Here's that update I promised you! I think it's irrational how much I love this one. It's freakishly long (well, I like to think so) and very random, but I love it. Is it fluffy? ...Maybe...

Happy Mother's Day, everyone! I'm lucky enough to not only have an excellent mom, but an excellent mom whose birthday is also today!

Also, I'd like to apologize for not replying to all the reviews last chapter. When I try to hit the "reply to review" link in my emails, it brings me to a 404 Not Found page. I hope it gets fixed soon! Dx

And for people asking, my birthday was on the 6th and it was awesome. Yay! xD

Anyways, go ahead and read :D

CHAPTER STATS

Word Count (excluding A/N): 1772

Date Updated: 5-8-11

Current Review Count: 326

Chelsea sat back, leaning against the tree trunk and wiping furiously at her eyes. She managed to take a few breaths, hiccupping only once. She knew just how she looked: red, puffy eyes; mangled, stringy hair; dirty, blotchy face…

"What—" Chelsea stopped, her voice cracking, "What's up, Vaughn?"

She didn't look up at him, so when there was no answer for a few moments, she thought she might have imagined him being there. But then the grass near her moved and, lo and behold, there he sat.

"Th'sky," he muttered, his hat blocking his face. She felt her mouth twitch up in a grin.

"What're you doing here?" She asked, wiping her face again. At least she wasn't crying anymore.

"I was takin' a walk," he said, "but then I thought I heard somethin' in the bushes here dyin'."

Chelsea laughed once, her throat tired. "Yeah, right."

He was silent for another long moment. "What happened with Julia? She didn't say nothin'."

"You asked her?" Chelsea asked, surprised. She was sure that he didn't go out of his way to talk to people. In fact, didn't he say something once about only talking to people for work?

"Well, after you went and ran out of there like the building was on fire, I figured somethin' happened."

"What did she say?" Chelsea asked. If she told him some lie…

"She didn't," he moved his head up slightly, revealing his frown. "She shooed me out."

"Oh," Chelsea said, not knowing how exactly to respond. She didn't like fighting with people, and she certainly didn't want to make Julia seem like a bad person, so she held her tongue for fear of venting to him.

"You gonna tell me, or should I just leave?"

"No, don't—" Chelsea began to protest, but stopped herself. He could leave if he wanted. "I just don't want to make Julia out to be a bad person."

"Well then, don't paint'er like she is," Vaughn said, "Just tell th'truth 'bout what happened."

"You're right," Chelsea nodded, sighing. "I already told you about how she blew me off on Starry Night."

Vaughn nodded. Chelsea continued.

"Well, that's really it. I don't know. It's… weird."

"You were fine with it 'fore." Vaughn said. Chelsea sighed again.

"Yeah, but… Ugh, it's so hard to explain," she grimaced. "It just seems like everything is going wrong."

Vaughn didn't say anything. Chelsea decided that he didn't need to say anything.

"I'm cold, I'm broke, and I'm homesick. And now my best friend and I are fighting. I just… I don't know. I don't know! I just want to be at home. I miss my parents. I… I don't know what to do anymore."

Chelsea took a deep breath, willing herself not to start crying again. She looked up at the blocks of cloudy sky between the branches of bare tree. Here and there a bud stuck out of the bark, but it was mainly barren. Moments of silence turned into minutes. Chelsea wasn't really afraid that she'd over-shared with Vaughn, even though he wasn't talking—he seemed like he could take it and not feel overwhelmed. He was like that.

Finally, randomly, Vaughn decided to speak. "I would give you some sort of advice'r somethin', but I really don't have any."

"That's okay," Chelsea said, smiling slightly, "At least you let me vent. Thanks."

"S'my pleasure," he said, standing up. He held out a hand to her. She took it gladly and pulled herself up.

"You know," she said as they walked down the small, muddy pathway and across the bridge, "you're a lot nicer than I thought you were."

He rolled his eyes, but Chelsea could see the ghost of a smirk on his lips. She glanced behind them and saw two new sets of muddy footprints on the faded wood of the bridge.

Ooo

"C'mon, Vaughn," Chelsea frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "Just come!"

Vaughn looked from the farmer in front of him to the bridge to the meadow and back. He couldn't believe she'd managed to drag him this far, and now he was actually about to go to the New Year's festival. This was such a weird day.

"I don't know," he sighed. Chelsea rolled her eyes.

"What are you going to do if you don't go, huh? Walk around the empty island? Sit around Mirabelle's alone?"

He decided not to answer. She let out a small sigh.

"Please?" She asked, looking at him in defeat. This was clearly her last resort. Vaughn knew if he denied now, she wouldn't bug him about it again, but the way she was looking at him just…

"Fine," he sighed. Chelsea pumped her fist in the air.

"Yes!" She smiled, "You won't regret it! New Year's noodles are the best!"

Chelsea started across the bridge, beckoning for Vaughn to follow. He couldn't believe what he's just gotten himself into.

As they crossed over the bridge, the meadow came into sight. It was that time of night when the sun had just disappeared, but it was still kind of light out, but everything seemed to be in a perpetual shadow. It was a bit chilly, but you could tell spring was on its way.

Chelsea stopped at the end of the bridge, taking in the sight. Paper lanterns lined the meadow, setting off a soft illumination in the dusk light. A long counter-like table stretched along one side of the meadow, covered in a festive tablecloth. Chen manned it along with a large vat of what Chelsea assumed was noodle-y goodness. A few lanterns were also hung near the table, making it easy to see around there. It was around the time that everyone would be arriving, so Chelsea noticed that only a few tourists and Denny and Lanna were in the meadow.

