Note: YAY! I did it! I started writing this forever ago, but then I started feeling sick and getting writer's block. I feel better now though, so here's the chapter. Hope you like it!
Chapter Four
Surprise!
Claire's POV
"Karen, I really don't know if I want to hear what you have to say. I mean, I can't take the rejection." I told my best friend, Karen. We were talking about what happened between Gray and Mary. I had to tell Marlin to leave, too. I doubted he wanted to hear our girly gossip. He'd probably want to do better things on his birthday anyways.
"Claire, just listen." Karen insisted.
I sighed and eye contact with her.
"Okay, so when I went to the library early this morning, I saw Mary talking with Gray. She greeted me, and I walked over to a bookshelf that was far away that didn't make it look like I was snooping, but I so was. I could hear everything they were saying." She grinned, proudly.
"Is this supposed to make me feel any better?" I asked.
"Calm down, I'm getting to the good part. So Mary was asking Gray if he wanted to go to the Springs sometime. He said sure, and she got all excited and her face was red from blushing so hard. But Gray realized what he said, and he was all, 'But it's not a date! We're just friends, Mary.' And she literally sunk to the ground. He helped her up and she was crying."
I felt kind of bad at first, but then I remembered yesterday, and I laughed.
"I know, right? It was kinda funny to see her like that. So after he helped her up, she was like, 'I thought...I thought you liked me.' And he was all, 'I do. As a friend. Mary, I love Claire. And even if she's gone, you can't change that. Sure, we can go to the Springs sometime, but only as friends.' I was like, 'Yes!' See, I knew you'd want to hear it."
I was grinning so hard, my cheeks hurt. I was so relieved. Stupid Mary just trying to bring me down and steal my love. That's what I thought! Booyah! I gave Karen a big hug and thanked her for telling me.
"Oh, and then he left her and she came up to me and pointed her finger in my face and said, 'You tell Claire, that he will be mine! She can't be gone and have him! No! He's mine damn it!' And then she went behind the counter and started crying. I checked out a book and got out there as quickly as I could."
"Karen, you are the absolute best. Did I ever tell you that?" I smiled.
"No, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again."
"You're the best!" I laughed.
"Yeah I knew it." She laughed with me. "But hey, who's that Marlin guy?"
Oh yeah. Marlin. I forgot about him. "He's just some grumpy guy I met the first night I was here." I told her about how the first night I met him, the day at the bar, and earlier today when he brought me the Welcome Basket. "Why do you ask?" I asked curiously.
"Well...you sound like you've been with him a lot since you got here. Do you like him?"
My eyes got big. "Like him? As a friend, yes. He's pretty cool."
Karen shook her head. "No, I mean, do you like him like him. Do you think he's cute and sexy and amazing and stuff?"
"No no no no no!" I replied quickly. "I don't see him like that. You should know that! I love Gray!"
"I know, I know. I was just wondering because I saw him when I came up here, before I saw you, and he was watching you. Like the way Gray did before you guys started dating. All lovey and crap."
What? Marlin? Did he...did he like me? No, there's no way. He was way too much of a jerk. And he never even wanted to hang out or anything. No. There's no way. "I think you're seeing things Karen." I told her.
"Ha! That's the same damn thing you said about Gray. Just wait. He's gonna want to hang around with you more and more, and you guys will be like best friends, besides me of course, and you'll start to fall for him."
"Shut up! No I won't!" I was a tad angry at her comments, because me falling for anyone but Gray was absolutely stupid. I loved Gray more than anything, and I wouldn't let anything get in the way of that.
"I'm just kidding. Or am I?" Karen gave me a suspicious look before she ran out the door, yelling, "Come on, let's go!"
I stood there, dumbfounded for a moment. "Wait where are we going?" I yelled as I followed her.
"I dunno. I'm tired of farms though. Let's go to the beach, it's way better than Mineral Town's beach." Karen stated as we walked off toward the beach.
"So...how's Rick?"
Karen sighed. "Um. He's good...I guess."
"What's wrong?"
"He just. I don't know if he likes me. He seems way more into his stupid chickens than he is to me."
"Maybe he hasn't hit puberty yet?" I suggested jokingly.
"Maybe you're right." Karen sighed.
"I was kidding. He's just stupid. All guys are stupid."
"I guess."
"Don't let him get you down. He likes you, I know he does. He probably just doesn't know how to show it. No worries."
Karen nodded as we arrived at the beach. We sat down in the hot sand and watched the waves roll up to our feet.
Marlin's POV
I stood in the storage room. It was nice and cool in here, compared to outside. I was glad Vesta wasn't in here. She made it crowded.
I had the day off, but I didn't really have anything to do. I thought about Claire. Why had she gotten such a sad look on her face after her friend mentioned Gray? Was he her boyfriend...or ex boyfriend? That's my first guess. I'll have to find out. And whatever he did to her, he's going to regret, because no one should hurt someone like her. She's too amazing.
