Chapter Thirteen: Jack's Birthday
A/N: Chapter Thirteen...wasn't sure what to do
for Jack's birthday so I took ideas from your reviews,
of course!! ^_^;;;; Thanks, Sleepy Sheep, angelwings, and Saltine!
^^;;; Eh heh heh...Enjoy!
Dawn pondered frantically for what to do for
Jack as she sat up in bed, on the day of Jack's
birthday.
Should I get him...No, he already has
that...And its not like he needs another cow...He's got
plenty of tools...AHA! I know! Dawn smiled to herself.
Dawn hurriedly got dressed and brushed her
hair absent mindedly, and then went outside and
tended to her crops and animals.
Then she checked her mail. She had a note
from Jack (which had a smiley face winking and his
name signed at the bottom, that was it - hmm, maybe
HE suffers from writer's block too?), a thing from the
carpenter's saying "Buy our stuff!" except written
better as if they were begging you, and...a note from
her parents?
Dawn frowned. Her dad cared at least a
LITTLE for her. But he was dedicated to work and
was often impatient with everyone, in case he was
late for another 'meeting'. Her father HAD said that
she couldn't run the farm properly, though...As if a
GIRL couldn't do what a boy could. But it was the
part with her MOM that worried her most.
Her mother didn't like Dawn. That was all
there was to it. She had constantly berated, belittled
(are they the same thing?), and insulted Dawn when
she was little, and also made her do all the chores
while her three brothers ran amock and played.
Dawn began to feel sad and frustrated again, which
was how she felt growing up with her mother: trapped.
Dawn opened the note. It said:
'Dear Dawn,
I'm glad to hear, from the Mayor, that you are
doing well on your farm. Your mother and I are
passing through the town on the twenty-eighth, so we
decided we were going to stop by, if that's all right
with you. We are both anxious to see how you are
doing in Flower Bud Village.
We love you very much. Expect us soon.
~Dad'
Dawn snorted. She wasn't exactly surprised
that her mother hadn't even signed the note herself.
Dawn shook herself, then went hiking into the
woods, trying to throw her parent's meeting out of her
mind. She went up to the carpenter's place.
Two of them (y'know two of the, like,
quintuplets) were outside, chopping wood. Dawn
went inside and the Head Carpenter greeted Dawn.
"Hello, Dawn! What can I do for you today?"
"Hi, Bob." (I didn't know what else to call
him...) "I was wondering, could you build a kitchen for
someone else?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, say I wanted you to build Jack a kitchen."
"Oh. Sure, but we'd need Jack to agree, of
course."
"All right, can I do that then?"
"Sure. Just give me the money and lumber,
and we'll go and notify Jack."
"Not yet though. I'd like it if you could drop by
Jack's sometime around four? I'll probably walk with
you down to his farm."
"Sure, Dawn."
"Thanks so much!" Dawn said, smiling, and left
the carpenters.
Outside she saw Popuri walking around picking
flowers. (It was Saturday.) Dawn went and talked to
her for a bit, and then she went home to make something. Of course, she had no
idea what...
Ann came over around noon. "Hi Dawn!"
"Hey Ann! I'm trying to make something as a gift for...someone..."
Ann frowned. "What're you going to make it out of?"
"That's the problem...I don't know what to make!!"
Ann frowned. "Well, I just came over to see what you're doing today."
"Same as every other day, I guess."
Ann grinned broadly. "Cool! Okay, I hafta get back to work...See you later!"
Dawn frowned. She hadn't gotten a chance to tell Ann about her parent's visit.
"Okay...bye..." But, Ann had already left.
Dawn gazed around her farm, wondering what she could do for Jack, besides adding
the kitchen to his house. Then her eyes lit up when she saw the tree.
She went over to the tree and tore off a strip of the bark. It was a hard piece
of wood and she took out a knife and carved it into a square.
Back when Dawn was little Grandpa had told her that that tree was good luck.
She had always believed him, and indeed it did seem like it was good luck.
Though Jack probably didn't believe in luck, she felt like sharing a bit of it
with him.
On the piece of wood she carved a little symbol. It meant 'Luck' in Japanese.
On the other side she carved 'Happiness' in Japanese. (Her mind kind of went
blank-like min!) Dawn wondered if the gift was good enough for Jack.
I hope it is! She thought frantically. She then drilled a hole in the top and
attached a rope, so he could wear it as a necklace...or whatever.
Just then Harris came by, and said, "I have a letter for you," and handed her
another letter. It was from Jack.
