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Chapter Three:
Budding Friendship

(Friendship By Shakirah Gulzar)

I shed a tear today silently,
I felt it fall you caught it,
shared it,
held it
felt it,
then suddenly,
it wasn't that big after all.

I stretched and breathed in a giant amount of air. Man, I slept great! That's when realization hit me. Holy shit, I'm at Neil's still! What happened last night? Oh god... I stayed in the bed for a moment as I sorted my thoughts. Images of last night flooded my mind. Thank god, I didn't sleep with him! I sat up in Neil's bed and looked over to where Neil had slept. He was gone. I then looked at the clock on the dresser. Crap! Crap! Crap! I'm late! How did I sleep until eleven!?

I ran out Neil's house and trotted towards my farm. Thankfully, I lived close to him. The air was thick and the sky was gray. It's gonna rain. I know it. As I ran, I tried my best to comb through my long locks of knotted hair. I reached the opening of my farm and skipped watering the crops, since it was going to rain anyways.

When I was done with my animals, I went inside to finally clean myself up. I walked into my bathroom, removing myself from my dirty clothes. Once in the shower, I stood there, back against the wall, and let the thoughts flow again. A tear slid down my face. That's enough Rachel! I shook my head and started to wash off. I washed the stench of that scum from last night from me. When I finished washing, I pined my hair into a high pony tail, letting it curl on its own. I threw on my cute work clothes, and I decided I would visit Neil at his stall and ask him to dinner as repayment. Before I left, I looked at the full view mirror. Your useless. You can't even protect yourself. Look at you! I bet Neil finds you revolting!

"Shut up!" I whispered harshly to myself and walked to the door.

"If your just looking feel free to leave." Neil said with his back turned to me as he sorted through some boxes. I stood there with my arms folded, patiently waiting. To bad I don't have patience. My hand reached for the bell on his stall. I rang it once, then twice, then three times and lastly a fourth time. He turned around with a grimace on his face. His frown remained once he realized it was me.

"What do you want Rachel?" He folded his arms.

"Some business man you are!" I placed my hands on his desk and gave a genuine smile. "Now what if I actually was going to buy something! If I were someone else, I would have given a rude remark and walked away." I giggled at him and he ran a hand through his hair.

"So...Your not buying anything? Your welcome to leave than." He was getting ready to turn back around to sort through things again, but I sat up on his stall and swung my legs back and forth. He looked irritated. So easy to anger haha

"Get off my counter Rachel!" He tried pushing at my shoulders, but I just leaned against his hands as he did so. Pouting, I turned to look at him. He stopped pushing, and glanced at me. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn I saw a light blush creep on to his face.

"I'll get off on one condition!" My pout turned into a smile once he nodded. "Go to dinner with me tonight, so I can repay you for last night. Simple as that!" He stood there and I heard a sigh come out of his lips.

"Fine. Is that all?" I nodded with a huge smile and jumped off of his desk.

"I'll meet you at Clement's tonight at six thirty!" I said as I started to walk off. He didn't reply, but I knew he heard me. Well, what to do until then... I pondered on what I should get myself into. I decided to go get my hair cut and visit my dear friend Allen.

I walked into the empty shop, searching for Allen.

"Allen! I'm here for you to work your wonders!" I heard laughter come from upstairs and shortly, I saw him appear.

"You may be a farmer, but you got to take better care of your appearance Rach!" A smug look appeared on his face as I sat down in his beauty chair.

"So what do you want done with it babe?" I felt him take out my pony tail and start to comb through my hair.

"The usual. Just a trim and let it be long and curly." I smiled up at him and he pushed up his glasses with a nod.

An hour or so went by, and he eventually finished my hair. Looking in the mirror, I saw my hair glisten. So pretty!

"So what are you doing this evening Rach?" He sat down in the beauty chair beside of mine.

"Nothing, really. I'm going to dinner with Neil. Before you jump to conclusions, it's not a date! I'm just repaying him, that's all." He frowned at me.

"As a woman, you should always try to look your best when you go out with a guy! Ah, what would you do without me! I'm going to do your makeup!" He stood from the chair and walked across the room to his makeup station. I just shook my head, already knowing there was no denying him. He came back with neutral colors, saying he wanted to define my natural beauty. When he finished, he turned the chair to the mirror. Wow...I'm pretty! Psh, who am I kidding. Makeup just covers the flaws, but mine can still be seen... I stared at my eyes. He had put a light brown eye shadow onto my eyes, with black eyeliner, that highlighted my green eyes nicely. It also matched my brown, curly, hair.

