A/N: Okay so I know I haven't updated in literally forever and I apologize. I had a bout of writer's block and now I just could never really find the time to write stuff out, haha.
HOWEVER.
I'm had this story be my project for Camp NaNo this July while I was traveling and stuff! Basically this means I spent the first half of July working on this and although I didn't finish it I do have a few chapters ready so I can update again. GET HYPE.
This chapter's song is MANiCURE by Lady GaGa. I…don't know why I like this song, but dang if it isn't catchy.
Now that we got that out of the way, here cometh the next chapter!
Put some lipstick on
Perfume your neck and slip your high heels on
Rinse and curl your hair
Loosen your hips, and get a dress to wear
I'm the one who's been coming around looking to loving you
You're the medicine,
I need to heal the way you make me feel
My birthday started off with a bang. Literally. I woke up to thunder that shook the very core of the earth. Ordinarily, thunder never bothered me, probably because we had so many thunderstorms when I was young. That didn't mean a sudden KA-KOOM couldn't scare the tar out of me now and again.
Once I shot up in bed in surprise, I blearily looked around my humble abode. My pet cat Whisper and her littermate, a puppy who I dubbed Casper, were curled around each other completely asleep. I'd only intended to get a cat since, although I liked dogs, I always preferred cats – but since the two of them had been together since birth (and I couldn't say no to Casper's happy corgi face) I ended up with the both of them. They took to the farm life easily with little training and helped with the livestock. I watched Casper snort a little in his sleep and smiled; probably they could sense this rain would permeate throughout the day and decided to sleep in. I turned to look at my digital clock-and-radio, blinking at the harsh red 5:00 AM stabbing my eyes. A harsh yawn wracked my body and I mentally debated turning over and going back to sleep or getting my chores out of the way in order to have the rest of my day to myself. Another roll of thunder, gentler this time, decided for me. I sighed and pulled an outfit from my dresser, heading into my small bathroom to shower.
After I finished my daily hygiene, the storm had quieted to a steady trickle. Outside, the sun had risen but was hiding behind the clouds, painting everything a gentle shade of grey. I went through my chores in a somewhat sleepy daze; harvesting some crops, brushing my livestock, dealing with Rain. General stuff. I looked up at the sound of footsteps in the rain, my face softening into a smile when I saw Dirk.
"Happy birthday, Diana!" He waved at me, and I returned the gesture, trotting over at him.
"Thanks Dirk! What are you-" I covered my mouth and let out a yawn. "-Doing here so early?"
He shuffled around in his mail pouch, and I walked him into the house. "I wanted to deliver everyone's birthday cards first thing." He held out a small mountain of cards. "You'll be heading over later today, right?"
I took the cards and slapped them down on the table. "Yup. Hey, since you're here, want to have breakfast with me? I haven't eaten yet." Dirk waved off my preposition.
"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly. It's you birthday a-"
"I'm making omelet rice."
"I'm in."
I'm gon' be manicured
You wanna be man cured
Ma ma ma manicure
She wanna be man cured
Salon's enough for her
Not to feel so insecure
Ma ma ma manicure
She wanna be taken care of
Dirk insisted on helping me cook, and I let him. It was…really nice, actually. Getting to know each other better, that is. My initial impression of him remained the same, even when he seemed as lively as a twelve-year-old.
"So," I leaned against the kitchen counter, not really sure how to broach the topic I most wanted to know. "I know everyone must have asked you this and you're probably sick of answering, but…what brought you to the Mountain?"
The mailman finished one of the omelets and cracked open two more eggs, whisking them absent-mindedly. He seemed distant, as if his mental guard was up. My mental YOU FUCKED UP alarm blared. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to! I mean, I didn't exactly intend to end up here myself, and I can't really say why. I can understand if it's the same for you."
"It's fine, Diana. I don't mind telling you." He smiled at me, a smile which didn't reach his vibrant emerald eyes. "Well, it's kind of silly, really. See, there was this girl."
I nodded in understanding. "When isn't it?"
