A Pain Worth Bearing: Chapter Three

I just wanted to say... thank you SO MUCH everybody who has reviewed. Although I can't hug you in real life... I wanted to let you guys know that I appreciate every review. I love you!! Reminder: This is a Rock/Lumina fic with SOME Jack/Muffy stuff.

About this story: Its RATED R! Will have bad language and sexual situations later on. In response to a review: Don't worry, I don't plan on writing about a twelve- year-old girl having sex. That's WAY too young and my story will only probably encourage and make them think it's okay. It's NOT okay for a twelve-year-old to have sex, not now and not ever. They're children for God's sakes, so you won't be reading any of that. So then HOW will the lemon work? Well you're going to have to keep reading to find out, okay?

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon, only this story. Harvest Moon belongs to Natsume and all those other companies, NOT ME. On to the story!

==========================================================

"Rock have you... oh my gosh!!!!"

"Huh...?" Rock blinked a couple of times and saw his mother Ruby standing shocked at his doorway.

"Rock, what are you doing!?" She pulled Lumina out of the bed and hugged her protectively. "Darling, what are you doing here?"

"Uhh..." Lumina yawned and looked up at Ruby sleepily. "Hm? What's wrong?"

"Darling why aren't you at home!?" Ruby kneeled down to look at Lumina, who was rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Here, come with me."

"Mom, it's not-

"I'll talk to you later, Rock!" She glared at him before dragging Lumina with her downstairs. Oh no, what would Romana think if she found out that Lumina was asleep with her fifteen-year-old son? No... she wouldn't tell her.

"Miss Ruby what's the matter?" Lumina stared at Ruby with fear. Was she in trouble? Was she going to tell her grandma about this? Oh no... the hell she would go through if Romana DID find out!

"Lumina... w-what... what happened? Why were you in bed with... well with Rock?" Ruby asked, using a nice tone so that Lumina wouldn't flinch.

"I didn't want to go home... and Rock said it's okay if I stay with him. Why is something the matter?"

"No Darling, I was just worried. You see... Rock... he's a teenager, and you're a little girl, Honey." She held her hand and led her out of the Inn. "Your grandma isn't so nice to us, so we can't have her thinking Rock did something to you, okay? Promise not to tell?"

"Promise..." Lumina used her low voice again. How dare Ruby treat her like an idiot child, she knew EXACTLY what was going on. Ruby didn't want any trouble with her grandma because her grandma blamed her for her mother's departure from this town. She knew about it, she wasn't stupid. But again... it was her age that stopped people from thinking she was mature. "What time is it...?"

"It's six in the morning, here I'll take you home." She walked her back to the mansion, thinking up of a good punishment for Rock. She was really disappointed in her son. How could he be leading on a little girl, especially Lumina? She was just... well, innocent. She was going to have a REALLY good talk with him today.

"Thank you."

"Lumina... can I ask you something before you go inside?"

"Alright."

"What did you and Rock do?"

"Sleep, why?"

"Is that it?"

"What else could happen in a bed?"

"Haha, nothing Darling." She patted her head and smiled. "I was just so shocked to see you of all people at my house. You and Rock never talk... so I just found it really strange..."

Lumina quietly opened the door and waved good-bye to Ruby. She was a really nice mother, too bad she didn't have one of her own. She sighed in relief, Romana wouldn't wake up until eight in the morning and Jack would drop by at ten. So with her spare time she ran up to her room, locked it, and fell asleep again.

"What the hell is the matter with you!?"

"Mom we-

"I'm SO disappointed in you, Rock! How dare you! She's TWELVE, are you sick in the head!?" Ruby shouted, waking up her husband Tim. "That's Romana's granddaughter, are you trying to get us in deeper trouble with her!? Don't you know in how much trouble we can get!?"

"We didn't do anything!!" Rock argued back. Although it was true... twelve-year-old girl's weren't the type to be chasing... all he wanted to do was help Lumina. She didn't want to go back home, so what was he supposed to do? Leave her? Make her go back home? Talking with Romana wouldn't be the answer either...

"You're fifteen, what am I supposed to think?"

"She needed my help and-

"In what, Rock? Look, if she ever tries to find you again, ignore her or something."

"I can't do that to her!!"

"I don't want to seem mean... but I don't want any trouble with Romana. Please Rock... please just stay away from her. Do it for me, please?" She pleaded, giving him a light hug. "You're my only son... I don't want anything to happen to you..."