What the hell?!
Why do I keep thinking of Claire like this? I mean, she's cool, but not, dating cool! I needed to get my mind off of her, before anything else crazy comes out of my brain. I exited the storage room to find Celia looking up at the sky. She had a wide smile on her face. It was pretty.
"Celia?"
She looked at me. "Oh, hello Marlin. I was just looking at the sky. Isn't it beautiful?" I looked up.
"I guess."
She giggled. "You need to expand your imagination more. I mean, if you really look, you can see things in the air, like love and friendship."
I looked up and squinted really hard. I didn't see anything but a big blue piece of sky.
"Do you see it?" She asked.
"Erm, yeah. It's...beautiful." I lied.
"Oh, Marlin. I was wondering, did you want to go to the Goddess Pond with me? Later tonight, I mean?"
My heart leaped. "Yes! Ahem." I cleared my throat. Damn, that sounded really eager. "I mean, well yeah. If you want."
Celia nodded and went to look at the plants anymore.
YES! Oh yes! I finally had a date with Celia! My heart fluttered more than butterflies did. After years of silence and eyeballing, Celia has finally asked me on a date. I am so happy! And also a little cranky, since I feel like I'm acting like a total girl right now. I just needed to calm down, that's all.
I walked into the house and got a glass of water. I needed to think. Thoughts such as "What am I going to wear?", "When should I pick her up?" and such raced through my mind. I knew that a white button up shirt and jeans would be good. We weren't going anywhere fancy, after all. And...I should probably pick her up around five. I would prefer seven, but it gets really dark then. Okay, so all that's sorted out. How much longer until five? I looked at the clock upon the wall, which read 4 o'clock. I had one hour. It would take me five minutes to get ready, so I had 55 minutes to just chill out. And I wasn't going to do that in this stuffy old house.
I left the building and headed down to the beach, staring at the ground. I couldn't wait for tonight. I couldn't believe that Celia, beautiful, graceful Celia, had actually asked me out on a date! I smiled to myself as I got closer to the beach, where I heard giggling. Oh no. People. I brought my head up to see who the giggling people were. Claire and her friend, what was her name? Karen? Yes, Karen. Claire and her friend Karen were sitting and talking on the beach. I didn't really want to disturb them, or talk to them, so I turned to walk away. As I did so, I tripped over my own foot, falling face first into the ground.
Damn it!
So much for being quiet. I turned to see if the girls had heard me fall, but they weren't there. Where the hell had they gone? I turned my head back to get up, only to see Claire's shoes and legs in front of me. Looking up, I saw her smirking. Damn, I was going to get a bit of mocking for this one.
"Need help?" Was all she said.
I was defiantly surprised that she didn't make fun of me. She lent her hand and I took it, slowly getting up. I brushed off the dirt that was all over my clothes. "Thanks" I muttered.
"No problem." She smiled. My heart fluttered. It was pretty.
Ack! I need to get these thoughts out of my freaking head. "Yeah, well I have to go." I said and started walking back home.
"Wait up!"
I turned to see them coming toward me. "What?" I scowled.
Claire raised her brow. "Excuse me?"
"What do you want?" I was getting a little frustrated.
"I want you to stop being a little cranky ass for one thing. Especially after I just helped you." She pretended to trip over her own feet. I glared.
"Well, can you just tell me what you want? I need to go."
"What's the rush?" Karen asked.
"I..erm. I have a date." I said, looking at Claire. I could have sworn that her face fell, just a little. Did she like me? Was she jealous?
"Really? With who?" Claire asked.
"Celia. Who else?"
"Well maybe your crops were a little lonely." She shrugged, smiling.
"Shut up" I snapped.
"Well, have fun with your date. See you later." Claire said, and turned to go back to the beach. Karen followed.
Huh. That was weird. Whatever. I went back to the house. I looked up to see Celia's door. It was shut, meaning she was in there. She was probably getting ready. I grinned. It was 4:45, surprisingly. I didn't think I spent that much time at the beach.
I changed quickly, put on cologne, did my hair and looked in the mirror. I sat on my bed and thought some more. The first thing that popped into my mind was Celia. I wondered what she was going to wear. I think she'd look pretty in anything though, so that didn't really matter. I also wondered why she asked me out. What if it was a joke? What if she was taking me to the Springs, and I asked her to be my wife, and she laughed in my face? I couldn't take the humiliation! What if this was like my dream, and she would run toward me and turn into Vesta? I would hurl!
Seconds later, Celia came down. She had her hair up nice and pretty, and she was wearing jeans and a purple blouse. She looked absolutely gorgeous. She smiled at me and I took her hand. We left and walked straight to the Springs. I knew she liked me. The smile said everything. I had nothing to worry about.
Our date was rather awkward. We weren't really clicking. The first few minutes were silent as we watched the Goddess Pond. The water drifted quietly from the breeze. It got me thinking that I should probably start a conversation. I cleared my throat. She looked at me. "So, do you uh, like Blue October?" I asked.
