Here's an extra large chapter for you to chomp on. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think of the story so far!

0o0o0o0

"I know you're both familiar with this place," Karen dismissed it with the wave of a hand as they walked by the church. She turned around to see her male friend heading for the door. She seized him by the arm. "Oh, no you don't! You're not going back in there to hide!"

The young man gave a slight frown, but Claire could see the desperation in his eyes; he was on the edge of a meltdown. She could tell that he was aching to sit in his quiet pew.

"Come on. I'll let you pick the next place," Karen offered, her expression softening.

"The church."

He was quiet, but also stubborn. The grocer's daughter sighed. "Pick another." She folded her arms across her chest.

"Why don't we go to the church for a quick prayer?" Claire asked gently. Her male friend looked at the farmer gratefully and gave Karen a pleading expression.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Fine, but we still have other stops to make. Don't think you're getting out of the rest of the tour, Cliff!"

He didn't say anything in reply, but he opened the door for Claire. Karen raised her eyebrows at them as she followed.

"Oh, there you are, Cliff. I thought maybe you had decided to spend some time with Ann today," the priest gave his friend a kind smile as the three entered the church.

The color drained from the young man's face. "N-no…"

Karen began to wonder what about the floor was so fascinating to Cliff; his eyes were almost always drifting there when he was aware that someone's eyes were on him. When he thought no one was looking, now that was a different story…

"Me and Claire kidnapped him and are forcing him on an excruciating journey through town today," The young woman laughed.

The priest's face lit up. "Well, I'm glad that he agreed to go out with someone, at least. How are you holding up, Cliff?" The pastor gave the young man a kind smile.

"I'm doing… okay…"

He could see the young man was struggling a bit; Carter quickly shifted to one of his usual remedies for calming his friend's nerves. "Well, since you're all three here, how would you like to listen to one of my stories?"

Claire took a seat beside her friend in the front pew and nodded.

"Oh, alright," Karen took a seat on the other side of the blonde and smirked.

Once the three friends were looking up at the priest, Carter took a deep breath and grinned. He loved nothing more than an audience, after all. "This is the story of a perfectly normal family. The father, mother and their young son lived happily together. However, the mother got ill and died suddenly."

Two of the three friends' faces fell. Karen rolled her eyes.

"It's just a story," Carter laughed. "There's a lesson involved; I want you to think about it… Anyway, the son was too young to understand, so he asked his father what happened to his mother. The father knew not what to say, but he told his son that she slept very deeply. The son became worried and went to get his allowance. The son asked his father to buy a large alarm clock to wake her up… Any thoughts about it?" Carter gave the three friends a grin.

Claire looked at her companions; Karen had a snarky look on her face, and Cliff was staring at the ground, his expression unreadable.

"I think you've got a dark sense of humor," the grocers' daughter admitted with a grin.

The priest raised his eyebrows. "It wasn't supposed to be a funny story…"

"You're saying we should confront our problems," Claire replied quietly.

Her friends turned toward her.

"If the father had just told the child his mother was dead it would have caused less heartache. Avoiding the issue only made things worse, and now he has to mourn his wife's death all over again as he explains it to his son."

"Yes… Dodging the issue didn't seem to help much, did it? What do you think, Cliff?" The pastor turned toward the young man.

"I… I think…" He was silent for a few moments as he stared at the colors of the stained glass windows. "Well, I agree with Claire, but I also think that giving something unpleasant a different label doesn't help things. Renaming something to obscure it is just as bad as telling a lie."

"Yes… Perhaps the father learned that avoiding the word 'death' with his son failed to solve his problem," Carter nodded.

"Ah, I didn't know you guys were going to get all serious about this!" Karen's cheeks flushed. "Now I just sound like an idiot!" She pouted, and her voice rang through the large room.

"Well, what do you think the meaning of the moral of the story is?" Carter asked her kindly.

The brunette bit her lip. "W-well… I agree with them… I don't really have anything to add to it… Except maybe the father shouldn't shelter his kid so much…"

"These are all great insights," The priest nodded; he was very encouraged that he had gotten all three of them to make a comment on his story. "And I think that it's something that all of you can apply to your own lives."