"Nothing will happen, I can take care of myself."

"Promise me you won't ever see Lumina again, okay?"

"W-What!?"

"Promise me, Rock. Promise you'll stay away from that girl... she'll be nothing but trouble to you."

"I... I promise..." he said. Although he said it, he didn't mean it. There was NO WAY he could stay away from Lumina, especially now. She claimed that Romana hits her a lot, and he didn't have the heart to turn away from her.

"Good, I'm glad." She smiled. "Well I better get my kitchen ready, I'm having Jack and Muffy over for breakfast."

"Wasn't that nice of Ruby to invite us over for breakfast Darling?" Muffy asked, putting on some of her best earrings. "She's so nice."

"Mm Hm." Jack sat motionless on the bed, thinking about Lumina. Poor kid... she was going through so much, and he regretted leaving her with Van's son, Chester. He felt like he was failing her as a friend... and somewhat of an older brother. Maybe Forget-Me-Not village wasn't the nice and happy village he thought it was? What if something worse was happening right under his nose, but never took the time to notice? If Lumina was having it bad at home... he was afraid to think who else in this village was going through the same kind of hell or worse.

"Darling? Jack, Honey are you okay?" Muffy asked, waving a hand in front of his eyes. "You know if you'd rather stay home and have me cook you something, it's fine with me."

"No! No, I can't do that." He shot up from the bed and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Ruby invited us yesterday night, and it'd be rude to cancel on her. Besides... I don't want you cooking remember? I want you to take care and take it easy."

"Ohhh... Darling..." She blushed, giving him a light peck on the lips. " You're so sweet."

Muffy grabbed her purse and headed out the door, hand-in-hand with her husband. It was a very short walk to the Inn so it didn't take that long to get there. When they reached the door they were heartily greeted by Ruby and her husband Tim.

"I'm so glad you came Jack." Ruby smiled, letting them in and walking into the kitchen. "Please have a seat, the food is almost ready."

"Thank you."

"How are you doing Muffy? Feeling tired lately?"

"Just a bit." She smiled, fixing up her hair and setting her purse on her lap. "I'm huge... and lately I've been feeling unattractive."

"Don't say that, I'm sure Jack loves you either way."

"Muffy is always beautiful." Jack said, looking over at Rock. " What's wrong Rock? You look kinda sad?"

"No... it's nothing..." he sighed, resting his chin on his hands.

"Something bothering you?"

"No..."

"Rock is just really tired." Ruby said, pouring some soup in a bowl. "He had a very long day at work yesterday, you know?"

"Working at the bar with Griffin sure can tire you out! Tee-hee I know just how you feel Rock." Muffy giggled. "Just give it your best okay?"

"Thanks..." he groaned. Rock wasn't paying much attention to anything or anybody right now. Lumina was taking over his thoughts, his mind, and his daydreams. He couldn't believe he promised his mother to stay away from her. He couldn't... he was... was... well... falling in love with her. He knew she had a wonderful cheerful personality under that sad-nervous expression she always had on her face. She had lured him like a siren... and he fell deeper into her trap with each passing moment.

-----AFTER BREAKFAST-----

"I'm so glad you made it in time, Jack. I was beginning to think that you'd bail out of me today." Romana chuckled, pulling him into the mansion. "Ready to pick up where you left off?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I'll be taking my stroll now... I'll be back later, if I don't get sidetracked again." She laughed. "I was talking and having tea with the doctor until one in the morning yesterday, can you believe that!?"

"Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself."

"Haha, yes well... if you could please do me a favor and watch Lumina? Make sure she plays and practices the piano, okay Jack?"

"You can count on me, Miss Romana!"

"Good, I'll be going now."

As usual, she stepped out of the house and left Jack alone to clean up everything. How did a mansion like this get dirty and dusty every single freakin day? Sigh... the mysteries of life... but he was here to clean, not ponder. It was a job, and like all jobs, were paid to be finished.

"Is she gone...?"

"You scared me!" Jack gasped, swirling around. He saw Lumina standing at the front steps holding her kitty. She was wearing a wing-tip top with a white skirt and really pretty simple sandals. "Are you okay?"

"Yes..."

"You look really pretty today Lumina, are you going out?" Jack walked up to her and patted her head, something he always did.

"Maybe... grandma said we were gonna go visit Chris and her family..."