Dirk laughed. A harsh laugh. "Yeah, right? Anyways. She moved to my hometown several years ago since the town's mayor was her dad's college friend and he owed a favor. You ever heard of Zephyr Bazaar? That's us."
"Stuff from all over the world is sold there, or so I've heard." I idly tapped my fingers on the counter, avoiding Dirk's eyes. "The place is an economic playground or something, yeah?"
Dirk fiddled with the spatula, keeping an eye on the food. "Yup. For a while though things weren't doing so hot, what with the market crash a decade ago pretty much putting all technological progress to a halt for a while. We were the biggest, so we took the hardest hit. You know the saying. I'm getting off track." The mailman combed a hand through his hair, crumping his hat in a spare hand. "Anyways, so this girl shows up as a favor from her dad to help out, right? She was really quiet. Sort of like you, actually. But…very nice. She was always patient with me – I was a real troublemaker back in the day, you know – and had this way with the earth that just…wow." He sighed, momentarily lost in the past. I did him the solid of keeping an eye on the food and flipping over the omelet. The sound seemed to snap him back into the present. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear all this on your birthday."
I waved that off. "It's okay. I don't mind. Uh, the food's done, by the way." I took the plates and headed to the table, Dirk following dutifully. When I looked back at him, he gave me a genuine smile. "So," I took my seat and cut a piece of the omelet. "What happened?"
"Isn't it obvious? I kind of fell in love with her. Me and everyone else. She wasn't just a farming prodigy, she was crazy into economics and stuff. Helped us get out of our slump and back onto the map – helped everyone, really. Once we were on our feet, the end of the depression wasn't far off." He took a bite of omelet rice and sighed dreamily. "For a while, I really thought I had a chance. I really thought she liked me back."
I stared into my breakfast, feeling another uncomfortable lurch in my chest. "I know that feeling." I buried my mumbling in another bite of the food (it was really good actually) "Let me guess, you were on the brink of confessing, and then…"
"…she told me she liked this foreign guy." There was a somber silence hanging in the air. "You've had that thing happen to you too? Is that why you're here?"
"Not directly, but…sort of, yeah." I cleared my throat and forced myself to look him in the eye. "Look, I'm glad you told me all this. Really. It's not good to hold all that pain inside, you know?"
He gave me a small, half-smile. "I'm learning. Thanks for listening, Diana. I hope…I hope we both get our happy endings."
Another uncomfortable lurch from my heart. I forced myself to smile back. "Me too."
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
I'm addicted to the love that you garner
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Lookin' serial killer, man is a goner
Touch me in the dark
Put your hands all over my body parts
Throw me on the bed
Squeeze, tease me, please me–that's what I said!
'cause I'm the trick who's been coming 'round looking to loving you
You're the, the medicine
I need to heal the way, the way you make me feel
A flash of light. "I suppose you want to talk about the Dirk thing."
"You're damn right I want to talk about the Dirk thing." I huffed and paced alongside the edge of the goddess pond. "How could you have me do…Why would you…when he's heartbroken like that!"
The harvest goddess sighed. "Diana, please, calm down. I'll explain what happened."
"Why should I-" I let out a livid grunt and kicked the ground, venting my frustrations that way. "Fine. Fine. You have like, five minutes."
The harvest goddess reached out and gently placed a wet hand on my shoulder. "The farmer for Zephyr town. Her name was Anita, and she was a manipulative bitch – er, pardon my bluntness. In a way I'm almost impressed, how long she was able to keep up her charade. Do you really think she wasn't aware of Dirk's fledgling heart? No. What happened was she saw an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – to marry a prince – and took it. As a patron of romance, nothing sickens me more. I cursed their marriage and led Dirk here – to you."
"So I could break his heart all over again? What is wrong with you?" I shrugged her hand off my shoulder.
The H.G. stamped her foot on the surface of the pond and put her hands on her hips. "That's not it and you know it. Dirk needs someone like you, Diana. All of the boys here do. Including Mikhail, and he's not even here yet. Everyone here has some dark stain on their past – even you. Why let the past define us?"