It said,
"Dear Dawn,
Since you (hopefully) remember that tonight is my birthday (My GOD he's greedy,
Dawn thought with a laugh) I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner at that
restaurant on Moon Mountain? Meet me by the carpenter's around six o'clock-
since there's no bridge I'll show you the other way.
See ya then,
~Jack"
There was a little wink-face next to his name. Dawn smiled.
Then she casually glanced at her watch. It was three thirty! It'd take a
little while just to get to the carpenter's and then to Jack's...
Dawn ran out of her farm and jogged up to the carpenter's place. She got there
around 3:45. She met the carpenters and they went back to her house to grab the
lumber, and Dawn paid the carpenters. Then they marched over to Jack's.
Jack was working on his farm, cultivating the land with the hoe tool.
(LOL...er...sorry). He was sweating slightly and his muscular arms worked
mechanically as his face was contorted in concentration and thought as he stared
down at his work.
My GOD he's so handsome... Dawn thought, in a trance for a moment as she watched
his muscular figure working.
Jack still hadn't caught sight of them, so Dawn marched right up to him and
said, "Hi Jack!"
Jack jumped slightly, and then grinned at Dawn. "Hey!" he said, smiling at her.
Dawn guessed he was expecting a gift. "Well, I remembered your birthday was
today," Dawn said sweetly. "I decided to get a little something for you."
Jack then noticed the carpenters behind Dawn. "What're they doing here?" he
said curiously.
"Well...I noticed you didn't have a kitchen yet, and one of my gifts to you is a
kitchen...That is, if you want one."
Jack grinned broadly and threw his arms around Dawn. "YES!" he exclaimed. "NO
MORE RICE BALLS FOR BREAKFAST AND DINNER! I CAN COOK FISH AND STORE FOOD NOW!
YAAAAY!" He picked up Dawn and practically threw her in the air, and spun around
with her in his arms. Then he set her down and he kissed her. "Thank you so
much!" he said.
Dawn felt slightly dizzy. "So happy you like it," she said, shaking herself.
Then she smiled. "Well, I have to go home and meet the shipper to get my
payment for the day. Naturally, since this was a gift, I paid for everything
for the kitchen and the lumber, so...see you tonight!" Dawn, smiling broadly,
left, leaving Jack smiling back at her on the farm.
Dawn walked home just in time to receive payment. Then she fed Kirby again, and
decided to change her clothes. She put on some better-looking overalls, and a
nicer shirt. Then, frowning, she put on just the slightest bit of makeup, just
to look a little bit nice.
Dawn left with a handful of money in her pocket for the carpenter's place. She
got there at just about six. Jack was already there.
Jack grinned at her. "Hey!" he called. Dawn smiled and walked over to him.
The moon was half-full tonight, but it was enough to illuminate the area. The
river sparkled silver and the area was quiet, except for the occasional chanting
of night insects and hooting of owls.
"Well? Shall we go eat?"
"Sure," Dawn said, but frowned. "Umm...How will we get to the restaurant?"
Jack grinned, and walked over to the tree by the cliff. "We climb!"
"CLIMB?!?" It wasn't exactly the romantic night she thought it might be...but
at
least it wasn't over yet.
Jack grinned sheepishly, scratching his head. "Well the carpenters haven't
repaired the bridge yet, so..."
Dawn smiled back at him, and then sighed. "I give up. Let's climb the tree."
They climbed the tree. Dawn, having never been up here, gazed around. Jack led
her up the path to the little restaurant, which was open (thankfully). They ate
outside, at a cute little table right under the moon.
They both ordered nice meals and then talked about random stuff, like they
always did.
While they were eating, Dawn took out the necklace and handed it to Jack. He
took it, fingering it and looking at it curiously.
"It's a good luck charm," Dawn said quickly. "I made it myself, out of the bark
on the tree in my farm. My grandpa always told me the tree was good luck."
Dawn laughed, kind of embarrassed. "I know it might sound silly, but I always
believed it...I wanted to share that with you."
Dawn looked down, suddenly feeling very embarrassed and remembering about her
grandfather.
When she looked back up, Jack was looking at her. He leaned towards her. "I
will always treasure this," he said softly.
Dawn smiled back at him. Who cared if it sounded corny? It sounded good-it
sounded RIGHT when Jack said it.
They kissed. When they broke apart, Jack paid the bill and they went to the
summit of Moon Mountain.
They walked in silence, which Dawn welcomed. She wanted to think about Grandpa.