"Why?"

"I don't know..." Lumina walked down the remaining steps and asked, " Will we go get some ice-cream after you're done, Jack?"

"Sure, do you want to go?"

"Yes."

"Great let me just get started on the kitchen, living room, and a couple of rooms then we'll go get some okay?"

"Umm..." She hesitated with her next question. She didn't know why... but she wanted to make up any excuse so that she could know if Jack was going to drop by the bar again. She wanted to see Rock... she didn't get a chance to thank him for last night. Although she could have just asked directly... it was pretty hard... "After ice-cream... what are you going to do?"

"Hmmm... well I need to pick up some herbs and stuff for Muffy."

"Where?"

"The doctor."

"And after that?"

"That's it!"

"Oh..." she looked at bit disappointed. She really did want to see Rock... but how could she explain that to Jack?

"Why? Was there a specific place you wanted to go to?"

"N-No..."

"Seemed like it." He rubbed her head and headed to the kitchen to get started. He kneeled on the dirty kitchen floor and started spilling soapy water on it. Jack took the mop and trailed it all around the expensive tile, wondering how it got so dirty when he moped it yesterday. No wonder Sebastian was always so tired... this house was a magnet for dirt and dust! He WAS thinking about maybe calling it quits... but he needed the extra money since his cows were being stubborn and not giving any milk. It was only for a whole month though; time would fly by like nothing and Sebastian would be back before he knew it.

"Aye..." He sighed when he saw Romana's room. Dirty, piles of clothes everywhere, and the mattress was somehow on the floor. He expected this from a teenage girl or boy, but an old lady!? How the heck did she make all this mess everyday? He threw her clothes into a pile and started fixing her bed back to the way it was.

-----AFTER WORK-----

"(sigh) I'm done..."

"Going to buy ice-cream now?" Lumina happily ran to Jack and held his hand as they left the mansion. She looked up at him... damn he looked really tired. Poor Jack, she thought. He was always doing everything for everybody and they somehow managed to treat him like a slave.

"Good afternoon you two." Van greeted, wiping some sweat with his white handkerchief. "It's getting really hot, huh Jack?"

"Tell me about it, I just finished cleaning up a whole mansion."

"Hi Mister Jack, hello Lumina." Chester greeted, sitting on a chair and eating some chocolate from a bag. "You two are looking prettyful today."

"Hi Chester." Jack waved his hand at him and turned his attention back to ice-cream-choosing.

Lumina glared over at him with annoyance and turned her head, ignoring his greeting. Why would she have to say hi to him after what he did the other day at the beach? It shouldn't have come to a surprise to him that she didn't want anything to do with him, so why did he even bother kissing some ass? He was creepy, annoying, and ugly. Now that she thought about it... she really wanted to see Rock. She missed him, he was really nice and cute and thoughtful... unlike some orange-haired-psycho kid over there.

"Lumina? Lumina I say hi!!" Chester chuckled. "Hi! Hi! Hi! Can't you hear me!?"

"Ugh..." Lumina thought. Annoying!

"Chester, leave Lumina alone. Can't you see she's busy?" Van looked back at him and sighed. It was sad to have a mentally ill son...

"Daddy, you said you were going to find me a friend!!"

"Chester, calm down. Leave my customers alone okay? What did I tell you yesterday?"

"Maybe we should leave..." Jack whispered. "I think I'm upsetting your son."

"Don't be silly, Chester always gets angry when he doesn't have his way. You're my best customer Jack, and I don't want to lose you just because of my son. I promised you I'd keep him away from Lumina, remember?"

"I don't want you to be so mean to your son... I'll just leave, besides I have to pick up some herbs for Muffy."

"Okay... but you have to come by tomorrow, alright!?"

"Promise!" Jack dragged Lumina with him to the Doctor's house and knocked on his door. No response. "Hello!? Anybody home?"

No response.

"Hm, I wonder if he's out somewhere?"

"Who?" Lumina asked.

"The Doctor."

"Isn't that him?" She pointed to a man who was rushing into the Bar with joy.

"Oh yeah..."

Jack followed him into the bar and was greeted by both Griffin and Rock. Rock blushed when he saw Lumina, and she did the same.

"Oh Jack, how are ya? Sorry I forgot that you were coming over." The doctor chuckled. He dug into his bag and pulled out a couple of colorful herbs. "Tell Muffy to make a tea out of these herbs, they're full of vitamins and are super nutritious."

