Dream About Me: an HM64 Fanfic
Chapter Five: Sparks Fly
The last few days of spring passed quickly. Popuri enjoyed her time at the Green Ranch more than she thought she might have; she and Ann were becoming good friends and every day Popuri paid a visit to Celia and Serena. (Ann had filled her in on the calf's true gender, but the name had stuck anyway.) Gray was a anti-social as ever though.
On the first day of Summer, Ann beckoned for Popuri to come with her. Popuri followed her friend to the large bush next to the fence, where they knelt on the ground. Ann put her finger on her lips and then produced a small package from the bib pocket of her overalls.
"What's that?" Popuri whispered.
"Firecrackers!" Ann giggled. "Shh, here comes Gray!"
Ann lit the firecrackers and tossed them in her brother's path. They went off right under his feet, and Gray yelled and jumped about a foot into air. Ann and Popuri stifled their laughter, but Gray must've heard them anyway, because he turned right at the bush and yelled "Ann!"
The girls emerged from their hiding spot. They were laughing so hard that they had to lean on one another to stand up. The moment Gray caught sight of Popuri, the angry look drained from his face; his cheeks flushed bright red, and he raised one hand to tug his cap over his face, but the cap had fallen off his head when he jumped. He stood there for a long moment, as the girls laughter slowly trailed off.
"Grow up, Ann!" Gray snapped at his sister, once her laughter had stopped. He picked his hat up of the ground and jammed it onto his head, shoved his hands into his pockets and stormed off.
"Don't be such a wet blanket!" Ann yelled after him.
Popuri watched Gray leave, a small frown tugging at the corner of her mouth. She remembered the angry, embarrassed look on Gray's face, his cheeks flushed, hair disheveled. It was so strange seeing Gray caught off guard like that...and Gray had looked sort of cute. Popuri's eyes widened as soon as that thought crossed her mind. She'd never thought of Gray in that way before, only as Ann's cranky older brother. She blushed a little bit, but before her thoughts could go any further on the issue, Ann began to speak to her.
"Hey, I have an idea," Ann said. "Let's take the rest of these firecrackers and set them off on the mountain top. We won't disturb anyone way up there!"
There was not a soul in sight at the top of the mountain. Popuri was slightly breathless from the hike, but Ann was as full of energy as ever. She pulled another package of firecrackers out and set them off. The package was still going off when a small rabbit dashed past them, its eyes wide with fear.
"I guess we disturbed someone after all!" Ann chuckled, getting ready to set off another package.
The girls heard something moving through the brush where the rabbit had come from. Whatever was headed towards them now was clearly much larger than a bunny. A fox? A wild dog? Maybe even a bear? Ann took a step backwards, and Popuri gripped her shoulders.
The thing emerged from the brush. To Ann's relief it was not a wild animal at all, but a young man. The girls recognized him as Cliff, a newcomer to Flowerbud, but it was the first time they had ever met him. Cliff glared at the girls, and Popuri trembled a little. Ann stiffened, she was made of sterner stuff than Popuri.
"Did you kids set off those firecrackers?" Cliff demanded, Ann tried to stuff the other package in her pocket, but Cliff leaped forward and grabbed it from her. " I knew it! You kids cost me and Cain our lunch!"
"What are you talking about?" Ann snapped.
"I nearly had that rabbit in my trap, but your damned toys scared him into running the wrong way!"
"Good!" Ann exclaimed haughtily. "You shouldn't pick on poor defenseless bunnies!"
Cliff glared at her, then wordlessly dropped the package to the ground. Before Ann or Popuri could react, Cliff brought his foot down on the firecrackers, and ground them down.
"You jerk! You have no right to do that!" Ann yelled. She was near tears.
"So upset over some toys that make loud noises?" Cliff sneered. "Grow up." Then he turned and began to walk away. A falcon swooped after him.
"JERK!" Ann screamed after him, her face nearly as red as her hair. She wiped the tears from her eyes with her fists. "Come on, Popuri. Let's go home..."
Ann's bad moods never lasted long, and by the time the sun set, she was her old cheerful self again. She and Popuri sat on the fence by the pasture and gazed up at the sky, waiting for the fireworks to start. After a while, Gray came out too, but he stood so far away from the girls, that it couldn't really be called watching the fireworks with the girls at all.
As she watched th sky fill with brilliant flashes of color Popuri occasionally peeked over at Gray. Once he happened to glance at her at the same time, and he flushed, turning his head away.
"I guess he's still mad," Popuri thought.