She guessed Jack was doing the same. Jack had put the necklace on and they held
hands as they walked up the path to the top of the mountain.
The moon sparkled down at them, and the stars dotted the black sky. The half-
full moon illuminated the top of the mountain and the forest below, and Jack's
farm. The silver light glittered on the ocean to their right, and brightened
the forest and hills and plains on their left. Dawn shuddered, remembering
Tom...
Jack turned to Dawn, smiling. "Dawn?"
Dawn turned to Jack. His brown eyes were glittering with the silver light.
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
Dawn stood still and stared for a minute, then smiled, her heart nearly
exploding. "I love you, too, Jack..."
They kissed again. But this time Dawn could feel Jack relieved, on his lips and
how warm he felt, and how he didn't feel tensed up...like he had a weight off
his shoulders, perhaps. Dawn felt exhilarated and so happy she felt like she
was flying.
After they were done, Jack smiled at Dawn. They started walking back to Jack's
house, Dawn leaning her head on Jack and smiling, still elated with happiness
like she was filled with sunshine or a big balloon.
They walked down to Jack's farm. It was dark and quiet. Jack walked up to his
door and opened it, smiling back at Dawn.
Just as he did, the lights flicked on and about ten people jumped out and
screamed, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!!"
Jack screamed, "HOLY SHIT!" and jumped so high he hit his head on the top of the
doorway. Dawn squeaked, alarmed, then started laughing at Jack.
Ann, Popuri, and Cliff ran up to Jack. (Okay, so Cliff didn't "run," he's too
reserved for that, but he walked quickly.) "We wanted to surprise you!" bubbled
Ann.
"I think you did pretty well on that," Jack gasped, still shocked.
Compared to the other parties, there weren't that many people there. Dawn
supposed it was because not so many people liked Jack's grandfather.
She had learned from her father that Jack's grandpa, named Will, had been kind
of rude and hadn't been very social to everyone. Dawn supposed there was more
to this story, involving the Mayor, but she supposed she'd never learn it.
Sometimes Dawn could see Will's stiffness in Jack, like when he greeted the
mayor.
Thinking about what her father told Dawn made Dawn think of her parents' visit.
They were visiting because of a business trip, she knew, but she wondered how
long they would stay. An afternoon? A day? A week? Dawn shuddered inwardly at
the thought.
Kai and Karen were at the party too. It worked like at Ann's party; Kai would
hog Jack for some of the time and Karen would hang by the punch bowl.
Dawn felt kind of sorry for Karen. She could see that she was trying to avoid
Kai, but Kai would walk up to her and be all how Kai is to her.
The party lasted for a long time. Somewhere during it, Dawn brought up the
mention of her parents.
"Oh cool! I've ALWAYS wanted to meet your parents!" Ann and Popuri squeaked.
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "...Why?"
"I dunno," Popuri shrugged. "I just...do. Your mom must be a lot like you,
though, and maybe our moms can be friends or something."
Ann stared at Popuri, and then they started an argument over that last little
discussion. Dawn looked at the ground and mumbled, "Yeah..."
Jack must have noticed something wrong with Dawn. He said in her ear,
"Something wrong?"
"No...It's nothing," she said, smiling back at him in what she hoped was a
reassuring smile.
After awhile, people started to leave. After everyone left, Jack walked Dawn
home.
At her door, Jack stopped and said to her, "So...when are your parents coming?"
"The twenty-eighth," Dawn sighed. "Now I have to make my farm look good and do
all this other stuff for it before they come. I mean, I'll have to pull ALL the
weeds-" She spread her arms out over the moonlit farm, and all the weeds were
visible, "-maybe paint the house, it doesn't look too good-" Here she pointed at
the house, and it was true; it looked murky brown, and very shabby. Ugly,
that's the proper word. "-and then there's INSIDE my house..." Dawn groaned.
"Not to mention my animals need brushing more often and the farm's pretty
untidy. And my mom likes flowers."
"And you don't have flowers."
"YES!" Dawn felt like her head was exploding. She squeezed her eyes shut and
massaged her temples. "Oh...I wish they weren't coming so badly..."
"Hey, don't worry," Jack said, putting a comforting arm across her shoulders.
"I'll help ya with my spare time. That's...kind of all day..." Jack grinned
sheepishly, with that crazy grin of his.
Dawn smiled, and then laughed. She felt so happy that Jack was there for her.
"Thanks so much, Jack."
Jack grinned at her, and then sighed. "My house needs cleaning up, though," he
said, looking extremely tired and harrassed suddenly. "If only I had some
help..." He grinned mischievously and looked over at Dawn as he said this.
