Chapter Fourteen:

The Best

I'll admit I've never been the bravest of people. I never thought I would be confessing to anyone, even through my Denny phase I could never imagine wrapping my mouth around the three symbols. Now that the feeling was true (or I was hoping it was), I could hardly say the words I, love, and you within two words of each other. I realized that I needed help.

It's how I found myself at the Witch Princess's home on an early Winter, evening.

"He's coming back tomorrow!" I cried in panic.

"I'm aware," she said.

"So what am I supposed to tell him?"

"That you love him. Haven't we gone over this already?"

"Well, it doesn't make it any less nerve wracking!"

The princess sighed and opened a book, "Maybe I should just give you a dose of courage, would that make you feel better?"

"No! That's like using a love potion."

"It can never be easy with you, can it?" she shut the book.

"It can't always be that way."

"For you, I suppose that's true."

I nodded, "But back to the problem at hand—"

"What is the problem, exactly?"

"I'm afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of telling him how I feel!"

"There's something else, something that's making you so frightened."

"So I'm supposed to be calm before I tell someone that I…love them?"

"That isn't it, there's a reason why it scares you so. Tell Princess what it is."

"Or else you'll force it out of me?"

"Exactly."

I laughed, but calmed down when I thought of the right words, "What if he doesn't love me back?"

"Is that it?" she scoffed, "Then you'll have no problem at all!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Chelsea, you are so preoccupied with how you feel that you fail to see how he feels."

"Are you saying that he…loves me?"

"Since the moment he saw you."

"Wow…how would you know?"

"Sweetheart, I'm a witch—the witch. Don't underestimate me."

I nodded in agreement, but she could tell that there was still something wrong.

"You don't get it do you?" she asked after a moment.

"Well, no I don't. Why did I just realize this? Is it really love?"

"You honestly don't understand this whole love concept."

"Why, do you?"
"I have a basic understanding of it."

"Enlighten me."

"Well, from my observations there are three main types of love, gradual, instantaneous, and circumstantial."

"Circumstantial?"

"Yes, that's what I would classify you as."

"But what does it mean?"

"It means: you love him, it just took a certain moment to realize it."

"I don't know, I've always loved him, but never…loved him."

"You mean romantically?"

"Yes."

"That's what I mean by circumstantial."

"Oh."

She laughed.

"You know, Charlotte was saying the same thing, when I went to visit her," I said.

"Your sister is very wise, then."

"That, or just weird."

"Same thing."

"She said something else. Something along the lines of 'follow love and it will flee, flee love and it will follow,' do you know what that means?"
"Of course I do. It means that if you chase love you'll never find it. But if you run or wait, it'll come find you."

"Does it apply in my case?"

"Of course it does! Take a look at your previous love life."

"I didn't have much of one."

"Exactly, because you were too busy chasing after the thought that you tried loving someone who would never love you back. But once you stopped, you allowed love of another to fill the void; why do you think you're so afraid of Vaughn leaving the island for good?"

"Because…I waited for his love and unconsciously fed from it."

"Good girl! Now would you like a treat?"

"Oh hush," I laughed.

"Do you think you're ready?" she asked.

I nodded yes, with a grin on my face.

"Good, now go home and get some rest," she ordered.

Problem was I really wasn't ready.

I had stopped by Mirabelle's shop and asked her to tell Vaughn to come to my ranch when he arrived, though I didn't specify why.

The next morning I was delighted to see snow. It was the first fall that Winter and I was overjoyed. I cheered and danced before Mark arrived to help me bring the animals back inside.

"You like the snow, huh?" he asked.

"Love it!"

I let Mark leave earlier than usual, I didn't want anything interrupting Vaughn and I when he came. I told him to go and spend some time with his wife already, that I'd clean up around the barn.

I was nervous and the longer I waited the less confident I became. What if he doesn't really love me? Did the Witch Princess lie? Question after question filled my head and I tried to convince myself with memories of times we spent together, but it didn't help much.

