Here's another chapter! I hope it's long enough. Then continuation of it will come this weekend, even though it's already written xP

Early birthday present for you all! Bahaha. I don't even know where this little mini-arc came from, just so you know. xD

NOTE: An anonymous reviewer mentioned the inclusion of some sort of lemon in this fic, warning me against it. Just so anyone who reads this knows, I don't write that kind of stuff. It won't get that intense here. The rating is T and it won't go any higher, considering I'm a "T", ahaha. (Besides, it's not like I'd be able to write a lemon if I even tried - /shot)

CHAPTER STATS

Word Count (excluding A/N): 1441

Date Updated: 5-4-11

Current Review Count: 311

"Vaughn, are you going to the festival tonight?"

The cowboy looked up from his work and over to the farmer. She was laying upside-down on a pile of full chicken-feed bags stacked up against the wall of Mirabelle's coop. Vaughn shrugged, continuing to scatter feed. "I hadn't thought 'bout it. Probably not."

Chelsea turned herself right-side up. "Why not?"

Vaughn shrugged again. "I don't really like festivals."

Chelsea frowned, but fell silent. Vaughn focused on his work again, trying not to feel awkward. Chelsea had offered to help him with his work, but he'd turned her down, saying it was called his work for a reason. So she'd decided to just tag along and watch, causing Vaughn to feel mixed emotions.

"I think you should come," Chelsea said, breaking the silence. "It'll be fun."

"I don't know," Vaughn said, frowning. Festivals were very… social. Chelsea crossed her arms.

"C'mon," she said, trying to be diplomatic. "When was the last time you actually went to a festival?"

"Last week," he said, thinking it would nullify her point. It wasn't until he saw her face flare up to a loud scarlet that he realized what exactly he's just brought up. The air was suddenly very, very still. He was afraid to breath—was inhaling pure tension lethal?

"Oh, you're right," Chelsea said, trying to break the awkward silence. Somehow she only made it more awkward. Vaughn cringed. He was out of chicken feed and had to go get more. Awkwardly—so, so awkwardly—he walked over to the open feed bag that was conveniently sitting right beside Chelsea. With his hand scooping feed out into the smaller bag he held, he was standing so close to her that he would touch her with even the slightest movement. He could feel her eyes on him—they were burning a hole in the side of his head. Before he could even think about what he was doing, he turned his head slightly towards her and their gazes locked. He froze, feeling his face burn up. He noticed her pink cheeks turn into a much darker red.

"Chelsea, you here? I—"

Chelsea's head snapped towards the entrance to the coop, freeing Vaughn from that sudden bout of paralysis. Julia stood in the doorway, her eyebrows raised and a smirk on her lips.

"Oh," she said, pressing her lips together to hold in her laughter, "Nevermind. See you, Chels."

Chelsea swallowed as Julia left. She glanced back towards Vaughn, who was really focused on the bag of chicken feed in front of him. "Uh, I should go see what she wanted."

"See you," Vaughn nodded at her, then quickly returned his gaze to the feed bags. Chelsea hesitated for a second, thinking that she really shouldn't leave in such an awkward way, but realized that anything she could say would just make it more uncomfortable. She stood up and took her leave.

As the door closed behind her, Vaughn's shoulders slumped and he leaned forward against the bags. He'd never felt so awkward in his life.

Ooo

"What was that about, Chelsea?" Julia asked from the sanctuary of Mirabelle's kitchen. Chelsea sighed.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. Julia raised her eyebrows.

"It didn't seem like nothing. The air was so tense in there! I swear, it was like walking into a brick wall when I opened the door."

"Well, it was nothing," Chelsea said, her arms crossed across her chest. She was staring at her muddy boots on the floor.

"If you say so," Julia said. "I was wondering if you were going to the festival tonight."

"Of course," Chelsea said, not moving her gaze. "Are you?"

"Yeah." Julia said, leaning against the wall. "I wanted to know if you want to meet up beforehand and head over together."

"You aren't going to meet with Elliot?" Chelsea asked, not meaning to sound so bitter. Julia's eyebrows furrowed together.

"Elliot?" She repeated. "What about Elliot?"