Dawn smacked his head playfully. "A'ight, cowboy, I'll help you tomorrow
morning," she said, grinning. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Jack grinned and they kissed. Then he jogged out of her farm. Dawn went inside
and to bed, smiling.
The next day, Dawn took care of her farm extremely quickly and jogged as fast as
she could over to Jack's. He was just finishing with his farm duties, and he
grinned as she came in. Then they worked inside cleaning up the mess that the
partyers had made, which took up till lunchtime. Then they had a short lunch,
and then they both went over to Dawn's farm to work on her house.
First, they pulled out all the weeds. That took up most of the day,
unfortunately. Then they brushed all her animals, talking and laughing about
people of the town and strange things about them, or swapping good jokes.
After that, they went into Dawn's house. The room was pretty bare, but there
was a carpet, a blue pot, and a picture of the ocean on the wall that belonged
to Grandpa. The house was pretty much a mess though; lots of Dawn's clothes
were strewn across the place and she had stumbled over her toolbox at some point
one night, and still hadn't bothered to clean it up.
"Eh heh heh heh..." Dawn said, bright red, as Jack looked at her with a raised
eyebrow. Then they started cleaning up her house.
Jack picked up one of Dawn's bras lying right by the doormat. "...Do I want to
know?"
Dawn playfully smacked him. "Knowing you, yes," she giggled. She snatched the
bra away instantly and put it with all the other clothes in her drawers. Then
they stood back to admire her house.
It was very clean, but it looked too bare, Dawn knew that. She wondered what
her mother would say at how bare it was, and then cringed.
Jack noticed. "Umm...Well your Invincible Katori you got the other day could go
right about here..." He gestured to a place by her toolbox. Dawn, remembering
she had put it in the kitchen, grabbed it and put it where Jack said it would
look good. It looked good. Then Jack had to go home and take care of his
animals (they tended to wander a little too far away) and Dawn went out to buy
some stuff to decorate her house more.
She bought a painting of the ocean at sunset that Maria was selling for some
extra money. (Hehehe…) Then she bought a cute little small cat statue (about the
height of her ankle) and she put that on top of the TV later. After that she
went walking on the beach and found a couple of seashells, then decided to make
a little ornament out of it by stringing a bunch of them together. For the heck
of it she put it on her wall, a long line of seashells hanging that took up some
of the wall and added the decoration she needed. Then she bought two wooden
chairs for visitors to sit in at the table in the main part of her house.
Dawn sighed. Her house still looked bare, but not that bare. She decided her
mom would have to adjust to it the way it was.
Dawn ran outside and tried to get her farm to look better. Fortunately she had
some flowers (her mother loved them), so she picked some and put them in the
blue jar on her table. She had some Pink Cat Mint seeds, but only one section
of it.
(A/N: I always grow like 5 MILLION flowers, teehee ^.^ Then Popuri REALLY falls
for me! *wink wink* lol)
Then Ann and Popuri came for a little visit, and they relaxed in Dawn's hammock
and talked.
"I can't wait to meet your parents!" Ann bubbled excitedly.
"Me too," Popuri said. "I met your dad, I think, but I wonder about your mom…"
"They live in the city," Dawn said. "My mom loves the city—she doesn't really
like leaving it for even a vacation…She's going to hate it here. I have a
feeling they'll only be here for two or three days."
"I hope we get to meet them…You'd BETTER let us!" Ann exclaimed.
Dawn looked at them worriedly. "You don't want to meet my mom," she said
quickly.
"Why not?" said Popuri, frowning. "She can't be much different from you."
"Yeah she is…" Dawn said, frowning and staring into the distance. She couldn't
bring herself to tell them about her past, and when she was a child and how her
mother treated her.
Ann and Popuri argued over something while Dawn stared off into the distance.
After a bit, Ann frowned and said, "What is WRONG, Dawn? You look petrified…"
"Just the thought of my mom…" Dawn grimaced.
After a little while, Ann and Popuri had to leave. Dawn wandered around in the
woods for a little bit, and then went home early to read a book she had gotten
from the library.
The next few days whizzed, by and then the 28th came…
A/N: Well, there's Chapter 13! I just realized how extremely MUSHY that part with Dawn and Jack was…It even sickened me a little bit, so I dunno about you… O.o;;; Waellll… ^_^ I'll write more soon, but I also have to
write another chapter of my Smash Bros fic so it might take a lil while…^_^ Keep
readin y'all!