I was too engrossed with my own thoughts I didn't realize anyone had come in until that someone grabbed my shoulder. I jumped and screamed and held my broom as a weapon as I turned around.

But it was only Vaughn, looking very surprised.

"Oh…oh it's you," I said, letting my guard down.

"Yeah," he said, "Mirabelle said you wanted me to come."

"Yes…t-that's right," I swallowed a lump in my throat, I tried to force my heart to calm but it wasn't working very well, I still felt as if my chest was about to explode.

"What did you want?" he asked.

"I-I…wanted you to see if Cherry's okay!" I said quickly making up an excuse.

Yeah, I chickened out.

"Fine."

He left to take care of my sheep. With his backed turned I stomped and silently screamed and wished that it was possible to kick myself. After all the build up I still couldn't do it. I couldn't tell Vaughn I wanted him to stay for good. I wanted him to be mine. I just couldn't stake the claim.

I watched him examine Cherry, and tried to tell him the only secret he needed to know. But I went throughout the whole ordeal without a single word.

"I don't see anything wrong," he said after a while.

"That's a relief," I said.

"What did you think was wrong anyway?"

"Uh…"

"Never mind, I should just go."

"Oh…okay."

"Did you need anything else?"

Yes, yes, yes! I was screaming in my head, "No."

"Good bye, then."

Good bye. Good bye? They echoed in my head and I couldn't handle it. He had promised he'd say good bye when he was about to leave for good, is that what he meant? Why hadn't he said see you later, like usual? No, it was too much for me, I wasn't going to let him go with a good bye.

I grabbed his arm, "Don't say good bye."

He looked confused, but it wasn't long before he realized what I was talking about, "God damn it, Chelsea."

"You're coming back, right?" I asked.

"I don't know."

"Vaughn, I can't live with that."

He took his hand back and turned so his whole body was in my direction, he looked angry. "Why's that, huh? So you can continue playing with my emotions? There's a reason no one else sees 'em! But you treat me like a damned toy, something you can just drag along where ever you go. I'm not a goddamned toy, Chelsea!" he was yelling, "I'm a man and if you can't see that…then there's no reason to keep myself caged."

Somewhere in the middle there, I began to cry. I protested but he dismissed everything I said, and he left without me ever telling him that I loved him.

I chased after him though, you know, that whole impulse thing again, and he had to been running too because I didn't catch up to him until I went to the beach. He was on the docks.

He noticed me before I could say anything, "Why did you follow me?" he snapped.

"I never told you."

"Told me what?"

"Well…" I began, "You never told me either!"

"Told you what?!"

"I love you, Vaughn! Get it? I love you!" I didn't think about who would hear this private moment until after I yelled, but at that point I didn't care, "I'll say it again; I love you!"

He stared at me with what could only be described as shock. Eyes wide and face red, he was making my favorite face. When he didn't speak I decided I needed to explain a few things.

"I don't know what happened, Vaughn. Why I never noticed before…before last week I never acted on any of the urges I had.

"U-urges?"

"Yes, urges. I've had them ever since Spring and quite frankly you never made them easy to ignore!"

"Chelsea…"

"I never said anything because I thought I was just being desperate—but I'm not, Vaughn. I really do love you and if you can't—"

"Chelsea."

"Let me finish! If you can't accept that then leave, just know that—"

He pulled me into a hug then, "You talk too much."

I squeezed him tight and held my mouth even tighter.

"I love you too."

"Then why didn't you ever say?"

"I can't say."

I laughed, "I don't care, actually."

"Good."

I sniffed, "I'm sorry."

"Hmm?"

"For everything, I'm sorry for real this time."

"It's okay."

I smiled into his chest. What a feeling, being so close to the one you loved knowing that you had nothing to worry about anymore, and I knew that I could still do one thing to make it complete. I rose on my toes and planted my lips on his.

Ever kiss on the beach? Well you should, it's the best.

Author's Note: About freakin' time! :0 Stay tuned for the epilogue!

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon and all characters belong to Natsume