"It's beautiful," Chelsea said, unable to stop the beam from spreading across her face. Vaughn awkwardly nodded, feeling any sort of talkative mood flee. It was almost like he could physically feel himself close off from everyone.

"When does th'festival end?" He asked Chelsea. She looked up at him, smirking.

"Next year."

Before Vaughn could even roll his eyes, someone else had come up to the conversation.

"Chelsea!" Denny called, running up to the farmer and the cowboy. Lanna followed closely, eyeing Chelsea suspiciously, but it seemed that she relaxed when she saw Vaughn standing with her. Denny slowed to a stop in front of them and nodded to Vaughn, looking a bit surprised. "Hey, man! I didn't expect to see you here."

Vaughn didn't say anything. Lanna giggled.

"Yeah, Vaughn, it's nice to see you. What did Chelsea do to get you out here?"

Chelsea frowned slightly, unsure of how to reply to such a… weird remark. Denny noticed and laughed, trying to wave it off. "Anyways, it's a great night to have a festival, right?"

"I'll say," Chelsea laughed, nodding. "It's not even that cold!"

"Spring's coming early, I guess," Denny smirked.

"Oh, if only," Chelsea said, hugging her arms around her to warm up a bit. Vaughn's coat was helping a lot.

"Well, we'll see you around!" Denny said, waving as he and Lanna walked off. Chelsea waved back and turned to Vaughn, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't talk too much, now," she said, "you might hurt yourself."

"Hey," Vaughn frowned. "I said I'd come. You didn't say nothin' 'bout talkin'."

"Fine, just don't blame me when you get bored."

Ooo

"Ah, Vaughn, this is so fun!" Chelsea said, hiccupping. Vaughn rolled his eyes, his elbows resting on the table. It was close to midnight and at some point during the evening, someone had thought it was a good idea to give Chelsea a cup of sake. She probably didn't realize what it was, but she drank it anyways.

Now she's on her fifth and Vaughn has to deal with a drunken farmer. He knew he shouldn't have come to this Goddess-forsaken festival.

"Is it almost spring, Vaughn?" Chelsea asked, swaying slightly on her stool. They'd brought chairs and stools in from the Diner and café when people started eating and drinking. Vaughn didn't remember this festival involving alcohol. Crazy islanders…

"Yeah, Chelsea," Vaughn sighed. He was no longer amused by Chelsea's drunkenness. At first, maybe. But that was hours ago. Now it was kind of annoying.

"How much longer?" She asked, swaying dangerously close to falling off her stool. Vaughn grabbed the sleeve of her—or, his, really—coat and pulled her upright. She giggled hysterically. Vaughn checked his watch.

"'Bout ten minutes." He said. She smiled.

"That's great!"

Only because it means we can leave soon, he thought. He glanced around at the people in the meadow, most of whom were a bit tipsy. Well, at least Lanna and Chelsea were. Denny was dealing with the slightly-intoxicated pop star over on the far end of the meadow. She seemed to be a very, very flirtatious drunk. He glanced over at Chelsea, who was acting like a five-year-old. If only he was so lucky…

Then there was a throng of tourists that had come in, seeking an island refuge for the holidays. Vaughn wondered how disappointed they were. Mirabelle seemed to be hanging out with the Taro family, and Natalie was with her brother and Julia, who seemed to be trying and failing to flirt with Elliot. That was the extent of the people Vaughn recognized before Chen yelled out that the countdown was starting.

Chelsea's ears perked up. "One more minute!"

"Thank Goddess," Vaughn muttered. Chelsea tilted her head at him.

"Huh?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Ten!"

Vaughn sighed, looking out across the crowd again. Another year, gone.

"Nine!"

If only things could change.

"Eight!"

He'd never thought much of making New Year's resolutions.

"Seven!"

Maybe this year he should try it…

"Six!"

Chelsea joined in the countdown, swaying again.

"Five!"

But what would he resolve to do?

"Four!"

He thought about it.

"Three!"

Chelsea hiccupped and swayed into Vaughn, leaning heavily against his side.

"Two!"

Vaughn saw Lanna grab Denny's collar and pull him into a sloppy kiss.

"One!"

Chelsea cheered, catching his attention. Suddenly, a resolution hit him and he decided to make it before really thinking about it.

"Happy New Year!"

After the initial cheer died down, Vaughn nudged Chelsea with his shoulder. "Hey, it's spring. Y'ain't gonna say anythin'?"

She didn't reply, so he crooked his neck down to look at her. She was passed out asleep, using his shoulder as a pillow. He shook his head at her. She was going to really regret this in the morning.

Awwww. Drunken Chelsea and sober Vaughn! How cute~

Anywho, I hope you all liked it as much as I did. Some of your guesses for Vaughn's reaction to Cheslea's crying weren't too far off the mark... but I can't help but feel bad, since it seemed like a lot of you were expecting something way more fluffy than what actually happened. Aw, well - we'll get to the real fluff soon enough!

Review letting me know how Chelsea will handle her first hangover! And on the first day of Spring, too... Tsk, tsk. Such a naughty girl. Speaking of Chelsea being naughty, isn't a certain cowboy's birthday coming up soon...?

;D

Also, wish my mom a happy birthday in your review! She loves you guys just as much as I do (even though she only reads the reviews I let her, ahaha)!

YOU ROCK

Update coming next weekend!