Claire sat silently, taking in this latest remark by Carter. He was right; she needed to be more proactive about talking to people. Simply living in the village was not enough; if she wanted to cure her loneliness and social anxiety, she would need to take matters into her own hands. Not to mention, if she wanted to win Gray's affections, she would need to be more aggressive…

Her eyes moved toward Cliff. The young man looked deep in thought; it seemed he was thinking about confronting some sort of issues as well. His expression had gone back to what she referred to as church mode in her mind – eyes glued to the floor, pensive face, a slight frown, and furrowed eyebrows.

"Facing our problems is something we all must do in our own way. There is no one who can do it for you, it must be a willing change done by yourself," Carter said kindly, returning to the altar. "But that doesn't mean that you have to be alone; I will always be here for anyone seeking guidance."

Claire was surprised when she looked up and saw her female friend approach the altar, giving the priest a hug.

"Thanks, Carter…" Karen's eyes were misty.

The farmer's eyes widened in surprise; the grocer's daughter didn't strike her as someone who had problems at all. Karen had seemed so carefree today…

"Yes, thank you as always, Carter," Cliff nodded at the priest. "I never really thought of myself as a very religious person in the past, but you've helped me more than you know."

The pastor gave his friend a kind smile, and Claire had a feeling that Carter did know.

"Thank you," Claire echoed, standing up.

"I know that today has been a whirlwind for the two of you, but remain strong. Today's outing will help you more than you realize. Cliff?"

"Huh?" The young man was standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

The priest gave him a meaningful look. "I know that today has not been easy for you. I'm proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself."

The young man turned a bright shade of red and his eyes returned to the floor. "Th-thanks…"

"Don't worry, our next stop will be somewhere more quiet, and I promise they won't threaten to stick you with needles," Karen grinned. "Don't worry, we've got just one more stop before I take us back to the inn for drinks!"

"And where is that?" Carter laughed, smoothing out his robes.

"The library."

Claire's heart jumped.

0o0o0o0

"Wow, we've got a full house today," the librarian smiled at her guests; there was usually only one.

"Hey Mary, you got any books on overcoming shyness?" Karen shot Cliff a meaningful glance. He frowned at her and walked over to a shelf on plant life.

"I actually do have a book on overcoming shyness, but someone checked it out already." Mary remembered, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose.

Claire's heart was pounding out of her chest; she was busy trying to figure out what to say to the young man reading in the corner. He hadn't looked up from his book since they came in. She dragged her feet over to him.

"So… W-we've been seeing a lot of each other t-today," Claire stammered, wondering if he could hear the deafening throbbing in her own ears.

She seemed to have startled Gray; he jumped a bit. "Hey, Claire." He tugged on his cap. "Still following Karen around?"

"Y-yeah…"

"It'll be good for you to get a look around town. Cliff, too… He's a bit of a hermit; he's either cooped up in the church or alone in the mountains all day."

Claire said nothing in reply; she couldn't form a sentence in her mind.

"So…" He felt her eyes on him; she was still standing there. He marked a page with his finger and closed his book. "What kinds of books do you like?"

It was one of those rare moments when he actually asked her a question about herself. Claire wracked her brain. The young man's pale blue eyes were distracting. "Uh… I… um, I like…" Her mind drew a blank. "I like lots of books…" She pondered for a moment. "Fantasy with a touch of romance. Nothing mushy, though," she quickly added. "I hate romance novels."

"You sound like Mary," A smile played at his lips. "She gripes that most romance novels are either trash or smut and she wants to write a proper one someday."

Claire frowned; Mary probably wanted to use a real relationship as reference…

"Would you read it if she did?" He asked shyly.

"Huh?" She was caught off guard by the odd question. "Uh… Sure, I guess…"

He saw the confused look on her face. "Mary's working on a few books, but she's too afraid to let most people read them. I give her feedback, but she wanted me to ask if you would be willing to look at one she's working on," he explained.

