Chapter 4. Smile

"Could you serve me a bowl of porridge?"

"All right!" answered Nick with too much energy as he entered the kitchen.

"But make it cold. That's how I like it" I shouted. He mumbled something so I supposed he had heard me. It was my first day off since… ugh… I can't even remember, so I decided to break the routine and go eat some delicious porridge at the islands's Diner. I looked around me to see the place full of people. I think everybody thought the same today.

Soon afterwards, Nick came back with my food. "There, all done. Enjoy yourself!"

I looked at the bowl, which was heating, as it was still fuming. Maybe he actually didn't hear me.

"Hey, it's still hot."

"What? If it cools anymore, it's gonna lose its flavor!"

Well, if it's burning you can't taste its full flavor neither.

"No, this isn't how I like it…"

"I bet you just can't eat hot stuff, don't eat it if you don't like my style. Now, there's more customers waiting, if you haven't noticed," claimed Nick a little bit exalted.

This man was crazy, and he didn't seem in a good mood anymore, so I decided not to start a fight with him.

"…I suppose I'll just wait until it's cold enough," I said coldly.

"I'm glad we've come to an understanding," answered Nick with a smile back on his face.

I took the bowl reluctantly and looked around to find a place to sit. The Diner was full, there wasn't any table left for me. There was no other option than sitting with someone. Who would be the less annoying option?

The first people I saw were Natalie and that short guy, I think his name is Pierre. That would be like sitting with a child and his babysitter, so next one. Then I saw Nathan, the priest, along with that sickly-devoted-to-the-Harvest-Goddess, but surprisingly attractive girl, Alisa. I didn't know this kind of people had lives outside the church. Sitting with them would probably lead into an unbearable religious conversation, so I had to say no. Next to them were the far-from-adorable couple, Denny and Lanna. Obviously discarded. That left me only one table. And there she was, Chelsea, happily eating her food alone while reading the newspaper. I took a deep breath and started to walk towards where she was.

"Can I sit here?" I said grumpily.

She looked up to me, raising an eyebrow. "Well, what a surprise… The lone cowboy wants to sit with me," she teased. Yeah, how funny.

I rolled my eyes. "There are no more places to sit, it's all full. Can I sit or not?"

She giggled and continued reading the newspaper. "Yeah, sure."

I sat down and put my bowl on the table. Maybe if I ignored her I wouldn't notice her presence. As always, I was wrong.

"That smells good, now I feel like eating porridge," she said without looking up from the newspaper.

"I don't recommend it to you, Nick is an idiot who just can't do things well, like most people in this stupid island," I grumped.

"I'm sure it isn't that bad."

"Of course it is. I just asked a little thing and he couldn't even do that. And then he just started being rude."

Chelsea left the newspaper on the table to face me. "You know what your problem is?" she said as she pointed me with her finger, "you never smile when talking to people."

"Okay, I should have sat with those religious …"

"No, listen," she interrupted. "Don't you ever wonder why most people don't talk to you?"

"Not more than they have to," I pointed out.

"Well, that's because something about you rubs people the wrong way," she continued.

"Not that I care."

"You should, and you could smile more."

I didn't quite understand what she was insinuating. "What's the big deal about smiling?"

"Just give it a try!"

"That's not going to happen."

"Oh, come on Vaughn! It's not that difficult!" she begged.

Suddenly, Julia appeared from behind me.

"Hey guys, what are you doing? Can I sit with you?" She sat down before we gave her an answer.

"You already have…" Before I could finish, I felt like someone pinched my leg.

"Hi Julia, I was just trying to convince Vaughn to smile a little more when she treats with people," added Chelsea.

"Oh, don't bother trying, you won't get him to change, we've already tried," said Julia.

I sighed. "What are you doing here Julia? Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"I'm just doing an errand for mom. Oh, and I brought you something!" She handed me a bowl of stew she had just ordered from Nick. "How many times do I have to tell you that you can't just always eat porridge, it's not good for your health. You have to try other things."

I looked carefully at the stew and saw some orange pieces floating on it. I looked at her seriously.

"You know I'm definitely not gonna eat this, right?"

Chelsea looked at us a little bit confused.

"What did carrots ever do to you to hate them that much?" asked Julia a bit bothered. I just remained there in silence, without even looking the stew. "Come on! What's so bad about carrots? Just eat one piece. I dare you!"

I looked at her with a challenging look. "Not in this lifetime."

She then stood up angrily. "Come on, I'll bet you don't even know what they taste like anymore!" she said as she hit the table with her hand.

"I'm not going to do this Julia." I answered as I stood up too. We just stayed looking into the other's eyes in silence until Chelsea intervened.

"Okay… Could anyone tell me what's happening here?"

"Chelsea, don't you think Vaughn should eat his carrots? Tell him!" ordered Julia.

"Well Julia, in that case, maybe you should try fish… Like you said, you have to try new things," she replied.

Wow, I didn't expect that from the little farmer. Finally she managed to do something well.

"Yeah Julia, why not?" I smirked evilly.

