Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the paths of life...
Ok, I actually started watching Naruto, and it all went from there. I've finally decided to continue this story though, after playing on Tree of Tranquility for a full day.

I don't own Harvest Moon. You should really know that by now.

Rose sat down at her seat in Science, leaning back casually. The unfortunate male forced to sit beside her, Vaughn, knew something was up. Normally she would have started poking him with a pencil or something by now, but all she did was glance at him before staring at the front, concentrating on the teacher.

Well, Mr Washduck was teaching this lesson, so maybe it wasn't so strange. Still...

"What are you doing? Are you actually trying to learn?"

Rose glanced over at him again, glaring for a moment before turning back towards the front.

"Don't be stupid. This lesson is actually dangerous to our health. Unless you want to get seriously injured, I'd pay attention too."

Vaughn was about to accuse her of being a drama queen, when he remembered exactly who had helped the Harvest Ki-well, Verve, blow up the department all those times. Sure, it was funny if you were watching from afar, but what about those caught inside the room?

"Can't we just run now?"

"No. We'd get dragged right back in, and then we'd be totally done for. When you see him with a lit splint, slowly slide under your chair. That'll keep us safe for the first explosion, and then we run."

Now he thought about it, nearly the whole class were carefully watching the teacher's movements. The tension in the room was so thick Vaughn thought he could cut through it with a knife, if he had one.

"Now, after preparing the jellybabies, we prepare the ignition source..."

This was getting dangerous. If those jellybabies exploded, as they most likely would, it would set off a chain reaction with the chemicals in the store cupboard. They'd have a few seconds, if that, to clear the space between the seats and the exit door.

...The whole situation was totally ridiculous.

The cowboy, after a moment's thought, stuck up his hand, and asked if those sitting in the front row could wear protective gear. After the teacher had agreed, he quickly went to grab said gear, and put it on.

Rose went to do the same, but...

"I'll need a helper for the last part of this experiment. Ah! You'll do."

Even as he said this, Mr Washduck grabbed Rose's arm, the girl's eyes widening in horror as she was lead to the very front, where the volatile experiment sat.

Vaughn watched from his seat, his apprehension increasing ten-fold. This was bad. Really bad. Crimson only had a pair of goggles on. If she didn't manage to sprint faster than he'd ever seen her manage, she'd be caught right in the centre of the explosion.

Even as Mr Washduck walked closer with the lit splint in his hand, Vaughn knew she wouldn't make it, not on her own.

Sure, she was annoying. She was always trying to get on his nerves. However, that did not mean Vaughn wanted her to get hurt like this. On the contrary.

There was only one thing for it. The silver-haired cowboy was glad he'd asked for that protective gear now.

Other students began sliding under their seats.

There were only a few seconds left now. Vaughn was beginning to worry there was no way... but then, he realised that if she ducked, she'd be safe from the first explosion too. That would give them about ten seconds at most to get out of there before the store cupboard exploded.

This was it. Mr Washduck was completely oblivious to the danger they were all in; he'd never done this experiment in the main Science room before. He didn't realise that the chain reaction would occur.

Just before Vaughn was forced to dive under his chair, he yelled out one word to Rose:

"DUCK!"

Crimson responded almost immediately, diving to the floor just as Mr Washduck dropped the lit splint into the test tube.

Blazing fire blasted above them, the store cupboard beginning to rattle as the flames abated.

Most of the class ran screaming for the door. Vaughn spent a second searching for Rose in the crowd, but soon saw that she hadn't moved. From the looks of things, the first blast had stunned her completely.

As the store cupboard began to rattle more violently, the cowboy dashed forward, grabbing her before beating a hasty retreat.

Muffled explosions could be heard now. A few more moments, and the room would be completely enfulged by flames.

Vaughn put on a burst of speed, trying to avoid crashing into the scattered stools that were in his way. At least everyone else was safe outside.

Just as he reached the exit, the store cupboard's door blew off it's hinges. With a final dash, Vaughn managed to escape outside, the flames close behind.

A few minutes later, the fire trucks and ambulances arrived. Luckily, no-one had been seriously injured.

Vaughn was resting on the field, Rose carefully placed beside him. Both had minor burns, but nothing that wouldn't heal within a couple of days.

Even as that thought occured to him, the cowboy sighed, still looking slightly worried. Crimson should have woken up by now...

Rose opened her eyes slowly, lifting herself up with a groan. Vaughn stared for a moment, suprised, then turned his head away, covering most of his face with his hat. He was smiling slightly, a rare occurance.

"I-I'm outside? The last thing I remember was the explosion..."

"I had to drag you out of there. You're pretty lucky. I almost didn't make it."

Rose stared at him, shock clear on her features. Before he knew what was going on, Crimson started yelling at Vaughn.

"You idiot! You didn't have to help me! You should have gone with the rest of the students. I would've been fine!"

"That's a lie, and you know it."

Both were silent for a moment, trying to get the other to give in. Finally, Rose looked down.

"Why did you do it? It's not like I'm anything more than an annoyance, right?"

"...Don't be stupid. You can be annoying, but it's not that bad. Anyway... no one deserves to be left in that sort of situation."

Crimson eventually looked up, her expression unreadable.

"You better not tell anyone what happened just now. I don't have moments of weakness."

Vaughn just nodded. Rose leant closer... and kissed him.

Wow. I finally finished a serious chapter with some proper romance. Plus, I left you guys on a cliffhanger! Muahaha!
This chapter, I wanted to show that the explosions in Science aren't just silly occurances. I wanted people to think about what happened to those who are actually in the room.

Anyway, next chapter will focus on something funny, most likely Naruto related. See you then!