Maybe it was a love story about Mary and Gray and she just wanted to rub it in her face, Claire inwardly fumed. The young woman immediately shoved this thought from her head. When she was little, she had a school friend that would show her silly stories he wrote. "Yeah, I'd be willing to read some," she found herself nodding.

"Oh, good," he smiled. "But don't sugarcoat anything; she likes very honest critiques."

"Alright… Wh-why didn't she ask me herself?" She couldn't help but wonder.

Gray reddened. "She… she was too shy to ask you. She sees that you come by quite a bit and she asked if I would have a word with you about her writing." He couldn't meet her gaze.

"Oh, okay."

"Hey, Claire?"

"Y-yeah?" Her heart skipped a beat.

"Thanks," he gave her a small but genuine smile. The young woman's heart melted. "Hey… Why don't you see what Cliff's got over there?"

"Uh, o-okay… See you later," She found herself unable to disobey as she wandered over to the other side of the library, her heart light. Her male friend was flipping through a book curiously. "What did you find?"

"Eh, not much really," he admitted, closing the book and returning it to the shelf.

She studied the spine of the book he put away. "Ah, a book on growing crops! Maybe that would help me a bit." She grabbed it and began rifling through it. "You looking to grow something?" She gave him a small grin.

The young man chuckled. "N-no… I was just curious to see what all goes into farming. It's a lot of work, huh?"

Claire nodded. "I still have no clue what I'm doing out there," she admitted with a chuckle.

"Do any of us ever, really?" Cliff asked quietly with a sad smile.

Claire was taken aback by her friend's philosophical statement. "I suppose not."

They stared at each other and burst into laughter.

"Hey, we'll figure it out together, okay?" He gave her a friendly grin.

"O… okay!" His friend nodded emphatically; she was encouraged with by his enthusiasm. It seemed their time with Carter was just what he needed. "This book will be my start. What will be yours?"

Cliff looked caught off guard. "Uh… I dunno…"

The young man was in desperate need of a good friend, and so was she… "H-how about you sit beside me at the inn tonight?" Claire blurted out. She knew they'd most likely sit together anyway, but if he knew that she was actively seeking his company, it might make him feel more confident.

"That seems like a pretty simple start," he started nonchalantly, but the young woman noticed that color was creeping up his cheeks. "I-I mean... W-we've been at each other's s-side all d-day…" He fidgeted with his bracers.

Claire frowned; he was already getting nervous again. "You make that sound like it's a bad thing," she teased.

"Oh! N-not at all!" He didn't mean to raise his voice so loud. "It's… a-actually helped quite a b-bit."

Claire noticed how comfortable she felt traveling in a group today. Karen was their fearless leader, but it felt nice to have someone who wasn't as outgoing accompany them as well. "I think it's helped me, too," she admitted. She held up the book on crops. "So, here's my start!"

"A-and here's mine…" He looked at her with a kind chuckle.

Claire's heart swelled, and she found herself giggling in delight.

"Hey, now! This is a library!" Karen scolded them. She looked at them with a grin. "Hey… Let me in on the joke, okay?"

"Th-there wasn't any joke," Cliff admitted with a blush.

"You two just happy? Well, I'm about to make our evening a lot happier. Check out your book, Claire, and let's roll!"

0o0o0o0

"Sir, could we get this lady a Fall Breeze? And for goodness' sake, Cliff, you're not a kid; you don't need to be drinking milk! Get me and Cliff a beer!"

"You want two straws for that beer so you can share?" Ann giggled.

"Like heck if I'd share with anyone. Make that two beers for me. I need one for each hand," Karen laughed heartily.

Ann smirked; Karen was too easy. The waitress turned toward the young man. "So now you're willing to go around and check out town, huh?" She looked slightly annoyed at him and stared at his companions enviously.

The color drained from Cliff's face. "W-well…"

"I kind of bullied him into it," Karen grinned at the redhead.

"W-well… I tried to, too!" Ann blushed and flounced back to get the beers.

Doug slid a drink down the counter to Claire, and she almost dropped it in surprise.

"What's in this?" Claire timidly turned toward Karen.