"Thank you Doctor."

"Ohohohoho, isn't this little Lumina?" He asked, bending down to look at her face. "Haha, remember that shot I gave you?"

"No..."

"How about some medicine? I'll give it to you for free!"

"Yuck..." She wrinkled her nose at the mention of the word 'medicine'. For a Doctor, he gave bitter and disgusting medicine that wasn't any fun to swallow, chew, or drink.

"Hahaha, children say the cutest things, huh Jack?" He chuckled, rubbing Lumina's head. "I'll have to drop by your house to give your grandma some medicine, it's for her to get all better."

"Okay..." Lumina bitterly said. There went ANOTHER person, treating her like a dumb five-year old idiot that didn't know anything and talking to her in a childlike way. She knew what the medicine was for; it was for Romana's bones and pain because she was old. It didn't take a genius to figure it out, old people were ALWAYS sick.

"You're still not much of a talker, are you Lumina?"

"Why?"

"It's just that children your age are always loquacious."

"Lo... what?" Lumina gave him a look of confusion. What the heck was a loquacious!?

"It means that children your age are super chatty, I find it strange that you're so quiet and shy."

"I'm not shy..."

"Why so quiet then?"

"Cause."

"Cause why?"

"Haha just leave her alone, she's not the conversational type." Jack chuckled, pulling her away from the Doctor. "Well I gotta go now, so if you'll excuse me."

Oh no, Jack was leaving the Bar and this was Lumina's only chance to get a little chat out of Rock. She thought up of any excuse for him to stay and that's when she spotted a bottle of liquor. Of course! It was hot and Jack was obviously tired, so he HAD to be thirsty as well.

"Jack drink something, you don't look so good." She mumbled.

"Seriously?" he stopped in his tracks and looked at a mirror. Boy, she was right! He looked like he was about to pass out. "Okay one drink then."

"Take your time." she smiled.

While Jack was busy chatting it up with Griffin and drinking an order of Moon Trip, Lumina used this great opportunity to sit close to Rock, who wasn't doing anything but wiping the counter clean.

"Lumina," Rock said, resting his arms on the counter and looking over at her. Gosh, she was really cute! "I'm really sorry about this morning, I forgot my Mom had an extra set of keys to my room. She always cleans it early in the morning, and with all the drama yesterday I guess I forgot."

"It's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..." she blushed, turning her eyes in another direction. She had a hard time actually looking at him. Maybe because he was just so cute? Her heart was racing and it felt like it was going to thump right out of her chest. But... was he feeling the same way? No... probably not, she was just 'a kid', so why would he have those kinds of feelings for her? Again, she tried to push those stupid pointless emotions away from her heart... Rock was older and like Jack, the same thing would probably happen again. She would lose him to an older and prettier girl...

"Want something to drink? We only have alcohol... but I can serve you some water if you want?"

"No... no thanks..." Again, emotions were twisting and turning inside of her. Two voices, which one to listen to?

One voice said: go for it! C'mon he's cute and he's nice, what do have to lose? He's obviously interested by the way he acts towards you! Why are you holding back? Go! Go for it!

And the other voice said: no stay away! He's older; he's looking for 'babes', which is a girl with a figure, breasts, and curves. Look at you; you don't have any of those, so why kid yourself? Look what happened with Jack; he ended up marrying Muffy, who you obviously can't compete with EVER. You may be cute and adorable, but you're NOT hot. Older guys want hot, not adorable. He'll only use you...

"Lumina? Lumina are you alright?" Rock waved his hand in front of her eyes and placed his hand on top of hers.

"S-Sorry..." She pulled back her hand and placed it on top of her lap, shaking away BOTH of those voices. They were both right and wrong, but which one to chose?

"Has your grandma... has she... has she been hitting you?" Rock asked. He didn't know why exactly, but he worried for her 24/7 now. That was a horrible thing to go through, and he hoped that it wasn't happening anymore. But checking didn't hurt, right?

"... N-No..."

"You don't sound sincere."

"Not... not yet..."

"Why don't you do something about it?" he suggested.

"Like what? Hit her back?"

"Well if it's to defend yourself, then yeah you should. She's hitting you for no reason."

"I can't do that..."

"If you ever need a place to run to, you can ALWAYS come to my house okay?" he grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. He slid it under her palm and patted it gently. "If you ever need anything, anything at all, call me alright?"