"Easy for you to say. You're immortal!" I threw my hands in the air and huffed again. "Look, I know this might be difficult to understand, but it takes a lot of time for things like that to heal. Certainly not four years' worth!" I piped up at seeing her mouth open. "I'll give you credit that it might not interfere with you dumb plan, but it doesn't exactly make things easy for me."
"Oh, Diana." The harvest goddess smiled. A cruel smile. "Who said this would be easy?"
I'm gon' be manicured
You wanna be man cured
Ma ma ma manicure
She wanna be man cured
Salon's enough for her
Not to feel so insecure
Ma ma ma manicure
She wanna be taken care of
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
I'm addicted to the love that you garner
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Lookin' serial killer, man is a goner
It was about nine in the morning when I headed back down to Bluebell, letting my angers and frustrations evaporate into minor annoyance. I kicked a tree branch too, just for the sake of it. I don't know why I left so soon after breakfast to talk to some dumb deity – all it did was waste time.
The rain pitter-pattered against my umbrella. Somewhere, far away, lightning must have struck, since the almost-indistinct sound of faraway thunder growled in my ears. I sighed and kicked another tree branch, venting the last bit of frustration as Bluebell came into sight. Another sound came to my ears, this one less distinct. I tilted my head to the side, listening intently. It almost sounded like…
"DIANA! HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAY!" Cheryl slammed into my side, almost causing me to tip off-balance.
I chuckled and returned the hug. "Thanks, kiddo! It's just gotten a little happier thanks to you." I let the small child go and knelt down to her level. "How has your day been so far?"
"Good!" Cheryl grinned and twirled around, getting increasingly wet due to her being umbrella-less. "Hey, do you want to go bug catching with me? Pleeeease?" she grabbed onto my hand and began pulling me back into the mountain.
I let out a short laugh. "I haven't talked to anyone else yet! What are you up to?"
"I'm not up to anything!" Cheryl grinned up at me, showing her hands "See? No crossed fingers! I just wanted to go bug catching with you today, that's all!" she latched onto my arm and began pulling me back into the forest. "C'mon! Let's go let's go let's gooooo!"
I lifted my other, free arm in surrender, taking one stride with two of her steps. "All right, I'm coming."
The trees above trembled and shook with the rainfall, the drops of water splashing to the ground in a quiet symphony. Although I wasn't sure if we'd be able to find many bugs worth catching, there was most certainly a possibility of fishing if I could get Cheryl to calm down. The younger rancher skipped along the stony path, chattering on about whatever it was that small children cared about.
I was content to listen to her babble on while we scoured the earth for bugs and frogs to catch. Cheryl seemed to enjoy having someone let her take the reins, and the next thing I knew we had acquired a minor army of creepy-crawlies. Most of them we let go, of course. "You know what, Diana?" Cheryl dusted off her apron, soaking wet and coated in a layer of mud.
"What's that?" I lifted a high-quality bug and examined it carefully within its cage, considering whether or not I should save it for a gift or just sell it. I ended up shoving it in my rucksack with a shrug. Although I'd gotten a little muddy myself, the umbrella helped a lot in keeping me (mostly) dry.
Cheryl pushed back one of her pigtails. "I think you're okay." This caught me off-guard, and I let out a snort.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"You're okay too." I grinned at the little girl and released the majority of the rarer bugs back into the wild. I looked down at my mud-splattered jeans. "I should probably take a shower or something… I'm a mess."
Cheryl nodded and stood. "Yeah! And come to my house for lunch afterwards, okay? I have a surprise for you!" She giggled at her own disheveled appearance. "I'm still cute, even covered in mud!"
"Hey, I'm not going to turn down free food." I ruffled her hair. "I'll see you as soon as I'm all cleaned up, okay?"
The redhead gave me that one little-kid look. The one that says 'you just made my entire life up to this point.' "Okay! Don't be late, it's really special!"