A/N: Chapter Thirteen...wasn't sure what to do
for Jack's birthday so I took ideas from your reviews,
of course!! ^_^;;;; Thanks, Sleepy Sheep, angelwings, and Saltine!
^^;;; Eh heh heh...Enjoy!
Dawn pondered frantically for what to do for
Jack as she sat up in bed, on the day of Jack's
birthday.
Should I get him...No, he already has
that...And its not like he needs another cow...He's got
plenty of tools...AHA! I know! Dawn smiled to herself.
Dawn hurriedly got dressed and brushed her
hair absent mindedly, and then went outside and
tended to her crops and animals.
Then she checked her mail. She had a note
from Jack (which had a smiley face winking and his
name signed at the bottom, that was it - hmm, maybe
HE suffers from writer's block too?), a thing from the
carpenter's saying "Buy our stuff!" except written
better as if they were begging you, and...a note from
her parents?
Dawn frowned. Her dad cared at least a
LITTLE for her. But he was dedicated to work and
was often impatient with everyone, in case he was
late for another 'meeting'. Her father HAD said that
she couldn't run the farm properly, though...As if a
GIRL couldn't do what a boy could. But it was the
part with her MOM that worried her most.
Her mother didn't like Dawn. That was all
there was to it. She had constantly berated, belittled
(are they the same thing?), and insulted Dawn when
she was little, and also made her do all the chores
while her three brothers ran amock and played.
Dawn began to feel sad and frustrated again, which
was how she felt growing up with her mother: trapped.
Dawn opened the note. It said:
'Dear Dawn,
I'm glad to hear, from the Mayor, that you are
doing well on your farm. Your mother and I are
passing through the town on the twenty-eighth, so we
decided we were going to stop by, if that's all right
with you. We are both anxious to see how you are
doing in Flower Bud Village.
We love you very much. Expect us soon.
~Dad'
Dawn snorted. She wasn't exactly surprised
that her mother hadn't even signed the note herself.
Dawn shook herself, then went hiking into the
woods, trying to throw her parent's meeting out of her
mind. She went up to the carpenter's place.
Two of them (y'know two of the, like,
quintuplets) were outside, chopping wood. Dawn
went inside and the Head Carpenter greeted Dawn.
"Hello, Dawn! What can I do for you today?"
"Hi, Bob." (I didn't know what else to call
him...) "I was wondering, could you build a kitchen for
someone else?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, say I wanted you to build Jack a kitchen."
"Oh. Sure, but we'd need Jack to agree, of
course."
"All right, can I do that then?"
"Sure. Just give me the money and lumber,
and we'll go and notify Jack."
"Not yet though. I'd like it if you could drop by
Jack's sometime around four? I'll probably walk with
you down to his farm."
"Sure, Dawn."
"Thanks so much!" Dawn said, smiling, and left
the carpenters.
Outside she saw Popuri walking around picking
flowers. (It was Saturday.) Dawn went and talked to
her for a bit, and then she went home to make something. Of course, she had no
idea what...
Ann came over around noon. "Hi Dawn!"
"Hey Ann! I'm trying to make something as a gift for...someone..."
Ann frowned. "What're you going to make it out of?"
"That's the problem...I don't know what to make!!"
Ann frowned. "Well, I just came over to see what you're doing today."
"Same as every other day, I guess."
Ann grinned broadly. "Cool! Okay, I hafta get back to work...See you later!"
Dawn frowned. She hadn't gotten a chance to tell Ann about her parent's visit.
"Okay...bye..." But, Ann had already left.
Dawn gazed around her farm, wondering what she could do for Jack, besides adding
the kitchen to his house. Then her eyes lit up when she saw the tree.
She went over to the tree and tore off a strip of the bark. It was a hard piece
of wood and she took out a knife and carved it into a square.
Back when Dawn was little Grandpa had told her that that tree was good luck.
She had always believed him, and indeed it did seem like it was good luck.
Though Jack probably didn't believe in luck, she felt like sharing a bit of it
with him.
On the piece of wood she carved a little symbol. It meant 'Luck' in Japanese.
On the other side she carved 'Happiness' in Japanese. (Her mind kind of went
blank-like min!) Dawn wondered if the gift was good enough for Jack.
I hope it is! She thought frantically. She then drilled a hole in the top and
attached a rope, so he could wear it as a necklace...or whatever.
Just then Harris came by, and said, "I have a letter for you," and handed her
another letter. It was from Jack.
