Disclaimer- This story isn't actually directly related to Harvest Moon, if you think long and hard about it. Just the fact that there's a farm. Mmm, farm. The only thing that make it a harvest moon fanfic is the farm really. But still, it has be said, I do not own Harvest Moon.

Although imagine how cool that would be.

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Jack checked his watch, before remembering it was broken, and had been for some time. He still wore it purely because it was designer, the only designer thing he owned. Jack had always been poor, not for lack of trying to find money. But lucky for him, he was pretty sure he'd found his lucky break. Brushing a few droplets of water off of the face of the watch, he thought back to a month earlier.

A chilly December's day, no snow. Just cold. Jack was in the house by himself. His roommate and best friend, Henry, was out at his girlfriend's house. The restaurant Jack worked had been shut down a week ago for a health code violation and he had no source of money. So that was how he found himself browsing through the classifieds.

Nothing appealed to him. He turned the page again… and then he saw it.

Sure, it was an abandoned farm, something that most wouldn't be excited by. But this was a gamble, and Jack was a fan of gambles. This was what he wanted.

A nice sounding village, population pushing 100. Near the coast and the mountains. And not too far away.

Jack called up the number from the ad, shaking like mad. The man at the other end finally picked up.

"Hello?"

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Jack was shaking like he had been when he dialed that number. This time, though, there was someone there to see him. It was the man who was steering the motorboat, James, who Jack had met only 4 hours before, at the docks. It had been another gamble to not buy a boat ticket to the island, and then another one to jump in with someone he didn't even know. But James knew the sea and seemed friendly, so Jack promised a nice sum of money to get him here.

"You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, it's just kinda cold." Jack said, putting his jacket on. "Have you got the time?"

James checked his own watch. "Nearly eleven. We're almost there, by the way. You should start getting your luggage together soon."

Jack attended to this, although it didn't take long. He only had a few small bags. He didn't own much in the first place, and he'd left alot with Henry, who had been pretty upset to see him leave. Jack felt guilty about it, of course, but he had promised to invite Henry down to Mineral Town once he'd settled in. Although he was somewhat consoled because of the changes his friend had been going through lately- ever sinceHenry had started going out with Emma, he'd been different. Emma was a bitch, and had taken Jack's only close friend.

This was something that had made the move alot easier. There wasn't anyone he would miss terribly. Until Henry and Emma broke up, he wasn't sure he could be around him.

Jack inhaled deeply. This was the start of something new.

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---Monica---

"Nina… Nina, get off the freaking table! NINA!" I screamed, getting up on my chair and tugging at my friend's dress. "Steve! Get her drink and throw it away, she's way too drunk to have any more!"

Steve just laughed. "It's okay, the view's just fine over here."

His friends joined in the laughter. Nina was a drop dead gorgeous blonde, with a perfect body, big blue eyes and she looked amazing in a red minidress she'd bought especially for New Year's Eve. Of course the guys wanted her to keep dancing for them on the table. Even when she was drunk out of her mind, she was still beautiful.

That's when the doors opened. Another guy from the village, Martin, had walked in. "Hey, there's a boat coming in. It's the guy who bought the farm. Who's coming down to the beach?"

We all headed for the door. I turned to look at Nina, but she was being dealt with. Steve was carrying her, newlywed style. He was so head over heels in love with her, and had been since we were young. Now they were pretty close friends, and Nina didn't mind his undying affection. Well, who would? Steve was hot, and he could probably have any girl in the village, but there was only one that he wanted and, well, she certainly didn't feel the same. He would never pass up a chance to hold her. I smiled at the two (Nina was drooling down his arm, but it was cute nonetheless). Nina is pretty much my best friend, the only person who didn't judge me when I became a goth when I was ten. But she's got someone else, Lucy, who just encourages her to drink like a homeless man. Me and Steve try our best to look after her, along with Nina's older brother, Kyle, but the fact is it's her choice. She's a nice girl really.

When we reached the beach, Jack had been greeted. There were some people helping to carry his luggage as he met everyone, hugging the ladies and shaking the hands of the men. We came in closer.

"Hi, I'm Monica." I said, putting my arms around him. "The drunk one is Nina. She's pretty nice when she's, y'know, conscious." Jack laughed and was introduced to everyone else. I went over to talk to the other people my age, who had been on the beach for a few hours, playing volleyball the dark.

"So, whaddya think of this guy?" I asked one of the guys, Max.

"It's hard to tell now. We'll see, huh?"

We would see.

Of course, Mineral Town was always dramatic. But sometimes you need a trigger for more drama. And Jack was it.