"You don't need to know what's in it. You just need to know it's good." Karen got her beer and drank deeply. She ignored the fact that the waitress had slammed the other beer a little too loudly in front of Cliff.

Claire carefully took a sip of her drink. It was sweet, yet tart, and it made her body feel tingly and warm. She glanced over at Cliff, who sat on her other side. He had taken a swig of his drink and decided to stick with the milk.

"… Is Ann mad at you?" Claire whispered to him.

The young man sighed. "She will be over it by the end of the evening."

Claire got the distinct feeling that this kind of thing happened fairly often between the two.

Karen sighed. "Gimme your drink, Cliff. If you don't want it, I'll get rid of it for you. Maybe you'd like wine better. Hey, Doug, get the kid a red wine. The usual."

The beverage was handed to a nervous Cliff.

"I can't believe neither of you have ever had alcohol. I must have found the two most sheltered people in town." Karen laughed, nudging Claire in the ribs. "You probably don't swear either. Especially you, Cliff, you goody two-shoes!"

Claire gave Karen a strained smile and turned toward her male companion. Their eyes met for a moment; the young man seemed to be uncomfortable with Karen's words as well.

"Karen, leave those two alone. You could learn a thing or two from them," Doug's fatherly side kicked in.

Karen laughed loudly as she slammed down another mug.

"Like what? How to-"

Doug's stern look caught the young woman off guard and she quickly laughed it off. "Whatever. Another beer, Doug, it's been a long day."

Claire finished her drink and found that it made her very sleepy. How Karen was staying so alert was beyond her. She looked over at Cliff, and he seemed fine.

"You okay?" The young man noticed Claire's drooping eyelids.

"I'm fine," the farmer answered, "Just a little sleepy."

Karen quickly finished another mug of beer. "Okay, sleepy head, let's get you home."

Ann took Karen's empty mugs. "What? Karen's leaving the bar early? The world is coming to an end!"

"Aren't you just hilarious? I know Claire's gotta be up early tomorrow, so I'm walking her home," the grocer's daughter explained.

"Well, that's really sweet of you. Goodnight, Claire. I hope you stop in town more often. Maybe we can hang out sometime." The waitress's perky demeanor had already returned.

"Thanks, Ann." After today, going into town didn't seem so scary.

"We love to see you at the bar, but don't you start drinking like Karen," Doug grinned.

Karen stuck out her tongue. "What is this? Pick on Karen Day?" She picked up her bags and stood up. "Ready to go, Claire?"

The blonde stood up, but not without some effort. "Okay. Goodbye, everyone."

The waitress gave her a friendly wave as she carried the empty mugs to the kitchen to wash.

"Claire… I had a good time with you and Karen today," Cliff said quietly.

"I did, too."

"We'll have to do it again sometime. And… maybe you can come for lunch sometime, too… or we could go to the church together."

Her heart felt full at this request. Someone shyer than her had enjoyed her company enough to want to see her again. "Yeah. I'll see you later."

"Goodnight, Claire."

"Goodnight."

0o0o0o0

The night air was cool, and the breeze made Claire more alert. Claire was surprised as Karen let out a loud laugh.

"I can't believe I've been carrying these bags all day without giving them to you. Here, I'll let you carry them now."

"These are for me? What are they?"

"I just got you some basic things from my dad's store. I made you a little care package. There's all sorts of food in there from the shop. My mom baked you a loaf of bread and added it in there, too."

Claire quickly blinked away tears; her constant gnawing hunger was something she had been shoving down for the past few weeks. "You didn't have to do that, really. And please tell your mother I am very grateful."

Karen rolled her eyes. "It's not a big deal. I only spent like 500 gold on it."

It sounded like an awful lot to Claire, but she decided to keep her mouth shut. "It still means a lot to me, though."

"No problem."

Claire opened the door to her house and turned on the lights. Karen followed her inside as Claire set the bags on her table.

"So, how do you like town?" Karen sat on the edge of Claire's bed, raising her eyebrows. "See anything or anyone you like?"