It said,
"Dear Dawn,
Since you (hopefully) remember that tonight is my birthday (My GOD he's greedy,
Dawn thought with a laugh) I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner at that
restaurant on Moon Mountain? Meet me by the carpenter's around six o'clock-
since there's no bridge I'll show you the other way.
See ya then,
~Jack"
There was a little wink-face next to his name. Dawn smiled.
Then she casually glanced at her watch. It was three thirty! It'd take a
little while just to get to the carpenter's and then to Jack's...
Dawn ran out of her farm and jogged up to the carpenter's place. She got there
around 3:45. She met the carpenters and they went back to her house to grab the
lumber, and Dawn paid the carpenters. Then they marched over to Jack's.
Jack was working on his farm, cultivating the land with the hoe tool.
(LOL...er...sorry). He was sweating slightly and his muscular arms worked
mechanically as his face was contorted in concentration and thought as he stared
down at his work.
My GOD he's so handsome... Dawn thought, in a trance for a moment as she watched
his muscular figure working.
Jack still hadn't caught sight of them, so Dawn marched right up to him and
said, "Hi Jack!"
Jack jumped slightly, and then grinned at Dawn. "Hey!" he said, smiling at her.
Dawn guessed he was expecting a gift. "Well, I remembered your birthday was
today," Dawn said sweetly. "I decided to get a little something for you."
Jack then noticed the carpenters behind Dawn. "What're they doing here?" he
said curiously.
"Well...I noticed you didn't have a kitchen yet, and one of my gifts to you is a
kitchen...That is, if you want one."
Jack grinned broadly and threw his arms around Dawn. "YES!" he exclaimed. "NO
MORE RICE BALLS FOR BREAKFAST AND DINNER! I CAN COOK FISH AND STORE FOOD NOW!
YAAAAY!" He picked up Dawn and practically threw her in the air, and spun around
with her in his arms. Then he set her down and he kissed her. "Thank you so
much!" he said.
Dawn felt slightly dizzy. "So happy you like it," she said, shaking herself.
Then she smiled. "Well, I have to go home and meet the shipper to get my
payment for the day. Naturally, since this was a gift, I paid for everything
for the kitchen and the lumber, so...see you tonight!" Dawn, smiling broadly,
left, leaving Jack smiling back at her on the farm.
Dawn walked home just in time to receive payment. Then she fed Kirby again, and
decided to change her clothes. She put on some better-looking overalls, and a
nicer shirt. Then, frowning, she put on just the slightest bit of makeup, just
to look a little bit nice.
Dawn left with a handful of money in her pocket for the carpenter's place. She
got there at just about six. Jack was already there.
Jack grinned at her. "Hey!" he called. Dawn smiled and walked over to him.
The moon was half-full tonight, but it was enough to illuminate the area. The
river sparkled silver and the area was quiet, except for the occasional chanting
of night insects and hooting of owls.
"Well? Shall we go eat?"
"Sure," Dawn said, but frowned. "Umm...How will we get to the restaurant?"
Jack grinned, and walked over to the tree by the cliff. "We climb!"
"CLIMB?!?" It wasn't exactly the romantic night she thought it might be...but
at
least it wasn't over yet.
Jack grinned sheepishly, scratching his head. "Well the carpenters haven't
repaired the bridge yet, so..."
Dawn smiled back at him, and then sighed. "I give up. Let's climb the tree."
They climbed the tree. Dawn, having never been up here, gazed around. Jack led
her up the path to the little restaurant, which was open (thankfully). They ate
outside, at a cute little table right under the moon.
They both ordered nice meals and then talked about random stuff, like they
always did.
While they were eating, Dawn took out the necklace and handed it to Jack. He
took it, fingering it and looking at it curiously.
"It's a good luck charm," Dawn said quickly. "I made it myself, out of the bark
on the tree in my farm. My grandpa always told me the tree was good luck."
Dawn laughed, kind of embarrassed. "I know it might sound silly, but I always
believed it...I wanted to share that with you."
Dawn looked down, suddenly feeling very embarrassed and remembering about her
grandfather.
When she looked back up, Jack was looking at her. He leaned towards her. "I
will always treasure this," he said softly.
Dawn smiled back at him. Who cared if it sounded corny? It sounded good-it
sounded RIGHT when Jack said it.
They kissed. When they broke apart, Jack paid the bill and they went to the
summit of Moon Mountain.
They walked in silence, which Dawn welcomed. She wanted to think about Grandpa.