"Special surprise, got it. Need me to walk you ho-"
"Cheryl." An emotionless voice called out over the rain. I turned and immediately felt like instead of being a little muddy I was covered in sewage. Cam stood beneath his cerulean umbrella, one hand holding onto it; the other in a pocket. He looked suave, rocking a simple purple blouse and…were those dress pants? Most shocking, though, was that his hat was missing. He looked different without it. I instinctively looked at the ground.
"Cam! What are you doing here, haha…?" Cheryl nervously shifted her weight from one leg to another, her voice trembling with nerves.
The florist cracked a smirk and walked over. "Your mom sent me looking for you. She's really worried, you know."
"Yeah, yeah." Cheryl sighed, giving me a good-bye hug and trotting over. "Bye, Diana!"
"Bye, Cheryl." I waved good-bye and headed back to my farm. "See you soon!"
Cam herded the little girl back into the main part of town without even a word spoken between us. I didn't really know what to think of that….or the Cheryl mud print on my shirt.
Manicure!
Manicure!
Heal me
'Cause I'm addicted to love
Save me
'Cause I'm addicted to love
Man cured!
I'm gon' be manicured
You wanna be man cured
Ma ma ma manicure
She wanna be man cured
Salon's enough for her
Not to feel so insecure
Ma ma ma manicure
She wanna be taken care of
It was probably for the best that I had to change, since it meant I could start a load of laundry that I'd been putting off. I felt significantly cleaner once I slid into a simple blue shirt and some jean capris. My hair was getting pretty long – I'd have to get it cut pretty soon – so I ended up pulling it back for the moment. I gave myself a look-over in the mirror, nodding in approval before heading out the door.
In many ways, I was glad to have so much space to myself – it allowed plenty of room to breathe, so to speak. Considering I've almost always had to share my living space with someone it was a welcome change, even if a bit lonely. The air was warm, like a blanket. A blanket that makes you sweat like a fat person on the way to a doughnut joint or something.
It didn't take long to walk over to Ash's house after that. I was getting pretty hungry since breakfast was so long ago, but I had faith in Jessica's cooking. The door had a simple welcome plaque on it, and a knocker that looked like a cow with its nose pierced. I tapped the knocker ring against the wood of the door and shifting my weight from foot to foot, wiping my palms on my pants and adjusting my shirt.
The door swung inwards, but no one was there to greet me. The inside of the house was pitch dark. "Hello?" I shut the door behind me and stepped further in, the hairs on the back of my neck rising.
For a while, there was silence. Then…
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
I'm addicted to the love that you garner
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Lookin' serial killer, man is a goner
"Happy birthday!" Laney and the rest of Bluebell jumped from behind various bits of furniture, the lights suddenly on. Georgina jumped on me in a bone-crushing hug. Howard lifted the both of us up and squeezed. "Happy birthday Diana dear~" He sang before putting us down.
"Were you surprised?" Georgina grinned from ear to ear, pushing me to arm's length.
I felt myself grin back. "Heck yeah!" I wiped away some happy tears "Thank you – all of you – so much!"
Ash materialized at my shoulder. "You have no idea how hard it was to keep the whole thing from you." He was wearing a regular polo and jeans, with the addition of a bowtie. Georgina wore pretty much the same thing, except instead of the bowtie she had a chocker with a horse charm. "Especially Cheryl. She really likes you, y'know."
"I can imagine." I felt myself beam at him, and a small voice in the back of my head whispered please be appealing. Ash smiled back, offering a lopsided grin. I tucked a spare lock of hair behind my ear. "So, what's on the schedule for the party? I'm up for anything."
Laney showed up, wearing a nice, but not overly fancy red dress and carrying a stack of board games. "We're playing all these and there's nothing you can do about it! TO THE TABLE!" She led the way through the crowd of Bluebell inhabitants, everyone wishing me a happy birthday. Eileen slapped me on the back. Rutger and Rose offered me a handshake and a hug, respectively. Grady gave me a thumbs-up, one which I returned.
Cam (he was wearing the same stuff as earlier) took most of the games from Laney and set them in an empty chair at the table. "Happy birthday," He didn't look me in the eye.
