Aha, another update! Your reviews make me so happy and motivated! You see how quickly I update when I get reviews? xD But seriously, I love you guys. You rock my socks.

Oh, and I hope there's enough dialogue here to make up for the silent chapter before this one. xP

He blinked. Why did the Goddess have to torment him like this? He sighed internally. Maybe this wasn't the same girl from the boat… and the street. Maybe this wasn't that incredibly annoying and accident-prone kid. Maybe this was another, more bearable girl—one that would ignore him like everyone else. That would make his job so much easier.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry," the girl mumbled, steadying herself and looking up at him. He tried his very best not to cringe at the familiar voice. There was no mistaking it; this was the same girl. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to get back on his boat and sail far, far away.

"Wasn't your fault," Vaughn muttered, pulling his Stetson down over his eyes. He figured he'd be better off if she didn't remember him. Or, at least, she'd be more likely to leave him alone.

She looked up at him, curiosity swirling in her blue eyes. "Have we met, sir?"

Vaughn felt his left eye twitch. "I don't recall it."

"Oh," Chelsea frowned slightly, her face studying Vaughn's intently. "I'm sorry. You just seemed familiar. Have you ever visited Mineral Town?"

Vaughn shifted his weight from one foot to the other, getting restless. He didn't appreciate conversation much, especially this one. "No."

Her face fell. "Oh."

And with that, Vaughn turned and walked back down the path, disappearing behind the animal shop.

* * *

Chelsea watched the retreating figure of the tall man, her mouth left slightly agape at his blatant rudeness. She was sure that she'd met him someplace before… she recognized his voice. It was gruff and deep, but it had a peculiar twang to it. She knew she'd heard it before. But she was also sure that she'd remember someone with such striking features—it wasn't everyday that she ran into someone with silver hair and cold, purple eyes—but as she searched her memory, she could not recall ever seeing him before. Maybe he was lying and had been to Mineral Town, she reasoned. No—that wouldn't make sense; he didn't seem that much older than she was, so if he'd visited, she would've remembered him.

She sighed, frustrated. She would have to figure it out another day. Now, she was just curious as to who he was and what his business was on the island. If he was moving in, she would want to introduce herself properly. Straightening her bandana and attempting to smooth the wrinkles from her shirt, Chelsea marched in the direction that the strange silver-haired man had gone.

"Hello?" She peeked her head around the wall, glancing around for the man. She didn't see him. Biting her lower lip anxiously, she slowly opened the door to the animal shop. She felt her lips tug up into a small smile as she walked inside the rest of the way—she'd found him.

"Ah! Chelsea, good timing," Mirabelle said, walking around from behind the counter and gesturing towards the man standing quietly in the corner, "Have you met our new livestock dealer yet?"

Ah, so he was an animal dealer, Chelsea noted. She tilted her head at the man, examining him with new eyes. He certainly looked the part—in fact, he looked like a full-on cowboy, if Chelsea did say so herself. He sported a black Stetson atop his head and wore a black shirt and a pair of black jeans. She wondered how he could be wearing so much black on such a hot day, especially on a late summer day like this. He also had a brown vest on and two belts, one of which had a lasso—a real lasso!—tied to it. Chelsea marveled at his brown cowboy boots—she'd always wanted a pair of good boots, but her parents could never really afford any for her. Shaking her head slightly, she brought herself back from her reverie.

"Not exactly," Chelsea smiled, directing her gaze toward Mirabelle, "We ran into each other a bit ago, but didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves."

She thought she saw him roll his eyes before pulling his hat down and leaning against the back wall. Mirabelle turned around to face him, motioning for him to come over.

"Well then, get on over here and introduce yourself, young man!" She exclaimed, chuckling slightly. He pushed off the wall, muttering what Chelsea thought was a "yes, ma'am."

Now that he stood still right in front of her, Chelsea realized how seriously tall this man was. He towered over her a good foot, maybe even more. Of course, Chelsea was a short one, being the smallest person in all of her hometown—but still, she didn't think she could remember anyone being this tall. Except for her dad, maybe.

"Uh," Chelsea said, realizing that they'd been standing in silence, "My name's Chelsea. I work the farm up the path—It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Vaughn." He nodded, tipping his hat, his face hard as he added, "Pleasure's mine."

"Ah, I'm glad you two could meet each other," Mirabelle beamed, her hands clasping in front of her chest, "Chelsea, Vaughn's here every Wednesday and Thursday from now on. He'll be delivering animals and feed to the shop, so you should get a barn or coop built soon!"

Chelsea nodded, but in her head she was still wondering how she'd be able to stretch her money to buy seeds for fall and eat two meals a day. She let out a silent sigh—she wasn't expecting it to be this hard, but she knew it would get better if she just kept at it; or, at least, she hoped it would…

"It was nice meeting you, but I need to get down to Chen's shop before he closes up—I'm running low on groceries," Chelsea laughed, taking a step towards the door. Vaughn had already migrated back to his corner, she noted. Mirabelle nodded and waved.

"I'll see you later, then. Good luck on the ranch!" The woman called as Chelsea walked out the door. She was immediately greeted by a warm breeze and the golden light of a summertime sunset. She glanced down the path, smiling faintly at the reflection of the vibrant sun on the ocean's waves. She hurried through her grocery shopping, buying a bag of flour, a few bottle of milk, and a jar of honey for biscuits. She put the goods in her rucksack and hurried outside, hoping to see some of the sunset before night fell completely.

She walked down the dirt pathway in the twilight, headed down towards the beach. The red sun was just making contact with the horizon and the crickets were just starting to play their nighttime song. Chelsea looked over the calm waters, a tiny, unintended smile stuck on her face. She noticed a tall, dark figure standing near the dock. Curious, she headed over.

"Hey," she said. He ignored her.

"How are you?" She asked. No answer.

"Do you like the island so far?" She tried, but once again, there was no answer. Sighing, she traced the toe of her boot in the sand. After a several minutes, she reached into her rucksack and sorted through it for a moment, unknowingly catching Vaughn's attention. She pulled out a bottle of milk and held it out to him, hoping he would accept it. She didn't have much, but she wanted to be this man's friend. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure what this cowboy liked—but she happened to have some extra milk, so she'd start with that.

He stared at the small offering for some time. She could feel her face heating up in embarrassment—he didn't like it, or maybe he just didn't want to accept anything from her. Either way, Chelsea felt humiliated. She directed her gaze towards the sand, frowning. She was surprised when she felt the bottle being lifted from her hands. Her head snapped up, her eyes confused.

"Thank you," he muttered, his face stoic, "I'll take it."

And, with a small tip of his hat, he headed back off the beach, leaving Chelsea staring after him.

That Vaughn was a very intriguing man, Chelsea thought, and she knew that her Wednesdays and Thursdays had just become a whole lot more interesting.

What did you think of the dialogue--was it to your standards? xDDD I really do hope you all liked it! In case you didn't realize it, Chelsea's quite the odd one. She doesn't like to be disliked, haha. The next chapter won't come as quick as this one, and over my spring break I'm trying to write 30,000 words in my original fiction novel, so I may or may not get an update for this lovely little fic in. I will try, though--I will try! :P

Review, please, my lovelies! :3