She guessed Jack was doing the same. Jack had put the necklace on and they held
hands as they walked up the path to the top of the mountain.
The moon sparkled down at them, and the stars dotted the black sky. The half-
full moon illuminated the top of the mountain and the forest below, and Jack's
farm. The silver light glittered on the ocean to their right, and brightened
the forest and hills and plains on their left. Dawn shuddered, remembering
Tom...
Jack turned to Dawn, smiling. "Dawn?"
Dawn turned to Jack. His brown eyes were glittering with the silver light.
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
Dawn stood still and stared for a minute, then smiled, her heart nearly
exploding. "I love you, too, Jack..."
They kissed again. But this time Dawn could feel Jack relieved, on his lips and
how warm he felt, and how he didn't feel tensed up...like he had a weight off
his shoulders, perhaps. Dawn felt exhilarated and so happy she felt like she
was flying.
After they were done, Jack smiled at Dawn. They started walking back to Jack's
house, Dawn leaning her head on Jack and smiling, still elated with happiness
like she was filled with sunshine or a big balloon.
They walked down to Jack's farm. It was dark and quiet. Jack walked up to his
door and opened it, smiling back at Dawn.
Just as he did, the lights flicked on and about ten people jumped out and
screamed, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!!"
Jack screamed, "HOLY SHIT!" and jumped so high he hit his head on the top of the
doorway. Dawn squeaked, alarmed, then started laughing at Jack.
Ann, Popuri, and Cliff ran up to Jack. (Okay, so Cliff didn't "run," he's too
reserved for that, but he walked quickly.) "We wanted to surprise you!" bubbled
Ann.
"I think you did pretty well on that," Jack gasped, still shocked.
Compared to the other parties, there weren't that many people there. Dawn
supposed it was because not so many people liked Jack's grandfather.
She had learned from her father that Jack's grandpa, named Will, had been kind
of rude and hadn't been very social to everyone. Dawn supposed there was more
to this story, involving the Mayor, but she supposed she'd never learn it.
Sometimes Dawn could see Will's stiffness in Jack, like when he greeted the
mayor.
Thinking about what her father told Dawn made Dawn think of her parents' visit.
They were visiting because of a business trip, she knew, but she wondered how
long they would stay. An afternoon? A day? A week? Dawn shuddered inwardly at
the thought.
Kai and Karen were at the party too. It worked like at Ann's party; Kai would
hog Jack for some of the time and Karen would hang by the punch bowl.
Dawn felt kind of sorry for Karen. She could see that she was trying to avoid
Kai, but Kai would walk up to her and be all how Kai is to her.
The party lasted for a long time. Somewhere during it, Dawn brought up the
mention of her parents.
"Oh cool! I've ALWAYS wanted to meet your parents!" Ann and Popuri squeaked.
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "...Why?"
"I dunno," Popuri shrugged. "I just...do. Your mom must be a lot like you,
though, and maybe our moms can be friends or something."
Ann stared at Popuri, and then they started an argument over that last little
discussion. Dawn looked at the ground and mumbled, "Yeah..."
Jack must have noticed something wrong with Dawn. He said in her ear,
"Something wrong?"
"No...It's nothing," she said, smiling back at him in what she hoped was a
reassuring smile.
After awhile, people started to leave. After everyone left, Jack walked Dawn
home.
At her door, Jack stopped and said to her, "So...when are your parents coming?"
"The twenty-eighth," Dawn sighed. "Now I have to make my farm look good and do
all this other stuff for it before they come. I mean, I'll have to pull ALL the
weeds-" She spread her arms out over the moonlit farm, and all the weeds were
visible, "-maybe paint the house, it doesn't look too good-" Here she pointed at
the house, and it was true; it looked murky brown, and very shabby. Ugly,
that's the proper word. "-and then there's INSIDE my house..." Dawn groaned.
"Not to mention my animals need brushing more often and the farm's pretty
untidy. And my mom likes flowers."
"And you don't have flowers."
"YES!" Dawn felt like her head was exploding. She squeezed her eyes shut and
massaged her temples. "Oh...I wish they weren't coming so badly..."
"Hey, don't worry," Jack said, putting a comforting arm across her shoulders.
"I'll help ya with my spare time. That's...kind of all day..." Jack grinned
sheepishly, with that crazy grin of his.
Dawn smiled, and then laughed. She felt so happy that Jack was there for her.
"Thanks so much, Jack."
Jack grinned at her, and then sighed. "My house needs cleaning up, though," he
said, looking extremely tired and harrassed suddenly. "If only I had some
help..." He grinned mischievously and looked over at Dawn as he said this.