"Thank you – I mean it." I smiled at him and gave him a short side-hug. He stiffened but relaxed and even hugged me back a little before letting go like I had burned him.
Laney decided she was going to start this off with a bang, apparently, because she set up Monopoly. "No house rules." She narrowed her eyes at Ash, who lifted his hands in a symbol of surrender.
"What? They make the game more interesting." He offered.
"And last forever," Georgina remarked in a dry tone, sliding into her seat. "We played that one game for like a week last time, remember?"
Cam took a seat across from the horse fanatic. "Was that the game Cheryl won because Ash traded away Park Place?"
"I regret nothing! She offered me B&O and Reading Railroad – how was I going to say no to that?" Ash threw his hands in the air and took a seat next to Cam. I took the seat near the end of the table, so there was a chair between me and the florist.
"She could have offered you Mediterranean and you still would have traded, Ash." Laney tut-tutted and took her seat next to Georgina. "You and your sister, I swear."
I lunged forward while everyone was distracted and grabbed the little money bags token. "I claim the cash money. Tremble in fear, peasants… maniacal laughter!" Laney snorted as she grabbed the thimble.
Cam grabbed the wheelbarrow. "I claim the wheelbarrow."
"I got the car!" Ash grabbed the little metal token.
"And, as always, horse guy." Georgina grabbed the last token for the game, and the chaos began.
Things were going pretty smoothly until Cam somehow ended up buying two railroads in one turn completely legally. Then it all slowly deteriorated into complete and total anarchy. Cam and Georgina were out relatively quickly once they landed on one of Laney's hotel'd up yellow spaces. Weirdly enough, though, it was Laney who fell prey to Ash who got all the red spaces early on and had been slowly feeding off of everyone to build hotels. Then it was just me and him, with the board split between the two of us. Cam, Laney, and Georgina had already started a card game and continued talking. We were in our own little money-based world.
We just kept going. Turn after turn, tip-toeing around each other. It probably could have been really intense, but I was enjoying it greatly. Ash was pretty nonchalant about it all, so we spent most of the time talking. I grabbed the dice in my left hand and tossed it onto the board. "So…that's how I adopted my first cat. He was a good guy, too. Really patient with little kid me." I moved the bag of money six spaces across the board, landing on a chance. "Oh dang. Immediate go to jail, calling it." Ash laughed as I picked up the little orange card. "'You have been elected chairman of the board, pay each player fifty dollars.' - That's not too bad. Here's your cash money, dawg." I tossed the colored paper at the rancher and handed him the dice too for good measure.
"I've never really adopted an animal. Cheryl leaves some leftovers for the stray cats, though." Ash rolled the dice onto the board. "Oh, hey, did I tell you about the time she put a grasshopper in Laney's tea?"
Laney shuddered. "I can't believe I almost drank that."
"Now she always keeps a very close eye on the cups," Cam smiled and placed down a card. "Although Cheryl hasn't pranked any of us since."
Georgina giggled hysterically at the memory. "That was the best! I've never seen Laney so frazzled." She slapped her hand on the table and snorted into her drink.
Ash moved his car a few spaces, landing just shy of one of my properties. "Ugh, land on one of my spaces already." I bit the inside of my cheek, furrowing my brows in frustration. Ash handed me the dice, our hands brushing against each other for a short moment. Looking up from the board, this seemed to embarrass him or something, since he avoided my eyes.
"Come on, high roll." I tossed the dice onto the board, groaning in frustration at seeing one die land on three, and the other one. I reluctantly moved my token onto one of the red spaces with a hotel. "How much do I owe you?"
Ash took a quick look at the deed for 'Forget-Me-Not Valley' and beamed. "About one thousand and fifty, if you please." I let out a low whistle of appreciation.
"Wow, that's…much more than I expected. Okay, um…" I shuffled through my precious monopoly money, scraping up the needed cash but leaving me with only a few measly twenties to my glorious empire. "Now you really need to land on one of my spaces." We all shared a laugh; I dropped the money and the dice into Ash's hands.