"Nothing," Chelsea sighed. "Forget I said anything."

"No," Julia said, frowning and pushing off the wall. "Chels, are you still mad about Starry Night?"

"No, I'm not," Chelsea frowned, looking at a different spot on the floor. "Forget about it."

"I said I was sorry!" Julia said, half-scowling. Chelsea grimaced.

"Yeah, but—"

"But what? I apologized! It's in the past, and you said you were fine! What was I supposed to do?"

"Keep your promises!" Chelsea blurted out, her face burning. "It wasn't just an inconvenience, Julia! It was humiliating! I don't think I've ever felt so betrayed in my life—you just, just, just forgot about me! And you knew how much I'd been missing my family! How could you do that to me?"

"I don't—"

"No, just… forget about it," Chelsea sighed, trying to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill. She failed. She stood up and started towards the door as she wiped at her eyes. "Forget about it."

"Chelsea!" Julia called, but Chelsea was already out the door and running up the path.

Ooo

Chelsea couldn't believe she'd said those things to Julia. She knew that Julia was sorry, and Chelsea forgave her, but it didn't change what happened. Chelsea slowed her run down to a walk, sniffling pathetically. The waterworks were turned on and she wasn't about to waste the opportunity to just cry it all out. She had slowed to a stop in the middle of town, and, realizing where she was, tried to get a hold of herself until she was somewhere more private. The thought of going back to her empty house only made a new round of tears come up. Without really thinking about it, she started towards the forest.

As she crossed the bridge, she noticed that the snow was almost completely melted off of it. She had her gaze fixed at her shoes, watching the wooden slats move beneath her. She smiled vaguely at the faint, brown stains of two sets of footprints crossing the bridge. It seemed like so long ago that she had been in the forest and Vaughn had called those wild dogs off her—she cringed a bit at the memory. How embarrassing.

As soon as she was under the cover of the trees, she turned off the dirt path and sat on some damp grass at the base of a tall pine. She hugged her knees close and blinked a few times, her face hot and sticky from tears. She wasn't really that upset at Julia—at least, not upset enough to sob like this. She took a breath but it caught in her chest, making her hiccup. More tears came.

The thing that bothered her about the Starry Night fiasco with Julia was that it was proof of how much Julia valued Chelsea's friendship. Even if she had forgotten—which, quite frankly, Chelsea was starting to doubt—Julia still would rather eat with Elliot than with Chelsea. Julia hardly ever spoke to Elliot—she was just infatuated with him, nothing else. Chelsea was sure that Julia was just looking for attention—she didn't actually love Elliot. It was a crush. Julia had blown Chelsea off for a crush, and that's what hurt her so badly.

But now all Chelsea wanted was to talk to her mom. Her mom always knew what to say at times like these. Chelsea missed her. She missed her cooking, her conversation, and her hugs. Chelsea whimpered slightly, realizing that she couldn't really remember what it felt like to hug her mom. She was only nineteen—she wasn't ready to live by herself like this!

It was hard for Chelsea to take a deep breath—every time she tried, it would turn into a hiccup. It was hard for her to see properly, too; everything was a washed-out blur from the tears. At first, she'd tried to be quiet, but now Chelsea figured that there was no one around. She just cried. She cried at the top of her lungs. It felt so good to let it all out. The frigidly long winter, the poverty, the loneliness—it was all building up and up and up on her, weighing her down. She was finally starting to crack.

She missed her parents. All she wanted was to stand up and walk into her living room, eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches with her parents, and sleep in her own bed in her own bedroom at home.

"Chel…sea?"

Chelsea's sob caught in her throat. She wished that the ground would open up beneath her at that moment.

It had to be him to find her, Goddess help her.

Herp-a-derp. What's this? Chelsea being emotional? Gasp! How interesting and not cliche in the slightest!

Well, I suppose y'all will find out what Vaughn does next this weekend! Stay tuned, and tell me what you thought in a review. Just to let you know, the next chapter is long - a little longer than the last one. I like it. Please look forward to it! After that, I'll write my first update as a sixteen-year-old. Maybe my writing will change magically o:

...Right. Take care! Tell me what you think Vaughn will say to Chelsea next chapter! :D