"There's two numbers..."

"One's work and the other's home."

"T-Thank you Rock..." She smiled, turning into a soft shade of red. Awww, he was so cute worrying over her like that. It was things like that, that made her want to drop her guard and just want to fall in love. But still... she kept her defense up. There was no way she was going to give in THAT easily. "You sure it's okay if I call you? Won't your Mom get mad?"

"That's my own line, so call me whenever you want."

"Thanks, I will." Lumina tucked the piece of paper deep into her pocket so that it wouldn't fly away or get lost or something. She rested her elbow on the counter and watched Rock wipe the counter clean with his unique rhythm of cleaning. She kept thinking about him and stuck herself on a question that kept bugging her...

WHO could she lose Rock to?

There weren't really any girls in this town that were his age. Celia, Nami, Chris, Flora, Vesta, and Samantha were all older girls that were either married or too old for him. They wouldn't even look twice. So... with this set out in her mind, would it be okay to go for him?

But then...

There was ONE problem! Him. Would he like her back? Would he even return her feelings? Again, Lumina was starting to back down on her thoughts and 'maybes' or 'what ifs'. Yeah, he was cute, maybe TOO cute... so would that mean he'd only go for a girl his age?

"What are you thinking about Lumina?" Rock shattered her thoughts when he leaned close to her to look into her hazy eyes. "Is it about a boyfriend or a guy you like?"

"W-What?" She blushed, her heart skipping a beat from the sudden interest in wanting to know her thoughts. Did... did he think that she was daydreaming about boys!? Damn, how did he guess? Or... maybe he was just teasing? Yeah that had to be it! She took things a little to seriously sometimes.

"I know you are."

"N-No I'm not..."

"So what ARE you thinking about?"

"That's none your business..." She hopped down from the stool and tugged at Jack's sleeve. "I'm ready to go now..."

"Okay let me just finish talking to Griffin." Jack patted her on the head and said, "So how much would you sell it for?"

"Sell it for!? Sell IT FOR!? Haha, Oh Jack, you're forgetting... Muffy is like a daughter to me, I can't sell you a crib it'd be heartless of me. I'm going to GIVE it to you okay? Think of it as a babyshower gift that I never brought over that day." Griffin chuckled, punching Jack lightly on the arm. "You're funny Jack."

"I just didn't think you would give it away... it IS important to you."

"Nah, not anymore. This bar is what's important... and my trusty guitar."

"Well I'm going now, see you later Griffin."

"Drop by anytime."

Jack grabbed Lumina's hand and led her outside of the bar. She didn't look back at Rock... and... she didn't know why. Maybe his flirty personality was giving her the wrong idea about him? What if he just wanted to protect her because he was nice? Yeah she was just getting mixed signals...

"Lumina, you've been really quiet... something the matter?"

"No Jack."

"Ah, Jack there you are!!" Samantha greeted, walking up to him and giving him two soft kisses on the cheek. "I was wondering if you could please do me a favor?"

"Sure what can I do for you?"

"Well you see... Grant and I need some alone time... but Kate always gets in the way. Do you think that maybe if you have the time... if you could please baby-sit Kate for me? Her tomboyish attitude DOES cause problems." Samantha pushed her hands together in a pleading position, hoping that would convince him. She was desperate to get Kate out of the house, even if it meant begging other people to watch her.

"Sure, I suppose." Jack mentally kicked himself. He was taking care of Lumina and now another one!? And he still had to finish cleaning up that damn mansion... crap another job would only slow him down.

"Thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me!!" Samantha giggled and smiled; she was finally getting rid of Kate while her and Grant would busy themselves up in other ways. "I'll bring her over tomorrow, and thanks so much."

"Welcome."

-----AT NIGHT-----

"Thank you so much for such a good job, Jack. I feel like I must pay you more for everything! You're so good; I must give you a raise. Who taught you how to clean and scrub so well?"

"Umm... thanks Miss Romana, my parents taught me and a couple of years of farming really did help out too." Jack blushed, clutching on to the extra set of bills Romana stuffed into his hand. "You really didn't have to give me a raise, you know..."

"Oh I didn't?"

"No but it's really appreciated and-

"Well that's good, I saved myself some money on such a wonderful job." She snatched back the wad of bills from Jack's hand and cackled a bit. "See you tomorrow boy, until next time. You know, I should really recommend you to all my friends. You're cheap and do excellent work."

