A/N:
Thank you everybody who reviewed the last chapter! All the reviews were so kind!! It made me want to jump back on my computer and update! Well, here's the next chapter!
Last Chapter:
For some odd reason, I want to help him in any way that I possibly could. He seems lonely—a loner. Perhaps I could fix that.
As Told by Chelsea
Chapter five: Friends are helpful
Spring 18, Year 1
9:30 am
It was so weird today. I remember when I went over to Taro's house yesterday, and he told me that "his eyebrows told him it was going to be sunny" today. And it was. When I opened my door today, it was sunny. It could be pure coincidence, though.
So when I went over today, Taro looked at me and said, "My old left knuckle is telling me it'll be cold tomorrow—cold and windy."
Part of me believed him—maybe he could predict the weather, and the other part of me thought he was a crazy old man.
I also found out that Vaughn is on the island only on Wednesdays and Thursdays. When I went to talk to Julia and Mirabelle, he was in the far corner, pacing back and forth, his boots making that click-clack noise again.
Spring 19, Year 1
Thursday
When I stepped outside again this morning, I was greeted with a sharp jolt of cold. The sky was a gray color, and the few weeds on my land were blowing back and forth. My first thought was, Taro was right again.
However, two days of being right about the weather couldn't prove that he could in fact predict the next day's weather, could it? I decided to test him for a week or two, and then come to my conclusion.
After breakfast, I grabbed my watering can and then walked toward the river where I would be filling it up. I had to fight hard against the strong wind, which seemed like it would blow me back two steps every step I took.
However, with my legs hurting, I finally reached the river. I bent down, and looked at the short grasses and little rocks beside it. They were covered in…frost. Was it really that cold? Especially for Spring?
The wind died down a little as I bent and put my watering can a little bit over the water. My fingers touched the water for about a second, and I recoiled from the temperature. It was freezing.
Then, suddenly, the wind started back up again, and with me bent over, the wind—added onto that I might have slipped on the slippery rocks near the river's edge—pushed me into the river.
The water's temperature—it was like a knife slicing though my whole body. The river was so cold that I stayed frozen for about a second of two, shocked by how much it stung.
Then, the wind picked up, and I started to go down.
Now, I wasn't the world's best swimmer. I had never lived too close to a body of water back in the city, so I was pretty bad with water. However, I knew the basic things about swimming. But the difference was that on the rare occasion that I did go swimming, it was in calm and warm water. This—the situation I was in now—was just the opposite. It seemed like my brain shut down at the water's temperature.
I had wondered how deep the river was when I first found it, and now I truly knew. It was fairly deep—I couldn't touch the bottom. I started to panic.
The currents and the wind pushed and pulled me downstream, where I kept going under. When I realized I was under, I forced myself to go back up on the surface, my lungs burning for air. My teeth by then were starting to chatter.
I drifted downstream, and I passed the remnants of a broken bridge. If I squinted—my eyes hurt from the water—I think I saw Elliot's house.
Again, I was swept downstream quickly, the houses flying past in a blur. I went under several time, but I always managed to painfully go back up again. Sometimes I would be pushed against the side of the river, my sides bumping on the rocks.
Then, I stopped being swept downstream, and I was in the ocean. I went under twice more, and found that the ocean was even colder than the river; I hated the taste of the ocean in my mouth.
Again, I started panicking. All around me, there was only blue. I could no longer see the houses on the island, no rocks or anything. It was so blue.
Then I thought about the depth of the ocean, and I started panicking even more. I flailed my arms, but that in return caused me to go under. My mouth was open, and the saltiness of the ocean suddenly flooded the insides of my mouth. By panicking, I drew in a breath—underwater—and the flavor of the ocean grew worse.
Suddenly, my head broke free of the ocean, and I sputtered and tried to spit up the water. My eyes stung from the salt—not at all like the river water—and I frantically looked around. My voice was stuck in my throat.
Now, the sight I saw next—I wasn't sure if it was my blurred vision making things up, or if it was actually real. My vision was blurred, so nothing really looked like real shapes. The sky—gray with hints of white—blended into the ocean—blue. But ahead of me, off to a distance, I saw a brown blob. After that, I saw a purple blob.
I blinked, and then was towed underneath once more. This time, I wasn't sure if I could break free.
I was aware—when I came to—that someone was calling my name. I heard another voice responding to the first voice that was calling my name.