Claire blushed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Karen played with a strand of hair. "Oh, just saying that maybe there was a certain boy that caught your interest…"

Claire wouldn't meet Karen's gaze and her heart pounded uncomfortably in her chest. "I d-don't know what you're talking about."

Karen giggled. "You're a terrible liar, Claire."

Claire stared at the floor. "Maybe there is…"

Karen swung her feet. "I knew it!"

"You could tell?" What if she was that obvious to everyone? Claire's stomach began to churn.

"Sorry, but it's painfully obvious. And if I were to venture a guess, I'd say he likes you, too. I could see the way he was looking at you throughout the day."

They had bumped into the apprentice an awful lot today… "R-really…? Promise you won't tell anyone! Please!" Claire's eyes were begging.

"Well, if you don't tell him how you feel, he's not going to know. I would imagine he'd be like that," Karen shrugged.

"I just get so intimidated when I try talking to him with that librarian around!" Claire sighed.

"You mean Mary?"

"Yeah, I thought that you could tell that she has a thing for Gray."

Karen's smile faded a bit. "Yeah, that Mary… Don't worry about her. I'm sure things will all work out."

"Yeah… I hope so," Claire suddenly felt very depressed. "But you don't like Gray, do you?"

Karen paused. "I wouldn't say that I dislike him. I guess he's alright; we just butt heads sometimes because we're too alike," she admitted. "I suppose he's pretty handsome; don't avoid him because of me."

"Okay…" She thought she'd feel a little more relieved after admitting her crush…

Karen perked up. "Hey, I had a lot of fun today. It was the first time I hung out with Cliff, too. What do you think of him?"

"He seems alright." The farmer's mind was still focused on the apprentice.

"Yeah. He's not too bad-looking either, huh?"

"Sure," Claire nodded casually, but her face felt unexpectedly warm.

"Ah, those expressive deep blue eyes!" Karen sighed. "If he weren't so shy and anti-social, he'd be pretty popular with the ladies," she pretended to swoon, giggling. "He should probably lose the mountain man getup as well," she snorted.

Claire bit her lip; she felt a little hurt at her friend's comment.

Anti-social.

She knew Karen had probably used the word without meaning to sound cruel, but Claire had been called the very same thing by her friends in the city. They had used it in a playful tone as well, and it always hurt her deeply. It had always been difficult for her to socialize with people herself. Did Karen see her as socially inept as well? Claire suddenly wondered if this was how everyone saw her. This was why she had been so hesitant about going around town in the first place. But today had been different; she actually had a great time in town. It had really helped that she wasn't the only shy person in the party.

Claire felt she could relate to Cliff well. At first glance, they seemed as if they couldn't be any more different; she was a city girl and he was a rural traveler. However, something about his presence made her feel less alone. Perhaps it was that they were both new to town and she didn't feel like she needed to have all the answers when she spoke to him. Another reason, perhaps the largest one, was that neither of them was very outgoing; Claire didn't feel like she had to put up a bubbly, overly cheery front for him like she did with her friends in the city.

"You busy daydreaming about him now?" Karen giggled.

Claire snapped back to reality, reddening. Karen was going to get the wrong idea. She tried to laugh it off. "Why? Are you interested in him?" Claire teased.

Karen roared with laughter. "No thanks; too quiet for me. I like a guy who is going to push back."

The farmer thought of Karen and Rick's playful banter when she showed them the poultry farm. They had obviously been friends for a long time, but Claire was keen on the looks they were giving each other when they thought no one else was looking.

"I'll just have to break both of you out of your shells. Cliff will be a tough one to crack; he's even quieter than you," Karen winked. "Well, I guess I'm going to head back to the bar. The night is still young! I'll see you around soon, Claire. And if you don't come back into town soon enough, I'm going to drag you out again, you hear me?" Karen laughed.

"Uh-huh. Well, I think it's time for me to go to sleep. I'll see you soon, Karen."

"Okay, goodnight."

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: I love Carter's stories, and I couldn't not include them. Don't worry, there will be more to come later!

P.S. Kudos to anyone who got the Earthbound reference in the library scene!