Ash rolled the dice onto the board. "This is much more fun than I thought it would be. Ooh, that's your space, Diana. How much do I owe?"
I checked my card and smirked. "That'll be two thousand, if you please. I'll be taking my money back now," my smirk faded into a lopsided grin. "I'm having a lot of fun too. This whole thing…it's much more than I could have asked for."
"You're just saying that because you're about to make bank," Cam pointed out, emotionless.
I shrugged. "Hey, if the boot fits." Laney slapped a card down on the table and let out a triumphant sound.
"Take that, Georgina! Plus four, color is red!"
Georgina placed a red plus-two card as Ash doled out the cash. "Now it's plus-six. Pay up, Cam."
"Plus-eight." Cam placed a yellow plus-two card down on the table.
Laney huffed. "Reverse back to you! Take that!" She slammed a yellow reverse on the table. I snorted at their antics and rolled the dice again.
(I'm gon' be manicured
You wanna be manicured
Ma ma ma manicure
She wanna be manicured)
"Happy birthday to you~" Howard placed a rather large cake on the table, now clear of board games.
"Happy birthday to you!" Eileen grinned and slapped me on the back again.
"Happy birthday, dear Diana…" Laney and Cam sang together, the florist avoiding my gaze again.
"Happy birthday toooooooooo…" Ash held the note for as long as he could, sounding like a lost dog until Cheryl kicked him in the shin, forcing the "you!" out and leaving him breathless for a little while. Everyone all laughed with him at that while I closed my eyes, thinking hard about what I wanted my wish to be.
I wish...the thought began. I wish Konohana and Bluebell would stop hating each other. My eyes were closed, but I apparently blew all the candles out in one go. I heard that meant my wish was supposed to come true.
I could have wished for something selfish, like seeing my family again. But wishing selfishly helps no one – at least, so I've heard. Jessica cut the cake – chocolate, my favorite. The frosting had been designed to look like a particularly happy cow, with "Happy birthday Diana!" written on its flank. Apparently, it was tradition or something. I didn't care so long as the cake held up.
It did. I practically moaned once I took a bite. Once again, I felt my eyes began filling with happy tears. "Thank you. All of you. This is – I just – it's more than I could have ever asked for."
Laney gave me a side-hug. "You're the best shot we have at getting Ina and Rutger to reconcile. I'm very thankful for that." she whispered, before loudly adding "You're a very dear friend to all of us, Diana. Right, Cam?"
"Yeah." Cam looked very different without his hat, his eyes darted around – without a hat to hide behind when feeling bashful, he looked exposed. "I, uh…I'm glad we're…friends." He said 'friends' with a sort of finality to it, albeit an unhappy one.
I offered a patient smile. "Me too." Cam suddenly looked very red and avoided my gaze again. Nobody else seemed to notice – they were trying to prevent Ash from serving himself half the cake.
The party winding down, I said good-bye (and thank you) to everyone still there and took a few cake slices home with me, feeling oddly light. Was this what it was like, I wondered, having a whole community have your back?
The walk home seemed much shorter. I did my evening chores in a sort of daze, but with the unmistakable feeling I had forgotten something important. It hit me once I walked inside my home and noticed the stack of cards on my counter.
"Oh no…"
Man cure!
Man cure!
FUN FACTS DIDYA KNOW:
-I think this is actually the longest chapter so far! *Blows kazoo triumphantly* It also took the longest to write. I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN SO LONG. But I'm determined to finish this one, and if you're reading this than it looks like I was just determined enough! This should be my first completed fanfic ever which is pretty excited! I have a few ideas yet – not all exactly HM-related though – and finishing this one should be the straw that breaks the camel's back and helps me work on, and eventually finish, those projects too!
-Although he may not look it, Cam is a strict believer in the Bro Code.
-I KNOW THE DIRK SCENE SUCKED AND I'M SORRY D:
NEXT CHAPTER: Will need to be rewritten so it'll be up whenever it's done.
