Note: This is my first fan-fic, and I'd appreciate it if you R&R. Thanks:3
Chapter Two: Hooked
I woke up the next morning to be greeted by a nervous Ray.
"Um, Harley, I was wondering if you'd mind coming to the Full Moon Festival today with me," he muttered shyly. It was strange seeing him without his rod.
"Sure, sounds like fun," I agreed with a grin. He was no Dan, but I was okay with that. Dan was a moron, after all. As I fed my animals, I thought about Ray and I. Maybe I could learn to like Ray. (He certainly didn't have gambling problems.) Tonight, I figured I'd learn what went on in that cute head of his.
At Starry Hill, Ray and I gazed at the brightest moon of the year. The crickets chirped peacefully and the breeze was blowing lightly.
"It's so beautiful," I sighed.
"Like fish jumping in the river," Ray agreed(?). The romance was kinda spoiled by the fish comment, but I brushed it off. So the guy liked fish. No big deal, right?
Ray's hand squeezed mine gently, and I knew we were leaving.
"See you later then, Harley?" he asked a little piteously.
"Okay," I answered with a grin.
I left thinking I was the luckiest girl in the world. It wasn't too long before reality set in, though. Each day, Ray would chat with me about fish. Fish and only fish. I convinced myself it would take some time to discern Ray's other interests, because no one could only talk about fish. Well, "some" time passed and I got nothing. Absolutely NOTHING. Ray was a walking, talking, fish encyclopedia. Every other word he said was "fish"! But I hung on to my fishing line. No way was I giving up. Finally, a guy had taken my bait, and I sure as heck wasn't going to let go of him. Not when the last fish had run away from me so quickly. Besides, Ray was at 8 hearts. Not too shabby for a woman with pigtails! Pretty soon, the Mayor showed up at my front door with the latest in blue-feathers.
Okay, this is how marriage works in Flower Bud. You woo a future spouse, snatch a blue-feather, and propose. But no, you can't just go to the nearest craft shop and purchase a bag of feathers. If it were that easy, the marriage rate here would have sky-rocketed considerably. You have to climb the big scary mountain to get the feather. And I'm afraid of heights. Love hurts.
After stretching out all of my muscles while avoiding rocks, wind, and glancing down (gulp!), I reached the summit. There, the single elegant blue-feather lay before me. While I fingered its perfect form, I got frightened. That feather was the only thing standing between me being single or "Mrs. Fish Fanatic." I ran home and stashed the feather in my tool box. From then on, I decided to avoid Ray.
"There are plenty of fish in the sea," I reminded myself. So I was going guy-hunting. Easy, right? Wrong. Every time I winked at Alex, Gina would frown and rush him away; when I flipped my hair at Joe, Katie "accidentally" dumped pudding on my head; when I cooked a meal for Bob (I was that desperate) Gwen personally outdid me by serving him seven platters of Perch Inn food for free. Oh yeah, the women in Flower Bud are guy-protective. So, either I became worst enemies with another woman, became an old maid, or pulled out the feather. I finally succumbed to the latter.
When I proposed, Ray was ecstatic. He must have said "yes" and "fish" 50 times. But I was far from excited. I felt as if I'd been chained to an invisible bond. 'Oh my gosh,' my mind screamed, 'what have I done?' But there was no turning back now. Tomorrow, I was walking down the aisle.