"Oh… Uhh… Well…" her face changed and she couldn't manage to find an answer. She laughed nervously. "Okay, okay. I'll lay off Vaughn! Well, mom is waiting for me, hehe. See you later!"

With that said, she picked her things and left quickly. I smirked and waved her goodbye triumphantly. "Bye, Julia."

I turned around and saw Chelsea staring at me, seeming bothered.

"What? I smiled."

She sighed. "I didn't mean that. I meant a real smile."

"Forget it, I don't need to smile to do my job."

"But I'd like to see you smile!"

That was a surprise. I felt something strange when she said that. Why that interest in my smile?

"…Nobody's ever asked me that." We stood a few seconds without saying a word, until she opened her mouth.

"Well, I want to see it, the real one, not that strange smirk you do, and I think I know the way to make you smile."

"Uh?" I didn't have any clue of what she was talking about.

She took the newspaper and started looking for something. "There it is, this should work!"

"Could you tell me already where are you taking me?" I asked.

She was so concentrated mumbling things to herself that she didn't hear me. She then faced me. "Hurry up Vaughn! If the newspaper was right, it has already started. If you don't hurry we'll be late!"

She was starting to piss me off. "What has already started?"

"You'll see it soon."

I sighed and continued making my way through the snow. She guided me to the meadow, where many people had gathered. Everyone was happy, shouting and celebrating.

"Chelsea… What's happening here?"

She turned around to face me with a very big smile drawn in her face.

"Today is the Snow Festival! Let's build a snowman Vaughn!"

"No," I don't even know why I came here. What was I thinking? "I'm getting back home."

"No way!" She grabbed my arm and dragged me to the center of the meadow. "You owe me after what happened with Julia."

I tried to let go, but that girl had more strength than I expected. Eventually, I resigned and followed her. On the center of the spot was Gannon, who had been named the judge of this year's contest. Chelsea greeted him excitedly.

"Hi Gannon!"

"Well, hello you two. Are you going to participate?"

"Not even in your…" I started, but Chelsea didn't let me finish the sentence.

"Of course! Count with us!"

I threw Chelsea a defiant look, which she returned, very sure of herself. It seemed like Chelsea did't let me any choice, so I just sighed. She grinned happily, We turned to face Gannon again, who was mumbling things to himself.

"Do we have enough people to make snowmen? I'd like to get goin'…"

"Uhm, Gannon can we start making our snowman?" asked Chelsea, waking him from his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah! Enjoy and make sure to make a huge one!"

Chelsea took me by the arm and dragged me to a spot full of snow. "Here. Let's start!"

"You didn't seriously think I was going to build a snowman with you, did you?" I snapped.

"Come on! I can't do it alone. It will be funny, Vaughn!"

I crossed my arms, taking a reluctant pose. Suddenly, Taro appeared from nowhere. Really, this man was really quiet, it seemed like he was always lurking.

"Hello, youngsters. Enjoying the snow?" he asked.

"Hi Taro! We're participating this year snowmen contest," answered Chelsea.

"Ah… This reminds me of my childhood. I used to play with snow a lot."

Chelsea smiled warmly at the old man, and then her face brightened. "Hey Taro, do you want to join us?"

"What?" I questioned. "He's too old for this stuff. He's too skinny, and definitely not strong enough."

"Excuse me boy, yeah I can feel the cold in my bones, but that won't stop me from enjoying the snow, though! Moreover, all those years farming have strengthened me more than you think," he snapped proudly. "What do you want me to do, dear?" he asked Chelsea.

"You can start to build the base. I'll help you," she said.

To my surprise, Taro managed to lift lots of snow and began to pile it. He sure was strong. At that time, Charlie and Eliza came running excitedly towards us.

"Hey! We wanna make a snowman too! Can we make it with you?" asked Charlie.

Chelsea smiled. "Of course you can!"

"Great! I'm going to make the biggest snowman! Let's make it huge!" shouted Eliza.

"I'm the BEST snowman builder around! Leave it to me!" added Charlie.

Eliza turned angrily to face Charlie. "Hmph! My snowman will be a model that all other snowman will follow!"

Chelsea started laughing. That stupid cute laugh again. "Don't need to discuss you two! We'll make the best snowman all together. Come one, go and find something to use it as eyes, mouth, buttons, nose and arms."

The children nodded and went running to find what Chelsea has asked for. I had to admit that I was impressed by how everybody loved Chelsea. She seemed to get along well with everyone. Exactly the opposite of me. Not that I cared.

Chelsea and Taro continued building happily the snowman while I preferred to sit down and just watch. More and more people were gathering around and started building their own snowmen. I heard two familiar voices approaching to us and I turned around to find Julia and Elliot.

"Ugh, It's pretty cold, I need to keep moving to stay warm," mumbled Julia. "Hey! Are you gonna build a snowman?"

"Oh, but if it's my grandson. Come child, help us with this, you too Julia," said Taro.

"Sure. I'll go gather some more snow," replied Elliot before leaving quickly.

"Is this the errand you were doing for Mirabelle? I teased Julia, referring to Elliot.

