Blegh.

CHAPTER STATS

Word Count (excluding A/N): 1232

Date Updated: 4-26-11

Current Review Count: 287

Vaughn never thought that Riley could remain that quiet for so long. It was starting to wear down on his nerves. Had he said too much? That didn't seem possible when it came to Riley… It seemed to Vaughn that his friend could never have enough information. He was always, always bugging Vaughn for more details.

And yet, there they sat in total silence.

"…Riley?" Vaughn finally asked, willing his face to cool off from his embarrassment. Riley blinked.

"Dude," he sighed, slowly shaking his head, "Almost?"

Vaughn rolled his eyes. "I wasn't about to—to—"

"Just kiss her, damn it! It isn't that freaking difficult!" Riley frowned, trying to come off as joking. Vaughn could sense the small amount of seriousness in his tone.

"But—I—Riley, she—"

"Listen to yourself, man!" Riley sighed again, watching his poor, antisocial friend with pity in his eyes. "She has you incoherent."

Vaughn took a breath, willing his temper to calm down. A moment passed and silence was restored. He took another breath, carefully drawling out his next statement. "I… can't."

"The hell you can't," Riley rolled his eyes. "Grow some balls, man."

"I don't know why you're acting like I know her and she knows me," Vaughn hissed, his temper flaring again. Riley didn't understand. Hell, even he didn't understand himself. "We've barely known 'chother for, what? Two seasons?"

"That's half a year, man. It's long enough for me to notice her changing you."

"I don't know what the hell you're talkin' 'bout." Vaughn growled, pulling down his hat. His good mood was officially gone.

"You're nicer, Vaughn. Everyone's noticed. I can tell how you change after you get back from another week's work on that island."

"You're makin' stuff up." Vaughn muttered.

"Am I?" Riley narrowed his eyes slightly.

Vaughn scowled, but his gut was telling him that Riley was right. He did feel better after being on that island. Granted, it was a weird kind of better. His stomach felt odd and, at first, he swore he was going insane because of the place. But now, that insanity was normal, and he'd gotten used to it. He didn't exactly like it, but he definitely didn't hate it. He felt… restless. Like he was in the middle of something, and he'd have to find a good stopping point to feel at ease.

Vaughn shook his head slightly. He was really starting to over-think things.

Ooo

"Hey, Chelsea. Keeping warm?"

Chelsea quickly shut the door to the animal shop before the winter breeze could follow her in. rubbing her hands together, she sat down next to Julia.

"As warm as I can be. I can't wait for spring—it's only two days now!" She smiled, picturing the warm sun shining down on her field full of blooming crops. "Daisy will love to be able to graze outside again."

"It's hard to believe it's already the twenty-ninth," Julia sighed, resting her chin in her palm, her elbow propped up on the counter. "Tomorrow's supposed to be the New Year's Festival. It's been so long since I've eaten noodles on New Year's—I hope it's as fun as I remember it being."

"Don't worry. It'll be fun," Chelsea smiled. "Back at home, we always ate noodles on New Year's."

"You haven't told me much about your old village," Julia said, tilting her head. "Any reason for this?"

"Not really," Chelsea shrugged, "There's just not much to tell, I guess."

What a blatant lie, Chelsea thought. But for some reason, she just didn't really feel like telling Julia all about her family and the farm she grew up on. Julia had been growing a little bit distant from Chelsea in the last week or so. She figured the blonde had just been busy pursuing Elliot, but even after the Starry Night mishap, Julia hadn't been as talkative or interested as she used to be. It was bothering Chelsea, but not enough for her to say anything.

"I see," Julia nodded. The conversation stopped.

"Hey," Chelsea said after several empty moments, "can I borrow a piece of paper and a pen again? I think I should write my parents something over the holidays."

"Yeah, sure," Julia said, setting her chin on the counter. "You know where it is."

Chelsea pushed herself up and went over to the cupboard, where the paper and pens were stored for the shop. She took a couple sheets and one of the pens, but instead of sitting back down next to Julia, who was seeming a bit preoccupied by Goddess knows what, she headed towards the door.

"I'll catch you later, okay? I forgot to brush Daisy." Chelsea smiled, turning the knob. "Thanks for the paper."

"No problem," Julia waved, "See you."

As Chelsea shut the door behind her, she let out a soft sigh that puffed like a small cloud in front of her face. She really hoped things would get back to normal with Julia soon.

Ooo

Dear Mom and Dad,

I know it's been ages since I wrote you guys. I'm sorry—things have just been… really hectic.

I'll start out by saying that winter is way too cold. My little house seems to be like a giant freezer, and guess what? I forgot to bring any sort of coat. Or pants. But it's okay, since the season is almost over. Vaughn gave me his old jacket, too, so I've been okay. I thought that fall was bad when I could barely grow any crops, but man, I had no idea how hard it could get during the winter when growing anything is impossible. And Daisy still isn't producing milk, so I've literally had no income.

Wait, have I told you about Daisy? Daisy is my wonderful, beautiful little calf I bought in the middle of fall. She's getting so big now! I love her so much. To be honest, she's really the only thing here that feels like family. She listens to me the way that only a cow could—you can understand that, right, Ma?

What else… Oh, speaking of family, I missed you guys so much this Starry Night. I thought it was going to be just me and Daisy, but then Julia invited me to eat with her and her mom. That… didn't work out so well, though. She forgot and they ended up eating with Taro's family. But Vaughn was on the island then, and he didn't have anyone to eat with, so we decided to hang out for a little bit. It sounds so weird when I try to write it down, but it wasn't really.

Vaughn is different than I thought. I think I told you how we'd be friends some day, right? Well, I think we're friends now. He talks to me more and he's not that mean if he gets to know you. He also has an interesting past... I found out that he's from Forget-Me-Not Valley. Isn't that funny? He's not that much older than me, too. Only six years. It's like we just missed each other.

Well, my hand hurts and it's getting kind of cold out. I think today will be the last snow of the season, which is awesome news for my frozen toes! I'll remember to write you guys more often from now on. Happy New Year! I love you guys,

XOXOXO

Chelsea

I hate this chapter. Sorry it sucks so much, guys. I wrote it in an hour and fifteen minutes, not stopping for any breaks. It's pathetically short and really, really not what I wanted. But, as a rule, I don't rewrite chapters from scratch. If this isn't what I planned, then the story wants to go a different direction. I just don't really like this particular direction. I have no idea where this new conflict with Julia or the conflict with Riley came from. I must be in a subconsciously combative mood. Sorry.

More chapters to come this break. I think I need sleep or something, because I'm abnormally pissed off. Ah, crap, it's like 12:34 at night and I have my first ever driving lesson at 9:00am tomorrow morning. I don't know why I'm keeping that in the A/N.

By the way, you guys are the best people ever for putting up with my obnoxious hiatuses and moody A/Ns. I love you all. :'D