"What's that?" She asked innocently.
"You don't know who Blue October is?" I asked with disappointment, and a small bit of shock in my voice.
She shook her head.
"Wow." I thought that this would ruin the whole date, until I thought more positively. I could always show her who Blue October was, and that would also include more bonding time. I smiled to myself. She looked at me confused. "Blue October is a band. They're a really good band too. My favorite."
"Oh." Celia stated simply.
I nodded. "Uh, I really like the color black." I muttered. The conversation thing was not going well.
She made a puking noise. "Black is just so...dark. I like brighter colors, like pink and yellow. They don't make me feel so down."
She doesn't like black? Well, I guess that's okay...I mean I still love her, even if she doesn't like the same things I do, I can always say that opposites attract, right?
Time ticked for another thirty minutes as the quiet conversation got more and more...quiet, if that's possible. We really just sat there, Celia playing with her hair, while I was messing with my shoelaces. What seemed like hours later, was really only a short time. Celia got up and yawned. I sat where I was, too pissy to move.
"Marlin?" Celia spoke quietly.
"Yeah?"
"I have a surprise for you."
I looked up and she was giggling. There was only one time when girls got all giggly like that, and that's when they're thinking about guys, and doing things to them. Or at least that's what I've seen. Vesta, of course, gets like that around cookies, but that's Vesta, so she doesn't count. Anyways, I got up immediately, thinking that she was going to kiss me.
"Close your eyes." She smiled, and I followed her orders. I waited for the kiss, and I even puckered my lips a little, but I got nothing. What's going on? Was she just messing with me? I opened my eyes, to see her staring back at me. She giggled again, telling me to close my eyes, and keep them shut.
I did as she told me, and she took my hand. Her hand was soft and warm, it made me jittery. She started walking. I followed, using her hand as a guide. I tripped a few times, but I never fell. Celia was giggling the whole time. Where was she taking me? Back to the house? Were we going to...? Oh my god! What if we were? I'd never had sex before! I didn't know what to do. But it couldn't be that bad right? Oh my god, I'm so excited now!
We walked farther and farther, and I heard the waves of the beach. So we weren't going to the house. We were having sex on the beach? Not where I really wanted my first time, but at least it's who I want it with. I was so giddy, I bet I was blushing like crazy.
"Are you ready?" Celia asked me once we had stopped.
I nodded my head furiously. I was defiantly ready for this.
There was a pause. "'Kay. Open."
I opened my eyes, seeing....not what I expected. I had expected to see Celia topless and having her arms open for a large hug. What I saw, kind of pissed me off.
The whole valley was standing in front of me, smiling. I shook my head, thinking it was my imagination, thinking that Celia was standing there topless, waiting for a hug, but no matter how hard I shook, the people wouldn't go away. What was going on?
My question was answered.
Everyone yelled, "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARLIN." At the same exact time. So...this was a birthday party? I'm so confused.
"WOOOO!" I heard someone scream. After I got over the fact that I was having a birthday party, I noticed balloons and food. And Claire. While everyone else was talking and eating, I went over to her and Karen. They were by the drink table.
"Hey Marlin!" Claire smiled. "Happy birthday."
I was about to answer, but I heard Karen's voice. "Marlin!" She sounded drunk. I looked towards her. She was handing me a bottle of wine. She had another, open bottle in her other hand. She took a swig of it before talking. "Ah. Marlin! There's wine!" She grinned. "Happy birthday. Here's your present."
I chuckled, taking the wine. "Is she a big drinker?" I asked.
Claire nodded. "Oh yeah. She was already drinking when we started setting up." She laughed at her friend, who was now talking to the ocean. I shook my head.
"So. How long have you known about this?" I asked.
Claire shrugged. "After you left the beach, you know, after you biffed it," She smirked. I rolled my eyes, waiting for her to continue. "After that, Karen and I stayed here for a little bit and Vesta came up here with all kinds of crap in her hands. The decorations and stuff. So we were like, 'What's going on?' and she told us they were throwing you a surprise birthday party. So we decided to help her get ready, while you were off on your date."
"Some date that was." I mumbled.
"What?" She asked.
"Nothin'." I opened my wine bottle and took a nice, long drink. I waved to Claire, telling her that I was going to talk with Celia. She nodded, walking off to get Karen, who was screaming and arguing with the ocean. I chuckled again, finding a large rock to sit on. Watching everyone, I realized that most of these people only came for the food and drinks, because not one of them noticed that the whole reason for the party, me, was sitting on a rock. Alone.
I took another drink of my wine. This was going to be a long night.
End Note: Ah, finally finished. The next chapter will explain what's going on at the party. Anyways, I'm a bit tired, so I'm going to stop typing now. Any second...and I'll stop typing. But first, I must ask you all to PLEASE review! It makes me feel happy! :)