"No, I met him later," replied Julia with a childish tone. "Whatever, I'm going to help him."

"Are you ever gonna leave her alone?" asked Chelsea, smirking, as Julia left.

"Never."

"Vaughn, please, cheer up, come join us!"

"You don't need me, you have already many people at your service. And I'm sure more people will come."

All of a sudden that shy black-haired girl with glasses appeared. "Oh, are you participating?"

"See?" I grumped.

Chelsea sighed at me and then went to greet her. "Yes Sabrina, and we're going to win! Do you want to join us?"

"I'm sure you'll make a beautiful snowman. If you don't mind me helping, I'll do my best!" she answered.

Sabrina was the last to join the team. The snowdrift was becoming bigger and starting to take shape, Taro, Sabrina and the couple took care of it. Meanwhile, Eliza and Charlie found several small stones that could serve as eyes, mouth and buttons. They also found some branches to use as the arms and a smaller stick for the nose. I hated to admit that it all actually seemed a bit funny.

"Let's make a snowman like they have never seen before!" screamed Chelsea. "All right, put this over here, that over there… I think I got the hang of this…" she mumbled to herself. "Mmmmm… There's one thing missing…"

In that moment I felt someone pulling my coat. I looked down. Charlie stared at me with curious eyes.

"What do you want?"

He raised a finger at me and pointed to my stetson. "We need a hat for the snowman."

I shrugged. I never took it off when there was people around. "That's not possible."

The boy looked down disappointed, without insisting. Unfortunately, Chelsea seemed to like that idea and she, on the contrary, is not one to give up. She smirked and walked slowly to me.

"No," I muttered.

"Take it off, Vaughn."

"Never."

"Okay," she said, smiling a wicked smile. "We'll have to do it by force then."

Suddenly, Chelsea came running, she lunged towards me and we both fell on a pile of snow.

"Go now kids!" she shouted as she immobilized me.

Eliza and Charlie quickly took my stetson off and put it on the snowman.

Chelsea stood up with a triumphant smile, crossing her arms. "And this is how it's done."

Everyone laughed happily. I, on the other hand, was speechless. I looked at everyone. They were jumping, dancing and celebrating that their snowman was already finished. Truth is, it turned up better than I expected. And then it happened. My lips curved into a little sincere smile. Luckily, no one was watching me at the moment. All of a sudden, a horn rang.

"Everybody, the time is over!" shouted Gannon. "Now I will proceed to examine and evaluate your creations."

As he said, Gannon started to examine all the snowmen. He was getting nearer to where we were, so everyone gathered around the snowman, nervous about Gannon's opinion and what would be his decision. Finally, it was our turn.

"Whoa! This one's amazing! I'll tell ya, that's one huge and funny snowman!" said Gannon wide-eyed. He sure was amused by what he saw. "I think it's clear who's the winner of this year's festival, congratulations!"

Gannon gave Chelsea a little trophy and the whole team started jumping and hugging each other excitedly. Everyone except me, of course. I just took my stetson off the snowman and put it on again.

I was about to go back home when Taro boarded a small podium that was in the center of the meadow to announce something. "Come on everyone! My daughter Felicia and Mirabelle have prepared some stew for us to enjoy ourselves after all this hard work, come and grab a bowl!"

Everyone went towards the tables that had been placed on the north part of the meadow. Chelsea, however, approached me.

"Hey, before you go… Do you want to go pick a bowl with me?" she asked.

I was about to reject the offer, I really wanted to go home, but then my stomach growled. I had just eaten a bowl of porridge today, and that stew smelled so good -not like the one Julia had given me earlier- so I reconsidered. "All right, I'll give it a try…"

We started walking in silence. That didn't last much, however.

"I've seen it Vaughn," she said, looking down, smiling warmly.

"What?" I asked.

"Your smile."

So there was actually someone watching me. "I don't think so."

"Of course I have," she said, now looking at me.

I looked at her too, with a serious expression. "I tell you it's not possible, I don't smile."

"You do, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone." she then stared at the distance. "I like to be the only one to have seen it. You have a beautiful smile Vaughn."

I continued looking at her for a few seconds and then stared at the distance too. "Whatever."

She laughed a bit and then grabbed my arm. "Let's hurry or there won't be any stew left for us." She started running, dragging me with her. And then, there was another. Another smile. But this time Chelsea didn't see it. I pulled down my stetson, slightly covering my face, and kept that smile just for myself. I promised myself that would be the last time anyone would see me smile. Harvest goddess knows I couldn't keep that promise.

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.

AUTHOR NOTE: Well, I can say this update wasn't AS LATE as the last one, yay!

First of all, thank you Cyanote and the guests for reviewing, specially the one who pointed out some grammatical mistakes on a previous chapter. I'll fix them as soon as I can. I also want to thank you everyone who's reading my story, I'm putting my heart on it.

As always, sorry for the possible grammatical mistakes (if you find any, please let me know) and all reviews are appreciated! Thank you!

PD: No, you will NEVER get rid of the author's notes hehehe^^