"Now your ready for your date." He winked at me as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Your beautiful Rachel." In the mirror, I saw him glance away, as if he was blushing. That's not likely, I'm just seeing stuff. As a stylist, I'm far out of his reach, a dirty farmer girl. Yeah, cause that's logical.

"Thank you Allen! You really are a pro! How much?" I smile up at him, but he still wouldn't look at me. He scratched the back of his head.

"Your welcome Rach. I'm always here to look after you. It's on the house, since you brought me herb soup for lunch last week." His smirk reappeared on his face as he looked down on me. I stood from the chair as I said my thanks. It was getting late, I would need to leave for the restaurant soon.

"Well, I should get going to meet Neil. Thanks again, Allen! I'll see you tomorrow!" I started to walk to the door after he said bye. For some reason he seemed a bit off as I left, but I didn't think much of it. Once outside, the cool air hit me. Jeez, its getting cold fast! I walked briskly towards the restaurant, knowing the warmth would be waiting for me there.

We ordered our drinks, as Felicity took the order with a smile. She left shortly after and brought back our drinks. We then ordered our food, which she left again to go retrieve. I looked over at Neil, who didn't seem amused nor in any mood to talk. I took a sip of my tea, still staring at him.

"What is it?" He locked his eyes to mine. I felt my stomach leap. Why is he so serious? He's making me feel nervous.

"It's nothing. Your just fun to stare at." I smiled and rested my head on my laced hands that were propped up on the table. He frowned. Felicity walked over, with our food and handed Neil his shrimp chili and my tuna steak. She glanced at Neil and gave a smile that reminded me of an angel. However, Neil's face remained the same. Slightly disappointed, she said 'enjoy the food' and stalked off.

"I think she's into you." I giggled and he looked up at me as he chewed on his food.

"Not interested. She's nice and all, but too preppy." He stated firmly as he took another bite of his chili. I raised an eyebrow at him. She's gorgeous though? We both ate our food in silence for a while until we were finished.

"So how old are you exactly?" I crossed my arms over my chest as I leaned back into my chair. He looked my way and I saw his eyes stare my form up and down.

"I'm twenty-three. What are you wearing?" His eyes never left mine and with his serious attitude, I started to feel self cautious. I knew it, I look bad! Ah! He didn't have to point it out!

"Cool, I'm twenty-two." My smile turned into a frown and this time, I locked my eyes to his. "What? Do I look bad or something?" I watched as a slight smirk formed on his lips.

"No, I like it. Don't worry." My ears could be deceiving me, but I thought I heard a slight laugh.

"So what do you like to do? Besides caring for your beloved animals and all that stuff." A smile was plastered back onto my face, but inside I still felt a little self cautious. His face was serious as he spoke.

"I play the bass." I leaned forward, placing my hands on the table. "What? You want to listen to me play? It's gonna take you more than asking, I can tell you that!" Another frown was placed on my face.

"So stingy! Fine, what do you want me to do?" I rolled my eyes once he didn't give an answer. "Well, I guess we should head home. Will you walk me back?" I returned the usual smile and he nodded with a slight smile. I paid for the bill and left a tip on the table. I opened the door of the restaurant, but as soon as I did, cold air hit me. On top of that, the rain had finally started to come down. I shivered.

"Here..." I looked over at Neil, who was placing his jacket around my shoulders. Without his jacket on, he wore only a long-sleeved black shirt. He looks good... I smiled and said thanks. We hurried through the rain to get to my house. Eventually, we reached my massive living space for one person.

"Why don't you come in for a bit? You'll get sick in this weather. Plus, it looks like it will let up soon." I stared up at him, noticing he was kind of close and that he stood a decent height above me.

"I really shouldn't." He started and I gave him my famous pouting face. "...fine." was what he had finally said. We went inside and he started to look around as I closed the door. Unlike most people's houses in the village, my house was fully upgraded and held a lot of amenities. I had a massive bedroom and bath separated from the main living area. The kitchen was a decent size with a formal dining area by it. The living room was in a sunk in area with a massive television and book shelf. However, I had no pictures of family or any real decorative things within my house, so it was kind of plain.

"Your place is big for one person." I knew he would say that. I turned to look at him and a slight blush glossed my face. His black shirt was soaked, allowing it to stick to his skin. This gave his muscles a nice view for me to stare at. Also, his hair was wet, sticking down to his face. He turned to look at me, but didn't say anything.

"Um, if you would like, I could take your shirt and coat and put them in the dryer for them to dry a bit." He nodded and started to take his shirt off. Sweet lord... I took his shirt and took off his jacket from body to go put them in the dryer.

"You can watch TV or something while they dry. I'm going to go wash my face off and stuff." I never made eye contact with him. I thought he was shy? Does he not care that he's shirtless in my house and about to give me a nosebleed?