well, there may not be a whole lot of buildings to it, but it's pretty big," she said indignantly.

I had to laugh, I'm sorry. It was just the look on her face; a proud, egotistical face, but it was obvious she didn't make that face very often…it looked kinda goofy.

"I didn't mean it that way," I added quickly, trying my best not to offend her. "I just thought that perhaps I should be going. Your brother doesn't like me very much…"

Ann scowled. "Don't take it personally. He's like that all the time; a social disaster."

"Kind of like me," I said whispered.

"What do you mean?" Ann asked quietly, turning to face me.

I was caught of guard by her sensitivity. I mean she seemed well…to be polite, rude a slutty in a way. I guess that was why Gray had been so surprised by her behavior. It became obvious she was not like that at all.

"What do you mean?" Ann asked again, slightly louder.

I shrugged. "I'm just not good at making friends. No one seems to like me, and I'm shy, so that doesn't really help much, eh?"

"You're not like that at all," Ann mumbled, turning away.

My face brightened, just a little I think. "Just not like you're not overbearing and pushy," I blurted out.

My eyes widened, and I clasped a gloved hand over my mouth. When I looked at Ann, my heart felt heavy. She looked close to tears. "I didn't mean it that way…" I muttered lamely.

"Who said that about me?" she asked shyly, yet it was easy to tell she was quite angry.

"No one," I faltered. "No one at all,"

Her facial expression remained the same. "It was Jack, wasn't it?" she inquired.

"No! Of course not!" I exclaimed. "He's like in love with you, why would he say something like that?"

I slapped myself mentally, as her eyes darted around, and a small o formed on her lips. What a moron I am! I blurted out two senseless things in less than a minute! Jack was going to kill me! Even though when you thought about it, it wasn't that big of a secret, I could tell that Jack didn't want it known quite yet; especially not haven the news broken to her in the way that it was.

"Really?" she squeaked. She seemed pale.

Having nothing else I could do, I just nodded blankly. "I should go!" I said suddenly, and started to make a run for it.

Clever and cunning hands reached out just in time, and snagged my shirt collar. Staring intently into my eyes, she asked, "He likes me…a lot?"

I nodded again. When I spoke, my voice seemed dry and cracked. "Yah…I think he might even…love you…!"

Ann let go, and I could see her trembling. She then just broke down in tears. My heart heaved again. I had made her cry, I thought bitterly. I had caused this beautiful girl's tears…what a jerk!

Having nothing else to do, I gather her into a gruff hug, and patted her back. She slung to my vest, and buried her face in my chest. "Why does he love me?" she mumbled, her voice almost distorted. "When I cannot…love him in return…"

I held her close, and allowed myself to be clung to like a stuffed animal. I felt like sighing. What had I gotten myself into?

Ann pulled away suddenly, and for some reason, I felt myself wanting to reach out, and pull her back. I wondered why, though I suspected.

"Are you ok?" I asked softly.

"Yah…I think," she murmured, so low that I could barely hear.

"What does it feel like to be in love?" I wondered outloud.

Ann didn't answer me, instead, she just stood up, and looked around. "I'm going to talk to Karen…I'll see you later, I guess," she called, as she started to walk away.

I ran up behind her. When she wouldn't stop, I cut in front of her.

"What do you want?" she snapped, kind of rudely.

"Did you say Karen?" I asked, incredulously.

"Yah," she replied, surprised. "What's it to you…?"

"Just to make sure we're talking about the right person…Fairly tall, mocha hair, blonde bangs, and these incredibly awesome emerald green eyes?"

Ann nodded, a little friendlier than she had just been. "You know her?"

I grinned, almost crazily. "Know her?!" I laughed. "She's my cousin!"

It was Ann's turn to be surprised. "You do look a lot alike," she finally admitted to me.

I beamed. My cousin, I must admit, is really good looking. Even though she's a girl, obviously, and I'm (hopefully) obviously a guy, it's still kind of an honor to be compared with her, I guess."

Ann smiled, slightly. "That's like, so cool, Cliff! But I really better be going!"

I nodded in agreement. "See you around sometime," I called, and walked off myself.