"Huh!? B-But Miss Romana!" Jack said, but ended up getting the door slammed in his face. He was being humble... not serious... "Damn, me and my big freakin mouth..."

"That's good I saved myself A LOT of money... to think I was about to give THIS much away to that poor farm boy, heh this could be used on something way better." Romana chuckled, jamming the money into her purse. " What an incredibly stupid boy."

"That's Jack's money... you took some of his regular pay away..." Lumina gasped. "Why!? He did a good job and you take his money away!! You're selfish, evil, and wrinkled!!!!"

"DON'T talk to me that way you little bitch!!" She grabbed her cane and struck Lumina with it as hard as she could. "It's MY money and it isn't my fault if that idiot farm boy can't accept it with gratitude."

"But he did!!!"

"Shut up!!" She slapped her across the face and ripped Lumina's circlet from her head. Romana threw it on the floor and gave Lumina a final kick before she walked into her room and got ready for bed.

"You're an evil person and I hate you!!!" Lumina shouted, not caring if Romana would come back and beat the living hell out of her.

"What did you say!?" Romana barged out of her room in fury and glared at Lumina with pure anger in her eyes. She walked over to Lumina and started beating the bloody pulp out of her, until she could take no more and just faked unconsciousness.

"That'll teach you to EVER open your mouth again you stupid dumb bitch!!! You're going to grow up and be a slut just like your mother huh? Well she got what she deserved... DEATH!" Romana shoved Lumina into the wall and finally retired to her room.

"NO! No... Mommy wasn't a slut... she wasn't!!!" Lumina mentally shouted, shaking her head in disbelief. Of course her mother wasn't a slut or whatever Romana called her. She just said that to make her feel bad... but how could a mother say such things about her own daughter? Romana wasn't a mother though, she was a MONSTER and monsters didn't like their children.

Lumina ran out of the mansion again and back to that one pond where the sprite's lived. She thought of that place as her little sanctuary... someplace that was hidden and to remain undisturbed. She buried herself in between the tall grass and flowers to think... yes, to think of something other than that beating she just took.

"Why? Why didn't I fight back?" she thought. Yes, why didn't she just fight back? No... Romana was her grandma and no matter how violent she got... it was wrong to sink as low as her and hit her elder back. But... what could she do?

"Rock...he said if Grandma ever hit me again... to go talk to him..." She thought about it at first, but... what exactly would he do?

"Moi."

"Huh!?" Lumina gasped and shot up from the ground startled. Who the hell was that!? "Who's there?"

"Moi." Grunted a voice from beneath the tall grass that seemed to wiggle over to her. "Moi!"

"AH! You scared me!!" Lumina sighed in relief when she saw Murrey limp over to a section of grass and gobble down some herbs that grew there. "What are you doing here by yourself Murrey!?"

"I'm h-h-hungry..." his stomach growled and he tried batting away the flies that landed on his herb. "I want to go h-h-home..."

"Home? Home where?" She asked.

"Po-Po Valley..." He offered her a chewed piece of herb and Lumina shook her head.

"No thanks I'm not hungry right now."

"Lumina don't like Forget-Me-Not Valley?"

"I-It's not that..." She trailed a little track around the dirt and kneeled down to talk more comfortably. "I just don't like somebody here."

"W-W-Who?"

"My Grandma."

"Romana bad person... Murrey got whack right h-h-here..." he pointed to a bump on his head and smiled. "Stole f-f-fish..."

"Haha, you were the one that stole Grandma's fish?"

"Yes, she got m-m-mad..." Murrey shoved more herbs with accidentally mixed grass into his mouth and chewed as loudly as he could. "Lumina not c- c-cold?"

"A little."

"H-H-Hotel is warm... good food too..."

"Maybe I should go... just for a little bit?"

"B-B-Bye..." Murrey waved bye to Lumina as she disappeared from that section of Forget-Me-Not Valley.

Lumina took a deep breath; she was really nervous. What would she say to Rock? Oh well, whatever it didn't matter. He kept persuading her to come over and now she was, so it'd be stupid if he kicked her out or something.

"Huh?" Rock looked over to his right and saw Lumina heading for the Inn. "Oh no! If my Mom sees her... I'm screwed!"

He dashed over to the Inn and stopped her by calling her name out before she rang the bell. He didn't want her to wake anybody up at this hour.