Suddenly, I was aware of what had happened. Had I died, then? Had I not risen above the raging ocean waters and died? Was I now with the Goddess?
But no…the voices, they were male.
Well then, the Harvest God himself, then? Was I with him?
I opened my eyes slowly, and then closed them because of the brightness. After a second or two, I tried again, and this time I saw purple.
A man was staring at me. He had brown wavy hair, with a purple bandana.
It took me a second to realize that the man was Denny.
"D-Denny?" I croaked out, my throat hurting.
"Don't talk," commanded another voice—the other voice.
I obeyed, and then silver replaced purple.
Vaughn.
I sat up. Vaughn?
Vaughn frowned, and then carefully but firmly pushed me back so that I was laying down.
"W-what?" I asked, my throat burning.
"I said," muttered Vaughn. "Don't talk—it makes it worse."
I nodded, and sighed.
After a moment, Denny spoke up. "I was out fishing today—this morning. I took out my boat in the ocean, and was looking for some big fish. A couple minutes before I was about to go back on shore, I saw something red in the ocean. At first I thought it might be a fish, and I grew excited, and then silently rowed my boat a little close to the color. But when I grew close enough to really see what the thing was, I recognized that it was you, Chelsea.
"I immediately jumped in, and then pulled you out of the ocean. I managed to drag you on shore, and then checked to see if you were alive. Thank the Goddess you were.
"So after you coughed up water and started breathing, you passed out, and thankfully I spotted Vaughn on the beach as well. He carried you to your house, while I ran to Taro or somebody to tell them what happened."
Oh. So the purple blob had been Denny, in his brown-blob boat. I sighed, and closed my eyes, thankful that I wasn't with the Goddess just yet.
When I awoke again, Denny had left, and Vaughn was sitting next to my bed, staring off into space.
"Vaughn?"
Vaughn turned around to look at me.
His mouth opened, but I beat him to it.
"Don't worry, my throat doesn't hurt anymore."
Vaughn closed his mouth, and looked at me with the same bland expressionless face that he always wore.
After a while, I asked, "What time is it?"
"Six-thirty."
I sat up. "My crops! And Yuuki!" I wailed.
Once again, Vaughn pushed me back on my pillow.
"They are all taken care of," he reassured in his husky voice.
"How?" I asked.
"Elliot and Denny helped water your plants; Julia and Natalie helped with the weeds. I cared for Yuuki."
Gratitude washed through me. My friends—my wonderful friends.
"Thank you," I murmured.
Vaughn shrugged.
"It was nothing. I wouldn't let Yuuki starve anyway."
"Yes, and for carrying me back to my place. You didn't have to." I closed my eyes.
Vaughn coughed. "It was nothing."
We were silent, and I was remembering what Denny had said.
Suddenly, I jolted straight up again. Vaughn had an annoyed look on his face.
I saw his arm go out toward me, but I stopped it in mid-air.
"W-wait…did Denny…?" I trailed off, embarrassed.
Vaughn blinked, and then smirked. Wow. The first expression besides annoyance I've seen him wear.
"You mean mouth-to-mouth?" he asked, coughing.
I felt my face heat up.
"U-u-uh…"
"No," Vaughn said. "He just pounded on your back."
I was silent, and in that moment, Vaughn pushed me back on my back. I huffed, but I didn't try to get up.
Just then, the door opened and Julia and Natalie came rushing in.
"Chelsea!" they cried, hugging me, even though I was on my back so it made it really awkward. "Are you okay? You nearly drowned!"
"Yeah," I reassured them. "I'm okay."
While Natalie and Julia were busy swarming me with questions, I saw Vaughn quietly slip out. I smiled.
Then, I sat up—with no Vaughn to push me back on my back—and gave Julia and Natalie a big hug.
The door opened again, and I saw Denny and Elliot.
I smiled, motioned them to come join the hug.
They smiled back and complied.
"Thank you guys so much," I murmured to them. "You guys—my friends—are so helpful."
A/N:
Haha, the last line was SO cheesy! I'm sorry! Actually, the last four lines were cheesy. ;)
Well, I wanted some fluff between Vaughn and Chelsea, and that's why I had their little moment. :D
Thank you so much for reading! Thank you so much for the previous wonderful reviews!
I'll try to update soon—as soon as I think of a good idea; I think I might do a heart event. We'll see…
Please review!
*Shadowed-Wolfe*