Dawn smacked his head playfully. "A'ight, cowboy, I'll help you tomorrow
morning," she said, grinning. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Jack grinned and they kissed. Then he jogged out of her farm. Dawn went inside
and to bed, smiling.
The next day, Dawn took care of her farm extremely quickly and jogged as fast as
she could over to Jack's. He was just finishing with his farm duties, and he
grinned as she came in. Then they worked inside cleaning up the mess that the
partyers had made, which took up till lunchtime. Then they had a short lunch,
and then they both went over to Dawn's farm to work on her house.
First, they pulled out all the weeds. That took up most of the day,
unfortunately. Then they brushed all her animals, talking and laughing about
people of the town and strange things about them, or swapping good jokes.
After that, they went into Dawn's house. The room was pretty bare, but there
was a carpet, a blue pot, and a picture of the ocean on the wall that belonged
to Grandpa. The house was pretty much a mess though; lots of Dawn's clothes
were strewn across the place and she had stumbled over her toolbox at some point
one night, and still hadn't bothered to clean it up.
"Eh heh heh heh..." Dawn said, bright red, as Jack looked at her with a raised
eyebrow. Then they started cleaning up her house.
Jack picked up one of Dawn's bras lying right by the doormat. "...Do I want to
know?"
Dawn playfully smacked him. "Knowing you, yes," she giggled. She snatched the
bra away instantly and put it with all the other clothes in her drawers. Then
they stood back to admire her house.
It was very clean, but it looked too bare, Dawn knew that. She wondered what
her mother would say at how bare it was, and then cringed.
Jack noticed. "Umm...Well your Invincible Katori you got the other day could go
right about here..." He gestured to a place by her toolbox. Dawn, remembering
she had put it in the kitchen, grabbed it and put it where Jack said it would
look good. It looked good. Then Jack had to go home and take care of his
animals (they tended to wander a little too far away) and Dawn went out to buy
some stuff to decorate her house more.
She bought a painting of the ocean at sunset that Maria was selling for some
extra money. (Hehehe…) Then she bought a cute little small cat statue (about the
height of her ankle) and she put that on top of the TV later. After that she
went walking on the beach and found a couple of seashells, then decided to make
a little ornament out of it by stringing a bunch of them together. For the heck
of it she put it on her wall, a long line of seashells hanging that took up some
of the wall and added the decoration she needed. Then she bought two wooden
chairs for visitors to sit in at the table in the main part of her house.
Dawn sighed. Her house still looked bare, but not that bare. She decided her
mom would have to adjust to it the way it was.
Dawn ran outside and tried to get her farm to look better. Fortunately she had
some flowers (her mother loved them), so she picked some and put them in the
blue jar on her table. She had some Pink Cat Mint seeds, but only one section
of it.
(A/N: I always grow like 5 MILLION flowers, teehee ^.^ Then Popuri REALLY falls
for me! *wink wink* lol)
Then Ann and Popuri came for a little visit, and they relaxed in Dawn's hammock
and talked.
"I can't wait to meet your parents!" Ann bubbled excitedly.
"Me too," Popuri said. "I met your dad, I think, but I wonder about your mom…"
"They live in the city," Dawn said. "My mom loves the city—she doesn't really
like leaving it for even a vacation…She's going to hate it here. I have a
feeling they'll only be here for two or three days."
"I hope we get to meet them…You'd BETTER let us!" Ann exclaimed.
Dawn looked at them worriedly. "You don't want to meet my mom," she said
quickly.
"Why not?" said Popuri, frowning. "She can't be much different from you."
"Yeah she is…" Dawn said, frowning and staring into the distance. She couldn't
bring herself to tell them about her past, and when she was a child and how her
mother treated her.
Ann and Popuri argued over something while Dawn stared off into the distance.
After a bit, Ann frowned and said, "What is WRONG, Dawn? You look petrified…"
"Just the thought of my mom…" Dawn grimaced.
After a little while, Ann and Popuri had to leave. Dawn wandered around in the
woods for a little bit, and then went home early to read a book she had gotten
from the library.
The next few days whizzed, by and then the 28th came…
A/N: Well, there's Chapter 13! I just realized how extremely MUSHY that part with Dawn and Jack was…It even sickened me a little bit, so I dunno about you… O.o;;; Waellll… ^_^ I'll write more soon, but I also have to
write another chapter of my Smash Bros fic so it might take a lil while…^_^ Keep
readin y'all!