"Lumina, what are you doing here?" Rock asked, pulling her away from the doorway.

"I... I umm... I came back for my clothes I left them here and I wanted them back..." She answered quickly and nervously, pulling her hand back from his. "Can I have them back please?"

"Sure, I would've brought them over to you anyways." Rock opened the door to the Inn as silently as he could and pulled Lumina inside. "Follow me."

They crept up the stairs hoping not to wake Ruby or her husband Tim in any way. Rock opened the door to his room and Lumina followed him in.

"Here you go. "He handed her a neatly folded outfit and placed it on her hands.

"Thank you." She received them and held on to them tightly. If her grandma saw her everyday-outfit missing, she would kill her. Especially if she knew Rock had it for some mysterious reason. "I'm gonna go now..."

"Wait!"

"Hm?" Lumina turned to see what Rock wanted. "What is it?"

"Lumina..." He walked up to her and took her hand. He held it gently and blushed a bit. "I want to tell you something."

"W-What is it?" Lumina's eyebrow rose as she looked at her hand that was being held by Rock. What exactly did he want to say? Oh no... she hoped it wasn't what she thought it was...

"I... I..." Rock hung his head so his bangs could cover his eyes. He was turning really red, so he gulped and breathed in. "I love you..."

"... ..." Lumina covered her mouth and gasped.

"Lumina I don't care if my family doesn't like you or your Grandma doesn't like me... I really do like you and I know I'm much older than you... but... I was kind of hoping you'd give me a chance. I can't stop thinking about you..." he stopped right there, not wanting to say more. He wanted to pour his heart out but first he had to see her reaction before saying anything else.

"Rock... I..." She what? What did she want to say!? Oh no, Lumina was starting to panic... she didn't know how to answer him. Did she like him? Or...was it one of those crushes that you shook off after a while?

Rock pulled her closer to him and lifted her chin with his thumb. He wanted to prove to her that his feelings were real. Yes, prove it... with a kiss. He bent down a little and when his lips touched hers, Lumina had pushed him away.

"No!" She stepped back. "Rock... I don't like you... I don't like you in that way... You're older and I'm a child... you want a woman... and I just can't be that woman you want..."

"What? But Lumina-

"You're just playing with me and as soon as you find a girl with a great body... you'll leave me... you'll leave me just like Ja..." She covered her mouth because she had almost spilled her secret crush out. "Rock... please don't ever talk to me again..."

"Lumina you're acting crazy! I mean what I said!"

"But I don't believe you!!!"

"Why? I've never lied to you, why would I now!?"

"Because... because... you're older..." she mumbled, running out of the Inn. How could Rock tell her such stupid lies? He liked her!? Ha, yeah right... "No... no... he's lying!"

"Lumina, wait!" Rock grabbed her elbow and stopped her in her tracks. "What's the matter with you!?"

"You're lying to me..."
"I'm NOT lying."

"So then why would you like me for? I'm just... just..." she leaned against his chest and started weeping as silently as she could. This had to be some stupid prank he was pulling and to her horror, it was working.

"Just a child? Lumina you're not a child, you're growing up." Rock said, running his hands on her back. "If you'd like to know... I'm not much of a liar and I don't lie especially when it comes to things like these. I don't want to play around with you and I would tell you something I don't mean... but I meant it when I told you that I liked you."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

He decided to try again. Lifting her chin up with his thumb, he leaned down to give her a kiss. Her first kiss. Lumina didn't reject him, but... she just didn't do anything. She let him kiss her. She tasted his sweet lips and started to return the kiss bit by bit. She was finally letting her guard down, but at the worse time ever... because off in the distance little did they know that Jack had caught them running out of the Inn.

"OH MY GOD!!!" Jack gasped. "Rock!? Rock and... Lumina!????"

===========================================================

SapphireDemon: Dun, dun, duuuun! It's over yep I'm sorry but it ends there. I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, but family problems get in the freakin way of typing and updating. Next update will be soon, I'll TRY okay?

Everybody who has reviewed: THANKS A LOT I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next Chapter: Rock has given Lumina her fist kiss (AWWWW!!), and now Jack is the first to witness their forbidden love, but... what happens when Sebastian arrives a bit too early from his visit to his daughter's? And when he brings his nephew, the pianist, to test Lumina... will she pass? If she does, what does it mean for her future? All this and more in the next chapter of A Pain Worth Bearing!